News
Will ice sheets collapse in a warming world? – probably not
Collapsing ice sheets and rising sea levels are often described as a feature of a warming world and many climate scientists predict that this will happen thanks to climate change. But a recently published study could quite literally blow those predictions out of the water. One of the ways to look to the future is [...]
Indonesian courts orders land ownership back to tribes
In 1999 a new law was bought into effect in Indonesia which saw vast swathes of forest taken into state ownership. That law was over-ruled yesterday by the Constitutional Court and following its judicial review, the land ownership was ordered to be returned to local indigenous people. The move will have major impacts for development in [...]
Lion cub in Twitter sale is seized by authorities
On Monday a lion cub was put up for sale on the Twitter web site. Photographs of the cub was tweeted together with a price tag of Dh30,000 by a Dubai based pet shop. Today wildlife officials of the United Arab Emirates have taken the cub into custody. The pet shop owner who is currently [...]
United States sentences Vietnamese rhino traders to 3.5 years in prison
The Judge went easy on two rhino horn traders in the United States yesterday when she sentences one to 42 months and another to 46 month in prison. This was less than the sentences that the US Federal prosecutors called for. The father and son team who were Vietnamese emigrants were also fined and ordered [...]
3 rhino a day killed in South Africa last week
South African authorities have just released the weekly statistics for rhino poaching in the country. Last week 21 rhino were killed taking the total so far this year to 313. The 21 rhinos killed in the last week means that the current average of rhinos being poached is 3 a day. The Kruger National Park [...]
New snake species named after assassinated forest campaigner
A deadly but beautiful new species of palm pit-viper snake has been named after the assassinated forest campaigner Mario Guifarro. The gorgeous new species was discovered by scientists during two expeditions in 2010 aimed at studying the fauna of Texiguat Wildlife Refuge, one of the most endemism-rich and diverse highland forests in Mesoamerica. The new [...]
Sir Simon ‘two house’ Jenkins finally goes into denial over housing need
It appears that Sir Simon Jenkins, chairman of the National Trust and owner of at least 2 homes, has finally gone into denial over the housing crisis that is impacting the UK. In an interview on Channel 4′s news series Green and Pleasant Land he said that just because new households – or more accurately [...]
Elephant campaigner charged with ivory possession
One of the top officials of an elephant campaigning group in Kenya has been charged with illegal possession of ivory after 19Kg of ivory was found in the back of her car. Her son has also been jointly charged. Soila Sayialel is the deputy director of Kenyan campaign group Amboseli Trust for Elephants and was [...]
Are gardens an ecological trap for birds?
Gardens are often thought of as havens for many bird species and many gardeners don’t just feed the birds but put up nest boxes to attract birds into their garden to breed. However an interesting study just released by Boise State University means it may not all be a bed of roses for birds in [...]
Wildlife moving from the plate to the cabinet
China has released details about its latest round of raids by police in tackling the illegal wildlife trade in the country. In April 80,000 police took part in an operation which saw over 6,000 markets, dealers and websites raided. Liu Wenshu, a spokeswoman for public security office of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and [...]
Elephant death toll at Dzanga Bai starts to come in
The impact of the incursion of 17 poachers at the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in the Central Africa Republic has started to come in now that the area is safe again for rangers to enter. So far 26 elephants bodies have been found at the Dzanga Bai or ‘Village of the Elephants’. On Monday a group [...]
Calls for China to control rosewood trade to protect World Heritage Site
Concerns are mounting for the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage Site in Thailand as armed and dangerous illegal logging gangs chop down rare hardwood trees to feed the growing demands in South East Asia. The latest World Heritage Sites report by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) calls for Cambodia, [...]
The Dzanga-Ndoki incident, is there a Chinese connection
A couple of days ago the WWF issued an alert over an incursion into the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park by a section of the Seleka rebels from the Central Africa Republic. There are reports that these rebels are working with the Sudanese poachers that plague the area. Now latest reports are coming in that the incursion [...]
The ups and downs of protected coastal areas for turtles
Protected coastal areas are an important part of protecting sea turtles as they offer safe beaches. But providing safe nesting grounds is only a part of a wider strategy needed to save turtle species. A new study has shown that loggerhead and leatherback turtle responded differently to protected areas in South Africa. Fully assessing the [...]
UNESCO threatens to add Great Barrier Reef to In Danger list
It is one of the world’s great natural World Heritage Sites but a report released yesterday could see the Great Barrier Reef in Australia downgraded and lists as ‘in danger’. The report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) say the poor water quality and over development could lead to the reef [...]
Tanzanian opposition calls for poachers to be hung
Tanzanian Leader of the Opposition, Freeman Mbowe, announced in the Parliament yesterday that it’s time to get tough with poachers and that those caught poaching should face the death penalty and be hung. Mbowe was speaking at a debate on the Natural Resources and Tourism budget. He referred to a The Parliamentary Committee on Land, Natural [...]
Lonely koala finds a new home
It’s an image that has been making the rounds on the internet for the last couple of weeks. A lonely koala bear that went out for the day and came back only to discover that his home in a pine forest in Bathurst, Australia had been felled. The koala had been reported to a local [...]
Rhino horn smugglers go free due to lack of interpreters
South African courts have released two major rhino horn smugglers because the government were unable to provide court interpreters. The two Vietnamese rhino horn smugglers were caught in November 2010 after a routine search at a roadblock. The smugglers were aboard a bus and had 12 rhino horn concealed in their suitcases. Xuan Binh Dang, [...]
When you need housing who do you vote for? (Editorial Blog)
It’s a big election day tomorrow in the UK with many people going to the polls to vote for local representatives in local authorities. While housing is a national policy any election time is a good time to look at policies from the major political parties where housing is concerned. For many people under the [...]
Ghana Forest Commission sees 62 of its rangers killed since 2011
The Forest Commission in Ghana has lost 62 of it’s forest rangers since 2011 mainly to illegal loggers and miners. The attacks by criminals on their rangers has led to the commission setting up a specialist rapid response team that can quickly move in to provide extra support to rangers on the ground and investigate [...]