A General Trend of Biodiversity Loss. What has been done, and what are we to do?

As we see, most anthropogenic processes cause a global decrease in biodiversity. Indeed it has been suggested that we are currently in a mass extinction (The Sixth Mass Extinction) which is comparable to that of extinctions in the geological time. It is sad that this blog can not report on human induced speciaction events. This is partly because the pace of anthorpogenic chagne is not equivalent to the timescales on which evolutionary processes occur. To changes as fast as the ones we witness today, only the smallest species with the shortest generation times can adapt. Insects fo example are famous for evovling resistance to pesticides extremely quicly. Despite it has been suggested that some species may be able to adapt to climate chagne for example, it is unlikelu that such evolutionary processes could significantly alter global biogeographical processes.

From my point of view, there is one crucial difference between the Sixth and the previous mass extinctions. The one we witness today, because it is caused by a conscious animal H. sapiens, it can also be altered by this species. It is down to us wether we do noting, mitigate this extinction, or even reverse it. So what is it that we do to deccelerate the dramatic rate of species loss?

Decade of Biodiversity 2011-2020
United nations declared 2011-2020 the Decade on Biodiversity. The goals of this initiative is to help implementing the Aichi targets, a set of five strategic goals and 20 targets, as agreed by the world's governments at COP10 in 2010. The five stragegic goals are the follwing:

A. Adress the underlying causes of biodiversity loss
B. Reduce pressure on biodiversity and promote sustainable use
C. Safeguard ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
D. Enhance benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem service
E. Enhance implementation

Within each of the five strategic goals, there are fou to six targets defining what is to be done exactly to achieve the strategic goal. Clearly goals A B and C are msot important for slowing biodiversity loss. Some of the targets to be achieved under these goals are:

Target 5
By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

Target 11By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.

Target 12
By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.
If these ambitious targets are achieved, we may hope that biogeographic processes we witness today will be halted or reversed, and we will no longer live in a mass extinction.