06
May 2008 - The Global Environment Facility
(GEF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
are joining together to support the preservation
of Asia’s Coral Triangle – the world’s centre
of marine life – with the GEF committing
$63 million to fund conservation of this
area.
The ‘Coral Triangle’
is found within the Indo-Pacific, its boundaries
defined by marine zones containing 500 or
more species of reef-building coral. This
triangular shaped region covers all or part
of the seas of six countries: Indonesia,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
Overfishing and destructive
fishing methods have destroyed large areas
of coral reef and depleted marine productivity.
The impacts of global warming such as sea
level rise and increases in ocean temperatures
and acidity levels may hasten the damage.
The GEF funds will cover
activities to preserve the region’s coastal
and marine ecosystems and develop measures
to help the environmentally rich area adapt
to climate change. Under ADB’s leadership,
the GEF contribution will catalyze at least
$425 million of co-financing for the Coral
Triangle Initiative (CTI) to introduce sustainable
fisheries management and conserve coral
ecosystems while reducing poverty.
"WWF applauds the
vision shown by the GEF in its landmark
commitment to the Coral Triangle Initiative.
The GEF investment, and the leveraged co-financing,
will help mainstream best management practices,
conserving coral ecosystems and ensuring
food security for the hundreds of millions
of people in the region who depend on healthy
oceans." said Sian Owen, Head of Policy
and External Relations with WWF's Coral
Triangle Programme. "WWF looks forward
to being a central partner in this inspirational
Initiative."
The CTI was launched
in December 2007 to foster management, conservation,
and adaptation to climate change for the
region. The initiative has brought together
governments, international agencies, non-governmental
agencies and the private sector for the
purpose of protecting this environmentally
important region. ADB is the lead agency
managing contributions and programs for
CTI, with the governments of the United
States, Australia and Finland already offering
substantial support.
"The reefs of the
Coral Triangle underpin fisheries and tourism
industries worth over $5 billion annually,
and it is heartening to see both the countries
and the international community recognizing
the need for urgent protective action."
added Dr. Lida Pet Soede, Head of Programme
wih WWF's Coral Triangle Programme.
The Coral Triangle contains
more than 75% of all coral species known
to science, and directly sustains the lives
of nearly 130 million people in the region
and benefits millions more worldwide. Key
spawning and nursery grounds for species
such as tuna support a multi-billion dollar
industry, while healthy reef and coastal
systems underpin a growing tourism sector
and are thought to provide protection from
tsunamis and storms.
+ More
First-Ever Comprehensive
Global Map of Freshwater Systems released
09 May 2008 - Washington
-- Over a decade of work and contributions
by more than 200 leading conservation scientists
have produced a first-ever comprehensive
map and database of the diversity of life
in the world’s freshwater ecosystems. The
map and associated fish data – a collaborative
project between World Wildlife Fund and
The Nature Conservancy -- are featured in
the May issue of the journal BioScience.
Freshwater Ecoregions
of the World divides the world’s freshwater
systems into 426 distinct conservation units,
many of which are rich in species but under
increasing pressure from human population
growth, rising water use, and habitat alteration.
The comprehensive map and database (www.feow.org)
are vital tools for conservationists trying
to save the world’s freshwater ecosystems.
Among the highlights:
• This is the first
study to compile data on freshwater species
-- including fish, amphibians, crocodiles
and turtles -- for nearly all of the world’s
inland water habitats
• Almost 18,000 species have been mapped
and placed into freshwater ecoregions.*
This species list includes 13,400 fish,
4,000 amphibians, 300 turtles, and 20 crocodile
species and their relatives.
• About half of all freshwater fish are
endemic, or found in only one ecoregion.
• Portions of major rivers such as the Amazon,
Congo, Ganges, Yangtze, and the rivers and
streams of the American Southeast were identified
as outstanding for rich fish populations
and high endemism (species found nowhere
else).
• In addition, several smaller systems that
had not been identified in previous global
assessments, such as Congo’s Malebo Pool,
the Amazon’s western piedmont, and Cuba
and Hispaniola, were determined to have
high numbers of endemic fish species.
• Excessive water use for agriculture, industry,
drinking and livestock are placing freshwater
ecosystems in 55 ecoregions under high stress,
threatening the species and habitats.
• In another 59 ecoregions more than 50
percent of their area has already been converted
from natural habitats to cropland and urban
areas.
“Freshwater ecosystems
are the least studied parts of our natural
world – they are like vast unexplored libraries,
brimming with information,” said World Wildlife
Fund’s Robin Abell, who headed the study.
“Freshwater Ecoregions of the World allows
scientists and non-scientists alike to gain
a better understanding of this world and
help guide efforts to save these systems
and species before they are lost.”
Freshwater habitats
support more than 100,000 species and provide
humans with critical services such as drinking
water and fisheries. Yet freshwater habitats
and species are among the most imperiled
in the world and have often been left out
of large-scale conservation planning.
Until now there were no data on global freshwater
biodiversity synthesized in a way that was
useful to conservation. Collected research
tended to focus only on major rivers or
select hotspots, leaving out many other
freshwater systems. Plus, information was
not easy to access and search. As a result,
it has been difficult to gain a truly comprehensive
understanding of patterns of freshwater
biodiversity across the globe.
The Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW)
project was created to address this need.
This extensive and easily searchable resource
now provides access to information that
can help ensure freshwater systems are well
understood, promoted and protected.
The Nature Conservancy’s
Carmen Revenga said Freshwater Ecoregions
of the World could not have come at a more
important time as competition for freshwater
resources increases around the world. “Our
lack of knowledge of freshwater species
has hindered our efforts to conserve rivers,
lakes and wetlands around the world. Simply
having a map that shows areas rich in freshwater
species will help us set conservation priorities
and begin to put a face to these unique
and essential species, which work to keep
our freshwater ecosystems alive and running.”
*A freshwater ecoregion
is a large area encompassing one or more
freshwater systems that contains a distinct
assemblage of natural freshwater communities
and species. The freshwater species, dynamics,
and environmental conditions within a given
ecoregion are more similar to each other
than to those of surrounding ecoregions
and together form a conservation unit.
Known in the United
States as World Wildlife Fund and recognized
worldwide by its panda logo, WWF leads international
efforts to protect endangered species and
their habitats and to conserve the diversity
of life on Earth. Now in its fifth decade,
WWF, the global conservation organization,
works in more than 100 countries around
the world. Additional information may be
found at www.worldwildlife.org
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation
organization working around the world to
protect ecologically important lands and
waters for nature and people. To date, the
Conservancy and its more than one million
members have been responsible for the protection
of more than 18 million acres in the United
States and have helped preserve more than
117 million acres in Latin America, the
Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The
Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
