WWF - Environmental conservation work in Argentina

Cierre de la reunión del clima de Naciones Unidas en Barcelona

2009-11-06

Según WWF, con voluntad política todavía es posible lograr un tratado ambicioso sobre el clima en Copenhague.

Barcelona, 6 de noviembre de 2009.- A pesar de que la mayoría de los líderes políticos se están centrando en lo que no pueden conseguir, en lugar de concentrarse en lo que sí pueden hacer para evitar las consecuencias nefastas del cambio climático, WWF hace un llamamiento urgente a su sentido de la responsabilidad. El mensaje de la organización es que deben demostrar su voluntad política y concretar lo que se puede conseguir en Copenhague, superando esta postura negativa con el fin de salvar al mundo de un aumento catastrófico de las temperaturas.

WWF considera que los líderes están todavía a tiempo de actuar de forma adecuada. Mientras los países desarrollados han rebajado el nivel de sus expectativas sobre el tratado, el resto del mundo las ha aumentado.

“Barcelona no ha conseguido un resultado sustancial y es realmente una pena. Sin embargo, lo más importante no es el factor del tiempo, sino la voluntad política y eso se puede mostrar en cuestión de segundos”, afirma Kim Carstensen, líder de la Iniciativa sobre el Clima de WWF.

Al tiempo que las naciones ricas han perdido la voz en Barcelona, los países en desarrollo han empezado a expresarse de una forma más contundente y unificada. Los países africanos han demostrado que defenderán sus derechos. Y mientras que la posición del mundo desarrollado se vuelve cada vez más caótica, las naciones emergentes están mostrando una postura más clara y determinada.

En las últimas semanas, algunos países desarrollados han afirmado que no esperan ya que se firme un acuerdo legalmente vinculante y sólido en Copenhague en diciembre. Muchos delegados han intentado jugar con las palabras, esperando que sus mensajes ambiguos confundieran a la población mundial y pretendiendo rebajar sus expectativas.

En cualquier caso, sugerir que Copenhague dará como resultado un acuerdo no satisfactorio es algo totalmente improductivo. “Es el momento de demostrar el liderazgo, por lo que pedimos al Presidente del Gobierno que haga oír su voz en los foros internacionales apostando por un acuerdo sustancial y legalmente vinculante en Copenhague”, afirma Mar Asunción, responsable del Programa de Cambio climático de WWF España.

“Necesitamos un acuerdo sobre el clima que sobreviva a las recesiones, a las elecciones y a los desastres naturales, y no un trozo de papel sujeto a los cambios de gobierno. Un tratado que no sea vinculante es un terreno movedizo, deja mucho espacio para culpar a las otras partes y para incumplir promesas”, añade Mar Asunción.

Argentina, Paraguay make historic forest pledge

2009-10-20

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Argentina and Paraguay on Tuesday made a historic pledge to save one of the world’s most threatened forests.

During a special ceremony at the XIIIth World Forestry Congress, the two governments agreed to work towards zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest, and to implement a package of measures that include national legislation to enforce those commitments.

The Atlantic Forest initially spanned 500,000 square kms, shared between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. However, only 7.4 percent of the forest is left today – or about 35,000 square kilometers, making it one of the most threatened and fragment subtropical forests in the world.

To preserve the Atlantic Forest, Argentina will implement new land-use plans that will ensure the conservation of approximately 1.1 million hectares of the forest. Meanwhile, Paraguay has extended the country’s zero deforestation law to 2013, and is working to introduce economic alternatives to people who depend on the Atlantic Forest for their livelihood.

In Brazil, the government already has established a zero deforestation target by 2010 for the Atlantic Forest. Brazil also has pledged to establish protected areas covering at least 10 percent of the forest.

“This important commitment shows how coordinated policies between countries can address biodiversity loss and stop runaway climate change,” said Diego Moreno, Director General of Fundación Vida Silvestre, a WWF partner organization in Argentina.

“We can, as developing countries, make efforts to address this problem, but we need a strong climate deal in Copenhagen in December that can help with the implementation of these policies and contribute to the sustainable development of our region,” Moreno said.

Agricultural expansion, construction, growth of cities, and non-sustainable exploitation led the forest´s destruction. The Atlantic Forest is home to more than 20,000 plants species – of which 8,000 can be found nowhere else – and 1,000 bird species, 372 amphibians, 350 types of fish, 197 types of reptiles, and 270 mammals.

The Atlantic Forest borders major cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Asuncion, and also provides freshwater to millions of people. In addition, the forest houses the world-famous Iguazu Falls, on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Despite conservation efforts, global deforestation continues at an alarming rate – 13 million hectares per year, or 36 football fields a minute. It generates almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and halting forest loss has been identified as one of the most cost-effective ways to keep the world out of the danger zone of runaway climate change

The announcement came as WWF challenged global leaders at the Congress to support a target of zero net deforestation by 2020.

“This is a global benchmark to avoid the looming climate change catastrophe and curb the current alarming loss of species,” said WWF International’s Forests Director Rodney Taylor.

In his keynote address at the Congress on Monday, WWF International’s Forests Director Rodney Taylor said that zero net deforestation by 2020 is “a target that sets the scale and urgency with which these threats need to be tackled to maintain the health of the planet.”

“This decision by Argentina and Paraguay is an example of how progress can be made to halt forest loss when you gather the political will to do it,” Taylor said.

