More than 1000 new species discovered
Last updated 16/12/2008 12:41:59
Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus 2005 © David Redfield
In the decade of 1997-2007, over a thousand new species were discovered in Greater Mekong (Southeast Asia).
Such biodiversity was identified mostly in jungles and wetlands... WWF's Final Report catalogued the species, which would give us approximately 1 toad, 2 salamanders, 88 frogs, 4 turtles, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 spiders, 15 mammals, 4 birds...
The Director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme Stuart Chapman says: "We thought discoveries of this scale were confined to the history books. It doesn't get better than this."
Now, I don't know you, but I find this bit of news quite extraordinary. I mean, we are complaining about Global Warming and Endangered species, which are true and deep issues... then, one gets such a report. Indeed, somewhere on this planet, some places remain untouched by mankind!
Today, despite all our technology, our blue planet can still surprising us and is still showing us who's the master... We knew that, didn't we. Yet, we always managed to be astonished and amazed by it!
Can you imagine, the laotian rock rat was spotted in a food market... nothing great about this, you'd say... well, it was said to be extinct 11 million years ago.
Though, now what? The unexplored territories are now found (at least some of them)... we made these discoveries, however are they really safe in our hands... They are ours to protect, that's for sure, but in the long run, will we...
This scares me actually, maybe I have trust issues and yet, I have faith!