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NatureNews for the week ending May 02, 2008. To subscribe to NatureNews, please write to Library.
Climate Change & Energy
Is climate change driving Ice Age relics musk ox to extinction
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has started a new investigation into whether climate change is affecting populations of the rare musk ox. The four-year probe has been launched in collaboration with the National Park Service, US Geological Survey, and Alaska Fish and Game. For gaining a better understanding of how climate change may affect the Ice Age relics, the researchers have equipped six musk ox with GPS collars. The devices attached to the musk ox will enable the research team to assess how they are faring in area the Chukchi and northern Bering Seas. The researchers will also assess the extent to which snow and icing events, disease, and possibly predation may be affecting musk ox populations. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Is_climate_change_
driving_Ice_Age_relics_musk_ox_to_extinction/articleshow/2983129.cms
'Climate change is hurting India's crops'
R K Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, took on the government, saying that climate change is affecting Indian agriculture unlike what 'some leaders' had claimed. His warning came while addressing MPs in a lecture organised by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. Pachauri, who is the director-general of The Energy Resource Institute and also heads the Nobel-winning IPCC, said that studies clearly showed that agriculture would be hit in the subcontinent with increase in global temperatures. "Wheat yields would fall by 5-10% with every increase of 1 degree celsius," he said. His statement came weeks after the government had stated in reply to a parliamentary question that India did not yet have any proof of how climate change would impact the country's agrarian situation. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/Climate_
change_is_hurting_Indias_crops/articleshow/2984125.cms
Tata Steel, ONGC join group to tackle climate change
India's Tata Steel and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are among the major firms that have joined the "caring for climate" initiative of UN Global Compact, the group's Executive Director Georg Kell announced. The head of the group that handles the interface between the UN and the private sector told the media at the B4E (Business for the Environment) summit that about 150 of the Global 500 companies were now part of the initiative. "The companies realise that this is the greatest challenge of our times and handling it must become an integral part of corporate strategy," Kell said. "Climate change is both a risk and an opportunity for business. It's a regulatory risk and a branding risk." With 11 more companies joining the initiative, the "caring for climate" initiative now has 230 business participants. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/Tata_Steel_
ONGC_join_group_to_tackle_climate_change/articleshow/2975395.cms
Climate change hitting Arctic faster, harder
Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, according to a new study by the global conservation organization WWF. The new report, called Arctic Climate Impact Science — An Update Since ACIA, represents the most wide-ranging reviews of arctic climate impact science since the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) was published in 2005. The new study found that change was occurring in all arctic systems, impacting on the atmosphere and oceans, sea ice and ice sheets, snow and permafrost, as well as species and populations, food webs, ecosystems and human societies. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/35583
Forest & Biodiversity
Rainforests vanishing as timber demand surge
Asia's rainforests are being rapidly destroyed, a trend accelerated by surging timber demand in booming China and India, and record food, energy and commodity prices, forest experts warn. The loss of these biodiversity hot spots, much of it driven by the illegal timber trade and the growth of oil palm, biofuel and rubber plantations, is worsening global warming, species loss and poverty, they said. Globally, tropical forest destruction "is a super crisis we are facing, it's an appalling crisis," said Oxford University's Professor Norman Myers, keynote speaker at the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week conference in Hanoi. "It's one of the worst crises since we came out of our caves 10,000 years ago," Myers said at the five-day meeting of 500 foresters, researchers, state officials and activists held in the Vietnamese capital. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Rainforests_
vanishing_as_timber_demand_surge/articleshow/2987110.cms
Forest cover declines by 728 sq km in two years [in India]
The forest cover of India has decreased marginally by 728 square kilometers between 2003 and 2005. Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Regupathy said forest cover in 2001 was 653,898 sq km which increased to 677,816 sq km. However, it came down to 677,088 sq km in 2005, he said. "The forest cover of the country has more or less stablised," he said replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) carries out forest cover assessment of the country using remote sensing technology once every two years. He said the reasons for fall in forest cover was tsunami's effect on vegetation in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, construction of dam in Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and shifting cultivation of bamboo in the North-East especially Nagaland and Manipur. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Forest_cover_declines_
