Interim Report - TEEB

Map 2.1: Plant species per ecoregion (Kier et al. 2005, J. Biogeog. 32:1107)
Species number
per ecoregion
10,000
0
Map 2.2: Agricultural returns (Strassburg et al. 2008, based on data from Naidoo & Iwamura. 2007. Biol. Conserv. 140: 40)
US$ per hectare
1,800
0
incentives to conserve those natural habitats and species
locally that clearly have wider benefits globally.
It is clear that if we undermine the natural functions that
hold this planet together, we may be creating conditions
that will make life increasingly difficult for generations to
come – and impossible for those already on the margins
of survival.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Population growth, increasing wealth and changing
consumption patterns underlie many of the trends we
have described. Unsustainable resource use has been
evident in the developed world for many years. The
ecological footprints of Europe, the United States of America
and Japan are much higher than those of developing
countries. And the emerging economies are catching up.
India and China both have ecological footprints twice the size
of their “biocapacities” (Goldman Sachs 2007) – the extent to
which their ecosystems can generate a sustainable supply of
renewable resources. Brazil, on the other hand, has one of
the world’s highest “biocapacities”, nearly five times as large
as its ecological footprint, yet this is declining as a result of
deforestation (Goldman Sachs 2007).
Under current practices, meeting the food needs of
growing and increasingly affluent populations will further
threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Based on
population projections alone, 50% more food than is
currently produced will be required to feed the global
population by 2050 (United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division 2008).
Irrigated crop production will need to increase by 80% by
2030 to match demand.
Already, 35% of the Earth’s surface has been converted for
agriculture, limiting scope for the future productivity of natural
systems (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005b). The
livestock sector already represents the world’s single largest
human use of land. Grazing land covers 26% of the Earth’s
surface, while animal feed crops account for about a third of
Biodiversity, ecosystems and human welfare
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