The Environment Chronicle

Research on biodiversity conservation is the key to fight the problems which are addressed by the UN Development Goals for 2015. This is the main message conveyed by the “Frankfurt Declaration” which has recently been adopted at the conference “Biodiversity and the UN Millennium Development Goals”. About 200 leading experts on biodiversity from 30 countries agree that environmental targets and developmental targets have to be pursued in a coordinated approach. The “Frankfurt Declaration” is the concluding statement to a conference that had been organized by the German Leibniz Association, the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) in cooperation with the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It was one of the first events which focused on the interrelated subjects of biodiversity research and sustainable development.

Marine species of Decmber 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the Ceratoserolis trilobitoides. Ceratoserolis trilobitoides numbers among the largest and most charismatic crustaceans in the Antarctic. The species grows to a length of eight to nine centimetres and is a typical example of the Serolidae. It has a relative that very few would recognise as such at all, though even laypersons are familiar with it: the common woodlouse.

WWF has introduced a new file format to discourage unnecessary printing and help preserve the world’s forests. “Save as WWF, save a tree” is a plug-in enables documents to be disseminated as pdf files that cannot be printed. It joins the existing global WWF "Think before you print" initiative as one of a number of practical and educational consumer oriented measures to reduce market pressure on the world's forests. The WWF format, launched on 30 November 2010 by WWF Germany, advertising agency Jung von Matt and Dederichs Reinecke &Partner, is currently available from www.saveaswwf.com for recent Mac operating systems, with a Windows version following soon.

On 30 November 2010 the Federal Cabinet adopted the Environmental Report 2010.

On 30 November 2010 the European Environment Agency (EEA) released its fourth Environment State and Outlook report — SOER 2010 — a comprehensive assessment of how and why Europe’s environment is changing, and what we are doing about it. SOER 2010 concludes that a fully integrated approach to transforming Europe to a resource-efficient green economy can not only result in a healthy environment, but also boost prosperity and social cohesion.

By the REACH deadline of 30 November 2010, 24,675 registration dossiers have been successfully submitted for 4,300 substances including nearly 3,400 phase-in substances. The first registration deadline is an important milestone for the new EU chemicals policy. This deadline applied to the most hazardous substances (e.g. those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction) manufactured or imported in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year per company, substances very toxic to the aquatic environment manufactured or imported in quantities of 100 tonnes or more per year per company and substances manufactured or imported above 1 000 tonnes per year.

The sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 16 ) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 6) took place in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. The Cancun Agreements were the first to officially recognise the two degree target in a UN decision and contain a reference to the submitted mitigation commitments from industrialised and developing countries, the establishment of a global climate fund, arrangements on adaptation to climate change, forest conservation (REDD+), technological cooperation and capacity building in developing countries. A procedure was agreed for reviewing whether measures taken will suffice to meet the two degree target. Moreover, basic agreements were made regarding the transparency of countries’ climate action (MRV – measurable, reportable and verifiable). Industrialised countries pledged under certain conditions to mobilise funding from public and private sources for climate action in developing countries. These funds are to total 100 billion dollars per year by 2020.

Newly published figures from the Lower Saxony state cancer registry show that in the area around Asse, the site of a controversial nuclear waste dump near Wolffenbuettel, some cancer rates are higher than normal. Between 2002 and 2009 there were 12 cases of leukemia in the greater Asse region. The area had twice the rate expected for men. While there was no significant increase in leukemia for women, their rate of thyroid cancer was three times as high as normal.

The EU would be acting in its own economic interest if it raised its 2020 CO2 reduction target to 30%, says a European Parliament resolution approved on 25 November 2010. The resolution - narrowly adopted with 292 votes in favour, 274 against and 38 abstentions - sets out the European Parliament’s position ahead of UN climate talks in Cancún (29 November - 10 December).

Researchers in Thailand say they have discovered a new ancient crocodile species after finding a fossil in the country's northeast. Komsorn Lauprasert, a scientist at Mahasarakham University, said on 25 November 2010, the species, believed to have lived 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, had longer legs than modern-day crocodiles and probably fed on fish, based on the characteristics of its teeth. The species has been named "Khoratosuchus jintasakuli, after Khorat" the province where the fossil was found, and the last name of the director of the Northeastern Research Institute of Petrified Wood and Mineral Resources, Pratueng Jintasakul.

