Enchanted Lands and Fables

Although the snow leopard (Uncia uncia) inhabits some of the world’s most remote and rugged landscapes, by the end of the 1970s the species was seriously at risk of extinction. Degradation of the leopards’ habitat, human population growth and, in particular, poaching for their beautiful and valuable fur had driven them almost out of existence. The big cats, standing 60 centimetres at the shoulder and weighing up to 55 kilograms, retreated to remote and sparsely populated terrain where the remaining numbers – probably fewer than 7,000 – are struggling to survive.

Rodney Jackson admits it is difficult to assess the impact of his work on the number of snow leopards in the wild, since population trends are difficult to establish. The animals occupy a huge area – computer mapping indicates that their range could be as much as three million square kilometres – often in areas that are difficult to reach and are sparsely populated by humans. Moreover, until Jackson himself initiated special field training workshops, few local biologists were able to distinguish snow leopard signs from those of other large cats. Thus, it is hardly surprising that much of the available information is relatively recent, making it harder to detect trends over the past 20 years. However, the evidence Jackson has collected suggests that numbers have declined in many areas as a result of poaching, depletion of prey species and military activity.

Jackson sees clear evidence of leopard population decline in Afghanistan and all of the newly independent Central Asian republics – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. China is the largest country to harbour snow leopards, but numbers have declined sharply in most provinces such as Gansu, Qinhai and Xinjiang. They have stayed relatively unchanged in parts of Tibet and the adjacent mountain areas. On the other hand, snow leopard populations may have increased in parts of Nepal, India and Mongolia, judging by the number of local reports of livestock killings. The total population is estimated at 4,500-7,500. “However,” says Jackson, “being an optimist and having travelled widely in Nepal, India, Pakistan, China and Mongolia, I tend towards the upper figure.”

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"The future of the forest is our future" according to Robles del Moral and Forests of the Earth

In 1993, concerned by the fact that almost half of Spain was suffering the effects of soil erosion – mostly due to human-induced deforestation – Robles del Moral embarked on an ambitious crusade to persuade his compatriots to become “forest rangers” by planting and caring for native trees. He persuaded INEC members to initiate the Forests of Spain campaign and to urge ministers, mayors, leaders of environmental organisations and local dignitaries across the country to join the cause.

Within three months of the Forests of Spain’s launch, a local coordinator had been appointed in nearly every Spanish province.

“We have since organised activities all over Spain, in little villages and big cities, establishing agreements with town councils and regional governments,” says Robles del Moral. “We have planted thousands of trees in National Parks, on municipal land and elsewhere,” he adds. “And for the past five months we have broadcast a programme on Spanish public television that provides a platform to present environmental issues to viewers in Spain and South America.”

Mario’s vision may seem overambitious – even far-fetched – but already the Greenway project, initiated just last year with 130 hectares of land in Churriana, Málaga, and five hectares in the Montes de Málaga National Park, is working to develop large-scale reforestation projects in seven Latin American countries.

“With the collaboration of the Spanish Foreign Office, the telecommunications company Telefonica CIA and several other companies, we are advancing with projects in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina,” Robles del Moral says, “where the need is urgent. The terrible rain damage we hear of in these countries – floods and landslides – is not always due to natural disasters. A lot of the time it is the logical consequence of deforestation.

“And now that global climate change brought about by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is generally acknowledged as the planet’s ‘big problem’, we need to spread the word that reforestation is the best antidote. Not only do trees take in carbon dioxide as they grow and thrive, but forests are crucial to the health of water supplies, the soil and the air we breathe.”

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China is not only on the verge of becoming the leading economy of the world, it is also becoming the leading polluter. 16 of the most polluted cities of the world are in China and a majority of the population has still not got access to clean drinking water.

One of the most polluted cities in China is the northwestern city of Lanzhou, which is home to nearly 3 million people. Located at a historic location where the old silk route meets the yellow river, the city is so polluted that its inhabitants breathe in an equivalent of a cigarette pack just by inhaling the air. Ten percent of Yangtze near Lanzhou is sewage. The main polluters are the oil refineries which are also a major reason for the economic growth which Lanzhou has seen for the last four decades.

