Measuring at 14 centimeters (5.5 inches), a new spider discovered in the sand dunes of Israel is the largest of its kind in all of the Middle East. How it avoided detection until now in one of the world' longest inhabited—and explored—regions is likely due, at least in part, to the species' entire habitat consisting of only three square kilometers.

Dwelling in the Sands of Samar in the southern Arava region of Israel, the spider, called Cerbalus aravensis, is already greatly endangered due to development plans. Rezoning for agriculture and sand quarries has already reduced the spiders' dunes by more than half: from seven square kilometers to three.

"The discovery of this new spider illustrates our obligation to preserve the dune," says Dr. Shanas from the University of Haifa, who headed the team of scientists.

The habitat is under direct threat as the Israel Land Administration is moving ahead to renew mining projects in the Sands of Samar. Shanas says that the spider may not be the only species hiding from science for millennia among the dunes and that they should be preserved for their biological richness.

"The new discovery shows how much we still have to investigate, and that there are likely to be many more species that are unknown to us. If we do not preserve the few habitats that remain for these species, they will become extinct before we can even discover them," Dr. Shanas concludes.

Little is known about the spider's biology, but researchers say it is nocturnal and active during the hottest months. The species lives in an underground den covered over by a door of glued together sand particles.

Taken from: www.mongabay.com

Balikpapan Bay in East Kalimantan is home to an incredible variety of ecosystems: in the shallow bay waters endangered dugong feed on sea grasses and salt water crocodiles sleep; along the bay proboscis monkeys leap among mangroves thirty meters tall and Irrawaddy dolphins roam; beyond the mangroves lies the Sungai Wain Protection forest; here, the Sunda clouded leopard hunts, sun bears climb into the canopy searching for fruits and nuts, and a reintroduced population of orangutans makes their nests; but this wilderness, along with all of its myriad inhabitants, are threatened by a plan to build a bridge and road connecting the towns of Penajam and Balikpapan.

The bridge, known as Pulau Balang, would span the bay, splicing through Balang Island, cutting off the mangroves from the rainforest, and running the entire length of the western edge of the protected forest. While the direct impacts would be severe—deforestation for the road, splitting the mangrove from the rainforest, damage to the reef—researchers say that providing people easy access to the mangrove and forests will inevitably destroy them.

"The most serious threats are the indirect ones, notably opening an uncontrollable access to the whole area," Stanislav Lhota, a primatologist with the University of South Bohemia, told mongabay.com.

Map showing proposed road and bridge and shorter alternative (larger image at the end of the article). Image courtesy of Stanislav Lhota.

The project "will open access for settlements, farming, illegal logging, more land speculation, subsequent forest fires, poaching of wildlife, illegal logging. In effect it will cause the destruction of the mangrove area and all wildlife there, but also (slow but certain) destruction of the western side of the Sungai Wain forest," Dr. Gabriella Fredriksson says. Fredriksson, an expert on sun bears, has worked on managing and conserving the Sungai Wain Protection Forest for over a decade.

"The destruction of the mangroves will also impact the fragile marine wildlife in the [Balikpapan] bay and fisheries due to destruction of fish breeding areas," adds Dr. Danielle Kreb of the local NGO RASI, who has studied the marine mammals in Balikpapan Bay for several years and noticed that the Irrawaddy dolphins’ core habitat is in the vicinity of Pulau Balang.

Despite the clear environmental impact outlined by conservationists, the provincial and federal governments support the project. Local governments, however, have signalled over the past couple months that they oppose the project, especially since there is an alternative plan that would threaten none of the ecosystems, and in addition provide a far shorter route between Penajam to Balikpapan.

A lost wilderness?

Sungai Wain protected forest. Photo by: Marian Bartos.

If the Pulau Bridge project goes ahead, Balikpapan Bay will be forever changed. The already shallow bay will face erosion and sedimentation from construction work on the surrounding hills, making the bay less accessible for large boats and leading to more frequent flooding of the coastal villages. Species in the bay, such as dugongs, crocodiles, and green sea turtles—already affected by sedimentation—would likely face further impacts from pollution.

The mangroves—an ecosystem that has faced heavy losses worldwide—would be severely impacted as well. The green corridors allowing species to move between the mangrove ecosystem and the Sungai Wain protection forest will be altogether broken.

"Fauna such as proboscis monkeys and many other species cannot survive in long term in mangroves alone," Lhota explains. "They need regular access to the neighboring forest where they find numerous key resources. Mangroves alone are rather inhospitable environment with only limited food sources. If they are isolated from other forests, they may apparently survive but they will gradually turn into a lifeless stand of Rhizophora trees."

The eventual loss of the mangroves also threatens the local fishing trade since fish require the mangrove forest for breeding: the mangrove stand in question is the last place for fish in the bay to breed.

"East Kalimantan only has a small mangrove area left, because much of the mangrove area [has] already [been] converted to shrimp ponds and industry. And on Balikpapan, [this] is [the] last mangrove forest," says Ade Fadli of BEBSiC, a local conservation group.

The road connecting the bridge to Balikpapan would next pass along the western edge of the Sungai Wain forest reserve, the last major stand of dipterocarp trees along the south and central coast. While the direct impact of road building to the forest reserve would likely be minimal, the road would open the reserve to "illegal logging, land clearance, and above all, forest fires," according to Lhota.

Fire is the most significant threat to the forest. While tropical forests rarely burn under natural conditions, human impacts in Indonesia has left a scar of burning across Kalimantan. Sungai Wain contains the last unburnt primary forest in the area; in 1998 devastating fires spilled across the region, but only burnt a part of Sungai Wain.

"The [Sungai Wain] forest, which was burned only once, regenerates well but becomes highly prone to subsequent fires due to the decrease in humidity and huge quantities of highly flammable dead wood," Lhota explains. "If it burns a second time, it can no longer regenerate easily. With the current tendency of governments to consider such forest as 'lost forever', it is likely to be doomed to further encroachment and conversion."

Home to over 100 mammal species and over 250 bird species, the loss of the forest would devastate tropical species, including a population of reintroduced orangutans.

In addition, the forest is as a catchment source of clean water for the state-owned oil company Pertamina, and the Kariangau Baru industrial area. The loss of the forest would endanger the water needs of these industries, which uses it for cooling in refineries and drinking for employees.

The Sungai Wain forest "is the last watershed covered with forest and hence supplying freshwater on an ongoing basis. The water from this reserve has been used for the oil industry and its workers/households (which make up almost 20 percent of the population in Balikpapan) since 1945," Fredriksson explains.

According to Lhota, Balikpapan Bay has huge ecotourism and education potential which has largely gone untapped.

Taken from: www.mongabay.com

Gone: a look at extinction over the past decade

Amphibian Armageddon: The past few decades have been particularly perilous for amphibians. Devastated by a still-mysterious disease, the chytrid fungus, and hit by climate change, habitat loss, and pollution, the particularly-sensitive family of amphibians is in the midst of an extinction crisis.

The Kihansi spray toads mating in captivity. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.

The Kihansi spray toad vanished from its home in the middle of the decade. Living adjacent to a waterfall and gorge in Tanzania, the toad survived on only two hectares of land, but when the World Bank built a dam in the area, the flow of the waterfall was changed and the toad could no longer thrive in the altered habitat. Surveys found fewer and fewer toads until they found none.

