Excessive exploitation and large-scale land use changes have led to the rapid destruction of natural environment worldwide.
Those include deforestation, reduction in wetland, deterioration of coastal ecosystems, soil degradation and the extinction of species. The world's forest are decreasing by about 3.3 million hectares annually, the equivalent of twice the area of Japan's Shikoku island. It has also been estimated that over 20,000 species of wildlife are at risk of extinction because of excessive use of natural resources, overhunting of wildlife, introduction of alien species, climate change and other factors. *1
*1 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species2015
Iran: Dalmatian Pelicans spend the winter at the Anzali Wetland (Anzali Wetland Ecological Management Project Phase 2) (Photo: Hitoshi Watanabe, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.)
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