Extinction I
Can we figure out how to create a network of protected areas to save species from extinction?
TWO South
African scientists are part of an international panel set up to save species
from possible extinction through climate change.
Stellenbosch
University’s Guy Midgley‚ professor of global change biology‚ and conservation
biologist Wendy Foden will lead the three-year project in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Stellenbosch
is one of six leading universities collaborating with Conservation
International to model the response to climate change of more than 100‚000
tropical species on three continents.
The research
will help to identify regions and ecosystems that‚ if protected‚ preserve
biodiversity.
"The
goal is to build networks of protected areas that reduce extinctions due to
climate change‚ at the same time delivering clean water‚ tourism opportunities
and numerous other benefits to people‚" said Conservation International.
The panel of
scientists overseeing the project includes renowned Kenyan paleoanthropologist‚
conservationist and politician Richard Leakey.
Extinction II
Stuff happens. Maybe we can figure it out.
We are—depending on who you ask—either on
the brink of or in the thralls of Earth’s sixth mass species extinction. What
is not in doubt is that just one species deserves most of the blame: Homo
sapiens—aka us.
Human activity is warming our climate and
many species are failing to adapt; experts predict that as a result, by the end
of the century as many as one in six species will be in danger of extinction.
Mammals are going extinct at rates faster
than ever, as are other vertebrates. While invertebrates like coral are being
hit even harder. Overall, rates of species extinction are accelerating to the
point where they may soon rival those during the mass extinction event that
killed almost all of the dinosaurs.
Extinction
III
Zoos as a defense against extinction. Who knew how important they could be?
The final submission comes from Steve
Monfort, a veterinarian who is director of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology
Institute in Front Royal, Va.
Zoos
must focus on becoming effective conservation organizations while sustaining
excellence in providing for the health and well-being of wildlife in human
care. Next-generation zoos must invest large amounts of money in what’s known
as “conservation infrastructure,” including much more space (on or off zoo
property). These steps are essential for effectively managing genetic diversity
over the long-term, and for positioning zoos as vital players on a conservation
continuum that spans from intensively managed populations in human care to
free-living animals in nature.
Today,
zoos around the world invest more than $350 million per year in field
conservation. But the
majority of that money is provided by a minority of zoos.
Extinction
IV
Who needs
elephants? What happens if the South African gambit fails? Disaster and extinction.
A United Nations ban on the international
trade in ivory will be under attack by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia at
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in
Johannesburg in October.
In a document submitted to CITES, the three
countries say that if trade is not permitted, they will seek to nullify the ban
on the principle that CITES failed to act on its mandate to investigate the
matter.
Were they to succeed, according to Ross
Harvey, a researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs
specialising in wildlife trade, it would be a disaster for elephants.
In a peer-reviewed paper published in the
latest edition of Politikon, he says that if selling stockpiled ivory into the
world market is permitted but fails to reduce the price – and it is likely to
fail – it will increase demand and hasten the extinction of elephants.
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