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☆ Naming a species after a celebrity may do more harm than good
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But it's very difficult to change a species' scientific name, and that can lead to regrets. The list of species named for celebrities is lengthy and includes everything from flies (Beyoncé) to lichen (Oprah Winfrey) to lizards (Lionel Messi). An eponym is a scientific species name based on a person, either real or fictional. AdvertisementAdvertisementUniversity of Oxford biologist Katie Blake and her co-authors found that species with celebrity names had almost three times as many page views on Wikipedia as non-famously monikered control species. AdvertisementAdvertisementSome examples include Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, and George Hibbert, all of whom have species named after them.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Attenborough, Oprah Winfrey, Lionel Messi, Jimmy, Sericomyrmex radioheadi, Tarantobelus, roundworm, Jeff Daniels, Taylor Swift's millipede, Katie Blake, cuvier, Georges Cuvier, Andre Seale, Blake, Hitler, Christopher Bae, Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, George Hibbert, Sergio Pitamitz, Bae, Cecil John Rhodes, There's, heidelbergensis, CESAR MANSO, Rhodes, bodoensis, Bodo D'ar, Jimmy Buffett’s “, Hal Horowitz, Hibbert, George Rinhart, Stephen B, Heard, Charles Darwin's Barnacle, David Bowie's Spider Organizations: Service, Virginia Tech, University of Oxford, VW, Getty, University of Hawai'i, American Ornithological Society, NPR Locations: Mano, Slovenia, Africa, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Right, Spain, AFP, Ethiopia

☆ Global conservation mission sets sail from UK in Darwin's wake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Ben Makori | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A general view of the ship 'Oosterschelde', launched by the planetary conservation mission DARWIN200, which is to set sail on August 15, in Plymouth, Britain August 11, 2023. The group will set sail on board a 105-year-old schooner on Tuesday from the southern English port of Plymouth, from where British naturalist Darwin's own expedition began in 1831, leading him to develop the theory of evolution by natural selection. The 40,000 nautical mile "Darwin200" expedition hopes to anchor in 32 ports, including all the major ports visited by Darwin's HMS Beagle. Throughout the journey, 200 selected young environmentalists will temporarily join the ship to be trained on conservation efforts. Patrons of the project include Darwin's great-great-granddaughter - the botanist Sarah Darwin - and British primatologist Jane Goodall.

Persons: Charles Darwin's, Darwin's, Stewart McPherson, McPherson, Sarah Darwin, Jane Goodall, Goodall, Sachin Ravikumar, William James, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Plymouth, Britain, Handout

☆ First debt swap Galapagos projects could be approved next year, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 30 (Reuters) - Conservation projects in the Galapagos Islands funded by so-called blue bonds will be approved from next year by an independent body, Ecuador's Environment Minister Jose Davalos said. The independent non-profit Galapagos Life Fund (GLF) will manage the funds, Davalos told Reuters on Thursday. "Next year the GLF could begin to receive projects, rate them and assign the first funds to finance them," Davalos said. "This is a private fund that will administer money that is given or donated for the conservation of the Galapagos." The fund could finance projects in fishing, tourism, environmental education and the management of the Galapagos ocean reserve, which was expanded last year.

Persons: Jose Davalos, Davalos, Charles Darwin's, Guillermo Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Life, Reuters, Resources, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ Natural evolution: Record Galapagos deal sparks clamour for eco-friendly debt swaps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The growing appetite comes as record numbers of developing world governments face debt pressures due to higher global interest rates. There have been around 140 over the past 35 years, but even including last month's super-sized Galapagos deal they have only involved around $5 billion of debt altogether. The top-level attendees will be urged to do more, not only debt swaps, but also by providing foreign exchange guarantees and automatic debt-payment breaks for countries hit by climate-related disasters. "Seeing something that has a group of countries involved would be amazing," Issa said. Ecuador says it is eyeing another transaction to capitalise on the halo effect from the Galapagos deal.

Persons: Ramzi Issa, Charles Darwin's, Issa, Ilan Goldfajn, Scott Nathan, Nathan, Emmanuel Macron, Mia Mottley, Suisse's Issa, Simon Jessop, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ecuador, Credit Suisse, Inter, American Development Bank, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Ecuador, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Paris, Sri Lanka, Indian, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Ecuador sealed the world's largest "debt-for-nature" swap on record on Tuesday, selling a new "blue bond" that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems. Tuesday's $656 million "Galapagos Bond," as it has been dubbed, will run until 2041 and gave investors that bought it a 5.645% "coupon" or interest rate, its bankers said. Ecuador sovereign bonds currently yield from 17% to 26%, but the new bond has an $85 million 'credit guarantee' from the Inter-American Development Bank and $656 million of political risk insurance from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC), effectively making it less risky. The driver has been the remote Galapagos Islands, some 600 miles (970 km) off Ecuador's mainland coast, that inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Scott Nathan, the chief executive of DFC, said people needed to "stay tuned" for similar deals in other countries and the Galapagos deal had been a long time coming.

☆ Ecuador frees cash for Galapagos conservation with $1.6 bln bond repurchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Rodrigo Campos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse repurchased Ecuadorean sovereign notes worth $1.6 billion in face value, the country's bankers said on Thursday, freeing cash for conservation of the unique Galapagos Islands in the biggest debt-for-nature swap ever struck. The buyback will free cash that Ecuador will put into conservation of its Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems and the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The offer, laid out by Credit Suisse late last month, amounts to the biggest debt-for-nature swap, as such transactions are known in banking circles, struck to date. The move has a political crisis as backdrop, as the National Assembly is in the middle of an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso for alleged embezzlement, allegation Lasso denies. Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ecuador launches debt buyback plan aimed at Galapagos protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A pelican is seen on Santa Cruz Island, part of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. REUTERS/Santiago ArcosLONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Ecuador has launched a long-awaited debt buyback plan that will free up money to protect its Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems and the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. "The Offeror is making the Offer... as part of a broader refinancing operation to channel savings and promote certain conservation and sustainability efforts," the buyback plan said. The operation is private, the country's finance ministry said in a message to journalists, and cannot be discussed. Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Scientists discover hammerhead shark nursery in Ecuador's Galapagos
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A hammerhead shark swims after a shark nursery was discovered off Isabela Island in the Galapagos, Ecuador, in this photo delivered by Galapagos National Park newsletter on December 16, 2022. "The discovery of these new breeding areas is very important, especially for the hammerhead shark," said park ranger Eduardo Espinoza in a statement on Friday from the Galapagos National Park. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the scalloped hammerhead shark, the species found in the Galapagos, as "critically endangered." Researchers spent months scouring the archipelago for possible nursery sites as part of a hammerhead shark monitoring program. Researchers are monitoring the nurseries to track the young shark population in nursery areas and to follow their migration patterns.

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