News 2012

19th January 2012: David Attenborough urges business to protect nature from population boom

Sir David Attenborough has called on big businesses to protect the natural world from the rapidly expanding human population. The broadcaster and naturalist said the population increase is unstoppable and that action must be taken to stop the natural world from being concreted over.

Distancing himself from conservationists who regard big businesses as the enemy, he said companies and corporations, as the holders of much of the world's wealth, have a vital and leading role to play.

"It's not a mystery. Wealth empowers," he said. "And businesses have by no means been slow in helping. We've [conservationists] gone to multinationals over and over again."

He said there were exceptions, but that for the most part businesses that defiled the natural world in the 19th and to an extent the 20th century, such as by dumping waste in the sea, usually did so out of ignorance. "They didn't know any better," he said.

But he warned: "We've got to such a situation and dense population that we can no longer make these mistakes. The warning is clear and the job of people in the media like me is to make sure the warning is understood."

Source: The Guardian

19th January 2012: Help save the Tana River delta

The Tana River Delta in Kenya is a stunning area rich in palm savanna, mangroves and grasslands, which also provides home to hugely important bird species such as the Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis and the Malindi Pipit Anthus melindae. As well as its significant animal populations, the delta also supports numerous communities of people in the area, who all depend on it remaining rich and healthy to survive.

This beautiful landscape is under threat from a massive land grab by international companies looking to develop large scale agriculture schemes, much of which is driven by a push for biofuels. In spite of local objections and the hard work of the RSPB and Nature Kenya, last summer the Kenyan government gave the go-ahead to one of the larger developments – Bedford Biofuel's proposal to plant 10,000 hectares of jatropha. However, it quickly emerged that there had been irregularities with the issuing of the licence and the regulatory authority in Kenya said that growing jatropha would be banned along the entire Kenyan coast. Bedford Biofuels have continued with the project regardless and are even expanding their operations in the Tana Delta.

The RSPB and Nature Kenya are urging the Kenyan Government to rethink this decision and cancel the licence for this project. If you are concerned about the decision, you too can write to protest.

Source: RSPB

9th January 2012: An amazing conservation success story in Seychelles

In the 1960s, Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis became one of the world's rarest birds when the population slumped to just 26 individuals, all on tiny Cousin island in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean. Formerly, the bird had been more widely distributed in the Seychelles, but habitat destruction and non-native species brought the warbler to extinction everywhere apart from Cousin. But now the fortunes of the bird are looking much brighter, thanks to a programme to redistribute these birds to other islands in the Seychelles.

In the latest move, 59 Seychelles Warblers have been transferred from Cousin Island Special Reserve to Frégate Island thanks to a Nature Seychelles (BirdLife Partner) led initiative. The transfer was carried out to start a new breeding population on Frégate Island – a privately-owned luxury resort – making it the fifth island in Seychelles to hold this species.

"It will pave the way for this bird, once said to be `one of the rarest birds in the world,' to eventually come off the Red List of threatened birds of the world, updated annually by BirdLife International. We have been trying to get this project off the ground for a very long time and we have to thank the company managing the island – Frégate Island Private – for agreeing to partner with us and take the warblers", said Nirmal Shah, CEO of Nature Seychelles.

"It is another step in our efforts to fully restore this island and to support the conservation of the unique and indigenous species of this country", said Ian Barbour, Frégate Island general manager.

The project is funded by a $18,000 Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund grant to Nature Seychelles through the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), the Seychelles Warbler Research Group (a collaboration between the Universities of East Anglia and Sheffield in the UK, and the University of Groningen, Netherlands) and Frégate Island Private. The translocation proposal was developed and submitted by Nature Seychelles to the Department of Environment. "They readily agreed to it because of the potential ground breaking results for conservation worldwide", said Shah.

Birds were captured in the morning, transferred by helicopter and were released on Frégate by afternoon of the same day."This way the birds are kept in captivity for the minimum amount of time and they have time to eat and drink on Frégate before nightfall", said Dr David Richardson of the University of East Anglia, which forms part of the Seychelles Warbler Research Group. Prior to the transfer there had been preparations on both islands. Frégate was surveyed for its suitability to carry the warblers. "The island has been restored over many years, is rat free, and is free of mynah birds which compete with and harm native birds", said Richardson.

The population on Cousin, which now numbers over 300 birds, was also surveyed to identify territories from which to catch individuals. Cousin has the original population, and therefore the most genetic diversity. This population has also been monitored for over two decades by the Warbler group. Nesting on Frégate is expected within a week or two. The Warbler group will be monitoring this population for the next few years.

"Seychelles is an example of how science and conservation can go hand in hand, and this is a brilliant opportunity to continue studying the warbler's evolution and behaviour", said Richardson.

Dr Chris Magin of the RSPB, who works closely with Nature Seychelles, said "The recovery of Seychelles Warbler provides hope that the fortunes of threatened species can be turned around. Before the Seychelles Warblers were moved to other islands, this species literally had all its eggs in one basket, but now the bird has a much brighter future."

Source: BirdLife

9th January 2012: Petition to save the last Houbara Bustards in Tunisia

The Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata undulata is protected by the Tunisian law and several international conventions to which Tunisia is signatory. This did not prevent the near-extermination of the Tunisian population of Houbara Bustard by poaching of the emirs of the gulf states and which was authorised during more than 20 years by the Ben Ali regime.

At the beginning of November the Association "Les Amis des Oiseaux" (AAO – BirdLife in Tunisia) observed the impending threat of new poaching efforts. The AAO informed the authorities and civil society of the poaching risks, including organising a press conference in collaboration with other environmental organisations.

"To date all our calls to the Tunisian authorities remained without response", says Claudia Feltrup Azafzaf, Project Director at AAO. "Therefore, we ask the President of the Republic and the current government to take a stand and to ensure that our laws are enforced and conserve the wildlife and in particular our last Houbara Bustards."

"Please, sign and share our petition. Together we can help save Houbara Bustard in Tunisia".

Petition link

Source: BirdLife

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