Earth is experiencing its "sixth great extinction event" with disease and human activity taking a devastating toll on vulnerable species, according to a major review by conservationists.
Much of the southern hemisphere is suffering particularly badly, with Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific islands destined to become the extinction hotspots of the world, the report warns.
Ecosystems in Oceania, which includes Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, need urgent and effective conservation policies, or the region's already poor record on extinctions will worsen signficantly.
Researchers trawled 24,000 published reports to compile information on the flora and fauna of Australasia and the Pacific islands, home to six of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Their report identifies six major causes that are driving species to extinction, almost all of which are linked in some way to human activity.
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment