|
|
MEDIA REPORTS
BIODIVERSITY AND
WILDLIFE
This page was updated
on: 01/13/10
2008
Biodiversity and Wildlife Media Reports Archives:
2010;
2009;
2007;
2006;
2005;
2004;
2003;
2002
DECEMBER 2008
NATIONAL COLLECTIONS INCLUDED IN THE ITPGR MULTILATERAL SYSTEM
Germany, Namibia, the
Netherlands and Zambia have notified the Secretariat of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
(ITPGR) of national collections with more than 120,000 accessions of
staple crops that are included in the Treaty's Multilateral System of
access and benefit-sharing.
Link to further information
ITPGR Press Release, 4 December 2008
ITPGR PUBLISHES CALL
FOR PROPOSALS
The Governing Body of the International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) has
invited applications from entities and institutions based in the
countries that are parties to the Treaty, for grants within the
framework of the Funding Strategy. The deadline for submission of
pre-proposals is 15 January 2009. The maximum grant size for projects is
US$50,000. The priorities for this period, as established by the
Governing Body at its second session, are: information exchange,
technology transfer and capacity building; managing and conserving plant
genetic resources on-farm; and the sustainable use of plant genetic
resources.
Link to further information
The
call for proposals
NOVEMBER 2008
TRADITIONAL
KNOWLEDGE STILL UNDER THREAT, EXPERTS SAY, AUTONOMY FOR INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITIES KEY FOR ITS PROTECTION
Despite global moves to improve the rights
of indigenous peoples, the wisdom and knowledge accumulated by
indigenous communities over thousands of years is still being lost or
plundered for corporate profit, according to a report released in Paris
by an international coalition of experts. Their conclusions are
described in a case study released on 13 November 2008 as part of a new
report: "Toward a New Era of Intellectual Property: From Confrontation
to Negotiation," from the Montreal-based International Expert Group on
Biotechnology, Innovation and Intellectual Property.
The study was released at a conference of
international biotech and intellectual property experts, convened by
Sciences Po and The Innovation Partnership, a non-profit consultancy
specializing in the understanding, use and management of intellectual
property in industrialized and developing countries. The authors looked
at how traditional knowledge is treated in three countriesBrazil, Kenya
and Northern Canada, each of which has its own unique indigenous
knowledge systems, innovations, customary laws and practices, and its
own approach to protecting them. The authors concluded that more than
property rights are needed to protect traditional knowledge and ensure
fair and equitable benefit sharing with indigenous communities for the
use of their knowledge. Noting that the co-management of land use and
natural resources has allowed traditional knowledge owners to be part of
decision-making processes, the authors stress that self-government
allows even greater powers of autonomy and the establishment of
governance institutions that blend traditional and modern practices.
They consider therefore that promoting
autonomy and capacity for self-governance for indigenous communities
rather than property is the key for the adequate protection of
traditional knowledge.
Links to further information
EurekAlert, 13 November 2008
The report
Toward a New Era of Intellectual Property: From Confrontation to
Negotiation
CITES-SUPERVISED IVORY
AUCTIONS FINALIZED
Through four auctions, conducted under the
supervision of the Secretary-General of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Willem
Wijnstekers, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have sold 102
tons of ivory to Chinese and Japanese accredited traders, for a total
amount of US$15,400,000. The sales were agreed during the 14th
Conference of the Parties to CITES in June 2007, while no new sales from
these four African countries will be allowed for the next nine years.
The proceeds are to be used exclusively for elephant conservation and
community development programmes within or adjacent to the elephant
range.
Link to further information
CITES press release, 7 November 2008
CITES-SUPERVISED IVORY AUCTION UNDERWAY IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Auctions of
elephant ivory have recently taken place in Namibia and South Africa,
while similar sales will follow during the next two weeks in Botswana
and Zimbabwe. Supervised by Willem Wijnstekers, Secretary-General of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) Willem Wijnstekers, the sales were agreed during the
14th Conference of the Parties to CITES in June 2007. Japan and China
have been approved as trading partners. No new sales from these four
African countries will be allowed for the next nine years.
The
Namibian auction sold 7.2 tons of ivory, fetching a total of US$1.3
million, at an average price of US$164 per kilogram. The Namibian
authorities had expected to sell over nine tons of ivory, and most
experts had expected far higher prices. Proceeds will go to the Game
Product Trust Fund, to promote conservation in communities where
elephants range. South Africa sold 47 tons for US$6.7 million, at an
average price of US$142 per kilogram.
Links to
further information
CITES Press Release, 24 October 2008
National Geographic News, 28 October 2008
BBC News, 28 October 2008
Reuters News Service, 29 October 2008
ICTSD Bridges Trade BioRes, 31 October 2008
AFP News, 6 November 2008
Reuters News Service, 7 November 2008
UNECE PROMOTES INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO 2008
Drawing
attention to some of the most urgent challenges facing the international
community, the global food crisis and the need to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
organized an exhibition to mark both the International Year of the
Potato 2008 and the launch of the UNECE Potato Cookbook "The Potato:
around the world in 200 recipes." The exhibition and Cookbook are
intended to highlight the work of the UN in focusing world attention on
the importance of the potato in providing food security and alleviating
poverty. Cultivation of potatoes is part of the comprehensive efforts
being undertaken to achieve greater food security through productivity
gains.
