Sustainable agriculture can slow down the mass extinction of species

Earth species are dying out at a faster rate than ever before, according to a new UN report. The development also affects us people in our own local environment. Mass extinction must be slowed down and never before has it been so important to change to sustainable agriculture.

According to the UN's new report on the so-called "sixth mass extinction" of plant and animal species, human carelessness has led to almost one million species at risk of extinction in the coming decades. A clear human imprint has been confirmed in three-quarters of the earth's land environments, and two-thirds of marine environments. Wild vertebrates have already declined by as much as 60 percent since 1970, according to WWF. At the same time, the new UN report establishes a clear link between human survival and nature.

Economic and social problem

It is not only animals and nature that do harm, but we humans too. Man is completely dependent on a thriving biodiversity to be able to drink clean water, put food on the tables and have access to medicines and energy. The loss of biodiversity is not an isolated environmental problem, but an economic, security and social problem.

It is extra acute for the quarter of the world's people who depend on agriculture for their income. Growers and employees at the world's plantations are already exposed to the ongoing degradation of ecosystems, the increase of environmental toxins in nature, changes in the land mass and increased soil erosion.

Changes in agriculture are required

The accelerating loss of species largely depends on how we humans live and produce our food. In order for the eradication of species to slow down, a change in agriculture is required. Among other things, so-called monocultural cultivation methods need to cease, that is, large crops with only one kind of crop where all other vegetation is cut down in favor of the single crop. It is an unnatural way of cultivation that risks knocking out local ecosystems and leading to extinction of both animal and plant species.

Cultivation of several crops mixed with other plant species needs to be encouraged as an alternative. Such cultivation is more natural and a good way of securing long-term harvest. The trees can shade sun-sensitive crops and contribute to thriving local ecosystems. In addition, more growers need to switch to organic farming, stop using toxic pesticides and develop more productive and resilient production methods - which can generate as much food, but on less surface. Deforestation in order to increase cultivation areas also needs to cease.

Small funds can make a big difference

It is a striking thought that we humans can destroy entire ecosystems with our large industries, our over-consumption and our unsustainable farming practices. At the same time, it is also possible to create new ecosystems with fairly small resources. Many now encourage the diversity of their own garden, through simple tricks such as growing pollen-rich flowers, building bi-hotels or letting the grass grow wild to mimic a meadow (a landscape type that is disappearing). Enabling species richness in their own garden benefits other ecosystems even outside the garden boundary, since no ecosystem is isolated.

Similarly, we need to encourage individual growers to switch to sustainable agriculture. Any cultivator who starts growing according to more sustainable and productive methods can stop the sixth mass extinction. Adjusting creates better conditions for long-term planning and a safer family income over time. It also reduces the vulnerability of growers to changes in weather and climate. Using fewer chemicals benefits humans at least as much as the environment; and planting more trees binds carbon dioxide, which reduces the climate impact of agriculture. But the transition can be expensive and uncertain. Therefore, consumers, businesses and the public sector need to demonstrate that demand for sustainably produced raw materials is high.