Like many amphibians that vanish from the wild, a population of Kihansi spray toads still survives in captivity in the United States. Reintroduction would only be possible if their native habitat can be made to support the toads again.

The Panamanian golden frog—a beautiful black and gold species—also likely vanished from the wild during the last years of the decade. A national symbol in Panama, the frog was devastated by the chytrid fungus and habitat destruction. Like the Kihansi spray toad, the Panamanian golden frog survives in captivity, but its future is hardly secure.

These are but a small representation: researchers estimate that more than 120 species of amphibians have likely gone extinct since 1980. With climate change scenarios growing increasingly dire, rampant deforestation, continuing pollution, and no cure yet to the chytrid fungus, it's unlikely the 2010s will be any better for amphibians.

The Panamanian golden frog with green infant. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.

The Vanished Forgotten: While extinctions of mammals, birds, and amphibians garner the most media attention (in that order), invertebrates and plants are vanishing just as frequently.

Sometime between the end of the 1990s and during the beginning of this decade, the last Aldabra banded snail succumbed to desiccation. Little-known, this snail was endemic to the Aldabra atoll. Since the snail hibernates during dry periods, less rainfall over the Aldabra atoll due to global warming likely spelled its doom.

Another invertebrate lost to climate change is the European land leech. A survey between 2000-2005 found only a single living European land leech. The researchers believe that a rise of 3 degrees Celsius during the summertime has doomed the leech, which is adapted specifically to the cold.

Climate-sensitive species from polar bears to pikas to frogs to coral reefs are facing an uphill battle to survive in our warmer world. Extinctions due to climate change will likely become even more common in the next decade.

Illustration of the St. Helena olive. Drawing by: John Charles Meliss (1875).

Invertebrates are not the only little-known and often overlooked species. Plant extinctions—or discoveries for that matter—rarely make the news. In December 2003, the last St. Helena olive died in captivity. Prior to this, the species had vanished from the wild in 1994.

Endemic to St. Helena Island, the St. Helena olive perished from deforestation and the introduction of alien species like goats. No one knows how many plants have vanished during 2000-2009, but with high rates of rainforest destruction in many nations, it is likely that a large number of plants—many unknown to science—were lost in the last ten years.

Goodbye and maybe hope?: The last known wild Spix's macaw disappeared from Brazil in 2000. This beautiful macaw was battered by habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade. It is possible some wild macaws still remain, but more surveys are necessary. Still, even if no wild Spix's macaws remain, the species has a chance.

A small population of Spix's macaws survive in captivity and there has been recent success at reproduction, especially at Al Wabra Wildlife Preserve which has bred 21 birds since 2004. In addition, Al Wabra has purchased Spix's macaw habitat in Brazil for possible future reintroduction.

Spix's Macaw probably has the most hope of surviving the next ten years of any of these twelve. For the unfortunate others, this decade was their last stand.



List of (likely) extinct species, 2000-2009:

Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer)
Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius)
'Alala (Corvus hawaiiensis)
Poo-uli (Melamprosops phaeosoma)
Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica)
Western black rhinocerous (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica)
Kihansi Spray Toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis)
Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki)
Aldabra banded snail (Rachistia aldabrae)
The European land leech (Xerobdella lecomtei)

Taken from: www.mongabay.com

Ten beloved species threatened by global warming

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a list of ten species that are likely to be among the hardest hit by climate change, including beloved species such as the leatherback sea turtle, the koala, the emperor penguin, the clownfish, and the beluga whale. The timing of the list coincides with the negotiations by world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference to come up with an international agreement to combat climate change.

"Humans are not the only ones whose fate is at stake here in Copenhagen – some of our favourite species are also taking the fall for our CO2 emissions," report co-author Wendy Foden said in a press release. "This report should act as a wake-up call to governments to make real commitments to cut CO2 emissions if we are to avoid a drastically changed natural world. We simply don’t have the time for drawn-out political wrangling. We need strong commitments and we need them now."

The report also highlights the plight of the staghorn coral, salmon, ringed seal, arctic fox, and the quiver tree. The report doesn't include the polar bear since most people are already aware of the threat climate change poses to the world's largest bear.

The ringed-seal. Photo by: Kit M. Kovacs and Christian Lydersen.

Much like the polar bear, the ringed seal is threatened by ice melt in the Arctic. Ringed seals require ice for breeding and rearing young. In the spring they need at least six weeks of stable ice in the spring to milk their newborn cubs.

Below the ice, beluga whales are seen as indirectly threatened by warmer seas. A warmer Arctic is likely to bring more humans and more ships which will negatively impact the beluga whale through noise, pollution, and collisions with ships. Global warming could also bring the beluga whale in greater contact with its natural hunter, the killer whale. Beluga whales are currently listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

Also in the Arctic, climate change is putting pressure on Arctic fox. With warming temperatures the fox's tundra habitat is being invaded by new plants, eventually the tundra could be replaced by boreal forests, putting the Arctic fox in direct competition with its larger cousin, the red fox, with drastic consequence, since there is evidence of the red fox killing both young and adult Arctic foxes.

On the other end of the world, in the frigid Antarctic, emperor penguins are threatened by the loss of stable sea ice platforms for young chicks and moulting adults. A rise in 2 degrees Celsius would likely impact 40 percent of emperor penguin's total population. Conservationists also fear that the penguin's food source, Antarctic krill, will be diminished by warmer temperatures.

The clownfish. Photo courtesy of the IUCN.

North of the Antarctic, on the endemic-rich continent of Australia, koalas are also suffering from the heat. Rising CO2 levels have caused Eucalyptus leaves, the koala's only food, to decline in nutrients. Increased incidences of bushfires and droughts are also likely to hurt koala populations.

Ocean species are hardly immune from climate change. Corals, such as staghorn corals, are particularly susceptible. Rising temperatures are known to cause a phenomenon of coral bleaching, which can lead to increased propensity incidence of disease and even mass-mortality in coral reefs. In addition, ocean acidification, caused by higher concentrations of CO2 in the ocean, can weaken coral skeletons.

Bright orange with white-stripes, the ocean's famous clownfish are threatened by the widespread coral reef decline. Dependent on the sea-anemones which are found in biodiversity-rich coral reefs, clownfish would likely not survive in a world without anemones. In addition, ocean acidification has been shown to upset clownfish's ability to navigate, especially among juveniles.

The Arctic fox. Photo by: Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson.

The world's largest marine turtle is also threatened by climate change. Since the leatherback marine turtle's sex is determined by the temperature of the sand in which their mothers' lay the eggs, warmer temperatures are likely to increase the number of male leatherback turtles, upsetting the natural balance. Rising sea levels may also wash away important—and increasingly rare—nesting beach for the turtle. The leatherback is already listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List.

Salmon's ability to move from the ocean to freshwater rivers en masse has made them sensitive to even small environmental changes, let alone massive habitat upheaval from global warming. Warmer temperatures in the ocean and in freshwater ecosystems may upset the important timing of the salmon's migration, as well, warm freshwater can act as a barrier to migrating salmon, forcing them to migrate further and expend more energy. Less snow in the winter may also decrease the flow of important salmon rivers.

Even desert species are feeling the heat. Although the quiver tree inhabits some of the Africa's driest and hottest habitats, it is threatened by increasing drought. This large, slow-growing tree is undergoing sever drought-stress in parts of its range. Conservationists fear that the trees in the drought zones will not be able to migrate to other ranges, leaving remaining populations genetically deficient.

