Kenyan conservationists worried over rising ivory demand

Otto Bakano Yahoo News 14 Feb 11;

TSAVO NATIONAL PARK, Kenya (AFP) – A slowdown in the increase of Kenya's elephant numbers is raising fears among conservationists that hard-fought gains in saving the animals may be reversed amid growing demand for ivory.

An aerial census conducted in the east African country's largest elephant sanctuary last week showed a drop in the population's growth rate from a previously recorded four percent to two percent.

A total of 12,572 elephants were counted in the expansive Tsavo ecosystem, which may mark a slight increase from the previous count in 2008 of 11,696 but also represents a decline in the growth rate.

Julius Kipng'etich, the director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, said the slowdown might reflect "increased demand for ivory and the subsequent rise in poaching."

Kenya has lost dozens of elephants in recent years and authorities say the one-off sale of ivory stockpiles granted to four southern African states in 2008 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has increased demand in Asian countries.

"We have seen cases of poaching increasing," said Kipng'etich.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of London-based group Save the Elephants, said rising wealth in Asia was driving increasing demand for ivory, which is highly sought in Asia for use in traditional medicines and ornaments.

"I am exceedingly worried about the increase in poaching because I think it is linked to a more fundamental factor which is the increase in demand in China and other countries in the Far East and the increased ability in those countries to pay for ivory," he told AFP.

For James Isiche of the International Fund for Animal Welfare: "There is a need for a renewed commitment... in ensuring that the gains we have had since the 1989 ban on international ivory trade and the concerted efforts with regards to law enforcement are not reversed."

"Whilst this census is integral to the conservation and management of elephants, the real challenge remains in protecting them from threats such as poaching and challenges brought forth by land use changes," Isiche added.

The Tsavo National Park is Kenya's leading elephant sanctuary, hosting a third of its elephant population and covering 46,437 square kilometres (17,929 square miles) of territory, an area bigger than Denmark and more than twice the size of Israel.

The expansive Tsavo is also the pulse on the status of Kenya's endangered elephants.

In 1976, Tsavo was home to some 35,000 elephants. In the early 1970s, around 6,000 animals died during a harsh drought, and by 1988 only 5,400 remained in the park in the wake of a major poaching onslaught.

However, the numbers have gradually grown since the early 1990s owing to tighter conservation and protection.

In recent months, Kenya has arrested several people trafficking ivory through its main airport in Nairobi to Asian countries.

A severe drought that ravaged Kenya in 2009 has also been blamed for the decline in the elephant population. Many young and aged elephants succumbed to the prolonged drought that also decimated the populations of many other smaller animals.

Although poaching remains the worst threat to elephants and other wildlife, Kenya's fast-rising population is also putting pressure on land, causing park encroachment and conflicts with wildlife, conservationists said.

Kenya's population of 38 million is growing at a rate of about one million people a year, according to the 2009 census.

"In the next 20 years, we expect an additional 20 million Kenyans to be on this same finite space. The pressure on our ecosystems will be incredible," Kipng'etich said.

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Growing Number Of Farm Animals Spawn New Diseases

Tan Ee Lyn PlanetArk 14 Feb 11;

A growing number of livestock, such as cows and pigs, are fuelling new animal epidemics worldwide and posing more severe problems in developing countries as it threatens their food security, according to a report released on Friday.

Epidemics in recent years, such as SARS and the H1N1 swine flu, are estimated to have caused billions of dollars in economic costs.

Some 700 million people keep farm animals in developing countries and these animals generate up to 40 percent of household income, the report by the International Livestock Research Institute said.

"Wealthy countries are effectively dealing with livestock diseases, but in Africa and Asia, the capacity of veterinary services to track and control outbreaks is lagging dangerously behind livestock intensification," John McDermott and Delia Grace at the Nairobi-based institute said in a statement on the report.

"This lack of capacity is particularly dangerous because many poor people in the world still rely on farm animals to feed their families, while rising demand for meat, milk and eggs among urban consumers in the developing world is fueling a rapid intensification of livestock production."

Seventy-five percent of emerging infectious diseases originate in animals, they added. Of these 61 percent are transmissible between animals and humans.

