» Listings for 2018

1. The Lion's Share Fund takes off with a big roar.....

   Posted on 10:00am Friday 10th Aug 2018

   Let’s ROAR for wildlife! On World Lion Day (the 10th August), it’s great to announce a really exciting piece of news for wildlife conservation. There’s a really fantastic opportunity for business to make a difference and have a real impact on wildlife. Drum roll please for….. The Lion’s Share Fund! You may have heard of The Lion’s Share.  If you haven’t, let me tell you more.   It’s an initiative which is aiming to transform the lives of animals around the world by asking advertisers to contribute a percentage of their media spend to conservation and animal welfare projects. I am really excited by this initiative.  The hope is that $100 million a year will be raised within 3 years.   The money will be invested in a range of animal conservation and animal welfare programmes, to be implemented by the UN and civil society organisations.  The Lion’s Share is working to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which are aiming to end poverty and project the planet.  Goal 14, Life Underwater and Goal 15, Live on Land, involve supporting animals and helping to conserve their key habitat.  The UNDP (that’s the United Nations Development Programme) will host the fund.   A joint steering committee will take decisions on priority programmes. Money raised will go into creative, game-changing solutions which focus on achieving real impact for the animals and their habitats. Ambitious for sure - but if the top 10 advertisers alone were to participate, this would bring in a staggering $47m each year alone! Partners in the fund will contribute 0.5% of their media spent to the fund for every advert they use which has an animal in it.  And cartoon animals will count as well.  So if your company has an ad with a cartoon animal in it, they can participate! Mars is the first advertising partner.  It will sit on the executive and steering committees of The Lion’s Share and encourage other businesses to get involved. Worldwide advertising network BBDO and leading measurement and data analytics company Nielsen are also involved.  BBDO is contributing the benefit of its experience in advertising, whilst Nielsen will ensure that companies are contributing correctly. The Lion’s Share Fund has a website, and a very helpful FAQ page.  This answers a number of questions which spring to mind – how can we be sure the money goes to where it should, for instance.  (Nielsen will watch that side of things like a hawk.) And 93% of the funds raised will go to the animals that need it.   Rob Galluzzo, founder of FINCH, initiated the idea with Christopher Nelius, a film director.   Galluzzo says that 9 out of 10 of the most popular animals seen in commercials are endangered or threatened and they don’t always get the support they deserve.    FINCH have partnered with Clemenger BBDO to bring this initiative to life. The fund was launched in Cannes  at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, by UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who said quite rightly that it is our responsibility as people to safeguard all life on our planet. Coster-Waldau plays Jamie Lannister in the Games of Thrones. So how can you help? Well, if I see an advert with an animal in it, I'm going to let the advertising company know about the The Lion’s Shares Fund.  It was only launched recently in June 2018, so they may not know of it yet.

    

2. Argentina set to get its biggest National Park

   Posted on 9:00am Tuesday 31st Jul 2018

   The British Birdwatching Fair takes place every August.  Birdfair takes place between 17th and 19th August 2018 in Rutland, the smallest county in the UK.     This year, bird lovers in the UK support the creation of largest Argentina’s National Park! Let me tell you more. The fifth largest salt lake in the world, Mar Chiquita is South America’s second largest water body.  And it’s home to most of the world’s Chilean flamingo (about 318,000 of them, they are Nearly Threatened) and nearly half of its Andean Flamingo (18,000 in winter (Vulnerable) and Puna Flamingo as well (and they’re Near Threatened). ©Pablo Rodriguez Merkel Mar Chiquita is home to about 318,000 Chilean flamingos In addition, there are tens of thousands of American Golden Plover, White-rumped and Lesser Yellowlegs who migrate here. Oh, and don’t forget the 600,000 Wilson's Phalaropes – about a third of the world’s population. So let’s move away from the Little Sea (as Mar Chiquita means) to grasslands.  These are home to the Greater Rhea, Bearded Tachuri, a Maned Wolf and Sickle-winged Nightjar (Near Threatened).  The swampy areas have  Dot-winged Crake, and Dinelli's Doradito, while Crowned Solitary Eagles Buteogallus coronatus fly over Chaco forest. Absolutely stunning... Mar Chiquita has all the credentials but... Mar Chiquita is a Ramsar Site, one of Argentina's top Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA), a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve and a provincial reserve so you would have thought that would keep it safe. Unfortunately dear reader, that is not the case.  It’s in danger. Why?  Well, the human race is at it again. Water extracted from the lake at an unsustainable lake The lake is polluted, thanks to local industry Agricultural intensification Above average deforestation rate Unregulated tourism. And action is needed urgently.  Which is where the supporters of Birdfair in the UK come in and the human race is working to put things right.   Aves Argentinas is a partner of BirdLife International.  It has undertaken bird surveys, raised awareness, improved management of the area and clarified land ownership at Mar Chiquita for years. Then came its light bulb moment – a plan to create what should become Argentina’s largest national park. Creating a national park to keep the area safe The plan has been developed with provincial and national authorities.  Back in 2017, a concordat was signed by Argentina’s environment minister, National Parks Administration and the governor of the Córdoba province.  And the Ansenuza National Park will protect up to 800,000 hectares which will be managed at the national level. Crucial to the plan is the involvement and engagement (how I hate that word but I can never think of another) of the local community. Planning involving them, empowering local stake holders and establishing a network of local conservation guardians has been a key part of Aves Argentina’s strategy from the start. And there’s more – bolstering the local economy through nature-based tourism is essential to the project’s success.  So the Ministry of Tourism is very pleased indeed. Ecotourism will lengthen the tourist seasons and help provide sustainable livelihoods over a wider area.  That should also help local communities commit to the long term conservation of the area. ©Spencer Wright This is a Maned Wolf - also dubbed the Fox on Stilts!  They live on nearby grassland. And the lake’s colloquial name in the national park title says a great deal. The British Birdwatching Fair helps in two key ways: Raising awareness An international event like this is vital in building political awareness back in Argentina as to why this area needs to be protected.  It will help build support from the bird world and show that the Ansenuza really is a birding paradise. As a bird lover, I want to go and see birds in a beautiful, natural environment.  I don’t want to go to see a polluted lake where a lot of the water has been sucked out and drive through an area where local forests have been destroyed to get there.  Raising funds to support the project In 2017, the theme was ‘Saving paradise in the Pacific’.  The aim was to remove invasive predators from the French Polynesian island of Rapa Iti.  Last year, Birdfair raised a jaw-dropping £333,000 was raised towards the work. The 2018 project is an ambitious one.   A project to create and protect a national park and all its wildlife, whilst helping locals through eco-tourism.  And surely a model for other conservation organisations to look at?  Useful links Visit the Birdfair website here.  It's been conserving nature worldwide since 1989. Aves Argentinas - I hope you speak Spanish!  But do take a look anyway.   BirdLife International - BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations (NGOs) that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. 121 BirdLife Partners worldwide.

