Countdown to extinction: Conservation scientists list the world’s 100 most endangered species

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

The three-toed pygmy sloth is one of the world’s most endangered animals. Photo courtesy United Academics Magazine.

New report outlines world’s 100 most endangered species

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Some of the world’s most endangered species, including a three-toed sloth and a rare spore-shooting fungi, may not get the protection they need simply because they aren’t seen as providing direct benefits to humans, according to leading conservation scientists who recently compiled a list of the planet’s 100 most endangered animals, plants and fungi.

“The donor community and conservation movement are leaning increasingly towards a ‘what can nature do for us’ approach, where species and wild habitats are valued and prioritised according to the services they provide for people,” said Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation for the Zoological Society of London.

“This has made it increasingly difficult for conservationists to protect the most threatened species on the planet,” Baillie said. “While the utilitarian value of nature is important conservation goes beyond this. Do these species have a right to survive or do we have a right to drive them to extinction?” (more…)

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