"Ordinary people are not powerless to stop these tragic losses," Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, said in a press release. "They can cut down on their own CO2 emissions and voice their support for strong action by their Governments to change the dire climate prognosis we are currently facing."




Beluga whale. Photo by: Bill Liao.





Taken from: www.mongabay.com

Changing drivers of deforestation provide new opportunities for conservation

Tropical deforestation claimed roughly 13 million hectares of forest per year during the first half of this decade, about the same rate of loss as the 1990s. But while the overall numbers have remained relatively constant, they mask a transition of great significance: a shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation and geographic consolidation of where deforestation occurs. These changes have important implications for efforts to protect the world's remaining tropical forests in that environmental lobby groups now have identifiable targets that may be more responsive to pressure on environmental concerns than tens of millions of impoverished rural farmers. In other words, activists have more leverage than ever to impact corporate behavior as it relates to deforestation.

According to research by Tom Rudel of Rutgers University, from the 1960s through the 1980s, a large proportion of deforestation was the result of government policies promoting rural development, including agricultural loans and road construction. These initiatives, particularly in Brazil and Indonesia, drove large-scale deforestation by small landholders. Today, economic stability, an increasingly global financial market, and a worldwide commodity boom are conspiring to create a ripe environment for development by the private sector. While centrally planned development projects and poverty alleviation programs were once the engines of road construction and colonization schemes, the political impetus today for large infrastructure projects comes from industry interests seeking to facilitate access to international markets. Surging demand for grain, driven by the thirst for biofuels and rising standards of living in developing countries, are fueling the trend.

Since the 1990s deforestation has become increasingly concentrated. Recently published research by Matt Hansen of South Dakota State University suggests an even more dramatic shift in recent years. His work, which is based off of high resolution satellite imagery, shows that Brazil and Indonesia accounted for 61 percent of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2005, rather than the 43 percent reported by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Although many are dismayed by what they see as greater capacity to destroy forests, the recent shift from poverty-driven deforestation to industry-driven deforestation may offer new opportunities for rainforest conservation in that it is easier for pressure groups to target corporations and enterprises rather than tens of millions of poor farmers who are simply trying to put food on the table for their families.

A good example can be seen in Greenpeace's Slaughtering the Amazon report released this past June. The report linked some of the world's most prominent brands — Nike, Toyota, Prada, and others — to destruction of the Amazon rainforest. The fallout from the report was immediate. Some of the world's largest beef and leather buyers suspended contracts with suppliers associated with Amazon forest clearing. The Brazilian government announced a crackdown and fines, raided the offices of powerful cattle companies, and called for a review of loan programs. Government ministers joined the private sector in demanding new chain-of-custody controls for suppliers to ensure that cattle products were not contributing to deforestation. The largest cattle producers and traders soon responded with a moratorium on Amazon deforestation and a promise to implement improved supply-chain tracking mechanisms. The Brazilian cattle industry may now be on the cusp of transitioning from being the world's largest single driver of deforestation to a critical component in helping slow climate change.

To be effective, green NGOs should be careful to avoid "blackwashing" or using the same tactics corporations use to blatantly misrepresent environmental realities. Lying to the public undermines the credibility of activist groups and undermines support for protecting the environment, doing long-term damage to the cause.

But while the shift in Brazil and some other parts of the world would seem to herald a shift towards greater concern over environmental performance among the largest drivers of deforestation, difficulties remain. Some markets — notably India and China but even in the U.S. and Europe in some cases — there is less consumer preference for environmentally-friendly goods. Further, "greenwashing," or the misrepresentation of the environmental qualities of a product, also presents challenges for efforts to meaningfully reduce industry's impact on the planet. Finally, industrial activities can often create a strong economic impetus for infrastructure development that further promotes forest clearing.

However an emerging emphasis on the values that ecosystems afford humanity may take some pressure off forests by creating opportunities for corporations to profit from protecting — rather than destroying — wildlands. For example, the proposed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism could provide incentives for traditional forest destroyers to embrace forests as valuable assets. The net result could be enterprise-driven preservation of wild lands. Of course, the key to the success of this effort is ensuring that rural populations and forest dwellers share in the proceeds. Without their partnership, deforestation is not going to disappear.

For a more nuanced discussion of this concept, take a look at New strategies for conserving tropical forests, a paper I wrote with Dr. William Laurance last year.

Taken from:
mongabay.com

FORCES BEHIND FOREST LOSS

As the first seven sections of this site have described, tropical rainforests are incredibly rich ecosystems that play a fundamental role in the basic functioning of the planet. Rainforests are home to probably 50 percent of the world's species, making them an extensive library of biological and genetic resources. In addition, rainforests help maintain the climate by regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, protect against desertification, and provide numerous other ecological functions.

However, these precious systems are among the most threatened on the planet. Although the precise area is debated, each day at least 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest disappear from Earth. At least another 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest are degraded. Along with them, the planet loses as many as several hundred species to extinction, the vast majority of which have never been documented by science. As these forests fall, more carbon is added to the atmosphere, climactic conditions are further altered, and more topsoil is lost to erosion.

Despite increased awareness of the importance of these forests, deforestation rates have not slowed. Analysis of figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows that tropical deforestation rates increased 8.5 percent from 2000-2005 when compared with the 1990s, while loss of primary forests may have expanded by 25 percent over the same period. Nigeria and Vietnam's rate of primary forest loss has doubled since the 1990s, while Peru's rate has tripled.

Overall, FAO estimates that 10.4 million hectares of tropical forest were permanently destroyed each year in the period from 2000 to 2005, an increase since the 1990-2000 period, when around 10.16 million hectares of forest were lost. Among primary forests, annual deforestation rose to 6.26 million hectares from 5.41 million hectares in the same period. On a broader scale, FAO data shows that primary forests are being replaced by less biodiverse plantations and secondary forests. Due to a significant increase in plantation forests, forest cover has generally been expanding in North America, Europe, and China while diminishing in the tropics. Industrial logging, conversion for agriculture (commercial and subsistence), and forest fires—often purposely set by people—are responsible for the bulk of global deforestation today.

Taken from:
mongabay

Deforestation emissions should be shared between producer and consumer, argues study

Under the Kyoto Protocol the nation that produces carbon emission takes responsibility for them, but what about when the country is producing carbon-intensive goods for consumer demand beyond its borders? For example while China is now the world's highest carbon emitter, 50 percent of its growth over the last year was due to producing goods for wealthy countries like the EU and the United States which have, in a sense, outsourced their manufacturing emissions to China. A new study in Environmental Research Letters presents a possible model for making certain that both producer and consumer share responsibility for emissions in an area so far neglected by studies of this kind: deforestation and land-use change.

It's not just China that is seeing emissions rise due to demand from other nations: deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil accounts for 75 percent of that nation's emissions, but most of the products produced on deforested land, such as soy and beef, are exported to other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Pastureland and transition forest in Mato Grosso, Brazil (April 2009). Since 2003 Brazil has set aside 523,592 square kilometers of protected areas, accounting for 74 percent of the total land area protected worldwide during that period. Photo by Rhett Butler.

"Brazil has some of the highest emissions from deforestation in the world and its exports of both soybeans and beef have grown dramatically in the last two decades," David Zaks, lead author and graduate student at the Center for Sustainability and Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison told Mongabay.com.

