"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
In the south west China’s Yunnan Province, environmental workers have opened some canteens for wild Asian elephants.
The aim is to reduce conflicts between the elephants and people.
Staff from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve have created about 100 hectares of the elephant’s favourite food in three different sites. Bamboo and paper mulberry are on the menu.
On 5 July, a canteen had 20 Asian elephants who enjoyed their meal over two hours.
In Pu'er City, over 253 hectares of sugarcane, bananas and maize have been planted for the elephants.
The idea is that open-air canteens will help entice the elephants away from human settlements to prevent conflicts between the animals and people. The elephants can munch on food plants far away from the villages so they are less likely to come in to conflict with them. Fewer elephants are looking for food in the villages now.
The wild Asian elephants are endangered animals. In China their population has grown from over 170 in the 1990s to about 300 today. They live mainly in Yunnan.
Travel group TUI is running a programme to protect turtles. The travel group now has a target to save one million new-born turtles by 2020.
The TUI Turtle Aid programme has been created to protect the welfare of one million new-born turtles by 2020.
It is working with local organisations in Cape Verde, Turkey and Greece -‘Project Biodiversity’ and BIOS.CV on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, Archelon in Greece and DEKAMER in Turkey. The project is expected to expand to other countries in the months ahead.
The project will pioneer innovative research and protection methods to help safeguard the endangered global sea turtle population.
Experts estimate that only one in a thousand baby turtles survives to adulthood, and the projects TUI is supporting is aiming to protect turtle nests on beaches and increase hatchling survival rates.
Out of the 7 species of marine turtle, 6 are considered critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.
Threats to turtles:
Suffocation because they’ve ingested plastic bags;
poachers;
irresponsible beach use which leads to the destruction of turtles nests
killing of hatchlings
coastal development
climate change
illegal trade
Turtles in Cape Verde
The third largest loggerhead nesting populations in the world resides here. Five of the seven existing marine turtle species are in the Cape Verdean waters. The plan is to engage with the local community and local stakeholders. Local tour guides are taught about best practices and they give advice to visitors to help them holiday responsibly. Hotel partner involvement is vital to foster responsible beach use and waste management, and sustainable outings for tourist.
Turtles in Greece
Conservationists will work with local companies and the tourism industry on Crete anda in the Peloponnese to implement management measures on loggerhead nesting beaches. It is hoped that 60,000 loggerhead hatchlings will be born every year.
Turtles in Turkey
On Turkish beaches there are efforts to involve national and regional government, local businesses and visitors in the turtle-protection activities. A rescue centre will help care for injured turtles along the coast. The partnership will enable DEKAMER to develop international research and conservation porjects, including the satellite tracking of turtles, the sex ratio estimate of turtles under global warming and more.
Well done, TUI! Let's hope this really expands to other turtle sites.
African Parks is responsible for the rehabilitation and long term management of national parks and protected areas.
They do this in partnership with governments and local communities, and the goal is to make teach park ecologically, socially and financially sustainable in the long term.
And at the end of 2017, they were responsible for managing 14 protected areas in 9 countries (it’s now 15). The areas spanned 40,540 square miles covering 7 of the 11 ecological biomes on the continent. They have a large counter-poaching force with 1,000 rangers and over 5,000 staff across the parks.
They are undertaking various active management interventions:
Extreme species translocations and reintroductions
Providing security to create safer spaces for humans and wildlife
Ensuring that local people benefit
Where security has been restored and governance established, they’ve seen the rise of civility and a better way of life has returned.
There is tremendous momentum to make this rehabilitation happen and to continue to build on successes that African Parks has so far achieved.
Founded in 2000, it’s a non-profit conservation organisation.
Their Annual Report for 2017 Restoration: Nature’s Return highlights:
The Chinko team achieved success on the ground keeping 10,000km2 free of cattle and giving wildlife a chance to return
39 elephants were collared in one of the largest elephant collaring exercises in Africa, giving them better protection from armed poachers
The successful reintroduction of 18 black rhinos from South Africa to the Akagera Park in Rwanda, 10 years after they had locally become extinct.7 years were spent making the park safe and reducing poaching to an all time low.Singing children lined the route between Kigali and Akagera to celebrate their return.
