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National symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo becomes victim of country's long-running war, IUCN says

The blue-tongued forest giraffe, the national symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on the brink of extinction, according to the latest update to the red list of threatened species. The stripy-legged creature, which appears on Congolese banknotes and is actually a species of okapi, has become another victim of the DRC's long-running war. But surveys reveal that conservation efforts have had a positive effect on ocean-roaming leatherback turtles and albatrosses, while a Californian fox has returned from the edge.

"This red list update shows some fantastic conservation successes, from which we must learn," said Jane Smart, a director at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the list.

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• US biotechnology firm AquaBounty given green light 
• FDA expected to follow with decision on sale of GM salmon

Canada has given the go-ahead to commercial production of genetically modified salmon eggs, bringing the world's first GM food animal closer to supermarkets and dinner tables.

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No 10 says it does not recognise the phrase but prime minister's team does not explicitly deny such a statement was made

David Cameron was at the centre of a storm on Thursday over whether he ordered aides to "get rid of all the green crap" from energy bills in a drive to bring down costs.

The language, attributed to Cameron in the Sun newspaper by a senior Tory source, sparked a furious reaction from campaigners accusing the prime minister of abandoning his promise to run the greenest government ever.

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The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is currently seeking comments on: Posidonia seagrass meadows ecological community assessment. The period for comment closes on 16 February 2014.

Chevron, Exxon and BP among companies most responsible for climate change since dawn of industrial age, figures show

• Interactive - which fossil fuel companies are most responsible?

The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated since the dawning of the industrial age, new research suggests.

The companies range from investor-owned firms – household names such as Chevron, Exxon and BP – to state-owned and government-run firms.

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Agency 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 16 December 2013

Company 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 13 December 2013

Agency 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 12 December 2013

SENG National Newsletter - November 2013

Victorian landowners are to rehabilitate 4 ha of the critically endangered Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plan and conserve, manage and enhance grasslands across their 43 ha Mickleham property.

The Department is currently seeking public comment on a draft assessment bilateral agreement with the State of New South Wales

Earth has lost more than half a million square miles of forest between 2000 and 2012. Analysis of 650,000 satellite images, published in the journal Science, reveal the extent of loss and recovery – Brazil’s success in the Amazon is offset by deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia and Angola. The colour-coded maps here show the changes: green is forest cover, red is lost forest, blue is forest gained and pink is forests both lost and gained in the period Continue reading...

SENG QLD newsletter - November 2013

Battery project involving 75,000 litres of sulphuric acid will allow Scottish island to store wind power it cannot transmit

The Scottish island of Gigha is to be the focus of a £2.5m experiment aimed at solving a major technological problem: how to store energy generated by wind, tide and wave power plants. The project, which will involve building giant batteries containing 75,000 litres of sulphuric acid mixed with vanadium pentoxide, is intended to allow power generated by the island's wind turbines to be stored for later use.

At present, while Gigha's turbines are running, their power is used to run households on the island and excess is transmitted by cable to the mainland electricity grid. When winds are low, and Gigha's turbines do not turn, the grid feeds power to the island. But the cable link has an upper power limit. As a result, much of the island's excess power cannot be transmitted to the mainland and is wasted. The battery project, backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is intended to get round this problem.

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Release of CSIRO report - Sampling soil organic carbon to detect change over time

The Department is currently seeking public comment on a draft assessment bilateral agreement with the State of Queensland. The draft bilateral agreement is intended to be an amendment of the existing bilateral agreement.

In this issue - Parliamentary Secretary visits Murray-Darling Basin Communities, Environmental watering to benefit native fish, Funding for new scheme in Tasmania, Nimmie-Caira Environmental Water Delivery Project update, Farm Modernisation project for Victoria

In this issue - Parliamentary Secretary visits Murray-Darling Basin Communities, Environmental watering to benefit native fish, Funding for new scheme in Tasmania, Nimmie-Caira Environmental Water Delivery Project update, Farm Modernisation project for Victoria

As winter approaches, polar bears in sub-arctic Canada begin to migrate off the tundra and head out onto the ice for the winter, where they can hunt for seals. However, climate change is delaying freeze-up, keeping the bears out on the tundra for longer – away from their main food source. US environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg talks to polar scientists ahead of a live Q&A from Churchill, Manitoba Continue reading...

Extremely rare sighting raises hopes that larger mammals are more able to survive in logged areas than previously thought

One of the world's most elusive wild cats has been captured on camera in a heavily logged area of Borneo rainforest together with four other endangered species, suggesting that some wildlife can survive in highly disturbed forests.

The Bornean bay cat (Pardofelis badia) has been recorded on camera traps on just a handful of occasions to date and was only photographed in the wild for the first time in southern Sarawak in 2003. The cat, extremely secretive and similar in size to a large domestic cat with a long tail and either a reddish or grey coat, had been classified as extinct until new images taken in Malaysian Borneo in 2009 and 2010 gave fresh hope for its survival.

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