How do we decide which species to save?
Episode Summary
[Copied from BBC]
Four years ago, a landmark deal was signed by participating nations to ‘halt and reverse’ overall biodiversity loss by 2030, that included plants animals and fungi. However, recent UN biodiversity summits suggest the world is on track to achieve fewer than half of those targets. Scientists are warning that species are going extinct at a much faster rate than they would do naturally, due to factors like human activity, deforestation and climate change. According to the International Union for Conservation and Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, close to 50,000 species are currently threatened with extinction.
There are numerous projects designed to help species, including one in Uganda working to prevent the decline of mountain gorillas whilst at the same time supporting the local community. But ideas about conservation and which species to prioritise differ across the globe and recovery efforts are often impeded as nations redirect money to deal with other issues. So how do we decide which species to save?
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