More than 80,000 acres of rain forest, an area almost twice the size of Washington, DC, are destroyed every day. Thirty percent of the world’s coral reefs are already lost. As these ecosystems disappear, so does the wildlife that calls them home. Tiger populations are hanging on by a thread. Poachers kill hundreds of great apes each year. Every sea turtle species is endangered or threatened by extinction. Scientists estimate that one-half to two-thirds of the world’s species could be driven to the brink of extinction by the end of this century.

People depend on the same ecosystems these animals do. Intact forests combat climate change and help prevent flooding and drought; healthy coral reefs reduce coastal storm impacts. Climate scientists warn that global warming can’t be solved unless we stop deforestation. Forest destruction releases 20 percent of global greenhouse gases—more than the emissions from every car, truck and airplane on the planet.

The Pew Charitable Trusts, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society and The World Wildlife Fund are calling on the United States to lead industrialized nations in funding a comprehensive global conservation strategy capable of protecting major terrestrial wilderness areas and critical areas of marine diversity.

Scientists estimate we have only a decade to boost conservation efforts to address this crisis or we face irreversible losses. The United States and other governments must work to meet the challenge of this crisis today.