About 1,200 Species on Verge of Extinction in UK Over Climate Change, Farming

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Extensive farming, climate change and urbanization pushed approximately 1,200 wildlife species dangerously close to extinction, a report of a UK nature conservation charity said Wednesday.

"Using modern Red List criteria, which identify species of the highest conservation concern, we assessed 8,000 species. Of these, 15 percent [1,200] are extinct or threatened with extinction from Great Britain," the report of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said.

Out of 1,200 species, 156 are critically endangered species, which means they are likely to completely disappear in the near future, the charity added.

The report also highlighted that the United Kingdom was ranked 189 out of 218 countries on the Biodiversity Intactness Index scale, which assesses how damaged the nature is.

Climate change has been identified as a great threat to biodiversity since the cold-loving species suffer as their natural habitat is shrinking. It has, however, created favorable conditions for those who prefer warmer climate. Agriculture has also greatly contributed to the biodiversity problem since 75 percent of the UK land is managed for food production, thus ignoring the needs of the wildlife.

The report suggests nature-friendly farming as one of the methods to overturn the situation, citing the example of Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire that for more than 15 years has been able to show a biodiversity dynamic opposite to that of the rest of the United Kingdom.