Natural Environment Blog

“There is a clear sense of urgency”.

That’s what, Valli Moosa, the president for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) told delegates at the World Conservation Congress (WCC) during the opening session on Sunday.

After the 4th day of the congress, Moosa said:

In the last four days the call to protect the planet has been heard from both government leaders and the NGO community. Environmental concerns are now at the top of the decision-makers priority list.

Moosa wasn’t the only one with this sentiment. IUCN Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre said: 

Absolutely everyone now agrees that we can’t postpone decisive action if we are to avoid major disruptions in all spheres of human and natural activities. Business as usual is not an option.

About the Congress

The congress, being held in Barcelona, Spain, brings together more than 8,000 of the world’s leading decision makers in sustainable development: from governments, NGOs, business, the UN and academia.

The objective of the congress is:

Ideas, action and solutions for a diverse and sustainable world.

In total, 125 motions were forwarded to the congress for discussion. The motions fall under the following categories:

• Governance (13 motions)
• Biodiversity Conservation (54 motions)
• Ecosystems and Human Well-Being (26 motions)
• Climate Change (8 motions)
• Energy (4 motions)
• Economy, Market and Finance (7 motions)
• Law, Policy and Ethics (10 motions)
• Education and Communication (3 motions)

You can read the full list of motions on the IUCN website. 

The congress is being held over 10 days between 5 October and 14 October, 2008.

Antarctica has finally had it’s first passenger jet.

Last night, an Airbus A319 left Australia and landed in Antarctica at 3am. Passengers included Peter Garrett - Australia’s Environment Minister (also famous for his time as lead singer in Australian rock band Midnight Oil), 7 scientists, and 11 other passengers. The 7 scientists will remain in Antarctica to carry out research.

The flight was made possible because a suitable runway has only recently been completed. Wilkins Runway is 4 kilometers long, 500 meters deep, and took $46 million to complete. Wilkins Runway is approximately 70 kilometers from Casey Station.

Although tourists won’t be boarding any flights soon, the new runway enables quick access for scientists to Antarctica. It eliminates the need to travel for 2 weeks through the southern oceans. Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) hopes to make up to 20 flights to Antarctica per year. This will be a huge win for research in the Antarctica - especially in the area of climate change and global warming.

Peter said the project “It’s a remarkable engineering feat these people have achieved. It’s a logistical triumph and connects the last two continents to be linked by air“.

He also said “This is a very big occasion, it certainly is historic. A new era will unfold for us in terms of looking after our planet.“