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1. AWF Donates Land to Rwanda to Protect Mountain Gorilla Habitat

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 18th Jan 2018

   The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists mountain gorillas as critically endangered.    Mountain gorillas are only found in the Virunga Massive and in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.  They are one of the four great apes living in Africa and are the only great age which is increasing in population.  ©  Craig Sholley The Government of Rwanda, says the African Wildlife Foundation, has distinguished itself as a leader in conservation after the amazing recovery of the ape numbers. The 2010 cenuses of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massife showed there were about 880 individuals - 480 in the Virunga Massive and 400 in Bwindi.  This means they had increased about 26% over the previous 7 years.  Visit the African Wildlife Foundation's website for more info This success led to a key challenge:  enough habitat for the mountain gorillas. In 2017, the African Wildlife Foundation bought a 27.8 hectare property right next to the park.   However, the increase in mountain gorillas has led to a key challenge: adequate habitat. So in 2017, the African Wildlife Foundation bought a 27.8-hectare property next to the park.   In January, the Rwanda Development Board received a property that will help increase the size of Volcanoes National Park, vital habitat for the mountain gorillas.  The park was established in 1925 and it's home to mountain gorillas.  It is sited in the north of Rwanda bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and it hoped that the handover of land from the African Wildlife Foundation to the Rwanda Development Board will help address the issue of adequate habitat. Visitor numbers have risen 82% since 2007, showing that more and more people want to see mountain gorillas.  Visitor numbers will help ensure their long term survival, provided that the gorillas are treated with respect and given the right habitat they need to survive and thrive. Responsible Travel is an ethical travel directory and it lists a number of gorilla safaris - click here for more information.

2. Good news from South Africa for bird species from Birdlife

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 20th Jul 2017

   Birdlife International report there were celebrations in April 2017:  the Mpumalanga’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs declared the Greater Lakenvlei area a Protected Environment. New Protected Environment Declared in South Africa  ©Romy Antrobus-Ruth Greater Lakenvlei is an important conservation area: It has many “specials” e.g. Wattle Crane, Blue Crane, White-winged Flufftail, Yellow-breasted Pipit and many others. BirdLife South Africa recognises this area as the Steenkampsberg Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). It is an important water catchment area. Lakenvlei (a wetland) is a peatland which helps with the storing and purification of water. The peatland holds a huge amount of carbon, so minimizing the impact of climate change. The tourism and agricultural activities provide jobs for hundreds of people, connecting tourism to the beauty of the area and outdoor activities South African legislation provides for different categories of formal protection: Nature reserves and national parks, where activities are strictly controlled Protected Environment where some activities e.g. farming practices can continue but destructive and unsustainable activities are not allowed Areas are divided into zones such as natural areas and degraded areas.   In natural areas, activities are strictly controlled – over-grazing and indiscriminate use of pesticides are not allowed. Greater Lakenvlei now has a Management Plan which will be implemented to benefit the birds in this area.  Hopefully this declaration will encourage more bird lovers and nature lovers to visit, which should lead to more jobs and help conserve the area. It was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) and their NGO partners, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and BirdLife South Africa Click here to go fly away to Birdlife International

    

3. National Trust goes wilder for wildlife

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 18th Jul 2017

   The National Trust is the largest private landowner in the UK.   It recently announced plans to help reverse the decline of wildlife on the land in its care. The National Trust was set up to protect places of natural beauty; it has a plan! It is going to create and restore 'priority'  wildlife habitats on 10% of its land - chalk, grassland and arable field margins. By 2025, at least 50% of its farmland will be nature friendly with protected hedgerows, field margins, ponds, woodlands and other habitats allowing plants and animals to thrive. Over 1,500 farm tenants on National Trust land are already farming in ways which benefit wildlife.  The Director of Land, Landscape and Nature is called Peter Nixon.  He says, "Nature has been squeezed out to the margins for far too long.   We want to help bring it back to the heart of our countryside."   Nature can rejuvenate.   Wildlife just need the right conditions to survive and we can all help create them.   We just need to make it happen.  And then birds such as the cuckoo, lapwing and curlew may come back and return to the fields, woods and meadows again.   Visit the National Trust

    

4. 546 acres of cloud forest saved thanks to Buy an Acre supporters

   Posted on 9:33am Friday 2nd Dec 2016

   Good news from the World Land Trust! Thanks to the supporters of the Buy an Acre scheme, 546 acres of cloud forest has been saved in Ecuador and Mexico.   The funds from the Buy an Acre Mexico donations were used to buiy two properties which extend the Cerro Prieto-Cerro la Luz reserve by over 350 acres.  The Lands for Conservation Chief at GESG, Roberto Pedraza Ruiz, says "there is not solid forest as far as the eye can see, and it is now a huge reserve".  A visit to the site 2 years ago had brought about the discovery that someone had been logging 40 year old cedars for timber. And Buy an Acre Ecuador purchased another two properties which extend the Nangaritz Reserve by just under 200 acres.  It protects a unique ecosystem where the Andes meets the Amazonian foothill forest.   A lot of this land has been degraded as a result of clearing land for grazing cattle, but now the land has become part of the estate, it will given the opportunity to regenerate to its former state.   ©World Land Trust   The area has amazing biodiversity, with animals such as the critically endangered Limon Harliquin Frog, the Orange Throated Tanger and mammals such as the jaguar, the spectacled bear, the mountain tapir and ocelot. So if you're looking for a Christmas gift for someone this year, why not visit the World Land Trust's Buy an Acre scheme and support it?  Let your gift help keep the planet green and amazing and protect habitat so wildlife have a home!  Visit the World Land Trust and make a difference today