One of the key individuals trying to address these issues is Zhao Zhong. He is the Director of Green Camel Bell, which is the first environmental NGO in the province of Gansu in western China. Green Camel Bell’s aim is to protect the mother rivers, which have always been a cradle of civilization for the Chinese people.

Here’s a small example of their work from a small village in China’s Gansu province. For a long time the village survived on the water of a nearby creek, until one day the land upstream was found to be prime territory for potato farming. Capital poured in and a veritable potato heaven was established, with plenty of starch factories to make sure the rest of the world profits from the potato bounty. All the starchmaking created byproducts, but no matter, that was easily disposed of in the creek, let the downstream village worry about it. The village soon found they couldn’t irrigate their crops; their teeth grew yellow and cragged the more water they drank; they collected rain water to avoid using the polluted creek, and that worked for awhile, but then the droughts came; A drought every year for the past five years, each worse than the last, the climate was changing and the water was leaving and the village was wilting. Green Camel Bell is doing what it can: in this particular village it is helping to move the local agriculture toward sunflowers, a hardier plant requiring less irrigation work, so at least the villagers can earn a living. Green Camel Bell is also prospecting for water purification methods for use throughout Gansu. Last year an Australian institution heard of Green Camel Bell’s work and donated a batch of household water purifiers which was dispatched to local schools and families in high-need areas. To supplement reaction with prevention, Green Camel Bell serves as the region’s major watchdog NGO and engages in water pollution mapping, acting as a bridge of communication between polluting enterprises and the local communities they effect.  (Story courtesy Yang Chu)

This is just one case study from amongst the many projects and initiative that Green Camel Bell is carrying out. Green Camel Bell’s working fields include:

• Environmental Education and Communication
• Capacity Building
• Rural Community Development
• Water Resources
• Desertification
• Wildlife Conservation

GCB has drawn up the first “green map” of Lanzhou and has published and distributed materials on environmental protection such as the “Green Camel Bell Newsletter” and the “Collected Works of the Gansu College Students’ Green Camp”. GCB’s current projects include the “Gansu Water Protection Project”, the “Local Environmental Teaching Materials on Desertification in Minqin, Gansu Project”, and the “Capacity Building Project for Environmental Organizations in Gansu”.

To read more on their work visit:

http://www.greencambell.ngo.cn/en/

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Nestled in the trans-himalayan range, Spiti is a high altitude cold desert region with an arid landscape, scarce vegetation and a 6 month long cold winter period (temperatures dip to –30 degree centigrade) allowing cultivation of only one crop a year. Spread over more than 7,000 sq km, Spiti gets isolated during the winter months with access routes getting disrupted due to thick layers of snow.

Millions of years ago, Spiti lay submerged under the Tethys sea. Remnants of its geological past are evident in its unique landscape & diverse fossils of marine life. Land of the endangered Snow Leopard & Himalayan Wolf, Spiti is also home to the Ibex, Blue Sheep, Red Fox, Marmots, Snow Cock & numerous migratory birds. Despite being a high altitude cold desert, Spiti boasts of more than 450 species of Medicinal & aromatic plants.

The starkly beautiful locale of Spiti offers breathtaking views of the mountains, interesting trekking trails, a magnificent night sky, diverse flora and fauna, a rich cultural heritage and fascinating folklore. It is also aptly referred to as the ‘Valley of Monasteries’. Some of the oldest Buddhist monasteries & temples dating back over a 1000 years along with unique aspects of Tibetan Buddhist culture are well preserved and have flourished in the Spiti Valley.

