Surfbirds News: May 2007 Archives

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May 26, 2007

Disturbed, hungry and lost – climate change impacts on whales

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) ahead of the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission.

The report Whales in hot water? highlights the growing impacts of climate change on cetaceans. They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls, to sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of krill populations in key areas.

Blue Whale, Mexico, Baja, Bahia de Ballena © Matthew Hobbs

Krill – a tiny shrimp-like marine animal that is dependent on sea ice – is the main source of food for many of the great whales.

Accelerating climate change adds significantly to disturbances from other human activities, such as chemical and noise pollution, collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing nets, which kills some 1,000 cetaceans every day.

“Whales, dolphins and porpoises have some capacity to adapt to their changing environment,” said Mark Simmonds, International Director of Science at WCDS. “But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust, and we believe many populations to be very vulnerable to predicted changes.”

Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic. According to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar, icy waters for their habitat and food resources – such as belugas, narwhal, and bowhead whales – are likely to be dramatically affected by the reduction of sea ice cover.

And as sea ice cover decreases, there will be more human activities, such as commercial shipping, oil, gas and mining exploration and development as well as military activities, in previously untouched areas of the Arctic.

“This will result in much greater risks from oil and chemical spills, worse acoustic disturbance and more collisions between whales and ships,” said the lead author of the report, Wendy Elliott, from WWF’s Global Species Programme.

Other projected impacts of climate change listed in the report include: reduction of available habitat for several cetacean species unable to move into colder waters (e.g. river dolphins); the acidification of the oceans as they absorb growing quantities of CO2; an increased susceptibility of cetaceans to diseases; and reduced reproductive success, body condition and survival rates.

Climate change could also be the nail in the coffin for the last 300 or so endangered North Atlantic right whales, as the survival of their calves has been directly related to the effects of climate variability on prey abundance.

WCDS and WWF are urging governments to cut CO2 global emissions by at least 50 per cent by the middle of this century. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world’s emissions start to decline before 2015.

The report ‘Whales in hot water?’ can be downloaded at: www.panda.org/species/iwc and www.wdcs.org/publications

Posted by Surfbirds at 4:49 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2007

1,221 and counting: More birds than ever face extinction

The latest evaluation of the world’s birds has revealed that more species than ever are threatened with extinction, and that additional conservation action is critical to reversing current declines.

BirdLife International’s annual Red List update – which takes into account population size, population trends and range size for all 10,000 bird species worldwide - states that 1,221 species are considered threatened with extinction and are to be listed as such on the 2007 IUCN Red List.

Waved Albatross © Lee Dingain

The latest update also shows an additional 812 bird species are now considered Near Threatened, adding up to a total of 2,033 species that are urgent priorities for conservation action.

The overall conservation status of the world’s birds has deteriorated steadily since 1988, when they were first comprehensively assessed. Now, more than a fifth (22%) of the planet’s birds is at increased risk of extinction.

The 2007 update has highlighted the deteriorating status of the world’s vultures: five more species have been ‘uplisted’ to higher categories of concern as a result of numerous threats. These include habitat loss, conversion and degradation (which remains the principal threat to all the world’s birds, impacting on 86% of Globally Threatened species), fewer feeding opportunities (as a result of declining wild ungulate populations on which to scavenge) and poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac – a factor behind rapid population declines in vultures across Asia in recent years.

Bird species restricted to oceanic islands continue to be among the world’s most threatened birds due mainly to the introduction of alien invasive species.

This year has seen St Helena Plover Charadrius sanctaehelenae uplisted to Critically Endangered, having suffered considerably in recent years from habitat degradation due to a proliferation in invasive plants and predation from cats, another invasive species. Likewise, Po’o-uli Melamprosops phaeosoma (known only from the Hawaiian island of Maui), has also become categorised as ‘Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)’ after the death in captivity of the last known individual in 2004, and the failure to find any other individuals in the wild.

Another island-nesting species, Waved Albatross Diomedea irrorata (which breeds only in the Galapagos islands), has been categorised as Critically Endangered, as new evidence shows it is declining, primarily because of the expansion of commercial long-line fishing, in which birds attracted to bait are hooked and drown.

While the number of bird species included on the Red List increases, there is cause for encouragement: where conservation actions are put in place, species have shown signs of recovery.

Mauritius Parakeet Psittacula eques, which survives in south-west Mauritius (having become extinct historically on Réunion) has been downlisted (to Endangered) due to a highly successful recovery programme that has included release of captive-bred birds, measures to control predators and the provision of artificial nest sites. The programme has been led by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, a conservation NGO that has worked closely with the Mauritian government.

Further good news is provided by Spectacled Petrel Procellaria conspicillata, downlisted from Critically Endangered to Vulnerable, after an increase from an estimated 1,000 pairs in the 1980s to some 10,000 pairs in 2006. The population increase is part of a long-term recovery largely in response to removal of pigs from its only breeding site, Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, and has occurred despite losses to long-line fisheries.

Egyptian Vulture © Stephen Daly

Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's Global Species Programme Coordinator said of this year’s Red List update:

“There are two sides to this story: whilst conservation efforts have been successful in recovering some species, there are more and more species slipping towards extinction. The challenge becomes greater each year.”

“But where efforts, resources and political will are directed, species can recover. Conservation works,” he said. “We just need much more of it in order to turn back the tide of impending extinctions.”

BirdLife’s revisions to Red List categories, and the associated documentation, including factsheets for all the world’s 10,000 bird species, can be found on the BirdLife website: visit www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html

FURTHER INFORMATION:

A total of 135 species are documented as having gone Extinct since 1500. A further four species are now Extinct in the Wild and survive only in captive populations. Fifteen species are categorised as Critically Endangered(Possibly Extinct) because they are likely to have gone extinct too, but cannot be designated as such until we are certain. Thus, a total of 154 species may have been lost in the last 500 years.

Three species have gone Extinct or Extinct in the Wild already this century: Spix's Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii (classified as Critically Endangered: Possibly Extinct in the Wild) in 2000, Hawaiian Crow Corvus hawaiiensis (classified as Extinct in the Wild) in 2002, and Po‘ouli Melamposops phaeosoma (classified as Critically Endangered: Possibly Extinct) in 2004. Brazil and Indonesia support the highest numbers of Globally Threatened Birds, with 119 each.

Forest is by far the most important habitat for Globally Threatened Birds, supporting 76% of species. Tropical/subtropical lowland and montane moist forest are the most important forest-types, supporting 40% and 30% of Globally Threatened Birds respectively.

Declines have been particularly severe for birds in the Indo-Malayan realm (owing to deforestation) and for the world’s albatrosses (owing to incidental mortality in longline fisheries).

1,221 species are considered threatened with extinction and included on the 2007 IUCN Red List. This represents 12.4% of the total of 9,821 extant bird species in the world.

Of the threatened species, 189 species are considered Critically Endangered and are therefore at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

VULTURES

Five vulture species ‘uplisted’ in the 2007 Red List update: Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (now Endangered), White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus (Near Threatened), Rueppell's Vulture Gyps rueppellii (Near Threatened), Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvu (Critically Endangered) and White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis (Vulnerable). For more information visit: vultures.birdlife.org

Posted by Surfbirds at 5:57 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2007

The fate of the great whales hangs in the balance

“Whale conservation currently faces the biggest onslaught since the ban on commercial whaling was put in place. Not only do pro-whaling countries want to lift the ban on whaling, but they also aim to lift restrictions on international trade in whale products – which, if allowed, would once again fuel an uncontrollable slaughter.” Sue Fisher – WDCS Whaling Campaigner.

Anchorage, Alaska will host the 59th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) between 28 May and 31 May 2007, following three weeks of preliminary scientific and technical meetings.

Last year, for the first time in over 25 years, pro-whaling nations obtained a voting majority within the IWC. They used that majority to pass the St Kitts and Nevis Declaration, which states that the IWC’s ban on commercial whaling is no longer required. This year, they may use that majority to strip whales further of the protection they need.

