Current conservation news...
UK: Airborne infantry to attack knotweed
10.03.09
One of the UK's high-profile, so called, invasive alien species Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is soon to face its toughest challenge yet in the form of a tiny predatory insect.
UK: Ghost Orchid (slight return)
09.03.10
News emerged yesterday that a Ghost Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) was found in the UK in 2009 (link to Guardian story).
Philippines: Update on Palawan campaign
09.03.10
In February Plant Talk published an article about the mining threats to the landscape, people and plants of Palawan in the Philippines. Yesterday I received an impassioned plea from Aldaw (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) to bring a petition to the attention of the public.
IN PICTURES: Welwitschia mirabilis
05.03.10
Take a closer look at one of the world's botanical oddities.
NGOs petition EU to change biofuel stance
05.03.10
A document leaked from the EU appears to show how the Commission intends to allow and support conversion of rainforest to produce biodiesel.
UK: Where have all the hunter-gatherers gone?
04.03.10
Plant Talk invited Jennifer Lee from the University of Liverpool to share her knowledge on modern day wild food foraging and its implications for plant conservation.
USA: Ecology for the future in Colorado's forests
24.02.10
Colorado is a heavily forested, high-altitude state. Dan Binkley (Colorado State University) and Sally L. Duncan (Oregon State University) looked to the past to help understand the future of these forested landscapes in their recent study in Ecology and Society.
Asia: BBC documentary reveals the increasing problem with palm oil
23.02.10
Last night the BBC's Panorama programme threw fresh light on the growing palm oil crisis in Asia. The undercover film crew, led by reporter Raphael Rowe, discovered evidence of palm oil companies deforesting and planting plantations on protected areas.
Plant Profile: Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
22.02.10
The tallest trees on earth and the last surviving member of the genus Sequoia may be under threat. Jamie McCormack, a self-confessed Cone-head, of the Eden Project takes a closer look at these ancient organisms.
Plant Profile: Philodendron bipinnatifidum
18.02.10
In this special two part feature Prof. Ghillean Prance and Dr. Hector Keller take a close look at Philodendron bipinnatifidum (Araceae) in the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina.
USA: Reduced summer fog may put redwoods in danger
17.02.10
A new study has shown that declining summer fog along the Pacific coast may be affecting the mighty coast redwoods and other important ecosystems.
Growing cities and crops means the forests fall
15.02.10
A new report in Nature Geoscience that studied high-resolution satellite imagery from 41 countries shows that deforestation is being driven by urban population growth and agricultural trade in the 21st century.
Mali: Plants at the heart of everyday life
11.02.10 by Camilla Toulmin, IIED
The black of the night sky was thinning as Nyeli Tangara rolled out of bed, hitching her baby onto her back and collecting her rope and bucket. In the distance, she could hear the first thud-thud-thud of pestle and mortar, as women across the village began the rhythm of a new morning.
09.02.10
It's often said that we've all got a book inside us just waiting to be unleashed onto the world, but perhaps we should start with something smaller. Like a list.
08.02.10
James Cameron's blockbuster 3D epic about a distant world being bulldozed by mineral prospectors has resonated around the environmental and social rights communities. This has not been lost on campaign groups who have seized the chance to get their story out to a primed global audience.
UK: World Land Trust bring conservation to Chelsea
04.02.10
The World Land Trust (WLT) are taking a conservation message to the world's most famous horticultural event, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Plant Profile: Impatiens gordonii
03.02.10
There are only about 120 individuals of Impatiens gordonii left on the islands of Mahe and Silhouette in the Seychelles. However, this critically endangered and threatened endemic of disturbed forest has become a poster-child for awareness-raising and conservation capacity building on these remote Indian Ocean islands.
Philippines: Geo-tagging reveals mining threats on the “Last frontier”
01.02.10
Plant Talk invited Dario Novellino from the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD), UK to speak out against the logging and mining in protected areas that is destroying the forests of Palawan.
28.01.10
As part of the celebrations for International Year of Biodiversity IUCN bring us a wonderful new resource - Species of the Day. On each day of 2010 a threatened species is profiled from the Red List describing its habitat, population, current plight, and future hopes.
Ecuador: Yasuni - the most biodiverse place on Earth?
22.01.10
A study published in the open access journal Plos One has revealed extraordinary species richness in the western Amazon covering eastern Ecuador and northern Peru.
19.01.10
Greg Farrington, Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, recently visited the vast island of Madagascar with some of his team of researchers. He was kind enough to share some of his beautiful images of the extraordinary landscapes, plants, and people (and in a break from tradition, some animals too!) with Plant Talk.
