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Is soil health restricted to agricultural activities?

Soil is considered a viable living ecosystem in itself as it performs numerous functionalities that not only serve as a foundation of agricultural activities but also act as a key focal point for the growth and developmental activities of a nation.

Declaring key ocean habitats off-limits to human activities protects biodiversity and guards against climate change

Ocean life is increasingly threatened: offshore drilling has polluted ocean waters while overfishing has stripped fish populations of their abundance, pushing stocks to the point of collapse.

Climate Change Tracker: Why 2021 is a crucial year to stop global warming

2021 is already shaping up as an important year for climate change mitigation. As scientist and author Michael E. Mann wrote in Newsweek a few days ago, this year could well mark the tipping point for climate action. This is in no small degree a result of the US rejoining the 2015 Paris Agreemen ...

Retroviruses are re-writing the koala genome and causing cancer

The koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a virus which, like other retroviruses such as HIV, inserts itself into the DNA of an infected cell. At some point in the past 50,000 years, KoRV has infected the egg or sperm cells of koalas, leading to offspring that carry the retrovirus in every cell in their body.

Mauritius - a Fisherman's Life Amid Covid-19 and an Oil-Polluted Ocean

"From where we live, we could see that the MV Wakashio had run aground on the reefs," - 39-year-old Bimsen Beeharry.Life was going well for 39-year-old Mauritian fisherman Bimsen Beeharry when COVID-19 hit in early 2020, prompting authorities to impose a lockdown and suspend fishing. The COVID-1 ...

Possible irreversible changes to sub-systems prior to reaching climate change tipping points

Recently a pair of researchers with the University of Copenhagen published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing their work looking into the possibility of changes to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the circumstances that could lead ...

Ms. Anna Mazmanyan

CBD Primary NFP, SBSTTA NFP, ABS NFP, Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
a.mazmanyan@env.am

Adaptation Can Compound Climate Change Impacts on Energy and Water

In 2014, as California was in the midst of one of the worst droughts in its recorded history, Julia Szinai was working for an electric utility. The worst years of the drought were still ahead, but the impacts of the dry spell on California’s energy system were already clear to Szinai. As water l ...

Ambition to action – could 2021 be a turning point for climate change and localism?

The lead clean growth researcher at Localis, Grace Newcombe, writes on why 2021 could be the ‘environmental super year’ that campaigners have longed for. Initially forecast to be a green ‘super year’, and despite Boris’ pledge for a ‘defining year of climate action’, 2020 did not go as anticipated.

Biodiversity is its own catalyst – to a point

For decades, scientists have wrestled with rival theories to explain how interactions between species, like competition, influence biodiversity. Tracking microbial life across the planet, researchers from McGill University show that biodiversity does in fact foster further diversity in microbiom ...

These are the ‘positive’ tipping points that could slow global warming

There may be light at the end of the tunnel in the battle to reduce carbon emissions. Governments and institutions could help halt carbon emissions with just a few carefully selected policy measures, according to a new paper, which looked at the experience of the energy industry and changing tre ...

Climate change: what would 4°C of global warming feel like?

Another year, another climate record broken. Globally, 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year ever recorded. This was all the more remarkable given that cool conditions in the Pacific Ocean – known as La Niña – began to emerge in the second half of the year. The Earth’s mean surface temperature ...

Mr. Josphat N. Muchiri

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
jmuchiri@biosafetykenya.go.ke

Dr. Anil Jasinghe

CBD Primary NFP, CHM NFP, SBSTTA NFP, ABS NFP, Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP, Marine and Coastal Biodiversity NFP, GSPC NFP
sec@env.gov.lk

Positive ‘tipping points’ offer hope for climate crisis

A tipping point is a moment when a small change triggers a large, often irreversible response, researchers have previously warned that the world is dangerously close to several tipping points that could accelerate climate change.

Biodiversity Loss: Alarm Bell Tolls – Analysis

Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing challenges humanity faces today. All the recently published reports on biodiversity – the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, the Living Planet Report, the Global Forest Resources Assessment Report and the Global Biodiversity Out ...

Review of the coordinates of the National Focal Points for the Global Taxonomy Initiative

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/AS/JSH/VA/KM/89336 (2021-002)
To: CBD National Focal Points; Cartagena Protocol Focal Points; ABS Focal Points; SBSTTA Focal Points; GTI Focal Points; Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity; indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations

English 

Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change in Southeast Asian Coastal Cities: Entry Points for Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, December 2020

This study is part of the UNRISD project “Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change in Southeast Asian Coastal Cities” which explores adaptation decisionmaking processes and barriers to transformative solutions in order to inform more progressive policy making in the context of Southeast Asian ...

