Newsletter 2018-03-15

FEATURED

Conservationists rush to save Bolivian turtles threatened by egg trafficking by Eduardo Franco Berton [03/15/2018]

– The large-scale harvesting of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) for human consumption has contributed to the species’ decline, according to scientists. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
– A series of raids in mid-2017 saw authorities seize more than 50,000 river turtle eggs from poachers in the Beni department of Bolivia.
– A conservation project is trying to help river turtle populations recover, and has released 70,000 baby turtles into the Maniqui River since 1992.

Will Madagascar’s industrial shrimp trawlers make way for local fishers? by Edward Carver [03/14/2018]

– Shrimp is one of Madagascar’s most lucrative exports.
– But local fishers and environmental groups say shrimp trawlers are harming the country’s marine environment and leaving too few fish in the sea for the fishing communities that depend on them.
– Until now, relatively little has been done to address the issue.
– But there are small signs that may be starting to change, with fishing communities raising their voices to press for exclusive access to Madagascar’s coastal waters.

Analysis: U.S. call to drill off all coasts, economic and ecological folly? by Saul Elbein [03/14/2018]

– 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil, plus 327 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie untapped offshore on the U.S. continental shelf. In January, the Trump administration ordered that the entire coast, in the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf, and Arctic, be opened to drilling.
– Environmentalists and the coastal states fear oil spills that could devastate tourism. They also are concerned about the massive infrastructure (pipelines, terminals, refineries, pumping stations and more) that would be needed to support the industry.
– The executive branch has moved forward with efficiency to create a surge in U.S. oil and gas production: the Interior and Energy departments, and the Environmental Protection Agency have all worked to slash regulations and open additional lands and seas to oil and gas exploration, with the plan of achieving U.S. “energy dominance” around the globe.
– Most coastal states are resisting the federal oil and gas offshore drilling plan; Florida has already been exempted, while other states are likely to fight back with lawsuits. The irony is that a flood of new U.S. oil could glut the market and drive prices down, resulting in an economic disaster for the industry.

Cerrado: appreciation grows for Brazil’s savannah, even as it vanishes by Alicia Prager and Flávia Milhorance [03/12/2018]

– The Brazilian Cerrado – a vast savannah – once covered two million square kilometers (772,204 square miles), an area bigger than Great Britain, France and Germany combined, stretching to the east and south of the Amazon.
– Long undervalued by scientists and environmental activists, researchers are today realizing that the Cerrado is incredibly biodiverse. The biome supports more than 10,000 plant species, over 900 bird and 300 mammal species.
– The Cerrado’s deep-rooted plants and its soils also sequester huge amounts of carbon, making the region’s preservation key to curbing climate change, and to reducing Brazil’s deforestation and CO2 emissions to help meet its Paris carbon reduction pledge.
– Agribusiness – hampered by Brazilian laws in the Amazon – has moved into the Cerrado in a big way. More than half of the biome’s native vegetation has already disappeared, as soy and cattle production rapidly replace habitat. This series explores the dynamics of change convulsing the region.

Cambodia creates its first marine national park where pirate fishers prowl by Matt Blomberg [03/12/2018]

– In February, Cambodia announced the establishment of its very first marine national park, covering 524 square kilometers (202 square miles) in the Gulf of Thailand.
– Koh Rong Marine National Park takes in the seven islands of the Koh Rong archipelago and the web of coral, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems around them.
– Wedged between Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia’s tiny territorial waters have long been plundered by illegal fishing gangs feeding an ever-rising demand for seafood.
– But the declaration of the new park does nothing to protect the environment, at least in the short term, with no new patrols of the heavily fished waters until next year and a $2 billion island development plan allowed to continue unhindered.

Indigenous women march in Ecuador, vow to ‘defend our territory’ by Kimberley Brown [03/09/2018]

– Long-experienced at organized activism, women from communities represented at the march are leaders in the struggle for indigenous territorial autonomy.
– Indigenous Ecuadorian women are victimized more than any other group in the country: 67.8 percent have reportedly suffered some kind of gender-related violence.
– The women will remain in Puyo through the week, where they are meeting with government leaders to discuss issues related to their communities.
– Chief among their concerns being addressed: the destructive forces of mining, logging, and other exploitative industries in their territory.

