Unity Concert: Return Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation
The history of relations between the U.S. and Native American tribal nations is a famously troubled one, involving the government takeover of lands such as the Black Hills of South Dakota. Opening the door to the return of those lands to the Great Sioux Nation is one of the goals of the Unity Concert, taking place at the Elk Creek Lodge and Resort in the Black Hills Sept. 13-14.
Cree singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie will perform during the two-day Unity Concert in the Black Hills.
The event, whose theme is "The Black Hills Are Not For Sale," will bring together Native American and non-native performers, artists and activists for what promoters describe as "a powerful act of spiritual activism uniting nations to reconnect with the sacredness of nature and honor the Earth so we can sustain our planet for future generations." On a more pragmatic level, the event is advocating for the return of the guardianship of undeveloped parts of the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation.
It will open with a traditional ceremony, with participants making statements of apology, forgiveness and conciliation intended, the promoters say, to unite in the goal of protecting the Earth and promoting a peaceful, shared life for future generations.
"There are a lot of beautiful people in this country, we just need to give them a voice," says Milo Yellowhair, former vice president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, in a promotional video for the event. "If good people can get mobilized, good things can occur."
The lengthy roster of performers includes Native American artists from the Lakota, Apache, Cree and Navajo nations, and folk singers long known for their social justice and environmental activism, including Peter Yarrow, Arlo Guthrie and Native American singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, who was born on a Cree reserve in Saskatchewan.
Among others, the eclectic roster features Tibetan musician Tesering Lodoe, Uran Snyder of the World Peace Prayer Society, Australian electronica artist Deya Dova, veteran jazz/new age musician Paul Winter, Oglala Lakota alternative blues/rock duo Scatter Their Own, and 13-year-old Aztec environmental activist from Boulder Xiehtezcatl Martinez, who is currently working to ban fracking in Colorado and to mobilize young people to protect the Earth.
The Black Hills of South Dakota are the traditional homelands of the Great Sioux Nation.
The concert is free; the promoters are asking for donations to cover production expenses. They are asking attendees to register so that they can properly prepare for the size of the crowd. You can do that here. Free camping is available as well as paid camping with electricity and for RVs. There are also motels in nearby Rapid City; you can find a list at their website.
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Yogyakarta Bird Market, Central Java, Indonesia. Jorge Franganillo / CC BY 2.0
By John R. Platt
The straw-headed bulbul doesn't look like much.
It's less than a foot in length, with subdued brown-and-gold plumage, a black beak and beady red eyes. If you saw one sitting on a branch in front of you, you might not give it a second glance.
<p>But this Southeast Asian native stands out in one notable way: It sings like an angel.</p><p>"It's arguably the most beautiful song of any bird," says Chris Shepherd, executive director of Monitor Conservation Research Society and an expert on Asian songbirds. "It's amazing," he adds.</p>
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<p>The bird's beautiful voice serves a vital ecological purpose: Males use it to attract mates. The better the song, the greater the chance of finding a female and propagating the species.</p><p>But the song has also come with a terrible modern cost. Humans have come to value the bulbul's calls so much that they've collected the birds from almost every inch of their habitat. Captured birds, quickly caged, have been shipped to markets throughout Southeast Asia. Due to this overwhelming commercial demand, the species has disappeared from most of its range and is now critically endangered. Only a few pocket populations continue to hang on.</p>
<p>And the straw-headed bulbul is far from alone in this decline. Practically every songbird species in Southeast Asia faces a similar predicament. Many birds face the very real risk of imminent extinction, leaving some forests in the region <a href="https://www.silentforest.eu/" target="_blank">eerily silent</a>.</p><p>Recent research finds that several songbirds have become perilously close to vanishing — if they haven't been lost already.</p><p>One Indonesian bird, the Simeulue hill myna, has only just been described as genetically and morphologically unique from other lookalike species. It probably went extinct in the wild <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12839" target="_blank">in the past two or three years</a>, according to a paper published last spring in the journal <em>Ibis</em>. As the researchers wrote, "On multiple recent excursions to Simeulue, most recently in July 2018, we were unable to find the bird and learned from locals that there had been a great drive to catch the last survivors on the island in response to a wealthy person's bounty on these birds."</p>
