I created a simple map of the international waters in the Arctic. You can download a high-resolution version of the map here. Feel free to use it, but please mention me as the map's creator. A PayPal donation would be much appreciated.
Hambühren auf dem Weg zur Nachhaltigen Kommune
Einleitung Die von den Vereinten Nationen (UN) verabschiedeten 17 Nachhaltigkeitsziele (engl. Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) haben nun auch ihren Weg in die Gemeinde Hambühren in Niedersachsen im Landkreis Celle gefunden. © Nikolas Sellheim, 2022. Die knapp 10.500 Einwohner umfassende Gemeinde hat unter der Leitung von Bürgermeister Carsten Kranz (parteilos) im Sommer 2021 den Entschluss gefasst, …
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Polar Book Sale!
I've started clearing out my extensive polar library and have put some of my books out for sale. Head over to the Polar Book Sale page and take a look!
The blurry role of pangolins in the COVID-19 pandemic – An update to ‘International wildlife trade and the COVID-19 pandemic’
Introduction In my post from 23 December 2021, I presented data that link the current COVID-19 pandemic with pangolins. I wrote that one of the 'candidates' that may served as a host for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to jump from bats to humans may have been Malayian pangolins (Manis javanica) also due to their closer proximity …
Book Review: Carol Carpenter’s ‘Power in Conservation: Environmental Anthropology Beyond Political Ecology’
This review was originally published in Review of Environmental, Comparative and International Environmental Law (RECIEL) here. The review of the present volume, Power in Conservation, is probably one of the most challenging reviews I ever wrote. This is not because the book is challenging but rather because the book is one of the most fascinating …
International wildlife trade and the COVID-19 pandemic
Introduction The ongoing crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has very quickly reached global proportions. Virtually every country in the world is affected by the virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at this point, more than 274 million cases of infection have been reported with almost 5,4 …
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Is Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) the future?
Introduction Recently the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA) hosted a webinar concerning the environmental footprint of aquaculture and its future development. Having visited aquaculture farms in Norway, Russia and the Faroe Islands myself, I have always been very sceptical concerning its impact on animals and the environment. On the one hand, …
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Book Review: Rebecca Giggs’ “Fathoms. The World in the Whale.”
Fathoms. The unit by which depth is measured. 1 fathom = 1,82m = 6 feet. The title of the first book by Australian writer Rebecca Giggs immediately implies a depth of content, a deep-dive into the world in the whale - a book to better understand the order of cetaceans maybe? One might expect a …
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The first draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
Introduction At the third meeting in August-September of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the umbrella of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) , the first draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was presented. This draft thus constitutes the first attempt to combine all relevant issues for the …
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Book Review: Nick Pyenson’s “Spying on Whales. The Past, Present and Future of the World’s Largest Animals.”
This review was originally published in Polar Record on 2 April 2019 (here). Whales are indeed fascinating animals. Their gigantic size, their cultural and social characteristics, their being mammals living in a marine habitat all make whales and their benign nature “almost a human dream of alien life: approachable, sophisticated and inscrutable” (p. 26). Over …
sellheimenvironmental.org 