WWF, Greenpeace y otras ONGs hacen propuesta a Ministros Iberoamericanos

2009-09-11

A menos de 90 días a Copenhague ministros de medio ambiente reciben documento "Tratado Climático a Copenhague" .

Santiago, Chile. 10 de septiembre de 2009.- El documento técnico “Tratado Climático de Copenhague” elaborado por un grupo de organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG), entre las que se encuentran WWF y Greenpeace, fue entregado a la Ministra de Medio Ambiente de Chile, Ana Lya Uriarte, anfitriona del IX Foro Iberoamericano de Ministros de Medio Ambiente, con el fin de que ella pueda ponerlo a disposición de los ministros y autoridades regionales que se encuentran participando de este Foro, celebrado los días 9, 10 y 11 de septiembre de este año.

Ricardo Bosshard, Director de WWF Chile, Gustavo Ampugnani, Coordinador de Políticas de Greenpeace en Latinoamérica y Rodrigo Herrera, Director de Greenpeace Chile, tuvieron la oportunidad de reunirse con la Ministra chilena, minutos antes de que se inaugurara el Foro de Ministros, para entregarle los tratados y expresarle su interés de que esta información pueda ser discutida en la reunión.

El Tratado insta a los países que participan de las negociaciones del cambio climático a combinar acciones ambiciosas y urgentes sobre una propuesta que refleja una visión compartida en donde se resalta el esfuerzo internacional necesario para abordar el cambio climático y, simultáneamente, cumplir con los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible.

Esa visión expone los objetivos globales a largo plazo respecto a cuatro piedras angulares: mitigación, adaptación, tecnología y financiación, indicando que es necesario para una transición del mundo hacia una economía con cero emisiones de carbono a lo largo de las próximas décadas, incluyendo una reducción global de las emisiones de al menos el 80% en 2050 respecto a los niveles de 1990.

Por su parte, Ricardo Bosshard, Director de WWF Chile, hace un especial llamado al Gobierno de Chile, país anfitrión, para que aproveche esta oportunidad de liderar las discusiones que permitirán tomar las decisiones, difíciles pero necesarias, que permitan enfrentar los efectos negativos del cambio climático.

Son alrededor de 14 ministros y viceministros de toda Iberoamérica, los que están participando, durante estos dos días, en un encuentro que tiene como fin discutir acerca de los planes nacionales que los países están adoptando frente al cambio climático, con miras a la próxima Conferencia de la ONU sobre Cambio Climático que se realizará en diciembre en Copenhague.

Los resultados y conclusiones de esta reunión serán elevados a la consideración de los mandatarios durante el desarrollo de la XIX Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno, que se celebrará a fines de noviembre en Portugal.

WWF delivers on 100 million hectares of wetlands pledge

2009-05-26

Catamarca, Argentina - Declaration of the high Andes home to two of the three species of Andean flamingos marks WWF’s delivery of a “crazy, unrealistic pledge” to deliver 100 million hectares of new protected wetlands in a decade.

Fittingly, the 3000 to nearly 7000 metre high Lagunas Altoandinas y Punenas de Catamarca in north west Argentina is the highest area to be declared a wetland of international importance under the International Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention).

With 1.2 million hectares of high altitude “puna” scattered with a variety of shallow, deep and brackish to hypersaline lakes, the Catamarca Lagunas complex is also the largest of the Andean wetlands of international importance, home to a variety of migratory birds, as well as a unique frog threatened Andean cats and chinchillas.

The Catamarca Lagunas complex is a highly vulnerable and fragile area, threatened by overgrazing, unregulated tourism, mining prospecting and flamingo egg collection.

For WWF International’s Wetlands Conservation Manager Denis Landenbergue, this latest Ramsar declaration is a fitting climax to a decade of seeking to preserve fragile areas crucial to functioning of landscapes and the animals and people of five continents.

The WWF and Ramsar Convention global vision – for 250 million hectares of new protected wetlands by 2010 – is still some way off, with parties to the convention deciding last year on 2015 as a target date for its achievement.

Ramsar Convention Secretary General Anada Tiega paid tribute to WWF’s achievement in playing a major role in securing an area equating to nearly three Germanys or about one and half times the size of Texas and its “instrumental support to the worldwide conservation of wetlands in general and the Ramsar objectives in particular”.

“I would also like to highlight the major leveraging effect these designations have generated for globally improving the management of wetlands,”said Tiega.

Around three quarters of the total area designated globally under the Ramsar Convention in the past decade has been directly supported by WWF’s International Fresh Water Programme.

(C) Omar Rocha
“Promoting the designation of wetlands is an efficient way of attracting the attention, and the crucially important resources of the international donors community to support their improved management,” said Landenbergue.

“In the past 10 years, every single dollar invested by WWF has generated, on average, matching external funding up to 25-30 times larger in wetlands management and restoration.”

For further information:
Denis Landenbergue, WWF International Wetlands Conservation Manager, dlandenbergue@wwfint.org, +41

Note; In 2008, Denis Landenbergue was awarded the Ramsar Award for Wetlands Conservation

Polar bears and penguins 'just tip of climate change iceberg'

2009-04-06

New evidence from the North and South Poles indicates that time is running out for the world’s leaders to respond to climate change.

