New Zealand Journal of Ecology (2012) 36(3): 267- 267

Introduction to the special issue on advances in tools for bird population monitoring in New Zealand

Editorial
Dan Tompkins  
  1. Landcare Research, Dunedin
Abstract: 

(First paragraph:)
The ability to measure and monitor biodiversity in meaningful ways has never been more important than it is now. In this Rio +20 era of broken promises and failed targets (from the Convention on Biological Diversity signed by 168 countries including New Zealand in 1992–93), a variety of pressures continue to drive rates of species extinction that greatly outpace background rates in the fossil record, with recent syntheses showing how biodiversity loss is a driver of ecosystem change on par with ozone, acidification, elevated CO2 and nutrient pollution.

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