Wildcheck – Assessing the risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients

Thousands of consumer products around the world contain ingredients obtained from wild plants. Wild harvest accounts for some or all the harvest of the great majority of plant species in trade (between 60-90 percent). Wild-harvested plants often come from the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth and many have been used traditionally or by local communities for generations. While these products have global markets and provide critical sources of income, they can also have deep ties to particular cultures and places....

IUCN / TRAFFIC report – Rhino poaching has dropped but species still critical

Rhino poaching and illegal trade decline but remain critical threats –IUCN / TRAFFIC report Overall rhino poaching rates have declined since 2018, and trade data suggests the lowest annual estimate of rhino horns entering illegal trade markets since 2013, according to a new report by the IUCN SSC African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC for the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora...

butterflies in a real flap

People in the UK recently held The annual Big butterfly count – results from 2021 big butterfly count Small white: 252,151 – 1.88 (-5%) Large white: 229,218 – 1.71 (-16%) Meadow brown: 197,060 – 1.47 (33%) Gatekeeper: 133,726 – 0.99 (-30%) Red admiral: 75,394 – 0.56 (-10%) Ringlet: 63,311 – 0.47 (81%) Peacock: 61,668 – 0.46 (-63%) Small tortoiseshell: 38,543 – 0.29 (32%) From a World view,  there was bad news about an iconic species – the monarch “Migratory monarch...

Great Barrier Reef good news & bad

Coral has recovered from storms and bleaching events to record levels across much of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a survey has found. The reef’s northern and central parts have the highest amount of coral cover since monitoring began 36 years ago. But coral cover in the southern part of the reef has decreased. The new coral is particularly vulnerable – meaning the progress could be quickly undone by climate change and other threats, officials say. Each year the Australian Institute...

International tiger day

Tigers are truly unique species and the target of poaching   Tigers are truly unique species and the target of poaching   Here are some here are some information websites and charities involved in Tiger conservation * 2022 is the year of the Tiger ( https://www.traffic.org/news/shared-vision-for-the-future-of-an-iconic-cat-in-the-year-of-the-tiger/ ) Shared vision for the future of an iconic cat in the Year of the Tiger As the Year of the Tiger begins, a coalition of six top NGOs is committing to a cooperative...

World nature conservation day

“With the increasing population and pollution, the need of the hour is to conserve nature. World nature conservation day is celebrated on July 28, every year, across the globe. The day is observed in order to create awareness about the importance of natural resources and their conservation. The Earth is currently facing several challenges such as climate change, loss of habitat for wildlife, deforestation and more due to the increasing pollution and heavy consumption of non-renewable resources. Here are all...

National Moth Week July 23-31 … some websites

  Moths they are amongst the understated / beautiful and mysterious tiny creatures on planet Earth Here are selection of great moths websites … National moth week website https://nationalmothweek.org Moths –https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/moths natural history Museum London –https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/butmoth/search/ Homepage Homepage Homepage LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Do primates really get drunk? Only for dietary reasons. Research…

A New research ( Discover Wildlife ) shows that spider monkeys routinely consume fermenting fruit, backing up the notion that humans inherited our proclivity for alcohol from our primate ancestors – the so-called “drunken monkey hypothesis.”  It’s well known that certain non-human primates enjoy a drop of the hard stuff. Chimpanzees are known to raid stocks of palm wine brewed by villagers and feral vervet monkeys in the Caribbean are famous for stealing alcoholic drinks from bars. The new study, though, published...

“Caretakers of the forest” – tapirs are in REAL trouble

Tapirs are a living fossil; they’be been around since the Eocene, having survived waves of extinction of other animals. The four species of tapirs represent a unique biology as well as a vital role in the ecosystems they inhabit, from dispersing seeds to digging burrows used by many other species for refuge. Once widely abundant in their habitats, tapir populations have been in sharp decline in recent decades, leading to three of the four species becoming listed as Endangered. The...