Spiritual Forum

• From a fungus in Wales to a guinea pig which lives only in a small 20acre patch in Brazil: Plea goes out to save the unknown 'at-risks' from extinction
• Report by international consortium calls for all species to be saved 'even if worthless by monetary standards'

An international consortium of more than 8,000 scientists have called for urgent help to save Earth's 100 most threatened animals, plants and fungi.

While Nature has always operated by survival of the fittest, humanity's increasing need for space is adding to the stresses on the natural kingdom.

The report blamed a loss of habitat, caused by a rising human population and other factors such as expanding cities, deforestation, pollution and climate change, for driving more and more species of animals and plants to extinction.

The 100 species, from 48 different countries are first in line to disappear completely if nothing is done to protect them.

They range from the Jamaican rock iguana - originally reported extinct, but now found to be clinging on with two small populations, to the suicide palm of Madagascar, which dies exhausted after producing tiny yellow flowers on a stem up to 5 metres (16 ft) long.

Many on the list, such as the Ethiopia's liben lark, or the Seychelles sheath-tailed bat, may not be as familiar to us as lions or whales, but each adds something to the planet which, once lost, is gone forever.

The report, 'Priceless or Worthless?', says all the species need to be much better protected or face extinction by 2020.

The 124-page report will be presented at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in South Korea this week, and hopes to push the conservation of 'worthless' creatures up the agenda that is set by NGOs from around the globe.

Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation at ZSL, said: 'Over half (of the 100 most endangered species) are receiving little or no attention.

'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.

'This has made it increasingly difficult for conservationists to protect the most threatened species on the planet.

'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?'

Co-author of the report, ZSL's Ellen Butcher says: 'All the species listed are unique and irreplaceable.

'If they vanish, no amount of money can bring them back. However, if we take immediate action we can give them a fighting chance for survival.

'But this requires society to support the moral and ethical position that all species have an inherent right to exist.'

The IUCN said the report 'hopes to push the conservation of 'worthless' creatures up the agenda that is set by NGOs (non-governmental organisations) from around the globe.'

'We need a fund to prevent extinction, resourced by governments, that is in the billions, not millions,' the report said, without specifying a currency.

Measures such as an expansion of protected areas or hunting bans were particularly needed, it said.

Baillie said people may have gone too far in recent years in judging animals and plants by the economic value of the services they provide, including food, medicine or as tourist attractions.

'We need to keep the appreciation for the wonderful diversity of life on Earth as the key message, and then other utilitarian arguments have to be additional,' he said.

Governments agreed in 2010 to a plan to protect life on earth that included the goal: 'By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.'

The IUCN said that all species had value.

'Although the value of some species may not appear obvious at first, all species in fact contribute in their way to the healthy functioning of the planet,' said Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

The list of the 100 most endangered species included others such as the Cayman Islands ghost orchid, and the Javan rhino.

A ban on hunting had helped the recovery of the humpback whale, now estimated to number 60,000.

Captive breeding meant that Przewalski's horse, once almost extinct, now numbered more than 300 in the wild from Ukraine to China.

The pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) is one of the animals facing a bleak future. Escudo Island, 17km off the coast of Panama, is the only place in the world where these tiny sloths are found.

At half the size of their mainland cousins, and weighing roughly the same as a newborn baby, pygmy sloths are the smallest and slowest sloths in the world and remain Critically Endangered.

Similarly, the saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is one of the most threatened mammals in Southeast Asia. Known as the Asian unicorn because of its rarity, the population of these antelope may be down to few tens of individuals today.

In the UK, a small area in Wales is the only place in the world where the brightly coloured willow blister (Cryptomyces maximus) is found. Populations of the spore-shooting fungi are currently in decline, and a single catastrophic event could cause their total destruction.

Professor Baillie said: 'If we believe these species are priceless it is time for the conservation community, government and industry to step up to the plate and show future generations that we value all life.''

Whilst monetising nature remains a worthwhile necessity for conservationists, the wider value of species on the brink of extinction should not be disregarded, the report states.

Full list of species:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2201459/8-000-scientists-plea-save-100-endangered-animals-plants.html#ixzz26Cfse5PV