WWF - Environmental News

Essential reading for low-carbon lifestyle

2008-12-01

A consumer handbook on how individuals and families can reduce their carbon footprint and monthly outgoings has been published today by WWF. The WWF Pocket Guide to a One Planet Lifestyle contains top tips on how to be more environmentally-friendly in the home, the workplace and when planning a holiday.

The booklet’s publication follows the recent launch by WWF of their “Living Planet Report” which warned that humanity was heading towards an “ecological credit crunch”. It revealed that we currently use 30 per cent more resources than the planet’s ecosystems can naturally replenish. If everyone on earth had the same lifestyle as an average North American, we would need five planets to meet the demands for energy and resources. Europeans have a “three planet lifestyle”.

The One Planet Lifestyle guide also attempts to set a new standard in sustainable publishing. Available primarily as an online e-book, the printed version is produced digitally on-demand on FSC certified paper and bound by screw rivets so that readers can easily unbind the book and insert updates, thus avoiding the need for printing new editions. The paper size has been chosen to reduce wastage to virtually zero, and only uses non-hazardous inks.

“This is a book which aims to empower people to act,” said author Eduardo Goncalves, Global Coordinator of One Planet initiatives at WWF International. “The figures in the Living Planet Report may seem daunting, but in fact there are small steps we can all take in the home, in the workplace and even when we plan a holiday which can make a big difference.

“At a time when consumers and companies are looking to make savings, it is important to remember that cutting CO2 emissions usually also means cutting costs.”

WWF has researched a series of “Ten Top Tips” of how we can reduce the ecological footprint of our homes, eating habits and methods of travel. These are coupled with tools to help us measure our footprint, and reduce and neutralise CO2 emissions. There are model “sustainability plans” for companies to put into practice.

It lists projects which WWF is supporting around the world that show “One Planet Living” in action – including the multi-billion dollar Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi, a programme to create a global hub of renewable energy research and production within a solar-powered, zero-waste, car-free city for 90,000 workers and residents.

“At the moment, when you start talking about sustainable lifestyles, a lot of people are afraid that you are going to ask them to freeze in the dark,” said James P Leape, Director General, WWF International. “WWF wants to make sustainable living easy, affordable and attractive. This book aims to help people find their own way to a lifestyle that is both environmentally-friendly and high-quality.”

The e-book can be accessed at www.panda.org/lifestyles. It has hyperlinks to WWF International’s One Planet Living page on YouTube, which features “Green Guinea Pig” Gael Leopold putting an air-powered car through its paces (www.youtube.com/oneplanetliving) and young people from the world’s poorest countries saying why we need to reduce humanity’s footprint.

There are also links to footprint calculators, information about WWF’s “One Planet Leaders” course for business executives (www.panda.org/oneplanetliving), and a link to WWF’s new online “Travel Helper” – an innovative programme that helps travellers plan their route and which tells them the carbon footprint of all the different options, and how to neutralise their emissions (travel.panda.org).

Amazon deforestation trend on the increase

2008-11-29

Brasilia, Brazil: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon forests has flipped from a decreasing to an increasing trend, according to new annual figures released yesterday by the country's space agency INPE.

Commenting on the figures, Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc confirmed that the government will on Monday announce forest related carbon emission reduction targets, which will link halting deforestation to the national climate change campaign.

From August 2007 to July 2008, Brazil deforested 11,968 square kilometers of forests in the area designated as the Legal Amazon, a 3.8 per cent increase over the previous year and an unwelcome surprise following declines of 18 per cent over the previous period.

From 2003-2004 to 2006-2007, annual deforestation totals from the agency fell from 27,423 km2 to
11,532 km2. There were fears that the current trend could have been worse but for new measures introduced part way through the year when it became apparent that annual deforestation was accelerating towards a possible 15,000 hectare level.

WWF-Brazil has praised in particular restraints on credit for properties not complying with environmental rules on deforestation licenses, legal reserve and permanent preservation areas, strengthened land ownership rules, increased patrolling activity and a sharing of responsibility for halting deforestation with states and municipalities.

“Credit restrain prevents effects linked to illegal land occupation and exploitation (“grilagem”), which is the main direct and specific cause for deforestation in the Amazon”, says WWF-Brazil’s CEO, Denise Hamú.

“Nevertheless, we are concerned with such a deforestation which is equivalent to almost 40% the size of Belgium or the size of Jamaica.

“WWF-Brazil favors that which was established in the Amazon Pact for Forest Value Acknowledgement and Deforestation Decrease, which proposes concrete actions and urges the government and society to endeavor all efforts to curb deforestation to zero level in seven years”.

The Pact was an initiative by a group of NGOs and the proposed actions have an estimate cost of R$ 1 billion (1,000,000,000 reais) per year, which is relatively cheap as compared to the social costs (droughts, floods, deaths, economic difficulties and so forth) inflicted on everyone by deforestation.

WWF-Brazil’s CEO says that it is necessary to adopt a wider conservation strategy. “We favor a definition of clear deforestation mitigation targets, besides economic and fiscal mechanisms to encourage conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, as well as to discourage predatory practices”, says Denise Hamú.

WWF Brazil welcomed the forthcoming carbon emission reduction targets, noting that deforestation and forest fires together are responsible for 75% of Brazilian green house gas emissions. The targets add to a range of other new measures announced in October, following preliminary assessments that deforestation rates in August 2008 had reached triple those a year earlier.

“Negligence towards our forests causes Brazil to rank fourth among the larger contributors to the planet warming,” Hamú said.

The decrease in the Amazon deforestation rate achieved in the last two years shows that it is viable for Brazil to adopt emission curb targets. The adoption of targets to decrease emissions from deforestation could place Brazil in a forefront position for the international climate negotiations due to start in a few days, in Poznan, Poland.