As ministers from Arctic Council and Antarctic Treaty states hold their first ever joint meeting in Washington on April 6 celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, WWF is challenging the ministers to mark the occasion by affirming their commitment to climate change action.

The conservation organisation provided the ministers with compelling recent evidence from both the north and south poles that clearly demonstrates global temperature increases must be kept well under two degrees Celsius.

“A global average temperature rise of 2 degrees is clearly too much for the poles,” says Rob Nicoll, Manager of WWF’s Antarctic and Southern Oceans Initiative.

“Scientists are already unpleasantly surprised at how quickly the impacts of warming such as sea ice loss are showing up in the polar regions, exceeding recent predictions.”

Global average warming due to climate change since the late 1800s is showing severe impacts at less than one degree, as the Arctic is warming at about twice the global average and parts of the Antarctic are also outstripping the global average.

The polar regions themselves have profound and not yet fully understood impacts on climate globally, and there are fears that polar tipping points could trigger abrupt change around the world.

A forthcoming report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is expected to up previous estimates on Antarctica’s expected substantial contributions to sea level rises.

Marine food chains of global significance are also under threat from warming in the Antarctic. “Ice shelves the size of small countries are crumbling away and the latest evidence from the Antarctic is showing that the effects of global warming there are increasing in magnitude,” said Mr Nicoll.

“The penguins may feel it first, but the rest of us won’t be far behind.”

The warming of the Antarctic is not yet as acute as the Arctic, but it is yet a further indication that the meltdown of our polar caps continues apace. If world leaders fail to act on this information the effects will be calamitous.

“The world is caught in a polar pincer movement,” said Neil Hamilton, Director of WWF International’s Arctic Programme.

“What is happening at the poles will control the world’s climate. If we do not stop the poles from melting, the whole world will feel it, in the form of runaway warming and rising waters.”

Right now the Catlin Arctic Survey expedition is sampling the thickness of Arctic sea ice. The expedition, partly sponsored by WWF, is likely to confirm scientists’ fears that the older, thicker ice is disappearing. This has led them to predict that the summer sea ice could disappear within a generation, leading to catastrophic consequences for the entire ecosystem, everything from single celled animals to whales.

“The Ministers meeting today in Washington have a special responsibility to the world,” said Mr Hamilton.

“They are the custodians of the poles, and this would be an opportunity for them to show the world that they are ready to step up and shoulder their responsibility to keep the poles frozen, by committing to taking urgent and effective action at the Copenhagen climate meeting this December.”

Please note: WWF will hold a briefing for Washington reporters immediately outside the State Department once the ministerial is over. There will also be two teleconference briefings for reporters outside Washington, details of these are on a separate media advisory. Reporters who have not received the advisory can contact the people listed below.

For further information:

Joe Pouliot, Director of Climate and Policy Communications, WWF US
Cell: 202-476-9919
Email: joe.pouliot@wwfus.org

Clive Tesar, Head of Communications, WWF International Arctic Programme
Tel: (+1) 613-232-2535
Mobile: (+1) 613-883-3110
Email: ctesar@wwf.no

Dr. Neil T. M. Hamilton, Director, WWF International Arctic Programme.
Mobile +47 9300 5660
Email: Nhamilton@wwf.no

Rob Nicoll, Manager, WWF Antarctic and Southern Oceans Initiative
Mobile: +61438938764
Email: rnicoll@wwf.org.au

More background is available at panda.org/arctic.

Civil society wants sustainable growth package from G-20

2009-04-02

WWF International Director General James Leape and others have signed an open letter addressed to G-20 heads of state on behalf of an "international global coalition for a green economy” asking the group to pick an economic stimulus package that supports sustainable growth.

Signatories include top leaders from environment, development, business and labour groups, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development.

“We urge you to ensure that the entirety of the G20 emergency package supports three goals: (1) building economic resilience; (2) social justice and distributional equity by promoting decent work for all; (3) protection and sustainable use of the environment,” Leape and others wrote in the letter.

The letter goes on to ask G-20 leaders “to allocate $750 billion of this stimulus package, which is around 1% of global GDP, to investments that will build an inclusive and green economy.”

Established in 1999, the Group of Twenty, known better as the G-20, is composed of finance ministers, political leaders and central bank governors and aims to bring together industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy, according to its website. Heads of state are currently meeting to participate in the G-20 in London.

Download the letter here.

Earth Hour 2009 setting new records in climate concern

2009-02-05

Already twice the participating countries of Earth Hour 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads call for action on climate change
Obama artist Shepard Fairey likens flicking switch to climate vote

With eight weeks still to go, citizens, businesses and public authorities in 375 cities across 74 countries have already committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March in a graphic show of support for decisive action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.

The WWF-sponsored event continues to show amazing momentum, from being a Sydney, Australia awareness-raising event in 2007, to the astounding 371 cities across 35 countries total last year. As participation for Earth Hour 2009 storms past this level of municipal involvement in more than twice the number of countries, discussions are under way or nearing completion in hundreds of other cities.

WWF Director General, Mr James Leape, said he is optimistic about the campaign’s potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change.

“With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change,” he said.

Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101.

A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also lent their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

Shepard Fairey, the artist noted for his graphic portrayals of Barack Obama during the recent US Presidential Election, has likened flicking the switch to casting a vote on climate change in artwork for the Earth Hour campaign.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said the 2009 campaign as an opportunity for the people of the world to cast their vote on this important global issue.

"Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals, from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change”, said Mr Ridley.

2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

Green economy will help fight climate change

2009-01-26

Brussels - New figures released today show that moving to a “green” global economy could not only protect the planet from the worst effects of climate change but is surprisingly affordable.

Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy- a new study by McKinsey and Co – shows that global warming can be kept below the critical 2°C rise and that it is well within our means to do so. The study spells out in detail the costs of cutting damaging carbon emissions, but makes it clear that only by acting now will we avoid the worst impacts of climate change. According to WWF, one of the report's sponsors, world leaders now have all the information they need to shape a global climate deal for both developed and developing countries.

The study – one of the biggest and most detailed of its kind ever compiled – lists more than 200 opportunities, spread across ten sectors and twenty-one geographical regions, which could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by about 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

By 2030, wind, solar and other sustainable renewable energy could provide almost a third of all global power needs; energy efficiency could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter and deforestation in developing countries – one of the biggest drivers of climate change and a major threat to sustainable development – could be almost fully halted. And all at a cost of less than half a percent of global GDP.

“The McKinsey study shows once and for all that taking action on climate change is both urgent and affordable”, said WWF Director James Leape. “The figures show clearly that not only can we move to a low carbon economy, but that the costs are manageable. Adopting these measures will be a major step towards avoiding the worst effects of climate change.”

Speaking at the launch of the report in Brussels, Mr Leape continued, “As governments now invest in rebuilding the global economy, they have a unique opportunity, and indeed the imperative, to build a low-carbon economy that will both create jobs and stabilize the climate. The low-carbon technologies and production models already exist and they make economic as well as environmental sense.”

“When the world's leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to agree a global deal on climate change, they will have no excuse for inaction. The world will be watching and expecting those leaders to adopt measures which will lead to a low-carbon economy, giving a fighting chance of keeping climate change below the crucial 2°C level.” said Mr Leape.

The McKinsey study has been extensively peer-reviewed by scientists, economists and expert bodies including WWF. It presents its findings in the form of an “abatement cost curve” which graphically illustrates the sectors where the most cost-effective carbon reductions can be made, including saving 14 billion tonnes of CO2 by replacing carbon-based power generation with – amongst other things - existing and proven clean, renewable energy; 14 billion tonnes through more sustainable use of land in the agriculture and forestry sectors; and 11 billion tonnes from energy efficiency. McKinsey identify another 9 billion tonnes of potential emissions reductions which either are more expensive or represent behaviour changes that are difficult to quantify.

In Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy, McKinsey analyses the potential, based on emissions and cost, for abatement across all sectors including nuclear power. WWF believes the costs for nuclear have been underestimated. But more importantly, nuclear power is not a viable option when the risks from proliferation, highly radioactive waste and plutonium leaks are taken into consideration. We believe that further substantial reductions are possible from combined heat & power (CHP,) biomass, better energy efficiency and low-carbon products which will protect the climate without the need for nuclear power.

WWF welcomes the study's principal findings which show that if all the technology options were put into practice, it would be possible to achieve a global reduction of approximately 40% of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030 compared with 1990 levels – which equates to a 70% reduction of “business as usual” levels. That would be enough to put the world on track to keep global average temperature rises below the 2°C level which WWF and others have identified as the maximum allowable before widespread irreversible environmental damage kicks in.

Contacts:

For interviews with WWF Director General James Leape, contact
Martin Atkin, Director, External & Media Relations matkin@wwfint.org +41 79698 2985

For expert analysis and further information, contact
Dr Stephan Singer, Director, Global Energy Policy, WWF International SSinger@wwfepo.org
+32 2743 8817

For copies of the McKinsey study “Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy – Version 2.0 of the Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve” contact
Ed Petter, External Relations ed_petter@mckinsey.com +44 20 7961 6235

Whales set to chase shrinking feed zones

2008-06-20

Ice breaker: Pushing the boundaries for whales, released just ahead of the opening of a crucial International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, summarises WWF research showing that levels of global warming predicted over the next 40 years will lead to winter sea-ice coverage of the Southern Ocean declining by up to 30 per cent in some key areas.

“Essentially, what we are seeing is that ice-associated whales such as the Antarctic minke whale will face dramatic changes to their habitat over little more than the lifespan of an individual whale,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International's Species Programme and head of the WWF delegation to the IWC meeting.

Migratory whales meanwhile may need to travel 200-500 kilometres further south to find the “frontal” zones which are their crucial foraging areas. Migratory whale species which will be affected include the Blue Whale, earth's largest living creature, and the humpback whales which are only now coming back from the brink of extinction after populations were decimated by commercial whaling, mainly during the first half of the 20th century.

Both species build up the reserves that sustain them throughout the year in the frontal zones, which host large populations of their primary food source – krill.

“As frontal zones move southward, they also move closer together, reducing the overall area of
foraging habitat available,” the research notes. As the krill is dependent on sea ice, less sea ice is also expected to reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas.

“The impact on whales is one more imperative for the world to take decisive action to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change,” Dr Lieberman said. “However, the IWC must also take the opportunity of this southern hemisphere meeting to look at every possible way to increase the resilience of whale populations to climate change.

