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Saving 'Our' Island

Once again, supporters proved their generosity by donating over £10,000 to David Bellamy's appeal for funds in the Summer issue of the newsletter. This meant that we were able to meet the September deadline and the loan installment due on Danjugan Island. But the pressure is still on.

During 1997 we have to pay off over £50,000 just for the loan. And we also need to raise funds to help with the actual running costs. Increasingly, the project will move towards self sufficiency, but we do need to subsidise it in the early days. Patrol boats, and wardens, even though they are relatively cheap by UK standards, still do cost money and we hope you will continue to support this and all our other initiatives.

The period since our last Newsletter has been one of almost frene tic activity, mostly centred around the donation of Wyld Court Rainforest. Earlier in the year I had met Professor Gren Lucas and he had, in passing, mentioned how much he supported the work of the WLT and that he would like to help when he finally retired from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, at the end of 1996. On hearing this the Trustees had no hesitation in inviting him to Chair the new Board of Directors for Wyld Court Rainforest Conservation Centre, when it was donated to the Trust.

Professor Lucas has had a long and distinguished career, starting in forestry in the colonial service in Kenya. After he moved to Kew Gardens he became one of the moving forces in plant conservation, and was co-author of the Plant Red Data Book, as well as one of the architects of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITIES). He succeeded Sir Peter Scott as Chairman of the Species Survival Commission and he and I worked together in relaunching the Fauna Preservation Society into the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society. Under Gren Lucas's Chairmanship we are confident that Wyld Court Rainforest Conservation Centre will continue to develop Keith Bromley's vision of an education centre working closely with field projects.

We hope that our supporters will visit Wyld Court Rainforest - the shop has an exciting range of gifts - and we also welcome feedback and suggestions. Over the coming year we will be working to locate goods derived from the rainforest, which are being produced sustainably, and provide an income for the local people, and sell them through the Wyld Court Rainforest shop.

During August we sampled visitors to Wyld Court Rainforest to get some idea of their reaction to their visit. In answer to the question "Which plants interested you most?", 54% responded "All of them", but 31% found the water lilies most interesting. Unfortunately, the water lilies are not present all year round -- at least the giant Victoria lilies are not, since their growth is directly affected by day length. Over 8% of the visitors found the carnivorous plants the most interestomg -- there are some spectacular clusters of Nepenthes pitcher plants.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was that out of the respondents nearly 10% had heard of the World Land Trust activities -- considering we are a relatively new, and small organisation, we were pleased that we were so well known.

Visitors expressed interest in coming to special events at Wyld Court and we will be developing ideas in the New Year. We look forward to seeing you at Wyld Court.

While conservation initiatives relating to Danjugan Island are being tackled with heart warming enthusiasm in the Philippines, it is rather unfortunate that in this country our priority has to be raising funds. I am aware that in each issue of this newsletter we report that we are having difficulty raising funds to pay off the loan installments, and again in this issue I find myself reiterating the same thing - Yes, we did manage to raise the September stage payment on the loans taken out for the purchase of Danjugan, but only just! We do not want to resort to crisis fundraising, but we must not be complacent either. The fact is that fundraising is still our urgent priority.

During 1997 we must raise over £50,000 to keep abreast of the repayments due. At the same time we need to raise additional funds to ensure that the conservation and protection aspects of the project are put in place, and closely monitored. Running costs of most aspects of the Danjugan project are not as costly as they might be elsewhere, but they still need funding. We have produced a 'shopping list' of projects costing between £1000 and £5000 for groups and individuals who are interested in sponsoring specific requirements, so do let us know if you would like to discuss possibilities further.

I remain convinced that supporters donate as much as they are able. We do not want to resort to "guilt tactics" as they are sometimes called, but please do think of purchasing Green Shares in Danjugan, either for yourself or on behalf of another. By doing this you really will help save Danjugan. Thank you.

