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LONDON - Biodiversity is under dire threat from global warming, habitat loss, pollution and over-exploitation, all largely the fault of humans, says the head of world-renowned Kew Gardens.
"First-aiders always check the ABC - Airway, Breathing and Circulation - of a patient to see if anything needs immediate attention," Stephen Hopper said.
"Biodiversity is the ABC of life on the planet - and it is showing it is in deep trouble."
World experts will gather in Germany next month to try to work out what to do to stop the dramatic increase in the rate of loss of plants, animals and insects in what many see as the start of the sixth great species wipeout in the Earth's history.
The last one was in the age of the dinosaurs which appeared 230 million years ago and dominated the Earth for 100 million years.
By comparison, human domination has lasted the equivalent of the blink of an eye.
"The challenge for us is to find a way of slowing down or preferably stopping all this destruction. We need to ensure the maximum options for the future," Professor Hopper said.
"Globally we use 30,000 species of plants as edible but we base most of our western agriculture on just a dozen. As the environment changes, who knows which of the other 29,988 are going to emerge as the most important in a future world?"
A species of food crop that produces bounty now might be rendered useless in the future because of climate change-induced droughts, floods or changes in soil salinity or acidity.
Many modern medicines were derived from plants and new uses were frequently being discovered in treatment of cancers, pain and organ failure, among a host of ailments, Professor Hopper said.
The animal world was also being exploited for food and medicines, and that threat was no less significant.
Humans shouldn't imagine that the planet and its abundance of life is all theirs for the taking, he said.
"There is that utilitarian argument. But there is also another about our ethical responsibilities. We share this planet with other species. Surely they have a right to exist as much as we do," said Professor Hopper.
"Then there is another aspect that I think is very important to many people. The sheer joy and wonderment of the natural world."
Kew is doing its part through the Millennium Seed Bank project, which is well on the way to collecting and storing safely seeds for 10 per cent of the world's wild plants.
The next goal - as yet a wish without any financial backing - is to raise that total to 25 per cent by 2020.
Not only may the stored seeds be used at some stage to repopulate decimated plant populations in the wild but the plants might also come into their own as sources of new foods, medicines, fuels or even clothes.
Zoos around the world are making similar efforts to conserve members of the animal kingdom through sperm and egg banks.
"I am an optimist," Professor Hopper said. "We may have already lost a lot but we are capable of protecting what is still left out there. But we have to act quickly."
- REUTERS
