Want to marry? Plant trees

Indonesia has long been troubled by deforestation. It has the unenviable reputation of having the highest rate of deforestation in Asia. Palm oil lobbies have played havoc with the environment. Environmentalists have been going hammer and tongs at the Government for its lackadaisical ways in enforcing forest laws.

Against the background of the above mentioned facts I was delighted to hear this piece of news from my Indonesian contacts. In an innovative move Garut district administration in Indonesia has come out with the rider that if the marriage is to be legally Okayed, the couple panning to get married must give ten trees to district administration for reforestation drive. In an adjunct move the administration has also decreed that divorces will be granted only after the supply of one tree. The latest move from the Garut administration comes in the wake of financial difficulties. Central administration had recently launched a scheme to plant million tress across Indonesia. Garut does not have the wherewithal to pursue the programme. The dovetailing of marriage registration to tree planting was a clever move to overcome the difficulties experienced.

The man who came up with the idea for the administration deserves fulsome praise. Hats off to him.

Bottled water Guzzles Energy-Think Twice Before You Buy One

Do you really need that bottle of packaged drinking water? The latest research on bottled water has confirmed what the environmentalists have charged all these years. Weighed against tap water bottled water consumes between 1100 and 2000 times more energy on an average.

Environmental scientist Peter Gleick and Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute did the study. Details like how much energy goes into making a plastic bottle; processing the water; labeling, filling, and sealing a bottle; transporting it for sale; and cooling the water prior to consumption went in to the research. Manufacturing the bottle and transportation were found the most energy hogging activities.

Startling details have emerged from the study. The global demand for bottle production alone uses 50 million barrels of oil a year. Drinking an imported bottle of water is about two-and-a-half to four times more energy intensive than getting it locally. This often surpasses the energy needed to make the bottle. Bottled water has now surpassed milk and beer in sales.

So think twice before you grab that next bottle. If you are in a position to bring a bottle of water from home do plumb for it.

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of journal Environmental Research Letters.

Excellent Example of Public and Private Sector Participation in Conservation

Goldman Sachs has announced the gift of a sprawling wilderness area in Chile to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The 272,000 hectares has old growth forests ,unique grasslands, rivers and wetlands teeming with wildlife. The guanaco, a member of the camel family, is the region’s signature animal. Other wildlife includes Magellanic woodpeckers, Firecrown Hummingbirds, and the Culpeo Fox. The reserve is home to around 700 plant species, including several types of moss, which are unique to these islands.

Goldman Sachs, the Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund, and WCS are establishing a formal Alliance to make conservation meaningful for the area. Ecotourism, will be promoted to support conservation objectives and to provide benefit to local communities.

It was in February 2002, that Goldman Sachs acquired the area as part of distressed assets of the Trillium Corporation, a US company that owned the Chilean lands. Trillium had planned to use the land for logging. This was opposed tooth and nail by Chilean environmentalists. Goldman Sachs initially wanted to sell the area for a profit. The bank considered selling the land but realized it would face the same opposition as Trillium had. So it chose the prudent option to salvage the situation. It gave the land away as gift to WCS. Lot of deliberation was done before the Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund determined that WCS is ideally suited to manage the reserve and protect the key ecological features of this land. Goldman Sachs has pledged around $12m of its own money to ensure the land's protection for years to come. In this process Goldman Sachs has enhanced its green credentials. A case of killing two birds with one shot. The end beneficiary is conservation.

Reptile Smuggling Attempt Foiled in Australia - A Guest Post

According to an Australian news site, a man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 44 native reptiles out of Australia. The 24-year old Sydney man was apprehended by Customs and Border Protection as he made his way through Sydney International Airport. One of the more valuable specimens in the seizure was an Albino Carpet Python, worth more than $20,000.
It is estimated that only 100 of these very rare snakes still exist in the world.
Authorities found the snakes in the man's checked bags when they went through x-ray screening before his scheduled flight to Bangkok, Thailand. The reptiles were hidden in socks, small cloth bags and other articles of clothing. All of them were alive when they were seized.
The reptile menagerie included: 24 Shingleback Lizards, 16 Bluetongue Lizards and four snakes. In addition to the Albino Python, there were also three Black-headed pythons, which are extremely endangered as well. Before it left the tarmac, the man was removed from the plane and charged by Customs and Border Protection with attempting to export native species without a permit.
The reptiles are all very valuable on the black market, with a combined estimated worth of $160,000 and $200,000. None of the reptiles were harmed during their short trip and have been taken to the Sydney Wildlife World where they were examined by veterinarians and are receiving care and proper nutrition.
Wildlife smuggling is a serious offense and authorities will push maximum penalties to help curtail the practice. The man, from Bonnet Bay in Sydney, is out on bail but must appear in Downing Centre Local Court on March 24, 2009. He faces a maximum penalty of $110,000 and/or 10 years in jail is mandated under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Though this is a heartening example of increased awareness by border and customs agents regarding this issue, demand for rare species continues unabated in much of the world and authorities are left playing catch up. And because it is easy for almost anyone to smuggle many different types of (valuable) wildlife undetected, supply remains high and black market profits skyrocket.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of the online courses. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12@gmail.com