Weak policy oversight could be pushing Brazilian forests closer to a tipping point

Home to more than 60% of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical forest in the world, Brazil is beyond rich in biodiversity and life. The country is also rife with deforestation, and violations of environmental laws and Indigenous people’s rights.

Mr. Hans Moons

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
hans.moons@ec.europa.eu

Electric cars and vegan diets: Are 'good' climate tipping points at hand?

Not all climate tipping points are bad - and some good ones may be just on the horizon. Scientist Tim Lenton explains the shifts in behavior and technology that could soon spur large-scale climate action

Mass lake drainage in Alaskan tundra another sign of climate change: researchers

Scientists say a year in which almost 200 tundra lakes drained away could point to what’s in store for Canada’s North. Between 2017 and 2018, 192 lakes in northwest Alaska lost at least a quarter of their area as the permafrost that held them melted.

New Map Developed To Show Distribution Of Bee Species, Populations Around The World

In an effort to understand where the bee population reside the most as well as to record different bee species and conserve them, researchers have created a global map that shows where bees live around the world. The map is supposed to act as a jump-off point for future bee-related research.

Only A Balanced Approach To Ocean & Inland Aquaculture Will Nourish The World, Research In Nature Communications Asserts

New research evaluates claims that ocean aquaculture is the next sustainable and equitable food frontier, points to a balanced approach that includes land-based aquaculture as essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Megaprojects risk pushing forests past tipping point – report

Infrastructure megaprojects risk pushing the world’s remaining forests past a “dangerous tipping point” and making climate targets unachievable, a report says.

Ms. Birgül Güner

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
birgul.guner@tarimorman.gov.tr

Mr. Nasser M. Al-Mansoori

CBD Primary NFP, CHM NFP, SBSTTA NFP, Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
NMAL-Mansoori@mme.gov.qa

M. Komi Anthe

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
direfaune@yahoo.fr

Nature survives in the tiniest corners': the City of London's wild heart

There was literally a frog orgy in that one. There is no other way to describe it,” says Jules Waite, from the London Wildlife Trust, pointing at a pond in the Barbican wildlife garden, one of the few areas of London’s Square Mile whose inhabitants are not in lockdown.

COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘unprecedented wake-up call’ for all inhabitants of Mother Earth

Recognizing the “immediate and dreadful” impact of the coronavirus, the UN chief urged everyone to “work together to save lives, ease suffering and lessen the shattering economic and social consequence”. At the same time, he observed that climate disruption is approaching “a point of no return” ...

Ms. Damira Ashyralieva

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
ashyr14@mail.ru

Photographers join forces against wildlife crime

The ongoing spread of Covid-19, which is thought to have originated from a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, is focusing increased attention on human interactions with wildlife. scientists pointed to pangolins as a possible source of the virus, although new research has now questioned thi ...

How the Heavy Rains of Hurricane Maria Shattered the Forests of Puerto Rico

Wind may have been pointed as the main culprit for the knocked down trees in all the attacks of hurricanes. However, a new survey was recently released of the damage in the Puerto Rican forests following the back-to-back hurricanes back in 2017. This particular survey highlighted the power of a ...

Yes, this is a forest

‘We understand the value of forests beyond the price tag of timber. We recognise that our forests are crucial for wildlife to survive.‘ Tesni Clare made some interesting points in the article ‘This is not a forest’, recently published in The Ecologist, not least about the importance of healthy f ...

The World’s Best Natural Defense Against Climate Change May Soon Make Things Worse

As extreme weather rocks the Southern Ocean, a tumultuous mix of carbon dioxide, winds and warming waters could reach an environmental tipping point

Saving Mozambique’s seagrass

Creating the conditions for sustainable seagrass restoration in Maputo and Inhambane bays “People can’t think of Inhaca without thinking about seagrass,” says Salamao Bandeira of Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University, knee-deep in the shallow waters on the seaward side of Maputo Bay, as he points ...

Mr. Aye Min

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
ayespecial@gmail.com

As Planet Burns, One Million Species in World’s Eco-System in Danger of Extinction

When UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the 193-member General Assembly last December, he focused on the smoldering climate crisis– pointing out that the last five years have been the hottest ever recorded.