<p>The paper calls this an "extinction-in-process" and warns that any remaining birds left in captivity may die without producing offspring. Even if they do manage to breed, the researchers fear they could be hybridized with other similar-in-appearance mynas, obscuring their genetic lineage.</p><p>That same phrase, <em>extinction-in-process</em>, has also been used to describe the Barusan shama, which according to a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343229160_The_extinction-in-progress_in_the_wild_of_the_Barusan_Shama_Copsychus_malabaricus_melanurus" target="_blank">2019 study</a> published in the journal <em>Forktail</em> has become one of the most threatened of Asian songbirds due to rampant collection. It's now gone from all but one island.</p><p>Like the Simeulue hill myna, the Barushan shama's plight went virtually unnoticed for years because many taxonomists have classified it as a subspecies rather than a full species. Newer research finds that it's a species with four subspecies, few of which may now survive.</p><p>Not that the species/subspecies disputes matter too much at this point.</p><p>"Taxonomic debates about the rank of these forms should not stand in the way of trying to ensure the survival of what is clearly an evolutionarily distinct lineage," says Frank Rheindt, a biologist with National University of Singapore and senior or lead author on both of the papers.</p><p>So what happens to these birds once they're taken from the wild?</p><p>That's where the story gets even bleaker.</p>
<h3>Disposable Love</h3><p>Songbirds are an important element of culture and tradition for many peoples in Southeast Asia. In Java, for example, it's almost assumed that every household will have at least one pet songbird. The more birds, <a href="https://www.silentforest.eu/about/the-asian-songbird-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the more prestigious the home</a>.</p><p>But wild songbirds in captivity…well, they don't tend to last long.</p><p>"We've often called the caged songbird trade like cut flowers," says Shepherd. "The birds look nice. They're often inexpensive. You bring one home. It sits in a cage for a couple of days and it dies just like a cut flower. They're not expected to live."</p><p>And because many Asian cities feature massive markets full of birds that have been easily snatched from the wild — usually illegally — any bird that dies is relatively easy and inexpensive to replace.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMjQ1MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTcwNDY4NH0.w7eC49fo8f7WMjTGJ25nfY2djBLnPCagjzoqQGcHaEU/img.jpg?width=980" id="6ca76" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d21f5828df6e1a782ab57979aed93249" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="799" data-height="522" />
Cages line the Malang bird and animal market on Java in 2016. Andrea Kirkby / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>Even bird traders don't put much value on their stock, since a new supply of wild-caught birds always seems to be waiting in the wings.</p><p>"I've seen some cages where the surviving birds are all sitting on top of dead birds in the cages," Shepherd says. "You can't see the floor of the cage. It's covered with a few layers of dead birds, and then there's some sick and half-dead birds perched on top of them. And they cost the dealers next to nothing. So, you know, even if they sell a few, they think they must be covering their costs or you wouldn't have a business model like that."</p><p>Although all of this seems to favor low-cost disposability, some species are captive bred by the thousands, and prices can soar for the right birds.</p><p>As with so many other groups of heavily traded species, the rarest birds fetch higher prices from collectors — a "better get them before they're gone" collector's mentality that pushes prices higher, drives further poaching and drives birds even closer to extinction.</p><p>The Simeulue hill myna, for instance, might have sold for about $100-$150, "certainly if a foreigner or non-Simeulue person asks," says Rheindt. "This is easily 2-4 monthly incomes for rural people on the island."</p>
<h3>The Caged Bird Sings</h3><p>Along with its rarity, a bird's appearance is clearly a valuable trait to collectors. Some of the birds are strikingly beautiful, like birds of paradise and the Javan white-eye.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMjQ1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjk0OTUwMH0.mFi7MPkIgGcPUuRtpspeXvdDkD6IUBTtx5-ig_5NC1Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="43628" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bf33043a2ff52df09286951a35b7aaef" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="800" data-height="531" />
A kingfisher, looking a little worse for wear, in the Malang bird and animal market in 2016. Andrea Kirkby / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>But the quality that typically drives up a bird's market price?</p><p>That, of course, would be the song.</p><p>A good song can earn a bird owner <a href="https://theecologist.org/2019/oct/02/indonesian-songbird-crisis" target="_blank">a big payday</a>. Entire competitions have sprung up that offer cash prizes for the birds with the best songs — up to $50,000, according to some reports. On Java these events are known as <em>Kicau-mania</em> ("kicau" is Indonesian for "chirping").</p><p>The bird doesn't get much for his work. Perhaps some food and a chance to sing again.</p><p>But it can take a lot of human effort to inspire them to sing for their suppers.</p><p>"People will keep the male birds in captivity for a long time," says Shepherd. "Some birds don't want to sing in captivity and take a long time before they adjust to the point where they'll start to sing. Then they'll train the bird. They'll keep it near other males so it sings more frequently, because they naturally compete with their songs."</p><p>This forced companionship changes the very nature of the song.</p><p>"Some birds pick up notes and sounds from other species," Shepherd says. "Some of the species that are disappearing, they're just training birds. They're not even the ones used in competition. They just keep them beside other the species that compete so they have a more complex and unique song in the competition."</p><p>After that, it's a bit like a dog show.</p><p>"Everybody takes their bird in a cage and there are songbird judges. They walk around and listen to the song and there's big cash prizes for the bird with the best." (Most recently, these competitions have moved online due to COVID-19.)</p>
