Only 3% of the World's Ecosystems Still in Pristine Conditions

According to a study, only 3% of the world's land is ecologically stable, with balanced populations of all of its original species and undisturbed habitat.

Intact Ecosystems

The Amazon and Congo tropical forests, east Siberian and northern Canadian forests and tundra, and the Sahara are among the wilderness areas unaffected by human activities. Invasive foreign animals such as cats, foxes, rabbits, goats, and camels have had a significant effect on native species in Australia, with no intact areas remaining, according to the report.

The researchers propose reintroducing a limited number of valuable animals, such as elephants or wolves, to some endangered regions. This development could return up to 20% of the world's land to ecological integrity.

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Satellite Imaging

Previous studies used satellite imaging to identify wilderness areas, estimating that 20-40 percent of the Earth's surface is unaffected by humans. However, the researchers behind the new study argue that while trees, savannah, and tundra may appear to be in good condition from above, essential species lack land. Elephants, for example, disperse seeds and establish significant clearings in forests, while wolves may manage deer and elk populations.

The latest analysis blends maps of habitat destruction caused by humans, with maps showing that species have vanished from their native ranges or are insufficiently numerous to support a stable environment. According to some experts, the current study understates the entire area because wildlife populations from millennia earlier are little understood. The new maps do not allow for the climate crisis's effects, which is altering species ranges.

Biodiversity Crisis

The planet is commonly acknowledged as a biodiversity crisis, with many animal species - from lions to butterflies - plummeting, owing primarily to habitat loss for farming and construction. Some scientists believe that a sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is underway, with dire implications for humanity's food, clean water, and air.

"Much of what we consider intact habitat is lacking animals that have been hunted [and poached] by humans or destroyed due to invasive species or disease," said Dr. Andrew Plumptre of the Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat in Cambridge, UK, the study's lead author. "It's a little frightening because it demonstrates how rare it is to see areas like the Serengeti that have fully functional habitats.

"Right now, we're in the UN decade of biodiversity restoration," he said, "but it's focused on degraded habitat." "Let should also consider species restoration so that we can continue to shore up these areas where we have ecologically intact ecosystems."

Findings of the Study

The study published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change used maps from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List to show the ranges of 7,000 species in 1,500 years ago and today. The majority of the information was about mammals, but some birds, fish, plants, reptiles, and amphibians were included. Many of the untouched regions were discovered in aboriginal peoples' lands. Antarctica was not included in the report.

"It could be possible to restore up to 20% of the intact biological region by reintroducing organisms that have been destroyed in areas where human activity is still minimal, providing the risks to their survival can be addressed," Plumptre added. He referenced the effective reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the United States as an example of how ecosystems can be changed.

Eye Opening Truth

Prof. Pierre Ibisch of Germany's Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, who was not involved in the report, said discovering only 3% of the land intact was "predictably catastrophic." "We need to give nature substantially more room to take humanity into the future," he said, "but I fear that reintroducing a few species in specific areas would not be a gamechanger."

The climate problem, according to Ibisch, was not taken into account in the study. "Aggravating climate change is now the overarching challenge to whole habitats' functionality. The intactness of yesterday's mammals doesn't tell us anything about the working habitats in the [global warming] age."

More than 50 countries pledged in January to conserve about a third of the Earth by 2030 to halt the natural environment's degradation. "It's important to put work into conserving these [intact] places," Plumptre said. "They are very unusual and unique, and they demonstrate what the planet was like before we had any significant effects, allowing us to assess how many we have lost." 

Also Read: Conservation or Preservation: What's the Difference? 

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