Key topics for the IWC meeting:

• Will pro-whaling countries be in the majority?
• The renewal of Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quotas
• Japan’s attempts to create a new category of whaling and overturn the ban.
• Attempts to force the IWC to support lifting the ban on international trade in whale meat
• Iceland’s recommencement of commercial whaling

A pro-whaling voting majority at the meeting?

Although many members of the IWC strongly oppose Norway, Iceland and Japan’s whaling in defiance of the ban on commercial whaling, a growing number of pro-whaling countries have joined the Commission over recent years. Many are developing countries, which have no previous interest in whaling. Japan is accused of giving these countries aid in return for support at the IWC.

If Japan retains its pro-whaling majority at the IWC this year, it is likely to try to remove the protection that whales currently receive. It will continue to seek ways to lift, or undermine the ban on commercial whaling. WDCS fears that in its pursuit of a full-scale resumption of whaling, Japan plans to blur the boundaries between Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling and commercial whaling and create a whole new category of ‘traditional’ or ‘cultural’ whaling from which it, and several other countries, currently not whaling, could benefit.

Since the IWC ended last year, a number of new countries have joined or rejoined the IWC. Slovenia, Greece, Costa Rica and Ecuador are now voting members of the IWC and are expected to vote with the conservation-minded block; Nicaragua is expected to join the anti-whaling camp as well. Meanwhile Tanzania has reportedly announced it will join and vote with Japan.

The renewal of Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quotas

Although the IWC imposed a ban on commercial whaling in 1986 it has a policy of allowing certain indigenous peoples to hunt otherwise protected whales to satisfy longstanding cultural and subsistence needs.

This year, all Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quotas are up for renewal and it is likely to be a controversial and time consuming agenda item. Amongst the quotas under discussion is a bowhead whale hunt undertaken by the Alaskan Inuit. Japan has previously used the USA’s need for this quota to bully it into supporting Japan’s request for a coastal whaling quota – at least in principle. With the meeting taking place in Anchorage, Alaska, this is likely to be a key focus for the meeting. For its request to be approved the USA will need the support of three quarters of the IWC’s members, and Japan and its allies hold enough votes to block approval. Japan has denied that it will block the bowhead quota, but it remains to be seen if its numerous allies will remain in line, or if the USA’s other quota application will succeed.

Another controversial issue will be Greenland’s application to renew its Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quota. Greenland seeks an annual tonnage of 540 tonnes of whale meat which is currently met from fin and minke whales. Greenland has indicated that its hunters need to add humpback whales to this quota to meet their subsistence needs, even though they took only 85% of the available quota over the last five years, commercialise a large proportion of the meat and even appear to profit from selling by products such as carved bones as souvenirs to tourists.

Attempts to lift the ban on trade in whale meat

This year, due to an unusual quirk in scheduling, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meets immediately after the IWC. CITES defers to the IWC’s conservation measures concerning whales and, consistent with the IWC’s ban on commercial whaling, has banned international commercial trade in whale meat and other products. Japan is likely to try to manipulate this relationship between the two Conventions and the unusual timing of the meetings works to its advantage.

Firstly, if it gains a majority of votes at the IWC meeting, Japan is expected to adopt an IWC resolution aimed at CITES that advocates a resumption of trade in whale meat.

Japan also wants to open up a new exemption to the commercial whaling ban, called community-based hunting. For over 20 years, Japan has claimed that four of its small whaling towns are suffering hardship as a result of the commercial whaling ban. It has repeatedly asked for them to be granted an emergency relief quota to “alleviate their distress”. The IWC has repeatedly denied the request, arguing that the allocation would be a commercial quota, which is banned by the moratorium. But Japan is likely to try again, perhaps using its bargaining power over the USA regarding Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quotas to gain more votes.

A ban can only work if it is 100% effective. Any new exemption would negate the whole ban – the key aspect that is keeping CITES from allowing trade in whale products to resume. If the IWC begins to dismantle its whaling ban, CITES is more likely to relax its trade prohibitions and the free-for-all that results would be devastating.

Iceland’s return to commercial whaling

Anti-whaling interests at the IWC will also be focused on Iceland, which recommenced commercial whaling in 2006, targeting both minke and fin whales - the second largest animal on earth and an endangered species. Iceland resumed commercial whaling under a legally disputed reservation to the ban, and has already killed seven out of nine fin whales and two out of 30 minke whales in a self-allocated 2006/7 commercial quota. Its whalers have stated their intention to export the fin whale meat to Japan.

Iceland started scientific whaling in 2003 (killing 36 minkes in 2003, 25 in 2004, 39 in 2005 and 60 minkes in 2006). It plans to have killed a total of 200 minke whales for research by the end of the 2007 season. Many IWC members have expressed their disapproval of Iceland’s whaling activities in demarches, and WDCS hopes that they will adopt a strongly worded (albeit non-binding) resolution calling on it to stop.

The Cruelty of Whaling

Due to the inherent difficulties under which whaling takes place, which involves aiming weapons at a moving target on a moving sea from a moving platform, WDCS believes that whaling can never be guaranteed to be humane and that commercial whaling should cease on welfare grounds alone.

Whales that are killed for commercial purposes should be afforded the same level of legislative welfare protection as other animals that are killed for commercial purposes. However, this is not the case and WDCS argues that it is not possible to ensure a humane death for hunted whales, since they can not be humanely secured and stunned before slaughter, or guaranteed an instantaneous death.

Whales that are struck and wounded by a projectile during hunting (usually a harpoon or bullet) are known as ‘Struck and Lost’. ‘Stuck and Lost’ whales are an unacceptable aspect of all whale and dolphin hunts. These animals may escape the initial strike, but will have an unknown fate.

Background information

The commercial whaling ban
In 1982, after centuries of over-exploitation, many whale populations were close to extinction and the International Whaling Commission (a body formed under a 1946 treaty to regulate whaling and conserve whales) agreed to implement a ban, ‘the moratorium’, on commercial whaling.

The moratorium came into effect in 1986 and has, for the most part, been a successful conservation measure: Commercial whaling declined and some (although by no means all) whale populations are slowly recovering. Despite the ban, however, Japan, Iceland and Norway exploit loopholes in the text of the IWC’s founding treaty and collectively kill over 2000 whales each year for commercial purposes. In addition, the IWC permits ‘aborigines’, whose cultural and nutritional need for whales and whaling it recognises, to hunt some species “exclusively for local consumption”.

Scientific whaling
The IWC’s founding treaty allows whales to be killed under ‘special permits’ for scientific research, issued by member governments of the IWC. However, the IWC never intended this provision to be used on a large scale to provide meat for profit and has adopted over 40 resolutions denying the validity and necessity of scientific whaling programmes and calling on Japan and Iceland to stop killing whales using science as a disguise. The resolutions are however non binding and the whaling nations have chosen to simply ignore them.

The ban on international trade in whale products
Norway, Japan and Iceland all hold reservations exempting them from the ban on international trade in whale products imposed by CITES, although none has used their reservation to trade on a commercial scale and Japan refuses to import Norway’s minke meat due to its high levels of contaminants.

CITES met last in October 2004 and rejected Japan’s latest in a long series of attempts to resume international trade in protected whales, confirming that the international community continues to oppose Japan’s attempts to exploit whales for profit.

Japan began whaling on a commercial scale in the 1940’s, after WWII when protein was in short supply. Japan continues to kill whales and sell the meat from its hunts despite the ban on commercial whaling by exploiting a legal loophole which allows whaling for scientific research.

Currently, Japan allocates its whalers annual research quotas for 10 sperm, 100 sei, 50 Bryde’s and 120 minke whales in the North Pacific (60 of which are killed by Small Type Coastal Whalers) and up to 935 minkes and 10 fin whales in an area of Antarctica designated a whale sanctuary by the IWC in 1994 - a total of 1225 whales a year. A hunt of 50 humpback whales plus an increase from 10 to 50 fin whales is scheduled to begin late in 2007.