Brazil's high annual deforestation rates are currently supporting a massive agricultural industry that exports most of its product abroad: Brazil is the world's largest exporter of both beef and soybeans. Between 1990 and 2006, exports of beef increased by 500 percent. The soy boom, which began in the 1990s, did not cause as much direct deforestation, but pushed cattle farmers and small-land holders deeper into the forest.

From 1990-2006, EU countries and Asian countries were the primary importers of Brazil's soy, while importers of Brazil's beef came from around the world, including Eastern Europe, the EU, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and other South American nations. Yet so far none of these nations have had to pay a cent for the environmental damage, including high carbon emissions, caused by the deforestation of the Amazon.

Zaks and his team have proposed a model to change this. According to their study when a product is exported half of the emissions should be the responsibility of the producing country and half of the importing country and its consumers.

"There is no 'right way' to proportion emissions between consumer and producer, but we did not think that assigning the burden of emissions to either Brazil OR the importing country would be logical," explains Zaks. "If emissions are assigned only to the importing country, there is a reduced incentive to decrease deforestation in the exporting country."

Taken from:
www.mongabay.com

World's first video of the elusive and endangered bay cat

Rare, elusive, and endangered by habitat loss, the bay cat is one of the world's least studied wild cats. Several specimens of the cat were collected in the 19th and 20th Century, but a living cat wasn't even photographed until 1998. Now, researchers in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, have managed to capture the first film of the bay cat (Catopuma temminckii). Lasting seven seconds, the video (see below) shows the distinctly reddish-brown cat in its habitat.

For three years Andrew Hearn and Jo Ross of the Global Canopy Programme have been surveying Borneo's wild cats with camera trapping; these include the Sunda clouded leopard, the marbled cat, the flat-headed cat, the leopard cat, and the bay cat, which is the only species of the five that is wholly endemic to Borneo. As well as recording the first video of the bay cat, they also took the first photos of the animal in Sabah.

Due to habitat loss and deforestation—largely from the spread of palm oil plantations and logging—the bay cat is currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List and its population is in decline. If deforestation rates continue as expected, researchers have estimated that the already small population of bay cats will fall another 20 percent over the next decade.

The bay cat is not alone in its plight. Four of Borneo's five wild cats are classified by the IUCN as threatened with extinction due to continued deforestation.

"No other place has a higher percentage of threatened wild cats!" Jim Sanderson, an expert on the world's small cats, says. Pointing out that 80 percent of Borneo's cats face extinction, Sanderson adds that "not one of these wild cats poses a direct threat to humans."

So little is known about the bay cat that even its diet remains largely a mystery.
yright the Global Canopy Programme:






Researchers suspect there are less than 2,500 mature bay cats left in the wild. The species is endemic to Borneo and rampant deforestation is the main threat. Copyright: Global Canopy Programme. Photo by: Jo Ross and Andrew Hearn

Taken from

Mongabay.com

Emotional call for palm oil industry to address environmental problems

During what was at times an emotional speech, Sabah's Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun, called on the palm oil industry to stop polluting rivers and work with NGOs to save orangutans and other wildlife. He delivered the speech on the first day of an Orangutan Conservation Colloquium held in early October in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.

"As a member of the state government I say to you the state government is completely dependent on palm oil, yes, but the future generations are also dependent on the [oil palm] planters to ensure that they inherit a world much better than what we were given," he said to a conference room filled with conservationists, primatologists, government officials, and representatives of the palm oil industry.

While Masidi said that the palm oil industry is "not solely to be blamed", he added that they are "one of the culprits".


Oil palm plantations along the Kinabatangan River. Photo by: Jeremy Hance.
"I myself have had a couple of sessions with the planters. They promised to do this and do that, but suddenly it's clear to me it's all been lip-service […] I went into the plantations myself to check and I know some of the mills have not done their job by letting pollutants out into the river."

A study by the Department of Environment found that twenty-nine oil palm mills on Sabah's Kinabatangan River were dumping pollution into the river. The river ecosystem is home to orangutans, Bornean pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, the storm's stork, and many other species. Fifty years ago the Kinabatangan River was clear. Today, after decades of clear-cut logging and then the palm oil industry, it is coffee-colored.

"It doesn't cost much money. With all the profit that we are taking from the soil, I think that it doesn't really hurt the company to spend a bit of money […] to make sure that we don't pollute the river," Masidi said. "I mean 'who are we'? I am throwing you this question because this is a very, very important question to ask. […] If we can't even control pollution in the river then obviously something is wrong with us. Yes, we can take all the profit, all the money we want, but after that what will we do?"

Masidi expressed his view that he didn't want to enforce compliance through state and federal law.


Oil palm seed. Palm oil is used widely in processed foods. By virtue of its high yield, palm oil is a cheaper substitute than other vegetable oils. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
"I would rather believe that planters are responsible enough to self regulate, self police. Why? Because, all of us are relations. Why? Because we are human beings and only human being can really put aside their emotion, their need to take more, to leave aside something for the future generations to enjoy."

He warned that a time would come when pressure from abroad would force change on oil palm plantations and that "it makes sense" to beginning complying with progressive requirements now, such as those laid out by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

"There are planters who already comply," Masidi added. "And that shows it can be done. It can be done. You can make money and at the same time be socially responsible. It can be done."

Masidi said the same attitude of socially responsibility should be brought to the issue of orangutan conservation: "let's be magnamimous to the orangutan, they may be the man of the forest, and we are man of the town, but we are all 'orangs'."

Sabah's orangutan population has declined by approximately half in fifty years, from an estimated 22,000 to 11,000. In addition, sixty-five percent of Sabah's orangutans live outside of protected areas. Masidi did not back away from saying that this widespread decline was due in part to the rise of palm oil plantations over land that once held forest.


Male orangutan feeding on fruit tree overlooking the Kinabatangan River. Photo by: Jeremy Hance.
"[The] orangutan is living in a fragmented forest and the reason they are fragmented is because of planters. It's okay, you by all means plant, but you have to give them a good opportunity to survive. You see orangutans and other animals, they need to cross from one jungle to another," Masidi said, adding that such fragmentation was affecting more than just the orangutans. The Bornean pygmy rhinos, he said, "are not multiplying because they have been cut off, we didn't provide corridors for them to walk from place to place to find a mate."

In order to save orangutans—and other species—Masidi urged the palm oil industry and government to work willingly with local and international NGOs present at the meeting. Both sides are wary of each other. Many in the palm oil industry feel they have been unfairly singled out by environmental NGOs for deforestation and species loss. While the conservation community is frustrated by the palm oil industry consistently attempting to paint itself as 'sustainable', while not following through on environmental promises.

"To me, personally, I enjoy working with NGOs,” Masidi expounded. "I urge all departments, government bodies, not to treat NGOs as enemies but rather as friends who give you council from time to time. I think we need to tell ourselves that we are not exactly the experts on everything that we think we know. […] And I urge all of you not to be too defensive of what they [the NGOs] are going to say over the next few days, but in fact to take their words quite seriously, and ask ourselves are we moving in the right direction to conserve the orangutan?"

In the end Masidi urged the colloquium that it was time to put aside past differences and work together to create a society that would conserve rivers and wildlife.


