| |
|
07 - Natural Heritage
2009
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
2008
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
2007
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
|
| October |
| |
22 October
- World Network of Biosphere Reserves
Learning laboratories for sustainable development
553 sites in 107 countries (2009)
Biosphere reserves are sites of excellence for testing innovative
approaches to sustainable development where scientifi c knowledge
and governance modalities are combined to:
- Reduce biodiversity loss;
- Improve livelihoods;
- Enhance social, economic and cultural conditions for environmental
sustainability.
Of special importance are the involvement of local communities
and the participation of all the interested stakeholders in
the planning and the management of the entire area. Biosphere
reserves seek to integrate the three main functions:
- Conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity;
- Economic development that is socio-culturally and environmentally
sustainable;
- Logistic support for research, monitoring, environmental
education and training.
Each biosphere reserve is divided in three main zones:
- Core area: for conservation, monitoring and non-destructive
research;
- Buffer zone surrounding or adjoining core area(s): for
activities compatible with sound ecological practices;
- Transition area: for activities where stakeholders work
together to sustainably manage the area’s resources.
Biosphere reserves serve as learning and demonstration sites
within the framework United Nations Decade of Education on Sustainable
Development.
They offer valuable contribution to the achievement of Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), in particular the MDG7 on environmental
sustainability.
Within the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, information,
experiences and ideas are shared and exchanged at sub-regional,
regional and international level.
More information:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001848/184853m.pdf
21 October
- Rainforest Alliance - Stop Deforestation -- Stop Climate
Change!
Shrinking arctic ice. Increased tropical cyclone activity. Severe
droughts. Scientists say we’re already beginning to experience
the effects of climate change -- but it’s not too late to
change the course. For more than 20 years, the Rainforest Alliance
has been working to curb deforestation, responsible for 20 percent
of all global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than
the emissions from trains, planes and automobiles combined. We
believe that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD) is an important and economical way to fight
climate change -- not to mention the countless other reasons to
protect our lush, beautiful and biodiverse forests.
More information: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/blog/entry.cfm?number=86#
- Sustainable Forestry - Q&A with José Román
Carrera, Regional Manager for TREES Program in Central America
To protect the astounding diversity of plant and animal
life and hundreds of ancient Mayan ruins found in northern Guatemala,
the government established the Maya Biosphere Reserve in 1990.
The Rainforest Alliance has been working with communities in the
reserve since 1998, helping them to manage their forestlands responsibly.
The man charged with managing these efforts is José Román
Carrera, who grew up on the outskirts of the reserve and has dedicated
the past 19 years to helping communities maintain their lands.
More information: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry.cfm?id=carrera
- Sustainable Tourism - Hosting Tourists is Key to Community
Conservation in Latin America
Responsible tourism can provide forest communities with
a viable alternative to logging, oil and mineral extraction and
other less environmentally-friendly options. A well-run eco-lodge,
for example, gives visitors an intimate look at the surrounding
rainforest while providing nearby communities with a financial
incentive to protect their environment and traditions. The Rainforest
Alliance is working to help lodge owners, communities and the
travelers they want to embrace sustainable tourism. In Ecuador,
we are working with the indigenous Kichwa community of Añangu,
who want an alternative to the profitable but irresponsible logging
and oil extraction that neighboring groups are allowing to destroy
their forests.
More information: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/tourism.cfm?id=hosting_tourists
- Complete dossier on biodiversity, by the National Council
for Scientific research (CNRS) France
2010 is the year of biodiversity, an extensive and complex
topic. What is biodiversity? What covers this word and in which
fields? Where to easily find accessible resources with a scientific
validity? The National Centre of Scientific research (CNRS) dedicates
its thirteenth “Sagascience”, online thematic dossier
on the topic of biodiversity with structured papers, links to
laboratories, and also a photo database, a video database, and
an online bibliography… The website project is an initiative
of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB), a dossier
carried out in association with the National Centre for Scientific
Research (CNRS) also financed by the Institute for the Research
for Development (IRD). Articles of the dossier are written or
validated by several scientists specialising in their field of
investigation.
More information in French:
http://www.cnrs.fr/cw/dossiers/saga.htm
20 October
- UNEP: A 'Blue Carbon' fund - Healthy Oceans New Key
to Combating Climate Change
A 'Blue Carbon' fund able to invest in the maintenance and rehabilitation
of key marine ecosystems should be considered by governments keen
to combat climate change. A new Rapid Response Report released
today estimates that carbon emissions-equal to half the annual
emissions of the global transport sector-are being captured and
stored by marine ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes and
seagrasses. A combination of reducing deforestation on land, allied
to restoring the coverage and health of these marine ecosystems
could deliver up to 25% of the emissions reductions needed to
avoid 'dangerous' climate change.
