2014: The conservation dilemma.

With the end of the year fast approching, its now time to take stock on what we have gained – and lost – in the world of wildlife conservation. Almost one year ago today, I published a similar ‘stocktake’ of wildlife news, titled “2013: A Loss For Conservation”, unfortunately, in the year since posting, conservation biology still has little to celebrate.

Across Africa, our land giants are still facing extreme pressure from highly organised poaching. 2013 saw an average of 2.6 Rhino being poached daily in South Africa, with the total for the year falling at 1004. To see now that – for the 8^th consecutive year – poaching levels have now exceeded the previous year, is truly heart breaking. The total for 2014 is already around 1150 Rhino, with an average of 3.2 Rhino falling per day. This figure is now above the average natural rate of reproduction and is expected to continue its unsustinable increase.

Elephants have also been hit by a similar poaching surge. Across central Africa approximately 35,000 elephants have been lost to poaching this year, equating to one elephant every 15 minutes. This high level poaching seems to be largely restricted to eastern Africa, with Tanzania itself losing roughly 10,000 of these Elephants. Furthermore, wildlife tracking of ivory has once again been linked to the terrorist organisation Al-Shabab, who are responsible for a series of attacks across Somalia. Al-Shabab has a loose alliance with Al-Qaeda – also believed to benefit from illegal ivory trafficking.

For 2014, one of the most troubling statistics produced, was that of total biomass loss. In a report produced by the WWF incorporating 10,000 wildlife populations (representing 3000 species), researchers found a 52% average loss of wildlife globally. This figure is not a measure of the number of species, but total number of wildlife, indicating that since 1970, half of the worlds wildlife has been loss. Individual examples support this contention, with many species losing upwards of 90% of natural homeranges – due to human expansion.

The IUCN – responsible for assessment and categorising of species – have released figures relating to species ‘changing red list status 2013-2014’. Redlisted species are re-assessed often to observe any increase/decrease in their conservation status. Unfortunately, the majority of status changes between 2013-2014 were species moving up the red list, becoming more endangered. To view this report yourself, please follow: http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/summarystats/2014_3_Summary_Stats_Page_Documents/2014_3_RL_Stats_Table_7.pdf .

So what is a species worth? Wildlife trafficking is now the third most lucrative illegal product, following weapons and drugs. At an estimated US $19 Billion annually, this has become a huge, highly organised industry with by far greater funds and support than the conservationists trying to fight it. Havoscope is an online source of black market prices, providing the average price of illegal products sold. Through the collection of public information and government reports, black market prices of trafficked wildlife can now be examined. For instance, the endangered Tiger (with an estimated 3200 left in the wild) has a market price of $50,000 alive, or $5000 dead. The pangolin, which recently has been labeled as the highest trafficked animal is worth $300 per kg of meat or $1000 alive. The most valuable wildlife commodity apppears to be the gorilla, fetching an average $400,000 US dollars on the black market. For the full gruesome run down of wildlife prices: http://www.havocscope.com/exotic-animals-for-sale/

The figures seen above are just a small example of what wildlife conservationists are now facing. It has become clear that global wildlife trafficking was largely under valued and has been allowed to thrive for far to long. The threat from this highly organised system is now acknowledged and since been labeled as the greatest issue in wildlife conservation of our time. Wildlife trafficking is now being fought on every level, from anti-poaching units across wild Africa, to trafficking kingpins in the high court. Unfortunately however, the war for wildlife is far from over, and many species will reach extinction before human greed is put to rest.

Statistics used in this blog have been collected from a series of sources. Ive tried to avoid in-text references to ease the flow. However, if you wish to follow up these statistics, you can find them here:

IUCN: http://www.iucnredlist.org/about/summary-statistics#Tables_5_6

WWF: http://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/living-planet-report-2014

Pangolin/Tiger: http://www.unitedforwildlife.org/#!/the-facts

Rhino: http://stoprhinopoaching.com

Elephant: http://www.wcs.org

Attached also, is a link to our charity page, RidingForWildlife. For up to date information regarding the world of wildlife conservation, please follow the link and like our Facebook.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Turner.

https://www.facebook.com/ridingforwildlife7?ref=bookmarks

Trial of Virunga.

