Suchergebnisse

Addressing questions of loss and damage from climate change in courts is limited by many scientific, legal and political challenges. However, modifying existing extreme event attribution frameworks to resolve the evolution of the impacts of climate change over time will improve our understanding of the largest scientific uncertainties.

Exotic pet supply is a key, predominantly legal, component of global wildlife trade, but few studies have quantified its diversity or global reach. Here, using information extracted from the public (open) Facebook accounts of two wildlife exporters in Togo, West Africa, we identified at least 200 species, predominantly reptiles, but also mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates, advertised as available for sale and export, between the years 2016 and 2020. Of the animals identified, several hundred, possibly several thousand, individuals were shipped, at least monthly, to North America, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in Africa, via a number of major airlines. Among the vertebrates observed, approximately one-third had not yet been evaluated on the IUCN Red list, and three quarters were not CITES-listed (i.e., their trade was not regulated under this international treaty). The apparent lack of adequate monitoring of population status, disease, biological invasion, and animal welfare risks associated with this trade, as well as neglected taxa (e.g., invertebrates), has potential implications for environmental, public, and animal health. The findings of this case study suggest that a systematic review of social media activity could efficiently reveal significant insights into the otherwise undocumented global supply of exotic pets, directing legislators to aspects and areas where regulation is insufficient, and informing international and national policy change.

Militarisation of conservation (sometimes known as 'green militarisation') is an issue of growing international interest. Rhino horn is immensely valuable (in 2013 its value exceeded that of gold or cocaine), and its illegal trade has attracted widespread attention. Conservationists have declared a 'war' on poaching, with extensive military resources deployed to combat it. This sometimes includes operations which are referred to, particularly in the media, as 'shoot-to-kill'. These can be tantamount to extra-judicial killings. We scrutinise this issue using 'Just War' principles, to explore whether the 'war' on poaching meets the criteria expected of armed conflict. Our perspective suggests that it fails both ethical and pragmatic examination. This piece encourages conservation scientists, and the public, to consider which actions are justified in protecting wildlife, and how we should rethink conservation policy to achieve ethical, successful outcomes for both people and wildlife.

Changes in climate are usually considered in terms of trends or differences over time. However, for many impacts requiring adaptation, it is the amplitude of the change relative to the local amplitude of climate variability which is more relevant. Here, we develop the concept of "signal-to-noise" in observations of local temperature, highlighting that many regions are already experiencing a climate which would be "unknown" by late 19th century standards. The emergence of observed temperature changes over both land and ocean is clearest in tropical regions, in contrast to the regions of largest change which are in the northern extratropics-broadly consistent with climate model simulations. Significant increases and decreases in rainfall have also already emerged in different regions with the United Kingdom experiencing a shift toward more extreme rainfall events, a signal which is emerging more clearly in some places than the changes in mean rainfall. Plain Language Summary Changes in climate are translated into impacts on society not just though the amount of change, but how this change compares to the variations in climate that society is used to. Here we demonstrate that significant changes, when compared to the size of past variations, are present in both temperature and rainfall observations over many parts of the world. ; National Centre for Atmospheric Science. ERA4CS INDECIS project. European Union (EU): 690462. Australian Research Council: DE180100638. NERC Natural Environment Research Council: NE/S004645/1, NE/N018486/1. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), CONICYT FONDAP: 15110009. Whakahura project - Endeavour Fund: RTVU1906.

The science of event attribution has emerged to routinely answer the question whether and to what extent human-induced climate change altered the likelihood and intensity of recently-observed extreme weather events. In Europe a pilot programme to operationalise the method started in November 2019, highlighting the demand for timely information on the role of climate change when it is needed most: in the direct aftermath of an extreme event. Independent of whether studies are provided operationally or as academic studies, the necessity of good observational data and well-verified climate models imply most attributions are currently made for highly developed countries only. Current attribution assessments therefore provide very little information about those events and regions where the largest damages and socio-economic losses are incurred. Arguably, these larger damages signify a much greater need for information on how the likelihood and intensity of such high-impact events have been changing and are likely to change in a warmer world. In short, why do we not focus event attribution research efforts on the whole world, and particularly events in the developing world? The reasons are not just societal and political but also scientific. We simply cannot attribute these events in the same probabilistic framework employed in most studies today. We outline six focus areas to lessen these barriers, but we will not overcome them in the near future.

Illegal wildlife trade is gaining prominence as a threat to biodiversity, but addressing it remains challenging. To help inform proactive policy responses in the face of uncertainty, in 2018 we conducted a horizon scan of significant emerging issues. We built upon existing iterative horizon scanning methods, using an open and global participatory approach to evaluate and rank issues from a diverse range of sources. Prioritised issues related to three themes: developments in biological, information and financial technologies; changing trends in demand and information; and socio-economic and geopolitical shifts and influences. The issues covered areas ranging from changing demographic and economic factors to innovations in technology and communications that affect IWT markets globally; the top three issues related to China, illustrating its vital role in tackling emerging threats. This analysis can support national governments, international bodies, researchers and non-governmental organisations as they develop strategies for addressing the illegal wildlife trade.