Thursday, March 31, 2011

Oil Spill has Reached Inaccessible Island, a World Heritage Site

ABOARD PRINCE ALBERT II: Expedition staff environmental scientist, Claudia Holgate received an email from Tristan da Cunha Department of Conservation director, Trevor Glass indicating that oil from the wrecked freighter “Oliva” had now reached Inaccessible Island, a World Heritage Site. To read the whole article, click here.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

UNESCO asks Libya, allied forces to respect ancient cultural sites

New York - Libya and allied forces implementing the no-fly zone must respect Libya's rich cultural sites, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said Wednesday.
UNESCO has inscribed five of Libya's famous sites on its World Heritage List and it urged the forces to avoid those areas as well as other historical and cultural sites.

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The United Kingdom nominates 11 sites for UNESCO World Heritage status

The Forth bridge, the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic where Napoleon died in 1821, and the Lake District are among 11 places the government will nominate today as worthy of becoming world heritage sites to be ranked alongside the Pyramids and Stonehenge.

The government will also make a third attempt to have the corner of Kent where Charles Darwin wrote the book that changed the history of science recognised as a world treasure.

John Penrose, the tourism and heritage minister, said: "Few places in the world can match the wealth of wonderful heritage we have available in the UK. The 11 places that make up the new 'UK tentative list' are fantastic examples of our cultural and natural heritage, and I believe they have every chance of joining famous names like the Sydney Opera House and the Canadian Rockies to become world heritage sites."

Read the whole article, here.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Protection of Flathead region needed

Now that the trans-boundary conference calls and Washington, D.C., hand-shaking sessions are over, a lot remains to finish in protecting the Flathead River between British Columbia and Montana.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer's Valentine's Day announcement that two conservation groups were providing $9.4 million to buy out mining claims on the Canadian side of the Flathead didn't include all the details of the deal. One significant omission was that while the U.S.-based Nature Conservancy is raising its half of the money through private donations, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is dipping into a $225 million Canadian government fund for its contribution.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

WB offers to fund alternative Serengeti road

A leading US environmental expert has warned that Tanzania’s resolve to build the northern road through the Serengeti National Park (Senapa) could deny the country substantial foreign aid.
The warning comes against the backdrop of plans by the government to construct a road through Senapa, which local and international conservationists say could spell doom for wildlife conservation efforts in Tanzania. In a letter to President Jakaya Kikwete dated March 1, 2011, the expert with a vast experience on the Serengeti, Prof John S.Adams, says the World Bank has offered to help finance the alternate southern route in order to help preserve Senapa, the world heritage site from losing its outstanding universal value.

To read more, click here.