A report on the extinction of birds in rural France was published on March 20. Researchers from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle conducted parallel trials and have reached the same conclusion: “in last 17 years, populations of birds in farming areas have declined by one third.”
A report on the extinction in rural areas was published in France on the first day of astronomic spring, March, 20th. Two studies revealed that over the last 17 years, the populations of birds in farming areas have declined by one third.”
Jérémy Dupuy from the Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LOP) discussed the issue and the way to stop the extinction with Sputnik.
“We can say, this means an environmental disaster. It wasn’t yesterday when biodiversity started to decline. There are lots of species, both in France and on Earth, threatened with extinction,” he stated.
According to him, “in farming areas, birds are on top of the food chain. So if there’s any problem with these species’ conservation it’s all about the ill condition of the system in general.”
“The issue is that agricultural methods have changed in recent years: there’s the mass use of pesticides and neonicotinoids, agriculture is becoming more and more mechanized, agricultural machinery is being used more extensively, harvesting starts earlier. Everything leads to the mass extinction of these species, as they don’t have to adapt because they keep up with the progress.”
In the next few years, France will need to change our agricultural methods so as to protect the environment and protect the species of rural regions more, he said.
“If insects become extinct, if areas lacking biodiversity are being created, it’s over.”
“Do we want to have germ-free nature, and to produce only agricultural products, or do we want agriculture that can evolve while conserving biodiversity?” he expert concluded.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
