Earth is the only living planet:

• 1.8 million known species, 10- 100 million are estimated, and 300/day are being discovered
• Tropical forests house between 50 and 90 percent of this total

Biographic realms and broad habitat and vegetation types of the earth

Biodiversity and conservation priority areas

• WWF has identified 825 terrestrial eco-regions across the globe, and a set of 426 freshwater eco-regions
• Global 200 -- the most biologically distinct terrestrial, freshwater, and marine eco-regions of the planet.
• 34 biodiversity hotspots have been identified by CI
  • These hotspots cover only 2.3 percent of the Earth's land surface.
  • Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation.
  • Over 50 percent of the world‟s plant species and 42 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to the 34 biodiversity hotspots
• Eco-region – relatively large area, dominant assemblage of species, communities, and conditions

Situation is alarming!!

• Two thirds of the ecosystem services examined are being degraded or used in a non- sustainable way.
• Approx. 10–30% of mammal, bird, and amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction. Approx 10% of the terrestrial biodiversity could be lost by 2050 (CBD, 2008)
• The global area of forest systems has been reduced by one half over the past three centuries.
• Human activity has caused between 50 and 1000 times more extinctions in the last 100 years than would have happened due to natural processes

State of global biodiversity

• Scientists estimate the loss of biodiversity between 5,000 and 30,000 species a year.
• Biodiversity continues to disappear at a rate of up to 1,000 times the natural background rate of extinction.
• This unprecedented biodiversity crisis is compounded by climate change; "business as usual" is no longer an option for mankind;
• Over the last 15 years (1990 -2005), primary forest has been lost or modified at a rate of approximately six million hectares a year (13 million in totals).
• The biomass of fish targeted in fisheries reduced by 90% relative to levels prior to the onset of industrial fishing

Key threats to biodiversity conservation

• Habitat fragmentation
• Unsustainable use of biological resources
• Invasive species
• Climate change
• Inadequate public support
• Edward O Wilson – "HIPPO" : Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Human Population, and Overharvesting
• Jared Diamond - "Evil Quartet" : Habitat destruction, Overkill, Introduced species, Secondary extensions.

CBD: key global conservation tool

• Three principles of CBD:
  • Conservation
  • Sustainable use
  • Equitable distribution of benefits

2020 PA target:

• 10% of the world's oceans (up from about 1 percent now) under protection;
• And protecting 17% of the world's terrestrial environments (up from 12% currently).

Understanding global change

• Socio-economic changes: Human population growth and dynamics, economic growth, trade and consumption, and poverty and inequality;
• Biophysical changes: Climate change, conversion and fragmentation of natural habitats, hydrological change, invasive alien species, and biodiversity loss;
• Institutional changes: Changing global norms, global trends in governance and and globalization of communications, knowledge and culture.