The World Land Trust eBulletin Issue 26, March 2005

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In this double issue:
Carbon Balanced Helps Businesses Reduce Carbon Emissions
Save Rainforest When Booking Airport Parking
Paraguay Update: San Rafael Suffering Serious Forest Fire
Patagonia Update: Princesa Returns to the Wild
News in Brief
Get Involved: Green Shopping Poll

Carbon Balanced Helps Businesses Reduce Carbon Emissions

WLT Carbon Sequestration intern Oliver Blakeman giving a presentation at the Rainforest Cafe.

WLT launches service to help businesses to assess, reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions

Tuesday 8th of March saw the launch of WLT's Carbon Balanced programme at the Rainforest Cafe in London. The event was an overwhelming success with a great response from all who attended. Among the participants were UK businesses, governmental advisors, journalists and the European Bank. The launch focused on the business aspect of the Carbon Balanced programme. The new business website went live last month and the launch of a new website aimed at the general public is set for mid April.

The Carbon Balanced programme is aimed at helping businesses and the general public address their carbon emissions. It focuses on a three stage process of assessing, reducing and offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions that we are all responsible for. Initial emissions assessments are available free online from the WLT's Carbon Balanced website. Follow up assistance gives more detailed assessments and emissions reductions advice and the opportunity to offset emissions by investing in World Land Trust conservation projects.

Visit the Carbon Balanced business website
http://www.carbonbalanced.org/corporate

Save Rainforest When Booking Airport Parking

New sponsor gives all booking commissions to WLT

Are you going on holiday this Easter? Do you need airport parking? Then book with new WLT sponsor pickatrail.com. Pickatrail is a booking site for airport parking and hotels owned and run by APH. It is entirely non-profit with all commissions going directly to WLT's Ecuador rainforest project. With an average booking being around £100, this can quickly add up and having raised over £1,500 in the first month, pickatrail.com has the potential of becoming a significant source of income for the WLT in the future. So if you are travelling from a UK airport and need to book parking, book at pickatrail.com and you will automatically help save rainforests – at no extra cost to you.

Not travelling yourself? Tell your friends about Pickatrail, or if you have your own website, support WLT by linking to pickatrail.com.The more links we have to the site, and the more people know about it, the more money it will raise. Unlike most other similar offers, this is not simply raising a few pence per click, but has the potential to raise thousands of pounds and save hundreds of acres of forest.

Read more about new sponsor pickatrail.com
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/sponsors/pickatrail.htm

Paraguay Update: San Rafael Suffering Serious Forest Fire

Fire fighters in the burning San Rafael forest.

Urgent message from WLT's partners in Paraguay

Alberto Yanosky, Executive Director of Guyra Paraguay has asked the WLT to pass on the following message:

"San Rafael, the first IBA (Important Bird Area, Ed.) and the last Atlantic Forest Remnant in Paraguay, is suffering the largest fires in its history. [...] The Secretary of the Environment and other members of the government of Paraguay are actively fighting against the fires using the forces of the Army and Police. Guyra Paraguay and Procosara are there with Ramón Villalba, the manager of San Rafael, leading with this. Using remote sensing we are discovering that new fires are being initiated apparently by some landowners or even small farmers. The situation is critical and we are doing as much as we can."

"Guyra Paraguay had to direct money resources which we really do not have available to help the government on this so please consider potential support or contributing with some resources for Guyra Paraguay and its allied organizations to cover this urgent investment."

If you can help, please contact Guyra directly at
Guyra Paraguay
Cnel. Rafael Franco 381 c/L. Prieto,
Asunción - Paraguay
Tel/Fax 595-21-227777

or call John Burton at the WLT office on +44 (0) 1986 874422 for more information.

Patagonia Update: Princesa Returns to the Wild 

Princesa - now gradually becoming wild again.

