Pew International Journalism Program

"Lovejoy: Global Biodiversity a 'Footprint of Human Activity'"

WASHINGTON, September 19, 2001 - Humanity's impact on the planet can be measured by the extent of remaining biodiversity on Earth, a leading scientist told Pew Fellows in International Journalism today.

"The extent of remaining biodiversity gives you a footprint of human activity," said Tom Lovejoy, a tropical biologist and chief biodiversity advisor to the World Bank.

Mankind has destroyed or threatened the existence of various species through pollution, overuse or over harvesting and destruction of natural habitats, said Lovejoy. The result is a loss of numerous practical benefits to humanity, many of which have yet to be discovered. Global biodiversity is a "living library" that should be treasured, Lovejoy said.

Lovejoy said most people have only a "sketchy sense of what life on earth is all about," adding "85 percent of life on earth is still unknown." Scientists have described only about 1.5 million species of life, but the actual number of species on the planet may total as many as "30 to 100 million" species - many of them in inaccessible areas such as marine habitats, the canopies of tropical rainforests and in the earth's soil, Lovejoy said.