Alarm Bell Rings for Asian Box Turtles

According to a new report by the wildlife trade-monitoring network TRAFFIC Unregulated trade, at 10 to 100 times legal level, has caused Southeast Asian Box Turtles almost to vanish from parts of Indonesia. The turtles are used for meat and in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Major consumers are Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Box turtles are also in demand as pets in the US, Europe and Japan.

The study noted 18 traders operating in Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra and Kalimantan dealing illegally in Southeast Asian Box Turtles. Each trader was handling on an average 2,230 turtles. Indonesia’s official annual export quota for this species is 18,000 turtles per year. The trade is ten times the official export quota. TRAFFIC says this is a conservative estimate. It could be as high as 100 times. At this rate the turtle would be wiped out across Indonesia in no time at all.

Weak enforcement of existing laws is a key problem. Non-inspection of shipments, falsification of CITES export permits, and lack of training amongst enforcement officers compound the problem. The report recommends better training and more cooperation between Indonesian enforcement authorities and those in importing countries to tackle illegal wildlife trade

Reducing the world's mercury- Hope in the horizon

Reducing the world's mercury has been a contentious issue so far. Mercury pollution is a problem of global magnitude. On an average, three times more mercury now falls out of the sky than before the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. Increasing mercury concentrations are now being found in a number of fish-eating wildlife in remote areas. Mercury exposure may lead to population declines in birds and possibly in fish and mammals.

After protracted negotiations United Nations environment ministers meeting in Nairobi has overcome seven years obstacles and have committed to reducing the world's mercury. Formal negotiations will get under way later this year. The treaty will have under its ambit procedures to reduce the supply of mercury and its use in products, such as the thermometers, and processes, like plastics production and paper making. Mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, which are responsible for about half of the world's mercury pollution will also be curtailed.

Mercury can travel thousands of kilometers from its original source,. It damages the central nervous system. It is especially dangerous to pregnant women and babies

United states is coming to the forefront of the initiatives. A welcome change under Obama administration.Bush administration had blocked international efforts to limit mercury.

Tropical rainforests: New study reveals tropical rainforests absorb 20% of carbon emissions annually

The latest issue of journal Nature has a nice paper on tropical rainforests and its utility in acting as carbon sink. S.L. Lewis et al reports that undisturbed tropical forests are absorbing nearly a fifth of carbon dioxide released annually by the burning of fossil fuels. According to Lewis this is akin to receiving a free subsidy from nature. The paper is the outcome of analysis of 40 years of data from rainforests in the Central African country of Gabon, data from African rainforests and previously published data from the Americas and Asia.

It has been estimated that tropical forests of Africa alone sequestered more than a billion metric tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide each year during the past four decades.

The calculation is that humans emit 32 billion tons of carbon each year in to the atmosphere. Tropical forests of the world sequester 8.5 billion tons of this carbon every year. 8.5 billion tons is dissolved in oceans. Soils and other types of vegetation absorb the balance. This leaves 15 billion of the 32 billion tons emitted by humans each year in the atmosphere.


The paper highlights the importance of rainforest conservation. This initiative should be a combined venture of the nations around the world. It has been suggested by many scientists that rich polluting countries should transfer a major chunk of resources to countries with tropical forests to reduce their deforestation rates. The deforestation is mainly in pursuance of the avowed policy of development. It is big logging companies that hog the major benefits

The end beneficiary of rainforest conservation is not the country with tropical forests alone. The benefits percolate to entire humanity. Global warming has given an added impetus to the urgent need.