More information:
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?
DocumentID=599&ArticleID=6342&l=en
- Blue Carbon Report to Highlight the Importance of Healthy
Oceans
The world's oceans, seas and marine ecosystems, such as seagrass,
salt marshes and coastal wetlands, are daily absorbing and removing
large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. They are a crucial
- and perhaps overlooked - natural ally in strategies to combat
climate change. On Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 10.30am, a report
will be launched at the Cape Town International Conference Centre,
South Africa that illustrates how the ocean's carbon capture and
storage systems are being undermined by human activity, thereby
harming their ability to 'sequester' greenhouse gas emissions.
More information:
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?
DocumentID=599&ArticleID=6337&l=en
- Success for first ocean-wide simulation exercise to
test tsunami warning systems in Indian Ocean
The first life-sized tsunami simulation exercise in the
Indian Ocean was carried out successfully on 14 October, coinciding
with World Disaster Reduction Day. The exercise aimed to test
and evaluate the effectiveness of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning
and Mitigation System (IOTWS), established in response to the
tsunami of 26 December 2004, and to increase preparedness in the
region.
More information:
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46718&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
16 October
- Earth-Ocean Mission: new mission of the three-mast exploration
boat La Boudeuse
Earth-ocean is the new mission of the three-mast exploration
boat La Boudeuse after its three-year voyage around the world
dedicated to “Water Peoples”, from 2004 to 2007.
Patrice Franceschi and crew leave again, this time on official
mission for the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable development,
Jean-Louis Borloo. The “mission letter” given to Patrice
Franceschi by the Minister and his Secretaries of State Dominique
Bussereau and Nathalie Kosciusko Morizet, is like an echo through
the centuries of that which Louis-Antoine de Bougainville received
in other times to send his frigate La Boudeuse around the world,
from 1766 to 1769. Bougainville was then the first sailor in taking
with him “wise men” - as they were called then - and,
therefore, the first in travelling the seas not just for scientific
reasons but also for commercial, political, economic, military
or diplomatic reasons. The Earth-Ocean mission is, today, an “on
site” accomplishment of the Grenelle of the Sea whose departure
point took place on La Boudeuse on 27 February 2009, when the
ship was in Paris. The concerns of this “Grenelle”
are multiple and reflect the ambition to preserve the future of
the planet for future generations: protect environment and biodiversity,
fight against climate change, sustainable development, control
of energy, etc.
More information in French:
http://la-boudeuse.org/la-mission-terre-ocean/
- Newsletter Fondation Albert II de Monaco (October)
The Foundation strives to act as an accelerator of projects and
solutions for the environment. It promotes sustainable and equitable
management of natural resources and places the individual at the
centre of its projects. It encourages the implementation of innovative
and ethical solutions in three main areas: climate change, biodiversity
and water. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is intent
on acquiring the means necessary to act as an accelerator. In
order to play a major role in the protection of the environment
on a global scale, the Foundation wishes to set up and collaborate
with networks of researchers, companies and individuals willing
to work together towards one common goal.
More information:
http://www.fpa2.mc/downloads/news_octobre09.pdf
12 October
- HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco Calls for International
Action to Protect Arctic from Climate Change, New Industrial Threats
At the United Nations Headquarters today His Serene
Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco called on the international
community to set stronger targets for curbing global warming pollution
worldwide and take action to address new industrial threats that
are emerging in a melting Arctic environment. “We have no
choice: we must protect Arctic ice, enable it to continue to act
as an essential temperature regulator for the planet, avoid the
catastrophic rise in sea levels that would result from the ice
melt, and stop the disappearance of permafrost releasing irreversible
quantities of greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere. It is
a duty for ourselves and for all of humanity – for our children,
of course, but also all those who are already suffering the dramatic
effects of these developments.”
More information:
http://www.fpa2.mc/fondation.asp?page=DETAIL_ACTUALITE
&idactu=156&annee=2009&trimestre=3&lang=en
9 October
7 October
- A World of Science (October–December 2009)
Yet, just when a sense of urgency should prevail, the mood going
into the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December is one of
wait and see. Much of the responsibility for our current predicament
lies with the wealthy countries. Time and again, they have failed
to live up to their promises of international support for poverty
reduction and technology transfer to the developing world. Nor
can they deny responsibility for most of the increase in global
emissions of greenhouse gases since the 1950s, even if much of
this growth is now taking place in the fast-growing indus-trializing
world. Developing countries fear that most of the burden for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions will rest on their shoulders, as their
investment needs for energy swell in coming years.
