ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2010) — The loss of biodiversity will continue in the 21st Century. Global-scale extinctions will increase strongly, the average species abundance1 will decline and their distribution will be disturbed. Scientists thought until recently that the complexity of biodiversity made it unfeasible to predict future trends. Now, however, like the climatologists, life science specialists are able to predict future situations. A group of international experts2, including several IRD researchers, have just published a compilation of global-scale quantitative scenarios depicting possible changes in biodiversity. In spite of a degree of uncertainty in the models elaborated, the possible trends converge. If the processes of human and economic development do not change radically, the Earth is heading for disaster. With changes in land use, in climate and overexploitation of natural resources, humans activities are central to the major threats to biodiversity. The scenarios developed nevertheless point to possible lines of action.
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