A third of world's nature reserves severely degraded by human activity

A third of global protected areas such as national parks have been severely degraded by human activities in what researchers say is a stunning reality check of efforts by nations to stall biodiversity loss.

The report’s authors said one of the most glaring examples of
human encroachment on protected areas was Barrow Island
off Western Australia, pictured, where a gas plant was built
 is in the middle of a nature reserve home to 13 mammal species. 

A University of Queensland-led study, published on Friday in the prestigious academic journal Science, analysed human activity across 50,000 protected areas worldwide.

Researchers found more than 90% of conservation sites, such as national parks and nature reserves, showed some signs of degradation from human activities including logging, mining, tourism and urbanisation and a third – or 6m square kilometres of protected land – had been severely modified.

The worst damage was found in highly populated parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, but researchers said there was significant degradation in all nations, including wealthy and less-populated countries such as Australia.

Read the story by Lisa Cox from The Guardian - “A third of world's nature reserves severely degraded by human activity.”