NewsRack: 'Biodiversity' news in 'Biodiversity' topic for user irge304

Trekking in the Himalayas: how to do it	25.5.2013	The Guardian -- World Latest
Since the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, 60 years ago next week, the Himalayas have become far more accessible to walkers. We round up this amazing region's best treks, across Nepal, India, Pakistan, Tibet and even Burma Hindu scriptures say that in "a hundred ages of the gods" you could not do justice to the Himalayas. So where do mere mortals start? Knowing where to go in an area 10 times the size of France is daunting, especially when just getting there is expensive. Everest gets most of the headlines, but the Himalayas are vast, especially when you include mountain ranges west of the Indus – the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram. This 4,000km crescent, stretching from Kyrgyzstan to Burma, is a geography of superlatives – the highest mountains, the deepest gorges, tracts of wild forest, the rolling high plateau of Tibet plus, in Bhutan and the Indian state of Assam in the eastern Himalayas, some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. Then there are the people. It is true ...
Also found in: [+]
New to nature special: the top 10 new species	24.5.2013	The Guardian -- World Latest
From a snail-eating snake to a harp-shaped sponge… Quentin Wheeler on whittling down 18,000 new species to 10 favourites On 23 May,the International Institute for Species Exploration announced the annual top 10 new species for the sixth time. A committee of taxon experts led by Dr Antonio Valdecasas of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid made the final selections. The list is a kind of scientific shock-and-awe campaign, shocking us at what we did not know about our own planet and leaving us in awe over the diversity, complexity, wonder and beauty of the living world. From new species of black-staining fungi that threatened the Palaeolithic cave paintings at Lascaux, France to the first old-world monkey to be discovered in Africa in 28 years, a beautiful shrub from Madagascar's disappearing littoral forests, a bioluminescent cockroach, and a violet from the high Andes that is barely 1cm tall, we are struck that the depth of Earth's living diversity is matched only by our ignorance ...
Also found in: [+]
The week in wildlife	24.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
A desert fox, a year in the life of a tree and a windblown owl are among the pick of this week's images from the natural world
Also found in: [+]
EU approves better bee protection rules	24.5.2013	Seattle Times: Nation & World
The European Union has approved restrictions on three pesticides to better protect dwindling bee populations, to enter into force by December.
Also found in: [+]
Global majority faces water shortages 'within two generations'	24.5.2013	The Guardian -- World Latest
Experts call on governments to start conserving water in face of climate change, pollution and over-use The majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will live with severe pressure on fresh water within the space of two generations as climate change, pollution and over-use of resources take their toll, 500 scientists have warned. The world's water systems would soon reach a tipping point that "could trigger irreversible change with potentially catastrophic consequences", more than 500 water experts warned on Friday as they called on governments to start conserving the vital resource. They said it was wrong to see fresh water as an endlessly renewable resource because, in many cases, people are pumping out water from underground sources at such a rate that it will not be restored within several lifetimes. "These are self-inflicted wounds," said Charles Vörösmarty, a professor at the Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Centre . "We have discovered tipping points in the system. ...
Also found in: [+]
Don't-miss spots in the Smokies	23.5.2013	CNN: Top Stories
The boundary between Tennessee and North Carolina might be one of the loveliest border crossings ever: It's the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hikers on the Appalachian Trail walk the line between the two states for most of the trail's path through the park.
Also found in: [+]
Green news roundup: wildlife stocktake and biodiversity day	23.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
The week's top environment news stories and green events • If you're not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Environment news • Most UK species in decline, wildlife stocktake shows • Government licensed secret buzzard egg destruction, documents reveal • Prince Charles calls for war on animal poachers • Don't delay on renewable energy, government told • Shale gas investments 'could be worth £4bn a year to UK economy' • Keystone pipeline: House votes to bypass Obama • China unveils details of pilot carbon-trading programme On the blogs • George Monbiot: Why Britain's barren uplands have farming subsidies to blame • Will green energy prove cheaper than gas? • Fossil fuel divestment campaign's victory in Australia will be a moral one • Sweet chestnut blight – the latest threat to Britain's trees • Matt Ridley has joined the real climate debate • Heartland Institute wastes real scientists' time – yet again Multimedia • ...