Reunion: Rare orchid pollinated by cricket
18.01.10
Scientists on the remote island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean found something they did not expect: an orchid that’s pollinated by a cricket.
UK: The Great Fen – last chance for endangered fen plants?
15.01.10
Alan Bowley from Natural England talks about this historic landscape and what the future looks like for its populations of special plants.
Global: IUCN warns of 'extinction crisis'
13.01.10
Yesterday saw the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity in Berlin, which has the aim of celebrating all life on earth and the value of nature's riches for our lives.
Nymphaea tetragona: A rare and endangered plant
05.01.10
The Pygmy Water-lily, Nymphaea tetragona (Ait.) Georgi (Nymphaeaceae), is the Asia-tropical representative of the diminutive water-lilies.
IN PICTURES: New species from 2009
23.12.09
In most years - globally - approximately 2,000 new plants make themselves known to science. One of the most prolific has to be the team at Kew who collectively discovered more than 250 new species in 2009.
UK: Hundreds of new species round-off Kew's anniversary year
22.12.09
It's been a remarkable year for Kew, as it celebrates its 250th year, and as we enter the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010 comes news of over 250 new species discovered by botanists from the famous London garden.
UK: Three new Sorbus from Cheddar Gorge
18.12.09
The UK is not renowned for its native tree species, but it can claim three more Whitebeams (Sorbus) thanks to some cliff-hanging work by scientists from Bristol University and the National Museum of Wales (NMW).
15.12.09
Many plant species around the world are threatened by a changing climate. But, topping the list, according to IUCN, is the Quiver Tree (Aloe dichotoma) of southern Africa.
UK: Keeping invaders out of the Forest
15.12.09
The New Forest is one of the most important areas for wildlife in Western Europe but its rivers and wetlands are threatened by an invasion of non-native plants. The battle lines are drawn and Catherine Chatters describes how she is taking up the fight.
Sweden: Award for Congo champion
11.12.09
Greenpeace Africa's Political Advisor, René Ngongo, who grew up near the Virunga National Park received the Right Livelihood Award (sometimes called the 'Alternative Nobel') a week ago at the Swedish Parliament for his dedicated work in defending the rights and livelihood of Democratic Republic of Congo's forest communities.
Global: A new approach to the IUCN Red List?
10.12.09
The Red List provides us with a yearly shock. A reminder of just how many plants and animals around the world are imperilled. But how many of us truly understand what it takes to get on the list and the amount of work involved in compiling it?
08.12.09
As Copenhagen enters its second long day it's worth remembering that looking after the natural world will help steer our Earthship through the predicted storms of a changing climate.
Copenhagen: Nature has the solutions
07.12.09
On the opening days of the Copenhagen Climate Conference there has been a call from IUCN urging leaders meeting in Copenhagen to include nature’s solutions to reduce emissions and cope with impacts of climate change in a post-2012 deal.
Australia: Red Gums - victims of politics?
04.12.09
Yesterday was a bizarre day in the politics of New South Wales, Australia. First out the blocks was the news that the premier, Nathan Rees, had announced a new 42,000 hectare National Park that would help protect the Red River Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) habitat of the Murray River basin.
Africa: UK Government shows ongoing commitment to African agriculture
03.12.09
As the Copenhagen Climate Conference looms nearer, the scars left by a changing climate are being felt across the world.
Ecuador: World's smallest orchid discovered
01.12.09
The world's smallest orchid has been discovered in Ecuador and, remarkably, the petals are so thin they're just one cell thick.
Switzerland: Korea to host next World Conservation Congress
27.11.09
The 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress will be held in Jeju, in the Republic of Korea, the IUCN Council decided in its 73rd regular meeting.
UK: Potential to restore billion hectares of forests around the world
26.11.09
Land areas around the world, bigger than Canada, have been identified as having potential to be restored to good quality, healthy forests, a new study has found.
UK: "More tree planting" say scientists
26.11.09
A panel of scientists met over the last two days to make recommendations for a giant tree planting scheme in the UK. The UK has only 12% tree coverage - a measly amount when compared with the rest of Europe (37%), Finland (74%), and North and Central America (33%).
Global: Maples under threat in the wild
25.11.09
Maples span the forests of the northern hemisphere - with strongholds in Asia, Europe and North America - and are keystone species in these ecosystems. They attract millions who marvel at their autumn colours in the wild and draw equal numbers to parks and gardens around the world. But surprisingly for plants that are so easily cultivated - they are under threat.
