Four years ago, a landmark deal was signed by participating nations to ‘halt and reverse’ overall biodiversity loss by 2030, that included plants animals and fungi. However, recent UN biodiversity summits suggest the world is on track to achieve fewer than half of those targets. Scientists are warning that species are going extinct at a much faster rate than they would do naturally, due to factors like human activity, deforestation and climate change. According to the International Union for Conservation and Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, close to 50,000 species are currently threatened with extinction. There are numerous projects designed to help species, including one in Uganda working to prevent the decline of mountain gorillas whilst at the same time supporting the local community. But ideas about conservation and which species to prioritise differ across the globe and recovery efforts are often impeded as nations redirect money to deal with other issues. So how do we decide which species to save? (Photo: Man wearing latex gloves holding four Corroboree Frogs at Sydney Zoo. Credit: AFP/Getty Images) Contributors: Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke chair of conservation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Extraordinary professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa Arne Mooers, professor of biodiversity, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and chief executive officer, Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda Camila Mazzoni, research group leader, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. Professor in biodiversity and conservation genomics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Amelia Cox Technical producer: Toby James Production co-ordinator: Ellie Dover Production management assistant: Liam Morrey Editor: Tom Bigwood