Many of the small projects we would like to develop will involve the local fishing communities. It is only with their support and commitment that the conservation of the reef can have a long term future. As those of you who have seen the new video will know, there is already real support among the local people for the replanting of mangroves, and Coral Cay Conservation volunteers have been popular visitors to the local school. On a recent visit to the fishing village of Bulata, Dominic White, the WLT's Project Manager took a large envelope of postage stamps collected in the office, and a few weeks later we received the letter reproduced below.

If any readers can help, please contact WLT. You may have other equipment that would find a good home - old binoculars are always useful for wildlife camps, as are slide projectors and screens.

Dear Mr D White and Staff of WLT

Greetings and peace and goodwill from the teachers, parents and school children of Bulata Elementary School.

Thank you for the box full of nice stamps you have sent us. We are really interested to begin a collection of stamps especially from Great Britain, a great country of equally great people.

Enclosed is a photograph of the school children during our school day presentation. Hope you will like the picture with a wish that you may visit again Danjugan Island and our school.

I know you have much concern about fundraising for projects. We would like to solicit your support if you can help us secure a much needed momeo machine, for the school needs to be able to duplicate test papers, teachers materials, printing of reading materials etc. A second hand one would be fine. We hope that our solicitation will meet with your kind approval. Thank you very much again and wishing you and your staff more power.

Very truly yours
Zosimo R. Arro, Head Teacher

In July David Gower, perhaps better known for his cricket commentating, launched the video of Danjugan, for which he had generously provided the narration.

The video enables all our supporters to get a glimpse of the island, and appreciate its importance. The idea for the video came from Colin and Patsie Stafford-Johnson, who had already made our video on the Programme for Belize. Donating their time and expertise, they flew to the Philippines (courtsey of the British Airways Assisting Conservation programme), and spent three months filming. On their return to England they managed to persaude a range of other individuals and companies to donate resources to help complete the video.

These included their colleagues at Crystal Clear Images, T K Films, Mark Powell, Paul McFadden, Television Trust for the Environment and Christopher Parsons Productions. The WLT would also like to reiterate thanks to Tate & Lyle plc and British Airways, as well as Post Office Counters Ltd for their assistance.

The result is a stunning video which also provides a good overview of the work of the Trust. For details on hiring, see Education and Fundraising Material

From the comments of those who have already seen the video, it has become apparent that hearts have been captured by the Black-chinned Fruit Dove chick. This is a rare frugivorous (fruit eating) bird, which although known to occur on Danjugan, had not been found breeding. On mainland Negros hunting in the past has eliminated these birds from many areas and we hope in the future to carry out a survey on is distribution and ecology, so that we may be able to establish more feeding sites and plant more fruit trees, to ensure its long term survival.

From land-based conservation to the reefs surrounding Danjugan Island. According to a recent article in NewScientist, zoologist Dr Marjorie Reaka-Kudla from the University of Maryland, in the USA, believes that up to 175,000 species of animals and plants found in coral reefs could die out within the next 40 years.

Ominous predictions are that up to 70% of the world's coral reefs will be lost in this time, if agricultural and sewage run-off, causing sedimentation of coastal areas and overfishing continue. Sediment is thought to be the number one enemy of coral reefs. It is caused by nutrients running off the land into the sea, producing blankets of algae which choke the corals, and blooms of plankton which in turn block out the light on which the corals depend.

A rough estimate of the number of species supported by the world's remaining reefs, currently stands at 950,000, but if the above predictions are accurate, it is believed that as mnay as 175,000 species could be lost in the next four decade. Species being lost are not only the corals themselves, but myriads of reef-dwellers including worms, sponges, fishes large and small, as well as a multitude of burrowing animals such as molluscs and sea urchings.

In contrast to this story of gloom and doom, the reefs around Danjugan stand a good chance of becoming a Good News story. Since beginning the marine surveys , volunteers from Coral Cay Conservation have been increasingly impressed by the health and natural wealth of this area. Although suffering slightly from over-fishing and earlier use of dynamite, the reefs themselves are regenerating extremely well, and the diversity of fishes and other life on the reefs have far exceeded expectations. The surveys are now complete and already it has come to the light that nine particular species, rare in other parts of the Philippines, occur in much greater numbers around Danjugan.

