This picture of a tiger cub comes courtesy of Flickr user Picture Taker 2.

No, a tiger cub does not count as an appropriate carry-on item

• “A Thai woman has been detained by airport authorities in Bangkok after they found a drugged tiger cub stashed in her luggage alongside a stuffed toy. According to wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic, the tiger cub was found in an overweight suitcase en route to Iran, another sign that Illegal tiger trade is growing despite dwindling numbers for the endangered species. The woman carrying the suitcase was fined $1200 and The 3 month old cub was sent on to a wildlife conservation centre in Bangkok.”

Russia provinces agree to first transboundary protected area to conserve Amur tigers

• “Destruction and fragmentation of habitat, poaching and lack of prey have reduced the number of wild Amur tigers.”

Amazon deforestation down 16 percent over past year, new data shows

• “According to preliminary data from Brazilian NGO Imazon and Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down 16% over the past twelve months, with 1,488 square kilometers (574 square miles) of forest cleared. All that tree felling resulted in 95.6 million metric tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, Mongabay reports, an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of Greece.”
• “To put those stats in perspective, even though deforestation is declining an area of forest about 1.2 times the city of Los Angeles or New York is still be entirely cleared annually, not to mention that forest degradation (land not fully cleared but still seriously disturbed) over the same period was similar in 2009-2010 as it was in the previous year.”

Men waste $3000 driving lost (so if your lost, ask for directions, the environment will thank you)

• “New study finds that the average male driver drives 276 miles lost every year. That’s a big carbon footprint for time badly spent!”

Help safeguard the Great Lakes … before it’s too late (from a ravenous invasive species)

If the above embedded video doesn’t display, click here.

School children drew pictures of wildlife during a school visit by Pride campaign manager Eddy Santoso. The purpose of the visit was to promote conservation in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve in Borneo, Indonesia.

Yayorin’s Rare Pride campaign protected the forest habitat of the Bornean Orangutan by motivating farmers to adopt agroforestry systems in order to reduce deforestation due to agricultural practices.

Photo courtesy of Jason Houstom, www.jasonhouston.com.

This post was written by D’Shan Maycock of Friends of the Environment. She is the Pride campaign manager for the  Abaco Island campaign that seeks to protect the spiny lobster population by reducing the harvesting of juvenile lobsters.

My campaign focusses on reducing juvenile fishing of Spiny Lobsters in Abaco.

Initially I thought the task would be overwhelming and my message unreceptive to fishermen, as I am female and know nothing about fishing other than wanting to eat from a fresh catch. So when I started working with fishermen, I had to think of a creative way to engage them without having them ignore my message.

I decided the best way was to call public community meetings with fishermen using visual media to create attention. I had a local designer make a floating banner for my fishermen’s meetings that were displayed in various communities at least one week prior to the meeting date with a key message,  ”Come and find out how you can be a responsible fisherman and improve your catch.”

At the beginning of the meetings I will ask for a few fishermen to volunteer to come to the front and say in a few words why they are proud to be a fisherman. I get responses such as “I enjoy fishing,” “I am my own boss,” “I can decide when I go out,” “Fishing is my life,” or “I can provide for my family.”

I probe some of the shyer fishermen by asking them for more information: “Why should I buy from you or your community?” or “What makes your catch stand out from the rest?” I get responses such as: “We are the best on the island,” or “We take pride in fishing the best from the sea and selling the best.” Even the top buyers agree with some fishermen and say “Yes, they get the best fish from them.”

I then congratulate them and give a brief overview of the campaign and why they should care about what I have to say. I let them know that it is up to them to offer the best as, they are the ones ultimatetly responsible for the income they desire; so they must ensure that they fish and handle their catch properly and only fish in season, if they want to be sure to get top dollar and ensure that there would be more fish for the future.

In my presentaion I include photos from previous community visits which include photos of fishermen and community persons from their communities. This gives them a sense of pride and keeps them interested in my talk. In these meetings, I also partnered with local buyers, processors, and exporters, as well as the Department of Marine Resources who then talk about their specific role.

The industry talks about  standards and quality control and incentives for gving a great catch fished in season and up to the proper lobster tail length. The Department of Marine Resources talks about the importance of the law and the reasons for setting seasons and size limits. They also talk about improvements to the fishing industry, which includes meeting new standards for international market access, where the bulk of the money is made in the fishing industry.

