Thirteen of them have since been declared extinct. The practical responsibility for that comes under the Department of Wildlife Services. As co-ordinator of the GEAP, we only give them logistical support where we can and within the context of the Agricutural and Natural Resources Working Group. They are sinks for carbon dioxide. In nature, there has to be an equilibrium for things to move on.
Rainforests are also sources for medicine.
When they are gone, sources for these two things are gone. It is a weather phenomenon not quite understood. A lot of things happening are attributed to El Nino. We are definitely experiencing unprecedented erratic weather patterns. About 10 years ago, you could say that by June 15, the rain would start and end by October 3.