Sanctuary | News
BRAZIL DISSOLVES
AMAZON RESERVE
In what opposition leaders are calling the “biggest attack on the
Amazon in the last 50 years,” Brazil’s President Michel Temerhas
denotifi ed the massive Renca reserve. The 46,000 sq. km.
reserve is the size of Denmark, and is believed to hold deposits
of gold, copper, nickel, manganese, iron ore and other minerals.
The government claims to have abolished the reserve in order to
encourage foreign investment and boost the country’s struggling
economy. “The abolition of Renca will wreak havoc on the forest
and indigenous communities in the interests of the small group
of economically-powerful groups who are keeping Temer in
power. This is the largest assault so far in a package of threats,”
said Christian Poirier, Program Director, Amazon Watch.
Ever since coming to power, Temer has been under criticism
for diluting environmental laws and opening up large swathes of
the Amazon for destruction in order to appease the powerful
mining and agricultural lobbies. The Amazon forest is famous
for its biodiversity. To put this in context, according to a recent
report published by WWF and Brazil’s Mamiraua Institute for
Sustainable Development, 381 new species were discovered
in the Amazon in a mere two-year period. However, every
single one of these species were found in habitats facing
anthropogenic pressures.SNOW LEOPARD SUMMIT
The two-day International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem
Forum held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, concluded on August 25,
2017, with the signing of the Bishkek Declaration that focuses on
adopting an integrated approach for the preservation of snow
leopard habitats. The declaration was signed by representatives of
the 12 snow leopard range countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China,
India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The summit was held on the invitation of Kyrgyz President
Almazbek Atambayev, four years after the range country
leaders fi rst met in 2013 to launch the Global Snow Leopard
and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP). While six of the
countries were able to present 10-year conservation management
plans at the summit, the six others, including India, were not ready
to submit their plans. These countries have until October 15, 2017,
to secure their strategies.
“For a cat that occupies overlapping boundaries, such
international cooperation is vital. It is such commitment that the
snow leopard needs as the species faces escalating threats from
poaching, retaliatory killing, climate change and development ofSHIVARAM SUBRAMANIAMWORLD
SCAN
infrastructure and mining in their once-remote habitats," said
author and conservationist Prerna Bindra. Surprisingly, the snow
leopard is at risk of being down-listed from ‘endangered’ to
‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature.ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS
AT RISK
As many as 127 environmental defenders have been killed thus
far in 2017, according to The Guardian and Global Witness, which
are collaborating on an ongoing project recording the murder of
environmental activists across the globe.
Amongst those who have been killed for their activism and
work are Wayne Lotter, a leading elephant conservationist, who
was shot dead in Tanzania; Isidro Baldenegro Lopez, a Goldman
Prize-winning Mexican activist known for his stand against illegal
logging; three rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s
famous Virunga National Park, who were murdered by the
notoriously violent Mai Mai rebels; and Daulat Ram Lader, an
Indian Forest Ranger from Chhattisgarh, who was brutally attacked
and killed while on patrol. It is believed the culprits are attached to
illegal miners against whom Lader had fi led a case. “At this current
rate, chances are that four environmental defenders will be killed
this week somewhere on the planet,” suggest the project leaders.
Watch the world-renowned Sanctuary YouTube video on the
problem at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeXdv-uPawSEIZURES IN SENEGAL, VIETNAM
Over 43 kg. of wildlife contraband was seized from a stall at a
seaside market place in Dakar, Senegal, during a joint operation
carried out by the country’s Water and Forestry Department,
police and WARA, one of the region’s most eff ective wildlife
NGOs, which works in collaboration with other NGOs and the
Senegalese authorities. The haul included 780 carved ivory
fi gurines, as well as lion and hippopotamus teeth. The two
merchants selling the wildlife derivatives were also arrested.
Separately, in Vietnam, police discovered two dead tiger cubs
at a timber workshop in the province of Lam Dong. One of the
cubs was found soaking in a basin of alcohol, while the other was
found in a refrigerator. Reportedly, the workshop owner bought
the tiger cubs to soak in alcohol to drink and to gift to others.
The demand for wildlife products, exotic pets and wildlife
derivatives for ‘traditional medicines’ is pushing wild species
across the world to the brink of extinction.The International Snow Leopard Summit was held in Kyrgyzstan in
August 2017 to develop an integrated conservation approach for snow
leopard habitats.