Colombian land defenders: ‘They’re killing us one by one’ by Taran Volckhausen [03/09/2018]

– Their fears are well-founded: Colombia is the second-most deadly place in the world for environmental leaders and land defenders.
– Rural resident leaders in the community of Carmen del Darien say that now their lives are under imminent threat because of their work to defend local land from palm oil and cattle ranching.
– In this intimate look into the lives and struggles of environmental activists and community members in Carmen del Darien, Mongabay reports from ground zero in the global grassroots battle to fend off the reach of powerful agribusiness interests.

NEWS

Cerrado: can the empire of soy coexist with savannah conservation? by Alicia Prager and Flávia Milhorance [03/15/2018]

– With new deforestation due to soy production markedly reduced in recent years by Brazilian laws and by the 2006 Amazon Soy Moratorium, agribusiness, transnational commodities companies like Bunge and Cargill, and investors have shifted their attention to the Cerrado, savannah.
– Four Cerrado states, Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia, known collectively as Matopiba, are seeing a rapid reduction in native vegetation as soy, cotton, corn and cattle production rises. Over half of the Cerrado’s 2 million square kilometers has already been converted to croplands, with large-scale agribusiness owning most land.
– One reason for the focus on the Cerrado: Brazil’s Forest Code requires that inside Legal Amazonia 80 percent of forests on privately held lands be conserved as Legal Reserves. But in a large portion of the Cerrado, property owners are only required to protect 20 to 35 percent of native vegetation.
– With little help coming currently from government, conservationists are responding with creative approaches for protection – developing partnerships with local communities, seeking signers for the Cerrado Manifesto to curb new deforestation due to soy, and restoring degraded lands to market the Cerrado’s unique fruits and other produce.

Indonesia races to catch tiger alive as villagers threaten to ‘kill the beast’ by Zamzami [03/15/2018]

– A conservation agency in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island has deployed two teams to capture alive a wild tiger that has reportedly killed two people at an oil palm plantation.
– The incidents prompted villagers living near the plantation to threaten to kill the tiger themselves if it was not caught.
– Authorities are keen to take the animal alive, following the killing of a tiger earlier this month under similar circumstances.

Five years after zero-deforestation vow, little sign of progress from Indonesian pulp giant by Hans Nicholas Jong [03/15/2018]

– Environmental watchdogs have criticized Indonesian paper behemoth Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) for not making good on the zero-deforestation pledge it made five years ago.
– The NGOs have highlighted several key problems in the implementation of APP’s Forest Conservation Program, including virtually no progress in addressing longstanding land conflicts with local communities, and the glacial pace of peatland restoration.
– APP has acknowledged some of the shortcomings in the implementation of its pledge, but says many of the outstanding issues and complex and that it remains committed to its goal.

Bushmeat hunting threatens hornbills and raptors in Cameroon’s forests, study finds by Shreya Dasgupta [03/15/2018]

– A new study has found that hornbills, vultures and eagles are being hunted for bushmeat in Cameroon in much greater numbers than previously thought.
– Researchers estimate that people living around the proposed Ebo National Park in Cameroon’s Littoral region consumed an average of 29 hornbills and eight raptors per month.
– But they remain unsure how the current levels of hunting are affecting the bird populations, given that so little is known about the latter.

For climate action to take hold, activists need more than just polar bears by Joshua Parfitt [03/15/2018]

– A new study finds that people who do not have “biospheric concerns” are unconvinced by climate change arguments that hinge on such avatars as polar bears, coral reefs and pikas.
– Researchers suggest policymakers, activists and the media must choose stories that hit closer to home, by focusing on the more personal impacts of climate change.
– Scientists would also like to see more research on how to convince people who are largely concerned with their own narrow interests that climate change, and nature in general, matters.

Activists eye bigger roles for local officials, businesses in Indonesia’s orangutan protection plan by Basten Gokkon [03/15/2018]

– The Indonesian government is drafting another 10-year guideline for orangutan conservation that aims to staunch the decline in the population of the critically endangered great ape.
– This time around, orangutan experts want the federal government to lay out clearer guidelines for conservation roles to be played by local authorities and companies working in orangutan habitats.
– Local authorities and companies are seen as key to protecting the animals’ increasingly fragmented habitat, but tend to favor short-term development and business plans that don’t serve long-term conservation goals.