"A new disease emerges every four months; many are trivial but HIV, SARS and avian influenza (eg. H5N1) illustrate the huge potential impacts," McDermott and Grace wrote in the report.

HUGE ECONOMIC COSTS

Epidemics like SARS in 2003, sporadic outbreaks of the H5N1 avian flu since 1997 and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic of 2009 racked up enormous economic costs around the world.

While SARS cost between $50 billion to $100 billion, the report cited a World Bank estimate in 2010 which pinned the potential costs of an avian flu pandemic at $3 trillion.

The report warned that rapid urbanization and climate change could act as "wild cards," altering the present distribution of diseases, sometimes "dramatically for the worse."

The two researchers urged developing countries to improve animal disease surveillance and speed up testing procedures to help contain livestock epidemics before they become widespread.

(Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

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China Snows Bring Limited Relief To Drought-Hit Areas

Chris Buckley PlanetArk 11 Feb 11;

Snow across some drought-hit parts of north and central China brought limited respite from a drought threatening winter wheat crops that has fueled talk of higher global prices, state forecasters said Thursday.

After the welcome, but still patchy, snowfalls, Premier Wen Jiabao sounded a confident note, saying that China would be able to produce enough grain and rein in inflation that has been driven by rising food prices.

Snow was recorded in the capital Beijing, and parts of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, some of which have endured months without precipitation, Sun Jun, a senior forecaster for China's meteorological service told state radio.

"Because the precipitation will be concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it will have a limited effect on mitigating the drought in northern areas," said Sun.

Those northern areas include Henan and Shandong provinces, both big grain producers.

Data and images from the China Meteorological Administration showed patches of both provinces had snowfalls, but most areas stayed dry and were likely to remain so for the next two days at least (www.weather.com.cn).

Shandong was likely to receive additional snowfalls in the next four days, the Meteorological Administration reported.

"But as the snowfalls will not be big, their contribution to easing the drought conditions will be of scant help," said a report on its website.

The snowfall in some drought-hit areas is forecast to gradually diminish until Sunday, Xinhua News Agency cited the National Meteorological Center as saying Thursday.

GLOBAL IMPORTANCE

China weighs heavily in calculations of global grain demand, and traders believe an erosion of the nation's self-sufficiency could ripple through the global wheat market, driving up prices.

"This year, global supply and demand for grains is tight and the price rises have basically been worldwide, and so stabilizing grain production has become all the more important," Li Guoxiang, an agricultural economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Economic Information Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper.

Premier Wen is also worried that any fall in grain output could magnify inflationary pressures, a big headache for policy-makers in Beijing with consumer prices rising at their fastest annual pace in nearly three years.

"Maintaining stable growth in this year's grain production is extremely important for properly managing inflationary expectations, stabilizing the general level of consumer prices and achieving steady and relatively fast growth, as well as social harmony and stability," said the official report of a central government meeting chaired by Wen Wednesday.

"We have the confidence and capability to ensure efficient supply of agricultural products, particularly grain, and to keep overall price levels basically stable," he said.

China harvested 115.1 million metric tons in 2010, 95 percent of it winter wheat, the crop now at risk. Winter wheat is planted in October and harvested in May and June.

The drought has hit 7.7 million hectares of winter wheat growing areas across eight provinces, including Henan and Shandong, covering 42.4 percent of their total winter wheat acreage, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Only 1.69 million hectares, about a fifth of the drought-hit acreage, was "seriously affected," it said.

U.S. wheat futures have been near a 30-month high, buoyed by strong demand and worries about threats to output in China and the United States.

Chinese wheat futures rose by the 7.0 percent daily limit Wednesday after a week-long holiday. That rise came despite the latest hike in Chinese interest rates late on Tuesday, a policy measure seen to be partly aimed at food inflation, which hit 9.6 percent in the year to December.

More snow and rain may be on the way, although not necessarily in the regions most in need.

The national forecasting service predicted a cold front in coming days could bring small to moderate amounts of rain, snow and sleet to parts of northwest, northern and central China, the China News Service reported.

