Lest we forget: Waving the fungi flag

Plants and animals have captured the attention of many conservationists for decades. This same attention is yet to be extended to the usually overlooked but an extremely important group - fungi. The Global Fungal Red List Initiative intends to turn the tide on this scenario and draw people's attention to the plight faced by this unique kingdom. 

An 18 month-long programme has been initiated by the Global Fungal Red List Initiative to increase awareness and add to the number of fungal species evaluated and submitted for inclusion in the IUCN Global Red List of Threatened Species.



Cyttaria espinosae. One of the "golf ball" fungi

Fungi are not plants, they live everywhere and are heterotrophs (feed by absorption). Some may look unappealing to the human eye but all are extremely crucial components of nature through their role as nutrient recyclers, decomposers, symbionts and many others. Besides this, fungi are an important part of our lives - found in the food we eat and essential for the production of everyday products such as penicillin, beer and soy sauce.
"The aim is to show to the world that fungi are in need of conservation and they need to be part of the broader conservation agenda," says Gregory Mueller, Vice President of Science and Academic Programmes at Chicago Botanic Garden.
The 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress is special to the Global Fungal Red List Initiative and to all fungi lovers because for the first time in IUCN's history, there will be a motion explicitly and exclusively devoted to fungi.

In spite of their critical importance, so far less than 10% of the world's estimated species of fungi have been scientifically described. Only one mushroom and two lichenized fungi are included among the 19,817 animal, plant and fungal species listed in the 2012 update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.^TM
According to Mueller, little has been done to assess the status of fungi because they have usually been considered difficult to study and there is limited awareness generally.
"One of our big challenges is to figure out how to bring information on fungi to countries because they are important ecologically and as an important food source," adds Mueller. "This new initiative marks a begining for the mycological community and IUCN to build on results and move fungal conservation forward".
The Global Fungal Red List Initiative is a joint venture of all five IUCN Species Survival Commission fungal specialist groups (Chytrid, Zygomycete, Downy Mildew and Slime Moulds, Cup-fungus, Truffle and Allies, Lichen, Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball and Rust and Smuts) and is supported by the IUCN Species Programme.

Source link : http://www.iucnworldconservationcongress.org/news___press/interviews/?10970/Lest-we-forget-Waving-the-flag-for-fungi

Suffering From Headaches?

Suffering From Headaches? Forget The Tylenol and Painkillers and Stick To Water

Next time you have a headache, you might be better off leaving the painkillers at the pharmacy and just drinking a glass of water.

Regularly sipping water can reduce the severity of headaches and migraines, reducing the need for over the counter medication to reduce symptoms.
Scientists found increasing water consumption was enough to ease pain and improve the quality of life in patients who regularly suffer headaches.
Researchers from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, noticed in 2005 that a patient told to drink more for a bladder problem saw his migraines get better.
Lead researcher Dr Mark Spigt and his team recruited more than 100 patients who frequently suffered from severe or mild headaches.
The team instructed them on how to ease their discomfort, including reducing stress, improving sleep and avoiding caffeine.
But half the patients were also told to drink 1.5 litres of water a day for three months, on top of their normal liquid intake.
At the end of the study, patients filled out a questionnaire called the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life index to say how they felt. The results, published in journal Family Practice, showed those drinking extra water scored far higher on the questionnaire.
The researchers said: ‘We suspect that some headache patients may benefit from drinking more water and it seems reasonable to recommend they try drinking more for a short period of time to see if they experience an improvement.’
Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, of the Migraine Trust, said the benefits of drinking water could be due to the placebo effect.
But he added: ‘However, regular intake of water and adequately hydrating is healthy, and a lot of people feel better.’



Source link : http://preventdisease.com/news/12/081312_Suffering-From-Headaches-Forget-The-Tylenol-and-Painkillers-and-Stick-To-Water.shtml

Child Sexual Abuse prevention workshop

A child sexual abuse prevention workshop was organized for school counsellors in klang.

About twenty two counsellors attended the workshop on the 9th August 12 at the Panmour  Hotel in klang.

The workshop was organized by the Rotary Club of Bandar Bukit Tinggi Klang. The  district governor Mansoor Saat gave away career guidance modules to all the schools which participated in the workshop.

President Rajagopal thanked the District Governor , the facilitator PP Ali  Engin and all the teachers who attended the workshop.





Act Now, Save Later

Since the year 2000, almost 1 million people have lost their lives to disasters caused by natural hazards. 2 billion people have been affected. 1 trillion dollars in damage was caused.

 Please see this video and help to spread the word about the importance of disaster preparedness.

RIO + 20 The Future We Want

In case you're not up to speed on what's going on at the Rio+20 environmental conference, UNDP has produced this quick video that will explain both what sustainable development is and why we so desperately need it.

Latest from RIO + 20

 

IUCN Deputy Director General/Managing Director Paul Engberg-Pedersen talked about the importance of ethics, the Earth Charter, and nature-based solutions.

 

 

 

source link:

http://earthcharteratrio20.blogspot.com/2012/06/at-iied-fair-ideas-conference.html?spref=fb

World Environment Day 2012, Kenya

Kenya forest service says some of Kenya's indigenous trees could be extinct if measures are not taken to preserve them...the situation has been made worse by the effects of global warming..