163 New Species Found in Mekong Delta

At a time when biodiversity news so often seems to focus on extinction, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently announced that 163 new species--including a fanged frog that eats birds--were discovered in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia in 2008.

The WWF report, "Greater Mekong Close Encounters," announces the surprising discovery of species that have evaded scientists and ecologists for years, including 100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, 2 mammals--and a bird that prefers walking to flying. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 new species have been discovered in the unique landscape that borders the Mekong River as it flows through Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Yunnan Province of China.

Sadly, the WWF report also includes the warning that many of these newly discovered species are threatened or at risk of extinction due to loss of habitat from climate change.

The WWF's announcement coincides with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bangkok, from September 28 to October 9, 2009. The UNFCCC, part of a series of meetings to negotiate the text of a global climate change agreement that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, includes thousands of delegates from more than 175 countries.

The deadline for completing the global climate change agreement is COP15, the United National Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Copenhagen, December 7-18, 2009.