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There's always need for more storage! You can do just that with this contemporary rectangular end table. You'll appreciate the value of the drawer and open shelf plus the table top to accompany your favorite sofa or armchair. The dark finish over select veneers and hardwood with a sleek contemporary style bring fresh appeal to your decor.
The Hatsuko Rectangular End Table with 1 Drawer & 1 Shelf by Signature Design by Ashley at Furniture Barn in the Pennsville, Bear, Newark, Hockessin, Middletown, New Castle, Townsend, Talleyville, Wilmington, Marshallton, Smyrna, Elkton, area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
The Hatsuko contemporary accent table collection brings a fresh outlook to your living room's design. The dark rich finish over select veneers and hardwood solids complements the stylish look of the brushed nickel hardware and simple, clean lines of the block legs and framed panels. Open shelves, drawers on the end tables, and a lift top with interior storage on the cocktail table with caster wheels ensure these occasional tables provide functionality to your family room, den, or main living space.
The Hatsuko collection is a great option if you are looking for Contemporary furniture in the Pennsville, Bear, Newark, Hockessin, Middletown, New Castle, Townsend, Talleyville, Wilmington, Marshallton, Smyrna, Elkton, area.
These images are representative of this group as a whole and may differ from this item.
Browse other items in the Hatsuko collection from Furniture Barn in the Pennsville, Bear, Newark, Hockessin, Middletown, New Castle, Townsend, Talleyville, Wilmington, Marshallton, Smyrna, Elkton, area.
This item has been tagged as: Living Room Furniture, Accent Furniture, Occasional Furniture, Cabinet, Cabinet Tables, Storage Tables, Small Storage Cabinet, Chairside Cabinet, Short Cabinet, Accent Cabinet, Commode, Cocktail Tables, Lift – Top Cocktail Table, Storage Table, Cocktail Coffee Table, Cocktail Table with Storage, Coffee Table, Lift – Top Coffee Table, Coffee Table with Storage, Couch Table, Magazine Storage, Sitting Room Tables, End Table, Chairside Table, Coffee and End Tables, Furniture End Tables, Accent Table, Lamp Table, Pedestal Table, Hall Tree, Storage Hall Tree, Hall Tree with Storage, Coat Rack, Hall Tree Coat Rack, Entry Hall Tree, Hat Rack, Hall Trees with Benches, Bench and Hall Tree, Clothes Tree, Hall Tree Furniture, Entry Furniture, Foyer Furniture, Sofa Table, Furniture Sofa Table, Console Table, Sofa Console Tables, Sofa End Table, Secretary Desk, Table Desk, Wine Rack, Wine Glass Rack, Wine Storage, Wine Bottle Storage, Wine Storage Rack, Wine Bottle Rack, Cabinet Wine Rack, Wine Glass Storage, Wine Storage Cabinet, Larder, Kitchen Storage, Dining Room Storage, Occasional Tables
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2006 03 18
PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE No. 2
What is your favorite new building?
What is your favorite old building?
What is your favorite intersection?
Where is the heart of the city?
What do you like most / least about Torontonians?
What do you consider the most over-hyped place in the city?
What is your most memorable event in Toronto?
What is your favorite urban walk?
If you could change one thing about the city what would it be?
If Toronto was reincarnated as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
What's your most treasured place in the city?
Where would you most like to live in Toronto?
Which Torontonians are changing the city?
What's your favourite subway station?
Where would you most want to live, if not in Toronto?
What should Toronto's motto be?
[email this story] Posted by ERA Architects on 03/18 at 11:46 AM
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subset: commoncrawl


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Rutabaga is a very popular vegetable in Ireland, but the name is never used by the Irish to describe this favorite side for a chicken roast, ham or bacon dinner.
The Irish call this root vegetable a turnip. The English call it a swede, and in Scotland it is often called a neep.
The term rutabaga comes from the Swedish word "rotabagge". It is a bulbous root vegetable with a purple hued outer skin covering a dense inner yellow core.
Practically every time I buy a rutabaga at the grocery store, the check-out guy or gal holds it up with a quizzical expression.
"What's this called," comes the inevitable question.
I think very few Americans buy rutabagas, probably because they simply don't know how to cook them. Today I will solve that problem with a short tutorial on how to peel and cut a rutabaga before boiling it – the tried and trusted cooking method of most Irish cooks.
My thoughts turn to rutabagas with Thanksgiving approaching. I know it is not a traditional vegetable for Americans to serve, but a turnip tale links it to this holiday for me.
When I was close to seven months pregnant with my triplets, my aunt visited for Thanksgiving. She was born in Ireland, but has lived in America for over fifty years. She suggested we have Irish mashed turnips with our turkey that year, since serving rutabaga at Thanksgiving had become a personal tradition for her over the years.
Despite resembling a moving mountain at this point in my pregnancy, I dutifully waddled to the grocery store, plonked my colossal self into a motorized cart, and sped through the vegetable aisles, never dreaming there might be a shortage of rutabagas. Lo and behold there wasn't a single rutabaga to be had.
"We always run out of rutabagas at Thanksgiving," the produce manager explained. "It's the one time of year they are in demand."
I returned home shocked and empty-handed.
But never fear!
Irish American Dad fancied a scoop of mashed turnip instead of an overly-sweet, sweet potato casserole that year. He rose to the challenge, searching high and low, from grocery store to fresh fruit market, along the turnip trail.
He did not fail us. He found one hiding beneath a head of cabbage in a Meijers store far, far away. And so that year we gave thanks, for one man's perseverance in his quest to deliver a Thanksgiving rutabaga.
So enough of my waffling, let's get down to cooking this tough little root.
The most difficult and dangerous part of this process is cutting up the rutabaga. When picking one in the grocery store, I try to find one with a flat bottom end. It makes it much easier to balance to make that first cut through the hard inner core.
Place the root on a cutting board, balanced on its flattest end. Cut through the middle separating it into two equal halves.
Turn each half onto its flat side, then cut it into 1/2 inch thick semi-circles. Throw away the first and last piece which are covered in thicker skin.
Use a paring knife to remove the outer skin. This method is much easier than trying to peel a rutabaga with a potato peeler – really a mission impossible.
Next cut each piece into one inch cubes. Each semi-circle usually yields nine cubes by cutting 3 vertical slices and then three more perpendicular slices.
Add the diced rutabaga to a medium saucepan and cover it with cold water. Some of the pieces will float in the water making it impossible to cover the top by an inch. Season with salt at this point.
Make sure you add plenty of water though. If the pot boils dry the smell of burnt rutabaga is horrible. Believe me – I know from experience.
Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes until the rutabaga is fork tender. It takes quite a long time to boil this tough little vegetable.
Drain the boiling water once the rutabaga is cooked. Return it to the pot. Use a potato masher to break it up. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper. I use white pepper since I don't like black flecks through my turnip. Mash it well together to make sure the melted butter is thoroughly mixed through.
Sour cream can be used instead of butter. Its flavor compliments the sweet yet tangy taste of the rutabagas. Some people like puree the rutabaga in a food processor, but I prefer to leave a little bit of texture by using a potato masher.
Served hot, as a side for roast turkey dinner, mashed rutabagas are simply delicious.
I love two nice, big mounds of rutabaga mash on my plate. Once I dined at a fancy restaurant in New Jersey. I grew excited when I saw a pork dish on the menu with a side of rutabaga puree. Oh how disappointed I was when all I got was a yellow squiggle of rutabaga on my plate. It didn't fill a hole in my tooth.
So heap those rutabagas onto your plate. Not only do they taste great, they're good for you too.
Happy Thanksgiving cooking to all.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom


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When you choose the "priority inbox" setting, your emails are automatically split into three sections: important and unread, starred, and everything else.
Turn on priority inbox
- Open Gmail.
- To configure your inbox, go to the top right, then click Settings Settings.
- Click the Inbox tab.
- In the "Inbox type" section, select Priority Inbox.
- Choose other inbox settings, like which sections you want, and if you want to see importance markers or not.
- At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.