More information:
http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7937&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
5 October
- 2009 Investor Statement on the Urgent Need for a Global
Agreement on Climat Change
Stern launches Investor Statement on Climate Change, backed by
USD 13 trillion of assets under management: the world’s
capital markets speak up on the urgent need for a real deal. The
times when the private sector was against determined action on
climate change are over. 181 leading investors and financial institutions
responsible for the fiduciary management of USD 13 trillion –
the backbone of the global economic system - have today unveiled
a Statement on the Urgent Need for a Global Agreement on Climate
Change, to be agreed on in Copenhagen this year at the UN climate
change conference (COP 15 of the UNFCCC). Endorsed by developed
and developing country investors, this landmark Statement specifies
the elements that the upcoming climate change deal must feature
so as to unlock institutional investment and finance sector skills
- at the needed scale - into the development of a low-carbon and
climate-change resilient global economy. Central to the Statement
is the science-based demand for a global target for emission reductions
of 50-85% by 2050, and developed country emission reductions targets
of 80-95% by 2050.
More information: http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/need_agreement.pdf
- Role of forests in lowering global emissions to be discussed
at UN High-Level Event
Deforestation and the degradation of forests are responsible for
just under one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more
than all the world's cars, trucks, ships and planes combined.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD)
is a proposed mechanism to give a financial value to standing
forests by mobilizing capital to compensate developing countries
for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation,
and therefore help prevent dangerous climate change.
More information:
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?
DocumentID=596&ArticleID=6320&l=en
|
| |
| Publications |
| |
Publication of the red List of the orchids
of the metropolis
According to the state of the art conducted, one of each six species
of orchids could disappear from the metropolitan territory. The
first analysis carried out on the 160 species of current orchids
in metropolitan France shows that 27 of them are threatened to disappear
from the territory, and another 36 are about to disappear without
a specific attention to their situation. These results are the result
of a common work carried out by the French Committee of UICN, the
National Museum of Natural History, the Federation of the national
botanical conservatories and the French Society of Orchidophilia.
They constitute a new chapter of the Red List of threatened species
in France.
More information in French:
http://www.uicn.fr/Liste-rouge-orchidees.html
Proceedings of the Klagenfurt Days of Protected Areas
The Klagenfurt University’s Master-of-Science (M.Sc.)
programme “Management of Protected Areas”, in cooperation
with the E.C.O. Institute of Ecology, organized a 3-day event at
Klagenfurt University from 24th to 26th of June 2009.
http://www.ramsar.org/cda/ramsar/display/main/main.jsp?zn=ramsar&cp=1-26-76^24088_4000_0__
Online publication - The 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress
results
The following are the final texts (in English) of the Resolutions
and Recommendations adopted at the 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress.
These have been edited to include the amendments agreed to during
plenary sessions of the Members’ Assembly and to include language/grammar
corrections.
http://www.iucn.org/congress_08/
L'avenir des Ecosystèmes Désertiques de la
Planète (UNEP)
Sur une ligne parallèle à l’équateur,
au niveau des latitudes 25 à 35, des hémisphères
Nord et sud, notre planète est sectionnée par deux
bandes de territoires désertiques. La définition de
la région biogéographique désertique repose
sur trois paramètres fondamentaux : le facteur climatologique,
le facteur bio ;logique et le facteur physique. Sur le plan climatologique,
les régions désertiques constituent l’ensemble
des zones arides et hyperarides du globe ; le concept biologique
des déserts englobe les écorégions abritant
les plantes et animaux capables de survivre, à l’état
naturel, dans les milieux arides ; en termes de description physique,
le désert se compose d’immenses régions attenantes
constituées de sols dégarnis recouverts d’une
végétation rabougrie qui s’étendent à
perte de vue. La cartographie de ce milieu naturel élaborée
à partir de la superposition des régions répondant
à ces trois critères donne lieu à une définition
mixte des déserts de la planète qui s’étendent
sur près de 33,7 millions de kilomètres carrés
correspondant à un quart des terres émergées...
