Notes From the Field
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Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity
Forward excerpt by Emil Sempris, Director, CATHALAC
 Biodiversity, at the level of individual species, is facing a changing climate, which threatens to transform the functions of the ecosystems. Climate change is a global problem, which will affect ecosystems differentially. Today, the ecosystems of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean are undergoing a process of transformation caused by changes in temperature, rainfall and sea level rise, resulting in a variety of adverse consequences. Forest fires, the bleaching of coral reefs, the increased spread of tropical diseases and the slow loss of island territories are testimonies of this. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also affirms that with climate change, species dwelling in montane habitats will become displaced to higher altitudes and latitudes. This therefore forces us to rethink our overall relationship with the natural environment, and the wide-ranging implications for future generations.
Human activities have and continue to cause the loss of biodiversity due to deforestation and land cover conversion, among others: contamination of the air and water, soil degradation and desertification, diversion of water from natural ecosystems to agriculture lands and urban areas, the fragmentation of habitats, depletion of species from overhunting, the introduction of invasive species, and the depletion of the ozone layer.
All is not lost. The year 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity and the Parties to the CBD have set achieving "a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth" as the goal for that year. Part of achieving that goal requires taking into account the scientific evidence to identify areas likely to be affected by climate change, and to develop the capacity to adapt to climate change.
This study is an effort to better understand how climate change might affect the biological resources our region possesses. In addition to the important scientific findings presented here, this study presents an undeniable opportunity for action, to begin taking the steps to reverse adverse trends. It is our sincere hope that the results of this study are incorporated in the respective National reports to the UNFCCC and the CBD whose preparation is underway.
Click here to read the full report.
The report was produced by the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) through the sponsorship of the Global Development Alliance program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and with support from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH), Cable and Wireless- Panama, and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).
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Watch it Now!
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 Experience and learn through story telling - these videos connect you to activities and thought leaders working in similar sectors in different parts of the world.
Biodiversity and Climate Change
The 2010 Biodiversity Target was agreed by all Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002: "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth." This video talks about how we can reach this goal. Click here to watch!
The legendary chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall
talks about TACARE and her other community projects, which help people in booming African towns live side-by-side with threatened animals. Her presentation looks at an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation. Click here to watch and post your comments! |
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| Take A Look
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Expand your knowledge on Climate Change and Biodiversity with these diverse resources on approaches and practices.  Climate Change and Biological Diversity
This booklet was made by the United Nations General Assembly to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. If the threats of biodiversity loss and climate change are tackled together, the prospects for adapting successfully to the challenges of the coming decades will be very much improved. Click here to read this booklet.
Climate Change and BiodiversityPublished in 2002 by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The current rate of biodiversity loss is greater than the natural background rate of extinction. A critical question for this Technical Paper is how much might climate change (natural or human-induced) enhance or inhibit these losses in biodiversity? Click here to read this paper.Biodiversity and Climate Change in Context
This chapter of the book written by Lee Hannah, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Stephen H. Schneider, looks at the biodiversity in the context of human development and it's acceleration of climate change. Click here to read this excerpt.Central Africa Global Climate Change and Development SynopsisThis document is a synopsis of a series of technical papers resulting from a collaborative study on global climate change and development in central Africa. Click here to read this study. Summary - Climate change and migratory speciesThis report is a product of a literature review and consultation of experts through a specially organized international workshop to identify the range of climate change impacts and to consider how migrant populations could be affected by these changes. Click here to read this paper.
Global Climate Change: Biodiversity Impacts and Conservation Responses in Africa
On 19 June 2003, the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG) held a meeting on "Global Climate Change: Biodiversity Impacts and Conservation Responses in Africa". The meeting, hosted and chaired by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), provided an opportunity to share information and learn about current activities on how global change will impact biodiversity conservation in Africa. Click here and learn more about the meeting and read their findings. |
Partner Spotlight
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 Biodiversity & Forestry Seminar Series
USAID is a major donor and partner in biodiversity and tropical forestry and has great interest in disseminating knowledge, lessons, and information on these topics to the Agency, the US Government as a whole, partners, and the general public. The USAID Biodiversity & Forestry Seminar Series has its origin in the Forestry Extended Team Meetings, which were open to the public and presented topics and speakers of interest to USAID, partners, and the international forestry community. In 2007, the Biodiversity and Forestry Teams functionally merged and Diane Russell took over coordination of the extended team meetings. She was joined in 2008 by Andy Tobiason. In 2008 the series was renamed "Biodiversity & Forestry Seminar Series" to better describe the nature of the events. The merged teams decided to include both biodiversity and international forestry topics in the series and invite both outside speakers and those within USAID or working as USAID partners. The wide range of topics presented over the last two years include: - Roundtable of presentations from US government agencies working on climate change
- Presentation on biodiversity offsets by staff of USAID's co-funded Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP)
- Charles Barber of USAID discussing socioeconomic trends affecting biodiversity conservation
- Mini-seminar on advances in social science research for conservation
- Roundtable on bushmeat in West Africa
Upcoming events include a presentation by Parakh Hoon of Virginia Tech on Living with Elephants, based on his field research in Southern Africa; a roundtable of partners working on REDD (reduction in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) schemes and a presentation on the latest tools coming out of EcoAgriculture Partners. For more information on attending the Seminars Series or to view presentation materials on FRAME, click here. |
On The Blog
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What are people talking about on the world wide web? Below are a few sites that are talking about issues you care about.
Blogger Rod Fujita, a scientist in the Oceans program at Environmental Defense Fund, posts "Coral reefs, like rainforests, are also treasure troves of biodiversity that may hold the keys to fighting diseases like cancer and arthritis. Human wellbeing is tightly bound to the health of coral reefs." Click here to read the rest of his blog and reader's responses.
Blogger Dennis Laidler's Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability website is dedicated to climate change, biodiversity and general environmental sustainability issues. Click here to read his postings.
Blogger Andrew Long talks about Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Click here to read his and other reader's comments.
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| Did You Know?
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Marine/Coastal -- In the Caribbean, average hard coral cover declined from about 50% to 10% in the last three decades. (Green Facts)
Biodiversity -- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reviewed relevant published studies of biological systems and concluded that 20 percent to 30 percent of species assessed may be at risk of extinction from climate change impacts within this century if global mean temperatures exceed 2-3 °C (3.6-5.4 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels. (IPCC, 2007 US EPA)
 Desertification/Carbon-- It is estimated that 300 million tons of carbon are lost to the atmosphere from drylands as a result of desertification each year (about 4% of the total global emissions from all sources combined). (Green Facts)
Emissions -- In addition to CO2 emissions, livestock produces 65% of human-induced nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2) and 37% of human-induced methane (which has 23 times the global warming potential of CO2). (Livestock's Long Shadow)
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This edition of FRAMEgram focuses on Biodiversity and Climate Change. There is an urgent need for accessible information on the likely
impacts of climate change on biodiversity. 
