"There is growing awareness of the damage we are doing to the planet and the natural resources on which we depend, says David Hillyard. Yet, he argues in this week's Green Room, we still carry on along the same track regardless, refusing to make much-needed changes to our behaviour.
More than half of the world's fisheries are fully exploited, putting 27 million jobs and $100bn of income at risk, UN data shows.
One sixth of the world's population relies on fish as their main or sole source of animal protein.
Yet despite considerable effort by many groups, unsustainable fishing continues apace on a global scale.
The Amazon rainforest pumps 20 billion tonnes of water into the atmosphere each day, which drives global weather patterns and rainfall essential for people's survival.
Yet we continue to lose tropical forest cover and with that the services it provides, not least in the mitigation of droughts around the world.
However far removed from nature the human race may seem, we are inextricably linked to it.
The Earth's natural systems provide many essential goods and services that ensure our survival and enhance our lifestyles and well-being - such as food, medicines, building materials, climate regulation, flood defence and leisure opportunities. "....
VIEWPOINT
David Hillyard
