Nearly half of plant species at risk

Almost half of the world's plant species could become extinct if we fail to change the way we live, according to a new scientific report that says many could be lost without ever having been found.

The report, from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — a public institution in the United Kingdom known for botanical research and education — says that, with four plant species in 10 at risk, experts are racing to name and catalog those not yet discovered before they disappear.

And the report adds that the impending loss of so many species is not only a tragedy for the species themselves and the creatures that directly rely on them but for humanity, because many could potentially be game-changing new biofuels, medicines, and foods.

The report, called State of the World's Plants and Fungi, looked at research from 210 scientists in 42 countries. It was released as world leaders met for a United Nations summit, in the hope that they might take action. The UN said last week nations have failed during the past decade to meet any of its targets to stem biodiversity losses.

Alexandre Antonelli, director of science at Kew, told the BBC the report is "a very worrying picture of risk and urgent need for action".

"We're losing the race against time because species are disappearing faster than we can find and name them," he said. "Many of them could hold important clues for solving some of the most pressing challenges of medicine and even perhaps of the emerging and current pandemics we are seeing today."

Around 350,000 species of plant have been identified but more are being found all the time and at least 4,000 were identified in 2019.

Most of the plant species being lost or that are under threat are the victims of land clearances in humanity's push for more farmland.

The scientists behind the report want risk assessments into the issue to be fast-tracked and for technology, including artificial intelligence, to be used in the search for solutions. They also called for more funding for plant conservation.

Melanie-Jayne Howes, a research leader at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, told The Guardian newspaper: "Only 7 percent of (known) plants have documented uses as medicines and therefore the world's plants and fungi remain largely untapped as potential sources of new medicines."

She said it is "absolutely critical" that species are protected "so we are better prepared for emerging challenges to our planet and our health".

The researchers added that people rely on a relatively small number of plant species for food considering there are more than 7,000 edible plant species. They said by protecting and using more of them for food, we could secure our food system.

The METRO newspaper noted that the latest report paints a much more bleak picture than an earlier version, back in 2016. The latest report says around 140,000, or 39.4 percent of vascular plants are threatened with extinction. The earlier report estimated that around 21 percent were at risk.