Thank goodness!  The Zambian Government has done an about-turn on its plan to cull over a thousand hippos in the Luangwa Valley.

There had been increasing international pressure for the Zambian Government to justify why such a cull should take place.  The National Association of Community Resources Board in Zambia had also called for the cull to be reversed.  Born Free say local community representatives had also been against the cull. 

Hippos across Africa are under more and more pressure – there are only 115,000 to 130,000 of them left, and the IUCN lists them as “Vulnerable”.

There has been a lot of effort to end the elephant ivory trade – and now hippos are being targeted more and more for their ivory instead.

We must do more to stop such exports.  And to stop trophy hunting in the first place.

Born Free say they remain committed to working with the Zambian Government "to help secure a future of peaceful and prosperous co-existence between Zambia’s wildlife and its people."

For more info from Born Free, click here

In the run up to World Oceans Day (8^th June every year), Environment Secretary Michael Gove has created 41 new Marine Conservation Zones.

This represents the most significant expansion of England’s Blue Belt of Protected Areas to date.

Stretching from Northumberland (where eider ducks live) to the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall (basking sharks, seabirds and fish) , the action Gove has taken safeguards 12,000 square kilometres of marine habitat.   A substantial number of additional zones were created in waters away from the coast – some in the deep sea – thus giving protection to habitats and species such as coral gardens, fan mussel and sea pens.

Here’s a map showing the Marine Protected Areas

Vulnerable marine wildlife will now have an opportunity to recover.    And if there are richer habitats for marine life, so there life will be better for those whose livelihoods depend on a healthy coastline and sea. 

WWF has discovered that in marine protected areas, fish breed more readily and populations recover.  In the Apo Island (Philippines), communities depend heavily on fish.   After a marine protected area was created, catch per unit increased 50%.  Fish populations tripled.  Fisherman were able to save fuel and spend less time at sea.

The UK now has over 350 Marine Protected Areas, covering 220,000 square kilometres – that’s twice the size of England.

The areas protected include wildlife such as worms, seahorse and oyster.   Sand, tidal mud, rocky reefs and gravel will be protected.  Each as a role to play in the balance of nature. 

The evidence about the importance of these new sites was gathered by volunteer divers who dive  for Seasearch, a programme co-ordinated by the Marine Conservation Society.    Divers spent hours diving very diverse seabed habitats to record the marine plants and animals living in our inshore seas.   There were extensive consultations with local fishermen too, and members of the public.

This citizen science enabled groups such as the Marine Conservation Society to make a case for protecting many of these sites, and they will now be involved in developing management and monitoring plans for these newly protected areas.

After all, protection must be active if it is to mean anything.  It’s no good allocating a protected status to an area if action isn’t taken to ensure that the area IS protected.

Bodies such as the Marine Management Organisation and local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities will have the responsibility of ensuring that the zones are protected, working with local fishing communities and other organisations.

The UK government has called for 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030.  It has co-chaired the creation of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance with Vanuatu. 

Later this year, the government will publish an international strategy setting out more action to conserve the ocean and use it in a sustainable way.

Meantime, its next step closer to home is to stop damaging activities in the Marine Protected Zones which affect wildlife.   Beam trawling, dredging for scallops and langoustines are among these – and surely there must be some action to stop some leisure activities, too. 

But this is a great start, and the fact that citizen scientists (e.g. willing volunteers) and world-class marine scientists have worked together to contribute towards such an outcome is heart-warming.

Watch this space!

There’s a new protected area in Bolivia! It spans over 12,000 square kilometres – that’s 4,650 square miles.  And it includes well-conserved forests – it’s home to 300 species of birds and 100 species of jaguars, pumas and night monkeys.  It’s home too to the Ayoreo indigenous community which is voluntarily isolated.

 “Ñembi Guasu” means “the great hideout” or “the great refuge.”  The creation of the protected area is expected to help to offset deforestation in Bolivia’s Gran Chaco region.