Link to
further information
UNECE press release, 4 November 2008
OCTOBER 2008
UNEP Launches Green Economy Initiative
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has
launched a Green Economy Initiative, which seeks to respond to the
global economic downturn by focusing economic growth and job creation in
environmental industries. The initiative, which was launched on 22
October 2008, in London, UK, is funded by the European Commission,
Germany and Norway. It builds on the G8+5 study on the Economics of
Ecosystems and Biodiversity, which emphasized the economic implications
of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as their link to
poverty. The US$4 million Green Economy Initiative will look to clean
and rural energy and technologies, sustainable agriculture, ecosystem
infrastructure, reduced emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation, and sustainable cities to promote its priorities, which
include valuing and mainstreaming nature's services, generating
employment through green jobs and policy, and accelerating the
transition to a Green Economy via instruments and market signals.
Links to further information
The
Independent article, 12 October 2008
UNEP Press Release, 22 October 2008
UN News Centre article, 22 October 2008
Reuters article, 22 October 2008
Newsweek article, 25 October 2008
eBAY TO BAN IVORY
TRADING
The online auction site eBay has announced
that it will not allow trading of ivory through its websites as of 1
January 2009. In the wake of reports highlighting wildlife crime through
the internet, wildlife conservationists around the world have called the
decision a major victory.
Link to further information
Environment News Service, 22 October 2008
CITES AND INTERPOL LAUNCH
NEW SUPPORT MANUAL
A manual to support law enforcement
officers in their investigation of wildlife crimes was launched on 16
October 2008 by Interpol and the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The manual provides
guidelines on how to carry out controlled delivery of illegal items in
order to identify individuals connected with criminal activity and to
gather evidence against them using techniques primarily developed in
combating drugs trafficking. The manual was launched during Interpol's
6th International Conference on Environmental Crime, held from 13-17
October 2008.
Links to further information
CITES Press Release, 16 October 2008
The manual will be available at the
Interpol webpage
EC CALLS FOR EVIDENCE ON
TEEB PHASE II
The European Commission is asking
interested stakeholders to submit evidence on the economic consequences
of biodiversity loss. The contributions are for Phase II of TEEB, a
global study on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity launched in
2007. Evidence in the form of scientific papers, reports and studies,
valuation studies, or examples of policy implementation, is needed in
all areas of the project, but is particularly welcome in areas where
substantial gaps have been identified. The call will remain open until
31 March 2009.
Links to further information
The
call for evidence
NEW FOUNDATION TO PROMOTE
SUSTAINABLE COLLECTION OF WILD PLANTS
An agreement signed between the four
founding institutions of the International Standard for Sustainable Wild
Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) aims to endorse
global implementation of the standard through the FairWild Foundation.
The standard promotes appropriate management of wild plant populations
used in medicines and cosmetics to ensure they are not overexploited.
Under the new agreement, the FairWild Foundation will help develop an
industry labeling system so that products harvested using the
sustainable ISSC-MAP criteria can be readily recognized and certified.
ISSC-MAP was developed by a partnership including the
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the IUCN SSC Medicinal
Plant Specialist Group, WWF-Germany, and TRAFFIC, plus industry
associations, companies, certifiers and community-based NGOs.
Link to further information
TRAFFIC Press Release, 9 October 2008
FAO URGES REVIEW OF
BIOFUEL POLICIES TO ENSURE THE POOR CAN BENEFIT
On 7 October 2008, at the launch of its flagship publication, The
State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2008, FAO Director-General Jacques
Diouf noted both the risks and opportunities created by biofuels. Diouf
highlighted the need for an in-depth review them, aimed to ensure world
food security, protect poor farmers, promote broad-based rural
development and ensure environmental sustainability. Diouf emphasized
the need to invest on research and technology for the production of
second generation biofuels, which put less pressure on the natural
resource base.Diouf also emphasized the need to remove agricultural and
biofuel production subsidies, along with trade barriers, in order to
facilitate developing countries's ability to reap some benefits.
Links to further information
UN News Centre, 7 October 2008
The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2008
EUROPE'S BIODIVERSITY LOSS CONTINUES, EVEN IN
PROTECTED AREAS
A first analysis of the state of conservation for selected species
and habitats in Europe presented by the European Environment Agency
paints a disappointing picture. Based on the latest reports from member
countries with regard to more than 1,000 species and 216 habitats of
"European interest," the report indicates that only less than half of
the protected species and habitats in Europe are considered to be in
"favorable conservation status." For most of the remaining species and
habitats, the conservation status is considered to be either inadequate
or bad. For a significant number of species and habitats, the data are
insufficient to reach any assessment. The analysis confirms that
wetlands, dunes and grasslands are among the less well-preserved
habitats, while terrestrial habitats in the Alpine and Mediterranean
regions, and the coastal and marine habitats in Macaronesia and the
Mediterranean, appear to be enjoying the best conservation status.
