Nearly Half the Planet's Species Could Be Wiped Out by the End of This Century

Leading biologists estimate nearly half of the planet’s species could be extinct by the end of the century unless urgent action is taken.

Malayan tiger, an endangered species. Image credit: Greg Hume/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A major conference to be held at the Vatican is bringing together prominent biologists, ecologists and economists as part of the Biological Extinction conference in a bid to halt the mass extinction.

The three-day event, jointly sponsored by the pontifical academy of science and pontifical academy of social sciences, aims to find a solution to save the planet’s diversity.

Citing statistics from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the earth is on course to see 20 to 40 per cent of all biodiversity wiped out by the end of the 21st century.

And while there is a concerted effort to protect endangered species such as pandas, tigers and rhinos, other organisms are being overlooked.

The Biological Extinction statement said: “All of our food comes directly or indirectly from higher plants, of which there are an estimated 425,000 species.

"Tens of thousands of these have been cultivated for food at some time by some people, but at present, 103 of them produce about 90 per cent of our food worldwide, while three kinds of grain, maize, rice, and wheat, produce about 60 per cent of the total, the Independent reported.

“We have detailed knowledge of perhaps only a fifth of the species of plants in the world, and a majority could be gone in nature by the end of the century we entered recently.

"The same can be said for other groups of organisms, on which we depend for many of our medicines, ecosystem services, atmospheric purification, carbon storage, and everything that really makes our lives possible.” (Tasnim News Agency)

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