The Ñembi Guasu Area of Conservation and Ecological Importance is the second-largest protected area in the Gran Chaco.   The jaguar, puma, the southern night monkey, the southern tamandua live here.

The area is one of the few places in Bolivia where long-term plans can be made for jaguars and other large animals there.

The territory is home to more than 100 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, and at least 80 species of reptiles and amphibians.   The area is described as “a large area where animals can hide”.

Some threats put the territory at risk – the extraction of oil is one.  The Bolivian government approved an order that allows the extraction of oil in natural areas.  Land invasions are another problem. 

There’s news from South Korea of a rare Asiatic black bear having been spotted in the DMZ.

The DMZ is the Demilitarised Zone which divides North and South Korea.  The area is very cut off and as a result, it’s become a pristine nature reserve. 

In fact, the DMZ has become a real haven for plants and wildlife;   the South Korean government predict that over 100 endangered species call the area home and the Ministry of Environment estimates that there are over 5,097 animal and plant species there, such as the red-crowned crane and black-faced spoonbill. 

It’s thought there are about 3,050 red-crowned cranes left in the world so they are a very endangered species indeed.  However, it’s also a migrating route for birds and the Eurasian lynx has been spotted in the area too.

Although South Korean soldiers reported seeing bears in the past, there wasn’t any photographic evidence.   The South Korea National Institute of Technology installed cameras – and the bear was spotted!

KBS News

The bear seen is thought to be between 8 to 9 months old, weighing about 25 to 35 kilograms.   They think the bear is a descendant of the Asiatic black bears lived in the DMZ for a long time

The DMZ is 155 miles long and 2.5 miles wide and it runs across the Korean Peninsula.  It’s heaviliy mined and fortified with barbed wire with surveillance cameras and electric fending.   It was created after the armistice which brought an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

Hiking trails are being established in the DMZ now as recently ties between North and South Korea have improved.  

I had an interesting email from Polar Bears International (PBI) today.

They have noticed that polar bears are showing up in odd places.   An exhausted polar bear was seen recently in a village on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula – and that’s 600 kilometers plus from its home range.

Their Senior Director of Conservation, Geoff York, thinks this could be that the bear hitched a ride on an ice floe and drifted south, as the ice broke up earlier in the Bering and Chukchi seas this spring. 

Unusual and fast ice loss this year has displaced polar bears form their preferred hunting areas.   Seals give birth to their pups in spring In snow lairs or on the sea ice surface.  This makes the polar bear’s dinner more abundant and accessible than at any other time of the year.

However the Russian polar bear was far from this area.

It was decided to air-lift him back north, to Chukotka in the Russian Arctic.

But there have been other unusual occurrences in the region over several months.  Some have been far from the sea.   This could be because of unstable ice cover.

Sustained early sea ice is bad news for polar bears

Polar Bears International know from other regions that sustained early sea ice break up doesn’t do polar bears any good. 

• Fewer hunting opportunities
• Decreased body condition
• Impacts on reproduction which aren’t good
• Negative impacts on survival, especially the old and  young

If there’s less sea ice in the Arctic, it gets more difficult for polar bears to make a living from the frozen ocean.  Of course people living on the Arctic rely on stable ice to get around on, and to gather food.  We all need a frozen Arctic ecosystem to regulate our climate.    So we ALL need the Arctic to be in good health.

Polar Bears International works in 3 ways:

Education and outreach.  As more polar bears appear onshore, the charity works to help keep polar bears and people safe, with outreach on best practices for avoiding human-polar bear conflict.   These include getting rid of things such as open garbage dumps and installing bear-proof ones. 

Research – the charity is studying the effectiveness of using surveillance radar to detect approaching polar bears.  This means alerts can be given before a bear enters town.  PBI help with research on the best deterrants – and that includes putting together a  history of polar bear attacks, and their causes to help avoid future conflicts.

Climate Action. PBI is one working to solve the climate crisis, sharing their knowledge of polar bears and coming up with solutions.  This includes the Climate Alliance training program for zoo staff members, outreach to motivate citizen involvement, and advocacy to policy makers on the urgent need to act.