By TOM ARUP ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENTNovember 13, 2009 AUSTRALIA and the world must make prevention of the rapid rate of species extinction a political priority or face an environmental catastrophe, the head of an international biodiversity convention has warned. In an interview with the Herald, the executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological […]
Researchers Deborah Tabart and Hugh Possingham on the demise of koalas Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to halt a decline in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to send the numbers of wild koalas plummeting. The Australian […]
Scientists call for new measures to protect the seabirds as experts warn one albatross drowns every five minutes after becoming entangled in fishing gear Press Association guardian.co.uk, Monday 9 November 2009 11.31 GMT Albatrosses and other birds are facing extinction as they become tangled in commercial fishing gear, conservation organisations warned today. Thirty-seven species of […]
By James Pomfret and Tom Kirkwood GUANGZHOU/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Tucked into a grimy building in Guangzhou, a small band of Chinese master carvers chip away at ivory tusks with chisels, fashioning them into the sorts of intricate carvings that were prized by Chinese emperors. A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped […]
The international commission that sets fishing limits for tuna and other large migratory fish is meeting in Brazil. The commission faces a depressing reality: the bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is headed toward commercial extinction. From time to time, the commission has marginally reduced the allowable catch, but never by as much […]
HARARE: Zimbabwe has lost about 200 rhinoceroses — a quarter of its total population — to rampant poaching over the last three years as security and the economy deteriorated, state media reported on Tuesday. The southern African country has been badly damaged by an economic crisis, which critics blame on President Robert Mugabe’s seizure of […]
Conservation groups warn of ‘alarming’ loss of biodiversity as thousands of animals face imminent extinction By Andy McSmith, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 Six years ago, these tiny mustard-coloured toads could be found in their thousands, living under the spray from an African waterfall. No one even knew they existed until 1996. Yet today the Kihansi […]
By PAUL AMES, Wintam, Belgium …They may be slimy, snakelike and a distinct turn-off for many people, but eels have formed an integral part of European cuisine since the time of the ancient Greeks. Yet without urgent action, scientists fear this mysterious beast could disappear from the continent’s waterways and dinner tables for good. European […]
Since the animals were first listed as endangered, the human population of Florida has more than tripled, and efforts to help the Florida’s state animal recover have had limited success By The Editors One of more than 20 subspecies of cougar and native to the southeastern United States, the Florida Panther is most certainly still […]
By DARREN CARTWRIGHT, November 1, 2009 NEW Queensland Government planning laws to protect dwindling koala numbers in the state’s south-east are laughable, the Australian Koala Foundation says. Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones yesterday announced measures to protect the marsupials’ habitats. The measures include spending $15 million to buy new habitats or rehabilitate existing […]
