De f y i ng E xt i nc t io n Pa r t n e r s h i P s to s a f e g u a r d g l o ba l b i o d i v e r s i t y 65687 E D I T E D B Y L I S A F I T Z PAT R I C K F O R E W O R D B Y M O N I Q U E B A R B U T • I N T R O D U C T I O N B Y G U S TAV O A . B . d a F O N S E C A Of all environmental ills, biodiversity loss is the only one likely to be irreversible. Unfortunately, biodiversity is being lost today at a scale that will threaten the life-support systems that sustain societies and economies, particularly in the developing world. The Global Environment Facility was established as the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity, helping developing and transition countries to meet their bold commitments before this international accord. Since 1991, the GEF has invested over $2.9 billion, leveraging $8.3 billion in co-financing, to support implementation of more than 1000 projects in more than 155 countries, to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. Copyright © 2010 by EIFE/iLCP Global Environment Facility All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published in the United States by Earth in Focus Editions 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22202 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-0-9841686-5-1 Defying Extinction: Partnerships to Safeguard Global Biodiversity Edited by Lisa Fitzpatrick www.ilcp.com Publisher/Director: Abbie Williams, Earth in Focus Editions–A Division of iLCP Designer: Stefan Gutermuth Senior Editor/Writer: Lisa Fitzpatrick Text copyright © 2010 Earth in Focus Editions–iLCP Published in partnership with the GEF and its respective partners and agencies. All photos copyright © individual photographers listed in the credits of each image. Cover images left to right, top to bottom © 2010: Magellanic Penguin, The Falkland Islands, Jenny E. Ross, iLCP Brown Bear, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP Southern Right Whale, Patagonia, Argentina, Doc White, naturepl.com Two Cranes, Ashok Jain, naturepl.com Golden Lion Tamarin, Coastal Brazil, Art Wolfe, iLCP Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Thomas D. Mangelsen, iLCP Snow Leopard, Ladakh, India, Steve Winter, National Geographic Society Saiga Newborn Calves, (Black Earth) Nature Reserve, Kalmykia, Russia, Igor Shpilenok, Wild Wonders of Europe Printed in China through Globalink Source for Species categories (Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered) is the IUCN Red List. De f y i ng E xt i nc t io n PA R T N E R S h I P S TO S A F E G U A R D G L O BA L B I O D I V E R S I T y FOREWORD BY MONIQUE BARBUT • I N T R O D U C T I O N B Y G U S TAVO A . B . d a F O N S E CA • E D I T E D B Y L I S A F I T Z PAT R I C K CONTENTS FOREWORD by Monique Barbut INTRODUCTION by Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca AFRICA EASTERN EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA 7 Southern Right Whale (Benguela Current 39 Siberian Crane (Siberian Crane Wetland Large Marine Ecosystem Project, Namibia, Project, China, Russia, Iran and Kazakhstan, South Africa, UNDP) UNEP) 11 Damara Tern (Namibian Coast Conservation 43 Saiga Antelope (Steppe Conservation and and Management & Conserving the Damara Management Project, Kazakhstan, UNDP) Tern, Namibia, World Bank) 49 Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Integrated Ecosystem 15 Pemba Flying Fox (Conservation of the Approach to Conserve Biodiversity and Pemba Flying Fox, Tanzania, World Bank) Minimize habitat Fragmentation in Three Selected Model Areas in the Russian 19 Uluguru Bush Shrike (Uluguru Bush Shrike Arctic, Russia, UNEP) Census, Tanzania, World Bank) 53 Steller’s Sea Eagle, Brown Bear, Wild 21 Taita Thrush (Taita Thrush Monitoring Reindeer and Snow Sheep (Demonstrating Program, Kenya, World Bank) Sustainable Conservation of Biodiversity in Four Protected Areas of Russian Kamchatka 25 Loveridge’s Sunbird and Sanje Mangabey Krai Phase II, Russian Arctic, Russia, UNDP) (Conservation and Management of the Forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, UNDP) 65 Snow Leopard (Tien Shan Ecosystem Development Project, Kazakhstan, 29 Wild Dog (Dryland Livestock Wildlife Kyrgyzstan, World Bank) Environment Interface Project, Kenya, UNEP) 71 Golden Line Fish (yunnan Environment 33 Black Rhino (Strengthening the Protected Project, China, World Bank) Area Network, Namibia, UNDP) 73 Caves of Guangxi (Guangxi Integrated Forestry Development and Conservation Project, China, World Bank) 77 Eurasian Otter (Strengthening Romania’s National Protected Area System by Demonstrating Public-Private Partnership in Maramures Nature Park, Romania, UNDP) Southern Right Whale, Patagonia, Argentina, Doc White, naturepl.com Magellanic Penguin Carcass Island, Falkland Islands, Suzi Eszterhas, iLCP LATIN AMERICA SOUThEAST ASIA 85 Magellanic Penguin (Consolidation and 111 Elegant Sunbird (Conservation of Key Forests Implementation of the Patagonian Coastal in the Sangihe-Talaud Islands, Indonesia, Zone Management Program and Biodiversity World Bank) Conservation, Argentina, UNDP) 115 Lion-tailed Macaque (Conservation of the 91 Galápagos Giant Tortoise (Integrated Program Lion-tailed Macaque, India, World Bank) for the Control of Introduced Species in the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador, UNDP) 119 Giant Ibis (Establishing Conservation Areas Landscape Management in the Northern 97 Golden Lion Tamarin (Private Natural heritage Plains, Cambodia, UNDP) Reserves Project, Brazil, World Bank) 121 AFTERWORD 101 Chacoan Peccary, Hyacinth Macaw and Giant by Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier Armadillo (Paraguayan Wildlands Protection Initiative, Paraguay, UNDP) 122 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 123 STAFF CREDITS 124 REFERENCES 127 ENDNOTES Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Tim Laman, iLCP Lion-tailed Macaque, Sandesh Kadur, iLCP FOREWORD Defying Extinction: Partnerships to Safeguard Global Biodiversity Monique Barbut CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility B iodiversity is more than just the number of animal and plant species in the world. Biodiversity is who we are, what we eat, where we live, what we do and, most impor- tantly, how all of these things come together to form a whole. The preoccupations of our daily lives often blind us to the dangers threatening fragile ecosystems around the globe. But we ignore these threats at our peril, for we are all connected to the many facets of the planet’s diverse ecosystems. Biodiversity is the fabric that binds us all together, allowing healthy environ- ments to flourish, economies to develop, and humanity to grow and prosper. Whether we realize it or not, the story of biodiversity is our story. This publication highlights some of the most threatened pieces of the fabric of biodiversity, specifi- cally individual species at risk. Through stories of the GEF’s efforts to preserve diversity across the globe, from Romania’s Maramures Nature Park to the Paraguayan Wildlands, this book illustrates how far we have come, the successes we have enjoyed – and highlights what will be required of us in the future. With the vast array of environmental challenges in today’s evolving world, in particular the poten- tially devastating effects of global climate change, this book focuses on one of the most pressing matters facing us all: the loss of our planet’s biodiversity, which is occurring at unprecedented rates. The vast, rich and wondrous variety of life on Earth is rapidly disappearing. Thousands of species face extinction. Thousands have already been lost. Livelihoods and cultures are being irrevocably disrupted. This is happening not only in the developing world, but across the globe. The Japanese wolf, for example, was once a dynamic symbol in the lore of Japanese culture, a cultural icon revered in children’s stories and worshipped as a deity in Shinto shrines. With its extinction over a century ago, the meaning behind this iconic figure has been forever changed. Wild Reindeer, Forollhogna National Park, Norway, Vincent Munier, Wild Wonders Of Europe As the world adapts to meet the changing and ever-growing needs of human development, One example is the Saiga antelope, which for millennia has grazed on the steppes of Central including food, water and other resources, our environment is bearing unmanageable loads that are Asia from Eastern Europe to China, but in recent decades has become significantly threatened. having devastating effects. As these loads increase, the need for further investment in biodiversity Today, this species represents one of the most dramatic population crashes in recorded history. The conservation efforts grows more urgent. More than ever, our efforts are needed to preserve what GEF is devoted to promoting healthy host ecosystems for this threatened species by working with is left, by protecting wetlands, controlling invasive species and conserving natural resources. UNDP and the Altyn Dala Conservation Institute in Kazakhstan to promote the antelope’s survival, through anti-poaching actions and better landscape management to protect steppe habitat reserves. Luckily, there is help. Over the past decade, the GEF has become a global force in providing innovative and effective solutions to biodiversity challenges. As the financial mechanism for the An example of the GEF’s international efforts is the Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+ Convention on Biological Diversity, the GEF supports projects in both the public and private program, which provides incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested sectors. Biodiversity projects constitute 36 percent of the GEF portfolio, making it the largest of lands, not only slowing the degradation of forests but also contributing to the sustainable develop- all the GEF’s project areas. During the 2010 International year of Biodiversity, the GEF has centered ment of communities in those countries. its mission to conserve biodiversity on four specific goals: In addition to longer-term projects and programs, the GEF has also shown its prowess for action • to increase public awareness; and rapid response to urgent biodiversity needs through its Short-Term Response Measure (STRM) projects. Specifically, in 2008, the GEF worked with UNDP to quickly come to the aid of the • to promote solutions to biodiversity threats; already fragile giant panda population after the Wenchaun earthquake struck China. The GEF’s ability to rescue pandas and the other rare species in this book illustrates the agency’s effectiveness • to call on individuals, communities, nations and the international community to act now; and at implementing change on short notice. • to initiate dialogue among stakeholders for further endeavors. Earlier this year, the GEF received a record-high funding of $4.3 billion for its fifth replenishment cycle. With this new replenishment, the GEF will seize the opportunity to strengthen its efforts and At both the local and international level, the GEF is making great strides toward this mission. expand its resources. And it is my every hope that, as we pursue these endeavors, the GEF will Locally, the GEF recognizes the importance of projects to protect individually localized species. continue its role as a catalytic force in reducing threats to biodiversity today. 1 INTRODUCTION Conserving Species, Protecting Biodiversity, Safeguarding the Planet Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca Team Leader, Natural Resources, Global Environment Facility I n 2002, the 6th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) committed spent approximately $100 million over the past 19 years in the protection of habitat that should, to achieving, by 2010, a “significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the in principle, be suitable for tiger (Panthera tigris) populations throughout the 14 countries in the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit tiger’s current range. yet, during this same period, wild tigers were reduced to fewer than 3,500 of all life on Earth.� It is now 2010 and, sadly, we have collectively missed this global target. individuals, down from about 9,000 in 1999. The species is now considered Endangered by the Given the destructive trends that spanned the period covered by the 2010 target, and the lack IUCN, meaning that it is considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. Such of resources commensurate with the growing scale of the challenge, this result should not have investments by the GEF and other organizations in the wider tiger landscapes, sometimes referred come as a surprise. Nevertheless, this failing should be seen as a wake-up call to strengthen or to to as the “coarse filter approach,� have certainly resulted in many benefits, as measured by the radically change the processes that the international community has established to tackle global forests conserved and the wealth of other species they harbor. But we wouldn’t be meeting our environmental issues. As the global community contemplates the next set of targets for biodiversity goal if, in the midst of obtaining these broader results, we allowed keystone species like the tiger and the means to achieve them, particularly through the CBD, there is a need to seriously regroup and many others to fall through this coarse filter. Therefore, we also need to dedicate our attention and reflect on the multiple dimensions of the problem. to protecting globally relevant threatened species through focused actions that complement the landscape approach. Biodiversity loss is manifested at a variety of scales – genetic, population, species, community and ecosystem – as are the drivers of its progressive degradation. The consequences of biodiversity GEF resources have indeed benefited a host of threatened species and their habitats. In just four loss are also scale-dependent: losing an entire ecosystem is more impactful than the loss of a years, between 2002 and 2006, the GEF invested $108 million in 24 projects spanning the habitats single species population or certain genes. Because the cumulative impact of the overwhelming of hundreds of threatened species worldwide, and attracted $220 million in co-financing. Since its number of local biodiversity crises has created a problem of regional and global proportions, the inception, the GEF has spent a total of $398 million (and leveraged $771 million in co-financing) call for broad-scale, wide-ranging conservation responses is understandable. The compelling logic in areas covering the distribution of 647 species considered threatened by the IUCN Red List, that promotes the need to conserve large landscapes through ecosystem-wide strategies becomes representing nearly 17 percent of all historical investments in the biodiversity focal area. particularly appealing when resources are scant. yet, while it is not uncommon for projects submitted for funding under the GEF biodiversity focal however, there can be significant trade-offs in the implementation of landscape approaches area to be justified on the plight of national endemics and globally threatened species, the imple- to conservation when they lose focus on what happens to individual species and local popula- mentation of these same projects tends to emphasize landscapes and ecosystem-level actions that do tions. It is not hard to find examples of these trade-offs. For example, the Global Environment not always include strategies to protect and restore populations of threatened species. In the GEF-5 Facility (GEF), the largest financier of projects to conserve globally relevant biodiversity, has investment cycle (2010-2014), a key refinement is being introduced to explicitly acknowledge the Steller’s Sea Eagle, Nemero Strait, Japan, Roy Toft, iLCP 2 need to support the expansion of threatened species coverage in protected area systems. Given that MacArthur Foundation and Conservation International, and later joined by the government of Japan more than 70 percent of all species owe their threatened status to the loss of habitat, this directive can and the French Agency for International Development (AFD). The CEPF is already an active global help to fill important gaps in protected areas at the national level. program that has granted $124 million to protect biodiversity hotspots that are home to hundreds of threatened and endemic species. CEPF investments particularly target the Key Biodiversity Areas Some pilot investments focusing on high priority threatened species have already been initiated in (KBAs), which are vital for the survival of globally threatened species; many illustrative projects are GEF-4 (2006-2010). One example in this book is a project that is being implemented by the United included in this volume. Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by international and local NGOs at a series of pilot sites of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The In total, this book includes a sample of 23 case studies of projects funded by the GEF, implemented project, which is designed to demonstrate how community-based models can benefit local societies by UNDP, the World Bank and UNEP, and executed by dozens of local partners in Africa, Eastern by protecting species and ecosystem services, is executed by the NGO Rare conservation. Through Europe, Central and Southeast Asia and Latin America. This beautifully illustrated sampling of initia- this concept, flagship species are built into education and capacity-building programs and become tives demonstrates how targeted action at multiple levels has helped to improve the conservation particularly helpful in community-based “pride campaigns� focused around the management of natu- status of over 30 species, including several that are Critically Endangered or Endangered in the wild. ral resources. Endemic species (those restricted to a locality, state or country) can also become icons It also includes a chapter to highlight how we might be losing less conspicuous species, such as of cultural identity and act as magnets to mobilize public awareness and trigger policies that support those found in cave habitats. Finally, the book also touches on projects that are maintaining popula- sound environmental stewardship. For example, the mission of the AZE, which is to protect the tions of species that are not currently threatened. This serves to illustrate our goal to support efforts habitat of Critically Endangered and Endangered species that depend on a single site for their survival, to maintain heathy populations in the wild, preventing them from becoming threatened in the future. was reinforced recently by a Memorandum of Cooperation between the AZE and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed during a plenary session of the 14th meeting of the On the other end of the spectrum, are species on the brink of extinction. In this photographic book, Convention’s scientific advisory body (SBSTTA). We hope this early action will encourage many more we failed to produce an image of the uluguru bush shrike, a bird from Tanzania, illustrated here countries to join in the AZE alliance and use the framework to expand the coverage of their protected by a drawing. These and other examples will hopefully demonstrate that conserving species that area systems to include critical habitat for endangered species. we know will perish in the wild in the absence of direct intervention is a multi-generational moral imperative. Some influential commentators have begun to argue convincingly that human-induced Although the conservation community is starting to take concrete steps to protect globally relevant species extinction should be considered on a par with slavery, child labor and racism as being unac- species, there is still a vital missing link that is necessary to effectively scale-up these efforts— ceptable to our societies. Equally important is the fact that the pursuit of species conservation is in namely the private sector. The Save Our Species (SOS) program is an emerging partnership our own best interest, as it can also help trigger an ever-expanding virtuous cycle: when the tide for between the GEF, the World Bank and the IUCN that explicitly draws on opportunities to work a particular species shifts for the better, it is often the case that natural resources management has with businesses and corporations that have built their logos and brands around features possessed taken a more sustainable path. It is also an indication that capable institutions are being established, by thousands of species worldwide. As many of these companies should have a vested interest in that adequate governing mechanisms are starting to take root, and that services such as clean water becoming involved in solving the immediate crisis of potential species extinction, the SOS initiative and soil fertility are being provided by healthy habitats and ecosystems, all of which tend to benefit aims to provide incentives for private sector engagement in species conservation efforts around the disproportionally those in our societies most in need of livelihood improvements. world. As in other species projects, SOS is predicated on the assumption that conservation action at this scale serves many purposes beyond