Key Facts on Biodiversity
- Though the exact number is impossible to determine, an unprecedented
mass extinction of life on Earth is occurring. Scientists estimate
that between 150 and 200 species of life become extinct every
24 hours.
- There have always been periods of extinction in the planet's
history, but this episode of species extinction is greater than
anything the world has experienced for the past 65 million years-the
greatest rate of extinction since the vanishing of the dinosaurs.
- Some 60 per cent of the plant species endemic to the Galapagos
Islands are threatened with extinction, as are 75 per cent of
the endemic plant species of the Canary Islands. If we continue
with our unsustainable patterns of activity, one-fifth of all
species could become extinct in the next two decades.
- This mass extinction is due, in large measure, to humankind's
unsustainable methods of production and consumption. This
mass extinction is due, in large measure, to humankind's unsustainable
methods of production and consumption.
- More than 60 per cent of the world's people depend directly
on plants for their medicines.
- About 12 per cent of mammal species and 11 per cent of bird
species were classified as threatened in 1990.
- Nearly every animal species may be host to several specialized
parasitic species, only a small fraction of which have been described.
- According to the World Resources Institute, the biggest cause
of extinction is loss of habitat.
- There are as many as 100 million species on Earth, of which
only 1.7 million have been identified.
- Humans are but one of those species.
All photos, text and illustrations Copyright ©1996
The United Nations Environment Programme.