What four years at sea taught me about our relationship to the ocean

It was on day 11, I think, that I stopped getting out of bed at all. I had already let my hygiene standards slip to the point that a large knot was starting to form in my hair. Later my mother would have to cut it out with scissors. She didn’t mind. We were all in the same boat.

Panamanian field expeditions examine how species persevere in face of climate change

Last month, two graduate students from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University traveled to one of the most species-rich landscapes in the world: a remote strip of tropical rainforest at the narrowest point in the Central American country of Panama.

The Paris Agreement set an unrealistic target for global warming. Now what?

It's been a rallying cry for activists and a key talking point for diplomats. For decades now, 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming has been viewed as a "do not cross" line in climate policy, a temperature at which cataclysmic and potentially permanent damage to the plane ...

Mr. Jeff Gerges

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
j.gerges@moe.gov.lb

M. Bruno Maurice Goro Ousfa

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
cyrgoro@yahoo.fr

M. Ousseynou Kassé

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
ouzin12@gmail.com

2020 marks a turning point for nature’s role in climate solutions

Global biodiversity talks in China this year will highlight nature-based solutions that could meet one-third of Paris Agreement climate goal by 2030.

Mr. Ebrima Njie

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
ebrimanjie@hotmail.com

M. Charles Bourgeois

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
charles.bourgeois@developpement-durable.gouv.fr

Mr. Khalif Hassan Dalmar

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
kh.dalmar@environment.gov.so

How the 'Venice of Africa' is losing its battle against the rising ocean

A meth Diagne points to a single tree submerged in the ocean. It is barely visible from the patch of land where he is standing, 50 metres away. The few branches emerging from the water mark the place where he proposed to his wife 35 years earlier.

Humans are good at thinking their way out of problems, but climate change is outfoxing us

There is growing evidence that Earth's systems are heading towards climate "tipping points" beyond which change becomes abrupt and unstoppable. But another tipping point is already being crossed—humanity's capacity to adapt to a warmer world.

Cacao not gold: ‘chocolate trees’ offer future to Amazon tribes

The villagers walk down the grassy landing strip, past the wooden hut housing the health post and into the thick forest, pointing out the seedlings they planted along the way.

Fifteen Years to Save the Amazon Rainforest from Becoming Savannah

The pace of deforestation in the Amazon, coupled with last year’s devastating forest fires, has pushed the world’s largest rainforest close to a tipping point beyond which it will turn from a carbon sink to a carbon source.

Quand les prairies des aéroports deviennent des sanctuaires pour la biodiversité

Il existe en France, des terrains aménagés qui présentent une biodiversité insoupçonnée, abritant un écosystème bien plus riche qu'il n'y paraît : les prairies des aéroports. L'association Aéro Biodiversité fait le point sur ces zones qui symbolisent davantage la fuite en avant des émissions de ...

What do record ocean temperatures tell us about climate change?

In 2019, the oceans reached higher temperatures than at any other point in recorded human history, according to a new analysis published on 13 January in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (1). The new record demonstrates, unequivocally, the reality of global warming

8 environment and development stories to watch in the new make-or-break decade

The narrative of the year will be if 2020 will be a turning point for the better or for the worse, says World Resources Institute president Andrew Steer. What stories should be watching out for?

China's good surface water quality rose 3.9 percentage points in 2019

The proportion of good quality surface water in China reached 74.9 percent at the end of 2019, up 3.9 percentage points compared to a year earlier, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Friday.

Study points to global streams and rivers' contribution to climate change

A new study led by Auburn University researchers and published in the journal, Nature Climate Change, shows a four-fold increase in emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide—a major contributor to climate warming—in global streams and rivers.

The advantage of changing sex in fish population recovery

Humans eat a lot of fish, in some areas of the world making up an essential part of our diet. Fishing can sometimes deplete fish populations to the point where the fish have difficulty reproducing and growing their numbers again. Establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that limit or eliminate ...

Native fish could die alongside invasive ones under eradication plan

Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists say there's no point trying to save some of the native fish in a New Brunswick lake that may soon be deliberately poisoned.

Research points to unprecedented and worrying rise in sea levels

A new study led by Simon Fraser University's Dean of Science, Prof. Paul Kench, has discovered new evidence of sea-level variability in the central Indian Ocean.

The seven most crucial climate change novels

Every day brings fresh and ever more alarming news about the state of the global environment. To speak of mere “climate change” is inadequate now, for we are in a “climate emergency.” It seems as though we are tripping over more tipping points than we knew existed.

