Posted on 06 October
2010
A seven meter tall carnivorous
plant, a fish with vampire fangs, and a
frog that sounds like a cricket are among
145 new species described last year in the
Greater Mekong, reaffirming the region as
a one of the most significant biological
hotspots on the planet ahead of the UN Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya,
Japan.
New Blood: Greater Mekong
new species discoveries 2009, reveals an
average of three new species recorded by
science each week including Asia’s only
bald songbird the Bare-faced bulbul and
the uniquely adapted Sucker-fish, which
uses its body to sucker onto rocks in fast
flowing waters to move upstream.
“This rate of discovery
is simply staggering in modern times,” said
Stuart Chapman, Conservation Director of
WWF Greater Mekong. “Each year, the new
species count keeps going up, and with it,
so too does the responsibility to ensure
this region’s unique biodiversity is conserved,”
he said.
The report says while
these discoveries highlight the Greater
Mekong’s immense biodiversity it also pinpoints
the fragility of this region’s diverse habitats
and species. The likely local extinction
of the Javan rhino in Vietnam is one tragic
indicator of the decline of biodiversity
in recent times.
Other new species standouts
that were discovered in this region that
comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand,
Vietnam and the southern province of Yunnan
in China include five new mammal species,
two bats and three shrews, a poisonous pit
viper and an entirely new genus of fang-less
snake.
The report highlights
the opportunity for governments of the Greater
Mekong to use financing through the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), the global financing
mechanism for the CBD, to leverage large-scale
resources to conserve species, biodiversity
and healthy ecosystems across the region.
“Biodiversity is not
evenly distributed around the globe. These
new species are a timely reminder of the
extraordinary biodiversity in the Greater
Mekong,” said Mr Chapman. “Therefore a greater
allocation of funds is needed to ensure
these valuable ecosystems are conserved.”
At the CBD, WWF will
promote opportunities for the Global Environment
Facility to provide financing for a trans-boundary
programme in the Greater Mekong that recognizes
the role of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.
+ More
New method emerges to
deter “indirect” land grab for biofuel production
Posted on 08 October
2010
Utrecht/Nürnberg/Brussels – A new methodology
that could deter the “indirect” conversion
of virgin or tropical forests for biofuel
production was published today by prominent
consultancy Ecofys, WWF and Conservation
International.
The Responsible Cultivation
Area [RCA] methodology could complement
emerging bans on converting high value ecosystems
directly into biofuel productions by providing
a measure to reduce the risk of indirect
biofuel production impacts such as biofuel
displacement of food production into conservation
areas.
RCA, which has been
field tested in Indonesia and Brazil, works
by setting up guidelines for the expansion
of energy crop production in ways that reduce
the potential for it to impact on food production.
Acceptable measures
would include increasing yields on existing
energy crop plantations, integrating energy
crop and food production and directing additional
production towards ‘unused land’ with low
biodiversity and low carbon stocks.
Future likely developments,
such as the use of residues or aquatic biomass
such as algae for energy production, will
be taken into account in future versions
of the methodology.
“The new methodology
contains practical guidance for companies
on how to identify responsible production
areas with a minimum risk of unwanted direct
or indirect land use change,” said Bart
Dehue, Managing Consultant at Ecofys. “It
also offers suggestions for legislators
on how to distinguish biofuels with a low
risk of indirect land use change”,.
Addressing the biofuel
“sustainability gap”
At first heralded as
an ideal way to decarbonising the road transport
sector by delivering a low-carbon alternative
to petrol and diesel, biofuels were soon
facing issues over whether production that
involved extensive forest clearing meant
more carbon was being emitted than could
be saved over even lengthy periods.
This has become known
as the biofuel “sustainability gap”, and
was behind an EU directive in 2009 adopting
sustainability criteria for biofuels and
bioliquids These criteria include a minimum
for Greenhouse Gas emission reductions compared
to fossil fuels. In addition, biofuel and
bioliquid production may not lead to unwanted
direct land use change, such as the conversion
of forests or highly biodiverse grasslands.
However, the possibility
of indirect pressure on forests and the
environmental and social costs involved
was initially overlooked in the European
sustainability criteria, currently the world’s
strongest.
“There is a need to
close this sustainability gap to ensure
a sustainable future for biofuels”, says
Imke Luebbeke from the WWF European Policy
Office.
There is some recognition
of this need, however. The EU is currently
conducting consultations on indirect land
use change pressures from biofuel production,
and it is hoped the RCA methodology would
be of some interest to these deliberations.
