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There are plenty of things you can do every day to help reduce greenhouse gases and your carbon footprint to make a less harmful impact on the environment. ipopba / Getty Images
By Katie Lambert and Sarah Gleim
The United Nations suggests that climate change is not just the defining issue of our time, but we are also at a defining moment in history. Weather patterns are changing and will threaten food production, and sea levels are rising and could cause catastrophic flooding across the globe. Countries must make drastic actions to avoid a future with irreversible damage to major ecosystems and planetary climate.
<p>But what about individuals? What can we do to pitch in and help save the Earth? There are plenty of things you can do every day to help reduce greenhouse gases and your <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/minimizing-carbon-footprint.htm" target="_blank">carbon footprint</a> to make a less harmful impact on the environment. Taking care of the Earth is not just a responsibility, it's a necessity. In that spirit, HowStuffWorks has come up with 10 things you can do now to help save the planet.</p>
<h3>1. Conserve Water</h3><p>The little things can make a big difference. Every time you turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth, you're doing something good. Got a leaky faucet? You might be dripping as much as 90 gallons (340 liters) of water down the drain every day [source: <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/about_us/facts.html#save_water" target="_blank">EPA</a>]. So fix it! It's easy and cheap. And stop drinking <a href="https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/why-americans-spend-billions-bottled-water.htm" target="_blank">bottled water</a>. Switch to filtered tap water. You'll save a ton of cash and help reduce a ton of plastic waste in the process.</p><h3>2. Be Car-conscious</h3><p>If you can, stay off the road two days a week or more. You'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,590 pounds (721 kilograms) per year [source: <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle-0_.html" target="_blank">EPA</a>]. It's easier than you think. You can combine your errands — hit the school, grocery store and dog daycare in one trip. And talk to your boss about teleworking. It's a boon for you and your company. But being car conscious also means maintaining your car on a regular basis. You can improve your gas mileage by 0.6 percent to 3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure, and be sure to make necessary repairs if your car fails emission [source: <a href="https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.jsp" target="_blank">EPA</a>].</p>
<h3>3. Walk, Bike or Take Public Transit</h3><p>Walking and biking are obvious ways to reduce greenhouse gases. Plus you'll get some good cardio and <a href="https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/sports-physiology.htm" target="_blank">burn some calories</a> while you do it. If you live in an area that's not <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/why-so-many-suburban-streets-twist-and-turn.htm" target="_blank">walkable</a>, take advantage of your local <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/subway.htm" target="_blank">mass transit</a> if you can. Or carpool. Even one car off on the road makes a difference.</p><h3>4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle</h3><p>You can help reduce pollution just by putting that soda can in the <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/three-big-mistakes-we-make-recycling.htm" target="_blank">recycling</a> bin. It really does make a difference. Paper, too. Case in point: If an office building of 7,000 workers recycled all of its office paper waste for a year, it would be the equivalent of taking almost 400 cars off the road [source: <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2013_advncng_smm_fs.pdf" target="_blank">EPA</a>]. But you can also take reusable bags to the grocery, and avoid using disposable plates, spoons, glass, cups and napkins. They create huge amounts of waste. And buy products that are made of recycled materials. It all makes a difference.</p>
<h3>5. Give Composting a Try</h3><p>In 2015, (the last year figures were available) Americans generated <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#GenerationTrends" target="_blank">262.4 million tons (238 metric tons) of trash</a>. Only 23.4 million tons (21.2 metric tons) of that was composted. Some was recycled and some was combusted for energy, but almost half of it — 137.7 million tons (124.9 metric tons) — ended up in the <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/landfill.html" target="_blank">landfill</a>. Imagine if you could divert more of that to your own <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/composting.htm" target="_blank">compost</a>? It would help reduce the amount of solid waste you produce, and what eventually winds up in your local landfill. Plus, compost makes a great natural fertilizer.</p><h3>6. Switch to LEDs</h3><p><a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/cfl-bulb.htm" target="_blank">Compact fluorescent light bulbs</a> (CFLs) are great. They can last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and they use at least two-thirds less energy, but even CFLS have issues. They're hard to dispose of because they contain mercury. Enter light-emitting diode, or LED bulbs. They emit light in a very narrow band wavelength so they're super energy-efficient. Start replacing your old incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs now (if you haven't already). They do cost more than CFLs and incandescents, but equivalent LED bulbs can last around 25,000 hours compared to the 1,000 hours that incandescent bulb might have lasted.</p>
<h3>7. Live Energy Wise</h3><p>Make your home more <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/home-heating-and-cooling-efficiency-tips.htm" target="_blank">energy efficient</a> (and save money). Your home's windows are responsible for <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/design/windows-doors-and-skylights/update-or-replace-windows" target="_blank">25 to 30 percent</a> of residential heat gain and heat loss. If they're old and inefficient, consider replacing them. Also be sure your home has proper insulation. Insulation is measured in terms of its thermal resistance or <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize/insulation" target="_blank">R-value</a> — the higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation. The amount of insulation your home needs depends on the climate, type of HVAC system, and where you're adding the insulation. Smaller things you can do right away include replacing your air filter regularly so your HVAC system doesn't have to work overtime. Keep your window treatments closed when it's extremely hot and cold outside. You can also consider installing a programmable thermostat like <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/nest-learning-thermostat.htm" target="_blank">Nest</a> so your system isn't running (and wasting energy) when you're not home.</p><h3>8. Eat Sustainable Foods</h3><p>Today, large-scale food production accounts for as much as <a href="https://nctce.com.au/what-is-sustainable-food-a-guide-to-eating-more-sustainably/" target="_blank">25 percent of the greenhouse emissions</a>. So how do you eat sustainably? Choosing food from farmers that aim to conserve the natural resources and have as little impact on the land as possible. But even buying as much as you can from local farmers makes a different. Eating more whole grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts, and less red meats and processed foods does too. Grow your own fruits and vegetables. You can <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/starting-a-vegetable-garden.htm" target="_blank">grow a garden</a>!</p>
<h3>9. Plant a Tree (or Two)</h3><p>In 2018 the United Nations' <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report</a>, the U.N. suggests an additional 2.5 billion acres (1 billion hectares) of forest in the world could limit global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) by 2050. That's a lot of trees, but you could plant one or two, right? One young tree can absorb<a href="http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/air%20quality.htm" target="_blank"> CO2 at a rate of 13 pounds</a> (5 kilograms) per tree. Every. Single. Year. And that's just an itty bitty baby tree. Once that tree reaches about 10 years old, it's at its most productive stage of carbon storage. Then it can absorb 48 pounds (21 kilograms) of CO2 per year. Trees also remove all other kinds of junk from the air, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and <a href="https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/when-it-comes-to-air-pollution-tiniest-particles-might-be-worst.htm" target="_blank">small particles</a>. So go ahead, plant a tree. It's good for everybody.</p><h3>10. Give Up Plastics</h3><p>The statistics are shocking: People around the world <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/" target="_blank">buy 1 million plastic drinking bottles</a> <em>every minute</em>, and use up to <em>5 trillion </em>single-use plastic bags every year. Humans are addicted to plastic, and hardly any of it — about 9 percent — gets recycled. A staggering 8 million tons (7.25 metric tons) ends up in the ocean every year. <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/10-ways-to-stop-using-plastic-now.htm" target="_blank">Break the cycle</a>. Stop buying bottled water. Say no to plastic shopping bags and use cloth bags instead. Don't use <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/americans-use-500-million-straws-every-day-would-you-pledge-go-strawless.htm" target="_blank">plastic straws</a>. Drink from a reuseable cup instead of a plastic one. Avoiding plastic can divert a ton of waste from the oceans and landfill.</p>
<p class=""><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/" target="_blank">HowStuffWorks</a></em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646032543#/" target="_self"></a> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Plastic waste from the nearby city of Ushuaia is polluting nests and being found in penguins' stomachs and excrement. Deutsche Welle
Tierra del Fuego is at the southernmost tip of South America and is sometimes known as the "end of the world." This windswept part of Argentina is home to seven penguin colonies which breed, nest and feed in the area.
