One of the few achievements of the United Nations since its birth, 75 years ago, is that World War III has been avoided. I wish that could be true.
World War III has indeed started. It is the war between Nature and Humans. Nature is in dangerous decline and may lose this war. But we the people' do not realize that Nature's defeat will also herald the defeat of Homo Sapiens. World War III, however, cannot be attributed to the United Nations. There have been stark warnings in the numerous UN reports, particularly the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The latest report by IPBES is strikingly clear. It says that nature is in dangerous decline and that rate of extinctions of Earth's species is unprecedented and accelerating. The window of opportunity to regenerate nature is closing fast.
Some of the warnings from the IPBES report are lethal, scary and challenging our own existence on the Earth:
- Around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
- More than 40% of amphibian species, almost 33% of reef-forming corals and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened.
- At least 680 vertebrate species had been driven to extinction since the 16th century and more than 9% of all domesticated breeds of mammals ( it is not clear if homo sapiens are part of this) used for food and agriculture had become extinct by 2016, with at least 1,000 more breeds still threatened.
- More than 33% of marine fish stocks were being harvested at unsustainable levels and fish stocks are dwindling.
- Plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980
- Fertilizers entering coastal ecosystems have produced more than 400 ocean 'dead zones', totalling more than 245,000 km2 (591-595) - a combined area greater than that of the United Kingdom.
IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson concludes, "The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide."
"It is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global," he adds. "Through 'transformative change', nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals-SDGs.".
Smart Campus Cloud Network, SCCN, is a global network of educational institutes where the campus becomes the skill development centres and 'transformative trigger' for today's youth. Dr Watson's message could be activated at the campus level on priority. In and around campus could be the centres for piloting the bio-diversity on small scale. Minds of youth would be incubated by actions on the campus. Once the student enters the professional career, they would be the transformative agents.