http://www.unep.org/geo/news_centre/pdfs/French_Executive_Summary.pdf
|
| |
 |
Arsenic in Groundwater: A World Problem
© 2008 Netherlands National Committee of the IAH, Editor:
T. Appelo, Production: J.P. Heederik
The various contributions dealing with, among others, occurrence
and causes of arsenic contamination and its affects on health and
food production, give a clear and broad insight into the state-of-the-art
knowledge of all aspects of arsenic in groundwater. The publication
No. 5 Arsenic in Groundwater – a World Problem presents the
arsenic problem in such a way that it becomes accessible to a broad
and involved public that normally might not have access to scientific
literature; giving this publication a rather unique status among the
extensive list of existing literature on this subject.
http://www.igrac.net/publications/302
|
| |
|
 |
Publicación UICN en línea - Derecho Ambiental
en Centroamerica - Tomo I
Derecho Ambiental constituye una de las disciplinas más
eclécticas y, por cierto, discutidas del Derecho. El estudio
de sus normas, de la doctrina y la jurisprudencia representa una
de las necesidades más urgentes de la actividad jurídica
actual, toda vez que es preciso entender de manera correcta e influir
constructivamente la toma de decisiones. Esta obra, en dos tomos,
reúne el esfuerzo y el trabajo conjunto de juristas en el
estudio de una indispensable y dinámica rama del quehacer
jurídico.
http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/EPLP-066-1.pdf
Tomo II: http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/EPLP-066-2.pdf |
| |
|
 |
Online Review OUR PLANET (UNEP) N°17 Le changement climatique
et le développement économique
Children on one of southern Africa’s mightiest rivers are playing
the Limpopo board game, literally for their lives. Piloted in places
like Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland and Mozambique’s Gaza Province,
it uses the power of play to teach ways of reducing vulnerability
to flooding.
If a counter lands on a space showing a well designed floodproof village
– or one advising children to move themselves and livestock
to higher ground – it moves forward several spaces. But if it
alights on one
depicting a decimated forest, land degradation, or other factors increasing
vulnerability, it must go back six. The game – part of a larger
project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF),
launched after the devastating Limpopo floods six years ago –
underlines in a simple but poignant way the challenges developing
countries face as they try to adapt to the extreme weather events
linked to climate change.
http://www.unep.org/PDF/OurPlanet/op_english_17v2.pdf
|
| |
|
 |
Online publication - Freshwater and International Law: The
Interplay between Universal, Regional and Basin Perspectives
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Published by UNESCO
ISBN 978-92-3-104136-5
The analysis of universal, regional and basin agreements sheds light
on their specific characteristics and the interactions among them,
and on mutual feedback with respect to the content of their norms.
We propose a systemic interpretation of the law applicable in this
area, arguing that norms of international law should be interpreted
in an integrated manner, because each of them forms part of the international
legal system and they function and interact in the context of the
system as a whole...
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001850/185080e.pdf
|
| |
|
 |
Online publication - Freshwater Biodiversity versus Anthropogenic
Climate Change
Luc Vescovi, Dominique Berteaux, David Bird, Sylvie de Blois
Published by UNESCO
ISBN 978-92-3-104134-1
Based mainly on studies in Canada and Quebec and on literature reviews
on the impacts of climate change (CC) on freshwater species, this
paper presents (1) an exploration of the effects of climate change
on freshwater biodiversity; and (2) a discussion of how this knowledge
might be used to influence freshwater ecosystem management strategies.
It is not a comprehensive review of the biodiversity-water-climate
change issues but aims to discuss how, in a specific North American
context, stakeholders are mainstreaming climate change and freshwater
issues...
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001850/185075e.pdf
|
| |
|
 |
Online publication - Introduction to the IWRM Guidelines
at River Basin Level
Published by UNESCO
ISBN 978-92-3-104133-4
The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Guidelines at
River Basin Level have been written as a contribution to the World
Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), which launched the third United
Nations World Water Development Report at the Fifth World Water Forum
in March 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. The purpose of developing these
Guidelines is to raise awareness of the importance of an integrated
approach to water resources management at the river basin level and
to address the practical implementation of IWRM.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001850/185074e.pdf
|
| |
|
 |
Online publication - The Impact of global change on erosion
and sediment transport by rivers: current progress and future challenges
Desmond E. Walling for the International
Sediment Initiative of UNESCO-IHP
The processes of erosion, sediment delivery and sediment transport
are key components and measures of the functioning of the Earth system.
Erosion and sediment redistribution processes are the primary drivers
of landscape development and play an important role in soil development.