Japan also kills tens of thousands of small whales and dolphins annually for its domestic market, despite concerns about the impact of the hunts on these populations, the cruel methods used, and the high levels of pollutants found in these species. These hunts are not regulated by the IWC and often supply live dolphins for captivity.

Japan currently sells around 7,500 tons of edible whale meat annually from its ‘scientific’ hunts, hunts of small cetaceans and ‘bycatch’ (entanglement in fishing nets), but the market is declining, prices of whale meat are falling, and thousands of tonnes are held, unwanted, in stockpiles.

The Japanese public views whale meat as an expensive luxury item and not an everyday food. Japan hopes to stimulate the market with the introduction of humpback whale meat from the hunts later this year, as well as promotional sales of items like whale burgers and ice cream, and heavily subsidized sales of whale meat for school lunches.

Norway conducts the world’s largest overtly commercial whale hunt which this year includes the highest self-allocated coastal catch allowance since the country’s return to commercial whaling 14 years ago.

Norway has continued to kill minke whales in the North Atlantic since 1993 through a legal ‘Objection’ lodged against the moratorium in 1982. The ‘objection’ serves to exempt Norway from the ban. Norway has increased its self-allocated quota at an alarming rate in recent years, from 670 in 2004 to 796 in 2005. In 2006 and 2007, Norway awarded itself a massive quota of 1,052 minke whales. Some 32 vessels now have whaling licenses, as three new vessels joined the Norwegian minke fleet in 2007.

In 2007, Norway allocated its quotas differently, allowing 291 more whales to be killed in the easier to reach coastal areas, and lowering the quota for the offshore and remote Jan Mayan area. The move is likely the result of pressure from a struggling industry, which has failed to meet its quota allocations in the harder-to-reach far distant waters. The decision was taken despite concerns over the higher risk of contamination associated with whale meat from coastal populations.

In the last ten years Norwegian whalers have fulfilled their quota only once, in 2001, when the quota was much lower, at 546 minke whales. Debate has raged as to whether the domestic market can sustain the ever increasing quotas. In 2006, the whaling season was suspended for three weeks because whalers could not sell the products from the animals they had already killed. The Government also extended the season to allow the whalers more time to fulfill their quota.

There is almost no market for whale blubber in Norway and thousands of tonnes have accumulated in warehouses. With prices so low for blubber that it is not worth landing, and with exports forbidden by CITES, almost all blubber is now dumped at sea.

Iceland stopped commercial whaling in 1986 having arguably agreed to the moratorium by not taking an objection against the decision like Norway and Japan (originally) did. They did, however, continue to pursue scientific whaling until 1989.

In 1992 Iceland left the IWC and then re-joined in 2002 with a legally disputed reservation against the moratorium. Some countries still do not recognize Iceland’s membership of the IWC. Iceland recommenced scientific whaling in 2003 and commercial whaling in 2006. Iceland has not reported any data from its scientific hunts to the IWC.

Iceland’s 2007 scientific hunt for minkes resumed in April and will continue until June 25th. The commercial minke kill was opened briefly allowing for one vessel, the Njordur KO to kill one whale on May 4th; the commercial hunt was then closed, and will re-open when the scientific hunt is finished on June 25th, and continue until the end of August. The scientific hunt may resume in September.

The domestic market for whale meat in Iceland is very low and historically much of the meat from Iceland’s whaling industry has been exported to Japan. A recent poll indicated that only 1.1% of Icelandic households eat whale meat weekly. Minke whale meat has sold poorly in Iceland since whaling resumed in 2003, and the resumption of a commercial hunt in 2006 will only lead to more difficulties in domestic sales of whale meat.

Iceland has repeatedly stated its interest in re-opening trade in whale products. Both the minke and fin whalers have expressed an interest in exporting meat to Japan and tests are currently being conducted on the fin whale meat to determine if its contaminant levels exceed Japanese restrictions for imported food.

Denmark is one of the countries currently supporting efforts to lift the ban on commercial whaling and it does not oppose the resumption on international trade in whale products. By voting in favour of commercial whaling at the IWC, Denmark is going against the policy of the EU of which it is a member, as well as the majority of the Danish people who oppose commercial whaling.

The Danish government claims that Denmark’s position reflects its desire to bring an end to the impasse between pro- and anti-whaling nations at the IWC by seeking a compromise between them for sustainable whaling. But it is also clearly the result of pressure from its overseas territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which both hunt whales and dolphins. Greenland is allocated an Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling quota (for nutritional and cultural purposes) by the IWC, whilst the Faroe Islands maintain that its hunt of small cetaceans is outside the remit of the IWC (despite the fact that this hunt includes pilot whales). Both hunts are poorly regulated, and widely believed to be largely unsustainable. WDCS has serious concerns about their conservation and welfare impacts.

Denmark’s support for whaling and trade in whale meat brings it into conflict with the rest of the European Union (EU) which opposes commercial whaling and requires its 27 member states to reach a consensus position on issues relating to CITES. While the EU consistently opposes proposals to resume international trade in whale meat, Denmark always abstains.

Denmark’s pro-whaling stance also brings it into conflict with the views of the majority of the Danish public. An opinion poll conducted in 2006 found that 66% of the Danish population are strongly opposed or opposed to whaling.

Posted by Surfbirds at 7:15 AM | Comments (0)

From carrot fields to cranes in 11 years

Cranes have been found breeding in the Fens of East Anglia for the first time in 400 years.

The huge birds are nesting at the RSPB's Lakenheath Fen nature reserve in Suffolk - a site that was a carrot field until the Society bought it 11 years ago and began its transformation into a square mile of marsh and fen.

Staff there came upon a nest by chance while carrying out a routine survey of the site. It is believed the eggs are about to hatch and may already have done so. In addition, the nesting pair appear to have attracted in other, visiting cranes.

Common Crane © Dave Hutton

The amazing discovery comes as Lakenheath Fen prepares to throw open the doors to its new visitor centre on 17 May 2007.

With a seven-foot wingspan and a loud, bugling call, the crane is a true wildlife spectacle. Persecution and the large-scale drainage of the Fens for agriculture, led to its disappearance as a breeding bird in Britain by about 1600.

A small number returned to the Norfolk Broads in 1979 but while they have bred there successfully, the population has remained isolated and vulnerable. Their arrival at Lakenheath Fen offers hope that they may now be starting to spread into the Fens.

The RSPB's Chief Executive, Graham Wynne CBE, said: 'The arrival of cranes at Lakenheath Fen is fantastic news for the future of this species in the UK. It is also testimony to the truly inspirational work done at the site.

'We have gone from carrot fields to cranes in 11 years. Their decision to nest on the reserve was totally unexpected, very exciting and completely wonderful.

'Lakenheath Fen is a superb example of what can be achieved by restoring wildlife habitats on a large scale and proves that when it comes to wetlands, bigger really is better.

'Now, with the opening of our new visitor centre, we can really start to show people the great work that's been done here and bring them close to the nature on their doorsteps.'

There is more on the way with the RSPB planning to create almost 20 square miles of new wetlands in the Fens over the next 20 years.

The Society hopes the £700,000 visitor centre will help make Lakenheath Fen a gateway to the Fens and its native wildlife for tens of thousands of people, with visitor numbers increasing from 15,000 to 60,000 a year.

As well as the cranes, Lakenheath Fen boasts six pairs of marsh harriers and brightly coloured golden orioles among its bird life, alongside more than 100 aquatic plants, whose seeds had lain dormant among the carrots before bursting back to life with the return of water to the site.

