Assessing Puma’s Practices
Sustainability’s largest boost may happen as global companies sign on to environmentally friendly operations. The sportswear company Puma is establishing sustainable practices that include having their 20 key suppliers in South East Asia and other regions issue their own sustainability reports starting in 2011. Puma is also supporting conservation projects, albeit with some bumps along the way.
Puma’s supplier reporting guidelines align with the Global Reporting Initiative. According to Puma this means that twenty strategic suppliers in its supply chain from China to Cambodia will be trained to report on sustainability concepts such as social and working conditions. The project teaches participants how to measure sustainability by using key performance indicators, while becoming more transparent and learning how to report on energy consumption, waste production and other issues.
Puma, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has also announced three major conservation projects in Africa as part of its ‘Play For Life’ Campaign, a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of species and habitat conservation. ‘Play for Life’ has been inspired by the 2010 Soccer World Cup, explains Afrique Avenir. The campaign promoted the international year of biodiversity through events, fundraising initiatives and public service announcements which culminated in the public choosing three beneficiaries for campaign donations through online voting. Proceeds will be donated to help save endangered African lions in Zambia, elephant populations in the Ivory Coast and Liberia, and gorillas in Nigeria.
However, Puma is not flawless in its conservation efforts, as evidenced by its 20% share holdings in Wilderness Safaris, a tourism company that has built a lodge on land belonging to the Bushmen of Botswana. Afrique Avenir reports that Survival International recently urged Puma to separate from the company, which supports luxury tourism in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve while ignoring the inhumane treatment of the Bushmen who are not even allowed to access their own water.
Becoming a sustainable and conservation friendly sports lifestyle company is clearly a process of trial and error for Puma. If at first they don’t succeed, let’s hope they learn from mistakes and try again!
Tags: companies, Conservation, endangered, global, Global Reporting Initiative, Play For Life, Puma, sportswear, Survival International, sustainability, UNEP, Wilderness Safaris
Moving Turtles to Safety
Among the videos on National Geographic’s website is a Gulf Turtle Eggs Relocated video about volunteers moving loggerhead turtle eggs to a new, safe location. I’m so glad that biologists have agreed to move the turtles rather than let them hatch and swim into the oil spill.
As well, the video shows 22 Kemp’s Ridley turtle babies that were released into a safe part of the Atlantic shore. As I wrote in this blog’s May 5th article Conserving Turtles, Kemp’s Ridley turtles are the world’s most endangered turtles/tortoises, and live only in the Gulf of Mexico.
Altogether, over 700 turtle nests are to be relocated. The turtle rescue group is represented on the video by volunteers and a couple of spokespeople from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. The video is an interesting inside look at a conservation operation, thanks to National Geographic and Videographer and Field Producer Fritz Faerber.
Tags: Conservation, eggs, endangered, Gulf of Mexico, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Kemp's Ridley, loggerhead, National Geographic, oil spill, turtle, US Fish and Wildlife, video
Dangerous Migration
The BP oil spill is about to hit closer to home as millions of migratory birds from Canada will soon stop over in the Gulf Coast on their way South for the winter.
CTV reports that 40 to 60 species of birds across Canada and the US, including ducks, pelicans, gulls, herons and sandpipers, are beginning to head towards the Gulf area. Many are expected to never return from the immensely polluted waters. Some of these birds, such as the endangered piping plover, spend winters along the Gulf Coast while others use its shores to stock up on food before flying to Latin America, explains USA Today.
As oil continues to rise to the surface, countless birds have died and thousands more will be in danger due to migrations. Habitats are forever changed as oil has seeped into plants and marshes, destroying food sources. USA Today reports that although it is almost impossible to steer migrating birds away from instinctive destinations, conservationists such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service are taking action by paying landowners to let their farmland relax, provide food and restore wetlands to create habitats for migrating birds. The creation of barrier marshes/islands, along with beach cleaning projects and bird population monitoring, are also key protection strategies.
Migrations coupled with the possibility of an active hurricane season in the oil-slicked waters could threaten multiple bird species and cause unpredictable effects on ecosystems and natural resources. The loss of birds will throw ecosystems off-balance and negatively affect insect and fish populations, not to mention the livelihood of human beings. If we do not take swift decisive action against the black plague that is the BP oil spill, the health of our planet may indeed suffer.
Tags: birds, BP, endangered, migrations, migratory, oil spill
Veolia Wildlife Photography Awards
Wildlife photography awards are good opportunities for photographers to be recognized for their skilled work, and for everyone to enjoy some great photos of animals. Several years ago I visited a museum that was hosting some International Wildlife Photography Award winning photographs, and I returned to see the exhibit about five times. You can view a similar exhibit online now, through the BBC Wildlife Magazine and the London Natural History Museum.
