"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 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.
On 16 January 2020, the Governement of Belize signed the declaration of North-eastern Biological Corridor of Belize. It covers an area of nearly 70,000 acres and links the northernmost nature reserve in Belize with more central natural habitats.
It’s really important, because it’s the first step towards achieving a total North-South corridor crossing the whole country as the map shows!
It’s a tremendous example of public-private partnership: the government of Belize, local NGOs, private landowners and many international donors – including the World Land Trust – have been involved.
UNITED FOR CONSERVATION, WE CAN DO GREAT THINGS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE BETTER
The corridor connects a system of three protected areas in one system. Deforestation has caused the loss of over 25,000 acres of forest in tihe last 10 years.
This will now allow big animals such as jaguar and Baird’s Tapirs enough space to move freely between protected areas and so ensure their long term survival! It will also help build climate resilience into Belize’s network of protected areas.
Why was this acquisition necessary?
In Belize, about 50% of the country is under natural vegetation cover. About 35% of the country is under some form of protection.
So it is still possible to create biological corridors between protected areas.
It’s vital that these acquisitions take place, and speedily, because agricultural development are increasingly encroaching on forest.
How did supporters of the World Land Trust – people like you & me – help in this achievement?
The World Land Trust mobilised its supporters and inspired new ones to raise funds to support this land acquisition. It included 2018’s Big Match Fortnight Jungle for Jaguars campaign, and another Buy an Acre opportunity a few months after that. (The Big Match Fortnight normally comes in October when donations are matched for a specific appeal – it is incredible how much and how speedily this builds up.)
Donate in memory of someone special I donated to this campaign during the Big Match Fortnight (actually in memory of my wonderful Dad as his birthday is in November and I plant a tree or do a buy an acre on his birthday and at Christmas for him, as Dad loved trees).
Ask someone to donate as a gift for you I asked my husband to also donate as my early Christmas present and it was by far the best present I had. It really meant something to me. We had made a difference.
I cannot tell you the glow and warm feeling I have in my heart when I think of my jaguar roaming the biological corridor. I call him “my jaguar” – he obviously isn’t, and I’m never going to meet him – but it’s lovely to think that because I donated and my husband has too, we’ve helped him and lots of other animals.
Please do donate to the World Land Trust if you can, and keep an eye on their website. I often post news of their new appeals here, so you can watch this space as well. They are a wonderful charity and it’s good to give a meaningful gift which will last, so if you’re looking for a gift for a wildlife lover, making a donation could be a great way to do something to really make a difference – a win, win, win all round!
This was the You Tube Video for Jungle for Jaguars – it raised £532,000 in the Big Match Fortnight (normally early October) alone and hit the £600,000 target by Christmas, helping to save 8,154 vital acres. A further 1,818 acres were saved a few months later.
The lush rainforest runs along the Atlantic coast and inland in southern Brazil. It is home to many species and plants which are not found anywhere else on earth.
The problem for wildlife is....
Sadly, a mere 12% of this huge landscape now persists in very fragmented pockets. Towns, pastures and intensive farming have replaced the rainforest.
Many species living there are threatened with extinction as they are living in small fragmented areas and so are becoming increasingly isolated. These include the black lion tamarin, the jaguar, ocelot and puma.
Durrell wants to protect this ecosystem by creating wildlife corridors to join up the fragmented bits. They will do this by planting trees to connect the Morro do Diabo State Park to isolated forest fragments to the north, thus reconnecting wildlife.
You can help restore this rainforest by planning 17,000 trees and in creating sustainable livelihoods for local people and neutralize about 2,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
The trees will be planted in community nurseries, planted by local people – so giving them sustainable livelihoods. People and wildlife will win through this project.
In 2017, over 16,000 hectares of rivers in the Cross River State were destroyed. How?
Deforestation
Illegal logging
Palm oil plantations
The production of charcoal
Cocoa plantations are encroaching on protected forests. Our demand for chocolate is driving the devastation of chocolates.
The Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are the world leaders in cocoa production. Nearly all of Côte d’Ivoire’s protected areas have been plundered. Ghana holds the world record for its rate of deforestation in 2018.
What will happen in Nigeria? Nigeria is the third largest cocoa exporter in the world.
Gorilla habitat is shrinking day by day. The gorillas have less and less habitat to call home as their forests are destroyed by humans.
Most chocolate makers, say Rainforest Rescue, buy all the cocoa they can get without asking any questions. It is very difficult for consumers to find out if chocolate they buy was produced in a sustainable way.
Environmentalists are working to get the EU to regulate the market – but gorillas need help NOW.
The Governor of Cross River State could do the most to help these beautiful animals. He’s Ben Ayade and Rainforest Rescue have a petition asking him to strengthen the protection of his state’s forests.
The non-profit organisation the Nature Conservancy announced on Monday that it has partnered up with private investors to acquire 101,000 hectares of forest land.
This forest land lies in the coalfields of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Make money through sustainable forestry, recreational leases and the eventual sale of the properties.
Help offset carbon
Benefit wildlife
Help water quality
The forest lands cover 100,000 acres in Kentucky & Tennessee. Some 153,000 acres are in south-west Virginia. As such, this project’s land is one of the largest conservation efforts the group has taken up in the east of the US. Theland was bought from timber investment management companies for $130,000.
The Cumberland Forest Project won’t own the mineral rights of the land. This means mining could still take place – but the Nature Conservancy says just a small percentage of the land would be subject to mining and the group would have a say in the process.
The area includes the central Appalachians which are especially important to preserve biodiversity and help wildlife adapt to climate change.
The Nature Conservancy hopes that this model can be done in other areas, so that long term, a super highway of protected land could be created along the mountain range.
It means conservation can happen on a scale which can’t be achieved through philanthropy on its own.
Conservation needs all the help it can get and it also needs new ways of working so it will be interesting to what this model can achieve.
