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Archive for January 8th, 2016
Wonder of the aquatic world under threat from plans for Mekong dams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
Guardian: In a few months’ time, monsoon rains will more than quadruple the size of Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap, south-east Asia’s greatest lake and one of the wonders of the aquatic world. The huge flood will reverse the seaward flow of the river that feeds into the lake, submerge forests, make a perfect wetland for spawning fish and will replenish soils for a rich rice harvest.
Tonlé Sap is the most intensely-fished inland body of water in the world and as the annual flood subsides, many millions of fish will...
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Illegal gold mining spreads to protected Peruvian reserve
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on January 8th, 2016
Mongabay: Recently released satellite images show that illegal gold mining activities have now encroached upon an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon: Tambopata National Reserve. A report released by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) shows that the area between the Tambopata National Reserve and its buffer zone, the La Pampa area, has already lost over 2,500 hectares of forest between 2013 and 2015 largely due to illegal gold mining. The report follows a June 2015 statement...