<p>Yet even here, the evidence of human encroachment on nature is clear.</p><p>Plastic waste from the nearby city of Ushuaia is <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/is-marine-plastic-pollution-a-threat-to-human-health/a-39161868" target="_blank">polluting</a> nests and being found in penguins' stomachs and excrement. And warmer waters mean adults must search longer for food, leaving their little ones more exposed to predators. Increasing tourism is also threatening the ecosystem.</p><p>Biologist Andrea Raya Rey has been studying the region's penguins for more than 20 years. She and others from the Austral Center for Scientific Research (CADIC) are working to protect the beloved flightless birds.</p>
A film by Aitor Saez
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Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. Csondy / Getty Images
By Marie Quinney
Biodiversity is critically important – to your health, to your safety and, probably, to your business or livelihood.
<p>But biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. The world's 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things by weight, but humanity has caused the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study" target="_blank">loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants</a>. (Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is one of the top five risks in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risks Report</a>, too.)</p><p>In celebration of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/idb/" target="_blank">the International Day for Biological Diversity</a>, we break down the five ways in which biodiversity supports our economies and enhances our wellbeing – and has the potential to do even more.</p>
1. Biodiversity Ensures Health and Food Security.
<p>Biodiversity underpins global nutrition and food security. Millions of species work together to provide us with a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/health/doc/Summary-SOK-Final.pdf" target="_blank">large array of fruits, vegetables and animal products essential to a healthy, balanced diet</a> – but they are increasingly under threat.</p><p>Every country has indigenous produce – such as wild greens and grains – which have adapted to local conditions, making them more resilient to pests and extreme weather. In the past, this produce provided much-needed micronutrients for local populations. Unfortunately, however, the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">simplification of diets, processed foods and poor access to food have led to poor-quality diets</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/biodiversity-for-food-and-nutrition/" target="_blank">one-third of the world suffers from micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p><p>Three crops – wheat, corn and rice – <a href="https://enviroliteracy.org/food/crops/" target="_blank">provide almost 60% of total plant-based calories consumed by humans</a>. This leads to reduced resiliency in our supply chains and on our plates. For example, <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">the number of rice varieties cultivated in Asia has dropped from tens of thousands to just a few dozen; in Thailand, 50% of land used for growing rice only produces two varieties</a>.</p><p>People once understood that the conservation of species was crucial for healthy societies and ecosystems. We must ensure this knowledge remains part of our modern agricultural and food systems to prevent diet-related diseases and reduce the environmental impact of feeding ourselves.</p>2. Biodiversity Helps Fight Disease.
<p>Higher rates of biodiversity have been linked to an increase in human health.</p><p>First, plants are essential for medicines. For example, <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">25% of drugs used in modern medicine are derived from rainforest plants</a> while <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">70% of cancer drugs are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature</a>. This means that every time a species goes extinct, we miss out on a potential new medicine.</p><p>Second, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">biodiversity due to protected natural areas has been linked to lower instances of disease</a> such as Lyme disease and malaria. While the exact origin of the virus causing COVID-19 is still unknown, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711306/" target="_blank">60% of infectious diseases originate from animals</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/631980-Machalaba-Anthropogenic%20Drivers%20of%20Emerging%20Infectious%20Diseases.pdf" target="_blank">70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife</a>. As human activities encroach upon the natural world, through deforestation and urbanization, we reduce the size and number of ecosystems. As a result, animals live in closer quarters with one another and with humans, creating ideal conditions for the spread of zoonotic diseases.</p><p>Simply put: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">more species means less disease</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMDYyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDA4MjA5MH0.7QU59zfy44cq0wSAwMxeqjyygJi9ef1aEyYHQZ3gCts/img.png?width=980" id="77368" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="18d555bb10422495fc147f109cb72b3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Human activity is eroding biodiversity. World Economic Forum Nature Risk Rising
3. Biodiversity Benefits Business.
<p>According to the World Economic Forum's recent <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Nature Risk Rising Report</a>, more than half of the world's GDP ($44 trillion) is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Many businesses are, therefore, at risk due to increasing nature loss. <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/protected_areas/arguments_for_protection/goods_services/medicine/" target="_blank">Global sales of pharmaceuticals based on materials of natural origin are worth an estimated $75 billion a year</a>, while natural wonders such as <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/" target="_blank">coral reefs are essential to food and tourism.</a></p><p>There is great potential for the economy to grow and become more resilient by ensuring biodiversity. <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/handle/20.500.11822/31813" target="_blank">Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits.</a> In addition, <a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/global-report/" target="_blank">changing agricultural and food production methods could unlock $4.5 trillion per year in new business opportunities by 2030</a>, while also preventing trillions of dollars' worth of social and environmental harms.</p>4. Biodiversity Provides Livelihoods.
<p>Humans derive approximately <a href="https://livingplanetindex.org/home/index" target="_blank">$125 trillion of value from natural ecosystems each year</a>. Globally, <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2016-water-and-jobs/" target="_blank">three out of four jobs</a> are dependent on water while the agricultural sector employs over <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">60% of the world's working poor</a>. In the Global South, forests are the source of livelihoods for <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">over 1.6 billion people</a>. In India, forest ecosystems contribute <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19915547" target="_blank">only 7% to India's GDP yet 57% of rural Indian communities' livelihoods</a>.</p><p><span></span>Ecosystems, therefore, must be protected and restored – not only for the good of nature but also for the communities that depend on them.</p><p>Although some fear environmental regulation and the safeguarding of nature could threaten businesses, the "restoration economy" – the restoration of natural landscapes – provides more jobs in the United States than most of the extractives sector, with the potential to create even more. According to some estimates, the restoration economy is worth <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0128339" target="_blank">$25 billion per year and directly employs more than the coal, mining, logging and steel industries altogether</a>. Nature-positive businesses can provide <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/10-things-you-need-know-about-restoration-economy" target="_blank">cost-effective, robot-proof, business-friendly jobs</a> that stimulate the rural economy without harming the environment.</p>5. Biodiversity Protects Us.
<p>Biodiversity makes the earth habitable. Biodiverse ecosystems provide <a href="https://www.nature-basedsolutions.com/" target="_blank">nature-based solutions</a> that buffer us from <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html" target="_blank">natural disasters such as floods and storms</a>, <a href="https://digital.iucn.org/water/nature-based-solutions-for-water/" target="_blank">filter our water</a> and <a href="https://www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/publications/the-superior-effect-of-nature-based-solutions-in-land-management-for-enhancing-ecosystem-services/" target="_blank">regenerate our soils</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/miracle-mangroves-coastal-protection-numbers" target="_blank">clearance of over 35% of the world's mangroves for human activities</a> has increasingly put people and their homes at risk from floods and sea-level rise. If today's mangroves were lost, 18 million more people would be flooded every year (an increase of 39%) and annual damages to property would increase by 16% ($82 billion).</p><p>Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is vital to fighting climate change. Nature-based solutions could provide <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">37% of the cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed by 2030</a> to maintain global warming within 2°C (35.6 F).</p><p>Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment.</p><p>As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.</p>From Your Site Articles
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The Ebo Forest in Cameroon, Africa, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to an amazing range of wildlife, including forest elephants, gorillas, drills, chimpanzees, grey parrots and the goliath frog. San Diego Zoo Global
By Lamfu Fabrice Yengong and Sylvie Djacbou Deugoue
Biodiversity loss is a global crisis. In May last year, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that over 1,000,000 species are threatened with extinction worldwide. On May 22, the International Day of Biodiversity, it is important to recall the silent victims of our country's obsession for industrial growth at the expense of our forests.
