In the limited scope of this book I wish to present a brief review of the progressive destruction of nature, particularly in the domain of animal life, and at the same time to ill- trate some of the possibilities by BIII: - Ion-.--------------, which man can prevent this de- 3 ---------- f_4 struction. As the mightiest creation of na- 2,51-______ a _ ___ L...-_j ture, man extends his influence into all of nature's provinces and in- 2 1--- - -------1---; habits all zones of the earth., 51----------1'------1 Civilization and technology, ulti mate consequences of his unique 1 cerebral development, have pro moted man to this position of O >, I, ., oo-="'------------I power. An enormous population increase in recent centuries has 1850 1100 1700 1800 1BIIO 1800 .110.2000 made him one of the most numer An ous of all animal forms. A com h parison of the alarming climb of 5 earth's population curve (Fig. la) -,"0 with the graphical representation r-- of exterminated animal species 30 r- (Fig. Ib) establishes a striking conformity. The steeper the human 20 r-- population curve climbs, the higher 10- stretch the bars representing the h -r-- number of exterminated animal 1650 1700 17150 1800 18SO 1900 19SO 2000 species.

We are currently facing the sixth mass extinction of species in the history of life on Earth, biologists claim—the first one caused by humans. Heise argues that understanding these stories and symbols is indispensable for any effective advocacy on behalf of endangered species. More than that, she shows how biodiversity conservation, even and especially in its scientific and legal dimensions, is shaped by cultural assumptions about what is valuable in nature and what is not.

An expanded, updated edition of this classic study on biodiversity and species loss.