The Majestic King of the Forest

Maraj, R., Seidensticker, J. 2006. Assessment of a Framework for Monitoring Tiger Population Trends in India. A Report to the IUNC: World Conservation Union and India's Project Tiger. Available from: <http://projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Assessment%20of%20a%20framework%20for%20monitoring%20tiger%20population%20trends%20in%20India-%202006.pdf> (Accessed March 2012)

Ministry of Environment and Forests: Government of India. Tiger~Meetr: Measuring the Management Effectiveness of Tiger Reserves in India (2011). Available from: <http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/meetr_tiger_2011.pdf> (Accessed March 2012)

National Tiger Conservation Authority. Project Tiger. Available from: <http://projecttiger.nic.in/index.asp> (Accessed March 2012)

As a parting farewell gift, I am blessing you dedicated bloggers with one last conservation success story. At the turn of the century the estimated tiger population in India was 40,000 individuals. That number declined into the mere 200’s in the 1970’s, a devastating low population size putting the tiger in the danger of extinction. 

Increased human and livestock population in the country of India has led to an extreme pressure and reliance on forest resources, ultimately causing degradation and fragmentation of wildlife habitats. Tigers are killed for sport, skins and body parts. The demands from other countries for those lucrative profits pose a threat to wildlife. It was estimated that 10 grams of tiger bones received a price of $25 US in 1999. The quantum of trade in wildlife products is valued at 20 billion dollars in the global market, estimation just next to the quantum of narcotics. More than one third of the trade in wildlife is illegal. In 1973 launched the Project Tiger Scheme, aiming at tiger conservation by way of ‘tiger reserves’. Nine tiger reserves, covering an area of about 13,000sq.km, were initially implemented in several different states during the first couple years of the project. Currently, the number of tiger reserves has increased to an amazing 39 areas, covering more than 37,000sq.km, 1.14% of the total area of the country! 

The tiger population has since increased in numbers to more than 4000 tigers. This rebound through effective protection and conservation measures has resurrected the genetic diversity in some of the most unique and endangered ecosystems.  The approach that Project Tiger took to bring back the tigers from the brink of extinction were to eliminate all forms of human disturbances and exploitation in designated locations, to repair damages done by man on the habitats, as well as to research the habitat and carefully monitor the changes in the flora and fauna. Tigers are a keystone species representing the well being of the ecosystem, by conserving tigers the entire ecosystem was conserved. It would be very sad to lose the biggest and mores feared predator in the world, so I am very grateful that India has managed to bring back this majestic creature from near extinction.

WORD COUNT: 371

Perishing Parrots

BirdLife International (2012) Species factsheet: Amazona oratrix. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org (accessed March 2012)

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=1679

Programme for Belize (2012). Wings Project. Last updated 2012. Downloaded from

http://www.pfbelize.org/conservation/ (accessed March 2012)

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds (2012). Parrots in Pine Trees: A Belize Conservation Story. Downloaded from: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/2011/01/07/parrots-in-pine-trees-a-belize-conservation-story/ (accessed March 2012)

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds (2012). Preserving Wild Parrot Populations. Downloaded from: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=967&ac=ac (accessed March 2012)

Today I’d like to give everyone another uplifting story, one to fuel the faith we have in conservation. As we all know poaching goes against everything conservation organizations strive for; they decrease biodiversity, reduce key habitats while abusing protected areas and they make the remaining individuals of that species extremely sensitive to future human interactions. Due to the black market demand for exotic species the poachers capture animals that are typically extremely close to extinction. Currently there is an endangered species of bird called the Yellow-headed Parrot (known as Amazon Parrots to locals) that lives in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. They are cavity nesters in pine savannah forests and are known for their bright beautiful plumage and their ability to mimic human speech. A large impact on the reasons why these birds were declining was due to habitat loss combined with these birds becoming intensely pursued for the illegal pet trade in the mid 1970’s; these events resulted in an approximate 7,000 individuals (in 1994) left in the wild.

It was a warm summer night that a ranger on patrol in Belize came across 2 baby Yellow-headed Parrots. They were only a couple of weeks old and completely innocent on the forest floor. The ranger suspected that fleeing poachers earlier that night dropped the chicks by accident. The rangers fed and sheltered the baby chicks for weeks until they were strong enough to sleep and forage outside, then eventually survive completely in the wild, several months later. The actions the rangers took to care for the chicks were inspiring and rare.

 

Since then, Programme for Belize, a nonprofit organization, has pursued a recovery project for the Yellow-headed Parrot. However, this has been a hard task because even protected areas remain vulnerable to poachers and a decreased habitat loss due to poachers cutting down the trees to get to the parrots habitats is a major issue for future birds looking for cavity homes to breed. Proactive tactics to reduce these barriers has been to increase security and raise awareness to local communities stressing the importance of the parrot and its habitat.

