Scientists pinpoint vital 1.2% of Earth to prevent 6th mass extinction

Our planet is home to diverse life forms, but it’s facing a major threat: extinction. And humans are to be blamed. Human activity, including habitat degradation, climate change, pollution, and resource overexploitation, is said to be the major cause of this fast extinction.

But there’s a glimmer of hope for our planet’s wildlife. Researchers from Resolve, a US conservation group, identified a way to maintain Earth’s biodiversity by protecting a surprisingly small portion of land.

They have identified key areas worldwide known as Conservation Imperatives, which together account for only 1.2% of the Earth’s surface. The team believes conserving these hotspots “could prevent all predicted extinctions if they were adequately protected.”

How these areas were identified

These hotspots are crucial because they’re havens for rare and endangered species , from big mammals like the Philippine tamaraw to rare plants and amphibians. Protecting them is like building arks for the planet’s wildlife, ensuring their survival for future generations.

But how these areas were identified in the vast globe? “Conservation Imperatives is mapped using the distributions of rare and endangered species via six widely used biodiversity assessments. These locations were overlayed with the latest map or global protected areas to identify unprotected sites that need immediate protections,” said Andy Lee, co-author of the study, told Interesting Engineering (IE).

Lee’s team also analyzed land cover using high-resolution satellite imagery (100 meters). This analysis helped refine the global map and identify remaining wildlife habitats.

The thorough study identified 16,825 critical (about 164 Mha) conservation imperatives globally. Interestingly, these hotspots are concentrated in tropical areas, mostly in five countries: the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Colombia.

“Protecting these last remaining habitats can prevent imminent extinction, provide important source populations for the future recovery of these species, and spearhead the effort to halt the sixth great extinction,” Lee added.

Interestingly, nearly 40% of these Conservation Imperatives are close to existing protected areas. This means incorporating them into existing plans or finding alternative conservation methods could be much easier.

Cost of protecting these areas

Researchers estimate that the cost of conservation would be less than 0.2% of the US GDP annually – a fraction of what we spend on fossil fuel subsidies.

“We estimated that it would cost US$169 billion to protect all Conservation Imperatives in the tropics, and US$263 billion worldwide. This equates to US$53 billion a year over the next five years to protect all sites—less than 0.2% of the United States’ GDP. Even just half this amount would protect the bulk of the world’s rare and endangered species,” Lee told IE.

As per the press release , researchers analyzed data from hundreds of conservation projects to estimate the cost of protecting these hotspots. As mentioned earlier, one key finding is that over one-third of these areas are near existing protected zones.

This overlap has the potential to significantly lower the cost of creating new protected areas and managing them in the long run.

Lee stated that given these estimations, protecting the Conservation Imperatives is “achievable and affordable.”

Saving these hotspots isn’t just about protecting animals – it’s crucial for fighting climate change. These regions, especially forests, act as giant carbon sinks, absorbing harmful greenhouse gases. Protecting them is a win-win for wildlife and the planet.

Conservation Imperatives fit into a larger strategy for protecting the planet. It is the first step in a five-part plan called the Global Safety Net framework, which aims to protect at least 30% of the Earth’s land by 2030.

“It is a critical first step for maintaining ecosystem services and supporting the global climate objective of staying below a 1.5°C temperature rise. This integrated approach benefits both biodiversity and climate efforts,” Lee told us.

The findings have been reported in the journal Frontiers in Science.