Amazon: Deforestation rate drops
24.11.09
Deforestation in the Amazon is at its lowest rate for 20 years according to the latest data from the Brazilian government. Only - and it is a painful only - 7,000 square kilometres of forest was destroyed or damaged in the year August 2008 to July 2009.
Madagascar: Kew team give live updates from the field
17.11.09
Once upon a time botanical expeditions would have ventured into the unknown, only to return (hopefully) a few months later to a rapturous home-coming as they reveal their results. But conservation is changing and it's largely a result of the rapidly shifting digital landscape.
Chile IN PICTURES: A conservation adventure
16.11.09
In March 2009 plant collectors from the UK and Chile set off to hunt for rare and endangered species with the vision of conserving these species for the future.
Chile: A Chilean conservation adventure
13.11.09
Smoking volcanoes, devastated towns, leech infested forests, endless breathtaking landscapes, and the beautiful but often highly endangered plant species of South America greeted the team from Wakehurst Place, Kew’s country estate in West Sussex, the Forestry Commission's Bedgebury Pinetum and Westonbirt Arboretum.
Guyana: Norway pledge investment in forests
12.11.09
The government of Norway has pledged up to $250 million in the protection of Guyana's forests. The agreement will ensure an initial payment of $30 million into the countries REDD+ fund and the rest will come if this investment succeeds in reducing emissions and tackling poverty.
Seychelles: More news from an Island Paradise...
11.11.09
The Seychelles are a group of 115 islands sheltering in the Indian Ocean. Famous for honeymooners lounging on sandy beaches, they appear a paradise on earth. But beneath the coconut palms you will see people and nature trying hard to get along.
Mexico: DNA barcoding the world's plants
10.11.09
As we reported in July a team of international scientists have agreed a DNA barcode system for life on earth. This major project is taking a few more steps towards reality in Mexico City this week.
USA: Disney invest in rainforest conservation
09.11.09
It was announced last week that the Walt Disney Company - made famous by cartoon characters inspired by wildlife - are investing $7 million in forest projects (to help protect wildlife!). The investment, in partnership with Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and The Conservation Fund, will benefit forests in the Amazon, the Congo and the US.
UK: A comeback 60 years in the making
06.11.09
Plantlife tell us of new hope for a rare plant - lost since World War II. Starved Wood-sedge (Carex depauperata) – a delicate grass-like plant with tall flowering stems - is one of Britain’s rarest plants, currently found in only two locations in Surrey and Somerset.
IUCN Red List update shows up global failure to slow biodiversity loss
05.11.09
WWF respond to the Red List. The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species should cause alarm over the continuing unprecedented loss of species and the failure so far of mechanisms to arrest biodiversity loss, WWF said today. The 2009 Red List, issued by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, shows that more than one-third (36 per cent) of the 47,677 species assessed are threatened with extinction.
Over 12,000 plants on the Red List
03.10.09
It’s that dreaded time of year again - the time when it is spelled out so clearly how badly we are failing the planet. The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that 17,291 species out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction. Of these a staggering 12,151 are plants - up 96 on last year - but it’s almost guaranteed they will get less publicity than their furry friends.
Indonesia: Greenpeace sets up base camp in rainforest
30.10.09
Greenpeace announced on October 27th that it has set up base in the heart of the Indonesian rainforest and will remain there for several weeks in order to bring urgent attention to the role that deforestation plays in driving dangerous climate change, a critical issue to be addressed at the UN Copenhagen Climate Summit in December.
Bulgaria: Protected area threatened as it reaches 75th anniversary
29.10.09
A massive expansion of skiing infrastructure is threatening the essence of Vitosha Natural Park, one of Bulgaria’s most famous and popular protected areas, on the eve of it’s 75th anniversary WWF explain.
27.10.09
Described by Raquel Nunez, of the World Rainforest Movement, as "beautiful" but "seemingly destined to suffer in life" the Atlantic Forest of Misiones in Argentina retains one of the largest fractions of this threatened ecosystem.
VIEWPOINT: Forests high on the agenda again - really forests?
26.10.09
We've been reporting from the World Forestry Congress in Argentina. Here the World Rainforest Movement (WRM) give their take on proceedings.
United States under pressure to protect tropical forests
23.10.09 by Ben Block, Worldwatch Institute
The state of Acre in western Brazil gained notoriety in 1988 when cattle ranchers murdered Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper who campaigned against the destruction of the Amazon forest.