Visitor access to the reserve will be managed to minimise disturbance to the cranes. Visitors will have the opportunity to watch for them at a designated viewing point, while staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide information about the spectacular birds and how the RSPB has created the reserve.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:59 AM | Comments (0)

Wildlife starves on emptied wetland

At least two bird species face extinction while other wildlife, including shellfish, fish and plants, is being harmed by the closure, one year ago, of a 33-mile seawall to drain Saemangeum Wetland in South Korea.

Algae are blooming in the dank puddles that remain and thick scum lines the estuary’s few creeks and channels. Vast stretches of shellfish beds, and thousands of plants, lie dead on the parched mud now covering most of the site. The tidal range of the 155-square mile wetland has dropped from seven metres to just 17 centimetres and all but 30 of the 400 boats that fished estuary waters have been grounded as a result.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper © Dave Farrow

Yet there are no firm plans to compensate for this wildlife and economic tragedy and conservationists are appealing to the UK government to help save what remains of the site.

The Saemangeum project was hatched to create paddy fields but there is insufficient clean water for irrigation. 'Now they are talking about building a golf course, a huge casino or even a Formula 1 race track,' says the RSPB’s Sarah Dawkins, who is currently working as a volunteer to help monitor the impact on birds of the seawall. 'It would be like putting a casino on The Wash.

'Estuaries should be fantastic places, full of the bustle of shorebirds feeding on shellfish and worms in the mud and sand. The wall has blocked the life-giving ebb and flow of the sea, boats are stranded waiting for a tide that will never come and the mudflats are strewn with mile upon mile of litter.

'Saemangeum really was the jewel in the crown yet all around me the place is dying.'

Nordmann's Greenshank © Garry Bakker

Saemangeum is the region’s most important refuelling post for around 400,000 migrating waders negotiating a 15,000-mile round trip between the southern hemisphere and south-east Asia, and breeding sites in Alaska and Russia. At the height of migration, over 150,000 waders from more than 25 species seek food at Saemangeum in a single day.

The spoon-billed sandpiper and Nordmann’s greenshank face extinction as their remaining populations rely on the tidal-flats of the Yellow Sea and on Saemangeum in particular. More than 100,000 great knot, a third of the world’s population, have been seen at Saemangeum in one day and these birds could be too poorly fed this year to survive their final flight north. Internationally important numbers of 26 other bird species used the estuary before it was drained.

Saemangeum has always been a haven for migratory birds and for birdwatchers but as World Migratory Birds Day is celebrated around the globe today (May 12), experts are monitoring the impact of the Saemangeum reclamation project on the anniversary of its completion.

The seawall took 15 years to build due of a succession of legal challenges from conservationists. The area was also the lifeblood of 25,000 people from fishing communities on the Yellow Sea coast.

A chink of light still glimmers, however, for the birds whose fate seems almost sealed. Sluice gates have been built into the Saemangeum sea-wall, which if kept open would save at least part of the wetland.

Birds Korea, a conservation group in South Korea, wants the UK government and the EU, together with governments elsewhere, to offer support to South Korean authorities in conserving and managing Saemangeum. The group is also urging people to write to the South Korean embassy in the UK calling for the sluice gates to be kept open.

Nial Moores, Director of Birds Korea, said: 'International appeals to the authorities here in South Korea would underline just how precious Saemangeum is. The Ministry of Agriculture claims that the Saemangeum birds will just move to neighbouring estuaries but the birds there are already fighting over food and at least one of these estuaries may also be reclaimed.'

Ms Park Meena, National Coordinator of Birds Korea, said: 'Saemangeum could be a huge lure for eco-tourists from all over the world if it was restored. The birds are still coming and parts of the site are still alive so there is a chance we can save it. If the sluice gates were opened the tides would return, restoring life to the mudflats and bringing food both to the birds and people with whom they co-exist.'

South Korea is a signatory to the inter-governmental Ramsar Convention, which is designed to conserve wetlands. The government did not designate Saemangeum as a specially protected Ramsar site, however. South Korea is hosting the triennial Ramsar conference of the parties from October 28 to November 4, 2008).

A government research body warned in 2006 that sea levels in parts of the Yellow Sea could rise by up to 30cm because of the reclamation project. This would cause other tidal land to flood.

Great Knot © Bas van den Boogaard

There are fewer than 1,000 spoon-billed sandpiper and Nordmann’s greenshank left. The fast-declining spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) is the rarest breeding bird in the Arctic region, breeding only in the Russian Far East. It is 14-16cm long with a reddish-brown head, neck and chest and a very distinctive bill, shaped like a spatula, which it uses for feeding in estuarine habitats. The bird depends on active, sea-washed estuaries on migration and in winter and loss of these tidal flats is its main threat, causing an extremely rapid decline in recent years. Numbers have declined by 80 per cent in the last 40 years.

The Nordmann’s, or spotted, greenshank (Tringa guttifer) is a little-known pigeon-sized wader, dependent on estuaries where it feeds mostly on crabs and tidal-flat worms. Breeding in forested wetlands in Sakhalin and coastal areas of the Russian Far East, it migrates through the Yellow Sea on migration to its wintering area in Malaysia and neighbouring countries. This enigmatic species is threatened by oil exploration, pollution and reclamation of tidal wetlands like Saemangeum.

More than 30 per cent of the world’s great knot (Calidris tenuirostris), a shorebird that eats small shellfish, depends on Saemangeum for food. Wintering in Australia, it reaches Saemangeum in a non-stop, 3,440-mile flight in spring.

The species breeds in eastern Siberia and is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

A bar-tailed godwit recently set a new record for the longest, tracked, non-stop flight, migrating 6,341 miles, non-stop, from New Zealand to North Korea, at an average speed of 35mph and altitude of up to two kilometres. She would have lost about 300g - half her body weight - in the week-long journey before flying another 3,100 miles to breeding grounds in Alaska.

At least 29 species of waterbird have been regularly recorded at Saemangeum in internationally important numbers – one per cent of the world population or more than 20,000 birds.

The black-faced spoonbill (1,600 left), Saunders’s gull (7,000 remaining) and Chinese egret (2,500 left) are other endangered birds found in high numbers on Saemangeum. All three birds seek food on tidal flats.

First proposed by the military government of South Korea in the 1970s, building of the seawall started in 1991. As with all reclamations of public waters in Korea, the final primary end-use had to be agriculture. During 15 years of increasing controversy, the reclamation was suspended twice, during a government review in the late 1990s, and by the courts, from 2005 until early 2006. The High Court finally allowed reclamation to proceed, as long as water quality could be maintained to the level needed for agriculture. However, even the government now accepts that the huge reservoir to be created will be too polluted to use, so they are presently considering passing a special Saemangeum Law to allow the reclaimed land to be bought by a wide-range of private investors – allowing the construction of resorts and even casinos. It is the most well-known South Korean environmental issue both domestically and internationally. More information on the project is here: www.birdskorea.org

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:41 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2007

Go eye to eye with a Blue Whale

If you had assumed you would never to get to see a blue whale, think again. Now you can experience the magnitude of the world’s biggest animal just by sitting at your desk, thanks to an interactive banner from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

The charity was donated the banner, which features the giant eye of the computer-generated blue whale, by German advertising agency Jung von Matt. Double-clicking on the advert loads a new window where visitors can navigate around a life-size image of the whale scrolling across their screens.

Nicolas Entrup, a spokesman for WDCS, said: “We want the banner to demonstrate to people how amazing these animals are and how important it is that we do everything in our power to protect them. We hope that this life size blue whale in the Net becomes the ambassador for large whales in the wild.”

For more information about the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society visit www.wdcs.org

Posted by Surfbirds at 8:05 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2007

Wildlife trade convention: WWF’s top ten priorities

Ahead of the world’s major meeting on wildlife trade, WWF releases its top ten list of species needing urgent, global, action to reduce threats from trade.

