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UK threatens Austria over Hinkley C legal challenge Updated for 2026

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The UK Government is planning a suite of retaliations against Austria if it pursues its planned challenge in the European Court of Justice to the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, according to a leaked document published by Greenpeace UK’s Energydesk.

In the leaked memo, sent from the Austrian Embassy in London to the Austrian government, a senior international diplomat warns:

“The UK has obviously started systematically elaborating countermeasures that could be harmful to Austria … Further steps and escalation ensuing the complaint are not to be ruled out.”

“The new Europe Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Vijay Rangarajan made clear that the Austrian plans to bring forth a complaint related to the EU State Aid Rules at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already shown a negative impact on the bilateral relations.”

There is a “strength of feeling” that goes “all the way up to PM Cameron”, it adds, “and the Prime Minister has instructed all the responsible members of government to call their Austrian counterparts.”

‘We will cause maximum damage to Austria’s interests’

According to the document, Rangarajan also made it clear that the UK would “embrace any future opportunity that arises to sue or damage Austria in areas which have strong domestic political implications.” Three specific points that are envisaged as first steps:

  • “A complaint before the ECJ against the labelling of electricity sources of the power provided by electricity suppliers, since, according to the British point of view, this violates the internal market rules.”
  • “An investigation of whether the Austrian complaint violates the Euratom Treaty.”
  • “Exertion of pressure for Austria – if it is not willing to recognise nuclear power as a sustainable energy source – to bear a greater share in the EU-internal effort sharing” on climate change.

On the face of it is hard to see how providing energy users with information on the source of the electricity they use would violate internal market rules, but as Greenpeace’s Christine Ottery explains: “As nuclear is so unpopular in Austria this in could effect mean Austria would go nuclear free.”

Faced with this onslaught of threats, the un-named Austrian diplomat insisted that “Austria was not under any circumstances interfering with the UK’s sovereign right to choose its own energy mix.”

Rather, they said, “the present case concerns a state aid-related complaint given that the Contract for Difference approved by the EC violates EU State Aid rules. It would be in the interest of rule of law principles that such a decision of the EC be appealed before the ECJ.”

The diplomat also “referred to the consensus of the Federal Government on the issue and to the respective resolution which was passed by parliament.”

Legal challenge imminent

Austria has made no secret of its intention to take legal action over the EU’s decision to allow £17.6bn of subsidies for two Hinkley C nuclear reactors under the bloc’s State Aid (competition) rules, and the legal papers are expected to be filed imminently.

The Hinkley C reactors are projected to provide 7% of the UK’s electricity by 2023 but Austria’s appeal could delay the UK government’s final investment decision by more than two years.

The news of the UK’s countermeasures coincides with the news that the final decision on the project will be delayed until months after the UK general election due to concerns from the projects’ Chinese backers about the creditworthiness of Areva, one of the partner companies involved in the Hinkley C project.

In a surprise decision, the European Commission decided to give the stamp of approval to the UK government’s massive subsidies for Hinkley’s new reactors in October last year.

The 35-year Hinkley subsidy deal, under Contracts of Difference, has been criticised for being poor value for money for UK bill payers with much of the money going to French and Chinese state-owned energy firms.

The subsidy is worth £17.6bn on paper, but a Greenpeace analysis put the total (undiscounted) subsidy to Hinkley over its lifetime as much higher at £37bn – working out as a £14 increase per household per year.

Austrian Chancellor (equivalent to prime minister) Werner Faymann came out against the European Commission approval of the Hinkley subsidy deal, saying: “Alternative forms of energy are worthy of subsidies, not nuclear energy.”

As for the efficacy of the UK’s threats, Fayman said last week that he will not back down over the legal action as nuclear is not “not an eligible new technology” eligible for State Aid, according to the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

 

 

Principal source: Greenpeace EnergyDesk: ‘Energy Files: UK government threatens to strike back over Austria’s Hinkley legal challenge‘.

 




390157

Warmer world threatens wheat shortages Updated for 2026

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Climate change threatens dramatic price fluctuations in the price of wheat and potential civil unrest because yields of one of the world’s most important staple foods are badly affected by temperature rise.

