Posted on 31 July 2013
An adorable, masked tiger walking around
playfully among children and enthusiastic
elders of the community in Norbuling set
the tone for the Global Tiger Day celebration
on the 29th of July. As joyful and funny
as it seemed, it was a perfect embodiment
of people living in harmony with nature.
Around 300 people from the local community,
school, government officials from the Department
of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) and
their counterparts from India gathered to
pledge their support to tiger conservation
in one of the prime tiger habitats in Bhutan.
It was even more inspiring to see villagers
extending their heart-felt support by donating
funds (from their hard earned income) for
the schools nature club.
Highlighting the important role of the community
in conserving tigers, Chencho Norbu, the
Director General of DoFPS said, “We cannot
fulfill our goal of doubling the number
of tigers without the much-needed community
support and it is encouraging to see so
many members of the community here pledging
their support.”
He added that while
there are increasing instances of human-tiger
conflict in some areas in the country it
is crucial for people to see through these
problems to ensure a better future for generations
to come.”
Officials also acknowledged that people
in the border areas were indulging in poaching
because they have no other sources of livelihood
and that, “There is a need to help them
find alternative sources of income to reduce
their dependence on such activities.”
The event also saw school children participating
in art competitions and skits of Tiger conservation.
This, officials said was important as students
would be of great help in sensitizing their
families.
The event was jointly organized by DoFPS,
World Wildlife Fund Bhutan Program, Wildlife
Trust of India and Bhutan Trust Fund for
Environmental Conservation.
+ More
New study gets its teeth
into shark trade regulations
Posted on 30 July 2013
A new TRAFFIC study examines how tighter
trade controls can ensure that seven species
of sharks and manta rays are only sourced
sustainably and legally before entering
international trade.
The study, Into the
deep: Implementing CITES measures for commercially-valuable
sharks and manta rays, was commissioned
by the European Commission and written in
the wake of these marine animals being listed
in by the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) in March this year.
The oceanic whitetip
shark, porbeagle shark, three species of
hammerhead shark and two manta rays, all
of them subject to continued overfishing,
were included in Appendix II which will
regulate trade.
“There was great elation
when these sharks and manta rays were listed
by CITES, but although it was a significant
moment for the conservation world, now comes
the task of making these listings work in
practice as time is running out for some
of these species,” said Glenn Sant, TRAFFIC’s
Marine Programme Leader.
“CITES listings do not
take away the need for comprehensive fisheries
management, they represent one critical
part of that management through aiming to
control trade and prevent international
trade in products of these species being
sourced from unsustainable or illegal fisheries.”
The new study aimed
to identify which of the 178 countries signed
up to CITES will be affected by the listings;
the relevant existing international, regional
and domestic regulations; the main challenges
facing implementation of the measures; and
any additional capacity building needs to
ensure those countries catching and trading
in these species can validate their sustainability
and legality before issuing permits.
The study revealed a
lack of basic information on the levels
of catch and population status of the newly
listed species, with an urgent need to improve
the identification of species in trade,
reporting of their trade and for further
research, assessment and monitoring to determine
the impacts of trade on populations. It
highlighted the need to ensure domestic
regulatory frameworks and administrative
structures are adequate to support the implementation
of CITES trade controls.
The study also examined
the very different dynamics influencing
the trade in the species concerned. Manta
rays are chiefly traded for gill rakers,
used in traditional Asian medicines. Of
the sharks porbeagle is mainly caught for
meat, hammerheads for local consumption
of meat and international trade of fins
and the larger oceanic whitetip is highly
valued for fins, destined for markets in
Asia, particularly Hong Kong.
Some of the species
examined are specifically targeted by fishing
operations, while others are a secondary,
but valuable, catch when targeting other
species such as tuna. Given the different
markets involved in the trade and uses involved,
this creates highly complex trade chains
which the new study attempts to unravel.
About TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network,
works to ensure that trade in wild plants
and animals is not a threat to the conservation
of nature. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance
of IUCN and WWF.