Buenos Aires: WWF call for halt to forest loss
20.10.09
WWF is challenging global leaders to back an ambitious target on stopping forest loss as a major element of efforts to avert the looming climate catastrophe.
Buenos Aires: Forget forests at your peril - IUCN
19.10.09
Economic development and forest loss and degradation do not have to go hand in hand, according to IUCN.
BiodiverCity? Or the great urban extinction?
16.10.09
Have you ever stood in a city and wondered what it was built on top of? Woodland, marshes, fields? There's no doubt the building of ancient cities combined with modern urban sprawl has taken its toll on global plant life, but a new study has found out to what extent.
UK: 10 % of the World's Seeds Banked!
15.10.09
Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership is today celebrating a major landmark as Musa itinerans - the threatened Yunnan Banana from southwest China - becomes the 24,200th plant species to take up residence in the world's largest ex situ conservation project.
UK: Where have all the Ghost Orchids gone?
15.10.09
The Ghost Orchid is an apt name for a plant that hasn’t been seen for such a long time, but sadly it's the latest addition to the UK extinct list.
Amazon: What price a beefburger?
13.10.09
Four of the largest companies in the global cattle market have announced an end to their part in Amazon deforestation.
Asia: 100 new species of plants in the Greater Mekong
06.10.09
The Greater Mekong spans Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. This vast landscape - which stretches from the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam - gave up many natural treasures in 2008 a report by WWF reveals.
The future of the planet depends on its forests
01.10.09
As Copenhagen - and a promised new climate deal – rushes towards us a rallying cry has been issued by The Forests Dialogue (TFD) who say “conservation of world’s forests key to planet’s survival.”
30.09.09
Daniel Beltra's award winning photographs from the Amazon, Congo, and Indonesia show us the beauty and fragility of the world's rainforests.
Capturing the world's rainforests
30.09.09
Roll up for a photographic tour of the world's rainforests this Autumn. Daniel Beltra was the winner of The Prince's Rainforests Project Award at the Sony Photography Awards and a selection of his amazing images will be on show in London, Paris and Berlin.
UK IN PICTURES: Conservation in unlikely places
28.09.09
Liverpool based Landlife have been transforming landscapes that many other organisations wouldn't go near for many years. Last week we heard from Richard Scott but today just enjoy some pictures of their work, which has seen them enrich lives from Liverpool to China to Chernobyl.
UK: Ecology, culture and passion
25.09.09
Richard Scott from Landlife tells us how they make things happen... Starting points are critical in determining the places you might get to. They are the launching platforms for what is possible. “Culture” said Liverpool poet Brian Patten “is a by-product of people’s aspirations; it’s to do with achievement, endeavour, hope, and all things that make us a little more than we begin as.”
23.09.09
Two days ago news of the “International Day Against Tree Monocultures” arrived in my email via the World Rainforest Movement (WRM). There seems to be a Day for everything and I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at the thought of marching to some local forestry and hurling abuse at some conifer or other.
South America: Exploring the land of the Jaguar
18.09.09
No other big cat lives such a mythical existence as the Jaguar. So rarely seen in the wild it might then be surprising then that it is one of the few words in English of Guarani origin. But the Jaguar’s future and that of the people that gave it its name go hand in hand.
Borneo: Penan arrested while roadblocks come down
16.09.09
The blockades erected by the Penan in August to prevent their forest being destroyed have been dismantled according to Survival International.
USA: Save the plants, save the planet
16.09.09
A state of the art unit for protecting the world's plants will open in Chicago next week. The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Center goes live on 23rd September under the banner of "Save the plants, save the planet".
Kenya IN PICTURES: Scenes of devastation from the Mau Forest
15.09.09
A few days ago Plant Talk reported from the Mau Forest in Kenya as the Kenyan Government, in partnership with UNEP, appealed for funds to help save their largest forest. These photos show exactly why that appeal was made: this is forest degradation on a huge scale, threatening not only the plants and animals but also the human inhabitants.
Papua New Guinea: Lost world uncovered by BBC team
14.09.09
A team of experts assembled by the BBC Natural History Unit, and led by Dr. George McGavin of Oxford University, spent six weeks of 2009 exploring an extinct volcano in Papua New Guinea (PNG) where they discovered an ancient treasure trove of natural history including giant rats and one of the world's smallest parrots.
UK: Cutting down trees in the name of conservation
11.09.09
In an unusual twist of irony the Forestry Commission plan to fell 170,000 trees in the name of conservation.
