. Some conservationists are concerned that the pressure will result in development of new mines with less environmental protection and tapping sub-prime sources with more severe implications for environmental harm. 2023 Brings New Conservation Challengesand Opportunities on the planet. As the atmosphere, and so the oceans surface, warms, this circulation is accelerating and moving toward the surface, modifying the circulation patterns ocean life and coastal communities including human ones have evolved to thrive with. By donating us $100, $50 or subscribe to Boosting $10/month we can get this article and others in front of tens of thousands of specially targeted readers. Jim Palardy leads The Pew Charitable Trusts conservation science work. Economists and environmentalists have urged policymakers for years to increase the price of activities that emit greenhouse gases (one of our biggest environmental problems), the lack of which constitutes the largest market failure, for example through carbon taxes, which will stimulate innovations in low-carbon technologies. Activating the Trail Community in Conservation Issues This webinar will explore ways to empower and activate trail users on your local trails. Here are the groups top conservation considerations for 2023: Chitin, a complex molecule found in shellfish, insects and fungi, can be broken down into a treasure trove of useful chemicals. All rights reserved. In July 2022, the WTO banned fishing subsidies to reduce global overfishing in a historic deal. Here are the groups top conservation considerations for 2023: Chitin, a complex molecule found in shellfish, insects and fungi, can be broken down into a treasure-trove of useful chemicals. Scientists fear the changes will make oceans less able to moderate climate change and support marine ecosystems. 2023, Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 2023 Brings New Conservation Challengesand Opportunities, California Will Link Non-English Speakers to Social Services, How Local Governments Can Use Data to Serve Residents, Many Student Veterans Must Borrow to Cover Housing Costs. Behavior-based interventions could boost conservation efforts, but raise their own set of tricky ethical issues. A customer buys dry river shellfish at a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Land is cleared to raise livestock or to plant other crops that are sold, such as sugar cane and palm oil. Texans were asked to conserve energy from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday as temperatures climb over 100 degrees for much of the state. Arizona voters care about water conservation, poll shows - azcentral.com Final Policies on Mitigating Impacts of Development to Further Conservation In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention has been put on the role that air pollution gases has in transporting the virus molecules. Of the 18.9 million fishermen in the world, 90% of them fall under the latter category. A carbon tax has been effectively implemented in Sweden; the carbon tax is U$127 per tonne and has reduced emissions by 25% since 1995, while its economy has expanded 75% in the same time period. But if we use improved extraction technologies, we could protect more vulnerable ecosystems by getting more out of conventional mines and perhaps even from trash, ocean water and degraded lands. Fishers have long deployed lights at the waters surface at night to attract fish, squid, and other animals, and are increasingly dropping lights to greater depths. Further, the issue of equity remains a contentious issue whereby developing countries are allowed to emit more in order to develop to the point where they can develop technologies to emit less, and it allows some countries, such as China, to exploit this. both the aviation and shipping sectors combined, United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact, 7 Solutions to Overfishing We Need Right Now, worlds largest cobalt supplier is the Democratic Republic of Congo, about 40% of the planets soil is degraded, If youre a younger read ask your parents to take action by bringing your whole family on board as a, Ask your boss to support EO by bringing the whole team onboard with. This targeted Boosting helps us to reach wider audiences aiming to convince the unconvinced, to inform the uninformed, to enlighten the dogmatic. This is enough to feed 3 billion people. But now scientists are applying modern tools of biology to expand the capabilities by genetically engineering plants to be better able to take up nitrogen and using synthetic biology to create new forms of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Monumental amounts of clothing textile are also dumped in less developed countries as seen with Chiles Atacama, the driest desert in the world, whereat least 39,000 tonnes of textile waste from other nations are left there to rot. The Society for Conservation Biology Nearly half of the topics that bubbled to the top have a climate change connection. Commission hears briefings and receives public input on draft But now scientists are applying modern tools of biology to expand the capabilities by genetically engineering plants to be better able to take up nitrogen and using synthetic biology to create new forms of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. report, current tax structures are not adequately aligned with the pollution profile of energy sources. Food waste and loss occurs at different stages in developing and developed countries; in developing countries, 40% of food waste occurs at the post-harvest and processing