An international consortium of scientists have been testing wheat crops in laboratory and field trials in many areas of the world in changing climate conditions and discovered that yields drop on average by 6% for every one degree Celsius rise in temperature.

This represents 42 million tonnes of wheat lost – about a quarter of the current global wheat trade – for every degree. This would create serious shortages and cause price hikes of the kind that have previously caused food riots in developing countries after only one bad harvest.

Global production of wheat was 701 million tonnes in 2012, but most of this is consumed locally. Global trade is much smaller, at 147 tonnes in 2013.

Price hikes and food insecurity

If the predicted reduction of 42 million tonnes per 1˚C of temperature increase occurred, market shortages would cause price rises. Many developing countries, and the hungry poor within them, would not be able to afford wheat or bread.

Since temperatures – on current projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – are expected to rise up to 5˚C this century in many wheat-growing regions, this could be catastrophic for global food supply.

Dr. Reimund Rötter, professor of production ecology and agrosystems modelling at the Natural Resources Institute Finland, said that wheat yield declines were larger than previously thought.

He said: “Increased yield variability is critical economically as it could weaken regional and global stability in wheat grain supply and food security, amplifying market and price fluctuations, as experienced during recent years.”

One of the crucial problems is that there will be variability in supply from year to year, so the researchers systematically tested 30 different wheat crop models against field experiments in which growing season mean temperatures ranged from 15°C to 26°C.

Heat tolerant wheat strains are needed

The temperature impact on yield decline varied widely across field test conditions. In addition, year-to-year variability increased at some locations because of greater yield reductions in warmer years and lesser reductions in cooler years.

The scientists say that the way to adapt is to cultivate more heat-tolerant varieties, and so keep the harvest stable.

The results of the study – by scientists from the Finland, Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, Colombia, Mexico, India, China, Australia, Canada and the United States – are published in Nature Climate Change.

Professor Martin Parry, who is leading the 20:20 Wheat Institute Strategic Programme at Rothamsted Research to increase wheat yields, commented:

“This is an excellent example of collaborative research, which will help ensure that we have the knowledge needed to develop the crops for the future environments.”

 

 

 

Paul Brown writes for Climate News Network.

 

 




389180

Nightingales at risk as housebuilding threatens ‘protected’ SSSI breeding site Updated for 2026

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It is revered for the beauty of its song and is a beloved adornment to the British countryside. But the nightingale – hailed by Keats as a “light-winged Dryad of the trees” – is now in trouble, having suffered a catastrophic drop in numbers in recent years.

Even worse, say ornithologists, the best site in Britain for protecting the songbird – at Lodge Hill in Medway, Kent – is under threat of destruction.

Its loss, they say, could deal an irreparable blow to the nightingale in this country. It could also open the floodgates to commercial exploitation of hundreds of other protected environmental sites across the country.

“Lodge Hill is the only Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the UK that is specifically set up to protect nightingales”, said Sarah Lee, of the RSPB.

“It is the most important site for the birds in the UK. Yet the local council want to build 5,000 homes there. It would absolutely destroy the site and the birds’ homes – and send a very worrying signal about the prospects of protecting other critically important sites in the UK.”

According to ornithologists, the nightingale has suffered a 90% reduction in numbers over the past 40 years. Factors involved in this population crash include the intensification of UK farming that has destroyed swaths of sandy scrubland on which nightingales like to breed.

The spread of human populations in West Africa, where the nightingale spends the winter, has also affected numbers. In 2012, a survey revealed there were only 3,300 breeding pairs left in the UK. The bird is now on the amber list of species of ‘conservation concern’.

Nightingale SSSI targetted for building

In an attempt to protect the nightingale, the Lodge Hill site – a piece of land once owned by the Ministry of Defence – was named as an SSSI, a place where local species are given special protection against human interference.

However, three years ago, Medway Council prepared plans to build 5,000 homes at Lodge Hill, a proposal that was approved by its planning committee in September.