Carol Van Strum, crusader against Agent Orange, wins prestigious environmental award by Genevieve Belmaker [03/14/2018]

– The international David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding environmental and social justice work was presented to Strum on March 1, 2018.
– Strum is the author of “A Bitter Fog,” which tells the story of the fight she helped lead against aerial herbicide spraying in the Five Rivers area of Oregon, which led to a temporary ban on aerial pesticide spraying on federal forests.
– Though the ban was rescinded, the work done by Strum and others on the issue contributed to a new national forest policy that favors selective harvests without herbicides.

Chocolate and agroforestry accelerate in El Salvador by Anna-Catherine Brigida [03/14/2018]

– Cacao, which is the main ingredient in chocolate, is making a comeback in El Salvador. Centuries ago the crop was so valued that it was even used as a currency.
– Cacao has become increasingly attractive here since 2013, when industry experts warned about a shortage in the global supply of cacao caused by decreasing production in Africa. At the same time, a disease was wiping out coffee farms in El Salvador, accentuating the need for a new crop.
– The new effort to revive cacao cultivation involves growing it in agroforestry systems, where the short, shade-loving trees are cooled by other, taller, useful crops like banana, papaya and mango.
– Agroforestry combines multiple kinds of woody plants and crops in a system that cools the local environment, captures carbon from the atmosphere, boosts biodiversity and water tables, and provides multiple harvests throughout the year, which helps stabilize farmers’ incomes.

Analysis: U.S. call to drill off all coasts, economic and ecological folly? by Saul Elbein [03/14/2018]

– 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil, plus 327 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie untapped offshore on the U.S. continental shelf. In January, the Trump administration ordered that the entire coast, in the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf, and Arctic, be opened to drilling.
– Environmentalists and the coastal states fear oil spills that could devastate tourism. They also are concerned about the massive infrastructure (pipelines, terminals, refineries, pumping stations and more) that would be needed to support the industry.
– The executive branch has moved forward with efficiency to create a surge in U.S. oil and gas production: the Interior and Energy departments, and the Environmental Protection Agency have all worked to slash regulations and open additional lands and seas to oil and gas exploration, with the plan of achieving U.S. “energy dominance” around the globe.
– Most coastal states are resisting the federal oil and gas offshore drilling plan; Florida has already been exempted, while other states are likely to fight back with lawsuits. The irony is that a flood of new U.S. oil could glut the market and drive prices down, resulting in an economic disaster for the industry.

Mysterious new butterfly named after YouTuber Emily Graslie by Mongabay.com [03/14/2018]

– Scientists have named a new species of butterfly for Emily Graslie, the writer, producer and host of the YouTube channel The Brain Scoop, and the chief curiosity correspondent of Chicago’s Field Museum.
– The postage stamp-sized butterfly Wahydra graslieae is dark rust-colored with jagged bands of silver scales on the underside of its hind wings.
– The scientists identified the butterfly from a single museum specimen collected by American biologist Harold Greeney from the Ecuadorian Andes in 2004. The specimen remained inside a Tupperware box until 2016.

Camera traps nab crop-raiding animals near farms in the Amazon by Mongabay.com [03/14/2018]

– A team of scientists from the U.K. and Brazil used an array of 132 camera traps to snap more than 60,000 photographs around 47 farming communities in the Amazon.
– They also conducted 157 interviews with local farmers about the animals that they found most frequently in their fields.
– The researchers found that the animals that were most destructive to crops were also among the ones nabbed most frequently by their cameras.

Illegal cattle ranching deforests Mexico’s massive Lacandon Jungle by Rodrigo Soberanes [03/14/2018]

– According to authorities and residents, cattle from Central America are brought to Mexico illegally over the porous border with Guatemala and left to graze in the Lacandon Jungle, a protected area.
– The Lacandon Jungle in Chiapas state once covered 1.5 million hectares. Today, it is only a third of that size and continuing to shrink.
– A potent mix of poverty, porous borders and lack of government control of protected areas has contributed to the proliferation of small cattle ranches throughout the area, which, combined, have a major impact on the ecosystem.