preventing the extinction of species that are known to We cannot and should not let species conservation fall by the wayside. With the wealth of lessons be on the verge of disappearing forever. These additional benefits include raising public awareness, accumulated over many decades, the conservation community knows what needs to be done and coalescing local communities around the plight of biodiversity conservation, and, through these has repeatedly demonstrated that well-designed strategies to protect species can deliver successful actions, protecting the habitats of many other lesser-known species. The World Bank and GEF have results. At GEF, we would like to help boost the revitalization of this sometimes overlooked key objec- each contributed $5 million to initiate the SOS project, with the objective of matching these funds tive in our global quest to protect biodiversity. We hope that this book, with its stunning photography through private sector engagement and a vision to build a large species conservation fund by 2015. and rich accounts from all around the world, can inspire others to participate in the resurgence of a The SOS initiative, administered by the IUCN, will become operational in the second semester of global movement directed at species conservation. We all have something to gain from it. 2010, with the disbursement of the first batch of grants. Another large-scale effort to protect threatened species is the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), an initiative launched in 2000 by the GEF, the World Bank, the John D. and Catherine T. 3 AFRICA Southern right whale naMiBia, South aFriCa leaSt ConCern daMara tern naMiBia near threatened peMBa Flying Fox tanZania VulneraBle uluguru BuSh Shrike tanZania CritiCally endangered taita thruSh kenya CritiC ally endangered loVeridge’S SunBird tanZania endangered Sanje MangaBey tanZania endangered wild dog kenya endangered BlaCk rhino naMiBia CritiCally endangered Southern right whale tail, Patagonia, South America, Doc White, naturepl.com SOUThERN RIGhT WhALE NAMIBIA, South AfrIcA ( E u b a laena aus tralis) leaSt ConCern Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: benguela current large marine Ecosystem Thus far, the southern right whale is considered a relative success story; ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick, jessie mee largely due to international protections such as those now imposed aGEncy: United nations Development Programme by the Benguela Current Commission, this species has managed to rebound PartnErs: Governments of angola, namibia and south africa; benguela Environment from centuries of commercial whaling. and Fisheries interaction and training Program; French irD & noaa; ioc-UnsEco; iUcn; Goos-aFrica; norwegian ministry of Foreign affairs; icelandic international Develop- ment agency; Governments of Germany, spain and France; DFiD (UK); De beers marine; Fao; nansen Program T oday, in the waters off the coast of South Africa, lingering long at less than three hundred Right whales were so named because they were the “right� whales to hunt, especially for early meters from the endangered southern right whale is against state law. Where once whalers; they are slow swimmers (easy to catch), float when dead (easy to retrieve), and their huge southern right whales roamed the open seas from Argentina, Antarctica and Australia to heads yield vast amounts of oil (once highly prized for lamps). Whaling began in earnest in the these shores at nearly ten times their current population size,1 only 7,0002 now remain. 1800s, significantly reducing their global population. In the early 20th century intakes grew even During the winter months, half of these remaining southern rights hug the South African coastline more rapidly; by the 1930s whole populations had been greatly diminished. Despite international for calving season, making the area both critical to the whale’s survival and one of the largest protections and a worldwide total ban on right whaling established later that decade, the species whale watching centers in the world. These waters are part of the Benguela Current Large Marine recovery continued to be impaired; whaling, both commercial and illegal, unreported and unregu- Ecosystem (BCLME), a transcontinental water body that stretches from the Cape of Good hope in lated, continued well into the 1970s. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission imposed a South Africa northward along Namibia’s coast and into Angola, and thus also constitutes an area moratorium on all commercial whaling of the southern right, a ban which currently remains on of significant interest for conservation efforts. The vast, upwelling local currents cycle nutrient-rich the books.4 Today, the long-term survival of the southern right whale is even more vulnerable to waters into the heart of the BCLME, making it an internationally significant center of marine biodi- indirect threats, including overfishing by factory fleets and climate change. versity and global marine food production, as well as the second-most productive fishing territory in the world. In fact, 85 percent of the world’s fish catch comes from such LMEs,3 including these In 1995, numerous cross-border large marine ecosystems, including the Benguela Current, were protected waters. adopted by the GEF council as areas in need of conservation. These ocean territories provided a catalyst for the GEF and various governing bodies to foster the multinational, ecosystem-based A variety of baleen, southern rights have dark gray bodies, bow-shaped lower jaws and massive management of transboundary coastal and marine resources. The GEF International Waters Focal heads. Reaching up to 55 feet in length (roughly the size of a bus), they emit low-frequency moans Area works to link issues of water, land and climate change in an integrated programming ap- and pulses. The whales can live up to 60 years, and females give birth once every three years, proach. The aim is to more successfully tackle climate change, an issue which is considered by usually in the spring after a six-to-seven month gestation period. As indicated, the South African many to be perhaps the most daunting challenge of our time. Coasts and oceans have become coastline remains a vital breeding ground and is an essential part of their circumpolar migratory degraded, oceanic fish stocks and coastal habitats have been depleted, and pollution-riddled “dead path through the southern hemisphere. Once calves are strong enough to swim long distances, zones� have erupted along the coasts. GEF-sponsored programs, including the Strategic Action they head from their calving grounds—the BCLME in South Africa being one of them—to Antarc- Program (SAP) and the International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW) aim tica for the remainder of the year. to address these issues. Southern right whale, Patagonia, Argentina, Doc White, naturepl.com 7 In 1998, SAP developed a diagnostic analysis tool which provided a shared vision for action to protect the transboundary economic and community interests in the Benguela Current LME. Using SAP as a foundation, the UNDP implemented a project that resulted in the establishment of the world’s first LME Commission—the Benguela Current Commission (BCC). The BCC represents multiple sectors in South Africa, Namibia and Angola, the three countries directly engaging in the sustainable management and utilization of the trans-boundary resources associated with it. As a regional institution, the BCC deals with conflict resolution, trans-boundary marine resource man- agement, and regulatory and environmental protection issues—all of which benefit the ecosystem and strengthen the long-term health of the calving grounds of one of the area’s flagship species, the southern right whale. Thus far, the southern right is considered a relative success story. Largely due to international protections such as those now imposed by the BCC, this species has managed to rebound from centuries of commercial whaling. Since 1970, the population has been estimated to be growing at a rate of seven percent per year. however, significant threats to these majestic creatures and their habitat remain. In addition to the overarching challenges of habitat degradation and changes in ocean temperatures, as of this printing a new disturbance has appeared. Southern right whale calves have been dying off in large numbers—more so now than at any other time in recorded history. The cause is not yet known.5 Southern right whale, Overberg region, South Africa, Jaime Rojo, iLCP 8 Southern right whale, Overberg region South Africa, Jaime Rojo, iLCP 10 DAMARA TERN NAMIBIA ( S t e rna balaenaru m) near threatened Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: namibian coast conservation The Damara Tern has become an icon of conservation off the Namibian and management (nacoma) & conserving the Damara tern coastline and Namibia as a whole. The successful conservation of a species ProjEct rEPort by: rod braby & Karsten Feuerriegel such as this reflects the dedication of a country in conserving its biodiversity aGEncy: World bank as it follows the progressive route of productivity and sophistication. PartnErs: ministry of Environment and tourism; ministry of Fisheries & marine resources; sPan; ministry of regional and local Government, Housing and rural Development; benguela current commission Recently, interventions by the NACOMA project and its partners have led the Namibian government to formally declare its entire coast and off-shore islands as protected areas. In 2008 and 2009, three T new areas were added to Namibia’s coastal parks, connecting them to a new megapark provisionally he Damara tern (Sterna balaenarum) is a small seabird endemic to Namibia. It nests in called the Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park. The new megapark will link Namibia to Angola’s loose colonies along the Namibian coast, feeds on small fish and has been classified for Iona National Park and South Africa’s Richtersveld National Park. The new park will be the largest some time as globally Near Threatened owing to its moderately small population (around in Africa, the sixth-largest terrestrial protected area globally, and the eighth-largest protected area in 14,000). The bird is a partial migrant, and flocks of tens or hundreds of birds gather at the world. Namibia will become the first non-island nation to have its entire coastline protected by the Namibian coast in April, and then move northward as far as Nigeria and Ghana. Terns breed means of a greater national coastal park and marine protected areas. Both the NACOMA-commis- in restricted sites, to which they return each year. The majority of these nesting areas are in the sioned Namibian coastal policy and the strategic environmental assessment of the Namibian coast Central Namib or Erongo Region—places currently experiencing a uranium mining rush that, in recommended the proclamation of the coastal biodiversity hotspots as national parks. turn, subjects the sensitive local, coastal environment to all the associated pressures of growth. In addition, increased off-road vehicle activity linked to a ban on beach driving in South Africa In the interim, a contingency management plan has helped protect and maintain the integrity has pushed fishermen to Namibia’s coastal areas where they and quad bikers overlap with nesting of the densest number of breeding Damara tern pairs known to exist between Walvis Bay and Damara terns. Other human development, especially close to the rapidly expanding waterside Swakopmund. This area has been declared an Important Bird Area; cable barriers with information towns, exerts another regional pressure on the terns’ dwindling numbers. In the face of this kind signs demarcate the area and exclude off-road vehicles and other human threats. Inappropriate of persistent disturbance, the terns abandon traditional breeding sites for sub-optimal locations developments are discouraged through the Strategic Environmental Assessment Decision Support where reproductive success is less assured. Tool of the coastal zone and the park management and development plans. These sustainable development tools were created by the NACOMA project for the Namibian government’s Ministry Despite these losses, the Damara terns are integral to the near-shore coastal ecosystem. They of Environment and Tourism. have become an early indicator of regional stability; their presence in summer is a sign of health and their absence a sign of perturbations in the system. As such, preserving this species is a prime Further measures will have to be implemented to control fishermen accessing their favored fishing example of a well-chosen wildlife conservation objective to promote the co-existence of all spots in the newly proclaimed park. Roads will need to be upgraded and off-road driving discour- organisms so that all the natural systems of the region can be maintained. Endemic to the region aged more strongly. The maintenance of long-term and more widespread monitoring at known and particularly vulnerable to human activity, the Damara tern is protected under both Namibia’s breeding colonies will be required to assist in effective management. emerging Protected Area Management Act and the existing conservation ordinance, but more must be done. Current action and measures are not sufficient to prevent loss of habitat due to unwitting The Damara tern has become an icon of conservation on the Namibian coastline and in Namibia and persistent disturbance during breeding. as a whole. The successful conservation of a species such as this reflects the dedication of a country to conserve its biodiversity even as it follows the road of progress, productivity and sophistication. Adult Damara Tern brooding a chick, Rod Braby 11 Photo Left: Adult Damara Tern, Namib Skeleton Coast National Park, Rod Braby This Page: Damara Tern egg, Namib Skeleton Coast National Park, Rod Braby 14 PEMBA FLYING FOx tA N z A N I A ( P t e ro pus voeltz kowi) VulneraBle Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: conservation of the Pemba Flying Fox Today Pemba flying foxes are quite beloved by islanders; in a recent ProjEct rEPort by: Fauna & Flora international opinion poll nearly one hundred percent of the local people express aGEncy: World bank support for their protection. PartnErs: critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; Department of commercial crops, Fruits and Forestry P emba Island, a small landmass just off the coast of East Africa in the Zanzibar archipelago of In fact, several of the species’ sleeping roosts are now home to more than 1,000 bats. This Tanzania, is the only location in the world where the Pemba flying fox (a species of fruit-bat) remarkable recovery is testament to the project’s dedicated efforts. The species has now been has been sighted. This series of islands contains the largest proportion of the world’s most downgraded to Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s threatened bats, including the Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi). It is this distinction Red List of Threatened Species.™ that highlighted the region as a priority area for global conservation...and just in time. This amazing resurgence also proves that—if the right actions are taken at the right moment— Fauna & Flora International (FFI), an international conservation organization, first took action in the conservation can work, even in the most seemingly dire situations. Over the past 13 years, FFI 1990s, when it was first discovered that the species’ survival was at risk. The flying fox is one of has helped to reduce the threat from hunting, set up two new forest reserves to safeguard the bat’s Africa’s largest bat species, with a wingspan of five-and-a-half feet (as wide as an osprey’s). Endemic habitat and raised awareness of the need for conservation throughout Pemba’s communities. to Pemba Island, flying foxes evolved here in isolation—away from predators and competitors— making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of over-exploitation and introduced species. Today Pemba flying foxes are quite beloved by islanders; in a recent opinion poll, nearly 100 Once considered a delicacy, this charismatic species was hunted and eaten widely throughout the percent of the local people expressed support for protection of the species. In fact, community-led Island. As recently as 1989, only a scant few individual fruit bats could be observed on their tropical “Pemba flying fox clubs,� which assist protection efforts through education and monitoring, have island home of Pemba. By the 1990s, 95 percent of the species’ forest habitat had been destroyed, been popping up all over the island. Local Joy Juma, FFI East Africa Program Assistant, says: “Less and its reproductive rates had dropped to an all-time low (just one young per adult female each than 20 years ago this bat looked set to disappear. Thanks to the enthusiasm of local people, FFI’s year). These vital local pollinators appeared doomed. ongoing conservation efforts have managed to bring this species back from the brink. Roast bat used to be a very common dish on Pemba. Now people value the bats for different reasons.� Today, thanks to the successful emergency intervention efforts of FFI, working closely with their local partner, the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry (DCCFF), the Pemba FFI is continuing efforts to conserve the Pemba flying fox and is calling for support of the fox clubs. flying fox has taken a dramatic turn from the edge of extinction. Fewer than 20 years since the The organization is also broadening its work to develop the island’s ecotourism potential. Several scant few recorded sightings, its numbers have soared back to an astounding 22,000. community tour guides have been trained, and a visitor’s center has been constructed to help local people benefit from the successful recovery of this vital local species. The latest survey (supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) indicates that the Pemba flying fox population has fully recovered to somewhere between 22,000 and 35,600 individuals. Pemba Flying Fox, Berenty Reserve, Edwin Giesbers, naturepl.com 15 Photo Left: Flying Fox Bat, Berenty Private Reserve, Madagascar, Iñaki Relanzon, iLCP Photo Right: Flying Fox Bat, Rano island, Vanuatu, Michele Westmorland, iLCP 18 ULUGURU BUSh ShRIKE tA N z A N I A ( M a l aconotus alius) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Uluguru bush shrike census Recently a team from the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) ProjEct rEPort by: Wildlife conservation society of tanzania has repeatedly caught sight of this colorful species in the reserve, and recent aGEncy: World bank evidence that suggests that it is also breeding there; this bodes well for the PartnErs: critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund bush shrike’s future. U ntil January 2007, the only sign that the Critically Endangered6 Uluguru bush shrike that they attracted a pair of bush shrikes by broadcasting a playback of their calls to a census point (Malaconotus alius) might still exist was a single doubtful record from 1981, that gave at an altitude of 1,739 meters: “This southern point is the nearest between the south and north evidence of the shrike’s presence in the Uluguru South Forest Reserve. This is a place reserves and has almost the same forest structure as that within Uluguru North. This was about which at the time, was believed to be above its normal altitudinal limit. Unfortunately, 3.4 kilometers from the nearest, previous record of the Uluguru bush shrike in Uluguru North.� several follow-up surveys failed to verify this finding. More recently, however, a team from the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) has repeatedly caught sight of this colorful Later that same day the team heard another Uluguru bush shrike about four hundred meters from species in the reserve, and recent evidence that suggests that it is also breeding there; this bodes that first pair: “This was the highest altitude record of our team’s survey, at 1,885 meters.� Between well for the bush shrike’s future. February 23 and 28, 2000, Jasson, along with WCST’s Elias Mungaya, returned to Uluguru South at the same census point. “We were aiming to catch the original pair, so we put up our mist-nets in A 1999-2000 census supported by WCST estimated a population of 1,200 pairs. The bulk of this the tree canopy, and attracted the birds by playing back their calls.