Learn how emails get marked as important
Learn about importance markers in Gmail, including how importance markers get automatically added.


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It's been a while since my last outfit post, but I assume since you are not crazy about my outfits post it's not a major crime. Btw million thanks to my dearest friend Billur Saatçi for taking my photos on a very cold day.
Ceket / Jacket : Topshop
Kazak / Jumper : Zara
Pantolon / Trousers : Topshop
Yüzükler / Rings : Topshop & Zeckie
Çanta / Bag : Balenciaga
Gözlükler / Sunnies : Ray Ban
Ayakkabı / Shoes : Arzu Kaprol


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I've been meaning to write this post since we moved into our new kitchen last summer. Sorry : ) I often get emails asking about the details of our design and I thought it would be easier if I had one nice post to direct everyone with questions. When we were designing the kitchen (and the rest of the house), I remember being very overwhelmed by all of the decisions to be made. All of the decisions. We often look around at our kitchen now and say, there were probably one thousand decisions made in this one room.
Thankfully, I don't have any regrets when it comes to our kitchen (or the rest of the house). I'm glad we splurged where we did, and I'm glad we saved where we could. I absolutely love this kitchen. I love that the finishes are polished enough to feel elegant, but the warmth makes it feel little country-cottagey, too. It is a breeze to work in efficiently. It feels cozy on a Sunday morning, but is big and open enough to handle a large party, too. While the entire kitchen is "white on white" we added warmth through the creamy paint color (Navajo White), brass, marble and warm wood island top to make it feel homey and warm.
All of the resources are listed at the end of the post. I tried to include everything, but I'm sure I left something out. Let me know if I missed something!
Take a tour of our entire house (in progress...) here.
Walls & Trim : Benjamin Moore Navajo White Satin
Countertops : Arabescata Veneto Marble with Honed Finish
Hardware : Martha Stewart Bedford Brass from Home Depot
Windows : Anderson 400
Paint Color Details : You can see all of the paint colors for our house, here.
Bread Board Collection
I love this charging drawer! In every house we lived in before, we had a countertop dedicated to charging... and things just end up piling up in that spot - mail, keys, junk. This drawer just gave all of those things a place. So, instead of planning for the ipad to have a spot on the counter to charge, we planned for a spot that would put away - charging.
We charge the ipads, the wireless speaker and my iphone. Of course, it is also a place for keys, lip gloss, sunglasses, tablets and pens. Of course this drawer doesn't always look like this. There is always a needed purge about once every season. I tend to put it off, but when I do it takes 5 minutes and I feel so much better.
This is what the back of the drawer looks like. We had our electrician hardwire an outlet and powerstrip in the back of the drawer. So much better than this tangle of cords on top of the counter. We never open the drawer all of the way out, so we never see this cord mess unless we need to ; )
Baking Counter
This corner of the kitchen works so well for me. I love that it is a couple of steps away from the rest of the kitchen. It gives me so much room to stretch out and get messy, and everything I need for baking is within arms reach.
Our kitchen wouldn't be complete without Emma's chair close by that she uses to stand and help. It comes in handy for me, too, when I need to reach to a top shelf. When we moved in the house, I bought a set of unfinished childrens chairs and a table, then applied the finish myself.
Left to right : Kitchen Aid attachments, Copper Biscuit Cutter, Petite & Small Paper Tart Pans, Rubber Spatulas, measuring cups, Brown & White Cupcake Papers, Jumbo Pastry Tips, Scoops and Disposable Pastry Bags.
These are my favorite Large Disposable Piping Bags to put muffin batter in. I make it ahead of time and keep them in the freezer.
All of these items have recently been restocked in my store (found in Baking Supplies) this week.
The Baking Sheets & Parchment Paper are stored vertically, here to the left of the baking counter. This photo was taken before I added the natural parchment paper to my store.
Shop my Baking Supplies >
On the right side of the baking counter, is the area for the small appliances. Originally, I thought I would work in the kitchen and keep a printer and files here, but since I've relocated my office to the mudroom, this area opened up. I actually can't imagine working in the kitchen now - not sure what I was thinking! I think before I had always just perched at the counter with my laptop and sipped coffee while I worked all day. I was so used to not having a proper space to work that I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. You can see what my office space in the mudroom looks like, here.
As you can see at the end of the baking counter is our coffee and tea station. Above, in the glass front, are the coffee cups, below the coffee and tea is kept in the drawer. You can see into the mudroom/my office space through the dutch door. We only installed the bottom of the dutch door to leave the top open. Mr. Darcy has a doggy door in the mudroom to the back yard, so, if it is muddy, then I shut the dutch door so he can come in from the backyard to food and water, but can't track mud all over the house...
This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. You might notice in the photo at the top, that Mr. Darcy has since had a haircut ; )
The Creamware Platters on the wall are part of a six piece collection, here >
We were sure to have the above cabinetry at a specific height so that we could open the top of the kuerig machine - which was not the case in our last kitchen. We always had to move it out from underneath the cabinet for it to work.
Island Wood Top : Clear Alder Wood Wide Plank
Finish : Minwax Provincial Stain + Marine Satin Finish Sealer
Sink : Signature Hardware Reinhard 30" Sink, White
Faucet : Rohl Perrin & Rowe Bridge Faucet in Polished Nickel
Clean Bottles Collection (recently restocked).
The small tray (holding the dish soap) is here >
Piles of Tea Towels kept in the drawer to the left.
We have a small microwave inserted into a cubby that has an outlet. I really don't like microwaves, so I didn't want to spend any $ on a super nice one or give it much of a priority in our kitchen, so this worked perfectly. Bonus, Emma thinks it is her own personal oven, since she can reach it easily.
Below, I keep our to-go cups. We have Clear Cups & Lids (50 for $12) and Straws for smoothies or water togo (instead of bottled) and we have White Paper Cups and Lids (50 for $12) for coffee, cider and hot chocolate as we head out the door.
In the drawer above the cups, I keep Emma's plates and bowls for snacks. I like that it is at her level so she can help herself - it makes her feel more independent.
The Brass Lanterns are from Cape Cod Lantern Co. You might remember we installed a larger version in our old dinning room (that now hangs in our bedroom). It is called the Concord Lantern and is made by hand in Cape Cod. We bought it right after we moved back from Concord, Mass to bring a little piece of our New England journey into our new home (especially appropriate, as it is a Cape Cod style house... just in Kansas!).
You can read more about our lighting decisions for the rest of the house, here.
I was very specific with our cabinetry designer that I wanted the crown mouldings to wrap around the entire room. I wanted the kitchen to feel built into the room, not added or separate. We had to plan extensively for this, making decisions on the mouldings before the cabinets were built to make sure there was room to fit the 10" crown treatment that wraps the walls, cabinets and the beams. I think great millwork details are really what makes our kitchen feel completely custom. We included a Furniture Base Trim at the base of the cabinets, which is different from a typical open toe kick. Again, makes the kitchen feel more built-in and finished.
Backsplash & Bracket Details :
The backsplash on the counter area is painted wooden beadboard, while it is bone subway tile behind the range. We have wooden brackets accenting the cabinetry around the range, also, which adds to the "country kitchen" feel.
Inset Cabinetry : We chose to upgrade to inset cabinetry (about a 15% increase) because it turns out every single photo I had pinned had inset cabinetry. It was a fairly pricey upgrade, considering it didn't really add any function, but it was the "look" I was going for. You can read about the decision making process here, as I debated inset versus overlay. I'm glad we chose inset for the kitchen (and our master vanity, we used overlay in the mudroom to save) because it really adds to the finished look of our kitchen and the "old fashioned" "built-in" and "original" look we were trying to achieve.
To the right of the stove, I keep all of my wooden cooking utensils in a white pitcher. I also keep this basket with linen tea towels and fresh fruit.
To the left of the stove, we keep the knives, small bowl of seas sea salt and pouring dispenser of olive oil, for easy access while cooking.