Kenya: Appeal to save largest forest
10.09.09
Kenya has launched an appeal to help save over 400,000 hectares of forest from further damage. The Mau Forest, which is Kenya’s largest forest system, lies to the north-west of Nairobi and has suffered from agricultural encroachment and illegal logging encouraged by state-led corruption.
UK: Lower plant strategy for Wales
09.09.09
The mosses, lichens and liverworts - collectively known as lower plants - in alliance with fungi (and those who study them!) are the unsung heroes of natural history. So a new strategy produced by the wild plant charity Plantlife in conjunction with Plant Link Cymru comes as good news for fans of these strange beings.
UK: Britain’s forests reveal their secrets
08.09.09
Britain’s woodlands have gone through a tumultuous past and now look set to become a vital part of the future. A new survey by the Forestry Commission of the estimated 2.75 million hectares (or 12 per cent of the land area) of woodland in Britain will form the most comprehensive record of them ever.
Peru: UN tell Peru to ask for drilling consent
02.09.09
The news from Peru continues to unravel and in the latest installment the UN have instructed Peru's government to get "informed consent" from indigenous people prior to drilling.
Peru: One million acres of Amazon saved
01.09.09
The World Land Trust-US (WLT-US) and their local partner CEDIA (Center for the Development of the Indigenous Amazonians) announced on the 27th August 2009 that the Matsés National Reserve was approved by the Peruvian government.
UK: 2009 is a good vintage for Britain's rarest plants
01.09.09
The wild plant conservation charity, Plantlife, report that 2009 has been a great year for Britain's rarest plants.
Borneo: New blockades as Penan fight loggers with blowpipes
27.08.09
Twelve villages in Borneo have joined forces to try and stop the encroachment of logging and plantation companies into their ancestral lands.
UK: Wildlife crime not taken seriously
19.08.09
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and The Wildlife Trusts' are leading calls for a shake-up in wildlife crime policing to better protect the UK's plants and animals.
Chocolate and cosmetic brands stand up against palm oil
18.08.09
Cadbury's New Zealand follow Lush Cosmetics by eradicating palm oil from their products.
Colorado, USA: Plant Conservation Initiative and "The Forgotten Majority"
17.08.09
A new conservation partnership in Colorado aims to protect endemic species in the state well into the next decade.
Peru: Government investigates illegal logging
17.08.09
It was reported last week that a conservationist from Round River Conservation Studies had taken photos of illegal loggers inside a Peruvian reserve. The Peru government will investigate.
UK: Wildlife returns to flooded bog
14.08.09
A huge restoration project to bring back 12,000 year old bogs in Northumberland has been completed nearly two years ahead of schedule.
Aerial photos show loggers inside Indian reserve
13.08.09
Photos taken from the air above an Indian reserve for voluntarily isolated communities in the Amazon appear to show illegal logging camps.
Tree planting for at risk Bangladesh
12.08.09
Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk from climate change so news of a massive tree planting scheme in a wildlife sanctuary south east of Dhaka is most welcome.
Disappearing monkeys means a shrinking forest
12.08.09
Natural regeneration of the critically endangered Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina may be adversely affected by the disappearance of animals from the forest.
Perupetro suspend Amazon auction till October
12.08.09
Peru's state energy firm, Perupetro, has pushed back the auction of Amazon slabs rich in oil and gas.
More success for Greenpeace campaigns
11.08.09
British shoemakers, Clarks, which all discerning British schoolchildren wear (including a much younger me), join the list of companies agreeing not to source leather products from Amazon deforestation.
Brazil's environment minister to step down
11.08.09
Carlos Minc, Brazil's environment minister, will step down in March to run for state deputy in general elections next year report Reuters.
Himalayas: Vulnerable new species at mountainous crossroads
10.08.09
A new report by WWF - The Eastern Himalayas: Where Worlds Collide - describes more than 350 new species living at a geographical and ecological crossroad.
The Burren: Invasive scrub threatens Ireland's botanical jewel
09.08.09
Changes in management techniques threaten one of Europe's most important botanical sites, but a team of scientists and farmers are working together to safeguard its future.
08.08.09
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) scientists have published data on the storage of carbon in palm oil plantations.
Call for action on UN Indigenous Peoples' Day
07.08.09
Sunday the 9th August 2009 marks the UN's Indigenous Peoples' Day as Survival International renews its call for countries to sign up to the international law for tribal peoples.
North America: Forests and a beetle go to war
05.08.09
Millions of acres of pine forest in North America has been turned to a wasteland by a pine beetle according to Reuters. The plague of pine beetles has cost billions of dollars in lost timber and land values may thwart efforts to combat climate change.
