Fifty years after independence, Uganda has one of the highest population growth rates in the world at 3.3 percent – a rate which puts the country on track to nearly double in population over the next two decades. More than 50 percent of the population is under the age of 18. This large youth cohort will ensure that the country […]
This year could be a defining moment for the protection of biodiversity and the illegal trade in wildlife. Earlier in the year saw the environment – climate change and wildlife trafficking – being raised at the UN Security Council for the first time as a threat to stable and democratic governments. And yesterday saw Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State , […]
Last week a two-day conference in Kigali, Rwanda, saw a range of groups from the ten African countries that are home to gorilla populations come together to discuss ways of protecting this endangered great ape. The conference attracted a wide range of groups involved with the gorillas from government departments through to law enforcement agencies, NGO’s and international experts. Gorillas […]
The Revealed, a Czech Radio gorilla project, carries on in the Year of the Gorilla, focusing more than before on the protection of lowland gorillas in the wild. The project has become a partner of the Year of the Gorilla and is now planning live webcasts from Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon. The Revealed has also started working with legendary […]
The United Nations have declared 2009 the Year of the Gorilla – and there is a call for actions from everyone to participate in global efforts to save gorillas. Some journalists are questioning the morality of saving gorillas while people continue to suffer in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. When in Rwanda I attended the Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming ceremony – […]
On April 6, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release a report entitled Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability that focuses on how climate change is affecting the planet. One finding is an accelerated rate of species extinctions, with estimates of up to 1 million species at risk in coming decades. However, new research shows that protected […]
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, regional vice president and director of Conservation International’s Mexico and Central America program, received the first annual Conservation Leadership Award from the blue moon fund in a ceremony at the Costa Rican Embassy. Rodriguez receives the $150,000 award for making significant advances in both terrestrial and marine conservation while serving as Costa Rica’s environment and energy minister […]
Ambitious goals for reducing poverty and disease in Africa are unreachable without radical changes that make biodiversity and its socioeconomic value the foundation for development policies, a global environmental conference concluded Saturday. The symposium organized by Conservation International, titled “Defying Nature’s End: The African Context,” produced a five-page “Madagascar Declaration” that challenges traditional aid and development models for the world’s […]
An unprecedented international symposium called “Defying Nature’s End: The African Context,” will examine how conserving the continent’s unmatched biodiversity can help alleviate poverty, fight disease and improve the quality of life for people. The symposium from June 20-24 in Madagascar’s capital will be attended by government leaders, international organizations, conservation groups and local communities. Speakers will include Madagascar President Marc […]