“For Antarctica’s whales, the best way to do this would be to reduce all other threats – such as the unregulated and unjustified so-called ‘scientific whaling’ of these species conducted by Japan.”

WWF is recommending the protection of critical habitats and for also limiting other non-climate stresses to whale populations such as fishing, pollution and ocean noise.

This time, world should heed OECD call to action on environment

2008-03-05

Paris: The OECD’s Environment Outlook to 2030, issued today, was welcomed by WWF as yet another compelling argument that the costs of inaction on the environment will far exceed the costs of action.

The OECD Outlook is the latest - and at 520 pages one of the weightiest - in a run of reports from prominent economic institutions and commissions calling on governments and international institutions to face up to the seriousness and immediacy of global environmental problems.

“When a body such as the OECD says that on a range of environmental issues we need to act globally and we need to act now, then it is clear that as communities, countries and companies we need to roll up our collective sleeves and get on with it,” said WWF International Director General James Leape.

“It is sobering to think how much better off we would be today if the world, the wealthy world in particular, had heeded OECD's 2001 call to take action on many of these same issues. We should not make the same mistake again.”

James Leape said the OECD outlook should be commended for looking beyond the urgent challenge of climate change to other urgent issues of biodiversity loss, mismanagment of water resources and escalating health threats. WWF also welcomed OECD’s call to prioritise action in the key sectors of energy, transport, agriculture and fisheries.

“The OECD outlook underlines both the magnitude of the largely self-inflicted threats we face and the urgency of acting effectively on them,” said James Leape. “It is rapidly becoming the case that it will be as hard to find a sceptical economist as it is now to find a sceptical scientist."

While generally supporting market liberalisation, the OECD noted that in the absence of “sound environmental policy and institutional frameworks” globalisation “can amplify market and policy failures and intensify environmental pressures”.

The OECD repeated its 2001 call for the removal of subsidies to environmentally harmful activities, with special mention of subsidies to fossil fuel use, agricultural production subsidies, fishing overcapacity subsidies and the subsidy and underpricing of damaging transport modes.

The OECD also repeated that environment policy should not be just a concern of environment ministers, but has to be elevated into being a priority of central and economic policy making in particular.

“There is now no reason not to act," said James Leape. "The OECD outlook is emphatic that the policies and technologies to address urgent environment issues are available and affordable, that taking them will increase efficiencies and reduce costs and that the earlier we take action, the better the cost-benefit equation will be.”

Media release and contact details

WWF competition nets sustainable fishing solutions

2007-11-15

Gland, Switzerland – A team of inventors from the US state of Rhode Island has won the third WWF International Smart Gear Competition for an invention that could save fish and other marine life from dying or being discarded each year.

This year’s winning solution, the "Eliminator”, is an innovative device that captures haddock while reducing the accidental netting, or bycatch, of other marine species. The invention takes advantage of the haddock’s natural tendency to swim upwards, not downwards, which is the norm for other fish.

The winning team consists of New England fishermen James O’Grady, Philip Ruhle Sr and his son Philip Ruhle Jr, Jonathan Knight of Superior Trawl in Wakefield, RI, and fisheries extension specialists Laura Skrobe and David Beutel.

“The collaborative design and development of the Eliminator trawl is a great example of industry and scientists working together with managers to develop innovative solutions to reduce or eliminate bycatch,” said David Beutel, one of the winning inventors at the University of Rhode Island.

“We’re excited to be receiving this award and look forward to continuing to research effective ways of reducing bycatch in fishing.”

The team will receive a grand prize of US$30,000. Two other inventors won runner-up prizes of $10,000 each for their inventions to help reduce bycatch.

Diego Gonzalez Zevallos, a marine biologist at the Centro Nacional Patagónico in Argentina, studied the accidental death of seabirds as they dive for food and are struck by trawling cables and dragged under the water and drown. His device, a simple plastic cone is likely to dramatically reduce seabird deaths, while not affecting the profitability for fishermen.

The other runner-up prize winner, Glen Parsons, a biology professor at the University of Mississippi, created a cylinder device that was widely tested on red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Destructive fishing is devastating our oceans, wasting a valuable natural resource and causing dramatic declines in populations of many marine species,” said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme.

“This competition is part of an unprecedented effort to team up with fishermen, industry insiders and scientists to find the best real-world, cost-effective ideas to solve the scourge of bycatch.”

A special $5,000 prize was also awarded to UK-based Andy Smerdon of Aquatec Group Ltd. of Hampshire, England, for a device called the Passive Porpoise Deterrent. The winning design, which draws on the mammal’s echolocation system alerts porpoises to the presence of fishing nets so they can swim away and avoid them.

The International Smart Gear Competition was created by WWF and a diverse range of partners in May 2004 to bring together fishermen, fisheries, policy and science to find solutions to reduce the unnecessary decline of vulnerable species due to bycatch. The first Smart Gear Competition drew more than 50 entries from 16 countries. This year the competition drew 70 entries from 22 countries, including Cameroon, Finland, Thailand, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Kenya and Malaysia.

END NOTES:

• As many as 250,000 endangered loggerhead turtles and critically endangered leatherback turtles are caught annually on long-line nets set for tuna, swordfish and other fish.

• There are 26 species of seabirds, including 17 albatross species, threatened with extinction because of bycatch in long-lines and trawls which kills more than 300,000 seabirds each year.