<p>Tropical rainforests are estimated to harbor more than half of the world's plant and animal species. They are also essential for access to water, regulating temperature and preventing soil erosion. It's time to return the forests to indigenous and local communities. </p><p>In our country, Cameroon, the conservation of biodiversity, global climate goals and human rights of indigenous and local communities are all put at stake for industrial exploitation of the rainforest, driven by short-sighted thinking. Biodiversity hotspots are put at risk by industrial logging and agriculture, as trees are cut for the tropical timber market and entire forests cleared to make room for oil palm and rubber plantations. The government tries to assure conservationists that some space will be reserved for the wildlife in the forest it trashes, but even protected areas are not truly safe. </p><p>Companies, usually foreign-owned, are rapidly destroying rainforests that have existed for years. Local communities are left poorer after their traditional source of livelihood is desecrated. The only ones getting rich are a small group of beneficiaries that are close to the circles of power. </p><p>Some low-income countries that are rich in forests are resorting to quick solutions like logging and industrial agriculture. But industrial logging concessions and rubber and palm oil plantations are never the job-creating mechanism they promise to be. That has been demonstrated over and over again in forest countries around the world.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/407/" target="_blank">the Dja Faunal Reserve</a>, a UNESCO world heritage site in the South of Cameroon, is home to more than 100 species of mammals, including at least 14 primates, such as the endangered western lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, and white-collared mangabey, as well as species such as the endangered forest elephant, and the African grey parrot, bongo antelope and leopard.</p><p>The Dja Faunal Reserve is adjacent to the Sudcam rubber plantation, mainly owned by rubber giant Halcyon Agri. Sudcam has cleared more than 10,000 hectares (approximately 25,000 acres) of dense tropical rainforest in the South region of Cameroon – an equivalent of 10 football pitches a day – to make way for a rubber plantation between 2011 and 2018. The rubber plantation has rattled the lives of several indigenous communities, namely the Baka, but it has also aggravated the lives of those numerous protected species in the Dja Reserve.</p><p>To indigenous and local forest dependent communities, the rainforest serves as a source of nutritious foods and traditional medicine, much of which science has yet to explore. The forest is also the foundation of their social life, from recreational to ritual practices. Furthermore, biodiversity loss itself is a direct and immediate threat to the livelihood of indigenous peoples like the Baka next to the Sudcam plantation.</p><p>Upon the arrival of rubber company Sudcam, the indigenous community has lost access to its forest and specifically to the animals and plants they rely on. As Sudcam gets richer, it leaves entire communities in impoverishment, abjectness and destitution. </p>
<p>That is the fate which the chiefs of the Banen people of the Littoral region in Cameroon are trying to avoid <a href="http://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroun-denonciation-le-peuple-banen-du-littoral-soppose-a-la-confiscation-de-ses-terres-371484.html" target="_blank">in their current struggle</a> against the destruction of large parts of the Ebo forest. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/blog/ebo-forest-a-stronghold-for-cameroons-wildlife/" target="_blank">Ebo Forest</a> is a biodiversity hotspot, one of the intact forest ecosystems in the Gulf of Guinea, stretching over 2000 square kilometers (approximately 772 square miles). Ebo Forest is home to an amazing range of wildlife, including forest elephants, gorillas, drills, chimpanzees, grey parrots and the goliath frog – the largest living frog on the planet. Accordingly, it was designated over a decade ago by the Cameroon Government as a National Park. </p><p>However, on February 4, the same government of Cameroon authorized two logging concessions (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P8O3pc1JeLaAnDF1ERXvRrIAzjnw09SG/view" target="_blank">UFA07005</a> and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n2cgvavirDdYmApiTd5vLV0hQRova6Ed/view" target="_blank">UFA07006</a>) inside the area of Ebo Forest. The planned concessions are enormous – about the size of London. Again, the government of Cameroon wants to convince us that conservation can be done with chainsaws. </p><p>Biodiversity loss doesn't only mean our children would get to see some of the world's most marvelous creatures only in documentary films. The consequences are far greater and more tangible.</p>
<p>The extinction of forest elephants, for example, small relatives of African Savanna elephants, might also reduce the number of large trees that they support, trees that excel at storing carbon. In the Congo Basin forest, the disappearance of forest elephants might mean a loss of about three billion tons of carbon – equivalent to France's CO2 emissions over more than 25 years, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/science/elephants-climate-change.html" target="_blank">New York Times article</a> on recent research published in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience.</em> </p><p>Cameroon's government has made public commitments to preserve and protect biodiversity. Positive declarations and ambitious plans may win applause and some international funding, but all eyes should be on implementation. <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/press/8593/we-were-told-not-to-go-into-the-forest-anymore-greenpeace-investigation-exposes-human-rights-violations-by-halcyon-agri/" target="_blank">Field investigations by Greenpeace Africa</a> and others clearly show how far we are from protecting biodiversity. </p><p>In Cameroon's government, as well as in the meeting rooms and corridors of development agencies, decision makers often hold outdated views. Too often we hear that only through rapid and massive removal of the rainforest in favor of large-scale logging and industrial agriculture plantations can the country emerge out of poverty. </p><p>Yet that model has repeatedly failed the people, as short-term high profits always remained accessible only to a small circle of beneficiaries. On the contrary, local communities who have lived in harmony with nature for many generations are likely to face poverty, abuse, hunger and alcoholism <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sustainable-development-ravaged-the-congo-basin/" target="_blank">wherever</a> forests are suddenly destroyed. It is becoming increasingly clear that the best solution for both human rights and the planet is for forests to be managed by local communities. They do so much better than the industrial loggers or plantation owners. </p>
<p>The Cameroonian government needs to realize that trashing forests is not the way to make the economy grow. Rapid and intensive exploitation of nature has more far-reaching consequences than short-term economic growth. To prevent the extinction of fauna and flora species, indigenous communities that live among them need the rights to manage their forest.</p>
<p>Standing for biodiversity means communities should get the rights to manage their forests, instead of the corporations that destroy them. </p>
<p class=""><em>Lamfu Fabrice Yengong is a Congo Basin researcher. </em></p><p><em>Sylvie Djacbou Deugoue is a forest campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly habitat along "rights-of-way" corridors across the United States. DebraLee Wiseberg / Getty Images
By Liz Kimbrough
The side of the road isn't usually thought of as ideal habitat. But for insects, such as butterflies and their caterpillars, the long expanses of land along roads and utility corridors add up to a considerable amount of home turf.
