Conservation

Category

13 Biggest Environmental Problems of 2022

  Here are some of the biggest environmental problems of our lifetime, from deforestation and biodiversity loss to food waste and fast fashion –  Earth website lists the topics in order of the level of the problem  * Global warming from fossil fuels * food governance * food waste * biodiversity loss * plastic pollution * deforestation * air pollution * ice melting / sea level rise *ocean acidification * agriculture * food & water insecurity * fast fashion * over-fishing...

COP15 ends with landmark biodiversity agreement

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) ended in Montreal, Canada, on 19 December 2022 with a landmark agreement to guide global action on nature through to 2030. Representatives from 188 governments have been gathered in Montreal for the past two weeks for the important summit. ”By 2030: Protect 30% of Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, inland waters; Reduce by $500 billion annual harmful government subsidies; Cut food waste in half” Full details here...

Learn From Nature | Conservation News Review – December 18

  A snapshot of the last week in the environmental field * Christmas is now but a week away – read more about “Christmas Animals” Australia – giant wombats roamed the continent – https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/12/giant-wombats-roamed-the-continent-and-now-we-have-a-complete-description-of-its-melon/ New Zealand – Forest & Bird, New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, is preparing to celebrate 100 years  United Kingdom – BBC Wildlife Mag is 60 years old! The magazine was instrumental in highlighting wildlife photography  Global news – Conference of Parties on biodiversity was held in...

Forest & Bird will celebrate 100 years in 2023!

A year of Forest & Bird celebration will kick off in March 2023. Here’s a sneak preview of the theme and some of the events already under way. The theme for the upcoming Centennial Celebrations is “What is your legacy? Most New Zealanders love nature – it’s part of who they are. During 2023, we hope to encourage thousands of small actions to help protect and restore our environment. There are lots of ways people can leave a legacy for...

Biomes – where life on Earth lives

What’s a Biome? Here we see two different biomes—deserts on the left and grasslands on the right. But both are land environments. Images by Bob Protus and Bkell. To make sense of complexity, humans often need to categorize, or group, things. We have food groups, sexes, eye colors, ages, and movie genres, to name a few. We categorize all types of things, whether they are ideas or objects, and whether they are small or large. One of the largest things...

Fast facts about fastest creature!

  This is International Cheetah Day … You may already know that cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animal. But did you know their tails play a crucial role in hunting? Check out these and other fun facts about cheetahs. The planet’s fastest land animal is built for super speed, rather than stamina. … When they do stir, cheetahs can accelerate faster than most sports cars. … The name cheetah comes from a Hindi word, chita, meaning ‘spotted one’ …...

Capturing wildlife with a camera

Photographing  wildlife is a major deal – both in terms of the technical side of the art – a picture tells 1000 words – and a great way of raising awareness of conservation issues. Major competitions  Bird photographer of the year – “ Bird Photographer of the Year is the leading bird photography competition. We celebrate the world’s best bird photography, whilst supporting conservation efforts through imagery and financial support. “ Deadlines – September, December, following autumn. Bird photo website  Comedy...

Creature feature | Strange animals – Australian platypus

The  “platypus” is indeed a weird, strange creature but / and … it IS real…. But when Europeans first encountered the odd-looking platypus, it became the centre of scientific debate: was it real or just an elaborate hoax? The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) has a puzzling array of features. Not only does it have that iconic duck bill, it lays eggs like a bird or reptile but feeds milk to its young like a mammal. Males also have a pair of venomous...

New threatened species Tracking System

A new tool has been launched by the CITES Secretariat to to monitor and track the trade in some of our most threatened species of animals and plants. The Review of Significant Trade (RST) RST is a review of significant trade. It was designed to identify species that may be subject to unsustainable levels of international trade, and to identify problems and solutions concerning effective implementation of the Convention. This RST Management system tracks the progress of species for the...