The park received 37,000 tourists for the year, making it 75% self-sustaining
A long term agreement was signed with the Government of Benin for the Penjari National Park, the largest remaining intact ecosystem in all of West Africa, and a stronghold for the critically endangered West African lion and African elephant
In December, African Parks signed a 25 management agreement with the Government of Mozambique to manage the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, the first marine reserve in its portfolio
And HRH Prince Harry joined African Parks as their President.
Back in 1983, 3.2 million acres was established - the Iberá Natural Reserve in Corrientes province, North East Argentina. It created a tremendous opportunity for jaguar restoration.
And the Conservation Land Trust (CLT) was established there; it is ecologically restoring 370,000 acres of former cattle ranches to establish Argentina’s largest national park inside the larger Iberá reserve.
And CLT started a programme to reintroduce those large mammals that became extirpated inside Iberá during the XXth century.
After re-establishing the presence of giant anteaters and pampas deer there, jaguars are next.
The Tompkins Conservation team in Argentina consists of vets and scientists, community stakeholders and policy makers – and they’ve all collaborated with the goal of breeding a generation of jaguars that could be released into their natural habitat and survive in the wild on their own.
There are about 200 individuals in the wild in Argentina today, and about 15,000 jaguars roam the wild worldwide.
The goal is to restore a stable 100 jaguar population to Iberá National Park – these jaguar cubs are a great start.
For more information on this Jaguar programme, click here
Boat owners are going to have anchoring restrictions to protect rare seahorses and marine life.
There are plans for 41 new marine conservation zones around the coast. One of those that will receive protection is Studland Bay in Dorset. It will be protected from yachts and motorboats that moor there. In Kent, Goodwin Sands (a 10 mile sandbank) will receive similar protection. The Camel Estuary (Cornwall) and the Orford Inshore (off Suffolk) will be protected too.
In 2008, the Seahorse Trust found 40 seahorses in Studland Bay.
In 2018, (last month in fact), the Seahorse Trust found 0 seahorses in Studland Bay. That’s zero.
Heavy anchors and their metal chains destroy seagrass, the normal habitat for seahorses. And the Seahorse Trust says that seahorses should recolonise the area after the seagrass had recovered.
The charity says that while serious yachts people don’t anchor on the sea grass, plenty of boat users do.
Boating enthusiasts protested but the government fortunately over-ruled them.
Needless to say, the Royal Yachting Association has said it will impose restrictions, believing that seahorses and recreational boating activities can "reasonably co-exist".
"Reasonably exist" isn’t good enough.
If, over 10 years, the number of seahorses in Studland Bay has plummeted from a find of 40 to 0, there must be a very good reason.
It’s high time government stepped in, did the right thing and protected wildlife habitat.
A good move by the British Government. Now, more protection for wildlife, please!
Give wildlife the space and right habitat to thrive, they will.
Boat owners are going to have anchoring restrictions to protect rare seahorses and marine life.
There are plans for 41 new marine conservation zones around the coast.One of those that will receive protection is Studland Bay in Dorset.It will be protected from yachts and motorboats that moor there.In Kent, Goodwin Sands (a 10 mile sandbank) will receive similar protection. The Camel Estuary (Cornwall) and the Orford Inshore (off Suffolk) will be protected too.
In 2008, the Seahorse Trust found 40 seahorses in Sutland Bay.
In 2018, (last month in fact), the Seahorse Trust found 0 seahorses in Studland Bay.That’s zero.
Heavy anchors and their metal chains destroy seagrass, the normal habitat for seahorses.And the Seahorse Trust says that seahorses should recolonise the area after the seagrass had recovered.
The charity says that while serious yachts people don’t anchor on the sea grass, plenty of boat users do.
Boating enthusiasts protested but the government came to their senses and took no notice of them
Needless to say, the Royal Yachting Association has said it will impose restrictions, believing that seahorses and recreational boating activities can "reasonably co-exist".
"Reasonably exist" isn’t good enough.This is yet another example of wildlife suffering from the human race and our activities.
It isn’t as if leisure boating was an essential activity. (I should know, because we are boat owners.) Surviving is.
If, over 10 years, the number of seahorses in Studland Bay has plummeted from a find of 40 to 0, there must be a very good reason.
And with so many people just not caring at all about nature (and it’s not just boat owners, of course) or even thinking about what they are doing and the impact they are having, it’s high time government stepped in, did the right thing and protected wildlife habitat.
A good move by the British Government.Now, more protection, please!
Give wildlife the space and right habitat to thrive, they will.