The environment in the news tuesday, 25 January 2005
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THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWSTuesday, 25 January 2005 UNEP and the Executive Director in the News
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ENS Species Disappearing 100 Times Faster Than Ever Before PARIS, France, January 24, 2005 (ENS) - Species are being lost globally at a rate 100 times faster than the average rate during the Earth's history, a panel of prestigious scientists today warned an international convention gathered at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. They said tens of thousands of other species are already committed to future extinction because of the recent worldwide loss of their habitats. To halt and reverse the "alarming rate of extinction of living species and destruction of their ecosystems," more than 1,000 researchers, political leaders and representatives of the private sector opened a five day conference this morning. The meeting is being held under the patronage of French President Jacques Chirac and Koïchiro Matsuura, the director-general of UNESCO. President of France Jacques Chirac is concerned about the unprecedented loss of Earth's biodiversity. (Photo courtesy UNESCO) One of the main objectives of the International Conference on Biodiversity: Science and Governance is to assess current knowledge and define the needs for research and scientific expertise. Participants will examine public and private approaches to biodiversity conservation and management and look at ways to develop measuring standards and observation systems to monitor biodiversity. “This conference is an important opportunity both to take stock of scientific knowledge and to make it available to all stakeholders, especially to decision makers," declared Matsuura. "It is also an opportunity to link the scientific community, political, and economic decision-makers, and civil society. "All must work together to stem the loss of biodiversity, which undermines humanity’s future prospects on Earth,” he said. Many animal and plant species continue to be threatened with extinction, despite the fact that more than 170 countries have ratified the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, and that the international community made a strong commitment at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002 to reduce the loss of biodiversity significantly by the year 2010. The IUCN-World Conservation Union estimates that more than 7,000 animal species are threatened while among plants the figure is nearer to 60,000. Michel Loreau, president of the scientific committee, in his speech during the plenary session this morning, presented the draft of a Paris Appeal of scientists in favor of biodiversity. A work in progress, it will be open for amendment proposals during the convention. Professor Michel Loreau of the Ecole Normale Supérieure presented the scientists' statement. (Photo courtesy Ecole Normale Supérieure) "Biodiversity is a natural heritage and a vital resource for all humankind," the document opens. But then it warns, "Biodiversity is being destroyed irreversibly by human activities." This biodiversity, which is the product of more than three billion years of evolution, the panel said, is a natural heritage and a vital resource upon which humankind depends in many different ways - for aesthetic, spiritual, cultural, and recreational values; as well as food, wood, textiles and pharmaceuticals. Biodiversity supports ecosystem services on which human societies depend often indirectly, such as production of resources for domesticated or harvested animals, crop pollination, maintenance of water quality and soil fertility, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and resistance of ecosystems to disturbances and environmental changes. And finally, the scientific panel said, it provides opportunities for human societies to adapt to changing needs and circumstances, and discover new products and technologies. "A major effort is needed to understand, conserve and sustainably use biodiversity," the Paris Appeal states. European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told the opening session this morning that "protecting biodiversity means that governments will have to take difficult decisions where the benefits will only result in the longer-term. These are decisions which will not always be universally popular in the short-term." "It means persuading the fishermen, who risk their lives to bring fish to market, that they have to change their practices in order to avoid the collapse of fish stocks and damage to the marine environment," Dimas said. European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas by the sea in his native Greece. (Photo courtesy European Commission) "It means telling farmers that we don’t just want more food. Instead we want more emphasis on quality and respect for the environment," said Dimas. "It means ensuring that infrastructure and other development projects do not damage areas critical for nature protection," said the new environment commissioner. Dimas announced that the Commission plans to provide €30 million to China to strengthen biodiversity governance. To date, scientific literature describes fewer than 1.5 million living species, out of an estimated total of up to 30 million species on Earth. Biodiversity, however, encompasses not only living species but the range of ecosystems they form. The loss of ecosystems such as coral reefs has been shown to increase the vulnerability of coastal areas in the event of natural disasters, such as last month’s tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The recent tsunami, "while not directly related to biodiversity, has shown the importance of conserving natural systems," said Dimas. "There are indications that the loss of coral reefs and mangrove swamps in certain parts of Asia has reduced the natural protection of coastlines - a protection which would have softened the devastating impact of the tsunami." The world has made "slow progress" towards the goal of reducing global biodiversity loss by 2010, he said and emphasized that all 25 European Union member states must fully implement environmental law. He said that later this year, the Commission will submit a Communication to the European Council of Ministers and the European Parliament setting out a road map for the 2010 biodiversity targets. It will prioritize species and habitats for protection and reinforce integration of biodiversity protection into other key policies - such as agriculture, fisheries, regional development, and development assistance, Dimas said. He promised to fund scientific research as "a basic principle at the heart of all of the EU’s environmental policy." The blue pike was an endemic fish of the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada. Commercial and sport fishers together landed a billion pounds of the fish between 1885 and 1962. At