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1. Mapping Earth’s Species will pinpoint Conservation Priorities

   Posted on 8:00pm Thursday 8th Mar 2018

   The Half Earth Project has launched the first phrase of their rather incredible global biodiversity map.  It uses the latest science and technology to map thousands of species worldwide.   And it shows where future conservation efforts should be made to best care for our planet and ourselves. The rate at which species are becoming extinct by human activity continues to increase to such an extent that it may eliminate half the species by the end of this century.  E.O.Wilson commented in the New York Times Sunday Review  on 3 March that we have to enlarge the area of earth devoted to the natural world enough to save the variety of life in it. Conservation scientists widely agree that we should keep half the land and half the sea on the planet as wild and protected from human activity and intervention as possible, Wilson also states. The Half Earth Project  is providing vital and urgent research, leadership and knowledge necessary to do just his.   It’s mapping the distribution of species worldwide to show where we can protected the greatest number of species.  Once it’s been possible to identify the blocks of land and sea can be strung together for greatest effect, tit will be possible to support these places, home to both wildlife and people. It is hoped that the map for most terrestrial, marine and freshwater plant and animal species will be complete within 5 years. E.O.Wilson Biodiveristy Foundation Board member Jeff Ubben and his wife Laurie are giving or have given $5 million to seed the second phrase.   The map will give us the information required to make strong conservation investments.

    

2. African Parks report 3 successes for big cats

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 6th Mar 2018

   There’s an awful lot of bad news about big cats around at the moment; they are being hunted for their skins, claws, bones and other parts; killed to prevent human-wildlife conflict, and their habitats are increasingly fragmented and lost. So it’s great to hear from African Parks that there are some hopeful signs across the continent for these majestic animals. Lions are being restored to Malawi In 2012, African Parks reintroduced lions to the Majete Wildlife Reserve.  They secured the park and brought back key species, including prey populations.  The lions have formed a small but growing pride to such an extent that African Parks have moved the first two of 10 lions to Liwonde National Park – the first time lions have been there for at least 4 years! New cheetah population doubles in less than a year In 2017, African Parks reintroduced cheetahs to Liwonde National Park, also in Malawi.  They’d been absent for 100 years.  Several females have had cubs, so increasing their numbers in just a few months since their arrival. Lion numbers grow in Rwanda Lions were eradicated by refugees coming back to Rwanda after the genocide, so they had been absent for 20 years.   African Parks reintroduced 7 lions to the Akagera National Park.   With the space to thrive, lions have nearly tripled, and the park is now a real wildlife gem.  Tourism is flourishing with over 36,000 annual visitors to the park, bringing $1.3 million in tourism revenue.  This is reinvested in the surrounding areas. Restoring and protecting the big cat in Africa’s wild places does a number of things: It maintains vital ecological processes It gives tourism a boost Tourism gives much needed benefits to the local communities and revenue to the region Get involved You can help African Parks continue to protect Africa’s big cats and ensure they have the space, prey and safety they need to breed and thrive.    Donate here

    

3. 3 pronged approach to wildlife trafficking in Singapore works

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 6th Mar 2018

   The Straitstimes.com reports that Singapore has a 3 pronged approach to dealing with wildlife trafficking at border checkpoints, and it’s resulted in a number of seizures already. The 3 pronged approach is: Subjecting passengers and shipments to a risk assessment Conducting multiple layers of checks at checkpoints.  Passengers and cargo are screened by officers and tools such as x-ray machines. Adopting a co-ordinated enforcement approach amongst agencies such as the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, Singapore Customs and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.   These agencies may respond to any intelligence which is credible and actionable, or tip offs from the public and international partners. Traffickers are subject to heavy penalties if they are discovered to have wildlife parts, with either fines of up to  $500,000 or two years in jail or both. Singapore has long been flagged by international environmental organisations as transit points for items such as rhino horn, ivory and pangolin scales. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority is constantly reviewing the effectiveness of different tools and techniques, and they haven’t yet ruled out using sniffer dogs if studies show they can be more effective than current methods. For more information on wildlife trafficking, visit TRAFFIC

    

