3 November 2009 - A
third of the world's amphibians, a fifth
of all mammals and 70 per cent of all plants
are under threat, according to the latest
Red List published
just two months before the world marks the
International Year of Biodiversity 2010.
The report, released
by the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN), is an urgent reminder
that the world is still far from stemming
the worldwide tide of extinction.
IUCN's Red List, published
since 1963, provides an annual snapshot
of the conservation status of species and
subspecies on a global scale - highlighting
those threatened with extinction and promoting
their conservation.
The organization says
that out of the 47,677 species it assessed
for this year's Red List, 17,291 are threatened
with extinction.
Among the report's other
key findings:
More than 1,000 freshwater
fish species are threatened with extinction,
reflecting the strain on global water resources.
12 per cent of all known
birds, 28 per cent of reptiles and 35 per
cent of invertebrates are under threat.
Amphibians are the most
threatened group of species known to date
- 1,895 of the planet's 6,285 amphibians
are in danger of extinction.
The critically endangered
species include the Panay Monitor Lizard
(pictured) from the Philippines, which is
threatened by logging and habitat loss and
is hunted by humans for food.
Some 114 plants are
in the 'Extinct' or 'Extinct in the Wild'
categories; endangered plants include the
Queen of the Andes, which only produces
seeds once in 80 years before dying.
Meanwhile the Kihansi
Spray Toad from Tanzania is thought to be
extinct in the wild, due to the construction
of a dam which destroyed their habitat in
the Kihansi Falls, removing 90 per cent
of the water flow to the gorge.
"The scientific
evidence of a serious extinction crisis
is mounting," said Jane Smart, Director
of IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group.
"The latest analysis of the IUCN Red
List shows the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity
will not be met. It's time for Governments
to start getting serious about saving species
and make sure it's high on their agendas
for next year, as we're rapidly running
out of time."
Indeed, 2010 is the
year by which the parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity committed to achieving
a "significant reduction of the current
rate of biodiversity loss at the global,
regional and national level as a contribution
to poverty alleviation and to the benefit
of all life on Earth".
The 2010 target has
also been endorsed by the UN General Assembly
and incorporated as a new target under the
Millennium Development Goals.
The International Year
of Biodiversity's key objectives will be
to enhance public awareness of the threats
to biodiversity; encourage individuals,
organizations and governments to take the
immediate steps needed to halt the loss
of biodiversity; promote innovative solutions
to reduce the threats to biodiversity; and
start dialogue between stakeholders for
the steps to be taken in the post-2010 period.
There is growing global
consensus that strengthening the interrelations
between science and policy at all levels
is necessary to face the magnitude and complexity
of the biodiversity challenge.
In early October, UNEP
hosted intergovernmental negotiations on
the establishment of a new international
body to manage biodiversity and ecosystems,
along the lines of the intergovernmental
panel that catalyzed political action on
the issue of climate change.
The suggested body,
known as the Intergovernmental Panel or
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES), is envisaged as a mechanism to
provide governments and the broader development
community with periodic, timely and policy-relevant
scientific information in support of policy
development and decision-making.
A final meeting, to
be held in 2010, will determine the establishment
of the mechanism. Visit: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=599&ArticleID=6340&l=en&t=long