by_728_sq_km_in_two_years/articleshow/2978709.cms
Marine & Oceans
Millions of Olive Ridley hatchlings emerge from nests in Orissa
In what is one of the most breathtaking sights of nature, millions of Olive Ridley baby turtles broke out of their eggshells under the sand at one of their mass nesting ground in coastal Orissa. After emerging from the nests in the Rushikulya river mouth, in the southern district of Ganjam, some 175 km from Bhubaneswar, the hatchlings started their journey towards the Bay of Bengal, forest officer Surendra Biswal said. Orissa is home to three mass nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, namely Nasi Islands of Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapada district, Devi river mouth in Puri district and the Rushikulya river mouth. Gahirmatha is considered one of world's largest nesting sites with around 700,000-800,000 turtles laying eggs on the beach every year. However, no mass nesting has been reported from Gahirmatha and Devi river mouth so far this year. For more: http://www.bombaynews.net/story/352510
Crocodile Bank breeds rare, painted roof turtle
Two eggs lay side by side in the incubator, a bright bulb glowing above. A tiny head and two flippers emerged from one, bright eyes regarding the world with curiosity. As the camera clicked away the baby turtle emerged completely, frantically pushing its way out of the shell. In another container close by, two other baby turtles that hatched, the previous night, wandered around. The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) has taken another important step forward in turtle conservation with the captive breeding of another batch of the highly-endangered Indian painted roof turtle (kachuga kachuga). The painted roof turtle was first bred in captivity at MCBT in May 2004. The painted roof turtle is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A river turtle, it was earlier found in a few areas in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal. But with the destruction of their habitat due to sand mining, pollution and overharvesting, their numbers have dwindled. Today, the Chambal area is the last remaining habitat of this species. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Crocodile_Bank_
breeds_rare_painted_roof_turtle/articleshow/2981103.cms
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Open wells being covered to save Asiatic lions in Gir
The Rajasthan State government, forest department, NGOs and corporate companies in Sasan Gir have joined hands to prevent lions, cubs and leopards from falling in wells, by constructing parapet walls around them. The Asiatic lions have been in news in the recent past due to widespread poaching incidents and their declining numbers. Many of them have fallen into wells and died. In 2007, 24 animals fell into open wells and died. Corporate companies like Reliance, Essar, Tata Chemicals and Amubja cement have come forward and started constructing parapet walls around the open wells in villages in the Sasan Gir Forest. "The work has already started. The State government and forest department have taken up this project. We have received a very good response from few NGOs and corporate companies who have spent a good amount of money to finish the task at hand" said B D Patti, the head of the project in Junagadh. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Open_wells_being_
covered_to_save_Asiatic_lions_in_Gir/articleshow/2983281.cms
Poachers on prowl again
The Asiatic lion may be under threat again. Over 200 members of the Baheliya tribes, who were suspected to have killed lions in the Gir forest last year, are back. There are intelligence inputs indicating their camps in and around the forest, which have put the Junagadh district police and forest department on vigil. An alert has been sounded in the villages around the Gir National Park to look out for Baheliyas who are labourers from Madhya Pradesh. Officials from the forest department confirmed that with the sugarcane harvesting season already on, a large number of labourers from MP are camping in Saurashtra. On March 3, 2007, carcasses of three lions were found in the forest. The lions were killed by poachers in the Babaria range under Gir West Forest division. On March 29 the same year, three more lions were killed in the same area of the forest, followed by two more on April 12, on the outskirts of Bhandariya village near Jesar town in Bhavnagar. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Poachers_on_prowl_
again/articleshow/2980646.cms
No data on black panthers population in the country
The government has no data on the total number of black panthers in the country, the Rajya Sabha was informed. "No exclusive census in respect of black panthers has been conducted in the country. Data on the number of wild cats killed and the total number of black panthers' skins, nails, fur etc. seized is not collected at the Government level," S Raghupathy, Minister of state for Environment and Forests said in a written reply. Black leopards are smaller and more lightly built as compared to other leopards. They are reported from most densely forested areas of Assam and parts of southern India. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/No_data_on_black_