David Bellamy's letter to WLT Supporters, sent with the last newsletter, mentioned a TV programme featuring seahorses, and this triggered off a lot of interest and enquiries.

Seahorses are of particular interest since they not only occur widely in the Philippines, but have also been subjected to huge pressure from trade. Tens of thousands have been exported for the aquarium trade (and most die very quickly) and even exported for use in Oriental medicine. Fortunately, as far as we know, there is next to no collecting taking place around Danjugan, but we need to monitor the seahorses carefully.

Seahorses are rather surprisingly poor swimmers. Because of this they tend to inhabit sheltered areas of the reef, away from strong currents, where they feed on small shrimps and other tiny animals. Their extremely bony bodies are almost rigid, with a flexible tail, which is prehensile. They use their tail to anchor themselves to corals and seagrasses to avoid being swept away. They can change colour to suit their sourroundings.

Their courtship and mating is a long and involved process, often taking several days, resulting in up to 200 eggs being laid. These are brooded by the male in a special pouch under his tail, which exudes a fluid to aid the development of the embryos. In two to five weeks, depending on temperature and other climatic factors, miniature, fully formed seahorses emerge.

A book, lavishly illustrated with excellent maps and stunning photographs, is The Dive Sites of the Philippines by Jack Jackson. An indispensable guide for divers and snorkellers of all levels of qualification and experience - more than a dive book and highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the natural history of the Philippines. New Holland (Publishers) Ltd. £15.99

Coral reefs occur in the warm waters between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. They require water which remains at a fairly constant temperature, usually about 16^oC (61F) and the warm ocean currents originating in the Philippines supports coral reefs across a wide area, to southern Japan.

The coral reefs around Danjugan are as diverse as the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Over 200 species have been identified already and up to 75 genera of coral occur. The Great Barrier Reef, spreading over 1,600km contains 80 genera, so that makes Danjugan's reef extremely important by any standards.

Fish often have names which are highly descriptive such as: Sergeant Majors, Fusiliers, Titan, Clown and Redtooth Triggerfish, Pufferfish, Vlaming's Unicornfish, Sturgeonfish and Moorish Idols.

Coral reefs have been damaged by speed boats, shell and coral collectors and nuclear bomb testing. Unscrupulous toruist developments, themselves harmful to the environment, can attract other damaging industries.

Oil spillage and discharge from ships and refineries also take their toll on coral reef ecosystems.

Mangroves are an important buffer between the land and the sea. Their nutrient-rich waters provide breeding grounds for fish and other wildlife. They also act as vital coastal 'shock absorbers' for typhoons and hurricanes.

The once extensive mangrove forests have been destroyed along most of the coasts of the Philippine islands. Local communities have found that their houses and farms have suffered severe storm damage which might otherwise have been less devastating had the mangroves still been there.

As is demonstrated in our new video, replanting schemes on the mainland island of Negros, opposite Danjugan, are being welcomed. The re-restablishment of fringing mangroves will protect the village from typhoons, provide fuel wood and create essential breeding grounds for reef fish which are a vital part of their food supply.

In Belize the value of mangroves is also recognised. Several years ago mangroves were bing cleared at an alarming rate mainly to make way for land reclamation (real and speculative). Now mangroves are protected in Belize and a licence is needed to cut them down.

While tropical rainforests hit the headlines, the savannas of the New World are among the most threatened of all habitats. They are too easily converted into pastureland, and in Central America very few now survive in anything like a pristine condition. While the preservation of the huge tracts of forests owned by the Programme for Belize has been given lots of coverage in our newsletters, it has not been generally appreciated that the PFB also owns some very important savannas. Chris Minty, one of the leaders of the Booth River Wetland-Savanna Survey describes the first ever detailed survey.

"The Scientific Research Expedition to Belize comprised members of the Department of Geography of Edinburgh University (UoE) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (RBGE), and was one of an ongoing series that started with the first, led by Dr Peter Furley, in 1966. The aim of the 1996 expedition was to produce vital baseline data to assist in the management and conservation of the savanna ecosystems. In particular it was important to identify the most sensitive sites in order to afford them total protection. Although most of the PFB lands are tropical forest, there is around 3% that is savanna, and it is thought that these may contain some particulary interesting plant species."