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<p>Through all of this, the gift nature gave these animals to help propagate their species — song — ends up driving them toward extinction.</p><p>This makes the trade similar to trophy hunting, which values the biggest animals or those with the most beautiful features. "The strongest bird in the wild, the one with the greatest song, would be the one that would pass on his genes," Shepherd says. "Those are the ones being removed from the wild. So, you know, only inferior birds are left behind."</p><p>Unlike trophy hunting, however, where an elephant's tusks can theoretically trade hands in perpetuity, a bird's song is ephemeral — sung once, then lost to time.</p>
<h3>Progress</h3><p>Shepherd says the Asian songbird crisis went virtually ignored for many years. Relatively few scientists studied it, and funding for conservation remained scarce. That's been a costly delay.</p><p>"One of the interesting and sad things is that lot of the species that I worked on in the early Nineties, the ones I tried to raise the alarm on, are now gone or almost gone," he says. "And then the ones I was working on that were extremely common at the time are now the next wave that's disappearing."</p><p>Fortunately, that's started to change. For one thing, scientific research about the trade and affected species continues to pick up. One of the most worrying studies came out last August and found that Java now has <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/more-caged-birds-wild-javan-songbird-crisis-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more songbirds in cages than in its forests</a>. The study found that one species, the Javan pied starling (<em>Gracupica jalla</em>), now has fewer than 50 birds remaining in the wild, while 1.1 million live on the island in captivity.</p><p>Meanwhile governments, NGOs and other researchers have also stepping up their game. Conservation experts came together in 2015 to hold an event called the Asian Songbird Trade Crisis Summit. Two years later they formed the <a href="https://www.asiansongbirdtradesg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IUCN Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group</a>, which had its first official meeting in 2019. And over the past five years governments have started to take action, including seizing several <a href="https://www.traffic.org/news/indonesia-kicks-off-2021-with-a-bumper-crop-of-bird-seizures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">large shipments</a> of poached birds, although the trade remains mostly illegal and unsustainable.</p>
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<p>Local groups have helped, too, which brings us back to the Simeulue hill myna and Barusan shama. A Simeulue-based organization called <a href="https://www.ecosystemimpact.com/saving-the-last-of-simeulues-endemic-birds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ecosystemimpact</a> set out to help the two birds at the beginning of 2020. Although their efforts were hampered by the COVID pandemic, they're still trying to acquire any captive birds they can find to keep them out of the trade. If they do rescue any Simeulue hill mynas — such as four juvenile birds that reportedly recently turned up for sale on Facebook — they'll need a permit from the government to breed them.</p><p>Even then, saving them from extinction won't be easy.</p><p>"Hill myna are notoriously hard to breed, requiring large, tall aviaries with good vantage points over forested areas," says program manager Tom Amey. "It's not out of the question that hill myna will breed within our aviaries, but given their specific requirements, we feel it is unlikely." They're working on raising funding for new aviaries designed specifically for hill mynas.</p><p>They also hope to educate the community, to turn its love of captive birds into one that also supports wild populations.</p><p>"There is a distinct lack of bird song on Simeulue, especially within close to medium proximity of [human] habitation," says Amey. "Our ambition is to bring the beautiful sounds of songbirds back to Simeulue's forests and culture. Songbirds have played an important role in Simeulue culture and many members of the community wish to see them return."</p>
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<p>As with everything in the past year, progress to protect Asian songbirds has slowed down of late. "Unfortunately, the COVID crisis has been a huge, but legitimate, distraction from the global fight against extinction, and very little attention has been paid to such issues in the last few months," says Rheindt.</p><p>Once the pandemic recedes, Shepherd suggests that tourism may play an important role in keeping birds alive, uncaged and in their natural habitats.</p><p>"There's a very big birdwatching community," he says, "and I think working with the community and with the birdwatching tour guides to raise awareness of the benefits of having songbirds around is important. The birdwatching industry's worth millions. I think we need to raise awareness of the fact that you can lose your birds, but also awareness of the facts that having birds around is good for the environment, it's good for your mental health, it's good for all kinds of things — but it's good for the economy."</p><p>Until those messages resonate more than the ka-ching of a cash register, however, Asian songbirds will remain in crisis.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/asian-songbird-crisis/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Red Knots are among the shorebirds that a scientific study is tracking. BrianEKushner / Getty Images
By Julián García Walther
One morning in January, I found myself 30 feet up a tall metal pole, carrying 66 pounds of aluminum antennas and thick weatherproofed cabling. From this vantage point, I could clearly see the entire Punta Banda Estuary in northwestern Mexico. As I looked through my binoculars, I observed the estuary's sandy bar and extensive mudflats packed with thousands of migratory shorebirds frenetically pecking the mud for food.