4. Which is faster - a Formula E racing car or a cheetah?

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 2nd Dec 2017

   In South Africa, a Formula E racing car went head-to-head with a cheetah at a remote runway. The aim was to highlight the threat to wildlife posed by climate change.  The car won - just.  Both car and cheetah hit 60 miles an hour from a standstill in less than 3 seconds. Mind you, there was no comparison in beauty and grace, to my mind.  The cheetah won hands down.  The founder and CEO of Formula E explained that we have one planet.  Electric cars can play a key role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions around the world.    Formula E noted that there are only 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild.   The company has a strong desire to raise awareness of the threats they face, such as an ellegal trade of cubs for pets, loss of prey because of habitat loss and the fragmentation made worse by climate change. The organisers of Formula E hope the electrified racing series will encourage people to change to smart, electric mobility, and make society a cleaner one for future generations, enabling the habitats of animals such as the cheetah to be preserved. Present at filming were a team of experienced animal wranglers, an animal locomotion expert, representatives from Cheetah Outreach, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Animal Issues Matter - they are all trained to monitor the welfare of animals on set.

5. Success in Manila for the CMS and Migratory Species

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 3rd Nov 2017

   The effort to protect our wildlife gathered momentum as a result of decisions made in Manila last week at the 12th session of the Conference of the parties to the CMS. The CMS is the Convention on the Conservation of the Migratory Species of Wild Animals. You can find out more about it here and there's a list of countries who are involved here. This week, it reported that 1,000 delegates representing the world governments attending the year’s largest wildlife summit had collectively endorsed actions on the conservation of a variety of migratory species. CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.  It brings the States together through which these animals pass, and it lays the legal foundation for internationally co-ordinated conservation measures. This is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the UN Environment Programme.  The conference took place in Manila in the Philippines from 23 to 28 October.  The theme was “Their Future is our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife and People.” Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania made submissions covering species such as vulture, the endangered Whale Shark, and Africa’s great carnivores. The week of negotiations have resulted to a stronger commitment by countries to conserve the world’s migratory wildlife.  The Convention which took place in Manila has a compliance review mechanism now, and it has adopted species that test the boundaries of international wildlife conservation. There were also agreements to work together to reduce the negative impacts on migratory species  of marine debris noise pollution renewable energy climate change “The Conference has also contributed to a growing global recognition of the importance of nature to our human well-being and the multiple connections between wildlife and people.  It has helped to convey the message that the future of migratory wildlife is integral to our own future and that we all have the responsibility to act.   Agreements made at CMS COP12 have firmly underlined this important message,” said Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of CMS. Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau said, “Migratory animals play a critical role in our planet’s ecosystem.   They act as pollinators, control pests and are a source of food and income.”  Notable outcomes of COP12 included more protection for: Three species of shark and three species of ray Avian species such as the Steppe Eagle, four species of Asian Vulture, 5 Sub-Saharan Vulture Species, the Lappet-faced Vultlure and the Christmas Frigatebird, a subspecies of the Black Noddy, the Yellow Bunding and the Lesser and Great Grey Shrike The Giraffe – less than 90,000 giraffes remain in the wild in Africa The Leopard and the Lion, paving the way for a joint initiative on protecting Africa’s great carnivores The chimpanzee who is facing a 50% drop in numbers over 3 generations and fast habitat loss The near extinct Gobi-Bear – only 45 of the subspecies of the brown bear remain in the wild in Mongolia and China The Caspian Seal, the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea The Africa Wild Ass, Przewalski’s Horse and 4 species of Lasiurus bat  In all 12 mammals were given greater protection under CMS, 16 birds and 6 species of fish.  Other outcomes of COP12: Consensus on a new inter-governmental task force to curb the illegal killing of birds crossing the east-Asian-Australasian Flyway – that spans 22 countries A conservation roadmap for the African Wild Ass (there are just 70 left in the wild) A Vulture Multi-Species Action plan to better protect 15 species of Old World Vulture in over 120 countries CMS Guidelines on assessment impacts of marine noise activities Expanding the Convention’s work on preventing the poisoning of birds with a special focus on the effects of led Action on aquatic wild meat which is becoming a conservation problem on a scale similar to terrestrial bushmeat Awards were also given in recognition of outstanding commitment and long term conservation efforts to the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, the EU, Germany, Monaco and the government of the Philippines. Ms Lim said:  We will put in place the necessary national measure to integrate the conservation and protection of migratory wildlife species into our development planning processes and we will engage all sectors of society in crafting these measures.   We can protect only those species within our territory.  Beyond our territory, we urge other countries to also initiate measures to protect these species and to join the Convention.” Find out more here