WILD

EarthDay Interview Highlights Obama Household’s Interest in Tigers

On Saturday, we got a great note from Bittu Sahgal, a trustee of WILD who has lead a life-long campaign for the tiger.  Bittu was on the WILD9 Advisory Board and spoke during the opening session of the Congress on the importance of the World Wilderness Congress as a Conservation tool.  Sahgal is the founder and editor of Sanctuary Asia, India's leading wildlife, conservation and environment magazine, and recently did a great interview on WILD's President Vance Martin (ooh, to be a fly on the wall during that great conversation!). The "news flash" is particularly interesting because it ties tiger conservation, ... Read More

Biodiversity E-Conference

2010 is the International Year of Bio-diversity.  In order to gather opinion from broad and diverse groups of stakeholders on “how” and “what” actions should be taken in the short and medium term after 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has launched an E-conference as a 'mega' consultation process.  Here's their blurb on what it is and why its important: Read More

Environemental News Bits

A handful of interesting stories came across my desk today, so thought I'd post some "news bits" for the WILD readers! First off though, a few updates from WILD: We had a great staff retreat on Monday, lead by Dr. Ian McCallum. The program, called "Wild Leaders," lead us through the creation of earth, evolution of species, composition and workings of the human-brain, and personal leadership and communication styles (in a Myers-Briggs type study). The training related to his most recent book, Ecological Intelligence, for which he was awarded the Wild Writers Award during WILD9, the 9th World Wilderness Congress. At ... Read More

Why Bison Belong in Banff National Park

[caption id="attachment_10915" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="(photograph of the bison bull who escaped from the Banff Buffalo Paddock grazing freely near Hillsdale Meadows, Banff National Park © H Locke 1983)"][/caption] Here at WILD - as you might have guessed - we're pretty passionate about wild-places and wild-things.  In the western US and Canada, the buffalo (plains bison) is an iconic example of this wild-ness.  So, it goes without saying that we're pretty excited about a new initiative to bring the wild plains bison back to Banff National Park (Canada)!  Here's a bit of  info on "Bison Belong," to whet your interest and some great opportunities for you to ... Read More

CITES Stands up for Elephants

Last week during its meeting in Doha, Qatar, CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) rejected the highly debated proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to relax their restrictions on ivory trading and host a one-time sell-off of 112 tons of ivory.  This vote is a huge milestone to the African elephant, which is at risk from many factors including poaching, climate change, development, pollution, etc. "Poaching of elephants and ivory seizures are escalating, not decreasing, this decision is a victory for common sense," said Jason Bell-Leask, Southern Africa director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare for an article in ... Read More

Tigers in Africa

Tigers in Africa seems a fanciful thought…but they are there! Though they do not roam completely free in the wilderness, the South China Tiger can be found in carefully managed, large wildland areas in South Africa, the subject of an ambitious effort to rescue it from extinction. The 33,000ha (82,000 acre) LaohuValley Reserve is the centerpiece of Save China’s Tigers experimental bid to breed the South China Tiger and eventually return it to its natural habitat. Read More

Elephants Don’t Carry Passports

This week is a critical one for the elephants of Africa. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meets in Doha, Qater all week, and one of the hot-topics up for discussion and vote is the proposed one-off sale of ivory and delisting of the elephant from the more strict and regulated Appendix I - proposed by Tanzania and Zambia. Tanzania and Zambia support their proposal with research showing that the elephant populations in their countries are healthy, even increasing in the past few years. Neighboring countries rightfully counter argue that elephants don’t carry passports, and that elephant ... Read More

Winners of 2010 Tyler Environmental Prize Announced

Re-posted from Tyler Environmental Prize Announcement. Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Stuart Pimm of Duke University recognized for scientific and management contributions to the understanding and restoration of ecosystems. Two conservationists whose careers have centered on understanding ecosystem functions as the essential foundation for ecosystem restoration will share the 2010 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. The award, consisting of a $200,000 cash prize and gold medals, will go to Dr. Laurie Marker, the co-founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, and Professor Stuart Pimm, the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University ... Read More

Breaking News – Save the Elephants Camp Hit by Floods

Save the Elephants Research Camp Hit by Floods Early this morning Save the Elephants (STE) research facility and Elephant Watch Safari Camp located in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, were completely destroyed by unexpected flooding of the Ewaso Ng’iro River, along with seven other neighbouring lodges. At approximately 5am this morning, a wall of water akin to a Tsunami surged through Elephant Watch Camp, catching tourists and staff unawares and sweeping away tents and facilities. It has been confirmed that camp owner Oria Douglas-Hamilton and guests managed to escape to safety by climbing to higher ground. Several members of staff were trapped ... Read More

Ivory Sell-Off Proposal Raises Concern for African Elephant Herds

The Republic of Tanzania and Zambia have submitted a controversial proposal to CITES, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species, for a one time sell-off of over 80 tons of ivory.  The 15th CITES conference will convene from March 13-25th in Doha, Qatar and these two countries will need 66% of the 175 country votes in order to proceed.  Some other African countries support lifting the ban on sales, notably South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are offering a counter proposal, calling for a 20 year moratorium on ... Read More