Nearing the conclusion of a sometimes fractious two-week meeting, nations of the world agreed on a historic package of measures deemed critical to addressing the dangerous loss of biodiversity and restoring natural ecosystems. Convened under UN auspices, chaired by China, and hosted by Canada, the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological… Continue reading UN Biodiversity Convention adopted the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Tag: extinction
Human-wildlife Conflicts, one of the Greatest Threats to Iconic Species
Conflict between people and animals, from China’s famed wandering elephants raiding farms for food and water to wolves preying on cattle in Idaho, is one of the main threats to the long-term survival of some of the world’s most iconic species, warns a new report from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP). Human-wildlife conflict… Continue reading Human-wildlife Conflicts, one of the Greatest Threats to Iconic Species
European bison recovering, but freshwater dolphins face extinction: IUCN Red List
While the European bison (Bison bonasus), Europe’s largest land mammal, has moved from Vulnerable to Near Threatened due to conservation efforts, the latest IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ update, also warns that 31 species moved into the Extinct category, and all of the world’s freshwater dolphin species are now threatened with extinction. There are now… Continue reading European bison recovering, but freshwater dolphins face extinction: IUCN Red List
Human footprint eliminated 68 % of species in 50 years
Globally, monitored population sizes of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have declined an average of 68% between 1970 and 2016, according to World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Living Planet Report 2020. Populations in Latin America and the Caribbean have fared worst, with an average decline of 94%. Global freshwater species have also been disproportionately impacted, declining… Continue reading Human footprint eliminated 68 % of species in 50 years
Climate change could cause abrupt biodiversity losses this century
Christopher Trisos, University of Cape Town and Alex Pigot, UCL The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are already evident. Poleward shifts in the geographic distributions of species, catastrophic forest fires and mass bleaching of coral reefs all bear the fingerprints of climate change. But what will the world’s biodiversity look like in… Continue reading Climate change could cause abrupt biodiversity losses this century
The long goodbye: Study declares ancient Chinese paddlefish extinct
Shreya Dasgupta The Chinese paddlefish is, or rather was, a unique species. It was one of only two living species of paddlefish, part of an ancient group of fish known to have existed since the Lower Jurassic, 200 million years ago The Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) was last recorded by researchers in 2003. Subsequent local surveys… Continue reading The long goodbye: Study declares ancient Chinese paddlefish extinct
Over half of Europe’s endemic trees face extinction
Over half (58%) of Europe’s endemic trees, those not found in any other part of the planet are threatened with extinction, according to IUCN The newly published European Red List of Trees evaluated the conservation status of all 454 tree species native to the continent, and found that two fifths (42%) are regionally threatened with extinction. Among… Continue reading Over half of Europe’s endemic trees face extinction
In an era of mass extinction, who decides which species to save – and how?
Priorities at #national and #international levels can be at odds with those of #local and #Indigenous #communities and a major chunk of #conservation efforts focused on “charismatic #megafauna”- popular #species as opposed to lesser and smaller species
‘A vicious cycle towards extinction:’ Hunting and trade can push even abundant wildlife populations to the brink
Mike Gaworecki Researchers at the University of Queensland looked at something called the anthropogenic Allee effect (AAE), a theory that proposes a critical population level threshold below which the likelihood of a species going extinct increases substantially due to rising prices for rare animals incentivizing more hunting. Using mathematical models to determine how quickly wildlife… Continue reading ‘A vicious cycle towards extinction:’ Hunting and trade can push even abundant wildlife populations to the brink
African antelopes and North American Ash tree on verge of extinction
IUCN Red List update also reveals a dramatic decline of grasshoppers and millipedes endemic to Madagascar, and the extinction of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle bat. North America’s most widespread and valuable ash tree species are on the brink of extinction due to an invasive beetle decimating their populations, while the loss of wilderness areas and… Continue reading African antelopes and North American Ash tree on verge of extinction
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