Ivory Coast

• The organization was established 48 years ago and the 2023 results represent a record in new commitments.
• OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: "In 2023, the OPEC Fund increased its impact through the delivery of development support in a challenging global environment.
• We were also able to leverage our partnerships to mobilize development support by working with multilateral development banks and development finance institutions such as the Arab Coordination Group.
• The issuance of the OPEC Fund's benchmark SDG bond raised US$1 billion for sustainable development projects.

• Our research, published today in the journal Global Change Biology, attempts to pin down why certain tetrapod species are rediscovered but others not.
• It also reveals that the number of lost tetrapod species is increasing decade-on-decade.
• This means that despite many searches, we are losing tetrapod species at a faster rate than we are rediscovering them.

Rediscoveries lead to conservation action

• Thus, rediscoveries are important: they provide evidence of the continued existence of highly threatened species, prompting funding for conservation action.
• The results or our study may help to prioritise searches for lost species.
• In the image below, we mapped their global distribution, identifying regions with many lost and few rediscovered species.

What factors influence rediscovery?

• Are there specific factors that influence rediscovery?
• We then proposed three broad hypotheses about factors that might influence rediscovery: characteristics of (i) tetrapod species, and (ii) the environment influence rediscovery, and (iii) human activities influence rediscovery.
• For example, body mass (a species characteristic) may positively influence rediscovery, as larger lost species should be easier to find.
• Based on these hypotheses, we collected data on a series of variables associated with each lost and rediscovered species (for example, their body mass), which we then analysed for their influence on rediscovery.

Hard to find + neglected = rediscovered

• In fact, since the completion of our study, De Winton’s Golden Mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) has been rediscovered in South Africa.
• Our results also suggest some species are neglected by conservation scientists, particularly those that are not considered to be charismatic, such as reptiles, small species and rodents.
• Voeltzkow’s chameleon (Furcifer voeltzkowi), a small reptile species, was rediscovered in Madagascar in 2018.

Lost or extinct?

• For example, remaining lost mammal species are, on average, three times larger than rediscovered mammal species.
• Furthermore, one third of remaining lost mammal species are endemic to islands, where tetrapod species are particularly vulnerable to extinction.
• Perhaps the limited resources available for biodiversity conservation would be better used to search for lost species likely to still exist.

Thomas Evans received funding from The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

• The Middle East and Africa Environmental Sustainability Scorecard , released Thursday, is a detailed examination of country performance in environmental sustainability outcomes, government policies, and corporate practices in the two regions.
• One through 17, here's how the countries rank: South Africa, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Morocco, Qatar, Tanzania, Nigeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Cote d'Ivoire, Oman, Mozambique.
• When it comes to climate action, governments are outpacing the private sector in both the Middle East and Africa.
• 3 Middle East "Sustainability Leader" for Transport & Logistics by Forbes Middle East.

• BEIJING, Nov. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:
  China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (Energy China, CEEC) held the first Supply Chain Cooperation & Development Conference and the Contract-Signing Ceremony of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Nov 7.
• Song Hailiang, chairman of Energy China, pointed out that supply chain has become an important embodiment of the core competitiveness of enterprises, and supply chain innovation has become a key support for high-quality development of enterprises.
• Energy China will adapt to the general trend, take the initiative to work with partners to stabilize the supply chain so as to build a safe, stable, green, low-carbon, efficient and integrated supply chain system.
• At the 6th CIIE, Energy China has signed agreements with a total value exceeding US$1.7 billion, a record high.