levels, while in developed countries, 40% of food waste occurs at the retail and consumer levels. You might also like: 8 Shocking Plastic Pollution Statistics to Know About. We present the results of our 14th horizon scan of issues we expect to influence biological conservation in the future. This leads to food insecurity, another one of the biggest environmental problems on the list. ERCOT issues 'voluntary conservation notice' as demand rises - Chron 15 emerging issues that anyone who cares about biodiversity ought to keep an eye on, Photo iStockphoto.com | Azim_Khan_Ronnie, provide novel information that society and decision-makers may wish to consider in legislation, planning and actions that contribute to environmental sustainability and mitigating threats. As more and more hop on the accountability bandwagon, formal structures for doing so, such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, are emerging as well. According to satellite data, the Greenland ice sheet lost a record amount of ice in 2019: an average of a. million tons per minute throughout the year, If the entire Greenland ice sheet melts, sea level would rise by, Meanwhile, the Antarctic continent contributes about. Natural cycling of saltwater through the top layer of the oceans distributes nutrients needed by ocean life and helps determine weather and climate around the world. Keep an Eye on These 2020 Conservation Issues Food waste and loss account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions annually, harming wildlife habitats and the animals, 8 Shocking Plastic Pollution Statistics to Know About, three million species of plants and animals, 10 Deforestation Facts You Should Know About, Greenland Ice Sheet poses the greatest risk, Two-Thirds of Worlds Glaciers Set to Disappear by 2100 Under Current Global Warming Scenario. This is one driver of the 30% of commercially fished waters being classified as being overfished. And prognosticators predict well be more actively involved in shaping micro-communities in the future, with implications for policy as well as science. How biodiversity conservation can unlock opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean Jun 30, 2023. . With the global population expected to reach 9 billion people by mid-century, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) projects that global food demand may increase by 70% by 2050. While arable lands and grazing pastures cover one-third of Earths land surfaces, they consume three-quarters of the worlds limited freshwater resources. According to economists like Nicholas Stern, the climate crisis is a result of, A national carbon tax is currently implemented in. Maintain your career path but consider donating a portion of your income to organisations that are focused on achieving meaningful & impactful goals and call out your boss if the company or organisation you work for does not have clear policies that will result in reduced harm to the environment and a pathway to Net Zero. Such batteries could pack more power into a given space than conventional battery technologies. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, says that countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly so that global temperature rise is below 2C by 2100, and ideally under 1.5C. Laden with biocides and fertiliser, the soil ends up in waterways where it contaminates drinking water and protected areas downstream. The new year once again brings the opportunity to discuss emerging conservation issues that could significantly affect the environmentin both positive and negative ways. Their goal is to provide novel information that society and decision-makers may wish to consider in legislation, planning and actions that contribute to environmental sustainability and mitigating threats. Show your support for nonprofit journalism! The benefits to biodiversity of technologies that reduce harm to Earths environment are clear. As humans search for alternatives to plastics, new drugs, battery technologies and more, this ubiquitous molecule is seeing growing demand. , including various countries in the EU, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Ukraine and Argentina. Nearly half of the topics that bubbled to the top have a climate change connection. This could have contributed to the high death toll in China, where air quality is notoriously poor, although more definitive studies must be conducted before such a conclusion can be drawn. This years group came up with 15 top issues that fall into four main categories: resource use, disturbance of organisms and habitats, technological innovations, and policy and law. These so-called thermophotovoltaic systems could help reduce need for fossil fuels, conventional batteries, and large, centralized power plants, all of which have adverse implications for biodiversity. A third of the food intended for human consumption around 1.3 billion tons is wasted or lost. By 2015, this annual production swelled to 419 million tons and exacerbating plastic waste in the environment. As anyone who has ever rubbed their hands together to warm them knows, heat is a form of energy. June 27, 2023 Conservatives attack financial firms that consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues. Join organisations that are organising climate actions and protests locally, whether in your city, district, or even at school. As we look ahead to the conservation issues shaping 2023, Conservation News sat down with Conservation International's climate lead Emily Nyrop and scientist Dave Hole to discuss how to maximize nature's role as a