IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Terraviva News

09 October 2008 | News story

Terraviva is the daily newspaper of the World Conservation Congress. Read about the move from Forum to Assembly, the presidential candidates, new media, species extinction and how to buy your share of the Amazon.

IUCN elections: First salvoes fired
The battle royale has been triggered. The three presidential candidates have fired their first salvoes - one of them loud enough not to be overheard.

Congress: From glitz to ballots
With the eventful hit-show, the Forum over, the IUCN World Conservation Congress comes down to inevitable politics.

Going the way of the dodo
With nearly 1,226 species of birds facing extinction humans face potentially catastrophic impacts.

New media to help meet environment targets faster?
You name it - blogging, facebook, YouTube or mobile phones. They have all revolutionised the way we communicate, share and store information. With activists using satellite images from Google Maps to show locals the destruction of forests, activists brainstormed on harnessing the fast-evolving world of new media to meet environmental targets faster.

Buy the Amazon to preserve it
"Rainforest Delight" is too tempting a brandname to be truthful.It sounds just another half-lie of the advertising machinery which litters so much of the world. But it is not. In this case, the brand name is an accurate description of the product.

World Bank releases draft standards for biofuels
In an attempt to reign in the rush towards producing biofuels which is emerging as the latest threat to the ecosystem, even blamed for causing environmental damage, especially in third world countries, and believed responsible for pushing up the prices of food globally, the World Bank and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RBS) have released a list of draft standards on the sustainable production of biofuel production at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

A swampy future for mangroves
Even as the images of the Indian Ocean tsunami four years ago remain locked vividly in memories, conservationists say the impact of such a disaster can be cushioned considerably through the conservation of coastal ecosystems, including preserving mangroves.

Corporates and NGOs, partners in arms?
If the civil society is from Venus and the corporate sector from Mars, can branding bridge their divide?