Category: Help a species

1. Ask New South Wales Parliament to enact special protections to save the koala

   Posted on 5:50am Friday 6th Mar 2020

   Calling all koala lovers! The terrible bushfires have been catastrophic for the koalas. Not only have thousands of koalas died or been severely injured, but key prime koala habitat has been destroyed, which means life is going to be very tough for those who survived.  What will they eat?  Where will they live? It shows the importance of saving this vulnerable species before it’s toolate. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW for short) have a petition to urge the state of New South Wales to declare a koala emergency and enact special protections to save koalas.  Life had been hard enough for koalas before these fires. Their numbers had been devastated because of massive habitat destruction and prolonged drought. Koalas need our help. Protect the habitat of koalas and we also help many other species in the same area who live there too. A report commissioned by IFAW shows that: At least 5,00 koalas died in the bushfires In 3 generations, we’ve lost 66% of the population The fires have all but destroyed many regionally significant koala populations Over 5 MILLION hectares across New South Wales has been burned – with the remaining land depleted by prolonged drought – and this land was vital habitat for koalas. The New South Wales Koalas are listed as Vulnerable at the moment.  Join IFAW in urging the state of New South Wales to declare a koala emergency and enact special protections to save this iconic species Please act now to save koalas from extinction.  Please sign and share

    

2. US government programmes helping to conserve endangered species under threat.

   Posted on 9:00pm Wednesday 4th Mar 2020

   WCS (that’s the Wildlife Conservation Society) has emailed to warn that US government programmes helping to conserve species such as tigers, elephants, rhinos and others are under threat. WCS works to save wildlife and wild places in nearly 60 countries and across the ocean. Trump’s Administration is looking at cuts to programs that protect wildlife. WCS need as many people as possible from the US to urge their Congress members to support international programmes. These include programmes such as the USAID Biodiversity Program and the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. Key efforts at USAID and the Department of State fight international wildlife trafficking programmes.  The Global Environment Facility which plays a key role fighting the wildlife trafficking which is driving the slaughter of elephants and rhinos.  Programmes that conserve vulnerable species in the wild and protect the last wild places on earth are at risk.  If you are in the US, Please tell Congress right now: stand up for wildlife. If you are not living in the US and don’t have a Congress member, please share, share, share, the message people can sign.  Sharing is vital because it spreads the word. You could also donate here

    

3. Don’t miss: Tigers – Hunting the Traffickers on BBC2 on 4 March 2020 at 9pm

   Posted on 5:00pm Wednesday 4th Mar 2020

   For anyone concerned about the illegal wildlife trade, this surely is a must-see programme – especially so if you’re a big cat or tiger lover. Aldo Kane reports on the illegal tiger trade in south east Asia in an episode for BBC2’s Natural History series The big cats are trafficked for products such as wine and glue, made from their bones. Aldo Kane is a formal commando.  He now trains African anti-poaching teams.   And he spends time in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam following the route of trafficked animals which end up as tiger bone medicine or aphrodisiacs for Chinese and Vietnamese customers.  He shows how the breed is on the brink of extinction – there are about 4,000 tigers left in the wild – and almost 8,000 held captive in zoos, breeding units and basement cages across south east Asia. The breeding and farming of captive tigers drives consumer demand for tiger products and in turn fuels wild tiger poaching. Aldo Kane gets into farms by breaking in or posing as a tourist or customer, and gathers evidence, aided by local colleagues, which he presents to CITES in Geneva.  CITES is short for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.   Tigers – Hunting the Traffickers is on BBC2 on Wednesday 4 March 2020 at 9pm.  It will be available shortly after broadcast for viewing. Visit the programme’s website here. Risking life and limb on the hunt for the tiger traffickers DON’T LEAVE THIS PAGE JUST YET! Please take a look at Education for Nature – Vietnam.   They are working to educate people in Vietnam and further afield and in so doing, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.  They have a number of videos (which they call public service announcements) they have put together to educate people about the illegal wildlife trade and to tell people not to get involved in it.   Take a look at the videos and share them if you can.

4. Help orangutans with the Sumatran Orangutan Society

   Posted on 7:00pm Sunday 23rd Feb 2020

   SOS (Sumatran Orangutan Society) has a new project partner – Nature for Change (NFC). They work to save the forests of the Leuser Ecosystem by addressing the survival of people living near the ecosystem’s buffer zone. Back in 2019, they enabled farmers to plant 5,000 fruit trees.   They are growing another 5,000 in their community tree nursery – and these will be planted in 2020. The team has started to work with farmers on bee-keeping as another way to make a living.  An expert visited them in January 2020 to train the farmers who were taking part in how to set up beehive and the hives will have bees in them very soon! NFC also has implemented its border patrol team.   They have been trained by national part officers and they are working on a number of things: They maintain the trails along the national park border They fix and replace signs They record observations about wildlife tracks and signs along the border They meet with farmers to build trust and gain their understanding so that they can appreciate how the farmers feel about wildlife. The team has also installed camera traps along animal trails.  These will give them a good understanding of the kind of wildlife in the area – wild pigs, Thomas leaf monkeys and porcupines have been spotted already.  This is invaluable information because it helps the team plan their work with farmers and their crops. This is all very exciting, because locals are essential in any battle to preserve habitat for wildlife and yet give those living there an income. You can find out more and donate here.

5. One Minute Action: Stop the depletion of forests in Cameroon

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 15th Feb 2020

   In Africa’s Cameroon, 60,000 hectares of rainforest are at risk from deforestation. The area is home to western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, buffalo, panthers and pangolins. Threat to wildlife living in these hectares Unfortunately, the government is in the process of allocating 60,000 hectares of rainforest to the Cambert SARL company for palm oil plantation.  Did I mention that Cameroon is one of the few countries in the world where there are gorillas?  They, and the Campo Ma’an National Park are in danger from deforestation. There’s a cost to the fishermen and Bagyeli indigenous people living there, too.  They are already suffering the effects of rubber and palm oil plantations and now they risk losing their livelihood.    How to help this rainforest Rainforest Rescue need as many of us as possible to sign their petition, or call to action. But what does Camvert actually REALLY want the area for?  One possibility is that they want it for wood. Nearly 40 envrionmental protection organsiations are fighting against this destruction. Please support the resistance in Cameroon and sign Rianforest Rescue’s petition. Take action now - Sign the petition