More than a fifth of the world's migrating species are at risk of going extinct as a result of climate change and human encroachment, according to this report by the United Nations. Migratory species globally are facing critical challenges, with nearly half in decline and over 20 per cent threatened …
FIRST published in 1997, the book is a contribution to Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (unced). The world's mountains finally received the attention they deserved at unced, commonly referred to as the Earth Summit, which was held at Rio de Janeiro …
the Galapagos archipelago off the coast of Peru supports a unique ecosystem with a large variety of plants and animals. The archipelago has witnessed abnormal weather conditions this season (summer in the Southern Hemisphere) that have been attributed to the phenomenon known as El Ni
Scientists have known for years that leaves falling from trees and flowing downstream are important to the ecosystem of the waterbody. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia and Virginia Polytech have come out with the results of a three-year study that further explain the functions of fallen leaves. The …
> this book is one of the eight books in the Worldwatch Insti-tute's Environment Alert series and raises some contem-porary issues concerning global security. The first part of the book deals with the stresses on society in the post cold war era and describes the newly emerging realities after the …
the Hawaiian volcano of Mauna Loa supports an extraordinary range of climates and ecosystems. Yet the slopes of the volcano are constantly being resurfaced by the red-hot lava that destroys everything in its path. After an eruption, the cooled lava quickly becomes a home for plants
rangelands are those areas which for reasons of physical limitations like low and erratic precipitation, rough topography, poor drainage and cold temperatures are unsuitable for cultivation. Consequently, these lands are used as pastures. About half ((6,700 million ha) (mha)) the Earth's land surface is covered by the scant vegetation associated …
AN EXPLOSION in the population of Antarctic fur seals has caused wide- spread changes to many coastal, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in the northern maritime Antarctic islands and on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Dominic A Hodgeson and Nadine M Johnston of the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, conducted …
The third round of negotiations on a legally-binding treaty, which aims at restricting the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides, was held in Nairobi in the last week of May. The meeting was jointly organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The proposed …
THE effect of dams on surrounding ecosystems could be traced even to the seas which receive the waters of dammed rivers. According to researchers from the University of Hamburg and the Baltic Research Institute in Rostock, both in Germany, the Iron Gates dam on the Danube river has transformed the …
i do not like the word biodiversity, meant to express variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part. We all know that there are basically two life forms on the face of …
we all are aware of how our warming planet has raised one formerly obscure specialty, climatology, to urgent prominence. There are more to come. Standby for changes to that enthusiasm of the biological scientists and the leisure industry, which we call 'parks' and 'reserves'. Such simple names may not suffice …
• Only one-fifth of the world's original forests still qualify as frontier forests (large, intact natural forests). • Three countries - Russia, Canada and Brazil - house more than 70 per cent of the world's remaining frontier forests and half of this lies in the far north where resource-extraction costs …
the world wide Fund for Nature (wwf) made a strong plea for the conservation and restoration of wetlands throughout the world on the occasion of the World Wetlands Day on February 1. Despite increasing awareness, efforts to save the "kidneys of the planet' have been slow, said Claude Martin, director-general …
JOAO PEDRO GALHANO ALVES "all human beings in these parts are kind to animals...,' says the legendary monkey-god Hanuman to Bhim, one of the Pandav brothers, in the epic Mahabharat ; he was referring to the Sariska valley. Even today, Hanuman's words ring true as far as the people of …
Environmental degradation arising out of desertification, deforestation, erosion and climatic changes and poaching is seriously threatening the delicate ecosystem of the riparian areas of Yangtze river. It is China's longest river, flowing from four points located high on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau at over 5,000 metres above sea level. The 5,980-km-long …
Industrial advancement has no doubt improved the standard of living of human beings, but in the process the crucial environmental balance established by nature over a millenium has been inadvertantly disturbed. The concentration and distribution pattern of metals within the ecosystem is especially important. Metals are a unique class of …
Landscapes: Children's Voices, is a compilation of children's writing and art, based on the Tamil concept of thinais or ecosystems (referring to a variety of ecosystems like those in mountainous, desert or coastal areas). Children belonging to various regions of south India have expressed their opinions on nature (forests, herbs, …
THE second session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) was held from March 11-22 in Geneva. Delegates conducted their first substantive discussions of six programme elements: underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation; fragile ecosystems affected by desertification and the impact of air pollution on forests; needs and requirements …
