IUCN Warns Nearly 50,000 Species Face Extinction
Nearly 50,000 species are threatened with extinction, according to the latest Red List from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN. The report highlights deep-sea animals at risk from seabed mining, with experts warning sediment plumes could destroy hydrothermal vent ecosystems.
Endangered Species List Grows
REPORTER:
Nearly 50,000 species are threatened with extinction, according to the latest Red List from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN. Among them are deep-sea animals threatened by seabed mining.
Chen Chong (IUCN EXPERT):
Each hydrothermal vent is smaller than a football field.
If mined, they will generate massive sediment plumes.
These plumes are large enough to blanket
the entire hydrothermal vent.
This means all living organisms there would suffocate and die.
This would cause devastating damage
to the entire hydrothermal vent ecosystem.
REPORTER:
The report also highlights South Africa's desert rain frog, which is also threatened by mining. The IUCN warns that nearly two-thirds of its habitat could be affected over the next two decades. But conservationists say recovery is possible. Australia's numbat has improved from endangered to near threatened after habitat protection, predator control and captive breeding programs helped its population rebound.
