Hírek a nagyvilágból

The ornithological world has lost one of its most inspiring benefactors with the death on 21 July of Hans Lukas “Luc” Hoffmann, the renowned conservationist and philanthropist, who has passed away at the age of 93 in his beloved Camargue.

Contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) endangers the health and survival of many cetacean populations.

Governments throughout the Mediterranean have agreed the need for tougher penalties and stricter surveillance in order to enforce a new “zero tolerance” policy that seeks to clamp down on the annual slaughter of millions of migratory birds in the region.

Government representatives and experts met in Berlin on 5 July 2016 to ensure the long-term survival of the snow leopard, one of the most endangered big cats in the world.

Illegal activities, such as poaching of wild animals, are common worldwide and threaten biological diversity. Overexploitation is one of the main drivers of bird declines globally, and is the second most significant threat (after habitat loss) to migratory birds.Killed or trapped in huge numbers, some species are being driven to extinction.

Barriers to movement such as fences are among the main threats to the survival of large mammals in Central Asia. The region, sometimes referred to as “the Serengeti of the North”, is one of the world’s last hot spots for animal migrations

Erik Solheim has taken up his appointment as the new Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), replacing Achim Steiner, who served as Executive Director of UNEP for ten years from 2006.

Boyan Slat made the headlines a few years ago when as a student he came up with an innovative idea to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste in the oceans; he was even one of the principal speakers at the opening ceremony of the most recent CMS COP (Quito, 2014).

Imagine for a moment that a delegate from a small island state has to prepare a briefing on marine debris ahead of a major international conference. -