More than 700 are likely to disappear by 2002. Biological collapse is now underway worldwide and only unprecedented effort will curtail the massive wave of extinctions. Furthermore, climate change from carbon dioxide emissions is likely to accelerate the demise of many forms of life. Although species are disappearing most rapidly from the world's tropical forests, biological diversity is diminishing all over the globe. But the pervasive nature of the problem and the imminent threat of global warming mean that parks and reserves alone cannot do the job.
Biological diversity is no luxury.
Like every species, ours is intimately dependent on others for its well-being. Species-rich tropical forests provide hundreds of millions of rural people with food, health care, raw materials, and cash income. Governments and communities around the world have taken steps to stem the erosion of life. The efforts of indigenous people, both to protect sacred lands and to sustain diversity in production systems, have likely been more effective than their modern counterparts in conserving life's variety. The world's healthy ecosystems are found predominantly in areas under indigenous control.