Info, news & views for anyone interested in biodiversity conservation and good environmental decision making
“Like rabbits and other vertebrate pests, carp are emblematic of our inability to deal with entrenched pest animals. There are no silver bullets.”
Stuart et al, The Conversation [see item]
In this issue of Dbytes
1. System to protect Australia’s threatened species from development ‘more or less worthless’
2. Half a century of rising extinction risk of coral reef sharks and rays
3. Offsetting Us Up To Fail: The myths of ‘nature markets’ explained
4. The Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units
5. Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record
6. How to Conserve Wildlife Migrations in the American West
7. Exploding carp numbers are ‘like a house of horrors’ for our rivers. Is it time to unleash carp herpes?
8. Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections
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1. System to protect Australia’s threatened species from development ‘more or less worthless’
Environment ministers’ decisions spanning 15 years made no difference to amount of habitat destroyed, researchers say
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/24/system-to-protect-threatened-species-from-development-more-or-less-worthless-study-finds
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2. Half a century of rising extinction risk of coral reef sharks and rays
Sharks and rays are key functional components of coral reef ecosystems, yet many populations of a few species exhibit signs of depletion and local extinctions. The question is whether these declines forewarn of a global extinction crisis. We use IUCN Red List to quantify the status, trajectory, and threats to all coral reef sharks and rays worldwide. Here, we show that nearly two-thirds (59%) of the 134 coral-reef associated shark and ray species are threatened with extinction. Alongside marine mammals, sharks and rays are among the most threatened groups found on coral reefs. Overfishing is the main cause of elevated extinction risk, compounded by climate change and habitat degradation. Risk is greatest for species that are larger-bodied (less resilient and higher trophic level), widely distributed across several national jurisdictions (subject to a patchwork of management), and in nations with greater fishing pressure and weaker governance. Population declines have occurred over more than half a century, with greatest declines prior to 2005. Immediate action through local protections, combined with broad-scale fisheries management and Marine Protected Areas, is required to avoid extinctions and the loss of critical ecosystem function condemning reefs to a loss of shark and ray biodiversity and ecosystem services, limiting livelihoods and food security.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35091-x
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3. Offsetting Us Up To Fail: The myths of ‘nature markets’ explained
Australian governments have committed to tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises but continue to subsidise and approve fossil fuels and habitat destruction. While simple policy solutions exist, governments are instead relying on over-complicated market-based solutions to conceal the fundamental contradiction between support for fossil fuel production and promises to save the environment.
Summer Series – Offsetting Us Up To Fail: The myths of ‘nature markets’ explained [Webinar] – The Australia Institute
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4. The Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units
The Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) has found that the ACCU scheme is fundamentally sound but needs improvement, particularly regarding governance, transparency, co-benefits, integrity and overall effectiveness. The final report made 16 recommendations to clarify the intention of the scheme, demarcate and separate governance roles, improve transparency, information and incentives, remove unnecessary restrictions on data sharing, and provide more support for regional communities and First Nations peoples to participate. The Government has accepted all 16 recommendations ‘in principle’ and stated it will work with stakeholders on implementation.
Independent Review of ACCUs Final Report | December 2022 (dcceew.gov.au)
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5. Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record
GENEVA, 12 January 2023 – The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat, according to six leading international temperature datasets consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization.
The average global temperature in 2022 was about 1.15 [1.02 to 1.27] °C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels. 2022 is the 8th consecutive year (2015-2022) that annual global temperatures have reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels, according to all datasets compiled by WMO. 2015 to 2022 are the eight warmest years on record. The likelihood of – temporarily – breaching the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement is increasing with time.
Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record | World Meteorological Organization (wmo.int)
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6. How to Conserve Wildlife Migrations in the American West
This report is based on a synthesis, conducted by the Wyoming Migration Initiative on behalf of The Pew Charitable Trusts, of the growing body of science regarding the migration of western North America’s populations of mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and other ungulate species and identifies the most substantive threats to migrating wildlife.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
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7. Exploding carp numbers are ‘like a house of horrors’ for our rivers. Is it time to unleash carp herpes?
With widespread La Niña flooding in the Murray-Darling Basin, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) populations are having a boom year. Videos of writhing masses of both adult and young fish illustrate that all is not well in our rivers. Carp now account for up to 90% of live fish mass in some rivers. Concerned communities are wondering whether it is, at last, time for Australia to unleash the carp herpes virus to control populations – but the conversation among scientists, conservationists, communities and government bodies is only just beginning. Globally, the carp virus has been detected in more than 30 countries but never in Australia. There are valid concerns to any future Australian release, including cleaning up dead carp, and potential significant reductions of water quality and native fish. As river scientists and native fish lovers, let’s weigh the benefits of releasing the virus against the risks, set within a context of a greater vision of river recovery.
Exploding carp numbers are ‘like a house of horrors’ for our rivers. Is it time to unleash carp herpes? (theconversation.com)
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8. Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections
In 2015, investigative journalists discovered internal company memos indicating that Exxon oil company has known since the late 1970s that its fossil fuel products could lead to global warming with “dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050.” Additional documents then emerged showing that the US oil and gas industry’s largest trade association had likewise known since at least the 1950s, as had the coal industry since at least the 1960s, and electric utilities, Total oil company, and GM and Ford motor companies since at least the 1970s. Scholars and journalists have analyzed the texts contained in these documents, providing qualitative accounts of fossil fuel interests’ knowledge of climate science and its implications. In 2017, for instance, we demonstrated that Exxon’s internal documents, as well as peer-reviewed studies published by Exxon and ExxonMobil Corp scientists, overwhelmingly acknowledged that climate change is real and human-caused. By contrast, the majority of Mobil and ExxonMobil Corp’s public communications promoted doubt on the matter.
Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections | Science
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About Dbytes
Dbytes is a weekly eNewsletter presenting news and views on biodiversity conservation and environmental decision science. ‘D’ stands for ‘Decision’ and refers to all the ingredients that go into good, fair and just decision-making in relation to the environment.
From 2007-2018 Dbytes was supported by a variety of research networks and primarily the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED). From 2019 Dbytes is being produced by David Salt (Ywords). Dbytes is supported by the Global Water Forum.
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