Red List Counts ‘On the Brink’ Species

Red List Counts ‘On the Brink’ Species

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East Asia’s status as the world’s main “extinction hotspot” is confirmed in the new Red List of Threatened Species, unveiled at the Rio+20 sustainable development meeting.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which compiles the list, says it shows the importance of nature for human wellbeing. One of the themes of the Rio meeting, which comes 20 years after the iconic Earth Summit here, is the “green economy” – an economy that uses the services nature provides more wisely, and safeguards them. “A sustainable future cannot be achieved without conserving biological diversity, not only for nature itself but also for all seven billion people who depend on it,” said IUCN director-general Julia Marton-Lefevre.