Equally, the sediment load of a river provides an important measure
of its morphodynamics, the hydrology of its drainage basin, and the
erosion and sediment delivery processes operating within that basin.
The magnitudes of the sediment loads transported by rivers have important
implications for the functioning of the system; for example through
their influence on material fluxes, geochemical cycling, water quality,
channel morphology, delta development, and the aquatic ecosystems
and habitats supported by the river.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001850/185078e.pdf
|
| |
|
 |
UNESCO-IHP ISARM releases atlas of transboundary aquifers
The UNESCO-IHP ISARM (International Shared Aquifers Resources Management)
Programme has produced the "Atlas of Transboundary Aquifers –
Global maps, regional cooperation and local inventories". This
Atlas was presented at the World Water Week 2009 in Stockholm and
is now available on-line. A global vision of regional and local initiatives:
Since its start in 2000, ISARM has launched a number of global and
regional initiatives. More than 200 transboundary aquifers have been
identified. Inventories undertaken in the Americas, Asia, Africa,
South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus, and Middle East have
been already published separately. This Atlas presents a compilation
of available data.
http://www.unesco.org/water/news/newsletter/221.shtml#news_1
|
| |
|
 |
Atlas des îles de l'Atlantique
En France, le Commissariat général au développement
durable publie l'Atlas des îles de l'Atlantique. Cet ouvrage
de 50 pages, librement téléchargeable sur le site de
l'Ifen (Institut français de l'envionnement), va vite devenir
un incontournable pour tous les amoureux des côtes atlantiques
françaises et les chercheurs préoccupés de la
conservation de la biodiversité et du développement
durable dans ces îles.
http://www.cursus.edu/?module=directory&action=
getMod&subMod=PROD&uid=13896 |
| |
|
 |
Des roches aux paysages dans le Nord – Pas-de-Calais
(France)
Par Robasynski Francis
ISBN: 978-2-953258-41-7
Plus qu’un simple guide touristique ou qu’un exposé
de géologie, cet ouvrage de 152 pages richement illustré
de graphiques et photos offre une autre approche du patrimoine géologique
du Nord – Pas-de-Calais en parcourant 450 millions d'années
au travers de ses sites les plus emblématiques. Du Boulonnais
à l'Avesnois en passant par le bassin minier l'Artois, la Flandre
et les plaines maritimes, Des roches aux paysages dans le Nord –
Pas-de-Calais, Richesse de notre patrimoine géologique donne
au lecteur une image vivante de la géologie et offre au promeneur
un regard neuf sur les paysages qu’il aime à observer.
http://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/boutique-environnement/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1504
|
| |
|
 |
Océan gouverne-t-il le climat ? (L')
Auteur : Jacques Merle
ISBN : 978-2-7117-2227-3
Deux sphères fluides entourent la Terre et gouvernent
le climat : l'océan et l'atmosphère. Capable de stocker
beaucoup d'énergie solaire et de la répartir en fonction
de la latitude, l'océan domine l'atmosphère. Le climat
et sa variabilité s'expliquent en grande partie par l'ensemble
des mouvements de l'océan. Cette dynamique - dans l'espace
et dans le temps - est l'objet de l'océanographie physique,
une discipline scientifique qui s'est radicalement transformée
sous l'impulsion de nouvelles technologies - notamment à partir
des satellites artificiels d'observation de la Terre - et de puissants
moyens de calcul permettant aujourd'hui de simuler les mouvements
de l'océan et leur relation avec le climat. L'auteur dresse
un panorama de l'avancée des connaissances jusqu'aux questions
actuelles posées par le rôle de l'océan dans le
réchauffement climatique en cours. Bien connaître l'évolution
du climat permettrait de prendre des mesures pour limiter ses dérives
dues aux activités humaines ; ce serait nécessairement
le résultat d'une action menée en commun par les scientifiques
du monde entier.
http://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/boutique-environnement/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1501
|
| |
|
 |
Online UICN Publications - The status and distribution
of dragonflies of the Mediterranean basin
Published by IUCN (International Union for Conservation
of Nature)
ISBN: 978-2-8317-1161-4
This report contains a review of the conservation status of 165 Mediterranean
species of dragonflies occurring in the Mediterranean basin, according
to the IUCN regional Red Listing criteria. It identifies species that
are threatened with extinction at regional level so that appropriate
conservation action can be taken to improve their status.
http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2009-030.pdf
(1.81 MB) |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
