28 October 2005:
China
Rely on Spatial Technology to Forecast Natural Disasters
Chinese use the idiom "relying on heaven for food" to describe farmers in drought areas live at the mercy of heaven for rains.
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China
Yellow River Forum Opens in Henan
The second Yellow River International Forum opened on Tuesday in Henan Province. The four-day forum, which focuses on maintaining the lives of rivers, is being attended by more than 800 water experts from 61 countries and over 10 international organizations.
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Philippines
Tuna exporters urged to pursue ‘cooperative route’ for EU market
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Philippine tuna industry’s fresh-frozen sector is working closely with the National Government to convince the European Union (EU) to adopt a more liberal screening process that will allow the unrestricted entry of local fresh-frozen tuna products into the region.
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Philippines
Need for specialists on climate
There seems to be evidence that the recent destructive cyclonic storms called typhoons and hurricanes have increased in severity, but not necessarily in frequency, because of climate change. Despite this evidence, some people still deny that climate change is a reality. Of course other observed natural phenomena (e.g. El Niño events, sea level rise) are also manifestations of climate change. All of these are wrecking havoc on our way of life, increasing our worries about safety of human life in many areas of the world and calling for more financial resources and technological interventions to mitigate their effects. For some countries like the Philippines, these would mean added economic difficulties to the already deteriorating economic situation.
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Viet Nam
Wetlands preserves nation’s biodiversity
HCM CITY — Viet Nam is to be granted aid worth US$7.1 million for a project involving bio-diversity conservation and sustainable use of wetland resources.
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Viet Nam
Chi Lang Nam sanctuary draws birdwatchers
HAI DUONG — The residents and students in the northern province of Hai Duong’s Thanh Mien District are going to benefit from a local bird sanctuary which was recently improved thanks to their efforts and international support.
The diversity of Viet Nam’s topography and climate makes its flora and fauna, including birds, abundant and diverse. At present, there are about 50 bird sanctuaries of many different sizes, ranging from two to five hectares each. The bird sanctuaries have been established and managed individually with different modes of operation, goals and levels of development. Most of them are small and managed by several households or by the commune government.
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Coral Reefs
Coral Reefs at Risk
Brightly-colored coral reefs have lived in ocean waters for about 2 1/2 million years. But scientists say the ecosystems are in serious danger if humans don’t act fast.
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General / World
Biodiversity may help slow disease spread
OSLO —Better protection for the diversity of the planet’s creatures and plants could help shield humans from diseases like AIDS, Ebola or bird flu and save billions of dollars in health care costs, researchers said on Tuesday.
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General / World
Greenland icecap thickens slightly despite warming
OSLO —Greenland’s ice-cap has thickened slightly in recent years despite wide predictions of a thaw triggered by global warming, a team of scientists said on Thursday.
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General / World
Scientists draft blueprint to protect world oceans
SYDNEY —International scientists are mapping out a plan for a network of marine parks to save the world’s oceans from fish stock depletion and growing pollution.
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General / World
E-waste recovery not in electronic firms’ mind
Top electronic companies in the country do not treat product take-back as a solution to the proliferation of electronic wastes as a priority, a survey conducted by environment group Greenpeace showed.
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General / World
Seaweed Found in Fiji May Help Fight Cancer, AIDS
A type of seaweed discovered in Fiji could someday be used to fight bacterial infections, cancer, or even AIDS, researchers report.
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General / World
Menu prices track fishing impact
Seafood prices on restaurant menus as far back as the 1860s have helped scientists track the impact of over-harvesting on marine species.
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Global Warming
Antarctic species feel the warmth
An alarming rise in temperature in the Southern Ocean threatens seals, whales and penguins as well as krill, which play a crucial role in the food chain.
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Marine Ecosystem
Dubai’s man-made islands anger environmentalists
DUBAI: Billion-dollar islands being built off the coast of Dubai offer wealthy tourists a chance to leave the world behind, but environmentalists say the Gulf’s delicate marine ecosystem is paying the price for this perfect escape.
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Sharks
SuperShark
Her route was strikingly direct, her pace astoundingly swift. The female great white shark traveled farther than any other shark previously known to science, from the waters off South Africa to the coast of Australia and back again—covering more than 12,400 miles in total, in just under nine months. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists who tracked the epic journey named the shark Nicole, after Australian actress and white shark lover Nicole Kidman. A record not just for distance, but for the fastest known return migration of any swimming marine organism, Nicole’s feat will change long-held notions about how these charismatic predators move through the world’s oceans.
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Sustainable Development
Workshop covers sustainable development
Experts have met to discuss the sustain-able management of fisheries based on the application of indicators at a three-day ASEAN conference in Hai Phong.
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