August 31, 2000 - Pasadena, CA - An ambitious agenda to save the earth's biological diversity was unveiled today, following a week-long summit on biodiversity at Caltech, organized by the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International. Co-chaired by renowned biologist and Harvard professor Edward O. Wilson and Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore, "Defying Nature's End" is a collaborative effort by a diverse group of prominent scientists, economists and business leaders. Called a "practical agenda" for conserving the 25 hotspots identified as the most biodiverse areas on Earth, it aims for nothing less than pulling humanity back from the brink of an extinction crisis many scientists agree could be worse than the episode that wiped out the dinosaurs. E.O. Wilson praised the agenda for its "potency" and "timeliness." "Something needs to be done now" to end the siege on nature, said Wilson, noting that humanity is creating a dangerous "bottleneck" to conservation through overpopulation and wasteful consumption.

The challenges are enormous, but so is the cost of inaction. "We have scratched only the surface of the benefits that our fellow species can provide to man. And yet this goes beyond economic arguments. We have responsibilities to future generations and a unique 'window of opportunity' we must take advantage of." However, with 60 percent of the Earth's biodiversity concentrated on a mere 1.4 percent of the planet's surface, participants in "Defying Nature's End" maintain that adequate scientific and economic resources are currently available to overcome the looming extinction crisis.

Gustavo Fonseca, CABS executive director, noted "The agenda is intended as a jump-start. This is a quiet crisis, and our actions must be as resolute as the moon landing project of the 1960's. Practical solutions will get the job done, and our estimates of the costs are front-loaded to produce tangible results quickly."

The conference scientific chairman, Stuart Pimm, said, "The practical plans created by leaders in government and the private sector with scientists of unrivalled field experience of where and how species are lost offers the best hope yet for defying Nature's end." Dr. Pimm is professor of Conservation Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University.

Divided into eight working papers, the agenda spans the entire spectrum of ecological and social threats to biodiversity. Each topic is designed to pinpoint short and long-term scientific goals in each area, as well as lay out financial estimates of the costs associated with each goal.

The topics are:
Understanding, monitoring and managing the linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health.
The Freshwater Matrix
Tropical Forest Wilderness Areas
Global Awareness (Media & Publicity)
Marine Ecosystems
Hotspots
Local Biodiversity Facilitation Centers
Increased Knowledge of Terrestrial Organisms

Collaboration is a key element of the agenda and each topic is written with a keen appreciation of the combined power scientists, governments, communities and business leaders can bring to bear on a crisis when they work together. For more detailed information on the conference and its participants, please visit www.defyingnaturesend.com.