(Additional reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Climate Change Keenly Felt In Alaska's National Parks

Yereth Rosen PlanetArk 14 Feb 11;

Thawing permafrost is triggering mudslides onto a key road traveled by busloads of sightseers. Tall bushes newly sprouted on the tundra are blocking panoramic views. And glaciers are receding from convenient viewing areas, while their rapid summer melt poses new flood risks.

These are just a few of the ways that a rapidly warming climate is reshaping Denali, Kenai Fjords and other national parks comprising the crown jewels of Alaska's heritage as America's last frontier.

These and some better-known impacts -- proliferation of invasive plants and fish, greater frequency and intensity of wildfires, and declines in wildlife populations that depend on sea ice and glaciers -- are outlined in a recent National Park Service report.

Since the mid-1970s, Alaska has warmed at three times the rate of the Lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And with nearly two-thirds of U.S. national parkland located in Alaska, the issue of climate change is especially pressing there, officials say.

In some far northern parks such as Gates of the Arctic, average temperatures are expected to shift in coming years from below freezing to above freezing, crossing a crucial threshold, said Bob Winfree, Alaska science adviser for the Park Service.

"The effects of melting ice and thawing permafrost, I think, will be major," Winfree said.

Winfree is helping lead a new three-year, $500,000 climate scenario project in Alaska intended to identify and cope with the warming trend. That is part of a $10 million program to plan for and mitigate climate change in parks nationwide.

In some Alaska parks, the climate transformation is too gradual to be detected by casual visitors, Winfree said. But many experts see it.

"Those of us that go into these places over time can definitely notice the changes," said Jim Stratton, Alaska regional director for the National Parks and Conservation Association, an environmental organization.

Some changes are obvious in Kenai Fjords National Park, a popular destination south of Anchorage known for its ice-capped peaks, tidewater glaciers and abundant marine life.

The retreat of Exit Glacier, one of the park's best-known features, has forced park managers to reroute trails through areas that were under ice just a few years ago. The glacier's retreat also has left a sheltered pavilion that was built in the 1990s far from the spectacular views of blue ice.

"We used to build these things with a sense of permanence," said Jeff Mow, the park's superintendent.

A more ominous concern has been runoff from glacier melt. Spring and fall floods have long been common, but over the past two summers, at the peak of tourist season, the Exit Glacier entrance has been swept by big, road-closing floods, Mow said.

There are similar hazards elsewhere, according to the Park Service's climate strategy report. Shrinking glaciers and heavy snowmelt make it more likely that the frozen walls of glacial lakes will fail, triggering flash floods and debris flows that could endanger park workers and visitors, the report said.

At Denali National Park, one of the state's top tourist destinations, once-frozen hillsides are unleashing cascades of mud as they thaw, causing problems along the lone road that snakes through the heart of the park.

Another big headache is newly sprouted roadside vegetation, said Elwood Lynn, assistant superintendent at the park.

"There's a dramatic difference, if you look in old photos, in the amount of vegetation," Lynn said. "We've got full-time crews cutting brush that we didn't have in the early '80s."

Elsewhere, accelerated erosion is taking its toll on thawed shoreline under assault from surf once held back by sea ice.

At the remote Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument in northwestern Alaska, coastal erosion poses risks to archeological resources thousands of years old and to some modern structures near the shore, according to the Park Service strategy.

Erosion woes in Shishmaref, an Inupiat village perched atop rapidly thawing coastal permafrost in northwestern Alaska, also pose a threat to nearby parkland, Stratton said. Plans to relocate the village to firmer ground farther inland include, at least tentatively, transport of huge loads of gravel across a stretch of Bering Land Bridge National Monument.