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<p>In winter, more than 1 million shorebirds that breed in the Arctic will visit and <a href="https://whsrn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/biodiversitas.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">move throughout the coastline of northwest Mexico</a>. It's possible they are tracking rare <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5781542#page/91/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">superabundant seasonal resources</a> like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sp_k_gXdxM&t=43s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fish spawning events</a>. Or maybe they are scouting for sites with better habitat to spend their nonbreeding season. The truth is, researchers don't actually know. It has been incredibly hard to elucidate how birds use the region and what drives their movements in this vast network of coastal wetlands spanning 3,100 miles of coastline.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzQ4MTg0OH0.4TNYrfeeD0kO9x3UThVzlu5Yx10QQVJlsCSE6Prq63g/img.png?width=980" id="9c9b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce7d893a0b47b8777bbc2cd4eb5f2efa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="1034" />
There are currently few Motus stations in Mexico, leading to a large information gap. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<p>Tracking birds has always been a challenge. To make it easier, scientists have built a massive network of radio antenna devices called <a href="https://motus.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Motus stations</a> across the U.S. and Canada that can automatically track the movements of tagged birds. However, Motus stations – Motus means movement in Latin – are still <a href="https://motus.org/data/receiversMap?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">missing in much of Latin America</a>. This has resulted in large gaps in biologists' understanding of where migratory shorebirds go during their nonbreeding season.</p><p>A biology <a href="http://www.sennerlab.com/people.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">doctoral student</a> studying bird migration, I am collaborating with the nonprofit <a href="https://www.pronatura-noroeste.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pronatura Noroeste</a>. We have one goal: to expand the Motus network in northwest Mexico and unravel the mystery of where shorebirds are going during the winter.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM3Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTg3MjQ4OH0.nJE-fVVA-nNKTRMBIJn6ZNq0VCXzXDB-pMgQyfw0oMU/img.png?width=980" id="0d2b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d196471e7ac4abbc8a4c27c37699e63" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="416" />
Red knots and many other shorebirds travel thousands of miles from breeding grounds in the Arctic (left) to nonbreeding grounds in Latin America (right). Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>How to Track a Bird</h2><p>Much of my work is focused on <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red_Knot/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">red knots</a> – stubby sandpipers that feed on muddy flats that are uncovered during low tide in many estuaries.</p><p>In the past, to learn how red knots move among wetlands meant walking through knee-deep mud with a scope, trying to find birds with color-coded flags on their legs. I would then have to get close enough to read the writing on the flags to determine who had attached the flag and where in the continent the bird had been seen before. This is not easy work. It requires large numbers of flagged birds and many skilled ecologists trying to find them, so you get very limited data in return for a lot of time and effort.</p><p>Motus stations make this job much easier, and with a Motus network in Mexico, ecologists like me will get much more data on the movements of these animals. The project involves two parts: attaching tiny radio transmitters to birds and building a network of stations to track them.</p><p>Motus stations work similarly to a cellphone tower. Researchers attach tiny transmitters weighing just 0.45 grams to animals and these transmitters emit a radio pulse every five seconds. Each station has multiple antennas pointing toward a site used by birds – like the mudflats at Punta Banda – and is always listening for these radio signals.</p><p>Motus stations can pick up signals from tagged birds in a 12-mile radius, 24/7. A small computer built into the Motus station can then record and send information to researchers about when animals arrive to the site, how long they stay and in which direction they are headed when they leave.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM4MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDQ5NzcyNX0.KKGRPzwBJX6SBPshdbAag2XhPlxVXh3l1iqUmtM4FLQ/img.png?width=980" id="60e95" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6babec5435d4e06af93654e346a5b864" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="546" />