"The dominant vegetation of the savannas is pine/palmetto and the characteristic plants are the Carribbean Pine Pinus caribea, Palmetto Aceolorraphe wrightii and Oak Quercus oleoides. A wide range of other species are associated with the habitat including Calabash Poisonwood and Craboo and beneath the woody tree species are coarse grasses and sedges as well as a rich selection of herbaceous flora."

"Within the savanna habitat the Expedition noted a number of different sub-types of vegetation, forming a mosaic of habitats. It is this mosaic that gives the vegetation its diversity and species richness. Many of the lower lying areas are inundated seasonally, and the ground flora is dominated by sedges and rushes, which replace the grasses of the higher areas. And in the really wet areas there are even Red Mangroves Rhizophora mangle, and within the wetlands there are areas that are permanently flooded and dominated by sedge."

Although wildlfe in the savannas is fairly scarce, the team did see good numbers of armadillos.

PFB's Hill Bank Field Station, was a logging station until after World War II but since the 1950s suffered years of neglect. But is now a busy centre for forestry research and other ecological work. Some of the buildings left over from the colonial days have been cleared and renovated and visitors to the station are all agreed that it has an almost perfect location. With the forest behind the station, it overlooks the huge New River Lagoon, where there are Morelet's Crocodiles and Manatees, as well as as good stands of mangroves which are notable as they are well inland.

The Station's relative proximity to Belize City will make it ideal for education purposes, and in due course it is intended to make more facilities available to schools.

The Forestry and micropropagation projects funded by the EU through the World Land Trust are making a huge difference to the development of the Programme for Belize. The Micropropagation Laboratory is now on site, at the Hill Bank Field Station and it won't be long before the first plants grown there will be ready for test marketting. Once the methodology has been perfected the labatory will also have a role in propagating rare orchids and other endangered plants. The forestry research is developing very cautiously. Experiments have been set up to see how best to extract timber, and to study the effects of logging on the remaining forest - but even this cautious research is only taking place on the lands donated by Coca Cola, where some logging had taken place prior to it belonging to PFB. The lands purchased by public donations will always remain strictly protected. The ultimate aim of the forestry research is to demonstrate methods for long-term sustainable harvesting of timber for forest managers to use as a model.

Not everything goes to plan and in recent months there have been problems with villagers from the areas surrounding the PFB lands allowing cattle to graze. This in itself, is not particulary serious, but when unchecked it leads directly to a more serious problem; in order to improve the grazing there is a strong temptation to set fire to the forest, which may have happened recently when several hundred acres of the more open pine forest were burned. But despite minor incursions Programme for Belize is overall, going from strength to strength with thousands of acres of land now being conserved that might otherwise be fields of beans, maize or pasture, as is most of the land adjacent.

The PFB forests are paid for, but the WLT is still actively involved in fundraising to protect the forests and help PFB fund other conservation priorities. If your special interest is in Belize, you can continue to support PFB by becoming a FRIEND OF BELIZE. We are asking FRIENDS OF BELIZE for a minimum annual donation of £20 (by Banker's Order if possible). You will receive a personalised certificate and regular Updates on conservation issues in Belize. You will also be entitled to special privileges which include a PFB sticker, free postcards showing Belize wildlife, free use of the PFB video, and 10% discount at the PFB Field Station. Please complete the Banker's Order or one of our order forms.

In answer to all of those of you who ask if PFB will be buying more threatened forests as it becomes available, the answer is, hopefully, Yes. But PFB already owns and protects 229,000 acres which is a huge undertaking, and it must not lose sight of its original goal of financial self-sufficiency. But it is something that PFB definitely has in mind.

Teachers regularly contact our office asking how they and their most intrepid pupils might visit the PFB, and we know that several are already involved in raising funds for a trip. Annan Academy, in Dumfrieshire and in particular teacher Gordon McKay and the Wildlife Club, were determined to get to Belize and this they did. In doing so they became the first school in Scotland to visit Belize. After the trip Mr McKay wrote saying that the project was a huge success. Two team members produced a video, which they sent us and we congratulate them on a wonderful achievement.