Two dozen Latin American countries sign agreement to protect environmental defenders by Yvette Sierra Praeli [03/14/2018]

– The Principle 10 treaty deals mainly with the defense of environmentalists, promoting transparency in public access to environmental information, and shoring up environmental democracy and justice.
– The principles were approved on March 4 in the so-called Escazú Agreement in Costa Rica, by 24 countries from around Latin America and the Caribbean. It must now be ratified by the member countries.
– Environmental activists have hailed it as a massive step forward in the protection of environmental defenders, in a region where such advocates face the greatest threats to their lives.

Hope for the rarest hornbill in the world (commentary) by Bee Choo Strange [03/13/2018]

– There are three Critically Endangered hornbill species in the world. The rarest, the Sulu hornbill in the Philippines, is little studied, does not occur in any protected areas, and is in imminent danger of extinction.
– In January 2018, a team of conservationists from the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore visited the only known habitat of this bird to assess its status and make recommendations regarding its survival.
– Five individuals were located, as well as a potential nesting site. Work will continue this year to train local rangers in hornbill study techniques; the patches of forest where the Sulu hornbill clings on should be granted legal protection from logging, hunting, and human encroachment.
– This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Small hydropower a big global issue overlooked by science and policy by Claire Salisbury [03/13/2018]

– Brazil recently announced an end to its mega-dam construction policy, a strategy other nations may embrace as understanding of the massive environmental and social impacts of big dams grows.
– However, a trend long neglected by scientists and policymakers ¬ the rapid growth of small dams – has been spotlighted in a new study.
– Nearly 83,000 small dams in 150 nations (with 11 small dams for each large dam), exist globally, while that number could triple if all capacity worldwide is used. More than 10,000 new small dams are already in the planning stages. But small dam impacts have been little studied by scientists, and little regulated by governments.
– Environmentalists say that, with the rapid construction of new small dams, it is urgent for researchers to assess the impacts of different types of small dams, as well as looking at the cumulative impacts of many small dams placed on a single river, or on main stems and tributaries within watersheds.

In blood-sucking leeches, scientists find a genetic snapshot of local wildlife by Sue Palminteri [03/13/2018]

– Scientists have identified mammals present at sites in Asia by examining the DNA in the blood sucked by leeches.
– They found that the nearly 750 Haemadipsa (blood-sucking) leeches stored the DNA of a diversity of other species, from mice to monkeys and birds, not to mention humans and domestic animals.
– Collecting terrestrial leeches is fast, cheap, and easy (they come to you!), and they feed on a broad spectrum of mammals, enabling them to serve as cost-effective tools for determining the presence of even scarce and elusive species.

Debates heat up as Indonesian palm oil moratorium is about to be signed by Hans Nicholas Jong [03/13/2018]

– Announced two years ago, a moratorium on new oil palm permits in Indonesia is about to be signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
– But a coalition of environmental NGOs has criticized the latest draft of the moratorium, saying it contains many loopholes.
– The coalition has submitted a list of recommendations to the government, which has promised to follow up on their concerns.

Video: Rare newborn western lowland gorilla filmed in the wild by Mongabay.com [03/13/2018]

– The baby gorilla was born on Feb. 17 in the rainforests of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, according to WCS.
– The infant is the offspring of a female gorilla named Mekome and a male silverback named Kingo, who has been studied by the WCS Congo researchers of the Mondika Gorilla Project for about two decades.
– Mekome’s newest baby is her fifth offspring, and represents hope for the species, researchers say.

Sarawak makes 80% forest preservation commitment, but some have doubts by Morgan Erickson-Davis [03/12/2018]

– The Malaysian state of Sarawak is committing to the preservation of 80 percent of its land area as primary and secondary forest, according to an announcement by Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
– According to data, concession boundaries for oil palm and other kinds of tree plantations covered 32.7 percent of Sarawak’s land area as of 2010/11, suggesting that if Sarawak is to fulfill its commitment to preserve 80 percent of its land as primary and secondary forest, then it may need to cancel some of these concessions.
– The director of environmental and human rights watchdog organization Earthsight expressed doubts that Sarawak will follow through on the commitment, and recommends the state increase transparency and crack down on illegal logging.

