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WWF - Environmental News & Opinions
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News, publications and job feeds from WWF - the global conservation organization
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Southern African wetland region to become world?s largest protected freshwater site.
 An area of the Democratic Republic of Congo containing the largest body of fresh water in Africa has been added to the Ramsar Convention?s list of Wetlands of International Importance, making it the largest region ever to be designated as such.
At more than six-and-a-half million hectares, the Ngiri-Tumba-Maingombe area is twice the size of Belgium and has one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity anywhere in the world. It is also a major carbon sink.
"WWF is delighted that Ramsar has recognized the importance of this extraordinary wetland and the efforts of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect it," said James P. Leape, Director General of WWF International. "This is a significant step forward for the welfare of communities who depend on this wetland for their livelihoods and for the wildlife that lives there."
Recognition by the Convention, which was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, means that there is now a framework to conserve the wetland, which is under threat from illegal logging, fishing and poaching, and a decline in water levels that is most likely attributable to climate change.
In addition, proper management will help to maintain the ecosystem services that the site already provides, and ensure that its defences remain robust in the face of unpredictable environmental changes;
?The Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe area contributes to the regulation of flooding and regional climate and ensures that the quality of the water remains good enough for millions of people who depend upon it,? said WWF project Manager Bila-Isia Ingwabini.
Wetlands, however, do not merely provide water for drinking and sanitation. The commercial value that can be derived from them is noteworthy. It is hoped that prudent and measured extraction of resources, including palm oil, groundnuts and fish, will contribute to sustainable economic growth for nearby cities such as Kinshasa and Brazzaville.
Globally, the total economic value of wetlands is estimated at more than $70 billion.
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EU countries add to illegal logging trade
 Deforestation, a major contributor to climate change, is still rampant globally and European Union countries are guilty of compounding the problem according to a new WWF report.
Almost one-fifth of wood imported into the European Union in 2006 came from illegal or suspected illegal sources, with Russia, Indonesia and China being the main sources according to the report - Illegal Wood for the European Market.
In 2006, the European Union imported approximately 30 million cubic metres of wood and related products from illegal origins, equivalent to the total amount of wood harvested in Poland in the same year.
In all, 23 per cent of wood-based products imported from eastern Europe originated from illegal or suspect sources, with 40 per cent from South East Asia, 30 per cent from Latin America and 35-55 per cent from Africa.
Major importers are Finland, UK, Germany and Italy and WWF is calling for strong European legislation to prevent illegal wood entering the EU markets.
?Illegal logging destroys the protective function of forests, increasing risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides, and leads to deforestation, one of the main causes for climate change,? said Anke Schulmeister, WWF Forest Policy Officer.
?Illegal logging also pushes wood prices down resulting in major economic losses for states, industries and local communities. Strong measures are needed at EU level to protect the world?s remaining forests and our own future.?
The study highlights the ineffectiveness of the existing EU licensing scheme, Forest and Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). Even if all agreements currently being negotiated by the EU with partner countries under FLEGT were concluded about 90 per cent of the illegal wood would still enter the EU markets.
Furthermore, no such negotiations are planned with countries like Russia and China and many products manufactured from illegal wood such as furniture or paper are not covered by FLEGT regulation.
WWF is urging the introduction of EU legislation to guarantee that only legal wood is traded in the European market. Traders should prove the origin and legality of wood and penalties should be introduced for any violation.
The European Commission is expected to propose legislation on this issue in the coming months.
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WWF looks to EXPO 2010 to launch World Estuary Alliance
 WWF China will look to raise awareness of climate change and the negative impact it will have on ecosystems when it launches its World Estuary Alliance in two years at the World Expo being held in Shanghai.
The World Estuary Alliance aims at providing a platform for estuary cities, such as London, Rotterdam, and Shanghai, to exchange their experiences of climate change, and develop solutions for conservation & sustainable development
The WWF exhibit at the Expo ? entitled ?River, Estuary & City? ? will take the form of a 324 square-meter pavilion and use a variety of interactive media to highlight WWF?s efforts to preserve estuaries, while illustrating how to prevent further deterioration at the river basin level, and guard against the effects of climate change.
?Exhibits, devices and shows at the pavilion will be fun and family-oriented, and highly educational?, said Dermot O?Gorman, Representative of WWF China?s Program Office.
The Shanghai 2010 World Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors over the 6 months that it will run, with exhibits from 174 countries and 37 International Organisations. Organisers of the event, which is traditionally a platform for cultural exchanges and the introduction of innovative ideas, are describing the 2010 edition as ?a great event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century,? making WWF?s message particularly poignant.
?It is key that we convey to the people of Shanghai, and people around the world, that our current level of comfort is based on the natural fortifications provided by ecosystems ? said O?Gorman ?we must learn not to take this for granted, and efforts must be made to protect the environment upon which our societies have been able to flourish.?
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The Norwegian Crown Prince and Crown Princess support youth in the fight against global warming
 Eighteen young adults met the Norwegian Crown Prince and Crown Princess during a ten-day expedition called ?Voyage for the Future? along the coast of Svalbard, an archipelago in the European High Arctic. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess painted their fingers green and took part in a global video movement to show their personal commitment to stop climate change.
The expedition was organized by WWF - the global conservation organization. It mixed field experience with science and communications training, and provided the participants with an opportunity to develop plans for global action on climate change. Lectures from eminent researchers covered climate change science and the global feedback effects associated with rising temperatures in the Arctic. Voyage participants are now stimulating broad public support to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their nine countries (Norway, Sweden, Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Japan, the USA and Canada).
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess showed great interest in the issue of climate change and discussed the problem and solutions with the young ambassadors. They joined the global video movement called ?The Green Finger Project?. The concept, to paint your index finger green and write on your palm what you want to protect from global warming, is attracting growing attention as a means of making the voice of individuals heard. The Crown Prince wrote ?Dignity? and the Crown Princess wrote ?My kids?. The video is posted on YouTube. The Norwegian royal couple visited Svalbard on an Arctic expedition to learn about climate change, together with the Swedish and Danish heirs to the thrones in Scandinavia.
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China gets green light to buy ivory
 China has been approved as a buyer of African Elephant ivory in a one-off sale from four southern African countries, probably later this year.
The decision was taken to accept China at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva, Switzerland.
To gain approval, China had to convince CITES it had put in place adequate measures to manage regulated sales and tackle any illegal domestic ivory trade.
?China has acted rather successfully against its own illegal domestic ivory market,? said Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network which operates the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) on behalf of CITES.
?Now China should help other countries do the same, especially in Central Africa where elephant poaching is rampant and Chinese nationals have been implicated in moving ivory out of the region.?
China thus joins Japan in having CITES approval to bid in the one-off sale for registered government-owned ivory stockpiles from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The ivory to be sold originates from elephants that died from natural causes or as a result of population management (e.g. problem animal control). None of the ivory is from elephants deliberately killed to obtain their ivory.
A massive illegal trade in ivory caused dramatic declines in many elephant populations in Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, and an international ban on trade in ivory came into effect in January 1990.
?The sight of ivory openly and illegally on sale in many African cities is likely to be a far more powerful encouragement to those contemplating poaching and smuggling than a strictly controlled one-off sale,? said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International?s Species Programme.
?The only way to end elephant poaching is through an effective clampdown on illegal domestic ivory markets.?
Since the CITES trade ban, international commercial trade in ivory has legally taken place only once, in 1997, when a one-off sale of raw ivory was approved for Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The African Elephant range states who export ivory are required by CITES to use the revenue derived from the sale exclusively for elephant conservation and community development programmes within or adjacent to the elephant ranges.
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