All Blog Posts (472)

From the wings of tiny creatures hang the fates of hundreds of bird and mammal species, and perhaps even entire rainforests. They are fig wasps and they play a disproportionate role in the grand drama of life on Earth. They shape our own story too because of this. But new research warns that these insects could be “extremely vulnerable” to global warming.

This matters because each of the 750+ species of fig tree (Ficus species) relies utterly on particular species of fig wasp…

They are all now dead and can never be replaced but at least they got names. Martha, Benjamin and Incas… Booming Ben and Lonesome George. They wer endlings, each one the last known member of its species. Their names remind us that we have epic tales to tell of the decline and fall of entire species.

Read…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0WGopweG0Y&feature=youtu.be

Before 1996, Baruwa community in Alimosho area of Lagos Nigeria depended on their groundwater for drinking and domestic use. All that changed when they discovered that the more than 180 wells in the area had suddenly become greasy and smelly.

The traditional head Haliju Baruwa said they were alarmed when their domestic…

  http://www.youtube.com/edit?video

Much of what we buy and use are disposables. From medical and electronic waste to kitchen and dining products, the list goes on.

Throwaway products are usually made from paper, plastic and cotton, but plastic items are by far used the most.

Though some disposables can breakdown rapidly others like throwaway diapers cannot.…

Photo by John Kabubu

The sound of a saw cutting deep into the kiaat tree (Pterocarpus angolensis, also called “bloodwood”) in a forest in Kisangi village fills the air. Sweat drips from the body of 56-year-old Rafii Hashim as he pushes the saw…

Aquafil (www.aquafil.com), the ECNC Group (www.ecncgroup.eu) and Star Sock (www.starsock.nl) have together established the ‘Healthy Seas, a Journey from Waste to Wear’ initiative.

The main objective of this Healthy Seas initiative is to remove waste, in particular fishing nets and other marine litter from the seas and oceans for the purpose of…

Last year I brought you the story of Lambir Hills National Park, a Bornean forest in which I used to live and work, where hunting and other pressures have forced into extinction much of the biggest wildlife species (see The near empty forest that proves conservation is failing).

It describes how recent surveys had failed to find 20 percent of the park’s resident bird species and…

Photo by: John Kabubu

The Western Indian Ocean State’s efforts to help bring about improved marine fisheries reforms and governance in the South West Indian Ocean range states are beginning to bear fruit following a recent decision to reform the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries…

Overfishing threatens the magnificent and prized ‘Ali Maduwa’, writes Malaka Rodrigo�

A giant “maduwa”, or manta ray, was netted last week by fisherman in Welipatanwila, Ambalanthota, on the South coast. The ocean creature was pregnant and weighed 1,500 kilograms. A week earlier, another manta ray was caught by fishermen in Akkaraipattu, on the East coast. Both sea…

Today, IUCN’s Commission on Education and Communication and Alcoa Foundation announced the launch of the Powered by Nature competition in which European communications students are challenged to co-create a social media campaign. The goal of the final campaign is to raise awareness of “natural solutions” for energy and encourage the young generation to become "powered by nature". Students will work together with experts from environmental…

On 23 April 2006, Issa Kanu died like no man should. His death was a tragic accident, but it had a root in rainforest politics.

Issa Kanu died because chimpanzees escaped from a sanctuary in Sierra Leone. The chimps needed that sanctuary because people had killed their parents and captured the youngsters to sell as pets. Poverty had propelled these people to hunt chimpanzees and widespread logging made it harder for the chimps to hide. Try explaining that to a child.…

Energies renouvelables: Le combat des Terriens responsables

En tant que petites îles insulaires, l’Ile Maurice et l’Ile Rodrigues comme les autres îles de l’océan Indien font face à de nombreux défis : écosystèmes fragiles, vulnérabilité au changement climatique, surface habitable limitée et destruction du patrimoine local, érosion des zones côtières et destruction des coraux en mer, dépendance sur les énergies non-renouvelables (huile lourde et charbon) et dépendance sur les…

Les "captures" dépassent très largement les " stocks " disponibles dans les océans!

-- Vina Ballgobin

Les océans de la planète Terre sont en grande difficulté à cause de la surpêche. Depuis le début du 20e siècle à ce jour, nous avons perdu environ 90% des espèces capturées. Le cas de la disparition du " bluefin tuna " illustre la gravité de la situation. Capturé et vendu au Japon, aux Etats-Unis et en Europe, cette espèce a été décimée uniquement à cause des…

Citoyens ordinaires vs lobbys capitalistes

Combat  pour une politique énergétique alternative

A Maurice, il paraît que les « écologistes » se battent en ce moment contre l’arrivée d’une nouvelle centrale à charbon à Albion... Que signifie cette belle phrase ?

D’abord, il y a les habitants d’Albion. Ils ont commencé par défendre leur environnement car ils craignaient de développer des maladies…

Preamble: An immensely significant phase of science is emerging. It explains why things exist the way they do. Its purview includes everything from the tiniest of subatomic particles to plant and animal species, planets and beyond. The explanations are based on observable facts and sound logic. To transfer this…

Take the keystone away from an arch and down will tumble the whole structure. Take a keystone species away and — so the concept goes — other species will go extinct too. In his excellent recent feature for Nature, Ed Yong explains how biologist Bob Paine came up with the concept while he studied starfish in the 1960s.

Paine’s keystone species concept “would go on to be…

“The proper way to eat a fig, in society,” wrote DH Lawrence, “is to split it in four, holding it by the stump, and open it, so that it is a glittering, rosy, moist, honied, heavy-petalled four-petalled flower. … But the vulgar way, is just to put your mouth to the crack, and take out the flesh in one bite.”

I’m a vulgar fig-eater. Few things give me more pleasure than when I bite into a ripe one and eat it up. With the right fig, the flavours can be so intense, so rich that it seems…

This is from a recent blog post by Sheldon Wilde Greaves, Founder of Citizen Science League: 

"Thousands worldwide participate in citizen science projects, from counting backyard birds to searching for extraterrestrial communication. In-person and online, this popular pastime is evolving from hobby to serious science.

Uncertain future grant funding, the growing…

Photo Credit: Marty Snyderman

Marty Snyderman is the Marine Life Editor and a long time monthly columnist for Dive Training magazine and the…

Gola Forest Survey Report

A soci-economic baseline survey conducted by BirdLife International and the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL) staff under the European Commission funded “Across The River - A Trans-boundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia project” (ARTP), together with the Forest Development Authority (FDA) of Liberia and a team of researchers from a consortium of Wageningen University (Netherlands) and the University of Cambridge (UK) has been…