WWF-Brazil’s Conservation Director, Carlos Alberto de Mattos Scaramuzza, explains that actions to fight deforestation must run on four tracks. The first one is the effective protection of forests through creation and implementation of protected areas. Secondly, there is the promotion of sustainable use of natural resources, through forest management capacity building in the Amazon states. Then there are patrolling actions to tackle illegal activity threats which are linked to land property and occupation (“grilagem”), to agribusiness and to large infrastructure works. Finally, we must have financial offset actions to reward those who protect the forest.

“We acknowledge some positive actions taken by the federal government, but we urge some improvements,” Scaramuzza said. “In particular, we call for the continuation of the protected areas creation process, the strengthening of implementation efforts in the already created protected areas, the allocation of personnel and their management capacity building, plus the effective implementation of the new forest policy, including forest management capacity development in the Amazon states.”

The Amazon Fund, created by the government in August 2008, is also an important policy to make financial offset viable for those who protect the forest. Nevertheless, WWF-Brazil claims that funds should be applied in the end of the chain.

“It is crucial that funds reach the field, direct to local communities, land owners and protected areas”, Scaramuzza said. “We hope that the Amazon Fund implementation will encourage innovation, creativity, experimentation and the involvement of civil society; and that it will be complemented by public funds, instead of being used to fulfill the blanks and gaps in governmental programs”.

African governments commit to protect gorillas

2008-11-28

Rome, Italy - The first meeting of the Parties of the Gorilla Agreement, to be held in Rome tomorrow, is expected to come up with practical proposals to further gorilla conservation work in Africa.

The meeting is being held against a backdrop of increasing humanitarian crisis from continuing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the Virunga National Park home to nearly a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.

The Gorilla Agreement came in to effect in June 2008 and is the first to legally oblige governments to work together to combat the threats faced by gorillas in the wild, and find coordinated solutions for gorilla conservation by requiring collaboration on issues such as anti-poaching and law enforcement.

“Ten countries will walk away from this meeting united under a single plan to save gorillas,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme. “In a time of global financial crisis, and terrible hardship for the people of Eastern Congo, we are heartened to see these governments coming together.”

Today’s meeting occurs on the eve of the United Nations announcement of 2009 as the ‘Year of the Gorilla’, part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. “Getting the agreement signed was a great conservation achievement,” said David Greer, Coordinator of WWF’s African Great Apes Programme.

“It is now time for action, which is what today’s meeting is all about. Together, we will look specifically at what steps each government will take to ensure gorillas have a secure future in the wild—through direct conservation action in a way that also benefits local communities.”

All gorillas are listed as critically endangered on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species with the exception of the eastern lowland gorilla, which is still listed as endangered due to a lack of recent data to support the critically endangered listing - researchers were unable to access a major portion of their habitat. Poaching, habitat loss disease, and intensifying civil strife are the main threats to these animals.

Mountain gorillas are a prime example of why today’s Gorilla Agreement meeting is critical. The mountain gorilla population in the Virunga Volcanoes area, which straddles Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, continues to face habitat degradation as well as the civil war unrest. Despite these difficulties, surveys indicate that the population is gradually increasing due to extensive conservation efforts, and the continued support of local communities in spite of all odds.

“Despite the success of mountain gorilla conservation thanks to the empowerment and awareness created with local people by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), we remain vigilant, as the recurrent conflicts in the region may still affect the survival of this species,” stated IGCP Director Eugene Rutagarama.

The IGCP is a joint partnership of WWF, African Wildlife Foundation, and Fauna and Flora International, and works specifically on mountain gorilla conservation. It has played an integral role in the recent increases in the mountain gorilla population in the Virunga Volcanoes area. The Gorilla Agreement meeting has the potential to help IGCP and the governments of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo work together to protect mountain gorillas.

“Plans are just plans – what is urgently needed is concrete follow up,” said Dr Lieberman. “ WWF will be calling for timelines for implementation of these actions, and for technical and financial support from the global community for this agreement.”

WWF Travel Helper makes it easy to count and cut your CO2

2008-11-27

Gland, Switzerland - WWF and Swiss firm routeRANK have launched an online European travel planner designed to help fight climate change.

The WWF Travel Planner will give users information on travel times and connections, but will also reveal the carbon footprint of each option.

Whilst WWF hopes it will encourage travellers to choose the lowest-carbon option, it will also allow users to neutralise the carbon emissions of all modes of transport .

Travel websites usually only consider one transport means at a time, but the WWF Travel Helper addresses the entire route and fully integrates road, rail and air transport into a one-stop shop.

Aimed primarily at consumers and individual businessmen and women, the WWF Travel Helper can be accessed via http://travel.panda.org.

"There is a lot of demand for an easy-to-use, online search engine that not only tells you all the different ways of getting from A to B, but also tells you the cost - and the carbon emissions - of each alternative,” said Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, WWF Director of Corporate Relations.

"Whether it is for work or leisure, the WWF Travel Planner powered by routeRANK will help people to better understand, manage and reduce the financial and environmental costs of travelling.

"For a conservation organisation like WWF it will also be an indispensable tool in helping us walk the talk on tackling climate change."

Visitors to the site will be able to key in their departure and destination points, and will be given a list of all the available routes and the corresponding schedules, expected travel times including connections, and detailed CO2 emissions information.

WWF and routeRANK are now looking to develop more sophisticated, custom-built versions of the programme for corporations and government departments. Customised versions will also provide more detailed door-to-door routing options, management reporting tools and integrated booking and carbon offsetting features.

“RouteRANK is an intelligent tool that will allow users to make an informed, carbon-conscious de-cision for specific journeys and travel routes,” said Dr Klaus Töpfer, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“This system will make possible informed travel choices, which are not only cost and time-efficient but also benefit the environment.”

