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Wednesday, August 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Market-Based Conservation Brewing in Nairobi
A project to create a Green Development Mechanism that would use the market to preserve biodiversity is seeing many of the same criticisms that were volleyed at a similar approach to climate change.U.N. Biodiversity Plan Demands Voice for Women
Women provide up to 90 percent of the rural poor's food and produce up to 80 percent of food in most developing countries, and yet they are almost completely ignored when policy decisions are made about agriculture and biodiversity.U.N. Body Urges Caution on Synthetic Bacteria, Geoengineering
Scientists announced the creation of first self-replicating synthetic life form last Friday, and a few hours later, a United Nations science advisory body meeting here urged countries to take a strong precautionary approach to avoid release of such entities into the environment.Seeds of Hope Take Root in Kenya
Countries have paid too little attention to the importance of biodiversity, and as result, species and ecosystems are in sharp decline and the public does not understand the concept.Loggers, Activists Reach Deal on Canada’s Vast Northwoods
The decades-long war in Canada's northwoods appears to be over. Environmental groups and Canadian logging companies linked arms Tuesday morning and agreed to work together to sustainably manage and protect 720,000 square kilometres of Canada's boreal forest - an area twice the size of Germany.
BIODIVERSITY: We Can Live Without Oil, But Not Without Flora and Fauna
The policies and deals that contributed to the massive oil spill under way in the Gulf of Mexico are also jeopardising the Earth's vital biological infrastructure, according to the Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, published Monday.
We Can Live Without Oil, But Not Without Flora and Fauna
The latest global study on biodiversity outlines what could be "the sixth great extinction event of life on Earth" and predicts the tipping point of the Amazon rainforest's transformation into savanna.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Colombian Forest Project Reaps Credits… and Criticism
The "Procuenca Initiative" in the Andes region of western Colombia may be the first in the world to sell certified forest carbon credits with a biodiversity protection component. But alarms are sounding about the potential negative social and environmental consequences.
Colombian Forest Project Reaps Credits… and Criticism
A program to plant trees in Colombia's coffee-growing basin is facing criticism from environmentalists, though it was just certified by the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto climate treaty.“Drug War” Policies Need a Stint in Rehab
The war on drugs is a complete failure everywhere, according a comprehensive review of 20 years of scientific literature released at the Harm Reduction 2010 conference in Liverpool, England that wraps up Thursday.HEALTH: Injecting Drug Use Spreads HIV in Eastern Europe
Poor intervention in Injecting drug use (IDU) is driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe and is also largely responsible for the tuberculosis epidemic in parts of Russia, says a new study.
ENVIRONMENT: Giant Bacteria Colonise the Oceans
A mat the size of Uruguay composed of giant bacteria has been discovered in the mid-depths of the ocean off the coasts of Chile and Peru, report scientists who are working on a series of studies of the ocean's smallest life forms.
Giant Bacteria Colonize the Oceans
Marine biologists have discovered giant mats composed of megabacteria off the coast of South America, and suggest that they could serve vital ecological functions.DEVELOPMENT: Farmers on Fringe of Intl Agriculture Policy?
How's this for short-sighted: A billion people go hungry every day, food prices have climbed 30 to 40 percent, climate change is reducing agricultural production - and for the past two decades, the world has slashed investments in publicly-funded agriculture until it is a pittance in most countries.
ENVIRONMENT: Forests at a Climate Crossroads
Billions of dollars are being mobilised to protect and increase the world's forests under a climate protection mechanism known as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). But many experts are unsure that it will work, and some fear it could end in disaster.
Forests at the Climate Crossroads
The use of forests as a tool to fight climate change is facing more and more doubts.
ENVIRONMENT: Forests May Depend on Survival of Native People
After the failures in Copenhagen to agree on a new climate protection treaty, and more recently at the Doha meetings on trade in endangered species to prevent bluefin tuna from going extinct, indigenous forest communities may offer examples of sensible governance for shared resources on a small planet.
Q&A: Debunking the Deniers
Even though 2009 was the fifth warmest year since 1850, and 2000-09 the warmest decade ever, according to the World Meterological Organisation, surveys show that public concern about global warming in the United States and Canada has dropped sharply in the past 18 months.
BIODIVERSITY: Corals Fight for Survival
The survival of corals, which face grave threats from ocean acidification, bottom trawling and the jewelry and decor trade, is in even greater doubt after a vote taken at a conference under way in Doha, Qatar.
Corals Fight for Survival
Delegates from 175 countries discuss listing endangered plant and animal species to protect them from unregulated trade. For corals it's a lost opportunity.CLIMATE CHANGE: In Canada, No News is Bad News
Canada's climate researchers are being muzzled, their funding slashed, research stations closed, findings ignored and advice on the critical issue of the century unsought by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, according to a 40-page report by a coalition of 60 non-governmental organisations.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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