The United Nations have declared 2010 the year of International Biodiversity. According to reports, the increasing loss of species across the globe is not only affecting the environment, but the well being of the human species.
The UN exclaims that, “…as natural systems such as wetlands and forests are gradually eroded, we lose the services that they perform for free. These include purification of air and water, protection from extreme weather events, and the provision of materials for shelter and fire.”
As a direct result of human activity (city expansion, infrastructure and farming), the pace at which species are becoming extinct is roughly 1,000 times greater than the natural or ‘background’ rate of extinction. Some biologists believe that we are in the midst of ‘Earth’s sixth great extinction’ – the previous five having being caused by natural events such as asteroid impacts.
The Year of International Biodiversity is an opportunity to raise the alarm for accelerated species extinction, and to celebrate the diversity of life on earth before it really is too late.
Follow and support the Year of International Biodiversity here (http://www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/).
Other links:
(http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/).
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