Over 1,000 species discovered in the Greater Mekong in p...(e what I read about as a child in the st...)

The report stresses that economic development and environmental protection must go hand-in-hand to provide for livelihoods and alleviate poverty, but also to ensure the survival of the Greater Mekong's astonishing array of species and natural habitats.

"This poorly understood biodiversity is facing unprecedented pressure.for scientists, this means that almost every field survey yields new diversity, but documenting it is a race against time," said Raoul Bain, Biodiversity Specialist from the American Museum of Natural History.

The report's authors recommend a formal, cross-border agreement between the governments of the Greater Mekong to address the threats to biodiversity in the region.

The WWF network is working throughout the Greater Mekong region to promote this agreement and address the threats to biodiversity from its base in Vientiane, Laos. Stuart Chapman, who heads the WWF network's Greater Mekong Programme, says that protecting habitat while partnering with governments, businesses and local communities to address threats from development and agriculture is essential. "Who knows what else is out there waiting to be discovered, but what is clear is that there is plenty more where this came from," he said. "The scientific world is only just realizing what people here have known for centuries."

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