times, the blue pike made up more than 50 percent of the commercial catch in Lake Erie. It was declared extinct in September 1983, although a few are reportedly still seen. (Photo courtesy Nativefish.org) "But the real key to success will depend on the willingness of all of us – the Commission, member states, civil society and our partners in third countries - to implement the suggestions and to mobilize support," he said. Other speakers this morning were Jacques Chirac President of France; Marc Ravalomanana, the President of the Republic of Madagascar; Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria; Abdullah Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia; Wangari Maathai, Kenya’s Deputy Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, laureate of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize; François d’Aubert, France’s Minister for Research; Serge Lepeltier, France’s Minister for the Ecology and Sustainable Development; Klaus Toepfer, Director-General of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Hamdallah Zedan, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity; and Valli Moosa, President of IUCN-World Conservation Union. This afternoon the first of four plenary sessions will focus on the challenges of biodiversity, science and governance. Status and trends of the world’s biodiversity will be the subject of the second plenary session on Tuesday Wednesday's focus will be the social and ecological benefits of biodiversity Biodiversity and management of living resources is the focus of Thursday's plenary. Summary reports of the workshops will be presented on Friday. At that time the scientific community will present its conclusions in a session that will include the participation of Xavier Darcos, Minister Delegate for Cooperation, Development and French speaking countries; Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO; Stéphane Dion, Canada's Environment Minister; Guanhua Xu, China's Minister of Science and Technology; Elliot Morley, the UK Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment; and François d’Aubert, French Minister for Research. Quote of Note "Become intimate with your own backyard, with a bit of riverbank, with a pond or hill. The rest of the watershed, the meta-landscape, the continent, planet and universe will be naturally drawn into this intimacy." -- John McClellan, in "The Many Voices of the Boulder Creek Watershed" Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2005. All Rights Reserved. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ AFP Learn lessons from tsunami disaster, environment conference told PARIS (AFP) - A UN-backed conference on biodiversity was told that Asia's tsunami disaster was a brutal warning for humanity to tackle the world's worsening environmental crisis. Hamdallah Zedan, executive secretary of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said the amplified toll from the December 26 calamity -- more than 227,000 dead -- was due in part to the destruction of natural buffers against killer waves. "Once the immediate humanitarian needs are accommodated, it is time to rehabilite impacted ecosystems and to look at lessons learned," Zedan said Monday. "Early reports indicate that areas with healthier ecosystems, such as dense, intact mangrove forests and coral reefs, have been less affected than areas that have been disturbed or degraded," he said. "We have to use this knowledge in the reconstruction," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). "When we strip away these natural forms of protection, we place ourselves in harm's way." The conference, taking place at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO (news - web sites)), gathers 1,200 experts from some 30 countries. Their task is to focus on action on combating the planet's alarming loss of biodiversity, as wild species are battered by habitat loss and climate change. The graphic opinion of some scientists is that the world is facing its biggest mass extinction in 65 million years, when the dinosaurs were wiped out by climate change inflicted by an asteroid impact. French President Jacques Chirac, who proposed the forum at the G8 summit in Evian, France, in June 2003, cited figures from the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which estimates that nearly 16,000 of identified species are close to being wiped out. "The destruction of this heritage, bequeathed by thousands of years of evolution, is a terrible loss and a grave threat for the future," he said. Chirac threw his weight behind a proposal for setting up a world panel of biodiversity experts, who would deliver neutral, informed and timely advice on species loss. France will push the idea at the CBD, the treaty set up under the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Chirac pledged. A similar scientific panel for climate change exists under UN auspices, and its findings have helped shaped the political agenda for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Of the estimated 10-30 million species on Earth, only around 1.7 million have been identified and described. Each year, between 25,000 and 50,000 species die out, the vast majority of which have not even been identified, according to scientists' estimates. The loss is likely to accelerate this century under the impact of habitat loss and rising global temperatures, stoked by fossil-fuel gases which trap the Sun's heat. As with so many problems involving the environment, resolving the biodiversity crisis will not be simple, for it raises questions that are tangled, not separate. Population pressure and poverty are often interlinked with deforestation, overfishing, pollution and other perils to habitat. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Wangari Maathai, who is also Kenya's deputy minister for the environment, said it was senseless to ignore the connection between the environment and poverty. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the tsunami provided an "opportunity to take a hard look at what we are doing to protect the environment. "The tsunami and its aftermath underscored not only the overwhelming power of nature, but also the fragility of our own existence." ____________________________________________________________________________________________