Users will be given the option of neutralizing the carbon emissions from their chosen mode of travel. With a mouse click green energy credits will be purchasable from “Climate Friendly”, a WWF partner.

The WWF Travel Helper automatically calculates the emissions generated by your trip and the cost of compensating for them through investing in new renewable energy projects around the world.

“Current independent travel and transport planning is time-consuming, tedious and often leads to sub-optimal results that waste fuel, money and time,” said routeRANK chairman Jochen Mundiger.

“routeRANK allows for a three-fold contribution to reducing emissions by providing the first comprehensive comparison of CO2 emissions from integrated air, road and rail travel; by educating the general public with information on the emissions generated by their personal travel routes at the moment of booking their trip; and by raising the awareness of available public transport options, in particular for airport transfers.”

Sea levels set to rise faster than expected

2008-11-27

Geneva, Switzerland: Even warming of less than 2°C might be enough to trigger the loss of Arctic sea ice and the meltdown of the Greenland Ice Sheet, causing global sea levels to rise by several metres.

Ahead of next week’s meeting of governments in Poznan, Poland for UN climate talks WWF analysis of the latest climate science comes to the dire conclusion that humanity is approaching the last chance to keep global warming below the danger threshold of 2°C.

”The latest science confirms that we are now seeing devastating consequences of warming that were not expected to hit for decades,” said Kim Carstensen, WWF Global Climate Initiative leader.

“The early meltdown of ice in the Arctic and Greenland may soon prompt further dangerous climate feedbacks, accelerating warming faster and stronger than forecast.

“Responsible politicians cannot dare to waste another second on delaying tactics in the face of these urgent warnings from nature.

“The planet is now facing a new quality of change, increasingly difficult to adapt to and soon impossible to reverse.

“Governments in Poznan must agree to peak and decline global emissions well before 2020 to give people reasonable hope that global warming can still be kept within limits that prevent the worst.

“In addition to constructive discussions in Poznan we need to see signals for immediate action.”

The CO2 storage capacity of oceans and land surface – the Earth’s natural sinks – has been decreasing by 5 per cent over the last 50 years. At the same time, manmade CO2 emissions from fossil fuels have been increasing – four times faster in this decade than in the previous decade.

WWF is urging governments to use the Poznan talks for an immediate U-turn away from the fatal direction the world is heading in.

“We are at the point where our climate system is starting to spin out of control,” said Carstensen. “A single year is left to agree a new global treaty that can protect the climate, but the UN talks next year in Copenhagen can only deliver this treaty if the meeting in Poznan this year develops a strong negotiation text.”

Pacific tuna face risky fisheries meeting

2008-11-27

Yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna fisheries in the western and central Pacific also face collapse if a forthcoming management meeting doesn't dramatically change the way they are harvested, WWF warned today.

The call follows this week's disastrous decision by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) which discarded recommendations from its own scientists and a high level internal review to continue with what the review labelled “a travesty of fisheries management” widely regarded as “an international disgrace”.

“We have to face the possibility that fishing nations will drive the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) will come up with a similar outcome when it meets in Busan, Korea, in December,” said Peter Trott, Fisheries Program Manager for WWF-Australia.

“With tuna, it seems we are just not learning – we have lost the fisheries of the North Sea bluefin, the southern Bluefin, the West Atlantic bluefin collapsed and is failing to recover and the Mediterranean Bluefin is now well on its way to collapse with rampant legal and illegal overfishing allowed to go on.”

In 2006 scientists estimated that overfishing of bigeye tuna, on the IUCN Red List as “vulnerable” since 1996, was occurring in the western and central Pacific, with a high probability it had been occurring since 1997. They have also warned that urgent action needed to be taken on overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the region.

“This is not just a warm and fuzzy call to preserve a magnificent open ocean species, it’s about preserving the world’s most valuable tuna fisheries with a landed value of close to US$4 billion in 2007 and a market value of US$6-8 billion every year,” said Trott.

“It’s a fishery that adds considerably to the economies of many of the developing Pacific Island nations in the region and to the livelihoods of millions in the region known as the Coral Triangle.”

The future of the tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries will be decided at its commission meeting during December 8 -12 this year.

For the first time the commission will seriously consider management measures to reduce the take of bigeye and yellowfin tuna by 30 per cent. These measures include closing large parts of the fishery to purse seiners and the banning of fish attractant devices from July to September every year.

“It’s a reflection of how dramatic the situation has become that the Commission has got to this point,” Mr Trott said.

“It’s beyond environmental concerns, it is about commercial self-preservation.”

WWF-Australia strongly supports the call for these closures from July to September but also wants the commission to ramp up catch documentation methods.

“Scientists have been calling for large reductions in bigeye tuna catch for over a decade,” Mr Trott said.

“But on past performance the Commission is, at best, slow to respond to such advice and at worst shows little spine when it comes to standing up to the pressure from fishing nations who continue to decimate tuna stocks.”

“Such wavering could lead to the commercial extinction of the bigeye and yellowfin tuna fishery in the Western and Central Pacific if effective management action isn’t adopted at this year’s Commission meeting.”

Improved catch documentation can also identify the size of the illegal tuna catch in the region which is estimated to in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Timely documentation of the legal catch can be measured against fish sold at markets and used to determine how much illegal tuna is being taken.

“If the Commission doesn’t move fast on restoring stocks and preventing illegal and unregulated fishing, it will directly impact the viability of the region’s tuna fisheries, the economies of developing countries and the cost and availability of tuna for every consumer in the very near future,” Mr Trott said.

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Tuna commission comes up with "a disgrace, not a decision"

2008-11-24

Marrakech, Morocco - The commission tasked with preventing a collapse of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery today opted for catch quotas still far higher than its own scientists recommend and leaving industrial fleets free to scoop up tuna at the height of its spawning period.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, for the past week, brushed aside its own review’s description of its management of the bluefin fishery as “an international disgrace” to endorse a total allowable catch (TAC) of 22,000 tonnes for next year.

