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Gorilla Protection
Gorilla Silverback Filmed at Gatovu!
"This is Innocent. Yesterday I got a call from our rangers at the Gatovu Patrol Post. They told me that they had seen a solitary gorilla in the forest nearby. I immediately went over there to identify which individual it was.
We found the gorilla at about 10 minutes from the patrol post. I was amazed to see that it was Buhanga, the solitary silverback that had once belonged to the group now led by Kabirizi.
It was fantastic to once again see a gorilla in the wild- it was the first time since last year when the rebels took over the Mikeno Sector of the park. As you can see from the video, Buhanga has grown a lot bigger since last time I saw him!"
*Innocent & Diddy are Congolese rangers that protect the Mountain Gorillas. They monitor and carry out protection activities on the ground. Congolese rangers risk their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
To see how you can help, please visit: http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/2008/08/21/gorilla-si...
GorillaProtection.org Gorilla Silverback Filmed at Gatovu! ... more -
Protect Gorillas From Deforestation!
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698
PLEASE sign, forward & X-POST this petition.
Protect Gorillas From Deforestation - The Petition Site:
Target: Congo's Ministry of Environment
Sponsored by: Care2.com
Great news for one of the world's most endangered animals: researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that were previously uncounted in the Congo Basin. Until now, scientists believed there were only about 50,000 of these endangered gorillas left.
But this exciting new population estimate does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe. The western lowland gorilla continues to come under threat as timber companies move into the Congo Basin, home to more than a quarter of the world's tropical forest. Without careful management of the forest resources, western lowland gorillas and other gorilla subspecies will remain severely endangered.
Now more than ever authorities need to stem rampant deforestation, to preserve the habitats of the great apes and to support long-term sustainability of the region's natural resources.
Please urge Congo's Ministry of Environment to deny all deals that were signed illegally under the country's moratorium on new logging contracts.
ACTUAL PETITION:
"We are happy about recent news that researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that were previously uncounted in the Congo basin. Until now, scientists believed there were only about 50,000 of these endangered gorillas left.
But this exciting new population estimate does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe. The western lowland gorilla continues to come under threat as timber companies move into the region. Logging and land clearance for farming are eating away the Congo Basin, home to more than a quarter of the world's tropical forest. Without careful management of the forest resources and strict enforcement of protected areas, the western lowland gorillas and other subspecies of gorillas will remain severely endangered.
Now more than ever it is essential to preserve the habitats of the great apes and support reforestation.
In 2002, with the Democratic Republic of Congo partially under the control of rebels, the country issued a five-year moratorium on new logging contracts to try and stem rampant deforestation. But the measure went largely unheeded and companies continued to sign new deals.
We ask that officials review the government-sponsored working group's recommendation on August 6, 2008 to cancel more than three quarters of its logging deals for not meeting necessary standards. But we are concerned that these recommendations did not go far enough. Sixteen of the 29 titles received a favorable opinion from the working group, despite being obtained in clear violation of the five-year moratorium on new logging contracts.
We urge you to comply with the five-year moratorium, and deny all logging contracts that were signed under moratorium.
Thank you for protecting the future of endangered gorillas and the biological diversity of the Congo basin."
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/269086042 http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698 PLEASE sign, forward & X-POST this petition. ... more -
Protect Gorillas From Deforestation - The Petition Site
Great news for one of the world's most endangered animals: researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that were previously uncounted in the Congo Basin. Until now, scientists believed there were only about 50,000 of these endangered gorillas left.
But this exciting new population estimate does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe. The western lowland gorilla continues to come under threat as timber companies move into the Congo Basin, home to more than a quarter of the world's tropical forest. Without careful management of the forest resources, western lowland gorillas and other gorilla subspecies will remain severely endangered.
Now more than ever authorities need to stem rampant deforestation, to preserve the habitats of the great apes and to support long-term sustainability of the region's natural resources.
Please urge Congo's Ministry of Environment to deny all deals that were signed illegally under the country's moratorium on new logging contracts.
