2. More than 16,000 animals and plants are at risk in the world… Over 500 species have entered the list, from the polar bear to the hippopotamus. Sharks and freshwater fishes are in difficulty. 16,119 animal and plant species out of 40,177 are considered endangered: 500 more than in 2004, when they were 15,589. 784 species are considered officially extinct, while 65 of them survive only in captivity. It is revealed by the new Red List of endangered species published today in Geneva by the IUCN (World Conservation Union), thanks to the work of over 1,000 scientists worldwide. One third of amphibians are at risk, one out of four mammal species and one bird out of eight, mainly because of climate change and habitat destruction because of the man.

3. "The question we must make is: Should we be happy to imagine that our grandchildren will not ever see any elephant, if not in a picture or in a movie?" David Attenborough

4. The rhino horn has been widely used in the past, but also in the present days: for example in Asia during the epidemic SARS flu, because - according to some traditional baseless medicines- it should have the property to lower fever.

5. The Magnificent 5 1. Primates TO SAVE AT ALL COSTS… 2. Plancton 3. Bees 4. Bats 5. Mushrooms

6. Italy is the richest European nation in biodiversity, with 1176 species of vertebrates, more than one third of European fauna (68% of which threatened to varying degrees), 5599 flora species, and a remarkable diversity of kinds of environment and landscape.

7. Golden eagle Whale European bison Monk seal Brown bear

8. In recent decades, not only population growth, but also growth of living standards have caused a huge push to build, which was carried almost exclusively at the expense of agricultural land. Between 1980 and 2008 1m² of land per second has disappeared under concrete or asphalt! (Schweiz Biozid- Report).

9. Disappearance of natural and semi-natural habitat: 1.Wetlands, floodplains and groundwater 2. Woods 3. Arid biotopes 4. Orchards 5. Hedges and groves 6. Pioneers environments

10. WE MUST IMPROVE THE WORLD WORKING ALL TOGETHER...

11. Credits Presentation prepared by Marco Giannini & Manuel Siboni – Itis "Pascal" – Cesena – Italy (2008-2009 ) Thanks to the teachers: A.M. Ravazzi (Biologia) – A. Tortora (Inglese) And to the Technical Assistant: F. Fiori Picures www.sciencephoto.comwww.sciencephoto.com www.google.it Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event / E402/179 Traditional whale hunting, Greenland / T725/135 Altiplano landscape and penitent snow / C001/3448 The mushroom, Boletus versipellis / B250/761 Honey bees, Apis mellifera, on honeycomb / Z345/392 High-speed photograph of a fruit bat / H628/012 Plankton, Daphnia, and Volvox / Z230/185 Human and bonobo ape hands / Z912/199 Papilio machain Britannicus, swallowtail butterfly / Z355/203