Sri
Lanka chamber of commerce takes cue from UICN
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) held their first Business Leaders
Forum aimed at "Inspiring and involving high potential business
leaders in ecosystem and biodiversity conservation." The first
in the series of lectures were delivered on September 10th at the
Trans Asia Hotel by Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Renton de Alwis titled
"Climate Change and Tourism: Sri Lanka's response". Among
the other speakers were Dr. Ranjith Mahindapala, Country Director,
IUCN, Dr. Shirani Yasaratne, Regional Director, Business for Nature
Project, IUCN and Prema Cooray, CEO / Secretary General of the CCC.
The event was attended by key business leaders.
Sri Lanka Tourism. Newsletter Vol 01 Nº
67. Publicated: 19-9-2008
Tengchong
Forest Project, China
All eyes will be on China’s southwest mountains, when the
official relay to kick off the 2008 Beijing Olympics snakes its
way across the countryside. Incredibly diverse in culture as it
is in nature, these mountains lay claim to the first small-scale
forestry project to meet strict Kyoto Protocol requirements for
combating climate change. In Yunnan province, Conservation International,
the Yunnan Forestry Department, and The Nature Conservancy are working
to restore 467 hectares of forest in Tengchong, where more than
a dozen ethnic minority groups live on a landscape that deals with
a range of climates...
Conservation International. Learn. Publicated:
19-9-2008
Himalayan
Wetland Intiative concludes draft strategy
The 6th meeting of the Himalayan Wetland Initiative, organized by
the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
and funded by the Asia Pro Eco Europe Aid Cooperative Office, was
held in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 1st to 3rd September, 2008. The main
objective was to complete the draft of a strategy for the Himalayan
Wetland Initiative so that Contracting Parties in the Himalayan
region can consider and endorse the final version during COP10 at
the end of October...
Ramsar Convention. Newsletter. Publicated:
22-9-2008
Makira
Forest Project, Madagascar
The Makira Forest is a thick green security blanket for Madagascar’s
troubled eastern half, which has otherwise been nearly stripped
of trees. Less than 10 percent of the original forest cover still
stands today. Small-scale agriculture is the biggest concern. Farmers
cultivate hillside rice by burning down trees and irrigating with
rainfall. Over time, this traditional practice exhausts the soil,
increases erosion, and contaminates water supplies...
Conservation International. Learn. Publicated:
19-9-2008
Japan
Wetland Society launched
The Japan Wetland Society (JAWS) was officially established on 6th
September 2008. The inauguration ceremony was held in Tokyo and
Prof Tsujii (President of the WI Japan) was selected as the first
President of the Society. Among the Board members of the Society
are Prof Masatomi (crane expert), Prof Isozaki (environmental laws),
Prof Kikuchi (the head of the Japanese delegation at Ramsar COP5),
Ms Nakamura (Ramsar Center Japan), Mr Natori (UNU). There were 42
co-founders of the Society including Prof Kawanabe (Director of
the Lake Biwa Museum), Prof Higuchi, Prof Washitani, Prof Fujikura,
Dr Komoda, Mr Tsuji (President of JAWAN), Mr Kurechi. Other leading
wetland researchers, active NGO members and wetland managers throughout
Japan have expressed their interests in joining the Japan Wetland
Society. The Society aims to promote wetland-related researches
and conservation and wise use of wetlands...
Ramsar Convention. Newsletter. Publicated:
19-9-2008
Chocó-Manabí
Corridor Project, Ecuador
It's fair to say Ecuador's northwest sits at an intersection of
extremes. Forests in the region range from the very wet to the very
dry. Both spoiled and pristine would accurately describe this biologically
rich yet shrinking landscape. Pasture and commercial agriculture
have replaced much of the forests along Ecuador's coast, but what's
left is a vital piece of a larger ecosystem extending into Colombia
and Panama that’s still relatively healthy. So saving the
Chocó-Manabí forest would create a corridor that gives
species enough space to migrate as they adapt to changing climate
conditions...
Conservation International. Learn. Publicated:
19-9-2008
PDF
Call
for applications to the Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund
The ‘Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund’ has been established
to provide financial support to projects at site of importance for
migratory waterbirds in the East Asia - Australasian Flyway. Cathay
Pacific placed an initial donation of HK$500,000 (approx. US$65,000)
into the Fund which is administered by WWF Hong Kong, and further
donations are actively being sought to increase the amount in the
Fund so that a greater number of worthwhile projects can be supported
in future. Each year, up to 25% of the amount in the Fund will be
earmarked for disbursement to support approved projects. At present,
the maximum amount that can be applied for each project shall not
exceed US$4,000. Seven projects have been funded since the first
round of application in June 2006. There will be a single call for
applications to the Fund each year with the deadline currently being
31 October 2008. For further information, please check
or contact the AWCF Administrator, Miss Katherine Leung, by e-mail
awcf@wwf.org.hk.
