Cuban Experts Favor Biodiversity Protection

Havana, Jun 5. -The proportion of biodiversity lost since 2002 to date has increased 1,000 times, according to Teresa Borges, from the Environmental Directorate (DMA), attached to the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA).

The expert noted the need to fight that problem, which affects humankind, an inherent part of biological biodiversity, on the World Environment Day.

So far, 1.9 million species have been described on Earth, but according to the Red List of the International Union for the Preservation of Nature (IUPN), published in 2008 after studying 40,177 species, 16,119 of them (40.1 percent) are in danger of extinction.

The list includes 7,725 species of vertebrates, 32 percent of amphibians, 42 percent of reptiles, 30 percent of birds and 33 percent of mammals, according to Tomas Escobar Herrera, of Cuba's Environmental Agency.

Problems such as climate change and the indiscriminate felling of trees have caused the destruction of the habitat of several species, which are at risk of disappearing.

Biodiversity comprises the wide variety of living beings on Earth and its natural patterns that make it up. It also comprises the variety of ecosystem and genetic differences within each species, as well as their mutual interactions and with the rest of the environment. (Prensa Latina)