This natural splendor of Spiti has another facet. The harsh geographical and climatic conditions make living there a challenge. Traditionally a form of subsistence agro-pastoralism prevailed in the community. Barley and black peas (kala matter) were the local crops which also formed an important source of fodder for livestock and fuel. The past 20 years have witnessed a gradual shift in consumption patterns and changes in livelihoods towards a more cash based market economy. Though sources of cash based income are still few and seasonal. For example, the Government’s infrastructure development program provides construction and labor contracting opportunities. But it does not ensure a steady source of income. Cash crops like green pea have been introduced into the region. Though green pea cultivation is a lucrative option, but it is not conducive to the regions geo-climatic conditions, being an extremely water intensive crop. With green pea replacing the conventional barley and black pea cultivation, a key source of fodder has been lost. This has restricted the community’s ability to rear livestock.

These shifts in practices and needs have skewed the traditional equation between the local level of demand and the ability of the existing natural resource base to meet this demand. It has been replaced by a situation where Spiti has to depend on external sources of supply for most of its needs and has only the income generated by Government contracts to acquire these goods and services.

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Each northern spring an awesome aerial torrent of 500 million birds pauses at a tiny fleck of a sanctuary at Eilat in Israel, at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, en route from the heart of Africa to the vastnesses of Europe and Asia.

Many birds have flown non-stop from the Central Highlands of Ethiopia, devouring their own muscle and intestines in the 40-hour flight, much as marathon runners consume their bodies. When they sink to rest at Eilat, in southernmost Israel, close to the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, they are at the very limits of their endurance.

Without this precious stopover on their ancient migratory path, most of the birds would never complete their journey. Without food from Eilat’s lakes and vegetation, they would never rebuild their strength for an onward trek that, in individual cases, takes them as far as Wales in the west or the Bering Strait, at the extremity of Asia.

Flash floods, savage vandalism, landmines and relentless development are just some of the challenges the birds face in striving to hold open this threatened highway – or “flyway”, – of the natural world. If it closes, a major route will be sundered and many of the 280 migratory bird species of Europe, Asia and Africa using it will find life difficult or even impossible.

As deserts spread, human land occupancy expands, climates warm and ocean currents change, the Worldwide Fund for Nature estimates that between 38 and 72 per cent of bird species may be facing extinction by the end of this century.

Among human activities, farms and cities are the greatest killers – pesticides, power lines, skyscraper windows, domestic cats and vehicles exact a horrifying toll on the world’s migratory birds.

At Eilat, the passerines are fewer with each succeeding year. Many species are losing weight, raising concern for their ability to survive the ordeal of migration. Numbers of endangered birds like corncrakes and wrynecks are declining steadily.

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Photo: winkyintheuk (Flickr creative commons)

Although small in size (some 757,000 square kilometers), Chile contains rich and varied ecosystems, ranging from the desert north, to the mountains, to the coastal zone, to the frigid southern provinces. It has a relatively small population of just over thirteen million people, 85 percent of whom reside in urban areas. In order to relieve the congestion of these major urban areas, there has been growing pressure to develop Chile’s rural areas and encourage people to move out of the large cities. Areas that were previously untouched by civilization are suddenly being flooded by roads, electricity, industry, and tourism.

Moreover, as Chile pushes to maintain the momentum and scope of its “tiger-like” economic growth, natural resources are being consumed at dramatic levels. The land and the forests are suffering. While mining and logging expand, the government has recently blocked the efforts of private park investors to create reserves which would protect the ancient forests. In this sense, even the tourist appeal of these once pristine places is being threatened, as are the potential for eco-tourism and other compatible uses to serve as a sustainable support for local economies.

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Photo by Steve Evans (Flickr creative commons)

Poverty is the underlying cause of the extensive forest loss in the Miombo region, which extends across northern South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, northern Botswana, Angola, Zambia, southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Caprivi, southern Tanzania, and Mozambique. The Miombo’s residents, most of whom are poor and uneducated, eke out a living with whatever they find in the forest. As they struggle to meet their basic needs, they cut down the forest, destroying it for themselves and for the wildlife that depends on it. Slash-and-burn agriculture accounts for more than 44 percent of forest destruction, while firewood and charcoal production accounts for a further 33 percent. The average person’s need for about two cubic meters of timber for fuel per year means a net loss of over one hundred million trees per year for firewood alone, yet in 1999, only fifteen thousand indigenous trees were planted. At the current rate of deforestation, the World Resources Institute predicts that the Miombo’s forests will disappear in less than twenty years.

