New analysis reveals troubling evidence of tree cover loss within Alliance for Zero Extinction sites (AZE sites), areas that house species that are endangered and endemic. From 2001 to 2013, AZE sites lost 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of tree cover, an area roughly the size of Connecticut. While this is a relatively small amount of tree cover loss compared to global averages, for species in AZE sites, losing even a small area of tree cover can mean life or death.
Conservationists got a mixed bag of news following an international group overseeing the world's species protection initiatives meeting this weekend. On the positive side, officials decided to officially take the giant panda off of the endangered species list, citing steady successes in preserving the bears' natural habitats. But though this is certainly a small victory, pandas are far from out of the woods when it comes to their species' long-term survival.
Global trade has made it easier to buy things. But our consumption habits often fuel threats to biodiversity - such as deforestation, overhunting and overfishing - thousands of miles away. Now, scientists have mapped how major consuming countries drive threats to endangered species elsewhere. Such maps could be useful for finding the most efficient ways to protect critical areas important for biodiversity, the researchers suggest in a new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. For example, the maps show that commodities used in the United States and the European Union exert several threats on marine species in Southeast Asia, mainly due to overfishing, pollution and aquaculture. The U.S. also exerts pressure on hotspots off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and at the mouth of the Orinoco around Trinidad and Tobago. European Union's impacts extend to the islands around Madagascar: Réunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The maps also revealed some unexpected linkages. For instance, the impact of U.S. consumption in Brazil appears to be much greater in southern Brazil (in the Brazilian Highlands where agriculture and grazing are extensive) than inside the Amazon basin, which receives a larger chunk of the attention. The U.S. also has high biodiversity footprint in southern Spain and Portugal, due to their impacts on threatened fish and bird species. These countries are rarely perceived as threat hotspots.
Bees around the world face a real challenge to sustain their populations in the face of threats such as habitat loss and pesticides. Hawaiian yellow-faced bees are no different, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has now moved to protect the insects by placing seven species on the endangered list, a first for any type of bee in the US.
JetBlue is teaming up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help Caribbean vacationers avoid contributing to the illicit trade of threatened and endangered species.
Research published in the American Journal of Primatology earlier this month finds that the overall Western Chimpanzee population declined by six percent annually between 1990 and 2014, a total decline of 80.2 percent.
The main threats to the Western Chimpanzee are almost all man-made. Habitat loss and fragmentation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture, industrial agriculture (including deforestation for oil palm plantations as well as eucalyptus, rubber, and sugar cane developments), and extractive industries like logging, mining, and oil top the list.
In response to the finding that the Western Chimpanzee population has dropped so precipitously in less than three decades, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elevated the subspecies' status to Critically Endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species.
Bordering Myanmar on the southeast and the Indian states of Tripura on the north and Mizoram on the east, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is one of these areas. Characterized by semi-evergreen forest that is considered part of the highly endangered Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, CHT is a refuge for at least 26 globally threatened species, making it a critical conservation priority. But conservation efforts in the region have historically been challenged by the very remoteness and political instability that have helped protect it from deforestation seen in other parts of Bangladesh. That protection is now disappearing with the influx of settlers from other regions who are increasingly clearing forests for agriculture, logging trees for timber and firewood, and hunting wildlife. In other words, time is running out for Bangladesh's last rainforest and its traditional tribes.
A giant solar receiver in California's agricultural region may offer some hope for farmers who have been denied water in a record-setting drought. Conservation policies to protect endangered fish species have have contributed as well.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) released a new set of standards that will guide the organization's certification practices through 2019. SFI claims that its standards include policies and guidelines that will help protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife, endangered species and old-growth forests in the United States and Canada.
When people picture sand spread across idyllic beaches and endless deserts, they understandably think of it as an infinite resource. But as we discuss in a just-published perspective in the journal Science, over-exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict.