Lewis the principal investigator is an ecologist at the University of Leeds in England.
The paper: S.L. Lewis et al. Increasing carbon storage in intact African tropical forests. NATURE| Vol 457| 19 February 2009

Asian Elephants – Threat from Vietnam

Illegal wildlife trade has always been a threat to wildlife. Here comes some alarming news for Asian elephants. Booming illegal ivory prices in Vietnam is posing a serous threat to elephants across South East Asia, according to a new market analysis report by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade-monitoring network. Vietnam is emerging as a conduit and transit point for illegal ivory. Establishments dealing in carved ivory are dime a dozen there. Worked ivory is increasingly being sold directly to buyers through middlemen or on the Internet. TRAFFIC also found evidence of widespread smuggling of live Asian Elephants and their ivory from Myanmar. Most of the products find their way to China and Hong Kong. Not more than 1,000 elephants are believed to survive in Lao PDR, while in Viet Nam, fewer than 150 exists.

Ivory prices are the highest in the world in Vietnam, with tusks selling for up to USD1500/kg. Small, cut pieces are selling for up to USD1863/kg. Trade in ivory was outlawed in Viet Nam in 1992, but a major loophole exists in the legislation, which permits shops to sell ivory in stock dating from the prohibition. This gives an avenue to some shop owners to restock illegally with recently made carved ivory. Smugglers from other Asian countries also might be misusing this proviso with local abetment. Around 4,000 tonnes of illegal wildlife products are estimated to pass through Vietnam every year.

The report recommends that Viet Nam should comply with its obligations under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), This includes reporting of ivory seizures, tightening of national regulations and their enforcement, prosecution of offenders, and seizure of ivory for sale in retail outlets. The report also recommends better training for wildlife law enforcement officers and continued participation in the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).

The matter requires urgent intervention from other SE Asian countries. It is not a matter to be looked in to by Vietnam alone. ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) needs to be strengthened and given more teeth. Time to act is now. Prevarication would bring in the death knell of elephants across SE Asia.

Australian Bushfires- Threat to wildlife

International media has written volumes about the human suffering following the devastating bushfires of Australia. But the plight of wildlife seems to have been overlooked by many of them. The loss of wildlife and their suffering is staggering and indescribably horrid.

According to my contacts in Australia over a million wild animals have lost their life. To compound the loss many of them happen to highly endangered, found nowhere else in the world. According to wildlife experts of Australia some of the endangered animals are highly specialized, living in a small geographical area. They apprehend that bushfires may have completely destroyed some of these habitats, with the result that some species could have been completely wiped out. Helmeted Honeyeater has been given as an example. Less than 50 individuals were though to be alive. Endangered plant species also have been at the receiving end of the fury of fires.

Sure, human suffering should get first hand treatment, but the suffering of the denizens of the wild also needs to be addressed. Australia alone may not be able to do the needful, given the magnitude of the problem. Organizations like WWF should come forward and mobilize international support for the ailing denizens of the wild.

Fishermen come to the rescue of Dolphins

This happened in Philippines and is sure to warm the cockles of the heart of wildlife enthusiasts. Fishermen have rescued about 200 dolphins, which became stranded in shallow waters near Manila.

Surprisingly this species of dolphins are called melon-headed whales. They travel in large pods of several hundred. Fishermen used their boats to guide the mammals out to deeper waters. The townspeople lend a hand clapping, hooting and splashing to frighten the dolphins away. Three dolphins were found dead. Two of the three dead dolphins had damaged eardrums One of the reasons for the mass beaching could be major underwater earthquake. In such a contingency eardrums are damaged and they become disorientated and float to the surface.

The Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra) also called many-toothed blackfish and electra dolphin), is closely related to the Pygmy Killer Whale and Pilot Whale. It has a body shaped like a torpedo. The Melon-head weighs about 10-15 kilograms. An adult grows up to 3 meters long and weighs in excess of 200 kilograms. Lifespan is 20 to 30 years.

Here is yet another reason to protect the rainforests

Scientists have isolated Isolongifolenone, a natural compound found in the Tauroniro tree (Humiria balsamifera) of South America, which has been found to be an amazingly effective deterrent of mosquitoes and ticks. The product has been found to be as effective or even more than DEET, a potent and widely used synthetic insect repellent that works by blocking the aroma of human sweat. Isolongifolenone can be easily synthesized from inexpensive turpentine oil feedstock. Aijun Zhang of the USDA’s Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory led the research

Tauroniro is found in rainforests in the Guianas, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Brazilian Amazon. This brings in sharp focus the need to protect the rainforests, which is getting a shabby treatment worldwide.

