- The people of Bangladesh are already experiencing dramatic consequences of climate change such as rising sea levels, increased temperatures, unpredictable weather phenomena and current weather patterns becoming extreme.
- Sri Lanka crushed and destroyed its biggest-ever haul of ivory tusks. More than 350 tusks were fed into a 100-tonne crusher and sent to an industrial furnace.
- South Africa has imposed a year-long ban on leopard hunting for 2016.
These photos of effects from climate change are haunting [Huffington Post]
The people of Bangladesh are already experiencing dramatic consequences of climate change. The rising sea levels and increased temperatures are creating unpredictable weather phenomena and making current patterns more extreme. Bangladeshi photographer, Probal Rashid captures the grief and hardship that follow a major hurricane in this Asian nation.
What is brown and green with blue spots all over? [Mongabay]
The answer to this riddle lies within the new discovery made by scientists in the mountainous rainforests of Tanzania. The new species was found only in only four forest fragments, two in the Udzungwa Mountains and two in the Livingstone Mountains — spanning the so-called so-called “Makambako Gap.”
Poor communities are not receiving their fair share of climate compensation
[BBC News]
In recent years, climate compensation schemes such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (Redd/Redd+) have been developed in order to mitigate climate change. However, researchers say that there is a “reality gap” between these mechanisms that are designed to help affected communities and who actually receives the compensation.
Sri Lanka crushed and destroyed its biggest-ever haul of ivory tusks [Guardian]
Through a public destruction of Sri Lanka’s biggest ever illegal ivory haul, the Sri Lankan government sent a message to poachers that the island will not tolerate the violent trade. More than 350 tusks were fed into a 100-tonne crusher and sent to an industrial furnace.
Right whales get what is rightfully theirs – a larger protected habitat [UPI]
This week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced plans to expand the protected habitat for endangered North Atlantic right whales. The protected area will include the whale’s feeding areas off the coast of New England and their calving grounds off the Southeastern coast from North Carolina to Florida.
Half of China’s land vertebrates have disappeared [Mongabay]
From 1970 to 2010, the world’s populations of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish shrunk by about 52 percent. China is right in the middle of the global pack with a nearly 50-percent loss of its land-based vertebrates, according to a recent report.
A rare white giraffe was spotted in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park [ABC News]
Omo, is the second white giraffe to be recorded in Tarangire over the past 20 years, among more than 3,000 giraffes in the area. Her rare white color is due to a genetic condition called leucism that results in the skins cells being unable to create pigments. Many fear that Omo’s unique coloring puts her at a higher risk for illegal poaching.
New bird species in India ‘sounds like Adele’ [Mongabay]
On listening closely, researchers discovered that the “plain-backed thrush” found in the coniferous forests of northeastern India and adjacent parts of China (now named the Himalayan forest thrush) has a strikingly different song that to an ornithologist sounds Adele-like.
Leopards in South Africa are given a year free of hunting [Guardian]
South Africa has imposed a year-long ban on leopard hunting for 2016. Given that the size of the country’s leopard population is currently unknown, conservationists are praising the government’s decision calling it crucial measure in ensuring the survival of the species.
MONGABAY HIGHLIGHTS
Does sustainable forest management actually protect forests?
A team of scientists is questioning whether sustainable forest management (SFM) is as effective as believed. In a recent study, it was found that timber concessions operating under forest management plans showed higher rates of deforestation than concessions without them. But other researchers say it’s not so simple.
Scientists debunk the myth about how boas kill their prey
Hollywood and Youtube have shown us plenty of images of constrictor snakes killing their prey. But until now, it was widely believed that what we were watching was the snake squeezing the air out of its victim’s lungs. Scientists recently disproved this myth.
Tree cover loss due to plantations stretches far beyond farm boundaries
An international research team mapped tree plantations in seven tropical countries and found that nearly all of the recent tree cover loss in several “frontiers of plantation expansion” is happening outside established plantation boundaries.
South America’s unique white-sand rainforests are under threat
Neotropical white-sand forests are unique rainforest ecosystems found throughout tropical South America, often occurring as “habitat islands” surrounded by more typical rainforests that grow in soil containing higher clay content. White-sand forests are lesser known and according to scientists, now require special protection.
Vines may be bad news for forest carbon storage
A recent study found that vines called lianas reduce the carbon storage capacity of tropical forests by crowding out and sometimes even killing trees. With tropical forests acting as one of the world’s greatest defenses against global warming, it’s imperative that we fully understand the impact of lianas on carbon sequestration.