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Conservation |
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WWF - Environmental News
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News, publications and job feeds from WWF - the global conservation organization
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Fascinating ancient Sahara site celebrated for World Wetlands Day
Tunis, Tunisia: A remote seasonal salt lake on the edge of the Sahara leads a list of 15 new Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance being declared in the country on World Wetlands Day, February 2.
Chott Elguetar, a 7,400 ha site with an intermittent lake, is vital to the survival of the threatened Scimitar Oryx, Addax and Dama Gazelle. It also contains traces of human religious and industrial activity that have been dated back 40,000 years.
WWF has welcomed the announcement, noting that Tunisia?s designation of 15 new Ramsar Sites nearly doubles the country?s total, to 35.
?These designations are the result of a long process that requires effort and time from the government and conservation groups,? said Faouzi Maamouri, Coordinator of the WWF office in Tunisia.
?But even with everything this country has been through recently, there is a strong commitment to protecting wetlands and the services they provide for both people and nature.?
The Ramsar Convention, so named for its signing in the Iranian city of the same name, is an intergovernmental treaty to maintain and conserve Wetlands of International Importance ? or Ramsar Sites. These include rivers, lakes, marshes, mangroves, coral reefs and other natural or human-made wetlands.
The new sites in Tunisia include natural wetlands, oases and coastal lagoons, as well as structures such as dams and reservoirs. Many of them contribute directly to human well-being by supporting agriculture or fisheries. Others provide habitat for vulnerable or endangered birds and mammals.
Highlights in addition to Chott Elguetar include:
Marais d?eau douce Garaet Douza ? 1,400 ha; a seasonal freshwater marsh surrounded by a circle of mountains, which give it a wonderful landscape. It is a good site for the promotion of Saharan ecotourism, as it is a natural wetland that has not been adversely affected by agriculture and harbours a wealth of biodiversity.
Barrage Oued Ermal ? 620 ha; a dam and reservoir that provides a vital habitat for several waterfowl at various critical stages of their life cycle. It is a nesting place for Cattle Egret, Spoonbill, Eurasian Coot, Shoveler Ducks, Plover, Gadwall, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Marbled Duck, Marsh Harrier, Kingfisher, Water Pipit, Skylark and Chiffchaff.
Barrage de Sidi El Barrak ? 2,734 ha; one of the most important dams and reservoirs in Tunisia for irrigation and supplying drinking water to the cities of Tunis and Sfax.
Tunisia isn?t the only country expanding its list of Ramsar Sites. Since the beginning of 2012, Indonesia, Estonia, Romania, France and Kazakhstan have added new sites.
?World Wetlands Day is a moment to reflect on the freshwater ecosystems that we all depend on,? said Denis Landenbergue, WWF International Freshwater Manager. ?But the recent additions to the Ramsar List ? and others to come in the near future ? show that the work to conserve wetlands happens all year. As one of five international organization partners that have been with the convention since the beginning, WWF is proud to support Ramsar.?
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Fascinating ancient Sahara site celebrated for World Wetlands Day
Tunis, Tunisia: A remote seasonal salt lake on the edge of the Sahara leads a list of 15 new Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance being declared in the country on World Wetlands Day, February 2.
Chott Elguetar, a 7,400 ha site with an intermittent lake, is vital to the survival of the threatened Scimitar Oryx, Addax and Dama Gazelle. It also contains traces of human religious and industrial activity that have been dated back 40,000 years.
WWF has welcomed the announcement, noting that Tunisia?s designation of 15 new Ramsar Sites nearly doubles the country?s total, to 35.
?These designations are the result of a long process that requires effort and time from the government and conservation groups,? said Faouzi Maamouri, Coordinator of the WWF office in Tunisia.
?But even with everything this country has been through recently, there is a strong commitment to protecting wetlands and the services they provide for both people and nature.?
The Ramsar Convention, so named for its signing in the Iranian city of the same name, is an intergovernmental treaty to maintain and conserve Wetlands of International Importance ? or Ramsar Sites. These include rivers, lakes, marshes, mangroves, coral reefs and other natural or human-made wetlands.
The new sites in Tunisia include natural wetlands, oases and coastal lagoons, as well as structures such as dams and reservoirs. Many of them contribute directly to human well-being by supporting agriculture or fisheries. Others provide habitat for vulnerable or endangered birds and mammals.
