Latest news with #WorldWideFundforNature
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Civil society alliance opposes Yellow Line project
A coalition of environmental experts, architects, civil society organisations and citizen groups spearheaded by the Lahore Conservation Society (LCS) has opposed the proposed Yellow Line Metro Train project in the city. The alliance has sent a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, warning that the project is environmentally damaging, economically unviable, and misaligned with the city's transportation needs. The signatories include World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP), Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), HRCP, architect Yasmeen Lari, and urban planner Arif Hasan.
Borneo Post
12-07-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Giant pandas: Cute and cuddly, or at their best in the wild?
Unlike other species of bear, the giant panda does not hibernate in winter months. — PxHere photo THE Malaysian government in March extended the loan agreement between China and Malaysia for two giant pandas, Fu Wa and Feng Yi, at Zoo Negara. Then-Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the decision reflected the government's support for the pandas' continued presence, which has drawn significant interest from visitors to the national zoo. Fu Wa and Feng Yi, also known by their Malaysian names Xing Xing and Liang Liang, were first loaned to Malaysia in 2014 to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations. It is a very kind gesture from China to loan these bears for world zoos to display in their enclosures for the public to view; for most people will never get the chance to see them in their natural habitats. The closest I have ever been to a giant panda was in Singapore Zoo about nine years ago. God-willing, I hope to see them in the wild in China before I expire. A once very threatened species of bear, now down listed to vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of species facing extinction, this says much for their protection in China, where the giant panda is seen as the national animal and appears also in the logo of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Natural habitat Pandas live at heights of between 1,500 metres and 3,250 metres in submontane, misty forests of south-central China, mostly in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. These bears have taken to these habitats having been forced out of lower land areas where they once lived. This has been caused by increasing population pressure, industrial expansion, and the inevitable loss of its natural food source – bamboo! Seedlings of this plant can take up to 20 years to mature before they meet a panda's dietary requirements. The giant panda, like most bears, has the digestive system of a carnivore but this system has been adapted to eating young bamboo shoots for over 90 per cent of its diet, supplemented by other plants, bird's eggs, and small rodents. It consumes over 50kg of bamboo daily. Defining characteristics The best known of the two species of giant panda is that of the black and white variety (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with its black fur around its eyes, ears, and each of its legs extending up over its shoulders. The sub-species (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) lives exclusively in the Qinling Mountains, displaying a light and dark brown fur. The former, when on all four legs, is about 91cm tall to its shoulders and up to 2.1 metres in length. In its natural habitat, the male bears weigh up to 114kg, while females weigh a steady 100kg. On its paws, a modified wrist bone provides a pseudo-thumb, which allows the panda to grip objects easily. Unlike other species of bear, it does not hibernate in winter months but moves down to lower altitudes, and keeps cool in summer months by migrating higher up the submontane environment. Breeding Female pandas are sexually mature from four years old, giving birth up to the age of 20. Whilst seen as pairs in zoos, they tend to live separate lives as male and female and really only get together for mating purposes when they attract each other by laying scents and with calls. Usually, two cubs are born in the spring with only one strong enough to reach maturity. The cubs live with their mother for up to three years before making their own ways in life. Visitors observing the giant panda, Feng Yi, at Zoo Negara on Aug 29, 2023. — Malay Mail photo Preserving the native environment China established its first giant panda nature reserve in 1963 and today there are very many such reserves. It is a criminal offence to hunt pandas with very harsh penalties imposed for those caught poaching. Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, has become the national and international 'panda capital of the world' as it has four giant panda sanctuaries containing 80 per cent of the world's such bears. Tourists visiting that huge city of more than 20 million people are flabbergasted for the variety of products on sale, all inscribed or decorated with a panda motif. Most importantly in that city is the Chengdu Research Centre of Giant Panda Breeding. History of giant panda in the Western world It was only 156 years ago that the western world first knew about this mammal from a French missionary, Armand David, who received a pelt from a hunter. It took another 47 years before this species was observed and captured by a German zoologist on an expedition to China. Sadly, the cub died shortly after capture. Twenty years later, in 1936, Ruth Harkness, an American fashion designer, socialite and expeditioner, brought a giant panda cub to live in Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, USA. Beginning in 1984, China allowed zoos to keep giant pandas for 10 years, with each zoo paying up to US$1 million (RM4.236 million) each year for the lease and with a guarantee that any cubs born would be returned to China. One can fully understand why China protects its own unique species and insists on these bears returning from foreign pastures. These bears also once freely roamed mountainous areas of North Vietnam and Myanmar but no longer. Today, these bears must be protected from extinction and whilst it is a great honour and wonderful to observe such animals in zoos, they need to be in their natural habitat. The costs of keeping such bears in captivity to include air-conditioning and providing alternative sources of food together with the price per year that their native land imposes for their overseas stay runs into extraordinary figures. Their future lies in their homeland, China – in its natural reserves, away from people and the very fast developments of the 21st century forever threatening these bears of their very existence. I witnessed Eurasian Brown bears in captivity in bile farms in Transylvania, Romania in 1992 and seen them free, roaming in their natural habitats in the pine wood forests there and that is another tale, but I do know which environments bears prefer to live and well away from human interference.
