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A fifth of plants face extinction
Source: Agencies |
September 30, 2010, Thursday
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ONE in five of the world's 380,000 plant species is threatened with extinction and human activity is doing most of the damage, according to a global study published yesterday.
Scientists from Britain's Botanic Gardens at Kew, London's Natural History Museum and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), found that more than 22 percent of species were endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable.
"The single greatest threat is conversion of natural habitats to agricultural use, directly impacting 33 percent of threatened species," the report said.
The findings were released ahead of a United Nations summit scheduled for mid-October in Nagoya, Japan where governments are due to set new targets for trying to conserve more of the world's plants and animals.
"We cannot sit back and watch plant species disappear - plants are the basis of all life on earth, providing clean air, water, food and fuel. All animal and bird life depends on them and so do we," said Stephen Hopper, Kew's director.
The scientists used data analyzed in a five-year study to draw up what they called a "Sampled Red List Index for Plants," which will be added to a series of IUCN "Red Lists" that are designed to help monitor the changing status of the world's major groups of plants, fungi and animals.
As this was the first time a global analysis of the threat to the world's plants had been undertaken, the scientists said it would serve as a baseline to measure conservation efforts.
The study found that agriculture, development, logging, and using land for livestock were among the main threats to plant species.
Scientists from Britain's Botanic Gardens at Kew, London's Natural History Museum and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), found that more than 22 percent of species were endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable.
"The single greatest threat is conversion of natural habitats to agricultural use, directly impacting 33 percent of threatened species," the report said.
The findings were released ahead of a United Nations summit scheduled for mid-October in Nagoya, Japan where governments are due to set new targets for trying to conserve more of the world's plants and animals.
"We cannot sit back and watch plant species disappear - plants are the basis of all life on earth, providing clean air, water, food and fuel. All animal and bird life depends on them and so do we," said Stephen Hopper, Kew's director.
The scientists used data analyzed in a five-year study to draw up what they called a "Sampled Red List Index for Plants," which will be added to a series of IUCN "Red Lists" that are designed to help monitor the changing status of the world's major groups of plants, fungi and animals.
As this was the first time a global analysis of the threat to the world's plants had been undertaken, the scientists said it would serve as a baseline to measure conservation efforts.
The study found that agriculture, development, logging, and using land for livestock were among the main threats to plant species.
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