ICCAT’s own scientists had recommended a TAC ranging 8,500 to 15,000 tonnes per year, warning there were real risks of the fishery collapsing otherwise. The scientists also urged a seasonal closure during the fragile spawning months of May and June, while today’s outcome allows industrial fishing in practice up to 20 June.

“This is not a decision, it is a disgrace which leaves WWF little choice but to look elsewhere to save this fishery from itself,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean’s fisheries programme, speaking from Marrakech.

“Any alternative is preferable to an organization which boasts of its respect for science but where in a decade catches have gone from twice to four times the scientific recommendations, with massive legal and illegal overfishing. It is clear that the only thing to slow the fishery with ICCAT at the helm is running out of fish.”

The European Union drove today’s decision, supported by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria and later joined by Japan.

Japan had initially been party to a US, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Iceland and Brazil proposal, supported by a brace of developing nations, to fix the allowed catch at the upper levels recommended by scientists and closing the fishery for the full spawning period.

The debate has been marred by allegations of the European Commission threatening developing state members with trade retaliations should they support lower catch limits and extended closed seasons, with the names of some nations appearing and disappearing from the more scientifically-based proposals.

“ICCAT’s string of successive failures leaves us little option now but to seek effective remedies through trade measures and extending the boycott of retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers,” Dr Tudela said.
WWF has been urging a suspension of the out-of-control fishery, an option endorsed by the recent World Conservation Congress and recommended by ICCAT’s own internal high-level review.

The world’s largest bluefin tuna trader, Mitsubishi, signalled earlier in November that it would “reassess” its “involvement in this business” should ICCAT continue to be unable to sustainably manage the fishery.

“WWF will also actively push for a listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the hope that stringent trade controls tied explicitly to the survival of the species will turn around the half-hearted attempt at fisheries management shown here by ICCAT and especially its European contingent.”

CITES next meets in Doha in January 2010 with submissions on listings required by August 2009.
“Today’s outcome is a recipe for economic as well as biological bankruptcy with the European Union squarely to blame,” said Dr Tudela.

“Bluefin consumption in the main consumer market of Japan is expected to drop from 18,000 tonnes due to the economic crisis, with around 30,000 tonnes of frozen bluefin already in Hong Kong and Japan and additional unknown amounts in other Asian countries and in freezer ships.

“Our industry sources also tell us that there are 7,000 tonnes of illegally fished tuna in fattening cages across the Mediterranean that nobody wants to buy.”

The moratorium option, which the scientific panel said would lead to the quickest recovery in bluefin stock and the best future prospects for fulfilling ICCAT’s charter of delivering a long-term sustainable fishery, was not even given consideration by the commission in Marrakech despite increasing support for this option from European fishermen.

Timeline of a fishery failure

2008-11-23

Marrakech, Morocco: As the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) heads towards its hardest fought decision on management of the out-of-control bluefin fishery yet, WWF sets out the sorry history of bluefin regulation in an easy-to-follow chronology

Greek PM inundated with e-cards for climate action

2008-11-21

Athens, Greece: More than 3,000 Greek citizens have responded to a WWF call over the past four days by sending their Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis, a WWF e-card asking him to take an active part in the global efforts to fight climate change.

In the card is a projection of what Thessaloniki, Greece’s second biggest city, could look like around the middle of this century if action is not taken to stem global warming.

The senders also ask the PM to show the necessary political will during the next UN Climate Conference, in Poznan, Poland from 1-12 December 2008, where world leaders will be called upon to decide a 60-80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

“Greece is a country which can develop sustainably based on clean energy and low greenhouse emissions,” said Demetres Karavellas, Director of WWF Greece.

“Our country is capable of responding to the challenge of climate change, given the right vision and the political will and given that the policies and measures are in place.”

The e-card action follows a new WWF Greece report prepared by Ecofys confirming that Greece can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions within the range proposed by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change for the year 2050.

The study, “Solutions for climate change: a low carbon vision for Greece in 2050” defines a a CO2 emission reduction of up to 67 per cent by 2050.

It says the energy and construction sectors can help achieve the lion’s share of the reductions and cut emissions by up to 93 per cent by 2050.

In addition, renewable energy sources could generate 58 per cent of all power in 2050 while increased energy efficiency would result in more than half the envisaged emission reductions.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas prefaced the WWF Greece report stressing that: “This is one of the most important reports that have been completed to date, presenting actions that a country like Greece could take in order to contribute in the common effort to combat the world climate challenge.”

Thousands join bluefin tuna boycott

2008-11-20

Marrakech, Morocco: Close to 16,000 citizens from 149 countries have signed up to join numerous restaurants, retailers and chefs in boycotting Mediterranean bluefin tuna – until stocks have recovered and the fishery is properly controlled and managed.

WWF has presented the petition, on behalf of 15,941 concerned individuals, to top fisheries decision-makers today in Marrakech, Morrocco where the 46 Contracting Parties of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) are meeting to decide the future of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean.

“Thousands of consumers from across the world are voting with their wallets by not buying or eating endangered Mediterranean bluefin tuna,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “WWF hopes ICCAT acts on this strong plea from global citizens.”

As increasing numbers of responsible consumers say no to bluefin, the list of chefs, restaurants and retailers around the world that have stopped serving and selling bluefin is also growing. The trailblazers – Auchan in France, Carrefour in Italy, Coop in Italy and Switzerland, ICA in Norway, Moshi Moshi in the UK, and Memento in Spain – have now been joined by many others in taking bluefin off their menus and shelves.