Although rainforests make up only about six percent of the Earth's surface, they account for at least 50 percent of all the species of organisms on our planet. Rainforests are referred to as the Earth's lungs. Our lungs take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide while the plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface but now they cover a mere 6% and are fast disappearing at an alarming rate. More than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. One hectare may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants. We are losing 137 plants, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. This works out to 50,000 species a year. Estimates of species in the rainforests are only a guestimate. It varies from 2 million to 100 million species. Others put it at somewhere near 10 million. Against this backdrop only 1.4 million of these species have actually been named.
121 prescription drugs sold worldwide are derived from plant sources. You must be familiar with Vincristine, extracted from the rainforest plant, periwinkle. This is one of the world's most powerful anticancer drugs. Scientists have tested less than 1% of the tropical trees and plants for medicinal properties. A goldmine is waiting to be tapped.

The rich bounty includes the wild relatives of, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee, potatoes, rice, guavas, pineapples, mangoes, tomatoes, corn, avocados, and coconuts. This is only a short list.

Rainforest destruction spells doom for the indigenous people also. An estimated ten million Indians lived in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000. It is estimated that in Brazil alone, European colonists have destroyed more than 90 indigenous tribes since the 1900's. Rich tradition nurtured over thousand of years has gone down the drain.

The other day Barry my ecologist friend from UK was pointing out to me that a single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe's rivers. He also spoke about the recent discovery of 10 new frogs from the Western Ghats of India, one of the 35-biodiversity hotspots of the world. Yes, we are losing forests before we get a chance to study them properly. They hold enormous promise for our future well-being. The possible benefits are mind-boggling. Before signing off I would like to put here a small example. Harvard's Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist Edward O. Wilson over a decade ago put it like this. “Rainforest land converted to cattle operations yields the landowner $60 per acre; if timber is harvested, the land is worth $400 per acre. However, if medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, rubber, chocolate, and other renewable and sustainable resources are harvested, the land will yield the landowner $2,400 per acre”. Let us hope that wiser counsel would prevail over short-term gains advocated by our politicians in their scramble for “development”

Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative intended to drive home the implications of climate change. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities around the globe have been invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities. The message is this - The only way to truly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to take the pressure off climate change, is through an international treaty on climate pollution and the only way that will happen is if politicians around the world become convinced that climate change is an issue that concerns people, one that will make them change the way they live, spend and vote.

For Earth Hour 2009 the lights will be turned off for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March. 377 cities around the globe have already committed. This is double the number of countries that participated in 2008. More countries will follow suit in the days to come. Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognized landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101. 2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

The organizers are planning to make the event the greatest voluntary action the world has ever witnessed.
India will join in Earth Hour 2009 in the global fight against climate change. As one of the most pressing challenges facing mankind today, climate change is in no way less alarming than the evident threat of terrorism that the nation is currently reeling under. Lights will be dimmed on buildings and pivotal landmarks and monuments throughout the city centres on 28th March 2009 and thousands of people in several cities of India will be coming together to celebrate, in candlelight, the Earth Hour campaign
For more information please contact:

Andrew Sedger
Earth Hour Global
T: +61 2 8202 1224 / M: +61 (0) 438 387 792
E: asedger@wwf.org.au

Billy Gentle
Earth Hour Global
T: +61 2 8202 1243/ M: +61 (0) 410 161 789
E: bgentle@wwf.org.au
Go ahead and join the global initiative.

Posted with inputs from WWF

Address your cows by name and get more milk

Scientists have discovered that if you call your cow by name lovingly she will give you more milk. Dairy farmers who address their cows by name reported 258 litre higher milk yields over those who didn't over a10-month lactation period. This is no fiction material. The details appear in the latest issue of British journal Anthrozzos a journal dedicated to interactions between animals and people.

Study coordinator Catherine Douglas of Newcastle University is all excited about the results. Catherine says that it is pure science and no hocus-pocus. if cows are slightly fearful of humans, they could produce the hormone Cortisol that suppresses milk production. Calling names have a soothing effect on the animals, which in turn could have an effect on milk yield.
So guys go ahead and call your cow by name if you own one. She is bound to give you more milk.

