KILL TO CONSERVE

Sustainable use of wildlife is the best approach to conservation in the long run. This is the latest scientific assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Optimal exploitation of wild flora and fauna will ensure that livelihood and dietary needs of humans are met without threatening survival of the species. But do countries have the capacity to ensure sustainable use, and to make sure the benefits reach local communities? An analysis by SHUCHITA JHA, HIMANSHU NITNAWARE and VIBHA VARSHNEY in New Delhi with ABSALOM SHIGWEDHA in Namibia, CYRIL ZENDA in Zimbabwe, PETER ELIAS in Tanzania and CHRISTOPHE HITAYEZU in Rwanda

After four years, when the intergovernmental body IPBES released the summary of its much-awaited "Assessment Report on the Sustainable Use of Wild Species" on July 8, many knew that it would provoke animal rights groups.

Adopted at the ninth plenary session of IPBES or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Bonn, Germany, the summary has been prepared by nearly 300 social and natural scientists from across the world who examined 6,200 scientific studies and repositories of indigenous knowledge. It is the most detailed scientific summary, to date, on the benefits of wild species and lists pathways for using them sustainably.

Suggesting greater integration of species conservation and food security, the summary states that billions of people worldwide rely on some 50,000 wild species for food, energy, medicine and income. Roughly, 33,000 of the species are plants and fungi; 7,500 are fish and aquatic invertebrates; and 9,000 are amphibians, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. Of these, more than 10,000 species are used directly for human food. Sustainable use of the wild species is, therefore, fundamental to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functions in the long term, while achieving food security and improving nutrition across the globe. About 70 per cent of the world's poor directly depend on wild species for survival. In many cases, wild species are symbols of cultural identities.

The report states that sustainable use of wild species would bolster the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It can help achieve 80 per cent of the SDG1 and SDG2 goals each that aim at eradicating poverty and hunger. This is apart from contributing to the achievement of 15 other SDGS that include ensuring good health and well-being; reducing inequality; providing access to affordable clean energy; and promoting economic growth.