Orphaned orangutan at Sepilok near the Kinabatangan River. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
"I say to you and I plead to you, look, […] why don't we leave aside a legacy that the future generations can enjoy. The best legacy I can think of is to make sure we look after the pristine region of Sabah."

The Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment concluded his speech: "The message is clear. Time is now. Get things done. Enough of talking," and then he added, "after we talk for the next two days, of course."

Following two days of intensive meetings between conservationists, the palm industry, and government officials, the colloquium adopted a resolution which included the acquisition of land for creating wildlife corridors of at least 100 meters along all major rivers and to connect fragmented forests. The resolution was handed off to Masidi on the last day. He promised to move quickly on it.


Taken from

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Palm oil industry pledges wildlife corridors to save orangutans

In an unlikely—and perhaps tenuous—alliance, conservationists and the palm oil industry met this week to draw up plans to save Asia's last great ape, the orangutan. As if to underscore the colloquium's importance, delegates on arriving in the Malaysian State of Sabah found the capital covered in a thick and strange fog caused by the burning of rainforests and peat lands in neighboring Kalimantan. After two days of intensive meetings the colloquium adopted a resolution which included the acquisition of land for creating wildlife buffer zones of at least 100 meters along all major rivers, in addition to corridors for connecting forests. Researchers said such corridors were essential if orangutans were to have a future in Sabah.


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Palm oil both a leading threat to orangutans and a key source of jobs in Sumatra

Of the world's two species of orangutan, a great ape that shares 96 percent of man's genetic makeup, the Sumatran orangutan is considerably more endangered than its cousin in Borneo. Today there are believed to be fewer than 7,000 Sumatran orangutans in the wild, a consequence of the wildlife trade, hunting, and accelerating destruction of their native forest habitat by loggers, small-scale farmers, and agribusiness.

Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra is one of the last strongholds for the species, serving as a refuge among paper pulp concessions and rubber and oil palm plantations. While orangutans are relatively well protected in areas around tourist centers, they are affected by poorly regulated interactions with tourists, which have increased the risk of disease and resulted in high mortality rates among infants near tourist centers like Bukit Lawang. Further, orangutans that range outside the park or live in remote areas or on its margins face conflicts with developers, including loggers, who may or may not know about the existence of the park, and plantation workers, who may kill any orangutans they encounter in the fields.

Working to improve the fate of orangutans that find their way into plantations and unprotected community areas is the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), a local NGO that collaborates with the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS). Founded by Panut Hadisiswoyo, OIC runs outreach and education programs to help local people better co-exist with orangutans and the park. Its "OrangUvan," a bus equipped with a library and a mobile cinema, regularly visits villages to make children and adults aware of conservation efforts and the importance of protecting forests. OIC also operates tree nurseries and replanting programs to help restore livelihoods where unsustainable logging and environmental degradation have pushed villagers to illegally cut timber from the national park. Further, OIC is preparing the next generation of conservationists and ecotourism guides, running how-to workshops on surveying forest conditions and orangutan density, boat handling, nature photography, composting and organic farming, and responsible nature guiding (that doesn't harm orangutans or the environment). In conjunction with the Orang Utan Republik Foundation, OIC runs a scholarship program for Indonesian University students that aims to help enable them become key members of the conservation movement in Sumatra and inspire others to care for nature and their environment.

OIC is also working to engage the palm oil industry, a challenge since oil palm expansion is both a leading driver of deforestation and an important source of jobs in the region. While many large palm oil companies are eager to shed the perception that they are a threat to orangutans, plantation developers continue to drive destruction of important orangutan habitat, especially in unprotected areas. Deforestation, as well as drainage of carbon-dense peatlands, is also a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions, undermining claims that palm oil is necessarily a "green" source of fuel and vegetable oil. Indeed, palm oil produced on newly deforested lands is actually the opposite—a larger source of carbon dioxide than conventional fossil fuels. But demonizing all palm oil is neither productive nor fair. Oil palm is the world’s highest yielding oilseed, generating substantially more vegetable oil per unit of land than soy, rapeseed/canola, or corn. Further, the crop has become an important source of income in much of rural Sumatra, while serving as an inexpensive foodstuff for local people and the world.

Is there a way to balance palm oil production and environmental aims? Some environment groups are advocating a ban on all palm oil, but given rising demand for edible oils, especially in China and India, this is an unlikely solution. Other groups, including SOS and OIC, are hopeful that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a multi-stakeholder body devising a certification standard that aims to improve the environmental performance of palm oil production, could be the path forward, provided the scheme is credible. But credibility is elusive when RSPO members (whom are not necessarily certified palm oil producers; they are only required to pay a membership fee to be part of RSPO) are found to be attempting to game the system, breaking rules and refusing third-party compliance monitoring. Such practices risk turning RSPO into little more than another greenwashing initiative, a concern that has already turned away some potential supporters, including a few major buyers of palm oil who are now seeking other vegetable oil options. Still, OIC believes that in the end a credible RSPO will be better for orangutans and better for business than the alternative—continued destruction of tropical forests and peatlands.

In a series of interviews conducted in Medan and Bukit Lawang (Sumatra) and via e-mail, Panut Hadisiswoyo and David Dellatore of OIC, and Helen Buckland, UK Director of the Sumatran Orangutan Society, talked about their efforts to save the world's rarest orangutan species as well as the "palm oil paradox."

(a) Protected and unprotected forests in 1990 for the main island of Sumatra and the smaller island of Siberut, including adjacent unprotected land lying within 10 km of protected area (PA) boundaries and the wider unprotected landscape, and showing the spatial distribution of the 1264 sample cells (25 km2). (b) Remaining forests in 2000, deforestation and logging trails occurring during the period 1990–2000 (UTM projection, WGS84). Protected areas (PAs) protecting mangroves or created after 2000 are not shown. MAPS available at sumatranforest.org Taken from www.mongabay.com

Oil company in Ecuador transforms indigenous community into commercial poachers, threatening wildlife in a protected area

The documentary Crude opened this weekend in New York, while the film shows the direct impact of the oil industry on indigenous groups a new study proves that the presence of oil companies can have subtler, but still major impacts, on indigenous groups and the ecosystems in which they live.

In Ecuador's Yasuni National Park—comprising 982,000 hectares of what the researchers call "one of the most species diverse forests in the world"—the presence of an oil company has disrupted the lives of the Waorani and the Kichwa peoples, and the rich abundance of wildlife living within the forest. By building a 149 kilometer (92 mile) road through the protected forest and providing subsidies to the local tribes, the oil company Maxus Ecuador Inc. transformed some members of the tribes from semi-nomadic subsistence hunters into commercial poachers.




"We’ve found that a road in a forest can bring huge social changes to local groups and the ways in which they utilize wildlife resources," said Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) researcher Esteban Suárez, lead author of the study. "Communities existing inside and around the park are changing their customs to a lifestyle of commercial hunting, the first stage in a potential overexploitation of wildlife."

According to the new study by the WCS and the IDEAS-Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, the creation of the single road allowed tribe members to transport game to a market where it is sold illegally. In addition, the subsidies and free access to the road, all provided by the oil company, make the transportation of the meat—and thereby the wild meat market itself—economically viable.

Although sale of wild meat and products in Ecuador is illegal, the researchers report that "local authorities and park rangers know about the market, [but] they lack the resources and political will to stop the illegal trade of wildlife in Pompeya, primarily to avoid conflicts with the local indigenous population."


