UNESCO on Wednesday heaped praise on establishing a global biodiversity snapshot of marine species across 25 of the world´s most unique marine protected areas.
A Biodiversity Hotspots Treaty: The Road not Taken
After brief introductory comments on the Dasgupta Review, I turn to a subject little discussed in this report, the Convention on Biological Diversity. I explain the many weaknesses of this agreement, and its greatest missed opportunity: a protocol to conserve biodiversity as a global public good. This value of biodiversity represents only a fraction of the total value of conservation, but it’s the fraction that can only be supplied by a global treaty.
The moisture-laden cloud forest of Savai’i is potentially a heritage site for Samoa, says the head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The Ministry’s C.E.O.
A herpetofauna with dramatic endemism signals an overlooked biodiversity hotspot
The Milne Bay Region of southeasternmost Papua New Guinea comprises a small portion of mainland New Guinea and several offshore islands, totaling 15,000 km2 in land area. I numerically summarize the literature and fndings from my feld surveys of the region’s herpetofauna and show that it contains the greatest known assemblage of range-restricted endemic herpetofauna globally for such a small area. Further, most of these species occupy only one or two of 11 small areas of local endemism within the region.
Australia is adding an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France to its network of marine parks in an attempt to keep out international fishing boats and promote scientific discovery in two biodiversity hotspots.
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection.
Vanuatu’s longest stretch of coastline (over 110kms) is also home to Vanuatu’s largest biodiversity hotspot: The West Coast Santo Mountain Chain...The Santo Mountain Chain’s stunning plants, animals and high peaks, combined with extreme development challenges are exactly why the Santo Sunset
With their rich repertoire of anti-infective substances, medicinal plants have always been key in the human fight to survive pathogens and parasites. The search for herbal drugs with novel structures and effects is still one of the great challenges of natural product research today.