• An estimated 89 per cent of hammerhead sharks and 80 per cent of thresher and white sharks have disappeared from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean in the last 18 years, largely due to bycatch.

• The 2007 International Smart Gear Competition partners and judging panel included representatives from: the American Fisheries Society, the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, The Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, Mustad, the National Fisheries Institute, the New England Aquarium, NOAA Fisheries, Ocean Watch Australia Ltd., the Sea change Investment Fund, Sealord Group Ltd., the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, the WorldFish Center, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Northeast Consortium, the Sea Fish Industry Authority, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and WWF.

For further information
Kerry Green Zobor, WWF-US
Tel: +1 202 352 4997
E-mail: kerry.zobor@wwfus.org

Joanna Benn, WWF International
Tel: +39 06 84497 212
E-mail: jbenn@wwfspecies.org

Saving energy is key to solving Argentina's climate and energy crisis

2006-10-23

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Argentina could reduce its expected electric energy growth up to 30% by 2020 and avoid up to US$6.5 billion in new energy investments, while stabilizing its power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions at 2005 levels by 2020, according to a report released today by WWF and its associate organization Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA).

“Argentina is today facing the twofold challenge of energy and climate security, with significant risks for our economy, society and nature,” said Marcelo Acerbi, FVSA's Conservation Director.

“This study outlines concrete steps for the short, medium and long term to lead to a more secure and sustainable power sector, preventing the risk of power rationing or gas shortages while reducing Argentina’s climate footprint.”

According to the environmental groups, Argentina could cut between 18–30% of its projected power consumption growth by 2020 using ambitious policies for reducing power waste, both at the production and consumption level. This is a total saving of 58.500GWh, or equivalent to twice the yearly consumption of the city of Buenos Aires. In this way, Argentina could avoid building between five to eights large thermoelectric power plants over the next 15 years. The WWF–FVSA scenario could also lead to natural gas consumption savings, ranging between 27 and 40 million of cubic meters per day by 2020, about four times the current gas imports from Bolivia.

This would result in direct savings of US$6.5 billion for consumers by the year 2020, the equivalent of seven times the 2005 government’s poverty reduction spending. Indirect savings related to the avoidance of economic disruption due to power and natural gas shortages are likely to be much higher.

“For Argentina, cutting energy waste is more cost-effective than constructing new, large thermoelectric or hydropower plants," said Carlos Tanides, the report coordinator from the University of Buenos Aires. "For each Peso invested in energy efficiency, the country could save at least 16 more pesos."

By implementing this blueprint for a climate-safe power sector, Argentina could stabilize its electricity-related CO₂emissions by 2020 at a level close to that of 2005, which means producing 70 million tons of CO₂ instead of 100 million tons, with a saving of 30% compared to a business as usual scenario. This is the equivalent of taking about seven million cars off the road each year.

“This is the kind of proposal that Argentina should consider to both profit from the benefits of the international carbon market and reaffirm its 1998 voluntary commitment for reducing its greenhouse emissions,” said Giulio Volpi, coordinator of WWF's Climate Change Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“In doing so, Argentina would boost economic competitiveness and technology innovation, while showing leadership on the global fight on climate change."

To realize this potential, FVSA and WWF call on Argentina's government to adopt a aggressive energy efficiency plan. Priority actions include the swift implementation of energy efficiency labels and the establishment of minimum consumption standards for all energy-consuming products, from refrigerators to cars, from houses to energy intensive industries.

“There is a huge untapped potential for energy efficiency in a emerging country like Argentina," said Jonás Beccar Varela, FVSA Communications Director.

“For instance, approximately half of the refrigerators that will be on the market by 2020 have not been manufactured yet. To realize this potential we need strong leadership by the Argentinean government which should implement urgently a energy efficiency plan."

For further information:
Lucila Tamborini, Communications Officer
Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina
Email: prensa@vidasilvestre.org.ar

DJonás Beccar Varela, Director of Communications
Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina
Email: institucional@vidasilvestre.org.ar

Protecting southern right whales from attacking kelp gulls

2006-07-26

Mar del Plata, Argentina – WWF associate organization Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA) has increased its research efforts for a second year following continuous kelp gull attacks of southern right whales off the waters of Argentina’s Valdés Peninsula, one of the world’s most important breeding grounds for this whale species.

According to researchers studying this bizarre phenomenon, the gulls gouge through the skin of the whales’ backs to feed on skin and blubber, causing lesions along their spines and affecting their behaviour.

Such behaviour was first registered by British researchers in 1969. Ten years later, a study registered 151 attacks from gulls on whales in this area. And in the 1990s new investigations reported an increment of 60 per cent — about 80 per cent of the attacks seem to be targeted at female whales and their calves.

“The whales, particularly the calves, are wasting a lot of energy by swimming away and diving deep underwater to escape the attacks,” explained Alejandro Arias, WWF-FVSA Marine Programme Species Coordinator.

“This is significant because it seems to be preventing them from creating a layer of fat so crucial for their long migration.”

It is estimated that mother whales spend about a quarter of their day fleeing gull attacks, using up energy reserves which could be better spent protecting and producing milk for their calves.

A WWF-FVSA research project aims to further determine the effects of the kelp gull attacks on southern right whales, particularly focusing on possible modification of the regional distribution of whales. Researchers will also study kelp gull populations and the effect the attacks may have on the whale-watching industry.