The main greenhouse gases have reached their highest levels recorded since pre-industrial times, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s 2009 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. The report also highlights concerns that global warming may lead to even greater emissions of methane from Arctic areas. According to the Bulletin, total radiative forcing of all long-lived greenhouse gases increased by 27.5% from 1990 to 2009 and by 1.0% from 2008 to 2009, reflecting the rising atmospheric burdens of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

In the first comprehensive global survey of temperature trends in major lakes, NASA researchers determined Earth's largest lakes have warmed during the past 25 years in response to climate change. Researchers Philipp Schneider and Simon Hook of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., used satellite data to measure the surface temperatures of 167 large lakes worldwide. They reported an average warming rate of 0.45 degrees Celsius (0.81 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, with some lakes warming as much as 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. The warming trend was global, and the greatest increases were in the mid- to high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

On 23 November 2010 thw World leaders and countries that have wild tigers endorsed a major plan to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022 underscoring their commitments at the historic International Tiger Conservation Forum. Hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, governments capped a year-long political process with about USD 127 million in new funding to support the plan, known as the Global Tiger Recovery Programme.

On 22 November 2010 mayors from around the world signed an agreement to address climate change at the World Mayors Summit on Climate, hosted by the Government of Mexico City and Marcelo Ebrard, mayor of Mexico City and chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate. A total of 135 cities signed the Mexico City Pact to establish a monitoring and verification mechanism for cities to address climate change. The Mexico City Pact calls for cities to develop and implement climate action plans that promote local laws and initiatives to reduce GHG reductions. To establish and follow up on cities' commitments, the signers will establish their climate actions in the Carbon Cities Climate Registry (CCCR) at the Bonn Centre for Local Climate Action and Reporting (carbonn).

The European Week for Waste Reduction will take place from the 20th to the 28th November 2010. The European Week for Waste Reduction is a 3 year project supported by the LIFE+ Programme of the European Commission until 2011.

On 18 November 2010 the Vice President of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis, introduced a new report, the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment, in Brussels. The EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment is another step towards a comprehensive EU policy strategy for addressing challenges in the Arctic. In 2009, the EU Council adopted the “Council conclusions on Arctic issues”, emphasising the need for gradual formulation of a policy on Arctic issues to address EU interests and responsibilities in the region.

The first World Ocean Review (WOR) was launched on 18 November 2010 in Hamburg. The non-profit company maribus gGmbH was established two years ago with the aim of raising the public's awareness of the interconnectedness of the marine environment, thus contributing to more effective protection of the world's oceans. The partners who have made such a vital contribution to the production of maribus's first publication, the World Ocean Review, have many years of commitment and expertise in studying the seas at the highest scientific level. They are: the International Ocean Institute (IOI), the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean" and "mare" - the German-language magazine which focuses on the topic of the sea. The result is a comprehensive, detailed and unique report about the state of the world's oceans and their interplay with ecological, economic and sociopolitical conditions.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas held its 17th Special Meeting from the 17th to the 27th of November 2010 in Paris, hosted by the French Government. This year several proposals to protect endangered shark species were considered and important new conservation measures were adopted by consensus for the conservation of whitetip, shortfin mako and hammerhead sharks. These measures forbid the retention and trade of white tip and hammerhead shark species (except for the Sphyrna tiburo and for the developing coastal CPCs local consumption) in order to increase their survival. While for sea turtles strict measures to minimise catch rates and to maximise the chance of survival of released individual were agreed.

Stefan Merker of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and colleagues have now found a new species of tarsier in Central Sulawesi. They have named it Wallace's tarsier, after Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of natural selection. The new species looks pretty similar to other Sulawesi tarsiers, but differs genetically in many ways. It also has a characteristic copper-coloured throat, and males and females sing unique songs to each other.

On 10 November 2010 the European Commission presented its new strategy for a competitive, sustainable and secure energy. The Communication "Energy 2020" defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets the actions to be taken in order to tackle the challenges of saving energy, achieving a market with competitive prizes and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, and effectively negotiate with our international partners.

On 8 November 2010 the European Council adopted stricter rules on industrial emissions. New EU legislation will bring down industrial emissions from large combustion plants across the EU, bringing several environmental and health benefits to Europe's citizens, like an expected reduction in premature deaths of 13,000 per year. The stricter legislation on industrial emissions was proposed by the European Commission in December 2007. The new rules will also lead to significant savings through the reduction of administrative burden and provide a more level playing field for industry. The Directive on industrial emissions updates and merges seven pieces of existing legislation.

On 6 October 2010 thirty-three whales died in a mass beaching off the coast of County Donegal, in Northern Ireland. It's thought they were the same group spotted in the Outer Hebrides at the end of October. Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.

In November 2010 the 12th Castor transport of high level radioactive waste was shipped from the plutonium factory La Hague in France to a temporary repository in Gorleben, federal state of Lower Saxony. The transport of 11 containers carrying highly radioactive nuclear waste arrived at the Gorleben on 9 November 2010 after a 92-hour journey - the longest ever for such a shipment.