Climate change novels allow us to imagine possible futures: Read these crucial seven

Every day brings fresh and ever more alarming news about the state of the global environment. To speak of mere "climate change" is inadequate now, for we are in a "climate emergency". It seems as though we are tripping over more tipping points than we knew existed.

European Green Deal: A turning point for nature & climate?

However, only the concrete legislative and policy proposals expected in the coming months will show the extent to which the Commission is actually committed to heeding scientific recommendations for urgent and far-reaching transformational change.

As Climate Change Worsens, A Cascade of Tipping Points Looms

New research warns that the earth may be approaching key tipping points, including the runaway loss of ice sheets, that could fundamentally disrupt the global climate system

M. Nicolas Barro

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
barronicolas@yahoo.fr

Ms. Ana Velimirovic

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
ana.velimirovic@ubh.gov.me

Why is an ocean current critical to world weather losing steam? Scientists search the Arctic for answers.

Summer sea ice has been shrinking so dramatically here in the Fram Strait, high in the Arctic between Norway and Greenland, that researchers who make this trip annually point out missing patches like memories of departed friends.

World Remains Sharply Divided on Climate Change Targets Ahead of 'Crucial 12 Months'

When it comes to preventing the worst of climate change, “the point of no return is no longer over the horizon,” United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Sunday on the eve of a crucial round of intergovernmental talks at the UN’s annual climate summit.

Dr. Norwati Adnan

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point
norwati@biosafety.gov.my

Dr. Evangelos Badieritakis

CBD Primary NFP, SBSTTA NFP, Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
e.badieritakis@prv.ypeka.gr

Climate Change Is Brutal for Everyone, but Worse for Women

The climate crisis is so epic, so vicious, so wide-reaching, that at this point there are few aspects of the human experience it isn’t transforming.

Mme Bilan Hassan Ismail

Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
bilanhassan@yahoo.fr

Importance of oceans for human health, and the need to protect them, is focus of conference in Seychelles

The importance of the oceans in the lives of humans and why they need protecting were some of the main points of discussion during a two-day conference in Seychelles.

7 Indigenous Technologies Changing Landscapes

Indigenous ways of managing landscapes have often been framed as the antithesis to progress. But most Indigenous communities hold intimate place-based knowledge, gained across generations, which is an ideal starting point for addressing contemporary challenges such as biodiversity loss, land deg ...

Climate Change to Make U.K. Heat Waves More Common and Intense

Britain’s record-breaking summer heat last year is set to happen more regularly and with more intensity because of climate change.That’s the conclusion of a study by the U.K.’s Met Office of the summer of 2018, which was tied for the hottest in more than a century. The report adds to a growing b ...

Emmanuel Macron ends China visit with slew of trade deals and green pact

French president Emmanuel Macron scored points for France, Europe and the global environment at the end of his state visit to China, while having a dig at Donald Trump and stealing the thunder of the European commissioner he brought with him.

Mme Carole Eicher

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
carole.eicher@ms.etat.lu

Harm to Table: Turning an Invasive Crab into a Delicacy

On a rocky mudflat nestled between a few islands off Portsmouth, N.H., Gabriela Bradt rustles a clump of seaweed and shifts her ear toward the ground. “Hear that?” she asks. The rasps of something scuttling emerge from underneath the mound. “There’s one,” she says, pointing to the mottled browni ...

The future of tequila: How clones, bats and biodiversity will help agave survive

It’s no secret that Texans like tequila. In fact, it’s a point of pride. Between patio margaritas, rooftop palomas and late-night shots, we consumed a little more than 18 million liters of the agave-based spirit in 2018. That accounts for a respectable one-ninth of the entire country’s consumpti ...

The Path to a Profitable and Protected Amazon

The Amazon is burning. Physically, the world has seen more deforestation and fires in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon this year than at any other point in nearly a decade. But figuratively, a conflagration over economic development in the region blazes even more fiercely.

What climate change in the Arctic means for the rest of us

The Arctic, a summer of heat, melting and fire was rounded off by news that 2019 saw the second-lowest ever minimum extent of sea ice. That’s the point in early autumn each year when scientists say that the Arctic Ocean will begin to freeze again. By that measure, only 2012 had less sea ice than ...

Farming plays key role in UN climate push on land restoration

With the United Nations Climate Summit underway this week, it has been the focal point of mass protests and media coverage, but another global climate initiative is revving up that focuses on large-scale land restoration as a way to counter the advent and impact of climate change.