� Two birds came by, but missed dwindling population is in the 84 km2 Uluguru North Forest Reserve and an adjacent area, both getting caught. of which still hold a good tract of flat forest at 1,200 to 1,500 meters above sea level. The Uluguru North and South Forest Reserves are separated by the Bunduki Gap (1.5 km), thought by many In more recent observations, the pair of Uluguru bush shrikes rarely came to the census point to be a potential obstacle to movements of the canopy-reliant Ulugura bush-shrike. together. Given that a month before the birds had always been seen together, it was reasoned that the female was likely to be sitting on a nest. While this re-count may be modest, it is, nonetheless, Jasson John of WCST, who led this most recent survey team (supported by the Critical Ecosystem another hopeful indicator that the long-term health of the local population can be restored. Partnership Fund), shared some detailed accounts of sightings for this rare bird. First, he reported Uluguru Bush Shrike Illustration, Sangeetha Kadur 19 20 TAITA ThRUSh K E N YA ( Tu r dus helleri) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: taita thrush monitoring Program Hope sometimes arrives in very small packages, such as the ten Taita ProjEct rEPort by: james mwang’ombe & the East african Wild life society thrushes that were recently released in the tiny forest fragment known aGEncy: World bank as Chawia Forest in the Taita Hills of Kenya. PartnErs: critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, University of Ghent, Kenya Forest service h ope sometimes arrives in very small packages, such as the ten Taita thrushes (Turdus threatens the unique genetic signature of some of the individual birds found in Chawia and, by helleri) recently released in the tiny forest fragment known as Chawia Forest in the extension, the quality of the remaining genetic pool. Taita hills of Kenya. This modest addition to the forest’s Taita thrush population— which had been estimated at around 10 individuals in this location—represented a In 2003, conservationists began hatching a three-pronged plan to come to the aid of the Taita potential milestone for this Critically Endangered7 bird species, whose total population is estimated thrush and other fauna and flora in the region without adversely affecting the livelihoods of the at 1,350. It also marked the culmination of years of conservation efforts in the Taita hills. surrounding communities. The plan offers support to local groups for reforestation, developing a scientific model to determine the key stepping stones for recovery and training local residents The area of forest cover in the Chawia “fragment� has been reduced by 98 percent over the last to develop nature-based products that generate non-invasive livelihoods. Such alternatives have 200 years, mainly due to clearance for agriculture. Meager fragments are all that remain of what included the production and marketing of commercial insects, honey and silk farming—all of was once a single forest, now separated by development; each fragment serves as yet another which could replace income from more destructive practices. These alternative livelihood efforts example of habitat loss and one of the more significant threats to biodiversity in the world today. have been led by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, recipient of a grant The remaining 400 hectares of this particular indigenous moist tropical forest, scattered in 11 from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). fragments throughout the district, is relatively minute and under continuing pressure from the densely populated communities nearby. In addition, a broad array of initiatives have been undertaken in the area. Beginning in 2004, CEPF supported the work of the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) and the Chawia Community Professor Luc Lens, head of the University of Ghent Terrestrial Ecology Unit, who has been Environment Committee to propagate and plant 68,200 indigenous tree seedlings. The aim was studying the Taita hills area since 1996, affirms that these encroached-upon forest patches support to enrich the understory of Chawia Forest, where livestock grazing and timber extraction had a great deal of biodiversity. They are home to numerous rare and endemic plants and animals, taken a toll. After some initial resistance, residents ultimately played a crucial role in planting and including two Critically Endangered bird species, three Critically Endangered gastropods, and an maintaining the new trees in the forest and in other locations within the community. Endangered plant species. “The biodiversity is still there, so it’s not too late,� Lens says. CEPF also supported a University of Ghent study to determine which forest patches in the Taita hills The fruit-eating Taita thrush is a largely dark-colored bird with white underparts and orange- would contribute the most to increasing connectivity between the remnants. The researchers used colored flanks, beak and eye rings. Three of the forest remnants support populations of the thrush, state-of-the-art geographic modeling to translate their findings into a proposed restoration action Lens says, but the population of one of those forests, Chawia, has started to crash. This particularly plan involving conservation and community groups in the area. EAWLS is working with the Kenya Taita thrush, Job Aben 21 Forest Service, which is now guiding village forest associations to develop participatory manage- ment plans for forest fragments identified as vital to improving the passage of birds throughout the landscape. It is also working with forest reserves in the area to transform plantations of exotic trees into those that support the endemic bird populations’ needs. Says Lens: “Large-scale destruction of the forest has come to a stop. Local communities are keeping these tiny bits of forest in place.� The results may also show conservationists and communities how to address forest management and restoration in other portions of the Eastern Arc Mountain region of Tanzania and Kenya. Lens continues: “Naturally, results concerning reforestation take a long while in coming. But the foundation has been laid, lots of the difficult groundwork done, and now there is a great opportu- nity for a really successful conservation effort.� Witnessing the progress already made in the protection and restoration of the forest, and recogniz- ing the Taita thrush’s desperate need for help, National Geographic funded a project that recently released unpaired Taita thrushes from the Mbololo Forest into the Chawia Forest to improve its thrushes’ chances for survival. The current translocation project is a pilot study. If it’s successful, conservationists will work to move more birds. “If we had done nothing now, this population would have disappeared,� Lens said. All the Taita thrushes that made the transfer to Chawia in late September 2008 survived, but monitoring continued through breeding season in order to assess their longer term stability. The local organizations here carry a long-term view and appreciate that turning these habitats around will require decades of sustained effort. here in Kenya, and for the sake of the Taita thrush and other vulnerable species, their strategic plans keep this perspective in mind.8 22 Taita Thrush in wild, David Gitau 24 LOVERIDGE’S SUNBIRD tA N z A N I A ( N e c tar inia loveridgei) endangered SANjE MANGABEY ( Ce rc ocebus s anjei) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: conservation and management The richly biodiverse Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania are home to of the Forests of the Eastern arc mountains two notable and Endangered species, the Loveridge’s Sunbird (Nectarinia ProjEct rEPort by: nik sekhran loveridgei) and the Sanje mangabey (Cercocebus sanjei). aGEncy: United nations Development Programme PartnErs: Government of tanzania; carE international; tanzania Forest conservation Group; World land trust; Government of Germany; DaniDa; World bank; critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; Wildlife conservation society of tanzania; WWF T he richly biodiverse Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania are home to two notable and in the revision of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status of the Endangered species, the Loveridge’s sunbird (Nectarinia loveridgei) and the Sanje mangabey Loveridge’s sunbird from Near Threatened to Endangered in 2008. (Cercocebus sanjei). The Sanje mangabey, a primate, is a second notable species in the project area. The “discovery� The population of Loveridge’s sunbird—a small and colorful bird with a long curved beak9 that is of this population of the species can be attributed to renowned conservationists Katherine endemic to the Uluguru Mountains of the Eastern Arc—has been estimated at 37,000 individuals.10 homewood and Alan Rodgers (a well-regarded project team member, Alan passed away in 2009). The primary threat (as for most other species cited within this publication) is the slow destruc- In 1979 Rodgers — as he was affectionately known to his friends — was on a field trip with the tion of its forest habitat. The three forest reserves in which the sunbird lives have been harvested anthropologist Katherine homewood to survey a remote forest on the Udzungwa Mountains for firewood and small amounts of timber; the long-term effects of this seemingly minor habitat in southwest Tanzania when they heard an unusual monkey call which they recognized as a degradation are as yet unclear, though decreases in the species’ population are presumed.11 mangabey, a species not previously known to exist within hundreds of kilometers of the spot. It turned out to be a completely new species which was later named the Sanje Mangabey and By working to improve the management of the Uluguru Mountain Blocks, the UNDP-implemented was the first new primate found in East Africa for many years. Its discovery alerted biologists and and GEF-funded project “Conservation and Management of Forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains conservationists to the potential importance of the forests on the chain of mountains known as of Tanzania� helps to protect the habitat of this rare bird. For example, the project participated the Eastern Arc in Tanzania. The Sanje mangabey is considered Endangered due to its limited Red Tufted Malachite Sunbird, Tanzania, Jim Clare, naturepl.com 25 habitat and fragmented population.12 It faces threats that include poaching and exploitation of the forest for charcoal and timber.13 As with Loveridge’s sunbird, the project works to strengthen the management of the forests that house the mangabey. Several sites in the area have been proposed as World heritage Sites, including reserves where the mangabey lives. The UNDP-GEF project established teams that are actively involved in spot checks and have recently helped authorities catch three illegal timber cutters. The project is nearly complete, and has been successful in curb- ing deforestation in key reserves in the Eastern Arc Mountains. Nature reserves are now four times more likely to be spared deforestation than unprotected forests in this region. This offers hope for the survival of these important and rare species. Photo Left & Right: Sanje Mangabey, Francesco Rovero 27 28 WILD DOG K E N YA ( Ly c a on pictus ) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Dryland livestock Wildlife In three years, the conservation area has demonstrated significant Environment interface Project positive impacts: five thousand hectares have been established to support ProjEct rEPort by: mohamed F. sessay & stephen twomlow wild dogs and other wildlife species and a tourism lodge was initiated. aGEncy: United nations Environment Programme PartnErs: african Wildlife Foundation; african Union/interafrican bureau for animal resources regenesis ltd. C ommunities in Africa will not set aside significant tracts of land critical for conserva- Game scouts were hired and trained to monitor the movements of the wild dogs. The project tion unless they receive tangible benefits to compensate for the related livelihood they provided the scouts with uniforms and field equipment such as binoculars, GPS units, compasses, will most likely lose. Kijabe Group Ranch is located in the Laikipia district of Kenya. etc. AWF, in partnership with Regenesis Ltd. (a private business owned by John and Gill Elias), The ranch, managed entirely by the local communities, covers approximately 17,000 assisted in developing a tourism facility within the conservation area, with the aim of providing hectares and has an estimated population of 360 registered members. The ranch borders other benefits to the community as well as long-term, self-generating compensation for setting the communal areas on the eastern, western and southern sides, all of which are also shared by local conservation area aside. Now, in addition to being home to the wild dogs, the conservation area communities. On its northern side, however, it is bordered by trust land. Kijabe is home to impor- supports wildlife viewing for the Kijabe lodge and is financed through visitor fees. tant wildlife species, such as the greater and lesser kudus, plains zebras and the small antelopes. It is also home to leopards. But more importantly for this story, it is home to the highly endangered This income has helped the community to invest in area maintenance, marking a vast improve- wild dog (Lycaon pictus). ment from its former, severely degraded state. The game-scout security system has helped improve safety for the dogs in the area. As a result, incidences of poaching and human/wildlife conflict have The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) started working with the Kijabe community in 2002 to been reduced, and the wildlife population has increased. Various species are now resident in the mitigate a number of threats facing all these species—the wild dogs in particular. With support conservation area (with many more being sighted during wet season), as they expand from the from the African Union/Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, AWF was able to assist the neighboring communal area and trust land. In three years, the conservation area has demonstrated community in developing a natural resource management plan where land was zoned for conser- significant positive impacts. vation, livestock grazing, and settlement to harmonize land uses and reduce conflict with local wildlife. Five-thousand hectares (which form part of the home to these endangered dogs and other species) was set aside exclusively for conservation. African Wild Dog Pup, Botswana, Art Wolfe, iLCP 29 Left, Right Top & Bottom: African Wild Dog, Botswana, Roy Toft, iLCP 32 BLACK RhINO NAMIBIA ( D i c er os bicor nis) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: strengthening the Protected area network As a result of the limited food and water sources in their habitat, these ProjEct rEPort by: nik sekhran herbivores typically forage across some twenty-five hundred kilometers for aGEncy: United nations Development Programme the plants, branches and shoots that compose their diet. PartnErs: Government of namibia; namibia nature Foundation; southern african institute for Environmental assessments; UsaiD; KFW; GtZ; ci; WWF-UK; namDEb T he black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a unique desert-dwelling species, well adapted demand for their horns driving illegal trade in China, yemen, South Korea and other countries.20 to the arid climate of northwest Namibia. This Critically Endangered species14 can com- Anti-poaching and conservation efforts remain critical to their protection. monly go without water for three or four days but, like most living things, it ultimately depends on permanent sources of water to survive.15 As a result of the limited food and The Strengthening the Protected Area Network (SPAN) project area houses 95 percent of the water sources in their habitat, these herbivores typically forage across some 2,500 kilometers for subspecies Diceros bicornis, one of the three subspecies listed as Critically Endangered on the the plants, branches and shoots that compose their diet.16 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (the fourth and last subspecies, D. b. longipes, is listed as Extinct in the Wild21). To reduce the threat to the black rhinos and other The 20th century saw dramatic declines in black rhinos across their ranges in sub-Saharan Africa; species, this UNDP-GEF project has provided training and equipment to rangers responsible for gun-toting hunters seeking sport and profit were—and continue to be—the single greatest threat enforcement; however, it is too early to gauge the effectiveness of this investment in deterring to this species. The black rhino population, which once numbered in the hundreds of thousands,17 poaching. The project has also initiated species monitoring at two protected areas, and has been reached its lowest population count in the early 1990s; approximately 2,300 are now present involved in maintaining traditional wildlife migration corridors in Etosha Park and Skeleton Coast in the wild.18 Nearly 98 percent of the black rhino population now lives in only four countries Park, which include critical black rhino habitat. Improved management of these and other national (Namibia, South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe) 19 —a significant reduction in their distribution parks in Namibia will help to secure the habitat for the black rhino. across the region. Poaching continues to represent a major threat to these creatures, with a high Black Rhino, Africa, Art Wolfe, iLCP 33 This Page: Rhino Eye, Africa, Art Wolfe, iLCP Top Right: Black Rhino, Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya, Art Wolfe, iLCP Bottom Right: Black Rhinoceros, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Art Wolfe, iLCP EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA SiBerian Crane China, ruSSia, iran, k aZakhStan CritiCally endangered Saiga antelope k aZakhStan CritiCally endangered Spoon-Billed Sandpiper ruSSia CritiCally endangered Steller’S Sea eagle ruSSia VulneraBle Brown Bear, wild reindeer, Snow Sheep ruSSia leaSt ConCern Snow leopard k aZakhStan, kyrgyZStan endangered golden line FiSh China CritiC ally endangered guangxi CaVeS China StatuS not aVailaBle euraSian ot ter roMania near threatened Steller’s Sea Eagle Flight Path, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP 38 SIBERIAN CRANE c h I N A , r u S S I A , I r A N , K A z A K h S tA N ( G ru s leucogeranus) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: siberian crane Wetland Project No bird is of greater cultural or environmental significance than the majestic, ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick, claire mirande, mark Zimsky globally threatened Siberian Crane. aGEncy: United nations Environment Programme PartnEr: international crane Foundation L ife flourishes, species emerge and evolve, and civilizations rise and fall along the banks of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation. of rivers, waterways, and coastal regions across the globe. yet where water resources With a spotlight on the highly migratory crane, this six-year project has focused on enhancing are compromised, so too are the life-forms they support. Many bird species dwell in such long-term protection of wetlands, a host of migratory waterbirds, and other wetland biodiversity. wetlands and as essential members of the rich diversity of creatures with whom we The project addressed threats and strengthened management at sixteen key sites along the Siberian share habitats across the globe, their well-being—and that of the environments they inhabit— crane’s western and eastern flyways, scattered across Russian Siberia, China, Kazakhstan and is a universal concern. Iran. As the project’s international ambassador, this charismatic bird attracted and linked a host of domestic and international agencies together in solving common and sometimes shared environ- For those who take note, bird migrations have long been early indicators of shifting global weather mental challenges. There were two phases to the SCWP. Sites under the most immediate threat (or patterns.22 No bird is of greater such cultural or environmental significance than the majestic, that are most essential for the life cycle and survival of the Critically Endangered Siberian crane and globally threatened Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus). A flagship species for all waterbirds, the other globally significant species) were addressed during Phase 1 (2003–2006). Sites under a less Siberian crane’s calls can be heard for miles across marshes where they nest. These cranes breed, urgent level of threat, as well as the Phase 1 sites that needed prolonged support to achieve con- winter, and migrate along two key flyways spanning thousands of miles…unaware of the many servation objectives, were addressed during Phase 2 (2006–2009). Activities occurred at regional, political boundaries that crisscross Asia beneath them as they travel. Although cranes were once national, and site levels. abundant, by the 1970s seven of the world’s 15 crane species were threatened with extinction. Despite decades of conservation effort, the number of threatened crane species has now risen Requiring an array of executing agencies across numerous countries, the SCWP was the first GEF- to 11. Similar negative trends appear among the other waterbird groups. Within Asia, 59 percent funded project to take a flyway approach to conservation. The complexity of the issue required an of known water-bird populations are declining, 27 percent are stable, and only 10 percent are unusually long period for project development and implementation. The project lasted 10 years increasing. Across vast portions of Asia, escalating human demand on limited water supplies, as