Marked Loss of Biodiversity is Concerning
biodiversity, conservation, environmental monitoring November 27th, 20092010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, and while coordinated conservation efforts are taking place at an unprecedented level worldwide, there are still dramatic declines in species diversity taking place. Climate change threatens to accelerate this process, but it also holds some promise for more coordinated global conservation efforts.
“The time is ripe for a new vision, one that takes both biodiversity and climate change seriously and explores the crucial connections between them. The Copenhagen process is already moving in this direction, and some new global financial mechanisms are also emerging. The World Bank’s climate investment funds are designed to reduce deforestation in order to mitigate climate change. The Global Environmental Facility, an organization that provides grants to developing countries for projects related to promoting biodiversity and other environmental issues, could make a greater contribution if given more funding and more agile management. Both the UN and the World Bank have limited but valuable new financial facilities for reducing emissions from land-use change.”
Read Steven Sanderson’s essay, “Where the Wild Things Were,” in Foreign Affairs for a more thorough assessment of current conservation status.
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