Some communities of the Waorani tribe even abandoned their traditional semi-nomadic life and built settled villages along the road for easy transport of their game. They took up firearms (instead of the traditional blowguns), which became more prevalent following the arrival of the oil company.

"These changes," the authors explain, "are amplified by patronizing relationships in which large companies buy their right to operate in the area by providing local communities with resources, money or infrastructure without consideration of the social and ecological impact of these 'compensation plans'".

The study published in Animal Conservation found that the wild meat market appeared shortly after the road was constructed in early 1990s and free travel was given to the indigenous tribes. Between 2005 and 2007, 11,000 kilograms (24,000 pounds) of wild meat were sold at the Pompeya market every year. The amount of meat sold every day doubled between 2005 and 2007, from 150 kilograms (330 pounds) to 300 kilograms (661 pounds).

"While the magnitude of the wildlife trade occurring at Pompeya is still limited, its emergence and continuous growth are symptomatic of the dramatic changes that the area is experiencing under the influence of the oil industry and the absence of effective management and control strategies," the authors write.


Taken from: www.mongabay.com

New gecko discovered on bizarre and beautiful Socotra island

Lying in the Indian Ocean half way between Somalia and Yemen, the strange island archipelagos of Socotra offer a bewildering array of life found no where else on Earth. Thirty seven percent of its plant species, ninety percent of its reptiles, and ninety-five percent of its snail species are endemic.

Now biologists can add a new species to this list. Italian researchers unraveled the mystery of a gecko named Hemidactylus inintellectus (photo below). Inintellectus translates to 'misunderstood', since the gecko, which is common on the island, was consistently confused with other species.

"This new discovery raises the number of reptile species of Socotra to 26, with 23 species endemic of the island. And this is not a mere matter of numbers: when a species has no name it doesn’t exist, and it can’t be protected. That’s why biodiversity assessments are such an essential tool for conservation policies," writes one of the researchers, herpetologist Fabio Pupin of the University of Pavia.

According to Pupin, Socotra is a reptile's paradise (there are no amphibians on the island): "[Reptiles] are everywhere, from the high mountains of Haggeher to the desert lowland of the south coast, basking on tree branches as on nearly every rock around—and Socotra is a rocky place indeed! And even underground: there are, in fact, five worm-like reptiles, suited to a completely ctonian life."

The new species of gecko prefers rocky areas and is nocturnal.







Taken from: www.mongabay.com

Snow leopard in Afghanistan.

Using camera traps, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has captured the elusive and rare snow leopard on film in Afghanistan for a second time. The feline was caught on film in the Sast Valley in Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor.

The snow leopard is currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN. The cat is also listed as protected under Afghanistan's new endangered species list, which outlaws hunting it. The IUCN estimates that only 100-200 snow leopards still survive in Afghanistan.

Researchers with WCS are conducting wildlife surveys in the remote region of the Wakhan Corridor with the goal to establish a new protected area. The region also contains the Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul and the Altai weasel Mustela altaica, both are classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Other notable mammals include the Marco Polo sheep Ovis ammon polii, Siberian ibex Capra ibex sibirica, brown bear Ursus arctos, wolf Canis lupus, red fox Vulpes vulpes, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx,) , stone marten or beech marten Martes foina, stoat Mustela erminea, long-tailed marmot Marmota caudate, and the Tolai hare Lepus tolai.

Afghanistan announced its first national park, Band-e-Amir, on Earth Day (April 22nd) of this year.

World's rarest duck flies closer to extinction's edge

The Madagascar pochard, the world's rarest duck, was already thought to be extinct once. After a last sighting in 1991 the species was thought to have vanished until nine adults and four hatchlings were discovered in 2006. However, conservationists have begun to fear that the species will never recover after a survey this year found only six females.

In addition, the survey conducted by the Durrell Wildlife Trust, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), and The Peregrine Fund (TPF) found that no young of the Critically Endangered species had survived from the previous year.

"The window of opportunity to save the species from extinction is incredibly small, and we must all muster the energy and resources necessary to stop another species from becoming extinct," said Durrell’s Project Leader, Dr. Glyn Young.

A new recovery plan has been established to hold remaining ducks in secure conditions in a facility set to be finished in 2010. In addition, scientists are looking at potential lakes for reintroduction of the species.

"The original plan was to take the first batch of eggs in 2010 but, following the expedition, discussions are underway to see if the timetable can be brought forward to this year’s breeding season, which would see the team return to the lake in October," WWT’s Aviculture Manager, Nigel Jarrett, said. "Once we have secured eggs from the wild, WWT’s and Durrell’s extensive experience of rearing endangered wildfowl, at Slimbridge and Jersey, will be used to breed the birds at a purpose-built facility in Madagascar. This will act as a 'safety net', greatly reducing the immediate risk of extinction. Within three years, the hope is to at least double the total numbers of pochards. In time, these will be released into the wild on suitable sites."



Taken from:
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Camera traps capture snow leopards in Afghanistan

It has been estimated that Afghanistan only has 100 snow leopards left, however photos from camera traps placed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) show that there may be hope for snow leopards in the war-torn nation after all.

Working in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, WCS set up five camera traps. Four of the five camera traps took photos of snow leopards, including 22 images in total.

WCS, along with funding from USAID, hopes to work with the Afghan government to establish the Wakhan Corridor as a protected area. In April, Afghanistan’s first National Park was announced in Band-e-Amir.

The snow leopard is protected under Afghanistan’s new endangered species list, which debuted on June 3rd. Globally the species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and, besides Afghanistan, may be found in Nepal, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and less than a hundred individuals in Uzbekistan.

Taken from:

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SHARE: ShareThis | submit | Borneo orangutan release in jeopardy over fate of coal mining concession

A plan to release orangutans in a 250,000-hectare (618,000-acre) tract of forest in the Heart of Borneo has been disrupted by uncertainty around BHP Billiton's decision to pull out of a coal mining project in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, reports the Independent and conservation groups familiar with the situation.

BHP Billiton had provided funds to help establish the forest reserve in Central Kalimantan and offered conservationists mapping support and use of helicopters to deposit orangutans into otherwise inaccessible areas. The two-year program would have reintroduced scores of orangutans but the first scheduled airlift of 48 orangutans for July 20 was canceled after BHP warned it could no longer guarantee the safety of reintroduced orangutans. Last month BHP said it would pull out of the area for unspecified "strategic reasons", leaving the fate of its concessions in the hands of the Indonesian government. BHP fears that the concessions could go to companies that would take fewer environmental precautions, thereby imperiling the orangutans.

Kalimantan, 2006

"BHP said it can't be part of a release if it can't be sure the orangutans will be safe," said a source who requested anonymity. The source noted that BHP may reinstate the airlift once it gets assurances that the orangutans will not be immediately at risk.

A working group has been created to help address the concerns. The group hopes to encourage new regulations in the Heart of Borneo whereby mining concessions handed back to the central government would be removed from the mining registry and made available for sustainable uses that benefit or protect biodiversity. The BHP concession area serves as the most important watershed in all of Borneo, feeding three major river systems, as well as providing a potential refuge for endangered orangutans.

Kalimantan, 2009

In recent years, expansion of oil palm plantations across Borneo and Sumatra has replaced logging and the wildlife trade as the biggest threat to remaining populations. Rehabilitation facilities rescue orangutans as they are displaced by development in hopes of eventually reintroducing them into the wild. But conservationists report difficulty in locating secure sites for reintroduction.

