Endangered species refer to all species with high probability of extinction of their wild populations in the near future due to their own reasons or the impact of human activities or natural disasters.OneKey speciesThe extinction of may destroy the localfood chain, causingecosystemAnd may eventually lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem.
On July 18, 2019, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed more than 7000 animals, fish and plants on the "Red List" of endangered species, and warned that human destruction of nature is causing species to be endangered at an "unprecedented" rate.[1]
Chinese name
species in imminent danger
Foreign name
endangered species
Discipline
biology
Cause
The cause of the species itself, the impact of human activities or natural disasters
Relevant conventions
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Broadly speaking,Endangeredspecies(endangered species) generally refers to rare, endangered or rare wild animals and plants;From the perspective of wildlife management, endangered species refer to《Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora》（Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora，CITES, signed in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1973), the species listed in the appendix and the wildlife under national and local key protection.Endangered species can be divided into absolute and relative.Absoluteness refers to the fact that the number of wild populations of endangered species is small for a long period of time, and there is a danger of extinction.Relativity means that the absolute number of wild populations of some endangered species is not too small, but relatively small compared with other species of the same category;Or some endangered species, which may not be considered as endangered species in other countries or regions[2]。
species in imminent danger
fromnarrow senseSpeaking above,species in imminent dangerEndangered species refers to species in danger of extinction due to various reasons, such as excessive hunting, poaching, environmental damage, scarcity, narrow habitat, etc.The extinction of a key species may destroy the localfood chain, causingEcosystemAnd may eventually lead to the wholeecosystemDisintegration of.
brief introduction
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Endangered species can be plants, animals, or some subspecies.In modern society, human activities are the main cause of harm to most animal and plant communities.Habitat destruction of animals and plants is the most common situation, and there are other situations that can lead to a large reduction in the number of animals and plants, such as environmental pollution, industrial events, and over exploitation of nature such as fishing[3]。
Addressing climate change is one of the important ways to save endangered species, while reducingcarbon dioxideGreenhouse gas emissions are the best way to slow down global warming.Reducing garbage and recycling raw materials mean that the energy consumption for producing new products is reduced, which is also conducive to solving the problem of climate change.People began to use low pollution energy, such as wind and solar energy, and gradually replaced traditional energy.These energies are also called clean energy and green energy[4]。
In the past five centuries, about 900 kinds of animals and plants have disappeared from the earth (at least they will not survive on the earth).There are more than 10000 endangered species.
The following chart shows the countries with the most endangered species in the world. In these countries, the natural environment has changed dramatically under the industrial development, which has obviously affected the survival of species.Each icon represents 10 species, and the statistical categories include mammals, birds, reptiles,Amphibian, fish and molluscs.What is listed here is only the 20 countries with the largest number of endangered species. It is noted that European countries are not listed, which does not mean that there are no endangered species there, but the degree and number are different. Spain has the largest number of endangered species in European countries.
In addition, since human occupancyHawaii IslandSince then, about 71 species of birds have been extinct.About 17 species of penguins died out in Antarctica, and the number of 12 species declined sharply.
stayEndangered plantaspect,EcuadorAlso ranked first, thisAmazonThe number of endangered plants in the basin is more than twice that of any other country.In the past 500 years, 114 species of plants have died out.
annuallytunasThe GDP of the fishing industry is 7.2 billion US dollars, resulting in a 70% reduction in the number of tuna since 1980.Experts predict that they will disappear from the earth within 10 years.King of BeastsTigersNot optimisticThere are only 3200 tigers left in the world. In the 20th century, their number dropped by 97%.
Global distribution of endangered species
The above statistics are fromInternational Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) published the Red List of Endangered Species in 2009, and the World Wildlife Fund released the bird survival status in 2009.
