Birdwatching

THe Enfangerded Madagascar Pond Heron has recieved much needed attention from all its range states.

Delegates from nine African countries recently came together in Nairobi to develop a Species Action Plan to reverse the heron's alarming population decline. The species was consisered to be common half a century ago. It is now listed as Endangered in the IUCN red list of Threatened species.

The Madagascar Pond heron breeds in Madagascar, Aldabra? Europa and Mayotte, all Western Indian Ocean Islands. Outside the breeding season it migrates to mainland Africa, where it frequents small, tree lined freshwater pools.

The estimated world population of less than 6.000 birds is spread over an area of 2 million square kilometers. There are now indications that if action is not taken soon, the species may be on a fast track to extinction.

In response, delegates attending the Nairobi workshop developed a Species Action Plan to help save the heron. The number of breeding herons at one site declined from 232 birds in 2007, to none in 2008...Since the Species Action Plan looks at threats and identifies priorities, it is a useful tool for advocating action....

A leaked internal European Commission document gives a damning verdict on the EU'S proposals to set a mandatory 10 per cent target for the use of biofuels in transport. The report, obtained by Friends of the earth Europe, reveals that the EU'S biofuels policy is likely to have a next cost of up to 65 billion euros, need huge amounts of land outside of Europe and questions whather it will make any greenhouse gas savings at all.


The report, Biofuels in the European Context was written by the EU's joint Research Council, the European Commission's in house scientific body. The cost benefit analysis looks at wheter using agrofuels "also known as biofuels" reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves security of supply and creates jobs.

The report gives a clear 'thumbs down' on all three accounts.

Greenhouse gas savings, due to the indirect effects of growing biofuels, the JRC concludes that the, "uncertainty is too geat to say wheteher the EU 10 per cent target will save greenhouse gas emissions or not! The re^port highlights that the greenhouse effect of using nitrogen fertilisers is significantly higher than pervious estimates and that land use use changes, deforestation, draining of peatiands or ploughing graslands could potentially release enough greenhouse gas to negate the savings from EU biofuels.

Security of supply, the EU would be better to invest in extra storing capacity to create a strategic oil reserve to buffer short term supply shocks rather than invest in biofuels which would give a limited solution to the problem of insecurity of supply.
There would be a pasitive effect, but its value is smal compared to the cost.

The report finishes by stating that... using the same EU resources of money and biomass, significantly greater greenhouse gas, savings could be achieved by having only an overall target instead of a separate one for transport..The proposed EU biofuels policy offers hardly any climate benefits at outstanding ebvironmental risks.It is time for the biofuels target to be set aside and for frech thinking on how to really tackle climate while preserving natural habitats....

Local people from lake Natron voiced their conserns at a public hearing , to the proposed soda ash plant there which would threaten yhe world's largest population of lesser Flamingo.

There is no need to accept a project that will later destroy us, said the traditional chief from Pinyinyi, one of the villages adjacent to lake Natron, He likened the development to taking a fish and thowing it into the bush.

About 80-100 people, including representatives from communities from around the lake, attended the meeting in Dar zs Salaam Tanzanie and convened by the National Environment Management council of Tanzania. There was strong opposition to the proposed development.

People representing local communities from around the lake lamented the lack of consultation in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. They think that the proposed factory would endanger employment gained from tourism which benefits many local, in cluding women who make and sell beadwork.

This meeting added further opposition to the development, Its our sincere hope that our Government will carefully analyse and hear all interested and affected stakeholders views before making a final decision on this issue...

Lammergeyers to be reintroced to Picos....

A programme to reintroduce lammergeyers to their former range in Picos de Europa National Park will start in 2009.
It hopes <ithin 8 to 10 years to re astblish a breeding population in Asturias which has been ansent for more tahn half a century.
Eggs deemed to have a low chance of survival in wild lammergeyers nests in the Pyrenees will be harvested and hatched in captivity for use in the programme.
The system, which involves the use of puppet foster parents to avoid habituation to humanans, has been successfully tested in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National park....




Brown bear cub found in Somiedo recovering well.

A brown bear cub found last week in Somiedo Asturias is recovering in a clinic in Gijon.
The 5 month old cub was discoverd wandering along a roadside ditch in a confused state and taken to a local police station by tourists.
The Bear is said to be in good condition although it has problems in one eye which affect it's sense of balance.
In the meantime a team of experts from the Brown Bear Foundation has located the mother with another two cubs in the area and keeping track of them in the hopes of regrouping the fammily.µIf the cub recovers in time a reintroduction could still be possible as bears have a great maternal instinct....




Turles washed up in the UK released in Canary islands.

Two Loggerhead turles which were washed up on beaches in Devon and Cornwall in the UK have been released back into the sea in the Canary Islands.
They are the only survivors of the 23 loggerhrads which have been stranded on Britich and Irish coasts this year, an unprecedented numer.
The pair been nursed back to health at the blu reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall, and have been returned to the sea off a beach in LLas Palmas, Gran Canaria.
The Canary Islands are the nearest land pint to the loggerheads, migration route around the Atlantic, loggerheads turtles breed on the beaches of the Mefiterranean, West Africa, Brazil, and along the south east coast of America...

Maine Audubon has completed the initial stage of its Important Bird Areas program, indentifying 22 areas in Maine as critical to state and global bird populations.

A diverse mix of habitats makes Maine an inmportant place for about 300 species of birds meny of them threatened or endangered, but threats like inappropriate development, chemical contamination and climate change put them at risk.
By identifying the most crucial areas, the IBA program helps focus conservation efforts where it can have the greatest impact.

The IBA program for the conservation of the world's birds.
When complete, this global network is likely to comprise around 15.000 IBA's covering some 10 million km2, 7% of the world's land surface.

Identified on the basis of about 40% of the world's bird species.
The effective conservation of these sites will contribute substantially to the protection of the world's biological diversity.

Local engagement is a cornerstone of the IBA program's success in the United States...