New research claims microplastic pollution is harming marine life
Latest figures show that global production of plastic has risen to 280 million tons per year, with much of this entering the seas and oceans via ships, offshore platforms and fishing, coastal littering and sewage-related debris from rivers and storm drains. UNEP estimates that between 6.4 – 8 million tons of litter ends up in…
The urgent need for evidence based policy in invasive species management
Hundreds of invasive species experts gathered last week, 23-27 October, in Qingdao China at the 2nd International Congress on Biological Invasions. High on the agenda was how policy makers can respond to the accelerating risk posed by invasive species as international trade increases and climate change opens up new opportunities for invasion. In a session…
Climate change and extreme weather
Image from BBC News images As we have read in the news this morning, the weather system named St Jude's storm swept in from the Atlantic and hit the Southern part of the UK today, with winds gusting up to 99 mph (The Guardian online) and causing a lot of damage, including widespread travel disruption…
Ocean warming could raise mercury levels in fish, says new report
According to researchers from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, rising sea surface temperatures may increase the ability of the fish to accumulate mercury in their tissue. This could present a risk to the health of consumers of seafood due to the bioaccumulation of methylmercury and transfer between marine food webs. The paper is published in the…
Warming in the climate system is unequivocal – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change
The much anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report on Climate Change was released today. In fact, what was released is the summary report for policymakers, which was produced by the IPCC’s Working Group I, and aimed to present the findings as clearly as possible. The full report will be released in…
Food waste is damaging the environment says new FAO report
According to the report, global food wastage is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the USA. On September 11th the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released its report titled Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources, which it claims is the first assessment of global food wastage from an environmental perspective,…
New urban invasives report launched with CABI contributions
Highly invasive Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) growing in High Wycombe, UK Contributed by Esther Gerber, CABI Switzerland Last week in Gland, Switzerland, a meeting was held on the threat of urban ecosystems titled ‘Invasive Alien species: the Urban Dimension.” During the meeting, a representative of the European Commission announced a series of upcoming…
Water a constraint to hotel development
As featured on this blog by Vera Barbosa on Monday, World Water Week is currently highlighting issues in global water resources. To coincide with Water Week, the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) has published a report on water risk issues in key development areas for the hotel industry – Rio de Janeiro, Beijing and Shanghai, India's…
World Water Week 2013
Water is an important resource, which we cannot live without and yet it is also one which is taken for granted, wasted and polluted freely, even though some parts of the world, usually the poorest regions, have very limited access to clean water. To try to highlight the importance of water as a resource and…
Beach tourism and development killing turtles: WWF India
India has a coastline of more than 8000 km which is rich in biodiversity. Apart from sustaining fishing grounds, India's coastal waters and beaches provide foraging and nesting sites for a variety of marine species, including sea turtles. Five species of sea turtles are known to inhabit Indian coastal waters and islands. But as detailed…