World Wildlife Fund announces new species and reminds of their need for protection.
In a recent summary report, global conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced that 208 entirely new species of plant and animal life were discovered in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region in 2010.

Among them were a brightly colored gecko and a lizard that can self-clone, as well as a fish shaped like a cucumber, and a rare monkey with hair that has been compared to the legendary singer, Elvis Presley.

In fact, a new species is seen almost every other day in the Greater Mekong region spanning Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Âu Lạc (Vietnam), and southern China's Yunnan province.

At the same time, WWF Greater Mekong Conservation Director Stuart Chapman also highlighted the threats that both new and existing species face, such as human-caused habitat loss and climate change, with many of them already among the world's most endangered.

He warned, “The region's treasure trove... will be lost if governments fail to invest in the conservation and maintenance of biodiversity, which is so fundamental to ensuring long-term sustainability in the face of global environmental change.”

Many thanks, Mr. Chapman and World Wildlife Fund,for this encouraging information about new forms of life on our Earth and for your concern about its preservation. May we all engage in life-protecting actions that honor the wondrousness and balance of our natural world.

During an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand, Supreme Master Ching Hai urged humanity to cherish each animal species’ presence, as she reminded of their unique and irreplaceable qualities in the biosphere.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/12/wwf-discovery-species-greater-mekong
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Science_Technology/2011/12/98862/

Extra News
In the December 2011 issue of American Naturalist, a study by US and German scientists concludes that continued climate change effects could cause regions of Canadian forests to reach a tipping point, after which the areas consumed by fires as well as the size of the blazes would become larger and larger.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-rapid-wildfires-large-canada.html
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/662675


In response to a Greenpeace campaign calling on social media network Facebook to implement clean energy at its primarily coal-powered data centers, Facebook reported a partnership on December 15, 2011 to promote sustainable energy and to develop programs that encourage network users toward similar decisions locally.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/15/facebook-coal-clean-power-energy-greenpeace
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2011/12/greenpeace-declares-victory-over-facebook-data-centers/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-greenpeace-partner-on-renewable-energy/6286

Rainfall that has diminished by up as much as 48% in Africa's Sahel region, which is experiencing the world's most severe long-term drought, has resulted not only in significant tree losses but has led to the extinction of entire species, according to a study reported by US scientists on December 13, 2011.

http://www.ecopolity.com/2011/12/13/trees-are-dying-in-the-sahel-and-climate-change-is-to-blame-berkeley-study-says/
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-climate-blamed-dead-trees-africa.html