NAIROBI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Many countries in Africa are unlikely to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and other environment commitments as planned if the current plunder of natural resources is not stopped, an environmentalist said on Thursday.
Joyce Isiaho, director of business development and communications at WWF-Kenya, said that without a dramatic move beyond business as usual, the current decline of the natural resources will deny the countries an opportunity to meet the demands.
"The planet is critically ill due to our push towards benefiting from biodiversity as it continue powering economies in most countries," Isiaho said during the launch of the living planet report 2018 that was compiled by WWF.
She called on African countries to take serious actions by reducing dependence on forests and other natural resources through adoption of friendly innovations like renewable energy and changing ways of farming to reduce floods.
Isiaho observed that without proper intervention, the global goals will not be realized as many people will continue to suffer and die from natural causes.
"The global south must put in place better commitments to meeting the environmental goals to save the countries from degradation and loss of wildlife," said Nancy Githaiga, policy research and innovation manager at WWF-Kenya.
She noted that the private sector need to be in the forefront in ensuring that climate change and biodiversity commitments are met since without proper management, the manufacturing industries are due to collapse as there will be no water to facilitate their operations.
She said that what the world requires is bold and well defined goals and a credible set of actions to restore the abundance of nature to levels that enable both people and nature to thrive.
According to the report that is a result of a study that was conducted last year, the exploding human consumption is the driving force behind the unprecedented planetary change being witnessed.
This, the report says is being aggravated by the increased demand for energy, land and water, adding that consumption indicators such as ecological footprint provide a picture of overall resource use.
It further notes while climate change is a growing threat, the main drivers of biodiversity decline continue to be the overexploitation of species, agriculture and land conversion.
The report calls for the conservation of marine and freshwater ecosystems, urging governments to clean them from plastic pollution that is suffocating the fish.
"Vertebrate species are not spared either, since their population has declined by 60 percent especially in the tropics," stated the report.
It called for an ambitious new global agreement for nature and people that is well backed by political, financial and consumer choices to achieve the vision that humanity and nature thrive in harmony on the planet.
