Pyeongchang/Montreal 6 October 2014 –Under the theme, “Biodiversity for Sustainable 
Development,” thousands of representatives of governments, NGOs, indigenous peoples, 
scientists and the private sector gathered in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea for the 12th

meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity(COP 12) 
Between 6 and 17 October 2014, Parties will agree on steps to accelerate the 
implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity 
Targets, which are to be achieved by the end of this, the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. 
The results of Global Biodiversity Outlook 4, the flagship assessment report of the CBD will 
inform the discussions. 
The collection of decisions to be taken at COP 12 is already being referred to as the 
“Pyeongchang Road Map” and is expected to include aresource mobilization strategy expected 
to substantially increase the resources available for biodiversity conservation and sustainable 
use. 

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Massive quantities of pelagic sargassum have been washing up along Caribbean shorelines this year, significantly disrupting local fishing, tourism and community activities. This ongoing event recently received considerable attention via the GCFINET LISTSERV. Those correspondences are providing extremely valuable information on this region-wide phenomenon.

 Scientists with the University of Southern Mississippi – Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) and their collaborators are assessing critical aspects of this event (as with the 2011 Caribbean mass sargassum strandings event), including the source and causes. In 2012 the GCRL developed a website (with user-friendly online reporting form) designed specifically to accommodate the reporting of large quantities of pelagic sargassum throughout the Caribbean region. This site serves as a data reporting/collection center and represents a service available to individuals, organizations and fisheries agencies throughout the region for contributing their 

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A new study has found alarmingly high levels of pesticides in the urine of pregnant Costa Rican women working in and living near the banana industry in Matina, Limón. The chemical ethylene thiourea (ETU) found in the fungicide mancozeb, which is sprayed over banana plantations here, can be detrimental to fetal brain development, according to the report released Monday in Environmental Health Perspectives. Read more.

As fungus kills bats, MN timber industry winces: Minneapolis Star and Tribune| 8-19-14
A cave fungus that’s killing millions of bats across the country is threatening to become a big problem for Minnesota’s timber industry.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide next spring whether to add the northern long-eared bat, which is being wiped out in places by the disease called white nose syndrome, to the endangered species list.

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PARROTFISH eat algae and seaweed. These brightly colored fish with beaklike mouths inhabit coral reefs, the wellsprings of ocean life. Without them and other herbivores, algae and seaweed would overgrow the reefs, suppress coral growth and threaten the incredible array of life that depends on these reefs for shelter and food.

This was happening in Bermuda, until the government in 1990 banned fish traps that were decimating the parrotfish population. Today, Bermuda's coral reefs are relatively healthy, a bright spot in the wider Caribbean, where total coral cover has declined by half since 1970.

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An annotated list of 83 scale insect species (Hemiptera: Sterorrhyncha: Coccoidea) recorded from Saint Lucia is presented, based on data gathered fro...

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Saint Lucia joins the rest of the global community in celebration of World Biodiversity Day on Thursday May 22. "Island Biodiversity” is the theme for this year’s International Day of Biodiversity which aims to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity for islands and the need for island states to sustainably manage their resources.

To raise awareness here in Saint Lucia the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology will host three commemorative activities.

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Saint Lucia is much closer to having appropriate legislation, that regulate the creation, import, use and transport of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), following a successful national consultation on the proposed Biosafety Bill.

The consultation was held on Monday October 21,2013 and received support from a broad cross section of society including representatives of faith based organizations, supermarket retailers, farmers, healthcare practitioners, educators, scientists, environmentalists and government officials.

Participants reviewed government's draft policy and legislation on biosafety, with a view to exchanging ideas and providing recommendations, to help ensure that Saint Lucia has strong biosafety legislation. Such a consultative process is vital in light of the importance of  biosafety to the increasing use of  modern biotechnology in development and trade.

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