We thank Stuart Pimm for his ongoing excellent contributions to conservation through science and education, as well as creative activism, and congratulate him and his colleagues for their most recent publication:

A new scientific paper was published today in the prestigious journal Science and it has important findings for biodiversity. Though it reaffirms what we already know—that there is a global extinction crisis and it is worse than we believed—it also details how technology and smart decision-making are offering hope for endangered species and their habitats.

Authored by SavingSpecies President Stuart Pimm, Vice President Clinton Jenkins, and a team of conservation scientists around the world, the paper “presents a dramatically increased estimate of the rate of human-caused extinctions.” Indeed, the authors indicate that the current rate of extinction is 1,000 times the natural rate—considerably higher than what was thought.

But the paper also highlights advances in technology that are making conservation both more effective and efficient. That is the approach we use at SavingSpecies, which is why we are mentioned in the paper. We use science and technology to target land purchases that are small, but which offer the greatest potential for conservation of critical habitat and high biodiversity. Our focus on reconnecting fragmented forests augments habitat range and facilitates genetic exchange for species to thrive.

We’ve been doing this for years at SavingSpecies and with great results. This paper shows the world that though the extinction crisis looks bleak, people can do something about it through technology, smart choices, hard work, and commitment.

Click here for a PDF of press release. And for some stunning graphics and mapping that illustrate many of the paper’s findings, go to biodiversitymapping.org