Tag: biodiversity

Europe’s grassland butterfly population has dropped “dramatically” over the past 20 years, a stark warning that many of Europe’s species may be heading for extinction, says a new report by the European Environment Agency.

Animals and plants brought to Europe from other parts of the world are a bigger-than-expected threat to health and the environment costing at least €12 billion a year, a study said on Thurday (21 February).

Pesticides and agricultural intensification are the main causes of biodiversity destruction, suggesting the predictions of the famous book 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson are now becoming reality, writes Hans Muilerman.

The EU's 27 environment ministers have set out the key elements of the bloc's environment policy for decades to come, calling for "an ambitious and compelling 2050 vision for a green Europe" that decouples economic growth from environmental degradation.

Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 28% globally since 1970 and the world would have to be 50% bigger to have enough land and forests to provide for current levels of consumption and carbon emissions, the conservation group WWF said today (15 May).

Could "green" be the new black? Perhaps only if you can imagine wearing stilettos made from pistachio nuts and coffee beans, and clothes from orange peel, fungi and mould.

EU environment ministers yesterday (21 June) failed to endorse concrete measures proposed by the European Commission to protect biodiversity, with some expressing reservations even on the proposed targets of the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy until more clarity is found on actions and funding.

The industry, backed by environmental activists, is promoting solar power for its light impact on biodiversity, highlighting the sector's anxiety to preserve its green image.

The EU's 2020 biodiversity strategy, to be presented next week, will pave the way for the value of nature to be taken into account across all policies, including factoring the environment and ecosystems into national economic plans.

The establishment of a new UN body to advise governments on how to tackle biodiversity loss and protect ecosystem services was given the final go-ahead in December, paving the way for a global debate on new green taxes, biodiversity credits and the building of ecosystem businesses.

The European Commission has issued guidelines on how to design wind farms so that they do not disturb birds and bats living in the EU's 'Natura 2000' network of protected sites.

A global coalition of about 200 companies said yesterday (26 October) that it was ready to support the introduction of a price tag on ecosystem services, in the hope that a global biodiversity panel will lay the foundations for an offset mechanism to encourage trading of nature services.

A major UN report demands that all countries swiftly study their natural resources and take stock of world's forests and ecosystem services, in order to draw up actual accounts to charge people and businesses for the "major externalities" they impose on society and nature.

The European Commission yesterday (4 October) provided new guidelines on reconciling demand for mining valuable raw materials with its Natura 2000 programme of protected sites.

A UN-sponsored report on the economics of biodiversity suggests the adoption of market-based instruments, such as additional levies to enforce sustainable use of ecosystem services, including water, forests and endangered species.

Environmentalists have called on the EU to take action against widespread destruction of protected natural habitats in Bulgaria caused by the construction of tourist resorts, golf courses and ski slopes, sand and gravel extraction and intensive wood production. Without action, they warn, the situation could be repeated in Romania and future EU member states.

Biodiversity and ecosystem conservation offer an array of new opportunities for business, which can either develop green products and services or trade biodiversity 'credits', argues a new European Commission report on the economics of nature.

The European Commission's investigation of organic agriculture provides an opportunity for long overdue critical scientific scrutiny, so that agricultural policies can be based on knowledge and not on ideology, writes Professor Anthony Trewavas of the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Edinburgh in a May commentary.

European Union ambassadors agreed to propose protecting bluefin tuna as an endangered species on Wednesday (10 March), a move that would effectively ban international trade in the species.

A United Nations initiative is making massive calculations in an attempt to put a price on nature services such as soil, forest or fresh water in a drive to convince policymakers to implement the 'polluter pays' principle to protect nature, said Pavan Sukhdev, who leads the initiative.

Recognising its failure to deliver on a target of halting biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010, the EU executive yesterday (19 January) tabled policy options for a new 2020 target. The options range from scaling down previous ambitions to stepping up the EU's contribution to halting global biodiversity loss.

Setting a clear timetable for delivering a comprehensive, legally-binding climate treaty by mid-2010 is a must, the EU's Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told EurActiv in an interview.

Only a small proportion of species and habitat types protected under EU law have 'good' conservation status, a European Commission report shows, urging member states to strengthen their efforts to protect biodiversity. Meanwhile, NGOs are pointing the finger at the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the current state of affairs.

As industry was showcasing rehabilitated quarry and mine sites on European Minerals Day (15-17 May) and arguing that mining can actually create new habitats, the European Commission was underlining that protecting biodiversity begins with preventing and reducing the damage caused by mining in the first place.