panthers_population_in_the_country/articleshow/2979621.cms
Birds
Ruffled feathers
Morachi Chincholi’s ‘privileged’ residents—a community of around 2,500 peacocks—have never had it this bad. This summer has been punishing. The wells have turned into muddied pools of water and when the birds strut up to one of the about 12 cement tanks in the village for their evening drink, they end up disappointed—some of them are bone dry and the others have turned into leaky cesspools. Villagers say the tanks have to be repaired but the government has other plans: it’s busy wooing tourists to this ‘peacock village’. “The peacocks have been eating grains from our fields and drinking water from our wells for several years. The summer was especially bad since there is a scarcity of both water and foodgrains. But the government is busy building guesthouses and hotels for tourists, “ said Kamal Shivaji Dhanesar, a villager. “Tourists and those from the city send foodgrains when they hear of the peacocks’ plight, but there is no fixed pattern. If we get them, we scatter them on our fields for the birds to eat,” said Gopinath Nanekar, a villager. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/301929.html
Population of three species of vulture declining
The population of three species of vulture has witnessed a decline in the country during the last few years due to presence of poisonous substances in food, government informed the Lok Sabha. The affected species are white-backed vulture, slender billed vulture and long billed vulture, Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Regupathy said. The presence of poisonous substances has been due to various reasons including intensive agriculture, horticulture and dairying, he said. Other causes responsible are loss of habitat and anthropogenic pressures, the minister said. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Population_of_
three_species_of_vulture_declining/articleshow/2976301.cms
Asian vultures disappearing faster than dodo
Wild Asian vultures could become extinct in 10 years unless officials stop the use of a livestock drug that has caused the birds to decline faster than the dodo, British and Indian scientists said. A new study shows the population of oriental white-backed vultures has plunged 99.9 percent since 1992 while the numbers of two species, the long-billed and slender-billed vultures, together have fallen by nearly 97 percent. A wider ban of the veterinary drug diclofenac and more captive breeding centers are the only way to save the birds found mainly in India, the researchers said in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. For more: http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/35548
AWARD
UN honours seven leaders in the fight against climate change
The United Nations has acknowledged seven luminaries in the fight against global warming as this year’s Champions of the Earth. The recipients of the award, which is in its fourth year, include Prince Albert II of Monaco and a top official of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies. Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Atiq Rahman received the honour for his contribution in addressing the crucial issue of climate change. The Special Prize for year 2008 was awarded to New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, which, the world body said, has "blazed the trail" towards climate neutrality and hopes to meet the goal of 90 per cent renewable energy by 2025. The awards given by the UNEP were instituted four years ago. Among other recipients was Balgis Osman-Elasha, a Sudanese climate researcher who, UNEP said, has effectively piloted climate-proofing strategies in some of the most affected areas in the world. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/UN_
honours_seven_leaders_in_the_fight_against_climate_change/
articleshow/2979121.cms
EVENTS
Second Annual Middle East Waste And Water Congress; 26 - 27 May 2008; Dubai, UAE; http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/events/sev556504
Water Resource Systems Management Under Extreme Conditions Conference; 4 - 5 June 2008; Moscow, Russia; http://waterextreme.sibico.com
Asian Wetland Symposium 2008; 22 - 25 June 2008; Hanoi, Vietnam; http://www.aws2008.net
Workshop On Biodiversity And Climate Change; 29 June - 4 July 2008; Kushiro, Japan; http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/programmes/kushiro08/
International Conference: Adaptation Of Forests And Forest Management To Changing Climate With Emphasis On Forest Health: A Review Of Science, Policies, And Practices; 25 - 28 August 2008; Umeå, Sweden; http://www.forestadaptation2008.net/home/en/
International Scientific Conference On Tropical Rainforests And Agroforests Under Global Change; 5 - 9 October 2008; Bali, Indonesia; http://www.globalchange-2008.org
Third Session Of The Joint ILO/IMO/Basel Convention Working Group On Ship Scrapping; 29 - 31 October 2008; Geneva, Switzerland; http://www.imo.org/Environment/mainframe.asp?topic_id=818
Training Programme: Governance For Forests, Nature And People; 24 November 2008 - 5 December 2008; Bogor, Indonesia; e-mail: training.wi@wur.nl
