The Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on biological diversity (CBD) kicked off in Bonn, Germany yesterday. And the stakes couldn?t be higher. According to a recent study, biodiversity loss costs the planet a staggering Rs 80 000 billion every year (yes, you have read correctly)! The International union for the conservation of nature?s red list is just as ominous. A quarter of the world?s mammals and 70% of its plants are threatened by extinction.

Mauritius isn?t really any better off. Only 5% of the country?s total land area (islets included) is under legal protection. Worse still, a miserly 0.15% is under active management. These figures are all the more disappointing when one considers that Mauritius was the first country in the world to sign the CBD and that its natural beauty is a vital source of income. In its third national report to the CBD, which was submitted in 2006, the ministry of Environment explains that ?habitat destruction is the most direct and rapid cause of biodiversity loss?.

The International day for biological biodiversity will be held on May 22.