from the start of planning to project completion (2000–2009) and included an investment of $10 well as land, are leading to the loss and degradation of wetlands upon which both humans and million by the GEF, which was matched by more than $37 million in contributions from countries waterbirds depend. and partners. The project aimed to ensure legal protection of wetlands and raise the capacity of the responsible agencies to manage them effectively, in cooperation with local communities and This relationship linking water, wetlands, wildlife, and people’s welfare has been a core theme other stakeholders. In addition, the project has supported the work at the sites through national and of the United Nations Environment Programme as well as for one of its signature programs, flyway-level activities, such as strengthening legislation and policies, and has improved coordina- the Siberian Crane Wetland Project (SCWP). The SCWP was launched in 2003, led by the tion of international activities. The 16 selected sites cover the whole migration cycle of the Siberian International Crane Foundation in collaboration with the governments of the People’s Republic crane and are globally important for conservation. For example, eleven are designated Ramsar sites Siberian Crane, Oksky, Russia, Igor Shpilenok, naturepl.com 39 (“wetlands of international importance�); all 16 sites meet the Ramsar criteria and all sites fall under some level of their respective country’s protected area systems. The innovative flyway-level approach of the project demonstrated how coordinated actions on multiple levels are needed to conserve migratory species, which may depend on a chain of sites spread over thousands of kilometers between their northern breeding grounds and wintering areas far to the south. The project further highlighted that the safety of entire flyways can be threatened by factors affecting key sites, requiring national and local attention. Targeted activities addressing these site-based threats to the flyway are of great importance in protecting regional migratory waterbird populations, as well as ecosystem services (such as drinking water) for local communities. The SCWP has been implemented through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the latter agency which, together with the country executing agencies, will continue a large part of the project objectives under different mechanisms. The SCWP strengthened the network of wetlands along the Siberian crane’s flyways in a number of ways: expanding protected areas or designating new nature reserves; target- ing research; securing water supplies to water-stressed wetlands; integrating stakeholders’ concerns and decision-making into reserve management; and undertaking education and awareness programs at local, national, and flyway levels. Its outcomes directly benefit the local communities, millions of migratory waterbirds, and more than 27 globally threatened wetland bird species dependent upon the 16 internationally important wetlands selected as project sites—a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation in 2010, the International year of Biodiversity. Siberian Crane, Pete Oxford, naturepl.com 40 Two Cranes, India, Ashok Jain, Naturepl.com 42 SAIGA ANTELOPE K A z A K h S tA N ( S a i ga tatar ica) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: steppe conservation As recently as the 1970s, a thriving population of one million saiga and management Project (so-named by the Russians) was recorded throughout the steppes and ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick, adriana Dinu & nik sekhran desert plains of Kazakhstan. aGEncy: United nations Development Programme PartnErs: Government of Kazakhstan, committee of Forestry and Hunting of the ministry of agriculture; ministry of Environmental Protection of the republic of Kazakhstan; association of the conservation of biodiversity in Kazakhstan S ince the Ice Age, saiga antelope are known to have roamed in vast herds, reaching as Post-Soviet Kazakhstan stands among the nine largest countries in the world and has long provided far as the British Isles in the west and Alaska and the yukon in the east. “As recently ample territory for the saiga—as well as the once-nomadic Kazakh people—to roam. Three of the as the 1970s, a thriving population of one million saiga (so-named by the Russians) was five saiga populations (the Betpak-Dala, Ustyurt and Ural) call the Kazakhstanian steppes home, recorded throughout the steppes and desert plains of Kazakhstan.� Now extinct within migrating more than 1,000 kilometers between the more southerly winter desert plains to the China’s borders, the current worldwide population of these long-nosed, migratory grazers stands northerly summer pastures. Saigas are natural grazers; their travels widely disperse seeds of steppe at 81,000—marking one of the most sudden and dramatic population crashes of a large mammal plants, their droppings help fertilize the soil, and their trampling hooves push seeds into the dirt, on record worldwide. facilitating germination. The sudden 90-percent drop in the saiga population was a shock to the regional ecosystems; the antelopes’ presence had kept the grasslands open and created habitats for While the 1990s brought open borders in Russia and China, they also brought a decline in legal a rich diversity of plant and animal species, including the great bustard and the Critically Endan- controls, as well as economic hardship to rural communities and an upwelling of rapacious gered sociable lapwing, both characteristic birds of the steppe. Like the saiga antelope, these birds hunting by poachers, who sold saiga meat and horns for uses in traditional Chinese medicine. By are now facing global extinction. Local scavengers such as the black vulture and the Kazakhstan 2002, this creature had been hounded to the edge of extinction. Targeted poaching of the horned wolf have also been affected. males set off a major gender imbalance in what population remained, further compromising their chances for survival…or recovery. In less than two decades (an unfathomably brief flash in the Protected areas (PAs) have a potentially significant, yet largely unrealized, role to play in eliminating global timeline) the saiga had landed squarely on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered.23 threats not only to the steppe area biodiversity in Kazakhstan, but for all programs involving the protection of endangered species around the globe. healthy host ecosystems are essential for species The Steppe Conservation and Management Project (SCMP) was formed as a much-needed survival; this makes PAs the prime focus of the GEF. In this case specifically, protecting the steppe response to these ongoing losses. Led by the Government of Kazakhstan in partnership with the habitat reserve is a critical first act in reviving the saiga. In 2009, the SCMP partnered with an existing Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan, the Royal Society for the Protection conservation program, the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, to create an integrated conservation of Birds, and the Frankfurt Zoological Society—and funded by the Global Environment Facility network extending through central Kazakhstan. More than 5.2 million hectares have already been (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)—this project legally protected by the government of Kazakhstan, but Altyn Dala (“golden steppe� in Kazakh) plans has been giving this essential creature and its diverse steppe habitat renewed hope. to increase this by up to another five million hectares—more than twice the size of Wales. Altyn Dala steppe, Kazakhstan, Adriana Dinu 43 The project is supporting the government of Kazakhstan in developing a highly strategic, landscape- previous work in strengthening the wetland and mountain PAs of Kazakhstan, including techniques based approach to PA expansion and management within the steppe zone, involving a system of for increasing the effectiveness of steppe PAs, such as the enhancement of intervening landscape financially sustainable PAs that range from permanent and fully staffed national parks (in the calving areas. GEF will provide incremental support for the development of tools for landscape-level areas for saiga) to seasonally protected areas on saiga migratory routes, and from fully government- steppe conservation planning and management. For this purpose, the Irgiz-Turgai-Zhylanshyk (ITZ) administered areas to PAs in which local communities play a central role in management. area has been chosen as a pilot program site. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of the Betpak-Dala population of saiga has been inside the ITZ during the 2010 census. Due to coordinated project intervention, the main Kazakh population of this enigmatic, Critically Endangered species is now recovering steadily. By combining a more informed understanding of A new UNDP-GEF project—planned to start by the end of 2010—will target the Ustyurt saiga saiga behavior, effective mobile anti-poaching units, and ambitious landscape-scale conservation population shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which, at 4,900 animals according to a 2010 management to increase protection of grassland steppe and semi-desert habitats, these efforts have census, has suffered more than most from illegal hunting activities. led directly to an improving picture. The saiga’s primary Kazakh population in the Altyn Dala region rose from fewer than 4,000 individuals in 2002 to more than 53,440 in 2010. As with the famous vast Across the border, in Russia’s Kalmykia Republic, there is a third UNDP-GEF project aimed at herds of wildebeest on the African plains, very little is known about the saigas’ present distribution strengthening the steppe protected area system to provide a safe habitat for one of the world’s five and migratory routes, but the project teams and park staff are learning. For the first time in Central populations of saiga. The president of Russia’s Kalmykia Republic, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, declared Asia, for example, 20 antelopes are now being tracked by satellite as they move south—potentially 2010 the “year of Saiga� in Kalmykia, echoing the widely held sentiments that the saiga antelope up to 800 kilometers—across Kazakhstan from their calving grounds to their remote wintering sites. are, like so many endangered species, critical to the long-term health of larger ecosystems and must not be lost. UNDP-GEF and their partners have been successful at achieving short-term goals, The UNDP-GEF project will continue to work on long-term solutions for strengthening the including bringing the saiga back from the edge of extinction. ecosystems of the region long after the program has ceased. It will also build upon UNDP-GEF’s Baby Saiga Antelopes, Cherniye Zemly, Nature Reserve, Kalmykia, Russia, Igor Shpilenok, naturepl.com 44 Photo Left: Mother and Calves , Igor Shpilenok, Wild Wonders of Europe This Page: Saiga Antelopes, Cherniye Zemly, Nature Reserve, Kalmykia, Russia, Igor Shpilenok, Wild Wonders of Europe 48 SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER ruSSIA ( E u ry nor hynchus pygmeus) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: an integrated Ecosystem approach to The main factors affecting the birds are habitat degradation and oil conserve biodiversity and minimize Habitat Fragmentation in three selected model pollution; disturbance from other human activities; predation by common areas in the russian arctic (Ecora) fox, ermine, dogs, gulls, and jaegers; and unfavorable weather conditions ProjEct rEPort by: Evgeny Kuznetsov and climate change. aGEncy: United nations Environment Programme E CORA is a Global Environment Facility (GEF)–sponsored project that uses an integrated disturbance from other human activities; predation by common fox, ermine, dogs, gulls and ecosystem management (IEM) approach to conserve biodiversity and minimize habitat jaegers; and unfavorable weather conditions and climate change. Before the 1990s, some nests fragmentation in three selected model areas in the Russian Arctic. One is the Beringovsky were subject to destruction by reindeer herds, but in the last 20 years the number of domestic District of the Chukotka Autonomus Okrug; it was selected for its unique biological reindeer has decreased by a factor of ten (in some areas they have disappeared completely), and diversity and landscapes. One of the indicator species identified for this model area was a rare that particular threat has subsided. little Beringian bird, the spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus), which has breeding grounds in this region. The project made the spoon-billed sandpiper a flagship species for the The studies conducted by ECORA revealed that the breeding success of spoon-billed sandpipers conservation of area wetlands. is very low, and does not exceed 0.66 young fledged per nest. The color markings of birds show that very few juveniles and adults return to the breeding grounds. Analysis of all the information The spoon-billed sandpiper is a small bird, 14-to-16 centimeters in length, distinguished by its gathered between 2000 and 2009 in the breeding areas revealed that weather conditions play spatulate bill. It breeds in northeastern Russia (Chukotka and Kamchatka) and migrates along the a very important role in the success of sandpipers. Changing humidity in breeding areas—as well East Asia Waterbird Flyway through Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China to wintering as climate change overall—is leading to drier tundra and an increase in fires. On the wintering grounds in South and Southeast Asia, where it has been recorded in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, grounds, hunting and trapping of small waders also plays a role. Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. The ECORA project encompassed numerous activities, ranging from biological studies and mapping At the end of the 20th century, the precise number of spoon-billed sandpipers was not known; to training and education. Knowing that conservation measures must include habitat protection, all evaluations were based on the extrapolation of results from a few breeding colonies. Because one of ECORA’s tasks was to develop an ecological and economic rationale for establishing the of its specialized breeding habitat requirements, this species has always been rare, but surveys on Beringiva National Park, in keeping with the Russian government’s decree to create a park in 2010. the breeding grounds in recent years have revealed a sharp decline in its numbers, from 4,000-to- Project experts developed a detailed cluster scheme for the park that includes eastern and southern 5,000 pairs in the 1970s, to 2,000-to-2,800 pairs in the 1980s and 1990s, to fewer than 1,000 pairs Chukotka, which house the key breeding sites of spoon-billed sandpiper. in 2000. These declines have taken place across all known breeding colonies, and data received in recent years escalated the status of the species to Critically Endangered in 2009. Environmental education should also play a role, particularly around key breeding sites, where the public can be informed of the importance of coastal wetlands to these and other wildlife and A number of studies were undertaken to examine the main factors affecting the population size educated about protection of the broader environment. To increase local awareness concern- and species distribution. Among those factors are habitat degradation and loss from oil pollution; ing spoon-billed sandpipers, ECORA provided environmental education programs to adults and Spoon-Billed Sandpiper, Russia, Staffan Widstrand, iLCP 49 children in three villages situated close to breeding sites. In one village, project experts organized the Friends of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Club to strengthen the “Species Guardian Program� of BirdLife International, run by the Russian nongovernmental organization (NGO) Birds Russia. During three summer seasons, local children were taught bird watching and the fundamentals of conservation. To further assist in regional bird identification, the ECORA project published the book Birds of Chukotka, with full-color photos. ECORA’s efforts at conserving the spoon-billed sandpiper have been recognized by BirdLife International, the world’s leading NGO for the conservation of birds and their habitats. In his letter of 30 November 2009, addressed to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Dr. Marco Lambertini, BirdLife International’s chief executive officer, expressed “appreciation for the conservation work by ECORA for the Critically Endangered spoon-billed sandpiper in Chukotka.� It is hoped that measures taken for protection of that species under the ECORA project will help to stabilize breeding grounds and, together with contributions from the international scientific community, allow the spoon-billed sandpiper population to recover. Sandpiper Everglades National Park, Eco Pond, Tim Laman, iLCP This Style is called Caption 50 52 STELLER’S SEA EAGLE ruSSIA ( H a l iaeetus pelagicu s) VulneraBle BROWN BEAR Kamchatka is a place of vast, globally significant biodiversity and ( U rsus arctos beringian u s) incredible beauty; UNESCO has named one of its volcanoes a World Natural Heritage site. This remote locale, a long peninsula in the Russian leaSt ConCern Far East, was also recognized by the World Wildlife Fund as one of its Global 200 Ecoregions. WILD REINDEER K ( R a n gifer tarand us) amchatka is a place of vast, globally significant biodiversity and incredible beauty; UNESCO has named one of its volcanoes a World Natural heritage site. This remote leaSt ConCern locale, a long peninsula in the Russian Far East, was also recognized by the World Wild- life Fund as one of its Global 200 Ecoregions. Its rich natural heritage includes a wide array of species, including Steller’s sea eagle (a closely watched indicator species), brown bear, SNOW ShEEP wild reindeer and snow sheep. Each has been and continues to be monitored through a collective of regional organizations (including park and wildlife protection services, forestry agencies, nature park administrators, and the Special Protected Natural Areas). Kamchatka shelters approximately ( O v i s nivicola) five percent of the global brown bear population and is the center of distribution for the rare sea eagle. The main threats against these four species and their wider ecosystems are poaching, uncon- leaSt ConCern trolled visitation and fire. Bans have been implemented against hunting for each of these vulnerable creatures, and all their populations are considered at risk. Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Demonstrating sustainable conservation The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)–implemented project “Demonstrating Sus- of biodiversity in Four Protected areas of russian Kamchatka Krai Phase ii tainable Conservation of Biodiversity in Four Protected Areas of Russian Kamchatka Krai Phase II� ProjEct rEPort by: adriana Dinu & nik sekhran targets representative and globally significant biomes, species assemblages and ecosystems of the aGEncy: United nations Development Programme Kamchatka Peninsula. The areas encompass tundra, boreal coniferous forests, temperate deciduous PartnErs: Government of russia; ministry of natural resources and Environment; forests, freshwater lake ecosystems, freshwater wetlands and marine inshore waters. The project’s Kamchatka Krai administration; Government of canada; regional Public Foundation work has included effective protected area (PA) management, sustainable alternative livelihoods, for Kamchatka Protection awareness and advocacy, and sustainable financing mechanisms. The project has distilled its lessons learned/best practices and its successes serve as a model for other local PA projects in the Kamchatka area. This all spells good news for the now at-risk and endangered species that have for centuries called this diverse peninsula home. Steller’s Sea Eagle, in South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP 53 Under the project, a monitoring program has been designed for rare birds of prey, and a project Until recently, the Kamchatka wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) was an important game animal in indicator species is the Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus). One of the world’s largest birds of the Kamchatka region. Until 2006, the Kronotsky-Zhupanovsky herd was considered highly prom- prey, the Steller’s is listed as “category 3� (rare) in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, and ising. Unique among the reindeer, whose overall numbers are now relatively small and vulnerable, Vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This blackish- this population had been relatively stable for nearly a decade, with approximately 2,900 to 3,200 brown and white raptor is highly sensitive to human impact; approximately 5,000 individuals remain individuals steadily reported. Since 2006, however, the project team has observed extremely in the wild, and the population is declining.24 The survival of the world population of Steller’s sea strong poaching pressure throughout the mountainous part of Eastern Kamchatka along the reserve eagle depends to a great extent on its status in the Kamchatka Peninsula, where it breeds.25 boundaries—despite a total ban implemented in 2006. This pressure immediately affected the wild reindeer numbers within the protected area (PA) and led to this subspecies’ inclusion in the The status of the eagle’s Kamchatka population will become available by the end of 2010, based on Kamchatka Red Data Book (2006) as one “with declining populations and sporadic occurrence.