Virunga national park is a 7,800 square kilometer national refuge, found along the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This national park was the first declared park on the African continent and has held world heritage listing under UNESCO since 1979. From a biological point of view, Virunga holds more bird, mammal and reptile species than any other protected area across Africa, including a quarter of the worlds remaining critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. Virunga also encompasses a diverse range of ecosystems, from montane tropical forests through to the charismatic African savannah. The beauty and sheer biological significance of this national park should place it alongside world renown parks; greater than Yellowstone, the Kruger and the Serengeti in terms of ecological potential. Despite this potential however, Virunga finds itself faced with destruction, as the ongoing battle for this region turns from ivory to oil.

History of Virunga.

In keeping with the current threats facing this reserve, the history of Vigunra appears in no way more positive. Since the beginning of the 1980s this region has faced high poaching levels of its large mammals. Mountain gorillas were targeted by poachers and rebel militia alike, as well as the once dominant populations of elephant and lion. Civil war across the Congo, as well as neighboring Rwanda, saw an influx of refugees into this region, resulting in extensive logging and bush meat poaching. By the late 2000s Virunga was lost in all but name, rebel militia groups had taken over the park and were using it for guerilla warfare. The end of 2008 saw the battle of Guma within Virunga, ending the war and granting Virunga its first chance of peace in over thirty years. By this point however, over 140 wildlife rangers had lost their lives since 1994, protecting the reserve. Since 2008, Virunga has seen a positive trend of preservation. Mountain Gorillas continue to thrive in this park and now exceed over 200 individuals. Tourism and social infrastructure has began to take form within the reserve, allowing dire funding to come into the reserve to support its rangers.

The next trial.

SOCO International is a British oil company, involved worldwide in the prospecting and drilling of oil within developing nations. SOCO is already actively involved in Angola and Vietnam and currently, is conducting prospecting within Virunga national park. International outcry, led by the WWF, saw a petition of over 700,000 signatures created requesting international pressure on SOCO to seize all production within the Virunga – which was achieved in June this year. SOCO International has declared that they will not progress any further after prospecting, leaving the decision of what should be done regarding Virunga to the Congolese Government. Despite this however, the degree of SOCOs involvement within the Congo, as well as Virunga itself, is not well known with SOCO itself declaring that they are not finished with Virunga and its potential oil wells. If successful, SOCO could see the redrawing of Virunga’s boundaries as a national park and heritage site, allowing oil exploitation to begin, further damaging this already weakened ecosystem.

Global media coverage for the rangers of Virunga is now being seen and support is following this. If SOCO international becomes successful in redrawing Virunga and drilling within this heritage site, Virunga may finally be altogether lost, with many other heritage listed sites following.

For more information on the current events of Virunga, please visit the website:

virunga.org

http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/campaign_with_us/virunga/

To help me support the rangers of Virunga, as well as other wildlife rangers in need, please visit my donation page: https://donateplanet.com/fundraisers/read/78002/riding-for-wildife/

Thank you,

Michael Turner.

Pangolins and Poachers

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. I know it’s been a while since my last post, exams revision has taken over, but the end is in sight!

This blog will be the standard update for both the charity and within the field of wildlife conservation. There’s still a lot happening in both these aspects, so I hope you enjoy, writing/studying the blogs certainly beats exam revision!

In the field of wildlife conservation there has been a few troubling reports emerge within the last couple of weeks. A report released by WWF has found that the Pangolin is the highest trafficked mammal worldwide with a minimal estimate of 10’000 pangolins being illegally poached and trafficked overseas each year. For those who are not aware what a pangolin actually is, this beautiful, somewhat strange creature has been described as “a living walking pinecone”, more troubling however, its second description as a “a meal in a brown lunch bag and a medicine box”. I was fortunate enough to see a wild pangolin during my time in South Africa, and its not a species you would like to see go extinct.

In regards to the more known endangered species, things are just as bad, with the current rate of poaching across Africa, 82 Elephants and three Rhino will be slaughtered before the end of the day. This is a seriously troubling statistic with the end of both species predicted within the next two decades. In south Africa itself close to 1000 Rhino have already been poached this year, with current estimates predicted to surpass last years rate of poaching, for the seventh consecutive year. There has been some large arrests occurring across Africa, with a Rhino horn bust occurring in Mozambique as well as hundreds of Animal skins confiscated in Senegal

Finally, two wildlife rangers have been murdered in Uganda this week. Although names have not yet been a released, a conference from the Uganda Wildlife Authority has said that both cases occurred during a substantial shootout in which poachers have attacked ranger outposts in an attempt to push wildlife rangers out of high poaching areas. The fact that poachers are now directly targeting wildlife rangers in the war for wildlife is extremely disturbing and puts many more lives at risk. If you want to support these lost rangers, and their families left behind, please view and donate to my charity page, 100% of donations will go to the Thin green line foundation, to help support these amazing wildlife rangers. RIP.