The Museum is host to the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards contest, which is open and accepting entries till March 5, 2010. If you’re a photographer of any age you can enter online.
If you enjoy looking at superb photographs of animals, there’s an online gallery of the 2009 award winners. You can even vote for your personal favorite photograph.
The website also has a section on the Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife, which commemorates Gerald Durrell’s work with endangered species and his long-standing involvement with the photography competition. The animal(s) in the photograph must be from the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as critically endangered or endangered, vulnerable or near threatened at an international or national level.
Thanks to Veolia for their role in sponsoring the competition.
The Award exhibit I attended showed a film about the patience and skill that photographers need to capture an image that wins an award. Some say that luck plays a role. The resulting images are well worth visiting, either online or in person. Enjoy them!
(Note: The photographs used with this posting are not known to be from any award competition).
Palm Oil and Rainforest Destruction
In Guatemala just over a year ago, I flew in a small plane so low over the rainforest that we could see some large birds circle and land in a tree. For the first time in my life, I witnessed what I’ve read about tropical rainforests for years – the grassy sections where the forest has been chopped down, the dirt areas where now nothing will grow, and the little clumps of forest that are too small for anything larger than a coatimundi to live in. “What was there before?” I wondered. “What animals have we lost? What medicinal plants?”
“What you saw in Guatemala is not very different from what you see flying over the Amazon, [or] over parts of Southeast Asia or Africa,” Leila Salazar-Lopez of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) told me today. “Anywhere where there’s rainforest, they are literally on the chopping block.”
Agribusiness is responsible for much of the destruction. RAN’s Rainforest Agribusiness campaign is focused on trying to protect tropical rainforest from the alarmingly fast expansion into rainforests. One of the commodities responsible for this is palm oil.
Palm oil is in about 50% of our consumer goods, including snack foods, cereals, detergents, cosmetics and even biofuels. Most people don’t know that, Leila told me. The reason palm oil is such a globally-expanding commodity is that it’s cheap – it’s the least expensive source of vegetable oil in the world.
Unfortunately, palm oil is a tropical plant, originally from Africa, and can only be grown in the tropics. About 90% of it is from Indonesia and Malaysia. “The highest rate of deforestation in the world is in Indonesia. They got a Guinness Book of World Records acknowledgement – they’re destroying 20 square miles of rainforest every day – that’s about three football fields,” Leila explained. Indonesia has destroyed around half of its rainforest already, over the last few decades. Due to increased demand for palm oil, the Indonesian government has already announced plans to convert another 18 million hectares into palm oil plantations by 2020. That’s “approximately the size of Missouri,” as Leila put into perspective.
So much rainforest land has been cleared, burned or drained; people have been evicted from their homes; and it’s negatively affecting our climate. Animals are being displaced from their habitats and don’t have anywhere to live, including some incredible species such as the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant and the sunbear. “These animals are very, very threatened from palm oil plantation expansion,” Leila added. As well, up to 20 million Indonesians depend on forests for survival. If “forests are cut down, [the people] can’t harvest food, they can’t hunt, they can’t live in the way they’ve been living for thousands of years.”
RAN is campaigning to stop the destruction of any more rainforest for this commodity. They suggest that companies that are using palm oil should research their supply chain and find out where the palm oil is coming from. They need to let their suppliers know that they “only want socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, [and] don’t want palm oil that comes from destroyed rainforests that displaces communities and destroys the climate. We don’t want that kind of palm oil,” Leila advised.
There’s a Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) that has principles and standards that companies should follow, at a minimum. Companies should act responsibly and source palm oil only from suppliers who protect high conservation value forests and get the free consent of forest communities.
RAN is speaking with global companies such as Cargill, trying to get their message understood and adopted. More information is available on RAN’s website.
Leila also suggested that you download Green: The Film – a documentary that shows through images and music what rainforest destruction due to palm oil looks like from the viewpoint of an orangutan. It’s a realistic portrayal of how the animals are being impacted on a daily basis.
Tags: agri business, agriculture, Cargill, Climate Change, Conservation, endangered, Green: The Film, Guatemala, Indonesia, palm oil, rainforest, Rainforest Action Network, rainforest destruction, RAN, RSPO, sustainable, sustainable palm oil
How Science Helps Protect Endangered Species
Just as good business management helps non-profits save endangered animals, integrally- sound science is also essential for saving the animals.
