The great British public has helped scientists uncover
what looks like a substantial decline in one of the UK's most common
bumblebees over the last 20 years.
The hen harrier is the bird most likely to become extinct
in England because of human pressure, says the The Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Fears over a Severn barrage wiping out the local salmon
Hopes of thousands of new jobs and fears of environmental
devastation have been raised with the prospect of a multi- billion-pound
barrage across the Severn Estuary.
Nearly three-quarters of butterfly species which breed
in the UK have seen their numbers decline over a decade, according
to the biggest ever survey of the colourful insects.
Butterfly boom for Borders as English
species flutter north
The Scottish Borders are becoming
a hotbed of butterflies as a number of species head north because
of climate change, according to a report out today.
Bittern in booming good health in England's quarries
and wetlands
Britain's loudest bird, the bittern, is enjoying its
best year since records began, thanks partly to a new penchant for
nesting in disused and working quarries.
To most of us, one seal seems much like another. But
a new study shows they have varied personalities that lead to distinctive
approaches to parenting.
River Wear fish protected from birds by 'hedgehogs'
Devices called hedgehogs are coming to the rescue of
fish in the River Wear in the first project of its kind in an English
river, according to the Environment Agency.
The Forestry Commission and The Conservation Foundation
join forces to reinstate Elm Trees
The Forestry Commission in the West Midlands is taking
part in the Great British Elm Experiment, run by the Conservation
Foundation, which aims to reinstate Elm Trees into our countryside.
‘A slap in the face for Stirling’ as
power line protests thrown out
The Scottish Government has been accused of delivering
a “slap in the face” to campaigners fighting to lessen
the impact of the Beauly-Denny power line.
Countryside champions, the Campaign to Protect Rural
England, welcome the Forestry Panel’s progress report on their
vision for the future of England’s forests but emphasise the
need for stronger protection for trees in national planning policy.
A plan for the recovery of our wetlands, rivers and
the wider natural environment must be put in place to help tackle
England’s water crisis, according to The Wildlife Trusts,
as the Government publishes its Water White Paper.
Cornwall Council is launching a public consultation
to ask for input on a draft Cornwall Maritime Strategy on the future
of Cornwall's coast, seas and all important maritime sectors.
North Kent estuaries recommended as Marine Conservation
Zones
The Thames and Medway estuaries are among two recommended
Kent sites for the location of a Marine Conservation Zone, which
may now be delayed or worse, cancelled completely.
Consumers face higher water bills to fund wildlife
protection
Homes and businesses will have to pay tens of millions
of pounds to compensate water companies, farmers and others for
tougher measures to protect the wildlife in streams and rivers,
under measures expected to be announced this week.
Donald Trump's representatives yesterday held a secret
meeting with the companies behind plans for a £200 million
offshore wind farm near his golf resort.
A study of South American songbirds completed by the
Department of Biology at Queen’s University and the Argentine
Museum of Natural History, has discovered these birds differ dramatically
in colour and song yet show very little genetic differences which
indicates they are on the road to becoming a new species.
Scientists have been reviewing evidence of changes
to New Zealand's climate. They've also been projecting future changes
to New Zealand's climate, and the impact on biodiversity and marine
habitats.
It's not a towering rainforest or a fragile desert,
but south-east Queensland has a habitat that qualifies to be listed
as a critically-endangered ecosystem.
Britain is planning a huge marine protection zone near
the Falkland Islands in the southern Atlantic ocean, in an area that
is also claimed by Argentina, an official said on Wednesday.
Impoverished Laos is poised to erect the first dam
across the Mekong River's mainstream as it pursues its goal of being
Asia's battery despite intense opposition from downstream countries
and environmental groups.
Japan's whaling fleet has left its home port for another
turbulent season in the Southern Ocean, this year courtesy of extra
money from the nation's earthquake recovery fund.
Wildlife authorities in one of Africa's most popular
national parks will no longer tell visitors where to find its rhinoceroses
after an upsurge in poaching in recent months.
South Africans wait for swallows amid global warming
fears
Wetlands — critical for the health of South Africa's
coasts and river systems — already have been degraded or seriously
altered by human activity, and experts fear global warming threatens
them further.
Hungry goats improve habitat for rare native species
in Iowa project
At the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Polk County,
researchers have developed a novel tool for restoring biodiversity
to a landscape choked by invasive species: Set loose a herd of hungry
goats.
Support grew on Thursday for an
EU plan to agree a global climate change pact with binding targets
by 2015, after poor nations vulnerable to climate change forged
alliances with developed countries.
The United States denied on Thursday it was trying
to delay a new global climate deal until 2020, saying it supported
an EU proposal that aims to chart a path to a more ambitious pact
to fight climate change.
Climate deal road map is possible without destination,
G77 says
The biggest group of developing nations may accept
a road map to a future climate deal without defining what the endpoint
is, the Argentinean envoy who heads the bloc said.
Climate envoys close in on setting up climate fund
at UN talks
United Nations envoys are closing in on setting up
a climate aid fund that will channel aid to developing nations while
lacking any pledges for where the money will come from.
Talks to limit global temperature rises to 2C will
not prevent the possibility of dangerous climate change, warns the
scientist who first raised the alarm over global warming.
Women, particularly those living in the mountainous
regions in developing countries, face disproportionately high risks
to their livelihoods and health from global warming, says a U.N.
report on Climate Change.
Lord Stern: rich nations should stop subsidising
fossil fuel industry
If rich nations were to stop subsidising fossil fuels
to the tune of billions of dollars a year, the money raised could
go a substantial way to providing the cash needed to help poor countries
develop a "green" economy and cope with the effects of
climate change, one of the world's leading economists said.
On Wednesday at the Durban Climate Change Conference
in South Africa, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged
for greater involvement of UN member nations to help stop and reverse
deforestation, stating that despite efforts to reverse the trend,
“forests continue to disappear at an alarming rate.”
Climate change driving tropical birds to higher elevations
Tropical birds are moving to higher elevations because
of climate change, but they may not be moving fast enough, according
to a new study by Duke University researchers.
EIB accused of financing fossil fuels with climate
cash
The European Investment Bank has been accused of
funding the fossil fuel industry with €16 billion of loans
since 2007, more than that stumped up for any other energy source
As negotiators haggle over a climate deal in Durban,
the European Commission has adopted proposals to ring-fence one-fifth
of its €70 billion external finance budget for climate finance
in the 2014-2020 period.