WWF. Press Release. Publicated:
22-9-2008
Bird
Reserves Provide Permanent Protection in Colombia
The last remaining habitats of some of the world’s most threatened
birds are now ensured permanent protection on eight nature reserves
throughout the fragile ecosystems of the Colombian Andes. The Colombian
bird conservation group Fundación ProAves and Conservation
International’s Global Conservation Fund (GCF) today announced
creation of an endowment fund to manage these reserves in the long
term. The Colombian Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) Protected
Areas Trust will enable field staff in each of the reserves to undertake
regular patrolling, biological monitoring and community outreach...
Global Conservation Fund (GCF). News. Publicated:
22-9-2008
Mexico
joins UICN as Member State
Julia Marton-Lefèvre, general director of UICN, and Grethel
Aguilar, Regional director of UICN Mesoamerica, announced the incorporation
of the Government of Mexico as UICN Member state. The general director
of UICN, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, and the regional director
for Mesoamérica, Grethel Aguilar, announced the incorporation
of the Government of the Mexican United States like State Member
of the UICN.With this incorporation, Mexico becomes the State number
85 that joins the Union and seventh in Meso and South America…
IUCN. Press Release. Publicated: 19-9-2008
IUCN
joins forces with businesses for World Conservation Congress
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has joined
forces with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) for its World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest
ever conservation event. The agreement is designed to address ecosystem
degradation, strengthen the business case for biodiversity conservation
and put biodiversity considerations at the heart of the business
operations of WBCSD member companies...
IUCN. Press Release. Publicated: 19-9-2008
Dilmah
Conservation
Dilmah is a family tea company, the first producer owned tea brand,
and the first to pick, perfect and pack tea at source, A commitment
to integrity - traditional family values - and to making business
a matter of human service meant that Merrill J. Fernando, Founder
of Dilmah, and his family, integrated social justice into the heart
of their business, That commitment is fulfilled by the work of the
MIF Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Merrill J. Fernando,
and the Dilmah Tea companies.
Dilmah Conservation. IUCN Partnership .
Publicated: 18-9-2008
CVA
Monthly e-News: September Conservation Volunteers e-News
Conservation Volunteers e-News is the monthly email newsletter that
is filled with information about upcoming conservation projects,
nature holidays, opportunities to volunteer overseas and special
offers.
Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA).
Australia. Publicated: 17-9-2008
Dinaric
Arc Initiative (DAI)
WWF, UNESCO-BRESCE, UNDP, IUCN, the Council of Europe, FAO, Euronatur
and SNV concerned with the future of the Dinaric Arc and active
in the region with a varied portfolio of projects and initiatives
to secure the long-term conservation and sustainable development
of this part of Europe have joined forces and created the Dinaric
Arc Initiative. The Dinaric Arc is a region of south-eastern Europe
with a surface of approximately 100,000km2 and more than 6,000km
of coastline, encompassing the whole region facing the eastern Adriatic
Sea, from the area of Trieste (Italy) to Tirana (Albania). It includes
portions of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
Serbia, FYR Macedonia, and Albania. ITALY during the initiative
progress.
UNESCO. Office Venice. News. Publcated:
17-9-2008
The
Director-General signs Agreement with the Minister of Energy of
the Russian Federation establishing a category 2 Centre in Moscow
On 5 September 2008, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro
Matsuura, and Mr Sergey Shmatko, Minister of Energy of the Russian
Federation, signed an Agreement concerning the establishment and
operation of the International Sustainable Energy Development Centre
in Moscow as a category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO.The
General Conference of UNESCO, at its 34th session, in 34C/ Resolution
31, had approved the establishment of the Centre and authorized
the Director-General to sign the corresponding agreement.
UNESCO. Office of the Spokesperson. Flash
Info N° 109-2008. Publicated: 08-09-2008
The
Ocean in a high CO2 world
Since the industrial revolution began, the acidity of the ocean
has increased by 30%. What are the long-term implications of this
rapid change known as ocean acidification? The “Second Symposium
on the Ocean in a High CO2 World”, to be held 6-9 October
at the Oceanography Museum in Monaco, will explore this increasingly
urgent question. A result of the ocean’s uptake of steadily
increasing amounts of man-made carbon dioxide (CO2), acidification
is a reality; but its effects on marine ecosystems are uncertain.
The symposium’s purpose is to provide an interdisciplinary
forum to assess what is known about the phenomenon and to define
future research priorities. Fact
Sheet
UNESCO. Media Advisory N°2008-55 UNESCOPRESS.
Publicated: 09-09-2008
Frontlines
Forum: What's it all about?
Many small island, rural and indigenous communities are already
facing the first impacts of climate change. Their high vulnerability
relates to their reliance upon resource-based livelihoods and the
locations and configurations of their lands and territories. Ironically,
despite broad recognition that small island, Arctic, high altitude
and other vulnerable communities are on the frontlines of climate
change, their voices have remained largely on the sidelines of climate
change debates. Indeed, this exclusion has generated discord and
protests by indigenous peoples and community representatives at
recent international conferences and meetings on climate change.
In response to this outcry, the grassroots Internet forum On the
Frontlines of Climate Change was launched by UNESCO, in partnership
with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD),
the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue (SPFII)
and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).
Internet forum On the Frontlines of Climate Change. Publicated:
8-9-2008 |
