Biodiversity: threats on more than a third of species
published: 06/11/09, 11:48
International Year of Biodiversity, 2010 looks bad. According to the Red List published Tuesday November 3 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 17 animal and plant species, out of the 291 species listed by the organization, are threatened with extinction. 47% of known mammals on Earth, all covered by the study, are at risk of extinction, as are 677% of known amphibians and 21% of known birds. Among the categories whose IUCN census does not fully cover the world population, 30% of reptiles, 12% of freshwater fish, 28% of plants and 37% of listed invertebrates are threatened.
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There are many reasons for this risk of extinction. The main one is the destruction of the habitat (forests, coral reefs ...) of these species, for example by the practice of slash-and-burn cultivation, explains Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy director of the IUCN species program. Human action can also take the form of dewatering plans for areas or cultivable land. The overexploitation of resources, notably by excessive fishing, and pollution also play a role, as does the influence of invasive species.
Species are also affected by diseases, such as the frog Ecnomiohyla rabborum, which a fungal disease places in critical danger of extinction. "Added to this is climate change, which we are already feeling, and whose impact will be massive," notes Mr. Vié.
France, whose overseas communities are home to a very rich fauna and flora, is eighth among the countries hosting the largest number of endangered species worldwide. With 778 globally threatened species present on its territory, France ranks among the ten countries most affected by this phenomenon, alongside Ecuador, the United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, China, Australia, Brazil and India.
Bertrand d'Armagnac
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