“The scientific evidence will serve as a basis for designing a management plan, together with the local authorities, to mitigate the negative effects of this situation,” said Arias.

END NOTES:

• Kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) nest along 3,400km of Argentina’s coast, with some 75,000 reproductive couples. The Valdés Peninsula boasts six colonies, with several of them having increased their size considerably over the past few decades as a result of rich food sources available to them at garbage dumps and in the effluent of fish processing plants.

• Up to 10,000 southern right whales (Eubalena australis) are distributed in the southern hemisphere in three sub-populations with nursery areas found in the waters off of Argentina, Australia and South Africa.

• Every year, between May and December, more than 2,000 whales inhabit the Valdés Península. Some 100,000 tourists participate in whale-watching trips, contributing to an industry worth up to US$16 million.

For further information:
Florencia Lemoine, Marine Programme Communications Coordinator
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina
Tel: +54 223 4941877
E-mail: flmarino@vidasilvestre.org.ar

WWF associate organization signs sustainable tourism agreement in Patagonia

2006-01-06

Buenos Aires, Argentina – WWF's associate organization, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA), has signed a cooperation agreement with local authorities to promote conservation in the United Nations-protected Valdés Peninsula in the Patagonia region of Argentina.

The cooperation agreement — signed with Argentina’s Chubut Province and the Península Valdés Natural Protected Area Administration — seeks to implement a sustainable tourism plan for the protected area, including the establishment of a visitor centre at the whale-watching town of Puerto Pirámide.

“The agreement is important in promoting the sustainable development of the region for present and future generations,” said Marcelo Acerbi, FVSA’s Conservation Director. “Both the tourism plan and the whale watching centre are opportunities where tourism can contribute to conservation.”

In September 2005, FVSA acquired 7,360ha of the San Pablo de Valdés wildlife reserve, which includes 12km of pristine coastline. The acquisition gives FVSA access to management decisions in the nearby Valdés Peninsula coastal and marine protected area and UNESCO World Heritage site.

“Three months ago we announced our commitment to work for the effective management of the Valdés Heritage site,” said FVSA Chief Executive Officer Javier Corcuera. “Today, we are giving are taking a first step together with key stakeholders to ensure this jewel shines for ever.”

Peninsula Valdés is marked by its vibrant coastlines, a stunning array of tall cliffs, rocky reef and exotic marine mammals, including the southern elephant seal, sea lion, southern right whale, and Magellan penguins. The area is also home to more than 60 species of birds, as well as several species of terrestrial mammals, such as the grey fox, guanaco, and mara.

NOTES:

• Since 1987, FVSA has established 13 wildlife private refuges, covering 105,000ha. With support from WWF International, FVSA is working towards forest landscape restoration in the Atlantic Forest, which is one of the richest forest habitats in Argentina, as well as Paraguay and Brazil.

• The acquisition of the San Pablo de Valdés wildlife reserve was made possible with support from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery and WWF-Netherlands.

• WWF began working in Argentina in 1987, when Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA) became an associate of WWF. Together, the two organizations hold joint campaigns, arrange global actions, and execute several programmes and projects.

For further information:
Florencia Lemoine, Communications Coodinator
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA)
Tel: +54 223 494 1877
E-mail: flmarino@vidasilvestre.org.ar

Conserving endangered dolphins in Argentina

2005-12-14

Mar del Plata, Argentina – WWF’s associate organization, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA), is working to save the endangered Franciscana dolphin in the southwest Atlantic Ocean.

The Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), one of the smallest dolphins of the world, is endemic to the coastal Atlantic waters off central South America. The primary threat throughout most of its range is incidental mortality in fishing nets. Research suggests that dolphin populations cannot sustain the current level of accidental mortality.

“The Franciscana dolphin is seriously threatened and we have to pay attention to this problem,” said Roberto Ubieta, Vice-President of the Association of Ship Owners, Skippers and Fishermen of San Clemente del Tuyú in Buenos Aires province. “If we want to take care of this species, we have to work with others to address the problem.”

Ubieta was one of ten local fishermen, who together with 30 biologists and governmental officials from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, attended a FVSA-organized workshop on the current situation of this dolphin species.

“It is very important to include artisanal fishermen,” said FVSA Marine Programme Species Coordinator Alejandro Arias. “Through dialogue we can improve fisheries management and the conservation of the marine ecosystem of this region.”

Since 2004, FVSA, together with WWF, Fundación Aquamarina and the Wildlife Trust Alliance, has been working to reduce the incidental mortality of Franciscana dolphins in Argentina. A FVSA project is currently testing the use of bottom hand-lines as an alternative fishing practice to replace gillnets in Bahia Samborombon and Cabo San Antonio. Local fishermen are participating in this project using hand-lines and gillnets — landings of both fishing gear are being compared. The implementation of hand-lines could be an additional conservation tool to reduce the incidental mortality of Franciscana dolphins in Argentina.

“Our mission is to work in partnership to ensure the sustainable management of the coasts and seas of the southwest Atlantic for future generations,” added FVSA-WWF Marine Programme Coordinator Guillermo Cañete. “That is why it was so important for us to met and work with all the actors involved in the Franciscana problem.”

