Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

We can not solve environmental problems alone, and others will not solve the problem for us. The solution lies in each and every action of our daily lives, for resolving the environmental problems around us.

"Scientists agree the world faces mass extinction. The complex web of life on Earth, what scientists call 'biodiversity', is in serious trouble. The member nations still stand by the treaty, but at a conference earlier this year at The Hague they issued a statement admitting humans are still destroying biodiversity at an unprecedented rate."

CNN - August 23, 2002

For us to turn this devastating trend around, wildlife and the environment must, in some way, enhance the lives of the impoverished nations. Unfortunately, it would appear that any incentives must be financial. It is all to easy for the richer countries of the world to dictate what and when to preserve an endangered species or habitat, when that very system encroaches upon the meagre livelihood of poorer nations. It is very difficult for anyone to be empathetic towards a perceived European catastrophe.

Humans grow/harvest food, mine resources, mass-produce hardware, develop software/services and trade the surplus. The economic value of an ecosystem can be measured in terms of "goods and services" - including climate regulation, water filtration, soil formation, and sustainable harvested plants and animals - that the ecosystem provides. Lack of information bout the economic worth of ecosystem services, the failure of markets to capture and value these services, and tax incentives and subsidies that encourage land conversion all contribute to continued habitat destruction.

Mandarin Drake

During the history of life on this planet some species live, while others have died out. It happens to plants as well as to animals, due to habitats alteration. However many wild plants have natural immunities which would benefit mankind as well as the agriculture communities.

The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates list, compiled at the 20th Congress of the International Primatological Society in Turin, Italy, follows similar reports in 2000 and 2002. Fifteen of the primates on the new list, including the Sumatran orang-utan of Indonesia and the northern muriqui of Brazil, are "three-time losers" for having appeared on all three lists. Seven are new additions to the 2004-2006 list, and three appeared once before.

Madagascar and Vietnam each have four primates on the new list, while Brazil and Indonesia have three, followed by Sri Lanka and Tanzania with two each, and one each from Colombia, China, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Some primates on the list are found in more than one country.

ARKive - Arkive is a Noah's Ark for the internet ear. The worlds centralised digital library of films, photographs and associated records of of 12.000 animals and plants threatened with extinction, according to the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Coverage is still patchy and it is astonishing how much of the natural world is still un-photographed (there is an online appeal for images and sounds of rare species to join the ARK) but what is covered is fascinating.

Biodiversity Hotspots - Conservation International believes that Earth's natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally and economically. Our mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.

  Bagheera - Vanishing in the Wild - The current endangered species and extinction crisis is unique, in that the loss of biodiversity is occurring very rapidly, and the causes of the crisis are the activities of a single species: human beings. This site also cobvers the diverse species that has already become extinct.

The "Top 25" named are merely the tip of the iceberg. The idea behind the production of this list was not merely to record the absolutely most endangered species, but to draw attention to those which are extremely (most) endangered and currently lacking national and international attention for their conservation - those most in need of research and protective measures.

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