Environmental laws in Canada fall short of addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis theconversation.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theconversation.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The revived debate over whether COVID-19 could be the result of an accidental release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology may never be adequately resolved. Either way, we risk not seeing the wood for the trees.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in February such a leak was “extremely unlikely”, it later advised more work was needed to rule it out.
But the real problem is not what might have happened in China it’s that there is no meaningful international legal oversight in the first place.
The United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity puts the onus on individual countries to regulate their own biotech industries. While there are protocols for the safe handling and transfer of living modified organisms, there are still no agreed international standards governing laboratory safety, monitoring and information sharing.
Protect biodiversity to fight climate change - The Washington Post washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Protected areas see continued deforestation but at a reduced rate, OSU research shows Published: - Feb 18, 2021
A survey of more than 18,000 land parcels spanning 2 million square miles across 63 countries shows that a protected area designation reduces the rate of deforestation but does not prevent it.
The findings are important because most terrestrial species live in forests and because the study suggests that just 6.5% of the Earth s woodlands are truly protected. Photo: Oregon State University
EurekaAlert | OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Published today in
Nature Ecology and Evolution, the findings are important because most terrestrial species live in forests and because
the study suggests that just 6.5% of the Earth s woodlands are truly protected, well below the 2020 target of 17% set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.