The Heart of Borneo initiative may help. The initiative, which has some support from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, the governments that share Borneo, aims to protect 220,000 square kilometers of ecosystems across central Borneo, including key orangutan habitat. Still the plan faces strong opposition from development interests, including mining, logging, and plantation companies.

Precedent for BHP's warming

BHP Billiton's warning for the well-being of wildlife after it pulls out of its Borneo concessions is grounded in experience. Its departure from a remote forest area in Bakhuis Mountains of Suriname last year was followed by large-scale poaching for commercial bushmeat markets. The carnage destroyed the one of the world's most prolific camera-trapping projects for monitoring wildlife. A biologist working in the area called it a tragedy.

"This was the most tragic loss of a pristine habitat and wildlife I have ever witnessed," said the scientist, who asked not to be named. "I will forever remember the Bakhuis as the Lost Eden."

BHP Billiton and WWF, a conservation group that has worked with the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei to develop the Heart of Borneo initiative, were not willing to comment on this report.

With the clearing of forests, baby orangutans are marooned

(06/25/2009) The orangutans at the Nyaru Menteng center, run by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), are mainly “oil palm orphans” whose forest habitats were destroyed — and parents killed — by the swiftly spreading oil palm industry in Indonesia. BOS hopes to eventually release all of these orangutans back into their natural habitat — the majestic rainforests and swampy peat lands of central Kalimantan. But for many, this is a fate that may never be realized, and instead they may be relegated to a life in captivity. The reason? Suitable habitat in Borneo and Sumatra — the two islands that are home to the world's entire population of wild orangutans — is being deforested so rapidly that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find locations for reintroduction.


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Tropical rainforest of the world.

Tropical rainforests are a world like none other; and their importance to the global ecosystem and human existence is paramount. Unparalleled in terms of their biological diversity, tropical rainforests are a natural reservoir of genetic diversity which offers a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield foods, and a myriad of other useful forest products. They are an important habitat for migratory animals and sustain as much as 50 percent of the species on Earth, as well as a number of diverse and unique indigenous cultures. Tropical rainforests play an elemental role in regulating global weather in addition to maintaining regular rainfall, while buffering against floods, droughts, and erosion. They store vast quantities of carbon, while producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen.


Despite their monumental role, tropical forests are restricted to the small land area between the latitudes 22.5° North and 22.5° South of the equator, or in other words between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Since the majority of Earth's land is located north of the tropics, rainforests are naturally limited to a relatively small area.


Tropical rainforests, like so many other natural places, are a scarce resource in the 21st century. The vast swaths of forest, swamp, desert, and savanna that carpeted Earth's land surface a mere five generations ago have been reduced to scattered fragments; today, more than two-thirds of the world's tropical rainforests exist as fragmented remnants. Just a few thousand years ago, tropical rainforests covered as much as 12 percent of the Earth's land surface, or about 6 million square miles (15.5 million square km), but today less than 5 percent of Earth's land is covered with these forests (about 2.41 million square miles or 625 million hectares). The largest unbroken stretch of rainforest is found in the Amazon river basin of South America. Over half of this forest lies in Brazil, which holds about one-third of the world's remaining tropical rainforests. Another 20 percent of the world's remaining rainforest exists in Indonesia and Congo Basin, while the balance of the world's rainforests are scattered around the globe in tropical regions.


The global distribution of tropical rainforests can be broken up into four biogeographical realms based roughly on four forested continental regions: the Ethiopian or Afrotropical, the Australiasian or Australian, the Oriental or Indomalayan/Asian, and the Neotropical.


Taken from
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Range extended for world’s most mysterious gorilla

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced yesterday the discovery of eastern lowland gorilla nests in an unexplored area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), expanding the range of this little-known subspecies by 30 miles (50 kilometers).

The eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer’s gorilla, is currently listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. Scientists estimate that the gorilla has as few as 8,000 individual left. Although closely related to mountain gorillas, the eastern lowland gorilla is the world’s largest living primate, weighing over 500 pounds at maximum, and is endemic to the DRC.
Researchers surveyed the unexplored region in the DRC, known as Itombwe forest, during a calm period between the DRC’s government and rebels group, which use Itombwe for its rich natural resources.

“Today’s announcement that Grauer’s gorillas inhabit forests in Itombwe more than 50 kilometers south of their previously known range gives hope for the survival of the subspecies and a renewed impetus for protecting this extraordinary biodiversity area in the Albertine Rift of Africa," said Dr. James Deutsch, Director of WCS’s Africa Programs.

Along with evidence of the eastern lowland gorilla, researchers also discovered a new frog and toad species that are in the process of being described. In addition, the survey found indications that chimpanzees also had a larger range than previously believed.

"The findings of our survey will be important to conservation efforts for eastern lowland gorillas and their habitat, primarily because so little is known about this subspecies." said Dr. Andrew Plumptre, Director of the WCS’s Albertine Rift Program. "In particular it will help us in the development of plans for the demarcation of boundaries for the Itombwe Reserve, which is in the process of being created."

The announcement of the eastern lowland gorilla’s expanded range was made yesterday at the Gorilla Symposium, a conference organized by UNEP-Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the German Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Frankfurt Zoological Society at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany.

Taken from
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Frogs species discovered living in elephant dung.

Three different species of frogs have been discovered living in the dung of the Asian elephant in southeastern Sri Lanka. The discovery—the first time anyone has recorded frogs living in elephant droppings—has widespread conservation implications both for frogs and Asian elephants, which are in decline.

"I found the frogs fortuitously during a field study about seed dispersal by elephants," Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, a research fellow from the National University of Singapore, told Monagaby.com. "I thought it was an interesting phenomenon and commented it with some colleagues, experts on elephant and amphibian ecology. None of them had heard about such a thing before. Local people in the study area…seemed also unaware of it."

Mushroom growing out of dung pile. Photo by Campos-Arceiz.

Campos-Arceiz examined 290 elephant dung piles and found six frog individuals in five dung piles, representing three species: the ornate narrow-mouthed frog Microhyla ornata, another narrow-mouthed species Microhyla rubra, and a frog species in the Sphaerotheca genus.

While Campos-Arceiz is uncertain why the frogs were residing in the elephant dung, he speculates that "elephant dung provides a good shelter. I found the frogs in an arid area during the dry season. Under such conditions and in the absence of litter, elephant dung is probably a good alternative to spend the day in. Elephants digest food very poorly. Their feces contain a large proportion of undigested material and are highly fibrous. When fresh, elephant dung is humid and probably cooler than the environment during the day. Moreover, frogs could eat some of the many invertebrates present in elephant dung."

"Elephants (and their dung!) can play a facilitative role for other organisms," Campos-Arceiz says explaining the many roles elephant dung plays in the larger forest ecosystem. "For plants, elephant dung provides a suitable germination environment after being dispersed by elephants. Fungi are also dispersed by elephants and some are extremely common growing in elephant dung. Invertebrates are extremely common as well. I was indeed impressed with the quantity and diversity of invertebrates in some dung piles…Vertebrates like jungle fowls and land monitors pick elephant dung to feed on these invertebrates; others like small birds and mammals can consume undigested material from the dung, sometimes acting as secondary seed dispersers. Elephant dung plays some role in nutrient cycling as well, moving nutrients from the vegetation to the soil. Elephants are capable of controlling the availability of resources for other organisms modifying the physical environment acting thus as ecosystem engineers."

