The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, inviting the world to take action to safeguard the variety of life on earth.
What is the current pace of biodiversity loss? Has progress been made? How is biodiversity linked to agriculture and climate change? These and many more questions are answered by GreenFacts’ clear and faithful summaries of International Scientific Assessments (CBD Global Outlook, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, IPCC, IAASTD etc.).
This is a crucial year as the 2010 Biodiversity Target expires and world governments will take stock of the progress made for biodiversity conservation. Later this year a new target will be adopted to continue fostering action for biodiversity.
Events around the world – including the UNESCO Biodiversity Science-Policy Conference in Paris (25-29 January 2010) – will contribute by raising awareness and catalyzing action.
Several related digests are available through our Biodiversity Theme page.
According to a recent announcement by the WHO, the H1N1 influenza virus is now the dominant influenza strain in most parts of the world and in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread.
To date, there are no signs that the virus has mutated to a more virulent or lethal form.
The overwhelming majority of patients continue to experience mild illness. Although the virus can cause very severe and fatal illness, also in young and healthy people, the number of such cases remains small.
How is H1N1 different from seasonlal influenza?
To date, most severe cases and deaths have occurred in adults under the age of 50 years, with deaths in the elderly comparatively rare. This age distribution is in stark contrast with seasonal influenza, where around 90% of severe and fatal cases occur in people 65 years of age or older.
Perhaps most significantly, a very severe form of disease is also observed in young and otherwise healthy people, which is rarely seen during seasonal influenza infections. In these patients, the virus directly infects the lung, causing severe respiratory failure. Saving these lives depends on highly specialized and demanding care in intensive care units, usually with long and costly stays.
The WHO provides information on how to best prepare for and respond to the pandemic: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/
See also the GreenFacts summary on Global Public Health Threats
Montreal is currently welcoming hundreds of scientists studying the atmosphere, the oceans and the ice for MOCA 2009, which is the joint assembly of the the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS), the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) and the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS).
Climate in general and polar regions in particular are high on the agenda. With the International Polar Year just behind us, new results of concerted research efforts ar
e emerging, and they seem to confirm that polar regions are both affected by larger changes in temperatures and more vulnerable to those changes than lower latitudes, as previously laid out in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment in 2005.
GreenFacts published a summary of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
Today’s International Day for Biological Diversity marks the 16th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). According to this Convention, Biodiversity – the number, variety, and variability of living organisms – is not just about plants, animals, microorganisms and their ecosystems, but also about humans and their needs such as food security, clean air and water, as well as a healthy environment. Why is it important to reduce biodiversity loss?
In 2002, the Convention on Biological Diversity set the target of reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 and established a number of biodiversity indicators to assess progress towards meeting that target. Can this target be reached? What actions are needed? More…
Summary available in [en] [es] [fr] [nl]
Biodiversity contributes to many aspects of human well-being, for instance by providing raw materials and contributing to health. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment shows that human actions often lead to irreversible losses in terms of diversity of life on Earth. What factors are responsible for this rapid loss? More…
Summary available in [de] [en] [es] [fr] [nl]
Today, the importance of spreading knowledge about climate change is emphasized by the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore. GreenFacts is pleased to contribute to disseminating the most recent scientific findings on the subject by publishing a faithful, reader-friendly overview of the latest IPCC assessment report.
Read the GreenFacts summary of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report.
At the occasion of the meeting of the Working Group II (WG2) of the IPCC in Brussels this week, GreenFacts has published a clear and faithful summary of “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Summary for Policymakers” by the IPCC WG1, the first part of the IPCC 4th Assessment Report (AR4), on www.greenfacts.org/en/climate-change-ar4/.
This GreenFacts Digest is available in English, Dutch, French, and Spanish.
The fight against AIDS, put into the spotlight by the upcoming World AIDS Day, has been identified by world leaders as one of the most urgent issues of national and international development. In this context, the GreenFacts Digest on AIDS provides an overview of the current state of the epidemic and the challenges ahead.
Read the GreenFacts summary on AIDS status & challenges of the epidemic
The 10th International Congress on Obesity in Sydney, Australia, brings international attention to the fight against obesity and other diet-related diseases. In this context, GreenFacts’ Digest on Diet and Nutrition looks at how improved eating habits and increased physical activity can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Read the GreenFacts Summary on Diet and Nutrition Prevention of Chronic Diseases
Summary available in [de] [en] [es] [fr]
This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity marks the 14th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity. According to this Convention, Biodiversity – the number, variety, and variability of living organisms – is not just about plants, animals, microorganisms and their ecosystems, but also about humans and their needs such as food security, clean air and water, as well as a healthy environment.
In light of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, which happened on 26th April 1986, GreenFacts has sent out a press release on its latest Digest which highlights the findings of the Chernobyl Forum Report. The Forum included hundreds of experts from, among others, the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Read the GreenFacts summary: Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
