Scientists launch the International Biodiversity Observation Year (IBOY) to raise awareness of biodiversity
From International Biodiversity Observation Year (IBOY) 2001-2002
December 29, 2000
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, USA — Limited awareness of biodiversity and its connections to our lives undermines the ability of public and policymakers to make decisions for sustainable development. So say prominent biologists in a paper published in the January 2001 issue of Trends in Ecology and Evolution, to mark the start of the International Biodiversity Observation Year, or IBOY for short. These and other scientists around the world have committed to making 2001 and 2002 breakthrough years in which to dramatically increase communication of their findings about the status of biodiversity and its links to human welfare. The IBOY is inspired by the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, in which scientists worked together across disciplinary and national boundaries to advance knowledge about the Earth, oceans and atmosphere.
Diana Wall, biologist at Colorado State University, USA and Chair of the IBOY, emphasizes how little is known about biodiversity. "Scientists have described about 1.75 million species but we estimate that there are over 12 million species still to be described. For 99% of species we simply don’t have good information on their distribution, abundance, whether they are plentiful or endangered, or their role in providing goods and services that we get from ecosystems, such as renewal of soil fertility, decomposition of waste and purification of water."
The international team of researchers behind IBOY believe that improving knowledge about biodiversity may be the greatest scientific and education challenge of the twenty-first century. Wall predicts that "exploring biodiversity will unlock many benefits, through discovery of new genes and chemicals that can be used for drugs, to improve crops, or to restore polluted land. Perhaps even more importantly, learning where species are, their role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and how we can conserve them will be vital for making more informed decisions about our land, rivers and oceans".
However, scientists fear that much of the world’s biodiversity may be lost before these efforts are successful. Stuart Pimm, biologist at Columbia University, USA and member of the IBOY Advisory Board, says that "extinction rates are now 100 to 1000 times the background rate expected without human influence and they are accelerating. in Earth's geological history. A third or more of all species could be on a path to extinction within the next few decades." "How much biodiversity is conserved and the benefits we derive from it will largely depend on the decisions we make in the next few years" adds Wall.
Jeffrey McNeely, Chief Scientist at the World Conservation Union and another member of the IBOY Advisory Board describes biodiversity loss as "the quintessential global issue" since over-consumption of resources often occurs far away from the habitats and species that are lost in producing the resources. "IBOY is stimulating the international collaborative research needed to address this global problem" says McNeely.
At the center of IBOY activities are over 40 international projects that will make important new information on biodiversity available. Projects range from surveys of life in the canopies of tropical forests and the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, to use of the latest genetic tools to conserve endangered species, to an internet library that will save images and sounds of extinct and endangered species for future generations. IBOY’s webpage (http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/IBOY) has details of these projects.
Throughout IBOY, scientists are reaching out to share their findings on biodiversity. An education webpage for children will be launched in January 2001. Information packs explaining key biodiversity findings in 2001 and 2002 will be published and posted on-line. Plans are underway for a World Biodiversity Summit, in late 2002, to showcase the new information on, and opportunities to learn about biodiversity generated in the IBOY.
Ultimately, participants hope that the IBOY will convey scientists’ optimism that by acting now we can learn to conserve biodiversity and reap its benefits in a sustainable manner. Wall explains that "Every day scientists around the world are learning more about biodiversity. There is much being done but much more that can be done. We want the IBOY to raise awareness of this opportunity, and provide new ways for people to get involved and find the information on biodiversity that they need".
For more information, contact:
Gina Adams
IBOY Program Officer
International Biodiversity Observation Year (IBOY) 2001-2002
(+1) 970 491 1984
gadams@nrel.colostate.edu
Web site: http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/IBOY/