日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Americas

Walrus protection subject of legal fight

China Daily | Updated: 2018-10-15 10:43
Share
Share - WeChat
A Pacific walrus rests in Point Lay, Alaska. A lawsuit will decide whether walruses should be listed as a threatened species. [Photo/Agencies]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Given a choice between giving birth on land or sea ice, Pacific walrus mothers most often choose ice.

Likewise, they prefer sea ice for molting, mating, nursing and resting between dives for food. Trouble is, as the century progresses, there's going to be far less ice around.

How well walruses cope with less sea ice is at the heart of a legal fight over whether walruses should be listed as a threatened species, giving them an added protection against human encroachments.

The US government in 2008 listed polar bears as a threatened species because of diminished sea ice brought on by climate warming. That year the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to do the same for walruses.

However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service concluded in October 2017 that walruses are adapting and no one has proved that they "need" sea ice.

An Endangered Species Act listing would require the US Fish and Wildlife Service to designate critical habitat for walruses and plan for their recovery. Federal agencies, before issuing permits for development such as offshore drilling, would be required to ensure walruses and their habitat would not be jeopardized.

Inaccessibility protected walruses for decades, but a rapid decline in summer sea ice has made them vulnerable.

In the Chukchi Sea between Alaska and Russia, where Pacific walrus females and juveniles spend their summer, ice could be absent during that season by 2060 or sooner, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since 1981, an area more than double the size of Texas-1.58 million square kilometers-h(huán)as become unavailable to Arctic marine mammals by summer's end, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

More open water already has meant more ship traffic. Walruses also could find more humans in their habitat with a reversal of US policy on Arctic offshore drilling. Former president Barack Obama withdrew most Arctic waters from lease sales, but President Donald Trump in April 2017 announced he was reversing Obama, a decision being challenged in court. The administration's proposed five-year offshore leasing plan includes sales in the Chukchi Sea.

AP

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品国色综合久久 | 日韩乱轮 | 成人福利在线免费观看 | 亚洲久草 | 亚洲免费在线播放 | 陈宝莲a毛片在线播放 | 精品AV一区二区三区久久 | 久草首页在线观看 | 欧美激情黄色 | 干干干操操操 | 久久久久国产精品 | 免费亚洲黄色 | 亚洲日本中文字幕区 | 日本欧美国产精品第一页久久 | 亚洲九九色 | 91精品国产综合久久福利软件 | 午夜视频1000| 热灸灸这里只有精品 | 成人18免费入口 | 在线中文视频 | 欧美最猛性xxxxx亚洲精品 | 国产成人精品免费影视大全 | 欧美精品一区二区三区久久 | 午夜免费观看福利片一区二区三区 | 精品一区二区三区中文字幕 | 欧美射射 | 小明永久视频免费播放 | 亚洲欧美日韩国产精品26u | 国产精品黄网站免费进入 | 欧美不卡 | 亚洲综合一区二区三区 | 久久riav国产精品 | 五月婷婷一区 | 成人在线精品视频 | 国产精品国产 | 天天干天天干天天 | 九色在线 | 免费看一区二区三区 | 日韩欧美在线观看视频 | 男女xx00xx的视频免费观看 | 国产精一区二区 |