Wild animals (and wild plants) and the wild places where they live are seriously threatened almost everywhere. One species has become extinct in each year of this century. But many kinds are now in danger. Lack of attention would lead to the rapid advance of process of extinction.
Already many kinds of wild animals has been so reduced in number that their role in the ecosystem is forgotten. Animals like the great apes, the whales, seals etc thought to be in danger of extinction.
But even more important, perhaps, than individuals kinds of animals and plants, whole habitats are in danger of vanishing: marshes are being drained; and the world forests, especially the tropical forests are being cut down to satisfy man's need of timber and paper.