As is often the case, the highlight of the trip was totally unexpected. While staying at PFB's La Milpa Field Station, Bart Romero, Station Manager, was alerted to heavy flooding nearby. The party piled into four-wheel drives with him, to investigate the damage and see if any wildlife needed rescuing. Wading knee-deep in the swirling waters, it soon became apparent the animals in most urgent need of rescuing were the hundreds of stranded Bird-eating Spiders (which cannot swim). The video clearly captures the reluctance of some of them to handle the spiders to begin with, but by the end they were all positively enjoying lifting them out and putting them on foliage away from danger.

Their vido got excellent coverage on local TV stations and even though Mr McKay had to eat termites on camera he said he would go back tomorrow given the chance. The group is now raising funds to finance another adventure.

When Rupert Kaye, Year 4 teacher of Stoneleigh Primary, founded an extra-curricula "Green Group" for 7-11 year olds in September the response was tremendous. Seventy out of 110 pupils signed up eager to learn more about environmental issues.

A brainstorming session with the children, about ways in which they could act locally and think globally about environmental issues, led to a sponsored litter-pick in the neighbourhood, and in the process, members raised £100 for Rainforest Action Costa Rica and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project.

"The school is situated in a deprived inner-city area, commented Mr McKaye "and that is why the amount raised by the Green Group is so pleasing. The local community has been fantastically supportive and very generous." Stoneleigh Green Group are now looking forward to learning more about the rainforest habitats they have helped to preseve with the help of the recently purchased WLT videos.

A Water Buffalo breeding, training and dissemination centre is being promoted on the Osa Peninsula, supported by the WLT. Animal traction is a safe, inexpensive, low technology method of addressing the needs of local landowners that is ecologically sound and has minimal environmental impact. The TUVA Foundation, with whom the WLT works closely, believes that this will be a welcome addition in it's efforts to provide viable alternatives to the destruction of forest habitats.

In order to create a profitable and sustainable alternative to clear-cutting and land development, the OFTER (Osa Fallen Timber Extractive Reserves) project works with local people to extract, process and sell quality wood without cutting a single tree. This "fallen timber" project uses specialised monitoring and information systems to extract naturally fallen timber, resulting in minimal strain on the forest ecosystem while providing local employment and short term benefits to landowners participating in the co-operative.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Dr Manuel Alonso, founder of the TUVA Foundation, a speedy recovery from a severe bout of leptospirosis.

Since the day the World Land Trust was founded we have been asked for help and advice by a wide range of conservationists involved in similar projects. In recent months we have cooperated with the Bromley Trust in supporting an exciting initiative of Stephen Knapp in the coastal Atlantic forests of Brazil. These forests are among the most seriously endangered in the world, and probably contain more species of threatened birds than anywhere else on the planet. Stephen Knapp has been surveying the birds and is working with local landowners to develop a strategy for conserving the forests. He is helped by the fact that several of the landowners are keen to conserve the threatened wildlife. We will report further on this project in a forthcoming issue of the newsletter.

Among the projects that have been suggested are the following (together with approximate figures needed to sponsor them):

Paraguay: Purchase and protection of 100,000 acres mostly 'chaco' (savanna) habitats known to have populations of Jaguar and other threatened species.
Cost: approx £1 million.

Cameroons: A long lease is available on over 100,000 ha for a forestry licence to carry out forestry on a sustainable base, in a buffer zone around a National Park.
Cost: approx £150,000.

We have also been approached for help with projects in Ecuador, the Balearics, Zaire and Wiltshire, UK. One way of resolving the funding issue in the long-term is for the WLT to establish an endowment fund, using the income to fund projects.

For those unfamiliar with GIS, this is the combination of computerised mapping with an underlying database which allows many questions to be asked, such as "where is", "what is next to", "how far from"? A GIS also provides a framework to combine data from a variety of sources and of different scales. It could be used, for instance, to combine data from one computer programme on sightings of Jaguar in the forest, to actually displaying their locations on a map and abstract information out of the database about vegetation species, soil types, geology etc. Displaying the results on a map portrays data in a much more accessible way than a table of statistics ever could.

