Limiting climate change is just the start of what we need to do to forestall a runaway cascade of species extinctions, write Bill Laurance & Paul Ehrlich. We must also reverse the destruction and fragmentation of key wildlife habitats, constrain our over-consumption of natural resources, stabilise human numbers - and elect leaders determined to prioritise these issues.
… great extinction has arrived. Collapse of biodiversity Mass extinctions involve a catastrophic loss of biodiversity, but what many people fail to appreciate is just what 'biodiversity' means . A shorthand way of …
160 global groups have called for a moratorium on new 'genetic extinction' technology at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Gene drive technology, they say, poses serious and irreversible threats to biodiversity, national sovereignty, peace and food security.
… Biodiversity Convention call to block new … | 6th December 2016 News GMOs Science Biodiversity Un Mexico aphids-cut.jpg 160 … poses serious and irreversible threats to biodiversity, national sovereignty, peace and …
It is easy in a country like the UK to imagine that science and economics command the whole debate about nature's value. But step back and look at the bigger picture internationally, and it all looks rather different writes VICTOR ANDERSON
… December 2016 Comment Natural Capital Nature Biodiversity Ecosystems amazon rainforest.jpg … governmental body in the field of biodiversity is IPBES - the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - …
The Scottish government has announced that its wild beaver populations will be given the full protection of both UK and EU law. The decision has been welcomed by campaigners who point out all the benefits of beavers to biodiversity, water management and flood control. Now, they say, England and Wales should follow suit.
… 2016 News Beavers Scotland UK EU Mammals Biodiversity Water Farming Law Conservation … who point out all the benefits of beavers to biodiversity, water management and flood … in England and Wales." 'Beavers promote biodiversity by creating new ponds and …
Although flowing water is fundamental to river ecosystems, temporary streams are distinctive landscape features that support surprisingly diverse communities, writes Rachel Stubbington. However, the biodiversity of these dynamic ecosystems needs greater recognition and protection.
… writes Rachel Stubbington. However, the biodiversity of these dynamic ecosystems needs … Temporary streams support high levels of biodiversity, with aquatic and terrestrial … land use are threats to temporary stream biodiversity Recognition of the seedbank as a …
A proposed redesign of the Natural History Museum's grounds in London would cause some unfortunate collateral damage, writes Gary Grant - the destruction of the Museum's 21 year-old wildlife garden, an ecological jewel in the heart of London which features over 3,000 species of plant and animal in just one lovingly tended acre. The Museum must think again!
… | 2nd June 2016 Activism Conservation Cities Biodiversity Development UK london natural … the grounds, improve access and boost its biodiversity - one of the Museum's 'three big … restoring nature in urban areas and boosting biodiversity. It has meticulously documented …
This month wood pellet mills in the southern US that supply the UK's Drax power station were awarded 'sustainability' certificates under a voluntary scheme governed entirely by energy companies. The certificates provide no credible guarantee that the fuel does not come from ecologically valuable natural forests and wetlands, clear-cut and replaced by industrial plantations.
… Energy Sustainability Corporations UK USA Biodiversity before-and-after.jpg This month … region, which was recognised as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot earlier this year. Some …
The world we inhabit is a miracle of billions of years of evolution as life has unfolded in its full beauty and diversity, writes Grant A. Mincy. But human activities - deforestation, mining, urbanisation, pollution, climate change - are tearing away at the functioning fabric of the living biosphere. A mass extinction is under way, and it must be halted, and reversed. But how?
… of life. As we experience this modern biodiversity crisis a new epoch is being … understory produced the 'Great Cradle of Biodiversity' for the North American continent … are today the two greatest hotspots of biodiversity on the terrestrial planet. The …
Indigenous Peoples are often the victims of nature conservation, according to a new report by Vicky Tauli-Corpuz presented to the UN this week, as they are expelled from lands they have inhabited for millennia. One reason, she told Joe Eisen, is that indigenous territories are precisely the places where biodiversity is best preserved - thanks to the protective, nurturing presence of their traditional owners.
… territories are precisely the places where biodiversity is best preserved - thanks to the … or that will further even destroy the kind of biodiversity that they are wanting to protect. … protected in a better sense, in terms of biodiversity being still vibrant and being …
Modern practices mean that more than ever, people are disconnected from nature, writes Damitha Rajapakse. In Sri Lanka - a biodiversity hotspot which is full of endemic plants with unique properties - a conservation programme is under way to teach the new generation about the rich heritage of native fruits which surrounds them.
… writes Damitha Rajapakse. In Sri Lanka - a biodiversity hotspot which is full of endemic … them. Sri Lanka is a country with rich biodiversity - about 3,368 plant species … as 'weeds' due to lack of awareness. Loss of biodiversity and diminishing plants of the …
With Brexit the UK will have to chose between two visions of our farming future, writes Keith Tyrell. Will it be heavily subsidised corporate agribusiness that ravages both nature and small, high quality farmers. Or will we seize the chance to build a sustainable food and farming system that supports wildlife, landscape, family farms, organic production and diverse rural economies?
… over to intensive monocrops while destroying biodiversity on a massive scale. Measures to … Pesticides: the agrochemical threat to our biodiversity There is little doubt that … million Ha. Pesticides have direct impacts on biodiversity - many are toxic to insects, …
The 2016 'State of Nature' report, published today, offers many small victories to celebrate, writes SUSAN CLARK, but overall it's not good news: 15% of our native species are under threat of extinction, while 53% are in decline. With intensive farming the main cause of the damage, and climate change a serious long term problem, turning the tide of wildlife attrition will be a long and challenging task.