By the end of the meeting fishermen understand where they fit into the big picture of making sure the best lobster tails are sold to the international market, which they caught and made possible for the Bahamas to be amongst the top five countries of lobster exports. The fishermen then commit to being better stewards of our marine resources.

Industry leaders have reported back to me saying that they have already seen major imporovements in quality and a reduction in juvenile lobsters being sold to them since these meetings began in January. This message has really caught the attention of the local fisherman who now understand why it is important to protect our marine environment and obey season and size limits for future populations.

At the end of these meetings, a stranger like me now becomes a friend to the fishermen. They thank me for creating the opportunity for fishermen, lobster industry leaders, and the government to be able to talk in an open forum about concerns they have with the fishing industry and what they can do to help. Campaign materials are then distributed to fishermen who are proud to recieve them.

A new species of catfish was discovered at the Fitzgarald arch, one of the remotest parts of the Peruvian Amazon and a hotspot for biodiversity.

The Nature Conservancy reports that the new catfish is “an armored, Amazonian catfish that eats wood from fallen logs – and, when desperate, the feces of its fellow catfish.” It also has teeth shaped like spoons to make eating easier.

New species are uncovered every year in South America. Freshwater scientist Paulo Petry said we don’t know the true number of freshwater species in South America:

There are 4,700 freshwater fish species in South America right now. On average, over 100 species per year have been discovered. This year alone, 69 new species have been described thus far. These numbers show very clearly that we are far from knowing the number of freshwater species in South America

With about 100 newly discovered freshwater species coming out of the Amazon a year, we are reminded how we have much to learn about South America’s — and much of the world’s — biodiversity.

WWF says that humans, plants, and animals stand to lose by decreasing biodiversity in the Amazon:

Market forces, population pressure and infrastructure advances are continuing to pry open the Amazon rainforest. As pressures on the region grow in intensity, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price to be paid is not only loss of biodiversity and habitat – but also a decreasing quality of life for people.

We need to protect not only all of the species of plants and animals that we have already discovered, but all the untold species that we don’t even know about yet.

This aerial survey photograph from 2008 is of the fly-ash sludge spill in Kingston, Tennessee. The photo is courtesy of Flickr user SkyTruth.

39 More Toxic Coal Ash Sites Found to Contaminate US Water Supply With Arsenic & Heavy Metals

• “A site at Hatfield’s Ferry, PA had contamination of arsenic 341 times higher than the federal standard.”

World’s Largest Solar Plant Nears Approval in California Desert

• New solar power plant could power 800,000 homes.
• “The facility will replace fossil fuel-powered generating plants that would have pumped two million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.”

El Niños Are Growing Stronger, NASA/NOAA Study Finds

• “These results suggest climate change may already be affecting El Niño by shifting the center of action from the eastern to the central Pacific,”
• “A relatively new type of El Niño, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Niños and climate change, and has potentially significant implications for long-term weather forecasting.”

E-waste recycling a ‘health and environmental hazard’

• “Scientists are concerned that recycling of electronic waste from computers, cell phones and other goods might be creating significant health and environmental hazards.”

“The ice of Antarctica is a calendar of climate change.”

Science columnist Lee Hotz describes a remarkable project at WAIS Divide, Antarctica, where a hardy team are drilling into ten-thousand-year-old ice to extract vital data on our changing climate.

If the above embedded video does not show up, click here.

On July 20th, 11 campaign managers graduated from our Guadalajara VII Rare Pride cohort. Campaign managers spent two years with rigorous academic study in social marketing and communication, while also working in their local communities to tackle tough conservation challenges. They received a master’s degree in communications at the end of their two-year program.

Oswaldo Contreras, our Latin America Pride program manager, was at the event and wrote about it:

“We are very good at doing research, and we have done this for years, but something we are not so good at is to inspire people,”  said Charles Duncan, our donor partner organization from Manomet. “This is something Rare helped us do, and our Campaign Managers in Argentina showed us that no matter what obstacles they had  in their way, they did and continue to do a great job of inspiring people to do conservation.”