Last month, the first comprehensive study on global bush meat consumption found that 113 species in Southeast Asia have dwindled to precarious numbers, primarily due to bush meat hunting and trapping. But while this region may be one of the worst affected, the study, published in Royal Society Open Science, reports that bush meat hunting is driving many of the world's mammals to the brink of extinction. "The large mammals are much more threatened than the small ones," says William Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University and lead author of the study. "This is likely because there is more meat on large mammals."
designed to eventually cut carbon dioxide emissions by 250,000 tons per year,
save the equivalent of the annual energy consumption of 750,000 households, and
slash the country’s overall energy bill by 200 million Euros ($266
million).
“reduce the print of artificial lighting on the nocturnal environment
lighting in many parts of the world is endangering our health and the health of
the ecosystems on which we
The good news is that light pollution is readily within our grasp to
control.rely
ecological light pollution, warning that disrupting these natural patterns of
light and dark, and thus the structures and functions of ecosystems, is having
profound impacts
China, India, Brazil, and numerous other countries are becoming increasingly
affluent and urbanized
glowing white
Connecticut and California — have enacted regulations to reduce light pollution,
but most nations and cities still do little to dial down the excessive use of
light
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, can improve our ability to reduce and better
regulate lighting
“blue-rich
disruptive to circadian rhythms.
reducing
or Loss of Night
studies on light pollution, ranging from research into the socio-political
challenges of cutting light pollution in the Berlin metropolitan area to the
effects of light pollution on nocturnal mammals
bright lights
All are potentially impacted by our burgeoning use of artificial light
We have levels of light hundreds and thousands of time higher than the natural
level during the night
computer-generated maps that dramatically depict the extent of light pollution
across the globe
Every flip of a light switch contributes to altering ancient patterns of mating,
migration, feeding, and pollination, with no time for species to adapt
2012 study of leatherback turtles
“artificial lighting of the nesting beaches is the biggest threat
to survival of hatchlings and a major factor in declining leatherback turtle
populations.”
eflected light of the stars and moon from the beach to the ocean
follow the light of hotels and streetlights
drawn off-course by artificial light
between 100 million and 1 billion, we don’t really know — killed each year by
collision with human-made structures
our outdoor lights are irresistible flames, killing countless moths and other
insects, with ripple effects throughout the food chain
natural pest control
for bats
artificial light disrupts patterns of travel and feeding since many bat species
avoid illuminated areas.
that street lighting influences the migratory pattern of Atlantic
salmon,
30 percent of vertebrates and more than 60 percent of invertebrates are
nocturnal
composition of entire communities of insects and other invertebrates.
blue wavelength light tells our brain that night is over,
consequences of excessive exposure to light at night include an increased risk
for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease
American Medical Association
“risks and benefits of occupational and environmental exposure to light-at-night
“new lighting technologies at home and at work that minimize circadian
disruption
are concerned about the impact of some new lighting
make LEDs a
these lights may actually make things significantly worse
often brighter than the old lights they are replacing
LEDs could “exacerbate known and possible unknown effects of light pollution on
human health (and the) environment” by more than five times.
the Model
Lighting Ordinance
recommends limits for the amount of light in five different zones of lighting
intensity
banning unshielded lighting in all zones.
researchers have identified numerous practical steps to reduce light
pollution:
spectral composition of lighting (
limiting the duration of lighting
altering the intensity
preventing areas
simple act of shielding our lights — installing or retrofitting lamp fixtures
that direct light downward to its intended target — represents our best chance
to control light pollution
lines of shielded lighting fixtures
light equals safety, and darkness danger
with little compelling evidence to support common assumptions.
The objection
For example, ever-brighter lights can actually diminish security by casting
glare that impedes our vision and creates shadows where criminals can
hide.
As evidence mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet
mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet.
In this animation, animals sing an emotional rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. The video opens with the creatures existing happily in their habitats: a blue whale breaches, a brown pelican skims the water, a rhinoceros runs with her calf, and a pair of baby harp seals play in the snow.