Scientists forecast that up to five million species will be lost this century. "We are well into the opening phase of a mass extinction of species. There are about 10 million species on earth. If we carry on as we are, we could lose half of all those 10 million species," Myers said.
If we do not do more, Myers says, the planet will continue to lose around 50
species per day compared to the natural extinction rate of one species every
five years. He projected this rate in the late 1980s to much criticism, but the
figure is now widely accepted by scientists. "The whole thing is taking place in
what you might call a flickering of an evolutionary eye," said Myers. "It's hard
to keep up with unless we damp down on some of the causes of the evolution."
Hotspots
GLOBAL WARMING: Graph shows global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2005
The Australia Museum's Frank Howarth says "There are over 30 extinction 'hotspots' across the globe. He says up to 80 per cent of crucial habitat has been wiped out. Biodiversity hotspots are areas that have more than 1500 endemic plant species and which have lost more than 70per cent of original habitat." Hotspots feature, according to Myers, "exceptional concentrations of species that are found nowhere else in the world."
Evidence shows that insects, which account for more than half the described species on earth, are disappearing faster than birds. "Many areas of Australia's ecosystems depend on the work of insects... we put a lot of effort into looking at these hotspots, about what insects actually occur there, whether their numbers are increasing or decreasing, because they tell us a lot more about some of the high level effects," Howarth said.
Myers argues that we are destroying the Earth’s biodiversity quickly enough to witness the beginning of a mass extinction of species—one of only six such events in the Earth’s history. He says around 30 hotspots contain the last remaining habitats of at least half of Earth’s land surface.
He says more parks and reserves are needed, and while warnings are desperate, he believes the situation can be turned around. "We would be the first generation in the whole of human history since we came out of our caves to tackle a mass extinction head on and cancel it... and if we do, I think people will cheer for us from thousands of years ahead." Myers projects that safeguarding the hotspots would cost one billion dollars per year.