<p>More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly (<em>Danaus plexippus</em>) habitat along "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_way" target="_blank">rights-of-way</a>" corridors across the United States.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have signed a historic <a href="https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=historic-agreement-will-conserve-millions-of-acres-for-monarch-b&_ID=36540" target="_blank">agreement</a> that allows participant landholders to dedicate a percentage of their lands to monarch conservation management in exchange for regulatory flexibility on the rest of their enrolled lands.</p><p>Populations of both <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/number-of-monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-down-by-more-than-half/" target="_blank">eastern monarchs</a> and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">western monarchs</a> have declined by more than 80% over the past decade and are nearing a <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">tipping point</a> for migratory collapse. In light of these declines, the USFWS is set to decide in December 2020 if the monarch butterfly will be classified as a federally endangered species under the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/" target="_blank">Endangered Species Act</a>.</p><p>Land managers and businesses expressed concerns that if they voluntarily created monarch habitat and the monarch was then listed as federally endangered species, the resulting regulations to protect monarchs could complicate their operations or subject them to additional permitting requirements.</p>
<p>"Some companies wanted to wait to see how the listing would play out," Iris Caldwell, a program manager at the Energy Resources Center at UIC, told Mongabay. "But if you are following what's happening with the butterflies you know we really can't wait. We need to be creating habitat on a variety of different landscapes, as much as we can."</p><p>This led Caldwell and her colleagues in the <a href="http://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/" target="_blank">Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group</a> (a group of 200 transportation, energy, government, and nonprofit organizations) to ask what kinds of tools existed to eliminate these regulatory uncertainties faced by landowners.</p><p>"How can you incentivize a regulated entity or a utility to do this voluntary proactive work," Caldwell asked, "and still give them kind of the flexibility and the certainty that they need and be able to, in fact, invest in that work without kind of a fear of repercussion?"</p>
<p>The group decided to make use of the USFWs Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). Both are formal, voluntary agreements between participant landowners and the USFWS aimed at conserving and protecting at-risk species.</p><p>In the CCAA, the USFWS provides assurance that the landowner participants will not be required to take additional conservation measures on their enrolled lands if the monarch butterfly later becomes listed as an endangered species.</p><p>"So they can just kind of go about business as usual. And if they happen to accidentally kill monarchs in that process, they won't be subjected to the under the endangered species laws," Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, an organization who submitted comments on the agreement, told Mongabay. "So, in turn, what they're supposed to do is give a percentage of those enrolled lands over to conservation."</p><p>Some of the conservation actions available and recommended to the landholder participants are: adjusting the timing of mowing practices to avoid periods when the monarch larva will be present; moving away from broadcast herbicide spray to targeted herbicide applications; replanting after a construction project on their right-of-way; and using a native seed mix across their system that help promote beneficial plants.</p>
<p>"Some of these organizations manage hundreds of thousands of acres of land and implementing some of these actions across a system of that scale is no small feat," Caldwell said. "I think that kind of learning curve early on and rolling out and implementing some of these conservation measures at scale, may present a challenge for some."</p><p>This is why the role of UIC in coordinating efforts among all the partners who are involved will be really important, Caldwell says. UIC will serve as an intermediary between the landowner participants and the USFWS. The participants will be required to monitor certain data and self-report annually to UIC. UIC will follow up on any discrepancies or concerns and will then submit an annual report summarizing all of the overall work and efforts and any findings across the agreement to the Fish and Wildlife Service.</p><p>This is the largest and first nationwide CCAA in history, and Caldwell said she's hopeful that the data collected will lead to insights to inform best management and adaptive management practices for the conservation of monarchs.</p>
<p>"The elephant in the room," Cornelisse said, "is if this would preclude the listing of the species [as a federally endangered species]."</p><p>Monarchs have a much wider range of habitat and potential habitat than rights-of-way corridors. Up to 75%, of potential monarch habitat is on agricultural lands. Over the past few decades, urban sprawl, pesticide and herbicide‐intensive agriculture, and climate change have contributed to the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/insects-decline-on-land-fare-better-in-water-study-finds/" target="_blank">global declines of insects</a>, including monarchs. An ESA listing would afford the species greater protection across their range.</p><p>"The enrolled lands outside the adopted acres [areas managed for conservation] cannot be credited with benefiting monarchs," the Center for Biological Diversity said in written public comments to the USFWS. "It is important that when the Service weighs the value of these lands in other contexts, such as the [Endangered Species Act]‐ listing decision, that not all enrolled lands be considered to be providing habitat for monarchs."</p><p>"I think anybody who knows the science behind the monarch's decline, and the extent of it would say, yes, this [agreement] could provide some benefits, but it cannot preclude the listing of the species," Cornelisse said.</p>
<p>The USFWS anticipates that between 2 million and 26 million acres (809,000 to 10.5 million hectares) of land may be enrolled in the CCAA and CCA agreements, but the percentage of the enrolled land that will be managed for conservation is still to be determined.</p><p>"What is striking to me is so often we just don't think of these [rights-of-way] as conservation landscapes," Caldwell said. "Oftentimes, we don't think of them at all. We're just driving past thousands of miles of roadsides and utility corridors. And so, the whole idea of being able to maximize these landscapes to create habitat for species that really need it, I think, is really exciting."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/historic-agreement-gives-monarch-butterflies-the-right-of-way/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Tavurvur Volcano near Kokopo on Papua New Guinea. Daisuke Kishi / Getty Images
By John C. Cannon
Change. That's what Monica Yongol has seen in her 54 years. In that time, the loggers and then the oil palm companies have moved into the remote corner of Papua New Guinea where she raised her family, altering the contours of the society she knew.
<p><br/></p>
<p>"Things have changed a lot over the years for the women," Yongol said. "The male members of society or even other males from other clans, they go ahead and make decisions in private spaces, which means women are not included."</p><p>Often, those decisions determine the fate of the forests that the people of Mu, Yongol's village in the rural local-level government of East Pomio on New Britain Island, have lived next to and subsisted on for generations. In East Pomio, part of Pomio district in East New Britain province, mothers have traditionally passed what they have down to their children. The principle has worked well, Yongol said, because women have a vested interest in ensuring that the land continues to provide for them.</p><p>"Women are looking at how they sustain the lives of their children in the future generations," she said, "whereas men are more looking at short-term benefits."</p><p>But the influx of "development" — first to harvest the island's tropical timber in the 1990s, and more recently to set up oil palm plantations — backed by politicians and lawmakers in distant capitals, has shifted the calculus around the value of the land. Yongol and the other women gathered at the Vunapope Catholic Mission on a muggy November afternoon said they feel sidelined, shut out of decisions about what's to happen to the forests where they have traditionally tended their gardens, gathered wood and harvested wild-growing food.</p><p>In another cruel twist, Elizabeth Tongne said, these attitudes also lead to the scapegoating of women for standing in the way of progress.