A couple of photos of Fiona’s home in the middle of a very remote Australian national park – we are still in the midst of dire drought! Yellow-spotted monitor on patrol – pretty sure he is king of all he surveys.Thanks Rob for the photo
Protected Area Solutions, in partnership with UniQuest, is currently finalising a contract to continue the previous work of some of our members on the international scope of protected area management effectiveness. We will be working with the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge UK and an advisory group to further develop and update the databases on management effectiveness generally and the management effectiveness tracking tool specifically, so we can analayse and report on how protected areas are faring worldwide.
Andrea together with our associates Ann and Greg Peterson flew up to Port Moresby today and will spend the week there meeting with UNDP and senior government officials. We are kicking off our contract to assist PNG finalise their protected area policy. Ann and Greg will be conducting four regional workshops to get some more input from stakeholders. It’s been a flurry of activity getting everything organised, with Fiona and Melitta also banging the keyboards into the night.
BIENVENUE DANS L’OUTBACK | QUEENSLAND. Click on the links to see the great short video made by ‘Ranger’ Eliza from France about her visit to western Queensland, inlcuding Bladensburg and Diamantina National Parks.
Wilderness areas ‘need humans to thrive’ › News in Science ABC Science.
Great Barrier Reef’s condition declined from moderate to poor in 2011 | Environment | guardian.co.uk. Series of reports blames extreme weather conditions and high rainfall for reef’s poor health Great Barrier Reef’s condition declined from moderate to poor in 2011 Series of reports blames extreme weather conditions and high rainfall for reef’s poor health Oliver Laughland, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 July 2013 18.02 AEST Extreme weather conditions have been largely blamed for the Great Barrier Reef’s poor health in 2011. Photograph:…
ECOS Magazine – Towards A Sustainable Future. For hundreds of thousands of years, dry-season burning has shaped the ecology of the Northern Territory’s Top End. Now, through its role in carbon abatement, controlled burning is playing an important role in the region’s economy, especially in remote Aboriginal communities. – See more at: http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?paper=EC13150#sthash.3VSoTQjZ.dpuf For hundreds of thousands of years, dry-season burning has shaped the ecology of the Northern Territory’s Top End. Now, through its role in carbon abatement, controlled burning…
Conservation: Relaxed laws imperil Australian wildlife : Nature : Nature Publishing Group. Conservation: Relaxed laws imperil Australian wildlife Euan G. Ritchie published in Nature 498, 434 (27 June 2013) doi:10.1038/498434d Published online 26 June 2013 Policy and legislative changes by Australia’s state governments are eroding the vital protection of the country’s unique biodiversity. Reserves are being opened up to ecologically disruptive activities, such as grazing by domestic livestock, logging, mining, recreational hunting and fishing, and commercial development. Protected habitats on…
The “Soft Fascination” of Nature – News – The Ecologist. Add Media Richard Dolesh reports on a recently published study, the findings of which support what most of us know intuitively – that nature is good for us. Just being in nature can give you an emotional lift A walk in the park can calm and restore you. This is something we take for granted in parks and recreation, because we have known it to be true ever since we…
Five new World Heritage Sites have been approved by UNESCO. See http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/pictures/130621-five-new-unesco-world-heritage-sites-conservation-environment/ One of the sites is the spectacular The Namib Sand Sea, the first area in ten years to meet all four criteria for becoming a natural World Heritage Site.We were lucky enough to visit this national park last year, and the dunes are truly amazing (even by our desert standards)