Biodiversity
Halting the loss of biodiversity is one of the millennium goals that unfortunately so far have not been reached yet. To the contrary, the number of species at risk of extinction is increasing. The reasons for this are manifold, first of all habitat destruction and climate change.
Special report on Biodiversity, May 2010
The political framework and policy arrangements should focus increasingly on reducing the pressure on biodiversity while integrating recommendations made by scientists and academics. These recommendations should also help politicians to become more aware of the role of policy as a factor in biodiversity loss. To achieve this, more emphasis needs to be placed on the economic, cultural and intangible resources provided by biodiversity.
The Atlas combines the key
results of the major European research project ALARM (68 partner
organisations
in 35 countries in Europe and other continents) with some core outputs
of
numerous other research networks. In total, 366 authors from more than
180
institutions in 43 countries contributed to the 280-page Atlas.
Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 - 2010
The
action taken over the next decade or two, and the direction charted
under the
Convention on Biological Diversity, will determine whether the
relatively
stable environmental conditions on which human civilization has depended
for
the past 10,000 years will continue beyond this century. If we fail to
use this
opportunity, many ecosystems on the planet will move into new,
unprecedented
states in which the capacity to provide for the needs of present and
future
generations is highly uncertain.
Articles and facts of general interest:
07/06/2010 - Land
plants process 15 percent of total atmospheric carbon dioxide each year. Terrestrial ecosystems draw about 123 billion tonnes of carbon
(450 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, CO2) from the atmosphere each year...Tropical ecosystems such as rain forests and savannas account
for almost two thirds of the CO2 uptake, they report in an article published by
the journal “Science” on the “Science Express” web site today.
Publications and websites for specific ecosystems:
Antarctic
Arctic (icluding Taiga and Tundra)
Desert
Grasslands
Savannah
Shrubland
Temperate Forest
Tropical forests