According to the World Conservation Body IUCN, more than 12,000 species are threatened with extinction. But since the number of all species is estimated from about 1.75 million to as much as 14 million, many biologists believe that there are even more species at the brink of extinction. The rate at which species are becoming extinct is at an all time high. It is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than what the natural rate would have been.

We have lost one-third of all coral reefs, while another third is seriously damaged and threatened with extinction. Pollution, over fishing, destructive fishing practices using dynamite or cyanide, collecting live corals for the aquarium market, mining coral for building materials, and a warming climate are some of the many ways that people damage reefs all around the world every day.

Europe is home to hundreds of thousands of species which, however, are very small in numbers in comparison to other parts of the world. Furthermore, Europe has the highest proportion of species which are threatened with extinction. According to the scientific community, this is due to population growth and industrialization in the last couple of hundred years.

We depend directly on biodiversity for food, raw materials, medicines and a variety of other products, while trees and forests for instance also play an important role in climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming.

Plant and animal species throughout the world are threatened by humans and human activities, above all by:

• population growth

• overexploitation and depletion of natural resources

• urban sprawl and construction of roads, rail and other infrastructure pollution