As far as the charity goes, we are still making progress (slowly). CoalitionWild has pledged to help with publicity of the Riding for Wildlife charity, which is amazing. CoalitionWild works with many large conservation organization such as the WWF, so the potential for international recognition is now there. Back home we are still pushing local fundraiser events, including the upcoming charity cinema night and a trivia night hopefully early next year. Donations are still extremely short however and more are needed. As always, if you can spare anything at all, please follow the link below and donate to Riding for Wildlife. Unfortunately due to the personal financial situation, my charity bike ride from Adelaide to Darwin has now been pushed back until June. This was a tough decision to make, however it gives us more time to promote the charity and raise some more funds for the Thin Green Line Foundation. That’s it for now guys, turned out a little long, apologies for that, but I hope you’ve enjoyed.

Cheers guys.

Michael Turner.

https://donateplanet.com/fundraisers/read/78002/riding-for-wildife/

Picture from: http://africageographic.com/blog/when-the-buying-stops-the-killing-can-too/

Where We Stand

Hey guys! Hope everyone is doing well and for those that were aware, enjoyed International Rhino Day, last week! If you follow any of the conservation based NGO’s (maybe?) you would have seen a lot of cool stuff going on. Anyway, this blog is based around where we stand, in regards to both the Riding for Wildlife charity, and global wildlife conservation.

So first, the charity. Riding for Wildlife finally has its own logo and hopefully soon will have a proper website up and running! Currently were still in the process of trying to promote the ride through other organisations and social media. As strange as it sounds, this part (which was the same for the last ride) is one of the hardest and most depressing parts of the ride. For every twenty emails sent, one might be returned, normally saying that they cannot help. But regardless of this, we will continue to push, plead and beg in every direction we can (like all scientists). Riding for Wildlife has also successfully been entered in an environmental based project challenge, run by CoalitionWIld and the IUCN-WCPA. Ill attach a link to this page, but basically if chosen, Riding for Wildlife would receive global publicity, funding, the full works. So please take the time to check it out. Other works in the pipeline are generally fundraising based, such as a Bunnings BBQ day, Cinema movie nights, stuff like that. If you have any ideas, please let me know, any help would be greatly appreciated.

The last few weeks in conservation have been somewhat positive. Firstly, two large wildlife reserves in Kenya have agreed to pull down their fences and join properties. Borana and Lewa wildlife reserves, once connected, will make the largest rhino sanctuary in all of Kenya, allowing isolated populations of rhino to migrate and interbreed, increasing the gene flow. Kenya has also seen a series of violent exchanges between rangers and poachers. Luckily in these cases at least, our rangers have come out on top. With a wildlife ranger being killed on duty every four days on average, even a small victory such as this is a nice change.
Down in South Africa, a poaching syndicate, including an alleged kingpin have been arrested and face charges of at least 24 Rhino poached in the Kruger area. Although great news, it comes at the same time as the South African national parks attempt to evacuate 500 White rhino from the Kruger Park to other reserves for safety. Described by many as “the final frontline in Rhino conservation”, the need to evacuate Rhino from Kruger national park is nothing promising, highlighting all too well the pressure faced by the protectors of Africa’s “last rhino stronghold”.

In other parts of the world the ongoing threat on our wild areas continues to grow. A recent report confirmed that the last century has seen a 97% loss of Tiger populations globally. With over 1400 Tigers believed to be poached within the last twelve years, Tigers will become extinct within the next two decades. In Vietnam, between 40,000-60,000 Sunda Pangolins were caught and killed in 2011. This species is now critically endangered and continues to be poached at similar levels. In other areas across the globe, similar stories are emerging, as wildlife trafficking – now valued at up to $20 Billion USD annually – becomes one of the world’s most lucrative black market industries.

That’s it for now guys, below is the link to the Coalition wild Project challenge. Ive also attached a short youtube video (3 minutes) from Virunga National park, in Congo. If you have time, please look at both. To those that have donated to, or shared these pages, thank you again. You may have just saved a few Pangolins 🙂

Cheers guys.

http://pushingboundaries.coalitionwild.org/projects/108

https://donateplanet.com/fundraisers/read/78002/riding-for-wildife/