Conservation news

Report - Boidiversity Survey of Montara Oil Leak
WWF-Australia commissioned AES (Applied Ecology Solutions) to run an independent scientific survey of the area affected by the Montara H1 oil leak, which including transit time, took place from 24 - 30 September 2009. This report presents the findings from the three-day period 26 - 28 September spent in the vicinity of the main oil leak zone.
Go here - http://www.wwf.org.au/publications/montaraoilspillreport/

WWF-Australia Annual & Sustainability Report 2009
It’s out! Lovingly pieced together. Located now on our website at http://wwf.org.au/publications/annualreport2009/

RED list
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released the 2010 update to its Red List of Endangered Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Southern blue fin tuna
“Southern bluefin tuna stocks have been fished to alarmingly low levels and the nations responsible have agreed to reduce their catch. Australia is taking a cut of more than 20% while Japan has to reduce by more than 50%. Read more: http://www.panda.org/?178141/Southern-Bluefin-quota-cuts-could-be-too-little-too-late

A Guide to Conservation Finance
Ahhhh, just the thing to curl up with on those balmy summer evenings. Sustainable financing for the planet? Yes please! http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/?175961/wwfguidetoconservationfinance

A world of Biodiversity
Australia’s 2008 Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment was released Friday, October 30. It’s the first time such a comprehensive report has been completed since 2002, and key messages include:
- 48 plant species, 42 animal species were extinct under EPBC Act in 2007.
- 1175 plant species, 310 animal species were threatened with extinction.
- There were 100 species newly added to the list of extinct or threatened since 2002.
- 75 plant species, and 44 animal species already on the list in 2002 changed status, mostly as a result of because of better knowledge, not any genuine change in populations up or down.
- However 16 plant species had real data on population change, as did 23 animal species. In all cases, the real change was decline, not improvement, moving from less threatened to more threatened.
  The report can be accessed here - http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/terrestrial-assessment/index.html

GBR Amendment Bill passed
On 8 October the Queensland Parliament passed the Great Barrier Reef Amendment Bill 2009. The Bill is a great achievement for WWF - it finally brings high impact agricultural activities - sugar and beef - in Reef catchments within the scope of Queensland’s environment protection legislation. Several requirements will apply to all persons carrying out these agricultural activities: conditions to prevent over-fertilisation, record keeping requirements, and stricter restrictions on the use of pesticides. In addition, certain high risk operators will be required to have an environmental risk management plan. The new laws will take effect from 1 January 2010.

Macquarie Island = Treasure Island
An insight into life and species on Macquarie Island by marine biologist, Dean Miller. Dean is on Macquarie Island for 6 months researching the fur seal population while also shooting his own doco on the wildlife. And there’s plenty of it with an average of 4 million animals on the island from fur seals & elephant seals to sooty albatross, royal penguins and king penguins, not to mention the killer whales. For a sneak peak you’ve just got to check out http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/-/page/3/#fop. The clip is called “Treasure Island”. Be patient while it loads (45 secs) and be rewarded.

Degraded Borneo land to be restored for orangutans
Almost 1000 hectares of degraded land in the area designated Heart of Borneo is to be restored as orangutan habitat, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between WWF-Malaysia and the State of Sabah on October 27. Sabah agreed that it would bar palm oil and other crops near rivers to preserve habitats. It is estimated there are fewer than 11,000 orang-utans in Sabah, down from about 17,000 20 years ago. For more on this:http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/?178481/Degraded-Borneo-land-to-be-restored-to-orangutans

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Tagged with conservation.

By Kasia – December 1, 2009

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