Delegates from 171 countries are expected to attend the Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), from 3-15 June in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Chimpanzee, Kibale, Uganda © Andrew Moon

Some of the species on WWF’s top ten priority list are among the most endangered. For example, the tiger and the Asian rhino have required constant and urgent action over the past decades, because of ever-present, pervasive threats to their survival, including poaching and illegal trade. Others, particularly marine species, are on the list because their populations have declined massively in recent years, to supply the global market.

“CITES has been addressing the trade threat to some of these species for more than 30 years, with many successes, while others are new on the agenda,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director WWF’s Global Species Programme. “For some, there are new threats, others are new on the agenda due to changing trade dynamics in the global economy, while for yet others, organized criminal elements continue to ply their trade across the globe.”

“Whatever the problem,” added Dr Lieberman, “nothing will change unless governments take this trade and its impacts on conservation and local people’s livelihoods seriously.”

WWF’s top ten “to do” list for the world’s governments includes the following species:

Porbeagle – Porbeagle shark is a powerful, medium-sized, highly migratory shark. There is international demand for, and trade, in its high-value meat and fins. It is also used as fertilizer. WWF calls upon governments to include the species in CITES Appendix II.

Spiny dogfish – Spiny dogfish is a slender, smaller sized white-spotted shark that grows to about one metre long and travels in schools. It is found in cool, coastal waters worldwide. Known as rock salmon, it is used in fish and chips in the UK and as a smoked meat delicacy in Germany, called Schillerlocken. WWF calls upon governments to include the species in CITES Appendix II.

Sawfish – Populations of the seven species of sawfish have drastically declined. They are traded as live animals for public aquariums, and also for their fins and meat. Their distinctive saw-like snouts are sold as souvenirs and ceremonial weapons, while other body parts are used for traditional medicines. WWF calls upon governments to include these species in CITES Appendix I.

Tigers – In addition to continuing threats from habitat loss and forest conversion, an old threat is about to re-emerge in China, which could put the last remaining tigers further at risk – the potential re-opening of trade from tiger ‘farms’. WWF calls upon governments to take concerted action to stop all trade in tigers, particularly in China, and to improve enforcement efforts across Asia (e.g., India).

Asian rhinos – Historically hunted for their horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines, and devastated by the destruction of their lowland forest habitat, Asian rhino populations are now distressingly small. An upsurge in poaching over the last few is taking its toll even on populations that were thought to be stable. WWF calls upon governments to step up enforcement efforts, and assist countries such as Nepal to stop the poaching.

Red and pink coral – A jewel that comes from reefs and atolls, it is the most valuable of all the precious corals. Pink coral has been fished for over 5,000 years and used for jewellery and decoration. Over-harvesting and the destruction of entire colonies by bottom trawls and dredges have led to dramatic population declines. WWF calls on governments to include all species of red and pink coral in CITES Appendix II.

European eel – The European eel comes from coastal and freshwater ecosystems throughout Europe, including Mediterranean countries. Stocks have declined dramatically over the past several decades due to overfishing and poaching. There is significant international demand for this species, both for live juvenile eels (shipped from Europe to Asia) for rearing in aquaculture and for the highly valued meat of adults. WWF calls on governments to include this species in CITES Appendix II.

Elephants – The ongoing poaching of elephants and illegal international trade in ivory is stimulated by rampant ivory sales in some countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. Despite previous CITES decisions, and valiant efforts of some countries, these markets persist. The time has come to put political will behind serious efforts to close down these illegal and unregulated ivory markets, the true driver of elephant poaching.

Great apes – Wild populations of great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans), continue to decline drastically and are threatened by the combined effects of illegal trade in live animals (usually for pets), poaching for meat, disease and habitat disturbance, fragmentation and destruction. WWF calls on governments and CITES to stop this trade – including by adequately enforcing existing laws and imposing deterrent penalties.

Bigleaf mahogany – This highly valuable South and Central American rainforest tree species was listed in CITES Appendix II in 2002, in response to population declines and high levels of illegal logging and trade. Only one country still exports large commercial quantities, Peru, and after five years, these problems continue, and concerted action is needed.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2007

Five years the key to planet’s future

The world has more than enough sustainable energy and technology to curb climate change, but only if key decisions are made within the next five years, according to new research by WWF.

Climate Solutions: WWF’s vision for 2050, a new report detailing the results of that study, was launched by the global conservation organization at an international press briefing in Geneva today.

The third report this year of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released on 4 May, showed that the world could limit its heat-trapping emissions with known technologies and policy changes, but WWF’s Climate Solutions report shows how this can be done using only sustainable, environmentally friendly energy sources.

“The world has never been more aware of climate change, or the urgent need to slow its advance,” said James Leape, WWF International’s Director General. “The question for leaders and governments everywhere is how to rein in dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide emissions without stunting development and reducing living standards.

“The Climate Solutions report shows not only that this can be done, it shows how we can do it. We have a small window of time in which we can plant the seeds of change, and that is the next five years. We cannot afford to waste them.

“This is not something that governments can put off until the future. Governments in power now have a unique opportunity, a duty, to do something big for the future of the planet. If they fail, generations to come will have to live with the compromises and hardships caused by their inability to act.”

Princeton University’s Professor Robert Socolow, who in his work with Professor Stephen Pacala developed the climate stabilization wedges used in the WWF study, endorsed the Climate Solutions report. “The WWF study provides a much needed integration of climate change mitigation within a comprehensive framework of environmental stewardship,” he said.

Jorgen Randers, who in 1972 was one of the authors of Limits to Growth, the book known for linking economic growth and the state of the natural environment, also praised the report.

“The WWF Climate Solutions report is important first and foremost because it shows that it can be done. The plan shows it is possible to supply the world’s growing energy need in a climate-friendly manner, even if we choose to limit ourselves to existing and environmentally acceptable technologies,” said Professor Randers, who is also Chairman of WWF-Norway.

Climate Solutions is the report of WWF’s Energy Taskforce which was set up in December 2005. More than 100 scientists and experts contributed their knowledge.

The taskforce set out to answer the question: “Is it technically possible to meet the growing global demand for energy, using clean and sustainable energy sources and technologies that will protect the global climate?”

It began by reviewing 25 different commercially available sustainable energy sources or technologies and ranking them. From this process, three groupings emerged: those technologies with clear benefits, those with some negative but mostly positive impacts, and those where the negatives clearly outweighed the positives.

Those technologies found to have more benefits than negative impacts were then run through the newly designed WWF Climate Solutions model.

The findings were clear and had a note of hope: the model showed, with a high degree of probability (i.e. greater than 90 per cent), that known energy sources and proven technologies could be harnessed between now and 2050 to meet a projected doubling in global demand for energy while at the same time achieving the necessary significant drop (about 60-80 per cent) in carbon dioxide emissions to pevent dangerous climate change.

The model shows for the first time that this is technically and industrially feasible. It also shows that measures must be taken within five years to bring about a reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions within the next ten years.

The report identifies six key solutions to the problem of meeting global energy demand without damaging the global climate:

• Improving energy efficiency.
• Stopping forest loss.
• Accelerating the development of low-emissions technologies.
• Developing flexible fuels.
• Replacing high-carbon coal with low-carbon gas.
• Equipping fossil-fuel plants with carbon capture and storage technology.

For further information:
Moira O’Brien-Malone, WWF International, +41 22 364 9550 or +41 79 377 7958 (mobile), email mobrien@wwfint.org

Posted by Surfbirds at 7:20 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2007

Stunning new hummingbird species needs immediate protection

The flamboyantly coloured Gorgeted Puffleg Eriocnemis isabellae, a new species of hummingbird, has been discovered in Colombia.

But there are concerns over its future safety because the Serrania del Pinche mountains where it was discovered are unprotected.

Ornithologists Alexander Cortés-Diago and Luis Alfonso Ortega made three sightings of the new hummingbird during surveys in 2005 of montane cloud forest in the Serrania del Pinche, south-west Colombia.