The Council, like others around the country, is under intense pressure from the government to build new housing but has only limited amounts of available land. Lodge Hill is the only large site it possesses, the council claims. Hence the planning committee’s decision to allow the building of houses there – even though the land is an SSSI.

“We are eager for this scheme, which is on government-owned land, to progress and deliver the houses and jobs we badly need”, said leader of the Conservative-controlled council Rodney Chambers in 2013, when the proposal was first discussed at council level.

By contrast, wildlife groups and heritage organisations are enraged. “This decision is deeply flawed”, says John Bennett of the Kent Wildlife Trust, which claims that Medway Council has failed to demonstrate that the benefits of house building outweighs the destruction of a key SSSI at Lodge Hill.

Plans contravene national policies – but ministers sit on hands

At the same time, the RSPB claims the Council’s proposals contravene government planning policy. Natural England argues that alternative building schemes could deliver a similar number of houses in Medway without touching Lodge Hill.

The National Trust has also dismissed a Medway Council plan to provide an alternative wildlife site to compensate for the loss of Lodge Hill as “unrealistic”.

These groups want the Medway Council plan to be called in by the secretary of state for communities and local government, Eric Pickles, who would then have to hold a public inquiry.

But Pickles – a keen ornithologist – has said he will stand aside from making that decision and has left it instead to Brandon Lewis, the minister of state for housing.

Lewis has yet to act, however, and groups such as the National Trust and RSPB are getting nervous. They fear the Lodge Hill plan will be allowed to proceed – with disturbing implications for the UK environment.

If this development goes ahead, nowhere is safe

“If Medway’s plan for Lodge Hill is allowed to go ahead, the implication for every SSSI in Britain is that the government is not going to step in if any of them are threatened”, said Sarah Lee. “The government would be saying to developers that SSSIs are now fair game.”

In addition to Lodge Hill, 71,000 hectares of MoD land are designated as SSSIs along with 157,000 hectares of Crown Estate land. The Highways Agency, local authorities, Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forest Enterprise also possess significant amounts of SSSIs.

All this property – which gives protection to rare plant life, birds, amphibians, and special geological features in Britain – would be vulnerable to being built over if Lodge Hill is allowed to be developed, it is argued.

This point was stressed by Karin Taylor, head of planning for the National Trust, in a letter to the government. Giving go-ahead for the housing project, she wrote,

“would threaten the wider environment and wildlife networks in which we have a deep interest in terms of protecting the nation’s special places for ever, for everyone.”

Or as Lee said to the Observer last week: “Giving Lodge Hill the go-ahead would be a disaster. It would open the floodgates for uncontrolled development in rare, precious places across the country.”

 

 

Robin McKie is science editor at the Guardian.

This article was originally published in the Guardian. It is reprocuced here by kind permission via the Guardian Environment Network.

 




388440

Collectors’ trade threatens ‘Holy Grail’ of the reptile world Updated for 2026

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An unusual and little-known monitor lizard from Borneo that has captured the interest of reptile collectors is emerging as the latest victim of the global illicit wildlife trade, an investigative report by TRAFFIC warns.

Lanthanotus borneensis or the Earless Monitor Lizard had long remained virtually unknown to the outside world due to its subterranean habits and limited distribution in north-western Borneo.

Unknown, that is, until recently gaining attention from unscrupulous reptile collectors.

Until now, it was only the subject of scientific interest

Earless Monitor Lizards have no external ear opening, a cylindrical lengthened body covered in scaly tubercles, small limbs, a prehensile tail, a forked tongue, and small eyes with the lower eyelid covered by translucent ‘windows’. As such it is placed in its own monospecific family Lanthanotidae.

The small, orange-brown lizard with beaded skin was once primarily of interest to scientists because of its unique adaptations for living below ground, and there were few instances of private ownership reported during the last 30 years.

However, there has been a sudden emergence in the trade of this species over the past two years.