On September 4, 2021, the World Conservation Union updated the red list of endangered species, and more than 38000 species are threatened with extinction.In the updated list, the protection level of Komodo monitor lizard, the world's largest lizard, has been upgraded from "vulnerable" to "endangered".[7]
Facing extinction
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According to《New scientist》According to the magazine, the Red List of Endangered Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Gran, Switzerland, aims to include and display animals and plants at risk of extinction.According to the latest report, 17291 species are beginning to repeatDodoAll kinds of lives have been affected by the mistakes.The red list includes 21% of known mammals, such asGorilla Gorilla Gorilla ；30% of known amphibians, 12% of known birdsReptiles28% of animals, 37% of freshwater fishinvertebrate35% and 70% of plants are on this list.Here are some of the most endangered species:
Amphibians are the most endangered animal species. 1895 of the 6285 amphibians are in danger of extinction.Chihansi spray toad has changed from "endangered" to“Extinction in the wild”Class.The reason is thatTanzaniaThere is a dam at the upstream of Qihanxi Falls. Tanzania once had at least 17000 Qihanxi spray toads.The completed dam diverted 90% of the water flowing to the canyon where Chihansi spray toads once lived.Of course, the endangerment of Qihanxi spray toad may also be due to ampullaria disease, which threatens hundreds of amphibians.
Raab Tree Frog with Trimmed Legs
This ampullaria disease has also made the Labu tree frog with trimmed legs in central Panama an endangered species.The echinococcosis was introduced into this area in 2006. In the past three years, only one male frog has been heard here, and the efforts to artificially breed it have not been successful.
V. mabitang
2014lizardIt was a sad year, and 293 new lizards were included in the red list.The picture shows the Banai dragon, because local farmers and woodcutters have destroyed their habitat,the PhilippinesThe Bannai giant lizard on Bannai Island is on the verge of extinction.
Sailfin water lizard
Water of sail finlizardThey also face the same situation.This kind of animal, also known as the Philippines, is facing extinction because of agricultural development and hatching pups becoming the target of pet trade.
7515 kindsinvertebrateIt is listed in the red list, and 2639 are endangered animals.NigeriaThe large ruby dragonfly in the southeast and southwest of Cameroon is newly listed as a vulnerable animal.The local deforestation is the main reason why the species is in danger of extinction.
70% of known plants are in danger of extinction, and it may be difficult to find very safe plants.There are 12151 species of plants on the red list, and 8500 species are endangered.“Queen of Andes"Distributed inPeruAnd Bolivia, scientists have reassessed this plant, but it is still an endangered species.This plant produces seeds once every 80 years and then dies.Impact of climate change andherd of cattleTheir trampling and gnawing make them an endangered species.
Resource status
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Uncontrolled species introduction and export
The speed and quantity of species loss have made many researchers worried."Chinese BiologySpecies resourcesPresent situation and protection countermeasures "project expert group leaderXue Dayuan, is one of them.
The latest survey report launched by the project team in mid January -《Current situation and protection of biological genetic resources in China》The scientists first disclosed the serious situation of species loss in China.Since the 1970s, China hasChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesSince the Institute of Variety Resources established the introduction exchange organization, China has provided foreign varieties every year from 1972 to 1991crop germplasm 1400 copies (times), nearly 30000 copies (times) were provided to the outside world in total.However, the records of this species export became less and less after the 1990s, even in some stages.
According to a set of data released by the United States, as of June 30, 2002, 932 plant resources and 20140 plants had been introduced from China, including 4452 soybeans, including 168 wild soybeans.In sharp contrast, only 2177 copies of wild soybeans were approved to be provided according to the official records of China, and wild soybeans were not included in the list of variety resources provided to foreign countries.
Experts from the Foreign Variety Exchange Agency of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said that, especially after 1993, the introduction and export of species resources were out of control to a certain extent due to too many visits, reception and cooperation projects.According to the conservative estimate of experts, the output of biological germplasm resources by 2014 is not only much higher in quantity than the total of the previous 20 years, but also contains a large number of excellent qualitygene。
"The difference in the recorded data is amazing. How did this gap come about? The reason can only be that many species have been lost quietly." Xue Dayuan further said that as far as agricultural research departments are concerned, there are hundreds of thousands of agricultural research personnel in China, and almost every day many people go abroad for scientific research cooperation or investigation, and the amount of resources brought out must be very surprising.In this regard, our country is out of control.