Link to further information
EEA Press Release, 7 October 2008
IUCN RED LIST CONFIRMS
MAMMALS' EXTINCTION CRISIS
Launched on 6 October 2008, this year's IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species reveals that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are
known to be threatened with extinction. The assessment lists 188 mammals
as critically endangered, including the Iberian Lynx. China's Père
David's Deer is listed as extinct in the wild, but the captive and
semi-captive populations have increased recently and wild populations
could be re-established soon. Nearly 450 mammals have been listed as
endangered, including the Tasmanian Devil, the Fishing Cat and the
Caspian Seal. But the results also show the success of conservation
efforts, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs
of recovery in the wild. The elephant's risk status is lowered from
Vulnerable to Near Threatened.
With regard to other categories of species,
a further 366 amphibians have been added to the list, making amphibians
the most threatened animal group, while the Indian tarantula has been
placed on the Red List for the first time.
Links to further information
IUCN Press Release, 6 October 2008
BBC News, 6 October 2008
NEW ONLINE TOOL
ALLOWS MONITORING OF WORLD'S PROTECTED AREAS
A new product allows scientists, environmentalists, park rangers as
well as tourists to monitor and explore over 100,000 protected areas via
Google Earth. The product, which has been developed by a partnership
between UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN,
has resulted in the complete redesign and relaunch of the World Database
on Protected Areas. The new system allows users to view information on
national parks and protected areas in their web browser, visualize them
in Google Earth, download data, and bring together other important data,
like species information, into the same portal.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 6 October 2008
The
World Database on Protected Areas
UNEP Announces Projects to DEMONSTRATE RETURNS TO
INVESTMENTS IN ECOSYSTEMS
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in
cooperation with governments, has announced the launch of large-scale
projects aimed at demonstrating that re-investing in damaged ecosystems
can generate significant economic, environmental and social returns. The
projects will take place in five countries during the run up to the next
meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Nagoya, Japan, in
2010.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 6 October 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008
GIGA PROJECT TO EASE ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL
GENEBANKS
Global Information on Germplasm Accessions (GIGA) is a new, multimillion
dollar project that addresses the obstacles faced by breeders, crop
researchers and others who seek information about germplasm stored in
genebanks around the world. Coordinated by Bioversity International, the
GIGA project is helping to implement the rational system foreseen by the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture. GIGA will deploy three components to address the
difficulties in making greater use of genebank accessions: development
of common information standards to describe the key characteristics of
genetic resources; deployment of a new version of genebank
data-management software; and building of a user-friendly system to help
people find the information or sample they are looking for.
Link to further information
Bioversity International Press Release, 29 September 2008
RWANDA AND BURUNDI
SIGN CONSERVATION AGREEMENT
According to media reports, on 10 September
2008, Rwanda and Burundi signed a conservation agreement to protect the
cross-border Nyungwe-Kibira Landscape, the largest remaining block of
mountain forest in East Africa and home to many endangered primates and
other species. The agreement is intended to help improve conservation
efforts in Rwanda's Nyungwe National Park and Burundi's Kibira National
Park.
Link to further information
Environment News Service, 16 September 2008
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECONSIDERS BIOFUELS TARGET
The European Parliament's
industry committee has proposed reducing the EU's existing 10% target
for adopting traditional biofuels for road transport by 2020. Instead,
the committee had advocated a 6% target for traditional biofuels, with
the other 4% coming from electricity or hydrogen from renewable sources,
or from second-generation biofuels. The proposal comes in the wake of
concerns that biofuels have affected food prices and deforestation. The
biofuels target is part of a larger series of goals that address climate
change and energy issues.
Links to further information
BBC news, 11 September 2008
Spiegel Online International, 11 September 2008
NIGERIA AND CAMEROON
COOPERATE TO SAVE ENDANGERED GORILLA
Cameroon and Nigeria, the Range States of
the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla, agreed to improve
transboundary cooperation to protect the species, as well as other
endangered wildlife, during a meeting in Akampka, Nigeria, organized
with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the US Fish and
Wildlife Service and WWF, The meeting involved park rangers from the
Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park in Nigeria and their
colleagues from the proposed Takamanda National Park in Cameroon. It is
estimated that only 300 Cross River Gorillas are left in the wild.
