Giant panda population research shows new challenges

Long-term data provides scientific evidence of conservation success

Date: July 2, 2018

Source: San Diego Zoo Global

Summary:

Scientists report results of a large-scale study examining giant panda habitat use trends and changing threats to their survival. This benchmark study is based on nearly 70,000 person-hours of survey work by China's State Forestry Administration throughout the panda's range in Sichuan, covering three-quarters of the entire species range.

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IUCN's new green list celebrates successes

The IUCN has launched a new list, but this time it is one to aspire to be on as it celebrates conservation success not conservation failures. Called the Green List, it is the only global standard of good practice for protected areas, and aims to recognise and promote success in managing some of the most valuable natural areas on the planet.

So far there are 23 sites listed, from 50 put forward by eight countries. These include two protected areas in Kenya – Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy – as well as others in Australia, South Korea, China, Italy, France, Spain and Colombia.

Nominated protected areas, says the IUCN “ will need to meet a full suite of minimum standards, including for conservation objectives, for legitimate establishment, for management effectiveness, for governance and for visitor experience before being listed.”

Continued ...

Tortuga Rising- A conservation success story - via Herp Digest

Published in the May/June 2013 issue of Orion magazine by — Andrew D. Blechman 

ALTHOUGH GREEN SEA TURTLES have inhabited the Pacific coast of Mexico for millions of years, for the past few decades these ancient mariners (known locally as tortugas prietas or “black turtles”) have struggled to survive a relentless onslaught of hunting. As recently as the early 1980s, there were still some twenty-five thousand of their nests each year along the Mexican coast. But as demand grew for turtle meat and eggs in Mexico and across the U.S. border, turtle hunting multiplied exponentially. When the Mexican government outlawed the trafficking of sea turtles in 1990, turtle hunters were labeled poachers and smugglers overnight, but the practice continued. By the mid-1990s, poaching, fishing nets, and habitat pollution and destruction had caused the number of nesting females to drop to less than five hundred.

It was at this time that a doctoral student named Wallace J. Nichols proposed studying the biology and conservation of sea turtles in northwestern Mexico for his thesis, but was told that cultural inertia was too great to overcome and it was too late to even bother trying. Undeterred, Nichols and a colleague traveled to Baja California to study the five species of sea turtle that congregate on both sides of the peninsula’s nineteen hundred miles of coastline to feast on crab, jellyfish, sea sponges, and algae.

With the help of a fisherman and a Mexican biologist, Nichols attached a transmitter to a captured loggerhead’s shell. The turtle, named Adelita after the fisherman’s daughter, swam seven thousand miles from Baja California to nesting grounds in Japan, marking the first time any animal had been tracked swimming across an ocean. The experience convinced Nichols that the best way to change cultural habits was to earn the trust and respect of a local population, rather than alienate them through guilt and reams of scientific data.

“These turtles are big, strong, and wild—yet gentle,” Nichols says of these 150-pound sea creatures. “And you can get close to them and interact with them. There aren’t many creatures that big that you can do that with in the wild, and on their own terms. My goal was to share that sense of wonder; not to preach.” So Nichols invited dozens of turtle-hunting fishermen to a meeting to talk about their knowledge of local turtles and the possibility of their extinction. In time, many of the poachers agreed to catch and eat fewer turtles—which are traditionally prized for their red-meat-like flesh—and soon began working with Nichols to monitor local turtle populations and collect data.

Twenty years later, Grupo Tortuguero, the grassroots network that Nichols helped found, is active in fifty coastal communities. Hundreds of local volunteers, many of whom are former poachers, work to protect and promote an appreciation for and pride in these gentle animals. Says Nichols, “If given the chance, who wouldn’t want the opportunity to tell their grandkids that they helped rescue from extinction an animal that’s so central to their culture?”