Through its research, TRAFFIC detected international trade in Earless Monitor Lizards that has largely been carried out online from 2013 onwards. Specific instances mentioning the species were documented on forums and social networking sites in Japan, the Ukraine, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

‘A significant offtake of the animals from the wild’

The study found specimens being offered for sale online across Europe and received intelligence about a significant offtake of the animals from the wild.

This was corroborated by discussions in online forums on the availability of the animals for sale, where there were frequent references to the lizard as being the “Holy Grail” of the reptile collecting world.

“Our research highlights the importance of the Internet and social media in the trafficking of species in high demand by specialist collectors: the reach online traders have is both instant and global”, said Sarah Stoner, Senior Wildlife Crime Analyst at TRAFFIC and co-author of the report.

Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards, illustrates the international scope of the trade and the need for international enforcement efforts.

Legally protected – but no restrictions on international trade

The Earless Monitor Lizard is legally protected in its native range countries of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The sudden, growing international interest in the species, however, raises concern given the absence of international trade regulations that would criminalize any such activity.

Currently, this is the only species of monitor lizard not protected from over exploitation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“For zoologists and conservationists working in Asia, the Earless Monitor Lizard is truly a mythical creature and something we have read about in the classical scientific literature”, said Dr. Vincent Nijman, Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and author of the report.

“The last detailed observations were made on individuals caught in Malaysian Borneo and date from the 1960s. It is very sad indeed that the next time the Earless Monitor Lizard resurfaces after an absence of almost 50 years it is individuals being illegally traded internationally.”

CITES listing desperately needed

TRAFFIC recommends that the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia list Earless Monitor Lizards in Appendix III of CITES as an immediate interim action to allow proper monitoring and regulation of trade in this species.

Appendix III of the Convention requires that trade must be conducted only with the appropriate paperwork, which allows countries to track and assess levels of international trade.

The campaign group also recommends the species be eventually listed in Appendix I of CITES, and that enforcement agencies in end-use countries increase their vigilance and efforts to crack down on the availability of these stolen reptiles.

An Appendix I of the Convention listing would mean all commercial international trade in this species would become illegal.

 

 

The report: Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of IUCN and WWF.

 

 




383962

Collectors’ trade threatens ‘Holy Grail’ of the reptile world Updated for 2026

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An unusual and little-known monitor lizard from Borneo that has captured the interest of reptile collectors is emerging as the latest victim of the global illicit wildlife trade, an investigative report by TRAFFIC warns.

Lanthanotus borneensis or the Earless Monitor Lizard had long remained virtually unknown to the outside world due to its subterranean habits and limited distribution in north-western Borneo.

Unknown, that is, until recently gaining attention from unscrupulous reptile collectors.

Until now, it was only the subject of scientific interest

Earless Monitor Lizards have no external ear opening, a cylindrical lengthened body covered in scaly tubercles, small limbs, a prehensile tail, a forked tongue, and small eyes with the lower eyelid covered by translucent ‘windows’. As such it is placed in its own monospecific family Lanthanotidae.

The small, orange-brown lizard with beaded skin was once primarily of interest to scientists because of its unique adaptations for living below ground, and there were few instances of private ownership reported during the last 30 years.

However, there has been a sudden emergence in the trade of this species over the past two years.

Through its research, TRAFFIC detected international trade in Earless Monitor Lizards that has largely been carried out online from 2013 onwards. Specific instances mentioning the species were documented on forums and social networking sites in Japan, the Ukraine, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

‘A significant offtake of the animals from the wild’

The study found specimens being offered for sale online across Europe and received intelligence about a significant offtake of the animals from the wild.

This was corroborated by discussions in online forums on the availability of the animals for sale, where there were frequent references to the lizard as being the “Holy Grail” of the reptile collecting world.

“Our research highlights the importance of the Internet and social media in the trafficking of species in high demand by specialist collectors: the reach online traders have is both instant and global”, said Sarah Stoner, Senior Wildlife Crime Analyst at TRAFFIC and co-author of the report.

Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards, illustrates the international scope of the trade and the need for international enforcement efforts.

Legally protected – but no restrictions on international trade

The Earless Monitor Lizard is legally protected in its native range countries of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The sudden, growing international interest in the species, however, raises concern given the absence of international trade regulations that would criminalize any such activity.

