Brussels, 27/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 March, the European Commission announced the launch of an online information system based on the latest advances in satellite technology and aimed at slowing down the decline in biodiversity in Africa, a continent that is the habitat for some of the most precious living species and ecosystems of our planet. The online system called “The Assessment of African Protected Areas” monitors trends in fire, vegetation and rainfall. It should allow park managers to compare current fire activity, vegetation growth and rainfall against seasonal norms. This information will help African nationals to attain the objective of slowing down biodiversity decline by 2010, a Commission press release states. The website (http: //www-tem.jrc.it/pa/) is updated every ten days and covers 741 protected areas spread out over 50 African countries. It provides information on 280 species of mammals, 381 bird species and 930 amphibian species and presents a broad range of climate, environmental and socio-economic aspects. It allows comparison between the situations of the different parks in the same country or in the same ecosystem, making it an important tool to allocate future resources to places where they are needed most, the Commission states. The Commission points out that, in the world as a whole, there are over 16,000 animal and plant species threatened with extinction. In 2001, the EU heads of state and government pledged to put an end to the decline of biodiversity in the EU by 2010 and to restore natural habitats and systems. (B.C.)