At PFB the GIS will be used initially for two particular projects - the EU Forestry Project and the Carbon Sequestration Programme, and the data produced for these projects will be used for management of the PFB lands in the future. Susan worked with Roger Wilson and Mary Vasques in the PFB office, and during this time the GIS software (ARC/Info and ArcView, donated to PFB) were installed and she provided training and advised on the first 12 month strategy for the implementation of the GIS. In return Susan was able to spend time at the PFB Field Station and have a quick dive around the reefs before returning to the cold, grey UK.

Paul Mitchell Makes Heads Turn

Stanley Tools Donate Tools to Philippines

Seven years on, Steve and Celia are still staunch supporters, and we were delighted when another box of tools arrived on our doorstep recently. Tools including claw hammers, tape measures, Stanely knives, spirit levels, pocket screwdrivers etc. this time destined for the Philippines project. Thank you again to Steve and Stanely Tools.

DRUSILLAS - A Zoo with a Difference

Post Office Counters Stamp of Approval

Volunteers Do Their Bit in UK

Annie Leslie the first Coral Cay Conservation expedition leader on Danjugan Island came back enthralled by the country and its people, and has offered to assist the Trust in making contact with all Anglo-Philippine groups in the UK with a view to soliciting their support. So watch out!. But just think, if 50 different groups managed to raise as much as the Milton Keynes group this would alomost pay off the debts outstanding on Danjugan Island.

AUTHORS & ARTISTS FOR CONSERVATION is the World Land Trust's innovative scheme for writers, illustrators, photographers and editors to donate one of more of the Public Lending Rights (PLR) in their books to the work of the Trust. Books in public libraries accrue PLRs and books that have gone out of print are just as important as new books, as these can be more in demand. Many authors were unware of this scheme and also the annual amounts due are often relatively small, but by donating PLRs to the Trust, they acumulate each year to a sizeable donation. Last year's cheque from the PLR Office exceeded £5,000

David Gower was among the first supporters of AAFC and had expressed a personal interest in the work of the Trust. This year we were delighted when he accepted to be guest speaker at the AAFC reception.

AUTHORS & ARTIST FOR CONSERVATION is extending its support, and we know that the best way is from personal contact, so if any of our readers are writers, editors, illustrators or photographers of books in libraries and would like to donate their PLRs, or if any of our readers know of a potential donor, please contact John Burton at the WLT office, he will be only too pleased to help.

Many of our AAFC supporters were able to join us at the RGS Reception, but to those that did not, we would like to extend our thanks for their support, the donated PLRs for 1996 were a very worthwhile contribution to the Trust's work.

For travellers to Belize, the new edition of The Rough Guide to Guatemala and Belize is a must. Peter Eltringham and Mark Whatmore have thoroughly revised it, and of all the expanding number of guides to Belize that have appeared it is the only one to have 100% accurate and up to date information on the Programme for Belize and its facilities. Despite its name, it is not just suitable for back-packers and those roughing it, it is very much an all-round guide, full of really useful local tips.

As were were going to press Spirits of the Jaguar by Paul Reddish was published, to accompany the BBC TV series of the same name. It deals with "The National History and Ancient Civilizations of the Caribbean and Central America". A foretaste of what will undoubtedly be a splendid TV series, it is lavishly illustrated and will give teachers a wealth of information to supplement our Teacher's Manual.

The Field Guide to Whales and Dolphins in the Philippines by Jose Ma Lorezo Tan is particularly exciting. Not least because it is a very high class production and originated entirely in the Philippines. The publishers, Bookmark are to be congratulated. If this is the first of a series of books on Philippine wildlife, it is the start of a really important idea that will really enable conservation to develop in the Philippines. It is only when good books are available, that a conservation awareness can develop above the most basic levels. And it really is a field guide, that will enable visitors and local naturalists to identify cetaceans. In addition it is packed with other information about whales and dolphins, highlighting the conservation issues affecting them.