Handled Tray and Maple Cheese Tray, here >
Below this area (next to the fridge and across from the dishwasher for convenience), I keep our storage containers. These are a lifesaver. They keep this area so organized and neat. The glass are used for leftovers - great for reheating in the microwave. The plastic containers get everything from freezer items, fresh fruit to grated parmesan cheese or a homemade vinaigrette.
And above, the spice cabinet... it never looks this neat, unfortunately : )
And then, the linens... my favorite part.
Since I have new linen collections in my store every season, I've amassed quite a collection...
Shop the Linen Collection, here >
These are the napkins that we use for dinner every night. They aren't always ironed, though ; )
My newest favorite are above (all the way to the left), the Olive Block Print Napkins, 4 for $32. They are going to be perfect for family dinners this fall.
We keep all of our dishes, china, platters and glasses in this cabinet. It is so great to have everything for setting the table, just across from the dining table. It is helpful that it is not in direct flow with the kitchen, so when I am cooking, Emma and Mike can set the table without crossing my path... also very helpful when entertaining.
We have all basic white plates and bowls, with a couple of additions of some ice cream bowls that Emma likes.
Walls & Trim : Benjamin Moore Navajo White Satin
Countertops : Arabescata Veneto Marble with Honed Finish
Hardware : Martha Stewart Bedford Brass from Home Depot
Windows : Anderson 400
Paint Color Details : You can see all of the paint colors for our house, here.
Brass Lanterns : Concord Lanterns (Small) in Antique Brass from Cape Cod Lighting Co.
Seagrass Runner : Shop Here, Bark Color
Island Wood Top : Clear Alder Wood Wide Plank
Finish : Minwax Provincial Stain + Marine Satin Finish Sealer
Sink : Signature Hardware Reinhard 30" Sink, White
Faucet : Rohl Perrin & Rowe Bridge Faucet in Polished Nickel
Range : Verona Range
Kitchen Bottles : These are part of my Clean Bottles Collection.
Small Tray : The small tray (holding the dish soap) is here >
Tessa (nineandsixteen.com) inspired this set up - she's queen of cozy and charming. I realized I already had all of these items, but putting them together like this makes the coziest little corner.
Basket Tray
Lake Blue Checked Napkin
Classic Creamers Set
Green Fleur 20" Medium Pillow Cover
Lake Blue Check 22" Large Pillow Cover
It is all about the mix and match that makes a home feel cozy and collected. Some of these pillow covers are from collections past, then mixed with the new Green Fleur & Lake Blue Check Pillow Covers - they feel comfortable and fresh.
I use 22" Large Covers on the outside, then two 20" Medium on the inside, or one 20" and one rectangle for accent.
Shop Pillow Covers >
Classic Cream & Sugar Set (Sugar seen, here)
Botanicals & Pillow Covers >
I love how sweet this room feels - scalloped duvet, stacks of quilts on the chest in the dormer window.
Shop all linen collections >
Lake Blue Check Napkins >
Green Fleur Tea Towels >
Strawberry Copper Cookies Cutters >
Make in Nebraska, these copper cookie cutters are heirloom quality. They come packaged in a gift bag with a recipe card, tied with a ribbon. Such a nice gift.
Fluer Napkins tied with Small Navy Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.
Wraps : School House Blue, Lilac & Peony


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Eighteen islands in the mid-Atlantic make up the Faroe Islands, an enclave that, despite being part of Denmark, is not quite Scandinavia and not quite Western Europe. The Faroe Islands have an unspoiled, "wild" feel like New Zealand and a fairly short tourist season.
What to do
Traveling to the Faroe Islands means you'll be getting your fill of wildlife and the outdoors. Most tourists make their way to the islands so that they can explore and bird watch and take tours of the islands by boat. From your boat tour, you can see the Rinkusteinar, which literally means rocking rocks. These giant stones in the water shift back and forth and have been doing so for centuries. No one's sure exactly why, but legend has it that a sorceress turned two pirate ships off the coast of the Faroe Islands to stone and doomed them to rock in place for eternity.
Getting there
There is one airport on the Faroe islands, on the island of Vagar. Vagar is connected to some of the other islands, via an underground sea-tunnel that is the main form of transport between land. Flights to the Faroe Islands originate out of Iceland and Denmark and you may end up in either one if your flight is delayed due to fog around the Faroes. Allow an extra cushion of travel time.
Where to stay
There are youth hostels throughout the island, but not the kind that one normally associates with backpacking. Faroe Islands hostels are usually rooms in a house and not the dorm-like bunkhouses that are so common throughout the rest of Europe. Despite the island's small size, there are also a number of hotels located on each island.


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Explore Archery
Explore Archery- Archery for Beginners is a fun and perfect fit for archers of any age/ ability wanting to get involved in the sport of target archery. If you are new to the sport of archery and looking for an introductory program to sign up for, Explore Archery has what you need to get started! You'll learn important skills like range safety and proper shooting form, play exciting games and earn achievement awards. Ages 8 and over Equipment provided. Learn Range Safety, parts of a bow and arrow and fundamentals of archery shooting. Pre-Registration Required / class size limited $40.00 for 8 Week session equipment included. Tickets: https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/76632.
About Outdoor Nebraska
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Ex-NASA group plans private, crowd-funded asteroid hunter
Sentinel sparks space hypegasm
A group of former astronauts, astronomers, engineers, and the ubiquitous Tim O'Reilly (presumably for the publishing rights) are getting together to try and punt a privately-funded space telescope to scan for dangerous asteroids.
Since the question is not "if" Earth is struck by a large object but "when" (the last big hit was probably the Tunguska event, which happened in Russia in 1908), the B612 Foundation wants to launch the deep-space infrared observatory to a position well away from Earth, to scan for incoming asteroids.
The Sentinel spacecraft would circle the Sun, in an orbit overlapping with Venus.
They say the aim would be to scan half a million "near Earth" asteroids like the one which a fortnight ago came within 5.3 million kilometers of us and turned out to be twice as large as was expected.
Sentinel would be positioned to look outwards and scan incoming asteroids for months, according to Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who is chairman emeritus of the group.
The foundation believes the telescope would be able to find 90 percent of near-Earth asteroids bigger than 140 meters in diameter, and half of those between 40 and 140 meters.
If the funds can be raised for the as-yet-uncosted mission (which B612 says would be in the order of "a few hundred million"), it could begin its mission as early as 2017. The plan is to have Sentinel built by Ball Aerospace, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9, and operated by the University of Colorado.
Bootnote: B612 is apparently the name of the asteroid home of the lead character in the book The Little Prince. ®
Sponsored: Practical tips for Office 365 tenant-to-tenant migration


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Google has released a few more details about Compute Engine, the infrastructure-as-a-service offering it debuted at Google I/O today.
In a company blog post, Craig McLuckie, its product manager, sketched some of the details that didn't make it into Urs Hölzle's remarks during today's keynote address at Day 2 of Google's developers conference.
The heart of the offering is the ability to run scores of Linux virtual machines on Google's services. Now, if that doesn't mean anything to you, it's helpful to be reminded of one key tenet of cloud computing: Virtualization. Basically, one physical computer has so much computing capacity — because processors are now so powerful — that it can act like two or four or 10 computers all at once, all sharing the same hardware.
Google is counting that its experience in harnessing huge swaths of inexpensive computing hardware will give it a competitive leg up against the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Windows Azure, but it's still available only in a limited preview, so there are going to be a lot more questions.
One piece of the puzzle that Google has going for it is that it is working with several partners that already have a history of helping customers manage their various cloud services. Google named RightScale, a management platform; Puppet Labs; OpsCode, which specialize in automation; Numerate, which uses computing to design drugs; and Cliqr, a cloud applications manager among its partners.
Another partner stood out to me: MapR, whose funding I covered last year, offers a version of Hadoop, an open source, big data technology that's designed to run in the cloud. It's already the Hadoop of choice for running on Amazon's cloud, and now it seems to have an inside track on Google's.
Then there's the matter of performance. Amazon has been known to have stability issues: Fifteen months ago it suffered a crash that brought numerous Web services down with it. Google is promising "strong and consistent" performance that customers can rely on and thus tune their applications based on that expectation.
