Biodiversity

A British herpetologist says snake populations have plummeted in Europe and Africa over the last 10 years. Just why is not clear.

"Ethiopia and Zimbabwe have added their first biosphere reserves to the network of reserves created by the United Nations to halt the loss of biodiversity and promote sustainable development. One of the two new Ethiopian reserves protects the place of origin of the plant Caffea Arabica, believed to be the first species of coffee ever cultivated."

The roundup of bison that have strayed from their refuge in Yellowstone National Park, part of a Quixotic plan to protect domestic cattle from the disease brucellosis, is an example of Western environmental gridlock.

"Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has joined with WWF-US in a new global campaign to save endangered tigers. With only an estimated 3,200 tigers left in the wild, WWF and DiCaprio today announced that the Save Tigers Now campaign will run during the Chinese Year of the Tiger, 2010."

Oil-soaked pelicans in some coastal marshes, coated with oil from the Gulf spill, can no longer fly. The number of miles of shoreline smothered in oil continues to grow, and the oil pushes further inland.

The creation of protected corriders that help jaguars roam is a key to the strategy for preserving them in Costa Rica.