Ecosystems are buffering humanity against the worst impacts of global warming and also alleviating poverty, says United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
… crucial to lives of billions, says UNEP The Ecologist | 12th January 2010 News … warming and also alleviating poverty, says United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) The continued loss of animal and plant …
Deutsche Bank economist Pavan Sukhdev is heading up the groundbreaking TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) report and doing for nature what Sir Nicholas Stern did for climate change - valuing it
… economist Pavan Sukhdev is heading up the groundbreaking TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems … The Ecologist may say that but there are a hundred thousand other people who are social … in manufacture and creates some local opportunity as opposed to just profits for the …
Former Director of the Tyndall Centre and a Professor at the University of East Anglia, Andrew Watkinson explains why 'a few loose sentences' in the IPCC report shouldn't change people's opinion of the science
… of the Tyndall Centre and a Professor at the University of East Anglia, Andrew Watkinson … Alleviation programme . Its brief says that, unlike other economic goods, ecosystem … We need to grasp this window of opportunity and get it right. The other important …
While the UN is celebrating the international year of biodiversity conservation groups in the UK worry that a rising number of isolated populations are in danger of becoming extinct
… as their habitats disappear While the UN is celebrating the international year of … here More than 70 per cent of UK land is under ownership or management of farmers and … species. Professor Bullock says pollution run-off from farming is killing biodiversity. …
England becoming a country of 'beauty spots rather than beauty', and must act fast to address declining biodiversity, says the government’s environment watchdog
… dainty-damselfly.jpg England becoming a country of 'beauty spots rather than beauty', … low levels including the northern bluefin tuna, the Natterjack toad and the red squirrel, … according to the study. In 23 of England’s counties a plant species is being lost every two …
Current conservation list criticised for being biased towards vertebrates and neglecting most plants, fungi and invertebrates
… vertebrates and neglecting most plants, fungi and invertebrates A team of scientists … used Red List, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) , to … that compose an ecosystem the more they will understand the health of that ecosystem,' they …
Increasing threats to mangrove species are a symptom of the widespread destruction and exploitation of forest habitats, say campaigners
… by the Global Marine Species Assessment Unit (GMSA) , more than one in six mangrove … put their economic value to coastal communities in terms of fishing, tourism and flood … and tourist resorts. The IUCN , which part-funded the analysis, has now placed 11 out of …
The renowned primatologist and conservationist on the need for scientific empathy, the impact of economic development, and why children give her hope for the future
… Sevier: The list of endangered species around the world is growing. There is often a … sense of hopelessness and doom and gloom surrounding conservation. In your latest book Hope … this designed to inspire conservationists around the world not to give up in the face of so …
How activist Malgorzata Górska helped protect a Polish forest valley, and changed her government's attitude to conservation in the process
… of very well conserved nature with really unique biodiversity. I was born there, I lived … in each direction, service roads, a big junction and so on. Clearly the road needed to … reserves. And when Poland joined the European Union in 2004 these sites became Natura 2000 …
Researchers claim the benefits of combining conservation and food production through organic farming are not enough to make up for the drop in yields
… And Farming Organic Biodiversity Wildlife University Of Leeds Soil Association … of English farms . Researchers from the University of Leeds' Faculty of Biological Science found biodiveristy to be an average of 12 per …
Promises to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 have not been met by any national government, according to the UN, which is calling for taxes and incentives to encourage action
… subsidies' to blame for wildlife loss, says UN The Ecologist | 10th May 2010 News … forests.jpg In a positive sign, the report found the rate of tropical deforestation had … by any national government, according to the UN, which is calling for taxes and incentives …
While logging and deforestation has gained global attention the growing sand mining sector is being largely ignored. Fuelled by Singapore’s land and construction demands it is wreaking environmental destruction across south-east Asia
