5 nations hold 70pc of last wildernesses

More than 70 percent of Earth's last untouched wilderness lies in the territories of just five countries, scientists said Wednesday -- mostly nations that alarm environmentalists with their lukewarm response to climate change.

True wild spaces -- land and sea areas mostly unaffected by mankind's explosive expansion and insatiable appetite for food and natural resources -- now cover just a quarter of the planet.

They form vital refuges for thousands of endangered species threatened by deforestation and overfishing, and provide some of our best defences against the devastating weather events brought about by climate change.

New research published in the journal Nature found that nearly three quarters of the wilderness that's left belongs to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia, and the US.

"For the first time we've mapped both land and marine wilderness and showed that there's actually not much left," James Watson, professor of conservation science at the University of Queensland and lead paper author, told AFP.