Deforestation is also a cause of damaging floods. In Mozambique, the Miombo would normally absorb 80 percent of rainfall, releasing it slowly through the soil into local rivers during the drier periods. The rest is runoff. However, with the current state of forests in the southern sector, less than 20 percent of the rain is absorbed by the forest, resulting in 80 percent runoff. Allan warned some years ago that continued deforestation would cause large floods in ten years. The recent floods that devastated this area actually took only six years to happen.

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The Black Sea once supported a rich and diverse marine life. Its coastal inhabitants prospered from abundant fisheries, and millions of visitors were drawn by its beauty. But by 1990, this resource was on the brink of extinction. In less than 3 decades, the Sea’s environment had deteriorated in terms of its biodiversity, habitats, recreational value and water quality. Its fish supply had been plundered and it had become a dumping ground for solid and liquid waste.

All 17 countries comprising the Black Sea basin contributed to its near-demise; but the damage has been most seriously felt by the 6 surrounding countries — Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the Ukraine.

Pollutants, including agrochemicals, toxic metals and radionuclides, made their way into the sea either through the atmosphere or river discharges. Increased “nutrients” caused an overproduction of phytoplankton, which block the light reaching the sea grasses and algae. Industrial activity, mining, shipping, and offshore oil and gas exploration further contributed to the sea’s destruction. Tanker accidents and operational discharges caused oil pollution, and coastal industries discharged wastes directly, with little or no treatment. Some countries dumped solid waste into the sea or onto wetlands. Urban areas flushed untreated sewage; and poor planning destroyed much of the aesthetics of the coastlines. The Chernobyl accident also aroused concern regarding radionuclides and their bioaccumulation characteristics.

These problems were compounded when several jellyfish-like species, reportedly carried in the ballast water of an American ship, accidentally slipped into the Sea sometime in the 1980s. The new species thrived, devouring fish eggs and other tiny animals that small fish feed upon, and multiplying at a monstrous rate. They quickly reached a mass of 900 million tons as estimated by the GEF (10 times the annual fish harvest from the entire world!).   

Recently, scientists have noted signs of ecological recovery, in part due to the collapse of agriculture (and subsidized fertilizer usage) in much of the lower Danube basin and the construction of new sewage treatment plants in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria in connection with membership in the European Union. Mnemiopsis leidyi populations have been checked with the arrival of another alien species which feeds on them.

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Posted by Ruth Yeoh

Dear Friends,

Being an active environmentalist and serving as a Board Member of several environmental organisations, I am blessed to travel to magical places, with my most recent conservation visit to the region of South America in November 2008.

I started my journey in Peru, staying at a Wildlife Research Center in the heart of the Amazon Rain forest.  The first thing one will notice is the ruggedness of the journey.  To get there itself is quite an experience. Imagine a van crossing over rickety bridges, dusty roads and long boat rides (the wooden bench, motor-propelled kind) upstream.  What amazed me was the place I stayed at.  Totally sustainable to the core, with recycling bin baskets and electricity usage limited to only a few allocated hours each day. Organic and biodegradable waste is collected and managed properly, with waste baskets placed strategically to encourage one to dispose of items responsibly. Humorously, I also noticed the rack of hanging bananas had its own wooden cage to avoid birds and insects picking at them. Imagine ambient candle-light dinners in the evenings – literally where the staff will lower a candlelit chandelier which resembles antlers and light up the candles and haul them up again with a rope – and being serenaded by the sound of cicadas singing to the wind.  The dinners themselves, were always delicious (I delight that “rice”, a staple, is available in the Amazon!) and at one point, I even had the chance to whip up a local salsa-infused dish with the local chefs using organically-grown “cocona”, a type of tropical plant native to the rain forest.  Wake-up calls were the sounds of howler monkeys howling hauntingly in the distance, with 5am visits to research sites, ‘clay licks’ and rain forest walks.  Scarlet macaws share your lodgings and will playfully fly in to visit your room, which is open air (no windows) with cold showers (and no hot water whatsoever) keeping to the sustainability theme.

