The June 2012 issue of the "Species e-bulletin" reports that human sustainability is at risk as species decline, reflecting on the updated version of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Over 19,800 of the 63,837 species assessed, are threatened with extinction.
The publication also notes that Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, has died.
June 2012: The June issue of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) e-bulletin features the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, released in June 2012 at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
According to the updated List, of the 63,837 species assessed, 19,817 are threatened with extinction. The decline of species puts human sustainability at risk, the E-bulletin notes. The e-bulletin also highlights that three of the 2012 Rolex Award for Enterprise Laureates, Sergei Bereznuk, Barbara Block and Erika Cuéllar, have won for projects devoted to saving species.
Finally, it notes that Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, has died. Lonesome George was a symbol of the Galapagos, as well as of the larger struggle to preserve the richness and diversity of the planet. [Publication: Species e-bulletin, June 2012]