Mass Extinctions

     The World Conservation Union has warned of massive extinction threat that hangs over the animals of the world in the opening decades of the new millenium. The organization publishes a Red List, drawing on the expertise of close to 10,000 scientists from around the globe and lists the projections for close to 20,000 different different species of land and marine animals, as well as about 4 per cent of the world's plants (which are currently under represented in the listing). According to the report 25 per cent of reptiles, 24 per cent of mammals, 30 per cent of fish, 12 peercent of birds, and 20 per cent of amphibians are at risk of extinction over the next few decades. Extinctions have been taking place over the last century at a rate more than 50 times the natural average, the organization states.

     A large contributing factor to species extinction is the loss of habitat. 20 million hectares of forest was lost in 1999, with an even larger area suffering degradation. This is an area approximately three times the size of the Netherlands lost in a single year. The organization has established a goal of accurately documenting both the destruction of habitat and the status of threatened species as means of using information as an impetus in the drive to protect biodiversity through the establishment of Species Information Service of the Species Survival Commission.

     The SIS has been designed to contain current data, allowing active monitoring of the status of threatened species, and the data input is the collaborative effort of thousands of scientists from around the world. ""Previously, we have not been able to identify problems fast enough, or if we knew of problems, we didn't have adequateinformation to take immediate action. With SIS, we will be able to see the beginning of species declines, we will be able tomonitor their status, identify trends and be proactive," explains Andrew Smith, co-chair of the SSC Data Management WorkingGroup and Professor of Biology at Arizona State University."