October « 2010 « International Conservation Forum

October 27, 2010

Conservation Slowing Rate of Animal Extinctions

Filed under: Uncategorized — jeff @ 5:38 pm

NEW YORK October 26, 2010, 09:19 pm ET

On average, 52 species of mammals, birds and amphibians are taking a significant step toward extinction each year, a huge new analysis says.

But if not for conservation efforts, the march would be even faster, researchers reported Tuesday.

In a July 11, 2008 file photo, a trio of humpback whales break the surface of the water as they work together in a group behavior known as "bubble feeding" off the coast of Cape Cod near Provincetown, Mass. Efforts to save endangered animals are making a measureable difference, even as a fifth of the world's backboned species _ mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes _ are threatened with extinction, a huge new analysis says.

Efforts to save endangered animals are making a difference, even as about 1 in 5 of the world’s backboned species — mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish — are threatened with extinction, according to a study published online in the journal Science.

The report was released as delegates from more than 190 nations meet at a United Nations conference in Nagoya, Japan, to set 20 measurable targets to combat the loss of many diverse species. (more…)

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Human activity driving species to extinction

Filed under: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Multimedia, Videos — jeff @ 10:40 am

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October 26, 2010

Canada’s Obstruction, Canada’s Shame

Filed under: Biodiversity, Canadian Conservation, Endangered Species — jeff @ 4:13 pm

Canada’s behaviour in Nagoya blocks efforts to stop the catastrophic loss of species

By Dr. Keith Martin, P.C., M.P.

The Canadian government is justifiably facing severe international criticism for hindering progress to develop a new Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the COP10 negotiations in Nagoya, Japan. Specifically, our government is blocking a crucial agreement on Access and Benefits Sharing (ABS). This agreement will set the terms for the sharing of resources and traditional knowledge with indigenous people who usually live in or near important biospheres. It would also be a mechanism to develop incentives for people to protect ecosystems and to help create tools that fight bio-piracy.

Protecting habitats is essential to preserving our planet’s biodiversity.

All of this is important because protecting habitats is essential to preserving our planet’s biodiversity. Between 1960 and 2000, our population doubled. However, during that same 40 year period, the world lost 25 per cent of its land species, 28 per cent of marine life, and 29 per cent of freshwater species. This is the fastest and greatest rate of biodiversity loss since the extinction of the dinosaurs. The cause is human activity, which is destroying ecosystems. As is well known, habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss around the world. (more…)

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October 21, 2010

The Challenge in Nagoya

Filed under: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Environmental Solutions — jeff @ 6:24 pm

At COP 10, Leaders Must Link Human Security to Environmental Security

The challenge is immense. The situation is critical. One hundred and ninety-three national delegations are in Nagoya, Japan, attending the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-10). This will be the international community’s last, best chance to halt the march to extinction of many species. Every year, between 1,500 and 15,000 species disappear forever. This is one of the worst mass extinctions our planet has ever endured and is due primarily to human activity.

In the early 1990s, the international community came together with much fanfare and signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD was designed to preserve 10% of the world’s ecological regions by 2010. Sadly, no country is anywhere close to meeting this target. Human activity continues to destroy habitats, which has resulted in a massive decline in biodiversity. Twenty-five per cent of the world’s mammal species, 20 per cent of the world’s birds, and 40 per cent of the world’s amphibians are threatened with extinction. Ninety percent of the world’s commercial fish species are over-exploited or have crashed. (more…)

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Is biodiversity loss caused by our failure to communicate?

Filed under: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Multimedia, Videos — jeff @ 2:46 pm

One of the most powerful points coming out of Nagoya, made both explicitly and also hidden in the maelstrom of debate around biodiversity policy, is that the way we communicate is fundamental to the success of biodiversity conservation.

To learn more, visit the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at http://www.iucn.org/cbd/meetings/nagoya_2010/news/?6315/Love-Not-Loss-Communicating-Biodiversity

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October 18, 2010

Linking human security and environmental security is THE KEY to stopping biodiversity loss

Filed under: Biodiversity, Environmental Solutions — jeff @ 8:15 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

World leaders in Nagoya must link conservation and development, says Dr. Keith Martin, MP

OTTAWA- “The failure to implement initiatives that link human security and environmental security is seriously contributing to the catastrophic and accelerating loss of biodiversity around the world,” said Dr. Keith Martin, founder and chair of the Canadian Parliament’s first All-Party International Conservation Caucus. Dr. Martin is urging world leaders who are meeting in Nagoya, Japan for the 10^th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity to link development programs with habitat protection.

“Ecosystems have the best chance of surviving and being protected when people derive a benefit from them. They survive and thrive when they are more valuable to people in their natural state than if they are destroyed,” said Dr. Martin, who has personally witnessed projects in South Africa, Botswana, and Tanzania that have successfully used this approach to save fragile ecosystems. (more…)

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Fresh water – lifeblood of a Living Planet

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Solutions, Oceans — jeff @ 3:24 pm

Each and every one of us is, on average, about 60 percent water. Water is deeply embedded not just in us, but in the global economy, too. And water is the lifeblood of the planet – pulsing through rivers, resting in lakes and trickling through underground aquifers (groundwater sources). Along the way, the flow of fresh water supports remarkable, but increasingly threatened, species and ecosystems. (more…)

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October 5, 2010

Saving our Forest Giants

Filed under: Biodiversity, Canadian Conservation, Uncategorized — jeff @ 9:17 am

Dr. Keith Martin, MP, touring Avatar Grove

These trees are more valuable for tourism and to our ecosystem than as lumber

by Dr. Keith Martin, MP

Port Renfrew is the furthest outpost of my riding. It is a land of extraordinary beauty with mountains that hug a rugged coastline, rivers that run through deep valleys, and a land that harbours significant biodiversity. This area also contains some of the oldest and most majestic living things on our planet. In the area of the Gordon River Valley and further north in the upper Walbran Valley are some of the largest trees on the planet. A few weeks ago, I went into this remote area with a small team from the Ancient Forest Alliance to document these giant Western Red Cedars, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir that jut out of the surrounding valley floors like spires from cathedrals. (more…)

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