� the case of sample salmon reservoirs within the SPNA boundaries where this species traditionally An aerial census implemented by this project in 2009 confirmed the declining trend in the numbers breeds and winters. The results will help the project formulate further actions to protect the species of hoofed mammals within the reserve, and in particular throughout the Kronotsky-Zhupanovsky and its habitat. herd range. The expert estimate of the current size of the Kronotsky reindeer population stands at 1,400 to 1,500 individuals—half what it was just five years ago. Natural factors (a growing wolf The Kamchatka subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos beringianus) is among the largest terres- population, snowy winter and a shortage of winter pastures) have also limited the reindeer habitat, trial carnivores in the world. There have been reports that, by autumn, the larger individuals can adding to the importance of preserving territory to maintain a stable population nucleus. Despite weigh more than 700 kilograms (1,540 pounds). The overall habitat of the Kamchatka brown bear all these pressures, conservationists are confident, based upon the protected Kronotsky population, covers 95 percent of the peninsula. Its population is currently stable, with total numbers estimated that restoring the wild reindeer population can be achieved. between 15,500 and 16,500 individuals (12 to 15 percent of the total number of brown bears in Russia). A 2001 aerial census in Kamchatka recorded the world’s highest brown bear population The snow sheep (Ovis nivicola), an economically valuable species, could be vulnerable if unpro- density (8.48 individuals per 10 km²) in the spring. One factor contributing to the bear’s strong tected and/or exploited without control; in certain parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the population status is its relatively low dependence on ecological conditions—that is, its habitat integrity and has been on the decline. The project designed a monitoring program, using model sites and pilot resistance to human activity (logging, burned-out forest, roads, etc.). Nonetheless, illegal hunting routes, to assess ecological characteristics, extent of human impact, comparative available data, and in the bear’s habitat has remained a problem. This project helped to establish a poaching control the size of the surveyed groups. The resulting 2007-2008 Special Protected Natural Areas (SPNA) group in the Nalychevo Nature Park, including GEF-financed interdepartmental support teams census information confirmed the species’ decline throughout southern Kamchatka, including the (anti-poaching teams from the Bystrinsky and Nalychevo Nature Parks included). This kind of joint protected areas, by a factor of three over the past seven years. A ban on snow sheep hunting until patrolling has been proven to be most effective. 2010 was requested and readily granted by the Kamchatka Krai Governor. Steller’s Sea Eagle, Nemero Strait, Hokkaido, Japan, Roy Toft, iLCP 54 Photo Left: Steller’s Sea Eagle, Nemero Strait, Hokkaido, Japan, Roy Toft, iLCP Photo Right: Kamchatka bear, Tikhaya river at Kronotsky Volcano, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP Photo Left: Kamchatka Bear, Kuril Lake, South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP This Page: Brown Bear, Igor Shpilenok, iLCP Photos Left & Right: Wild Reindeer, Forollhogna National Park, Norway, Vincent Munier, Wild Wonders of Europe Wild Reindeer, Forollhogna National Park, Norway, Vincent Munier, Wild Wonders of Europe 64 SNOW LEOPARD K A z A K h S tA N , K r Yg Y S tA N ( Pa n thera uncia) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: tien shan Ecosystem Development Project Snow leopards have several adaptations for living in a cold mountainous ProjEct rEPort by: andrew mitchell environment. Their bodies are stocky, their fur is thick, and their ears are aGEncy: World bank small and rounded, all of which help to minimize heat loss. S now leopards (Panthera uncia) are rare; only an estimated 2,500 remain in the wild identified as a “biodiversity hotspot�— the concentration of species in western Tien Shan is 63 times (effective population size).26 They are beautiful, relatively small “big cats,� with long, thick higher for birds and 37 times higher for mammals than the average for Central Asia. fur that varies from smoky gray to yellowish tan, with whitish underparts. Their body coats have dark gray to black open rosettes, with small spots of the same color on their heads Winds that travel undisturbed for long distances over the vast steppes are lifted by the Tien Shan and larger spots on their legs and tail. range, causing concentrated precipitation. The area has enormous temperature variations that range from minus 50°C in winter to a maximum in the summer months of above 40°C. Tien Shan Snow leopards have several adaptations for living in a cold, mountainous environment. Their residents and surrounding populations in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan derive livelihoods, bodies are stocky, their fur is thick, and their ears are small and rounded, all of which help to energy and water from the range, and enjoy its recreational activities, as do the growing numbers minimize heat loss. Their feet are wide, which distributes their weight better for walking on snow, of overseas visitors. and they have fur on their undersides to increase their traction on steep and unstable surfaces. The snow leopard’s tail is long and flexible, which helps the cat maintain its balance. The tail is The range is crucial for agro-biodiversity and is home to a striking array of wild ancestral landraces also thickly covered with fur—which, in addition to minimizing body-heat loss, makes an effective of commercialized crops; in particular, valuable fruit and nut trees such as apples and walnuts.27 blanket over the leopard’s face when sleeping. The Tien Shan range also plays a key connecting role in the distribution of Asian mountain fauna such as the snow leopard. The snow leopard’s range extends through central and south Asia in the rugged, mountainous regions of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Threats to the Tien Shan’s unique biodiversity—habitat destruction, overgrazing, poaching, unregu- Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is classified as Endangered. lated game hunting and excessive firewood extraction—are accelerating. An even greater threat is posed by the long-term effects of global warming, which could radically alter the environment and The Tien Shan mountain range covers most of the Kyrgyz Republic, southern Kazakhstan and biota in the long term. smaller areas of Uzbekistan, China and Tajikistan. This territory plays an important role in conserv- ing biodiversity and maintaining environmental sustainability in Central Asia. The Tien Shan is a The Global Environment Facility component of the Tien Shan Ecosystem Development Project biological oasis surrounded by vast arid and semi-desert plains, particularly to the north, producing provides technical assistance and training to strengthen biodiversity conservation in the Tien Shan conditions conducive to high biological diversity. Ecosystems range from glaciers to deserts, creating region of the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. Some of the technical assistance is specifically exceptional habitat diversity and endemism in a relatively small part of Central Asia. Based on the targeted at better understanding the needs and life cycle of key species such as the snow leopard. high numbers of endemic species and the significant levels of threat, the Tien Shan range has been The project helps improve management in 12 key protected areas (PAs)—all unique and valuable Snow Leopards, India, Steve Winter, National Geographic Society 65 habitats—by strengthening technical capacity, investing strategically in PA infrastructure, supporting local efforts to reduce threats to biodiversity, increasing public awareness, and promoting sustain- able tourism. It also finances specific investments in equipment and infrastructure, such as tourist trails, camping sites, signage, visitor booths and small-scale upgrades to PA facilities (for example, renovation of remote posts). It is hoped that protecting and enhancing the management of these important PAs will provide a key network of habitats for the snow leopard long into the future. Reducing poaching of prey species will help preserve the leopard’s food sources, and preventing land-use change will allow the ecosys- tem to flourish undisturbed, to create safe refuges for all the endemic endangered species. A fundamental part of the project is to increase the regional cooperation and dialogue between the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, to ensure that there are synergies and no lost opportunities for conservation and increased understanding. Issues to be addressed include the status of threatened species, enforcement of legislation across borders, and regional tourism development opportunities. In Kazakhstan, the project will finance small grants for local groups and organizations directly linked to either reducing threats or developing opportunities for biodiversity protection. The main objective of these small grants is to increase the benefits for the surrounding population, in order to encourage their support for protection activities. Small grants could finance ecotourism activities (accommoda- tions such as small guest houses and traditional nomad yurts, guide training, trail development, bird watching treks, etc.); low-cost livestock protection measures; wildlife information programs; waste- management schemes; alternative-energy promotion; environmental certification assistance; site and landscape restoration; and similar initiatives. Creating opportunities for local income generation will decrease the need for alternative unsustainable land-use practices. The project will also support the development and implementation of public awareness and information campaigns to increase support for biodiversity conservation, generate interest in the region’s natural and cultural heritage, and increase awareness of obligations associated with international conservation treaties. Public awareness programs will focus on increasing the profile of the Tien Shan and the range’s tourism attractions in international and regional markets. There is consensus among stakeholders in each country to nominate a Western Tien Shan World heritage Site comprised of eight protected areas and suitable buffer zones in the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan’s nomination will be directly financed by UNESCO). By the time the Tien Shan Ecosystem Development project is completed, the investments in PA management, including technical assistance to better understand the needs of threatened wildlife and alternative income-generating activities for local populations, should have had considerable impact on improving the status of the PAs included in the project. This, in turn, should help protect the habitat and outlook of endangered species such as the snow leopard. Photo Above: Snow Leopard, India, Steve Winter Photo Right: Snow Leopard, India, Steve Winter, National Geographic Society 66 Photos Left & Right: Snow Leopards, India, Steve Winter, National Geographic Society The Golden Line Fish is only one of nearly two dozen fish species that have almost entirely vanished from their native Lake Dianchi. 70 GOLDEN LINE FISh chINA ( S i n ocyclocheilus grahami) CritiCally endangered Today, the lake once proudly referred to as the “Sparkling Pearl Embedded in a Highland,� has since been assigned a Class V rating (the lowest grade) by the Chinese government. Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: yunnan Environment Project ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick, yang jun-xing aGEncy: World bank In fact, 21 of Dianchi’s 25 indigenous fish species are gone, having been supplanted by 31 alien species.32 Professor yang Jun-xing of the Kunming Institute of Zoology made a fortunate discovery of an isolated golden line population in the well of a local Buddhist temple; he then embarked The golden line fish (Sinocyclocheilus grahami) is only one of nearly two dozen fish species that upon a multi-year effort to restore the species. After more than a decade of observation, yang’s have entirely vanished from their native Lake Dianchi, an ailing, algae-plagued freshwater lake yunnan team at the Endemic Species Breeding Center finally stumbled upon a solution for these changed beyond recognition by decades of pollution, overfishing and species invasion. Located in seemingly non-breeding fish in captivity. They theorized that the wild golden lines migrate to the yunnan Province and the sixth largest water body in all of China, Lake Dianchi had, until recent underwater caves to reproduce; by mimicking these conditions in their Olympic-pool-sized breed- years, a remarkable assemblage of endemic species. Today, the lake once proudly referred to as ing facility the team suddenly had 80,000 fry. Within a year’s time yang had a plan for bringing the “Sparkling Pearl Embedded in a highland,� has since been assigned a Class V rating (the lowest the native golden lines back into Lake Dianchi, including a successful trial run reintroducing some grade) by the Chinese government.28 Not only is the lake unswimmable and undrinkable, it is also 5,000 golden lines into cages there. yang’s long-term plan includes hitting the ten-million mark unfit for use by industry and the ability to support aquatic life has been severely compromised.29 with these fish, and encouraging commercial fisheries to swap out Lake Dianchi’s carp for the more lucrative golden line—a plan he proposes is good for the lake, and good for the economy.33 The lake rests within the boundaries of the province’s capital city, Kunming, which has enjoyed two decades of rapid urbanization, with industry and service sectors growing at more than 11 per- “Their plan for transforming Lake Dianchi has caught the imagination of many of yunnan’s cent per year.30 These severe developmental pressures have been countered by a comprehensive, decision-makers,� says World Bank biodiversity specialist Tony Whitten,34 who oversaw the team’s integrated response to reduce the pollutant loads to the lake and restore it to a better condition, work under a just-completed five-year Global Environment Facility grant. The World Bank’s $150 including the World Bank-financed yunnan Environment Project (yEP), as well a Global Environ- million dollar loan has focused on reversing pollution and establishing a framework for environ- ment Facility (GEF) co-financed project for biodiversity restoration in the area. mental regulation and infrastructure in southwestern China’s yunnan province. Lake Dianchi has a long road to full recovery ahead, however. Up until the 1990s, for example, While the yEP has staved off worst-case scenarios under the current water treatment program,35 full untreated wastewater was pumped directly into the lake. Another threat dating back to the early restoration of Lake Dianchi will continue to require decades of sustained effort. The multi-phased 1960s comes from several varieties of carp that commercial fisheries introduced into the lake. development program of the yunnan Province—of which yEP and the GEF program are a part— These “lawnmowers with gills,�31 have consumed the Dianchi’s underwater plants and inadvertently have many long-term objectives, including: pollution control, restoration of a potable water supply induced lake-wide eutrophication (increased nutrient load that incites algal growth) onto this already and the introduction of urban environmental infrastructure investments. As the World Bank’s Tony stressed shallow water body. As a result, aside from being overfished (the golden line is considered Whitten has recently stated, “Freshwater biodiversity concerns are not always wholly addressed a delicacy by the Chinese), the lake has become uninhabitable for this and other endemic species. by attention to fisheries management or wetland conservation. In Asia, in particular, attention also needs to be given to encouraging awareness, collecting good and current data, and nurturing Once the lake’s largest catch, the golden line was thought to be extinct along with many other partnerships between engineers and biodiversity specialists, as well as releasing scientific data endemic species of Lake Dianchi. “We are talking about a fish extinction comparable to Lake concerning the region.�36 Victoria when Nile perch were added,� says David Aldridge, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge, UK. “It looks pretty massive.� The yunnan team is now working with the provincial authorities on a new wetland park and has made a real success of the golden line fish-breeding facility. The yEP has come to a close, but as the work continues, “the future of Lake Dianchi’s biodiversity is brighter now than it has been for decades.�37 Golden Line, Professor Yang Jun-xing 71 72 CAVES OF GUANGxI chINA Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Guangxi integrated Forestry While the knowledge of Guangxi caves has improved enormously as a Development and conservation Project result of the GEF project, there are still hundreds of caves that have not been ProjEct rEPort by: tony Whitten examined and there are doubtless hundreds, perhaps thousands, of un- aGEncy: World bank described cave animals awaiting discovery while facing a range of threats. PartnErs: Forestry bureau, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region O ne of the least considered kinds of biodiversity worldwide, and yet one of the regulate water exchange, and most are unable to survive outside cave habitats for even a short most remarkable, is that which occurs in caves. While countries and donors give time. Many species are thus restricted to the block of limestone where they have evolved. Because increasing attention to wetlands, forests, grasslands, coral reefs, mountaintops and these limestone landscapes are usually highly fragmented (isolated from one another) many are the mangroves, caves tend to languish. Of course it must be admitted that caves are only home to endemic species (and even genera). Some species are known from a single limestone not everyone’s favorite ecosystem—they can be difficult to get into, provoke claustrophobia, be mountain, or even from a single cave. dirty and sweaty to work in, and lack charismatic mammals or birds. These narrow distribution ranges make cave species very vulnerable to local disturbance, such as If cave biodiversity were not noteworthy or threatened, this would not be an issue; but caves tend water pollution or quarrying. With any change to the balance of darkness, humidity and energy to host highly modified and range-restricted species, many of which are threatened with extinction flow in the cave, many species will die. By any assessment of biological hotspots using degree of through thoughtless development. endemism and threat, cave ecosystems must rate very high, yet they rarely figure in any substantive way in conservation funding. From an ecosystem point of view, the dominant feature of caves is the darkness. It stands to reason that plants cannot live in caves, and so all cave life is dependent on organic material brought in Most of the species concerned are relatively small invertebrates, little-known and rarely, if ever, from the outside. No herbivore can survive in caves (other than a few root-sucking insects). Com- included in the lists of protected species—which tend to focus on larger and more conspicuous munities of cave animals are thus very unlike those on the surface. Many cave species eat rotting organisms. Extinctions of limestone-restricted species as a result of economic development have organic material and the other organisms that feed on it. Some cave species, such as bats and already been recorded, and the status of other species is perilous. swiftlets (small, insectivorous birds), echolocate to hunt their prey; they live in caves during the day and venture out at night to feed on insects. Given such unusual conditions, it is not surprising China has one of the largest extents of cavernous limestone areas in the world, mainly in the that cave biodiversity is highly characteristic and restricted in range. southern provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Guangdong, yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing and hubei. Despite this, there is very little information—and even less management—with which to conserve Cave animals are evolutionarily adapted to their environment. Their eyes and pigment (not needed the region’s cave life. Since 2005, during the preparation phase of the Guangxi Integrated Forestry in the dark) are typically either absent or minimal. Their wings are no longer functional, all their Development and Conservation Project and for the first three years of its implementation, a series body parts tend to be slender, their lifespans have increased dramatically, and their reproductive of biodiversity surveys has been conducted in the caves of Guangxi in an attempt to document potential has decreased. In the high humidity of caves, most species have lost their ability to and demonstrate their environmental significance and promote their conservation. These surveys Species, Guangxi Caves, Louis Deharveng 73 are by no means complete, but already it seems that the project is discovering things of truly global proportions, and that Guangxi—even if its animals are small and not exactly pretty—is incontest- ably one of the richest areas on Earth for cave biodiversity. A combined team from the Paris Museum of Natural history and the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou has been leading the collecting efforts, and a multinational team of taxonomists is working its way through the many specimens to identify the animals found. A rough and conservative estimate is that 117 new species have been collected in the surveys, exceeding the count of any previous expedition in Southeast Asia; sadly, for some groups of species, there is no longer anyone alive who can help with identifications. With the publication of these species’ descriptions, Guangxi has become the world’s major source of new cave animals. The new animals include blind, non-sucking leeches; de-pigmented flatworms; various new pseudoscorpions; and a palpigrade specimen, a minute and fragile relative of spiders— it is white, eyeless and rare (this was the first one ever recorded from a Chinese cave, and only the second recorded for all of China). At least five new species and two new families of harvestmen (“Daddy Longlegs�) were also recorded, along with highly diverse detritus-eating cave millipedes, numerous species of springtails, cave crickets, blind cave fish, and at least six new species of wood- lice (two are from the genus in the same cave, but one species is terrestrial and the other aquatic, an interesting evolutionary phenomenon). The most remarkable cave insects are trechine beetles, which have become highly diverse and extremely modified, most notably with long “necks.