Conservation & Research

Gaining new ground in conservation

Robert Drewes, renowned Academy Herpetologist and Curator at the California Academy of Sciences, along with 25 other independent researchers, has been studying the natural history of African reptiles and amphibians. With on-the-ground logistical and lodging support from SCD, his work has taken him to the gulf of guinea, through the thick rainforest and the rich biodiversity of the islands of São Tomé and Principe. Over the years, he has documented a myriad of critters endemic to the islands that were previously unknown to the scientific community.

Since 2001, Drewes has organized four multidisciplinary expeditions to the islands in an effort to document their biodiversity and gather data for conservation research. His research is recorded frequenty on his blog.

In early june 2005, A new species of stinkhorn mushroom, Phallus drewesii, that was discovered on the African island of São Tomé was named after him.

says Dr. Robert Drewes

Phallus drewesii belongs to a group of mushrooms known as stinkhorns which give off a foul, rotting meat odor naturally. There are 28 other species of Phallus fungi worldwide, but this particular species is notable for its small size, white net-like stem, and brown spore-covered head. The new species was named after Drewes by fellow researchers who made the discovery. This was an acknowledgment of his inspiration and tireless effort in organizing research expediditons to the island to document its hidden treasures.

Read the entire article on Drewe's research in São Tomé



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Eyes from up above

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is best known for his immense work as an aerial photographer of the landscapes both natural and man-made that cover our planet. His well known seminal essay- “Earth From Above” which featured in his web project “6 billion others”, was an attempt to depict the planet in all its glory from the sky, outlining ecosystems and a multitude of breathtaking sceneries that sprawl all around the globe. Going up into the air by helicopter and hot air balloon, he was able to travel all around the world documenting the planet in panoramic form.

Yann’s work also aims to throw some light on man’s impact as a whole on the Earth’s environment.


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A milestone in conservation

The research finding was received with a lot of enthusiasm by the scientific and conservation communities after large leatherback turtle populations dwindled in the 1980’s. Since then leatherback turtles had been widely considered an endangered species with record low breeding numbers in the Atlantic and along the African coasts where their breeding populations once were rife.

The research, done in collaboration with the University of Exeter and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), involved ground and aerial surveys of turtle nesting populations along Gabon’s beaches. Using video monitoring in aerial observation, the team was able to compile enough data of nesting seasons from the years 2002 to 2007. This data showed in detail the large increase in the number of leatherback females, nests as well as the different nesting locations.



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Milestones achieved

The past 2 months have been very exciting for wildlife conservationists. April saw the birth of a female gorilla named, Antsia. Her parents, Sophie and Ntanga were part of a group of 16 western lowland gorillas who had been reintroduced into the Batéké national park, Gabon in 2002.

Earlier in May, Djembo, who had been the first reintroduced gorilla to ever give birth in 2004, gave birth for the second time in the Congo. These successes have largely been as a result of the efforts of the Aspinall foundation which runs wild animal parks in the UK- Howletts near Canterbury and Port Lympne near Hythe. The foundation aims to protect and ensure the breeding of rare and endangered species which are later returned to safe areas in their native natural environment-in this case, Gabon and the congo respectively.


Says Amos Courage, overseas projects director of the Aspinall Foundation.

The western lowland gorilla, known to inhabit up to 7 west central African nations is highly susceptible to diseases and the ongoing threats of poaching and commercial timber exploitation in their natural environment. The ongoing efforts of charities like the Aspinall foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) go a long way in trying to reverse the threat to western lowland gorillas and their habitat by providing programmes that would guarantee breeding and safe reintroduction to their natural environment.


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Green Knight

The Prize which recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk, rewards each winner with the sum of $150,000, which is the largest award in the world for grassroots environmentalists.

Bound to a wheelchair as a result of contracting polio in his early childhood, Marc Ona has been opposing the $3.5 billion Belinga mine development project inside the Ivindo National Park in Gabon, a place endowed by rich biodiversity, where forest elephants, chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, and forest buffalo reside. This beautiful and pristine natural reserve that was one of Gabon’s 13 national parks created in 2002 by president Omar Bongo now faces a direct threat form the entrepreneurial activities of CMEC, a Chinese mining company.

