Primates in Peril - Extinction threat growing for mankind’s closest living relatives
Mankind’s closest living relatives – the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates – are under unprecedented threat from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bushmeat hunting, with 29 percent of all species in danger of going extinct, according to a new report by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with Conservation International (CI).
For the full press release click here
For the IUCN Primates Specialist Group website and the full article click here
IUCN/SSC European Sustainable Use Specialist Group (ESUSG) estimates large scale spending on wildlife pursuits
The European Sustainable Use Specialist Group of IUCN/SSC (ESUSG) held a workshop on “Using Wild Resources across Europe: Values and Governance” in Vienna from 13 to 15 September 2007. The outcomes of the workshop broadly revealed that conservation was important to many European Union citizens and the variety within Europe’s rich heritage has contributed to the large scale of spending on and participation in wildlife use. The survey estimated that about 35 million people were fishing, hunting or watching wild birds, and spending between 26 to 38 billion Euros annually on these pursuits. The estimated participation was even larger for collecting fungi and plant materials, possibly with similar levels of spending, but the coverage and data quality were not robust enough in these areas to provide more than general indications.
For the full report click here
IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group – key partner in World’s Wild Felids Workshop, Oxford UK
The Global Mammal Assessment – a multi-institutional collaboration - recently partnered with the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group to conduct a workshop to re-evaluate the conservation status of all of the world’s wild felids. All 36 species of the family Felidae were assessed at their global extent against the 2001 IUCN Categories and Criteria and will be made available on the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The workshop was hosted in Oxford, UK by the University of Oxford’s WildCRU at Tubney House, and followed in the footsteps of the first ever Felid Biology & Conservation Conference. Funding for the workshop was provided entirely by the Panthera Foundation.
SSC Steering Committee meets in Beijing, 13-16 October 2007
The SSC Steering Committee held its sixth meeting of the 2005-2008 Quadrennium in Beijing on 13-16 October 2007. It was a very successful meeting, and thanks must go to the IUCN China Office for all their help in arranging the logistics for the meeting. An entire session at the meeting was dedicated to China - both specific species issues in China and a brief discussion about China's impact on species in other parts of the world. Colleagues from Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, TRAFFIC and the IUCN China Office joined the SSC Steering Committee for this lively round table discussion, which mostly focused on wildlife trade issues, the potential for the upcoming Olympic Games to be a large awareness-raising opportunity, the initiatives underway to reduce the consumption of threatened species, and the efforts to improve species-related policies and legislation in China.
Orchid Conservation NGO wins award for preserving unique wetland
Native Orchid Conservation Inc. (NOCI), a non-profit organization that works to conserve native plant species in Manitoba and throughout Canada, was honoured with a Canadian Environmental Silver Award in the Community Conservation category for their work protecting unique mini-ecosystems and plant communities in Manitoba.
For the full story click here. For more information about the Native Orchid Conservation Inc. click here.
World Conservation Union welcomes UNEP report on the state of the environment
IUCN was one of the collaborators behind the Global Environment Outlook 4 (GEO4) report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is an extensive review of the state of the environment in 2007. The report highlights several key concerns of IUCN, including the impacts of climate change on the environment and people, emerging issues of water availability and the increasing threat that biodiversity loss poses to development and poverty reduction.
For the full release click here. For the full report click here.
World Conservation Union President speaks out on climate change
World Conservation Union President Valli Moosa has voiced his concerns over the international community’s slow response to the causes and impact of global warming. He said that Climate Change is unequalled in terms of its truly global nature and that to rise to the challenge and cut greenhouse gas drastically is the responsibility of everyone.
For the full story click here.
Countdown 2010: A global initiative going local
Local governments around the world will now be more involved in helping to reduce the loss of biodiversity, thanks to a new agreement.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability –have joined forces by signing an action-oriented Memorandum of Understanding.
“This document marks a milestone for an increased engagement between the constituency of conservation and local governments for advancing the 2010 biodiversity target on the ground. A global commitment needs local action,” said IUCN Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre.
For the full release click here.
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