Two out of every five species on the planet that have been estimated by scientists face extinction. This figure comes from the latest World Conservation Union Red List of Endangered Species, published this week.
In all, 16,119 animal and plant species are in danger of extinction. “From the poles(地球的两个极点) to the desert, species loss is increasing, not slowing down”, says IUCN director-general Achim Steiner. The main cause, as ever, is people, both directly and indirectly. While hunting and habitat(栖息地) loss continue to have a serious effect on species numbers, global warming is another threat.
In the polar regions (极地),the summer sea ice that polar bears depend on is rapidly disappearing, and the latest estimates suggest that the ice will be reduced at least by fifty percent in area over the next century. Although polar bears are strong swimmers, yet large numbers of them will starve or drown as global warmingmelts the Arctic’s ice sheets. The world’s deserts may be expanding, but the animals that live in and around them are not faring well. It’s particularly difficult for the endangered species of the extreme habitat to recover their numbers. Meanwhile, our increasing demand for fish and water is placing the species in rivers and oceans in great danger. As shallow-water fish stocks get reduced, fishermen’s dropping nets and lines into deeper waters are taking their toll on species there.
“This trend can’t be stopped. Environmentalists alone can not save the world’s species in danger”, says Steiner, “but conservation (保护) can work. It must become the responsibility of everyone to act”.