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"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
 


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Category: Help a species

  1. Seahorses get safety from boats

    Posted on

    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. 

     

    Visit the Seahorse Trust and find out how you can help here

      

     

    Seahorses get safety from boats

     

    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. 

     

     

     

     

  2. China to create a massive panda park

    Posted on

    The Sichaun province government has secured %1.58 billion in funding during the next 5 years for a planned Giant Panda National Park.

    The park will be three times the size of the US Yellowstone National Park, so it will be enormous – 10,476 square miles in all.

    The park will protect wild pandas living across the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.  The environment ministry said it had agreed to plans by 15 provinces and regions to draw up red lines to keep large areas of land off limits to economic development.   These large areas include wetlands, forests, national parks and protected nature zones. 

    Over 80% of wild pandas live in Sichuan, and the rest in Shaanxi and Gansu.  The park plans will link up the pandas who are isolated in these areas and encourage them to breed.  Pandas are terribly slow at reproducing and there are several breeding centres in China to help with panda conservation.


    Although the number of wild pandas have increased in recent years, the continued increase in numbers depends on having the right habitat available to pandas to breed so the announcement of the Giant Panda National Park is a step in the right direction to ensuring they have the right environment in which to thrive. 

    Pandas International is a US based charity working to help with panda conservation.  Visit Pandas International here. 

     

     

  3. African Parks report 3 successes for big cats

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    There’s an awful lot of bad news about big cats around at the moment; they are being hunted for their skins, claws, bones and other parts; killed to prevent human-wildlife conflict, and their habitats are increasingly fragmented and lost.

    So it’s great to hear from African Parks that there are some hopeful signs across the continent for these majestic animals.

    Lions are being restored to Malawi

    In 2012, African Parks reintroduced lions to the Majete Wildlife Reserve.  They secured the park and brought back key species, including prey populations.  The lions have formed a small but growing pride to such an extent that African Parks have moved the first two of 10 lions to Liwonde National Park – the first time lions have been there for at least 4 years!

    New cheetah population doubles in less than a year

    In 2017, African Parks reintroduced cheetahs to Liwonde National Park, also in Malawi.  They’d been absent for 100 years.  Several females have had cubs, so increasing their numbers in just a few months since their arrival.

    Lion numbers grow in Rwanda

    Lions were eradicated by refugees coming back to Rwanda after the genocide, so they had been absent for 20 years.   African Parks reintroduced 7 lions to the Akagera National Park.   With the space to thrive, lions have nearly tripled, and the park is now a real wildlife gem.  Tourism is flourishing with over 36,000 annual visitors to the park, bringing $1.3 million in tourism revenue.  This is reinvested in the surrounding areas.

    Restoring and protecting the big cat in Africa’s wild places does a number of things:

    • It maintains vital ecological processes
    • It gives tourism a boost
    • Tourism gives much needed benefits to the local communities and revenue to the region

    Get involved

    You can help African Parks continue to protect Africa’s big cats and ensure they have the space, prey and safety they need to breed and thrive.    Donate here

     

  4. New reserves to create whale sanctuary in Scotland

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    The Scottish Government is to consult the public on the creation of new marine protected areas - MPAs.

    Four marine reseres are set to be established to protect dolphins and whales in their Scottish breeding and nursey aresa.

    The areas are:

    1. North East Lewis
    2. The Sea of the Hebrides
    3. Shiant East Bank (around the Outer Hebrides) 
    4. The Southern Trench (from the sea off Buckie to Peterhead)  

    The Sea of the Hebrides is known to be a vital breeding spot for basking sharkes.   Risso's and bottlenose dolphins, along several whale species, frequent all the areas.

    The Whale and Dolphin Conservation society had proposed 3 of the sites in 2011.

    Currently, Scotland's MPA network covers about 20% of its seas at the moment and it comprises over 30 MPAs.

    You can find out more about the WDC's report on this proposal here

    And more about the Scottish Government's Marine Protected Areas here

     

  5. Success in Manila for the CMS and Migratory Species

    Posted on

    The effort to protect our wildlife gathered momentum as a result of decisions made in Manila last week at the 12th session of the Conference of the parties to the CMS.

    The CMS is the Convention on the Conservation of the Migratory Species of Wild Animals. You can find out more about it here and there's a list of countries who are involved here.

    This week, it reported that 1,000 delegates representing the world governments attending the year’s largest wildlife summit had collectively endorsed actions on the conservation of a variety of migratory species.

    CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.  It brings the States together through which these animals pass, and it lays the legal foundation for internationally co-ordinated conservation measures. This is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the UN Environment Programme. 

    The conference took place in Manila in the Philippines from 23 to 28 October.  The theme was “Their Future is our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife and People.”

    Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania made submissions covering species such as vulture, the endangered Whale Shark, and Africa’s great carnivores.

    The week of negotiations have resulted to a stronger commitment by countries to conserve the world’s migratory wildlife.  The Convention which took place in Manila has a compliance review mechanism now, and it has adopted species that test the boundaries of international wildlife conservation.

    There were also agreements to work together to reduce the negative impacts on migratory species  of

    • marine debris
    • noise pollution
    • renewable energy
    • climate change

    “The Conference has also contributed to a growing global recognition of the importance of nature to our human well-being and the multiple connections between wildlife and people.  It has helped to convey the message that the future of migratory wildlife is integral to our own future and that we all have the responsibility to act.   Agreements made at CMS COP12 have firmly underlined this important message,” said Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of CMS.

    Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau said, “Migratory animals play a critical role in our planet’s ecosystem.   They act as pollinators, control pests and are a source of food and income.” 

    Notable outcomes of COP12 included more protection for:

    • Three species of shark and three species of ray
    • Avian species such as the Steppe Eagle, four species of Asian Vulture, 5 Sub-Saharan Vulture Species, the Lappet-faced Vultlure and the Christmas Frigatebird, a subspecies of the Black Noddy, the Yellow Bunding and the Lesser and Great Grey Shrike
    • The Giraffe – less than 90,000 giraffes remain in the wild in Africa
    • The Leopard and the Lion, paving the way for a joint initiative on protecting Africa’s great carnivores
    • The chimpanzee who is facing a 50% drop in numbers over 3 generations and fast habitat loss
    • The near extinct Gobi-Bear – only 45 of the subspecies of the brown bear remain in the wild in Mongolia and China
    • The Caspian Seal, the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea
    • The Africa Wild Ass, Przewalski’s Horse and 4 species of Lasiurus bat 

    In all 12 mammals were given greater protection under CMS, 16 birds and 6 species of fish. 

    Other outcomes of COP12:

    • Consensus on a new inter-governmental task force to curb the illegal killing of birds crossing the east-Asian-Australasian Flyway – that spans 22 countries
    • A conservation roadmap for the African Wild Ass (there are just 70 left in the wild)
    • A Vulture Multi-Species Action plan to better protect 15 species of Old World Vulture in over 120 countries
    • CMS Guidelines on assessment impacts of marine noise activities
    • Expanding the Convention’s work on preventing the poisoning of birds with a special focus on the effects of led
    • Action on aquatic wild meat which is becoming a conservation problem on a scale similar to terrestrial bushmeat

    Awards were also given in recognition of outstanding commitment and long term conservation efforts to the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, the EU, Germany, Monaco and the government of the Philippines.

    Ms Lim said:  We will put in place the necessary national measure to integrate the conservation and protection of migratory wildlife species into our development planning processes and we will engage all sectors of society in crafting these measures.  

    We can protect only those species within our territory.  Beyond our territory, we urge other countries to also initiate measures to protect these species and to join the Convention.”

    Find out more here