By Angus Wright, Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer OAKLAND, California, Feb 18 2020 (IPS) – When we were children, a long auto trip would require a stop every hour or so to clean the windshield of the insects that had…
Category: Biodiversity
Why We Need Wetlands
by Martha Rojas Urrego GLAND, SWITZERLAND – It’s called the Extinction Wing. Located in a dark corner of the Paris Museum of Natural History, it houses a haunting collection of species that have long vanished from the natural world. With…
India’s unique water purifying wetland could soon be extinct
By Manipadma Jena KOLKATA, India, Jan 3, 2020 (IPS) – Ramkumar Mondal’s farm is awash in a brilliant yellow mustard bloom. A flock of grey cranes peck for food amidst the shallow watergrass. But Mondal’s fishpond digs in there like…
Nature losses threaten emerging economies
Jan 24 2020 (IPS) – More than half of worldwide GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature, putting biodiversity loss among the top five risks to the global economy, according to a report presented at the World Economic Forum…
BD HC verdict against leasing out forests, reserved or not
Dhaka, Jan 02 – In a verdict, the High Court yesterday observed that any notified forest area, no matter whether it is declared reserved forest or not, could not allocate or lease for any purpose that damages the country’s forest.
Modern market, cold storage for Jessore flower farmers
Benapole (Jessore), Dec 23 – A door of new possibilities is about to open for flower farmers of Gadkhali in Jessore, distinguished as the Flower Capital of the country, where the government is establishing the first flower processing centre and…
Loss of biodiversity causes yield reduction
Over the past half-century, the need to feed a growing world population has led to markedly expanded and intensified agricultural production. This transformation has led to the degradation of the global environment. The loss of biodiversity can disrupt key ecosystem…
Robots deliver baby corals to help revive Great Barrier Reef
Sydney, Nov 27 – Millions of baby corals have been successfully transplanted onto damaged sections of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, utilizing a cutting edge technique involving robots and giant inflatable nurseries, researchers said on Wednesday.
22 people, orgs working to preserve Appalachia’s biodiversity
Danielle Nierenberg The region of Appalachia, which stretches through a dozen states in the eastern U.S., is home to unique agricultural products and food cultures. Food Tank recently joined The Crop Trust in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky to…
A just transition to agroecology must to climate action
Governments spend large public funds on corporations that expand global industrial livestock and feed production. The expansion in factory farms, and loss of smaller, independent producers, is largely responsible for the steady increase in U.S.-based agriculture-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Loggers in Brazilian Amazon Kill indigenous forest guardian
Another indigenous leader was gravely wounded in the ambush and a logger is reportedly missing Maranhão state, Brazil – Earlier Saturday, members of the Guajajara people’s Forest Guardians, a volunteer land and environmental monitoring force, were ambushed by a group…
Wild fevervine herb discovered in N. China
A survey group has found a large cluster of wild Paederia scandens (Chinese fevervine) in north China’s Hebei Province during a field investigation for the fourth national survey on Chinese materia medica resources. The wild fevervine community, concentrating with a…
Prudence versus pressure at the Seed Treaty
Will the critical need to address digital sequence information break the Seed Treaty’s effort to fix its benefit sharing system? It probably should.
Ban production of GM golden rice: BD Agri Farm Labour Fed
Dhaka, Oct 17 – Highlighting the negative effects of genetically modified (GM) food on human body, speakers at a convention on Thursday urged the government and other stakeholders to stop the commercial production of GM golden rice being marketed as…
Beijing sets new high for horticultural expos
After six months of dazzling visitors with stunning horticultural displays, Expo 2019 Beijing, the AIPH approved A1 World Horticultural Expo, presented one final spectacular show at its official closing ceremony on Wednesday 9th October 2019.
Indigenous leaders travel to Europe to report violations in Brazil
A delegation will visit twelve countries to warn authorities, companies and European society about violence against Indigenous Peoples in Brazil Brasília, Brazil – A delegation of Indigenous leaders will visit twelve European countries between October 17 and November 20 to…
Biodiversity-based agriculture to solve the climate crisis
By Vandana Shiva New Delhi, Sep 23 2019 (IPS) – The Earth is living, and also creates life. Over 4 billion years the Earth has evolved a rich biodiversity — an abundance of different living organisms and ecosystems — that…
Steps taken for safe habitat for native birds
Earthen pitchers on trees are being used as to make safe habitat for native species of birds at different places including ‘Jatisangha Shishu Park’ and ‘Zero Point’ area in the city.
Dhaka committed to ensure bio-safety: Minister
DHAKA, Sept 14, 2019 (BSS) – Awami League presidium member and agriculture minister Dr Abdur Razzaque today said Bangladesh is committed to ensure biosafety as an adaptor of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Drones to monitor Sundarbans against tiger, deer poaching
Khulna, Sept 9 – The Forest Department of Bangladesh has planned to monitor the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a Unesco world heritage site, with drones to check crimes like poaching of tigers and deer.
Address key driver of Amazon deforestation: profit-seeking
Amazon Watch statement on the ‘Amazon Pact’ issued today by South American leaders Today Sept 8 – the presidents of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Suriname met in Leticia, Colombia to discuss regional cooperation for the Amazon. They issued…
Seven nations sign forest protection pact after Amazon fires
Seven South American countries have agreed measures to protect the Amazon river basin, amid global concern over massive fires in the world’s largest tropical forest, reports BBC. Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname signed a pact, setting up…
Amazon countries meet to bolster rainforest protection
Presidents and ministers from seven Amazon countries met in Colombia on Friday to agree on measures to protect the world’s biggest rainforest, under threat from wildfires and rampant deforestation.
Eastern Caribbean takes up strategy for blue-green economy
By Jewel Fraser Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, Sep 3 2019 (IPS) – Micro, small and medium enterprises as well as niche markets and experiences such as bee tourism may well hold the key for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean…
Global Day of Action for Amazon Sept 5
September 3, 2019 ipmsdl_admin Categories: Events Amazon Rainforest is burning, and the world will not take it sitting down. This September 5, the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) joins the whole world in calling for immediate…
Bolsonaro bans fires for land cleaning in Brazil to Amazon only
Rio De Janeiro, Sept 01 (AP/UNB) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is partially backtracking on a decree that banned most fires for land-clearing for 60 days, now saying the ban will only apply to the Amazon region. The government on…
New genetic links to same-sex sexuality found in huge study
The largest study of its kind found new evidence that genes contribute to same-sex sexual behavior, but it echoes research that says there are no specific genes that make people gay. The genome-wide research on DNA from nearly half a…
HC asks DOE for EIA clearance to 3 LPG units near Sundarbans
Dhaka, Aug 27 – Despite the Sundarbans being declared as an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA), the High Court on Tuesday directed Department of Environment to issue environmental clearance certificates to three LPG companies to set up their LPG bottling plants…
Amazon fires stir bitter dispute over who is to blame
Rio De Janeiro, Aug 22 (AP/UNB) — As fires raged in the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian government on Thursday denounced international critics who say President Jair Bolsonaro is not doing enough to curb massive deforestation. The growing threat to what…
Burning forests for rain, and other climate catastrophes
By Miriam Gathigah Nairobi, Aug 9 2019 (IPS) – The villagers living on the foothills of Mount Kenya have a belief: If they burn the forest, the rains will come.