Animals useful to mankind may go everywhere but ...
African Lions, Sage Grouse, Sea Cumbers -- nowhere else to go
| While human beings blithely push other life forms to the verge of annihilation, some scientists hope to harness “useful” bugs and expand their habitat. We trim, blend, and append four 2010 articles from: (1) Los Angeles Times, Mar 5, on endangered grouse by Jim Tankersley; (2) Christian Science Monitor, Mar 8, on lions by Scott Baldauf; (3) BBC, Mar 9, on sea cucumbers; and (4) BBC, Mar 9, on a Japanese beetle, by Rebecca Morelle. |
by Jim Tankersley, by Scott Baldauf, by BBC, and by Rebecca Morelle
- Sage grouse deserves -- but won't get -- protection
The US Interior Department declared that an iconic Western bird, the greater sage grouse, merits protection under the Endangered Species Act but won't receive it for now because other species are a higher priority.
Its status will be reviewed annually.
The department’s split decision will allow oil and gas drilling to continue across large swaths of the mountainous West.
Oil and gas companies -- and Republican lawmakers from the West -- warned that declaring the bird endangered would freeze drilling in areas that are also sage grouse habitat.
The ruling leaves sage grouse protection largely in the hands of states.
"The sage grouse's decline reflects the extent to which open land in the West has been developed in the last century," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in an issued statement.
Sage grouse have dwindled to about half of their historic range due to habitat destruction, and some scientists warn that the birds could disappear within the next 30 to 100 years.
- Global financial crisis may starve lions
After running wild through the world's concrete jungles, the financial crisis now stalks the South African savanna and one of the world's most beloved predators (South Africa lions) could become its prey.
In South Africa, the 16 lions at SanWild Wildlife Rehabilitation Center may be killed if their food runs out. A drop in donations since the global financial crisis has gutted funds for the lions' food.
Kenya has had similar difficulty keeping its lions alive, but for different reasons. In the Amboseli National Park, a drought has wiped out much of the wild lion’s food source, forcing the big cats to move in on the private livestock herds in nearby villages. In response, Kenya has trucked in thousands of zebra and wildebeest, a temporary but expensive measure.
Most of the lions facing starvation had been rescued from South Africa’s lucrative “canned hunt” industry, in which hunters pay large fees to shoot wild animals in relatively small enclosures.
SanWild Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary, in the rural northern state of Limpopo, has issued an urgent funding appeal to help keep up with 45,000 rand ($6,160) monthly meat bills to feed 14 lions and two cubs. People wrongly assume that only the large donations matter. But it’s small donations that have kept them going all this time.
- Sea cucumbers seized from five star Indian hotel
The endangered deep-sea animal, sea cucumber, has been seized from a restaurant at a five star hotel in the Indian capital, Delhi.
Although the seizure took place in August 2009, the government only just released the information.
The restaurant manager and the owner of the supply company have now been released on bail, after they were arrested last month.
Sea cucumber is protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Many species of sea cucumbers are found in India. They have the same level of protection as the tiger. Any trade or procurement of sea cucumber can incur the maximum punishment under India's wildlife protection laws.
- Insect that fights Japanese knotweed to be released
A tiny Japanese insect that could help the fight against an aggressive superweed has been given the go-ahead for a trial release in England.
Since Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK it has rapidly spread, and the plant currently costs over £150m a year to control and clear.
In its native home of Japan, the insect feeds on the sap of knotweed, stunting its growth. Biologists will initially release a handful of bugs at isolated sites this spring.
This is the first time that biocontrol -- the use of a "natural predator" to control a pest -- has been used in the EU to fight a weed.
Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK by the Victorians as an ornamental plant, but it soon escaped from gardens and began its rampant spread throughout the UK. It grows incredibly quickly -- more than one metre a month -- and rapidly swamps any other vegetation in its path. It is so hardy that it can burst through tarmac and concrete, causing costly damage to pavements, roads and buildings.
However, in Japan, the plant is common but does not rage out of control like it does in the UK, thanks to the natural predators that keep it in check.
Some worry that the Japanese insect will not only target the superweed but could attack other species once in the wild. Hence insecticide and herbicide treatment will be on standby for rapid response.
Biocontrol is a long-term strategy; it could take five to 10 years to have a real impact.
JJS: May the Brits reestablish balance, not tilt the world further into bleak homogeneity.
Extinction is largely a matter of habitat, and living space is largely a matter of human land use. Yet the issue of how much land humans need is not fixed. Not only does the most powerful species use the earth but also wastes its expanses and resources -- and does so without paying for it.
If we all paid for what we took, and paid more for what we waste, then everyone would take less and use that wisely.
This principle of paying for what one takes could be coupled with the principle of being allowed to keep what one makes. That is, don’t tax people’s efforts -- their jobs and businesses and buildings -- but do charge them for extraction, pollution, and exclusive use of location. That’s the geonomic way of raising public revenue, and it could work wonders for leaving sufficient planet alone for other species.
---------------------
Jeffery J. Smith runs the Forum on Geonomics.
|
Also see: f salmon can't be saved …
Tiger attacks trigger expert plea
Humanity's values and choices yield harsh consequences |
| Email this article | Sign up for free Progress Report updates via email |
What are your views? Share your opinions with The Progress Report:
| Page One | Page Two | Archive |
| Discussion Room | Letters | What's Geoism? |
