ABSTRACT
It is difficult to say anything new about biodiversity. In the past 30 years, we have seen article after article, study after study pointing to the same depressing truth: the planet’s biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate. Some have suggested that we are in the midst of a new mass extinction event. 1 However, one need not move to such an extreme position to be concerned about what is evident. Biodiversity is on the one hand important for our species, and on the other hand declining rapidly. To take this point seriously, we need to acknowledge three facts:
Research and political action regarding the conservation of biodiversity has emphasized a taxonomically trivial segment of the tree of life.
Active research concerning causes and consequences of biodiversity loss has been concentrated in the higher latitudes.
Agriculture is considered by many in the conservation community as the anathema to biodiversity conservation.