These are Benoît Delbasserue French chef; Casino French supermarket; Coop Norwegian supermarket; Deutsche See German processor; Elior French restaurant chain; Gottfried Friedrichs German processor; M&J UK seafood supplier; Migros Swiss supermarket; Relais du Parc French restaurant; Sergi Arola, Dario Barrio, Karel Bell – Spanish chefs; and over 50 restaurants in Monaco.

“Bluefin tuna was one of the star items on our menu, but the critical situation of the stocks made me take it off the plates so that diners can keep enjoying it in years to come,” said Sergi Arola, Spanish celebrity chef. “I believe it’s my duty to take care of the sustainability of a dish as well as its taste.”

“ICCAT members are under pressure from numerous countries, international institutions, scientists and even their own review to close this fishery and allow it to recover,” said Dr Tudela. “Now they are also coming under pressure from more and more of their own citizens, their noted chefs, their leading restaurants and their leading marketers.

"It is time for ICCAT to take note of this growing market aversion to the tuna slaughter and to finally follow its so-far hollow boast to act in accordance with the science.”

Dr Tudela noted that should ICCAT fail to act this week in Marrakech, support would grow for moving from attempting to control fishers to using a trade ban to save the species from collapse.

Signs of Amur tiger in China give hope for struggling species

2008-11-19

Changchun, China – The discovery of Amur tiger tracks in Changbaishan in north-eastern China has given conservationists hope for a species that is rarely seen in that area.

A walker in the region spotted the tracks and recorded them on his mobile phone. A century ago such a sight would have been fairly common, with hundreds of Amur tigers,on the prowl. It is thought that now only about 20 remain in the area.

“Tiger tracks found in this area show that the tigers are moving deeper into China from the Sino-Russian border,” said Fan Zhiyong, director of WWF-China’s Species Programme. “Therefore, it is of critical importance that tiger conservation occurs in the whole Changbaishan area.”

There are just over 500 Amur tigers in the wild and it is listed as critically endangered on IUCN’s red list of endangered species. The main threats to Amur tigers in north-eastern China are habitat degradation, poaching, fragmentation of tiger habitats and a small prey population to feed from.

WWF and its partners have been focusing their efforts to save the Amur tiger on a number of fronts: helping ungulate populations such as wild boar and roe deer – which are the tiger’s main prey – to recover by helping communities find alternative livelihood options; stopping poaching by helping local authorities carry out anti-poaching activities; and increasing and connecting protected tiger habitats so tigers can safely move from one area to another.

Thanks to vigorous anti-poaching and other conservation efforts on the Russian side, the tiger population there has become stable over the last decade and is beginning to increase. As such, should the feeding population in Changbaishan be restored and protected in an effectively managed tiger habitat, then those tigers across the border may come to occupy the area.

Conservationists in the Changbaishan area are very eager for this to occur, and the fact that tiger tracks have now been found in the Wangqing Forestry Bureau twice in the last two years is an encouraging sign.

“Although Wangqing Forestry Bureau is a timber management unit, it attaches great importance to wildlife conservation,” said Liang Jixiang, head of the Forest Management Department of Wangqing Forestry Bureau. “We are calling for support and help from interested parties and experts at home and abroad to help find ways to make Wangqing a home for tigers.”

WWF’s Changchun Programme Office has recently developed the Hungchun-Wangqing-Dongning Tiger Conservation Planning tool enable greater coordination of activities across the region and to help maintain these fragile populations of Amur tiger.

“WWF is working with the Chinese government and other partners to achieve the restoration and recovery of tigers to north-east China – the one remaining place in all of China where the recovery of this majestic species is a real possibility,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, director of WWF-International’s Species Programme.

Humans and elephants on collision course in South Asia

2008-11-17

Kathmandu, Nepal: Massive international investment in large-scale infrastructure projects in southern Asia will increase human-elephant conflict and cause more deaths on both sides unless much greater care is taken.

A new report released today, funded by the World Bank as part of the World Bank-WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation & Sustainable Use, warns international investors that a clear strategy for keeping human-elephant conflict under control makes economic as well as environmental sense.

It is estimated that the economic damage caused by human-elephant conflict amounts to millions of dollars in some countries and in many cases it is those responsible for new land developments that have to foot the bill.

“Billions of dollars lined up for regional and national level infrastructural investments such as the Trans-Asian highway project and various hydro-power and irrigation projects are going to significantly increase human-elephant conflict across Asia,” said Christy Williams, Coordinator of WWF’s Asian elephant and rhino conservation program.

“Banks and investors need to show leadership when it comes to human-elephant conflict by adding mitigation options into their large infrastructure plans in places where elephants are found from the beginning.”

Human-animal conflict is exacerbated whenever land where the animals traditionally find food and living space is taken away as human population and aspiration increases. In this situation elephants frequently raid crop fields and break down houses to get at stored crops.

Chance encounters between elephants and people, as well as efforts of people to guard against elephants, result in injury and death of humans. Harmful methods employed by people in the process result in death and injury of elephants, thereby escalating the conflict.

The report – Review of Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Measures Practised in South Asia – was compiled by WWF-Nepal, the Centre for Conservation and Research Sri Lanka (CCR) and the Nature Conservation Foundation.

It analyses case by case the methods local people are using to keep elephants away from their houses and finds that, in order to reduce the many costs of human-elephant conflict, a strategy that explains the most effective ways to mitigate the conflict is urgently needed.

The report notes that a comprehensive strategy could help investors planning infrastructure projects in south Asia to include human-elephant conflict mitigation options from the beginning, which would lead to both economic and conservation gains.

"Most mitigation measures currently being used are just akin to bandaging the wounds and not treating the root cause,” said Prithiviraj Fernando, chairman of CCR-Sri Lanka. “Good land-use planning that takes both people and elephant needs into account is the only long-term solution.”