Google is also planning to compete on price. According to its price list, prices are beginning at 14.5 cents per hour for the use of a single virtual processor core with 420 gigabytes of local storage. I'm not familiar enough with all the services to compare it with this price list for Amazon Web Services.
There's also the question of security. CIOs have often tended to view cloud services with a suspicion based on the perception that the cloud isn't secure. And while I haven't read it yet, Google has written a white paper on the subject.
Obviously, more details will be coming out in the days and weeks ahead as Google moves this from a preview to a full-fledged service. It has made a big point today in bragging about its capabilities. Now it remains to be seen if those bragging points can stand up to scrutiny and daily use.


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How to reset your password in instagram?
Lately I've been noticing an increase of beginner type questions about Instagram funtionalities on the blog. This is without a doubt a "sign" that demonstrates the massive increase of new members.
For all these new comers and anyone else that wants to get quick and useful answers to all of the App's intricacies, we have great tips and tutorials in our New, Apps and Links sections, check them out!
One of them is …
"How can I reset my pasword in Instagram?"
If you go to your profile settings you can reset or get a new password, nevertheless, I wanted to know if @josh , our helpful contact at the Instagram teamhad a tip or two about this and this is the mail, he sent me this morning:
Hey Phil!
Thanks for asking. There's a "forgot password" link on the login screen in the app. (see image beside when login).
In addition to that, there are a couple other options on the web (but not in the app):
1) If you forgot your password or username, you can reset it here by entering the email address you used to sign up:
2) If you know your password but want to change it, you can do that here.
We're in the process of revamping our Support Center here's the article on finding password/username.
If you have any suggestions on help articles we should add, please let us know.
We want to make sure all users can get answers to their questions right away!


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Leeward Community College presents 17th Family Fun Fair
Event returns with new interactive and educational activities and exhibits for the entire familyUniversity of Hawaiʻi
Office of the Chancellor
PEARL CITY, Oʻahu- The annual Leeward Community College (LCC) Family Fun Fair celebrates its 17th year of providing families with a fun-filled day of games, interactive exhibits, food, and entertainment on Saturday, November 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on LCC's campus in Pearl City. Admission and parking are free of charge.
The Family Fun Fair features new exhibits, games, and interactive educational activities for children of all ages. The cornerstone of the fair is "Discovery Square," a bustling courtyard filled with more than 30 hands-on, interactive learning activities for the entire family. A new addition to the fair is "CSI Leeward," a mock crime scene investigation where participants will collect and analyze evidence and clues to capture the perpetrator of a crime.
Other Discovery Square activities include Pliable Polymer: Squiggle, squeeze and turn liquids into solids, creating your own polymer worms or a bag of the silliest putty; Spaghetti Engineering: Build structures and bridges with food; Instant Snow: Snow in paradise? Make snow magically appear; and, Chemistry Magic: Freeze a flower or shrink a balloon with liquid nitrogen while learning the "tricks" of real science.
In addition to Discovery Square, the fair will offer a wide variety of other exhibits including cooking demonstrations on growing herbs, making pesto, and cooking traditional Korean fare; the Scholastic Book Fair; a 2008 New Car Show with specially customized cars; tours of a state-of-the-art DNA laboratory; fossil and mineral displays; Galactic Games, a galaxy of carnival games; and, a Korean Television Drama exhibit.
Shoppers are invited to explore the Family Fun Fair Farmer's Market, Native Hawaiian arts & craft booths and sample sales of more than a dozen brand name clothing lines. Food booths will offer a wide array of choices featuring Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese selections. Plate lunches, shave ice, andagi and waffle dogs are sure to please fair-goers. There will also be continuous entertainment including a mini-concert by the Royal Hawaiian Band and an interactive Career Connections Kiosk, providing information and fun explorations in career options.
For more information on the 2007 LCC Family Fun Fair, contact Kathleen Cabral at (808) 455-0524 or email@example.com.


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Welcome to ShaneCo.com. We are proud and pleased to offer an opportunity to experience Shane Co. on-line. As an employee or immediate family member, please read and agree to the following terms and conditions of the WSM employee purchase agreement.
As stated in the WSM Company Handbook, "employees may purchase merchandise at a reduction from normal selling price, provided that the merchandise is solely for either the employee's own use or for that of his or her IMMEDIATE family." Immediate family is defined as follows: Employee's spouse, spousal equivalent, daughter, son, mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, step-parent, or step-child, or a person who is legally acting in one of the above capacities, or another relative living in the employee's residence.
Employees are eligible for the employee discount privilege after receipt of their first pay stub from Western Stone & Metal.
I understand and agree my password is unique to me and cannot be shared with anyone.
I agree I will not purchase any merchandise for the purpose of resale.
I agree I will not purchase any merchandise in proxy for others.
I agree I will not distribute or share, and will keep the employee price confidential.
Any misuse of this employee benefit will result in the loss of such benefit to the employee and all qualified family members stated above, as determined by the VP of Human Resources.
Any employee violation, or violation by a family member, of the Company's EMPLOYEE PURCHASE POLICY, Section IV-L of Company Handbook could result in progressive counseling action being taken with the employee up to and including termination.
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CaratCarat is the unit of measurement for a diamond's weight.
ClarityClarity refers to the purity of the diamond.Clarity is evaluated by viewing the gemstone under 10X magnification. Clarity grades range from FL (flawless to I3 (contains obvious inclusions visible to the naked eye).
CutCut refers to a diamond's symmetry, proportions, and polish, which determine how much it sparkles.They cut and facet the crystal to reflect the maximum amount of light inside the gemstone and back through the top of the diamond.Diamonds can be cut too shallow or too deep, both of which cause light to leak out of the bottom and sides of the stone, diminishing its sparkle.
ColorColor refers to the color within the diamond, not the reflected light.
Color is graded with letters ranging from D, which is completely absent of color, to Z, which is light yellow.
PRICE SUMMARYRemoving this item will remove any customizations you have made. Are you sure you want to remove these items? Are you sure you want to remove this item? If you remove/replace your diamond you will have to choose your fantasy head again. Would you like to continue without a fantasy head?
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Color is graded by letters D (colorless) through Z (light yellow) and refers to the absence of color in the stone. The closer the grade is to D, the rarer the stone.
Cut refers to the stone's proportions, symmetry and polish, which affect the stone's sparkle. Cut grades range from Poor to Ideal.
Carat refers to the weight of the stone. The higher the carat weight, the rarer the stone is.
Clarity refers to the purity of the stone. Clarity grades range from FL (flawless, no inclusions visible with 10x magnification loupe) to I3 (included, obvious inclusions visible to the naked eye).
We offer diamond stud earrings in five diamond qualities: Fine, Finer, Finest, Shane Classic and Certified.
Shane Classic diamonds provide maximum sparkle and a GIA certification – less than 1% of the world's diamonds meet the standards of these hand-picked stones. Clarity is SI1 or better, appearing almost colorless with a range from H and up.
All Certified diamonds come with official GIA grading reports, offering exceptional sparkle with Clarity beginning at I1 or better and Color ranging from H-I.
Our Finest Quality diamond studs are a cut above the rest, offering abundant fire, scintillation and brilliance. Clarity is always SI2 or better and they are nearly colorless, ranging from H-I.
Our Finer Quality is a truly stunning cut with exquisite sparkle. Clarity is I1 or better and they are in the nearly colorless range of H-I.
Our Fine quality maintains wonderful brilliance and sparkle with a clarity of I2 or better.
All of our diamond studs are nearly colorless within the H-I range for color and embody both the quality and value that have made Shane Co famous.
