John Smaillie Tennant Lecture: How many species will survive the 21st century?

Speaker President Emeritus Peter H Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden, USA. Scientists project that during the 21st century a major proportion of the worlds estimated 12 million species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms will become extinct.

What can we do to counteract or mitigate the effects of habitat destruction, global climate change, invasive species, and selective hunting and gathering?

• attain a level human population
• adopt reasonable levels of consumption everywhere
• develop new, sustainable technologies

Direct actions to conserve species:

• establishment and protection of nature reserves
• bringing organisms into cultivation, captive colonies, culture collection, or seed banks

Our individual actions will determine the magnitude of the extinction episode that we have already begun—and its impact for thousands or millions of years to come. St. David Lecture Theatre, Corner of St David and Castle Sts, University of Otago.