15
Dec 2008 - Gland, Switzerland – Over a thousand
new species have been discovered in the
Greater Mekong Region of Southeast Asia
in just the last decade, according to a
new report launched by WWF.
First Contact in the
Greater Mekong reports that among the 1068
species newly identified by science, between
1997 and 2007, were the world’s largest
huntsman spider, with a leg span of 30 centimetres,
and the startlingly hot pink coloured cyanide-producing
“dragon millipede”.
While most species were
discovered in the largely unexplored jungles
and wetlands, some were first found in the
most surprising places. The Laotian rock
rat, for example, thought to be extinct
11 million years ago, was first encountered
by scientists in a local food market, while
the Siamese Peninsula pitviper was found
slithering through the rafters of a restaurant
in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.
“This region is like
what I read about as a child in the stories
of Charles Darwin,” said Dr Thomas Ziegler,
Curator at the Cologne Zoo. “It is a great
feeling being in an unexplored area and
to document its biodiversity for the first
time… both enigmatic and beautiful,” he
said.
The findings, highlighted
in this report, include 519 plants, 279
fish, 88 frogs, 88 spiders, 46 lizards,
22 snakes, 15 mammals, 4 birds, 4 turtles,
2 salamanders and a toad. The region comprises
the six countries through which the Mekong
River flows including Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern
Chinese province of Yunnan. It is estimated
thousands of new invertebrate species were
also discovered during this period, further
highlighting the region’s immense biodiversity.
“It doesn’t get any
better than this,” said Stuart Chapman,
Director of WWF’s Greater Mekong Programme.
“We thought discoveries of this scale were
confined to the history books. This reaffirms
the Greater Mekong’s place on the world
map of conservation priorities.”
The report stresses
economic development and environmental protection
must go hand-in-hand to provide for livelihoods
and alleviate poverty, and ensure the survival
of the Greater Mekong's astonishing array
of species and natural habitats.
“This poorly understood
biodiversity is facing unprecedented pressure…
for scientists, this means that almost every
field survey yields new diversity, but documenting
it is a race against time,” said Raoul Bain,
Biodiversity Specialist from the American
Museum of Natural History.
The report recommends
what is urgently needed to protect the biodiversity
of the region is a formal, cross-border
agreement by the governments of the Greater
Mekong.
“Who knows what else
is out there waiting to be discovered, but
what is clear is that there is plenty more
where this came from,” said Chapman. “The
scientific world is only just realizing
what people here have known for centuries.”
+ More
Earth Hour Bolivia 2009:
In the cities of Santa Cruz de la Sierra,
Puerto Quijarro and Trinidad
18 Dec 2008 - WWF Bolivia,
the global conservation organization, in
collaboration with the municipal governments
of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Trinidad and
Puerto Quijarro, local power companies CRE
and Coserelec, invite you to participate
in Earth Hour Bolivia 2009.
Earth Hour is a WWF
campaign carried out globally in which cities
and communities turn off their lights on
March 28th, 2009 for one hour (from 8:30
to 9:30 pm local time), as a sign of leadership
and commitment towards finding solutions
regarding global warming, as well as becoming
more aware of how to save energy in our
everyday activities by unplugging electrical
appliances, turning off the lights when
we leave a room etc.
As in March 2008, Earth
Hour Bolivia 2009 will again take center
stage at the main plaza in Santa Cruz de
la Sierra. The activities, led by the Mayor
of Santa Cruz, Mr. Percy Fernández,
and by the President of the local power
company CRE, Dr. Germán Antelo, will
be followed by thousands of Bolivians thanks
to MAHS, a local company airing Earth Hour
coverage and promotional videos on large
electronic screens located in strategic
positions in the cities of Santa Cruz de
la Sierra, Cochabamba and La Paz. A countdown
to Earth Hour 2009, similar to world celebrations
on New Years Eve, will also be displayed
on these large electronic screens, sharing
activities carried out worldwide in various
cities that one by one turn off their lights.
Authorities and local
institutions in the municipalities of Puerto
Quijarro and Trinidad will also be organizing
activities for Earth Hour. In Santa Cruz
de la Sierra, mobile phone company Tigo,
daily national newspaper El Nuevo Día,
magazines Mundo Seguro, La Voz del Chiquitano
and Vamos, are a few of the companies that
have joined the campaign and who will express
their support by sending text messages as
well as disseminating information aimed
at reducing our footprint regarding climate
change.
During Earth Hour 2008
more than 50 million people in 400 cities
turned off their lights as did important
icons such as the Opera House in Sydney,
the Buddhist temple of Wat Arun in Bangkok,
the Coliseum in Rome, the Royal Castle in
Stockholm, City Hall in London, Empire State
building in New York, Sears Tower in Chicago
and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Others, such as the Coca-Cola billboard
in Times Square in New York City, as well
as the Google homepage, turned off their
lights for the entire day.
In 2009 it is hoped
that a billion people join the Earth Hour
initiative from all walks of life and ages,
and that over 1000 cities participate, showing
the world that it is possible to take action
against global warming.
Go Bolivia! Do your
part! Join the 2009 Earth Hour by turning
off your lights at 8:30 pm on Saturday,
March 28, 2009 and by signing up with www.earthhour.org/espanol.
