We’re not exactly treading lightly on planet Earth. A new study finds more than 20,000 land animal species are experiencing intense pressure from the global human footprint. It’s no wonder that last year the United Nations said that a million species may face extinction in the coming decades.

Wildlife extinctions have been a fact of life on our planet for eons. But the extinction rates we’re seeing now are about 1,000 times higher than the background rate. Humans have never witnessed these kinds of large-scale die-offs — and it’s our own fault.

Human population growth is a big part of the equation — we’ve more than doubled our numbers on the planet since 1970. We can start to address that by reducing unplanned pregnancies and promoting reproductive rights and contraception access for all.

This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

We’re not exactly treading lightly on planet Earth. A new study finds more than 20,000 land animal species are experiencing intense pressure from the global human footprint. Of those, 85 percent have seen half their habitats exposed to intense human pressure. And 16 percent have experienced the same on their entire habitat.

It’s no wonder that last year the United Nations said that a million species may face extinction in the coming decades.

Wildlife extinctions have been a fact of life on our planet for eons. But the extinction rates we’re seeing now are about 1,000 times higher than the background rate. Humans have never witnessed these kinds of large-scale die-offs — and it’s our own fault.

Whereas previous studies have looked at the interactions of human impacts, the latest research by the Wilderness Conservation Society, University of Queensland, and others cumulatively looked at several metrics that illustrate the intense effects of a growing human population, such as more space for people (population density and built environments), more food to feed them (crop lands and pasture lands), and more systems to support them (roads, railways, electric infrastructure).

Clearly if we want a future where there’s a full suite of animals and plants in the wild, we need to get to work. Addressing the extinction crisis will require leadership from the United States alongside bold, courageous, far-reaching initiatives that attack this emergency at its root. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity, where I work, just launched the Saving Life on Earth campaign. We’re calling for clear actions the United States must take to halt this problem, including a $100-billion investment in saving species and the creation of 500 new national parks, wildlife refuges, and marine sanctuaries.

Human population growth is a big part of the equation — we’ve more than doubled our numbers on the planet since 1970. We can start to address that by reducing unplanned pregnancies and promoting reproductive rights and contraception access for all.

In the United States, nearly 50% of all pregnancies are unintended. More than 19.5 million women of reproductive age living in the United States don’t have access to publicly funded contraception and live in contraceptive deserts. In addition, recent federal policies restricting the Affordable Care Act and Title X clinics are decreasing access to reproductive health services.

Improving access to family planning and education is crucial to slowing population growth in order to ease the burden we’re putting on threatened and endangered species.

How we interact with our planet doesn’t have to be all bad. We can take this knowledge and use it to demand what is necessary to save species from extinction. That includes real investment from American leadership in protecting species, but also a commitment to ensuring that everyone has access to reproductive healthcare, contraception, and education.

This is a crisis entirely of our own making, but we can also be the ones that unmake it.

CITATIONS

• O’Bryan, C. J., Allan, J. R., Holden, M., Sanderson, C., Venter, O., Di Marco, M., … & Watson, J. E. (2020). Intense human pressure is widespread across terrestrial vertebrate ranges. Global Ecology and Conservation, 21, e00882. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00882

• Pimm, S. L., Jenkins, C. N., Abell, R., Brooks, T. M., Gittleman, J. L., Joppa, L. N., … & Sexton, J. O. (2014). The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science, 344(6187), 1246752. doi:10.1126/science.1246752

Sarah Baillie is Endangered Species Condoms Coordinator for the Population and Sustainability Program at the Center for Biological Diversity.