Currently, this is the only species of monitor lizard not protected from over exploitation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“For zoologists and conservationists working in Asia, the Earless Monitor Lizard is truly a mythical creature and something we have read about in the classical scientific literature”, said Dr. Vincent Nijman, Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and author of the report.

“The last detailed observations were made on individuals caught in Malaysian Borneo and date from the 1960s. It is very sad indeed that the next time the Earless Monitor Lizard resurfaces after an absence of almost 50 years it is individuals being illegally traded internationally.”

CITES listing desperately needed

TRAFFIC recommends that the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia list Earless Monitor Lizards in Appendix III of CITES as an immediate interim action to allow proper monitoring and regulation of trade in this species.

Appendix III of the Convention requires that trade must be conducted only with the appropriate paperwork, which allows countries to track and assess levels of international trade.

The campaign group also recommends the species be eventually listed in Appendix I of CITES, and that enforcement agencies in end-use countries increase their vigilance and efforts to crack down on the availability of these stolen reptiles.

An Appendix I of the Convention listing would mean all commercial international trade in this species would become illegal.

 

 

The report: Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of IUCN and WWF.

 

 




383962

Collectors’ trade threatens ‘Holy Grail’ of the reptile world Updated for 2026

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An unusual and little-known monitor lizard from Borneo that has captured the interest of reptile collectors is emerging as the latest victim of the global illicit wildlife trade, an investigative report by TRAFFIC warns.

Lanthanotus borneensis or the Earless Monitor Lizard had long remained virtually unknown to the outside world due to its subterranean habits and limited distribution in north-western Borneo.

Unknown, that is, until recently gaining attention from unscrupulous reptile collectors.

Until now, it was only the subject of scientific interest

Earless Monitor Lizards have no external ear opening, a cylindrical lengthened body covered in scaly tubercles, small limbs, a prehensile tail, a forked tongue, and small eyes with the lower eyelid covered by translucent ‘windows’. As such it is placed in its own monospecific family Lanthanotidae.

The small, orange-brown lizard with beaded skin was once primarily of interest to scientists because of its unique adaptations for living below ground, and there were few instances of private ownership reported during the last 30 years.

However, there has been a sudden emergence in the trade of this species over the past two years.

Through its research, TRAFFIC detected international trade in Earless Monitor Lizards that has largely been carried out online from 2013 onwards. Specific instances mentioning the species were documented on forums and social networking sites in Japan, the Ukraine, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

‘A significant offtake of the animals from the wild’

The study found specimens being offered for sale online across Europe and received intelligence about a significant offtake of the animals from the wild.

This was corroborated by discussions in online forums on the availability of the animals for sale, where there were frequent references to the lizard as being the “Holy Grail” of the reptile collecting world.

“Our research highlights the importance of the Internet and social media in the trafficking of species in high demand by specialist collectors: the reach online traders have is both instant and global”, said Sarah Stoner, Senior Wildlife Crime Analyst at TRAFFIC and co-author of the report.

Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards, illustrates the international scope of the trade and the need for international enforcement efforts.

Legally protected – but no restrictions on international trade

The Earless Monitor Lizard is legally protected in its native range countries of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The sudden, growing international interest in the species, however, raises concern given the absence of international trade regulations that would criminalize any such activity.

Currently, this is the only species of monitor lizard not protected from over exploitation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“For zoologists and conservationists working in Asia, the Earless Monitor Lizard is truly a mythical creature and something we have read about in the classical scientific literature”, said Dr. Vincent Nijman, Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and author of the report.

“The last detailed observations were made on individuals caught in Malaysian Borneo and date from the 1960s. It is very sad indeed that the next time the Earless Monitor Lizard resurfaces after an absence of almost 50 years it is individuals being illegally traded internationally.”

CITES listing desperately needed

TRAFFIC recommends that the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia list Earless Monitor Lizards in Appendix III of CITES as an immediate interim action to allow proper monitoring and regulation of trade in this species.