Gorgeted Puffleg © Alex Cortes

“We were essentially following a hunch,” said Alexander Cortés-Diago of The Hummingbird Conservancy (Colombia) and co-discoverer of Gorgeted Puffleg. “We had heard that a new species of plant had been discovered in the region in 1994. This discovery and the isolation of the Serrania led us to believe there could also be new species of vertebrates.”

“Though we expected to find new species of amphibians and new ranges for birds, the discovery of a new hummingbird was completely unexpected.”

The highly distinct new species is characterised by an enlarged, bicoloured iridescent throat patch (hence ‘Gorgeted’) in males and white tufts above the legs which are characteristic of ‘Puffleg’ hummingbirds.

Further surveys in 2006 brought more sightings and photographs which were sent for identification to Prof. Karl-L. Schuchmann, curator of ornithology at Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig (Germany).

Dr André-A. Weller of the Brehm Fund for International Bird Conservation/Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig, co-author of the scientific description published in Ornitologia Neotropical noted: “We immediately suspected the bird as a new species. Further study has shown that this is certainly the most spectacular discovery of a new hummingbird taxon during the last decade or more.”

The mountainous Serrania del Pinche region may hold other new species but their future isn’t secure.

“The isolated nature of the Serrania del Pinche within the biodiverse Choco region makes it likely that further new species await discovery,” said Luis Mazariegos-Hurtado of The Hummingbird Conservancy. “Yet a major threat to these forests exists: the increase in coca fields and ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. It is estimated that 500 hectares are lost each year.” commented Mazariegos-Hurtado.

The species has been heralded by BirdLife International as one of the most significant new discoveries of recent years.

Gorgeted Puffleg is predicted to have a very small habitat range,
hence its survival may hang in the balance © Alex Cortes

“This is an important discovery for bird conservation and further evidence of how much more there is to learn about the world’s forests, and how much we stand to lose if they are allowed to be destroyed.” said Ian Davidson, Head of BirdLife International's Americas Programme based in Ecuador. “Gorgeted Puffleg is a flagship species for the biodiversity of Serrania del Pinche, which must be conserved,” he added.

“To go undiscovered for so long, the bird’s range must be extremely small and fragile – hence conservation action is undoubtedly a priority for the Serrania del Pinche.”

A number of conservation organisations are now looking to ensure the region is secured further protection. The Hummingbird Conservancy has started a conservation initiative with local communities and governmental organisations, whilst Fundación Ecohabitat (Colombia) is working to reduce the relentless expansion of agriculture into the forests by promoting use of legal crops and sustainable agriculture.

The Hummingbird Conservancy is proposing the site become an Important Bird Area to Colombia's Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, working in collaboration with BirdLife International.

“This is a discovery with mixed emotions: the indescribable happiness of finding a new hummingbird and the harsh reality that this may be one of the most endangered species outside of an unprotected area.” said Luis Alfonso Ortega of Fundación Ecohabitat, co-discoverer of the hummingbird.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:37 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2007

Ten Billion Migratory Birds Arrive in North America but Threats Increasing

International Migratory Bird Day is Saturday May 12

(Washington, D.C. – May 10, 2007) Millions of Americans enjoy the return of migratory songbirds and shorebirds each spring – an annual event celebrated by International Migratory Bird Day which this year falls on Saturday May 12.

However, the return of fewer birds of many vulnerable species is prompting concern among conservation groups.

"This weekend sees the peak of spring songbird migration across much of North America. The marvel of millions of migratory birds returning each year is something to pass on to future generations – by taking action now we can ensure this great natural phenomena can be celebrated by our children and their children,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of ABC.

More than one third of the 650 bird species that breed in the U.S. now have declining populations, are restricted to small ranges, or face serious threats. Conservationists are particularly concerned about species such as the Cerulean Warbler, a beautiful blue and white songbird that has lost as much as 70% of its population in the past 40 years and which has become a flagship species for songbird declines. Other species of particular concern are the eastern Red Knot, a shorebird which has declined by 90% since the early 1990s, and the Long-billed Curlew, which has lost over one-third of its breeding habitat to development.

Each year, an estimated 2.5 billion birds are also killed inadvertently in the U.S. due to human activities. Such bird mortality includes collisions with lighted buildings and communication towers, pesticide poisoning, and free-roaming cat predation. Two million acres of bird habitat are also lost to development annually. New concerns over the potential impacts of climate change, especially among coastal, alpine, and Arctic bird species; as well as the spread of corn for biofuels which may replace vital bird habitats; and poorly placed wind farms that can kill thousands of birds are also causing serious concern. The combination of mass mortality and serious habitat loss poses a grave risk to many bird species across all regions and habitats.

“We’ve all heard of the canary in the coalmine – it is clearly time to heed a warning here” said Mike Parr, Vice President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC).
To counter these threats ABC and its allies in the Bird Conservation Alliance are calling for increased federal funding for bird conservation programs – such as the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act - and engaging in a range of conservation actions aimed at reversing songbird declines. Please see a fact sheet on protecting the Cerulean Warbler and other migratory birds at
https://www.abcbirds.org/protectsongbirds.htm

International Migratory Bird Day itself is highlighting the threat posed to birds by climate change. Other initiatives aimed at conserving birds include the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Partners in Flight, and the Bird Conservation Alliance. These programs and partnerships are building capacity among both public and private organizations to protect birds across the entire U.S. landscape. ABC also leads programs to reduce pesticide poisoning, to minimize cat predation, to halt the impacts of communications towers on birds, to protect key sites for birds, and to safeguard winter habitat in Central and South America for North American migratory species and rare endemic birds.

Posted by Surfbirds at 7:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2007

Rare Birds Yearbook 2008

Bird photographers - enter a novel photo competition and win high-quality Minox prizes!

The Rare Birds Yearbook invites you to submit your photos of the world’s 189 Critically endangered birds. Rare Birds Yearbook is a new, annual publication which will appear in October 2007 for the first time. It is published in association with global conservation organisation BirdLife International and £4 of each sold book will be donated straight to conservation.

Rare Birds Yearbook

In association with high-quality optics company Minox and BirdLife International the publishers are offering a range of prizes. Visit www.rarebirdsyearbook.com to find a list of the species, the prizes, the rules, the jury members and more about the book. The competition runs until 15th July 2007.

Rare Birds Yearbook

Published by MagDig Media Ltd in association with BirdLife International. 274 pages in colour. Paperback.

Objectives

To publish an annually recurring book that summarises the status and facts of the world’s c.190 Critically Endangered (CR) birds in an appealing, modern, educational and readable way. It will consist of a directory section of the 190 species, sections on statistics and lists, a directory of regional organisations and commercial bird tour companies arranging travel to see CR species of birds. Each yearbook will have a number of specially written feature articles on issues related to threatened birds such as migration, rare bird sites and taxonomy. The directory section will also be updated each year with the latest information on the plight of the world’s most threatened species. GBP 4 per sold book will be donated to BirdLife International in order to enhance their funds for conservation work.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:25 AM | Comments (0)

May 9, 2007

Children to learn how to help save polar bears

WWF and Canon Europe launched today a “Save the Polar Bear” website as an educational tool to teach children about the environmental impacts of climate change.

The site – a microsite hosted on the enhanced WWF-Canon Polar Bear Tracker (www.panda.org/polarbears) – will have a variety of activities suitable for children aged from seven to eleven.

In fun and engaging ways, and with the aid of two animated polar bear cubs named Auro and Borea, children will learn about threats to polar bears’ habitat, about the issues and challenges of climate change, their own impact on the environment, and how they can each make a difference.

The Polar Bear Tracker was launched in 2002 by WWF’s Arctic Programme and the Norwegian Polar Institute to track polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago. Canon recognised the importance of the project and became involved because polar bears are a key indicator of climate change and its effects on the Arctic.

Due to global warming, the sea ice on which polar bears live melts earlier and earlier every year, leaving them with a smaller area in which to find food. Though pollution and hunting are other threats to polar bears, climate change is the biggest of them all. Unless humanity takes radical action to reduce its emissions of global warming gases such as carbon dioxide, we are unlikely to be able to save the polar bear.

