Latest news with #UNConventiononBiologicalDiversity
Borneo Post
27-05-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Artificial nests boost biodiversity of "China's water tower"
Workers conduct routing inspection of power transmission lines at Tanggulashan Township of Golmud City in the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi, northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 3, 2023. (Photo by Pan Binbin/Xinhua) XINING (May 28): Under the blue skies and white clouds of the Sanjiangyuan area in northwest China's Qinghai Province, raptors like golden eagles and upland buzzards soar through the air, frequently returning to nests perched atop electricity transmission poles and towers. There, they incubate their eggs and feed their young. Surprisingly, these nests were installed by local power grid workers in a public welfare initiative that the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) launched in the province in 2016 to promote biodiversity conservation. The artificial nest project is now being expanded across China and globally, and has been selected as a flagship case for the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16). CONFLICTS The Sanjiangyuan area, known as 'China's water tower,' is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, and boasts among the highest levels of high-altitude biodiversity in the world. The area now hosts approximately 300 bird species, including over 20 raptors, such as golden eagles, saker falcons and upland buzzards. These birds, which favor high nesting sites, use the soaring transmission towers — tens of meters in height — as ideal habitats. In the past, birds frequently built nests on transmission towers using materials like iron wires and thin ropes, which often electrocuted the birds and triggered power outages. To resolve the conflict between power grid development and avian habitat conservation, which had long been recognized as an industry-wide challenge, maintenance workers from the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company initially installed bird deterrent and exclusion devices on power towers. However, over time, the birds became habituated to these devices and grew unafraid. 'We even tried relocating nests, but the area's high altitude and scarce tree coverage leave few suitable nesting sites for raptors,' said Wang Hui, former head of the maintenance team. COEXISTENCE According to the Yushu Power Supply Company, which is under the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company, 40 percent of power failures in the province's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 2015 were bird-related. Each repair mission required crews to traverse snow-capped mountains and vast grasslands, covering hundreds of kilometers at tremendous operational costs. To solve the problem, Wang and his colleagues devised the idea of building nests for birds on the towers, at positions that wouldn't affect power transmission safety. Soon, the first batch of simple artificial bird nests — bamboo baskets lined with straw — were installed and put to use. 'At first, the results were promising — eagles and other large birds gradually moved in,' maintenance worker Ren Liang said. However, frequent sandstorms in Qinghai blew away the straw in the bamboo baskets, and the baskets themselves quickly weathered and fell apart. After repeated trials and improvements, the workers switched to weaving nests from rattan and lining them with coir mats secured by metal fasteners. 'These upgraded nests were not only sturdier and safer, but also more comfortable for hatching chicks,' Ren said. Working with wildlife experts, the power company ultimately designed bowl-shaped nests measuring about 100 centimeters in diameter and 40 centimeters in depth, specifically sized for the physical requirements of the area's raptors. These conservation efforts have yielded significant results. Since 2016, the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company has installed 5,053 artificial bird nests in the Sanjiangyuan area, successfully attracting birds to nest in more than 2,600 of that total. The company now says it will install new nests while optimizing existing sites this year. This optimization will include relocating long-unoccupied nests to areas with higher concentrations of birds, thereby enhancing both utilization efficiency and the scientific deployment of these conservation structures. Wang Jianting, president of the Bird Watching Association of Qinghai National Park, noted that these artificial nests have successfully attracted raptors that prey on plateau pikas and other small animals, strengthening vulnerable links in Sanjiangyuan's ecological chain. Professional monitoring results show that according to current artificial nest installation standards in Sanjiangyuan, each nest assists in the predation of about 50 small grassland rodents in the surrounding area during the raptor breeding season alone, significantly enhancing ecological balance stability. In recent years, the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company has also collaborated with non-profit organizations on interdisciplinary research integrating ornithology and power grid systems, dynamically monitoring and evaluating the artificial nest project. The project has been expanded to provinces and regions such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Xizang. – Xinhua animal spec bird's nests China fauna
Daily News Egypt
12-05-2025
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt expands migratory bird conservation, eco-tourism initiatives
