Protecting biodiversity is one of the most important global challenges, Germany's Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Monday, May 19. He spoke at the start of a two-week United Nations conference on the topic. Protecting animal and plant life from climate change and pollution should be at the top of the global agenda, Gabriel said at the conference in Bonn on Monday. Extinctions are going forward at a rate anywhere from 100 times to 1,000 times that of natural extinction. This accelerated pace has not seen since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, according to UN experts. They blame human activities, including greenhouse-gas emissions and destruction of habitats for the loss. One in four mammals, one bird in eight, one third of all amphibians and 70 percent of plants are under threat.
Protecting animal and plant life from climate change and pollution should be at the top of the global agenda, Gabriel said at the conference in Bonn on Monday.
Extinctions are going forward at a rate anywhere from 100 times to 1,000 times that of natural extinction. This accelerated pace has not seen since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, according to UN experts. They blame human activities, including greenhouse-gas emissions and destruction of habitats for the loss.
One in four mammals, one bird in eight, one third of all amphibians and 70 percent of plants are under threat.
At this week's UN conference on biodiversity, Germany will present itself as a role model when it comes to the environment. DW-WORLD.DE's Thorsten Schäfer says that there's really not much to brag about. Lynx, salmon, wolf, sea eagle, beaver, bear and many more -- the list of animals that have returned to Germany during the last couple of years is impressive. It seems as if nature has recovered quickly. But appearances are deceiving: extinction continues. While every wolf appearance makes headlines, the decline of skylark and common swift doesn't. There are some success stories, but not enough. Waste of space, which is rarely talked about, is partially to blame. A populous state that continues to build on 105 hectares (260 acres) every day cannot preserve habitats in a way that it should -- and likes to claim it does. One should really talk about states in this context, since Germany's federal states are the main players in the country's environmental politics. They decide locally which areas to focus on and where the money will go.
Lynx, salmon, wolf, sea eagle, beaver, bear and many more -- the list of animals that have returned to Germany during the last couple of years is impressive. It seems as if nature has recovered quickly. But appearances are deceiving: extinction continues. While every wolf appearance makes headlines, the decline of skylark and common swift doesn't. There are some success stories, but not enough.
Waste of space, which is rarely talked about, is partially to blame. A populous state that continues to build on 105 hectares (260 acres) every day cannot preserve habitats in a way that it should -- and likes to claim it does. One should really talk about states in this context, since Germany's federal states are the main players in the country's environmental politics. They decide locally which areas to focus on and where the money will go.