Yomiuri Shimbun
11-07-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Divers Remove Ghost Gear to Protect Marine Ecosystem Off Nagasaki Prefecture's Goto Islands
NAGASAKI — A group of divers worked to remove fishing nets and other marine debris, which pose serious threats to ecosystems and ship navigation, off Nagasaki Prefecture's Goto Islands on Thursday. Known as ghost gear, fishing gear that has drifted away from human control is known to kill marine life and cause damage to ships, but the exact impact remains unclear. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan, a public interest incorporated foundation, began comprehensive surveys in Japanese coastal waters two years ago and found fishing nets on the seabed near Tatara Island in Goto in the prefecture. As one of the world's largest colonies of Osuribachisango coral is located about 200 meters north of the spot, WWF Japan decided to remove the gear before typhoon season began. Relevant surveys and removal operations are planned in seven marine areas nationwide through September next year. Four divers pulled ashore a tangle of fishing nets measuring about 3 meters in length and a meter in width from a depth of four meters below the sea surface. 'I'm worried because once these nets get tangled in my fixed nets, it could affect my catch,' said a 41-year-old fisherman who participated in the removal.
Daily Maverick
23-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
Big gain for Renosterveld as new nature reserve declared
You've probably never heard of Haarwegskloof but it's the new jewel in the fynbos crown. The largest remaining connected stretch of Renosterveld, it has officially been declared a nature reserve. The Renosterveld is good at keeping secrets. A passing glance gives you rolling hills of grey, roundish and rather boring bushes that makes it clear why it was named after a nose-down rhino. At the right time of the year, however, it explodes into colour as hundreds of geophyte bulbs burst into flower. Their names dance on your lips: morea, lachenalia, abuca, brunsvigia, oxalis, cyanella, wurmbea. Buzzing and crawling through it all are different and specialised insects, many only found in Renosterveld: oil-collecting and megachilid bees, bombyliid and tabanid flies, Table Mountain beauty, hairstreaks and blues butterflies, geometer moths, scarab beetles and myrmecochory ants. At night secretive animals emerge: aardwolf, aardvarks… But there's a problem: Renosterveld occurs on fertile, fine-grained soils, making it excellent wheat country — and we humans mainline on the stuff. Think bread, pizzas, pies, pasta, cakes, biscuits… As a result, more than 90% of the original Renosterveld has been lost and — in some subtypes — more than 98% is gone. What remains is often highly fragmented and degraded, making conservation and corridor creation absolutely vital. Officially declared reserve So the latest news from Cape Nature is a huge plus: Haarwegskloof, the largest remaining connected stretch of Renosterveld left on Earth, and located between Swellendam and Bredasdorp, has officially been declared a provincial nature reserve. The declaration is the outcome of years of cooperation between Cape Nature, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Overberg Renosterveld Trust (ORT). For Dr Odette Curtis-Scott, ORT's tireless Renosterveld champion, the declaration marks a milestone in the journey to protect this irreplaceable landscape. 'Most threatened' vegetation type 'Renosterveld is one of the most threatened vegetation types in South Africa (SA), with an estimated 5% of its original extent intact,' she says. 'Much of it has been ploughed for agriculture, and what little remains is highly fragmented. This makes the formal protection of Haarwegskloof as a nature reserve really important.' The declaration provides the highest level of legal protection under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act. It ensures that the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Nature Reserve will remain dedicated to conservation efforts, while allowing for scientific research, habitat restoration and low-impact eco-tourism activities. Renosterveld, part of the Cape Floristic Region, is a global biodiversity hotspot and part of only six floral