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IISD Reporting Services -
This page was updated on: 12/09/10
Biodiversity and Wildlife Key Publications and Online Resources Archives: 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004; 2003; 2002
Latest New Publications and Resources
Global Ocean Protection: Present status and future possibilities
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) released this report, which provides updated estimates on the number of rural poor people in developing countries and rural poverty rates. This 2011 edition of the report is the first since 2001. The report underscores threats to rural development posed by climate change, volatile food prices, and natural resource constraints. It also notes ecosystems and biodiversity that sustain agricultural production are changing, and highlights the challenges to boosting international agricultural productivity. In terms of opportunities, the report describes the growth of urban centers and better organized agricultural markets. It further outlines efforts to help poor rural people avoid and manage risks. [IFAD press release] [Report website]
(FAO, December 2010)
This book, published by FAO, celebrates the diversity of crops and farming techniques of the Southern Caucasus. It documents genetic resources, rural life and traditional food practices, and describes the origination of internationally important food crops from the region, like wheat, grapes, apples, apricots, pomegranates, pears and peas. It outlines traditional food production systems that encourage crop diversity and highlights the region's strong national seed banks. The book was released to coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity. [FAO news nelease]
Global Ocean Protection: Present status and future possibilities
(IUCN, the Nature Conservancy, UNEP-WCMC, UNU-IAS, and Agence des aires marines protégées, November 2010)
Edited by Caitlyn Toropova, Imèn Meliane, Dan Laffoley, Elizabeth Matthews and Mark Spalding, this report provides evidence-based recommendations on improving and accelerating actions on delivering ocean protection and management through marine protected areas (MPAs). Facilitating the sharing of experiences and lessons learned, the report aims to assist in finding new and better solutions to address the various threats to marine biological diversity and productivity. The report includes chapters on: benefits and challenges of MPAs strategies; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)'s 10% target on MPAs; meeting global goals at regional scales and in the high seas; climate change; networks and broader spatial management; and conclusions and recommendations. [The publication]
Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries on the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture
(FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department; November 2010)
These technical guidelines on the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EEA) were developed to support mainly Articles 9 and 10 of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF). Their main objective is to assist countries, institutions and policy makers in the development and implementation of a strategy to ensure the sustainability of the aquaculture sector, integration of aquaculture with other sectors and its contribution to social and economic development. [The guidelines]
(Ramsar, November 2010)
This booklet was released in anticipation of the 40th anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, and will be officially launched on 2 February 2011. This 32-page commemorative booklet is a brief reflection on, and celebration of, the evolution and achievements of the Convention since 1971. [The booklet]
FAO E-Conference on Learning from the Past – Summary Document
(FAO, November 2010)
This summary document of the FAO e-mail conference entitled "Learning from the past: Successes and failures with agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries over the last 20 years" provides a summary of the main issues discussed during a moderated e-mail conference, hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum from 8 June-8 July 2009, based on the messages posted by the participants, 74% of which came from people in developing countries. Participants in the e-mail conference shared experiences regarding the use of agricultural biotechnologies across the different food and agricultural sectors in developing countries, and provided concrete examples where agricultural biotechnologies were benefiting smallholders. They also discussed several cases where specific applications of agricultural biotechnologies had not succeeded, and offered suggestions to increase their success in the future. [The summary document]
Protecting Arctic Biodiversity: Strengths and Limitations of Environmental Agreements
(UNEP GRID-ARENDAL, October 2010)
This report, released during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), details solutions to the current biodiversity crisis in the Arctic, but it stresses that conservation gains are only possible if root causes for biodiversity loss are addressed outside the Arctic. It finds that existing multilateral environmental agreements that include the Arctic region, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes, may be effective against threats caused by local, national or regional activities (mining and oil and gas exploitation, for example) if implemented adequately, because threats such as climate change, transboundary contaminants and habitat fragmentation are global in nature. Among its recommendations, the report stresses that: more global, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary thinking by policy-makers, scientists and other stakeholders will be necessary to deal with increasing pressures on Arctic biodiversity; the Arctic Council could play a more active role in supporting the development of specific conservation efforts and further collaboration with non-Arctic states that share responsibility for migratory Arctic wildlife; strengthening existing mechanisms for the protection and conservation of biodiversity, through the implementation of existing mechanisms, is necessary; harmonization of national reporting between the Arctic nations on issues of common concern would allow for more effective national reporting to multilateral environmental agreements; Arctic nations should substantially increase the extent of protected areas, especially in coastal zones and in the marine environment; and Arctic nations should invest in co-management regimes and programmes of adaptation for societies in the Arctic, drawing on their traditional knowledge. [The report]
Interdependence of Biodiversity and Development under Global Change
(CBD Technical Series No. 54, October 2010)
Edited by P.L. Ibisch, A. Vega E. and T.M. Herrmann, this report presents an analysis of the systemic character of global change, biodiversity and human development, and the relationships between them, describing and evaluating the complicated relationships and dynamics between human and biological systems. It includes a technical section, an introduction to issues related to the interdependence of biodiversity and development under global change, and a proposal for a "radical" ecosystem approach for mutual mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation and human development. Background papers address: global patterns and case studies on the interlinkages of biodiversity and human development; biocultural diversity and development under local and global change, including issues related to endogenous development, traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing, and indigenous peoples' conserved areas; and theoretical background papers presenting, among others, an alternative conceptual framework for sustainability based on systemics and thermodynamics. [The publication]
Biodiversity Indicators and the 2010 Biodiversity Target
(CBD Technical Series No. 53, October 2010)
This technical compendium of the products delivered by the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership provides details on the methodology and underlying data for each of the indicators used in the third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook. It provides governments at all levels, scientists and other stakeholders, as well as indigenous and local communities, with up-to-date information on the monitoring of status and trends in biodiversity and how monitoring information can be communicated. [The publication]
Biodiversity Planning: An Assessment of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans
(UNU-IAS, October 2010)
Authored by Christian Prip, Tony Gross, Sam Johnston and Marjo Vierros, the report is the first comprehensive assessment of all national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) and their effectiveness as tools for national implementation. Among other things, and drawing on national experiences, the report seeks to establish whether NBSAPs have been successful in integrating biodiversity concerns into sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, including sustainable development strategies, poverty reduction strategy papers and national processes to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and identify obstacles preventing parties from making progress. Recommendations focus on the steps needed to ensure that NBSAPs fulfill their role as the primary mechanism for implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its new Strategic Plan. [The report]
Environmental Certification and the Global Environment Facility
This Global Environment Facility Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (GEF STAP) advisory document on summarizing the evidence base for eco-certification initiatives in generating global, national, regional and local environmental benefits. The paper highlights that the evidence base provides, at best, weak evidence for the hypothesis that certification has positive socioeconomic or environmental impacts. It thus recommends that GEF investments in certification should be made in projects deliberately designed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the certification program. Such design should not just monitor the status and trends of environmental indicators, but also allow credible inferences on whether the program is contributing to changes in the status and trends of the indicators. [The document]
Second Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA)
(FAO, October 2010)
The report provides a summary of the main changes and needs in managing, safeguarding and using PGRFA to increase the PGRFA contribution to global food security. It highlights that land clearing, population pressures, overgrazing, and changing agricultural practices are leading to genetic erosion. The report underlines that genetic information held in certain crop varieties is crucial to the development of heat, drought, salinity, pest and disease-resistant, fast-growing, high-yielding new varieties, which are essential for helping farmers respond to climate change. [PGRFA report]
Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Outlook: Global Synthesis
(UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Seas, October 2010)
This publication provides the first systematic overview at a sub-global scale of the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity, the pressures it currently faces and the management frameworks in place for addressing those pressures. It highlights that marine biodiversity faces increasing pressures in all regions from land sourced pollution, ship sourced pollution and impacts of fishing. The report further shows that these pressures are serious and generally increasing despite measures in place to address them, and that they are amplified by predicted impacts of ocean warming, acidification and habitat change arising from climate and atmospheric change. The report warns that, without significant management intervention, marine biological diversity is likely to deteriorate substantially in the next 20 years, with growing consequences for resources and physical security of coastal nations. [Report website]
Developing Effective Forest Policy
(FAO, October 2010)
This document aims to support countries in planning and conducting forest policy development processes. It highlights lessons learned from country experiences since the publication of FAO's Guidelines for Forest Policy Formulation in 1987. It reviews steps in creating, adopting and implementing national forest policy. [The document]
Enriching Forest Biodiversity: Forest Europe is Implementing Convention on Biological Diversity Provisions
(FOREST EUROPE, October 2010)
FOREST EUROPE (the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe) has published a report on how it has implemented provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Europe. It presents results of an assessment undertaken by FOREST EUROPE, outlining how FOREST EUROPE has addressed the objectives of the CBD's Extended Programme of Work on Forest Biodiversity. The report highlights activities on the ecosystem approach, cross-sectoral integration, protected areas, forest law enforcement and related trade, and sustainable use and benefit sharing. [The report]