I could go on and on about how I truly enjoyed my visit and how sighted my first Capabaras.  But an important point would be how I would also like to share with you how deforestation and human activity is a harsh reality. I did observe some fallen trees and boat-mining activities along the river banks, before reaching the Research Center.

The Rainforest needs our protection.  This is already evident in my home country of Malaysia, where our native Orang Utans and other native species like the Malaysian tigers, are under threat from logging of their habitats, plantations, hunting and other related human activities.  My organization (YTL) and I have worked with WWF-Malaysia previously to implement a “Save Our Tigers! Save Our Water!  Save Our Lungs!” Programme trying to conserve the forest banks of our beautifully biodiverse Malaysia.  We also work with international organizations such as RARE Conservation and The Nature Conservancy (USA), and closer to home, we work with our local partners – Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Reef Check Malaysia and TrEES (Treat Every Environment Special) – to roll out grassroots programmes in conservation, recycling and environmental protection.  We also have an in-house carbon credit consultancy which helps other companies and organizations go clean and green.

Next on my South American journey was the hike to Machu Picchu.  I did not shower for four days in total as I embarked on this hike up and down the bumpy terrain of this ancient trail.  But the endurance and accomplishment was worth it.  Seeing the Ancient City from the Sun Gate, and some lamas grazing peacefully on the slopes, was quite a magnificent sight to behold. Sometimes, in our busy-ness and never ending cycle of daily tasks, we forget to look around, look up and appreciate beauty and goodness, which is always all around us.  Which is why I am writing this to all of us remind us on how we should never forget to do so time and again.

I therefore skip to the part on my visit to the Galapagos Islands.  It has always been a childhood dream of mine to visit South America and The Amazon – I always knew deforestation took place and wanted to see its splendor before it disappears!  But hopefully, this will not happen with conservation playing an important role.  Besides the beauty of The Amazon, The Galapagos has its own stunning charm in terms of the biodiversity the islands and oceans contain.  Birds will quite literally and innocently walk up to you – One blue-footed “Booby” chick, for example, was following my pair of blue sandals, probably pondering why my blue sandals resembled his blue webbed feet).  Swimming with the sea-lions was also a surreal experience.  In the oceans, having followed a lone sea turtle, I suddenly stumbled onto a group of ten sea turtles grazing on a flat ocean bedrock in shallow waters!  This single sea turtle had led me to its family and I think I must have joined their lunch gathering!  Gentle as these creatures were, they did not mind me hovering above them and their meal.  We were advised strictly not to touch any of the living wildlife for obvious purposes, but I admit I very much wanted to (but of course, did not)!  Add to this, the sighting of dolphins swimming below the hull of the shop, and whales in the distance, and you pretty much get a picture of the awesome beauty of God’s creation!

On my seven-day cruise around the Galapagos Islands, I also got to encounter the famous Galapagos Giant Tortoise, a fantastic creature and conservation story in itself.  Once almost hunted to extinction to produce “tortoise oil” for fuel purposes, the tortoise population has since come back, with thanks to conservationist projects and the Ecuadorian Government. The Galapagos Tortoise and the Wildlife of the Galapagos are now strictly protected. I also saw two living oldest-surviving tortoises – “Lonesome George” (the only known living specimen of the Pinta Island Tortoise in The Galapagos after the uncontrolled slaying of tortoises took place in the 17th Century) and “Diego”, who was flown in from San Diego Zoo (hence his name) to repopulate the tortoise population during the 1970s.

I have made it my personal mission and choice to be involved in conservation.  And I am still learning! Above all, I thank and praise God for this honour and purpose-driven mission to protect His creations the best I can. The environmental business is an ongoing one, and I am blessed that God is continually guiding me on my journey.

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