Biodiversity loss expected to increase

WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- The costs and risks to humans due to biodiversity loss worldwide are expected to increase, according to a report by the U.S.-based World Resources Institute.

Ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, are valued at $30 trillion and their loss can have economic consequences and cause human suffering, 1,360 scientists from around the world state in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The MEA is the result of a five-year project being released in a series of reports through the year.

As an example, the MEA report cites how the removal of coastal ecosystems for development reduced the natural buffers to the tsunami that struck Asia in December and resulted in increased devastation.

The report prompted eight international conservation organizations -- Birdlife International, Conservation International, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Fauna and Flora International, the Nature Conservancy, Wetlands International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund -- to pledge to collaborate to conserve ecosystems globally.