Half of England's Biodiversity Has Disappeared
Great Britain has lost more biodiversity than any other G7 country. The nation ranks among the worst 10 percent in the world.
Almost half of biological diversity in England has disappeared since the advent of chemical industrial agriculture.
A study shows that Great Britain has lost more biodiversity than any other G7 country and ranks among the worst 10% globally.
Shocking Finding
Almost half of England's natural biodiversity has disappeared over the centuries, with agriculture and urban sprawl — triggered by the industrial and agricultural revolutions — identified as the main drivers of this loss.
«Great Britain has lost more of its natural biodiversity than almost any other Western European country, more than all G7 nations, and more than many other countries such as China», said Professor Andy Purvis of the natural sciences department at the Natural History Museum in London. «That is very striking — and deeply troubling.»
The work of Purvis and his team was published at a time when negotiators are beginning online discussions for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).
United Kingdom in the Bottom 10%
«Our analyses have found that the United Kingdom consistently ranks among the bottom 10% of countries in terms of biodiversity intactness», said Dr. Adriana De Palma, a senior researcher at the Museum.
«This was essentially the trigger for the mechanised destruction of nature in order to convert it into profitable commodities», said Purvis. «As a result, the United Kingdom has long been among the countries with the greatest destruction of nature in the world.»
Forests and meadows were cleared across the country and replaced with monoculture fields. More than two thirds of the United Kingdom is now used for agriculture and 8% is built upon, leaving very little space for nature.
Dozens of Species on the Brink of Extinction
On the biodiversity scale, the index value for the United Kingdom stands at 53%. Dozens of species are hovering on the brink of extinction. These include the Scottish wildcat and the pine marten, the natterjack toad, the turtle dove, and insects such as the cicada. Even the existence of the once-ubiquitous hedgehog is under threat. The decline is not limited to animals — plants, fungi, and soil microorganisms are also affected.
«But biodiversity is so much more than that. It is the engine that produces everything we consume. You can think of it as a wild supermarket that supplies us with food and other gifts without us having to do anything in return. The fact that we have different varieties of apples, tomatoes, and other foods is thanks to biodiversity — and when it declines, we are the ones who suffer.»
The Natural History Museum has made the data from the Biodiversity Intactness Index available through the Biodiversity Trends Explorer.