Europe sits on damning bluefin tuna report

2008-11-14

Barcelona, Spain: A European fisheries report demonstrating continuing widespread infringements by bluefin tuna fleets despite increased fleet surveillance in the Mediterranean has been delayed until after the conclusion of next week's key international tuna commission meeting to decide on a new management regime for the fishery.

The existence of the report, revealed today by The Economist, undermines Europe's promise of support for strong action possibly including temporary closure of the fishery at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in Marrakech, Morocco.

It also undermines European claims that it is bringing rampant bluefin overfishing under control, with a summary hurriedly produced after repeated demands from the European Parliament noting that extensive consultations with fishers and improved surveillance and inspections had little effect on the low priority industry gave to ICCAT rules.

“After decades of ignoring the science, ICCAT and member states are now trying to outdo each other in rhetoric about how much the science must matter,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Fisheries director for WWF Mediterranean.

“The information gathered by Europe’s Community Fisheries Control Agency provides unprecedented data on the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery that would have been extremely precious for ICCAT scientists to make appropriate management recommendations.

“Shockingly, this valuable information has been kept hidden from scientists, thus undermining the quality of fisheries management advice – and the European Community, representing all EU Members States at ICCAT, must be held responsible for this.”

Earlier this year, WWF welcomed Europe's promise of vastly improved inspection and surveillance of the bluefin fleet and fattening farms by the CFCA, based in Vigo, Spain.

The Economist claims that a comprehensive CFCA report - the product of a €20 million investment in seeking to reign in the bluefin fishery - went to the European Commission in August and that an abbreviated version only was provided to the European Parliament’s Fisheries Commission earlier this month.

The abbreviated version is alarming enough, noting that “the level of apparent infringements detected in the tugs and the purse seiner fleet is considerable”, “the (illegal) use of spotter planes for searching bluefin tuna concentrations is still wide spread” and “as regards the recording and reporting of bluefin tuna catches . . . the ICCAT rules have not been generally respected”.

European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has said that the last management rules for this beleaguered fishery – agreed at a previous ICCAT meeting in Dubrovnik in 2006 – would work, as long as there was compliance with the rules.

“This latest evidence of widespread non-compliance, information that has been hidden from ICCAT scientists and decision-makers, should be case enough that the only solution now is to close the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery – pending a complete overhaul of the fiasco,” Dr Tudela said.

EU’s ideas for energy looking tired

2008-11-13

Brussels, Belgium: A coherent plan to reduce energy consumption was conspicuous by its absence from the European Union’s latest attempt to deal with the energy and climate crisis.

The European Commission today released an “Energy security and solidarity action plan”, which addresses some of the gaps in the present EU climate and energy policy.

But there were major contradictions among suggested policies, a lack of ambition and a mixture of actions with little relevance for the environmental and economic objectives outlined in the proposals.

Energy efficiency is the most immediate and cost-effective solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure resilience to an economic crisis and improve security of energy supply in Europe. Despite this it remains absent from the European Union energy policy.

“Proposed measures fail in ambition as they do not include a mandatory energy saving target of 20 per cent by 2020 for the European Union,” said Mariangiola Fabbri, Energy Policy Officer at WWF-EPO.

“This is key to reduce consumers’ energy bill, boost innovation, facilitate the achievement of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and support a strong EU performance at international climate negotiations.”

As Europe’s buildings account for 40 per cent of EU final energy use, the improvement of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive should be a priority and an opportunity not to be missed to strengthen the EU’s climate and energy goals.

“EU countries should have been obliged to have stricter standards for both existing and new buildings by 2015,” said Fabbri. “We need to shift buildings from being energy wasters to climate savers.”

On a more positive note the EU intends to embark on the “Renewable energy supergrid”, an innovative electricity highway to connect solar power from southern Europe and north Africa, offshore wind power produced in the Atlantic and other renewable energy sources from the mainland. However, a continuous focus on fossil fuels might undermine this project.

“The renewable energy supergrid must become a priority as it has the potential to provide renewable electricity to all European citizens and make the European energy sector carbon-free in the decades to come,” said Dr Stephan Singer, WWF’s Global Energy Policy Director.

“It is disappointing, though, to see new investments for infrastructures that keep Europe dependent on oil, gas and other conventional fuels which counteract the benefit of renewable energy.”

WWF is urging the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to strengthen the laws and come to an agreement before the EU elections in June 2009.

Malaysian logging plans threaten rhinos and tigers

2008-11-13

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Habitats of the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros and the endangered Malayan tiger are under threat from a plan to clear nearly 19,000 hectares of forest in north-eastern Malaysia.

A Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) has revealed that the Terengganu state government has proposed to extract all commercially valuable timber in 12,630ha of forest, adjacent to the 6,130ha of forest reserve currently being cleared for the construction of two hydropower dams.

The Tembat and Petuang Forest Reserves also act as a water catchment area for Tasik Kenyir, the largest man-made lake in South-east Asia. They are currently being logged to build the Puah and Tembat dams and are home to the Sumatran rhinoceros and Malayan tiger. The forest reserves also fall within the dam catchment area.

In addition the DEIA, which was available for public viewing recently, states that 30 per cent of the existing elephant population within the project area will be forced into nearby plantations, creating more human-elephant conflict.

“Evidence on the ground also suggests that logging and clearing of the reservoir area has already proceeded prior to the approval of the DEIA,” said Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma, CEO of WWF-Malaysia. “There seems to be little regard for relevant laws and the DEIA process.”

A survey conducted as part of the DEIA has revealed evidence of the presence of the elusive Sumatran rhinoceros within the Tembat Forest Reserve, and as recently as August 2008 a survey by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks’ Sumatran Rhinoceros Task Force revealed evidence such as feeding trails and horn scratch marks.