Catalogue of Biodiversity-Based Products
(GEF, Small Grants Programme, 2010)
This catalogue of biodiversity-based products from SGP's Latin American & Caribbean portfolio demonstrates the linkage between the sustainable use of biodiversity, community empowerment and poverty reduction. It incorporates high quality photography and offers possibilities for supporting marginalized communities in forming alliances with funders, retailers, researchers, governments and NGOs in order to improve their livelihoods and conserve biodiversity. [The catalogue]
Protected Areas for the 21st Century: Lessons from UNDP/GEF's Portfolio
The report, based on case studies from the portfolio of projects financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Development Programme (UNDP) addresses eight key themes that are shaping protected areas management in the 21st Century, namely: enabling policy environments; management planning; protected area assessment and restoration; governance and participation; capacity and sustainable finance; protected area networks and ecological gap assessments; and connectivity corridors and transboundary protected areas. For each of the eight themes, the report presents a snapshot of the current status of implementation, a set of emerging best practices, and one or more case studies that illustrate innovative and successful approaches. [The report]
Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A synthesis of the approach, conclusions and recommendations of TEEB
(The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), October 2010)
Compiling and summarizing two years of work carried out by over 500 researchers, the TEEB synthesis report calls for wider recognition of nature's contribution to human livelihoods, health, security, and culture by decision makers. It documents the multi-trillion dollar annual contribution of the natural world to the global economy, and formulates recommendations for policies and mechanisms that can help better account for, and protect, this contribution. The report approaches the challenge of bringing biodiversity to the political fore by focusing on making nature's values visible, and approaches this in three steps: recognizing ecosystems' value so as to understand what is at stake; demonstrating natural value in economic terms to support decision making; and capturing value by introducing mechanisms to incorporate this value into decision making at all political and non-political levels. [The report]
Blue Harvest: Inland Fisheries as an Ecosystem Service
(UNEP and World Fish Centre, October 2010)
This report aims to help inform future approaches to conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems by reviewing the importance of inland fisheries as an ecosystem service, the pressures upon them, and management approaches to sustain them. The report identifies the various drivers of change in inland fisheries, including climate change. In particular, it spotlights changes in runoff patterns from increases in temperature and changes in rain fall, leading to changes in flow regimes, as well as in breeding and feeding habitats.
The report recommends five investments: improving understanding of inland fisheries' vulnerability to environmental change; developing viable options for addressing the threats posed to inland fisheries by environmental change; building adaptive capacity among key stakeholder groups to increase resilience of inland fisheries at local, national and regional scales; improving governance of inland fisheries and their ecosystems; and developing capacity to sustain and enhance social benefits from these resources. [The report]
National Capacity Self-Assessments: Results and Lessons Learned for Global Environmental Sustainability
This report by Jean-Joseph Bellamy and Kevin Hill synthesizes the results of the National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) programme, launched in January 2000, to deepen knowledge on countries' foundational capacities to meet global environmental objectives. The programme focused on assessing the key individual, organizational and systemic capacities needed to sustain achievements that satisfy the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), collectively known as the Rio Conventions, and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The exercise also sought to develop an understanding of the key drivers of, and barriers to, sustained environmental protection and conservation, with particular reference to meeting and sustaining objectives codified within the Rio Conventions. [The report]
Environmental Goods and Services Negotiations at the WTO: Lessons from multilateral environmental agreements and ecolabels for breaking the impasse
This paper by Aaron Cosbey, Soledad Aguilar, Melanie Ashton and Stefano Ponte looks for paths to progress in the WTO's stalled negotiations on environmental goods and services – a set of talks that is frequently cited as trade policy's natural contribution to climate change objectives. It surveys the experience of a number of multilateral environmental agreements – the Rotterdam Convention (Prior Informed Consent or PIC), the Stockholm Convention (Persistent Organic Pollutants or POPs) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – and ecolabels (looking at coffee, fisheries and the Energy Star label) for lessons that could be of aid in WTO negotiations. [The paper]
Rethinking Global Biodiversity Strategies: Exploring Structural Changes in Production and Consumption to Reduce Biodiversity Loss
(Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2010)
This report argues that further expansion of the global network of protected areas will be necessary, but will not be sufficient to attain a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss worldwide. Structural changes in consumption and in the efficiency of production are indispensable. Changes in agriculture, forestry, fishery and energy supply are required to slow down biodiversity loss, through reduced expansion of agricultural land, stopping overexploitation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and limiting climate change. [The report]
Sampled Red List Index for Plants
(Kew, Natural History Museum London, IUCN, 2010)
A global analysis of extinction risk for the world's plants and a major baseline for plant conservation, this study reveals that the world's plants are as threatened as mammals, with one in five of the world's plant species threatened with extinction. It is part of a worldwide effort to create a tool to monitor the changing status of the world's major groups of plants, fungi and animals. [IUCN press release] [The red list]
National Capacity Self-Assessments: Results and Lessons Learned for Global Environmental Sustainability
This report by Jean-Joseph Bellamy and Kevin Hill synthesizes the results of the National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) programme, launched in January 2000, to deepen knowledge on countries' foundational capacities to meet global environmental objectives. The programme focused on assessing the key individual, organizational and systemic capacities needed to sustain achievements that satisfy the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), collectively known as the Rio Conventions, and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The exercise also sought to develop an understanding of the key drivers of, and barriers to, sustained environmental protection and conservation, with particular reference to meeting and sustaining objectives codified within the Rio Conventions. [The report]
European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity
(EC Joint Research Centre, September 2010)
This Atlas encompasses the first-ever threat map for soil biodiversity covering the majority of EU Member States. It does not present the actual level of soil biodiversity; rather it points to the potential risk of a decline in biodiversity. The atlas aims to: support policies at the EU level; promote the activities related to soil protection and soil biodiversity; and bring soil biodiversity into policy focus by identifying needs for policy and research strategies aimed at soil protection and enhancement of biodiversity. Key contributions came from various departments of the European Commission as well as partners from industry, academia and international organizations, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. [The atlas]
ETFRN News 51: Biodiversity Conservation in Certified Forests
(European Tropical Forest Research Network, September 2010)
Edited by Douglas Sheil, Francis Putz and Roderick Zagt, this volume includes 33 articles by a wide variety of authors involved in certification and/or the conservation of tropical forest biodiversity. Providing their views on whether certification is a good conservation strategy for tropical forests, the authors report on practical experiences from concessions and community forests, on the challenges of monitoring biodiversity, high conservation value forests and other topics. The evidence indicates that certification has helped to conserve tropical forest biodiversity but the extent of both the evidence and the implied conservation benefits remain limited. In spite of these uncertainties, certification, and therefore regulated timber harvest, remains a viable strategy in the fight against biodiversity loss in tropical forests. [The publication]
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Local and Regional Policy Makers
(UNEP/TEEB, September 2010)
Planned as a useful advisory tool for local and regional policy makers, administrators and managers, this report explores and gives practical guidance on how to deal with the challenge of biodiversity loss at the local and regional level. The report calls on local policy makers to understand the value of natural capital and the services it provides and apply a focus on nature's benefits in local policy areas such as urban management, spatial planning and protected areas management. It calls for local authorities to take a stepwise approach to assessing options that factor nature's benefits into local policy action, including: assessing ecosystem services and expected changes in their availability and distribution; identifying which ecosystem services are most relevant to particular policy issues; and assessing impacts of policy options on different groups in the community. [The report] [UNEP press release]
Deep-Sea Sponge Grounds: Reservoirs of Biodiversity
(UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series no. 32, 2010)
This report draws together scientific understanding of deep-water sponge grounds alongside the threats they face and ways in which they can be conserved. It also gives up-to-date case studies of particular deep-water sponge habitats from around the world. Despite their inherent and biotechnological value, deep-water sponge grounds have been damaged by bottom fishing. This report considers the international policy context in which deep-water sponge grounds can be conserved and concludes with a series of expert recommendations for conservation managers and international policy makers. [The report]
Prospects for Mainstreaming Ecosystem Goods and Services in International Policies
(Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and IISD, August 2010) This study shows how local delivery of ecosystem goods and services (EG&S) is closely linked to international policies on development cooperation, trade, climate change and reform of international financial institutions. Integrating or mainstreaming EG&S considerations into these policies provides significant opportunities to contribute to reducing poverty while simultaneously improving the quality of local EG&S. Furthermore, mainstreaming EG&S in international policies can contribute significantly to achieving policy objectives on biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources. Tools to mainstream EG&S into non-environmental policy domains are available, but there are few examples of their systematic application. Examples of tools that could play a constructive role in this process are the monitoring and reporting mechanisms developed by the Convention on Biological Diversity. [The report]
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity – Report for Business
(UNEP, July 2010)
Released by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) research consortium at the first Global Business of Biodiversity Symposium, held on 13 July 2010, in London, UK, this third TEEB report highlights the business case for biodiversity and ecosystem services by illustrating the importance and immense value of natural services provided to, and affected by, a wide range of industries. The report contains chapters on: business, biodiversity and ecosystem services; business impacts and dependence on biodiversity and ecosystem services; measuring and reporting biodiversity and ecosystem impacts and dependence; scaling down biodiversity and ecosystem risks to business; increasing biodiversity business opportunities; business, biodiversity and sustainable development; and biodiversity and business growth. [The resource].
