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The Department of the Environment has released version 2 of the Species of National Environmental Significance maps and GIS data products including many updated distributions and maps for newly listed species.

The Australian Government has introduced a measure to treat African lions as though they are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

SENG Victoria News - March 2015

The report outlines the current environmental regulatory reform effort across jurisdictions and lists issues for further investigation.

Poachers took 15,000 birds every day for two months last autumn on Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area as conservationists warn killing is at unprecedented levels

Almost a million birds were illegally killed in just two months on a British military base in Cyprus last year, according to the RSPB.

Dr Tim Stowe, the RSPB’s international director, called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to do more to stop local poachers, who reportedly took 15,000 birds every day during September and October from British Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area (SBA).

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Climate Change Adaption - relocation of a Solomon Islands township to increase community resilience

Lower IQ, adult obesity and 5% of autism cases are all linked to exposure to endocrine disruptors found in food containers, plastics, furniture, toys, carpeting and cosmetics, says new expert study

Europe is experiencing an explosion in health costs caused by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that is comparable to the cost of lead and mercury poisoning, according to the most comprehensive study of the subject yet published.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with the human hormone system, and can be found in food containers, plastics, furniture, toys, carpeting and cosmetics.

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#WeaselPecker trends on Twitter as Photoshop fans have fun with apparently genuine image of weasel flying on bird’s back through London park

It’s that age-old story: weasel meets bird, weasel falls in love with bird, weasel won’t let bird go – even when it flies off.

This extraordinary picture taken by amateur wildlife photographer Martin Le-May has caused some chin-scratching among ornithologists everywhere. Is it possible for a woodpecker to carry a weasel on its back?

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Read what’s been achieved and what’s left to do

British endurance swimmer and United Nations Environment Programme patron of the oceans, completes most southerly swim in human history after swimming in the Bay of Whales, Ross Sea

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Raising and showing selectively bred birds is a world away from pigeons’ unjust image of ‘rats with wings’ – and it’s a hobby that helps forge lifelong friendships

Don’t feed the pigeons – unless you want to travel the world, forge life-long friendships and fall in love. These are just a few of the many perks of the pigeon hobby touted by fanciers from around the globe.

“Some people make art with paint and clay, we make art with pigeons,” said Leon Stephens, president of the Los Angeles Pigeon Club. Stephens studied genetics in college before starting his career as a health inspector.

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Commonwealth, state and territory environment ministers met yesterday in Canberra to progress key environment issues of national significance.

National Clean Air Agreement discussion paper now open for public comment. Submissions close 17 April 2015.

‘Hoax’ article on the Amazon correctly identifies threats to Brazil-Peru border region

In December the World News Daily Report (WNDR) published an article claiming that the “world’s oldest tree” had been cut down along the Brazil-Peru border in the Amazon. It stated that a “giant Samauma tree that is thought to be over 5,800 years old” in the “Matsés Indigenous Reserve” had been “accidentally” felled by illegal loggers, and quoted “local tribesman leader Tahuactep of the Matsés tribe” saying it had “brought darkness upon not only our people, but the whole world.”

Some media responded by reporting it as fact, others by calling it a hoax. The Independent described it as “one of the 11 weirdest hoaxes of 2014”, while the Washington Post asserted that the WNDR is a “hoax-news site whose stories — we repeat! — are always fake” and “the world’s oldest tree is actually “somewhere in eastern California” and “only 5,062 years old.”

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The public consultation period will be open until 22 April 2015.

Five quokkas that were found stuffed head-first into tree protectors and another lying nearby had ‘clearly been killed’, say authorities

Authorities in Western Australia are investigating the deaths of five quokkas that were found stuffed head-first into tree protectors on Rottnest Island on Monday.

The animals were found by Peter Basford, who told Seven News in Perth that he was visiting the island and found the animals near the camping ground.

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Today, the Australian Heritage Council joins all Australians in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the momentous 1965 ‘Freedom Ride’ Indigenous civil rights protest at the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool.

SENG National Newsletter - February2015

Intelligence report identifies anti-petroleum movement as a threat to Canadian security and suggests those concerned with climate consequences occupy political fringe

The US security establishment views climate change as real and a dangerous threat to national security. But Canada takes a very different view, according to a secret intelligence memo prepared by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The memo, stamped “Canadian eyes only”, repeatedly casts doubt on the causes of climate change – the burning of fossil fuels – and its potential threat.

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Dogger Bank Creyke Beck project will cover 430 sq miles and is expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 2m homes, supporting 900 jobs

Plans for the world’s biggest offshore windfarm have been given the green light by the energy secretary, with planning permission for an array of up to 400 turbines 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast on the Dogger Bank.

The project, more than twice the size of the UK’s current biggest offshore windfarm, is expected to cost £6bn to £8bn and could fulfil 2.5% of the UK’s electricity needs.

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