20% of species are at risk

fault of habitat loss

A FIFTH of the animal and plant species of our planet is directly threatened by extinction. This is the result of the latest report on the state of the earth’s environment shown during the UN summit on biodiversity that is taking place in Japan. The figure is even more worrying because the situation is worsening compared to previous years.

The report shows that the animals at greatest risk are amphibians, of which 41% of the species are threatened, while the birds are among the least endangered with only 13% of the species. The areas where animal survival is most at risk are found in Southeast Asia: here the loss of habitats, above all due to the cutting of forests to make room for agriculture, especially for biofuels, reaches the highest levels.

Even the plant world is suffering: Stephen Hopper, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, drew attention to a recent study on plants, coordinated by Kew and IUCN (Union for the Conservation of Nature), according to which over a fifth of all plant species are threatened. Most endangered plants are found in tropical regions. Also, in this case the worst danger is the loss of habitat caused by man. “About 29% of the conifers, which are present all over the world, in almost all types of forests, are facing extinction. And other endangered species are considered fundamental for an environment, to the point that without them the whole ecosystem could collapse on itself, causing the extinction of other species “.

“It is eroding what is the backbone of biodiversity,” said Edward Wilson of Harvard University, one of the world’s leading ecologists, who continued: “A small step up on the Red List (the Red List is the list of species in danger of extinction), is a great step towards total extinction. And what we know is, in reality, only a small window on the global losses of the planet “.

However, there is some hope that not everything is falling towards the abyss. The researchers, who published the results in the journal Science, they state in fact that there is evidence that the projects that have been carried out for the conservation of the environment have for the most part had a positive impact worldwide. “When efforts are truly focused to solve a problem, the results are not slow in coming. On many islands, for example, birds are recovering, precisely because they have been preserved,” said Simon Stuart, President of the Species Survival Commission for the Iucn. Other species have been protected in captivity before giving them back their freedom. Examples are the California condor, the black-footed ferret of the United States and the Przewalski horse in Mongolia. The ban on hunting has also had very beneficial effects.

For the president of Nature Serve, Mary Klein, these data prove that when jobs are carried out with precise purposes and with sufficient funding, the conservation of threatened species and their habitats can be effective. We know that biodiversity can still be safeguarded, it is enough to redouble the efforts. ”
WWF and Lipu asked that Italy become the promoter of an international agreement for the conservation of nature and biodiversity at the world level. to achieve by 2010 should be achieved by 2020: to ensure that each country preserves 20% of its territory with protected areas.

(27 October 2010)