Other problems identified by the Park Service include acidification of marine waters as they absorb atmospheric carbon and become potentially less hospitable to resident fish populations, and increased commercial activity in newly ice-free waters adjacent to parks.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Greg McCune)

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Best of our wild blogs: 13 Feb 11

Pulau Ubin (12 Feb 11)
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore and sgbeachbum

Bon Appetit!
from Butterflies of Singapore

Songs of the Hill Mynas
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Coppersmith Barbet excavating a nesting hole
from Bird Ecology Study Group

The Promise of 10 Spiders...
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Celebrating the Submerged Forest at Sungei Buloh
from wild shores of singapore

裕廊湖观鸟
from PurpleMangrove

Evaluating the necessity and usefulness of water filters for domestic tap water from Water Quality in Singapore

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Free wireless trail for visitors at Sungei Buloh

Shaffiq Alkhatib Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 11;

SINGAPORE: Visitors at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve can now receive on-the-spot information about the flora and fauna at the nature park using their smart phones and tablet computers.

The free wireless trail will give nature lovers the opportunity to view videos as well as take part in games and quizzes on the wildlife found there.

Visitors have to use their devices to scan ColorCodes - which are similar to barcodes - found on 25 signboards located all over the Reserve.

They can then access information on the animals and plants found at the park with the help of the ColorCam software which they can download online.

There are plans to increase the number of ColorCodes to 40 by this October.

-CNA/ac

New wireless trail turns Sungei Buloh into outdoor classroom
Straits Times 13 Feb 11;

The next time you are at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, whip out your smartphone to learn more about the natural attraction.

By installing a software called ColorCam, visitors can use their Internet-enabled smartphones to snap pictures of coded images located along the 500m-long mangrove boardwalk, main bridge and main hide.

The software decodes the images and sends multimedia content like videos of the reserve's wildlife, bird calls and quizzes to the smartphones.

The rise in the use of smartphones prompted the launch of the wireless trail, said Ms Sharon Chan, assistant director of the reserve.

'By making information bite- sized and interactive through this technology, visitors will be able to learn more about the importance of mangroves and come to appreciate Singapore's rich biodiversity,' she added.

Supported by Colorzip SEA, the company behind the ColorCode technology that creates the coded images, the $200,000 initiative has 25 coded images, with the number to be increased to 40 by October.

The National Parks Board will regularly update the Web-based content along the trail.

One visitor who gave the thumbs up to the idea was Chng Chun Kang, 14, a Secondary 2 student from Hillgrove Secondary.

'I particularly liked the video of the mudskippers. The wireless trail is just like an outdoor classroom, where we can use technology to learn more about our natural surroundings,' he said.

For instructions on how to download the software onto your smartphone, visit http://www.czip.sg

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Singapore tops in building policy, water management

But it lags behind in renewable energy usage and waste management: Study
Lin Zhaowei Straits Times 13 Feb 11;

Singapore is among the top four in a new study ranking Asia-Pacific cities in terms of their 'greenness'.

The first comprehensive study of this kind in the region, it names Tokyo, Seoul and Melbourne ahead of Singapore for their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and live in a sustainable manner.

The other cities in the top 10 are Osaka, Sydney, Auckland, Busan, Taipei and Hong Kong.

The study, conducted by consultancy firm Solidiance, looked at economic, environmental and social factors that contribute to how eco-friendly each city is.

The criteria included carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy use, waste output and management, public transport ridership and water management.

The study highlighted that the urban population has been rising rapidly in the region in recent years, driven by economic growth.

Coupled with the fact that urbanites account for up to 80 per cent of humanity's global greenhouse gas emissions, Asia-Pacific cities have had to turn to green infrastructure projects to ensure environmental sustainability, said the study.

Singapore came in No. 1 in terms of water management and green building policy, a further nod to its efforts in these two areas. Last September, the World Green Building Council, based in Canada, gave Singapore high marks in green building efforts and water efficiency in a climate change report.

But Singapore fared poorly in terms of renewable energy usage, coming in last in the Solidiance report, though its renewable energy investment ranked third, suggesting that it is working to catch up in this area.

Singapore also came in last among the 10 cities in terms of overall waste management. It fared poorly both in terms of waste produced per capita and municipal recycling ratio.

Associate Professor Wong Nyuk Hien, a design and environment researcher at the National University of Singapore, said the Republic's rankings seemed reasonable.

'Generally, in terms of environmental policy, we started quite late compared to other cities. But it is heartening to see we have caught up in some areas,' he said.

Dr Wong credited the Green Mark scheme for Singapore's good showing in the green building category.

