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The Asia and Pacific region is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Unabated warming could significantly undo previous achievements of economic development and improvements of living standards. At the same time, the region has both the economic capacity and weight of influence to change the present fossil-fuel based development pathway and curb global emissions. This report sheds light on the regional implications of the latest projections of changes in climate conditions over Asia and the Pacific. The assessment concludes that, even under the Paris consensus scenario in which global warming is limited to 1.5°C to 2°C above preindustrial levels, some of the land area, ecosystems, and socioeconomic sectors will be significantly affected by climate change impacts, to which policy makers and the investment community need to adapt to. However, under a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, which will cause a global mean temperature rise of over 4°C by the end of this century, the possibilities for adaptation are drastically reduced. Among others, climate change impacts such as the deterioration of the Asian “water towers”, prolonged heat waves, coastal sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns could disrupt ecosystem services and lead to severe effects on livelihoods which in turn would affect human health, migration dynamics and the potential for conflicts. This assessment also underlines that, for many areas vital to the region’s economy, research on the effects of climate change is still lacking.

Recognizing the value of large marine ecosystems (LMEs) and other transboundary water systems (open ocean, groundwater aquifers, lakes and reservoirs, and river basins), their continued degradation, the fragmented approach to their management, and the need for better prioritization of interventions, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) embarked on the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP) from 2009 to 2015. TWAP objectives were to undertake global assessments of the five transboundary water systems to assist GEF and other international organizations set priorities for interventions; and develop formal institutional partnerships for periodic assessments of these systems.

Based on our analysis, our overall conclusion is that there remains a long way to go in reaching national and international targets to protect at least 10% of the ocean estate in North American countries. Overall, less than 1% of continental* North America’s ocean estate is protected and only 0.04% is in fully protected areas that scientists say offer the best hope to protect ocean ecosystems for the long term.

Water lettuce is a free floating aquatic plant in rosettes of green leaves, rosettes occuring singly or connected to others by short stolons whose origins are uncertain. It forms large, dense floating mats. The plant can adapt to life in ponds, dams, lakes and quiet areas of rivers and streams, but cannot withstand salt water. Still continue with observation whether it is to survive in winter.

MPA networks, that are ecologically coherent and that protect 30 per cent of each habitat in our oceans are expected to contribute significantly to the recovery of marine biodiversity and a productive ocean (Roberts & Hawkins, 2000; Gell & Roberts, 2003; Halpern, 2003). This target has been recommended by the World Parks Congress (WPC 2014).

The EU has long supported biodiversity con- servation and recognised the links between healthy ecosystems and livelihoods. Starting from the mid-1980s, the EU has helped devel- oping countries manage biological resources in a sustainable way. It has provided long-stand- ing support to biodiversity conservation in National Parks and protected areas, especially in Africa, by increasing the capacity of local authorities and NGOs in management and finance, monitoring and evaluation, and in pro- moting income-generating activities compat- ible with conservation. The best-known action of this kind is the Conservation and Rational Use of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa Pro- gramme (ECOFAC), which protects the habitats of great apes and other emblematic species and ecosystems. The EU has invested nearly EUR 140 million in ECOFAC since 1992, sup- porting 16 major protected areas in eight Cen- tral African countries, covering an area of more than 130 000 square kilometres.

Powerpoint presentation on priorities emerging from the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014

As biodiversity becomes rarer and increasingly precious, protected areas— the jewel ecosystems, species, genetic diversity and associated values that societies agree to conserve— are becoming an ever more important focus of interest and concern, delight and conflict. In parallel, we have discovered “governance of protected areas”, a concept that was barely recognised until a decade or so ago. Some early, innovative ways of making sense of it emerged on the eve of the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress (Durban, 2003)3 where, for the first time, an entire stream of events was dedicated to the topic.4 Since then, concepts and practices have evolved and consolidated into a new, rapidly expanding and developing field of enquiry. Building on these pioneer efforts, this volume 20 in the IUCN Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines series argues that governance that is both appropriate to the context and “good” is crucial for effective and equitable conservation. This applies to all kinds of protected areas and other conserved areas, in terrestrial, inland waters, coastal and marine environments.

This book aims to help people manage coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems; especially to solve problems that flow from nearby catchment (watershed) areas. Such catchment areas may be adjacent to the coral reef, or include areas a long way away and outside the jurisdiction and control of the coastal manager. This book introduces ways to reduce some of that damage through cooperation with people and industries upstream, based on the experiences of many coastal managers around the world. A catchment area is defined as all the land that channels rainwater and groundwater into a river or stream, that then delivers water to coastal areas, in this case areas that contain coral reefs. The term catchment is often interchangeable with watershed, which is particularly used in the USA and nearby countries. However, watershed is also used to describe the boundary line between two catchment areas i.e. a line drawn across the tops of hills or mountains.

This encyclopedia illuminates a topic at the forefront of global ecology - biological invasions, or organisms that come to live in the wrong place. Written by leading scientists from around the world, the book addresses all aspects of this subject at a global level - including invasions by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria - in succinct, alphabetically arranged articles. Scientifically uncompromising, yet clearly written and free of jargon, the volume encompasses fields of study including biology, demography, geography, ecology, evolution, sociology, and natural history and features many cross-references, suggestions for further reading, illustrations, an appendix of the world's worst 100 invasive species, a glossary, and more. The book features articles on well-known invasive species such the zebra mussel, chestnut blight, cheatgrass, gypsy moth, Nile perch, giant African snail, and Norway rat and details regions with especially large numbers of introduced species including the Great Lakes, Mediterranean Sea, Hawaiian Islands, Australia and New Zealand. This work will be of great value in ecology and conservation science. Invasive species are a severe and exponentially growing problem of the environment, and one difficult even to characterize, much less contain.-Edward O. Wilson, author and scientist "Second only to habitat loss mixed with climate disruption, invasive species represent the next most serious threat to biodiversity. The Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions, written by an impressive group of experts, now makes available to conservation biologists, managers, decision makers, and concerned citizens a comprehensive single source of this key topic."-Paul R. Ehrlich, co-author of The Dominant Animal