The United Nations Plant Diversity Project

The United Nations Plant Diversity Project is an organization which aims to protect at least 50 percent of earth’s plant diversity. Protection of the more commonly named hotspots as parks or reserves will help save a large portion of earth’s plant biodiversity. This is a wonderful organization, and it is an example of how people can take action to protect biodiversity.

A Hotspot

First of all, being a hot spot is not necessarily a good thing. In this case, an area must have at least 1,500 species of plants found nowhere else. Effective planning to protect biodiversity needs to be global. However, each individual country is responsible for their own biodiversity. In the interests of thinking globally, developing countries will need support and care from the global community.

At Risk

This part is split into two sections. Both sections are about things that are at risk.

One Big Issue
                                                                                
The International Primatological Society’s twelve-year study (released in 2008) shows a disturbing picture of our forests, which are known to contain more than half of all primate species. Out of the known primate species, about 634 primate species and subspecies, 50 percent are threatened with extinction over the next ten years! Habitat destruction is the main cause for this tragedy, but there are many other reasons such as climate change and human pollution.

What This Means

The United Nations Plant Diversity Project held a convention and decided to set a 2010 goal (as I said, all of this happened in mid- 2008). In 2009, they are realizing that they may not reach the goal because of many things, including the information about primates listed above. Some believe that the change in leadership for the United States might turn this back in the right direction.