</p><p>"They're blaming us for stopping development on the land," she said.</p><p>Tongne, sporting a worn T-shirt emblazoned with "Badass PACIFIC Feminist," is the founder and director of <a href="https://iwda.org.au/wide-bay-conservation-association/" target="_blank">Wide Bay Conservation Association</a>, a local community-based organization named for the thumb of the Solomon Sea pushing into New Britain's eastern shore next to East Pomio. She and her team at Wide Bay organized a seven-day convention to coincide with the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/" target="_blank">International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women</a> at the Catholic mission just outside Kokopo, the provincial capital of East New Britain.</p><p>The women, leaders from Mu and a handful of other East Pomio villages, spent the days sharing their stories, identifying the problems they face, like domestic and community violence, and coming up with strategies to address them. Tongne and her team also aimed to provide them with information that would help their fellow women, as well as children and young girls, back home. They held presentations on the importance of education and avoiding teenage pregnancy, and they covered tangible skills such as farming, banking and "marketing" (selling goods like produce, tobacco and betel nut at market). As Tongne explained, the loss of the forest has left women and young girls with fewer options in their home villages.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4Njg5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODg4NjA0Nn0.Kh16MWlWHf458G0xefBLT8qfWoSaQH3rrnxkp7aczA4/img.jpg?width=980" id="43eee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="903bb1e9b53a68e9cb3910d892279b58" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fresh produce at the Kokopo market. John C. Cannon / Mongabay
A Changing Island
<p>The forested mountains rising in sight of Kokopo are constant reminders of the island's volcanic past — and present, if <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28978089" target="_blank">the 2014 eruption</a> of the still-puffing Tavurvur volcano northwest of town is any indication. But the face of the island is shifting faster than the pace of geologic time, especially with the recent creep of oil palm over the past two decades. From the air, the crop's progress lurches inward from the province's outer edges: deep green canopy giving way first to brown earth and splintering logging roads and then to neat rows of the drooping, top-heavy trees that produce the world's most popular vegetable oil.</p><p>The dense forests that covered more than 98% of the province as recently as 2010 have begun to wink out, according to <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/country/PNG/4/3?mainMap=eyJzaG93QmFzZW1hcHMiOmZhbHNlLCJzaG93UmVjZW50SW1hZ2VyeSI6ZmFsc2UsInNob3dBbmFseXNpcyI6dHJ1ZSwiaGlkZUxlZ2VuZCI6ZmFsc2V9&map=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%3D&mapPrompts=eyJvcGVuIjp0cnVlLCJzdGVwc0tleSI6InN1YnNjcmliZVRvQXJlYSIsInN0ZXBJbmRleCI6MCwiZm9yY2UiOnRydWV9&menu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6IiIsImRhdGFzZXRDYXRlZ29yeSI6IiJ9&recentImagery=eyJjbG91ZHMiOjI1LCJzZWxlY3RlZCI6bnVsbCwic2VsZWN0ZWRJbmRleCI6MH0%3D&subscribe=eyJvcGVuIjpmYWxzZSwiZGF0YXNldHMiOlsidW1kLWxvc3MtZ2FpbiIsImdsYWQtYWxlcnRzIl19&treeLoss=eyJpbnRlcmFjdGlvbiI6e319" target="_blank">satellite data</a>. Tongne said that oil palm companies began building roads and clearing forest for plantations in East Pomio around 2008. Today, clearings and plantations creep up coastal hillsides, albeit at a much smaller scale than the expanses you'd see in Borneo or other parts of Southeast Asia.</p><p>Pomio is the remotest district in East New Britain, Tongne told me, and perhaps that's saved it from some of the heavier forest loss seen in other parts of the province. Still, between 2001 and 2018, data from the University of Maryland show that tree cover has diminished by nearly 9% in the province, which has lost more than 1,370 square kilometers (529 square miles) of forest in that time. Much of that has happened in the last decade, with forest loss peaking at 201 km2 (78 mi2) in 2015, in a province covering a total of 15,816 km2 (6,107 mi2). Recent satellite images captured over the past few months show many new frontiers of deforestation encroaching into old-growth rainforest in East New Britain, including roads expanding inland from Pomio's coast.</p><p>Around the world, corporations comb through ecosystems in search of resources to feed their bottom lines. Timber and palm oil are the top commodities in this South Pacific corner of Papua New Guinea, but similar patterns emerge whether the prize is oil, natural gas, copper or gold.</p><p>Replete as it is with valuable minerals and the world's third-largest rainforest full of tropical timber, Papua New Guinea continues to struggle with economic development. Outsiders, meanwhile, have profited from those resources, as Australia did in its role as colonial administrator until 1975, and foreign companies from the U.S., Australia and China continue to do today.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4Njg4Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5Mzk3MTIwNH0.6GDcM0G6_l6Z_6-kVsMrMq8SD_wn6hZczgcwbtto1ko/img.jpg?width=980" id="20a90" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bf0caffac0bb8bd399c5a64cb3c0e8cc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
East New Britain province has lost nearly 9% of its tree cover since 2001, and deforestation has accelerated since then, according to satellite data from the University of Maryland. The inset shows logging roads proliferating around the town of Pomio on Jacquinot Bay. To the northeast, in East Pomio rural local-level government on Wide Bay, deforestation for timber and oil palm has seeped inland. Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA/Planet Labs, accessed through Global Forest Watch on May 13, 2020.
The Connection Between Violence and Deforestation
<p>Around the world, the "colonial" approach aimed at extracting valuable resources has destroyed "traditional and customary social relations" in local communities, Jeanette Sequeira, vice director and gender program coordinator at the Global Forest Coalition, said in a telephone interview.</p><p>"Often, this is in the land of indigenous peoples and local communities where there's already insecure land tenure," she said. "When you have corporations coming in and occupying these lands, there's just total loss of governance."</p><p>Global Forest Coalition and its more than 100 member organizations around the world have studied the interplay between gender and forest loss around the world. While the context of each local situation is unique, Sequeira said that the coalition's partners have seen the impact that forest loss can have on the most vulnerable members of society. In many cases, that means women.</p><p>"Deforestation and climate change and environmental degradation do lead to an increase in violence against women," Sequeira said. "I think that's a claim we can make more and more."</p><p>Along with the evaporation of the trees, the rights of women to determine what happens to the land they depend on have likewise vanished, Monica Yongol said, as the other women in the room nodded in agreement. The changes have jolted their communities. They've made it harder to provide for their families. And problems like teenage pregnancy, drug use and domestic violence in their communities have cropped up that the women say didn't exist before.</p><p>Several argue that the problem is rooted in the silencing of women's voices that's become more common. Yongol recounted a meeting held by a landowner company, a common organizational structure in Papua New Guinea formed by landholders to negotiate with developers, such as logging companies, on behalf of communities.</p><p>A woman at the meeting stood up and asked why the group hadn't informed all of the landowners about what would happen if the outside company interested in their land secured development rights, Yongol said. The tenets of free, prior and informed consent, <a href="http://www.fao.org/indigenous-peoples/our-pillars/fpic/en/" target="_blank">accepted global standards</a> set forth by the United Nations, hold that all community members should be aware of the plans for the land they depend on. In this case, however, the chairman dismissed her comment, telling her that she shouldn't have a say — because she was a woman.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4Njg5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTk2NDUyNn0.Pb_TqR3wtSoRloISc-UHMlFxyDvf9tsKyXJz6589z3A/img.jpg?width=980" id="8f118" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d921dd3acf6fa662ae5775847d4c2a8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Forest clearance and plantations have crept inland from Wide Bay, an arcing inlet in Pomio District. John C. Cannon / Mongabay