Amazing – Bees can count

Nature throws up amazing things in the process of man’s pursuit of ecological mysteries. It never ceases to surprise me. I am overawed and humbled. Here is another one to tickle you. Scientists have discovered that the honeybee can count up to three. Using dots and other abstract symbols, scientists from the Vision Centre in Australia went about finding whether the honeybees had the ability to count items in their environment. Results were amazing.

Here is how they went about it. Scientists used a Y-shaped bee maze to test their subjects. At the front entrance the bees can see a number of symbols, such as dots. A wee bit further they were presented with two different pathways. One has the same number of symbols as the first while the other shows a different number. If the bees choose the one that matches the entrance they would be rewarded with sugary water. The bees invariably plumbed for the sugary path. Even when the pattern, shape or the color of the dots was changed the bees were bang on target. At the outset the bees spent a lot of time reading the dots, but once they understood the pattern they quickly scanned the number and then zoomed in on the target. According to the scientists this is a process known as 'subitizing' i.e. means responding rapidly to a small number of items. The scientists also believe that this ability to count helps the bees in their travel of several kilometers from a hive in search of food. They are presumed to count landmarks and guide themselves back home.

Dr. Shaowu Zhang, Chief Investigator of The Vision Centre and Australian National University, led the study. The details appear in the latest issue of online journal PLoS ONE

Emperor Penguins facing uncertain future

Mathematical modeling of Antarctic by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) has brought to light the grave danger posed to Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) by climate change. Emperor penguins are to Antarctica what the polar bear is to the Arctic and made famous by Hollywood. The species was immortalized in the 2005 film March of the Penguins.

The modeling was based on projections of sea ice coverage from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) last report. A population dynamics model describing the mating patterns and breeding success of emperor penguins was used in conjunction. The study also used data collected by French scientists working in Terre Adelie, from 1960s onwards. The results suggest that by the year 2100, emperor penguins in the region are likely to experience a reduction in their numbers by 95% or more. Emperor penguins are the only penguins that breed during the harsh Antarctic winters. Warming of sea has other implications. Sea ice plays a critical role in the Antarctic ecosystem. They act as a platform for penguins to breed and feed. It is also a grazing ground for krill, tiny crustaceans that thrive on algae on the underside of the ice. Krill is a food source for fish, seals, whales, and penguins. Net results could be catastrophic.

The study's lead author is Stephanie Jenouvrier. Hal Caswell is the co-author. The study appears in the latest issue of journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

5th world congress on mountain ungulates - 2nd circular

Many people have requested me to put the second circular of the 5th world congress on mountain ungulates here. In deference to their views I am giving below the full text of the second circular.