The Belinga project, which includes building roads to the Kongou and Mingouli falls and the construction of a hydro-electric dam, already underway, to provide electric power for the mining activities, has been the subject of fierce controversy. Environmentalists such as Marc Ona, protest the government’s inadequate assessment of the impact of such large industrial projects on the Ivindo park’s natural ecosystems and on Gabon as a whole.

After enduring arrest, being barred from leaving the country and even eviction from his home as a result of his activism and opposition, Mr. Ona went on to demand a full environmental assessment and pushed for an alternative site outside the national park where mining activities could be carried out. Due to his efforts, the Gabonese government is now reconsidering the size of the Belinga project. The overall area to be affected by the dam has been significantly reduced and the the road originally planned to go through Ivindo Park has been rerouted to go through less of the protected reserve.

Mr. Ona who pledges to reinvest some of his cash prize in the building of a local clinic and small businesses for local communities, has urged the Gabonese government to stay transparent in foreign investment deals and to fully investigate the impact of such concessions to national environmental heritage. The Gabonese government has since renegotiated its mining contracts on more favourable terms for the benefit of Gabon’s natural reserves and all ongoing mining contracts are currently on hold.

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Wilderness Conservation Painting Expeditions

Africa’s Eden and its director, Rombout Swanborn, have been behind years of conservation efforts at Loango National Park, Gabon, through support and partnerships with organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Project.

Supported projects in Gabon include the gorilla sanctuary on Evengué Island, the gorilla and chimpanzee research in Tassi, butterfly research, whale research, manatee research and turtle research. It is in an effort to offer recognition for this wealth of research projects underway, with the aim of understanding wildlife to better preserve it, that South American portraitist Beatriz Padilla is presenting Mr. Swanborn with the Xinachtli award.

Focused on the portrayal of endangered and protected wilderness areas around the world, Beatriz Padilla is creating an increasingly powerful statement for nature conservation through her paintings. The original paintings, not yet for sale but accumulated to share remarkable conservation lessons from all over the planet, are engaged in a worldwide tour of exhibitions. When auctioned by 2013, 80% of the proceeds will be for the preservation of wilderness (such as 65% for Mexico's Water Forest and 5% for each one of the portrayed areas).


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Globally, tropical trees in undisturbed forest are absorbing nearly a fifth of the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels.

 The researchers show that remaining tropical forests remove a massive 4.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year. This includes a previously unknown carbon sink in Africa, mopping up 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.
Published February 2009 in Nature, the 40 year study of African tropical forests – one third of the world’s total tropical forest – shows that for at least the last few decades each hectare of intact African forest has trapped an extra 0.6 tonnes of carbon per year.

The scientists then analysed the new African data together with South American and Asian findings to assess the total sink in tropical forests. Analysis of these 250,000 tree records reveals that, on average, remaining undisturbed forests are trapping carbon, showing that they are a globally significant carbon sink.
 

says Dr Simon Lewis, a Royal Society research fellow at the University of Leeds, and the lead author of the paper. The reason why the trees are mopping up carbon and getting bigger is unclear. A leading suspect is the extra CO2 in the atmosphere itself, which may be acting like a fertiliser. However, Dr Lewis warns,
 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that globally human activity emits 32 billion tonnes of CO2 each year, but only 15 billion tonnes actually stays in the atmosphere adding to climate change. The new research shows exactly where some of the ‘missing’ 17 billion tonnes per year is going.
 

explained Dr Lewis.

The study is released at a time when protecting tropical forests is gaining widespread support, and is likely to be a key theme of the upcoming negotiations to limit carbon emissions in Copenhagen later this year.

Co-author on the study, Dr Lee White, Gabon’s Chief Climate Change Scientist said,

says Dr Lewis.

There are also broader implications for rainforest biodiversity, as the ecology of tropical forests changes. Further study is needed on how the interactions of the millions of species that live in the tropics are being affected by the increasing size of rainforest trees. 
 

Further information

For further information please contact:

• Simon Lewis, University of Leeds. Email: s.l.lewis@leeds.ac.uk , Tel: 0113 343 3337
• Clare Ryan, University of Leeds press office. Email: c.s.ryan@leeds.ac.uk , Tel: 0113 343 8059.
   

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