Legally, the decision of whether or not to add a threatened species to the Endangered Species Act list requires the use of “the best available science in a couple of key areas,” Jon Hunter, Policy Director of the Endangered Species Coalition, told me on Monday. So the integrity of the science is very important.
“The polar bear is a great example in the last couple of years, [–] the best science we have indicates that they are on a very bad path,” Jon explained. The science that was needed pushed the boundaries of what has been traditionally considered good science. “It looked further out and relies more on modeling and other predictions rather than a more traditional head count of how many exist and how many there were ten years ago.”
The US Geological Survey had to consider what the best climate models indicate will happen to the ice around the Arctic and Alaska. The models told the USGS that “this is what will happen to the ice” and “from the ice, this is what will happen to the polar bears,” Jon explained. “As a result, they could indicate that the polar bears were at serious risk, losing a lot of what they depend on for survival.” This leads to the conclusion that there “clearly is a threat to the polar bear population being able to survive as a species.”
“The definition of a threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future,” Jon continued. “So they clearly said, ‘the best science we have, the models, indicate that there will be a risk at some point in the foreseeable future’.” This is a fundamentally different use of science from the traditional approach which examines how “this species is being killed today by this cause.” But Jon indicates that science is changing towards this model, and adds that “it’s important that we really look at science in this form to say ‘what can we expect with this species?’ ” Good wildlife conservation considers the future of a species.
Sometimes politics enters into the field and politicians question scientific findings. For this reason, agencies are doing more peer reviews. That way, the science has a higher likelihood of standing up in court, which is where debates or challenges often go. If the science is not solid, cases can be thrown out of court, which can sometimes allow threats to endangered species. Most often, court cases examine “whether or not all of the science was used, if conclusions are actually founded in other determinations, and also how a decision or a delisting decision prescribes exactly as the law requires,” Jon explained.
While not all endangered species decisions go through courts, there are a large number of challenges. While details of challenges vary with species, the challenges are launched by members of two major groups. “Oftentimes if a species isn’t listed, environmental groups look at it to closely to see if it would make a good court challenge. If it does get listed, opponents to endangered species protection may challenge it,” such as a logging or a mining company. And regardless of what side the court challenge comes from, the integrity and quality of the science used to make the decision can make a large difference for or against a threatened species.
Tags: Arctic, Conservation, endangered, Endangered Species, global warming, polar bear, science, spotted owl, wild animals
Saving Our World’s Tigers
Credit: John Goodrich, WCS
Into a world with just less than 3,000 tigers left in the wild, Tigers Forever was born in 2006 with the goal of increasing key tiger populations by 50% over the next ten years. They knew it would take more than money alone, since tigers were getting more funding than most endangered species and yet were still declining. But in the darkness were two lights – Wildlife Conservation Society had two long term field sites where tigers were actually doing well. Panthera and Wildlife Conservation Society leaders studied these two sites and found that their success was due to how the sites were being managed. The sites held the lessons of how to save and increase the number of tigers. Tigers Forever is based on those success stories, matched with business sense and streamlined and focused efforts.
Intrigued by how Tigers Forever had set a strategic goal and was being so well managed, I enjoyed having a personal interview with Andrea Heydlauff, Managing Director of Panthera, who filled me in.
New York entrepreneur and Panthera board member Michael Cline committed to contributing $5 million over ten years to Tigers Forever, with Panthera contributing the same amount (so together it’s $10 million over 10 years) . Wildlife Conservation Society matches those funds, and the groups collaborate. As well, Cline understood the power of strategic planning and management, and led the way in setting the goal of increasing tiger numbers at key sites by 50%, collectively. Of the 13 tiger countries, WCS had field scientists in 9 of them, and Panthera had a presence through their commitment and program management.
Credit: WCS Myanmar
The eight sites selected for management all had known tiger and prey populations, conservation manpower and efforts, and buy-in from government and local partnerships. Engaging all factions is key to successfully accomplishing conservation goals. “It wasn’t just random,” Andrea explained, “it’s where is it that we are going to have the most impact.”
Aside from poaching and hunting of both tigers and their prey, another of the biggest threats facing tigers is connectivity where they are suffering “from fragmentation and isolation”. In places such as India, “with human population pressure you’re getting these postage stamp, isolated, almost little Disney parks of tigers”, Andrea commented. Different populations of tigers need connectivity to keep the animals healthy and genetically strong and ensure their long term future.