This year there were some fifteen thousand green sea turtle nests on the beaches of southern Mexico. Also 4 1/2 minute video at http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/7486/

New 'Green List' Shows Species On Path to Conservation Success – via Herp Digest

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) — The IUCN World Conservation Congress has adopted a motion sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society and partners to create a Green List to assess conservation success. The Green List for Species would include species identified as 'fully conserved,' which are those that exist in ecologically significant numbers, interacting fully with other species in their ecosystems.

The motion was adopted at the World Conservation Congress, which was held this month in Jeju, Republic of Korea.

The aim of the Green List is to highlight species that are thriving parts of a healthy ecosystem and will emphasize that conservation is about more than just preventing extinction.

"Successful species conservation involves the conservation of a species with significant populations, interacting fully with a complete suite of other native species and processes," said WCS President and CEO Dr. Cristián Samper. "The conservation community should be giving to the world a positive and proactive vision of success: ¬species at or near their natural carrying capacity, as integral parts of fully functional ecosystems. The Green List will be a step in that direction."

The Green List will complement the IUCN Red List, which focuses on avoidance of extinction. The Red List has been critical in assessing conservation prioritization and has been a scientifically-rigorous tool highly regarded by governments and other conservation actors. To create the Green List to reach the same level of effectiveness, the motion recommends that IUCN conducts an international scientific consultation process to develop consensus and rigorous criteria.

Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, WCS Vice President of Species Conservation, said: "The Green List represents a positive vision for conservation in the future. It is a roadmap for species to follow on the way to full conservation recovery."

Dr. Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission, said: "The Green List process is about optimism and success. It will incentivize conservation action and encourage investment in programs and policies that enhance and measure conservation success and management effectiveness."

New acoustic devices to track and count Blue whales

Bolivia - conservation success for jaguars

Jaguar cubs photo shows conservation success in Bolivia

1,000 jaguars live in the vast bi-national Gran Chaco Jaguar Conservation Unit spanning southern Bolivia and northern Paraguay


December 2011. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has released a dramatic photo of a female jaguar and her two cubs taken near the Isoso Station of the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suarez Gas Pipeline in Kaa Iya National Park in Bolivia. The adult jaguar, nicknamed Kaaiyana, has been seen with her cubs in the area over the last month, and WCS conservationists have confirmed she has been a resident in the vicinity for at least six years.

"Kaaiyana's tolerance of observers is a testimony to the absence of hunters in this area, and her success as a mother means there is plenty of food for her and her cubs to eat," said Dr. John Polisar, Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Jaguar Conservation Program.

Kaa Iya National Park
At more than 13,200 square miles (34,400 square kilometers), Kaa Iya National Park is the largest protected area in Bolivia and safeguards the most expansive and best-conserved dry forest in the world. It is found in a transition zone between Chacoan and Chiquitano dry forest ecosystems and includes unique vegetation and rare wildlife such as giant armadillos, Chacoan titi monkeys, and Chacoan peccaries. The creation of Kaa Iya in 1995 marked the first time in South America that a protected area was established through the initiative of an indigenous group, the Guaraní-Isoceño people.

Gran Chaco Jaguar Conservation Unit
WCS has conducted extensive research in the area and estimates that at least 1,000 jaguars live in the Gran Chaco Jaguar Conservation Unit, a 47,000 square-mile (124,000 square kilometer) area spanning southern Bolivia and northern Paraguay. With support from the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, WCS is promoting conservation action across the Gran Chaco.

The construction of the 1,900-mile (3,100 kilometer) Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline that cuts across Kaa Iya National Park and the Isoso indigenous land required developing institutional alliances to minimize environmental impacts. With the participation of private energy companies, which make up Gas TransBoliviano (GTB), as well as the Isoso indigenous organization, and an independent member, the Kaa Iya Foundation was created in 2003 as a mechanism to deliver a match with WCS funds to conduct wildlife research and environmental education in the park, which is funded and managed by the Bolivian government.

Jaguar surveys
Among the research efforts first supported by the foundation were jaguar surveys. Kaayiana was first detected by WCS researcher Dr. Andrew Noss at the Isoso site in 2005 with male jaguars, and again in 2006 with a cub. The Kaa Iya park guards work with GTB personnel to prevent illegal hunting and settlements along the right-of-way to the gas pipeline and ensure the protection of wildlife, including jaguar prey, in the park.