… 2016 report shows continued loss of Britain's biodiversity Susan Clark | 14th September 2016 … measure that assesses how intact a country's biodiversity is, suggests that the UK has lost …
The official 'fitness test' on the EU's nature directives carried out for the EU Commission under its 'better regulation' initiative finds that the laws are 'fit for purpose' in every respect, writes Oliver Tickell. But there's a mystery: the report was completed in January, yet it remains unpublished. Did it reach the 'wrong' conclusion for a Commission intent on a bonfire of red tape?
… in natural / semi-natural habitats and wider biodiversity before the Directives came into … The Nature Directives are a cornerstone of EU biodiversity policy , as they make substantial contributions to the EU's biodiversity target and the implementation of …
The destruction of the world's wilderness is accelerating with a new clutch of mega projects from dams, roads and mines to large scale agriculture, write James Watson, Bill Laurance, Brendan Mackey & James Allan. It's cost-effective to put a stop to it right now for the carbon value of wilderness alone - never mind the biodiversity and indigenous peoples it safeguards.
… value of wilderness alone - never mind the biodiversity and indigenous peoples it … are the final strongholds for endangered biodiversity. They are also essential for … jeopardising its extensive carbon stores and biodiversity. We need to enforce existing …
You will recognise the famous surname but unlike his father, Jacques Cousteau, who spent a career discovering and sharing the mysteries and wonders of ocean life, Pierre-Yves Cousteau is having to campaign for its protection from over-fishing and the accompanying destruction of marine biodiversity. KASSANDRA LEFAKINIS finds herself engaged by a new film documenting this struggle and the bigger task ahead....
… KASSANDRA LEFAKINIS | 4th August 2016 Comment Biodiversity Marine Protection Areas Greece … and the accompanying destruction of marine biodiversity. KASSANDRA LEFAKINIS finds … Marine Protected Areas lead to an increase in biodiversity, reproduction rates of marine …
Vandana Shiva is more than just a leading scientist, author and campaigner on green issues and anti-globalisation, writes Scott London. She is also among the most prominent of Mahatma Ghandi's intellectual heirs. In this interview, she discusses how this led her to be an outspoken voice on such crucial environmental issues as seed legacy, biopiracy and economic injustice.
… organize women's networks, and protect local biodiversity . Vandana Shiva is the director … who are dependent on natural resources, on biodiversity, on the land, the forests, the … destroyed, when the river is dammed, when the biodiversity is stolen, when fields are …
Investigative reporter, TOM FAWTHROP has just returned from the site of the Don Sahong - a hydrodam being constructed in the middle of an eco-paradise of wetlands in Southern Laos where over 200 fish species have been recorded.
… destroyed TOM FAWTHROP | 3rd August 2016 News Biodiversity Meking River Hydrodams Fisheries … sharing or for the protection of the rich biodiversity of the longest river in SE Asia. … ongoing erosion of the Mekong River's unique biodiversity with the apparent justification …
To feed the world we must abandon not just GMOs but all diversity-destroying selective crop breeding, organic farmer John Letts told Oliver Tickell. Only by using biodiverse local seed mixtures that evolve in the field can food production adapt to climate change without ever-increasing chemical inputs, and meet human needs for wholesome nourishment.
… 10th November 2016 Other Farming Food Organic Biodiversity Seeds GMOs UK letts-cut.jpg To …
The Valbona Valley in northern Albania faces destruction from the planned works, despite being within the protected area of the Valbona National Park. LAURA BRIGGS reports
… properly assess a number of issues such as: Biodiversity: The EIA offers no detailed …
The new People Need Nature report - published to coincide with this week's annual Oxford Real Farming Conference - warns that modern farming practices are not good for wildlife. But they're not good for humans either. And with predictions that we will need to produce 70 per cent more food to feed a third more mouths by 2050 the question of seed ownership and diversity cannot be ignored. KATHRYN HINDESS reports
… Kathryn Hindess | 6th January 2016 News Seed Biodiversity Agribusiness Food Farming … potatoes and teff (in Ethiopia). At Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Farm, securing biodiversity for the future goes hand-in-hand …
GMO enthusiasts insist that organic, agroecological farming could never feed the world, writes Colin Todhunter. But it has been feeding us all for millennia - and it's the only way to continue while enriching the soils and biodiversity on which all farming depends. As Mahatma Gandhi once observed, industrial agriculture is but a nine-day wonder. And its time will soon be up.
… way to continue while enriching the soils and biodiversity on which all farming depends. As … high greenhouse gas emissions and reduces biodiversity on cultivated land. As well as … It is also associated with greater biodiversity of plants, animals, insects and …
The over-hunting of wildlife in the Amazon has an unexpected knock-on effect: the reduced seed dispersal reduces the forest's capacity to store carbon in its biomass, increasing emissions from apparently 'intact' rainforest areas.
… wildlife species, but this study shows that biodiversity and natural ecosystem services … until we see major losses in both forest biodiversity and forest ecosystem services." … managing wildlife can have big benefits for biodiversity and forest ecosystem services. …
Mexico's tourist resort of Cancún has just lost one of its greatest natural riches, writes Miguel Rivas: 57 hectares of species rich mangrove forest, bulldozed in a massive overnight attack by property developers in league with local officials. But people power can still win the battle and see the Tajamar mangroves restored.
… birds, snakes and other species. Losing that biodiversity is devastating, and it's only … well. The National Commission for the Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) estimates that … birds, snakes and other species. Losing that biodiversity is devastating. But it's only …
TADZIO MAC GREGOR meets a former school teacher-turned-conservation-activist who uses singing to inspire her followers and who has taken on both the Mexican Government and big corporations to stop the exploitation of the biodiverse Sierra Gorda region for profit
… Gorda Reserve has the highest levels of biodiversity in Mexico (the 5 th most …