Species Diversity in Danger: Is Mass Die Off In Our Future?

Global conservation experts are recognizing the threat of a mass die off and are speaking out about the fate of our planet’s plant and animal species diversity. The threat of a global mass die off of species diversity can be linked to pollution, loss of habitat, hunting practices, global warming and other threats caused by human activity.

More than 8,000 have gathered in Barcelona, Spain for a conference on the possible ways to stop the increased rates of plant and animal die off. Sustainable development is one of the main goals of the expert talks on this critical issue.

The World Conservation Congress has updated the “Red List” to include the newest and most prominent threats to animal and plant species diversity. This list is touted as the means of measuring where our sustainable development methods have worked and where they have failed. The new list noted more than 1,000 of the total 5,487 mammal species as being in threat of extinction. Extinction is the end of species diversity.

The “Red List” does not just include animal or mammal species dviersity. The list encompasses more than 44,000 total species of which 16,000 are threatened with extinction. The list includes 3,246 species diversity lists as Critically Endangered, the highest warning level on the list.

The red list is a monitored list of animal and plant extinction. At the heart of the list is the IUCN, or the International Union for Conservation of Nature. With more than 11,000 volunteers and 1,000 employees on staff, the group follows every threatened plant and animal species diversity in hopes of finding new ways to stop their extinction and restore their numbers to a sustainable level.

With loss of habitat and degradation affecting 40% of the total mammal population, man is to blame for much of the mass die out occurring across the continents.

The IUCN hopes with improvements in green living, green engineering and then protection of habitats, a new world on our planet will be born with less endangered species.

http://iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/red_list/index.cfm?uNewsID=1695

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/38334