World Environment

Imposing giants HUMPHEAD wrasses (also known as Napoleon or Maori wrasse) are among the most beautiful, yet bizarre-looking, fish in the sea. With their bulbous lips, prominent forehead humps and a body pattern consisting of swirls, spots and lines in shadesof electric blue, grey and green, humpheads rank high on recre ational divers’ “must see”…

Eaten to the brink The Asian craving for a particular reef fish is emptying our seas. HUNDREDS of fish cages bob up and down in the waters of Marudu Bay, off Kudat in 5abah. In these cages are sought-after marine delicacies such as groupers, lobsters and crabs, as well as a staggering number of humphead…

Chinese farmers collecting dead fish hauled from a pond polluted by nearby factory discharges in south-west China’s Chongqing municipality last month. China faces a daunting task reaching its own goals to curb profligate energy use and serious pollution due to stubborn resistance in the booming industrial sector.

File photo of fishermen transporting a load of harvested shark fins aboard a small outrigger from the port of Jolo town in the southern Philippine island of Sulu. Last month, the Philippines expressed alarm over the commercial hunting of the thresher shark, considered a vulnerable species worldwide. philippine wildlife officials said there had been a…

View of the Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir river in Cordoba, southern Spain.The 331m bridge was built by the Romans in the first century AD and remodelled last year. Records show Spain is experiencing one of its driest springs.

Water woesA woman filling jugs with water at a water distribution point in the Nuguru Go Down Slum in Kampala. The United Nations declared 2008 the international Year of Sanitation, and it made use of international Water Day on March 21 to highlight the issue. “In teh world today, there are 15 million deaths caused…

Clogged canals Scavengers collecting polythene and other recyclable items from a polluted canal in downtown Jakarta. Jakarta’s water supply has suffered from regular cuts in recent years as pollution enters its main source of water through canals where communities live alongside, as well as from rivers that cross it on their way to the Java…

Males are largely blue, Females appear grey CAPTIVE-breeding has raised the numbers of a rare butterfly species. Trouble is, there are not many places to release them. Last year, an estimated 220 of the Palos Verdes blues butterflies existed in the wild in California, so few that experts feared they could be wiped out by…

World　Environment　Day，commemorated　each　year　on　5June，is　one　of　the　 principal　vehicles　through　which　the　United　Nations　stimulates　worldwide 　awareness　of　the　environment　and　enhances　political　attention　and　 action. TheWorld　Environment　Day　slogan　selected　for　2007isMelting　Ice－a　Hot　 Topic？In　support　of　International　Polar　Year，theWED　themeselectedfor　 2007focuses　on　the　effects　thatclimatechangeishaving　on　polar　ecosystems 　and　communities，and　the　ensuing　consequences　aroundtheworld. Inresponse　to　the　slogan　and　in　light　ofthe　core　work　and　keytask　 ofenvironmental　protection　in　China，The　State　Environmental　Protection　 Administration　selected　the　”Less　Emission　of　Pollutants　and　the　 Environment－Friendly　Society”as　China’s　slogan　for　2007WEDtoshowcase　the 　Chinese　government　and　people’s　determination　andaction. OnJune 5，2006，Bei－jing and　Vancouver，host　cities of　the　next　Olympic　 Summer　and　Winter　Games，and　theUnited　Nations　Environment　Program　(UNEP) jointlycalled　on　car　owners　in　the　two　cities　to　drive　one　day　less　in　 2007tomark　the　World　Environment　Day.The　Construction　and　Environment　 Department　of　the　Beijing　Organizing　Committee　for　the　Games　of　the　XXIX 　Olympiad　(BOCOG)urged　BOCOG　staff　to　do　their　part　in　creating　 conditions　for　one　more　”blue　sky”in　theChinesecapital.