Egypt's Ministry of Environment has unveiled new measures to enhance the protection of migratory birds and promote eco-tourism, reinforcing the country's broader biodiversity strategy through collaboration with national and international partners. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad met this week with Khaled El-Noubi, President of the Egyptian Society for Nature Conservation, and Tim Appleton, founder and director of the UK-based Global Birdfair, along with their delegation. During the meeting, a mural featuring various migratory bird species was presented and will be installed at the Galala Bird Observatory—symbolizing Egypt's enduring commitment to biodiversity conservation. Minister Fouad highlighted Egypt's longstanding leadership in environmental protection, dating back to 1983 when the Nature Conservation Sector laid the foundation for the country's environmental governance. A significant milestone came in 2014, when Egypt hosted the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. That event prompted the country to integrate wildlife protection into its growing renewable energy agenda—particularly to safeguard migratory birds. This dual focus yielded international recognition in 2019, when Egypt was awarded the AEWA (African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement) Award for its efforts to protect birds along the Afro-Eurasian flyway. Among Egypt's practical steps is the development of birdwatching sites, beginning in Sharm El-Sheikh, where rehabilitated oxidation ponds have been repurposed to attract migratory species. The Ministry has also partnered with tourism operators to incorporate birdwatching into eco-tourism itineraries. Complementing these initiatives is the Eco Egypt campaign, which promotes 13 designated eco-destinations and raises public awareness of sustainable tourism. As part of this campaign, the Ministry—together with the Ministry of Tourism—introduced Egypt's first official standards for eco-lodges. Minister Fouad also discussed restoration efforts at Lake Qarun in Fayoum, a once-critical migratory bird stopover that suffered from severe environmental degradation. Since the Ministry's intervention in 2018, bird populations have returned to the lake within just three years—an early sign of ecological recovery. Fouad noted a growing public interest in wildlife, pointing to a recent photography exhibition by the Wildlife Conservation Association, which showcased images captured by local nature enthusiasts. The exhibit reflected an encouraging shift toward grassroots engagement in conservation. Khaled El-Noubi commended the Ministry's leadership in mitigating threats to migratory birds and creating a solid framework for eco-tourism. He underscored Egypt's rising profile as a birdwatching destination amid global growth in avian tourism, citing the success of the Galala Bird Observatory. The site has recorded thousands of migratory birds, including sightings of endangered species such as the Egyptian vulture. He noted that protective measures implemented there demonstrate Egypt's growing role in global conservation. Tim Appleton also praised Egypt's progress, calling the Galala initiative a strong example of how conservation and tourism can work in synergy. He emphasized the importance of international cooperation and local community engagement in addressing today's environmental challenges.
Trade Arabia
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Trade Arabia
UN conference pact mobilises $200bn boost for nature
Governments on Friday reached agreement on a strategy to raise an additional $200 billion each year to better protect the world's flora and fauna by 2030. Delegates met in Rome for the resumption of the UN Biodiversity Conference to hammer out an agreement at COP16.2 after attempts to reach a deal on financing at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, fell short last November. It is hoped that the hard-won decisions made by parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will shore up biodiversity and fragile ecosystems which are bearing the brunt of increased conflict, deforestation, mining, toxic waste dumping and other environmental impacts worldwide. 'We very much welcome this announcement,' the UN Secretary-General's Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday. 'We need to mobilise at least $200 billion dollars a year by 2030 to close the global biodiversity finance gap.' 'These days of work in Rome have demonstrated the commitment of the parties to advance the implementation of the [Kunming-Montreal] Global Biodiversity Framework,' said COP16 president Susana Muhamad, referring to the landmark 2022 agreement and underscoring 'the collective effort to reach consensus of key issues that were left pending in Cali'. The Global Biodiversity Framework aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, who suffer disproportionately from biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. The global framework also contains concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including protection measures covering 30% of the planet and 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems by 2030, she stated. Currently only 17% of land and around eight per cent of marine areas are protected.
Egypt Independent
26-01-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Egypt, Colombia discuss mechanisms of financing biodiversity
Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad held a meeting on Saturday 25/1/2025 with her Colombian counterpart Susana Muhamad, via video conference, as part of ministerial consultations on rallying resources for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The talks tackled points of view on mechanisms of financing biological diversity to achieve the goals of the new global framework of biological diversity. Fouad lauded the Colombian efforts in hosting and leading the COP16. She also commended the role of her Colombian counterpart in facilitating consultations on financing biological diversity as an important aspect in facing the challenge of biological diversity loss that the world faces. Fouad asserted that the Egyptian stance on financing the biological diversity goes in accordance with that of the African group which highlights the importance of creating a finance mechanism for biological diversity. She said that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is capable of managing the resources of public finance from developed countries, adding that Egypt believed that the aspired financial resources need a more comprehensive and supportive mechanism capable of mobilizing funds from different resources. For her part, the Colombian minister reviewed the consultations that took place with different countries to stand on their points of view on the file of biological diversity finance and work on narrowing the gap of views in order to reach a political decision, commending the Egyptian vision in this regard.
