Consumption threat to vulnerable species: study
SYDNEY — The developed world's insatiable appetite for products like coffee and timber is threatening the survival of one in three vulnerable animal species in poor countries, according to an Australian study. Academics at the University of Sydney spent five years tracking the world economy, evaluating over five billion supply chains connecting consumers to over 15,000 commodities produced in 187 countries. They particularly focused on the global trade of goods implicated in biodiversity loss such as coffee, cocoa, and lumber, with the data cross-referenced with a global register of 25,000 vulnerable species. The study, which was published in the scientific journal Nature, concluded that international trade chains can accelerate degradation in locations far removed from where the product is bought. "Until now these relationships have only been poorly understood," said lead author Manfred Lenzen, from the university's Integrated Sustainability Analysis group. "Our