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Labour in RSSThe International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May, promotes biodiversity everywhere. This year the theme is “invasive alien species - one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, and to the ecological and economic well-being of society and the planet.”

The Convention on Biological Diversity, signed by 150 governments at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is the main instrument for protecting biodiversity and ensuring equitable and sustainable access to the benefits of the Earth's genetic riches and a healthy environment. But much has yet to be done just a few years before the 2010 deadline agreed by the international community for achieving significant results in reducing biodiversity loss.


Winners of the 2009 Friends of the Earth International photo competition
on the theme "Biodiversity Lost, Biodiversity Preserved"

Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development
Alliance of Communicators for
Sustainable Development

UN Biodiversity Agreements
Convention on Biological Diversity - portal
Convention text (pdf)
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
9th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity
CITES - Convention on Int'l Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Convention on Migratory Species
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
World Heritage Convention

NGOs for Biodiversity
Greenpeace International
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism
WWF
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
Conservation International
Third World Network's Biosafety Information Centre
Ban Terminator (Monsanto seeds)
ETC Group - Erosion, Technology, Concentration
GRAIN
Via Campesina
Latin America Biodiversity Network - Spanish
Observatory of Indigenous Rights - Spanish
Agricultural Biodiversity Blog

IPS is not responsible for the content of external sites

Vidas en Peligro / Convenio sobre Biodiversidad
Versión en español

Diversity for Life

Environment
Kyoto on the Horizon
Feedin the Future
Oil, Gas and Minerals: Mixed Blessings
News in RSS
RELIGION-BRAZIL: Intolerance Denounced at UN
DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Fears Over New Land Deal
PERU: Petroleum Sullies the Amazon
AGRICULTURE: Biotechnology: Africa Must Not Be Left Behind
EUROPE: Croatia on Uncertain Course for EU Membership
RIGHTS-AFRICA: AU Heeds Perpetrators Not Victims
RUSSIA: Hoping for Much, Expecting Little
POLITICS-BOTSWANA: Parties Block Women Candidates for Upcoming Elections
CUBA-US: Frosty Relations No Bar to Communication
RIGHTS-INDIA: India's Historic Gay Ruling
More >>

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ENVIRONMENT: Scientists Study the Riches of the Mexican Pacific
By Emilio Godoy*
MEXICO CITY - Mexico’s Pacific coast, one of the world's richest seaboards in terms of biodiversity, has been the focus of very few scientific studies. A new observatory aims to fill that void.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT: No Breakthrough Seen in Whaling Stalemate
By Marina Litvinsky
WASHINGTON - Environmental groups expressed little hope the participants at the 61st annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, beginning Monday in Madeira, Portugal, would reach a compromise that would reduce the number of whales killed each year.
MORE >>
 

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AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Seeking Diversity, Resilience and Farmer Control
By Raffaella Delle Donne
CAPE TOWN - The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) claims that its "stress breeding", high-yield seed program and its emphasis on grassroots farmer input will boost agricultural production among poor, small scale farmers. But NGOs and environmentalists say AGRA’s Programme for Africa’s Seed System (PASS) is essentially a top-down, corporate driven approach that further threatens food security on the continent.
MORE >>
 

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Q&A: 'Biodiversity Is Essential Ingredient in Agriculture'
Sabina Zaccaro and Miren Gutierrez* interview EMILE FRISON, Bioversity International Director-General
ROME - The promotion of biodiversity in agriculture needs political backing, Emile Frison, Bioversity International Director-General tells IPS in an interview. This kind of biodiversity can provide food security and promote health, he says.
MORE >>
 

