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2010-10-27 08:30:51
26 October 2010 Last updated at 22:28 GMT
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News
Asian crested ibis (Mike Endres / Little Wing) Some 13% of birds qualify for
inclusion on the Red List
One fifth of animal and plant species are under the threat of extinction, a
global conservation study has warned.
Scientists who compiled the Red List of Threatened Species say the proportion
of species facing wipeout is rising.
But they say intensive conservation work has already pulled some species back
from the brink of oblivion.
The report is being launched at the UN Biodiversity Summit in Japan, where
governments are discussing how to better protect the natural world.
Launched at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting, the report
says that amphibians remain the most threatened category of animals, with 41%
of species at risk, while only 13% of birds qualify for Red-Listing.
The highest losses were seen in Southeast Asia, where loss of habitat as
forests are cleared for agriculture, including biofuel crops, is fastest.
"The 'backbone' of biodiversity is being eroded," said the eminent ecologist,
Professor Edward O Wilson of Harvard University.
"One small step up the Red List is one giant leap forward towards extinction.
This is just a small window on the global losses currently taking place."
However, the scientists behind the assessment - who publish their findings
formally in the journal Science - say there is new evidence this time that
conservation projects are having a noticeable global impact.
"Really focused conservation efforts work when we do them - many island birds
are recovering, lots of examples like this," said Simon Stuart, chair of the
Species Survival Commission with the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN).
Midwife toad Fundamental changes are needed to prevent widespread decline, the
study says
"We can show for sure that when we focus conservation efforts and really
address the threats and put enough money into it, then you see positive
results."
Species that have benefited from such action include three bred in captivity
and returned to the wild - the California condor and black-footed ferret of the
US, and Przewalski's horse in Mongolia.
The ban on commercial whaling has led to such a swiftly increasing population
of humpback whales that they have come off the Red List entirely.
Meanwhile, a parallel study, also published in Science, asks where trends of
increased risk, but also increased conservation effort, will lead the natural
world in future.
Researchers analysed a range of scientific studies and global assessments.
Although projections varied, all found that fundamental changes are needed in
order to avoid declining populations across many types of plant and animal
species.
United front
"There is no question that business-as-usual development pathways will lead to
catastrophic biodiversity loss," said research leader Paul Leadley from the
Universite Paris-Sud.
"Even optimistic scenarios for this century consistently predict extinctions
and shrinking populations of many species."
This picture is, in large part, what the CBD meeting is supposed to prevent.
One of the many debates currently ongoing at the meeting here is what the
global target for 2020 should be - to completely halt the loss of biodiversity,
or something less ambitious.
Dr Leadley's analysis backs up the view of many that a complete halt is not
feasible.
But governments do at least appear united in their desire to do something,
according to Dr Stuart, one of a large IUCN team monitoring developments here.
"They've said that they want to see improvements in status, especially in those
species that are most at risk," he told BBC News.
"That to us is a very good target - we think it's achievable with a lot of
effort.
"There doesn't seem to be much disagreement between countries on that issue -
on other issues, yes, but on the species issue they're pretty solid."
However, on financing for species protection there is a lot of disagreement.
Some developing countries want a 100-fold increase in current rates of spending
by the West. Other nations are arguing for a 10-fold rise.
But given the economic problems facing the world, that climate change is also
supposed to see a huge and rapid increase in spending, and that no-one knows
what the current spend on biodiversity actually is, all bets are currently off
on what wording delegates will eventually arrive at.