This
part of the global issues web site attempts to highlight some of the
environmental issues and concerns that have an affect on all of us — from what
we do, to what we don’t do.
46
articles on “Environmental Issues” and 7 related issues:
Last
updated Sunday, March 04, 2012.
The variety of life on Earth, its
biological diversity, is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of
species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes
in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts,
rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.
Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to
recognize this as being integral to any approach. In some way or form, almost
all cultures have recognized the importance of nature and its biological
diversity for their societies and have therefore understood the need to
maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious
balance.
Fast-developing countries such as
India should offer up their domestic action plans as part of global efforts
when the world gathers for the UN climate talks in Copenhagen this December,
says Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.
India's priority is not simply reducing global emissions as quickly as possible but also accessing adaptation technologies to cope with the inevitable impacts of climate change, which will likely include rising sea levels, more frequent and intense cyclones and water scarcity.
Access will depend on partnerships between developing and developed countries, built on well-defined intellectual property rights.
And, under the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibility' as supported by India, the developed world must support technology transfer regardless of whether rapidly developing economies such as China or India themselves commit to reducing emissions.
India is unlikely to commit to emissions limits before 2020 but it can, and should, offer up its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) as part of a global package of commitments, suggests Pachauri. India will firmly reject having the NAPCC subjected to verification measures but might agree to annual international reporting, he adds.
In either case, unprecedented changes in Indian institutions will be needed to actually achieve the plan's ambitious goal of achieving sustainable development while dealing with climate change.
Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?
India's priority is not simply reducing global emissions as quickly as possible but also accessing adaptation technologies to cope with the inevitable impacts of climate change, which will likely include rising sea levels, more frequent and intense cyclones and water scarcity.
Access will depend on partnerships between developing and developed countries, built on well-defined intellectual property rights.
And, under the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibility' as supported by India, the developed world must support technology transfer regardless of whether rapidly developing economies such as China or India themselves commit to reducing emissions.
India is unlikely to commit to emissions limits before 2020 but it can, and should, offer up its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) as part of a global package of commitments, suggests Pachauri. India will firmly reject having the NAPCC subjected to verification measures but might agree to annual international reporting, he adds.
In either case, unprecedented changes in Indian institutions will be needed to actually achieve the plan's ambitious goal of achieving sustainable development while dealing with climate change.
Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?
Last
updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.
Why is Biodiversity important? Does
it really matter if there aren’t so many species?
Biodiversity
boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have
an important role to play.
For
example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops;
greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms;
and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of
disasters.
And
so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in
wildlife.
Last
updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.
It has long been feared that human
activity is causing massive extinctions. Despite increased efforts at
conservation, it has not been enough and biodiversity losses continue. The
costs associated with deteriorating or vanishing ecosystems will be high.
However, sustainable development and consumption would help avert ecological
problems.
Last
updated Thursday, November 10, 2011.
Preserving species and their
habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves.
Yet,
the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other
challenges are making conservation a struggle.
Last
updated Sunday, March 04, 2012.
Rapid global warming can affect an
ecosystems chances to adapt naturally.
The
Arctic is very sensitive to climate change and already seeing lots of changes.
Ocean biodiversity is already being affected as are other parts of the
ecosystem.
Last
updated Sunday, January 16, 2011.
One type of ecosystem that perhaps
is neglected more than any other is perhaps also the richest in
biodiversity—the coral reefs.
Coral
reefs are useful to the environment and to people in a number of ways. However,
all around the world, much of the world’s marine biodiversity face threats from
human and activities as well as natural. It is feared that very soon, many
reefs could die off.
Last
updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.
At the 1992 UN Conference on
Environment and Development (the Earth Summit), the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) was born. 192 countries, plus the EU, are now Parties to that
convention. In April 2002, the Parties to the Convention committed to
significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity loss by 2010.
Perhaps
predictably, that did not happen. Despite numerous successful conservations
measures supporting biodiversity, the 2010 biodiversity target has not been met
at the global level. This page provides an overview on how the attempts to
prevent biodiversity loss is progressing.
Last
updated Monday, March 19, 2001.
The
February 1999 Biodiversity Protocol meeting in Colombia broke down because USA,
not even a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which the
protocol is meant to be part of, and five other countries of the "Miami
Group" felt that their business interests were threatened. The safety
concerns were unfortunately overridden by trade concerns. Some technological
advances, especially in genetically engineered food, have been very fast paced
and products are being pushed into the market place without having been proven
safe. All over the world, concerned citizens and governments have been trying to
take precautionary measures. However, 1999 was not a successful year in that
respect.
Last
updated Sunday, July 01, 2001.
A
Biosafety Protocol meeting was hosted in Montreal, Canada January 24 to January
28. Compared to the fiasco of the previous year, this time, there had been a somewhat
successful treaty to regulate the international transport and release of
genetically modified organisms to protect natural biological diversity.
However, there were a number of important and serious weaknesses too.
Last
updated Monday, October 04, 2010.
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