One in three tree species at risk of extinction

Published October 29, 2024
A FALLEN eucalyptus tree lies next to a soy field in Lobos, Argentina. Several species of eucalyptus were included in an update of the “red list” of threatened species published on Monday.—AFP
A FALLEN eucalyptus tree lies next to a soy field in Lobos, Argentina. Several species of eucalyptus were included in an update of the “red list” of threatened species published on Monday.—AFP

CALI: More than one in three species of trees are at risk of extinction worldwide, threatening life as we know it on Earth, according to a report published on Monday.

The warning came in the Global Tree Assessment, contained in an update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Issued to coincide with the UN’s COP16 summit on biodiversity, held in the Colombian city of Cali, the report said over 16,000 tree species are at risk of extinction.

More than 47,000 species were assessed for the study, out of an estimated 58,000 species thought to exist in the world.

They also make the oxygen we breathe, and absorb heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. “Trees are essential to support life on Earth through their vital role in ecosystems, and millions of people depend upon them for their lives and livelihoods,” said IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar.

Trees are felled for logging and to clear land for farming and human expansion. Climate change poses an additional threat through worsening drought and wildfires.

The numbers are not merely symbolic. People “rely on tree species for food, timber, fuels (and) medicines,” expert Emily Beech said.

A 2015 study estimated there are about three trillion individual trees in the world.

The study, published in the science journal Nature, estimated that over 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global number of trees has fallen by nearly half since the start of human civilisation.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...
Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.