Is climate change driving Ice Age relics musk ox to extinction
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has started a new investigation into whether climate change is affecting populations of the rare musk ox. The four-year probe has been launched in collaboration with the National Park Service, US Geological Survey, and Alaska Fish and Game. For gaining a better understanding of how climate change may affect the Ice Age relics, the researchers have equipped six musk ox with GPS collars. The devices attached to the musk ox will enable the research team to assess how they are faring in area the Chukchi and northern Bering Seas. The researchers will also assess the extent to which snow and icing events, disease, and possibly predation may be affecting musk ox populations. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Is_climate_change_
driving_Ice_Age_relics_musk_ox_to_extinction/articleshow/2983129.cms
'Climate change is hurting India's crops'
R K Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, took on the government, saying that climate change is affecting Indian agriculture unlike what 'some leaders' had claimed. His warning came while addressing MPs in a lecture organised by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. Pachauri, who is the director-general of The Energy Resource Institute and also heads the Nobel-winning IPCC, said that studies clearly showed that agriculture would be hit in the subcontinent with increase in global temperatures. "Wheat yields would fall by 5-10% with every increase of 1 degree celsius," he said. His statement came weeks after the government had stated in reply to a parliamentary question that India did not yet have any proof of how climate change would impact the country's agrarian situation. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/Climate_
change_is_hurting_Indias_crops/articleshow/2984125.cms
Tata Steel, ONGC join group to tackle climate change
India's Tata Steel and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are among the major firms that have joined the "caring for climate" initiative of UN Global Compact, the group's Executive Director Georg Kell announced. The head of the group that handles the interface between the UN and the private sector told the media at the B4E (Business for the Environment) summit that about 150 of the Global 500 companies were now part of the initiative. "The companies realise that this is the greatest challenge of our times and handling it must become an integral part of corporate strategy," Kell said. "Climate change is both a risk and an opportunity for business. It's a regulatory risk and a branding risk." With 11 more companies joining the initiative, the "caring for climate" initiative now has 230 business participants. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/Tata_Steel_
ONGC_join_group_to_tackle_climate_change/articleshow/2975395.cms
Climate change hitting Arctic faster, harder
Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, according to a new study by the global conservation organization WWF. The new report, called Arctic Climate Impact Science — An Update Since ACIA, represents the most wide-ranging reviews of arctic climate impact science since the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) was published in 2005. The new study found that change was occurring in all arctic systems, impacting on the atmosphere and oceans, sea ice and ice sheets, snow and permafrost, as well as species and populations, food webs, ecosystems and human societies. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/35583
Forest & Biodiversity
Rainforests vanishing as timber demand surge
Asia's rainforests are being rapidly destroyed, a trend accelerated by surging timber demand in booming China and India, and record food, energy and commodity prices, forest experts warn. The loss of these biodiversity hot spots, much of it driven by the illegal timber trade and the growth of oil palm, biofuel and rubber plantations, is worsening global warming, species loss and poverty, they said. Globally, tropical forest destruction "is a super crisis we are facing, it's an appalling crisis," said Oxford University's Professor Norman Myers, keynote speaker at the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week conference in Hanoi. "It's one of the worst crises since we came out of our caves 10,000 years ago," Myers said at the five-day meeting of 500 foresters, researchers, state officials and activists held in the Vietnamese capital. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Rainforests_
vanishing_as_timber_demand_surge/articleshow/2987110.cms
Forest cover declines by 728 sq km in two years [in India]
The forest cover of India has decreased marginally by 728 square kilometers between 2003 and 2005. Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Regupathy said forest cover in 2001 was 653,898 sq km which increased to 677,816 sq km. However, it came down to 677,088 sq km in 2005, he said. "The forest cover of the country has more or less stablised," he said replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) carries out forest cover assessment of the country using remote sensing technology once every two years. He said the reasons for fall in forest cover was tsunami's effect on vegetation in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, construction of dam in Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and shifting cultivation of bamboo in the North-East especially Nagaland and Manipur. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Forest_cover_declines_