Second Circular of V World Conference on Mountain Ungulates
The subfamily, Caprinae, consisting of wild sheeps and goats, is a group of mammals of great biological and economical value. From a zoological point of view, the group represents maximum adaptability to mountainous environments and forms part of the mammalian fauna of various ecosystems. In addition, and from an economic point of view, they are an excellent prize for game hunters, subsistence hunters, on photo safaris or for use in medicinal products.
Principally associated with mountainous areas, although they are also found in other habitats, including tropical forests and deserts, alpine tundra or arctic steppes, they are naturally distributed across the Northern hemisphere over 3 continents (America, Asia and Europe) and more than 70 countries from the Arctic to the Equator.
In this extensive area, more than 71% of the goat species are endangered in some way (loss of habitat, overexploitation, competition and transmission of disease [domestic livestock], hybridisation, tourism and genetic isolation). 8% of the population are listed as critically endangered, 23% as endangered, 40% are vulnerable, 28% are threatened, while no information is available about the remaining 1% (IUCN 1997).
There is a determining factor, applicable to all the broadly distributed species, which in part, lies in the lack of information available about the species. In order to pool available knowledge about this species, a number of different international conferences have been held. At the first of these held in 1989 in Camerino (Italy), the groundwork was established for the preparation of the World Action Plan for goats by the IUCN. In 1997, the second conference took place in Italy (Saint Vincent, Aosta), and all the available information regarding this group of mammals was collected together. The third (2002) and fourth conferences (2006), in Zaragoza (Spain) and Munar (India) respectively, focussed on relevant aspects of the biology and ecology of these species, together with proposals for their handling and conservation.
Now, as mentioned in the previous circular, from 10 to 14 November 2009, the 5th World Congress on Mountain Ungulates is to take place at the Conference Centre (Palacio de Congresos) of Granada and will discuss the research, conservation and management of the ungulate populations in the world.
The more specific objectives of the conference will include:
·- Knowledge, condition and conservation of the wild mountain ungulate populations.
·- Threatening factors.
·- Genetic isolation.
·- Hybridisation, tourism.
·- Infectious contagious disease.
·- Working methodologies.
·- Management models.
For further information, please visit the Web site www.vworldconferenceungulates.org, or contact the Technical Secretary for the Congress at:
secretary@vworldconferenceungulates.org
The official Congress languages are Spanish and English.
REGISTRATIONS
Registrations may be made from 28 November 2008 to 30 June 2009 (price: €300), and subsequently, from 1 July 2009 to 1 November 2009 (price: €400). Students are charged €150.
Registrations must be made in either of the two formats available on the Congress Web site: on-line or by printing off the registration form in pdf format. The registration should, in all cases, be sent and the fee must be paid.
PAPERS
Work can be presented in the format of Posters or as an Oral Presentation.
Abstracts and Papers for the different scientific participations at the congress should be prepared in line with the following:
Abstracts:
Abstracts should be sent to the following electronic mail address: communications@vworldconferenceungulates.org between 28 November 2008 and 15 June 2009.
The following subject areas and workshops are proposed:
·- Condition and conservation of mountain ungulate populations.
·- Taxonomy and genetics of mountain ungulate populations.
·- Biology and Ecology: reproduction, physiology, etc.
·- Population management: Methods, capture and marking, management experience.
·- Healthcare status: Parasitic and infectious contagious diseases, epidemiology, treatments, epidemiological monitoring, etc.
·- Hunting and Conservation: hunting management and promotion (workshop).
·- Techniques for estimating populations (workshop).
·- Ungulates and Climate Change (workshop).
The title, (in Spanish and English), authors and address should be included.
The text shall have a maximum of 400 words, 5 key words, in one of the two official Congress languages, and the subject area to which it corresponds should be specified.
The text shall be written in Times New Roman 12, with interlineal 1.5 spacing, A4 paging, and with margins not less than 2.5cm, and shall cover no more than one A4 page.
Documents shall be submitted in Word format.
Scientific genus and species names shall be in Italics. Common species names shall be in lower-case and the first time they are used in the text, accompanied by the scientific name. Decimal figures are expressed using a comma, not a full-stop. All units used shall be as listed in the International System.
Papers:
Papers may be of any length, although we recommend a maximum of 25 pages, including tables, pictures and attachments.
The following layout is recommended:
Title, authors (initials followed by surname(s), in small capitals; for example: J.M. PÉREZ and P. FANDOS), authors� address, key words (to a maximum of 5 and in alphabetical order), abstract (between 200 and 300 words), introduction, area of study, material and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, bibliography, table and picture footnotes, tables, pictures and attachments.
Should the authors consider it appropriate, some of these sections may be united or subdivided. Section headings should be in small capitals, bold print and centrally aligned. The text should be justified on both sides. Tables should be given on separate pages together with the relevant footnotes. All picture footnotes should be included on the same page; each figure is given on a separate page. Attachments shall use the same format as tables.Tables, pictures and attachments are ordered with Arabic numerals.
The font type is Times New Roman 12, interlineal 1.5 spacing, A4 page size, margins not less than 2.5cm, and pages numbered consecutively (centre bottom of page).
Scientific genus and species names shall be in Italics. Common species names shall be in lower-case and the first time they are used in the text, accompanied by the scientific name. Decimal figures are expressed using a comma, not a full-stop. All units used shall be as listed in the International System.
Pictures shall be submitted in jpg or tiff. format Pictures are only accepted in black and white. Bibliographic references in the text are quoted as follows, for example: Navarro (1991), Pérez y Belmonte (2000), Granados et al. (2001), (Fandos, 1991; Pérez y Cadenas, 2000; Granados et al., 2001). In the bibliography, quotations are given in alphabetic order according to the surname of the first author and date (using a, b, c... where necessary) as shown below:
· - For articles:
FANDOS, P. and VIGAL, C.R. 1988. Body weight and horn length in relation to age of the Spanish wild goat. Acta Theriologica, 33: 239-242.
· - For books:
SCHALLER, G. 1977. Mountain monarchs. Wild sheep and goats of the Himalaya. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 425 pp.
· - For chapters of a book:
FANDOS, P. 1994. Los ungulados de montaña. In: Argali, Cacerías de Alta montaña. Ed. Agualarga, Madrid, 261-314 pp.
· - For doctoral theses:
GRANADOS, J.E. 2001. Distribución y estatus de la cabra montés (Capra pyrenaica, Schinz 1838) en Andalucía. Doctoral Thesis, University of Jaen, 567 pp.

