ALL life on the planet is interdependent and interconnected. Our collective survival depends on whether humans choose to live in sync with nature or to hurt it. Today the planet`s well-being is in clear and present danger, for ours has been a devastating impact on the earth and on all life that inhabits it. Not only have we ravaged entire ecosystems, we have also caused countless species to become extinct. At least 76 known mammals have disappeared since 1500. But this number pales in comparison to the findings of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List 2008, which reveals that half the world`s mammal species are declining in number, while a quarter of all mammals are now threatened with extinction. Of these, 188 mammals are in the most serious, or `critically endangered`, category. This is largely the result of habitat destruction and indiscriminate hunting. The impact of our activities is the same on other fauna and also flora. The diversity of biological life on this planet is rapidly diminishing.
Why the disappearance of even a single species is important is explained in the report “Extinction doesn`t just affect the species that disappears — it alters entire communities, changing both how the community as a whole and the individual species within it will respond to environmental degradation.” The good news is that conservation works. The Red List 2008 reports that five per cent of threatened species are now recovering as a result of protection efforts. This shows that it is not too late for the 99 threatened species currently struggling to survive in Pakistan (23 mammals, 27 birds, 10 reptiles, 22 fish, 15 other invertebrates and two plant species). But life on this planet is a web, and its strands are tightly connected. Conservation efforts will be pointless if we continue to poison the land, air and water. Microorganisms do not have the charismatic appeal of a tiger or a panda. But they are the delicate fibres from which the web of life is built. If they disappear, so will all other living things on this planet. It is time to wake up and make the connection.