Xue Dayuan said that the serious loss of species has attracted the attention of the party and state leaders.In the spring of 2003, the main leaders of the Party and the state respectively gave instructions on the loss of biological species, requiring to strengthen biological species andgenetic resources Protection and management.Since then, the State Council has held a special coordination meeting to determine that the State Environmental Protection Administration will coordinate the whole countryBiological species resourcesIn August 2003, an inter ministerial joint conference on biological species resource management was established, which was composed of 17 ministries.
State Environmental Protection AdministrationBio-SafetyCai Lei, an official of the office, confirmed that a nationwide law enforcement inspection on the protection of biological species resources, presided over by the State Environmental Protection Administration, was under way.Inspection contents include: implementation of existing relevant laws and regulations, loss of biological species resources, biological species resourcesLocal protectionAnd the threat to the living environment, as well as the construction and management of relocation protection facilities for biological species resources.
Global warming
A new analysis of more than 100 small studies shows that if climate change continues in this process, as many as one sixth of the species on the earth will disappear.
The researchers pointed out that climate warming will lead to population reduction, migration and ecological degradation of some animal and plant species due to various maladjustments, and some endangered species cannot escape extinction.
Those who did not participate in the studyBrown UniversityDov Sax, a conservation biologist, said: "All studies show that if we make the earth hotter, we will lose more species." He said: "From the perspective of policy making, this is a very important understanding."
fromindustrial revolutionSincecarbon dioxideAnd other greenhouse gases have caused the global average temperature to rise by about 0.8 ℃.But StorrsUniversity of ConnecticutEcologist Mark Urban pointed out that there is no consensus in relevant studies on the impact of temperature rise on global species.Some people estimate that as many as 54% of species may eventually become extinct due to climate change, but others believe that the impact is not so significant.
Urban believes that such different results can be attributed to the limitations of some individual studies, perhaps because they are concentrated on a few species or a relatively small geographical area.And different research teams often use different methods to complete their predictions.
In order to break this limitation, Urban used statistical methods to mix previous research results, so as to use peer comparison to assess the extinction risk of global species.
Urban conducted a comprehensive analysis of 131 different biodiversity research results, and found thatExtinction of speciesThe risk increases with the increase of the earth's temperature, and the risk of extinction is accelerating.Species in South America, Australia and New Zealand face the highest risk of extinction, where many species have limited habitats and are difficult to migrate to other places.
The United Nations is calling on all countries to work together to control the global temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.according toUniversity of ConnecticutResearchers estimate that even if the temperature rise is controlled within this range, the extinction risk of global species will increase from 2.8% to 5.2%.
Urban pointed out that if the earth temperature rises from 2 ℃ to 3 ℃,Extinction of speciesThe risk will increase to 8.5%.If countries do not take measures to maintain this trend of global warming, the global warming will reach 4.3 degrees Celsius by 2100, and about 1/6 of the species will face the risk of extinction.He believes that to avoid accelerated extinction of global species, the international community urgently needs to take measures to prevent further global warming.
The researchers reported the study in the latest issue of the journal Science.This new research result will help scientists and policymakers to better evaluate parks and protected areas.Sax stressed that, from an ecological point of view, an area set aside today to protect certain species may become unsuitable decades later.For example, according toNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationA group of closely related marine protected areas or other protected habitats can create migration channels for marine organisms to cope with climate change.
At the same time, another article onmarine animalThe paper also pointed out that in the context of global warming, some tropical and Antarctic waters are potentialExtinction of speciesHigh risk area.Among marine animals, whales, dolphins, seals and other mammals face the greatest risk of extinction.
Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, an ecologist at Washington University in Seattle, believes that Urban "has done a great job to integrate the results of these studies".She said that this research also provides an opportunity for scientists to design future research to fill the current cognitive gap.Sax agreed: "We just made a preliminary assessment of these risks."[5]
According to the latest statistics, there are about 380000 agricultural samples collected in Chinacrop germplasm 。Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesFang Jiahe, a researcher of Crop Variety Resources Research Institute, said, "The United States has 550000 copies, and we are the second in the world".
Fang Jiahe was worried that a considerable part of the "world's second largest" germplasm resources "can only stay in the laboratory, and many germplasm resources can no longer be found in the wild".He said that the number of biological species in China is increasing by one every dayEndangeredEven the rate of extinction is decreasing. The number of cultivated varieties of crops is decreasing at an annual rate of 15%, and a large number of species are lost overseas through various ways.