Both forest reserves are also habitats for other endangered wildlife like the Malayan tiger and Malayan tapir, which are totally protected under the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972.

Dato’ Dionysius also expressed his concerns over the anticipated high erosion rate due to the logging activity and forest clearing in the area, leading to deterioration in river water quality. “The Kelah fish population found in rivers there will undeniably decrease,” he said. Kelah has high conservation and commercial values.

The DEIA report also states that the deterioration in river water quality in Sungai Tembat and Sungai Terengganu Mati will affect eco-tourism and that high soil erosion and sedimentation will affect fish biodiversity and spawning grounds.

Dato’ Dionysius further stated that logging in a dam catchment forest will increase siltation and could reduce the dam lifetime in the long run, even if logging was only carried out during the construction stage of the dam. “This is because forests take many years to regenerate and fully resume their ecosystem function as water catchment and for soil protection,” he said.

Sustainable shipment opens new palm oil options

2008-11-12

Rotterdam, NL: The arrival of the first certified sustainable palm oil shipment in Europe opens up possibilities for palm oil users to move away from subsidising forest destruction and social disruption from expanding palm oil plantations.

The shipment, from south-east Asia, is of palm oil certified as compliant with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria, a set of standards that ensure that palm oil is produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

As a founding member of the RSPO, WWF has worked since 2002 with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the RSPO standards contain robust social and environmental criteria, including a prohibition on the conversion of valuable forests.

“The arrival of RSPO certified palm oil in Europe is an important milestone,” said Rodney Taylor, Director of WWF International’s Forest Programme. “With the RSPO’s certification system up and running, companies now have the means to buy responsibly.”

Over 28 million tonnes of palm oil are produced worldwide and it is used in a wide variety of foods including margarine, cooking oil, crisps, cakes, biscuits and pastry. It is also found in cosmetics, soaps, shampoos and detergents.

However oil palm plantations have often imposed environmental and social costs due to loss of habitat important to threatened and endangered species and indiscriminate forest clearing which contributes to climate change.

The RSPO brings together oil palm growers, oil processors, food companies, retailers, NGOs and investors to help ensure that no rainforest areas are sacrificed for new palm oil plantations, that all plantations minimize their environmental impacts and that basic rights of local peoples and plantation workers are fully respected.

Several European companies, including Unilever, Sainsbury’s and Albert Heijn, have already made strong public commitments to buy certified sustainable palm oil.

Many more companies need to do the same. WWF calls on retailers and manufacturers to get behind the RSPO by making concrete, timebound plans to shift their palm oil purchases to 100 per cent certified.

While welcoming the shipment, WWF also believes that the RSPO needs to tighten and strengthen its systems, and will be encouraging such action at the November annual meeting of the body.

RSPO membership is open to producers who are not certified. While its Code of Conduct encourages member producers to pursue certification, the RSPO lacks any real checks on the practices of these uncertified members.

Stakeholders do not always appreciate the distinction between a company’s membership of the RSPO and the certification of individual plantations.

This places the RSPO’s credibility at risk, especially given the recent Greenpeace reports alleging that several RSPO members are engaged in practices prohibited by the RSPO criteria for socially and environmentally responsible production of palm oil.

“The RSPO should fully investigate allegations of misconduct against its members,” said Taylor. “The RSPO can maintain its credibility by refusing to provide any form of cover for a company that violates the RSPO sustainability criteria.”

Energy outlook preaches revolution but doesn’t quite get to it

2008-11-12

Gland, Switzerland: WWF has welcomed the International Energy Agency's call for an ‘energy revolution’ when the inter-governmental organisation presented its new World Energy Outlook in London today.

WWF shares IEA’s view that the use of coal is the biggest threat to the world’s climate. The new report predicts that if governments fail to put into place the right policies and measures, coal use will grow by at least two per cent per annum until 2030 - much more than the other conventional fuels.

“What concerns us is that the IEA fails to call for an end to ’business-as-usual’ coal,” said Dr Stephan Singer, Director of WWF’s Global Energy Program. “For WWF, any policy to contain dangerous climate change must stipulate that only very low-carbon and pollution emitting coal energy sources are being deployed.”

An alternative climate-compatible scenario, included in the IEA outlook for the first time, aims at keeping atmospheric CO2 concentration at the safer 450ppm level, costing about $US 9 trillion more than business as usual over the next 25 years but yielding enormous pay-back in saved energy costs.

“We do share the view of the IEA that an energy revolution is needed,” said Dr Singer. “Yet the IEA assumes an oil price of US$100 – 120 per barrel between now and 2030. This is much too low, does not take account of increasingly depleted oil resources and will never trigger that energy revolution.”

“IEA's climate friendly scenario is truly ambitious compared to earlier IEA scenarios, but underestimates what is required. It sets the bar too low by talking about achieving an almost 40% CO2 reduction by the OECD by 2030 based on 2006 levels. What we need is more: a 25-40 per cent reduction over 1990 levels already in 2020.”

WWF shares the IEA analysis that most of new investments in the energy sector between now and 2030 must and will go into the power sector – approximately $US 17 trillion in IEA’s low carbon scenario.

“That sounds a lot of cash. But it’s only around 0.5% of global GDP which is far less than the price of inaction in form of the much higher costs of damaging impacts of climate change.”

“Also, the various non-climate benefits such as reduced air pollution, new market opportunities for clean technologies, and saved money from energy bills are not included in this calculation.”

The IEA's 450 ppm scenario shows a 40% share of renewables in the global power sector by 2030 and about 350 GW of capacity under carbon capture and storage – an essential but still largely uncosted technology set to become part of the price of using coal.

“Governments have shown that they have a pivotal role in regulating the financial markets,” said Dr Singer. “They need to assume a similar role in relation to energy markets and their emissions into the atmosphere.”

