An unprecedented effort is required between now and 2010 to stop further deterioration of the planet's fragile biodiversity, according to a UN report that compiled the work of 1,300 researchers.
In fact, 2010 may be too late, say the authors of the report, pleading with governments, NGOs, international organizations and companies to immediately put in place long-term conservation plans. According to the report published this week in Montreal, "The world in 2100 could have substantial remaining biodiversity or it could be relatively homogenized and contain low levels of diversity."
"Changes in biodiversity due to human activities were more rapid in the past 50 years than at any time in human history," the report stated. Dubbed the Second Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report, it is part of a massive study launched by the UN in 2001 meant to fill in scientific gaps to better measure ongoing environmental changes and understand their global impact.
Thirty-five percent of mangroves -- tropical shrubs that grow on muddy sea shores -- have disappeared in the past two decades, and 20 percent of coral reefs have been destroyed, while 25 percent of conifers and 35 percent of amphibians are in danger of extinction, scientists say.
These tragic circumstances are due to the over-exploitation of natural resources, as well as growing demand for oil and natural gas that pollute the atmosphere, putting increasing pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Proposed solutions aim to link economic development and the protection of biodiversity.
"I think this report is saying we can have a balance, but we need to reduce some of the influence, we need to also move away from just pure conservation, the `don't touch' kind of policy and a little bit more sharing," economist and co-author of the report Anantha Kumar Duraiappah told reporters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing