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Conservation Project News

Conservation projects news from the World Land Trust, an international wildlife conservation charity working to protect threatened wildlife habitats worldwide.

This page shows the most recent projects news updates, or a selection of posts in the same category. To read older posts, use the projects news archive in the navigation bar on this page. The newest posts can always be found at www.worldlandtrust.org/news/projects-news.htm.

Conservation projects news on this page:

Friday, 12 March 2010:

180,000 trees planted at Cerro Blanco Reserve, Ecuador 

World Land Trust's Ecuadorian partners Fundación Pro-Bosque have been busy with their reforestation programme in the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest.

Top: Volunteers helping to plant trees in Cerro Blanco. Photo © Fundación Pro-Bosque. Above: The critically-endangered Great Green Macaw. Photo © Juna Diego Perez (TNC/Fundación Natura).

At the start of the year, Pro-Bosque organised a day of tree-planting, enlisting the help of over 60 volunteers including students and local professionals. More than 2,000 trees were planted; a significant contribution to their goal of planting 90,000 trees in a 90ha area by the end of the year. Since tree-planting started in 1993, about 180,000 trees have been planted and World Land Trust (WLT) have significantly strengthened their reforestation programme.

All tree species planted are native to the reserve, with particular emphasis on species important for the critically-endangered Great Green Macaw. There are early signs of success. In October 2009, a Great Green Macaw nest was discovered near the reserve from which two chicks successfully fledged. It is estimated that the population of Great Green Macaws in the Chongón Colonche mountain range consist of as few as 20 individuals, so news of these new chicks offers hope for the future of the population.

The next stage of this project involves the purchase of more degraded habitat with support from IUCN-NL and current fundraising efforts by WLT-US. The newly purchased land will then be restored with funds from WLT.

Learn more about WLT's reforestation project on Carbonbalanced.org »

Labels: Ecuador

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Tuesday, 9 March 2010:

WLT-US protect 158,000 acres in Peru 

WLT-US and their partners, the Peruvian Association for the Conservation of Nature (APECO), have formalised protection for 158,000 acres (63,900 ha) of Andean forest on the Amazonian slope of the Andes. In December last year the Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary and the Chayu Nain Community Reserve were officially declared after a 7 year process beginning with their designation as protected Reserve Zones in 2003. Saving this pristine landscape represents a significant success for global conservation.

158,000 acres of Andean forest in the Amazon has been protected in Peru.

Climbing over 10,000 feet in elevation - from the lush rainforest of the Amazon to the stunted cloud forests of the high Andes, these reserves now protect incredibly diverse forest sheltering an extraordinary diversity and richness of endemic flora and fauna. The zone is also important to 11 neighbouring Awajún indigenous communities - who will be responsible for managing the Communal Reserve.

These reserves span many ecosystems that safeguard an array of wildlife including many critically endangered and endemic species such as the Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey, the Long-whiskered Owlet, two unique species of Anteater, and the Colán Water Frog, which is found nowhere else in the world.

Learn more about the new reserves on the WLT-US website »

Labels: Peru

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Friday, 5 March 2010:

Shade-grown coffee, cabin construction and giant earthworms at Candelaria Reserve (Ecuador) 

World Land Trust (WLT) Ecuadorian partners Fundación EcoMinga have been working hard on the Candelaria Reserve, where they have been initiating new projects and discovering new species behaviour.

Image of a caecilian attempting to eat a giant earthworm, taken by Luis Recalde, one of EcoMinga's park guards. Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Publicity for animal behaviour new to science

EcoMinga park guard, Luis Recalde, has had this image of a caecilian (a type of amphibian with no legs) attempting to eat a 1 metre long earthworm published in BBC Wildlife Magazine. The picture was taken on the Candelaria Reserve, which protects forests in the Eastern Andes. The park guards have been given digital cameras, a valuable tool in their work, as it allows them to capture images of rarely seen species and to document behaviour new to science, such as shown in this picture.

Lou Jost of Fundación EcoMinga tells of the excitement that the story was published in BBC Wildlife: "Luis will be thrilled, and it will motivate all our guards to do more". World Land Trust will be sending the guards some copies of magazine featuring the story.

Organic Shade-Grown Coffee Project

EcoMinga aim to manage their forest sustainably and are making progress on the project to grow organic shade-grown coffee. They are currently developing a seed nursery to grow selected coffee strains, which they will plant themselves and also sell to other growers. The coffee strains used are able to grow within the forest making this an ideal crop for this area. Their first buyer will purchase 1,000 seedlings which will cover their expenses on the nursery.

Cabins for guards and visitors

Further developments are planned for the reserve with the addition of cabins. These will be situated deep within the reserve and will give the guards a more prominent presence to ensure efficient protection. They may also be used for visitors and researchers.

Valuable work recognised

Reserve Manager Juan Pablo Reyes has been recognised for his scientific achievements and has been awarded a medal by the local town of Baños.

EcoMinga urgently require funds for the management of this reserve to allow the guards to continue their work in protecting this valuable habitat forever.

Learn more about the Ecuador Rainforest Project and how you can help »

Labels: Ecuador

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Tuesday, 2 February 2010:

World Land Trust project partners establish presence in the Paraguayan Chaco 

Guyra Paraguay, the World Land Trust's project partner in Paraguay, has been given a piece of land in Mariscal Estigarribia, one of the largest towns in the central Chaco, initiating a project named 'Sustainable Mariscal Estigarribia'. Guyra Paraguay plans to build a small office in the town in order to create an institutional presence in the Chaco - an important step in the management of three protected areas that Guyra, the World Land Trust and the Paraguayan Ministry of the Environment are collectively responsible for under a Tripartite agreement.

Mariscal Estigarribia, situated in the Department of Boquerón, is the commercial centre for the surrounding region, with a population of around 7,000. It is a strategically-important area, with its position facilitating access to the National Parks and protected areas in the northern Chaco. It is hoped that this innovative agreement will create employment and build capacity of the local people in education, health, environment and sustainable production.

More information

Learn more about the project in Paraguay
See an interview with Guyra Paraguay's Executive Director, Alberto Yanosky talking about the organisation's conservation work, on YouTube.

Labels: Paraguay

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Thursday, 28 January 2010:

Paraguayan Eco Club impresses corporate supporters with their environmental work 

In 2005, Guyra Paraguay, project partner of the World Land Trust (WLT), established an open community group for the people of the remote town of Bahía Negra, the nearest population to the Pantanal Reserve and Three Giants Biological Station. Since then the Eco Club Pantanal Paraguayo, consisting mainly of young people, has gone from strength to strength.

The Eco Club outside the Bahía Negra radio station, which the club helped to set up.

The group undertakes a variety of activities, including bird surveys with Guyra Paraguay staff, arranging local events and visiting the nearby reserve and biological station. They have a newly-built cultural centre, which houses a small library as well as the radio station the club started; 'Bahía Negra Radio Poty', which broadcasts in the local Guaraní language.

The mission of the Eco Club is "Working for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Paraguayan Pantanal through the awareness of local people" and so successful has the Eco Club been in training and improving prospects for the young people of this remote town, that two of the members have recently been recruited to work as National Park Rangers in Defensores del Chaco. This is part of the management for three protected areas in the northern Chaco, under the Tripartite agreement between the World Land Trust, Guyra Paraguay and the Paraguayan Ministry of the Environment.

A representative from WLT's corporate supporters, Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO), visited Bahía Negra in October 2008 and was so impressed by the work and activities of the Eco Club that SPO recently sent the Eco Club a gift package containing educational material.

SPO is working in collaboration with WLT and Guyra Paraguay to explore the potential for a carbon sequestration project in the Chaco-Pantanal and Atlantic Forests of Paraguay. SPO is an international shipping company based in Singapore, providing services to a diverse range of sectors including the oil and gas industries and fisheries protection. The company has a strong CSR policy and has made the decision to become 'carbon neutral'; introducing a comprehensive programme of energy efficiency and a commitment to offset its unavoidable carbon dioxide emissions.

