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Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 18 April 2011 Representatives from more than 30 countries are expected to hammer out a formal agreement for future discussions on forest and climate issues when they meet next month in the Republic of Congo, reports the [...] Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 20 September 2010 South Africa is considered among the top five most mega-diverse countries in the world, boasting almost 10% of the world’s known bird, fish and plant species and over 6% of the world’s mammal and reptile species contained on a land surface of only 1,1 million square kilometres (1% of the Earth’s total land area). To highlight the crucial role nature’s rich diversity plays in our lives, the United Nations (UN) has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB-2010).  Tswaing Crater,about 40 km north of Pretoria, is extraordinarily rich in fauna and flora. According to the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity (the variety of life on Earth), is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend upon. The Convention, of which South Africa is a signatory, covers all ecosystems, species and genetic resources, linking traditional conservation efforts to economic goal of using biological resources sustainably, setting principles for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from use of genetic resources, notably for commercial use and covering rapidly expanding field of biotechnology, and addressing technology development and transfer, benefit- sharing and biosafety. Unfortunately, South Africa’s increased population growth, habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution and the introduction of invasive alien species are all placing increasing pressure on our natural systems. This holds particularly true for South Africa’s freshwater ecosystems, with the 2006 South Africa Environment Outlook indicating that 82% of the country’s main river ecosystems are threatened. Continue reading 2010 – The International Year of Biodiversity Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 22 May 2010 The International Day of Biological Diversity is held every year on May 22nd. The day was created by the United Nations to create awareness about environmental issues. This years official theme is “Biodiversity for Development”. [...] Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 May 2010 By: Christo Marais – Working for Water: Natural Resource Management Programmes It has often been said that environmentalists are “underselling the value of their products” with the result that their arguments are not being heard in mainstream economic debates. Historically, we have not been willing to put a value to biodiversity and environmental services. How do we value nature and what is the value of nature, they have argued. During the last few decades though, this has begun to change.  Pezula's rehabilitation programme has cleared over 300ha of alien trees and vegetation With the advent of global climate change and the need for carbon sequestration and mitigation measures, the global face of natural resource management has changed. Although not as well-developed internationally, water markets are following the trend set by the carbon market. So often when water resource management is being considered, the management options focus on augmentation and engineering solutions to water quantity and quality rather than the full spectrum of resource management options. The impact of land management and the management of natural water resources such as wetlands, rivers and catchments is seldom seriously considered. For example, the drying up of our catchments, degradation and transformation of our wetlands, river banks and floodplains impacts on the proper functioning of these water resource systems by decreasing the amount of water absorbed into the systems and increasing the intensity of floods. Furthermore, when invasive alien trees out-compete natural vegetation in these areas, this results not only in changing the flows, but also causes major water losses due to significantly increased water use. This has a direct impact on the availability of water in our rivers, aquifers and even on the yield of dams. A recent study has shown that 4 percent of utilisable water, or registered water use, is being lost due to invasive alien trees in our catchments, wetlands, river banks and floodplains. If left unchecked, this could increase to more than 16 percent within a relatively short period of time. Continue reading Water markets follow trend set by carbon markets Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 May 2010 Far too many of the world’s plants and animals — and the wild places that support them — are at risk of collapse, a U.N. report finds, despite a global goal set in 2002 for major improvement by this year.  Frogs and other amphibians are most at risk of extinction. Frogs and other amphibians are most at risk of extinction, coral reefs are the species deteriorating most rapidly and the survival of nearly a quarter of all plant species is threatened, the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity said Monday in a report issued every four years. The outlook on the planet’s ecological diversity and health is produced under a 1993 treaty since joined by most of the world’s nations. It says the planet is falling short of its goal to achieve by this year “a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels.” Pollution, climate change, drought, deforestation, illegal poaching and overfishing are among the many culprits named. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in the report that the consequences of “this collective failure” will be severe for everyone on the planet if it is not quickly corrected. “We must give it higher priority in all areas of decision-making and in all economic sectors,” he says. “Conserving biodiversity cannot be an afterthought once other objectives are addressed — it is the foundation on which many of these objectives are built.” The U.N. had declared 2010 would be the “International Year of Biodiversity,” seeking to raise awareness. But the report provides extremely dire projections of the state of biodiversity globally, such as the loss of huge areas of the Amazon rainforest and many fresh water lakes. Continue reading World’s plants and animals at risk of collapse |
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