Queen of Andes[6]
On July 18, 2019, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed more than 7000 animals, fish and plants on the "Red List" of endangered species, and warned that human destruction of nature is causing species to be endangered at an "unprecedented" rate.[1]
protective measures
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Management Measures
Wildlife resourcesIt is a strategic resource for human survival and socio-economic sustainable development.They not only provide a support system for human survival, but also serve as the basis for many industries and new pharmaceutical industriesnatural capital Components of.The reduction of wild animal and plant resources means the loss of economic opportunities for natural capital resources as the basis of social and economic development.Therefore, protecting wildlife resources is not only aenvironmental problemsIt is also a broader issue of sustainable development capability.Countries all over the world attach great importance to the protection of wildlife resources and have formulated relevant policies and regulations.
The strategic objective of biodiversity conservation in the EU is to fundamentally predict, prevent and solve the causes of significant reduction or loss of biodiversity, reverse the trend of biodiversity reduction or loss, and make species and ecosystems (including agricultural ecosystem) inside and outside the EU territory in a satisfactory state of protection.
The EU biodiversity conservation strategy has laid out a clear framework for action, and set out the overall goals and sectoral objectives.It mainly includes the following four aspects: First, the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity;Second, sharing and utilizationgenetic resources Benefits generated;Third, research, identification, monitoring andinformation switching；The fourth is to educate, train and improve the public's awareness of protection.
After the formulation of the EU biodiversity strategic action plan, the British government established the British Biodiversity Leadership Group to provide strategic guidance for the UK biodiversity conservation work;Then England was foundedNorthern Ireland, ScotlandWelshFour leading groups are responsible for monitoring the implementation of various action plans and carrying out public awareness raising, education and training.
2. Relevant regulations on the protection of endangered species in the United States
The United States has carried out many legislation to protect endangered species, such as the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Fish and Wildlife Cooperation Act, the NationalWildlifeShelter Management Act, North American Wetland Protection Act, etc.Among them, the most important is the Endangered Species Act.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the capture of species on the federal list without a permit.However, the issuance of incidental capture license allows the asset owner to carry out legal economic development activities in other aspects when there are endangered species in its assets.At the same time, it provides a creative partnership between the management department and the public and private sectors to achieve a balanced and comprehensive and orderly development of endangered species.For example, AmericanInternational Paper CompanyFor cuttingPapermaking raw materialsA habitat protection plan has been formulated to protect the endangered Red Hat on the land in the southeast of the companyWoodpecker。The plan describes the impact of deforestation on the red hat woodpecker and measures to mitigate the impact.Measures include the establishment of nearly 5300 acres of habitat for 25-30 woodpecker families to increase the number of woodpeckers.
A survey in the United States shows that at least 80% of the species listed in the federal list live on private land.Recognizing the importance of involving private landowners in the protection of endangered species, the management department has formulated a series of policies to promote cooperation with landowners.These policies include: candidate species protection agreements, which encourage license applicants to protect species not listed in the list in the habitat protection plan.The advantages of this are: first, it can provide early protection for many species, thus avoiding listing them on the list;Second, because candidate species are protected, it can reduce the need to modify the habitat protection plan because a species that was not listed in the original list is listed in the list after the license is issued.
The number of habitat conservation programs in the United States is growing rapidly.Before 1992, only 14 habitat protection plans had been approved, but by February 23, 2001, the management department had issued more than 343 incidental capture permits, whose habitat protection plans covered more than 20 million acres of land, and protected 200 listed species and many non listed species.
3. Australia toWild speciesSome management methods for commercial utilization
In Australia, the biggest threat to wild species is habitat clearance.In order to improve the use value of land, individual farmers, ranchers or developers often remove the original vegetation, thus removing the habitat of wild species.Therefore, many people believe that the future protection of biodiversity in Australia depends to a large extent on finding a mechanism, especially economic stimulus, to effectively protect and restore natural habitats on private land.Australia believes that from its experience at home and abroad, the commercial application of wild species can be one of such mechanisms under proper management.
