Biodiversity : factfile

There are 8 documents in this section.

  • Biodiversity and human population

    6 May 2008

    Both humans and wildlife need resources. To the extent that we compete for the same resources - especially space - then as human activities expand, the leeway left for wildlife shrinks.

  • Crops and animals

    6 May 2008

    Biodiversity - in the form of genetic diversity - is a value even in the variety of crops and animals used in agriculture. Here too it is under threat.

  • Climate change and biodiversity

    6 May 2008

    Climate change will have a powerful effect on biodiversity. It will directly endanger the habitats of many species, and for endangered species it may be the final blow that pushes them over the brink into extinction.

  • Endangered treasures

    6 May 2008

    Of the total of 41,415 species of plants and animals on the IUCN Red List, 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, listed as critically endangered, endangered or threatened. Here are some of the less well known species at risk:

  • Getting the measure of extinction

    6 May 2008

    Trying to measure just how fast species are becoming extinct is a tricky business. For a start, we have a very incomplete knowledge of the earth's biota.

  • Hotspots and threatened habitats

    6 May 2008

    Biodiversity is highest in the tropics, but this is where human populations tend to be growing fastest, exacerbating the conflict between human populations and biodiversity.

  • A thumbnail guide to CITES

    6 May 2008

    CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

  • Flagship species

    1 December 2005

    Public concern about biodiversity is often focused on large, well-loved mammals like the tiger, the great apes, rhinos and elephants, pandas and whales. Although campaigns often highlight these "charismatic megafauna", saving them involves protecting their habitat and all the other species that live there. Banning harmful trade, protecting against poachers, effective enforcement, captive breeding, public education, and involvement of local populations in the benefits of eco-tourism, must also play their part.