January 24 2005 at 03:57PM By Richard Ingham Paris - A United Nations-backed conference on biodiversity was told on Monday that Asia's tsunami disaster was a brutal warning for humanity to tackle the world's worsening environmental crisis. Hamdallah Zedan, executive secretary of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said the amplified toll from the December 26 calamity - more than 227 000 dead - was due in part to the destruction of natural buffers against killer waves. "Once the immediate humanitarian needs are accommodated, it is time to rehabilitate impacted ecosystems and to look at lessons learned," said Zedan. 'We have to use this knowledge in the reconstruction' "Early reports indicate that areas with healthier ecosystems, such as dense, intact mangrove forests and coral reefs, have been less affected than areas that have been disturbed or degraded," he said. "We have to use this knowledge in the reconstruction," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). "When we strip away these natural forms of protection, we place ourselves in harm's way." The conference, taking place at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), gathers 1 200 experts from about 30 countries. Their task is to focus on action on combating the planet's alarming loss of biodiversity, as wild species are battered by habitat loss and climate change. The graphic opinion of some scientists is that the world is facing its biggest mass extinction in 65 million years, when the dinosaurs were wiped out by climate change inflicted by an asteroid impact. 'The destruction of this heritage is a terrible loss' French President Jacques Chirac, who proposed the forum at the G8 summit in Evian, France, in June 2003, cited figures from the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which estimates that nearly 16 000 of identified species are close to being wiped out. "The destruction of this heritage, bequeathed by thousands of years of evolution, is a terrible loss and a grave threat for the future," he said. Chirac threw his weight behind a proposal for setting up a world panel of biodiversity experts, who would deliver neutral, informed and timely advice on species loss. France will push the idea at the CBD, the treaty set up under the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Chirac pledged. A similar scientific panel for climate change exists under UN auspices, and its findings have helped shaped the political agenda for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Of the estimated 10-30 million species on Earth, only around 1,7 million have been identified and described. Each year, between 25 000 and 50 000 species die out, the vast majority of which have not even been identified, according to scientists' estimates. The loss is likely to accelerate this century under the impact of habitat loss and rising global temperatures, stoked by fossil-fuel gases which trap the Sun's heat. As with so many problems involving the environment, resolving the biodiversity crisis will not be simple, for it raises questions that are tangled, not separate. Population pressure and poverty are often interlinked with deforestation, overfishing, pollution and other perils to habitat. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Wangari Maathai, who is also Kenya's deputy minister for the environment, said it was senseless to ignore the connection between the environment and poverty. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the tsunami provided an "opportunity to take a hard look at what we are doing to protect the environment". "The tsunami and its aftermath underscored not only the overwhelming power of nature, but also the fragility of our own existence." ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ABC News Tsunami a brutal warning for environmental crisis A United Nations-backed conference on biodiversity has been told that Asia's tsunami disaster was a brutal warning for humanity to tackle the world's worsening environmental crisis. Hamdallah Zedan, executive secretary of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said the amplified toll from the December 26 calamity - more than 227,000 dead - was due in part to the destruction of natural buffers against killer waves. "Once the immediate humanitarian needs are accommodated, it is time to rehabilitate impacted ecosystems and to look at lessons learned," Mr Zedan said. "Early reports indicate that areas with healthier ecosystems, such as dense, intact mangrove forests and coral reefs, have been less affected than areas that have been disturbed or degraded." Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), said: "We have to use this knowledge in the reconstruction. "When we strip away these natural forms of protection, we place ourselves in harm's way." The conference, taking place at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris, gathers 1,200 experts from some 30 countries. Their task is to focus on action on combating the planet's alarming loss of biodiversity, as wild species are battered by habitat loss and climate change. The graphic opinion of some scientists is that the world is facing its biggest mass extinction in 65 million years, when the dinosaurs were wiped out by climate change inflicted by an asteroid impact. French President Jacques Chirac, who proposed the forum at the G8 summit in Evian, France, in June 2003, cited figures from the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which estimates that nearly 16,000 of identified species are close to being wiped out. "The destruction of this heritage, bequeathed by thousands of years of evolution, is a terrible loss and a grave threat for the future," he said. Mr Chirac threw his weight behind a proposal for setting up a world panel of biodiversity experts, who would deliver neutral, informed and timely advice on species loss. France will push the idea at the CBD, the treaty set up under the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Mr Chirac pledged. A similar scientific panel for climate change exists under UN auspices, and its findings have helped shaped the political agenda for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Of the estimated 10 to 30 million species on Earth, only around 1.7 million have been identified and described. Each year, between 25,000 and 50,000 species die out, the vast majority of which have not even been identified, according to scientists' estimates. The loss is likely to accelerate this century under the impact of habitat loss and rising global temperatures, stoked by fossil-fuel gases which trap the sun's heat. As with so many problems involving the environment, resolving the biodiversity crisis will not be simple, for it raises questions that are tangled, not separate. Population pressure and poverty are often interlinked with deforestation, overfishing, pollution and other perils to habitat. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Wangari Maathai, who is also Kenya's deputy Minister for the Environment, said it was senseless to ignore the connection between the environment and poverty. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the tsunami provided an "opportunity to take a hard look at what we are doing to protect the environment". "The tsunami and its aftermath underscored not only the overwhelming power of nature, but also the fragility of our own existence." __________________________________________________________________________________________ Directory: cpi -> briefs briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news Download 320.87 Kb. Share with your friends:
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