Rescued, hand reared guanaco re-joins wild herd

Princesa is a wild guanaco, rescued on the Ranch of Hopes Wildlife Refuge (Estancia La Esperanza) in 2003, when she became separated from her mother’s herd. Unfortunately this happens all too frequently in the first few days of a chulengo’s (baby guanaco) life. The herds gallop off when frightened and the young ones simply cannot keep up. It causes a bit of a dilemma: if guanacos are hand reared, they become imprinted on humans, and later can become very aggressive – but it is very difficult to simply abandon them.

Princesa was hand reared, and was only three days old when John Burton, WLT's CEO, first saw her in 2003. When former WLT intern Emma Page went to work on the ranch a few months later Princesa was already a sturdy youngster. Now nearly 15 months old, she has become attached to a herd that has its territory near the farm buildings. Although she still returns from time to time, she is gradually becoming a truly wild guanaco again.

There are strong pragmatic arguments against rescuing sick and injured individuals, who often don't survive when re-released, but this example demonstrates the value of rehabilitation. For this reason, Fundación Patagonia Natural (FPN), WLT's local partners, do attempt to rehabilitate animals brought in by the public. Birds of prey, penguins and tortoises have all been re-released successfully, and while being cared for have given people an opportunity to them close up demonstrating the educational aspects of rescue and rehabilitation.

News in Brief

WLT's Wildlife eCards – competition winners

Congratulations to Annu Sharma and Huma Zaidi, winners of the 2004 'Design an ecard' competition. As well as having their cards displayed on the WLT website as Wildlife eCards, both artists receive a presentation pack of woodland stamps. The winning ecards included, we now have 24 new cards available to send for free on the WLT website, organised into categories to make it easier to find a suitable card. Make someone happy, send them a Wildlife eCard today!

Winning card designs
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/ecards/results05.htm

Send a Wildlife eCard
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/ecards

Natural history & conservation book sale

NHBS, the sponsors of the World Land Trust's Books for Conservation programme, are having a winter book sale, with huge discounts on a wide range of titles. NHBS have what is probably the most comprehensive online catalogue of books on natural history, conservation, the environment and related topics and offer an unparalleled service for anyone interested in wildlife. For some titles there is only a single copy available, so get in quick for a bargain!

Check out the NHBS book sale
http://www.nhbs.com

Supporters fundraising for WLT

Another WLT supporter, James Frost, recently wrote to tell us about a charity auction he organised. The auction, which took place during a Christmas party in Norwich, raised £300 for WLT's Ecuador project. Says James: "Many of our friends donated prizes such as a bottle of champagne and a full body massage. The prizes were offered in an auction for party-goers to bid on – in between frenetic dancing and mulled wine."

A big Thank-You to David, Rachel, James and all other supporters helping to raise the vital funds needed for WLT's conservation work.

Letter from Ecuador

Emma Flaxman, former WLT intern, is currently travelling in South America, and had the opportunity to visit WLT's reserves in Ecuador. Emma writes:

"The reserves were amazing. Other than Tapichalaca I visited Buenaventura, Jorupe and Utuana. I loved BV, gorgeous proper jungly rainforest that I lost myself in for hours listening to the howler monkeys and watching all the butterflies and poison dart frogs. They also have a group of rescued baby grey-cheeked parakeets that were so cute and they followed you about trying to bite anything that would hurt (mainly fingers and toes!)"

"It was great to be able to see so many different habitat types all in a few hours of one another - I feel like I've visited about five countries and have remained in southern Ecuador the whole time!"

Internship vacancies

Emma spent six months as a WLT intern, learning about all aspects of project development and conservation management. If you are interested in becoming a WLT intern, there are currently vacancies for three internships. Deadline for applications is 31 March 2005.

Internship vacancies: more information
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/supporting/internships.htm

Get Involved: Green Shopping Poll

"How important is a company's environmental record to you when you make a purchase?" That is the question for this month's WLT poll. Last month we asked whether you thought long term solutions such as mangrove planting should be part of the relief efforts in dealing with tsunamis, and the answer was a resounding 'yes', although one voter pointed out that 'relief' implies more immediate help, rather than long term solutions.

To take part in this month's poll, which will run until March 21, or to see the results from the previous poll, visit the WLT website.