climate solution. On the flip side, they could lead to fertilizer overuse, potentially harming ecosystems and exacerbating climate change. Around the world, more than 820 million people do not get enough to eat. Representing arguably the biggest of the environmental problems, this is made all the more concerning considering that last years summer triggered the loss of 60 billion tons of ice from Greenland, enough to raise global sea levels by 2.2mm in just two months. Interest in sequestering carbon and growing biomass for fuel is incentivising people to plant massive swaths of trees of a single species on unforested land. There is some hope that they might be partly saved by sediment buildup creating new substrate or by moving inland. More broadly, a recent analysis has found that the. No one knows but from a biodiversity standpoint, its worth finding out. On the flip side, they could lead to fertiliser overuse, potentially harming ecosystems and exacerbating the climate emergency. Other novel conservation issues that made this years horizon scan include the development and expansion of selective lithium mining technologies to produce batteries for electric vehicles and other products, and a growing demand for chitosana substance derived from the hard exterior of crustaceans, insects, and fungal cell wallsthat can be used in applications from water treatment to food packaging. As a key component of battery materials that power electric vehicles (EVs), cobalt is facing a sustained surge in demand as decarbonisation efforts progress. . Ways to approach climate action within our personal lives (hint it evolves personal action but is not focused on small behavioural changes, which whilst worthwhile will not get us there): Ways to approach climate action within the workplace: Ways to approach climate action as a voter or political actor (even if you cant vote): Featured image by Roy Mangersnes (EO Photographer). A report by science journal, Nature, determined that currently, roughly 14 million tons of plastic make their way into the oceans every year, harming wildlife habitats and the animals that live in them. However, climate change, the expansion of urban areas, the development of aquaculture, and other factors are limiting the ability of wetlands to grow both vertically and by expanding inland. Additionally, the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada in the Arctic recently collapsed, having lost about 80 square kilometres or 40% of its area over a two-day period in late July, according to the Canadian Ice Service. The 2023 results were collected from Jan. 5-22. The deadly protist perkinsea appears to be spreading from North America to other parts of the world. If such systems are put into place, they not only could harvest the nutrients from urine but also reduce the environmental impacts of including it in waste streams that go to wastewater treatment facilities or sometimes circumvent them, polluting waterways that support native animals and plants. They also provide numerous benefits to people, including flood protection, shoreline erosion control, and recreational opportunities. You might also like: The Remarkable Benefits of Biodiversity. Now, some are starting to apply this same approach at lower depths. Such batteries could pack more power into a given space than conventional battery technologies. In mining regions, scientists have made note of high radioactivity levels. Together these trends bode well for biodiversity with their potential to enhance transparency and action. that is released into the Earths atmosphere. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential. 2023 Craft breweries are fermenting change . Welcome to VCN's 2023 Common Agenda, representing the policy agenda of more than 150 organizations across the Commonwealth. TRCP's Top Conservation Priorities for Congress in 2023 Theworlds largest cobalt supplier is the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), where it is estimated that up to a fifth of the production is produced through artisanal miners. As humans search for alternatives to plastics, new drugs, battery technologies and more, this ubiquitous molecule is seeing growing demand. Cox issues executive order to require water conservation at state facilities and increase Utah's drought resiliency SALT LAKE CITY (May 10, 2023) - Gov. Birds Are in Decline, Warns New Report The 2022 U.S. State of the Birds report shows plummeting bird populations across almost all habitats while highlighting the need for further conservation efforts. About 12% of the world relies upon fisheries in some form or another, with 90% of these being small-scale fishermen think a small crew in a boat, not a ship, using small nets or even, lures not too different from the kind you probably use. Demand for lithium is rocketing as efforts to electrify more things expands the need for batteries. Animals such as pangolins, sharks and seahorses are significantly affected by the illegal wildlife trade, and pangolins are critically endangered because of it. If such systems are put into place, they not only could harvest the nutrients from urine, but also reduce the environmental impacts of including it in waste streams that go to wastewater treatment facilities or sometimes circumvent them, polluting waterways that support native animals and plants. At the beginning of your post, please attribute the writer and Ensia as the original source and link to the Ensia article. The group narrowed a list of 89 issues to 15 emerging or anticipated trends that have a strong potential to benefit or harm living