On 4 Novemder 2010 the European Commission proposed to ban the use of phosphates and to limit the content of other phosphorous containing compounds in laundry detergents. The draft Regulation aims to reduce the phosphates found in waste water and to improve water quality. The draft Regulation does not affect detergents for automatic dishwashers or those used by professionals as technically and economically feasible alternatives are not yet available throughout the EU. However, Member States can regulate the phosphate content of these detergents in specific circumstances.

On 3 November 2010 the European Commission proposed safety standards for disposing spent fuel and radioactive waste from nuclear power plants as well as from medicine or research. In this Directive Member States are asked to present national programmes, indicating when, where and how they will construct and manage final repositories aimed at guaranteeing the highest safety standards. With the Directive internationally agreed safety standards become legally binding and enforceable in the European Union.

On 1st April 2010, the British Government announced designation of the British Indian Ocean Territory – or Chagos Archipelago – as the world’s largest marine protected area (MPA). Commercial fishing around Chagos ended on 31 October 2010 making it officially the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.

Marine species of November 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the Stephos longipes – an ice copepod. Stephos longipes is a small neritic calanoid copepod that is native to waters surrounding the Antarctic continent. Copepods are crustaceans that range from less than one to twelve millimetres in size and occur in the ocean from the shallow shelf areas to the deepest depths. In most marine regions they represent both the most frequent and the most diverse species of zooplankton.

On 29 October 2010 the European Commission published guidelines for wind energy development in protected natural areas. The guidelines are aimed at avoiding conflict between wind energy development and biodiversity conservation in Natura 2000 protected areas. The guidelines apply to the Natura 2000 network, a cornerstone of EU biodiversity policy and a key tool to achieve the EU target of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2020. Wind energy has an important role to play in meeting the EU target of 20% renewable energy in Europe’s total energy consumption by 2020, and its deployment in Natura 2000 areas is not automatically excluded. But such developments need to be evaluated on a case by case basis.

On 29 October 2010 some 18,000 participants representing the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and their partners closed the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit by adopting historic decisions that will permit the community of nations to meet the unprecedented challenges of the continued loss of biodiversity compounded by climate change. The meeting took decisions in three key areas: participants adopted a new target and an ambitious strategy on the global conservation of biological diversity from 2011 to 2020, set binding financing targets for its implementation and adopted internationally binding regulations for access to genetic resources and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization.

Despite public protests and angry diatribes from the opposition, the German parliament has approved legislation extending the lifespan of the country's nuclear power plants.

On 27 October 2010 the General Court of the European Union (EU) revoked a temporary suspension of the EU regulation banning the trade in seal products, allowing the full implementation of this momentous legislation.

From January 2011, petrol with a bioethanol share of up to 10 percent will be available at German filling stations in addition to the current types of petrol. On 27 October 2010 the Federal Cabinet adopted a corresponding ordinance, thus implementing the European Fuel Quality Directive.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the special MIDORI Prize for biodiversity in recognition for her special contribution to saving biodiversity during the International Year of Biodiversity. The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity was announced at an awards ceremony held 27 October at a reception hosted by the Japanese Minister of Environment in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the margins of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to conservation and sustainable use at local and global levels, and who have developmentally influenced various biodiversity-related efforts, as well as raising awareness about biodiversity.

The water level at the Three Gorges Dam in China reached its designed highest mark on 26 October 2010. The water level hit 175 meters at 9 a.m. Tuesday, said Cao Guangjing, chairman of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC), the developer of the project.

The German city of Freiburg has been elected Federal capital of climate protection 2010 (Hauptstadt im Klimaschutz) by the German Environmental Aid (Deutschen Umwelthilfe).

An electric car drove from Munich in southern Germany to Berlin without recharging its battery on on 26 October 2010, setting what organisers hailed as a new world distance record for an everyday vehicle.

The Rio Negro river, one of the Amazon river's largest tributaries, registered historic draught levels on 24 October 2010. The government's geological service said that the Rio Negro was measured at a depth of 13.63 meters (44.72 feet) near the jungle city of Manaus, the lowest since a measuring system was implemented in 1902.

On 20 October 2010 the final TEEB report was launched at the CBD COP10 meeting in Nagoya, Japan. "Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature" is the last of four reports produced by the U.N. Environmental Program over the past two years and aims to capture how habitats such as tropical forests and coral reefs contribute to countries' economic bottom lines.

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, hosted by the Government of Japan takes place from 18 to 29 October 2010.

Federal Cabinet adopted on 17 November 2010 the first report tracking indicators for the National Strategy on Biological Diversity. The report gives an account of the positive progress of nature conservation in Germany. In November 2007, the German Government adopted an internationally acclaimed National Strategy on Biological Diversity. It contains some 330 objectives and 430 specific actions that are assigned to both state and non-state actors. The report lays the foundation for a reliable and transparent performance review. It contains 19 indicators for this purpose, covering a wide range of topics.