"The photographic histories of jaguars in the area by WCS and the reproductive success of this female are testimony that conservation efforts have been effective," said Julie Kunen, WCS Director of Latin America and Caribbean Programs.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. They do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes toward nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

Jaguars
The jaguar is considered near threatened by the IUCN and numbers are declining, mostly due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Despite protection, jaguars are often killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers.

Jaguars traditionally ranged from the southern USA to southern Argentina, but their range has been much reduced, and there are few left in Mexico, and at the most 1-2 in USA.

Steppes Discovery run tours to see jaguars in Brazil and other places.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/jaguar-cubs.html

Historic conservation success for Ecuadorian Andes

Result of years of dedicated work

December 2011: Nearly 300,000 acres of land in Equador has been protected for future generations - one of the most signfcant conservation accomplishments in recent decades. The World Land Trust-US has bought the 264,382 acres, which comprises tropical forests to paramo grasslands across the Antisana Volcano, after years of careful and dedicated work.

‘The contiguous 264,382 acre land purchase around Volcan Antisana represents one of the greatest conservation successes ever in the Andes,' sad Dr Robert Ridgely, executive director of WLT-US and a primary driving force behind this success.
A true mountain wilderness
Antisana is an iconic Ecuadorian volcano standing more than 18,700ft high. It harbours one of the few remaining true mountain wilderness areas in the tropical Andes. Surrounding the volcano, just east of Quito, are high-altitude paramo grasslands at 13,000 ft in elevation. These unique highland steppes give way to tropical forests on the Andean slopes that descend into the Amazon basin floor. This enormous but undeveloped area attracted the attention of conservationists in the 1980s, and the Ecuadorian government declared it an ecological reserve in 1993.

But even though the area was declared a reserve on paper, more than 80 per cent of the reserve was still privately owned and managed for cattle. This resulted in conflicts between the actual management of the area and conservation objectives, threatening a number of important species including the Andean condor, the national bird of Ecuador.

A first for the Ecuadorian government
Robert Ridgely said: ‘I am very pleased to report that no less than 264,382 acres around Antisana have been preserved for ever. Not only has World Land Trust-US and Fundación Jocotoco been involved, but our initiative has garnered the support of the Ecuadorian government and the municipal government of the City of Quito.

‘Because of our interest in the Antisana area, Ecuador's Environmental Ministry was galvanized to purchase the outstanding land titles of the Antisana Ecological Reserve further down on the east slope. In addition, Quito's municipal water authority moved to buy Haciendas Antisana and Contadero Grande, a purchase finalized only recently.

'For Ecuador these two purchases are a very big deal: never before had an Ecuadorian government entity made such a large purchase for conservation purposes.'

Due to a long history of intensive grazing, Antisana's ecosystems are significantly degraded, and this affects an important part of the watershed that supplies water to much of Quito. Nonetheless Antisana has outstanding biodiversity values which make it amply worthy of protection.

Returning ecosystems to their former glory
The goal now is to begin the process of reversing and correcting the damage to these natural ecosystems and to return Antisana to its former glory.

Tropical Andean cloud forests such as are found at Antisana are considered the world's number one biodiversity priority, due to their species richness, endemism and degree of risk; they harbor multitudes of rare and endangered species. On the other hand, the paramo ecosystem, although not as rich in species, harbors many rare and endemic species of fauna and flora which are threatened by grazing and fires.

Condor, Silvery grebe and Black-faced ibis
The paramo areas have particular importance for biodiversity, including the only main populations of Andean Condor, Silvery Grebe, and Black-faced Ibis in Ecuador. The lakes, marshes, and bogs provide important habitat for both resident and migratory shorebirds, as well as many special waterfowl. There are also important populations of big mammals such as spectacled bear, puma and Andean wolf.

Antisana is one of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites of Ecuador, due to the presence of no less than three species of threatened frogs.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/andes-reserve.html