Extinction Risk Grows Around Globe
By MARA D BELLABY
Associated Press
09/28/00
LONDON -- A wild cat that
roams the Iberian Peninsula, a dolphin off the New Zealand coast, a
caviar-producing sturgeon and a red-flowered shrub clinging to the mountains of
Mauritius -- all are teetering on the edge of extinction.
Some 11,046 plants and animals risk
disappearing forever, according to the most comprehensive analysis of global
conservation ever undertaken, the World Conservation Union's 2000 Red
List of Threatened Species. The report, released Thursday, examined some
18,000 species and subspecies around the globe.
But scientists acknowledge that even a study of
this magnitude only scratches the surface. Earth is home to an estimated 14
million species -- and only 1.75 million have been documented.
Many may become extinct before they are even
identified, much less assessed by scientists.
"Global society would be horrified if
someone set fire to the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan Museum in New York,
or if someone blew up the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal,'' said Russell Mittermeier,
president of the Washington, D.C.-based Conservation International.
"Yet every time a forest is burned to the
ground in Madagascar or the Philippines, the loss to global society is at least
as great, yet no one pays very much attention -- and sadly it happens every
day.''
Conservationists estimate
that the current extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than it should
be under natural conditions. That means that in the first decades of the 21st
century, many creatures -- from a majestic Albatross to Asian freshwater turtles
-- may join the ranks of the flightless Dodo bird.
The primary reason: humans. Everything from
expanding cities to deforestation, agriculture and fishing pose a significant
threat to the planet's biodiversity. In the last 500 years, some 816 species
have disappeared -- some permanently, while others exist only in artificial
settings, such as zoos.
With 11,046 more at significant risk of being
confined to the history books, and 4,595 on the brink of being declared
threatened, conservationists are gloomy.
"The extinction crisis that we've all been
talking about for a long time looks as if it is fast becoming a reality,'' said
Craig Hilton-Taylor, of the World Conservation Union's British branch. "And
it is a far more serious problem than ever anticipated.''
Since the last assessment, carried out in 1996,
the number of mammals identified as critically endangered -- those closest to
extinction -- increased from 169 to 180. The number of birds rose from 168 to
182.
According to the 2000 Red
List, one in every four mammals and one in every eight birds is at risk.
Statistics for plants are more difficult to
assess because so many are yet to be analyzed. But conifers, the most studied
group, suggest a depressing trend -- some 16 percent are at risk, according to
the report.
"This time we were scared by our own
results,'' Maritta Koch-Weser, director-general of the World Conservation Union,
said in an interview from her office outside Geneva. "Our world is a result
of evolution over 3.5 billion years and we are able in just four years to do
away with so much. The magnitude of what we've done is philosophically hard to
understand.''
The Red List is produced by the World
Conservation Union's Species Survival Commission, a network of some 7,000
species experts working in almost every country in the world.
The conservationists assign each species to one
of eight categories, depending on such factors as the rate of decline,
population numbers and the size of the geographic area where it is found.
Species facing a significant threat of
extinction are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.
Examples range from the Iberian lynx, of which only 600 remain, to the Brazilian
Guitar Fish, whose numbers declined by 96 percent due to overfishing.
Indonesia, India, Brazil and China are among
the countries with the most threatened mammals and birds, according to the 2000
report. The United States fell out of the top 20 list, replaced this time by
Cameroon and Russia.
However, the United States did rank top of the
chart for the most threatened species of fish and invertebrates. But experts
said that is slightly misleading because the status of these creatures has been
more closely analyzed in the United States than elsewhere.
Malaysia, which has lost a significant
proportion of its tropical timber trees tops the list for endangered plant
species.
Conservationists
said the latest report can be used to educate governments and people worldwide.
Ultimately, they are seeking more legal protection for at-risk animals and
habitats, the creation of conservation "hot spots'' to protect areas facing
grave danger and a massive increase in spending above the estimated $6 billion
currently spent worldwide.
"As a society we don't care what are we
going to leave behind for people that come after us,'' said Koch-Weser. "In
many cases, we don't even know what we are losing.''