Wildlife Legislation and the Empowerment of the Poor in Asia and Oceania
(FAO Legal Papers Online no. 83, 2010)
Authored by Elsa Tsioumani and Elisa Morgera, this study presents a comparative analysis of national wildlife legislation in Asia and Oceania, with the aim of identifying strengths and weaknesses of legal frameworks in the promotion of sustainable wildlife management and in allowing disadvantaged people, particularly indigenous and local communities, to directly benefit from it. The authors formulate recommendations and propose specific legal options to improve legal frameworks in the region, with a view to supporting environmental sustainability, socioeconomic development and the empowerment of the poor. Part II presents country studies on national legislation from twelve countries in Asia and Oceania, highlighting the main legal provisions affecting wildlife management and use by local communities and aiming at highlighting specific legal tools for pro-poor sustainable wildlife management [The resource].
Biosafety Protocol Redesigned Website
(CBD, June 2010)
A redesigned website of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was launched on 28 June 2010. The new website has an improved layout and includes more user-friendly features, such as simple navigation menus, interactive search tools and hyperlinks. It also contains additional information, including fact sheets and resources for media and outreach. [The website].
Permament Forum on Indigenous Issues: Report of the Ninth Session
(UNPFII, June 2010)
The report of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on its ninth session held in New York from 19-20 April 2010 has been issued. The report considers the study on the impacts of the global economic crisis on indigenous peoples; the Report on indigenous peoples and corporations; the study on indigenous fishing rights in the seas; the study to determine the impact of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures on reindeer herding; the study on consideration and recognition of Mother Earth rights; and the study to determine whether climate change policies and projects adhere to the standards in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. [The report]
(Wings Over Wetlands (WOW), June 2010)
This new website provides comprehensive information on 294 waterbird species from 3,020 sites, identifying priority sites and populations, and also highlighting knowledge gaps. It is designed to make information easily available on the most important sites for migratory waterbirds, at the national and international levels, and can help with implementation of international and regional agreements. It is intended to help strengthen the implementation of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The website reveals major gaps in the protection of many critical sites used by migratory waterbirds across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia. The CSN Tool.
(UNEP, GRID-Arendal, 2010)
Edited by C. Nellemann and E. Corcoran, this report is a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity and a complement to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study. It documents over 30 successful case studies referencing thousands of restoration projects ranging from deserts and rainforests to rivers and coasts. The report confirms that restoration is not only possible but can prove highly profitable in terms of public savings, returns and the broad objectives of overcoming poverty and achieving sustainability. It also provides important recommendations on how to avoid pitfalls and how to minimize risks to ensure successful restoration. The report.
(International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), 2010)
Established in 2000, the ICRIForum was designed to streamline the delivery of information to ICRI Members and the general public regarding both the actions of the International Coral Reef Initiative and global coral reef conservation efforts more generally. ICRIForum has recently been redesigned. It offers a central location for all documents related to the work of the Initiative for the last 15 years. The web site.
The report of the International Technical Conference on agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries (ABDC-10), which took place from 1-4 March 2010, in Guadalajara, Mexico, is available in five languages. Held under the title "Agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries: options and opportunities in crops, forestry, livestock, fisheries and agro-industry to face the challenges of food insecurity and climate change," participants at the conference agreed that: developing countries should significantly increase sustained investments in capacity building and development and safe use of biotechnologies, integrated with other agricultural technologies, including traditional knowledge, and maintain the natural resource base to support, in particular, smallholders, producers and small biotechnology based enterprises; FAO and other relevant international organizations and donors should significantly increase their efforts to support the strengthening of national capacities in the development and appropriate use of pro-poor agricultural biotechnologies; and both the lack of policies and regulatory mechanisms, as well as overly stringent regulations hinder development of, and access to biotechnologies, while effective and enabling national biotechnology policies and science-based regulatory frameworks can facilitate the development and appropriate use of biotechnologies in developing countries. The conference report.
(CBD and UNEP-WCMC, May 2010)
The third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3), a major assessment of the current state of biodiversity and the implications of its continued loss for human well-being, confirms that the world has failed to meet its target to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. It notes that the linked challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change must be addressed with equal priority and in close coordination if the most severe impacts of each are to be avoided, and outlines a possible new strategy for reducing biodiversity loss, including addressing the underlying causes of indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, such as patterns of consumption, the impacts of increased trade and demographic change, and ending harmful subsidies. Subject to an extensive independent scientific review process, it is one of the milestones of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. GBO 3.
(UNEP-WCMC and German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, 2010)
This new website highlights the potential for actions on reducing emissions from land use change to secure additional important benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services (co-benefits). The website demonstrates the utility of spatial analyses to assist decision makers in identifying areas where high carbon, high biodiversity priority, and ecosystem service values overlap, which represent opportunities for securing co-benefits. It showcases UNEP-WCMC's recent work with in-country partners on developing such analyses and includes an interactive mapping tool that allows users to explore the spatial relationships between carbon and co-benefits. The web site.
(Wings Over Wetlands project, May 2010)
Launched during the 14th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity, this training kit is designed to build capacity to plan, implement, monitor and engage in effective flyway-scale conservation of migratory waterbirds and wetland habitats in Africa and Eurasia. The package includes three modules with comprehensive text, case studies and exercises supported by ready-to-use presentations, as well as accompanying CDs with a range of additional material. The kit is designed to assist in targeted trainings that can be customized by topic as they relate to flyway conservation, wetland management and migratory waterbird conservation. The training kit.
(Convention on Biological Diversity, 2009)
This guide addresses the linkages between drinking water, biological diversity and development/poverty alleviation. It aims to raise awareness of sustainable approaches to managing drinking water that have been tested globally. The guide introduces the available techniques, technologies and procedures that optimize social and environmental outcomes in the management of drinking water. It also outlines the connections between drinking water, development and biodiversity, and assists parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in strengthening national and sub-national drinking water development policies, strategies, plans and projects that integrate poverty alleviation and biodiversity. Finally, it provides sources and references where readers can find more detailed information. The guide.
(CBD, April 2010)
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published its ninth volume of the "REDD-plus & Biodiversity e-Newsletter." Aiming to inform CBD national focal points and partners about biodiversity aspects related to reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+), this volume highlights a new collaboration between the CBD and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and several projects and publications related to REDD+. The e-Newsletter.