<p>The influx of developers didn't introduce such sexist attitudes to this part of Papua New Guinea. John Suka, a former teacher and now an elected councilor for the East Pomio rural local-level government, said that much of the problem stems from the "old ways."</p><p>There is "no fairness or equality," he said. "That's the first thing, maybe because of some traditional or customary ways of thinking."</p><p>Suka said that the upheaval in these societies triggered by surging interest from outside companies has exacerbated the situation. Without secure claims to the land, women are in a precarious position, especially when companies' respect even for the rights of a community as a whole is tenuous at best.</p><p>Society prior to the arrival of logging companies and plantation developers was neither perfectly fair nor equitable, Suka said. But, he added, the temptation to turn land rights, however spurious, into upfront cash and other benefits for certain members has changed the respect for other customs, such as that of matrilineal inheritance. And it's led some men to assume the roles of brokers in which they speak for entire communities.</p><p>At times, certainly, Suka said, "They have sold what they shouldn't be selling."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4Njg5OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDcxMzQ1Nn0.gF1bzpeK8RSsHGDyWGerLtu4H7FklXsSK3IfSiYkfjk/img.jpg?width=980" id="549ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82a2164f59c4be138815db89159d97b0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The airstrip at Tokua, south of Kokopo, with still-active volcanoes in the background. John C. Cannon / Mongabay
Cascading Effects
<p>Tongne said that these developments often touch off a chain of consequences for women.</p><p>"Once land is sold and taken away from them, there is a greater violence against women," she said, for several reasons. The forests in East New Britain, and indeed many parts of the country, have long served as a storehouse of ready food and supplies. They're essential in times of plenty, and they serve as vital emergency caches when times are tough.</p><p>"If there's a drought, the women know where to find food in the forest," Tongne told me.</p><p>But as logging and industrial agriculture replace forests close to home, women are forced to travel farther to gather food and other resources or to tend their gardens. That time spent on the road is time they're not looking after their homes or raising their children, Tongne said.</p><p>"The men begin to beat them up," she added. "Violence comes about because there is no food on the table."</p><p>On these extended journeys to the forest, women might face the threat of attack from people from other villages or clans, or from the workers brought in from outside communities by the companies.</p><p>Before, "We had a lot of safety and security. We can walk, visit friends, long distances to other villages," said Lucy Teine, a 50-year-old woman from the East Pomio village of Iwai. "But now, with the population that's coming in to work in those developments, that's now a threat for us."</p><p>The fraying of the social fabric exacerbated by outsiders who might harbor different values is a symptom of a larger issue. Foundational blame for these changes lies with the mentalities that colonialism introduced, according to Sequeira.</p><p>While sexism has persisted in many societies around the world, "Indigenous communities had, in many cases, more equitable gender relations before the advent of colonialism," she said. "Women and men had different, respected roles and status in communities."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4NjkwMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTE2NjIwN30.rckr7Nojn7ixl6UBPWg7-YS-hfBeNrMX8vHBJl3m84E/img.jpg?width=980" id="0174f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="130511d5333fdbb0954e4be3d76aa613" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
John Suka, an elected councilor in the East Pomio local-level government, at the Vunapope Catholic Mission. John C. Cannon / Mongabay
A Global Issue
<p>The Global Forest Coalition and its partners have been investigating issues like these around the world. They've found that, while the details may change from place to place, there are broad commonalities among the communities affected by land development and extractivism, Sequeira said.</p><p>"We know that these [roles] became eroded as we had colonial administrations and just the complete dispossession and destruction of indigenous identity," she said.</p><p>In Colombia, she said, women and men are supposed to have equal rights to the land. But, "That's not really how it plays out."</p><p>"You still have women who have to ask permission [from] their husbands or partners for being able to use a bit of land to cultivate medicinal herbs and other food for household consumption," Sequeira said.</p><p>In many places — though not everywhere —laws are in place that should protect land rights, including those of women, she added. Where the system falls short is in implementing these statutes. What that means, broadly, is that forests suffer when women don't have a say in land rights.</p><p>"[W]omen play a vital role in forest conservation," Sequeira and her colleagues wrote in a November 2019 blog <a href="https://globalforestcoalition.org/forest-conservation-must-address-violence-against-women/" target="_blank">post</a>. "Women interact daily with forests and other ecosystems, relying on them for household needs and their livelihoods, but also for conservation and restoration."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4NjkwMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5Mjc1OTgyM30._ep7z47M8SHhsgwIb-JZErcvmtNrZ9I5lSd3W1JU15Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="bc8c4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e09d9b1bcaa7226c53e226dd9d129789" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Several active volcanoes sit just northwest of the town of Kokopo. Tavurvur last erupted in 2014. John C. Cannon / Mongabay
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800909001852?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">Research</a> conducted in India and Nepal and published in the journal <em>Ecological Economics </em>has shown that forests do better when women are involved in the decision-making process. But impediments, from patriarchal attitudes to "wife bashing" as domestic violence is viscerally referred to in East New Britain, can stand in the way of that progress on both the conservation and social justice fronts.</p><p><a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=588784240401882;res=IELIND" target="_blank">A 2010 countrywide study</a> , published in the journal <em>Contemporary PNG Studies</em>, found that almost two-thirds of women had suffered gender-based attacks.</p><p>John Suka said addressing the problem of violence is critical. But up until now, it's not been something that's been seen as a priority. In most cases, government agencies don't have the capacity — or the will — to enforce these laws, he said.</p><p>"All the levels of government have the responsibility, but the point is, they don't implement what they are supposed to be implementing," Suka added. "It's a great failure across the board."</p><p>He said that a shift in thinking is called for.</p><p>"Of course, before we were kept in a little box with our own way of life," he said. "Today, we are in a new world."</p><p>Sequeira said she agrees that changing systemic attitudes is paramount.</p><p>"What we need is more than just policies and sanctions," she said. Elsewhere, she added, campaigns and dialogues around gender equality and women's rights have been effective at transforming the "culture of violence." Women, too, have taken control of their own plight, forming "brigades" that accompany vulnerable women on trips outside the community — say, to the forest.</p><p>Sequeira said women in other parts of the world also engage the broader community using "naming and shaming protocols" to call out perpetrators of violence against women. And both men and women partake in neighborhood watch programs.</p><p>She also said that violence on the personal level must be seen through the broader lens of what's happening to people's land in the community traced back to colonial paradigms.</p><p>"Dispossession and loss of land rights and extractivism … are also forms of patriarchal violence," Sequeira said in the interview.</p><p>In their blog post, she and her colleagues wrote that not only must women deal with the traditional ways of thinking that often relegate them to less-than status. They "must often defend their forests against the massive threats from extractivism, whether it be industrial livestock and agriculture (such as the production of soy and palm oil) or mining mega-projects."</p><p>"Forest conservation can never be successful or bring about social justice," they added, "if it does not address the prevalence of the various manifestations of violence against women, and especially so on the front-lines of the environmental and climate crisis."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/gender-based-violence-shakes-communities-in-the-wake-of-forest-loss/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A blue bee on a firebush in Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 10, 2016. Bob Peterson / CC BY 2.0
Scientists have "rediscovered" a rare blue bee that they feared was extinct.
