Home About IEF Conferences Newsletter Resources e-learning centre on sustainable development IEF SUSTAPEDIA AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUSTAINABILITY

There has been a new recognition of the importance of protecting marine and aquatic biodiversity.  The first quantitative estimates of species losses due to growing coral reef destruction predict that almost 200,000 species, or one in five presently contributing to coral reef biodiversity, could die out in the next 40 years if human pressures on reefs continue to increase (Reaka-Kudla, 1996).

Since Rio, many countries have improved their understanding of the status and importance of their biodiversity, particularly through biodiversity country studies such as those prepared under the auspices of UNEP/GEF.  The United Kingdom identified 1250 species needing monitoring, of which 400 require action plans to ensure their survival (Bendall, 1996).  Protective measures for biodiversity, such as legislation to protect species, can prove effective.  In the USA, almost 40 percent of the plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act are now stable or improving as a direct result of recovery efforts (USFWS, 1994).  Some African countries have joined efforts to protect threatened species through the 1994 Lusaka Agreement, and more highly migratory species are being protected by specialized cooperative agreements among range states under the Bonn Convention.

Despite great efforts at species conservation, even such highly visible and important animals as the tiger are in crisis, as demonstrated by the alarming decline in wild tiger populations. Tigers are so highly endangered that they may soon be extinct in the wild. This tragedy can only be prevented if tiger range states do more to protect habitat and combat poachers, consumer states stamp out the market for tiger parts and derivatives, and rich countries help to fund tiger conservation efforts. (R. Hepworth in UNEP, 2000a)

From a population of over 100,000 in the 19th century, the Earth's wild tiger population has plummeted to an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 individuals. Tigers range from India and Russia to China and Southeast Asia, but with several sub-species thought to be already extinct, the species' long-term survival is now at stake. Tiger hunting is now illegal everywhere, and international trade in tigers and tiger products is completely banned under CITES. Nevertheless, habitat destruction continues at a rapid pace, live tigers enter the illegal exotic pet trade, tiger skins are bought and sold, and tiger parts are sought for presumed health benefits. (UNEP, 2000a)

There is an emerging realization that a major part of conservation of biological diversity must take place outside of protected areas and involve local communities. The extensive agricultural areas occupied by small farmers contain much biodiversity that is important for sustainable food production.  Indigenous agricultural practices have been and continue to be important elements in the maintenance of biodiversity, but these are being displaced and lost.  There is a new focus on the interrelationship between agrodiversity conservation and sustainable use and development practices in smallholder agriculture, with emphasis on use of farmers' knowledge and skills as a source of information for sustainable farming (Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Implications, 1995; Uitto and Ono, 1996).

Perhaps even more important than the loss of biodiversity is the transformation of global biogeochemical cycles, the reduction in the total world biomass, and the decrease in the biological productivity of the planet (Golubev, in litt.).  While quantitative measurements are not available, the eventual economic and social consequences may be so significant that the issue requires further attention.