(World Bank, 2010)
In order to mark the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010, this annual review focuses on the importance of biodiversity conservation in sustaining livelihoods and reducing poverty. It includes viewpoints on the importance of indigenous peoples in biodiversity conservation, protected areas, marine biodiversity, and invasive species and poverty. Feature articles address biodiversity funding at the World Bank, ecosystem-based solutions to climate change, and making wind power safer for biodiversity. The publication reviews projects such as the Global Tiger Initiative, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, and a World Bank-GEF-IUCN project seeking to leverage funds from private companies that use animals and plants in their logos to support species conservation efforts. It also includes regional reviews and developments on funding for biodiversity through REDD +, as well as voluntary standards. The publication.
(Fridtjof Nansen Institute Report 3/2010, March 2010)
Intended as a contribution to the ongoing negotiations of an international regime on access and benefit sharing (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD), this report clarifies the main interfaces with other international agreements and processes relevant for ABS, with a view to the challenges of ensuring mutual supportiveness. It provides information of importance for identifying the scope of an international ABS regime, and offers contributions to the discussion of the usefulness and possible design of a sectoral approach to ABS within the framework of an international regime. The report.
(PBL, UNEP-WCMC, UNEP/GRID-Arendal)
The website of the GLOBIO model has been fully renewed. The model is a tool to assess past, present and future human impact on biodiversity. As a policy tool, it is regularly applied in global, regional and national assessments. The GLOBIO website.
(World Bank, 2010)
This book presents ecosystem-based approaches to mitigation and adaptation as an essential pillar in national climate change strategies. It starts with an introduction to ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation, then describes the role of natural ecosystems in mitigation through carbon stocks, sinks and reservoirs, and addresses how to reduce vulnerability through ecosystem-based adaptation. The book concludes by evaluating how to implement ecosystem-based approaches to climate change within the World Bank Group. The book.
(PLoS Biology, March 2010)
This study by scientists from 13 different organizations and research institutions states that forest protection offers one of the most effective and immediate strategies to combat climate change. The paper makes specific recommendations for incorporating protected areas into overall strategies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation and degradation (REDD). The paper.
This report of the UN Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP/WCMC) provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge regarding the natural capital of water-related ecosystems and habitats, and offers an overview of the innovative approaches that can support the analysis of the links between interconnected ecosystems. It analyzes the linkages across coastal ecosystems and the 'value added' in terms of ecosystem services provided by these linkages as opposed to the services provided by just one system studied in isolation. The linkages between ecosystems are examined under consideration of environmental, economic, management and social aspects and recommendations are provided for integrating this new paradigm into cross-sectoral environmental practices. The report.
(CBD Technical Series No. 47, March 2010)
This report of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was produced in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and other partners. It aims to foster better awareness of the crucial role that forests and wetlands play in sustaining the availability and quality of water critical for human well-being. Some of the key messages of the report include: about a third of the world's largest cities obtain a significant portion of their drinking-water supply directly from forested protected areas; water, wetlands and forests interact to produce healthy and productive ecosystems; forest and wetland mismanagement can adversely impact water quality and biodiversity; and forests regulate soil erosion and pollution, preventing desertification and salinization. The report.
(Global Mechanism (GM) and
Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE),
(CBD Secretariat, February 2010)
This e-newsletter reviews recent publications of relevance to reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and biodiversity, and includes a call for posters to the fourteenth meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), to be held from 10-21 May 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya. The e-newsletter.
(Ecosystem Marketplace, March 2010)
This report is a global survey of schemes designed to preserve biodiversity by making it possible for real estate developers to offset their damage to nature by paying for the creation or preservation of habitat. It documents 39 government-mandated "compensatory mitigation" schemes around the world and 25 others in the works. More than 600 "species banks" or "mitigation banks" operate within these schemes, seeking to earn income by securing commercial or degraded land and returning it to its natural state to generate offsets for developers who damage habitat by digging mines or building roads and houses. Only 20% of the documented projects generate price data, but these revealed a market of between $1.8 billion and $2.9 billion per year. Additionally, the schemes place at least 86,000 hectares of land under some sort of conservation management or permanent legal protection per year. The report.
(International Crane Foundation, 2010)
This book marks the conclusion of the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project. It explains the background and development of the 10 year-project on the conservation of the Siberian Crane, a critically endangered species, along its two main flyways in Eastern and Western Eurasia. The project is the first of its kind to use a "flyway" approach to stabilize and sustain the remaining 3,000-3,500 Siberian Cranes and millions of other migratory waterbirds along their migratory paths. It has also played a catalytic role in boosting the conservation and rehabilitation of critical wetlands. The book is illustrated by a wide range of photos depicting the Cranes, other species, their habitats, and of conservation and awareness-raising activities undertaken during the project. The book.
(Ramsar, 2010)
This report summarizes the findings of the Ramsar Advisory Mission that visited the Marromeu Complex Ramsar Site in Mozambique from 16-20 August 2009, to undertake consultations there and at the national, provincial and district levels. The report also presents 24 recommendations for short- and long-term action, including suggestions for sources of further external support. The Mission included a representative of the Secretariats of the Convention on Migratory Species and the Agreement on African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. The report.
(Wings Over Wetlands (WOW)UNEP-GEF African-Eurasian Flyways Project, 2010)
This newsletter provides an overview of the WOW project and the latest achievements of this flyway initiative in the African-Eurasian region. The newsletter showcases the flyway-scale conservation work and materials being developed under the project. It includes sections on: bird migration and flyways; the Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool; the flyway training programme; and demonstration projects. The newsletter.
(ITPGR Secretariat, 2010)
The summary, background papers and presentations made at the Policy Seminar on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Global Challenges and Future Direction, held from 15-18 December 2009, in Bari, Italy, have been made available online. The seminar included sessions on agro-biodiversity, food security and climate change, as well as a closing session on conclusions and future outlook, and addressed benefit-sharing projects of the Treaty. Two working groups discussed the benefit-sharing fund of the funding strategy, and the multilateral system on access and benefit-sharing. The report.
(IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society, Conservation International, 2009)
This report, compiled by 85 experts from across the world, reveals that nearly half of all primate species are now in danger of becoming extinct from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bushmeat hunting. The list includes five primate species from Madagascar, six from Africa, 11 from Asia, and three from Central and South America, all of which are the most in need of urgent conservation action. The report. IUCN press release.
This report sets out recommendations for decision makers and biofuel producers to minimize the risk of crops becoming invasive, ranging from assessing potential traits of biofuel species in a given environment to effective controls when biofuel crops are being transported. The report. IUCN press release.
(UNEP/CMS, February 2010)
This report, launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), warns that large-scale fishing operations are seriously threatening the lives of the majority of toothed whale populations. It notes that some 86% of all toothed whale species are at risk from entanglement and death in gillnets, traps, weirs, longlines and trawls. Further, lack of food and forced changes in diet as a result of overfishing pose additional threats to 13 of the 72 toothed whale species. Many populations are also suffering from: the ingestion of marine debris; habitat loss; and the effects of chemical and noise pollution. The report.
(UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 31, January 2010)
Published by UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Cable Protection Committee Ltd, this report provides a factual description of the submarine cable industry and the interaction of submarine telecommunications (which route 95% of all international communications traffic) with the marine environment. It seeks to focus and guide deliberations and decision making on the wise conservation and protection of the oceans in concert with their sustainable management and use. The report.
(UNPFII, January 2010)
This report notes that the world's 370 million indigenous peoples suffer from higher rates of poverty, health problems, crime and human rights abuses if compared to the non-indigenous population both in developing and developed countries. The report indicates that indigenous peoples are also more vulnerable to environmental pollution and climate change effects. It highlights that self-determination and land rights are vital for the survival of indigenous peoples. The report.
(Global Forest Coalition, December 2009)
Written by Ronnie Hall and Simone Lovera, this report addresses the question: how does the theoretical success of REDD work out on the ground, in places where legislation on biodiversity is weak, and where safeguards to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples hardly exist? The report.