Eleven campaign managers from the Latinos Extremos cohort (self named due to having CMs that came from Mexico and Argentina – the two extremes of Latin America) presented the results of their Pride campaigns developed under four themes: natural protected Areas, fisheries Management,  solid Waste Management, and forest Fire prevention.

This event took place at ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara,  where students and professors from the university showed up, as well as some park directors from our LAPs, other protected areas, donor organizations such as Conanp and Manomet members, media and experts from universities and other strategic organizations as Fondo Mexicano.

Campaign managers had a chance to present their results and defend their projects against poignant questions from expert panels in each theme. Adrian Mendes, COO of NPAs from Conanp said with emotion in his voice to one of the set of CMs, “It is very nice to see future executive directors from NPAs in action, I can see a nice future for the management of our sites in CONANP.”

Each set of thematic campaigns did some mini Pride activities with the audience and delivered some Pride materials to them, showed videos, songs, and even  the Ameca Jaguar mascot showed up to dance traditional Mexican songs from a Pride campaign. The audience also could see all Pride materials from these campaigns at an exhibition area outside the auditorium.

Marco Sanchez, Vice President on Communications from Conanp said, “We are eager to find a way to have these campaigns last for more than two years, and we would like to look pursue this with Rare.”

Finally, all 11 CMs received their completion certificates and traditional Rare parrot pin for a Pride Campaign. You can just  imagine how excited  these conservation warriors were to finalize the Pride process after two hard years of joy, challenges, and effort. All of them were proud of their work and ready to continue their path as conservationists.

At the end of the day, everyone got together and joined with Mariachis and Tequila to have a great party, not for a good bye, but for a see you soon. All Latinos Extremos, our first 2.0 cohort with a master’s degree, are on the way to do better on the Rare Network.

Some more photos from the event:

This photo of coffee beans comes courtesy of Flickr user JcOlivera.com.

Armageddon is here: Spurred by Warming Climate, Beetles Threaten Coffee Crops

• “Coffee production has long been vulnerable to drought or excess rains. But recently, a tiny insect that thrives in warmer temperatures — the coffee berry borer — has been spreading steadily, devastating coffee plants in Africa, Latin America, and around the world.”
• “The Arabica coffee grown in Ethiopia and Latin America is an especially climate-sensitive crop. It requires just the right amount of rain and an average annual temperature between 64 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit to prosper.”

KPMG review finds IPCC chief Pachauri innocent of financial misdealings or conflict of interest, UK Telegraph apologizes for smearing him

• Climate scientists continue to be exonerated from the false attacks from climate deniers.

Smallest frog Asia discovered in Borneo

• “Male adults of the new species, named Microhyla nepenthicola, grow to approximately one centimetre in length.”

Security firms adopt military tactics to fight rhino poachers

• “Continued rhino poaching in South Africa is causing some security firms to adopt military tactics in their battle against the poachers.”
• “The rhino has no predator in the African bush besides man, but for centuries these majestic creatures have fallen prey to man’s greed. They are killed as trophies, as well as for the mythical properties of their horn, which is highly valued in the Far East as a staple of traditional Chinese medicine.”

This LOLCat needs to get to Hogwarts ASAP!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

An artist in Rio San Juan, Nicaragua paints a Great Curassow on a piece of wood.

Our campaign will protect rainforest biodiversity in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve by inspiring local communities to conserve forest resources in order to reduce deforestation.

Photo courtesy of Jason Houston, www.jasonhouston.com.

Coral reefs have been in the news a lot lately because they are under threat from ocean acidification, climate change (and this summer’s nasty heatwave), overfishing, coastal development, and more. Many people don’t understand why coral reefs are so important, which is why we asked an expert to help explain why coral reefs are so important and what threats they are facing.

Stephanie Wear is a marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy’s Global Marine Team. Her work has mainly focused on working with coral reef managers to identify ways to respond to the impacts of climate change. She is currently focusing on improving tools that assist in building resilience in coral reef communities. Here is our Q&A with her:

Why are coral reefs so important?
Coral reefs are important for ocean health and human communities that live nearby. Coral reefs are home to 25 percent of the animals and plants that live in the ocean. They provide feeding grounds, nursery areas, living space, and places to hide from predators for an enormous assortment of fish and invertebrates like grouper and lobster. For humans, corals provide food and jobs, with more than 500 million people dependent on reefs for their primary source of protein. In places like the Caribbean, a key component of the economy is tourism, which depends heavily on healthy coral reef communities. Coral reefs also provide coastal protection by buffering wave energy and are also a source of countless medicines that are improving and saving lives every day.