Learning how to restore deep-sea coral communities

The deep, cold waters off the rocky coast of Point Sur, California, are home to an unexpected community of organisms that most people associate with tropical settings—corals. Scientist Charlie Boch and his colleagues recently compared different methods to restore deep-sea coral by transplanting ...

Sustainable development in Asia: seeing both the forests and the trees

As a young Asian business leader, it is fascinating to be part of an important transformation – the rise of Asia in the global economy. Next year is expected to mark the tipping point when the continent’s economies surpass the rest of the world in terms of purchasing power parity.

Ms. Nádia Tatiana Bernardo

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
taticage@hotmail.com

Tide turns for an Italian coastal wasteland

Torre Guaceto, an eight-kilometre long stretch of coastline north-west of Brindisi, used to be known as a centre for poor fishing practices, black market smuggling and a drop-off point for illegal immigration.

Promoting gender equality a ‘crucial contribution’ in effort to restore, protect our planet’s oceans

“We need to empower each and every citizen to take care of the ocean and enable all women to play transformative and ambitious roles in understanding, exploring, protecting and sustainably managing our ocean”, said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, pointing out that this year’s “specia ...

Mr. Issa Katwesige

Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP, Cartagena Protocol emergency contact point, BCH NFP
issa.katwesige@mwe.go.ug

Essential Science: Time to ban glitter? A microplastic risk

A recent study from the journal Geochemical Perspectives finds that microplastics have been detected at the deepest point of the ocean, Challenger Deep, in the western Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. See: “Microplastics contaminate the deepest part of the world’s ocean.”

One Planet Summit climate change talks to take place in Kenya

Kenya and Africa, will for the first time, host the third One Planet Summit on March 14 in Nairobi, making history while also making a crucial point about climate change.

Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth

Attempting to locate one of the rarest animals on the planet, US government scientist Joe Madison pointed an antiquated VHF tracking antenna at a tangle of thick vegetation and twiddled some dials on the receiver. A red wolf, judging by the beeps, was in the vicinity but well-hidden.

Biodiversity: Africa’s key to food security and sustainable livelihoods

Unfolding events all over the world are pointing in one direction; that is the imminence of climate change which may prove irreversible. The timing, magnitude of impacts and places where impacts would be felt might vary, but climate change has proven to be inescapable. Choices before nations and ...

‘Weather wars’ in times of climate change

In the summer, when heat waves scorch cities or heavy rains flood the coasts, some climate scientists and environmentalists will point out any plausible connections to global warming, hoping today’s weather will help people understand tomorrow’s danger from climate change.

Can Our Individual Plastic Footprint Stop The Ocean Of Waste From Submerging Us?

Plastic production will increase by 20,000% in 40 years if we keep things how they are. Plastic is everywhere. Over the years it became one of the most used material, and it got to a point where the cars and planes we travel on are made at 50% by plastic, or where it is more common for clothes t ...

Chimpanzee 'mini-brains' hint at secrets of human evolution

At some point during human evolution, a handful of genetic changes triggered a dramatic threefold expansion of the brain's neocortex, the wrinkly outermost layer of brain tissue responsible for everything from language to self-awareness to abstract thought.

How to talk about climate change on social media

Extreme weather events, from hurricanes to snowstorms, often serve as focal points for discussions about global climate change. And many of those discussions take place on social media. But do social media serve as good platforms for climate change discussion? And do extreme weather events serve ...

India urges caution on 'actions' to tackle climate change from security perspective

India urged caution as the United Nations Security Council deliberated on the impacts of climate related disasters on international peace and security. Participating in the open debate in the UN Security Council on Friday, India pointed out the pitfalls arising from viewing actions to tackle cli ...

Is Climate Change Drying Up German Rivers — and Growth?

Greg Fuzesi, an economist at JPMorgan, has estimated that the low level of the Rhine and other important German rivers shaved off 0.7 percentage points of economic growth in 2018. The phenomenon, caused by a year of extraordinarily warm and dry weather, was almost certainly related to human-driv ...

Argentina and Spain scientific research on climate change impact on hake in Tierra del Fuego

Scientific study suggests snoek (Thyrsites atun) can re-colonize the marine area of the Beagle Channel and South-Western Atlantic waters, an area in the southernmost point of the South American continent where this species competed with the hake (Merluccius sp.) to hunt preys in warmer periods.

Climate change is hitting food production, say Rwanda’s farm co-ops

Farm co-ops in Rwanda have warned that prolonged drought due to climate change have hit their production levels.In a new document from the country’s National Cooperatives Federation, Climate change impact on agriculture, the sector points to other climate-related problems, with damage to infrast ...