The last of the world's wilderness may soon be gone if clearer international conservation targets are not put in place.
New research from the University of Queensland has found more than 77 percent of land, excluding Antarctica, and 87 percent of the oceans has been affected by human activities.
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That is up from only 15 percent of land being used to grow crops and raise livestock a century ago.
The research, supported by a 2016 project which marked remaining wilderness, mapped intact ocean ecosystems to create a global picture of how much wilderness remains.
Between 1993 and 2009, 3.3 million square kilometres of wilderness - larger than the size of India - was lost to human settlement, farming, and mining.
Prof James Watson, from the university's school of earth and environmental sciences, said the results were alarming.
"The only regions that are free of industrial fishing, pollution, and shipping are almost completely confined to the polar regions."
Postdoctoral research fellow James Allan said the remaining wilderness could be soon gone if more importance wasn't placed on international policy.
"Some wilderness areas are protected under national legislation, but in most nations, these areas are not formally defined, mapped or protected," he said. "There is nothing to hold nations, industry, society or communities to account for long-term conservation."
Dr Allan wants the immediate establishment of wilderness targets aimed at conserving biodiversity, avoiding climate change and achieving sustainable development. That may also include nations creating protected areas to slow the impacts of industrial activity.
"We have lost so much already, so we must grasp this opportunity to secure the last remaining wilderness before it disappears forever".
Their research was published in journal Nature.
Newshub.
