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	New study reveals rapid biodiversity loss despite pledge to curb the decline by UN Environment Programme & agencies   April 2010   Global biodiversity has been declining alarmingly despite a pledge by world leaders in 2002 to help curb the loss of earthly life forms, a new United Nations-supported study shows.   “Our analysis shows that Governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems,” said Stuart Butchart of the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the paper"s lead author. The study is published in the latest edition of the journal Science.   In more than 30 indicators – measures of different aspects of biodiversity, including changes in species’ populations and risk of extinction, habitat extent and community composition – the study found no evidence of a significant reduction in the rate of decline of biodiversity.   The pressures facing biodiversity continue to increase, the study reveals, and concludes that the 2010 target for reducing the loss of biodiversity has not been achieved. The findings represent the first assessment of how the targets made through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2002 have been missed.   “Since 1970, we have reduced animal populations by 30 per cent, the area of mangroves and sea grasses by 20 percent and the coverage of living corals by 40 per cent,” said UNEP’s Chief Scientist, Joseph Alcamo. “These losses are clearly unsustainable, since biodiversity makes a key contribution to human well-being and sustainable development, as recognized by the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.   Feb 2010   Saving the world’s myriad diverse species, which are being lost to human activity at an unprecedented rate that some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression, is vital not just for environmental reasons but for the economic well-being of humankind, a senior United Nations official said today.   “Without preserving biodiversity and preserving our natural habitat, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) just cannot be achieved,” says the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Environment Director Veerle Vandeweerd, referring to targets set by the 2000 UN summit to slash a host of social ills, from extreme poverty and hunger to maternal and infant mortality to lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015.   She cited former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who in 1993 said that the library of life is on fire. “And 17 years later the library of life, which is our biodiversity, is still on fire,” Ms. Vandeweerd said.   The reason why UNDP is “so involved in biodiversity and why we think it is so important is indeed because biodiversity is not about greenness, biodiversity is about the economy, and biodiversity is about the life of people at the community level.   “The loss of biodiversity and the degradation of natural resources impact first and foremost the poor and the women and the vulnerable and we should not forget that three quarters of the world’s population depend on natural resources for their daily living and their daily survival, from the food, the shelter, the recreation, everything; three quarters of the world population is directly related to biodiversity on this planet.”   The UN has stressed that the variety of life on Earth is vital to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide health, wealth, food and fuel.   “Humans are part of nature"s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it,” the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) says.   The Convention, which opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, entered into force at the end of 1993 and now has 193 Parties, is based on the premise that the world’s diverse ecosystems purify the air and the water that are the basis of life, stabilize and moderate the Earth"s climate, renew soil fertility and pollinate plants.   Yet human activity is causing this diversity to be lost are irreversibly at a greatly accelerated rate. As an example, Ms. Vandeweerd cited marine species. “In fact, the last frontier of the world lies in the ocean and it’s sad to see that we are destroying our oceans so quickly before we even know which biodiversity is harboured in the ocean,” she said.   “The deep sea biodiversity is something that we are just coming to know, is already being destroyed by all kinds of fishing. We are still discovering new species in the deep sea every single day and before we even discover them we are killing them.” Visit the related web page
	Arctic climate changing faster than expected - new study by Reuters / Journal Nature   06 February 2010   Climate change is transforming the Arctic environment faster than expected and accelerating the disappearance of sea ice, scientists said on Friday in giving their early findings from the biggest-ever study of Canada"s changing north.   The research project involved more than 370 scientists from 27 countries who collectively spent 15 months, starting in June 2007, aboard a research vessel above the Arctic Circle. It marked the first time a ship has stayed mobile in Canada"s high Arctic for an entire winter.   "Climate change is happening much faster than our most pessimistic models expected," said David Barber, a professor at the University of Manitoba and the study"s lead investigator, at a news conference in Winnipeg.   Models predicted only a few years ago that the Arctic would be ice-free in summer by the year 2100, but the increasing pace of climate change now suggests it could happen between 2013 and 2030, Barber said.   Scientists link higher Arctic temperatures and melting sea ice to the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.   The Arctic is considered a type of early-warning system of climate change for the rest of the world.   "We know we"re losing sea ice - the world is all aware of that," Barber said. "What you"re not aware of is that it has impacts on everything else that goes on in this system."   Climate change is also bringing more cyclones into the Arctic, dumping snow on the sea ice, which limits how thick it can get, and bringing winds that break up the ice, Barber said.   The study is part of the International Polar Year, a large scientific program focused on the Arctic and Antarctic. The scientists have not yet produced conclusions, but they expect to publish dozens of academic papers.   The cost of the Arctic"s rapid melt will be $2.4 trillion by 2050 as the region loses its ability to cool the global climate, the U.S.-based Pew Environment Group said on Friday. The group released a report showing the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet.   Feb 2010 (IPS)   A recently released report from the U.S. Defense Department reveals concerns related to climate change. The new Quadrennial Defense Review, a Congressionally mandated report on the direction of U.S. national security strategy, this time around contains a section on preparing for climate- and energy-related challenges. Climate change will affect the DoD"s operations, the report says, citing a previous report showing how "climate-related changes are already being observed in every region of the world."   It mentions rising sea levels, water shortages, melting Arctic ice, and extreme weather events as effects that could have geopolitical impacts.   "While climate change alone does not cause conflict, it may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world. In addition, extreme weather events may lead to increased demands for defense support to civil authorities for humanitarian assistance or disaster response both within the United States and overseas," the QDR says.   * Global climate change is the most far-reaching challenge of this century. A free-access web resource from Nature Publishing Group, Nature Reports Climate Change is dedicated to authoritative in-depth reporting on climate change and its wider implications for policy, society and the economy. With global coverage, you will find news and features from freelance and staff reporters, comment and analysis from climate experts, book and arts reviews, research highlights, and more. Visit the related web page
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