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22/05/2004: "Our colourless and lifeless world"
"If biodiversity is not taken seriously at high levels our most lasting legacy will be a colourless and lifeless world.", Joy Hyvarinen, the international treaties advisor at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in this BBC News article.
Only nine countries were marking International Biodiversity Day on Saturday. The society called on the government to do more, including fulfilling pledges to set up a network of wildlife sites. "Governments agree that wildlife rich areas should be protected but their reluctance to pay for them suggests they don't really care," said the society's director of international operations Alastair Gammell.
"The escalating rate at which animals are disappearing is horrific and unless governments act quickly, they will deprive future generations of the rich array of wildlife we enjoy."
The RSPB said mining, deforestation, drainage and oil extraction were potentially damaging many locations that were crucial for wildlife.
The 2004 International Biodiversity Day theme is food, water and health for all.