Motus stations require a high vantage point that overlooks estuaries. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>Building a Network</h2><p>The station at Punta Banda is the first and, so far, the only tower my team and I have erected. But the ultimate goal of our project is to deploy two dozen Motus stations in 15 coastal wetlands spanning the whole northwest coast of Mexico. When we are done, we will use these stations to track the movements of birds among these sites, as well as the <a href="https://motus.org/data/numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 1,000 other sites with active stations</a> across the world.</p><p>The <a href="http://visitpuntabanda.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Punta Banda Estuary</a> is one of the key stopovers for red knots. To maximize our chances of detecting birds, we chose to build the station on top of an old 30-foot metal pole overlooking the whole estuary. After getting approval from the pole owner, my colleagues and I assembled the station components. Then I climbed the pole, hoisting multiple antennas with me, and pointed them in all directions over the estuary.</p><p>By the time red knots start arriving in the fall, after breeding in the Arctic, our team hopes to have built many more stations like this one across northwest Mexico, ready to detect passing birds.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTQzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDczNjQyM30.x-JIRqZ24R8JlhaAaG2-yTCuSGnVgcAOhnEvovTwpQo/img.jpg?width=980" id="f4581" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="659ff446d20bc396f0e5d73e76eaac47" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" />
Any bird with a transmitter will be picked up if it flies within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of a Motus station. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>Tagging Birds</h2><p>The stations alone can't detect these animals. The final step, which will happen in the coming months, is to catch birds and tag them. To do this, our team will set up a soft, spring-loaded net called a whoosh net in sandy areas where the red knots rest above the high-tide line. When birds walk past the net, the crew leader will release the trigger, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwMiA2iqVc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safely trapping the birds with the net</a>.</p>WhooshNetCapture.MTS
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6440038cdc58961906f5fa164b457688"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vwMiA2iqVc0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Once we've successfully caught a bird, we will attach a transmitter to its back. Transmitters are solar-powered and very light – less than 1% of the bird's weight – and they can thus provide many years of data <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12934" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">without harming the birds</a>. Because younger birds may move differently than adults across the region, our team hopes to tag 130 red knots of different ages at other estuaries in northwest Mexico. The larger Motus project has already tagged more than <a href="https://motus.org/data/numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">25,000 animals</a>, so any other birds that come to northwest Mexico will also get picked up by our stations.</p><h2>Filling Important Gaps in Knowledge</h2><p>Migratory shorebirds are among the most threatened bird groups. Their populations have <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1313" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plummeted by 37% since 1970</a> owing to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/27/opinion/shorebirds-extinction-climate-change.html?mtrref=www.ecosia.org&gwh=6DD49ABEFC5BE097C8850B9AC1EE6161&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">habitat loss, human disturbance and climate change</a>. Without robust information on how birds use important sites like the ones we are working on in Mexico, it is hard to focus conservation actions when and where they are most needed. As our network of stations grows, the data they collect will help fill critical knowledge gaps.</p><p>For researchers like me, this data will allow us to understand how the movement of shorebirds might be disrupted as global threats such as sea level rise continue to affect the coastal wetlands they depend on. In turn, conservationists will be able to implement better and more effective on-the-ground actions to conserve species like red knots.</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julian-garcia-walther-1202190" target="_blank">Julián García Walther</a> is a </em><em>PhD Student in Ornithology, University of South Carolina.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em><em>Julian Garcia-Walther is a PhD Student at the University of South Carolina and consults for Pronatura Noroeste, A.C. He receives funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Sonoran Joint Venture and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.</em></em>
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<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientist-at-work-tracking-the-epic-journeys-of-migratory-birds-in-northwest-mexico-154156" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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The Great Barrier Reef at Whitsunday Island, Australia. Daniel Osterkamp / Getty Images
The world's oceans and coastal ecosystems can store remarkable amounts of carbon dioxide. But if they're damaged, they can also release massive amounts of emissions back into the atmosphere.