Link to further information
Environment News Service, 5 September 2008
BIOFUEL UPDATE:
SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS ENDORSED, MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA COOPERATE IN
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, KENYAN COURTS CONSIDER HALTING BIOFUEL PLANS
A UN-backed expert group, the Steering
Board on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), has endorsed a draft sustainability
standard that would evaluate the economic, social and environmental
effects of biofuels over their entire life-cycle. "Version Zero," as the
draft standard is called, aims to be the method used by private and
public entities to evaluate the sustainability of the production of
biofuels. Considerations taken into account by the standard include,
among others, the projects': legality, consultative nature, effect on
greenhouse gas emissions as compared to fossil fuels; and respect for
human rights. The RSB is asking for feedback on the principles through
February 2009, after which the standard will be redrafted and published
in April 2009.
In other biofuel-related news, Malaysia and
Indonesia, the world's top two palm oil producers, held a meeting in
early August in order to cooperate in a biofuel development programme.
Kenyan courts are considering halting the first stage of a US$370
million biofuel project that aims to replace up to 20,000 hectares of
coastal grassland at the Tana River Delta on the northern Kenyan coast
with irrigated fields of sugarcane. A judicial review of the project was
granted following a campaign from environmental groups and nomadic
cattle-farming groups.
Links to further information
UN News Centre article, 13 August 2008
The
draft standards
Environment News Network, 6 August 2008
SciDev.Net, 5 August 2008
MAJOR POPULATION OF
ENDANGERED GORILLAS DISCOVERED, HALF OF WORLD'S PRIMATES THREATENED WITH
EXTINCTION
A survey by the Wildlife Conservation
Society in the northern Congo Republic has identified a population of
more than 125,000 western lowland gorillas, a discovery that brings new
hope for the critically endangered species. The results of the census
were released on 5 August 2008, at the International Primatological
Society Congress, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
As announced by IUCN at the same Congress,
in a preview of the 2008 IUCN Red List to be released in October 2008,
almost half of the world's primates are threatened with extinction.
Links to further information
Wildlife Conservation Society news release
IUCN press release, 5 August 2008
AUGUST 2008
UNEP LAUNCHES PLAN TO
PROTECT BEES AND BIRDS
In a bid to protect pollinators, which play
a role in crop production and biodiversity, the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) has launched a 5-year programme to disperse best management
practices worldwide. Partially funded by the Global Environment Facility
(GEF), the US$27 million project,
"Conservation & Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture
through an Ecosystem Approach," aims to develop local and national
capacities to protect these economically and environmentally important
species.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 8 August 2008
BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM BECOMES 191st CBD PARTY
Brunei Darussalam became an
official party to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 27 July
2008, bringing the number of parties to the Convention to 191.
Link to further information
List of CBD parties
JULY 2008
KENYA
PROMOTES TRADITIONAL CROPS FOR FOOD SECURITY
In the face of rising food
prices and shortage fears, the Kenyan government began distributing to
farmers seeds for traditional food crops, including cassava, sweet
potato and sorghum. "These crops are known to perform well in dry areas
where food insecurity is a common feature due to inadequate rainfall,"
Agriculture Minister William Ruto said, adding that production of such
crops had declined in the country due to lack of planting materials, low
interest among seed companies and changing eating habits.
Link to further information
Environment News Network, 21 July 2008
NATIONAL PARK IN COLOMBIA TO HELP PRESERVE INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS
In an effort to help the
Cofan, a tribe numbering about 2,600 people between Colombia and
Ecuador, preserve their traditions, Colombia recently created the Orito
Ingi-Ande Medicinal Plants Sanctuary, to protect the plants the Cofan
depend on for medicinal and spiritual purposes. According to Colombian
officials, the reserve is the only national park in the world created
for such reasons. Aside from spiritual value, the new park has rich
biodiversity, including about 400 bird varieties, numerous reptiles, and
such rare species as chameleons, jaguars and Andean spectacled bears.
Cofan elders have also identified nearly 100 plant species used for
medicinal and religious purposes.
Link to further information
San Francisco Chronicle, 8 July 2008
EU
MINISTERS BACK AWAY FROM BIOFUEL TARGET
In an informal meeting held from 5-6 July 2008, EU environment and
energy ministers concluded that Commission legislative proposals aimed
at covering 10% of transport needs from biofuels by 2020 had been
misinterpreted and are not limited to biofuels only but to renewables in
general, including hydrogen or electricity power sources. Reportedly,
such a reinterpretation could help the EU to shift away from their
controversial commitment to promote biofuel production.
Link to further
information
EurActiv.com, 7 July 2008
JUNE 2008
AFRICAN RHINOS
INCREASING, NORTHERN WHITE NEAR EXTINCTION
African rhinos have reportedly reached
record numbers for the first time in decades, but the Northern white
rhino is listed as critically endangered and is on the brink of
extinction, according to the IUCN Species Survival Commission African
Rhino Specialist Group.
Links to further information
IUCN press release, 16 June 2008
WORLD BANK, GEF AND OTHERS JOIN TO SAVE ENDANGERED
TIGERS
The World Bank, the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and a worldwide alliance of tiger conservationists,
scientists and celebrities have joined forces to help save wild tigers.