Penan people fight back against loggers
04.08.09
Survival International report from Borneo where the Penan people are fighting back against the loggers destroying the forest.
What's the fate of Europe's last ancient forest?
03.08.09
The Independent reports from Bialowieza Primeval Forest, which is threatened by the age-old conflict of economic growth versus conservation.
Alcoa to bulldoze 25,000 acres
03.08.09
Alcoa, the world's second-largest primary aluminium producer, have started bulldozing a 56 kilometre swath of Brazilian Amazon in Para state report Bloomberg. The clearing will end at a bauxite mine that will destroy 10,500 hectares (25,900 acres) of pristine rainforest over the next 30 years.
Restoration ecology benefits biodiversity
31.07.09
A report in Science today tells us something we probably already knew: that ecological restoration benefits biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Timberland follow Nike's lead on Amazon leather
30.07.09
Pressure from Greenpeace has resulted in Timberland - famous for outdoor footwear - announcing a policy agreement that will help ensure leather in their products does not contribute to new Amazon deforestation.
29.07.09
A team of international scientists have agreed on a standard "DNA barcode" for plants. This breakthrough has been a long time in coming and will allow botanists to identify species much more readily.
Soya traders extend moratorium on Amazon destruction
29.07.09
Greenpeace congratulated Brazilian soya traders for helping to protect the Amazon and avert a climate catastrophe by agreeing to extend the moratorium on buying soya linked to Amazon destruction for another year.
First Australian REDD deal gets go ahead in Tasmania
28.07.09
Australia’s first Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) project has been approved in Tasmania.
The 860 hectare private estate is run by Sydney-based Redd Forests. Mongabay.com reports that logging of old-growth forests in Tasmania in increasingly controversial: where environmentalists clash – sometimes violently - with forestry companies.
27.07.09
It’s time we brush up on REDD - or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – for all our sakes.
In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent anthropogenic climate change runs out. 2012 is a significant year for many other reasons too. For instance, if you’re an ultra pessimist you may think the end is nigh - if the Mayans and their calendars are correct. If you’re a new age optimist you might believe there will be a strong shift in social consciousness - perhaps saving ourselves from our own behaviour.
Sustainable Palm Oil gets boost in China
25.07.09
Major China-based producers and users of palm oil have announced they intend to provide more support for sustainable palm oil. This is seen as an important boost for efforts to halt tropical deforestation, as well as an incentive for the UK to up its game on sourcing sustainable palm oil.
What is the Prince's Rainforests Project?
23.07.09
The rainforests are a rich, green belt that surrounds the world at the equator and contains over half the living plant and animal species on the planet. Some people have described these forests as the ‘earth’s lifebelt’ and you can see why. Without their services in storing greenhouse gasses, creating oxygen and rainfall, and providing a home to the most important array of biodiversity on the planet, our Earth would be a very different place and certainly one uninhabitable by mankind.
21.07.09
New research published by Bournemouth University (UK) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows something quite unexpected.
Perhaps counter-intuitively the research shows woodlands are losing biodiversity but the species composition is remaining roughly similar. By comparing Dorset woodlands, in south-west England, with the same woods 70 years ago the researchers found they are suffering from "taxonomic homogenisation."
Tiny fraction of EU budget safeguards wildlife
13.07.09
WWF warn that Europe faces a rising wave of extinctions as it continues to massively under-resource nature and wildlife protection. The news followed the release of a report by the European Commission showing 65 per cent of European habitats and more than half its remaining species are under threat.
Trees changing attitudes and lives in Africa
28.06.09
2009 is a critical year for forests and efforts to mitigate climate change could be strengthened if nations agree to protect the world's forests.
Hope still springs eternal and Africa is benefiting from these changing perceptions. The UN announced recently that, "ten million new green jobs can be created by investing in sustainable forest management". Trees are being recognised globally as more than just carbon sinks. Investing in people, trees and tree products can provide a solution to poverty, food insecurity, and economic uncertainty.
Saving the flora of Mediterranean islands
23.06.09
Visitors to a Greek island in August, strolling to the beach through a parched olive grove, with only golden grasses and desiccated seed heads around their feet would find it hard to believe that only a few months earlier the ground had been covered in a carpet of wild flowers and herbs, stirred into life by the first winter rains. The countries of the Mediterranean basin share 25,000 different species of flowering plants and ferns and 60 per cent of these are found nowhere else on earth, making it one of the world’s biodiversity ‘hotspots’.