<p>Highlighting their need for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a>, the UNESCO published a <a href="https://ioc.unesco.org/news/unesco-marine-world-heritage-custodians-globes-blue-carbon-assets" target="_blank">report</a> assessing these ecosystems' critical role in mitigating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>The report was the first of its kind to quantify blue carbon -- carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere from ocean ecosystems -- across the 50 UNESCO Marine World Heritage sites. The report found six marine World Heritage Sites in Australia hold 40 percent of the estimated five billion tons of carbon dioxide stored in mangrove, seagrass and tidal marsh ecosystems within these sites, Edith Cowan University wrote in a <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/features/postgraduate/unesco-reveals-largest-carbon-stores-found-in-australian-world-heritage-sites" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"We know Australia contains some of the world's largest stores of blue carbon due to the enormous size and diversity of our marine ecosystems," the report author and ECU research fellow Dr. Oscar Serrano said, according to ECU. Included in these six marine World Heritage sites are Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay World Heritage areas, which together contain a majority of Australia's blue carbon habitats. "However, here in Australia and around the world, these ecosystems are under threat from human development and climate change," Serrano added.</p><p>These threats include pollution, like plastic litter, and climate change, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>. This is an increasing problem not just in Australia, but among marine World Heritage sites globally, including ecosystems like the Sundarbans mangroves in India and Bangladesh, Everglades National Park in the U.S., the Wadden Sea in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UNESCO noted</a>.</p>
<p>Although blue carbon ecosystems represent less than one percent of the global ocean area, they store about half of the carbon dioxide via the world's oceans, absorbing carbon 30 times faster than rainforests, ECU wrote in a statement. But if these blue carbon ecosystems are not conserved, they could increase global carbon emissions.</p><p>"While they're healthy, blue carbon ecosystems are excellent stores of carbon dioxide, but if they are damaged, they can release huge amounts of carbon dioxide stored over millennia back into the atmosphere," Serrano added, according to ECU.</p><p>In 2011, for example, nine million tons of stored carbon dioxide were released following a marine heatwave that killed about one-third of the area's seagrass in the Shark Bay, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/03/blue-carbon-how-three-australian-marine-sites-lock-away-2bn-tonnes-of-co2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<p>To avoid similar events, the report's authors call for conservation efforts like blue carbon strategies, where countries could earn carbon credits for restoring damaged ecosystems that store carbon, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>.</p><p>"By quantifying the carbon value of these sites and recommending specific blue carbon strategies to conserve them, UNESCO's research findings point the way for countries, regions, and local communities seeking to conserve these areas and pursue blue carbon strategies," UNESCO wrote in a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">press release</a>. This could mean including assets, like investing in the restoration and conservation of blue carbon ecosystems, into Nationally Determined Contributions, each country's pledged actions in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>Currently, the Australian government is leading by example, developing a system to create carbon credits for restoration projects on increasing blue carbon stocks in marine ecosystems, The Guardian reported.</p><p>"There are significant opportunities for both the Great Barrier Reef and Shark Bay to be protected and restored to ensure they survive and thrive in the future," Serrano added, according to ECU. </p>
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For World Wildlife Day, seven "Champions of Nature" shared their picks for books that motivate them. Sam Edwards / Getty Images
By Kimberly Nicole Pope
During this year's Davos Agenda Week, leaders from the private and public sectors highlighted the urgent need to halt and reverse nature loss. Deliberate action on the interlinked climate and ecological crises to achieve a net-zero, nature-positive economy is paramount. At the same time, these leaders also presented a message of hope: that investing in nature holds the key to ensuring economic and social prosperity and resilience.
<p>2021 will be a critical year to ensure a net zero, nature-positive future as world leaders come together for several key events and negotiations related to climate and nature. Ensuring a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is also essential to ensure a prosperous and resilient future for humankind.</p><p>In honor of <a href="https://www.wildlifeday.org/" target="_blank">UN World Wildlife Day on March 3</a> and to provide inspiration for the important year ahead, seven members of the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.weforum.org-252Fcommunities-252Fchampions-2Dfor-2Dnature-26data-3D04-257C01-257Cjcross-2540conservation.org-257Ca9e440256cd6422991e908d8c926c949-257Cc4de61a999b44c6a962ebd856602e8be-257C0-257C0-257C637480515718737070-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3DTW7TLt8sN5vv36XXezVjhZ7-252BqUcKRUHguvXUIWE2tGw-253D-26reserved-3D0&d=DwMF-g&c=VWART3hH1Kkv_uOe9JqhCg&r=JmSs9cEsZ5A4yov1dr2p01nUNPeNC9-pkC-xjek7kc8&m=Hd3Tq0yfeLju6QEmeIggjI-gAQfKWdWoajvb3Y_pTvw&s=NEsSYT5kF2dNllJljDi3erV5I8WuUjHb9kTEO0Io-vo&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Champions for Nature</a> community – which is leading the way towards a nature positive future by 2030 – have shared what they are reading that is giving them motivation to build a better world for people and planet.</p><h3><em>Small Ideas to Change the World</em> – Cyril Dion</h3><p><strong>Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica</strong></p><p>Cyril Dion invites us to "change stories to change history." The challenge of climate change for what it is, to change the history of humanity, where each person counts and each action, big or small, counts. As it should be in an interconnected world, we dream of more solidarity.</p>
