Another dose of bad news about poaching,
wildlife and environmental crimes … and
China remains under the spotlight …
in the spotlight today ……………………
……..we begin with a news report you know you will never see on the pro-China CITES Secretariat web site, don’t you? Why is the Secretariat sooooooooooooooooo protective of China?
China: The Cause of (and Solution to?) Illegal Logging
To reverse its increasing impact on global deforestation, China needs new laws and tough enforcement. EXTRACT: Indeed, the total volume of illegal timber imports into 10 key processing and consumer countries actually increased by 10 million cubic meters between 2000 and 2013, to 60 million cubic meters — a rise of nearly $8 billion in value terms. Nearly all of this increase was accounted for by the rise in illegal imports to China, which almost doubled in volume over this period. http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/china-the-cause-of-and-solution-to-illegal-logging/
CITES ISN’T WORKING – IS IT?
“The objective of CITES is to ensure that wild fauna and flora is not unsustainably exploited through international trade.”says John Scanlon
MARCH 2013: Cites tries to curb illegal logging
Governments agreed Tuesday to step up efforts to protect threatened tree species from illegal loggers, amidst warnings that criminal gangs are plundering the world’s forests.
The 178-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Flora and Fauna, known as Cites, agreed to restrict cross-border trade in ebony from Madagascar as well as rosewoods (phayung, in Thai) from the same island, as well as Southeast Asia and Central America. http://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/340128/cites-boosts-efforts-to-curb-illegal-logging
2 years later illegal logging is worse than ever, with CHINA the main offender. Anyone surprised?
No 464 Wildlife Trade News: 23rd July 2015
153 Chinese get life sentences for illegal logging in Myanmar http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/153-Chinese-get-life-sentences-for-illegal-logging-30264990.html
Beijing pleads for Chinese illegal loggers jailed in Myanmar. (NA COMMENT: No other country would ask for 153 of its criminals to be repatriated, would it?) http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=64596&icid=a&d_str=
Caught in the crossfire: how cattle and Chinese mining interests are killing off Namibia’s black rhinos http://oxpeckers.org/2015/07/caught-in-the-crossfire-how-cattle-and-chinese-mining-interests-are-killing-off-namibias-black-rhinos/#!/loc=-19.679280900000006,13.975656399999979,12
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Inside the Grim Lives of Africa’s Captive Lions. A new documentary exposes the dark side of a growing South African wildlife business.
Seventy percent of South Africa’s lions spend their lives in captivity. Lion breeding, trophy hunting, and increasingly lion bone trading, are tightly interlinked ventures. Photograph by Ian Michler http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150722-lions-canned-hunting-lion-bone-trade-south-africa-blood-lions-ian-michler/
Demand for Palm Oil Contributes to Deforestation & Wildlife Crime http://www.planetexperts.com/demand-for-palm-oil-contributes-to-deforestation-wildlife-crime/
Kenya Wildlife Service commissions first ever inventory exercise of elephant ivory and rhino horn stockpile https://www.the-newshub.com/environment/kenya-wildlife-service-commissions-first-ever-inventory-exercise-of-elephant-ivory-and-rhino-horn-stockpile
Taiwanese poachers fined P4M http://www.manilatimes.net/taiwanese-poachers-fined-p4m/202546/
Elephant poaching: Kerala to seek central agency’s help http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/just-in/elephant-poaching-kerala-to-seek-central-agency-help.html
Botswana: Human-Wildlife Conflict Rife http://allafrica.com/stories/201507220298.html
Kenyans sign pan-African protection initiative to save elephants http://www.coastweek.com/3829-Kenya-signs-pan-African-protection-initiative-to-save-elephants.htm
BHP to open new coal mine in Borneo amid concern for orangutans Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/bhp-to-open-new-coal-mine-in-borneo-amid-concern-for-orangutans-20150722-gihomt.html#ixzz3gdiLU4MG
INDIA; State Agencies Make Light of Wildlife Crimes. EXTRACT: Wildlife buffs accused the Forest Department officials of colluding with the wildlife mafia. Even after the WCCB issued a circular, they failed to respond and even tried to conceal the gravity of the crimes being taken place in the state’s forests.http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/State-Agencies-Make-Light-of-Wildlife-Crimes/2015/07/23/article2935250.ece
ZIMBABWE: Cop dragged to court after kidnapping man to help him kill elephant http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-23857-ZRP+officer+up+for+poaching,+kidnapping/news.aspx
SRI LANKA: Don’t Do This To The Majestic Elephant
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=128717
South African Airways Lifts Ban On Hunters’ Animal Trophies Feel free to ship your prized elephant head in the cargo hold. http://www.fastcompany.com/3048936/fast-feed/south-african-airways-lifts-ban-on-hunters-animal-trophies
The XyloTron: combating illegal logging in seconds http://wildtech.mongabay.com/2015/07/the-xylotron-combating-illegal-logging-in-seconds/
Palm oil firm under fire over land deals sealed during Ebola crisis in Liberia Campaign group urges Golden Veroleum Liberia to renegotiate deals in which communities panic-stricken by Ebola signed over thousands of hectares of land http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/23/palm-oil-golden-veroleum-liberia-land-deals-ebola-crisis
Police in Costa Rica Prevent Butchering of Five Sea Turtles http://news.co.cr/police-in-costa-rica-prevent-butchering-of-five-sea-turtles/40361/
INDIA; Wanton killing of wildlife in Dhubri resented http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul2315/state058
How satellites could slow the decline of wildlife. Conservation scientists are pursuing collaboration with space agencies in order to monitor wildlife decline on a global scale. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0722/How-satellites-could-slow-the-decline-of-wildlife
Thai PM challenged over vanished forests http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/thai-pm-challenged-over-vanished-forests
Pilots vs. Poachers. The future of elephant survival may depend, in part, on aerial patrols.
Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/pilots-vs-poachers-180955764/#xhUrdm5vDQY6uOcC.99
Slaying the beast of human-elephant conflict THAILAND http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/632328/slaying-the-beast-of-human-elephant-conflict
