"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
There’s news from South Korea of a rare Asiatic black bear having been spotted in the DMZ.
The DMZ is the Demilitarised Zone which divides North and South Korea. The area is very cut off and as a result, it’s become a pristine nature reserve.
In fact, the DMZ has become a real haven for plants and wildlife; the South Korean government predict that over 100 endangered species call the area home and the Ministry of Environment estimates that there are over 5,097 animal and plant species there, such as the red-crowned crane and black-faced spoonbill.
It’s thought there are about 3,050 red-crowned cranes left in the world so they are a very endangered species indeed. However, it’s also a migrating route for birds and the Eurasian lynx has been spotted in the area too.
Although South Korean soldiers reported seeing bears in the past, there wasn’t any photographic evidence. The South Korea National Institute of Technology installed cameras – and the bear was spotted!
The bear seen is thought to be between 8 to 9 months old, weighing about 25 to 35 kilograms. They think the bear is a descendant of the Asiatic black bears lived in the DMZ for a long time
The DMZ is 155 miles long and 2.5 miles wide and it runs across the Korean Peninsula. It’s heaviliy mined and fortified with barbed wire with surveillance cameras and electric fending. It was created after the armistice which brought an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.
Hiking trails are being established in the DMZ now as recently ties between North and South Korea have improved.
Researchers doing some photo monitoring in the Vorontsov Land of the Leopard National Park have identified 91 adult leopards, as well as 22 cubs!
As a rule, a qualitative increase is possible when the population has at least twice as many females as males. The high percentage of cubs too is good news.
The new trend amongst Far Eastern Leopards suggests stabilisation of this rare cat’s population. They are also known as Amur Leopards.
The Land of the Leopard National Park accounts for about 70% of the leopard’s natural habitat. This was a key decision: it means that the Far Eastern Leopard can now live safely on an area of almost 2,800 square kilometres.
To count the wild cats, national park employees went through nearly a million camera trap images. About 10,000 of them had leopards on them!
To complete the picture, experts from the Russian national park are eagerly waiting for the results that their Chinese colleagues are producing; they too have been monitoring photos.
These data are vital now that the Land of the Leopard has become a “birth centre” for the spotted cats; many young leopards move to the Chinese borders to look out new territories. Some return, but a certain number stay in China – and that means that the leopard population can grow!
Far Eastern Leopards is an autonomous non-profit organisation. Far Eastern Leopards’ mission is “to protect and restore the Far Eastern Leopard population in its historical habitat in the Russian Far East.
It supports the photo monitoring at Land of the Leopard and the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. About 360,000 hectares are being monitored in the national park. 400 automatic camera traps can be found in the national park, so it’s the largest camera trap network in Russia!
Camera trap images enable scientists to do several things:
to determine the size of the animal population
to monitor changes in their life cycle
to estimate their physical condition
to determine their behavioural traits.
Find out about Far Eastern Leopards here – there’s lots of information on Far Eastern Leopards and also the organisation trying to protect and restore the species.
Reasons for the very low numbers of these leopards are:
Reduced feeding supply – the prey they live off have been dying out because of poaching and deforestation
Habitat destruction and infrastructure development – forest fire risks have increased because of deforestation and mining; roads make the areas more accessible to humans
Poaching – leopard skin and body parts are used in oriental medicine
The petition is calling for world leaders to forge a new agreement such that at least 50% of our lands and oceans must be protected and restored.
A global study has just found that every insect on the planet is on track to be wiped out – causing life on Earth to collapse – and that includes humans.
The petition says:
To world leaders:
"We global citizens are deeply concerned by scientists warning that ecosystems critical to sustaining life on Earth could collapse in our lifetimes. We call on you to meet existing targets to protect biodiversity, forge a new agreement so that at least 50% of our lands and oceans are protected and restored, and ensure our planet is completely sustainably managed. This must take into consideration the needs of human development and have the active support of indigenous peoples. This long-term goal for nature can restore harmony with our home."
Nature has never needed such a strong voice and scientists are offering a way to defend nature and people too – put half the planet under protection. At the moment, France, Germany, Canada and other countries are about to hold talks to look at the idea before a global summit on extinction.
This is all happening at the time Sir David Attenborough’s programme Our Planet streams on Netflix, hoping for an audience in 190 countries. It could be over ONE BILLION people watch it – that’s one in seven (give or take a few) on the planet.
The petition calls on these leaders to back protection for half the earth.
There’s some fantastic television to watch on the BBC this week (starting Sunday 24 March 2019), with Blue Planet programmes in abundance.
Pick of the Week, according to The Sunday Times (Culture Section) is Blue Planet Live. It’s on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings on BBC1 at 8pm.
This short series sets out on a mission to explore the health of the oceans. An aquadynamic team will be broadcasting live from different marine locations during the week.
Chris Packham examines the well being of whales in Mexico; this includes mother-and-calf arrivals in the largest whale nursery in the world.
Steve Backshall is in the Bahamas and sees sharks and shipwrecks.
Liz Bonnin is at the Great Barrier Reef. She is meeting baby turtles and shearwater chicks and she checks up on the coral itself.
Blue Planet UK looks at the UK side of marine life. There’s reports on Yorkshire seabirds, kayak clean-ups and shark science with Gillian Burke, Steve Brown and Chris Packham.
Blue Planet UK is on just after 4pm on BBC1 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Don’t miss it!
UK based and registered charity the World Land Trust has reported that the Ministry of Environment of Peru has declared 43,480 acres of cloud forest and paramo in the Tropical Andes as a protected area and therefore recognised the area as a priority for conservation – an Area de Conservación Privada.
The area will be under the care of the local community and it now has legal protection to safeguard the habitats there from logging, slash and burn agriculture and illegal mining.
The World Land Trust has supposed its partner Naturaleza y Cultura Peru (NCP)to build up a network of 7 ACPS (that’s private conservation areas) in Northern Peru. They will cove 20% of the country’s cloud forests.
The Tropical Andes between Ecuador and Peru are known for their incredible biodiversity, including threatened birds such as the red-faced parrot and the Masked Mountain-Tanager, plus mammals such as the Inca Oldfield Mouse, the Spectacled Bear and Mountain Tapir.
There are also five important rivers which start their journey from the area, and it’s an important site for both water supply and carbon storage and economic value – medicinal plants, timber and commercial native fruits. So everyone benefits from it.
The total area of thius unique habitat now under community protection in Peru funded by the World Land Trust is an amazing 111,199 acres (45,000 hectares). The charity will continue to support NCP in managing these ACPs and thus enable locals to lead sustainable livelihoods, manage their resources and conserve the Andean ecosystem.
WLT’s corporate supporter, Puro Fairtrade Coffee, has provided financial support for this project and donations to the Action Fundhave played an important role in supporting the establishment of ACPs in Peru.
