With the millennium development goals due to expire in 2015,
scientists have argued for a post-2015 agenda to include energy, water, and
healthy ecosystems as crucial additions. Focus must shift from poverty
alleviation to sustainable development to address the link between a degrading natural world
and poverty. For a proposed new definition of sustainable development, check
out the link below.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Marine species app
New app provides
information on over 550 marine species to help consumers make sustainable
seafood choices. All that is needed now is a Cantonese translation to make it
wet market handy.
Marine biodiversity register
With a famed traditional fisheries industry but facing a
decline in marine species, the waters of Kerala in south-west India will be
place under the microscope, under a new programme to record and register
ecologically important reefs and rocky areas along its coastline. Hong Kong’s
recent ban on trawling was a huge step for a decimated fisheries sector, also a
thriving fragment of the city’s history. To more effectively restore the health
of marine fish stock, the SAR government may need to establish a similar
biodiversity register to spot areas of habitat destruction, demarcate marine
protected areas and to design ecosystem-based fishing management policies.
China's woody appetite
Demand for disposable wooden chopsticks in the mainland has
seen production increase from 57 billion in 2010 to a recent estimate of 80
billion per year. This is just the tip of the iceberg, with a growing appetite
of other timber products, from rosewood furniture to printing paper, casting
China with the unfortunate label as the world’s top importer of illegal timber.
Meanwhile, the international community have agreed to stem the trade of a
number of economically-valuable timber species, at a recent CITES conference in
Bangkok. Can China continue to risk leaving the illegal trade in timber
unchecked?
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Sharks and Turtles Conservation
The conservation of the world’s sharks and turtles just got
a major boost. A two thirds majority of the government representatives at the triannual
CITES meeting on trade of endangered species have agreed to regulate and limit the
trade of several species of sharks and 47 species of turtles and tortoises. A fisheries
sector in collapse, and recognition of their value for tourism were seen as the
major driver of a shift in attitude for greater restrictions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21741648
Songbirds in the City
The din of urban metropolises like Hong Kong must be an
uninviting place for birds, as many species rely on birdsongs to communicate.
This was confirmed in a study published in the Global Change Biology journal
where Canadian researchers found that areas with higher noise levels were home
to lower numbers of species. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21716030
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
CITES talks on Blood Ivory
"Blood ivory" is a major focus of discussions at
this year's CITES conference on protecting endangered species, which is
currently underway. Thailand, the world's second-largest ivory market and this
year's host nation, has promised to amend laws to end the ivory trade - how can
the Hong Kong Government intervene to halt the illegal trafficking of ivory to
our shores?
Chasing Ice
Oscar season may be over, but
"Chasing Ice", a nominated (ironically for Best Original Song)
environmental film has made an indelible impression. The carbon footprint of
these maverick conservation photographers may stack up, but do the breathtaking
time-lapse evidence of glacier melting make it worthwhile?
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