Highlights in addition to Chott Elguetar include:
Marais d?eau douce Garaet Douza ? 1,400 ha; a seasonal freshwater marsh surrounded by a circle of mountains, which give it a wonderful landscape. It is a good site for the promotion of Saharan ecotourism, as it is a natural wetland that has not been adversely affected by agriculture and harbours a wealth of biodiversity.
Barrage Oued Ermal ? 620 ha; a dam and reservoir that provides a vital habitat for several waterfowl at various critical stages of their life cycle. It is a nesting place for Cattle Egret, Spoonbill, Eurasian Coot, Shoveler Ducks, Plover, Gadwall, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Marbled Duck, Marsh Harrier, Kingfisher, Water Pipit, Skylark and Chiffchaff.
Barrage de Sidi El Barrak ? 2,734 ha; one of the most important dams and reservoirs in Tunisia for irrigation and supplying drinking water to the cities of Tunis and Sfax.
Tunisia isn?t the only country expanding its list of Ramsar Sites. Since the beginning of 2012, Indonesia, Estonia, Romania, France and Kazakhstan have added new sites.
?World Wetlands Day is a moment to reflect on the freshwater ecosystems that we all depend on,? said Denis Landenbergue, WWF International Freshwater Manager. ?But the recent additions to the Ramsar List ? and others to come in the near future ? show that the work to conserve wetlands happens all year. As one of five international organization partners that have been with the convention since the beginning, WWF is proud to support Ramsar.?
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Riverwatchers to protect the ?Amazon of Europe?
Zagreb, Croatia - A long blue band waved by six men wearing uniforms on Zagreb?s central square today marked the start of WWF?s Riverwatch campaign aimed at halting destruction of Croatia?s unique natural rivers: the Danube, Drava and Mura - Europe?s Amazon. All three rivers are under threat from channelling works as well as from gravel and sand extraction. This poses a severe threat to unique wetlands and to Europe?s largest and best preserved floodplain forests.
The Riverwatchers are volunteers who ? on canoe and on foot ? will patrol a total of 470 km of the rivers for at least the next two years. Riverwatchers will keep an eye not only on the Croatian stretches of the rivers, but also on Hungarian and Serbian shores as these rivers are natural borders between the three countries.
?If we find something inappropriate we will inform the Croatian government as well as the European Commission who like to know if there are activities going on which are not in line with EU law?, said Tibor Mikuska from partner organization Croatian Society for the Protection of Birds and Nature, coordinator of the Riverwatch campaign.
?For the first time in Croatia and in Eastern Europe, a network of people who care about their rivers is taking action?, said Arno Mohl, WWF International Freshwater Expert. ?To protect successfully our rivers from destruction, it is key to monitor the situation on the ground regularly and to take action when necessary?, Mohl said.
Devastating actions taken by the water authorities in Croatia as well as in Hungary and Serbia severely harm the three natural rivers and their inhabitants. The area is home to the highest density in Europe of breeding pairs of White-tailed eagle and endangered species such as the Little tern, Black stork and Ship sturgeon. It is also an important stepping stone for more than 250,000 migratory waterfowls every year. The survival of these vulnerable species depends on preserving intact the ?Amazon of Europe?.
In December 2011 Croatia signed the EU Accession treaty to become an EU member in 2013. This obliges Croatia to comply with EU law and to protect its unique natural rivers. In September 2011, the Danube, Drava and Mura riverine area was nominated to become part of a 5-country Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve together with Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia.
The Riverwatch campaign is being implemented in partnership with a wide range of local NGOs.
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Maui?s death in set net takes species one step closer to extinction
Auckland, New Zealand - Reports that an endangered Maui?s dolphin has been killed in a fishing net off the coast of Taranaki should serve as a wake up call that current protection measures are insufficient and a total ban on set nets is needed throughout their current and historical range to save the species, warns WWF.
WWF-New Zealand?s Executive Director Chris Howe says: ?This death of a Maui?s dolphin is a tragedy for a species that is down to only about 100 individuals. Set nets in Maui?s habitat continue to pose an unacceptable risk to these dolphins. Until we get set nets out of the shallow coastal waters where they live, more Maui?s will needlessly get entangled and drown. The species could be extinct within our generation without urgent action.?
Maui?s dolphins, a subspecies of the South Island?s Hector?s dolphins, are found only off the west coast of the North Island. They are the world?s rarest marine dolphin, classified internationally as critically endangered.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) yesterday released a statement saying they believe that the dead animal was a Maui?s, not a Hector?s dolphin as originally reported, because of the location of its death. The dead dolphin was returned to the sea by the fisher. MAF claimed the death ?occurred outside of the current known range of Maui?s dolphins, as well as outside the current restrictions.?