Tiger numbers have declined from more than 100,000 a century ago to
around 4,000 today. The decline is driven by a loss of prey and habitat
due to uncontrolled development and poaching for the black-market trade
in tiger skins and bones. The new Tiger Conservation Initiative,
launched in Washington DC, brings together many of the global experts
who have been studying the decline of tiger populations and national and
international NGOs that have been fighting to save tigers. The Tiger
Conservation Initiative will start with a series of dialogues in tiger
range countries to find out what has worked locally to protect the
tigers. As part of this Initiative, the World Bank has proposed a
Five-Point Plan of Action that stresses community engagement over
earlier and failed punitive action. It will also assess the financing
needs of tiger conservation and work with governments and the private
sector to find innovative funding sources and mobilize new resources for
the species' protection.
Links to
further information
World Bank News , 9 June 2008
GEF News, 9 June 2008
World Bank Tiger Conservation Initiative
TRANSBOUNDARY
PARKS CREATED IN THE BALKANS, NEW PROTECTED AREAS IN BRAZIL
The Governments of Albania, Bosnia,
Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia announced on 29 May 2008 the
creation of 13 new protected areas and the extension of nine others in
the Dinaric Arc, an area which is home to healthy populations of large
carnivores. In related news, Brazil celebrated World Environment Day, 5
June 2008, by creating four new protected areas, three of which are in
the Amazon rainforest.
Links to further information
Reuters News Service, 30 May 2008
Environment News Service, 6 June 2008
IUCN RED LIST 2008 FOR
BIRDS SHOWS CLIMATE CHANGE PUTS BIRDS AT RISK OF EXTINCTION
Long-term drought and sudden extreme
weather put additional stress on habitats that many threatened bird
species depend on, found the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of
Birds. The publication established climate change as an accelerant to
many of the factors putting birds at risk of extinction, coupled with
habitat destruction. The list identifies 1,226 species of birds now
threatened, and eight species newly listed as Critically Endangered.
Links to further information
IUCN press release, 19 May 2008
Birds on the 2008 Red List
MAY 2008
SWITZERLAND BANS
GM CROPS UNTIL 2012
The Swiss Federal Council has voted to
extend the country's moratorium on the cultivation of genetically
modified (GM) crops until 2012, to allow for the completion of a
government-supported research programme launched to investigate the
potential risks and benefits of GM crops. The research programme is
expected to reach a conclusion by the middle of 2012.
Link to further information
AllAboutFeed.Net, 29 May 2008
ENOLA BEAN PATENT REJECTED BY US PATENT AND
TRADEMARK OFFICE
Following
eight years of legal battle led by the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT), which is one of 15 centers making up the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the non-governmental organization ETC Group, the
US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected all patent claims
for a common yellow bean that has been a familiar staple in Latin
America for more than a century. In what is typically described as a
"biopiracy case," in the 1990s, Larry Proctor, a US national, bought
some beans in a market in Mexico and after a few years of plantings,
claimed he had developed what he called "a new field bean variety that
produces distinctly colored yellow seed which remains relatively
unchanged by season." He obtained a 20-year patent that covered any
beans and hybrids derived from crosses with even one of his seeds, which
he named "Enola bean." The patent was actively enforced, although CIAT
provided evidence of yellow beans in its genebank, and noted that a
version of the bean variety had been released to the public by the
Mexican government in the 1970s. Proctor can still appeal the US Patent
and trademark Office's
decision in the US federal courts.
Links to
further information
CIAT press release, 2 May 2008
ETC Group press release, 29 April 2008
Oxygen depletion in
oceans threatens sea life
A study in
the publication Science shows that oxygen-depleted
regions of tropical oceans are expanding, restricting habitats for fish
and other marine life.
Continued
expansion of these zones could have dramatic consequences for both sea
life and coastal economies. The study was carried out as part of a
long-running programme on climate variability and predictability led by
the World Climate Research Programme, which looks at climate through the
interaction of ocean and atmosphere.
Link to
further information
Science article abstract, May 2008
AFP, 1 May 2008
BIODIVERSITY LOSS AFFECTS HUMAN HEALTH -
STUDY
A new
generation of medical treatments may be lost unless the current rate of
biodiversity loss is reversed, a recently published book involving more
than 100 experts has revealed. Such medical treatments include a new
generation of antibiotics and painkillers, and new treatments for
thinning bone disease, kidney failure, blindness and cancer. The book,
Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity, which
has been supported by UNEP, the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity, the UN Development Programme and IUCN, was edited
and written by Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, from Harvard Medical
School, along with more than 100 scientists who contributed to writing
and reviewing it. The book explores how the natural world holds secrets
to the development of new kinds of medical treatments, and its authors
warn that threats to land and marine-based life forms reduce the chances
of revealing and creating them.