Chinese wildlife consumption on the rise

2008-11-11

Beijing, China: The consumption of threatened species is on the rise in China again following a brief hiatus owing to fears surrounding the SARS virus in 2003.

A survey of five southern Chinese cities by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, found that 13 of 25 markets and 20 of 50 restaurants had wild animals for sale. A total of 56 species were found and, of these, eight are protected under Chinese law and 17 are protected under CITES, which prohibits or strictly controls international trade.

The majority of illegal wild animal trade was in freshwater turtles and snakes. In China, freshwater turtles and snakes are sold mostly for their meat and for medicinal purposes.

The findings are included in the TRAFFIC report entitled The State of Wildlife Trade in China in 2007, published today. Also found by the report is the fact that Chinese traditional medicine trade is growing rapidly and that China is the world’s second largest wood importer.

“The report examines the impact China’s consumption is having on biodiversity and what emerging trends there are in wildlife trade,” said Professor Xu Hongfa, co-ordinator of TRAFFIC’s China Programme.

The report notes that that while Russia is currently the top supplier of wood to China, Africa increasingly accounts for a growing percentage which is stimulating illegal timber trade in Africa.

“Chinese companies buying African timber must ensure the benefits of the timber trade are equitably shared, right down to the African rural communities on whose land the trees are growing,” said Professor Xu.

Chinese traditional medicine trade has grown at an annual rate of 10 per cent since 2003. Most exports ($687 million-worth) go to Asia, but Europe ($162 million) and North America ($144 million) are increasingly important markets.

Over-harvesting and poor management of resources are looming threats, and currently there are no standards to ensure the sustainable collection of wild medicinal plants.

“The trends seen in this report that show increasing demand in wildlife products and diminishing supply should be a wake-up call for law enforcement, policy makers and consumers,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme.

“We call upon Chinese authorities to enhance enforcement and public education efforts, to stop illegal trade and reduce consumption of threatened species from around the world.”

One bright spot for China is the fact that the illegal ivory trade is declining. The report found that the situation has improved since a year earlier, with surveys showing a substantial reduction in the number of outlets selling ivory illegally.

“The reduction in the illegal ivory trade is very welcome, but we urge the authorities to remain vigilant, particularly to ensure there is no laundering of illegal ivory,” said Professor Xu.

The report is the second in an annual series on emerging trends in China’s wildlife trade, and provides up-to-date reviews of work being carried out to prevent illegal and support sustainable trade in China.

Other issues examined in the report include the illegal trade in musk, the link between the sea cucumber trade to Taiwan with marine biodiversity in the Galapagos, and links between Russian salmon fisheries and Chinese markets.

EU and Norway in cod stalemate

2008-11-10

Brussels, Belgium: An impasse between Norway and the European Union today has put the recovery of North Sea cod stocks at further risk.

Unable to reach an agreement with Norway, with which the EU co-manages North Sea waters, the European Commission could not issue a recommendation for quotas of most stocks of North Sea cod when it presented its annual recommendations for 2009 North-East Atlantic fisheries quotas.

Aaron McLoughlin, Head of WWF’s European Marine Programme said: “It is disappointing that the European Commission could not set out clear recommendations for North Sea cod stocks, whose recovery currently hangs in the balance.

“Every year thousands of tonnes of North Sea cod is needlessly thrown overboard, making a mockery of the whole quota system. As Norway is pushing for the EU to implement tougher discard measures, we hope that this delay in issuing recommendations means that the Commission is seeking a solution to the issue of discards.”

WWF believes cod stocks will only be preserved through the mandatory implementation of technical measures, including the use of more selective fishing gear to avoid catching cod in the first place, and the avoidance of fishing in areas with large concentrations of cod to enable the species to recover.

“Now Norway has an opportunity to drive a deal on tackling discards through its negotiations with the EU over fishing rights in the North Sea,” said McLoughlin. “Last year the EU agreed to cut their huge discards to 10 per cent and WWF are calling on Europe’s fisheries ministers to honour that commitment.”

WWF did welcome proposals to reduce fishing effort for North Sea sole and shrimp. The final decision on today's proposals will be made by EU Fisheries Ministers at the Council meeting on 17-19 December in Brussels.

Canadian territory fails to protect polar bears

2008-11-10

Iqaluit, Canada: Canada's youngest territory is facing an international backlash following its decision to leave unchanged the number of polar bears it allows to be killed in part of the Baffin Bay region each year.

Nunavut, which came into being in 1999, has bowed to pressure from the local Inuit hunters and agreed to maintain the annual allowable harvest quota of 105 polar bears. The Baffin Bay sub-population straddles Canada and adjacent areas of Greenland. The number of polar bears has dropped from an estimated 2,100 in 1997 to about 1,500 today due to high levels of hunting by Inuit in both countries.

The hunting quota was set at 105 in 2004, based on the relatively large population numbers from the late 1990s. The harvesting in Nunavut was also based on an assumption that the number of bears killed in neighbouring Greenland was as low as 18 a year, but subsequent research has shown the actual figure to be about 10 times higher.

"You can't pretend to be looking after polar bears by carrying on with the same level of harvest that has led to a 30 per cent decline in the population, it is just totally unacceptable,” Peter J. Ewins, director of species conservation for WWF-Canada, told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper.

WWF is calling for a joint management plan between Greenland, Nunavut and the federal Canadian government that would allow populations to recover and then be managed on a sustainable level.

For many environmentalists, polar bears have become a symbol of global warming because the ice habitat that they depend on is melting due to climate change.

Environmentalists have warned that the hunting decision may lead to international boycotts against Nunavut, and to concerns that the government, which relies heavily on advice from Inuit hunters, is ignoring the scientific research showing a precipitous plunge in the number of bears.