Saving the Wild: Nature Conservation in the Caucasus

European Union countries should step up their conservation efforts and fully implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 to prevent species from going extinct, according to a recent analysis of the European Red List coordinated by IUCN. 

 

The analysis presents a detailed overview of species threatened at the European level in all 27 EU Member States. It shows that the highest share of species threatened in the European Union can be found in the Mediterranean region which hosts most of Europe’s biodiversity.

The Earth Day is celebrated on 22 April worldwide, when people plant trees, clean territories from garbage, hold demonstrations in the support of environment, speak about their achievements and problems.

Armenia can be proud of what its nature has. There are over 9000 rivers and 100 lakes in the territory of the country; approximately 96% of the water in Armenia used for drinking needs is formed from underground sources. 3 billion m3 underground waters are formed annually. The strategic water reserves, 35 billion cubic meters, are concentrated in the Lake Sevan.

What role does the environment play in the livelihoods of African farmers?

Consider this example, drawing from data collected and aggregated by our Vital Signs pilot project in Tanzania. According to the 2010 National Panel Survey, over 70% of farmers surveyed in Tanzania’s “Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor” earned US$ 183 or less in annual household revenue from agriculture.

But farmers also get services from nature for free — protein from wild meats, nutrients from healthy soil, energy from fuelwood, etc. If the environment is degraded, farmers instead have to pay to get these services from an outside source. By adding up the yearly cost of meat from local markets, fertilizer and electricity, we found that the annual value of their household benefits from nature is greater than the amount they earn from agriculture.

The flurry of excitement in 2010 around the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) announcement that its 400+ members would work together to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020 was palpable. Those of us in the climate community had the “aha” moment we had been waiting for — finally the private sector would join us in combating one of the fastest-growing contributors to climate change: deforestation.

“Khosrov Forest” State Reserve is a nominee for the European Diploma of Protected Areas. The application has been filed by Nature protection Ministry and dedicated works were launched in 2011...

Last week's symposium at the Council on Foreign Relations explored the direct connection between nature and security.  

 

Less than a decade ago off the Somali coast, pirates captured the world’s attention. Anyone traveling by boat near the Horn of Africa went in fear of pirates hijacking their vessel for its cargo and taking hostages in hopes of procuring ransom money.

 

However, despite extensive news coverage, many stories failed to emphasize one of the root causes of this surge of pirate attacks: overfishing of some of the Indian Ocean’s most productive waters.

Tigers are among the most charismatic and majestic animals on earth. The world’s largest cat, they live across a wide range of habitats, from mountains to coastal wetlands. The majority of remaining tigers currently live in India among a number of national parks and tiger reserves. Tiger tourism has become a hot button issue in India, with the country’s recent Supreme Court decision to end a moratorium on tourism in these reserves. But is this a good thing?

The flurry of excitement in 2010 around the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) announcement that its 400+ members would work together to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020 was palpable. Those of us in the climate community had the “aha” moment we had been waiting for — finally the private sector would join us in combating one of the fastest-growing contributors to climate change: deforestation.

April 15, 2013 Mongabay

The biodiversity of Europe today is largely linked to environmental conditions decades ago, according to a new large-scale study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)....

 

Future generations will inherit a natural world of our making. ... the scientists say conservation efforts will have to stepped up considerably to stave off mass extinction.

"The progressive impact of environmental degradation on the loss of global biodiversity is strongly linked to key socioeconomic indicators such as human population size, land use, and gross domestic product (GDP). However, species populations do not necessarily respond immediately to environmental degradation but might do so with a delay," the scientists write. This theory is known as 'extinction debt,' whereby it takes species several of their generations to show the full impact of habitat loss and other threats.... http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0415-hance-biodiversity-debt.html

 

April 15, 2013 "Revolution" - Richard Branson's Blog - Virgin.com
"THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN CONSERVATION BECAUSE CONSERVATION IS THE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE ON EARTH."  This is the message of Revolution, an excellent new film following the adventures of Rob Stewart as he attempts to spark a change in the global mindset towards conservation http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog/revolution

 

April 15, 2013 - CSRWire Talkback
NO NATURE, NO BUSINESS: THE COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE & THE FINANCIAL CRISIS http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/802-no-nature-no-business-the-costs-of-climate-change-the-financial-crises

 

 

 

Via pdjmoo

An environmental TV marathon will be held at Conference Hall of RA NAS Presidium at 10:00 a.m. on 2 April (Baghramyan 24, 2nd floor) dedicated to including Lake Sevan in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Our planet's "natural capital" is not a luxury — take it away, and countries will escalate into conflict. In order to expand our impact, we couldn’t just keep working on the same scale, with the same partners — instead, we had to bring the conversation to a wider audience. We need corporations, governments, international institutions and development organizations to understand and embrace that it was in their enlightened self-interest to talk about the conservation of nature as an essential part of their DNA. Nations and businesses cannot last if the resources that they depend upon are unpredictable.

The first global map of future land suitability for vineyards could change everything we think we know about wine.

The official website of the Armenian Government informs that the Armenian Government has allotted the Agriculture Ministry 52,600,000 AMD for the forestation of around 31 ha...

The livelihoods of more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests. Not only that, but around 300 million people actually live in forests and these are often among the world's poorest people.