Conservation

Two influential UN-related wildlife bodies are proposing to join forces on a new initiative to halt the serious decline of Africa’s great carnivores. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will submit their plan to the CMS COP12 wildlife summit in Manila later this month. Proposals for inclusion of ...

A new intergovernmental task force to curb the illegal killing of birds crossing one of the world’s greatest migration paths will be high on the agenda at this year’s largest wildlife summit, which takes place in Manila next month. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway spans 22 countries from the Russian Federation to Alaska in the USA in the north, through much ...

Guidelines to ensure marine animals are better protected from boat-based wildlife watching will be presented at a major migratory species summit in Manila later this month. Leisure cruising to view whales, dolphins, sharks, rays and turtles, as well as seabird colonies is a fast-growing commercial activity worldwide, with positive impacts on local economies. Yet, if unregulated, this type of marine ...

A multinational plan to thwart the sudden and severe decline in vultures across Africa, Asia and Europe will be presented at a major summit on migratory species this month. Experts estimate the majority of African-Eurasian Vultures are critically endangered and at “very high risk” of extinction in the wild, mainly due to poisoning. Unless effective conservation measures are implemented, there ...

The wait is over. As of today, international trade in silky and thresher sharks will be regulated through strict the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) trade controls. As such, any trade in these species from this day forward requires a science-backed finding that the levels of trade will not jeopardise their survival in the ...

As reported cases of animals facing the threat of extinction daily make the rounds, a contrary scenario is however emerging in certain parts of Nigeria, where wildlife still has a fighting chance of survival. Conservation of fauna, spurred by socio-cultural beliefs, has become the hallmark of some indigenous communities in the biological diversity-rich Niger Delta region, where animals are revered. ...

The 12th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CMS COP12) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), scheduled to hold from October 23 to 28, 2017 in Manila, Philippines, will address links between sustainable development and the conservation of wildlife. The first to be held in Asia, the CMS COP12 is touted to ...

The Government of Zimbabwe has defended plans to open a donkey abattoir to provide body parts for the Chinese medicine market, amidst criticisms from Animal Welfare Groups. Zimbabwe would join several other African nations that are cashing in on the Chinese belief that the gelatin in donkey skins has healing properties and works as an aphrodisiac. “We have previously turned ...

Hard choices have to be made in the US very soon: is it the gold in the ground or gold in another form in the waters? Scenario A: Tens of millions of salmon surge through the state of Alaska’s Bristol Bay and about half the amount are caught to feed half of the world’s demand. Scenario B: Near the headwaters ...

The call by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) for the restoration of the nation’s forest cover to at least 25% through the Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) appears to be gaining momentum and support from both the public and private sectors in the country. In an apparent bid to nip the gloomy but probable prediction that Nigeria’s landscape may wear a ...