What is the status of coral reefs worldwide right now?
Corals are in decline globally. The combination of heavy fishing pressure, coastal development, pollution, and climate change are degrading reefs at a rapid pace. We have already lost about 20 percent of coral reefs worldwide with another 15 percent in critical condition.

What are the biggest threats facing coral reefs right now?
The biggest threats are over-fishing, coastal development, pollution, and climate change. It might be obvious to some that pollution would be bad for reefs and the sediments that end up in the water due to bad land practices smother reefs, but fishing has a huge effect by disturbing the ecological function of a reef. People across the globe have done a pretty good job of fishing down the food chain, first removing predators and now herbivores. In fact, there are many places in the world where bite-size reef fish are taken because they provide flavor for a soup – the big fish are just gone. These fish play an important role in maintaining a coral reef, especially the herbivores such as parrotfish who have the job of eating all the algae (or seaweed) that would otherwise smother and overgrow coral animals. If the herbivores are gone, and in many places they are, then the reefs can turn into algal reefs and most of the important values of a coral reef are completely lost.

How is climate change affecting coral reefs?
Climate change is affecting reefs at a global scale and the trends are alarming. The biggest effect of climate change on coral reefs is the warming of the oceans. Coral reefs, like all animals, have a certain range of temperature in which they can live. In the case of coral reefs, the range is fairly small and in many places around the world, especially this year, the upper limit to that range has been exceeded. During hot summers, corals are at risk for bleaching, especially if the heat wave lasts for an extended period or is particularly warm. When a coral bleaches, basically it has lost all the tiny algae cells in its tissues that give it color. These tiny plants are called ‘zooxanthellae’ (pronounced ZOE-ZAN-THELLY) and they come in all sorts of colors and are responsible for the brilliant blues and purples and pinks that you see on a coral reef. Once a coral bleaches, if it doesn’t reabsorb the zooxanthellae fairly quickly, it will die. We have seen mass bleaching events with significant mortality in the last decade and think we might be in the midst of one this year.

What can be done to mitigate these effects?
The single most important strategy for the future of coral reefs is to reduce the amount of climate change that occurs. Preventing massive damage to ecosystems on a global scale cannot be done without reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking steps to slow down global climate change. In the meantime, we can do a better job of reducing the other threats to coral reefs so that they are poised to cope with changing conditions – effectively boosting their immune system so they can cope with stress. This can be done by increasing protection through effective protected areas, both on land and in the sea, and minimizing human impacts on coral reefs by limiting fishing, better coastal zone planning, and not tolerating ocean pollution.

Land conservation covers a much bigger area than ocean conservation. How could increasing the number of marine parks in the world help protect coral reefs?
It is important to note that coral reefs benefit from land protection when that land is near the coast. Many reefs are in a degraded state because of poor land use practices and faulty or absent sewage treatment systems. That said, the more area of ocean protected, the more likely that reefs will survive into the future and continue to be valuable resources for people. The Nature Conservancy is focusing on increasing the area of reef protected through more strategic protected area networks. These networks take climate change into account in their design and spread the risk across the network by including multiple examples of different reef types distributed over a large area.

What can be done to increase awareness with the public for the need of ocean conservation?
It is really important to remember that coral reefs are one of the first habitat types that are demonstrating a very visible response to the impacts of climate change. They won’t be the last; right now we have a chance to do something for the oceans and the world to reduce the impacts of climate change and ultimately limit the amount of change we experience. Corals are giving us a warning and we need to listen. The public needs to better understand the critically important role the oceans play for life on earth. The oceans actually make planet Earth habitable for humans by producing 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe! The oceans provide us with jobs, food, medicines, and more and more, people are moving to coastal areas. We need healthy oceans and we need to understand that as large as it is, the ocean is not infinite. Now our job is to show people how they are connected to the oceans and then how what they do every day impacts the oceans. We need healthy oceans and what we are experiencing with coral reefs now is only the beginning if we don’t start making big changes in the way we live our lives and take care of the natural resources we depend on.