Appendix III of the Convention requires that trade must be conducted only with the appropriate paperwork, which allows countries to track and assess levels of international trade.

The campaign group also recommends the species be eventually listed in Appendix I of CITES, and that enforcement agencies in end-use countries increase their vigilance and efforts to crack down on the availability of these stolen reptiles.

An Appendix I of the Convention listing would mean all commercial international trade in this species would become illegal.

 

 

The report: Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of IUCN and WWF.

 

 




383962

Collectors’ trade threatens ‘Holy Grail’ of the reptile world Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




An unusual and little-known monitor lizard from Borneo that has captured the interest of reptile collectors is emerging as the latest victim of the global illicit wildlife trade, an investigative report by TRAFFIC warns.

Lanthanotus borneensis or the Earless Monitor Lizard had long remained virtually unknown to the outside world due to its subterranean habits and limited distribution in north-western Borneo.

Unknown, that is, until recently gaining attention from unscrupulous reptile collectors.

Until now, it was only the subject of scientific interest

Earless Monitor Lizards have no external ear opening, a cylindrical lengthened body covered in scaly tubercles, small limbs, a prehensile tail, a forked tongue, and small eyes with the lower eyelid covered by translucent ‘windows’. As such it is placed in its own monospecific family Lanthanotidae.

The small, orange-brown lizard with beaded skin was once primarily of interest to scientists because of its unique adaptations for living below ground, and there were few instances of private ownership reported during the last 30 years.

However, there has been a sudden emergence in the trade of this species over the past two years.

Through its research, TRAFFIC detected international trade in Earless Monitor Lizards that has largely been carried out online from 2013 onwards. Specific instances mentioning the species were documented on forums and social networking sites in Japan, the Ukraine, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

‘A significant offtake of the animals from the wild’

The study found specimens being offered for sale online across Europe and received intelligence about a significant offtake of the animals from the wild.

This was corroborated by discussions in online forums on the availability of the animals for sale, where there were frequent references to the lizard as being the “Holy Grail” of the reptile collecting world.

“Our research highlights the importance of the Internet and social media in the trafficking of species in high demand by specialist collectors: the reach online traders have is both instant and global”, said Sarah Stoner, Senior Wildlife Crime Analyst at TRAFFIC and co-author of the report.

Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards, illustrates the international scope of the trade and the need for international enforcement efforts.

Legally protected – but no restrictions on international trade

The Earless Monitor Lizard is legally protected in its native range countries of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The sudden, growing international interest in the species, however, raises concern given the absence of international trade regulations that would criminalize any such activity.

Currently, this is the only species of monitor lizard not protected from over exploitation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“For zoologists and conservationists working in Asia, the Earless Monitor Lizard is truly a mythical creature and something we have read about in the classical scientific literature”, said Dr. Vincent Nijman, Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and author of the report.

“The last detailed observations were made on individuals caught in Malaysian Borneo and date from the 1960s. It is very sad indeed that the next time the Earless Monitor Lizard resurfaces after an absence of almost 50 years it is individuals being illegally traded internationally.”

CITES listing desperately needed

TRAFFIC recommends that the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia list Earless Monitor Lizards in Appendix III of CITES as an immediate interim action to allow proper monitoring and regulation of trade in this species.

Appendix III of the Convention requires that trade must be conducted only with the appropriate paperwork, which allows countries to track and assess levels of international trade.

The campaign group also recommends the species be eventually listed in Appendix I of CITES, and that enforcement agencies in end-use countries increase their vigilance and efforts to crack down on the availability of these stolen reptiles.

An Appendix I of the Convention listing would mean all commercial international trade in this species would become illegal.

 

 

The report: Keeping an ear to the ground: Monitoring the trade in earless monitor lizards

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of IUCN and WWF.

 

 




383962

Farm pests’ global advance threatens food security Updated for 2026

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Coming soon to a farm near you: just about every possible type of pest that could take advantage of the ripening harvest in the nearby fields.

By 2050, according to new research in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, those opportunistic viruses, bacteria, fungi, blights, mildews, rusts, beetles, nematodes, flies, mites, spiders and caterpillars that farmers call pests will have saturated the world.

Wherever they can make a living, they will. None of this bodes well for food security in a world of nine billion people and increasingly rapid climate change.

Dan Bebber of the University of Exeter, UK, and colleagues decided to look at the state of pest populations worldwide.

They combed the literature to check the present status of 1,901 pests and pathogens and examined historical records of another 424 species. This research included the records made since 1822 by the agricultural development organization CABI.

Crop pests often emerge in one location, evolve and spread. That notorious potato pest the Colorado beetle, for instance, was first identified in the Rocky Mountains of the US in 1824.

On current trends, all pests will be everywhere by 2050

The scientists reasoned that climate change and international traffic made transmission of pests across oceans and other natural barriers increasingly probable, and tried to arrive at a rate of spread.

They found that more than one in 10 of all pest types can already be found in half of the countries that grow the host plants on which these pests depend. Most countries reported around one fifth of the pests that could theoretically make their home there.

Australia, China, France, India, Italy, the UK and the USA already had more than half of all the pests that could flourish in those countries. The pests that attack those tropical staples yams and cassava can be found in one third of the countries that grow those crops.

This trend towards saturation has increased steadily since the 1950s. So if the trend continues at the rate it has done during the late 20th century, then by 2050 farmers in western Europe and the US, and Japan, India and China will face saturation point.

They will be confronted with potential attack from just about all the pests that, depending on the local climate and conditions, their maize, rice, bananas, potatoes, soybeans and other crops could support.

If the world acts, it may not happen

“If crop pests continue to spread at current rates, many of the world’s biggest crop-producing nations will be inundated by the middle of the century, posing a grave threat to global food security”, Dr Bebber said.

Three kinds of tropical root knot nematode produce larvae that infect the roots of thousands of different plant species.

For example, the fungus Blumeria graminis causes powdery mildew on wheat and other grains; and a virus called Citrus tristeza, first identified by growers in Spain and Portugal in the 1930s, had by 2000 reached 105 out of the 145 countries that grow oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit.

Predictions such as these are intended to be self-defeating: they present a warning of what might happen if no steps are taken.

“By unlocking the potential to understand the distribution of crop pests and diseases, we’re moving one step closer to protecting our ability to feed a growing global population”, said Timothy Holmes, of CABI’s Plantwise knowledge bank, one of the authors. “The hope is to turn data into positive action.”

 

 

Tim Radford writes for Climate News Network, where this article originates.

 

 




383552

Farm pests’ global advance threatens food security Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




Coming soon to a farm near you: just about every possible type of pest that could take advantage of the ripening harvest in the nearby fields.

By 2050, according to new research in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, those opportunistic viruses, bacteria, fungi, blights, mildews, rusts, beetles, nematodes, flies, mites, spiders and caterpillars that farmers call pests will have saturated the world.

Wherever they can make a living, they will. None of this bodes well for food security in a world of nine billion people and increasingly rapid climate change.

Dan Bebber of the University of Exeter, UK, and colleagues decided to look at the state of pest populations worldwide.

They combed the literature to check the present status of 1,901 pests and pathogens and examined historical records of another 424 species. This research included the records made since 1822 by the agricultural development organization CABI.

Crop pests often emerge in one location, evolve and spread. That notorious potato pest the Colorado beetle, for instance, was first identified in the Rocky Mountains of the US in 1824.

On current trends, all pests will be everywhere by 2050

The scientists reasoned that climate change and international traffic made transmission of pests across oceans and other natural barriers increasingly probable, and tried to arrive at a rate of spread.

They found that more than one in 10 of all pest types can already be found in half of the countries that grow the host plants on which these pests depend. Most countries reported around one fifth of the pests that could theoretically make their home there.

Australia, China, France, India, Italy, the UK and the USA already had more than half of all the pests that could flourish in those countries. The pests that attack those tropical staples yams and cassava can be found in one third of the countries that grow those crops.