Some experience in Australia shows that giving an endangered wild species a value will lead to greater protection of the species than no commercial value.For example, in order to obtainMarsupialThe meat is used for domestic consumption and export, and has been continuously commercially harvested at a high level for decades.However, their number has not decreased, but has increased significantly.Another example is aboriginal commercial capture on Australia's BASS STRAIT IslandSooty shearwaterThe number of sooty shearwaters is still increasing.This is because commercial capture has played a great role in protecting the habitat of these wild animals.
The above examples show that only when the land owner canWildlifeThey can protect these habitats only when they get benefits.Therefore, natural habitat should be regarded as an economic resource, because it has application value and can compete with other land use methods.It can be fully respected and protected only when it is regarded as having economic value.
Australia's experience in managing wild species has shown that technically sustainable harvesting or hunting can be achieved.The key question is whether the government can control the economic and social forces that may play a destructive role.One of the most important factors is to ensure that the owners of resources see that well managed wildlife trade has economic benefits.Therefore, for relevant government agencies, the challenge for wildlife commercial utilization entrepreneurs and animal protection groups is how to manage commercial applications to reduce risks and maximize the protection and sustainable application of biodiversity.
The current division of management responsibilities in Australia is that the federal government mainly manages import and export, and is carrying out a comprehensive reform of all federal environmental legislation, which has been divided into three parts: biodiversity protection, environmental protection and heritage protection.Each state and autonomous state has legislation onWildlifeTo manage and support the sustainable commercial application of wildlife in ecology in both policy and practice.
Other countries also have similar practical experience: in South Africa, due to the change of land use policy, the ownership of wild species has returned to the land owners, and many habitats have been restored and protected. The distribution and quantity of many wild species have greatly increased, and many social and cultural benefits have also been brought.
4. Some western countries protect their own resources at the expense of other countries' resources
InternationallyWildlife resourcesAs one of the important indicators to measure a country's national strength.along withdeveloped countryIt has a solid economic foundation and attaches great importance to the protection of its own biological resources. Relying on its own strong economic and scientific and technological strength, it takes various means to plunder and control the biological resources of developing countries, uses advanced technology, processes them into high value-added herbal medicines or other products, and then applies for patent protection,And sell the achievements to developing countries at high prices in the form of patented technology and patented products to obtain high profits.Some developed countries have accelerated their market share and economic monopoly on developing countries by controlling the world's wildlife resources.As a result, developing countries have suffered huge economic and resource losses, and many countries of origin and provider of biological resources have become victims.Therefore, some western countries did pay attention to the protection of species after they became rich, but developed countries protect their own resources at the expense of developing countries, which should be highly valued by the international community.
CITES Convention Organization
CITESconventionIt is the abbreviation of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known asWashington Convention。The treaty was signed in Washington, the United States in 1973, and officially entered into force in 1975.The depositary government of the Convention isSwiss Federal Government。The purpose of the Convention is to strictly control and supervise the commercial international trade of endangered species listed in its appendix, so as to prevent excessive international trade, development and utilization from endangering the survival of species in nature and avoiding their extinction.So far, there are more than 160 States parties to the Convention.The Conference of States Parties to the Convention is held every two years.
Convention trade refers to the import, export, re export and import of species from the sea (referring to the import of any species specimens obtained from the sea areas not under the jurisdiction of any country into a country).
China joined CITES Convention Organization in 1981.
China
China is one of the countries with the richest animal and plant resources in the world, but it is a resource rich country. According to the per capita resource situation, China is a resource poor country.
Sailfin water lizard
In order to further strengthen the protection of wildlife and the rescue and breeding of endangered species.More than 700 nature reserves, botanical gardens, animal breeding centers, etc. have been established, which have protected a large number of wild animals and plants, such asMount EmeiNational Park Protection.At the end of last century, 14 wildlife rescue and breeding centers, more than 20 artificial breeding populations of endangered species, and more than 400 rare plants have been established in ChinaEx-situ conservation Breeding bases and germplasm resource banks, more than 100 botanical gardens and arboretums, and more than 1000 rare plants have been protected and bred.