… cent since the 1960s by reclaiming vast amounts of land from the sea, in doing so … quality by increasing turbidity, blocking sunlight and killing off plant life, including … back in 2007. Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, did announce a ban on sand exports …
Introduction of measures to protect rainforests and ecosystems in Costa Rica and Thailand over the past 40 years have improved the livelihoods of the local population
… as protect biodversity, according to analyses undertaken in Costa Rica and Thailand . Researchers from Georgia State University looked at the long term impacts of … parks and reserves set up before 1985 and found the net impact of the protection was to …
European observers say it is going to be as ‘big as the carbon market’, but is buying a licence to cause ecological damage a sound strategy? Tom Levitt investigates
… and how would it work? Tom Levitt | 9th June 2010 News Biodiversity Wildlife … in conservation projects to offset any unavoidable biodversity loss they are causing … a licence to cause ecological damage a sound strategy? Tom Levitt investigates Targets …
A UN panel similar to the one for climate change has been given the go-ahead by world leaders with an admission they had failed to heed scientific warnings about biodiversity loss
… UN biodiversity panel 'a dream of many scientists' The Ecologist | 15th June 2010 News Biodiversity Climate Change … of biodiversity loss by policymakers around the world A UN panel similar to the one …
Nine new studies will look at the role of pesticides, habitat loss and disease in the decline of insect pollinators like the honeybee and bumblebee
… to provide the answers The Ecologist | 22nd June 2010 News Bees Pollination Food And … diversity and food crops. Now nine projects, funded as part of the Insect Pollinators … soil', said Dr Simon Potts from Reading University, which is involved in one of the …
Native woods and trees in urban areas, including gardens, provide haven for wildlife, reduce air pollution, surface run-off and flooding
… for wildlife, reduce air pollution, surface run-off and flooding Reversing the declining … space, the report, ' Greening the Concrete Jungle ', says trees provide a wide range of … world’s highest rates of childhood asthma, around 15 per cent, particularly amongst lower …
Indonesia’s largest palm oil and pulp group, Sinar Mas, is continuing to destroy rainforests and peatland despite promises to end the practice
… has supplied palm oil to Nestlé, Kraft and Unilever, had previously promised to clean up … and peatland areas, which store vast amounts of carbon that is released into the … party suppliers. READ MORE... NEWS Nestlé under fire for destroying orang-utan habitat …
Report highlights the danger of cloning to animal health as campaigners also warn it will reduce genetic diversity within herds
… meat and dairy products from cloned animals until potential health risks can be ruled out … shelf reality yesterday when the European Union's food safety authority was asked to …
Ecuador seeks $3.6 billion from international donors to protect species-rich rainforest reserve from oil exploration
… offers to leave rainforest oil in the ground for $3.6 billion The Ecologist | 5th … from oil exploration Ecuador has signed a groundbreaking agreement with the United Nations to forgo oil exploration in …
Indonesia's largest palm oil and pulp company started clearing land for palm oil plantations before it had received permits or made conservation assessments. Tom Levitt reports
… has supplied palm oil to Nestlé, Kraft and Unilever, claimed an independent audit of its … However, the audit itself, commissioned under pressure from one-time Sinar Mas customer, Unilever, says the company broke Indonesian …
Environmentalists are dismayed at plans by the Tanzanian government to build a major commercial highway through Serengeti National Park
… to the region - linking remote communities to the major road network, allowing … and Infectious Disease Ecology at Princeton University, who has worked in the Serengeti … could indirectly destroy the region's function as a major carbon sink. ‘If the …
Our attempts to adapt to, and mitigate, the effects of climate change, such as using biofuels, could worsen the direct effects of climate change on our ecoystems
… While there has been a significant amount of focus on the impacts of climate change … decrease net carbon emissions has been debunked, reducing GHG emissions remains an … Gorges Dam, which destroyed many biodiverse mountain habitats in central China as well as …
A new book, Fragile Web, reveals why the biodiversity crisis may be humanity's biggest challenge
… the best-performing types of mycorrhizal fungi can dramatically improve the growth of … that pollinate crops and many more, can be found in the ecosystem supermarket next to the … ecosystem degradation in the Sahel can be found in this section. In this semi-desert …