<h3><em>A Stone Sat Still</em> – Brendan Wenzel</h3><p><strong>M Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer, Conservation International</strong></p><p>Our 19-month-old daughter would have it no other way. Brendan Wenzel's <em>A Stone Sat Still</em> has been read 600 times in our home during lockdown. Even so we still turn the pages with unhurried pleasure. We linger on its dreamy, dusky illustrations and its spring-water clear prose.</p><p>Each time we read it we fall in love with a new way of seeing nature; when viewed in different lights and at different heights, nature becomes the source of endless possibilities. For a grinding and tragic pandemic, a reminder of the value of nature and the importance of place is the perfect antidote.</p><h3><em>The Essentials of Theory 'U'</em> – Otto Scharmer</h3><p><strong>Cherie Nursalim, Vice-Chairman, Giti Group</strong></p><p>"U" is a movement. "U" is a philosophy of "seeing" and "sensing" our system. "U" is a way of letting go and letting a new "U" emerge. "U" enables "ego" to "eco system shift." Otto lays out and synthesizes the core essences of his decades of practice with corporates, civil society and governments around the world in integrating science arts and consciousness. This is to me a must-read book and offers a pathway to happiness by bridging social, ecological and spiritual divides (Tri Hita Karana ways to Happiness in Balinese) aligned with UN SDGs.</p>
<h3><em>Stones of Silence</em> – George Schaller</h3><p><strong>Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Federal Minister of Climate Change and Adviser to the Prime Minister, Pakistan</strong></p><p>The Himalayan travelogue by one of the world's leading conservationists searching for an encounter with one of the most elusive creatures on the planet – the mystical snow leopard – is what I am currently reading. The book is both a celebration of nature, as it beautifully penetrates and unravels the myth around the "mountain ghost," and an avid description of the spirituality residing in the vast emptiness of the mighty Himalayan landscapes.</p><p>George Schaller, the author of <em>Stones of Silence</em> (1980), is the person who, in the early 70's, inspired the creation of Pakistan's iconic Khunjerab National Park, which today conserves one of the world's largest populations of the snow leopard, Markhors, Himalayan Ibex and Marco Polo Sheep and who, a few months back, during COVID-19 quarantine supported the start of Pakistan's Protected Areas Initiative. As the world looks for a nature-positive recovery, the book is a must-read for all who yearn to taste a bit of nature – Himalayan magic mixed with the mystery of the snow leopard.</p><p>I quote from the book: "Wisps of clouds swirled around, transforming her into a ghost creature, part myth and part reality… Balanced precariously on a ledge and bitterly cold, I too stayed, unwilling to disrupt the moment… Then the snow fell more thickly, and dreamlike, the cat slipped away as if she had never been."</p>
<h3><em>The Untold Story of the World's Leading Environmental Institution</em> – Maria Ivanova</h3><p><strong>Inger Andersen, United Nations Under Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme</strong></p><p>I highly recommend <em>The Untold Story of the World's Leading Environmental Institution</em> by Maria Ivanova. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the genesis and evolution of global environmental governance. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Program in 2022, this book provides valuable insights into how UNEP – and, indeed, environmental multilateralism – must rise to the challenges of a planet in crisis and lead us towards sustainable development.</p><h3><em>Reality Bubble</em> – Ziya Tong</h3><p><span></span><em><strong>Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF International</strong></em></p><p><em><span></span>The Reality Bubble</em> by Ziya Tong is a provocative book about humanity's main blind spots: what we didn't evolve to see, and what we should but don't see. The blindness, often convenient, of modern society. A reminder of our limitations, and the dangers of ignoring the impact we are having on the health and balance of the planet we should call home. A particularly important reminder in a year when only humanity's full awareness of our role in the natural world can trigger the deep cultural revolution in our minds and systemic change in our economy to avert disaster.</p>
<h3><em>Losing Earth</em> – Nathaniel Rich</h3><p><strong>Svein Tore Holsether, President & CEO, Yara International</strong></p><p>The essence of this book is that we knew but didn't act. Nathaniel Rich tells the history of fighting climate change, and how the Charney report already in 1979 predicted the devastating effects of global warming. Based on this, I have used every opportunity to tell people that we have been sitting on the fence for four decades and have less than a decade to fix it. We don't have the time anymore to work in isolation, only collaboration can save us. The book was an eye-opener about how we have failed, how we can't afford to fail now, and how we must have a science- and fact-based way of working.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/world-wildlife-day-7-champions-for-nature-must-read-books/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Protesters are seen during a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, DC on June 1, 2017. Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
While some mainstream environmental organizations welcomed Tuesday's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act in the House of Representatives, progressive green groups warned that the bill falls far short of what's needed to meaningfully tackle the climate crisis—an existential threat they say calls for bolder action like the Green New Deal.
