Grave risk to humans from loss of species

The increasing rates of extinction of plants and animals worldwide must be slowed to avoid threatening human food supplies, sources of wood, medicine, energy and clean water, and opportunities for recreation and tourism, a London conference was told yesterday.

The meeting, organised to implement the UN target of "significantly reducing the rates of biodiversity loss by 2010", heard that instead of slowing down, extinction rates were now rising rapidly.

Hamdallah Zedan, the executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, ratified by 187 nations, said that, at the Earth summit in Johannesburg last summer, it had been formally recognised that halting the loss of species was "a basic necessity of life".

The three-day London conference aims to implement plans to reduce species loss and measure their progress.

The degradation of the environment was "by far the most serious problem" threatening life support systems and the livelihood of the poor, Mr Zedan said.

It was now recognised that natural systems, ranging from forests to the soil's microbes, provided "free goods and services to people" - for example, in clean water and fertilisers. Destroying them would prove costly.

One of the problems the conference discussed was the refusal of the World Trade Organisation to recognise biodiversity delegates at any trade talks.

Setijati Sastrapradja, of Natura Indonesia, said: "The biggest environmental problem is the greed of those who have the power to exploit natural resources, and their ignorance of the resulting problems - flood, coral reef damage, timber species and biodiversity loss, land degradation, fresh water scarcity.

"If the meeting in London achieves one thing it should produce ways to influence the main decision makers to use biodiversity wisely."

Guy Preston, the head of the global invasive species programme, designed to prevent introduced plants and animals overwhelming local species, said: "Our health and our lives depend on biodiversity. The millions of species on Earth have evolved complex interactions that allow for their mutual survival. Man has disrupted this at such a rate that nature can no longer adapt. Scientists agree that the incidence of plagues and pandemics will increase as we battle to find ways of controlling these human health challenges." There was increasing alarm at the disappearance of plants and animals that could be used in medicine.

Eric Chivian, the director of the Centre of Health and Global Environment, at Harvard medical school, said that some of our most potent antibiotics had come from soil microbes. The understanding of high blood pressure had relied partly on poisonous snakes, and the Pacific yew had yielded effective treatment for ovarian and breast cancer.

There was much more to be discovered. But it was not just medical uses being lost. Bees pollinated vital food crops, soil fungi allowed crops to absorb nutrients from the soil, and predators such as foxes and owls ate rodents that carried human diseases.

Elliot Morley, the minister for nature protection, said it was essential that developed countries funded programmes in poorer regions.

The UK was putting money towards individual projects to save species but also starting a programme to provide scholarships for scientists of developing countries, who could then come to Britain for a year to continue studies and experiments not possible in their own countries.

Animals that the UK's Darwin projects are helping to save

Sea cucumber
A marine animal of the Red sea, prized at Asian dinner tables, but could hold the key to providing cures for illnesses as diverse as arthritis and cancer. A £l60,000 project to study biomedical uses plus a fish farming system is planned to save the species from extinction by illegal fishing.

Fruit bats
These bats from Madagascar face extinction from netting in the diminishing rainforest. The bats, also known as flying foxes, are vital for widely distributing seeds for forest regeneration. The UK is spending £98,000 trying to educate locals so the bat can be conserved.

Rhinos, elephants and wild dogs
A £138,000 project working with the semi-nomadic Masai communities has been launched in western Kenya to help them coexist with the wildlife. This involves training warriors to act as wildlife security guards and developing small-scale tourism.

Orang-utans
The timber trade and the palm-oil industry is threatening the last bastion of the Bornean orang-utan in Sabah. DNA testing is establishing the genetic make-up of the remaining apes to help conserve the species and educate local people about the importance of saving their habitat. Cost: £147,000.

Whale sharks
The whale shark appears seasonally at Gladden Spit, on the south Belize barrier reef, to feed on the spawn of the snapper fish. These huge creatures are being tagged so migration patterns can be understood. As part of the £129,000 programme, local fishermen are being encouraged to look after them to promote the tourist industry.

Lions
Overhunting by tourists in Hwange national park in Zimbabwe has led to a devastating decrease in lion numbers. A 50% reduction in the lion-hunting quota has been achieved for 2003, and education continues about the need for further conservation in order to protect tourism revenue. Cost: £154,000.