Links to
further information
Harvard Medical School Sustaining Life website
CBD press release, 24 April 2008
BBC News, 23 April 2008
Reuters News Service, 24 April 2008
Oxford University Press
APRIL 2008
PESTICIDE BANS DO NOT REDUCE AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT –
STUDY
A Sri Lankan study on the impacts of banning insecticides monocrotophos,
methamidophos, and endosulfan found no reduction in agricultural
productivity. The chemicals were banned in the 1990s in an effort to
reduce fatal poisonings and suicides. The study, which was published in
the April 2008 issue of the journal, Environmental Health
Perspectives,
concluded, that where
affordable substitutes exist for pest control, there is no significant
impact on agricultural output.
Link to
more information
Article, April 2008
UNITAR TO ORGANIZE
WORKSHOP ON BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The UN Institute for Training and Research
(UNITAR) and the Kushiro International Wetland Centre, in partnership
with Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund and the Secretariats of the Ramsar
Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, will organize a
workshop on biodiversity and climate change in the context of wetlands
and water resource management, to be held from 29 June - 4 July 2008, in
Kushiro, Japan. The workshop aims to support the sharing of scientific
facts and policies on biodiversity, wetlands and climate change, provide
analytical knowledge to understand and practically use the scientific
data and documentation, facilitate exchange of ideas and strengthen the
Kushiro/UNITAR network of experts in wetlands, biodiversity and climate
change. Up to 30 participants will be selected, including national
policy-makers and project managers from environmental, climate or water
disciplines and working on biodiversity and climate change issues.
Link to further information
UNITAR Series on biodiversity webpage
IAASTD REPORT SAYS
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES MUST BE REVISED TO BENEFIT THE WORLD'S POOR
Modern agricultural practices must change
to better serve the poor if the world is to cope with a growing
population and climate change, according to the Synthesis Report of the
International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for
Development (IAASTD), released on 15 April 2008. The report is the
result of three years of cooperation between nearly 400 scientists.
Global and sub-Global "Summaries for Decision Makers" and an "Executive
Summary of the Synthesis Report" were approved at an Intergovernmental
Plenary that met from 7-12 April 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Synthesis Report integrates the key findings from the Global and
five sub-Global assessments, and focuses on eight topics: bioenergy;
biotechnology; climate change; human health; natural resource
management; traditional knowledge and community based innovation; trade
and markets; and women in agriculture. The report primarily addresses
how agricultural knowledge, science and technology can be used to reduce
hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable
environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable development. The
report suggests that the way to meet this challenge is to put in place
institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity
with the protection and conservation of natural resources, while meeting
production needs. The IAASTD was sponsored by several UN agencies,
including the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Environment
Programme and World Bank.
Links to further information
The
IAASTD reports
UN news release, 15 April 2008
EU TO PROPOSE BAN ON
IMPORTS OF SEAL PRODUCTS
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said
he will propose to ban imports of all seal products resulting from
inhumane killings. The proposal follows a European Parliament resolution
last year adopted with great majority, which backs such a ban. Belgium
and the Netherlands banned imports of seal products last year, which
resulted in trade dispute launched by Canada against the EU.
Link to further information
Reuters News Service, 14 April 2008
MARCH 2008
GREENPEACE
RELEASES ANNUAL GM CONTAMINATION REPORT
Greenpeace recently released its "GM
Contamination Register Report 2007," recording 39 incidents of
contamination from genetically modified organisms in 2007, 28 of which
involved the contamination of food, feed and seeds. Eleven were illegal
releases. The GM Contamination Register reports were initiated by
GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace International in 2005.
Links to further information
Greenpeace press release, 29 February 2008
The
GM Contamination Register Report 2007
ENVIRONMENT CRIME HIGHLIGHTED AS SERIOUS
PROBLEM
The World Customs
Organization and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) are highlighting
illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances, hazardous waste, endangered
species and other environmentally sensitive items as a serious problem
with a global impact. According to their press release, the
international community is increasingly mobilized to address this
problem, in which organized crime groups are involved. Participants in a
recent meeting at the World Customs Organization agreed on an Action
Plan to fight environment crime that emphasizes the prioritization of
environment crime within Customs administration, as well as
international cooperation.
Link to further
information
World Customs Organization Press Release, 27 March 2008
STUDY SHOWS BETTER PROTECTION AGAINST WILDFIRES AND
DEFORESTATION IN CERTIFIED AREAS OF BIOSPHERE RESERVE
A study by the Rainforest Alliance has found that forest concessions
within the Guatemalan Maya Biosphere Reserve, which are managed in
compliance with certification standards of the Forest Stewardship
Council, had fewer wildfires and less deforestation in comparison with
protected areas in the Reserve. The Rainforest Alliance says that these
results demonstrate how responsible forest management can result in
better conservation of forestlands.
Link to
further information
Rainforest Alliance Media Release, 24 March 2008
CITES PUBLISHES CAVIAR QUOTAS
The
Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has published the export quotas
for caviar and other sturgeon products from the Caspian Sea set by the
range States for 2008. In line with a recommendation made at the 14th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties in June 2007, the quotas are at
or below the levels of 2007. Iran's caviar quota for Persian sturgeon
has been reduced by 1000 kg as a conservation measure.
