Conservation

Contracting Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) are set to take stock of international conservation efforts over the last 10 years and decide on the future focus of agreed transboundary measures under the treaty. The stock-taking session will hold at the 7th Meeting of the Parties (MOP7) to the AEWA, which is administered by ...

The creation of wildlife protected areas is set to benefit most African countries, a UN official has said. Jaime Cavelier, senior environmental specialist with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) said that the protected areas can develop sustainable tourism that can be a major source of revenue generation for the countries. “The protected areas are capable of improving the country’s Gross ...

Conservation experts have called on African leaders to change the global emphasis for development agendas to water, energy and food sectors. Frederick Kumah, Africa director, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said that it is time for leaders to look at the deals that benefits people and nature. “Given the current projections, the continent’s population will double in 2050 hence ...

Three endangered black rhinos have died mysteriously this month at Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve, a Senior Government Official said on Thursday, November 22, 2018. “Veterinary officers have taken samples from the carcasses for further investigations,” Narok county commissioner, George Natembeya, said. The deaths include a two-year-old rhino, a pregnant 16-year-old, and a 37-year-old. Natembeya said wildlife officials suspect the ...

Governments have been asked to put laws in place to enable communities’ initiatives take leadership role in conservation efforts. Ken Kinney, Executive Director Ghana Development Institute, noted that, by enacting laws, the governments would empower communities to focus on energy and food nutrition programmes. “This will let the communities assume ownership hence diversify concentration in conservation matters,” Kinney said during ...

Around 15 percent of terrestrial and 7 percent of marine areas are now covered by protected areas, a report released by the UN Environment shows. Naomi Kingston, Head of Protected Areas Programme at the UN Environment, said that the move shows that the world is on track to meet important conservation targets. “By July 2018, more than 20 million km2 of ...

The 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference opened on Saturday, November 17, 2018 in the seaside town of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt with an opening ceremony that included an address from President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi, who emphasised the crucial importance of the meeting for Egypt, and for global efforts for sustainable development. Only two years remain in the commitment ...

China has arrested 17 suspected smugglers and seized 10 pieces of African ivory weighing 323.7 kg in total in a joint operation, Shenzhen Customs said on Thursday, November 15, 2018. The suspects, including six Hong Kong residents, attempted to smuggle the ivory to the Chinese mainland via Hong Kong, according to the customs. Shenzhen customs received a tip-off about the ...

“We all value nature in very different and sometimes conflicting ways. Nature can be seen as a provider of food or water, as a regulator of climate, as part of our heritage or our identity, or as our home and that of life on earth. Assessing this diversity of values and how they are incorporated into decision making will contribute ...

A new report by Greenpeace has found that Mondelēz International has destroyed over 25,000 hectares of orangutan habitat in Indonesia. The company, responsible for Cadbury, Cadbury Roses and Oreo, is one of the biggest buyers of palm oil. A Greenpeace-led investigation has found that, between 2015 and 2017, 22 of Mondelez palm oil suppliers cleared 70,000 hectares of rain forest. ...