un biodiversity meet warns of unmet targets
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

UN biodiversity meet warns of unmet targets

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleUN biodiversity meet warns of unmet targets

Amur Leopard at the 'Parc de la Tete d'Or' park
Seoul - AFP

A UN conference on preserving the earth's dwindling resources opened Monday with grim warnings that the depletion of natural habitats and species was outpacing efforts to protect them.
Just a week after conservation group WWF said wildlife numbers had halved in 40 years, governments met in South Korea to analyse progress since they agreed four years ago on 20 targets for stemming the tide of biodiversity loss by 2020.
The opening of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference saw the release of a comprehensive report showing those targets were not being met, with natural habitats still disappearing at an alarming rate, and animals facing increased extinction threats.
"It is a document that should make the whole world sit up. It is about all of life on earth," said the executive director of the UN Environment Programme Achim Steiner.
"We need to do more -- and do it fast -- to protect the very fabric of the natural world," Steiner said.
The so-called Aichi Biodiversity Targets -- drawn up in 2010 -- included halving the rate of habitat loss, expanding water and land areas under conservation, preventing the extinction of species on the threatened list, and restoring at least 15 percent of degraded ecosystems.
"Encouraging steps have been taken around the world to tackle biodiversity loss at many levels," the CBD said in its Global Biodiversity Outlook report.
"Nevertheless, it is clear from this mid-term review that, on their current trajectory, they will not be sufficient to meet most of the targets by the deadlines committed to."
- 'Alarming' deforestation -
Global rates of deforestation are still "alarmingly high" despite a slowdown in the depletion of the Brazilian Amazon and gains in forest coverage in Vietnam and China, the report said.
Habitats of all types, including forests, grasslands, wetlands and river systems, continue to be fragmented and degraded.
In one striking example of long-term degradations, the report cited a 20 percent reduction since 1980 in the populations of wild birds specialising in habitats such as grasslands and forests in North America and Europe.
Short-term projections of the dangers facing animal species as a result of habitat loss generally predict a "worsening" situation, the report said.
"Despite individual success stories, the average risk of extinction for birds, mammals and amphibians is still increasing," it warned.
The most recent update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species in July said a quarter of mammals, over a tenth of birds, and 41 percent of amphibians are at risk of extinction.
Last week, the WWF's 2014 Living Planet Report highlighted a 52 percent decline in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish overall from 1970 to 2010.
It said humans were consuming resources at a rate that would require 1.5 Earths to sustain -- gobbling up animal, plant and other resources at a faster rate than nature can replenish them.
Nations have struggled to find common ground on funding for the Aichi Targets, especially for poor nations whose scarce resources are already committed elsewhere.
At the CBD's last meeting, in Hyderabad, India, in 2012, the world agreed to double biodiversity aid to developing countries by 2015.
But they did not quantify either the base amount or the target -- and the numbers are still far from being resolved.
"All indicators suggest the status of biodiversity continues its decline and requires urgent attention," said CBD executive secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias.
In a study published last week in the journal Science, an international team of more than 30 scientists also concluded that the Aichi Targets were unlikely to be met.
"There is a collective failure to address the loss of biodiversity, which is arguably one of the greatest crises facing humanity," said Richard Gregory, one of the paper’s authors and head of species monitoring and research at the British RSPB conservation group.

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

un biodiversity meet warns of unmet targets un biodiversity meet warns of unmet targets

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 06:35 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Eid al-Adha holiday for federal government announced

GMT 10:59 2012 Wednesday ,16 May

National list of endangered species soon

GMT 09:06 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

US warns Russia on Syria chemical attack report

GMT 03:22 2017 Thursday ,02 March

Pakistan hosts 10-nation regional economic summit

GMT 08:50 2018 Sunday ,07 January

India's Pandya defies South African bowlers

GMT 00:21 2017 Wednesday ,11 January

Iran to start gas exports to Iraq once payments made

GMT 17:57 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Assistant Foreign Minister attends GCC meeting

GMT 14:23 2017 Monday ,04 September

Colombia government, ELN rebels agree ceasefire

GMT 05:31 2015 Sunday ,05 April

Williams romps to eighth Miami crown

GMT 09:54 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Lee and Lin face emotional farewells

GMT 12:30 2017 Monday ,27 November

Trudeau urges international community

GMT 09:06 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

Trump — from Syria to North Korea
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle