Monthly Archive for September, 2011

Rationale

We work in conservation and sustainable development because of the intrinsic value of the natural world and because all human activity depends upon it. We aim to preserve ecosystems and species and promote development that respects the environment.

Background

MacArthur has been active in conservation since 1982. We were the first private foundation to focus on the preservation of biodiversity, in 1987. For the decade 2000-2010, we pursued a strategy that focused on eight ecological hotspots (places of high biodiversity under threat) in Madagascar, Melanesia, the Andes, Insular Caribbean, Albertine Rift, Eastern Himalayas, and Lower Mekong.

Our approaches included training conservationists, strengthening law and policy organizations, creating and managing protected areas, and conducting biological inventories. We also supported initiatives on integrating the rights of local people into conservation planning and managing protected areas to mitigate the effects of climate change on species.

In 2011, the Foundation launched a new strategy that focuses on one of the most compelling environmental challenges of the 21st century: the conservation of ecosystems.

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By Juliet Eilperin the Washington Post

Industrial fishing in the deep sea should be banned because it has depleted fish stocks that take longer to recover than other species, according to a paper to be released this week by an international team of marine scientists.The article, published in the scientific journal Marine Policy, describes fishing operations that have in recent decades targeted the unregulated high seas after stocks near shore were overfished.

Describing the open ocean as “more akin to a watery desert,” the scientists argue that vessels have targeted patches of productive areas sequentially, depleting the fish there and destroying deep-sea corals before moving on to new areas.

Certain deep-sea species have gained widespread popularity — including orange roughy and Patagonian toothfish, otherwise known as Chilean sea bass — only to crash within a matter of years.

Photo by Gary Tramontina for The New York Times

By Motoko Rich and John Broder from The New York Times

Do environmental regulations kill jobs?

Republicans and business groups say yes, arguing that environmental protection is simply too expensive for a battered economy. They were quick to claim victory Friday after the Obama administration abandoned stricter ozone pollution standards.

Many economists agree that regulation comes with undeniable costs that can affect workers. Factories may close because of the high cost of cleanup, or owners may relocate to countries with weaker regulations.

But many experts say that the effects should be assessed through a nuanced tally of costs and benefits that takes into account both economic and societal factors. Some argue that the costs can be offset as companies develop cheaper ways to clean up pollutants, and others say that regulation is often blamed for job losses that occur for different reasons, like a stagnant economy. As companies develop new technologies to cope with regulatory requirements, some new jobs are created.

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