Worth the watch: Professor Bill Laurance's plenary talk at #ATBC14 http://youtu.be/IFHamgV2czs @ALERTconserv

Prominent group of conservation scientists condemn Aus government’s moves to eliminate ecosystem protections http://goo.gl/9BDh9f #ATBC14

"What they found is frightening": what is going on vegetation-wise in the world's biodiversity hotspots? http://f1000pri.me/4g #ATBC14

For non-Aussies who might not know diprotodons - think rhino-sized wombats museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/discover... #ATBC14

Humans can cause megafauna extinction by just killing small juveniles http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4619/ #ATBC14

Good dates the MOST IMPORTANT component of reconstructing Australia’s ecological prehistory #ATBC14

Tim Flannery talking now at #ATBC14

Wijedasa: "Don't use peatlands, dumbarse" #ATBC14

Final version: 50/500 rules need upward revision to 100/1000 – Response to Franklin et al. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.05.006 #ATBC14

Four Decades of Forest Persistence, Clearance and Logging on Borneo The native forests of Borneo have been impacted by selective logging, fire, and conversion to plantations at unprecedented scales since industrial-scale extractive industries began in the early 1970s. There is no island-wide documentation of forest clearance or logging since the 1970s. This creates an information gap for conservation planning, especially with regard to selectively logged forests that maintain high conservation potential. Analysing LANDSAT images, we estimate that 75.7% (558,060 km2) of Borneo's area (737,188 km2) was forested around 1973. Based upon a forest cover map for 2010 derived using ALOS-PALSAR and visually reviewing LANDSAT images, we estimate that the 1973 forest area had declined by 168,493 km2 (30.2%) in 2010. The highest losses were recorded in Sabah and Kalimantan with 39.5% and 30.7% of their total forest area in 1973 becoming non-forest in 2010, and the lowest in Brunei and Sarawak (8.4%, and 23.1%). We estimate that the combined area planted in industrial oil palm and timber plantations in 2010 was 75,480 km2, representing 10% of Borneo. We mapped 271,819 km of primary logging roads that were created between 1973 and 2010. The greatest density of logging roads was found in Sarawak, at 0.89 km km−2, and the lowest density in Brunei, at 0.18 km km−2. Analyzing MODIS-based tree cover maps, we estimate that logging operated within 700 m of primary logging roads. Using this distance, we estimate that 266,257 km2 of 1973 forest cover has been logged. With 389,566 km2 (52.8%) of the island remaining forested, of which 209,649 km2 remains intact. There is still hope for biodiversity conservation in Borneo. Protecting logged forests from fire and conversion to plantations is an urgent priority for reducing rates of deforestation in Borneo.

Four decades of forest persistence, clearance & logging in Borneo http://is.gd/8nvv43 #ATBC14

Tests of biological corridor efficacy for conservation http://is.gd/cEfs7C #ATBC14

Crisis, change & institutions in tropical forests: multifunctional transition in Australia's Wet Tropics http://is.gd/JA202H #ATBC14

I'm speaking in 15 min about national conditions leading to better biodiversity outcomes in tropical forest reserves #ATBC14

Stork: 7.3 million arthropods, > 8 million species in total, 80% terrestrial, 20% marine #ATBC14

Another 589 scientists speak out against Abbott’s war on the environment

Another 589 scientists speak out against Abbott's war on the environment http://wp.me/phhT4-3yx #ATBC14

Nice to see 4 powerful women on stage leading the charge #ATBC14

Australians are a pack of complete environmental bastards [@senatormilne paraphrased] I hope our intl visitors are disgusted #ATBC14

The environmental Abbott-oir

.@senatormilne laying into the environmental Abbottoir - wish some of the Fiberals were here #ATBC14 http://wp.me/phhT4-3oa

Australians have 1 of world's highest per capita GHG emissions & we export annually more than Germany's entire emissions/yr #ATBC14

National sovereignty irrelevant for addressing climate change [thus a major impediment] @senatormilne #ATBC14

.@senatormilne speaking to us now #ATBC14 - Will we hear something of substance?

Biodiversity Hotspots have nearly burnt out

Biodiversity Hotspots have nearly burnt out http://wp.me/phhT4-3xV #ATBC14

Tropical forest resilience depends on past disturbance frequency

Tropical forest resilience depends on past disturbance frequency http://wp.me/phhT4-3ye #ATBC14

Africa's ecosystems imperilled by mining frenzy Africa sustains some of the most spectacular ecosystems on the planet - from the Sergengeti to the Congo Basin to the Eastern Arc forests. But those ecosystems and their iconic wildlife are now facing their greatest peril, writes William Laurance - a mining boom of unprecedented intensity.

Weng: 29 major development corridors with roads planned for Africa in near future #ATBC14 #buggered http://is.gd/KAhJPq

Great Barrier Reef 'in worst state since records began' http://gu.com/p/4v542 #ATBC14

Andersen: 400,000 km2 of Nth Aus burnt each year; no wonder species declining #ATBC14

Andersen: Trees are just as fat, but get shorter, as rainfall decreases #ATBC14

Sheffers: Species not just changing elevation; they’re coming down from the trees #ATBC14

Malhi: Ecotone migration rates 12-110x slower than observed species migration rates #ATBC14

Just wrote 1st draft of the 'Cairns Declaration' for #ATBC14; sent to Conservation Committee & Council for approval; release tomorrow