Launched by the Building and Construction Authority in 2005, the scheme rates the environmental friendliness of buildings. By 2030, 80 per cent of all buildings in Singapore must be certified by the scheme. Since 2008, all new buildings must attain the minimum Green Mark standard.

More than 500 buildings have been certified to date.

But Singapore's poor ranking in renewable energy did not come as a surprise, Dr Wong told The Sunday Times.

'We are quite constrained in this area because of our size and geography. Solar energy is currently the only option but panels are very expensive now.'

The study pointed out that the global demand for environmental sustainability in sectors ranging from agriculture to energy has created 'huge opportunities' for business.

'Traditionally, products and services are based on what consumers want and need. However a new market has emerged that is dictated by what consumers do not want - climate change,' it said.

Solidiance managing director Damien Duhamel said the firm's studies have shown a correlation between green urban environments and innovation. The export of green technology from innovation-leading Japan, for example, could revitalise its lagging economy.

The clean technology sector has been identified as a major pillar of growth for Singapore. It is expected to contribute $3.4 billion to gross domestic product by 2015 and provide 18,000 jobs.

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Vietnam: New snake species discovered in Kon Tum

Vietnam Net 12 Feb 11;

VietNamNet Bridge - A group of Vietnamese, French and German scientists announced their discovery of a new species of stream snake in Vietnam, named Opisthotropis cucae.

A group member, Pham The Cuong, from the Vietnam Nature Museum, said that the snake was found at the Chu Mon Ray National Park in Sa Thay district, Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands.

The stream snakes of the genus Opisthotropis have speciated in many of the streams to become localized endemics. There are 19 species in the genus most of which have not been researched. Most are found in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia but species occur from Sumatra to the Philippines.

Most probably eat fish, but a few eat crustaceans, and it seems likely that some are more aquatic than others - spending most of their lives in the water and perhaps leaving the water only to lay their eggs.

Patrick David at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and colleagues have now described Opisthotropis cucae based on an adult female, from Chu Mom Ray National Park, Sa Thay District, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam. The snake was found at 740 m above sea level in secondary evergreen forest and was collected at night (21:30) under water in a rocky stream. The new species is named in honor of Mrs Ho Thu Cuc at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi, for having collected the holotype and for her long lasting contributions to the herpetology of Vietnam. This is the seventh species of Opisthotropis known from Vietnam.

In late December 2010, Vietnamese and Russian scientists also discovered the specimens of two rare snake species in Hoang Lien mount in Lao Cai province, named Oligodon lacroixi and Maculophis bellus chapaensis. In the last 80 years, no specimen of these species have been found in the world.

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Thailand: Phuket Dive Reefs Rescue Plan Aims for Quotas, Zones, Controls

Pathomporn Kaenkrachang PhuketWan 12 Feb 11;

A ZONING system to separate snorkelling and scuba diving ''will come soon,'' the Phuket and Andaman coast dive industry heard at a seminar run by the Tourism Authority of Thailand on Thursday.

Quota systems to control the numbers of tourists and restrict the time they spent at coral reefs are also likely, about 100 dive firms and tour company representatives were told.

The seminar was called after the announcement of a surprise ban on select coral dive sites to allow Andaman reefs to recover from the damaging natural phenomenon of coral bleaching.

Authorities appear to have decided that the time has come for action at last on other fronts, too.

A vision of possible controls on Thailand diving industry came from the TAT's Attractions Promotion Director, Kulpramote Wanalert, who added that a summary of the sentiments expressed at the Khao Lak seminar would be passed on to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

It was hoped that standards set for the key diving sites at the Similans and Surin island, off the province of Phang Nga, north of Phuket, could set the standards for a proposed ''Green Resolution'' in Thailand's tourism.

Greater control and enforcement had to come, the meeting at the La Flora Resort and Spa Khao Lak was told, to protect Thailand's coral reefs.

As stakeholders, tour companies, boat operators and dive companies needed to band together to protect their common future, the meeting heard as it stretched across three-and-a-half hours.

