Catch of the Day

Hong Kong has one of the busiest ports in the world and is renowned for its tariff-free and efficient operations, but there are significant gaps in local regulations that stop port authorities having greater control over the smuggling of illegally sourced fish.

http://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1453028/hong-kong-can-help-curb-illegal-fishing-high-seas

Turning the tide on the international shark fin trade

Thanks to the growing wealth of Asian consumers, the region is now in the driver’s seat of the international shark trade. The region’s appetite for shark fins – and in particular China’s growing demand – is increasingly recognized as a major factor in the commercial exploitation of sharks worldwide.
http://www.cleanbiz.asia/blogs/turning-tide-international-shark-fin-trade?page=show#.Uvi1m_mSzTo

Reignite the ivory trade for conservation?

A contrarian take on the ivory trade ban, this Forbes article says that reopening the market for ivory products could assist in elephant conservation and putting an end to the black market trade, recalling the arguments for legalising the trade and use of drugs in some countries. One (of numerous) well-argued commenters suggest that the author completely ignored the fact that centuries of unregulated trade in ivory had decimated elephant populations, particularly in Asia. Poached to scarcity, traders has had to move Africa.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2013/01/21/when-you-ban-the-sale-of-ivory-you-ban-elephants/

Use every tool in the box to protect country park enclaves

Government action on enclaves this year must be effective in addressing the broad interests of society. However, limiting the conservation mechanisms to be used to just the two options proposed in the policy address is unlikely to protect these enclaves from incompatible development.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1421924/use-every-tool-box-protect-country-park-enclaves

Better Story-telling Key to Green Debate

"The philosopher Roberto Unger [said] the greatest obstacle to transformation is the lack of imagination to conceive that the world could be different. That's why over the next year, those working on climate change may need fewer facts, and more and better story telling."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/31/climate-change-green-economy

Ascending forests

The majority of the world’s forests are now found on steep slopes, as lowland areas become increasing developed, farmed and urbanized. This trend is consistent with Hong Kong’s forests where the country parks system protects much of the greenery on hillsides, leaving some of the biodiverse flatlands unprotected and vulnerable to human threats. An upside of this ascending trend of forests worldwide is that these steep mountainous habitats are actually more resilient to climate change, less disturbed and can maintain its microclimate much better than low-lying forests which are increasingly small and fragmented.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112956361/forests-increasingly-found-on-steep-slopes-092413/

New partnerships to advance conservation of threatened species

Tim Flannery suggests the future of biodiversity protection should see greater use of public-private collaborations in addressing the dire species decline of Australia’s native mammals. He highlights the ineffectiveness of our national parks in having to divide a limited budget between tourist management and conservation, and points to NGOs like the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a trust organisation with a strong focus and expertise on species and habitat recovery, as potential collaborators with government conservation authorities.

https://theconversation.com/the-future-for-biodiversity-conservation-isnt-more-national-parks-11027