An expedition to count Amazon River dolphins in Brazil’s Tapajós River was undertaken in partnership with the Mamirauá Institute and Reckitt. Experts say changes in the course of rivers caused by construction of hydroelectric power plants are the main reason for the freshwater dolphin’s vulnerability. (Photo courtesy of WWF/Peru)
Representatives of nearly 200 countries are scheduled to gather in Cali, Colombia next month to try to make global biodiversity conservation real. The occasion is the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity, a treaty approved in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. Under the auspices of the convention, signatories meeting last year in Montreal, Canada, agreed to a Global Biodiversity Framework that sets 23 biodiversity conservation targets which must be met by 2030 and four overarching goals which must be met by 2050. At this year’s Cali meeting, to be held from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, participating countries are expected to outline updated national biodiversity plans designed to meet the objectives of the groundbreaking Framework. “[COP16] will be important to determine whether or not we’re making progress on that historic agreement,” says Brian O’Donnell, director of the Campaign for Nature, a U.S.- based initiative... [Log in to read more]
