IUCN Red List: Global appetite for resources pushing new species to the brink

Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Chinese Pufferfish, American Eel, Chinese Cobra and an Australian butterfly are threatened with extinction

WORLD -- Fishing, logging, mining, agriculture and other activities to satisfy our growing appetite for resources are threatening the survival of numerous species, while the destruction of habitat has caused the extinction of a Malaysian mollusc and the world’s largest known earwig. The Red List of Threatened Species™ was released on Monday at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Parks Congress taking place in Sydney, Australia. The IUCN Red List, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, now includes 76,199 assessed species, of which 22,413 are threatened with extinction. As nearly half of the newly assessed species occur within protected areas, IUCN calls for better management of these places to stop further biodiversity decline. “Each update of the IUCN Red List makes us realize that our planet is constantly losing its incredible diversity of life, largely due to our destructive actions to satisfy our growing appetite for resources,” says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “But we have scientific evidence that protected areas can play a central role in reversing this trend. Experts warn that threatened species poorly represented in protected areas are declining twice as fast as those which are well represented. Our responsibility is to increase the number of protected areas and ensure that they are effectively managed so that they can contribute to saving our planet’s biodiversity.” (Photos below)

Spanish winds for British energy

Takes up twice the surface of the city of Bilbao

(ecofriend.com)

WEST OF DUDDON SANDS (UK) -- Spanish energy giant Iberdrola put the company's offshore wind farm at West of Duddon Sands into operation on October 30. Iberdrola Renovables bought control of ScottishPower Renewables back in 2011 in the largest purchase in the company's history. According to the Iberdrola Renovables website, "Located approximately 20km off the Barrow-in-Furness coastline in North West England, the wind farm covers a total area of 67km², has 108 Siemens turbines with 3.6MW unit capacity and has also seen more than 200 km of undersea cables installed. With an investment of €2 billion, this offshore wind facility developed by Iberdrola, through its subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, in a joint-venture with Dong Energy was commissioned more than two months ahead of schedule."

By 2050, Spain’s coastline will recede some 40 metres

SPAIN -- Water levels will impact tourism and port activity, as well as intensifying the effect of storms. Costs will amount to up to 3% of GNP in 2050. The worst impact will be felt at the deltas of the Guadalquivir, Ebro and Guadiana rivers. This, according to research on climate change and its effect on the Spanish coastline. It concludes that by 2050, the average retreat of the coastline of the Iberian Peninsula will be between 2 and 4 metres. This would reflect a rise in sea level of between 60 and 72 centimetres above the average levels that existed between 1986 and 2005. This worst case scenario would happen if nothing at all is done now, and there is no change in the ever more rapid advance of climate change, or global warming – but don’t hold your breath. The main threat is the rise in sea level, warmer water temperature and its acidity.