Washington, DC — The unprecedented threats facing wildlife in North America and around the globe must be a clarion call to action, the National Wildlife Federation said today following the release of a new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report. The report estimates that up to one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction in the coming decades and require urgent conservation action.

“Wildlife are in crisis around the globe — including one third of species here at home — with nearly a million species at risk of extinction unless we act collaboratively to restore and reconnect essential habitat, reduce escalating threats, and confront climate change,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “This sobering report is a clarion call for why we must take immediate action to prevent devastating costs for wildlife and human communities alike.

“When we save wildlife, we save ourselves. When wildlife have clean water, so do we; wetlands and natural systems make our cities and towns more resilient to extreme storms; healthy forests are less prone to uncontrolled megafires; and keeping nature within reach helps our children — and future stewards of our planet — thrive in school and at home.”

The National Wildlife Federation is a leading voice for proactive and urgent investments in species conservation. To help recover the more than 12,000 species of greatest conservation need in the U.S., the Federation has championed the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act and worked to support common-sense solutions to threats facing wildlife, including habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, disease, climate change, and toxic pollution.