3. Ever heard of a canteen for elephants?

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 13th Jul 2018

   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. Source:  Xinhuanet.com

    

4. Great news for the Antarctic

   Posted on 9:00pm Wednesday 11th Jul 2018

   Greenpeace has announced some great news. The majority of the krill fishing industry has agreed to voluntarily stop fishing in sensitive Antarctic waters.  And it’s backing the campaign for ocean sanctuaries in the Antarctic. Penguins, whales and other Antarctic wildlife that feed on krill will be very relieved. And when the Antarctic Ocean Commission meet in October to decide on a massive Sanctuary, the influential krill industry won't be standing in the way. Greenpeace started campaigning on the krill industry back in April.   And the public piles on the pressure – Over 45,000 emails went to Holland & Barrett calling on them to ditch krill oil products fished from areas that need protection. Over 11,000 tweets and Facebook messages went to Boots, calling on them to stop sourcing krill oil products from sensitive Antarctic waters Stickered krill products with the message on Holland and Barrett and Boots shelves nationwide, Visited over 30 Boots shops with 'krill-o-meters' which asked people to choose between an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary and industrial krill fishing. More people contacted stores stocking dodgy krill products.  Superdrug, Morrisons, Nature’s Best and others listened to customer concerns. Greenpeace says, “This is a major step forward on the road to protecting the Antarctic. With many krill fishing companies now joining the 1.7 million people across the globe already calling for an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, we are looking ahead with hope to the Antarctic Ocean Commission's meeting in October.” The British Retail Consortium is now calling on governments to act and protect the Antarctic this year. Do your bit and add your voice The UK Government is part of an Antarctic Ocean Commission which has pledged to protect the Antarctic, so you can urge it to stand up for ocean protection and support the creation of the world’s largest Antarctic ocean sanctuary.  Play a part and add your voice to get governments to act and protect the Antarctic. Sign the petition Greenpeace has got and add your voice.  Penguins, whales and marine life need you!

    

5. 30 acres on coastline saved in Norfolk at Salthouse

   Posted on 9:00am Thursday 14th Jun 2018

   National Trust supporters and donors have enabled the National Trust to acquire 30 acres of Norfolk coastline. The site is at Salthouse, and the Trust is working in partnership with the current grazier, who will manage the land as the National Trust’s tenant. The Norfolk coast is home to a wide diversity of wildlife, and the space inland will enable the animals to move, adjust and retreat as the coastline changes. ©National Trust The area is home to over-wintering wildfowl such as Brent Geese. The land sits next to land already in the National Trust’s care, and that land is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. The new acquisition will enable the National Trust to widen and join up habitats – and this will help make nature more resilient along the coastline. The donors were giving to the National Trust’s Neptune Coastline Campaign which has supported the Trust’s work to care for coastline for 50 years, and will help it well into the future. You can find out more about the Salthouse area here Donate to the National Trust Neptune Coastline Campaign here.