Source: Freshwater biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, warns new report
The latest news related to nature conservation from around the world. If there is
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‘Everything on this planet is connected’: Q&A with WWF’s Marco Lambertini
Mongabay
Much of the focus on this concept has been on cutting carbon emissions from transportation and energy production. There’s been less emphasis on protecting and restoring nature, but the “Nature Positive” campaign is working to change that. WWF is among the NGOs leading the charge on Nature Positive…
Mobilizing Action and Creating Space for Indigenous Knowledge are Key for Nature Conservation …
Carleton Newsroom
Carleton University and Environment and Climate Change Canada brought together Canada’s leading conservation experts to identify the type of information needed to best conserve nature in Canada. They agreed that Canada must move beyond just collecting information and instead focus more on effective action. As well, the team highlights the crucial role of Indigenous knowledge systems in conservation…
Government of Canada launches new aircraft to improve conservation and protection of our oceans
Newswire
Today, the first of our long-range maritime patrol aircraft—the Dash-8—becomes operational. The Dash-8 aircraft will allow our fishery officers to expand their range of operations, providing them with essential tools to combat illegal fishing and enhance Canada’s maritime security…
Freshwater biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, warns new report
Environmental Journal
One-third of freshwater fish are threatened with extinction, according to the World’s Forgotten Fishes report. According to the report which was published by 16 global conservation organisations, populations of migratory freshwater fish have fallen by 76% since 1970, with freshwater biodiversity declining…
This is how local people are helping to map the trees that tech cannot
World Economic Forum
Current technology cannot map trees across dry forests and areas with sparse tree cover. Collect Earth is using the power of the human eye to fill the gap. Converging this data with other datasets can allow researchers to see where billions of trees are growing around the world — and where land is under restoration…
Gone fishing: the fight to save one of the world’s most elusive wild cats
The Guardian
With webbed feet and a tail for a rudder, Asia’s fishing cats face shrinking habitats. But conservation efforts in West Bengal are helping it swim against the tide. For more than a decade, wildlife biologist Tiasa Adhya has spent many a day in the wetlands and mangroves of the Indian states of West Bengal looking for signs of a rarely seen wild cat…
A tale of two provinces: how coal mining plowed ahead in the BC Rockies while Alberta hit the brakes
The Narwhal
At first glance, the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta are nearly indistinguishable. But what the two provinces don’t share is their policies on coal mining. “We’re talking about basically the same stuff in a very similar mountain environment,” Harvey Locke told the Narwhal…
‘It’ll take decades to clean’: oil spill ravages east Mediterranean
The Guardian
Israel is reeling from a disastrous tar slick, while oily sand has been found in southern Lebanon. At first sight there are few obvious signs of the oil spill on the Mediterranean beach. Wooden parasols stand solitary in the sand, while a few runners make their way along the waterline, enjoying the winter…
Beaver believers: Native Americans promote resurgence of ‘nature’s engineers’
The Guardian
The rodents are often considered ‘nuisance animals’, but they can play a vital role in maintaining healthy landscapes. Their dams help control the quantity and quality of water flow, while their ponds create habitat for numerous plants and animal species, including fish…
Ten rescued orangutans returned to the wild in Indonesia
The Guardian
Helicopters carried critically endangered great apes deep into forest from rehabilitation centres. Ten orangutans have been released back into the wild in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, with helicopters used to ferry the critically endangered great apes deep into the forest from rehabilitation centres…
Explosive study shows the wildlife trade plays a major role in the rapid loss of the world’s species
The Canary
The causes of biodiversity decline are largely human-led, such as the climate crisis, pollution and destruction of wild spaces. An explosive new paper also shows that the wildlife trade, in all its forms, bears a huge responsibility for the crisis…
How a starfish can help us understand climate change
Lifegate
The Norwegian Sea isn’t particularly inviting for a swim, given its low temperatures. However, it is the ideal habitat for a type of starfish that looks just like a cookie-cutter. This curious marine animal is in fact a veritable sentinel of climate change, to the point of having become the object of study of a passionate group of scientists…
Four Steps President Biden Can Take to Ease the Extinction Crisis
Sierra
During his first week in office, President Biden issued a slew of executive orders directed at fulfilling some of the most ambitious goals in his climate plan. Some conservation groups feel there’s still something missing: an articulated agenda and a similar set of actions for halting human-caused biodiversity loss…
U.N. report lays out blueprint to end ‘suicidal war on nature’
Mongabay
According to a new report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, the world faces three environmental “emergencies”: climate change, biodiversity loss, and air and water pollution. U.N. Secretary-General said we should view nature as “an ally,” not a foe, in the quest for sustainable human development…
Study highlights ‘terrible’ signs of species decline from wildlife trade
Mongabay
A new study found that the wildlife trade has led to a near 62% decrease in species abundance, raising concerns about its impact on terrestrial biodiversity. The authors found there to be a paucity of literature on the subject, and were only able to identify 31 studies that compared species abundance in exploited habitats with species abundance in unexploited areas…
Madagascar: Young farmers adopt new methods to help lemurs, forests and themselves
Mongabay
Threatened by unsustainable farming methods and hunting, the forests of Mangabe-Ranomena-Sahasarotra in eastern Madagascar, and the lemurs that live there, are in danger. A project aims to train young villagers in the region in sustainable farming techniques and to raise their awareness of lemur protection…
Could 2021 be a turning point for forests and climate change?
World Economic Forum
There is a renewed sense of optimism around tackling climate change. A coalition of private and public sector partners have launched the Green Gigaton Challenge, which aims to mobilize funds to achieve its target of one gigaton of high-quality emissions reductions, per year, by 2025…
Recent notifications from the Convention on Biological Diversity
There is currently one document (CBD/SBSTTA/24/3/ADD2) available for scientific and technical review. It addresses scientific and technical information to support the review of the proposed goals and targets in the updated zero draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework…