The announcement of the children’s site is timed to coincide with Canon Europe’s 50th anniversary.

“Climate change and the associated issues of global warming and environmental consciousness are of crucial importance to the people of Canon, both as members of a socially responsible company and as individuals” said James Leipnik, Chief of Communication and Corporate Relations at Canon Europe. “By working with WWF to address some of the key challenges of environmental sustainability through better understanding, we hope to engage as wide an audience as possible, from children to their parents and teachers, and encourage them to do their part for the environment.”

Posted by Surfbirds at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

Greenpeace calls for end to tropical forest destruction

Greenpeace activists today abseiled from the top of the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Port Moresby, Papua Nwe Guinea, where delegates were gathering for the start of the 42nd International Tropical Timber Organization’s (ITTO) committee meeting, and unfurled a banner which read “ITTO Stop Forest Destruction”.

Dutch climber Erik Birkhoff said, “Greenpeace wants the ITTO to do more to stop forest destruction in the world’s tropical forests.”

The protection of large expanses of rainforest has become a global issue and was identified by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) last week as one of the most cost-effective ways to mitigate against climate change.

Greenpeace is highlighting the issue of tropical forest destruction as representatives from governments meet at the 42nd ITTO meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, a country with serious illegal and destructive logging issues, to challenge the ITTO's members to protect rather than trade away the planet's last ancient forests.

A diagnostic report on PNG by the ITTO concluded that the PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA) is doing nothing on ensuring sustainable forest management and is focussed “almost exclusively on exploitation of the forest resource for the primary financial benefit of the national government.”

“Greenpeace wants the ITTO to do more to stop forest destruction in PNG,” said Sam Moko, Greenpeace PNG forest campaigner and climber. “Our Government has done nothing to protect our forests. They and the forest industry are more interested in short term financial gain rather than thinking about the future for our children.”

The ITTO was formed to find a balance between tropical forest conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. However the world’s tropical forests, including the Amazon, Congo and the Paradise Forests of Asia Pacific continue to be logged at alarming rates.

In 1990, the ITTO set a goal, “Objective 2000”, to ensure that the trade in tropical timber comes from sustainably managed forests by 2000. As of June 2006, according to the ITTO’s own assessment, less than 5 per cent of tropical forests were under sustainable management.

“By its own admission the ITTO is failing, in the 20 years it has been operating forest degradation and loss due to logging has accelerated in ITTO member countries rather than being brought under control,” said Greenpeace New Zealand Forest Campaigner Grant Rosoman. “This is a spectacular failure and points to the underlying aim of the ITTO members – the continued exploitation of forests for the trade in tropical timber.”

Tropical forests are some of the most bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet and are home to millions of people who rely on them for their subsistence and survival. They are also an essential carbon reservoir and their continued destruction is contributing to climate change. Up to 25% of greenhouse gas emissions come from tropical forest clearance.

Since the ITTO announced its “Objective 2000” the world’s tropical forests have come under increased pressure from illegal and destructive logging as well as massive clearance for agricultural crops such as soya and oil palm.

Sixty per cent of PNG's large intact ancient forests have already been destroyed and Greenpeace estimates that over 90 per cent of logging in PNG is illegal. Between August 2000 and August 2005 the Amazon lost 12.8 million hectares of forest. Indonesia was last week confirmed as a Guinness World Record holder for destroying its forests at the fastest rate and the Democratic Republic of Congo risks losing up to 40 per cent of its forests by 2050.

“Unless something is done now to stop wholesale forest destruction there may be nothing left to save. Instead of more talk the ITTO’s members need to take action to protect the world’s last ancient forests,” said Mr Rosoman. “We are calling on governments of forest countries to immediately implement moratoria on the expansion of industrial logging and set up a network of protected forest areas. Governments of market countries must implement legislation to ensure that their markets are not trading in illegal and destructive timber products.”

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:52 AM | Comments (0)

May 6, 2007

“Indefensible” Cyprus Spring Shooting permit shocks conservationists across Europe

Cyprus: Today’s shock decision by the Cyprus government to permit shooting of Turtle Doves this spring poses an unacceptable threat to a declining species and is indefensible under the EU Birds Directive, say conservationists throughout Europe.

The Cyprus government’s decision will allow for European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur - a species declining across Europe - to be shot in certain coastal areas on Sunday May 6 and Wednesday May 9.

“It will be a case of targeting a threatened bird species at the most vulnerable stage of its life-cycle,” said Executive Manager of BirdLife Cyprus, Martin Hellicar.

“These threatened doves will be hit as they pass through Cyprus at the tail-end of their long migration from Africa to their breeding grounds in mainland Europe. The EU Birds Directive bans shooting during migration towards nesting areas in order to ensure birds can successfully produce young to replenish their numbers,” said Hellicar.

Spring hunting is prohibited by EU law -the Birds Directive- in order to protect wild birds during their migration from Africa to breeding grounds in Europe.

BirdLife International in Brussels have informed the European Commission about this step and is to ask Commissioner Dimas for immediate and firm reaction, asking the Cypriot government to revoke this decision.

“This step by Cyprus represents a serious and unacceptable infringement of European law, and BirdLife International will ask national governments and EU decision makers to express their protest to the Cypriot government.” said Konstantin Kreiser, EU Policy Manager at BirdLife in Brussels.

“This decision represents a very serious step backwards for both bird conservation and hunting in Cyprus. We are not opposed to legal, sustainable hunting - but this is not what we are faced with here.” said Hellicar.

Malta, another EU country which permits spring hunting, is currently the subject of legal action from the European Commission. Cyprus would have to expect a European Court case -with similiar EU wide embarrassment- if the country doesn’t revoke its decision, conservationists have warned.

Posted by Surfbirds at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)

May 3, 2007

Survey uncovers Grauer’s Swamp-warbler nest

Recent surveys of Africa’s Albertine Rift Valley have shed new light on Grauer’s Swamp-warbler Bradypterus graeuri, a particularly vocal Endangered bird that occurs nowhere else on Earth.

In the past, adult swamp-warblers have been recorded throughout the Rift Valley, in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. Yet breeding and nesting behaviour –two vital facets of information for conservationists working to save the species- remained largely unknown, until now.

“During our routine surveys of the Kabatwa Swamp in the Volcanoes National Park [in Rwanda], we came across a small cup-shaped nest perched in foliage 35cm from the ground. The nest was built from Poa leptocrada and other sedges. To our surprise there were two chicks sitting in the nest,” said Claudien Nsabagasani, Ornithological Researcher with Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) and IBA Focal Point for Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda, ACNR (BirdLife in Rwanda).

“We revisited the Swamp-warbler nest daily from then on to acquire information on nesting and feeding behaviour before the chicks fledged a week later.”

The photos of the warbler nest are Rwanda’s first, shedding important light on the reproductive ecology of the species.

The surveyors, supported by funding from RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and DFGFI, had been monitoring Grauer’s Swamp-warbler over four seasons, starting in July 2006, in the Volcanoes National Park, an Important Bird Area (IBA).
“With threatened species, every nest counts,” said Paul Kariuki Ndang’ang’a, the Species Programme Manager at BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat. “Information on where the birds choose to make their nests -at what height, and in what foliage– are all crucial pieces of information for those involved in managing and surveying these sites to help secure populations of threatened species.”

Grauer’s Swamp-warbler is listed as Endangered as a result of its very small, fragmented and declining range – a reflection of habitat loss as the Rift Valley’s mountain forests are converted to cultivation and pasture.

“The swamp-warbler population in the Volcanoes IBA are protected, which is encouraging news for the future of these newly discovered young fledglings,” said Serge Nsengimana, the ACNR Executive Officer. “But site protection remains a critical issue for the species as a whole.”

