Saturday, November 30, 2013

MACOUN MARSH UPDATE (CANADA)

Welcome to our winter wonderland!

 Recent snow has covered the marsh land.

 White-breasted nuthatch observes the surroundings.

 Feather-like ice crystals

 Downy woodpecker looking for food.

Ice crystal trees

Friday, November 29, 2013

World Public Health Nutrition Association declared Biodiversity Champion



Montreal, 29 November 2013 – The World Public Health Nutrition Association (WPHNA) has been declared a Biodiversity Champion by the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in recognition of its important contribution to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

“We are delighted that the World Public Health Nutrition Association has become a Biodiversity Champion. Biodiversity is the basis for a varied and healthy diet upon which good nutrition is founded,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary. “With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, conserving biodiversity and sustainably using the components of biodiversity is critical for our well-being and the drive to end hunger and malnutrition.”

The Biodiversity Champions campaign was launched in 2012 at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the CBD held in Hyderabad, India, by the President of the COP, Her Excellency, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of Environment and Forests of India and Executive Secretary Braulio Dias, and allows countries and organizations to make pledges to support efforts towards one or more of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

As a Biodiversity Champion, the WPHNA will integrate relevant issues of biodiversity into its aims and objectives and bring attention to the relationship between nutrition and biodiversity to its nutrition professionals across the world in academia, the private sector, civil society, UN agencies, and government.

Their work will advance the Convention’s cross-cutting initiative on biodiversity for food and nutrition and contribute to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including Targets 1, 4, 12, 13, 14, 18 and 19. In addition, it will contribute to initiatives of several organizations to promote sustainable diets. "More and more in the field of nutrition, we are recognizing that human health and environmental health cannot be separated. The WPHNA is taking the initiative to give biodiversity a higher profile in the public health nutrition arena and to encourage its members to do their part in realizing the Aichi Targets,” said Barbara Burlingame, Deputy Director, Nutrition Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and member of the WPHNA.

With members from over 50 countries, the WHPNA is an individual membership organization committed to advocacy, leadership and scholarship, strengthening the capacity for action and providing a forum for discussion. It affirms that good health is a human right.

“The WPHNA has a strong commitment to the promotion of biodiversity for food and nutrition, and the concept of sustainable diets which has biodiversity at its core,” said Barrie Margetts, WPHNA President and Professor of Health Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton.

Adopted in 2010, the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 aims to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity considerations across government, society and business. It includes a series of ambitious yet achievable goals and targets, collectively known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

INCREASE IN PENALTY RATE FOR POACHERS- BHUTAN



To protect two most endangered species, tigers and snow leopards, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest of Bhutan has increased the penalty on their poaching to Nu 1 Million which is more than ten times the existing penalty of Nu 50,000. The increased rate of illegal poaching of the animal’s part has compelled the government to revise and increase the rate in order to discourage the poachers and save the animals.
November 19

FLOURISHING TOURISM IN BHUTAN



There has been increase in the number of tourists in Bhutan this year. The number has doubled in Trashigang tshechu district, western Bhutan from 300 to 830 compared to last year. Similarly, 95,931 tourists have visited the country till October this year among which 43,398 were international and 52,533 were regional tourists.
November 18, 19
http://www.kuenselonline.com/tourists-flood-trashigang-tshechu/#.UoxGQtKkqGA

WORLD'S HIGHEST POWER STATION IN TIBET- CHINA



Construction of the world's highest 10-MW PV power station, Ngari Photovoltaic (PV) Power Station at 4720 masl in southwest of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is completed and test runs are underway. The station is a joint investment between the central government and Guodian Longyuan Tibet New Energy Co., Ltd., with a total installed capacity of 10 MW and an expected working life of 25 years.
November 22
http://english.people.com.cn/90882/8462945.html

LAND CONVERSION IN KASHMIR VALLEY- INDIA



Increasing urbanization and commercialization has been eating up the agricultural land in Kashmir Valley, northern India. The state government of the area had established a committee to control the use of agricultural land for the non-agricultural purposes but it is without any result till now. In addition to that the Revenue Department, various implementing and monitoring agencies in the area have also failed to curb the illegal conversion of the agricultural land.
November 18