While the bleaching of coral reefs has been the trigger for bans on dive sites within the marine national parks, the TAT clearly believes that much broader controls are needed to prevent deterioration of the quality of the diving experience in Thailand.

Under pressure to perform better will be snorkelling tour guides, generally considered to be poorly trained and incapable of preventing hordes of uninformed tourists from abusing the coral.

''There is a limit to what's called the carry capacity of the coral reefs,'' Khun Kulpramote said. ''This applies especially to snorkelling. We are looking at ways of spreading the load to different sites and to setting quotas and time limits.

''All this would require greater coordination and better training for everyone involved.''

However, she added that the controls could apply only within the national marine parks, leaving coral reefs outside the parks to cope with increasing numbers of sometimes ignorant tourists, with guides who did little to guard against reef damage.

She told the meeting: ''Don't misunderstand what we are saying. Some of you may be the problem, but you are also the solution.''

Thailand's one time position as the world's best diving destination was under pressure because of what was happening, she said, and the TAT had endeavored to broaden the region's attractions by promoting golf, spas, watersport, trekking and other activities.

Artificial reefs could help to take the pressure off popular dive sites outside the national parks, she said.

Kanakorn Limkroudet, owner of the Phuket-based White and Blue Harmony dive company, said that his firm had suffered about 40 swift cancellations in the wake of international media coverage of the restrictions placed on Andaman dive sites.

''Scuba and snorkelling do need different management,'' he said. Thailand's reefs remained among the best in the world and the scuba diving industry brought strong income to Thailand.

What was needed, though, was one organisations to take care of all the coral refs, he said. He highlighted the illegal fishing that had caused great damage.

''I always feel a sense of shame when I take tourists to a place where there are no fish to be seen,'' he said. ''Last year on a reef, we found a huge fishing net covering a large part of it. We did not know who to call, who to ask to come to cut it free.''

Phuket dive tour operators who protected the reefs and made sure their guests were careful were ''angry at the closures,'' he said, adding that it was ''time to enforce the law'' on illegal fishing around the reefs.

Sustainable diving tourism was the common aim, the meeting was told. Experts from Phuket's Marine Biology Centre and Marine Preservation Office detailed the reasons for the diving bans and the damage that had been caused by last year's unusually extended period of heat, which put large areas of coral at risk of never recovering unless they were left undisturbed.

Industry standards needed to be set, particularly for guides of non-English speaking snorkelling groups, and some of the sites that had already been damaged in ignorance needed to be given the chance to recover. There were alternative sites, the meeting heard.

But zoning, quotas, time limits and creation of artificial reefs probably represented the best options for the long-term future.

Among those at the meeting were the Director of the TAT, Southern Region, Poramet Amartayakul, and Phuket Regional Director, Bangornrat Shinaprayoon.

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Philippines: P1.5 billion allocated for tree planting

Rhodina Villanueva philstar.com 13 Feb 11;

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday announced plans to allocate some P1.5 billion for the national greening program where students will be tapped to plant trees.

DENR Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi said the P1.5-billion allocation would be the initial amount as additional financial assistance would come from the private sector and other government agencies, including the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

“We can also get mining companies, wood growers and private nurseries to donate seedlings to be used in the project,” Gerochi told the International Conference of Biodiversity and Climate Change at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

In cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd), Gerochi said the project would tap some 14 million students who will be guided on where they would plant the seedlings.

“Apart from planting trees, this undertaking also aims to provide livelihood to communities in the uplands. Seedlings of hardwood as well as fruit-bearing trees will be planted by these students under the guidance of DepEd,” Gerochi said.

Gerochi added some 1.5 million hectares of forestland would be covered by the project.

To make this possible, partnerships will also be made with other agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways and the Commission on Higher Education.

Gerochi explained high school and college students taking up the National Service Training Program would be required to plant trees in the uplands while elementary students will plant in the lowland areas.

Gerochi added the DepEd is planning to include tree planting in the curriculum and make the program mandatory.

“What happens is that we will be covering 200 to 250 hectares per year so that it will take us five years for this project to be completed,” Gerochi said.

“We need these trees to mitigate the effects of climate change,” he added.

