Wellington, New Zealand
- The number of oiled wildlife reported
dead is a tiny fraction of the true figure
killed by the Rena oil spill, WWF-New Zealand
said today.
The conservation organisation
said that the tragedy should act as a wake
up call for Government, yet its recent proposed
legislation for New Zealand’s offshore environment
does little to protect wildlife from future
oil spills.
Maritime New Zealand reported yesterday
that 45 dead oiled birds have been collected
by wildlife recovery teams since the beginning
of the week when the stern section of the
storm-battered Rena began to sink, releasing
more oil and littering the ocean with debris
and containers. The current total number
of dead wildlife recorded stands at 2066.
“The true number of wildlife killed by the
spill will be far greater than the numbers
recovered – the corpses the teams are collecting
are the tip of the iceberg, and of course
the number of animals affected by the spill
is greater still,” said WWF-New Zealand
Marine Programme Manager Rebecca Bird. “Our
main concern remains the long term impacts
of the oil spill on the environment. This
latest release of oil occurred during a
significant storm, so oiled birds would
have drowned more quickly and many will
disappear from view. The vessel breaking
up, discharging more oil and harming more
wildlife clearly puts more pressure on an
already damaged environment. However if
this had happened before the majority of
the oil was removed, it would have been
an even greater catastrophe,” she said.
WWF said wildlife recovery
efforts it had observed first-hand, which
were led by the National Oiled Wildlife
Recovery Team coordinated by Maritime New
Zealand are ‘world class’, and praised the
dedication and professionalism of the staff
involved.
“The speed with which the wildlife response
teams recovered oiled wildlife, and the
high standard of expertise from those involved
– from local volunteers to wildlife professionals
- is world class,” said Ms Bird. “The teams
out in the field recovering wildlife affected
by the spill and those at the recovery centre
caring for and restoring the animals to
health have worked tirelessly and with sound
judgment - you couldn’t find a better operation
anywhere in the world.”
The conservation organisation says the tragedy
should be a wake up call for Government,
yet proposed legislation governing New Zealand’s
offshore environment – the Government’s
Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental
Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill – will
fail to protect wildlife from future spills.
WWF-New Zealand Marine Advocate Bob Zuur
said:
“At a time when we are counting the cost
of the Rena oil spill, the Government’s
draft legislation for environmental controls
in our offshore environment does little
to prevent future spills killing more wildlife.
It appears that its primary purpose is to
smooth the way for the Government's Petroleum
Action Plan which aims attract more oil
and gas exploration in our oceans,” he said.
“It will allow petroleum development in
areas which are so significant for wildlife
they should be never be exploited – the
equivalent of allowing mining in national
parks.”
Currently, the draft legislation does nothing
to prevent risky activities such as offshore
mining in sensitive areas of the ocean which
are home to unique wildlife. WWF is calling
for the Government to set aside regions
of outstanding biodiversity in marine reserves,
or national parks of the sea, separate high
risk activities from important vulnerable
areas of ocean, and specify mandatory areas
to be avoided by shipping such as currently
exist around the Three Kings Islands, Poor
Knights and in Taranaki.
“The Rena oil spill is a tragedy in itself
for the wildlife harmed and killed, the
damage to the environment, and the impact
on the local community. The Government should
shelve plans to open up more of New Zealand’s
oceans for deep sea oil and gas drilling,
at least until it is willing to draft legislation
that will protect the vulnerable ocean environment,”
said Mr Zuur.
WWF is calling on the Government to protect
areas important for wildlife, and strengthen
the legislation, reducing the risk of spills
happening: “Failure to do so would be a
kick in the teeth to all those who are working
to clean up their beaches and recover wildlife
following the Rena spill,” said Mr Zuur.
Submissions on the Government’s Exclusive
Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental
Effects) Bill close on 27 January.
+ More
Rhino poaching deaths
continue to increase in South Africa
Despite increased law
enforcement efforts, rhino poaching accelerated
in South Africa last year. The country lost
448 rhinos to poaching in 2011, official
government statistics reveal. The total
includes 19 critically endangered black
rhinos, of which fewer than 5,000 remain
in the wild. In 2010, 333 South African
rhinos were killed by poachers, nearly three
times the number killed in 2009.
“The rate of poaching
increase may appear to be faltering, but
the bottom line is more rhinos than ever
were poached in 2011,” said Dr Colman O
Criodain, WWF’s wildlife trade policy analyst.
“If left unchecked, poaching gangs could
put the survival of these iconic species
in jeopardy.”
More than half of South Africa’s rhino deaths
occurred in world-famous Kruger National
Park. The popular safari destination lost
252 rhinos in 2011, and witnessed the poaching
of an additional eight rhinos in the first
weeks of the new year, according to authorities
from South Africa National Parks.
South African law enforcement officials
made 232 poaching-related arrests in 2011,
compared to 165 the previous year. Sentences
imposed for rhino crimes have also increased
in recent years, with poachers and horn
smugglers receiving as long as 16 years
in prison.
“Rhino poaching is being
conducted by sophisticated international
criminal syndicates that smuggle horns to
Asia,” said Dr Morné du Plessis,
CEO of WWF-South Africa. “Its not enough
to bust the little guy; investigators need
to shut down the kingpins organizing these
criminal operations. Governments in Africa
and Asia must work together across borders
to stop the illegal trade.”
The recent upsurge in rhino poaching has
been tied to increased demand for rhino
horn in Asia, particularly Vietnam, where
it carries prestige as a luxury item, as
a post-partying cleanser, and also as a
purported cancer cure.
“Rhino horn has gained popularity among
wealthy Vietnamese elites and business people
to give as a gift, when currying political
favour, or taking as an antidote to overindulgence,”
said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s rhino trade
expert. “But killing endangered rhinos to
mitigate a hangover is a criminal way to
see in the New Year,”
According to Traditional
Chinese Medicine experts, rhino horn has
no proven cancer treating properties. Contrary
to popular myth, it has never been used
in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac.
The Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) has found that consumer demand in
Vietnam is driving much of the rhino poaching.
CITES has also ruled that Vietnam needs
to show progress in curtailing illegal trade
in rhino parts and derivatives.
“So far we have yet
to see Vietnam respond to this ruling from
CITES,” says O Criodain. “For that matter,
CITES must put pressure on Vietnam to respond
meaningfully, as it has done with other
countries whose compliance with the Convention
has been called into question.”
Because it is home to most of world’s rhinos,
South Africa has been the epicentre of poaching.
However, rhinos in other African and Asian
range countries are also being targeted
by poachers.
In October, WWF announced
the extinction of rhinos in Vietnam. The
last Javan rhinoceros in the country was
killed by poachers and its horn removed.
In Nepal, however, strong conservation and
law enforcement efforts ensured that no
rhinos were lost to poaching in 2011.
In both Africa and Asia,
WWF and TRAFFIC are providing assistance
to field rangers, criminal investigators,
prosecutors, and customs authorities. Additionally,
TRAFFIC has facilitated visits between South
African and Vietnamese government officials
to discuss deepening cooperation on law
enforcement.
A bilateral treaty to ramp up law enforcement
collaboration between South Africa and Vietnam
was negotiated in September 2011 but still
remains unsigned.