It’s also important to ease conflicts between humans and tigers. Too often, people living in or around core-protected areas allow their livestock to graze openly in tiger habitat, and run the risk of losing their livestock to hungry tigers – especially where there is little to no wild prey. This affects human livelihoods. Sometimes the solution is as simple as having local authorities enforce a ban against livestock in core areas and having patrols make sure that domestic animals graze in selected areas. “We are the NGO, we can’t necessarily do the enforcement, but we can train and support the enforcement teams”, Andrea mentioned. Other solutions involve teaching local people good animal husbandry techniques, such as bringing livestock into fenced areas at night rather than letting them roam free. “What’s good for cats is good for people”.
Tigers Forever is committed to achieving their annual goals. Good site monitoring information about tigers and their prey, about the hunting of tigers and their prey, and habitat loss/fragmentation, is essential. Through camera traps and density estimates, the field research provides important information that tells managers how the program is doing, the impact and effectiveness of the patrol teams, and what may need changing. These measurements are presented in an annual meeting which brings together key people from each site as well as the managing organizations. “We conduct a rigorous analysis each year, by looking at data and looking at human efforts,” Andrea continued. By looking at the data and comparing benchmarks, those involved evaluate whether the efforts are working. If they’re not, they look at it again and change things – a perfect example of adaptive management.
This business management approach to saving tigers is producing success. In a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, signs are being seen of a growing tiger population. The reasons? Tremendous government buy-in, and hundreds of patrol park officers with high morale, good equipment, and uniforms. Unlike too many places, these park guards have pride in their jobs, excellent training including refresher courses, and individual accountability and successes. “It’s a good job to have, so the people want to keep their jobs”.
I asked Andrea if this business-like approach is the wave of the future for conservation NGOs. “Donors are smarter now – they want accountability,” she answered. How can non profits know if they’re saving animals when they lack the monitoring and annual reviews that sometimes highlight what just isn’t working? “So this is going to shift non profits to being more accountable regarding where their money is going and if targets are being met.”
With Tigers Forever, 100% of donations is put directly into the field where it’s needed. Their overhead is covered by seed funds, so donations can go to conducting the research on the ground, developing and setting up camera trap, and training park guards, “giving them the tools to be effective in working to save the tigers”, Andrea told me . Funds are needed in the field to accomplish their goals.
You can learn more about Tigers Forever by visiting their website.
Tags: Conservation, endangered, Panthera, tiger, Tigers Forever, wild animals, Wildlife Conservation Society
100 Heartbeats
The name “Hundred Heartbeat Club” was first used by E.O. Wilson in “Vanishing Before Our Eyes”, and refers to species that “literally have fewer than 100 hearts beating on our planet”. Jeff Corwin’s new book, entitled “100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species”, is their story. It’s an important book and I highly recommend it.
Personal encounters with endangered animals are told with the skill of a polished story teller. Vivid descriptions of the dangers facing wildlife are interspersed with stories of the heroes and actions that are trying to save the animals.
The book must have taken thousands of hours of research. Among my favorite tidbits is the description of a condor flying – “the beating of those wings, like the sound of sheets flapping on a clothesline in an angry gale” – is why “Native Americans nicknamed the condor ‘thunderbird’ ”.
Corwin’s passion for wild animals is clear and he’s not afraid of making readers feel emotions. His account of the evacuation of condors from the path of a fire approaching Ventana (California) is high drama, capturing the feelings of carrying endangered birds out through smoke in a US Navy helicopter.
Corwin gets it right on, such as his discussion of the bushmeat crisis. He writes about the local people: “And like everyone else in the world, they want three things: jobs, education for their children, and good medical care”. He adds, “That’s why partnerships with human development agencies and local communities are essential. It is possible if there’s a global commitment to conserve biodiversity.”
The stories behind the conservation headlines also include details about the dreadfully polluted and dammed up Yangtze River, the global disappearance of amphibians which he calls “the canaries in the coalmine”, and the determined fight to save rhinos, among others. Stories such as the comeback of the black footed ferret – which was thought to be extinct till a farmer’s dog dragged a dead one into their house, revealing a nearby living population – are amazing and give hope that similar events will occur.
It is hoped that this book will “serve as a catalyst, educating people about the state of our natural world and compelling them to help protect it for future generations”. Our challenges require the efforts of everyone – “everybody from the leader of a nation to somebody who’s just learning about this for the first time”. “Perhaps the most important component of any possible solution is having the will to find one,” Corwin quotes Richard G. Ruggiero, PhD, of the USFWS Division of International Conservation.
“It’s true that for endangered species, every day presents a challenge. But it’s also true that every day presents opportunities for us to make resounding strides,” writes Corwin. “We have the chance to do it, and we can succeed. Every heartbeat matters.”
Tags: 100 Hearbeats, bushmeat, condor, Conservation, E O Wilson, endangered, Jeff Corwin, rhino, wild animals