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Q&A: 'Variety Can Protect Against Famine'
Sabina Zaccaro and Miren Gutierrez* interview three 'GUARDIANS OF DIVERSITY'
ROME - How many varieties of date palm or melon exist? And why should we care? IPS spoke to three 'Guardians of Diversity' so named by Bioversity International for their contribution to conservation.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT-ZIMBABWE: Farmers Go to War Against Lantana Camara
By Phyllis Kachere
HARARE - Armed with picks, axes and hoes, a group of enthusiastic villagers break into song: "Randana kamara wakaipa, Randana kamara wakashata.Watora ufuro hwezvipfuyo, wauraya mombe." ("Lantana camara, you are evil. You have taken over grazing land for our livestock, you have killed our cattle.")
MORE >>
 

BIODIVERSITY: Scientists Build a Macroscope of Life on Earth
By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Imagine looking at a Google Maps-like satellite image of the Amazon forest and with a mouse click find out what lives in that bit of forest - what tree and plant species are there, what animals, birds and insects.
MORE >>
 

BRAZIL: Public Health Embraces Herbal Medicines
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO - Handed down from generation to generation, traditional knowledge about medicinal plants has reached state laboratories in Brazil through a programme that has already identified 71 native and exotic species for producing herbal medicines.
MORE >>
 

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Tourism Threatens Natural Treasure
By Valeria Vilardo*
PEDERNALES, Dominican Republic - Jaragua National Park, famous for housing the world’s tiniest reptile, will itself be in danger if the green light is given to mega-hotel projects instead of ecotourism and sustainable development initiatives, say Dominican ecologists.
MORE >>
 

BRAZIL: 100,000 Hectares of Atlantic Forest Lost in Three Years
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO - Stretched out along the coastal zones of 17 of Brazil’s 26 states, an area marked by a high level of agricultural and industrial development, the Mata Atlântica or Atlantic Forest lost more than 100,000 hectares in the last three years, mainly due to urban expansion and economic growth.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT: Damaged Ecosystems Not Lost Forever
By Marina Litvinsky
WASHINGTON - Most polluted or damaged ecosystems worldwide could recover within a single lifetime if societies commit to their cleanup or restoration, according to researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
MORE >>
 

BIODIVERSITY-EUROPE: Not Just About a Frog Here or There
By Cillian Donnelly
BRUSSELS - Politicians across the European Union are waking up to the fact that biodiversity is fast becoming a crucial environmental issue that needs to be tackled soon.
MORE >>
 

BRAZIL: Murder, Death Threats Amid Environmental Protests
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO - Environmentalists and human rights activists in Brazil are demanding clarification of the murder of Paulo Santos Souza, a fisherman and trade unionist who was fighting irregularities in the construction of a gas pipeline for Petrobras.
MORE >>
 

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ENVIRONMENT-US: Free-Flowing Rivers Back in Vogue
By Matthew Berger
NE W YORK - It may come as no surprise that a dam impeding the flow of a major river would negatively impact fish populations, but it is only recently that benefits of free-flowing rivers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are beginning to be valued more than those of dams.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT: Extraordinary Abundance of Life in Oceans Past
By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Imagine large pods of mighty blue whales and orcas darkening the waters off Cornwall, England, while closer to shore blue sharks and thresher sharks chase herds of harbour porpoise and dolphins.
MORE >>
 

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ENVIRONMENT: Preserve Peru’s Biodiversity, Save the World
By Milagros Salazar*
LIMA - Peru, second in Latin America for total area of tropical forests, has adopted international laws, instruments and strategies to protect its wealth of flora and fauna. But those tools have not yet had much effect.
MORE >>
 

ARGENTINA: Trout – Fishers’ Delight - Threaten Biodiversity
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - Thousands of visitors are drawn every year to Argentina’s southern Patagonia wilderness region to fish in glacial lakes and crystal clear streams and rivers. But the trout and salmon that they have come to find are not native species, and pose a threat to local biodiversity.
MORE >>
 

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CUBA: Exotic Fish Has Bad Reputation but High Yields
By Patricia Grogg*
HAVANA - Known for eating everything in its path, and even for stinging people, the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is feeding debates in Cuba while at the same time it is filling family dinner plates.
MORE >>
 

 

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