“Hopefully this added knowledge on nesting behaviour will help in our efforts to save this endemic species from possible extinction.”

In 2005, an ACNR-led team discovered Rwanda’s first Grauer’s Swamp-warbler nest at Rugezi Swamp, an IBA currently lacking legal protection.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:47 AM | Comments (0)

Surveys reveal raptor ‘super-roost’

Surveys in Senegal by LPO (BirdLife in France) have revealed a single roost containing over 28,600 Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni and 16,000 African Swallow-tailed Kite Chelictinia riocourii – one of the largest bird of prey roosts ever found.

“One evening, I saw the passage of some 300 birds flying over,” said Philippe Pilard of LPO, who discovered the site in January 2007. “The next evening I saw 1,300 falcons fly over. I therefore decided to follow them, which was only possible on foot.”

“I first walked 10 kilometres -even crossing rivers by canoe- and finally found the Lesser Kestrel roost, along with the African Swallow-tailed Kites.”

The existence of communal roosts during the non-breeding season -sometimes involving several thousand individuals- has been observed in a number of different countries including Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. However conservationists have described this enormous roost -altogether some 45,000 insectivorous raptors- as exceptional.

The numbers of roosting Lesser Kestrel at this site are thought to represent more than half of the known breeding populations of western Europe and northern Africa combined. The roost likely held individuals from Morocco, Spain, Portugal and France.

The finding is the culmination of seven years of research and many hours of observation in the field by LPO ornithologists, funded for the past year by La Fondation Nature et Découvertes.

During the course of the next few years, comprehensive surveys of the region are now being planned.

Lesser Kestrel is listed as Vulnerable by BirdLife. The species has undergone rapid declines in western Europe - equivalent to c.46% in each decade since 1950. As such, the species has been the subject of significant conservation efforts, particularly in its European breeding range.

LPO have used the discovery to highlight the importance of protecting wintering sites, as well as breeding sites, across the range of this migratory species.

“Although there have been a number of conservation efforts devoted to Lesser Kestrel in France and elsewhere in Europe, these efforts will be fruitless if nothing is put in place to protect its African wintering grounds.” said Yvan Tariel, Head of Raptor Conservation at LPO.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:38 AM | Comments (0)

Crane hat-trick at Pulborough Brooks

A common crane has roosted at RSPB Pulborough Brooks nature reserve for the third time in four weeks!

The 1st appearance at the beginning of April was certainly an unexpected surprise, and it spent several nights on the reserve before presumably getting back on it’s migration track to breeding grounds in either Scandinavia, north-eastern Europe or Russia.

Two birds then turned up a couple of weeks later, they again stayed the night before leaving just after 10am when the day started to warm up, providing a good thermal for flying long distances.

Now a third crane has arrived, spending Thursday (26 April) night on the reserve and demonstrating it’s loud trumpeting call, which could be heard nearly a mile away. True to form, once the sun came out on Friday morning the bird departed, this time providing excellent views to the crowds of people in the Visitor Centre.

Pulborough Brooks Warden, Peter Hughes said: “When the crane arrived on Thursday night, my first thought was ‘is this the same bird as before?’ It seems likely, as both times, it settled in exactly the same place, but if it is the same one returning, then where has it been in between? Cranes are susceptible to disturbance and usually prefer large areas of isolated bog or other wetlands, areas such as this are rare in Sussex. This might explain why this bird is apparently choosing to return here.”

“We will certainly be keeping our eyes and ears open to see if any more cranes arrive, and would welcome any further sightings from around the county.”

Each year, migrating cranes appear in the UK in small numbers and there is a small (less than 20) resident population centred on the Norfolk Broads that has been present there since the early 1980s. These birds have been very slowly increasing in numbers since then and have, on occasion, bred successfully.

RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve is open daily, with gift shop, information area, toilets and tearoom which serves breakfast from 9.30am (Monday – Friday), lunch from 12 noon (daily) and cakes all day. For further information on the reserve, contact the visitor centre on 01798 875851, or email pulborough.brooks@rspb.org.uk. The reserve is located off the A283 between Pulborough and Storrington.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:24 AM | Comments (0)

RSPB Minsmere celebrates 60 years of conservation

The RSPB’s flagship nature reserve, Minsmere on the Suffolk coast, is celebrating 60 years of saving some of the country’s most endangered birds from extinction.

The site, which is a haven for a stunning array of plants and animals, was first leased to the RSPB in April 1947, the same year that avocets – extinct in the UK for 100 years - were found breeding there.

This year is also the 60th anniversary of their return.

Ever since Minsmere has provided a lifeline to birds on the brink of disappearing from the UK. Avocets, bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tits all owe their current success to the reserve and to the work of its staff and volunteers.

By the 1840s the avocet had become extinct in the UK, wiped out by marsh drainage, shooting and the taking of eggs by collectors. A century later, the coastal marshes of East Anglia were flooded to hinder the expected German invasion. This provided an ideal habitat for the avocet, which launched its own invasion. In 1947, four pairs were found on the Minsmere Level, which during the war had been a battle training ground. In the same year the RSPB agreed to lease the area and the reserve was born. In the years that followed The Scrape – a saline lagoon with shingle islands – was built and became home to a colony of avocets. Today the reserve is home to 100 of the country’s 1,000 breeding pairs and the avocet features on the RSPB’s logo.

When DDT poisoning almost wiped out the UK’s marsh harrier population, the last pair in the country were to be found at Minsmere in 1971. The reserve remained a stronghold for the harriers until DDT was banned in the early 80s. It then acted as a springboard for the sleek and slender birds of prey to re-colonise other parts of the country. In 2005, there were 360 breeding females in England and Scotland, a 200-year high.

Already hit hard by habitat loss, the harsh winter of 1947 reduced the UK’s bearded tit population to just four pairs – all at Minsmere. There, the little birds hung on. By 1959 there were so many that they irrupted out of the marshes of East Anglia and began to spread into other parts of the country. Today there are about 400 pairs breeding in Britain.

Hunting and habitat loss saw the bittern vanish from Britain by 1886. It returned in 1911 only for numbers to crash once more to a low of 11 booming males in 1997. RSPB research carried out at Minsmere led to the reserve’s famous reedbeds completely re-profiled to suit the birds’ needs and the reserve became the engine room of a second recovery. Today there are more than 40 booming males in England, with 10 at Minsmere. Without the young produced at Minsmere, there would have been no recovery.

The conservation work continues to this day with efforts to bring stone-curlews back to Minsmere already bearing fruit on farmland, which has been recently restored to heath and grassland.

Among Minsmere’s other riches are nightingales, nightjars, otters, water voles, antlions, the largest herd of red deer outside Scotland and more than 1,000 different species of moths and butterflies, including one named after the reserve – the Minsmere Crimson Underwing.

Not surprisingly, Minsmere also ranks as one of the RSPB’s most visited reserves. Visitors number more than 100,000 a year, including 1,400 school children taking part in the Society’s field teaching scheme, also celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Together they pour more than £1 million into the local economy every year.

Adam Rowlands, site manager at Minsmere, started his RSPB career as a volunteer on the reserve.

He said: “There is nowhere like Minsmere; working here is a constant pleasure. What makes Minsmere so wonderful is not just its size but also the diversity of habitats that allow so many species to flourish.

“It shows how important nature reserves are in preserving our wildlife when times are hard and in giving them a safe place from which to recover. With climate change starting to bite, such places can only become more important.”

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “Minsmere’s record of preserving and saving the UK’s wildlife has been nothing less than remarkable.

“It is a record which springs from the resolve of those who in 1947 were determined to protect the returning avocets and make sure they did not disappear from our shores for a second time.

“That determination, that passion for conservation, has characterised everything done at Minsmere since. Their dedication means that today Minsmere is a shining example of what conservation can make possible - rare species have been saved, common species thrive, beautiful countryside is protected and enhanced and millions of people get to enjoy it all."

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:16 AM | Comments (0)