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Issue Description
BRAND NEW LOOK!
Although we have become more aware of the importance of conservation and maintaining biodiversity in recent years, many species of plant and animal are still teetering on the brink of extinction. This book looks at which species are endangered and why, how we can combat threats to endangered species such as hunting, the exotic pet trade, traditional medicine and deforestation, and the best methods for conserving species which are in danger of becoming extinct.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- Tropical rainforests are the world’s richest natural habitats, housing more than two-thirds of all plant and animal species on Earth. Sadly, the rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate – with more than half already gone. (page 1)
- 95% of all animals and plants that have ever lived on Earth have now become extinct. (page 4)
- We share the planet with as many as 13 million different living species including plants, animals and bacteria, only 1.75 million of which have been named and recorded. (page 6)
- The ‘alarming’ rate at which species are being lost could have a severe effect on humanity, conservationists warned today. Targets set eight years ago by governments to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 have not been met. (page 13)
- In the last century, elephant populations massively declined due to habitat destruction, increased agriculture and the ivory trade. Ivory poaching from 1979–89 halved Africa’s elephant population from 1.3 million to 600,000. Today, numbers may be as low as 450,000. (page 19)
- Countries across south-east Asia are being systematically drained of wildlife to meet a booming demand for exotic pets in Europe and Japan, and traditional medicine in China – posing a greater threat to many species than habitat loss or global warming. (page 20)
- More than a quarter (27%) of European mammals have declining populations. (page 21)
- At least 65% of all species on the planet are invertebrates. There are more than 32,000 terrestrial and freshwater and 7,000 marine species in the UK alone, and many are critically endangered. (page 26)
- Pollinators – including honey and bumble bees, butterflies and moths – play an essential role in putting food on our tables through the pollination of many vital crops. However, the numbers of pollinators have been declining steadily in recent years, with the number of bees in the UK alone falling by between ten and 15 per cent over the last two years. (page 27)
- A University of Aberdeen scientist has found that climate change is likely to affect where 88% of the world’s whale, dolphin and porpoise species – collectively known as cetaceans – are found. (page 29)
- The British taste for fish and chips could be driving species to the edge of extinction, according to a new survey that found the majority of people do not even try to make sustainable choices about seafood. (page 30)
- 24% of butterflies, 22% of amphibians, 15% of dolphins and whales, 14% of stoneworts, 12% of terrestrial mammals and 12% of stoneflies have been lost from England. (page 31)
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The International Situation
Endangered species, Shocking global facts, Why does biodiversity matter to me?, 100 questions to conserve global biodiversity, Biodiversity and Oil Palm project, Boosting biodiversity can boost global economy, UN report warns of economic impact of biodiversity loss, Brazil cattle giants unite to end Amazon destruction, Billion hectares of land have potential for forest restoration, study shows, Wildlife – cause for concern, Canned hunting, Year of the tiger, Elephants under threat, How the pet trade’s greed is emptying south-east Asia’s forests, World’s most endangered primates revealed, What is the bushmeat trade?, Galápagos, Why we need to conserve invertebrates, £10m initiative to tackle bee and pollinator decline, Whales and dolphins in hot water, Ocean acidification, Consumer ignorance over endangered fish.
Chapter 2 The UK Situation
Lost life: England’s lost and threatened species, Bears, lynx, wolves and elk considered for reintroduction into British countryside, London’s priority species, Fears grow for future of Britain’s rarest butterflies, Red squirrel threats, Controlling non-native wildlife, Wildlife crime unit.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: Endangered Species - Volume 193
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: 978 1 86168 554 4