END NOTES:

• The Franciscana dolphin workshop was organized by the FVSA-WWF Marine Programme, Fundación Aquamarina, the Science Department of the National University of Mar del Plata, and the Laboratory of Marine Mammals of the National Patagonic Center (CENPAT).

• WWF began working in Argentina in 1988 when Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA) became an associate of WWF. Together, the two organizations hold joint campaigns, arrange global actions, and execute several programmes and projects. Since 1987, FVSA has established 12 wildlife refuges covering 55,000ha. With support from WWF, FVSA is working to restore forest landscapes in the Atlantic Rainforest, one of the richest forest habitats in Argentina. FVSA is also working to protect Argentina’s largest wetlands, the Iberá Marshes, from rising water levels due to the Yacyretá dam. In addition to promoting forest certification and freshwater conservation, FVSA is involved in the promotion of energy resource management, environmental education, and the establishment of marine and inland-protected areas.

For further information:
Florencia Lemoine, Marine Programme Communications Coordinator
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina
Tel: +54-223-4941877/4961604
E-mail: flmarino@vidasilvestre.org.ar

WWF associate organization acquires biodiversity-rich coastline in Argentina's Patagonian region

2005-09-21

Buenos Aires, Argentina – WWF's associate organization, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA), has recently acquired land in Patagonia in the southern Argentinian province of Chubut. The acquisition of the 7,360ha San Pablo de Valdés wildlife reserve, which includes 12km of pristine coastline, gives FVSA access to management decisions in the nearby Valdés Peninsula protected area and UNESCO World Heritage site.

"In this way, FVSA will contribute, with all the actors involved, to achieve the effective management and implementation of this unique area," said Javier Corcuera, FVSA's CEO. “FVSA and WWF want to ensure that this environmental jewel shines.”

Peninsula Valdés is marked by its vibrant coastlines, a stunning array of tall cliffs, rocky reef and exotic marine mammals, including the southern elephant seal, sea lion, southern right whale, and Magellan penguins. The area is also home to more than 60 species of birds, as well as several species of terrestrial mammals, such as the grey fox, guanaco, and mara.

FVSA will concentrate its efforts on the effective management of San Pablo de Valdés through responsible tourism and monitoring species with high conservation value.

Through a “Save Valdés” project, FVSA-WWF, in collaboration with the government and local community, will design and build a visitors centre in the whale-watching town of Puerto Pirámides. Other project activities with partners include a sustainable tourism plan for Valdés and improving codes of conduct for whale and dolphin watching.

“We plan on making this reserve a model that contributes to the conservation of the coastal and marine environment of Península Valdés, generating results that could be potentially reproduced in other zones of this world-class natural area," added FVSA's Conservation Director Marcelo Acerbi.

NOTES:
• The acquisition of the San Pablo de Valdés wildlife reserve was made possible with support from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery and WWF-Netherlands.

• WWF began working in Argentina in 1988, when Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA) became an associate of WWF. Together, the two organizations hold joint campaigns, arrange global actions, and execute several programmes and projects.

• Since 1987, FVSA has established 12 wildlife refuges covering 55,000ha. Currently, with the support of WWF, FVSA is working toward forest landscape restoration in the Atlantic Rainforest, which is one of the richest forest habitats in Argentina.

• FVSA is also working to protect Argentina's largest wetlands, the Iberá Marshes, from rising water levels due to the Yacyretá dam. In addition to promoting forest certification and freshwater conservation, FVSA is involved in the promotion of energy resource management, environmental education, and the establishment of marine and inland-protected areas.

For further information:
Florencia Lemoine, Communications Coodinator
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina – Marine Programme
Tel: +54 223 494 1877
E-mail: flmarino@vidasilvestre.org.ar

Jonás Beccar Varela, Director of Fundraising, Communications and Education
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina
E-mail: institucional@vidasilvestre.org.ar

Marine Protected Areas - providing a future for fish and people

2005-06-27

They also provide services to local communities who depend on the sea and its resources, increasing food security and reducing poverty. MPAs can also benefit local people by opening new opportunities to gain income. Countries with coral reefs attract millions of SCUBA divers every year, yielding significant economic benefits to the host country. Globally, almost USD 10 billion are spent on coral reef tourism annually.

By establishing MPAs, we can restore the balance in the use of our oceans, safeguarding valuable fish stocks and important habitats while providing long-term solutions for local communities.

The challenge

The world’s oceans are under more pressure than ever before. From France to Japan, from Senegal to Australia and Chile, fish stocks are overfished and important habitats are being lost or degraded at an unprecedented rate. Sixty per cent of coral reefs are expected to be lost by 2030 if present rates of decline continue. The increasing number of people living on the coasts and the rapid rise in consumer demand for fish threaten marine biodiversity across the oceans.

Inadequate fisheries management and widespread overuse of marine and coastal resources are also eroding the traditional basis of life for millions of people and even entire countries, depriving communities of their main source of vital protein and increasing poverty.

Yet, only a mere 0.5 per cent of the oceans are protected – compare this to 13 per cent of land area under protection. And the large majority of that is inadequately managed, with almost all marine protected areas open to tourism and recreation and 90 per cent open to fishing.

To turn the tide towards healthy oceans, the world’s leaders agreed, at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, to create representative networks of MPAs by 2012.

It’s time to put these global agreements into action!

Download the brochure (PDF format) to find out more about the benefits of Marine Protected Areas

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