Gerochi said a team from DENR has already started identifying sites where the seedlings will be planted.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said they are looking at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija as a pilot area for the program.

“It will not just be a simple tree planting. We will now also require students to take care of and nurture the seedlings they planted until such time that they are grown,” Paje said.

Under the program, schools will be required to compost their waste that will serve as fertilizer for the tree seedlings.

Environmentalists, researchers, scientists, academicians, policy makers and representatives from various related organizations participated in the conference.

Paje said the conference would provide a venue for the participants to come up with strategies to conserve biodiversity, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

He said the activity comes on the heels of the celebration of the year 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with the theme “Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life.”

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Kenya sees rise in elephant population despite poaching

Yahoo News 12 Feb 11;

TSAVO NATIONAL PARK, Kenya (AFP) – Despite increased poaching and a recent severe drought, Kenya has recorded a rise in elephant population in its flagship park, wildlife authorities announced Saturday.

Elephant population in the expansive Tsavo ecosystem in the south of the country rose to 12,572 from 11,696 three years ago according to the preliminary results of a census released Saturday.

The figures, which represent an increase of around two percent, is however less than the four percent rise that has been recorded in previous counts.

"This has happened in the backdrop of a very bad drought," said Julius Kipng'etich, the director of the Kenya Wildlife Service. "The new numbers might also reflect the increased demand for ivory and the subsequent rise in poaching."

The Tsavo National Park is Kenya's premier elephant sanctuary, hosting one third of its entire elephant population and covers 46,437 square kilometres of territory, an area bigger than Denmark and more than twice the size of Israel.

The expansive Tsavo is also the pulse on the status of Kenya's endangered elephants.

In 1976, Tsavo was home to some 35,000 elephants. In early 1970s, around 6,000 animals died during a harsh drought, and by 1988 only 5,400 remained in the park in the wake of a serious poaching onslaught.

However, the numbers have gradually grown since the early 1990s owing to tighter conservation and protection.

Conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of Save the Elephants organisation said the latest figures were "hugely significant not only for Kenya but for Africa."

The wildlife authorities also raised alarm over the surge in illegal ivory trade after southern African countries of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe were allowed a one-off stockpile sale in 2008 to Japan and China.

Kenya has in recent months arrested several people trafficking ivory through its main airport in Nairobi to Asian countries where the tusks are used in traditional medicines and ornaments.

"Whilst this census is integral to the conservation and management of elephants, the real challenge remains in protecting them from threats such as poaching and challenges brought forth by land use changes," said James Isiche of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

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Florida sea cow count second highest

Biologists worry they aren't out of cold yet
Jim Waymer Florida Today 29 Jan 11

Biologists spotted 4,840 manatees this month during their yearly statewide aerial sea cow survey, the second highest count on record.

But they still worry winter's chill could cut into the federally endangered species' numbers.

"That has definitely been a concern since December," said Martine de Wit, a veterinarian for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

Biologists have recorded at least 81 manatees that have perished from ill effects of cold since December.

"Normally during this time of the year, we didn't have more than 10 cold stress animals," de Wit said. "All sizes of manatees were affected."

At least eight manatees were found dead in Brevard this month of cold-related illness. Another five were too decomposed to determine cause of death.

Acute hypothermia can kill sea cows in hours. Longer-term effects include potentially fatal immune suppression, which could linger into the spring breeding season. "It's a little bit too early to tell," de Wit said. "We're definitely keeping our eyes open."

A team of 20 observers from 11 organizations counted 2,438 manatees on Florida's East Coast and 2,402 on the West Coast during surveys Jan. 20 and 24.

State biologists have yet to break down the counts by county, and final numbers won't be available until late February, after biologists verify the survey results.

The count is topped by last year's record 5,076 manatees and comes in above the previous year's 3,802 manatees.

"Although weather conditions were not as cold as last year, we had excellent conditions leading up to and during this year's survey," Holly Edwards, a biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a news release.

Manatees congregate in warm spots and may be easier to count in cold weather.

Researchers have been conducting the surveys since 1991, weather permitting, to meet a state requirement for an annual manatee census in Florida waters. They are considered minimum counts of the population.

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