U.S. Quietly Removes 17 Sites From UN Biosphere Reserve Network

Posted on June 16, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: Few attacks on nature would be more pointless than this. Is the goal simply to smash anything beautiful and valuable for all people? Of course, somebody out there has a plan to make money on these sites.

Who did this? Trump has probably never heard of the Biosphere Reserves.

Embarrassing that while we remove sites, other countries, including Russia, are adding sites.

The following by Lorraine Chow: “The U.S. has quietly withdrawn 17 sites from the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves program. As first reported by National Geographic, the sites include a number of national forests, preserves and reserves from Alaska to the Virgin Islands (see list below). There were previously 47 biosphere reserves in the U.S. The move was made during the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme meeting in Paris this week. Bulgaria also removed three sites.

“Prior to this year, a total of 18 sites had been removed from the program since 1997, by seven countries,” National Geographic noted.

“It’s not currently clear why the U.S. and Bulgaria asked to remove those sites: requests for comment have not yet been returned. In the past, sites were removed after countries were no longer able to meet the requirements of the program for protecting them.”

“According to the United Nations, biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. As detailed by the conservation nonprofit George Wright Society, the biosphere program was launched in the 1970s to establish internationally designated protected areas, help minimize the loss of biological diversity, raise awareness on how cultural diversity and biological diversity affect each other, and promote environmental sustainability. But over the years, the program has been criticized by certain individuals and groups as—per this Infowars post—a United Nations “land grab” of American landmarks.

“The George Wright Society writes: “A large, almost bewildering variety of charges have been alleged about biosphere reserves. Many of these charges revolve around a basic fear and distrust of the United Nations. This category of objections includes such claims as the United Nations is poised to invade the United States, confiscate American land, impose some kind of ‘new world order’ on citizens here, and so forth. There is no truth whatsoever to these charges.”

The U.S. removed the following sites from the biosphere reserve program:

Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge – US Fish & Wildlife Service
Beaver Creek Experimental Watershed – US Forest Service

The Beaver Creek site is not far from Coldwater Farm in central Arizona (photo by Northern Arizona University).

More….–Lorraine Chow (U.S. Quietly Removes 17 Sites From UN Biosphere Reserve Network.)

50th UN Session of Commission on Population & Development

Posted on April 6, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: The growing human population is the source of most of the environmental destruction that is threatening the biological diversity and stability of the Earth. Here’s some information from Joe Bish of the Population Media Center (PMC) that will help you stay updated on critical issues (Fertility projections). Bish is reporting on the latest United Nations nonsense about sustainable development.

Travel by train in India (anonymous).

“Welcome to Population Media Center’s Weekly News. Click here to review an on-line newspaper filled with population and sustainability related stories.They provide a good summary of international developments and population-related news-flow during the past week.

“It is debatable as to what was the biggest news in the field this week: the 50th session of the Commission on Population and Development was convened in New York City — and the current U.S. administration cut off American funding for UNFPA. Normally, I would say the latter was a much more meaningful news-item, after all, the cut-off of funds will lead to the suffering and death of multitudes of women and children. On the other hand, you will likely join me in disbelief and consternation to find the official news release from the UN (see below) has a headline that states “population… decline” is a key focus of the 50th session.

“Bear in mind that during the 5-day work week of proceedings at the UN, global population will have increased by roughly 1.1 million people. Also, you don’t need reminding that since the Commission was established in 1947, world population has risen by well over 5 billion people. Yet… “population… decline” is the headline?

“We all know what this headline is referring to are a score of countries that are thought to be experiencing natural decrease. These include Japan, Spain, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Georgia. Nonetheless, while some attention may be required to help these countries adopt a sustainable economy that does not require perpetual population growth to function, surely it seems not quite right that the 50th session of the Commission is being dedicated to the relative distractions of aging and “population decline.” –Joe Bish

3 April 2017 – The United Nations advisory body on issues related to population and development today kicked off its annual session, with a focus on changing population age structures and sustainable development.

“Population ageing and population decline have now become key issues for a growing number of Member States,” Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo told the opening segment of the Commission on Population and Development’s fiftieth annual session, which will run at UN Headquarters through 7 April.

He also noted that with global fertility at, or even below, fertility [sic] level, international migration “is becoming the main driver of population change for a number of countries.” –United Nations (Continue: PMC’s Weekly News: 50th Session of Commission on Population & Development).

United Nations Tackles Ocean Plastic Pollution

Posted on February 27, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: There is growing realization that waste plastics including everything from packaging to the microfiber fabrics used in clothing, are harming wild plants and animals. An earlier petition campaign and many other reports have finally been heard. It’s good to see the UN tackling the problem.

Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment

“BALI, Indonesia, February 26, 2017 (ENS) – An unprecedented global campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter within five years was launched this week by UN Environment, the United Nations agency formerly known as UNEP. The campaign is targeting microplastics in cosmetics and single-use plastics such as straws, bags and packaging materials.

SolheimUN Environment chief Erik Solheim of Norway (Photo courtesy World Bank)

“It is past time that we tackle the plastic problem that blights our oceans, said Erik Solheim of Norway, the former Norwegian environment and development minister who now heads UN Environment. “Plastic pollution is surfing onto Indonesian beaches, settling onto the ocean floor at the North Pole, and rising through the food chain onto our dinner tables. We’ve stood by too long as the problem has gotten worse. It must stop.”

“Introduced at the Economist World Ocean Summit in Bali, the UN’s new #CleanSeas campaign is urging governments to adopt plastic reduction policies.

“Ten countries have already joined the campaign with far-reaching pledges to turn the plastic tide.

“Indonesia has committed to slash its marine litter by a massive 70 percent by 2025.

“Uruguay will tax single-use plastic bags later this year, and Costa Rica will take measures to reduce single-use plastic through better waste management and education.

“The campaign is targeting industry with the message that it’s important to minimize plastic packaging and redesign products, and is calling on consumers to change their throwaway habits before irreversible damage is done to the oceans.

This Laysan albatross died from dehydration or starvation after swallowing plastics at sea. Laysan is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. On nearby Midway Atoll, some 200,000 albatross chicks die each year from consuming plastics that block or perforate the stomach, esophagus or gizzard. (Photo by Duncan)

“Each year, more than eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. Up to 80 percent of all litter in the oceans is made of plastic – items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups.” –Environmental News Service (Continue reading: – UN Campaigns to ‘Turn the Tide’ on Ocean Plastics | ENS.)