by_728_sq_km_in_two_years/articleshow/2978709.cms
Marine & Oceans
Millions of Olive Ridley hatchlings emerge from nests in Orissa
In what is one of the most breathtaking sights of nature, millions of Olive Ridley baby turtles broke out of their eggshells under the sand at one of their mass nesting ground in coastal Orissa. After emerging from the nests in the Rushikulya river mouth, in the southern district of Ganjam, some 175 km from Bhubaneswar, the hatchlings started their journey towards the Bay of Bengal, forest officer Surendra Biswal said. Orissa is home to three mass nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, namely Nasi Islands of Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapada district, Devi river mouth in Puri district and the Rushikulya river mouth. Gahirmatha is considered one of world's largest nesting sites with around 700,000-800,000 turtles laying eggs on the beach every year. However, no mass nesting has been reported from Gahirmatha and Devi river mouth so far this year. For more: http://www.bombaynews.net/story/352510
Crocodile Bank breeds rare, painted roof turtle
Two eggs lay side by side in the incubator, a bright bulb glowing above. A tiny head and two flippers emerged from one, bright eyes regarding the world with curiosity. As the camera clicked away the baby turtle emerged completely, frantically pushing its way out of the shell. In another container close by, two other baby turtles that hatched, the previous night, wandered around. The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) has taken another important step forward in turtle conservation with the captive breeding of another batch of the highly-endangered Indian painted roof turtle (kachuga kachuga). The painted roof turtle was first bred in captivity at MCBT in May 2004. The painted roof turtle is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A river turtle, it was earlier found in a few areas in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal. But with the destruction of their habitat due to sand mining, pollution and overharvesting, their numbers have dwindled. Today, the Chambal area is the last remaining habitat of this species. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Crocodile_Bank_
breeds_rare_painted_roof_turtle/articleshow/2981103.cms
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Open wells being covered to save Asiatic lions in Gir
The Rajasthan State government, forest department, NGOs and corporate companies in Sasan Gir have joined hands to prevent lions, cubs and leopards from falling in wells, by constructing parapet walls around them. The Asiatic lions have been in news in the recent past due to widespread poaching incidents and their declining numbers. Many of them have fallen into wells and died. In 2007, 24 animals fell into open wells and died. Corporate companies like Reliance, Essar, Tata Chemicals and Amubja cement have come forward and started constructing parapet walls around the open wells in villages in the Sasan Gir Forest. "The work has already started. The State government and forest department have taken up this project. We have received a very good response from few NGOs and corporate companies who have spent a good amount of money to finish the task at hand" said B D Patti, the head of the project in Junagadh. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Open_wells_being_
covered_to_save_Asiatic_lions_in_Gir/articleshow/2983281.cms
Poachers on prowl again
The Asiatic lion may be under threat again. Over 200 members of the Baheliya tribes, who were suspected to have killed lions in the Gir forest last year, are back. There are intelligence inputs indicating their camps in and around the forest, which have put the Junagadh district police and forest department on vigil. An alert has been sounded in the villages around the Gir National Park to look out for Baheliyas who are labourers from Madhya Pradesh. Officials from the forest department confirmed that with the sugarcane harvesting season already on, a large number of labourers from MP are camping in Saurashtra. On March 3, 2007, carcasses of three lions were found in the forest. The lions were killed by poachers in the Babaria range under Gir West Forest division. On March 29 the same year, three more lions were killed in the same area of the forest, followed by two more on April 12, on the outskirts of Bhandariya village near Jesar town in Bhavnagar. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Poachers_on_prowl_
again/articleshow/2980646.cms
No data on black panthers population in the country
The government has no data on the total number of black panthers in the country, the Rajya Sabha was informed. "No exclusive census in respect of black panthers has been conducted in the country. Data on the number of wild cats killed and the total number of black panthers' skins, nails, fur etc. seized is not collected at the Government level," S Raghupathy, Minister of state for Environment and Forests said in a written reply. Black leopards are smaller and more lightly built as compared to other leopards. They are reported from most densely forested areas of Assam and parts of southern India. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/No_data_on_black_
