19/12/2021

Archive

Is all well in paradise? Christmas Island locals demand a voice…

Australia is adding an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France to its network of marine parks in an attempt to keep out international fishing boats and promote scientific discovery in two biodiversity hotspots. The Morrison government announced $5.4m would be spent to create two marine parks around Christmasp Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands covering 740,000 sq km – a huge expanse of ocean almost as large as the state of New South Wales. Conservationists said the promised...

National Parks of Australia: Christmas Island turns 40

“Located 1500 km from the Australian mainland, Christmas Island is a remarkable ecotourism destination. This tiny dot of land in the Indian Ocean boasts tropical rainforests, freshwater wetlands, spectacular sea cliffs and diverse wildlife both above and below the water. Visit us to encounter rare birds, millions of crabs and an extraordinary array of marine life. ( Source : https://parksaustralia.gov.au/christmas/ ) Geology Christmas Island’s steep cliffs, stepped terraces and abundant caves are the result of a fascinating geological past. The...

Animals of Christmas : the Robin

The robin is a fundamental creature of Christmas season Appearing on Christmas cards ( right )   ~~~~~~~~~ The Robin – according to some English folklore – is the harbinger of “bad luck” . Note I’m not all into superstition, however I found this intriguing ….. “A robin in the house is a portent of death The humble little robin, eh? Who’d have thought he hid such sinister purpose? But some people take this very seriously indeed. On Dartmoor, it...

Red list – Bad news for birds

  The birds of the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man are assessed every few years and placed into one of three categories of increasing conservation importance – Green, Amber or Red. Birds of Conservation Concern 5 More birds than ever before were placed on the Red list of greatest conservation concern in the latest report, published in 2021. At 70 species long, the Red list is nearly double the length of the one in the first report in...

environment events calendar

  Penguin Awareness Day – January 20 Australia Day – January 26th – https://www.australiaday.org.au World Wetlands Day – February 2nd  – SAMSAR  women in Science- February 11th World Wildlife Day – March 3rd – world-wildlife-day  World Penguin Day – April 25 Youth Clean up Day – March 4th Parks Week – March 5-13 – parks Week Seaweek – March 6 -14 – aaee  Sustainable Seafood Week – March 21-28 – information African Penguin Awareness Day (October 13)...

Museums – digitising collections & making discoveries

The Australian Museum is digitising its collections, including the historic and diverse Marine Invertebrate collection. Below the Museum explains how is opening up its treasure trove of specimens to the world and the discoveries we are making along the way – but first, two some questions that the digitising raises…    Why are museums important? In today’s uncertain times, museums can act as an anchor in the storm. To those who aren’t as passionate about the power of museums as...

Monkey Day – time to celebrate, or wonder why they are endangered?

Monkeys, it is said … can be very cute, are mischievous, and are sometimes downright obnoxious  – pulling down washing, stealing food. Note that since people have come to be in, dominate and take over monkey’s habitats – it’s therefore the monkeys’ negative behaviours that might be a result of human interference or overly close proximity to these otherwise interesting creatures! Many species of primates are also endangered – visit IUCN Red List , and then there are questions of animal...

World heritage – building a stronger vision of UNESCO in Africa

  UNESCO is committed to strengthening the management of African World Heritage sites by building the capacity of African World Heritage site managers – as embodied by its newly-launched Flagship Programme on “Fostering Cultural Heritage and Capacity Development” in Africa. In line with this Flagship Programme, the Interim Committee of the African Site Managers Network met in Abomey (Benin) from 22 to 23 November 2021 as a first step towards the creation of a network of UNESCO World Heritage site...

Western Indian Ocean coral reefs collapse within 50 years? So says IUCN

  We’ve known for some time that coral reefs are in decline, but now we know more precisely to what degree, and why,”   So said Dr. David Obura, lead author of a new assessment – Founding Director at Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO East Africa) and Chair of the IUCN SSC Corals Specialist Group. “This assessment reaffirms the urgency of the interlinked climate and biodiversity crises addressed by COP26 last month in Glasgow, and...

Christmas & Nature : the “New Zealand Christmas tree”

  The New Zealand Christmas tree The skies are grey in England, While ours are blue and clear. The holly gleams in England, Pohutukawa here. But the self-same Christmas spirit Holds each world in thrall, As we spread the Christmas message, “Peace and goodwill to all.” This poem comes from a 1930 edition of the New Zealand Herald, and it compares Christmas in England with Christmas in New Zealand. The author notes that while holly is traditionally associated with Christmas...

African Elephants without tusks. Why?

picture : Nat Geo   Poachers have murdered elephants for decades for their valuable ivory tusks. Now evolution has taken hold. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, scientists are increasingly observing elephants without tusks. While there have always been a few tuskless elephants, a recent study showed that there was so much poaching during the 16-year Mozambique civil war that half the modern female elephants in the Gorongosa National Park have no tusks. Poaching and wildlife trafficking have had such a...

Over salty soils a threat to ecosystems

World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. An international day to celebrate soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002.   From FAO : “Have you ever seen white crusts on soil? Yes, it is what you think. Soils can be salty. Salts are present naturally in soils and water,...