bioplan
"David Duthie" <David.Duthie@unep.org>
Dear BIOPLANNERS,

Below is the press release from Conservation International on a new
initiative and a paper published in Science making a broad-sweep estimate
at the price we should be prepared to pay, as a global community to prevent
the tapestry of life from becoming threadbare, or even ripped asunder.

I hope to be able to post more details on the article itself soon.  Contact
me if you have trouble accessing the article directly.

Best wishes

David Duthie
E-mail:  david.duthie@unep.org

****************************************************************************************

Can We Defy Nature's End?

Science Magazine Article Says Yes, Details $30 Billion Cost of Saving
Biodiversity

WASHINGTON, D.C. &NDASH; An international team of leading conservationists
calculate that protecting enough biological diversity to sustain a healthy
planet will cost some $30 billion, and maintain the money and measures to
do so are attainable. Their findings appear in an article entitled, "Can We
Defy Nature's End," published in today's Science Magazine.

The article is based on results from the Defying Nature's End conference,
convened last August by the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS)
at Conservation International and co-chaired by Intel co-founder Gordon
Moore and renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson. The conference focused on
developing a results-oriented approach to biodiversity conservation. Based
on the findings of that conference, today's Science Magazine article offers
specific recommendations for governments, industry and individuals to
preserve global biodiversity.

"The goals we set at the Defying Nature's End conference are ambitious, but
we have no doubt they are attainable," says Conservation International
President Russell A. Mittermeier, a co-author of the article. "If we fail,
the scenario is an enormous biodiversity loss in the hotspots, which is
simply not an option. Although ambitious, the estimated $30 billion price
tag is substantially less than the $40 billion tax refund mailed to
American households earlier this summer."

The article states that $25 billion is required to fund the protection of
the world's 25 "biodiversity hotspots," which contain high concentrations
of species found nowhere else and which are disproportionately vulnerable
to extinction. The 25 hotspots represent just 1.4 percent of the world's
landmass, but contain a staggering 60 percent of terrestrial species
diversity. The remaining $5 billion would help protect the tropical
wilderness forests and key marine reserves.

"This is the first time that a plan for addressing the most important
crisis for biodiversity has been articulated from both a scientific and
practical application point of view," says CABS Executive Director Gustavo
Fonseca, another co-author. "We know not only that these suggestions are
viable, but we know that they are affordable."

One suggestion, for example, calls for a targeted assault on perverse
economic subsidies, governmental policies that degrade the environment.
Another is to compete with loggers, using "conservation concessions" as a
free-market mechanism to ensure conservation success.

The initial blueprint to carry out the recommendations of the Defy Nature's
End Conference will be unveiled October 19th in Portland, Oregon.

The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, (CABS) based at Conservation
International, strengthens the ability of CI and other institutions to
accurately identify and quickly respond to emerging threats to Earth's
biological diversity. CABS brings together leading experts in science and
technology to collect and interpret data about biodiversity, to develop
strategic plans for conservation and to forge key partnerships in all
sectors toward conservation goals. Read more about CABS at
www.biodiversityscience.org.

 CONTACT at CI:    Brad Phillips b.phillips@conservation.org 202-912-1532

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