However there have been independent verified sightings of Maui?s dolphins in the coastal waters off Taranaki in recent years, and WWF-New Zealand is urging MAF and the government to extend protection measures throughout the Maui?s historical range to give the species the best chance of survival and recovery.
Despite fishing restrictions announced in 2008, Maui?s are not currently protected throughout their entire range. WWF is calling on the government to extend protection measures into harbours and the southern extent of their current range, along with better monitoring and policing of regulations.
WWF- New Zealand is urging all members of the public who see a Maui?s dolphin ? noted for their rounded dorsal fin - to report it to a special sightings hotline, 0800 4 MAUIS. Mr Howe says: ?Every sighting of one of these rare and precious dolphins matters. The more we know about where Maui?s range and their movements, the better we can protect them.
?WWF will continue to speak out on behalf of all those New Zealanders who want to stop the extinction of Maui?s dolphins, and urge the government to extend the current protection measures before it is too late.?
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High-level call for green revolution should be heeded, says WWF
Gland, Switzerland: The UN High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability call for a radical redesign of the global economy for a healthy environment and social well-being deserves a wide audience and the full attention of all governments before this year?s Rio+20 Earth Summit, global environment organization WWF said today.
Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future worth Choosing, more than a year in preparation by a panel co-chaired by South African president Jacob Zuma and Finnish President Tarja Halonen, is a useful successor to Our Common Future, the 1987 Brundtland Report that became the reference text on sustainable development and the basis of the original 1992 Rio Earth Summit, for many considered the start of the global environmental movement.
?The Global Sustainability report gives the highest level political signal yet of greater readiness to take the bold steps needed to build a prosperous future,? said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International.
?This report makes the alarming point that while we are already exceeding the Earth?s capacity to support us, by 2030 we will need 50 per cent more food, 45 per cent more energy and 30 per cent more water than we do today.
?The High-Level Panel report offers a vision for meeting those challenges. As negotiators develop the text for the Rio Summit in June, we look to them to embrace the urgency and commitments needed to turn this vision into reality.?
Convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2010, the panel was charged with providing a vision for sustainability, growth and prosperity in the years to come, along with a framework for moving past political and economic hurdles that put progress at risk. The panel, comprising current and former political leaders, was urged to make bold, practical and concrete recommendations reflecting the scale and urgency of the challenges faced by our planet.
WWF welcomed the report?s call for responsible consumer choices and sustainable resource management, and urged political leaders to create the enabling conditions to allow for the ?21st century Green Revolution? called for in today?s report.
Wanted urgently - a sustainable economy
The Global Sustainability report focuses on a number of essential measures to create a ?green economy?. WWF welcomes the wide-ranging recommendations which include:
- incorporating social and environmental costs in the regulation and pricing of goods;
- the phasing out of counter-productive subsidies (particularly fossil fuel subsidies);
- a requirement for business groups to work with governments and international agencies to report annually on environmental practices;
- the establishment of a ?beyond GDP? Sustainable Development Index or set of indicators to be developed by 2014.
- A coherent institutional framework
- The second important area covered by the report relates to the strengthening of institutional governance at all levels. Recommendations include:
- the establishment of universal Sustainable Development Goals to compliment and succeed the Millennium Development Goals post-2015;
- the establishment of a new UN Global Sustainable Development Council;
- a peer review mechanism to enable states to share experiences and lessons learned.
- Other notable areas of the report include:
- the recognition of the links between food, water and energy and the fact that they should not be treated as separate issues;
- the need to give priority to challenges facing marine and coastal ecosystems;
- funds for transition to sustainable development to developing countries;
- increased resources for disaster risk reduction.
Report?s weaknesses
Much like the Rio+20 first negotiating draft issued earlier this month, the report is weak on binding commitments.
WWF did have concerns that while the recommendations for economic and institutional reform are positive, the report fails to suggest any concrete, time-bound commitments for progress, leaving policies open to governments to implement as they saw fit.
WWF urged the discussion at Rio to reflect the need for obligations and commitments in the recognition that this is about everyone?s future prosperity.
While the report focuses strongly on environmental concerns the Rio negotiations need to further integrate social issues which are core to sustainability.
For real change, we need to take into account social issues such as poverty eradication, gender equality, fair distribution of resources, advancing of education and employment creation. Recommendations must make the link between social welfare and environmental health.
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Conservation 
