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- Catch Shares: Will a solution for Fisheries work for Bushmeat?
Capturing and eating fish and rainforest wildlife, including large primates, for human sustenance has been practiced for generations. However, as human populations have grown and demand for these resources has increased, species in coral reefs and tropical rainforests--the most diverse ecosystem types on the planet--have been put in jeopardy.
Though both ailing fisheries and dwindling wildlife populations have received much attention and attempted remediation, these problems have been difficult to tackle because of competing interests among conservationists and fishermen/hunters who base their livelihood on harvesting wildlife. Two recently released studies offer new insight into the problem of harvesting wildlife, and perhaps even a solution.
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- World Water Week 2008
More than 2,400 scientists and policymakers convened in Stockholm last month for the 2008 World Water Week summit. This year's summit was focused on sanitation access, although a variety of interdisciplinary research was presented for discussion.
Inadequate sanitation is a known cause of infectious diseases and death in the developing world. In response, improvement in sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation became part of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
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- Phenology: The Effects of Climate Change on Ecosystem Health
Mother Nature's calendar has been showing increasingly less resemblance to the seasonal patterns of the past, with tangible effects on both humans and the natural environment. Pollen-releasing grasses, shrubs and trees have started to appear earlier, expanding the hay fever season. Drought, forest fires and invasive alien species have caused serious damage to some of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems.
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- Assisted Colonization: Saving Species or Creating New Invasives?
 Many vulnerable species are facing reduced numbers because the adaptations that have served them for thousands of years make them unable to survive small changes in temperature or precipitation. When faced with climate change and other threats to their habitat, some species may not be able to relocate quickly enough to save them from extinction.
A new technique called assisted colonization may prove to be an innovative solution.
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