things but are not yet on the radar for most conservationists . Southern regions of the DRC are not only home to cobalt and copper, but also large amounts of uranium. As of May 2023, CO2 PPM (parts per million) is at 420.00 and the global temperature rise is 1.15C compared to pre-industrial levels. While the climate crisis has many factors that play a role in the exacerbation of the environment, there are some that warrant more attention than others. Despite efforts to protect forest land, legal deforestation is still rampant, and about a third of global tropical deforestation occurs in Brazils Amazon forest, amounting to1.5 million hectares each year. The full global impact of the issues included in the 2023 horizon scan will continue to unfold in the coming years. Further, organisations such as the United Nations are not fit to deal with the climate crisis: it was assembled to prevent another world war and is not fit for purpose. The 2023 horizon scan was coordinated by the U.K.-based Cambridge Conservation Initiative and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The climate crisis is causing tropical storms and other weather events such as hurricanes, heatwaves and flooding to be more intense and frequent than seen before. Joining a community can be one of the best ways to increase your impact. Over three billion people around the world, rely on fish as their primary source of protein. Today, sea levels are rising more than twice as quickly as they did for most of the 20th century as a result of increasing temperatures on Earth. You might also like: Cobalt Mining: The Dark Side of the Renewable Energy Transition. We promise, no spam! Scientists have found similar microbes in Central America, South America and Europe. Demand for lithium is skyrocketing as efforts to electrify more things expands the need for batteries. The scientists say that without the human destruction of nature, this rate of loss would have taken thousands of years. Our Common Agenda - Virginia Conservation Network A third of the food intended for human consumption around 1.3 billion tons is wasted or lost. The planet's most important stories. These technologies open the door to storing energy in batteries made of organic compounds. Laden with biocides and fertiliser, the soil ends up in waterways where it contaminates drinking water and protected areas downstream. Pew addresses the challenges of a changing world by illuminating issues, creating common ground, and advancing ambitious projects that lead to tangible progress. June 27, 2023 | BAN SOP LAN, Thailand. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the North American Development Bank (NADBank) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) to celebrate a completed water infrastructure project and Brownfields funding for the village of Vinton in El Paso County, Release Date: June 27, 2023. Today, sea levels are rising more than twice as quickly as they did for most of the 20th century as a result of increasing temperatures on Earth. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention has been put on the role that air pollution gases has in transporting the virus molecules. Under attack by human development for decades, they are now facing another threat: a rise in ocean levels due to the climate crisis. A report by science journal, Nature, determined that currently, roughly. As this capability grows and finds real-world application, it can reduce the adverse environmental consequences of artificial fertilizer use and so reduce their harms to wild plants and animals. Take action Today and Join a Global Environmental Movement. You might also like: Global Food Security: Why It Matters in 2023. Get focused newsletters especially designed to be concise and easy to digest. The accumulating bacteria and microorganisms derived from plastic garbage dumped in the ocean to damage marine ecosystems and contribute towards coral bleaching. Explore and monitor how Biodiversity is affecting economies, industries and global issues. Regardless, our goal in drawing attention to them with this study is to raise awareness, initiate discussion, and increase further scientific investigation of them. More than 500 species of land animals are on the brink of extinction and are likely to be lost within 20 years; the same number were lost over the whole of the last century. These shifts could alter other ocean dynamics, like upwelling, nutrient cycling, and the ability of the oceans surface to absorb heat from the atmosphereall of which would have impacts on marine life, fisheries, and coastal communities that are yet to be determined. As desirable as even monoculture plantations might be for mitigating climate change, they pose a challenge in the form of relatively poor habitat and a risk of spreading nonnative invasive species into native forests, disrupting the ecosystems there. Abstract. Some studies have also found that ocean acidification can be linked as one of the effects of plastic pollution in the ocean. Emerging technologies produce electricity by using biological molecules to break down other biological molecules, releasing electrons in the process. by Emily Foxhall June 20, 2023 Updated: 10 PM Central People cool off at . Harvesting human pee and DIY fertiliser: top conservation issues in 2023 The invisible communities around us are becoming more homogeneous as humans passively or actively alter microbe mixes for purposes ranging from protecting coral reefs to improving our own health. This, however, requires much stricter regulations of the worlds oceans than the ones already in place.