This trend towards saturation has increased steadily since the 1950s. So if the trend continues at the rate it has done during the late 20th century, then by 2050 farmers in western Europe and the US, and Japan, India and China will face saturation point.

They will be confronted with potential attack from just about all the pests that, depending on the local climate and conditions, their maize, rice, bananas, potatoes, soybeans and other crops could support.

If the world acts, it may not happen

“If crop pests continue to spread at current rates, many of the world’s biggest crop-producing nations will be inundated by the middle of the century, posing a grave threat to global food security”, Dr Bebber said.

Three kinds of tropical root knot nematode produce larvae that infect the roots of thousands of different plant species.

For example, the fungus Blumeria graminis causes powdery mildew on wheat and other grains; and a virus called Citrus tristeza, first identified by growers in Spain and Portugal in the 1930s, had by 2000 reached 105 out of the 145 countries that grow oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit.

Predictions such as these are intended to be self-defeating: they present a warning of what might happen if no steps are taken.

“By unlocking the potential to understand the distribution of crop pests and diseases, we’re moving one step closer to protecting our ability to feed a growing global population”, said Timothy Holmes, of CABI’s Plantwise knowledge bank, one of the authors. “The hope is to turn data into positive action.”

 

 

Tim Radford writes for Climate News Network, where this article originates.

 

 




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Farm pests’ global advance threatens food security Updated for 2026

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Coming soon to a farm near you: just about every possible type of pest that could take advantage of the ripening harvest in the nearby fields.

By 2050, according to new research in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, those opportunistic viruses, bacteria, fungi, blights, mildews, rusts, beetles, nematodes, flies, mites, spiders and caterpillars that farmers call pests will have saturated the world.

Wherever they can make a living, they will. None of this bodes well for food security in a world of nine billion people and increasingly rapid climate change.

Dan Bebber of the University of Exeter, UK, and colleagues decided to look at the state of pest populations worldwide.

They combed the literature to check the present status of 1,901 pests and pathogens and examined historical records of another 424 species. This research included the records made since 1822 by the agricultural development organization CABI.

Crop pests often emerge in one location, evolve and spread. That notorious potato pest the Colorado beetle, for instance, was first identified in the Rocky Mountains of the US in 1824.

On current trends, all pests will be everywhere by 2050

The scientists reasoned that climate change and international traffic made transmission of pests across oceans and other natural barriers increasingly probable, and tried to arrive at a rate of spread.

They found that more than one in 10 of all pest types can already be found in half of the countries that grow the host plants on which these pests depend. Most countries reported around one fifth of the pests that could theoretically make their home there.

Australia, China, France, India, Italy, the UK and the USA already had more than half of all the pests that could flourish in those countries. The pests that attack those tropical staples yams and cassava can be found in one third of the countries that grow those crops.

This trend towards saturation has increased steadily since the 1950s. So if the trend continues at the rate it has done during the late 20th century, then by 2050 farmers in western Europe and the US, and Japan, India and China will face saturation point.

They will be confronted with potential attack from just about all the pests that, depending on the local climate and conditions, their maize, rice, bananas, potatoes, soybeans and other crops could support.

If the world acts, it may not happen

“If crop pests continue to spread at current rates, many of the world’s biggest crop-producing nations will be inundated by the middle of the century, posing a grave threat to global food security”, Dr Bebber said.

Three kinds of tropical root knot nematode produce larvae that infect the roots of thousands of different plant species.

For example, the fungus Blumeria graminis causes powdery mildew on wheat and other grains; and a virus called Citrus tristeza, first identified by growers in Spain and Portugal in the 1930s, had by 2000 reached 105 out of the 145 countries that grow oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit.

Predictions such as these are intended to be self-defeating: they present a warning of what might happen if no steps are taken.

“By unlocking the potential to understand the distribution of crop pests and diseases, we’re moving one step closer to protecting our ability to feed a growing global population”, said Timothy Holmes, of CABI’s Plantwise knowledge bank, one of the authors. “The hope is to turn data into positive action.”

 

 

Tim Radford writes for Climate News Network, where this article originates.

 

 




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