Urgent action needed on extinctions
Efforts to conserve the planet’s biodiversity need to be boosted if
we’re to halt the pace at which we are losing species, according to the
World Conservation Union (IUCN).
The IUCN maintains the most comprehensive inventory of the world’s threatened plants and animals, known as the Red List, and its latest update shows that a total of 41,415 species are endangered, with 16,306 facing extinction – an increase of 188 since last year.
One in four mammals, one in eight birds, a third of amphibians and 70 per cent of the world’s assessed plants on the list are under threat, with apes, corals, vultures and dolphins among the worst-affected animal groups. Of the 12,043 plants on the list, one species, the woolly-stalked begonia of Penang Island, Malaysia, was declared extinct after its remaining habitat was cleared to make way for farmland.
The western gorilla and its main subspecies, the western lowland gorilla, have been badly affected by trade in bush meat and the Ebola virus, causing its population to decline by 60 per cent during the past 25 years, resulting in the species being upgraded from endangered to critically endangered. Habitat loss, logging and palm oil plantations continue to threaten critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and endangered Bornean orangutans and, for the first time, numerous coral species have been added to the Red List this year, largely as a result of the recent El Niño and climate change. One species – Wellington’s solitary coral – may even be extinct.
However, efforts to conserve the Mauritius parakeet have had a positive impact: wild populations have increased following prolonged captive breeding programmes, nest site enhancement and the provision of suitable nesting sites, resulting in the species being downgraded from critically endangered to endangered.
‘This year’s IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough,’ said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN director. ‘The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society.’
December 2007
The IUCN maintains the most comprehensive inventory of the world’s threatened plants and animals, known as the Red List, and its latest update shows that a total of 41,415 species are endangered, with 16,306 facing extinction – an increase of 188 since last year.
One in four mammals, one in eight birds, a third of amphibians and 70 per cent of the world’s assessed plants on the list are under threat, with apes, corals, vultures and dolphins among the worst-affected animal groups. Of the 12,043 plants on the list, one species, the woolly-stalked begonia of Penang Island, Malaysia, was declared extinct after its remaining habitat was cleared to make way for farmland.
The western gorilla and its main subspecies, the western lowland gorilla, have been badly affected by trade in bush meat and the Ebola virus, causing its population to decline by 60 per cent during the past 25 years, resulting in the species being upgraded from endangered to critically endangered. Habitat loss, logging and palm oil plantations continue to threaten critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and endangered Bornean orangutans and, for the first time, numerous coral species have been added to the Red List this year, largely as a result of the recent El Niño and climate change. One species – Wellington’s solitary coral – may even be extinct.
However, efforts to conserve the Mauritius parakeet have had a positive impact: wild populations have increased following prolonged captive breeding programmes, nest site enhancement and the provision of suitable nesting sites, resulting in the species being downgraded from critically endangered to endangered.
‘This year’s IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough,’ said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN director. ‘The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society.’
December 2007
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