Gaza City residents’ water problems continue to compound by Kaamil Ahmed [03/12/2018]

– Locked between increasingly-polluted seascape and the borders of one of the most tightly-controlled enclaves in the world, Gaza City residents say the water has become so polluted they can no longer go swimming.
– Situated at the borders of Egypt, Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza’s 2 million residents fear that an ongoing electricity crisis has pushed their maritime ecosystem past the brink.
– 80 percent of Gaza’s Mediterranean Sea coastline is thought to be polluted and families who used to rely on it for livelihoods and leisure now fear its waters.

Oil palm, rubber could trigger ‘storm’ of deforestation in the Congo Basin by John C. Cannon [03/12/2018]

– Earthsight documented approximately 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of deforestation to clear the way for new rubber and oil palm plantations in Central Africa’s rainforest countries in the past five years.
– The team also found that companies in five Central African countries hold licenses for industrial agriculture on another 8,400 square kilometers (3,243 square miles) of land.
– The investigators warn that thousands of hectares of forest could fall to industrial agriculture in the COngo Basin, the world’s second-largest rainforest, if governance of the forest doesn’t improve.

In other news: Environmental stories from around the web, March 9, 2018 by Mongabay.com [03/09/2018]

– There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
– Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
– If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.

How deforestation risks for investors can become opportunities for conservation (commentary) by Gabriel ThoumiPeter Graham [03/09/2018]

– Deforestation can damage a company’s reputation and business performance, presenting a real risk for investors.
– Recent research showcases examples of how companies have suffered from failing to properly manage deforestation-related issues. Impacts include multi-million dollar fines, loss of key customers, falling share prices, and even liquidation.
– Investors and companies can reduce these risks by adopting, implementing, and transparently reporting on credible zero-deforestation policies, and joining partnerships to improve production in key landscapes.
– This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Plastic not so fantastic for Bali’s iconic manta rays by Mongabay.com [03/09/2018]

– Two recent videos from a diving site in Bali known for its manta rays have garnered global attention for highlighting the dire state of plastic pollution in Indonesia’s waters.
– While the local government and volunteers have made efforts to clean up the garbage, a lack of proper planning and poor awareness of waste disposal means huge volumes of trash continue to be dumped into the ocean daily.
– Indonesia produces around 130,000 tons of plastic and solid waste every day, and is the second-largest plastic polluter in the world, behind China.

Where does your timber come from? Genetic analysis may soon tell you by Sue Palminteri [03/08/2018]

– Illegal trade in tropical timber costs countries billions of dollars in revenue each year and threatens regional and national biodiversity.
– Researchers tested the potential of two genetic analysis techniques to pinpoint the geographic origin of timber trees and thus verify claims that trees are harvested in legal quantities from permitted locations.
– They successfully assigned samples of tali, a highly exploited African timber tree, to the forest concession of origin using genetic markers.
– Their findings suggest that genetic analysis can differentiate the geographic origin of tropical timber at the scale of forest concessions and can serve as forensic tools to enforce timber trade legislation.

Carbon credit prices too low to protect forests from rubber, study finds by Morgan Erickson-Davis [03/08/2018]

– Data indicate rubber plantations cover around 86,000 square kilometers – an area equivalent to around 67 percent of that of oil palm in 2014.
– As rubber plantations expand, scientists and conservationists worry it will come at the expense of rainforests and the wildlife they contain. They say forests in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are particularly at risk.
– A new study finds that carbon credits, which are used to discourage deforestation, are currently priced between $5 and $13 per metric ton of CO2. But in order to match the revenue generated by converting a forest to a rubber plantation, that number would need to be upped to between $30 and $51 per ton of CO2.
– The study concludes that as they stand now, carbon prices likely do not provide enough incentive to protect Southeast Asian forests from rubber expansion. It recommends raising carbon prices to make them more competitive with rubber revenue; its lead author further urges increasing development of synthetic alternatives and more effective rubber recycling.

PREVIOUS FEATURES

Trump to allow elephant and lion trophies on case-by-case basis by Jeremy Hance [03/08/2018]

In Colombia, a national park’s expansion announced as deforestation progresses by Esteban Montaño/Semana Sostenible [03/06/2018]

Mexico City dwellers shoulder future of their urban ‘Water Forest’ by Christine MacDonald [03/06/2018]

Amazon forest to savannah tipping point could be far closer than thought (commentary) by Tom Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre [03/05/2018]

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