Plant species being lost to human activities - 1 Oct 2010  
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A study recently completed by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, United Kingdom, together with colleagues at the Natural History Museum in London and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has revealed that about 22% of plant species,or one in five throughout the world, are in jeopardy.

The report, “Sampled Red List Index for Plants,” evaluated 7,000 plant species considered representative of the 380,000 species thought to exist in the world. Along with the alarming indication of loss,the threat to the plants’ existence was found to originate overwhelmingly from human activities such as deforestation, agriculture and livestock grazing.

The survey’s findings will be presented at next month’s United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan, where the scientists will be recommending that new goals with limits be placed on biodiversity loss.
Royal Botanic Gardens Director Stephen Hopper stated, “We cannot sit back and watch plant species disappear – plants are the basis of all life on Earth, providing clean air,water, food and fuel.

All animal and bird life depends on them, and so do we.” Many thanks, Director Hopper and other participating researchers at Royal Botanic Gardens, Natural History Museum in London and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature for your extensive work that reveals the alarming loss of precious plant life on our planet.

May we act quickly in showing our care for these vital contributors to life on Earth, to ensure their survival and our own. The need for gentler stewardship of our fragile ecosphere is a message that has frequently been emphasized by Supreme Master Ching Hai, as in the following excerpt from an April 2009 videoconference in South Korea.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We should all remember that we share this planetary abode, the water, the air, the resources, the food, all of nature, we share only. We should not be possessive of nature. So, the best thing we can do for all the animals is to stop causing suffering to them, stop killing them, stop eating them, stop damaging all our habitats. Stop damaging our environment. Be veg, go green and save their planet too, the planet of the animals.

It restores the balance of our oceans and forests and preserves our finite natural resources. This is truly the best way to restore our environment and ensure the highest degree of peace.
Such a simple solution – being veg - that’s it.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20100929-294956/One-fifth-of-worlds-plants-threatened-
by-extinctionstudy
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/28/plant.extinction.threat.study/index.html?hpt=C1
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1316095/1-5-worlds-plants-threatened-extinction-snowdrop.html