� At least five species and one genus new to science have been discovered so far. The surveys have also revealed a remarkable new aquatic genus of beetle, totally blind, collected as a single specimen. It is only the second aquatic cave beetle discovered in China, and certainly the more cave-adapted. These are just a few of the vast diversity of cave-dwelling species to be discovered in Guangxi, an indication of how much more will be found. While the knowledge of Guangxi caves has improved enormously as a result of the project, there are still hundreds of caves that have not been examined—and doubtless hundreds, perhaps thousands, of undescribed cave animals awaiting discovery while facing a range of threats. The global awareness of the Guangxi caves is soon to be significantly increased through project activities; a growing appre- ciation of natural caves and all the rich, previously unknown diversity of their curious inhabitants will likely follow. Many of the caves lie within nature reserves such as Mulun, but many do not have any formal protection. Among the project’s final tasks is the preparation of guidelines for the management of cave biodiversity. These will be discussed with government agencies in the position of having the greatest impact on the guidelines, with the hope that they will be adopted and used. Species, Guangxi Caves, Louis Deharveng 74 76 EURASIAN OTTER roMANIA ( L u t ra Lutra) near threatened Global EnvironmEnt Facility ProjEct: strengthening romania’s national Protected In the last two years, the project-park team discovered the presence of the area system by Demonstrating Public-Private Partnership in maramures nature Park Eurasian otter on three tributaries and the main stream of the Viseu River, ProjEct rEPort by: adriana Dinu & nik sekhran where it had not been reported in decades. aGEncy: United nations Development Programme PartnErs: Government of romania; national Forest agency; maramures county council; Ecological society of maramures; Proviseu Foundation E uropean scurvy grass (Cochlearia borzaeana) is a glacier relict endemic to the northern The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), an aquatic mammal species, requires strict protection under Euro- group of Romanian Carpathian Mountains, which run through both Maramures and Su- pean regulation; according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List ceava Counties. This flowering plant genus was once popular among sailors who returned of 2009, the species is Near Threatened.39 Its presence in the park area was generally known before home sick with scurvy—hence its name.38 Twenty years before the Maramures Mountains the project, but had not been precisely located. Being aquatic, the species is particularly susceptible Nature Park (MMNP) was established, two locations within this region known to carry European to degradation or alteration of the water bodies in which it dwells.40 This habitat degradation is scurvy grasses were set up as protected areas with a size of five hectares. the primary threat facing the population of Eurasian otters in the MMNP. The project engages in a number of management activities that have improved the species’ habitat by: Two decades later, this GEF-funded and UNDP-implemented project zoned these areas as part of the “core area� of the MMNP, in which all human activities are forbidden. Both populations were • reducing sawdust deposits on riverbanks by promoting the diversion of sawdust for use as fuel determined to be in good condition when assessed in the summer of 2008; a second flowering for heating stations; was noticed in August of that year, suggesting the scurvy grass to be in good health—and further demonstrates that these efforts to implement PAs around the globe can assist in the protection of • elaborating a set of rules—included in the Tisa Basin Management Plan—related to riverbank not only the many species cited within this book but the vast diversity of life found within each vegetation and mineral sediments exploitation (gravel extraction) on the Viseu River lower one of these—now protected—bioregions. Additionally, at about one kilometer from the two loca- course (10-12 km long); and tions, project staff noticed the presence of another two growths of scurvy grass on a slope where forest exploitation had ceased thanks to the project’s intervention. A year later, these new growths • including the species’ watercourse in the MMNP’s core and sustainable management areas of scurvy grass were determined to be expanding. In other words, the conservation measures and covering part of its habitat in the Maramures Mountains Natura 2000 site. supported by the project—specifically, the core area status of the scurvy grass habitat—ensure not only the survival of European scurvy grass in Maramures Mountains, but the species’ expansion. Otter, North Atlantic, Norway, Staffan Widstrand, Wild Wonders of Europe 77 In the last two years, the project-park team discovered the presence of the Eurasian otter on the main stream and three tributaries of the Viseu River, where it had not been reported in decades. Its presence there can be attributed to the improved water quality and larger fish populations brought about by the project’s management activities. The project chose the Eurasian otter (rather than a fish species) as an indicator of water quality because it is easy to monitor and ecologically relevant. Another endangered species, the Danube salmon (Hucho hucho), which is endemic to the Danube region, has found its last refuge in Maramures Park. This species is also consid- ered an indicator of water quality, however the observation and monitoring of its population is rather difficult. The project has also positively impacted other species of the Viseu River: the bullhead (Cottus gobio), the Balkan golden loach (Sabanejewia balcanica), and the spirlin (Alburnoides bipunctatus). This Page: Otters, Scotland, Laurie Campbell, Wild Wonders of Europe Photos Right: Otters, River Tweed, Northumberland, England, Laurie Campbell, Wild Wonders of Europe 78 This Page: Otter, River Tweed, Scotland, Laurie Campbell, Wild Wonders of Europe Photo Right: Otter Eating Fish, part of Karanambu Otter Trust, Pete Oxford, iLCP 80 LATIN AMERICA MagellaniC penguin argentina near threatened gal�pagoS giant tortoiSe eCuador VulneraBle golden lion taMarin BraZil endangered ChaCoan peCC ary paraguay endangered hyaCinth MaC aw paraguay endangered giant arMadillo paraguay VulneraBle Hyacinth Macaw, Pantanal Wetland, Brazil, Luciano Candisani, iLCP 84 MAGELLANIC PENGUIN ArgENtINA ( S p h e nis cus m agellanicus) near threatened Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: consolidation and implementation of the Magellanic penguins eat small fish, crustaceans, krill, and squid, and can Patagonian coastal Zone management Program and biodiversity conservation swim at speeds of up to fifteen miles per hour when pursuing prey. ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick, Helen coles de negret & nik sekhran aGEncy: United nations Development Programme PartnErs: Wildlife conservation society; Government of argentina; Fundación Patagonia natural T he magellanic penguin—named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who first The Argentine Patagonia is one of the richest, most highly productive, temperate marine ecosystems spotted the birds in 152041—makes its home along the coastlines of South America, on in the world. Characterized by high biomass and a relatively high percentage of endemic species, both the Atlantic and Pacific shores. Described as “global sentinels for the state of our the region provides breeding and feeding sites for many other species of global importance. This environment,�42 by Dr. Dee Boersma, Chair in Conservation Science (University of high coastal productivity and diversity is of great economic significance to Argentina. Patagonia has Washington and Wildlife Conservation Society) and one of the world’s most dedicated researchers one of the world’s largest continental and maritime zones, with more than 1 million km2 supporting of this beleaguered species, these seabirds winter off the coast of Brazil, Uruguay and northern one of the fastest growing commercial high-seas fisheries. Argentina. Like all penguins, magellanic penguins have tightly packed feathers and fat to keep them insulated from the cold and comfortable in the heat. To cool off during the hot days of the South To address the threats facing the biodiversity of this region, UNDP implemented the project American summer, they shed feathers around their bill. When they get too hot, they can pant like “Consolidation and Implementation of the Patagonian Coastal Zone Management Program and dogs and stand with their flippers extended to catch a breeze. They also nest under the shade of Biodiversity Conservation� with GEF support. The project has worked to strengthen the more than bushes or in cool burrows. 35 coastal protected areas (PAs) in the region through increased management effectiveness. One of these PAs, Punto Tombo, protects the largest magellanic penguin breeding colonies in the world. Magellanic penguins can swim at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour when pursuing prey. They are By targeting this and other important habitats, the project has worked to ensure that the magellanic noisy and can bray like donkeys; the males’ loud calls to attract females can be heard for miles penguin population in the region remains stable at one million pairs. up and down the coast. During breeding season, these medium-sized birds gather in colonies as large as 400,000.43 They are the only penguins to breed on the Patagonian mainland, and faithfully In 2008, the project and its partners—WCS and Fundación Patagonia Natural—helped to establish return to the same location year after year. The penguins, which live up to 30 years in the wild, a new coastal marine park, the Patagonia Astral, which is located in Golfo San Jorge in Chubut can dive up to 240 feet (80 meters) and hold their breath for four minutes.44 Province and covers approximately 647 km2 of coastal waters and nearby islands along almost 160 km of shoreline. Patagonia Astral was the first protected area in Argentina that is specifically These strong, highly athletic swimmers are no match, however, for the vast, encroaching com- designed to safeguard not only onshore breeding colonies but also areas of ocean where wildlife mercial fishing industry. While the coastline is largely undeveloped, its wildlife and biodiversity feed at sea. WCS researchers, including Dr. Boersma, working with Fundación Patagonia Natural, has been increasingly threatened by commercial fishing. Nets can entangle birds as they feed. Oil provided data critical to the development of the strategic plan to protect the regional wildlife and pollution from tankers transporting petroleum from southern Patagonia to Buenos Aires, coupled ensure that the park’s boundaries would include both onshore areas and adjacent waters. with expanding offshore oil drilling, has become increasingly dangerous, claiming the lives of over 41,000 birds each year through chronic oil spills at sea (reported between 1983 and 199045 ). Adult Magellanic Penguin, The Falkland Islands, UK, Jenny E. Ross, iLCP 85 This new PA protects half a million penguins of all varieties, along with several species of rare seabirds and the region’s only population of South American fur seals. The PA “comes in the nick of time for many species that are threatened by the region’s fishing and energy industries,� says Dr. Guillermo harris, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Argen- tina Program. With this project’s work conclud- ing in 2010, UNDP-GEF is in the process of creating a new project that will work to expand coastal protected areas to cover the feeding grounds of the species. This new project will increase the protected habitat for marine mammals and birds from 18,000 km2 to 34,900 km2, a 94 percent increase. This increased coverage includes feeding areas of the magel- lanic penguins (currently unprotected) and will protect 20 percent of their feeding grounds. Thus, the work to protect this creature and its habitat will continue into the future. This Page: Magellanic Penguin, Staffan Widstrand, iLCP Following Page: Magellanic Penguins, Falkland Islands, Kevin Schafer, iLCP Photo Left: Magellanic Penguin, Falkland Islands, Suzi Eszterhas, iLCP 90 GAL�PAGOS GIANT TORTOISE E Q uA D o r ( Ch e lonoidis nig ra) VulneraBle Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: integrated Program for the control During a four year interval, goats had transformed the densely forested of introduced species in the Galápagos archipelago landscape—a key habitat for the largest remaining population of ProjEct rEPort: Helen coles de negret & nik sekhran the giant Galápagos tortoise—into a desert of bleached tree trunks aGEncy: United nations Development Programme and dry grasslands. PartnErs: Government of Ecuador; Government of Germany; UsaiD; WWF; ci; charles Darwin Foundation; Galápagos national institute (inGala); UnEsco; UnF; inter-institutional committees for the control and management of introduced species; Ecuadorian service for agriculture and livestock; iaDb; aEci P robably the best-known endemic species in the Galápagos Archipelago is the giant invasive species threats, guard against future “bio-invasion� by developing a total-control framework tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra). In fact, the name Galápagos originated from the Spanish for invasives, and build technical skills for different invasive species management models. word “saddle,� after the saddle-backed tortoises. A Galápagos giant tortoise may weigh up to 250 kilograms and measure 150 centimeters over the curve of its carapace. At This project included a number of pilots for control and eradication of different invasive species. one time, there were likely 14 sub-species of this tortoise, though only 10 now remain. Five are One pilot focused on building capacities for management of invasives using the elimination of the found on the main volcanoes on Isabela Island; in fact the island’s northern region is home to feral goat population on northern Isabela Island. This location was chosen due to its biodiversity nearly half of the remaining populations of this endemic and charismatic species. representation, ecological integrity and conservation value. Isabela is the largest island in the Galápagos and contains the greatest representation of the archipelago’s endemic biodiversity. Given In the highlands of Alcedo volcano, in northern Isabela, large groups of giant tortoises can be its size and relative isolation from southern Isabela (due to the Perry Isthmus), northern Isabela found in rain-formed pools or dew ponds shaped by sea mist and drizzle dripping off the trees. can be considered the largest relatively undisturbed landmass in the Galápagos archipelago. Its Giant tortoises also have considerable water storage abilities and commonly gather by shaded protection, therefore, is fundamental to protecting the conservation values of the Galápagos overall. ponds, wallowing in the mud in the highlands of some islands. In recent decades, large popula- tions of feral goats have been found here; their presence is competitive with native tortoises and The feral goat population, first observed in small numbers in the south of northern Isabela in the iguanas, making food less available and destroying native vegetation, the loss of which reduces early 1970s, had, by the mid-1990s, exploded to an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 goats. The extent shade areas as well as the surrounding pools tortoises prefer. of damage caused by these wild grazers on Isabela Island was first documented by internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer Tui de Roy. her images captured on the rim of Alcedo (northern This UNDP-implemented and GEF-funded project has made significant impacts by addressing what Isabela’s southernmost volcano) in 1995 were compared to those taken in 1991. During this four- is considered the central threat to the biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands: invasive alien species year interval, goats had transformed the densely forested landscape—a key habitat for the largest introduced, either deliberately or accidentally, to previously pristine areas of the Galápagos. These remaining population of the giant Galápagos tortoise—into a desert of bleached tree trunks and dry non-native species thrive under local conditions, propagate naturally, and invade local ecosystems. grasslands. At the project start, an estimated 40 to 60 percent of northern Isabela’s suitable goat Once established, they threaten evolutionary processes and biodiversity by competing with, habitat remained free of goat populations. In other words, the potential for further damage on the displacing, predating and parasitizing native and endemic species. The project has empowered island was very high; an eradication campaign was needed to prevent additional degradation of Ecuadorian institutions charged with conserving the Islands to proactively (and adaptively) manage Isabela’s native ecosystems. Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Laman, iLCP 91 Elimination of the goat population was achieved by March 2006; the largest mega-fauna eradica- tion operation on record worldwide. An independent expert described the work as “a spectacular conservation achievement.