The World Land Trust eBulletin Issue 38, May 2006

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In this issue:
Ecuador Update: A New Reserve and 4,500 Acres Saved
Patagonia Update: Oil-coated Penguins Rescued
Hire an Orchid AND Save a Rainforest
News in Brief

Ecuador Update: A New Reserve and 4,500 Acres Saved 

Coppery-chested Jacamar, a globally threatened bird found in the new reserve at Narupa. Photo: © Lelis Navarrete

Jocotoco Foundation buys its eight reserve at Narupa and increases existing reserve sizes.

In April the Jocotoco Foundation, WLT's partners in Ecuador, purchased its eighth reserve: 200 hectares (490 acres) of tropical forest near Narupa in the east of the country. This is an area rich in endemic bird species, many of which are globally threatened. One of these, the Coppery-chested Jacamar, occurs only at the foothills of the Andean east slope in Ecuador. Thanks to the new reserve this colourful bird now has a safe haven at Narupa. The Jocotoco Foundation plans to increase the reserve in the future, to protect a greater area and altitudinal range.

Over the last year, the Jocotoco Foundation has also been expanding its existing protected areas, and has acquired new land in the following reserves:

• Buenaventura Reserve: 123 more acres saved. This reserve is one of the richest ornithological sites in south west Ecuador.
• Canandé Reserve: 934 more acres saved, which is home to a group of the very rare Great-green Macaw together with three species of Monkey, Jaguar and Ocelot.
• Jorupe Reserve: 758 more acres saved in this reserve which supports many rare species of plants and animals, including more than 50 endemic birds.
• Tapichalaca Reserve: 927 more acres saved. This huge reserve (nearly 10,000 acres), protects over 300 species of birds and hosts an extraordinary concentration of threatened and endemic plants (more than 150 species) and Andean frogs (seven globally threatened species).
• Utuana Reserve: 39 more acres saved. Utuana is a small reserve protecting 15 near threatened and restricted range species of birds.
• Yunguilla Reserve: 87 more acres saved in an area protecting the only known remaining habitat for the critically endangered Pale-headed Brush-Finch.

Over the last 16 months the Jocotoco Foundation has acquired almost 4,500 acres (about seven square miles) of new land under protection, with donations by generous WLT supporters and sponsors saving almost 2,500 acres.

Read more about the Jocotoco Foundation's reserves in Ecuador
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/ecuador-reserves/index.htm

Make a donation to the Ecuador project
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/supporting/donation.htm

Patagonia Update: Oil-coated Penguins Rescued 

Oil spill in Argentina kills 100 penguins and leaves hundreds in need of rehabilitation.

When an oil spill occurred off the coast of the Cabo Virgenes Nature Reserve last year, WLT's Patagonian partners, Fundación Patagonia Natural (FPN), helped create a rescue centre for affected penguins in the reserve, which is home to one of the largest colonies of Magellanic penguins in Argentina. Working together with reserve wardens, FPN helped train staff to rehabilitate about 50 penguins that had crossed the oil spill. A few weeks ago the rescue centre came to good use again when a further oil spill threatened penguin populations. More than 100 dead penguins were washing up on the Argentinian shores, including the Cabo Virgenes reserve area. FPN and the reserve wardens reacted quickly to set about rescuing the several hundred surviving birds. The cleaning process is quite complicated and can take up to 40 days. When they are first rescued the birds are provided with food and warmth to build up their strength and then they are washed with hot water and detergent, rinsed and then released into a swimming pool where they are monitored until fully recovered.

The source of the spill, and who is responsible, is still unknown.

Read more about the oil spill on the Environmental News Network
http://enn.com/today.html?id=10440

Read more about the Patagonia project
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/patagonia.htm

Hire an Orchid AND Save a Rainforest

The new Driftwood Orchid Display. Try it for free for a month and Enterprise Plants will donate £50 to the WLT.

Brighten up your office with orchids from WLT Sponsor.

WLT Sponsors Enterprise Plants have been supplying Rainforest Orchid displays, using nursery propagated orchids, to clients for the past two years and these planters currently enhance over a hundred reception areas and boardrooms. As part of their sponsorhip commitments to the WLT Enterprise Plants offer one month's free supply and maintenance of the display and donate £25 per planter to the Trust. Clients receive a personalised WLT certificate stating that One Acre of rainforest has been saved on their behalf, and if the planter is not required after the trial period Enterprise Plants will take it away.

News in Brief

5,000km Bike Ride For Paraguay's Rainforests

Two American Peace Corps Volunteers, Iain Clark and Dan Schutte, recently completed a back-breaking 5,000 kilometer bike-athon across Argentina to the San Rafael Reserve in Paraguay. They made the journey, which took over three months, to publicise the fragile state of the Atlantic rainforest in Paraguay and to raise money for its protection at the San Rafael Reserve. San Rafael is officially a national park, but is still almost entirely owned by private individuals as the Paraguayan government lacks the funding to support its conservation. Guyra Paraguay, partner organisation of the WLT and World Parks (WLT-US) owns about 140 hectares of the reserve and urgently needs funds to buy more. Donations to purchase highly endangered Atlantic Rainforest land at £30 an acre can be made online to World Parks via Network for Good. Visit www.worldparks.org/pages/donate.php. Read more about Ian and Dan's trip on www.pla.net.py/sanrafael/index2.htm.

Alternative Wedding List Company Awarded

Sponsors Give It, the not-for-profit company behind The Alternative Wedding List, the UK’s first online charitable wedding list service, has won a local business award in Hertfordshire where the company is based. The Hertfordshire Rising Stars Award recognises new businesses based in Hertfordshire and Give It won the Best Business Idea category. Andy Hickey, who runs the organisation says, “We are finding that more and more couples want to get away from the traditional wedding list and are asking friends and family to celebrate their wedding by donating to charities near to their heart instead.”

If you know of a couple who are tying the knot in the near future why not suggest they save some land forever. £5,000 would buy them a named reserve and they could even visit it on an anniversary. To set up a gift list with a difference, visit Give It at www.giveit.co.uk.

Sir David Attenborough 'The Most Trusted'

Reader's Digest recently undertook a poll and asked 4,900 people to vote for the Britons they most trusted. They were given a list of 100 to choose from, since if asked to choose anyone at all they'd probably say 'my Mum'! The outright winner was Sir David Attenborough, with Prince Charles at 42 and Tony Blair at 79.

Sir David, Patron of the WLT, celebrated his 80th birthday 8th of May and is currently presenting Are We Changing Planet Earth? on BBC One, where he speaks out about human-induced climate change. You can read more about Sir David's views on the environment and conservation in A Tribute to David Attenborough on his 80th Birthday on the WLT website.

Don't forget Father’s Day 18th June!

The WLT will provide a special Father's Day gift package, including a personalised certificate when you purchase an acre for your dad. Donate online or over the phone: 01986 874 422.