panthers_population_in_the_country/articleshow/2979621.cms
Birds
Ruffled feathers
Morachi Chincholi’s ‘privileged’ residents—a community of around 2,500 peacocks—have never had it this bad. This summer has been punishing. The wells have turned into muddied pools of water and when the birds strut up to one of the about 12 cement tanks in the village for their evening drink, they end up disappointed—some of them are bone dry and the others have turned into leaky cesspools. Villagers say the tanks have to be repaired but the government has other plans: it’s busy wooing tourists to this ‘peacock village’. “The peacocks have been eating grains from our fields and drinking water from our wells for several years. The summer was especially bad since there is a scarcity of both water and foodgrains. But the government is busy building guesthouses and hotels for tourists, “ said Kamal Shivaji Dhanesar, a villager. “Tourists and those from the city send foodgrains when they hear of the peacocks’ plight, but there is no fixed pattern. If we get them, we scatter them on our fields for the birds to eat,” said Gopinath Nanekar, a villager. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/301929.html
Population of three species of vulture declining
The population of three species of vulture has witnessed a decline in the country during the last few years due to presence of poisonous substances in food, government informed the Lok Sabha. The affected species are white-backed vulture, slender billed vulture and long billed vulture, Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Regupathy said. The presence of poisonous substances has been due to various reasons including intensive agriculture, horticulture and dairying, he said. Other causes responsible are loss of habitat and anthropogenic pressures, the minister said. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Population_of_
three_species_of_vulture_declining/articleshow/2976301.cms
Asian vultures disappearing faster than dodo
Wild Asian vultures could become extinct in 10 years unless officials stop the use of a livestock drug that has caused the birds to decline faster than the dodo, British and Indian scientists said. A new study shows the population of oriental white-backed vultures has plunged 99.9 percent since 1992 while the numbers of two species, the long-billed and slender-billed vultures, together have fallen by nearly 97 percent. A wider ban of the veterinary drug diclofenac and more captive breeding centers are the only way to save the birds found mainly in India, the researchers said in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. For more: http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/35548
AWARD
UN honours seven leaders in the fight against climate change
The United Nations has acknowledged seven luminaries in the fight against global warming as this year’s Champions of the Earth. The recipients of the award, which is in its fourth year, include Prince Albert II of Monaco and a top official of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies. Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Atiq Rahman received the honour for his contribution in addressing the crucial issue of climate change. The Special Prize for year 2008 was awarded to New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, which, the world body said, has "blazed the trail" towards climate neutrality and hopes to meet the goal of 90 per cent renewable energy by 2025. The awards given by the UNEP were instituted four years ago. Among other recipients was Balgis Osman-Elasha, a Sudanese climate researcher who, UNEP said, has effectively piloted climate-proofing strategies in some of the most affected areas in the world. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/UN_
honours_seven_leaders_in_the_fight_against_climate_change/
articleshow/2979121.cms
EVENTS
Second Annual Middle East Waste And Water Congress; 26 - 27 May 2008; Dubai, UAE; http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/events/sev556504
Water Resource Systems Management Under Extreme Conditions Conference; 4 - 5 June 2008; Moscow, Russia; http://waterextreme.sibico.com
Asian Wetland Symposium 2008; 22 - 25 June 2008; Hanoi, Vietnam; http://www.aws2008.net
Workshop On Biodiversity And Climate Change; 29 June - 4 July 2008; Kushiro, Japan; http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/programmes/kushiro08/
International Conference: Adaptation Of Forests And Forest Management To Changing Climate With Emphasis On Forest Health: A Review Of Science, Policies, And Practices; 25 - 28 August 2008; Umeå, Sweden; http://www.forestadaptation2008.net/home/en/
International Scientific Conference On Tropical Rainforests And Agroforests Under Global Change; 5 - 9 October 2008; Bali, Indonesia; http://www.globalchange-2008.org
Third Session Of The Joint ILO/IMO/Basel Convention Working Group On Ship Scrapping; 29 - 31 October 2008; Geneva, Switzerland; http://www.imo.org/Environment/mainframe.asp?topic_id=818
Training Programme: Governance For Forests, Nature And People; 24 November 2008 - 5 December 2008; Bogor, Indonesia; e-mail: training.wi@wur.nl
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