<p>Until this spring, the "ultra-rare" blue calamintha bee (<em>Osmia calaminthae</em>) had only been observed in four locations in central Florida, and it hadn't been seen at all since 2016. So when <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/" target="_blank">Florida Museum of Natural History</a> research team Chase Kimmel and Jaret Daniels set out to document the bee's population status and habits, they weren't sure what they would find.</p><p>"I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting," Kimmel, a postdoctoral researcher, said in a museum <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/floridas-rare-blue-calamintha-bee-rediscovered/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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<p>Kimmel first spotted the bee March 9, he told <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/16/rare-blue-calamintha-bees-spotted-lake-wales-ridge-florida/5207086002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY in an email</a>. Since then, he has spotted the elusive pollinator in three of its previous locations and six additiona locations, according to the museum.</p><p>The research could have important implications for the bee's chances of survival. Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan lists the bee as a species of greatest <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> need, and the study will help determine if it warrants <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections.</p><p>The bee is so vulnerable in part because it is thought to rely on a threatened plant called Ashe's calamint and live only in Florida's Lake Wales Ridge region, a hotspot of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> that the museum calls "one of the nation's fastest-disappearing ecosystems."</p>
<p>The ridge hosts so much unique life because, when most of Florida was underwater, it was raised above the waves in high sand dunes that acted like islands, giving isolated ecosystems a chance to flourish. Now, these habitats are islands of pine scrub in a sea of orange groves.</p><p>"It's one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30-40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site," Kimmel said. "It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area."</p>
<p>The bee also exhibits unique behaviors. It gathers pollen by bobbing its head side to side to collect it on its facial hairs. The very first time he saw the bee, Kimmel got a chance to see this in action.</p><p>"We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing the flower and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower two or three times before moving on to another flower," <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/us/florida-blue-calamintha-bee-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">Kimmel told CNN</a>. "In reading about this unique behavior we were pretty shocked to see it."</p><p>Kimmel and Daniels' research is set to last two years and determine the bee's feeding and nesting habits. So far, the team has found another plant the bee will use if it can't find Ashe's calamint.</p>
<p>The research has been hampered somewhat by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, since travel restrictions mean Kimmel is in the field alone during the bee's flight season from mid-March to early May.</p><p>"It's a very time-limited flight. Now is when the bulk of that activity has to take place," Daniels, who is acting as Kimmel's adviser and is also the director of the museum's <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/index.php/mcguire/home/" target="_blank">McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity</a>, said in the press release. "Chase is doing a fantastic job and we're getting a lot of great data, but if it wasn't for the COVID-19 virus we would have had more people in the field, so it has definitely scaled back what we're able to do."</p>
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Trump Admin Denies Endangered Species Protections to Pacific Fishers Across Most of Their Range
15 May
Animals
A Pacific fisher. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Today is Endangered Species Day but the Trump administration isn't giving one imperiled critter much reason to celebrate.
<p>The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Thursday it would deny <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections to the weasel-like Pacific fisher throughout most of its West Coast range, only protecting a subset of its population in the California Sierras.</p><p>"The Trump administration's denial of protection for fishers is an unwarranted gift to the timber industry that ignores key science on these at-risk animals," <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> director Noah Greenwald said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-administration-denies-endangered-species-protection-for-pacific-fisher-across-most-of-species-range-2020-05-14/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "These awesome forest weasels face huge threats, including the logging of their old-growth forest homes, rodenticide poisoning and a warming world. They absolutely should have been granted much broader safeguards."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" id="twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1260989956425687041&created_ts=1589478408.0&screen_name=CenterForBioDiv&text=BREAKING%3A+The+Trump+administration+just+denied+Endangered+Species+Act+protection+to+Pacific+fishers+across+most+of%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FqVVe936JKH&id=1260989956425687041&name=Center+for+Bio+Div" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d530010ff8b1747528da6e1e709d904"></iframe>
<p>Tens of thousands of Pacific fishers once lived in the woods from Southern California to British Columbia, but, beginning in 1900, their numbers started to decline as trappers sought them for their pelts and loggers destroyed their habitat, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fishers-endangered/u-s-denies-full-protection-for-pacific-fisher-relative-of-the-weasel-idUKKBN22R06U" target="_blank">Reuters explained</a>. In recent years, they have also been threatened by rodenticides used to protect illegal marijuana farms and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>There are now only two populations: 100 to 500 in the southern Sierra Nevadas and around 3,000 in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Studies have shown that they are genetically distinct, the <a href="https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/23439-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-to-protect-the-southern-sierra-nevada-population-of-fisher-as-endangered" target="_blank">Sierra Sun Times reported</a>. It is the first and smaller of these populations that FWS <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-09153.pdf" target="_blank">announced</a> Thursday it would protect as endangered.</p>
<p>The Sierra population does face unique threats, <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-announces-endangered-species-listing-of-sierra-nevada-fisher" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife explained</a>. It was listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act of 2016 and is partly at risk from climate-related <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trees" target="_self">tree</a> loss. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">Wildfires</a> burn through its habitat, and a drought from 2011 to 2015 combined with warmer temperatures led to a rise in native bark beetles, which killed more than 130 million trees in the Sierra Nevada region.</p><p>FWS argued that the larger population did not need protection because it was not in danger of extinction, "nor likely to become so in the foreseeable future," Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The agency also determined that existing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts were already ensuring the success of the northern population.</p><p>"Voluntary conservation efforts by state and private timber owners have contributed to the Northern California-Southern Oregon population of fisher appearing stable within a large range of suitable habitat," Paul Henson, state supervisor for the FWS Oregon office, told the Sierra Sun Times. "Over two million acres of private land have been enrolled under six conservation agreements protecting existing and promoting new fisher habitat, with three additional applications in process. The heavy lifting done by our partners greatly alleviates the need for regulation."</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> advocates disagreed.</p><p>"While the decision to list the Sierra Nevada fisher is a great step towards the recovery of this critically imperiled population, it is disappointing to see the West Coast population left without protections," Pamela Flick, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife, said in a press release. "Both populations face a wide variety of threats and need federal protections in order to survive and thrive."</p>
<p>Even this much protection has been the result of a long fight, as CBD explained:</p><blockquote>The Center for Biological Diversity, along with Sierra Forest Legacy, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and others first petitioned for endangered species protections for fishers in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found they warranted protection in 2004, but that such protection was precluded by listing of other species. Following further litigation, the agency proposed protection for the fisher in 2014, but again reversed course in 2016 denying protection. Represented by Earthjustice, the groups sued and the decision was remanded resulting in the species again being proposed for protection in 2019 and then finally again partially denied today.</blockquote><p>Greenwald told Reuters that CBD was looking at Thursday's ruling to decide whether to bring another court challenge.</p>
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In the wake of news about "murder hornets" invading the West Coast, the Southeast has its own scourge to contend with: an invasive, South American lizard that can grow up to 4 feet in length. The lizard has been spotted for the third year in a row, according to a Facebook post from the Orianne Society, a reptile conservation group, as The Associated Press reported.
<p>The Argentine black and white tegus was first spotted in Florida, but they have now migrated north to establish themselves in Georgia's Toombs and Tattnall counties, said John Jensen of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkRNMUhG4Hw" target="_blank">YouTube</a> video.</p><p>In the video, Jensen explained, "Many of the public that encounter these often report them, thinking that they look like a baby alligator well away from the water. They eat just about anything they want, plant and animal matter."</p>
<p>"Tegus will eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds—including quail and turkeys—and other reptiles, such as American alligators and gopher tortoises, both protected species," according to the <a href="https://georgiawildlife.com/tegus" target="_blank">Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation's website,</a> as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/us/georgia-invasive-lizard-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. The lizards will also eat fruit, vegetables, pet food and small animals—including grasshoppers and gopher tortoises.</p>
<p>The tegus' voracious appetite means it poses a threat to native <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>, especially protected species like American alligators and gopher tortoises. The black and white tegus have been seen hiding in gopher tortoise burrows and eating tortoise and alligator eggs, as well as baby tortoises, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/b20aadfb5ac8e25953ebe38743983504" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p><p>"Established from escaped or released pets, these large lizards are voracious predators that have been found consuming a variety of native wildlife in the longer-established Florida populations," the Orianne Society <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OrianneSociety/posts/2948053241909425" target="_blank">wrote on Facebook</a>.</p><p>The society said it believes tegus are able to survive the state's winters, which means it has the potential to spread quickly. "It is critical to remove invasive species early in the invasion process to have the best chance of success," the society said, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tegus-lizard-giant-invasive-lizards-4-feet-long-georgia/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The lizards weigh about 10 pounds and live up to 20 years. They are black to gray with white, speckled bands across their bodies. They also multiply quickly, with females laying about 35 eggs per year. They also thrive since they do not have many predators," according to the <a href="https://georgiawildlife.com/tegus" target="_blank">Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation's website,</a> as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/us/georgia-invasive-lizard-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>In the video, Jensen asked for people to help Georgia officials stop the lizard from gaining ground in the state. Jensen encouraged locals to report any <a href="https://www.gainvasives.org/tegus/" target="_blank">tegu sightings online</a>, to help officials' efforts in tracking and removing them. "If you're able to safely and humanely dispatch of the animal, we encourage that and we want that information, too," Jensen said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tegus-lizard-giant-invasive-lizards-4-feet-long-georgia/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported.</p><p>The lizards are legal as pets in Georgia, so Jensen added that anyone who has kept a tegu as a pet and no longer wants it should give it to a reptile adoption group. "Releasing it into the wild is the absolute worst thing to do, it will affect our native species and we can't have that," he said.</p>
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Cocoa Beach saw a huge spike in trash as cleanup crews collected more than 13,000 pounds strewn across the sand over the weekend. Jeffrey Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
When beaches in Florida reopened last week, people flocked to them to absorb the sun, sand and water. Unfortunately, many forgot to take their trash with them when they left.
