ATBC 2008 - Plenary 8 june
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Opening Speech
Mittermeier, Russell (Conservation International Foundation)
Global biodiversity conservation: priorities and new opportunities, with special reference to the Guianas
The unique biodiversity of our planet is under threat from many different directions. It is essential to set priorities and focus our actions on those places where the risk is greatest and where unique opportunities exist. In setting priorities for the terrestrial realm, CI used two main priority-setting categories, hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas. This paper reviews these approaches and explains why they are critically important both for global efforts to conserve biodiversity and for long-term human well-being. In addition, the paper explores new opportunities to change the scale of investment in conservation, most notably from avoided deforestation or REDD, protecting these forests for the great carbon stocks that they harbor. Particular attention is paid to the Guayana Shield region of northern South America, which has the most extensive tracts of largely undisturbed rain forest left on Earth.
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