WORD COUNT: 351 

Nahanni National Park Reserve

“Majestic mountains and a wild river of world significance.” IUCN. Last modified 2 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012 from:

http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/pa/pa_paday/?uNewsID=9112

 “Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada.” Parks Canada. Last modified 21 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012 from:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/nahanni/natcul/natcul2.aspx#par

“Nahanni National Park.” United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retreived 29 February 2012 from:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/24

Soutullo, A. 2010. Extent of the Global Network of Terrestrial Protected Areas. Conservation Biology, 24(2):362-363.

There have been implementations of amazing programs that seem to arise due to not so amazing people, or rather, types of people. All it takes is one person (or groups of peoples) to perform actions capable of catastrophic results. For instance, the word “protection”, in Protected Areas, implies that regions of Earth need defending from threats, and the biggest threats seen in most ecosystems are we the humans. With proper management and vast amounts of money protected areas are very successful at ensuring biodiversity while also contributing to people’s livelihoods.

There are currently over 161, 000 protected areas (PA) in the world, covering approximately 10-15% of the land surface area. There are many different organizations and companies that take on the responsibility of protecting areas. Of extreme interest to me was the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) because of the work they did resulting in several of Canada’s PA. IUCN have developed six magnificent Protected Area Management Categories that were designed to protect areas based on their management aims on an international level. They have done a lot of work with the World Heritage Programme, which coordinated IUCN’s work on the UNESCO World Heritage Convention – possibly the most important nature conservation instrument on a global scale.

                                       

The Nahanni National Park Reserve is a World Heritage that is located in the southwestern corner of the Northwest Territories, covering approximately 30, 000 km². It was created in 1976 and two years later was designated among the twelve first UNESCO World Heritage sites. The landscape of the park consists of canyons, rivers, alpine tundra and boreal forest with a vast assortment of wildlife calling it home; including, but not limited to: wolf, grizzly bear, mountain goat, moose and beaver. There are, however, seven of Canada’s species at risk residing in this park as well: wood bison, woodland caribou, olive-sided flycatcher, common nighthawk, rusty blackbird, yellow rail and short-eared owl. Astonishingly, the park is also the only known location where a rare plant species, the Nahanni Aster is found. It is clear to see why this portion of land was a prime candidate for becoming a protected area, as well as its quality of maintenance it has experienced.

Currently the major threat seen to this area is a proposed road adjacent to the park reserve that would allow mining trucks access during the winter season to a lead-zinc mine. Negative impacts on the land, waters and wildlife are all predicted with the acceptance of this road. I have faith that the First Nation representatives and Parks Canada will protect the species in the area and local residence, tourists, and wildlife alike will experience the benefits of the park.

Protected areas are the key to maintaining biodiversity while pleasing the needs of humans.

WORD COUNT: 463

Guardian Angels

BirdLife International. Preventing Extinctions. “BirdLife Species Guardians: Information Factsheet”. Retrieved from:

< http://www.birdlife.org/extinction/pdfs/Species_Guardians_factsheet_Feb09.pdf>

BirdLife International. “Welcome to the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme”. Retrieved from:

< http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/species_champions/index.html>

BirdLife International. “Critically Endangered Birds a Global Audit: A State of the World’s Birds Reports”. Retrieved from:

<http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/09/Complete_Critical%20Birds_superlowres.pdf>

 

Baby Dwarf Olive Ibis - Endangered Species    

In conservation most cases pose a depressing topic. So I have decided to enlighten the topic with a conservation success story!

I have recently stumbled upon a conservation program that has been effective at protecting varies bird species including but not limited to the Dwarf Olive Ibis, Djibouti Francolin, Belding’s Yellowthroat and Restinga Antwren.

BirdLife International’s recently launched Preventing Extinctions Programme aims to identify and appoint Species Guardians for Critically Endangered species. Species Guardians involve individuals or organizations that are responsible for coordinating and promoting conservation actions for a specific species that has been listed as critically endangered or threatened. They are also responsible for monitoring the status of the species, as well as track the implementation and effects of the actions taken while reporting back to BirdLife each year.

Species Guardians are equipped, through BirdLife, with technical support, training, and funds required for the conservation actions. BirdLife also supports the Species Guardians through liaisons, decision-makers and governments, raising awareness through the world’s media.

Species Guardians’ activities include to:

• Implement priority actions for the species, in particular those identified and listed in 
BirdLife’s species factsheets, or in a Species Action Plan
• Develop a working Species Action Plan, outlining the priority actions and projects required
• Facilitate the implementation of priority actions by other individuals or organizations
• Carry out or support fundraising through the BirdLife network organization
• Monitor trends in the species’ status through tracking observations, intensity of threats 
etc.
• Monitor the implementation and effect of actions by all parties involved in conserving the species; and identify new priorities for action.

Endangered Species Chart from IUNC

The most amazing aspect of this system is that species in countries outside of the BirdLife network organization can receive conservation efforts. In many cases associations and companies take it upon themselves to become Species Guardians. For instance the Associação dos Biólogos Santomenses is the Species Guardian for three endemic species (Dwarf Olive Ibis, Sao Tomé Fiscal and Sao Tomé Grosbeak) to Sao Tomé, a country outside the BirdLife network.

Through BirdLife International many birds have been saved from the endangered species list due to efforts of average Joes.

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