<p>While pollution and emissions have precipitously dropped worldwide, Cocoa Beach saw a huge spike in garbage as cleanup crews collected more than 13,000 pounds strewn across the sand over the weekend, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497183-more-than-13000-pounds-of-trash-collected-at-florida-beach-just" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported.</p><p>The beaches, which reopened on April 21, will remain open, but authorities will start to crack down on litter by increasing the fines and enforcement, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/05/09/coronavirus-reopenings-cocoa-beach-florida-cracks-down-litter/3104430001/" target="_blank">Florida Today</a>. Littering will now come with a $250 fine.</p>
<p>"As restrictions are becoming more relaxed during this pandemic, the City of Cocoa Beach is beginning to see an influx of day-trippers to our beaches, along with piles of unlawfully discarded trash in their wake," Cocoa Beach Police Department wrote in a notice, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/05/09/coronavirus-reopenings-cocoa-beach-florida-cracks-down-litter/3104430001/" target="_blank">Florida Today</a>. "This will not be tolerated."</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CocoaBeachPoliceFire/photos/a.135655014526966/228991078526692/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook post</a>, the Cocoa Beach Police Department stated that they will be "focusing on litter violations in the days and weeks ahead in an effort to educate the public and mitigate this repulsive and disrespectful behavior."</p>
<p>This weekend's litter collection surpassed the previous weekend's total of roughly 12,000 pounds. Two weekends ago, cleanup crews collected 297 bags of trash, which weigh roughly 40 pounds per bag. Bryan Bobbitt, executive director of Keep Brevard Beautiful, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-beach-litter-pandemic-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> that the true number would be higher since they did not collect many larger items like tent poles and beach chairs that were left behind.</p><p>This weekend's total was 305 bags of trash, according to Bobbitt. Volunteers and observers have noticed that the discarded items are often single-use <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics">plastics</a>.</p>
<p>"People will come from out of town and leave an umbrella, a tent or chairs because it's a onetime use," said Bobbitt to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-beach-litter-pandemic-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "Chip bags, plastic straw wrappers and anything can get blown into the dunes."</p><p>Cocoa Beach Police Chief Scott Rosenfeld said in a statement that the local community works "very hard to be stewards of environmental sustainability," as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497183-more-than-13000-pounds-of-trash-collected-at-florida-beach-just" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported.</p><p>"If I need to relocate critical resources during our peak season to combat litterers, we are no longer asking our visitors to comply with our litter laws, we expect it, and there will be consequences for offenders," he added.</p>
<p>The litter poses a threat to Florida's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a> and to the beach environment. Keep Brevard Beautiful says the goal of their cleanup efforts is to keep the environment safe for humans and for animals.</p><p>"When we see something that can be a choking hazard to marine life, we make it a point to get that stuff as well," Bobbitt said to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-beach-litter-pandemic-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "If we don't pick it up, it gets blown into the water. We've all seen the photo of the straw stuck in a sea turtle's nose or a 6-pack ring around a bird's neck."</p>This past weekend, the police only issued one citation for littering. Noting some of the challenges in issuing a litter violation, Cocoa Beach Detective Sgt. Thomas Cooper told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-beach-litter-pandemic-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>, "You have to say they're the person who legally left that trash. The officers are stuck."
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The North Carolina Zoo announced the birth of five critically endangered American red wolves as part of its American red wolf breeding program. North Carolina Zoo
The population of the most endangered canid in the world just got a little bit bigger.
<p>The North Carolina Zoo <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/news/north-carolina-zoo-announces-birth-five-critically-endangered-american-red-wolves-0" target="_blank">announced</a> the birth of five American <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/red-wolves" target="_self">red wolf</a> pups on Friday. This is an especially big deal because there are only 15 to 20 red wolves left in the wild, in eastern North Carolina.</p><p>"Congratulations to the North Carolina Zoo for playing an essential part toward helping this critically endangered species recover," North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources secretary Susi H. Hamilton said in the birth announcement. "It's yet another example of the Zoo doing amazing work to conserve <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and wild places."</p>
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<p>The pups were born April 21 to a mother named Piglet and a father named Jewell. This is the couple's first litter.</p><p>"The pups and their mother are all healthy and doing well," the zoo said.</p><p>The new babies were all named for plants found in North Carolina, the zoo explained:</p><blockquote>The names for the males are Oak (Appalachian Oak), Cedar (Red Cedar) and Sage (Azure Sage). The females are named Lily (Carolina Lily, the state's wildflower) and Aster (Piedmont Aster).</blockquote><p>American red wolves have struggled in the wild in recent years, as <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com/news/state/north-carolina/article242592926.html" target="_blank">The Herald-Sun reported</a>. They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980 due to hunting and habitat loss, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) began efforts to reintroduce them to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program. Their numbers swelled to more than 130 by 2006, but then began to decline between 2013 and 2015 after FWS introduced a policy allowing landowners to shoot and kill wolves, as EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/red-wolves-extinction-fws-judge-2618251132.html" target="_self">previously reported</a>.<br></p><p>In 2018, a federal judge ruled that the killing violated the endangered species act and had to stop.</p><p>In zoos, however, the species has fared better. There are around 240 red wolves in breeding programs across the U.S., the zoo said.</p>
<p>The North Carolina Zoo has been part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program since 1994 and has bred 34 wolves since the program started. The birth of the new pups brings the zoo's wolf population up to 25, meaning it has the second-biggest red wolf pack in U.S. after the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.</p><p>Six red wolf babies were also born at the The Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina in April 2019, The Herald-Sun reported. However, most of the museum's red wolves were moved to Virginia in January, and no babies were born there this spring, <a href="https://www.wral.com/baby-news-nc-zoo-welcomes-five-red-wolf-pups/19090065/?fbclid=IwAR0mA9K6ZKRXwUZKMB0uM4HpB8qQiGU4t91XkNBi9qUyt4J50K-luh80d1Q" target="_blank">WRAL reported</a>.</p><p>The North Carolina Zoo is currently closed to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, though you can still <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/virtual-visit" target="_blank">visit</a> virtually. However, the new arrivals won't know the difference right now.</p><p>"The pups are being kept in a quiet, non-public viewing area of the Zoo and have minimal contact with staff and keepers," the zoo said. "This allows their mother to raise the pups with the least amount of stress in a natural habitat."</p>
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