More than two-thirds of shark and ray species (37%) are now threatened with extinction in the world, due to pressure exerted mainly by overfishing marine species, notes the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN on Saturday, 4 September). ) in an update of its “Red List of Threatened Species”.
“If we act now, we will have the fruits quickly”, said Saturday in franceinfo Bruno David, the president of the National Museum of Natural History, author of At the dawn of the sixth extinction. “We are going a hundred to a thousand times faster than during the great crises of the past”, warns Bruno David, who wants to be optimistic: “biodiversity is very resilient”.
franceinfo: Does this correspond to the sixth mass extinction you predict in your book?
This is the beginning of this extinction. Compared to the great mass extinctions that have hit Earth in its geological history, we are still at the beginning of the process. This can reassure us. We could finally say that we just have to keep this up. But, in fact, we are going a hundred to a thousand times faster than during the great crises of the past. We may be relatively at the beginning of the path, but we are embarking on this path very quickly and we absolutely have to react. The good news is that biodiversity is very resilient, meaning it has a very exceptional healing capacity, which means that if we act now, we will have the fruits very quickly. And that’s why it’s a very good initiative that the IUCN is also looking at a green list to show that when we do things, when we act, biodiversity responds positively.
There are some species that are doing well or better than others, such as bluefin tuna. Not everything is lost ?
Yes, bluefin tuna is a good example. Because we put a moratorium on bluefin tuna and we put it in early enough, before the ecosystem fell into a new equilibrium where there would be no more tuna. He would never have come back. We did this early enough, which shows that strong policy in one direction can have an effect and a positive effect. The Canadians made a mistake in 1992. They introduced a moratorium on cod fishing in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. This moratorium came too late. And cod never returned to the Great Banks of Newfoundland.
What must be done first to limit breakage?
The priority is knowledge. We must understand that discoveries are based on surveys, inventories, monitoring where we call on citizens in participatory science programs to try to find out where we are. We need research to make these discoveries. So we need action. We need decision, awareness, to see how we can improve the situation. And this situation, we can frankly improve. Because biodiversity is resilient. She heals, she’s a good girl, as Isabelle Autissier says. Let’s enjoy this. Let’s act and not just look at the consequences of our actions. Let’s change the way we do things. It will get better and we will have the fruits very quickly.
Who must make the right decisions? The states ? Each one of us ?
That’s a little bit of everything. It is an individual conscience where everyone can make an effort. States must participate in the process, associating, establishing a certain number of rules and principles, also establishing benchmarks and objectives. I think it’s very important to set goals and I hope the World Conservation Congress sets them, a bit like COP 21 did for the climate in Paris in 2015. After that, we can regret that these goals are not achieved quickly enough. Still, it’s a way of setting goals. And then, we mustn’t forget about companies. Companies have an absolutely gigantic economic power. They have a huge capacity for action, often not using enough in this area. They must be made to understand that they can improve their practices. And that by improving their practices, by investing in protecting the environment, by continuing to do their commercial work, they can improve things considerably.
