biodiversity planning News
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Posters Invited for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment
Poster abstracts are invited for a Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment Special Symposium which will be held in Washington, DC on 7-8 February, 2013. Abstracts will be accepted through 15 December. This symposium will bring together practitioners who work at the cutting edge of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) with both policy makers responsible for shaping IA ...
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Preserving biodiversity `protects drylands`
The impacts of climate change and desertification on drylands could be reduced by preserving biodiversity, one of the first studies to look at dryland biodiversity and ecosystems has found. This, in turn, would help protect the livelihoods of more than a third of the global population. Drylands occupy more than 40 per cent of the global land surface. They host around a fifth of the major ...
By SciDev.Net
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Commission calls for a shakeup in EU biodiversity policy
A European Commission conference on biodiversity in Athens has issued a forward-looking message regarding the future biodiversity policy of the European Union. Key findings include the need to improve communication about the loss and its consequences, the importance of thinking about ecosystem protection rather than species protection, and the need to ensure that available funds are indeed ...
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IUCN guide to help new sports venues minimise impact on nature
A guide designed to help integrate biodiversity considerations into new sports venues, minimising their impacts on nature and delivering conservation benefits, was released today by IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, at the United Nations Environment Assembly, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “A healthy environment is essential for the ...
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Protected area patrol costs could be cut with planning tool
Costs of defending protected areas from poaching and other illegal activities could be reduced through spatial planning software, finds a new study. Using the tool, the researchers devised new patrol activities in central Africa which would reduce current costs of law enforcement by 35%, as well as providing more effective protection. ‘Protected areas’ are designed to achieve the ...
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COP10: nature talks ended with three inter-linked goals
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity closed the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit (COP10) by adopting decisions that will permit the community of nations to meet the unprecedented challenges of the continued loss of biodiversity compounded by climate change. The European Environment Agency will continue to support Europe's policymakers in implementing the ensuing measures. The meeting ...
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Biodiversity loss and climate change: the need for an ecosystem approach
Biodiversity loss and climate change are now a part of our lives. Both are rooted in overexploitation of natural resources. Both require a coherent policy response. The Syracuse Charter and the Athens Conference underline the strong political commitment to take action. To ensure our society and economy have a healthy future, we need a way to assess our impacts on the natural world. The European ...
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Europe is on its way to missing its biodiversity target
Action Plan, EEB, Europe’s largest federation of environmental citizens’ organisations, is calling for a rescue plan to avert the planetary bankruptcy that will occur if biodiversity loss continues. Pieter de Pous, EEB Biodiversity Policy Officer, said: “Now that the world is fully aware of the dangers of spending financial resources we don’t have, it’s time to wake up to a much greater danger: ...
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Atkins appointed to national ecology framework
The Environment Agency has contracted Atkins to provide expert ecological advice in freshwater ecology and conservation management across England and Wales. Atkins, the UK’s largest engineering design consultancy, has been appointed to the national Ecological Services Framework Lot 1 which relates to aquatic and terrestrial ecology. This continues its longstanding relationship with the Agency ...
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Brazil awaits approval of huge science budget
[RIO DE JANEIRO] Brazil's science community is waiting to see whether this year's bumper science budget will be signed off without being cut. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva approved the budget, which is almost a third higher than last year's, late last month (26 January). If given final approval by Lula in March after being evaluated by the Ministry of Planning, it will be the first time ...
By SciDev.Net
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Statement by Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment, on the outcome of Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP12)
The European Commission welcomes the successful outcome of CBD COP12 and in particular the agreement reached on 2020 targets for the mobilisation of resources in support of biodiversity. The agreement reaffirms the political commitment made at COP11 in Hyderabad, India, to double international biodiversity-related resource flows to developing countries by 2015. This is a very ambitious target ...
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Satellites can help preserve Earth`s biodiversity
To help preserve the biodiversity of our planet, ecologists should make more use of remote sensing and apply the knowledge of aerospace agencies like NASA and ESA. This according to an international group of remote sensing specialists in an article published today in Nature. 'This is extremely feasible given that more and more satellite images are being made available as open data,' says one of ...
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BLACK & VEATCH WINS MAJOR CIVIL ENGINEERING AWARD
A replacement raw water treatment works (RWTW) in which Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, played a role in designing, has won a Civil Engineering Environmental Quality (CEEQUAL) Award.The project at Axbridge RWTW, in the west of England, involved providing a replacement plant for the treatment of raw river water pumped from the River Axe and ...
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Integrated models predict climate change impacts on biodiversity
Predictions of the impact of climate change on biodiversity have tended to focus on changes in the quantity of suitable habitat. New research evaluates second generation models that combine population and climate data, setting out standards for their development. One of the 10 objectives of the EU Biodiversity Action Plan is to support biodiversity to adapt to climate change. Recently, there has ...
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Geodiversity information enhances biodiversity conservation
Geodiversity describes the diversity of the non-biological parts of the natural world such as rocks, soils, landforms and the processes which shape them over time. New research on how geodiversity information has been used to examine or inform conservation policy has been explored through eight different case studies. The research shows the variety and utility of geodiversity information to ...
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Local participation in biodiversity monitoring: how much is best?
Monitoring species and habitats is essential to sustain biodiversity. A recent Danish study has classified different monitoring schemes based on levels of community participation. The classifications could help conservation leaders identify the most appropriate schemes for different situations. Maintaining biodiversity is an important goal of European environmental policy, both within the EU and ...
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German chancellor Angela Merkel and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon officially launch the international year of biodiversity
Launching the International Year of Biodiversity in Berlin yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the world to take the necessary steps to protect the biological diversity of the Earth. 'The conservation of biological diversity has the same dimension as climate protection. We need a trend reversal - not at some point in the future, but immediately', said German Federal Chancellor ...
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Environmental Scientist – Constructed Wetlands
New year, new job? Wessex Water are creating an exciting post for a constructed wetland scientist... Do you have experience in delivering constructed wetlands for environmental gains? Do you have a confident and flexible approach? Salary £31,967 - £42,834, dependent on experience Closing date 25 January 2019, interviews to be held on 8 February 2019 This is an opportunity for ...
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Planning for the inevitable: the impact of climate change on biodiversity
Climate change is already having an impact on habitats and species in Europe, for example a decrease in plant species has been recorded in some areas. According to recent research, spatial planning is a key concept in making European ecosystems more resilient to climate change, as it takes into account all factors that affect a habitat, including economic development, transport, environmental ...
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Local governments get guidance on biodiversity data
Guidance to help local governments preserve and publish valuable biodiversity data has been provided in a new best practice guide. The guide — published last month (25 May) by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) — outlines the tools and infrastructure available to governments for publishing data, and the benefits of ...
By SciDev.Net
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