"The 2006 IUCN Red List shows a clear trend: biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down," said Achim Steiner, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). "The implications of this trend for the productivity and resilience of ecosystems and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them are far-reaching. Reversing this trend is possible, as numerous conservation success stories have proven. To succeed on a global scale, we need new alliances across all sectors of society. Biodiversity cannot be saved by environmentalists alone - it must become the responsibility of everyone with the power and resources to act."
A note on the revised Red List.
Of 40,177 species assessed, 16,119 at risk. 530 more listed in the threatened categories than just two years ago. There are a lot of numbers to digest in the
2006 Red List from the
World Conservation Union. Of the species assesed, one in eight of the worlds birds is threatened. One in four of the conifers and mammals. One in three amphibians. And of course there are the biases. Most mammals are accounted for, but as for tropical insects and marine life, who knows? And effort was not concentrated in areas that seemed to have few problems.
The numbers make for nice quotes in the papers, but the database is meant to be a tool. As for meaning, cut to the chase. Hippos and bears, yes we know. That is not the point, as Susan Lieberman, WWF Global Species Program Director, tries to tell us as she welcomes the new database:
"This is not just about more and more individual species being threatened by extinction."
"One by one, the building blocks of entire ecosystems are disappearing. It's like taking one brick after another from a wall, and eventually it will crumble. It is not an exaggeration to call today's analysis the reflection of a global conservation crisis."
By the way, no trees were harmed in the publication of the Red List. It is published only on the web.
Brazil's Pied Tamarin (Saguinus bicolor), Critically Endangered. Here is its page in the Red List. It had the misfortune to inhabit what would become Manaus. Photo © Dominic Wormell.
The magnificent Scimitar-horned Oryx is now extinct in the wild, although you can still bag one in Texas. Photo © Antonio di Croce.
South Africa's Riverine Rabbit is down to 250 breeding pairs. Photo © Andrew G. Duthie.
Pittosporum tanianum, New Caledonia. Three plants left. Photo © Bernard Suprin.
All sorts of facts and factoids can be gleaned from the report. (As counted, what countries have the most threatened species? Why, Australia, Mexico, China, and Brazil of course, although I've already forgotten the order.) The various causes of population losses are categorized for each species - habitat loss, overfishing, etc - but they are almost universally anthropogenic. What matters is recognizing the size of the problem, and the hope in Steiner's message above. Again: "Reversing this trend is possible, as numerous conservation success stories have proven. To succeed on a global scale, we need new alliances across all sectors of society. Biodiversity cannot be saved by environmentalists alone - it must become the responsibility of everyone with the power and resources to act."
Take the White-tailed Eagle. It has rebounded considerably across Europe, and is now listed under species of "Least Concern." Photo © Chris Gomersall(rspb-images.com)
Villagers along the Mekong are involved in a new scheme to save the Mekong Giant Catfish (currently critically endangered).
(Photo © Zeb S.) Thai fishermen end giant catfish hunt
Fishermen put 68 nets up for sale to symbolize the end of pla buek hunting, which the Bangkok Post said has been a staple career for Mekong villagers for decades.
The World Conservation Union has agreed to buy half the fishing nets, with the revenue going to help the retired fishermen pursue new careers.
How big is this giant? BIG big. This big.
There are many potentially happy endings. The Indian vulture is expected to come back from its 90% population loss now the diclofenac has been banned and captive breeding begun. There was even a pleasant surprise on the pygmy hippo front recently:
Pygmy hippos survive in war zone
The first ever photograph of a wild pygmy hippo has been taken by a camera trap during a ground-breaking wildlife survey of war-torn Sierra Leone.
Populations of these elusive hippos have been fragmented and in severe decline for many years, so much so that biologists feared it would soon follow its Madagascan cousin, Hippopotamus madagascariensis, into extinction.
But the new sighting and the results of an extensive "search for survivors" suggest that the hippos have managed to endure the severe pressures of loss of habitat and subsistence hunting by rebel soldiers during 12 years of brutal civil war, says Sanjayan Muttulingam, lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy in Washington DC, which carried out the study.
And of course my favorite:
Wyoming Plans Another Ferret Release
Achim Steiner again:
"These examples show that conservation measures are making a difference," concluded Achim Steiner. "What we need is more of them. Conservation successes document that we should not be passive by-standers in the unfolding tragedy of biodiversity loss and species extinction. IUCN together with the many actors in the global conservation community will continue to advocate greater investments in biodiversity and to mobilize new coalitions across all sectors of society."
When overhunting is the primary problem - and it is in East Africa; we'll leave for another day the 'sport' some of our Saudi friends practice there - it can be stopped, and numbers may rebound quickly. The case of the vultures is another that can be corrected. But there may be nothing in the wizard's bag for the polar bear.
PostscriptThere's no escaping Neil Young. His songs seem to frame my adult life. We've come all this way, from Ohio to Living with War. He still owes me one more bookend, though, to match After the Goldrush:
Look at Mother Nature on the run, in the nineteen seventies . . .