For articles, the name of the journal should be given in full. If the quoted information is not published, use 'pers. obs.', 'pers. com.', 'in prep.' or 'in press', as appropriate.
SELECTION OF PAPERS
For papers to be accepted, authors must be registered at the Congress and have completed payment of the corresponding fee.
The Scientific Committee will select papers in a minimum of approximately 30 days, from the closing date for submission of work. Authors will be notified of the acceptance or not of the paper and the subject area in which it has been included.
PRELIMINARY SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
November 10th, 2009
18.00 h. - 22.00 h. Receipt of Documentation and Information. Placement of panels. Granada Conference Centre.

November 11th, 2009
9.30 h. Official Opening.
10.30 h. - 11.30 h. Opening Conference.
11.30 h. - 12.00 h. Coffee Break
12.00 h. - 14.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
14.00 h. - 16.00 h. Lunch
16.00 h. - 18.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
18.00 h. - 18.30 h. Coffee Break
18.30 h. - 20.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.

November 12th, 2009
9.00 h. - 11.30 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
11.30 h. - 12.00 h. Coffee Break
12.00 h. - 14.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
14.00 h. - 16.00 h. Lunch
16.00 h. - 18.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
18.00 h. - 18.30 h. Coffee Break
18.30 h. - 20.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.

November 13th, 2009
9.00 h. - 11.30 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
11.30 h. - 12.00 h. Coffee Break
12.00 h. - 14.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
14.00 h. - 16.00 h. Lunch
16.00 h. - 18.00 h. Workshops. Sala Andalucía and Salón Plenario simultaneously.
18.00 h. - 18.30 h. Coffee Break
18.30 h. Conclusions
19.30 h. Closing Ceremony

PRELIMINARY SOCIAL PROGRAMME
November 11th, 2009
20.00 h. Night-time visit to the Alhambra. Cocktail dinner at the Campo de Los Mártires
November 12th, 2009
20.00 h. Flamenco Show at the Sacromonte
November 13th, 2009
20.00 h. Gala dinner
November 14th, 2009
9.30 h. Visit to the Sierra Nevada Natural Space. Lunch in the country and visit to the Installations at the Mountain Goat Reference Station

Mans’ avarice jeopardizing the behavioral patterns of wildlife

Alarm bells are ringing about the unscientific ways of harvesting wildlife including fish and plants. According to a new study by evolutionary biologist Chris Darimont of the University of Victoria in Canada, and colleagues, the rate at which hunted and harvested species are changing their size and breeding schedules is cause for concern. Rapid changes have been noted in heavily exploited fish and other species since the 1970s. For example Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) have decreased 20% in size over the past 30 years, and females now reproduce a year earlier than they used to. The studies included 29 species, mostly fish but also a few invertebrates, mammals, and plants. The team compared these studies with two databases: one for species such as Galápagos finches that had changed through natural selection and one for nonhunted species exposed to other human influences such as pollution. Exploited species transformed on average three times faster than those in natural systems and 50% faster than species subject to other human interference and were shrinking, breeding earlier, or both.


The practice of taking a large percentage of the prey population and targeting the largest individuals favors small individuals, which in turn breed before reaching exploitable size. Smaller sizes and altered breeding schedules could decrease species' abundance, and severely affect their ability to recover from exploitation. Interactions with predators and competitors also get upset.

Man’s avarice is tipping the apple cart of nature’s food web. Animals and plants are getting affected. Time to put a brake to this senseless carnage and act is now. It is not too late to start the ameliorative process.

Full report can be accessed online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Use of Vicks VapoRub – Be wary

This blog usually confines itself to wildlife and environmental affairs. But I thought this piece of information about Vicks VapoRub passed on to me by Roger my friend from US is worth a mention here.