The Eco Club members were very pleased with their gift and sent a hand-written letter of thanks to SPO.

Labels: Paraguay

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Friday, 22 January 2010:

A visit to Borneo: orang-utans, elephants and oil palm plantations 

Last summer, World Land Trust (WLT) representatives Mary Tibbett and Jo Finch met with Malaysian project partners and the Forestry and Wildlife Departments in Sabah, Borneo to discuss WLT projects in the area and find out more about Orang-utan conservation and the issues involving the palm oil industry.

The Kinabatangan River and floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo is a strong-hold for orang-utans, but threatened by conversion to oil palm plantations. Inserted photo: © KOCP (Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project). (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

WLT have been working to fund strategic land purchases to conserve wildlife corridors for Orang-utans and other Bornean species in Sabah since 2008.

WLT's main project partner in the area, LEAP believes site visits to project areas are extremely important in terms of demonstrating outside support for conservation measures to local communities. Whilst local communities are well aware about the importance and significance of orang-utan conservation, the price of conservation is high due to the incredible land use pressure from crops.

WLT are delighted to be able to collaborate with the local communities by investing in conservation in Sabah and the trip provided a good opportunity for Mary and Jo to meet some of the key players involved with conservation of the orang-utan in Sabah.

Oil palm plantations such as this are very important to the local economy and WLT partners LEAP and HUTAN are therefore trying to get oil palm companies involved in conservation, rather than calling for an outright ban of palm oil. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Land in demand: Conservation vs. palm oil

Land in Sabah is in demand from both conservation groups and the palm oil industry. Conservationists want to save the land because it protects a wealth of biodiversity, with more than the average number of orang-utans and other wildlife such as Bornean Elephant and Proboscis Monkey. However, this fertile land makes it the best place to grow oil palm too which means that land is expensive.

LEAP believes it is vitally important not to polarise the palm oil debate. The industry is generally viewed as the 'bad guy' but its importance to the Malaysian and Indonesian economies must not be underestimated since a large proportion of income is generated through palm oil exports. Plantation workers are carrying out their job in an industry which is essentially driven by consumers (1 in 10 supermarket products contain palm oil). WLT is keen not to criticise the industry out of hand since this could significantly hinder conservation progress, and negative media reports could well discourage plantation owners from entering into round table discussions or being sympathetic to conservation.

(From left) Cynthia Ong (LEAP Conservancy), Priya Shetty (journalist), Mary Tibbett (WLT), Sahdin Lias (Director of Red Ape Encounters) Marc Ancrenaz (Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme - KOCP), Takrin Hj. Abdullah (Nature Heritage Conservancy), Jo Finch (WLT) and Peter Hughes (journalist) outside the KOCP headquarters.

LEAP takes the stand that it is better to pave the way for discussions with the palm oil industry, as there is the potential for oil palm plantations to become financers of conservation. WLT partners HUTAN, believe that compromises would be appropriate. For instance, they suggest that unproductive crop areas might be left as forest corridors for wildlife, keeping them connected and thereby allowing wildlife to have larger habitats and to safely avoid plantations.

Alternative uses of the forest: Sustainable tourism and forestry

It is also encouraging that the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) are looking into and finding alternatives to using the forest for oil palm. The SFD are hoping to make sustainable use of the forest and in 2005 they produced the first FSC certified forestry area in the tropics.

The SWD aim is to reduce human-animal conflict by translocating individual orang-utans away from conflict areas. They also fund an orang-utan rehabilitation centre and believe it is possible to rehabilitate 95% of individuals. Tourists visiting the centre also generates valuable income.

Environmentally sensitive tourism is providing a sustainable livelihood for local people in Sabah. For example, a percentage of the money provided by Red Ape Encounters goes back into conservation and MESCOT, a community-based conservation and ecotourism initiative, have created a rainforest eco-camp for tourists. The entire camp is built from locally produced materials and designed to have no lasting footprint on the forest. (Find out how to visit the eco camp here.)

