Hanging on by a thread
Latest IUCN Red List update calls for world leaders to secure the web of life
The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, released today on the eve of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shows that, of the 63,837 species assessed to date, a worrying 19,817 are threatened with extinction. Along with its partner organisations, IUCN is calling upon world leaders to commit to halting biodiversity loss as a matter of urgency. Food, medicine and clean water are all essential for the wellbeing of humankind, yet animals and plants, key providers of these vital elements, are currently in rapid decline.
Check out our short video of amazing film footage highlighting some of the species in the latest IUCN Red List update.
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Freshwater fish are an important source of food for millions of people. A quarter of the world’s inland fisheries are found in Africa, yet 27% of the continent’s freshwater fish are threatened with extinction. One example from IUCN’s report is the Endangered cichlid Oreochromis karongae, a species from the Lake Malawi region which has been severely overfished. Habitat destruction, caused by pollution or the construction of dams, poses an additional threat to freshwater species. | 
| ___________________________________________________________________________ Marine ecosystems
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| The latest IUCN Red List update highlights the urgent need for sustainable management of coral reefs; despite their importance to more than 275 million people as a source of food, coastal protection and livelihoods, a worrying 55% of the world’s reefs are affected by overfishing. The most recent data shows that 18% of groupers, a family of large, economically important reef fish, are currently threatened. | ___________________________________________________________________________ | Production of at least one third of the world’s food depends on pollination carried out by insects, bats and birds. However, figures from IUCN’s latest update show that these important pollinators are facing an uncertain future, with 18% of all bat species being threatened globally. Following reassessments of their conservation status, four hummingbird species have been moved to a higher category of threat, indicating that they are now at an elevated risk of extinction. | 
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| Invasive alien species are one of the leading and most rapidly growing threats to food security, human and animal health, and biodiversity. A recent analysis of IUCN Red List data highlighted invasive alien species as the fifth most severe threat to amphibians, and the third most severe threat to birds and mammals. Together with climate change, invasive alien species have become one of the most difficult threats to reverse. | ___________________________________________________________________________
Medicinal species
In some countries, plants and animals form the basis of most of the medicinal drugs people use. More than 70,000 plant species are used in traditional and modern medicine, and today’s update includes the addition of several threatened medicinal plants from Southeast Asia.
Amphibians are also key players in the search for new medicines, as important chemical compounds can be found on the skin of many frogs. Yet these potentially life-saving species are not faring well, with 41% of all amphibians currently facing extinction.
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| _________________________________________________________________________ Ecosystem services
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| A wide variety of species are responsible for providing us with clean air, water and soil, but unfortunately many of them are facing extinction. Bivalve molluscs provide humankind with water filtration services; however, 41% of Africa’s freshwater molluscs, as well as 68% of those endemic to Europe, are globally threatened as a result of habitat loss, pollution and the development of dams. | ___________________________________________________________________________ Snakes
| Today’s IUCN Red List update reveals that in China and Southeast Asia, 10% of snakes endemic to the region are threatened with extinction. Snakes are used in traditional medicines, as food, and as a source of income from the sale of skins. Unsustainable use of these endemic species has been identified as a principal threat, affecting nearly 43% of all Vulnerable and Endangered snake species in South including the world's largest venomous snake, the king cobra. | 
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Filed Under : by Madereira
terça-feira, 19 de junho de 2012
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