Thousands of wild animal and plant species worldwide face extinction because of human exploitation, including many species humans rely on for nutrition, clothing, shelter and more.
A team of global researchers, including a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa expert, has developed guidelines for the sustainable use of wild species, to ensure their survival for future generations.
The Assessment Report on Sustainable Use of Wild Species was approved by 139 governments that are members of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in early July 2022. School of Life Sciences Professor Tamara Ticktin co-led one of the report's five chapters. A total of 84 other global experts worked on the report for approximately four years. It is expected to be the main resource to inform policy decisions and promote the sustainable use of wild species from the global scale down to the local scale.
"Our assessment emphasizes that there is no one size fits all solution to fostering sustainable use," Ticktin said. "Instead, solutions need to be locally based and species specific."
Ticktin added, "Wild species are important in the everyday lives of billions of people—from those of us in low to high income countries, and living in rural to urban communities. This assessment highlights the importance of wild species to humanity, the conditions under which the use of those species is sustainable, and how use can be made more sustainable."
