Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
By Amélie HERENSTEIN LES CONTAMINES, France, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – Water surged through a desolate canyon of grey rock into a blue-grey lake, an ancient landscape only revealed to humanity in recent decades because France’s glaciers have retreated so far. The rocks bore the markings of the ice and, on an unseasonably hot day in October high above the ski resort of Chamonix, experts from the Ice and Life research project were clear that […]
UN biodiversity talks opened in Montreal on Wednesday, in what is being billed as the “last best chance” to save the planet’s species and ecosystems from irreversible human destruction. What do all of these species have in common? They have all gone extinct due to human activities. Extinction is a natural process and, in fact, 99% of the four billion species that have existed on our planet have disappeared. It is balanced by the evolution […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – Experts and activists were hoping UN climate talks would end last week with a prominent mention of biodiversity in the final text. They walked away disappointed. Some say delegates at the COP27 summit missed a key opportunity to acknowledge the connection between the twin climate and nature crises, which many believe have been treated separately for too long. Failing to address both could mean not only further decimating Earth’s life support systems, but […]
KORFI, Cyprus (AFP) – With a wingspan as wide as a basketball hoop is tall, it took just a few flaps for the vulture to soar to freedom towards the glittering seas off Cyprus. Griffon vultures, birds that perform the vital job of clearing carcasses that could otherwise spread disease, are on the “brink of extinction” on the Mediterranean island due to poisoning, experts warn. But 15 have been returned to the wild in recent […]
by Laure FILLON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – After the world missed almost all of its targets to protect fast-dwindling nature for the last decade, observers following a new round of negotiations are focusing as much on how goals will be put in place as the headline targets. Nearly 200 nations are taking part in talks until Tuesday, aimed at fine-tuning a draft text to preserve biodiversity by 2050, with key milestones at 2030, […]
by Laure FILLON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – Scientists are urging Europe not to delay the transition to greener agriculture in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which threatens global wheat supplies and raises fears over food shortages. The European Commission is preparing to pass emergency measures on Wednesday to deal with the consequences of the war and sanctions on Russia, also a major exporter of cereals. That will include granting temporary exemptions for […]
by Laure FILLON / Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Expanding nature preserves will not be enough to stem a rising tide of extinctions, a panel of experts warned Wednesday, taking aim at a draft treaty tasked with rescuing Earth’s animal and plant life. Setting aside at least 30 percent of both land and oceans as protected zones is the cornerstone target of the so-called global biodiversity framework to be finalised in May at […]
by Laurence THOMANN Agence France-Presse WAYANAD, India (AFP) – As deforestation and climate change ravage India’s UNESCO heritage-listed Western Ghats mountain range, an all-female rainforest force is battling to protect one of the area’s last enclaves of biodiversity. The region is home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species but the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has ranked its outlook as a “significant concern”. But at […]
by Laure FILLON Agence France-Presse MARSEILLE, France (AFP) – The world’s top conservation forum will vote this week on whether to recommend a moratorium on deep sea mining, with scientists warning that ecosystems degraded while dredging the ocean floor 5,000 metres below the waves could take decades or longer to heal. The proposed ban is among a score of measures deemed too controversial to be decided remotely ahead of the International Union for the Conservation […]
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse MARSEILLE, France (AFP) – Should 80 percent of the Amazon be declared a protected area by 2025? The world’s top conservation body is on Sunday poised to decide whether its 1,400 members can vote on this controversial proposal, put forward by indigenous groups. Submitted under an emergency provision to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the measure calls for a “global action plan” to halt rampant deforestation […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, France (AFP) — From endangered freshwater dolphins drowned by discarded fishing nets to elephants scavenging through rubbish, migratory species are among the most vulnerable to plastic pollution, a UN report on the Asia-Pacific region said Tuesday, calling for greater action to cut waste. Plastic particles have infiltrated even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet, with tiny fragments discovered inside fish in the deepest recesses of the ocean and […]
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Overlapping environmental crises could tip the planet into “global systemic collapse,” more than 200 top scientists warned Wednesday. Climate change, extreme weather events from hurricanes to heatwaves, the decline of life-sustaining ecosystems, food security and dwindling stores of fresh water — each poses a monumental challenge to humanity in the 21st century. Out of 30 global-scale risks, these five topped the list both in terms of likelihood […]