kingdoms in the world. Despite its ecological importance, it has received far less attention and protection than its fynbos counterpart, largely because it has been extensively converted to farmland. The ORT has been working for more than a decade to protect the fragments that remain by engaging with landowners to voluntarily sign conservation easements. Following this, ORT works with them to restore degraded habitat and address other threats to Renosterveld. Win for conservation, science Curtis-Scott confirmed that the declaration of Haarwegskloof as a nature reserve is key to these efforts, not just a win for conservation but also for science and the countless species that call this extraordinary landscape home. 'We hope our ongoing work with incredible partners and landowners will inspire further protection of Renosterveld remnants throughout the region,' she said. 'We have excellent environmental legislation in South Africa,' said CapeNature CEO Dr Ashley Naidoo, 'but without passionate and dedicated stakeholders, it would mean very little. I am especially proud of the work CapeNature continues to do to expand the conservation estate in the province. 'We know that healthy biodiversity is key to protect and buffer us against extreme weather and climate change. But more than that, we owe it to future generations to protect our unique and precious natural environment.' He said Haarwegskloof stands as an example of what is possible when government and private organisations work together in conservation of our South African and Western Cape biodiversity. DM
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Video of ‘one of Australia's most mysterious animals' shows ‘world-first' action
In a hollowed-out tree of southern Australia live a family of fluffy, gliding marsupials. Unbeknownst to them, the family stars in a sort of wildlife reality TV show — thanks to a camera in their home and a first-of-its-kind livestream. Recently, to the surprise and excitement of conservationists, that camera recorded a 'world-first' behavior. Biologist Ana Gracanin spent months setting up the tree-hollow camera and other necessary equipment in Tallaganda, New South Wales, before launching a 24/7 livestream in October 2024 to observe 'one of Australia's most mysterious animals:' the greater glider, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Australia. Greater gliders are endangered marsupials that live in tree hollows of Australia's eucalyptus forests. Their fluffy bodies can reach up to 18 inches long and their long tails can reach up to 2 feet. As their name suggests, they glide from tree to tree and can cover almost 330 feet in a single glide. Gracanin's livestream shows a family of greater gliders: the mom, Pip, the dad, Milo, and their joey, Brimi. Since its launch, the livestream has recorded Brimi emerging from its mom's pouch and followed the joey's growth. Among the hours of footage, one particular moment stood out, WWF-Australia said in a news release shared with McClatchy News. 'The camera captured Milo using his tail to grasp eucalyptus stems and carry them into the hollow for Brimi and then Brimi eating the leaves,' Gracanin said in the release. 'This unique behaviour had never been observed before, it's also some of the first evidence for paternal care in the species.' 'Greater gliders are often described as not having a prehensile tail — meaning their tail does not grip,' WWF-Australia said in the release. 'But the livestream challenges that thinking.' The organization shared the video in a June 17 Facebook post. The roughly 20-second clip shows the greater glider dad move past the camera, his tail grasping some leaves. He moves toward the joey and puts the leaves within its reach. 'This is a world-first behaviour,' the organization said in the post. Conservationists hope the greater glider livestream will continue revealing new information about these at-risk animals and encourage their protection. 'The livestream is about more than watching cute animals,' Gracanin said in the release. 'It's a window into the importance of tree hollows and old-growth forests. Every night we get to witness something that would otherwise go unseen. That's an incredible privilege.' Tallaganda is about a 190-mile drive southwest from Sydney.