<p>The latest version of the CLEAN Future Act—which aims to achieve U.S. carbon neutrality by the year 2050 —was introduced by Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone (N.J.), Bobby Rush (Ill.), and Paul Tonko (N.Y.). The bill sets an interim target of reducing pollution by 50% from 2005 levels no later than 2030.</p><p>In a <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-introduce-the-clean-future-act-comprehensive-legislation-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, Pallone, who is chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that "the climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, but it also presents one of the greatest opportunities to empower American workers with new, good paying jobs and return our economy to a position of strength after a long, dark year of historic job losses and pain." </p><p>"Today's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act promises that we will not stand idly by as the rest of the world transitions to clean economies and our workers get left behind," added Pallone, "and that we will not watch from the sidelines as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on Americans' health and homes." </p><p>But while numerous people hailed the bill—with Earthjustice offering "applause" and NRDC calling it "urgently needed"—more critical voices from groups like Friends of the Earth and Food & Water Watch said the legislation is fundamentally and dangerously lacking.</p>
<div id="25965" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6116a1c2b1b913ad51c3ea576f2e196c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366827205427425289" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Rep @FrankPallone just released his CLEAN Future Act — which he claims to be an ambitious bill to combat… https://t.co/M7nR0es196</div> — Friends of the Earth (Action) (@Friends of the Earth (Action))<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1366827205427425289">1614711974.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Lukas Ross, program manager at Friends of the Earth, called the bill's introduction "a monumental failure of climate leadership."</p><p>"Chairman Pallone had over a year to remove fossil fuels from the CLEAN Future Act and didn't bother to reconsider," Ross said in a <a href="https://foe.org/news/pallones-clean-future-still-a-fracking-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, referring to the bill's <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-release-draft-clean-future-act-legislative-text-to-achieve-a-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous iteration</a>. "A clean energy standard that qualifies fracked gas is a joke. We need real solutions like solar and storage, not a dirty lifeline for gas, nukes, and biomass."</p><p>Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/541228-house-democrats-reintroduce-roadmap-to-carbon-neutrality-by-2050" target="_blank">told</a> <em>The Hill</em> that while the new bill "improves on last year's abysmal proposal," the nation must "slash emissions 70% in 10 years, and we need firm cuts in greenhouse gases right now, not just gimmicky incentives, or future generations will suffer from our inaction today."</p>
<div id="189f0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa31bacec80d88b49730e8591de5d26d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366863402912657416" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The CLEAN Future Act "fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and… https://t.co/yREn6Qx9tn</div> — Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch)<a href="https://twitter.com/foodandwater/statuses/1366863402912657416">1614720605.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, said in a <a href="https://foodandwaterwatch.org/news/dems-climate-bill-falls-short" target="_blank">statement</a> that "Democrats should be making a big, bold push on climate—and the CLEAN Future Act is simply not strong enough." Jones continued:</p><blockquote>The bill's clean energy standard includes provisions that essentially greenwash dirty energy sources—including rebranding fracked gas as 'clean' by pairing it with unproven, non-existent carbon capture methods. It also relies on a dubious emissions trading scheme to achieve its goals, which serves fossil fuel industry interests while pretending to curb climate pollution. The bill also promotes factory farm biogas as a clean energy source.<br></blockquote><p>"While this bill has been marginally improved, it fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and burning fossil fuels as soon as possible," stressed Jones. "We should not waste time creating credit schemes and offsets markets, or prop up fossil fuels with carbon capture fantasies."</p><p>"A bold climate plan must call for a ban on fracking and all new fossil fuel infrastructure," he added, "and a swift and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy across all sectors of the economy. The CLEAN Future Act may have been revised since last year, but it's still a Green New Dud."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/02/green-new-dud-progressives-warn-house-climate-bill-fails-grasp-fundamental-truth" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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