IF PETER CRANE, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew, says that “we lack a coherent international framework to safeguard biodiversity,” it is time to take notice (New Scientist, 24 May, p 25). So, I wrote to the prime minister, Tony Blair, saying that although British government ministers had shown a caring attitude to the environment, Crane’s concern merited a reply from him.
The prime minister replied that Crane’s points about the scale and significance of the current rate of biodiversity loss were well taken. The extent and impact of this loss was behind the commitment…
