world as a whole, the loss of natural areas over the period 2000 to 2050 is projected to be 7.5 million square kilometers … i.e. the size of Australia.”

Measuring the loss of biodiversity by the MSA (mean species abundance) indicator, the report said that between 1970, 2000, 2010 and 2050, major impacts are expected in Africa, India, China and Europe (Figure Int.-2-21).

Coral reefs are one of the ecosystems mostly likely to be damaged seriously by human activities. According to an analysis announced by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2009, the "Red List Index" (the index for the extinction risk of species shows the percentage of species likely to continue to exist without taking further action in the near future. Value 1 indicates all species are classified into "Least Concern", while value 0 indicates all species are classified into "Extinct") for coral reefs deteriorated rapidly since 1996, due chiefly to bleaching that occurred in 1998 (Figure Int.-2-22). The analysis also said the coral bleaching is now occurring more frequently and over an extended period, and is related to rising sea temperatures, a symptom of global climate change.

Similarly, according to the summary version of TEEB for Policy Makers released in 2009, over 20% of coral reefs are already “seriously degraded or under imminent risk of collapse” as a result of human activities, including coastal development and overfishing. The report, citing recent research, pointed out that, in the decades ahead, coral reefs may be reduced to half or even become extinct due to global warming and ocean acidification, adding that the long-term survival of coral reefs would depend on major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions together with a reduction in local burdens on the environment. The TEEB summary version said in order to cope with the crisis situation of coral reefs, strong policy action by the public sector is necessary and measures should be taken by taking into account social fairness, the impact

on ecosystems and economic efficiency.

The circumstance of biodiversity in Japan appears in chapter 1.

## (7) Recyclable resource and wastes: unstable markets and increasing wastes

The amount of resources used in 2004 (almost equivalent to the amount of rocks mined annually) came to about 22.0 billion tons globally, with an annual increase of 560 million tons since 1990 topping the annual increase of 380 million tons in the 1960-1970s, when the crisis of resources depletion was much talked about (Figure Int.-2-23). While the reserve-production ratio varies for major metal resources, such as 32 years for copper, 73 years for iron ores and 771 years for aluminum, the ratio for some resources is limited. As for rare metals for which demand is expected to increase in coming years for use in products such as lithium ion batteries and transparent electrodes for liquid crystal panels, some have only limited resources, with the reserve-production ratio standing at 47 years for lithium, 51 years for indium and 392 years for platinum. Furthermore, these rare metal resources are unevenly distributed geographically (Table Int.-2-3), and thus further efforts for efficient use of resources are necessary to ensure a stable supply of resources. According to the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), even if all the countries in the world matched Japan in terms of conservation of resources, demand for resources will most likely exceed the amount of reserves by 2050 (Figure Int.-2-24).

Pushing ahead for a sound material-cycle society should lead to the stable supply of resources. Trends of resource prices in the past decade indicate particularly large fluctuations in resource prices (Figure Int.-2-25). These price fluctuations greatly affect the economy through surges in import prices and