From FionaNyx@aol.com Thu Apr 30 23:59:36 1998 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 21:17:24 EDT From: FionaNyx Reply-To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu Subject: threatened plants book IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED PLANTS On April 8th 1998 the most comprehensive scientific assessment ever assembled on the status of the world's plants was released by IUCN -- the world conservation union. The publication of the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants marks a turning point for conservation. The book, an important new conservation tool, provides baseline information to measure conservation progress and serves as a primary source of data on plant species. Most importantly however the IUCN Red List provides the building blocks on which to base worldwide efforts to conserve plant species and the eco-systems they inhabit. There are an estimated 270,00 known species of vascular plants. Of the species assessed, 33,798 species, or at least 12.5 percent of all known vascular plants, are threatened with extinction on a global level. These plants are found in 369 families and are scattered throughout 200 countries around the globe. Of these, 91 percent are limited to a single country - which links their potential for extinction to national economic and social conditions. Plants are the foundation of all life on earth, without which we cannot survive. As a first, broad look into the global conservation status of our world's flora, the information contained in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants is grim. When considered in conjunction with the findings in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, which revealed that 11 percent of all birds and 25 percent of all known mammal species are threatened, the implications are even more alarming. Please visit Eco-Compass on-line at http://www.islandpress.org for an in depth examination of which taxa and families are affected, which species have become extinct and which countries face the highest threats. As always we also provide links to the best related websites and print resources. Island Press is proud to be the US distributer for IUCN publications. Please visit our site or call 1800 828 1302 for more information about Island Press and IUCN publications. Eco-Compass by Island Press The Environmental Publisher 1 800 828 1302 info@islandpress.org http://www.islandpress.org