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Ecuadorians denounce foreign loggers in Yasuni national park
Interview with anthropologist José Proaño on dangers to indigenous peoples in “isolation” posed by timber trade
Three NGOs in Ecuador marked the UN’s World Environment Day last week by releasing a report alleging that illegal loggers are operating in the famous Yasuní National Park in the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse places in the world. The loggers are crossing the border from Peru and mainly extracting cedar from territories used by indigenous peoples living in “isolation”, according to the NGOs.
The report focuses on a reconnaissance trip made in May which documented illegal logging in the park, as well as “massive” commercial hunting and the abandonment of premises supposedly run by the Environment Ministry and military. The trip was made, the report states, after several government visits to the region in recent years which confirmed that illegal loggers and hunters were operating, but led to almost no action being taken to stop them. On one occasion illegal wood was confiscated, but it was recovered by Peruvian loggers, it is claimed, in a “possible violent attack against [an Ecuadorian] military post.”
Continue reading...A Big Country June 17, 2017
Michael Gove returns, plastic pollution and city cycling – green news roundup
The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
A great white pelican, a slow loris and wildebeest on migration in the Masai Mara are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Plastic polluted Arctic islands are dumping ground for Gulf stream
Beaches in the remote Arctic islands were found to be more polluted than European ones due to plastic carried from much further south
Beaches on remote Arctic islands are heavily polluted with plastic, a new expedition has found, demonstrating that the region is the dumping ground for waste carried northwards on the Gulf Stream.
The shorelines of islands in the Svalbard archipelago and of Jan Mayen island were found to be littered with much more plastic waste than on European beaches, despite tiny local populations.
Continue reading...Houston fears climate change will cause catastrophic flooding: 'It's not if, it's when'
Human activity is worsening the problem in an already rainy area, and there could be damage worthy of a disaster movie if a storm hits the industrial section
Sam Brody is not a real estate agent, but when his friends want to move home they get in touch to ask for advice. He is a flood impact expert in Houston – and he has plenty of work to keep him busy.
The Texas metropolis has more casualties and property loss from floods than any other locality in the US, according to data stretching back to 1960 that Brody researched with colleagues. And, he said, “Where the built environment is a main force exacerbating the impacts of urban flooding, Houston is number one and it’s not even close.”
Continue reading...Gas grab and global warming could wipe out Wadden Sea heritage site
The world’s largest unbroken intertidal system and a haven for migratory birds on the Dutch coastline is at risk of sinking out of existence
The world’s largest unbroken intertidal system of sand and mud flats could sink beneath the waves by the end of the century due to sea level rise and subsidence caused by gas drills funded by Barclays and other international banks.
The Unesco world heritage site at the Wadden Sea on the Dutch coast stretches over 10,000 sq km. Its saltmarshes, sandy shoals, dunes and mussel beds host millions of migratory birds every year, as well as thousands of basking seals.
Continue reading...Gods of garbage – in pictures
Fabrice Monteiro travelled to the most polluted places in Africa and created terrifying characters who roamed their midst dressed in eerie debris. They are spirits, he says, on a mission to make humans change their ways
Plovers pose on the dark peat hags
Bleaklow, Derbyshire So sleek, quick and nimble, with butter-gold speckles on its back, this bird is a shy jewel of the moors
The sombre northern flank of Bleaklow has three Black Cloughs, differentiated with admirable directness as Near, Middle and Far. Clough is a northern word, likely Old Norse in origin, for a cleft in a hill.
The overall effect is familiar enough – bleak, desolate, country. But look more closely and the contrasts are spectacular.
Continue reading...Bigger is now better for rooftop solar – even for low energy users
'Little sunfish' robot to swim in to Fukushima reactor
Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Trachystoma petardi (pinkeye mullet)
Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Pseudocheirus occidentalis (western ringtail possum)
Tesla to roll out “multiple” Powerpacks in NSW battery storage win
Clean coal won’t cut it, on costs or emissions, says Climate Council
Boom in rooftop PV shifting peaks, and taking market operator by surprise
Leading regional technical and advisory firm launches new brand, Ekistica
Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Assemblage of species associated with open-coast salt-wedge estuaries of western and central Victoria
Chinese scientists use satellite to smash quantum entanglement record
Carnegie gets nod for 10MW solar farm: “We should have lots of these””
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