According to a study appearing in this month’s issue of Chest, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians Vicks VapoRub has some deleterious effects on infants and young children. Vicks VapoRub may stimulate mucus production and airway inflammation, which can have serious negative effects. The ingredients in Vicks can be irritants, causing the body to produce more mucus to protect the airway. Some of the ingredients in Vicks, particulary menthol, trick the brain into thinking that it is easier to breathe by triggering a cold sensation, Dr. Bruce Rubin from the department of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston Salem, N.C., led the study.

Dr Rubin recommends never putting Vicks in or under the nose of anyone, regardless of age. The best treatments for congestion are saline nasal spray, warm drinks,herbal teas, soups and plenty of rest

Local residents reclaim forest

My Australian contacts have sent me this inspiring story from Tasmania. Tasmania's Upper Florentine Valley saw some dramatic events yesterday. About 400 protesters invaded the Forestry Tasmania working area during their protest against the construction of a logging road. The protesters forced the eight forest contractors currently working on the construction of the new road to cease operations. This was done caring two hoots for prohibitory police orders. The police and forestry officials repeatedly warned the men that they would be prosecuted. This fell on deaf ears. People have realized that there is more value in these forests left standing than bulldozed down.

I was delighted with this piece of information. When the politicians work hand in glove with the greedy contractors this is the only avenue open to local populace. Tahrcountry salutes the brave men.

World’s tropical forests – A look in to what future holds

The recent Smithsonian’s Symposium: “Will the rainforests survive? New Threats and Realities in the Tropical Extinction Crisis” had some interesting observations. It brought together the world's foremost authorities on different aspects of rainforest science.
One of the main arguments put forward was that the extinction crisis might not be as bad as predicted due to the significance of secondary forests and other degraded landscapes, which may allow the preservation of certain species. Robin Chazdon, a professor at the University of Conneticut who has studied secondary forests for twenty-five years, stated that secondary forests and other non-primary growth landscapes has great relevance for biodiversity conservation. According to him these are the areas that needs focused attention in order to conserve most of our biodiversity. A study in Veracruzm Mexico came up with the finding that bird biodiversity was actually greater in shade grown coffee farms than in the forest. In the Western Ghats of India, where cultivation has been practiced for 2,000 years, arecanut agriculture retains 90 percent of the bird biodiversity of the forest. In the largely degraded and devastated Atlantic Forest of Brazil chocolate grown under the canopy provides homes for 70 percent of many species, including birds, bats, butterflies, mammals, ferns, lizards and frogs. In Costa Rica, scientists discovered that a forest less than twenty years old had 90 percent of forest tree species either already growing or as seedlings. On the other hand soybean fields have been found to be devoid of biodiversity. Biodiversity is abysmally poor in palm oil plantations. Palm oil plantations have been shown to retain only 15 percent of species from the lost forest.
Entomologist Nigel Stork from the University of Melbourne argued that the scientists who predicted extinction rates of 50-75 percent did not take into account that certain groups of species, such as birds and mammals, are more prone to extinction than other groups like insects. Large body size, small restricted range, low number of young, top of the food chain, high specificity to another organism, and low physiological adaptation make a species more vulnerable to extinction.
One place where the scientists at the Symposium largely agreed was the threat posed by climate change to the tropics and the inability to know how it would affect biodiversity in the region. All the participants believe that this is a much greater threat to biodiversity in the tropics than habitat destruction. Tropical species are much more sensitive to small increases in temperature than temperate species. Tropical species would have to travel much greater distances than temperate species to find habitat within their normal range of temperatures.
According to Gregory Asner of the Carnegie Institution, deforestation is still the dominant pattern in tropical forests worldwide. To be precise it is on the rise. With the globalization of trade, deforestation mainly occurs for industrialized agriculture, such as soy and palm oil, and for logging to produce wood products meant for export to the West. Consumption by wealthy nations, and not local needs, is largely driving contemporary deforestation.
At the end of the symposium all the speakers foresaw mass extinction in the future of the tropics, unless drastic ameliorative actions are taken on a war footing. While the extinction may not reach 50-75 percent, since insects dominate the world, it would certainly have a devastating effect on the world’s vertebrates. Robin Chazdon argued that in order to ensure enough habitats, secondary forests and agroforestry should be supported. A conservation action plan for such areas is the need of the hour.