A Global Voice for Species Conservation
Why should we care about species when the world has so many other challenges to face?
You're invited to help create a compelling, persuasive statement that answers this question. Our statement will be made available to thousands of people attending the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008 by Dr Holly Dublin, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.
There is a crisis in species conservation. Rates of extinction are increasing in response to habitat loss, climate change, over-exploitation, alien invasive species and other factors. However, there is still a feeling that species conservation is a fringe activity, driven by people who are obsessed with animals and plants, rather than something that should be a core concern for humankind. The Global Amphibian Assessment revealed that the world’s amphibians were going extinct far quicker than anyone had realised. This provoked a short-term expression of concern, which quickly dissipated. Did people wonder why does it matter if some frogs they had never heard of disappeared from an obscure part of the world that they were never likely to visit?
How can we put forward persuasive arguments that make sure that people really do care, and continue to care about species?