Why? How come? What for? – Those who fail to protect will be silenced

But why is this actually such a bad thing for us? Why should we do anything about it when there are still millions of animal and plant species worldwide?

The answer is actually quite obvious: species extinction harms both the ecosystems in which the affected species are found and neighbouring regions. And in the long term, it also harms humans. The perfectly balanced communities of species found in intact ecosystems are linked by delicate interdependencies. The various species support one another, unconsciously so to speak – and we usually notice very little of this. But if a species is lost, this complex structure is completely disrupted.

A good example of this is the salmon, which plays a central role in the rainforests of western Canada. They are the link in a complex cycle that involves many inhabitants of this sensitive ecosystem.

One-fifth of the world’s salmon stocks originate in the rivers of the Canadian west coast rainforest. From there, they migrate to the sea. Throughout the salmon’s journey, the rainforest ensures their well-being: the roots of the trees hold the banks together, branches and tree canopies shade the water, and wood, leaves and needles provide vital nutrients. Once they reach the sea, the salmon serve as an important food source, for example for orcas. After two years in the ocean, millions of salmon migrate back to the streams where they were born, and on their arduous journey they serve as food for many other animals, including grizzly bears, coastal wolves and numerous species of birds of prey. The birds sometimes carry the fish into the forest, where they eat the finest parts and leave behind plenty of food remains, which slowly decompose. In the process, they are broken down into their chemical components, thereby supplying the soil with important nutrients (e.g. nitrogen), which in turn benefit the trees. 

If even a single ‘salmon run’ is prevented by deforestation, the resulting silting up of rivers and rising water temperatures, or disrupted by the fishing industry, the natural cycle is severely disrupted. If the salmon are absent, the numerous predators lack food, which in turn has a negative impact on the nutrient supply to the plants in the rainforest.

Ecosystems, which otherwise provide clean water and air, a food source for all inhabitants, and act as defences against flooding and tsunamis, are, at a certain point, no longer able to do so. They cease to provide the services they would otherwise provide free of charge. They lose their resilience and become more vulnerable to harmful external influences.^2,3

A very prominent example of this is the decline of bee populations. According to estimates by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations), around 35 per cent of global agricultural yields depend directly on pollination by bees. A loss of these pollinators could lead to a decline in yields of up to 30 per cent, resulting in economic losses amounting to billions of dollars for the agricultural sector.⁴

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), global losses resulting from the destruction of coral reefs could also amount to as much as 2.7 billion dollars annually in the coming decades. These losses result from the impact on the fishing industry, as well as the loss of tourism and coastal protection services.⁵

The figures speak for themselves: the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) reports 46,337 threatened species out of a total of 166,061 recorded species – that is equivalent to around a quarter of all species assessed by the IUCN!^6,7

However, it is not only the loss of numerous species that weighs heavily on us. There are two further aspects of biodiversity that we must not neglect: the diversity of ecosystems and genetic diversity. The latter, in particular, is also significantly affected by the death of individual organisms. This is because the fewer individuals of a species there are, the less genetic diversity there is in the next generation, making them less resilient and more susceptible to disease.

Raising awareness of species conservation can sometimes seem difficult, as we do not experience the changes directly in our own bodies. Whilst we experience climate change particularly through rising temperatures and natural disasters, the dwindling ecosystem services and loss of ecosystem products are not quite so obvious at first. Only gradually is it becoming increasingly clear that, along with the animals and plants, an extremely valuable network of benefits is also disappearing.¹⁰

Alongside climate stabilisation, species conservation is one of the most important tasks for keeping this planet habitable in the long term. Clean water, clean air, fertile soil – these would be unthinkable without the diversity of species and ecosystems. In the long term, humankind would also be just another species that could end up on the Red List alongside many others.