Table 1.
Recent examples of publicized findings relating to trends in biodiversity or to specific species
| Region | Headline message | Policy implications | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) USA | After the sting of vanishing bees, White House pollinates protection plan (CNN, May 2015) | The US Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency developed a national strategy (2015) to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators (https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/05/19/announcing-new-steps-promote-pollinator-health) | http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/19/politics/white-house-bees-protect-pollinators/index.html |
| 2) North America | Monarch butterflies decline; migration may disappear (USA Today, January 2014) | Supports the continental approach to conservation of this migratory species established in 2008 (http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/conservation/conservation_plan.shtml) | http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/29/monarch-butterflies-decline/5028977/ |
| 3) Europe | Europe’s farmland birds in decline (The Guardian, August 2011) | In 2015, the European Union included a requirement of 5 % Ecological Focus Areas on farmland | http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/24/europe-farmland-birds-on-decline |
| 4) Europe | A plant called Stalin (translated from German) (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 2015) | A Black List of invasive neophytes has been put together for the European Union. Commerce with listed plants is forbidden, obligation to eliminate listed plants when they are observed | http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/neophyten-eine-pflanze-namens-stalin-13755250.html |
| 5) Global | Earth is on brink of a sixth mass extinction, scientists say, and it’s humans’ fault (Washington Post, June 2015) | The UN Convention for Biodiversity formulates objectives, signatory states commit to mitigation measures and to reporting | http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/22/the-earth-is-on-the-brink-of-a-sixth-mass-extinction-scientists-say-and-its-humans-fault/ |
| 6) Global | Bee deaths from colony collapse disorder on the rise as researchers point to pesticides (Huffington Post, March 2013) | European Union: Moratorium for the application of three neonicotinoids (2014) | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/bee-deaths-colony-collapse_n_2979959.html |