EPA Proposes Updated Vessel General Permit and Permit for Small Vessels/Action Would Help Protect U.S. Water Quality and Lower Invasive Species risk (Nov 30, 2011)
Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA is issuing two draft vessel general permits that would regulate discharges from commercial vessels, excluding military and recreational vessels. The proposed permits would help protect the nation's waters from ship-borne pollutants and reduce the risk of introduction of invasive species from ballast water discharges. See Vessel General Permit and a brief overview of the two draft permits (PDF | 590 KB) for more information. EPA will take public comment and issue a final plan in Nov 2012.

Action Plan on Information on Invasive Alien Species: Implementation 'roadmap' commits key partners to harmonize data needed to tackle threat to biodiversity from invasives (Nov 16, 2011)
Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Government experts meeting under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have endorsed a wide-ranging programme to strengthen information available to decision-makers on the spread of invasive alien species (IAS). The Joint Work Programme   - UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/INF/14 (Oct 21, 2011; PDF | 209 KB) unites eight information service providers behind nearly 50 action points aimed at combining and harmonizing data on IAS from a wide range of different databases and networks.

Plants Pests: The Biggest Threats to Food Security (Nov 8, 2011)
BBC News.
The threat posed to crop production by plant pests and diseases is one the key factors that could lead to "a perfect storm" that threatens to destabilize global food security. Already, the biological threat accounts for about a 40% loss in global production and the problem is forecast to get worse, scientists warn.