To test the importance of elephant dung regarding forest biodiversity, Campos-Arceiz searched through an additional 180 dung piles of free-ranging cows and buffaloes and found no frogs and far less diversity of invertebrates.

Classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, Asian elephants are threatened by the illegal ivory trade and habitat degradation and loss. Their range has shrunk significantly over the last centuries, and many researchers worry it will contract further.

Taken from:

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How to Save Tropical Rainforests

Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. World rainforest cover now stands at around 2.5 million square miles (6 million square kilometers), an area about the size of the contiguous 48 United States or Australia and representing around 5 percent of the world's land surface. Much of this remaining area has been impacted by human activities and no longer retains its full original biodiversity.

Five Basic Steps to Saving Rainforests

"TREES" is a concept originally devised for an elementary school audience but serves well as set of principles for saving rainforests and, on a broader scale, ecosystems around the world. Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests. Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down. Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment. Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife. Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species extinction, the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable resources, and the reduction of carbon sinks. However, this destruction can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Most people agree that the problem must be remedied, but the means are not as simple as fortifying fences around the remaining rainforests or banning the timber trade. Economic, political, and social pressures will not allow rainforests to persist if they are completely closed off from use and development

So, what should be done? The solution must be based on what is feasible, not overly idealistic, and depends on developing a new conservation policy built on the principle of sustainable use and development of rainforests. Beyond the responsible development of rainforests, efforts to rehabilitate and restore degraded forest lands along with the establishment of protected areas are key to securing rainforests for the long-term benefits they can provide mankind.

Taken from:
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Brilliant pink moth discovered in Arizona.

A new species of moth with brilliantly-colored pink wings has been discovered at 7,700 feet in the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona.

"This large moth flew in and we didn't think much of it because there is a silk moth very much like it, a Doris silk moth that feeds on pines that has dark wings with pink on the hind wings. It's fairly common there," said University of Arizona biologist, Bruce Walsh, who discovered the species.

On closer inspection of the moth, however, Walsh determined that it was an entirely different species from a different family: Noctuidae. The Chiricahuas is known for its biological richness and new species, however a moth of this color is a rare find.

The moth has been named lithophane leeae, after Walsh’s wife, Lee.

"We can now add L. leeae to this group of large, but quite elusive, species," Walsh noted.

Taken from
Mongabay.com

Daniel B. Botkin : Reflections of a renegade naturalist

I’ve spent four decades as a Ph. D. ecologist trying to understand nature, environment, life on the Earth. I’ve studied moose in the far north, elephants in Africa, bowhead whales in northern oceans, forests in North and Central America. I’ve helped with the conservation of the California condor, salmon in the Pacific Northwest, the whooping crane in Texas, the ecosystem of Mono Lake California. I’ve helped analyze the effects of a mining road on natural ecosystems and traditional ways of life on Native American lands; ecological effects of toxin materials at a major California toxic depository; effects of radioactivity on a natural forests. I helped plan the use of vegetation in Los Angles as a typical city in a dry climate. I did some of the earliest work in ecology forecasting possible effects of global warming on life, and helped NASA start the use of satellite remote sensing to study the Earth’s environments.

My work has involved developing computer models of forests and life in lakes, and of populations of endangered species. These models have been used to forecast effects of global warming on life on Earth.

Whenever possible, I’ve traveled through wilderness, sometimes following the trails of Lewis and Clark and Henry David Thoreau (which I’ve written about in several books).

As a result, friends and colleagues often ask me for an objective analysis of what’s going on about the environment and people’s connection with it. And they’ve asked me to set up a Web site that will help them. This is that site. It has several goals.

• Objective analysis of environmental issues.
• Investigative reporting about nature, ecology, the environment, and people’s connection with the environment, including some of the big issues, like energy policy and endangered species.
• Some professional opinions — sometimes mine, sometimes from a guest. Use the Article Categories and Search Box at right to browse the collection of articles written over the last eight years.

Taken from: -Daniel B. Botkin
April, 2007 New York, NY

How to Save Tropical Rainforests

Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. World rainforest cover now stands at around 2.5 million square miles (6 million square kilometers), an area about the size of the contiguous 48 United States or Australia and representing around 5 percent of the world's land surface. Much of this remaining area has been impacted by human activities and no longer retains its full original biodiversity.

Five Basic Steps to Saving Rainforests

"TREES" is a concept originally devised for an elementary school audience but serves well as set of principles for saving rainforests and, on a broader scale, ecosystems around the world. Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests. Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down. Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment. Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife. Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species extinction, the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable resources, and the reduction of carbon sinks. However, this destruction can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Most people agree that the problem must be remedied, but the means are not as simple as fortifying fences around the remaining rainforests or banning the timber trade. Economic, political, and social pressures will not allow rainforests to persist if they are completely closed off from use and development

So, what should be done? The solution must be based on what is feasible, not overly idealistic, and depends on developing a new conservation policy built on the principle of sustainable use and development of rainforests. Beyond the responsible development of rainforests, efforts to rehabilitate and restore degraded forest lands along with the establishment of protected areas are key to securing rainforests for the long-term benefits they can provide mankind.

Taken from Mongabay.com

Will the illegal trade of the critically endangered Philippine forest turtle lead to its extinction?

Endangered Species International (ESI) conducted ongoing monitoring at markets known to sell pets and wild animals in Manila, Philippines, to monitor the status of the trade of one of the most endangered turtle in the world: the Philippine forest turtle [Siebenrockiella (Panayenemys) leytensis]. The critically endangered Philippine forest turtle is endemic to the Philippines, occurring only on one major island, Palawan, and its small satellite island, Dumaran.

During many visits, ESI staff encountered between two and ten Philippine forest turtle for sale at each market totalizing 171 animals over the 4-year period. The turtles were not sold openly as they were prior to 2005; instead, they were kept hidden in the back of stores and brought to potential buyers only when it was felt that there were no risks involved. “We continuously observed S. leytensis in all major pet markets in Manila, demonstrating that the domestic illegal trade remains rampant and has not decreased over the years, that brings this unique species closer to extinction” said Pierre Fidenci, head of Endangered Species International.



In April 2009, the species was sold for between 50 and 75 USD per turtle, but could be negotiated down to 30 USD for smaller individuals. Turtles could be ordered within one or two weeks but that large-sized turtles were difficult to obtain. Most of the turtles sold for the domestic pet trade were sub-adults and young adults. It was rather uncommon to find large individuals (greater than 30 cm in carapace length) for sale.

Overall, illegal collecting of the Philippine forest turtle is the most prominent factor contributing to the sharp decline of the species. Despite international and national laws designed to prevent exploitation of the critically endangered Philippine forest turtle, this species has been sold illegally for domestic and international trade for almost eight years now. Trade is still rampant and the species is being sold in the Philippines, North America, Europe, and Japan.

The ongoing level of trade highlights the failure of past and current activities to stop or reduce illegal trade. Targeting known illegal traders in Palawan should be a priority, but no legal actions have yet been undertaken by local authorities or other concerned organizations. “We have been watching the numbers going down and now it is time for real actions to stop the illegal trade of the Philippine forest turtle” said Pierre Fidenci.



Taken from Andreas Rytz, Endangered Species International
May 04, 2009