TWO out of every five species on the planet that have been assessed by scientists face extinction. This remarkable figure comes from the latest World Conservation Union (IUCN) , published this week, reports Duncan Graham-Rowe.
Overall, 16,119 animal and plant species are in danger of extinction, including 1 in 8 birds, 1 in 4 mammals and 1 in 3 amphibian species. Since records began, 784 species have been declared extinct. From the poles to the deserts, “biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down,” says IUCN director-general Achim Steiner.
The main cause, as ever, is…