� Eradicating goats from northern Isabela Island has had great benefits in terms of protecting native and endemic species, rare populations, undisturbed ecosystems and non-human induced evolutionary processes. The Galápagos National Park Service and Charles Darwin Foundation report good regeneration of native vegetation on northern Isabela following the goat eradication. Monitoring data also indicate that native vegetation is responding well to goat removal and that there is increased giant tortoise recruitment in this important landscape. Photo Left: Galápagos Giant tortoise, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Tim Laman, iLCP Photo Above: Tartaruga Gigante, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, Luciano Candisani, iLCP 92 Photo Right: Giant Tortoise Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP This Page: Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Galápagos Islands, Thomas D. Mangelsen, iLCP Photo Right: Alcedo giant tortoise, Tui De Roy, iLCP 96 GOLDEN LION TAMARIN BrAzIL ( L e o n topithecus ro salia) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Private natural Heritage reserves Project The goal is that by 2025 there will be a minimum viable population ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick of 2,000 wild golden lion tamarins naturally evolving on 25,000 hectares aGEncy: World bank of protected and connected habitat. PartnErs: critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; associação mico-leão-Dourado (amlD) R escuing the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) from extinction began in the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, each with its own vast network of agriculture, ranching, industry 1960s as a story of zoological science—a study in genetic diversity and demographics. and accelerated commercial growth—most of the forest has been lost, and it looked as though Over the next 30 years, it evolved into an epic tale of habitat conservation. The tamarin, the tamarin would be lost along with it. By the 1970s, the golden lion tamarin was down to as few both wild and strikingly elegant, became a flagship species for southeastern Brazil, a as 250 individuals in the wild and Critically Endangered according to the International Union for symbol of vitality and hope in the pursuit of environmental protection against habitat and species Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. loss all across its native region. Indeed, only a staggeringly low 2 percent47 of the tamarins’ now highly fragmented former natural Known for its impressive reddish-gold mane, the golden lion tamarin was first described to the habitat remains. The other 98 percent has become uninhabitable, not only for the tamarins but European world by Antonio Pigefetta, shipmate of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and for a host of other species in these regions. Brazilians, in conjunction with project partners, have chronicler of Magellan’s famous voyage, as “beautiful simian-like cats similar to a small lion.�46 sought alternative solutions to carving out permanent areas for this endangered species. Together The tamarin’s picture is on the 20 Real banknote of Brazil. Thousands of Brazilians have seen or they created the Private Natural heritage Reserves (RPPN), an organization which created private heard media messages about it, hundreds of teachers and families have been trained in envi- conservation areas reserved in perpetuity. The Brazilian government formally recognizes RPPNs as ronmental education and agricultural management practices, and smaller nongovernmental a method for private landowners to permanently protect important pieces of their land in exchange organizations in the Serra do Mar Corridor have implemented 30 projects specifically aimed at for property tax exemptions. Silva Jardim, a municipality in the heart of golden lion tamarin the tamarin’s preservation. Organizations such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Critical territory, has the largest number of RPPNs in the country, and, overall, there are more than 100 Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado (the Golden Lion private ranches and settlements participating in landscape management, protection and restora- Tamarin Association, or AMLD) became involved in the tamarin’s protection, and between 2002 tion. Furthermore, about 30 percent of Silva Jardim’s private ranches have converted at least some and 2011, CEPF funding, in the form of five separate grants, totaled approximately $1.1 million. element of their operation from agriculture or livestock to ecotourism or conservation. Since the late 1970s, with RPPNs and improved management in public protected areas, the habitat area with Golden lion tamarins are a species of small monkey living in the heart of the Serra do Mar strict protection for tamarins has increased by 140 percent. Corridor, a biodiversity hotspot in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. They weigh about two pounds and eat insects, fruits, nectar and tree sap. Their native lowland coastal rainforests once contained The most significant current effort in the Serra do Mar is the strengthening of formally recognized miles of closed-in canopies and tangles of vines—lofty arboreal pathways through which these protected area “mosaics,� which are contiguous pieces of land falling under some type of protec- long-fingered primates could endlessly swing. Logging, agriculture and industry have changed all tion and coordinated management. Mosaics can include separate plots of federal, state, municipal this. Sandwiched between two of the largest industrial metropolises of all of South America— and private land, all under differing levels of protection; when managed in a coordinated fashion, Golden lion tamarin, Brazil, Kevin Schafer, iLCP 97 however, these plots create a conservation corridor that still allows for sustainable economic development in a regional context. The project is now participating in the latest phase of strategic planning for the long-term conservation of this rare primate. As of 2010, the project is actively supporting the strength- ening of four mosaics in the region, including the golden lion tamarin mosaic, with 16 contiguous protected areas. Groups like AMLD, the Brazilian govern- ment’s Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, and the more than 35 international and national partners and donors that have joined this effort over the years can now see their goal achieved. Today, the tamarin population stands at 1,600 monkeys, thanks largely to the reintroduction of captive-born individuals and translocation of wild populations. The reintroduced popula- tion currently represents more than half of the wild population; the goal is that by 2025 there will be a minimum viable population of 2,000 wild golden lion tamarins naturally evolving on 25,000 hectares of protected and connected habitat. The support that the GEF is offering today to the land management structures of mosaics is ensuring the long-term viability of this animal, seemingly now on its way to recovery. Photo above: Golden Lion Tamarin, Brazil, Art Wolfe, iLCP Photo Right: Golden Lion Tamarin, Jenny E. Ross, iLCP 98 100 ChACOAN PECCARY PA r A g uAY ( Ca t agonus wagneri) The chacoan peccary, listed as Endangered in the IUCN Redlist, is a pig-like ungulate with a brownish, bristly coat. Endemic to the dry Chaco of western endangered Paraguay and parts of Argentina and Bolivia, the chacoan peccary has fragmented populations that are believed to be declining in size. hYACINTh MACAW ( An o dor hynchus hyacinth inus) A cobalt blue parrot with a black beak and yellow facial markings, the Hyacinth Macaws prefers the fruit of certain locally endemic palms as its endangered primary source of food. GIANT ARMADILLO Native to a number of countries in South America, including Paraguay, ( P ri o dontes m ax imus) the giant armadillo is threatened primarily by subsistence hunting and loss of its habitat due to deforestation. VulneraBle P Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Paraguayan Wildlands Protection initiative araguay has an especially rich biological heritage that includes a host of globally ProjEct rEPort by: Helen coles de negret & nik sekhran significant—and now well-conserved—eco-regions, such as the newly established Chaco, aGEncy: United nations Development Programme Pantanal, Cerrado and interior Atlantic Forest protected areas (PAs). Once entirely isolated, PartnErs: Government of Paraguay; Un Fao; Debt for nature swap; alter vida; these territories are important repositories for numerous globally threatened species, Guyra Paraguay; WWF; Environmental law and Economics institute; Fundación jose including the chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri), the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacin- cardjin; ica/iDrc bD; aEci bD; Wilac bD; secretary of the Environment thinus) and the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus). Lying at the heart of the floristically diverse La Plata River Basin, Paraguay is also a center of distribution for flora (up to 13,000 species of vascular plants) paralleled by great faunal richness, with an estimated 167 species of mammals, 672 to 700 bird species, 46 amphibians, 100 reptiles, and possibly as many as 100,000 species of invertebrates. The chacoan peccary, listed as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is a pig-like ungulate with a brownish, bristly coat. Endemic to the dry Chaco of western Paraguay and parts of Argentina and Bolivia, the Chacoan peccary has fragmented popula- tions that are believed to be declining in size. A host of threats face this species, including hunting, disease and habitat destruction. Though illegal in Paraguay, killing the peccary for meat goes on with little fear of legal ramification. Crop planting is increasing in the dry forests where they roam, supplanting their habitat and further compromising their ability to recover.48 Chacoan Peccary, Luiz Claudio Marigo, naturepl.com 101 A cobalt blue parrot with a black beak and yellow facial markings, the hyacinth macaw primarily eats the fruit of certain locally endemic palms. This macaw’s presumed decline—noted throughout its habitat in Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil—can be attributed to the cage-bird trade as well as to habitat loss from cattle-ranching, agriculture and fire.49 The giant armadillo, Red Listed as Vulnerable, is naturally rare, with a density of approximately six individuals per 10,000 hectares. Native to a number of countries in South America, including Paraguay, the giant armadillo is threatened primarily by subsistence hunting and loss of its habitat due to deforestation.50 This project seeks to establish conservation management within four protected areas (PAs). By design, each is located in one of four rich, biologically diverse eco-regions: a forest, a grasslands complex, an ecotone (transition area between ecosystems) and a savannah. By stopping threats to native habitats, the project aims to safeguard sizeable global conservation values and support the potential survival of the endangered species that reside there. At the outset of the project, much of the country’s wild lands remained in relatively pristine condition, and there was a clear potential to protect large, contiguous blocks of land. The full implementation of Paraguay’s National System of Protected Areas master plan, however, first developed in 1995, had been hindered by a number of issues, including the PAs remote locations, limited funding, lack of management planning and steady communication gaps. This project was designed to support Paraguay in overcoming these barriers, but has been plagued by interruptions, mainly due to continual changes in the national government. Despite the difficulties, the project has made specific advances. At the institutional level, the project focused largely on the governance of the four target PAs, and this is where most advances have occurred. All four parks have been formally decreed and gazetted. With support from the project, the government has started paying for the expropriation of properties to secure land tenure of one PA (US$20 million), which is a milestone in the history of PA conservation in Paraguay. The project has also brought about a closer alignment between indigenous groups and environmental authorities at the national level. Other project activities have included strengthen- ing park management functions (planning, enforcement, monitoring and assessment); training in conservation methods and values; and supporting buffer areas to protect critical habitats and maintain biological corridors with neighboring parks. Despite shortcomings in a complex political and socio-economic context, this project has had a measureable impact on improving the management of four globally important PAs that pro- vide habitat for the Chacoan peccary, the hyacinth macaw, the giant armadillo and many other significant species. The improved management of these PAs should have a positive impact on these species by preventing further destruction of their habitat and limiting the illegal hunting and capture of its resident wildlife. Photo Above & Right: Hyacinth Macaw, Brazil, Staffan Widstrand, iLCP 102 Photo Left: Hyacinth Macaw, Brazil, Roy Toft, iLCP Photo Right: Hyacinth Macaw, Pantanal, Brazil, Staffan Widstrand, iLCP Photo Left: Giant Armadillo, Tatu Carreta, Chaco, Argentina, Gabriel Rojo, naturepl.com Photo Above: Giant Armadillo, Emas National Park, Brazil, Carly Vynne SOUThEAST ASIA elegant SunBird indoneSia endangered lion-tailed MaC aque india endangered giant iBiS CaMBodia CritiCally endangered Giant Ibis, Allan Michaud 110 ELEGANT SUNBIRD INDoNESIA ( Ae t h opyga duyvenbodei) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: conservation of Key Forests in the Sangihe is covered with long-established mixed plantations of fruit trees, sangihe-talaud islands but there are 800 hectares of mixed primary and old secondary forest on ProjEct rEPort by: tony Whitten the steep upper slopes of the dominant (though extinct) volcano, Mount aGEncy: World bank Sahendaruman. PartnEr: burung indonesia (birdlife international affiliate for indonesia) B ack in 1978, the report author, a biologist with many years of experience living and Sangihe shrike-thrush (Colluricincla sanghirensis) and Sangihe white-eye (Zosterops nehrkorni)— working in Indonesia, and a few colleagues wrote a paper in the very first issue of plus two endangered species that are also endemic to the island: Sangihe hanging parrot (Loriculus what became one of the most popular journals in their field, Conservation Biology. catamene) and elegant sunbird (Aethopyga duyvenbodei). All three of the critical species are The article suggested that the pale-blue, long-whiskered caerulean paradise-flycatcher confined to the forest, making Sangihe a great place for birdwatchers to add to their “life lists� of (Eutrichomyias rowleyi) was likely extinct. The species was known from a single specimen caught rare birds; a small tourism industry with cozy home stays developed. in 1873 on Sangihe Island, a small island off Sulawesi in the far north of Indonesia, just south of the Philippines. More recent efforts to find the bird had been unsuccessful and the remaining area In June 1998, the caerulean paradise-flycatcher was sighted and given the local name of burung of suitable habitat was tiny. The possible extinction of some other Sulawesi endemic birds and niu, to honor the local farmer, Pak Niu, who first spotted it. In 2001, BirdLife International, fishes was also proposed. None of the species concerned was listed on the famous Red List of together with the World Bank, instigated a GEF-supported, five-year project for Sangihe and the threatened species and none was protected. As it happened, a painting of the specimen by article neighboring Talaud Islands, which also had threatened endemic bird species. The report author, co-author Stephen Nash graced the cover of that issue as well. thrilled that his extinction prediction had been proven wrong, took over the management of the project for its final two to three years. By then, Action Sampiri had morphed into an active local Sangihe is covered with long-established mixed plantations of fruit trees, but there are 800 hect- nongovernmental organization (NGO), yayasan Sampiri, and the project’s awareness-building ares of mixed primary and old secondary forest on the steep upper slopes of the dominant (though activities were contracted out to them. The objectives of the project were to strengthen protection extinct) volcano, Mount Sahendaruman. This forest was granted “protection forest� status in 1994, and improve management of natural forests and biodiversity on Sangihe-Talaud Islands; strengthen to safeguard its watershed values. The small area of remaining forest was vulnerable to further awareness, commitment and capacity for forest and wildlife conservation at the local level; and clearance for subsistence cultivation and for local timber. monitor baselines and conservation assessments. The fauna of Sangihe started to get some attention in 1995, when a student expedition—Action It might be thought that raising the status of the protection forest to a wildlife sanctuary or nature Sampiri, from the University of york in the United Kingdom—together with the local Universitas reserve would be a positive step. however, such designations would put forest management under Sam Ratulangi, began doing bird surveys and designing a community-based conservation educa- the control of a distant central government, whereas protection forests are under the authority tion program. The slopes of Sahendaruman are particularly notable because they support no fewer of the local district head, and local solutions for local problems could be said to be more viable. than three Critically Endangered species found nowhere else—caerulean paradise-flycatcher, Beyond any biodiversity-based argument, there is a strong local justification for the conservation Elegant Sunbird, Markus Lagerqvist 111 of the forest on Mount Sahendaruman, given its role in maintaining water quality and quantity for the people living below it and for the hydropower plant in the foothills, as well as its function providing some measure of local protection against flooding and landslides. A public awareness program has been implemented addressing the social and cultural context in which conservation management is embedded. The conservation education campaign employed social marketing techniques to build awareness and pride in the island’s unique biodiversity, as well as in the importance of forest resources, and was successful at significantly increasing levels of public and government support for local conservation activities and future initiatives. The island’s churches were very active in preaching on the need to conserve the remnants of the natural forests and their threatened denizens as an expression of religious faith. During its five-year life, the project successfully stabilized the forest area. Some 250 hectares were lost between 1999 and 2003 (before the project), but only 31 were lost between 2004 and 2005 and only 0.2 in 2006. Communities developed local regulations for the cutting of forest trees, and the loss showed a marked reduction, particularly following the well-publicized arrest and sentenc- ing of four illegal loggers. Although surveying the birds in such steep and rough country is fraught with problems, it is possible to report that there have been no significant declines in populations of the key indicator bird species. Despite the lack of a formal management body for the area, measures of management effectiveness of the protection forest showed a considerable strengthening. District-wide regulations were insti- tuted. Local government provided the budget to increase the work with surrounding villages. Some of these villages spontaneously formed an inter-community forest protection alliance, Elung Banua, which enabled them to act on common problems and support each other’s efforts, such as lobbying local government to enforce environmental crimes and to stop illegal gold mining. This was one of the notable successes of the project, and provided the basis for a forest protection network to spread across Sangihe as more villages developed conservation regulations. In addition, church groups, youth organizations, the state electricity company, Elung Banua, and local government were all involved in tree-planting activities, with the local government shoulder- ing most of the costs. (It became clear, however, that local government officials still lack ecological understanding, as non-native mahogany trees were planted in the primary forest, but this was brought to their attention and the practice has apparently halted.) The cover of the 20th-anniversary issue of Conservation Biology showed the cover of the first issue—with one joyful addition: an inset of the living bird and an internal article on the turn of fate for the Sangihe birds. It would be foolish to think that a single five-year project can magically remove all threats and offer a guarantee of sustained protection, but the caerulean paradise-flycatcher and its fellow Critically Endangered species of Sangihe now have a fighting chance of survival. 112 Volcano eruption, Sangihe Talaud Island, Sulawesi Indonesia, Jurgen Freund 114 LION-TAILED MACAQUE INDIA ( M a caca s ilenus) endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: conservation of the lion-tailed macaque Lion-tailed macaque is endemic to the Western Ghats. Its selective feeding ProjEct rEPort by: balachandra Hegde habitats and the seasonality of many of its preferred food items, combined aGEncy: World bank with late maturity and a long inter-birth period, make the species intrinsically PartnErs: critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; l’agence Française de Développement; rare in the wild. conservation international; Government of japan; the john D. and catherine t. macarthur Foundation I t is easy to find the group,� says Dr. Kumara, “the animals are always on the move.