Green-Minded folk of many shades came to Spain this month, to talk about the need to save from human recklessness as much as possible of nature's bounty of genes, habitats and species. They brought bad tidings. Common birds are in decline across the world. Almost one in four species of mammals is in danger of extinction. If current trends continue until 2050, fisheries will be exhausted. As it is, deforestation costs the world more each year than the current financial crisis has cost in total, one economist argued.rnIn theory, virtually all the world's governments are committed to limiting the damage. In 1992, at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, they signed a treaty called the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In 2002, under its auspices, they vowed to bring about "a significant reduction" in the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. The pledge became one of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations' eight fondest ambitions for the world.rnYet this target now looks unattainable, said most participants at the World Conservation Congress, which concluded in Barcelona on October 14th. The meeting was awash with gloomy forecasts.
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