Orang-utans are not the only animals threatened by deforestation in Borneo. The Bornean Elephant - also referred to as Pygmy Elephant (above), Proboscis Monkey and many other species rely on these forests for their survival. When you support WLT's Orang-utan Appeal, you help protect these other species as well. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Saving forests for wildlife in Borneo - how you can help

So far, with funds raised by WLT, the Kretam-Kulamba corridor has been secured, and WLT are now in the process of funding the purchase of 222 acres in Lower Kinabatangan.

We urgently need your help so that we can fund other strategic parcels of land in Borneo. To give you an idea of what wildlife your donation to WLT's Orang-utan Appeal will protect, Mary describes what she saw on her trip: "We had been on the river for less than 10 minutes when we saw a herd of Pygmy Elephants on the banks. They were enormous - nothing pygmy about these animals!"

"The forests of the Lower Kinabatangan support over 200 elephants. When you donate to the World Land Trust's Appeal you are helping protect so many amazing species. We saw hornbills, macaques, the bizarre Proboscis Monkey, langurs, monitor lizards, snakes and of course, the orang-utan living wild, free and beautiful. That wasn't even the half of it, so many more animals and plants rely on this unique jungle for their survival."

To help the World Land Trust save more Bornean forests and the wildlife these habitats protect, please support the Borneo Orang-utan Appeal.

Labels: Malaysia

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Friday, 15 January 2010:

World Land Trust's Brazilian project partners visit the UK 

Nicholas and Raquel Locke, Directors of REGUA (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu),World Land Trust's Brazilian project partner, visited the UK in December. As part of their visit Nicholas gave a presentation to representatives from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire. BIAZA members have been working with the World Land Trust (WLT) as part of the Trust's Wild Spaces Programme to raise funds to purchase and protect a 1,700 acre reserve in Brazil.

Raquel Locke (REGUA), Kelly Jacobs, centre (WLT) and Nicholas Locke (REGUA) at Paradise Wildlife Park.

The impressive BIAZA Reserve was purchased in August 2009 and Nicholas' presentation enabled BIAZA members to see images of the reserve they had helped to protect. Nicholas also brought some great news: A puma had been spotted on the reserve, the first time this species has been seen on BIAZA land and an exciting indication of the health of the forest in this area.

Recognising the importance of this habitat and to secure the land as quickly as possible the purchase was made with a loan, a proportion of which is still outstanding. WLT still urgently needs to raise funds to complete payment of the loan and then to ensure the permanent protection of this vital section of Atlantic Rainforest.

Find out more about the BIAZA Reserve and how zoos are helping conservation in the field on WLT's Wild Spaces and on the rest of the work at REGUA and how you can help on our Brazil project pages.

Labels: Brazil

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Wednesday, 13 January 2010:

Wildlife pond created on WLT's UK reserve 

Beech Woodland on the Kites Hill Reserve.

In November 2009, the World Land Trust (WLT) created a pond on the Trust's UK reserve Kites Hill, located near Painswick in Gloucestershire, with the aim of enhancing the biodiversity of the area.

Ponds are a natural part of the British landscape but due to land-use changes, mainly as a result of farming, many of our natural ponds have been lost and many amphibian and reptile species are in decline.

Created as part of the county's Local Biodiversity Action Plan, the wildlife pond will encourage more amphibians and reptiles to the reserve and will provide them with essential habitat in addition to benefiting other species on the site.

The construction of the pond by contractors from JPR Environmental (top, © JPR Environmental) and the finished pond (above) at Kites Hill.

WLT's Kites Hill Reserve can be visited and is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The beech woodland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is the only reserve actually owned by the Trust and demonstrates WLT's successful conservation work.

More information

Find out more about Kites Hill and how to visit the reserve »

Learn more about the construction of the pond (with photos) on the JPR website »

Supporters of the pond

The pond was created with financial support from Natural England, The European Outdoor Group's Association for Conservation, The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust and Gloucestershire Environmental Group.

Labels: UK

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