Links to
further information
CITES press release, 3 March 2008
The official quotas (published by the CITES Secretariat), March
2008
FEBRUARY 2008
SVALBARD SEED VAULT
OPENS IN NORWAY
The Global Seed Vault, a seed facility
located in the Arctic island of Svalbard, Norway, which will house
duplicates of unique varieties of the world's most important crops to be
used in case of a future catastrophe, was inaugurated on 26 February
2008. The opening ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Norway
Jens Stoltenberg and Nobel Peace Prize-winning environmentalist Wangari
Maathai, as well as the European Commission President José Manuel
Barroso, among many others, who deposited seeds. The vault, which
operates in the framework of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and under
the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture, has a capacity of 4.5 million seed samples, equivalent to
about 2 billion seeds. Its construction was funded by the Norwegian
government. On the occasion of the opening, the non-governmental
organizations ETC group and GRAIN issued reports highlighting the need
to support in situ agricultural biodiversity and farmers' rights.
Links to further information
Svalbard Global Seed Vault press release, 26 February 2008
FAO news release, 25 February 2008
GRAIN article, 26 February 2008
ETC group release, 26 February 2008
NEPAD – MICHIGAN
STATE UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP TO BOLSTER AFRICA'S BIOSAFETY CAPACITY
A US$ 1.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
was given to Michigan State University (MSU), to promote Africa's
biosafety capacity in partnership with the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD). The grant will be used to develop the African
Biosafety Network of Expertise, to help regulators access the most
up-to-date training, data and resources needed to properly regulate
biotechnologies. Over the next 10 months, MSU and NEPAD will undertake a
consultation process with African biosafety regulators to assess needs
and develop a responsive information and resource network that provides
training, peer-reviewed scientific information, expert assistance and
other services as required.
Link to further information
MSU press release, 25 February 2008
SHARK SPECIES FACE EXTINCTION
The scalloped hammerhead will be listed on the 2008 IUCN Red List as
globally endangered due to overfishing and high demand for its fins,
according to a member of the IUCN– The World Conservation Union's shark specialist group. The number
of many other large shark species has been greatly reduced due to
increased demand for their fins and meat, shark fisheries and bycatch.
Currently, fishing for sharks in international waters is unrestricted.
Links to
further information
Environment News Network, 17 February 2008
The Guardian, 18 February 2008
PROTECTED AREAS
UPDATE: UGANDA, RWANDA AND CONGO ESTABLISH TRANSBOUNDARY RESERVE,
KIRIBATI CREATES WORLD'S LARGEST MARINE RESERVE
In a declaration signed during the Third
World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Madrid, Spain, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda have launched an initiative to
create a transboundary biosphere reserve to safeguard their shared
biodiversity, providing the habitat of the great apes.
In related news, the Pacific island nation
of Kiribati has created the world's largest marine protected area: the
Phoenix Islands Protected Area, covering 410,500 square kilometers, is
one of the planet's last intact coral archipelagos and is threatened by
over-fishing and climate change.
Links to further information
UNESCO press release, 5 February 2008
Reuters news, 14 February 2008
TWO GROUPS
BACK INDUSTRY WITHDRAWAL FROM IAASTD
Two groups, The Scientific Alliance and the Public Research & Regulation
Initiative (PRRI), have posted responses backing the decision by
industry representatives to end their participation in the International
Assessment of Agricultural Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
and the subsequent editorial in Nature urging them to continue
participating. In its "Open letter to the organisations and governments
involved" in IAASTD, PRRI suggests that IAASTD "rewrite the chapter on
biotechnology by a group of experts
and with the objective to actively
and critically explore how agricultural knowledge, science, and
technology can contribute to meeting goals such as reducing hunger and
poverty, improving health and livelihoods, and facilitating
sustainability with the active of biotechnology, especially from the
public sector."
Links to
further information
PRRI Open Letter, January 2008
The
Scientific Alliance Newsletter, 1 February 2008
IAASTD website
The
East African Standard news story, 3 February 2008
SVALBARD GLOBAL SEED
VAULT RECEIVES FIRST SEED SHIPMENTS
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a facility
in the Arctic that seeks to duplicate all samples of agricultural
biodiversity currently in genebanks, has received its first consignment
of seeds: 7,000 seed samples from 36 African nations, sent by the
Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. The
vault, which operates within the framework of the Global Crop Diversity
Trust, is scheduled to be formally opened on 26 February 2008.
Links to further information
The
Vault website
BBC News, 31 January 2008
SeedQuest News, 23 January 2008
PROJECT TO WORK ON
RARE, ENDANGERED AMPHIBIAN SPECIES
Following an assessment of all amphibian species according to how
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) they are, the
Zoological Society of London has launched the EDGE Amphibians
conservation and fundraising initiative, which highlights some of the
most unusual species on the planet currently threatened with extinction.
