In 1974 Norman Myers estimated the annual loss of tropical ecosystems to be about 240,000 km2. This was the outcome of commercial timber extraction, farming operations and fuel gathering; a combination of economic objectives and the subsistence behaviour of native peoples. Biodiversity represents the very foundation of human existence. Besides its profound ethical and aesthetic implications, a loss of biodiversity has serious economic and social costs. As an essential resource, future changes should be tracked through the collection and dissemination of scientific knowledge on a global scale. It was in this spirit that UNEP commissioned the Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) project, which reported in 1995 as a first step to assemble an inventory of Earth’s endangered biological resources.
- 1017 reads