Scientist at Work Blog: A Forest Denizen at Risk	22.5.2013	NY Times: Science
Scientist at Work Blog: A Forest Denizen at Risk
Also found in: [+]
Bees start to buck trend of decline in UK wildlife	22.5.2013	New Scientist: Sex and Cloning
Bees start to buck trend of decline in UK wildlife
Also found in: [+]
Indonesia's natural riches in pictures	22.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
Indonesia's marine and forest life is at risk from industrial overfishing and relentless deforestation, Greenpeace International warns on the UN's International Day for Biological Diversity
Also found in: [+]
World on course to run out of water, warns Ban Ki-moon	22.5.2013	The Guardian -- World Latest
Freshwater supply and water quality under pressure, warns UN secretary general on International Day of Biological Diversity Ban Ki-moon has warned the world is on course to run out of freshwater unless greater efforts are made to improve water security. Speaking on the UN's International Day of Biological Diversity , Ban said there was a "mutually reinforcing" relationship between biodiversity and water that should be harnessed. "We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met," Ban said. Water , food , energy and climate are all linked. Most forms of energy generation require water, variable weather is making agriculture harder while extreme weather events are hindering natural water storage. Ban believes there is an opportunity to address these challenges as the Millennium Development Goals are replaced with a new set ...
Also found in: [+]
Rapid drop in Lake Malawi's water levels drives down fish stocks	22.5.2013	The Guardian -- World Latest
1.5m people depend on lake for food – including popular Chambo fish – and Malawians are alarmed at decline in stocks Lloyd Phiri, a fisherman from Senga Bay on Lake Malawi's shores in Malawi's central region, knows that the lake's water levels are dropping. He can see it in his catch, which has shrunk by more than 80%. Years ago, it was the norm to catch about 5,000 fish a day, Phiri says. But now, if he is lucky, he brings in one-fifth of that. And if he is not, he catches a mere 300 fish a day. "My fish catch has gone down in recent years and this has affected my earnings. I now have problems paying school fees for my children," Phiri tells IPS. The rapid drop in Lake Malawi's water levels, driven by population growth, climate change and deforestation, is threatening its floral and fauna species with extinction, says Malawi's ministry of environment and climate change management . And included among the wildlife threatened are the fish that Phiri depends on for a livelihood. ...
Also found in: [+]
Wildlife 'at crisis point' in Wales	22.5.2013	BBC: Front Page
Wales has seen 60% of its wildlife species decline over the last five decades, with one in 10 now endangered, warns a report.
Also found in: [+]
10% of UK wildlife 'endangered'	22.5.2013	BBC: Science
A "stocktake" of UK nature suggests 60% of animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years - and one in 10 could end up disappearing.
Also found in: [+]
Colorado research universities struggle to stop poaching of faculty	21.5.2013	Denver Post: News: Local
Colorado research universities struggle to stop poaching of faculty
Also found in: [+]
Scientist at Work Blog: Thwarted by Moonlight	21.5.2013	NY Times: Science
Scientist at Work Blog: Thwarted by Moonlight
Also found in: [+]
Plague of deforestation sweeps across south-east Asia	20.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
Illegal logging and unchecked economic development are taking a devastating toll on forests In 1968, during the six-month siege of Khe Sanh — one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Vietnam War — a special U.S. Air Force outfit flew defoliation missions. Called the Ranch Handers, their motto was: "Only you can prevent a forest." They may not have succeeded in their goal, but rapid development in Vietnam and the surrounding nations of the greater Mekong region is on the way to accomplishing what American defoliation missions could not: The widespread destruction of Indochina's forests and the biodiversity they harbor. Stand on Khe Sanh today, and it's remarkably tranquil. Nearly all the metal from the old Marine base has been scavenged and sold to scrap merchants. The battlefield is now part of a vast green coffee plantation; all that remains of the airstrip that was the lifeline for U.S. Marines and Army soldiers is a length of reddish dirt. The fate of the forests around Khe ...
Also found in: [+]
Invasive frogs carry amphibian-killing fungus	20.5.2013	LA Times: Science
A study links African clawed frogs, which were brought to California decades ago for use in pregnancy tests, with a deadly pathogen. African clawed frogs were first brought to California decades ago to help doctors figure out whether their patients were pregnant. After new technology made those pregnancy tests obsolete, the creatures were let loose, and thrived for decades in the state's drainage ditches and ponds.
Also found in: [+]
Let's Fight Big Pharma's Crusade to Turn Eccentricity Into Illness	17.5.2013	Wired Top Stories
Let's Fight Big Pharma's Crusade to Turn Eccentricity Into Illness
Also found in: [+]
Caribbean talks conservation on Branson's island	17.5.2013	Seattle Times: Top stories
In a bid to safeguard biodiversity and the Caribbean's tourism-based economy, regional political leaders and corporate executives will gather Friday on billionaire Richard Branson's private island with the aim of protecting 20 percent of the region's coastal resources by 2020.
Also found in: [+]

1 to 20 of 4,690