This year work will focus on ten such species, including the Chinese
giant salamander, the Malagasy rainbow frog and the Gardiner's
Seychelles frog, perhaps the world's smallest frog.
Links to further information
Zoological Society of London press release, 21 January 2008
The
EDGE website
JANUARY 2008
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
IN CHILE AWARDED LAND TITLE IN CONSERVATION BATTLE
An indigenous Pehuenche community of the
Andes in Chile has been awarded a grant of title of 22,000 acres of land
in the south of the country, following an almost 20-year struggle for
land rights and conservation of their rare Araucaria forests. The
Pehuenche communities of Quinquen started their battle in the late
1980s, when a logging company tried to evict them from the Araucaria
forests they lived in.
Link to further information
WWF press release, 30 January 2008
FIRST-EVER CENSUS OF
ANTARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY LAUNCHED
New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced that marine
scientists from the US, New Zealand and Italy will undertake a two-month
voyage to Antarctica's northern coast, as part of the first-ever census
of Antarctic marine biodiversity. According to her statement, this
census is a multinational research project involving 23 countries and 11
coordinated voyages to survey marine ecosystems and habitats in waters
surrounding Antarctica. The 26 scientists on the research ship will
collect samples of sea life and capture images of the sea floor in
previously unexplored areas. The work is part of International Polar
Year, a global science program designed to advance knowledge of the land
and sea environments of the Arctic and Antarctic.
Link to further information
Associated Press news story, 30 January 2008
TWO AGRI-BIOTECH FIRMS
PULL OUT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Monsanto and Syngenta, two agri-biotech firms, have indicated that they
will no longer participate in the International Assessment of
Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which is
due to be completed this year. IAASTD is a multi-year project that is
seeking to evaluate the relevance, quality and effectiveness of
agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (AKST), along with the
effectiveness of public and private sector policies as well as
institutional arrangements in relation to AKST. The Assessment has
emerged from an international consultative process set in place
following a proposal by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the
World Bank, in August 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, to develop an international assessment of the role of
agricultural science and technology. Some 4,000 experts have been
engaged in the development of a Global Assessment and five Sub-global
Assessments. According to CropLife International, an industry
association to which Monsanto and Syngenta belong, their decision was
based on their inability to get industry perspectives reflected in the
draft reports.
Links to further information
Nature, 17 January 2008
International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for
Development website
RESEARCH LINKS DEFORESTATION DUE TO PALM OIL PRODUCTION AND DISAPPEARING
BIRDS
According to a novel
study, using for the first time satellite imagery to determine the
likely threat status of a complete set of birds present in a given
region, the extent of deforestation occurring on the island of New
Britain, Papua New Guinea, indicates that many more bird species are
threatened with extinction than previously thought. An eighth of lowland
forest on the island disappeared between 1989 and 2000, largely driven
by an uncontrolled expansion in global demand for palm oil. The
research, published in Biological Conservation, was undertaken by
scientists from Birdlife International, Conservation International and a
number of other organizations. The paper recommends potential areas to
designate as protected areas.
Link to further
information
Birdlife International press release, 9 January 2008
EU TO
SET ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA FOR BIOFUELS
Environment Commissioner
Stavros Dimas said the EU will be setting sustainability criteria for
biofuels, including environmental and social criteria, despite the EU
target to cover at least 10% of transport fuel from biofuels by 2020.
According to Dimas, the EU had initially underestimated the danger to
rainforests and the risk of forcing up food prices. The announcement
came following a letter from a group of NGOs called on Energy
Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to introduce tougher standards for biofuel
production or give up mandatory transport biofuels targets altogether.
Links to further
information
EurActiv.com News, 11 January 2008
Reuters News Service, 15 January 2008
CLONED MEAT, DAIRY PRODUCTS BACKED BY EU FOOD AGENCY, DISMISSED BY USDA
The European Food Safety
Authority, the EU's consultative body on food safety issues,
recently concluded that it "is very unlikely that any difference exists
in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones
and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred
animals," adding that "no environmental impact is foreseen as a result
of animal cloning." Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) requested an ongoing "voluntary moratorium" of food from cloned
livestock, given the emotional nature of the issue, despite the Food and
Drug Administration's conclusion that food from cloned livestock is safe
to eat.
Links to further
information
Reuters News Service, 14 January 2008
Environment News Network, 17 January 2008
IUCN SURVEY PLACES
BIODIVERSITY AT CENTER OF CLIMATE DEBATE
A survey of 1,000 climate decision-makers
and influencers from across 105 countries conducted by GlobeScan,
IUCN-the World Conservation Union and the World Bank immediately prior
the Bali Climate Change Conference concluded that these individuals
emphasize biodiversity protection as a means to help guide climate
actions. Among other key findings, the survey revealed that respondents
consider biofuels produced from food crops like corn to have the least
potential of 18 technologies for reducing carbon emissions over the next
25 years.
Links to further information
IUCN press release, 10 December 2007
The
survey
up to top |
