615 new species in Madagascar... and counting

The WWF recently reported that, in little more than a decade, over 615 new species have been discovered in the island of Madagascar - of Disney cartoon fame - which sits just off the East Coast of Africa. With record numbers of mammals, plants amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates recorded, most notable finds include Berthe's mouse lemur - the world's smallest known primate, the aptly named cork bark leaf-tailed gecko and the 4cm-long Komac's golden orb spider.

The WWF commented that Madagascar's isolation from the African continent and varied topography make for a hot-bed of biodiversity. With habitats found in deep rainforests, high mountain terrain and coral beaches, Madagascar's diversity is immense. But they also pointed out that the unique environment in which Madagascar's species thrive make them very vulnerable to changes and losses to their habitats. Which an ever-expanding population, political conflict, escalation of slash and burn agriculture and continuous scramble for valuable resources, this ecosystem is far from secure.

Mark Wright, conservation science adviser at WWF-UK, told the Guardian that local action and concern is at the root of Madagascar's conservation and that, although much work and greater environmental citizenship is still needed, there is a growing consciousness towards sustainability amongst local people.


Read full story at: The Guardian

High Hopes for Google Earth Engine

New forest monitoring platform 'Google Earth Engine' launched this week. Their are hopes that the cloud sharing engine will strengthen international trust and will be used by researchers and policy makers worldwide.

With the depletion of tropical forests thought to be responsible for around 17% of our greenhouse gas emissions, forest protection is ever high on the agenda.

Effectively measuring the success of conservation schemes is vital but can be expense, timely and difficult to monitor by land, due to obstacles such as corruption and illegal logging that purvey in areas such as the Amazon, Indonesia and Congo Basin.

Earlier this week, eco-business.com reported that Google Inc have recently launched ‘Google Earth Engine’, a platform which takes satellite forest images and uses cloud computing through shared data centres to allow scientists to instantly monitor the forests from computers around the globe.

Google believe that that the tool will valuable to carbon traders, policy makers, and researchers, as well as speeding cooperation in the global forest conservation and climate change plan, named ‘reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation’, or REDD.

REDD is an international agreement that involves wealthier countries financially rewarding poorer nations for forest restoration. At last year’s climate talks in Copenhagen, rich nations, including the US, Japan and Norway promised $3.5 billion, to fund the development of REDD.

Google Earth Engine will not only cut the costs of monitoring the forests but will also allow both donor and developing countries access to exactly the same tools and data. It’s hoped that this sharing platform will strengthen trust and international negotiations.

Read the full article here

This article was also published with Responsible Travel News

For travel journalism and copywriting services visit www.lucygrewcock.com

Fishermen in Scotland's western Isles campaign over coral reef protection

Today the Scottish Herald reported that Fishermen in the Western Isles have accused Scottish National Heritage of ‘cultural imperialism’ . The accusation was made over plans for a new conservation area at sea that they claim will have a devastating impact on jobs and the local economy, particularly to local fishermen in the prawn industry.

The group Southern Hebrides Against Marine Environmental Designations (SHAMED) will fight the proposed designation of a site around East Mingulay as a new marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC), which has already been approved by the Scottish Government.

Aimed at protecting a rare coral reef, East Mingulay is the only location inside UK waters to feature the cold-water coral Lophelia Pertusa and scientists have identified at least 400 species living within the reef complex.

Around 900 local people have signed a petition opposing the plans, with fisherman directly influenced by the plans insisting that they strive to develop the renewable side of fishing and have no qualms about protecting the reefs, but that the conservation area will cut them off from important fishing areas.

Local fisherman claim that economic and cultural objections are being ignored and John Hermse, of the Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association, accused the government of enacting a policy of “cultural imperialism”, adding: “The contemporary movement towards environmentalism at any cost, threatens the fragile existence of the traditional communities of rural Scotland and does so without robust scientific evidence that the environment will be any better preserved as a result.”

Read the full article here

For travel journalism and webcopy, visit www.lucygrewcock.com

Madagascar needs eco-tourism back

Responsible Travel News reports on the need for Madagascar to continue with their eco-tourism programs.

In 2008, Eco-tourism and local economies in Madagascar were developing hand-in-hand and enjoying great success. But since 2009 political chaos has wreaked havoc on both - bringing devastating environmental impacts.

For some, the scale of benefits brought by tourism are only being as they disappear and many are now understanding that socially, environmentally, economically, Madagascar needs tourism back.

Madagascar’s exceptional ecosystem nurtures thousands of species found nowhere else in the world, with eighty percent of plants and animals being endemic.

After decades of illegal logging and slash and burn farming, Madagascar transformed it’s approach to safeguarding its environment to such an extent that by 2008, its conservation strategy was seen as an international model. With this came the involvement if local people and a massive boost to village economies, as ‘green tourism’ became a lucrative business.

Alas, in the wake of this phenomenal achievement, political violence broke out in Madagascar's capital. President Ravalomanana was forced into exile and the ensuing political turmoil had devastating effects.

Simon Reeve, of BBC ‘Tropic of Cancer’ fame, recently commented in METRO that “Madagascar’s National Parks are almost completely funded by eco-tourism” and “…unless people go there, these places will be cut down and turned into barren land”. With tourists frightened away, the vital financial incentive for conservation has been removed. The decline in tourism has hit the economy hard, with tourist arrivals dropping around fifty percent.

Despite the decline, scientific research continues to operate and in April this year, researchers reported that a species of lemur has been rediscovered more than a century after it was last spotted. The number of lemurs known to science has more than doubled since 1994, due to increased research.

Read Lucy's full article at Responsible Travel: Eco-tourism needed to protect Madagascar’s future

Lucy's article was also posted by Eco-Travel News

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