Biodiversity meetings crucial for the Global South begin

The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advisors (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) started in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday. Over 1,400 delegates, including 600 representing signatories or parties from over 150 countries, are present for the seven-day meeting at the

The impact of climate change on a biodiversity hot spot

If there is a place where the interlinkages and dependencies between the effects of climate warming and biodiversity loss are clearly at display, it’s Nepal. There is clear evidence on the impact of climate change on the country’s ecosystem considering the fact that Nepal is an important biodiversity hotspot. Climate change

Restore wetlands, home to 40pc of biodiversity: UN

Although coastal and freshwater wetlands - such as swamps, mangroves and marshes - contain 40 percent of all plant and animal species, many are polluted or degraded due to climate change and human development. On World Wetlands Day Thursday, the UN called for urgent action to revive and restore these

On climate & biodiversity, where are we?

With the world busy evaluating the conclusion of the latest meeting under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal (COP15), and the publication of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, it’s easy to forget that just a few short weeks ago the decision text of the United Nations Climate

Biodiversity agreement historic but difficult to implement

The pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus), which takes its name from its shape, is found throughout the Caribbean Sea, but its population has declined by more than 80 percent since 1990. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as “critically endangered” due to the

Biodiversity deal reached at UN conference

Negotiators reached a historic deal at a UN biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world's lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes a day before the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15,

Unsustainable infrastructure threatens biodiversity

Created in 2016, the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve (MCBR) hosts 1900 species of animals and plants and contains half of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second largest in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This ecosystem is under pressure from the construction of two of the seven routes of

Ecologically critical areas exist only on paper in Bangladesh

Although 13 biodiversity hotspots in Bangladesh have been declared Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA) by the government, very few steps have been taken on the ground to protect them. While some steps were taken to protect five of those 13, the government violated its own rules in one of the ECAs —

UN chief appeals for more fund to preserve biodiversity

Developed countries must provide bold financial support for the countries of the Global South as custodians of the world's natural wealth, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here on Tuesday. Addressing a ceremonial opening of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological