ZimConservation

‘Carbon Futures’

A new paper from Arthur D. Little

A new white paper from the global management consultancy Arthur D. Little looks at the future of carbon markets post-2012.

Following from “The Carbon Margin” white paper, Arthur D. Little’s Carbon INSIGHT – “Carbon Futures” seeks to map a path forward for tomorrow’s carbon winners by considering market scenarios and how these will impact business post 2012. For many businesses, carbon trading can and will have a significant influence on the top and bottom lines. Beyond 2012 however, this issue will be driven by intergovernmental negotiation and emerging legislation. What should executives with responsibility for investment outcomes post-2012 be doing now to ensure they maximize competitiveness and minimize risk? Continue Reading »

Ross has expressed an interest in conducting a count of wild ostrich populations in Zimbabwe.

Anybody who spots a flock or individual bird would be valued. Please kindly give the date and time and, if possible, how many birds were seen.

Please email details thereof to rgcooperuk@yahoo.com.

URL: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=148922

Download: 
Living Planet Report 2008 [pdf, 4.35 MB] http://assets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_2008.pdf
Living Planet Report 2008 Executive Summary [doc, 67 KB] 
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_summary.doc
© WWF
29 Oct 2008

Gland, Switzerland: The world is heading for an ecological credit crunch as human demands on the world’s natural capital reach nearly a third more than earth can sustain.

That is the stark warning contained in the latest edition of WWF’s Living Planet Report, the leading statement of the planet’s health. In addition global natural wealth and diversity continues to decline, and more and more countries are slipping into a state of permanent or seasonal water stress. Continue Reading »

By Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute, Plan B Update, October 28, 2008

URL: http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update78.htm

Over the last few years the nuclear industry has used concerns about climate change to argue for a nuclear revival. Although industry representatives may have convinced some political leaders that this is a good idea, there is little evidence of private capital investing in nuclear plants in competitive electricity markets. The reason is simple: nuclear power is uneconomical. Continue Reading »

By: Jerome Taylor (The Independant, 29 October 2008)

Why are we asking this now?

Because the first officially sanctioned auction of raw ivory since 1999 kicked off in Namibia yesterday and made $1.2m (£770,000) from a commodity that it is normally illegal to sell. Over the next month, four southern African nations – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe – will sell more than 100 tons of tusks that have either been collected from elephants that died of natural causes or were killed in population management schemes. The controversial auctions are expected to make as much as $40m, which will then be ploughed back into conservation programmes. It is only the second UN-approved sale of ivory to be held in almost 20 years. Continue Reading »

Conserving Nature to Development a Country: The Case of Mozambique

By: Stephen F. DeAngelis, Principal Author. Bradd C. Hayes, Editor

Date: 27 October 2008
Source: Enterprise Resilience Management Blog

URL: http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2008/10/conserving-nature-to-development-a-country-the-case-of-mozambique.html

Last night the CBS news program 60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley profiled an American Internet guru, Greg Carr, who is spending millions of his own money to help restore national wildlife park in Mozambique as a way to help that country’s impoverished population climb onto the road to development ["One Man's Plan To Save A Natural Treasure"]. Carr, an entrepreneur who became very wealthy after being the chair of Prodigy, early global Internet service provider, discovered Mozambique and its Gorongosa National Park during his search for a way to give something back to a world that had been generous and kind to him.

Continue Reading »

“Human Health and Forests: A global overview of issues, practice and policy”

Edited by Carol J. Pierce Colfer

The first comprehensive examination of the links between human health and forests. Provides in-depth coverage of a range of issues and case studies form Asia, Africa and South America. Authored by world-leaders in the field.

Hundreds of millions of people live and work in forests across the world. A vital, yet largely unexamined aspect of their lives are the issues and challenges of protecting and enhancing human health in forested areas and the unique relationship between the health of forests and the health of people. Continue Reading »

“Emerging Consequences of Biotechnology: Biodiversity Loss and IPR Issues”

by Krishna Dronamraju (Foundation for Genetic Research, USA) 

The commercialization of biotechnology has resulted in an intensive search for new biological resources for the purposes of increasing food productivity, medicinal applications, energy production, and various other applications. Although biotechnology has produced many benefits for humanity, its applications have also resulted in some undesirable consequences such as diminished species biodiversity as well as diminished agrobiodiversity, environmental contamination, and the exploitation of intellectual property rights and patents in appropriating the biodiversity of developing countries. Continue Reading »

By: Fred Pearce

Source: The Guardian (UK)

As consumers become more eco-conscious, companies will go to ever greater lengths to present themselves as environmentally friendly. Some make exaggerated or absurd claims, others resort to downright lies. Fred Pearce, whose new weekly Greenwash column launches on the Guardian website today, reports on a sinister trend – and appeals to readers to help stamp it out. Read more here…

Source: Smartdogs’ Weblog (images removed to facilitate loading speed)

A Poverty trap is a self-perpetuating condition where an economy, financial or otherwise, gets caught in one or more maladaptive feedback loops.  Once started, it becomes a self-perpetuating process possibly suggesting that the long run performance of an economy is greatly affected the initial conditions it is created in.

To avoid the pratfalls of poverty, humans sometimes form cooperative ventures.  This allows us to pool resources, reduce exposure to risks and increase potential gains. Other animals who live cooperatively,  like wolves and bonobos, employ similar tactics. Continue Reading »

Source: Zimbabwe Wild Dogs (images removed to facilitate loading speed)

Hi folks,

I’ve had a few requests recently for a blog on the issue of wildlife conservation and the poaching problem in Zimbabwe in general.  This is a really important topic, and I will try to devote more time to it in future.  For now – here is a summary of some of the problems facing the wildlife in the Save Valley Conservancy and Zimbabwe in general…

Poaching for meat in Zimbabwe represents a severe threat to wildlife populations throughout the country. The collapse of the economy, high levels of unemployment and food shortages mean that there is a huge demand for meat, and large numbers of unoccupied young men ready to exploit the opportunity to make some money and food through poaching. The land reform programme, settling thousands of small scale farmers on former game ranchland also contributed greatly to the levels of poaching. Continue Reading »

Source: Nehanda Radio - 22 October 2008

Dear All

On a day when Zimbabwe’s future once again hangs in the balance; as the world watches the signing of a power-sharing agreement that may mean a better future for us all, our cherished family of birds and animals insists on business as usual.

As politicians pontificate and journalists scramble for sound bites, the September sun beats down from a sky smudged grey from hundreds of bush fires and somnolent predators raise sleepy heads to note the tractor rolling past laden with meat for their daily dinner. Continue Reading »

Written by environmental practitioners from across Southern Africa, the publication explores environmental challenges in a diversity of African contexts. These contexts include Malawian officials and community leaders, new to multi-level governance, taking up the challenge of environmental management in villages and districts; Ugandan small-scale farmers in partnership with non-governmental organisations trying to produce sustainably for the household and the international market; and government-civil society partnerships in South Africa, where the political transformation of the education system introduced a focus on environment and human rights in the national school curriculum. Other contributions from South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe, aim to discuss more contexts of environmental practice: industry reporting, environmental management, research, philosophy, the media, conservation, the seeking out of indigenous knowledge. Continue Reading »

Snare removals and rescues

Our consignment of 12 vials of the tranquilizer, M99 has arrived at last after some delays due to problems with the paper work and is safely in the care of the Wildlife Veterinary Unit.

It is already being put to good use and for the benefit of the donors, we will be sending out reports and photos of snare removals as and when they are carried out.

Roger Parry of Victoria Falls removed a snare recently from a kudu, and attempted to remove one from a buffalo in the Victoria Falls area. The kudu had a wire snare around her head which had embedded deeply into her throat. The snare was removed and she is now back with her herd, improving daily. Continue Reading »

eBay bans ivory sales; should the world follow?

eBay says it is going to ban all sales of ivory by Jan. 1 in good news for elephants after a conservation group found more than 4,000 ivory listings on the online auction site. It’s a rare example of a company imposing tougher rules than permitted by international trade rules. Should the world follow suit? For the complete article, go here. From: Reuters (21 October 2008)

Auction site eBay bans ivory sales to protect endangered elephants

The online auction site eBay has promised to ban ivory sales after investigators found thousands of items made from elephant tusks on sale. Conservationists welcomed the move, saying it was a vital step to protecting vulnerable populations of elephants in Asia and Africa. In a report published yesterday, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said it had found 4000 ivory trinkets for sale on the internet around the globe. They included a complete pair of elephant tusks sold for $21,000 on eBay. For the complete article, go here. From: Mail Online (UK) (21 October 2008)

International Food Policy Research Institute
Insecticide Use on Vegetables in Ghana: Would GM Seed Benefit Farmers?
By Daniela Horna, Melinda Smale, Ramatu Al-Hassan, José Falck-Zepeda, and Samuel E. Timpo
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/dp/ifpridp00785.asp

Tomato, cabbage, and garden egg (African eggplant) are important crops for small-scale farmers and migrants in the rural and peri-urban areas of Ghana. Genetic modification has the potential to alleviate poverty by combating yield losses from pests and diseases, while reducing health risks from applying hazardous chemicals. This ex ante study uses farm survey data to gauge the potential for adoption of GM varieties, estimate the potential impact of adoption on farm profits, and highlight economic differences among the three crops. Farmers’ expenditures on insecticides are below the economic optimum for all three crops, and the estimated function for damage abatement shows that insecticide amounts are significant determinants of cabbage yields only. Nonetheless, yield losses from pests and disease affect insecticide use. A stochastic budget analysis also indicates a higher rate of return to vegetable production with the use of resistant seeds relative to the status quo, even considering the technology transfer fee for GM seed. Non-insecticide users could accrue higher marginal benefits than current insecticide users. Comparing vegetable crops with distinct economic characteristics provides a wider perspective on the potential impact of GM technology.

By Chris Lang. Published in WRM Bulletin 135, October 2008.

The massive expansion of agrofuels is responsible for forest destruction, livelihood loss and increased food costs. Certification of agrofuels will do nothing to address the problems.

Read this article (http://chrislang.org/2008/10/17/why-certification-of-agrofuels-wont-work/)

Elephant Conservation In Zimbabwe

Introduction

Elephant conservation remains one of Zimbabwe’s main success stories. Of late due to reason beyond our comprehension this conservation initiative is under spotlight with varied opinions being expressed. This is manifesting itself in form of various misconceptions about the state of elephant conservation in Zimbabwe, including accusations of staff involvement in poaching.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority therefore wishes to set the record straight by informing our valued stakeholders of the elephant management programmes on the ground to hopefully stop all the misinformation that is doing the rounds. Continue Reading »

ZimConservation is currently being updated, improved, and revised all the time…so, please come back regularly to visit us!  In the meantime, the News section (similar to the Archive section on the old website) is being brought up to date first and can be visited by going here. 

Furthermore, we are looking for contributions to the various sections and please don’t forget to leave any comments you may have on how we can make this site even more relevant and useful to you and your conservation needs and efforts.