� As he hunting. Of these, habitat fragmentation is particularly insidious. To begin with, this species is con- speaks, a dark shape descends through the branches overhead and a curious face, framed by tained exclusively within its evergreen rainforest. If a macaque troop becomes restricted to a small a long mane of silver hair, appears among the leaves. “Don’t be fooled by the mane,� he says, fragment of this forest, the food plants they depend on during a certain season may simply not be “both the males and the females have that. This is actually a female. The male has a larger tuft available. Also, because female macaques prefer to mate with males from outside their troop, they on the end of its tail.� may not be able to reach potential mates. It is this tuft that gives the species its name, lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus). Dr. h. N. Kumara One area that shows an opposite trend is the forest region of Sirsi and honnavar divisions, in the and his research assistant, K. Santosh, have been studying the lion-tailed macaques in order to northwest of India’s Karnataka state. When these forests were brought to the attention of research- understand their feeding ecology. Their focus is on a specific troop of a species that, overall, is ers in 2002, scientists were surprised to discover that the forests supported the world’s largest on the decline. Best guess is that there are approximately 3,500 individuals remaining today; even population of lion-tailed macaque; around 650 individuals in 32 troops. They were even more within protected areas, the species has declined or disappeared from several locations over the surprised to learn from local people that, 20 years earlier, fewer than six troops had inhabited this last decade. Through Dr. Kumara’s research, it’s been discovered that the lion-tailed macaques, contiguous tract of habitat. “The key to these animals’ survival,� explains Kumara, “is that the local as specialist feeders, spend a lot of time moving around the forest in search of their preferred food people have a taboo about hunting primates.� items. “We have found that they spend about 60 percent of their waking time travelling and that 80 percent of their food is plants,� notes Kumara. This taboo, however, is not shared by outsiders, who come to the forests to hunt lion-tailed macaques and other species. To afford better protection to the lion-tailed macaques of Sirsi- Scientific data such as these greatly assist in understanding the survival patterns of this endangered honnavar, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is supporting efforts to designate the species and thus better equip conservation organizations to develop more successful species currently unprotected forests as a “Conservation Reserve.� protection strategies. A fundamental goal of the project is to ensure that local communities are engaged in biodiversity The lion-tailed macaque is endemic to the Western Ghats. Its selective feeding habitats and the conservation. CEPF grants go directly to civil society groups, to build this vital constituency for seasonality of many of its preferred food items, combined with late maturity to adulthood and a conservation alongside government partners. This idea had started long back, but there had never long period between births, make the species intrinsically rare in the wild. This natural rarity has been the opportunity to put it into action. The local population was not keen on total protection, been compounded by human-induced threats, including habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and which made the idea of a reserve so attractive. Lion-Tailed Macaque, Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP 115 The project prepared a proposal for a 24,000-hectare conservation reserve within the Sirsi-honnavar forests. With this, it ap- plied to the CEPF small-grant program in the Western Ghats. The grant allowed the project to bring in experts to prepare the protected area proposal, and in 2009 all the necessary documentation was submitted to the principle chief conservator of forests (wildlife) for Karnataka State. The financing was granted, as was the directive to research whether there was a resource conflict between the local communities and the macaques for non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The preliminary results indicate the answer to be “no�; how- ever, some trees that the macaques eat in other areas have been over-exploited to the point of disappearance. “So far, we have only found one food species, Garcinia gummi-gutta, used by the macaques, that is also an NTFP for humans,� says Kumara, “but it makes up only four percent of their diet.� The project’s research concerning the impacts of NTFP collection on the lion-tailed macaque population will continue. Based on new find- ings, a strategy will be developed for sustain- able harvest of NTFPs that can be adopted by the joint forest management committees established for the future conservation reserve. The hope is that the designation process can be completed by the end of 2010, thereby extending protection to the largest population of a flagship species of the Western Ghats. This Page & Middle: Lion-Tailed Macaque, Sandesh Kadur, iLCP Photo Far Right: Lion-Tailed Macaque, Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP 116 118 GIANT IBIS cAMBoDIA ( Th a um atibis gigan tea) CritiCally endangered Global EnvironmEnt Facilit y ProjEct: Establishing conservation areas Now Cambodia’s national bird, the giant ibis was once known from only a landscape management (calm) in the northern Plains handful of records throughout the 1900s. Thought to be extinct throughout ProjEct rEPort by: lisa Fitzpatrick Vietnam, it was recently re-discovered in considerable numbers in the aGEncy: United nations Development Programme Northern Plains and now stands at approximately 100 pairs. PartnErs: Wcs; royal Government of cambodia (ministry of Environment and ministry of agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries); Ponlok Khmer; Farmers for livelihood and Development; sansom mlu Prey I n the latter decades of the 20th century, while most of the world’s territories were being its presence in Cambodia; by 2006, WCS formed a partnership with UNDP-GEF as the executing mined for commercial development at historically unprecedented rates, a remote corner agency of the project “Establishing Conservation Areas Landscape Management� (CALM) in the of Cambodia remained ominously pristine. Up until the late 1990s, the Northern Plains—a Northern Plains. Thus began efforts to protect the dry dipterocarp forests of the Northern Plains sparsely populated province—served as the central base for the Khmer Rouge; the civil strife and its unprecedented collection of Critically Endangered bird species, including the giant ibis.55 of the times kept development there at bay. Ironic as it may be, decades of political instability and limited access served to protect this natural habitat, now the largest known and remaining intact Running, on average 102-106 cm and by far the world’s biggest member of the ibis family,56 the block of a deciduous dipterocarp forest, which once covered much of Indochina from Bangkok to giant ibis is thought to nest in trees (among other suspected habits of this rarely sighted bird). What Saigon.51 Though smaller now, this forest contains the most unique assemblage of large mammals is certain is that the ibis are natural waders and rely on seasonal pools, which in the past were cre- and waterbirds in the world, including the largest number of Critically Endangered and Endangered ated by the now much-depleted megafauna. Destruction of most of this contiguous, dry forest and species on record.52 Sixteen of its native species are on the International Union for Conservation the associated wetlands in Thailand and Vietnam occurred during the 20th century and led to its of Nature (IUCN) Red List, including two species of the rarest birds on Earth: the white-shouldered extinction in those territories—this same process is now underway in Cambodia.57 Indeed, many ibis and its cousin, the near-mythical giant ibis (Pseudibis gigantean). of these formerly widespread waterbirds are now contained in just a few small localities, making the species all the more vulnerable. The bird’s sharp decline was first due largely to habitat loss and Now Cambodia’s national bird,53 the giant ibis was once known from only a handful of records wetland drainage for agriculture, but in recent years trophy hunting has also become a significant throughout the 1900s. Thought to be extinct throughout Vietnam, it was recently re-discovered threat to its survival. The species appears to be very sensitive to human disturbance, as well, in considerable numbers in the Northern Plains and now stands at approximately 100 pairs.54 Diffi- particularly during the dry season when birds are concentrated around available waterholes. As cult to track and observe, much of their habits and living patterns remain a mystery. political stability—and people—return to these regions, there is much greater potential for access in these formerly remote areas. This is almost certainly one of the more significant threats going The final departure of the Khmer Rouge from this unique biome in 1998 opened the door for forward, rendering much apparently suitable habitat unusable for the ibis.58 biologists, other scientists and conservationists to enter. Once better known for the ancient temples of Angkor, this relatively untouched territory of open deciduous forests, grasslands and Cambodia has undergone a period of rapid legislative change with regard to the legal framework seasonal wetlands was quickly determined to be a landscape of national and international signifi- governing the ownership and management of land and natural resources, including forestry and cance in the field of conservation. In 2000, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) established wildlife. The country implemented its first land law in 2001, a new forestry law in 2002, and a Giant Ibis, Preah Vihear, Cambodia, Allan Michaud 119 series of sub-decrees on community forestry and wildlife protection in 2003. This provides, for the first time in Cambodian history, sufficient legislation to cope with issues of land tenure, commu- nity user rights and resource utilization, including wildlife.59 While the Cambodian government’s primary agenda is to alleviate poverty, it does consider part of the “backbone of good governance� to be the sustainable use of natural resources and sound environmental management. CALM, a GEF-funded and UNDP-implemented project, aims to assist the Cambodian Ministry of the Environment in realizing some of these national objectives. The project works to facilitate the mainstreaming of biodiversity into production sectors—including tourism, agriculture and forest- ry—in the region. Executed by WCS, the project employs many of their system-wide approaches to conservation, such as site-specific interventions and the “Living Landscape� project approach, which centers on preserving the ecological integrity of a large area of wilderness—a useful strategy for migratory species such as the giant ibis, which is heavily reliant on being able to disperse across the Northern Plains between wet and dry seasons. Additionally, the project assisted the Cambodian government in implementing a series of biologi- cal surveys across the country that identified the key areas most important to conserve.60 Its work on identifying these key conservation areas led to the establishment of Preah Vihear Protected Forest, which has a total area of 112,616 hectares. The project has also worked to improve the management of the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary, a large Cambodian protected area in which a significant number of giant ibises have been recorded. Through improved monitoring and more effective patrol activities, the project has helped to reduce illegal logging and illegal hunting. By making such improvements to the management of these threats to biodiversity, the project helps to protect the forests and wildlife of the Northern Plains—including the giant ibis. This project resulted from a concerted effort on the part of Cambodia’s Ministry of the Environ- ment, in conjunction with a $2.5-million grant from UNDP-GEF, as well as matching funds from the WCS. The future of the now rare giant ibis, and all such critically endangered species, is in the hands of these agencies and depends upon the establishment of additional—and effectively managed—protected area networks. This work shall carry on throughout the project’s duration, scheduled to continue through 2011. 120 AFTERWORD Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier President, International League of Conservation Photographers A book that celebrates the success of conservation interventions and the beauty of the image riveted the world’s imagination and inspired an entire nation to oppose a project that would natural world through the work of talented scientists, conservationists, and photogra- have dammed one of our planet’s most beautiful wild rivers. The image was effective because it was phers invites reflection on both purpose and aesthetics. We are thrilled to present just infused with a sense of purpose. It was crafted with emotion and underlain with urgency and grief. such a book. It was taken to show those who could not see, first-hand, the beauty, wildness, and incomparable value of what was about to be lost. In the same breath, however, recent catastrophic events bring us painful proof of a rapidly changing planet—the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, rampant wildfires in Russia, flooding in Pakistan, drought Photographs, and photographers, are powerful tools. They mold perceptions, awaken principles, across much of Africa. Faced with climate change, an imminent wave of extinction, and civil conflict and inspire. Photographers can choose to give their work a higher purpose and to invest it with over diminishing resources, we must focus our reflection on the relevance of nature photography itself. a fundamental value that goes far beyond the mere beauty of an image. Can images influence the fate of our planet’s natural wonders? Absolutely, yes. From document- One may argue that many, if not most, beautiful images are achieved in the absence of deeper pur- ing the first national parks in America to recording the recent establishment of an entirely new pose. I submit to you, however, that photographs born out of concern for the tragic loss of our natural protected area system in Gabon, photography has played a pivotal role in showcasing the beauty world carry an intrinsic emotional and spiritual weight that is projected onto those who view them. and uniqueness of wild places, the frailty and irreplaceability of endangered species, and the wonder of indigenous cultures. It has played a key role in shaping legislation to protect these The magnificent images in this book will no doubt capture the world’s attention. They will find their special landscapes and species. place in the hands of influential decision makers and, it is to be hoped, shape their perceptions. As these photographs are disseminated, they will become ambassadors for a world that is changing fast. In fact, images have always been used as powerful campaign symbols and calls to action. I am proud to head the group of photographers whose images are featured in this book. We hope that our work not only captures beautiful moments, but that it infects others with a sense of purpose Witness a single photograph made by the late Peter Dombrovskis as an anguished cry against the and beauty. It makes us proud to share this passion with the Global Environment Facility and its imminent loss of the mighty Gordon River and Franklin River valley in Tasmania, Australia; this many partners and affiliates around the world. Lion Tailed Macaque, India, Cristina G. Mittermeier, iLCP 121 ACK NOWLEDGMENTS Gustavo A.B. da Fonseca Team Leader, Natural Resources - Global Environment Facility Christian hofer Senior Communications Officer - Global Environment Facility Leo Viana Consultant, International year of Biodiversity - Global Environment Facility Nik Sekhran Principal Technical Adviser - Biodiversity and Ecosystems Environment & Energy Group, Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Adriana Dinu Regional Practice Leader - Environment and Energy United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Europe & the CIS Jessie Mee Consultant, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Biodiversity Midori Paxton Regional Technical Specialist - Ecosystems and Natural Resources United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Asia & the Pacific helen Coles de Negret Regional Technical Adviser - Biodiversity and Land Degradation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Latin America & Caribbean 122 STAFF CREDITS Cristina Mittermeier President, iLCP Abbie Williams Publisher, Managing Editor and Production Director Justin Black Director, iLCP Stefan Gutermuth Layout and Design Lisa Fitzpatrick Executive Editor/Writer Nicole Parizeau Editorial Consultant Sarah Claxton Image Management Jerry Dodrill Image Pre-Press Michelle Mercer Production Deborah Petersen Assistant to Publisher 123 REFERENCES Altrichter, M., Taber, A., Noss, A. & Maffei, L. 2008. 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From Remarkable Rescue To Restoration of Lost Habitat. Science Magazine, VOL 322, 10 October. 20 World Wildlife Fund, “Black rhinoceros.� 32 Ibid, Stone. 21 IUCN, 2010. 33 Ibid, Stone. Downloaded July 20, 2010. 34 Ibid, Stone. 22 Farnsworth, Andrew, “An Answer Is Blowin’ in the Wind,� Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 35 Ibid, Xiangcan. 23 Mallon, D.P. 2008. Saiga tatarica. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. 36 Kottelat, Maurice and Tony Whitten, Freshwater Biodiversity in Asia: with special reference to fish. World Bank, Technical Paper No. 343. 24 Birdlife International, 2009. Species factsheet: Haliaeetus pelagicus. 37 Whitten, Tony. Blog: Biodiversity Restoration in Lake Dianchi, China - Part 1. July 17, 2008. Downloaded February 19, 2010. 25 Ibid, Birdlife International. 38 Zip Code Zoo, Cochlearia (Genus). 26 Effective population size (Ne) is an estimator of the genetic size of the population, and is generally considered representative of the proportion of the total adult population (N) which 39 IUCN Red List. Lutra lutra. reproduces itself through offspring which themselves survive and reproduce. Ne is usually smaller than N, and based on four field demographic studies, it is roughly estimated at 50% 40 Ibid, IUCN Red List. (Nowell et al. 2007). The global snow leopard effective population size is suspected to be fewer than 2,500 (50% of the total population, or 2,040-3,295). IUCN Red List, 2010. 41 Wildlife Conservation Society, Saving Wildlife: Magellanic Penguin. Downloaded August 26, 2010. 27 Almaty, the name of the commercial capital of Kazakhstan, means “father of apples.� Some 42 Boersma, P. Dee, 2008. Penguins as Marine Sentinels. Bioscience Magazine July/August tulips also originated in this mountain range, and some species are endemic (because of this, / Vol. 58 No. 7. the Kyrgyz unrest during spring 2005 was called the “Tulip Revolution�). 128 43 Ibid, Wildlife Conservation Society. 56 Birdlife International, “Species factsheet: Thaumatibis gigantea.� 44 Boersma, W. Dee, 2010. Mission Blue, TED talk. TED, May 19, 2010. 57 Wildlife Extra, 2010. Critically Endangered Giant ibis spotted in Cambodia. April. 45 Gandini et al, 1994. Chronic oiling affecting Magellanic penguins: a review. International Bird Rescue Research Center. 58 Ibid, Wildlife Extra. 46 honolulu Zoo, 2008. Golden Lion Tamarin. 59 Global Environment Facility. Project executive summary GEF council work program submission. Document name: “4-9-04 2177 CALM Proposal Annex 7 thru 12.doc,�: PIMS 2177, Cambodia. 47 Morell, Virginia, 2010. “The Rain Forest in Rio’s Backyard,� Republished from National 60 Wildlife Conservation Society, Northern Plains, Cambodia. Geographic magazine. 48 Altrichter, M., Taber, A., Noss, A. & Maffei, L., 2008. Catagonus wagneri. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. Downloaded March 17, 2010. 49 BirdLife International, 2008. Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. Downloaded March 17, 2010. 50 Cuellar, E., Meritt, D., Porini, G. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group, 2008. Priodontes maximus. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. Downloaded March 17, 2010. 51 United Nations Development Programme, 1994. Project of the Government of Cambodia proj- ect support document: Cambodia CALM. April 9, 1994, 147:38, Project Number PIMS 2177. 52 Ibid, UNDP, p. 48. 53 World Wildlife Fund, Giant Ibis. 54 According to IUCN, systematic surveys have been suggesting a minimum estimate of 100 pairs (20-30 at each of the two high density sites, 5-10 at each of seven low density sites). IUCN Redlist, 2010. “Thaumatibis gigantea: Geographic Range,� 55 Wildlife Conservation Society, Cambodia. , Downloaded June 21, 2010. 129 Biodiversity – “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.� In simple terms, it can be described as the “diversity of life on Earth.� Biodiversity is under heavy threat, and reducing and preventing further biodiversity loss are considered among the most critical challenges to humankind. Of all the problems the world faces in managing “global goods,� only the loss of biodiversity is irreversible. 130