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                          Many Species Risk Extinction

   by Joe DeCapua

   While progress has been made to preserve endangered animal, plant and
   other species, a new report said successes are being overshadowed by
   declines. The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned
   many species face lethal threats.

   The IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental
   network. It has more than 77,000 species on its Red List and warns that
   nearly 23,000 of them are threatened by extinction. Some 830 are listed
   as being extinct. The list indicates how fast the world is losing
   biodiversity.

   Craig Hilton-Taylor -- head of the organization's Red List Unit -- said
   humans have been getting better at preserving species.

   "Yes, we have. We have built up quite a good set of tools and
   techniques for conserving species and their habitats. We know in many
   cases what we should do and how to do it. We are constantly surprised
   though by new emerging threats, which take us by surprise. But after
   some research and hard work we soon work out ways of dealing with new
   threats as they emerge."

   But he said knowing what to do is not the issue. The Red List points
   out where to take action and what species are at risk.

   "The big issue really is to try and get enough people and resources to
   actually do something about it - to get the governments to have enough
   political will to invest in conservation and also engaging in the
   general public as well. So it cuts across all levels of society," he
   said.

   One of the big conservation success stories is the Iberian Lynx in
   Spain. There were just 52 mature cats in 2002. Today, there are 156. It
   may not seem like a lot, but it's enough to remove the Iberian Lynx
   from the Critically Endangered list.

   Another example is the Guadalupe Fur Seal. It was twice thought to be
   extinct. There were 20,000 in 2010.

   On the other hand, 99 percent of the tropical Asian slipper orchids - a
   prized ornamental plant - are threatened with extinction. That's due to
   a huge illegal trade in the slipper orchids and habitat loss due to
   development.

   Hilton-Taylor said, "Most people around the world, they know orchids.
   They will either be growing them or will have seen them or will have
   them in their house as cut flowers. They are truly spectacular
   flowers."

   And then there's the African lion. It's on the IUCN's Vulnerable List.

   ''''"The lion story is quite complicated because lions in southern
   Africa are pretty well conserved. Most of them are in protected areas.
   There are good conservation policies in place to protect lions in
   southern Africa. In fact, the southern Africa population is increasing.
   But as soon as you move up into East Africa or across to West Africa
   it's a totally different picture. The lions in West Africa are
   completely isolated from the rest of African lions -- listed as
   critically endangered," he said.

   The lions face habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans. Prey
   animals are on the decline in some areas causing lions to kill
   livestock.

   Hilton-Taylor said that the International Union for Conservation of
   Nature takes a slow approach before declaring a species extinct.

   "So, for example, one of the species on the list this time was a
   species of orchid from Madagascar. It was last seen in 1898 - over a
   hundred years ago. But we still don't declare it extinct because there
   are still little patches of forest that haven't been surveyed properly.
   There's a remote chance it may still be living on a tree top somewhere
   that we just haven't looked yet. So, it takes a long time to declare
   something extinct."

   A recent study in the journal Science Advances says the sixth mass
   extinction in the Earth's history has begun. The study, like the IUCN,
   says humans are the driving force behind unprecedented extinction
   rates. For example, since 1900, nearly 480 vertebrate species have gone
   extinct.

   The IUCN reported no new species have been declared extinct, but 14
   have been assessed as Critically Endangered.

   "The whole acceleration of the extinction is very much a human factor.
   So, it's the demand for land for agriculture; building cities, roads.
   Extraction of minerals has huge impacts. Pollution events. So, there
   are a whole lot of different activities from people that reduce
   population sizes, reduce ranges, that have impacts on these species and
   drive them towards extinction," he said.

   Hilton-Taylor said environmental legislation can help preserve species,
   but he says much more needs to be done to protect habitats.

   "You can go around and set areas of land aside as protected areas, as
   national parks with nature reserves. And make sure those networks are
   well connected to each other so species can move between different
   areas. But you can't conserve all the land. You have to look at how we
   manage the land outside of the protected areas. So, putting into place
   effective management and restoration projects can restore habitats and
   ecosystems back to how they lived before."

   He said sometimes farmers need to be compensated not to cultivate their
   land and allow the natural habitat to remain. This was done to save the
   Iberian Lynx. And sustainable fishing methods may help save Gobies, one
   of the largest families of marine fish. Many of their coral reef homes
   have disappeared and they are more vulnerable to invasive Lionfish.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/conservation-species-23jun15/2833969.html