Climate change and the obliteration of natural habitats could put hundreds of wildlife species of at risk of extinction over the next century. This is a catastrophic but inescapable fact. While addressing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lately, Shafgat Kakaklhel, deputy head of the U.N. Environment Programme, has urged the 171-nation U.N. wildlife forum to take nippy actions to help guard animals from climate change.
A UN report issued recently promulgated that human activities are wiping out three animal or plant species every hour and we do need to do more to slow the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs by 2010. CITES is holding a two week meeting to discuss ways to help commercially important animal and tree species thrown in jeopardy owing to over-usage. Mr. Kakaklhel said:
CITES is not a forum for discussing climate change but decisions taken here do have an impact on species in a climatically challenged world…We will need robust species populations if they are to survive rising temperatures and more extremes.
Some of the highly endangered commercially valuable species that were named are the spiny dogfish, the porbeagle shark and the European eel. Emphasis was also put on the threatened species such as pink or red coral and rosewood. One species, which will be in talks in depth at the meeting, will be the African elephants. Although CITES has done a decent job of impeding the butchery of the African elephant by enforcing a ban on the international ivory trade in 1989, but the killing of the elephants has reached heights now owing to the Asian-run crime syndicates.
The two week discussions will also help form the future of CITES, which has banned trade in 530 animal species and over 300 plant species till the date. Moreover, CITES also keeps a tab on trade in 4,460 animal species and 28,000 plant species.
Via: Reuters