Posted on 20 November
2009 - Vietnam – Highly trained detection
dogs are being used help to determine the
population status of the Javan
rhino in Vietnam, in an attempt to save
one of the world’s rarest mammals from extinction.
WWF researchers have
teamed up with national park rangers using
two detection dogs from the United States
to determine the population status of the
Javan rhinos in the forests of southern
Vietnam, home to one of the world’s last
two remaining populations of the species.
Javan rhino (Rhinoceros
sondaicus annamiticus) were thought to be
extinct on mainland Southeast Asia until
hunters in Vietnam killed an individual
rhino in 1988. It is believed less than
ten remain, but no conclusive survey has
ever been conducted to verify this.
“The Javan rhino is
possibly the rarest large mammal on Earth,”
said Sarah Brook, leader of the WWF rhino
project in Vietnam. “This field survey aims
to reveal the secrets of Vietnam’s little
known Javan rhino population in an effort
to save it from extinction.”
Samples of the dung
will be sent to Queen’s University in Canada
where DNA analysis will detect the sex and
number of animals. The Zoological Society
of London will carry out a hormone analysis
to show the animal’s breeding capability.
After just five days
of surveying the area, seven rhino dung
samples have been found. These specimens
have given the project team confidence that
they will be able to gather all the necessary
scientific information. The results of these
analyses will be used to formulate an urgent
rhino conservation plan.
“The rhino is not only
a rare animal unique to this country, but
protecting the rhino is a flagship for conservation
efforts in Vietnam,” said Hien Tran Minh,
Country Director for WWF Vietnam. “If we
lose the rhino the future does not look
good for Vietnam’s other rare and endemic
species.”
The Javan rhino is a
highly valued commodity in the illegal wildlife
trade, with the rhino horn, skin and faeces
used for medicinal purposes. Habitat encroachment
from agricultural expansion and planned
hydropower development also pose increasing
threats to this small population.
To improve protection
for rhinos and other wildlife threatened
by poachers, WWF in collaboration with the
Asian Rhino project is supporting local
communities to join the Forest Protection
Department and national parks staff.
‘Rhinomania’, a blog
written by the WWF team, will keep the public
up to date on the rhino survey as well as
on life in the national park.
+ More
Southern Ocean protected
area to shield marine region more diverse
than Galapagos
Posted on 23 November
2009 - A first-time high seas Marine Protected
Area (MPA) has been established in the Southern
Ocean, eliminating fishing and giving scientists
a special opportunity to study the effects
of climate change in a region that is home
to more species than the Galapagos Islands.
At its recent meeting,
the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) approved
the new high seas marine protected area
south of the South Orkney Islands in the
Antarctic Peninsula Region. The Commission
further agreed to a work plan to create
networks of high seas MPAs across 11 other
high priority areas in the Southern Ocean
by 2012.
The marine protected
area, the result of four years of development
work, covers about 94,000 square km of the
Southern Ocean, an area slightly larger
than Portugal.
"The Commission
should be proud of this remarkable achievement,”
said Rob Nicoll, WWF-Australia Antarctica
and Southern Ocean Initiative Manager.
“But it is just the
first step in the Commission’s new work
plan to create a network of high seas MPAs
across the whole of the Southern Ocean by
2012 and they must continue working towards
this goal.”
“Members must ensure
they make good on this decision and commit
the required resources and political will
to achieve comprehensive protection of the
Southern Ocean’s unique marine environments
and species.”
Once the MPA comes into
force in May 2010, no fishing activities
and no discharge or refuse disposal from
fishing vessels will be allowed within its
boundaries
WWF was deeply involved
in laying the groundwork for the MPA's designation.
In 2006, a WWF led initiative to classify
important bioregions of the Southern Ocean
directly led to 11 large areas being identified
as priorities for MPA designation, the South
Orkney’s being one of these areas. These
bioregions form the basis of the scientific
case for the MPAs designation with two bioregions
represented with the MPA.
A bioregion is an area
where habitats, communities, and physical
features will be more similar to each other
than other areas. The two bioregions represented
within the MPA are the Weddell Gyre and
Antarctic Shelves bioregions.
In addition to containing
these bioregions, the new MPA is an area
of high biological productivity, a key habitat
for krill and an important foraging area
for Adelie penguins. Submarine shelves and
seamounts within the area also contain important
habitats for benthic (bottom dwelling) creatures.
A recent comprehensive
study in and around the South Orkney Islands
by researchers from the British Antarctic
Survey and the University of Hamburg found
the region was home to 1,200 species of
sea and land animals - more than the Galapagos
Islands.
A third of these were
not previously known to live in the region
and five species were entirely new to science.
The Orkney Islands MPA
will also play a key role in detecting climate
change. It is easier to detect changes to
the distribution of species around the South
Orkney Islands than many other areas in
the Southern Ocean. Such changes, far from
the impact of humans, could act as early
indicators of climate change near Antarctica.
According to scientists,
changes to species distribution would likely
occur as the waters around the islands become
warmer. Under these conditions, some species
may shift south to cooler regions while
others species used to more temperate conditions
could move in.
“The research carried
out on these species' movements within this
protected area could alert us to the affects
of climate change not just in Antarctica
but also the rest of the world,” said Nicoll.
“These distant regions
need to be protected not just to preserve
their species but because they could offer
an early warning system for us all.”