Please Note:
It is bittersweet that this Great Ape population was found ...because now, they can be found by the poachers as well. Deforestation allows for easier access to the gorillas for poachers.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION ASKING FOR PROTECTION OF THE GORILLAS HABITAT http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/269086042 Great news for one of the world's most endangered animals: researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that... more -
Tree Lovers Urged To Spread The Love in A forest - and Film It
Greenpeace has issued an appeal to tree lovers to bombard the EU with sensual footage of woodland scenes in a bid to curb illegal logging.Philodendra from across Europe are invited to delve deep into their hard drives to dig out their most sensual shots of slender silver birches, curvaceous willows or craggy oaks.
Having gathered the clips together, the environmental group intends to create a video designed to convince European Commission President José Manuel Barroso of the importance of implementing a ban on illegal timber imports.
In a blog posted on its website, Greenpeace encourages supporters to “take pictures and/or videos of yourself and your friends spreading the love in a forest.”
The group has already created a sample video, http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/make-some-swe... complete with an explicit content warning, to spur the creative instincts of would-be saviours of the world’s forests.
Greenpeace claims the inspiration behind its campaign is a collection of raunchy film clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koRlFnBlDH0 compiled by the EU’s media arm exhorting the bloc’s citizens to “come together” to support European cinema.
The environmentalists will be hoping to mirror the success of that video, which has been watched almost 7 million times since it was posted on the EUTube channel a year ago.
Following the postponement until September of a vote in Brussels on the illegal logging issue, Greenpeace is pushing to keep the issue on the agenda. Failure to take swift action will lead to further irreversible destruction of rainforests in the Amazon, the Congo and Indonesia, the group says. Greenpeace has issued an appeal to tree lovers to bombard the EU with sensual footage of woodland scenes in a bid to curb illegal logg... more -
Africa's Congo Basin forest aided by satellite tree felling survey
A project to map every place in the world's second-largest tropical forest where trees have been cut down will be announced today.
A purpose-built camera will be sent into space to record every clearing and logger's track in the Congo Basin in Africa to determine how much of the forest is left.
The camera will be fixed to a satellite and should be operational by the end of 2010 as part of an initiative to save the Central African tropical forest from being chopped down.
At twice the size of France, the Congo Basin forest is exceeded in extent only by the Amazon but it is estimated that loggers, many of them illegal, destroy an area the size of 25,000 football pitches every week.
Forests absorb huge quantities of carbon but it is released when they are cut down and their preservation is regarded as one of the biggest challenges by those trying to slow the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.
Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, will announce extra funding to save the forest today when he explains the camera project. It will record the forest in more detail than before. A project to map every place in the world's second-largest tropical forest where trees have been cut down will be announced today... more -
New satellite photos show Amazon deforestation exploding
New satellite photographs show that the destruction of Brazil's fragile Amazon rainforest has exploded this year, fueling fears that the government's efforts to stop deforestation have been fruitless.
Brazil's DETER real-time monitoring system found that more than 430 square miles of forest, an area a bit smaller than the city of Los Angeles, vanished in the month of April, while about 2,300 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware, were destroyed between last August and April.
That nine-month total surpassed the entire acreage in the Amazon that was destroyed over the previous 12 months, according to DETER data. What's worse, the satellites couldn't see about half of the forest in April due to cloud cover, suggesting that actual deforestation likely was much greater.
That's raised red flags among environmentalists, who say that soybean farming, cattle production and illegal logging are destroying the world's largest rainforest despite the government's attempts to halt the deforestation.
Chopping down and burning the rainforest releases tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change. Brazil is the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, largely because of deforestation, according to the U.S.-based World Resources Institute.
Worse is yet to come, environmentalists said.
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Balancing survival with preserving nature. That is the challenge we face. New satellite photographs show that the destruction of Brazil's fragile Amazon rainforest has exploded this year, fueling fears t... more -
Brazilian farmer killed in Amazon after reporting illegal loggers
An Amazon farmer who received death threats after reporting illegal logging to the government was shot to death as he left his house, Brazilian media reported Saturday.
Emival Barbosa Machado, 50, was shot three times Friday in the eastern city of Tucurui, the Globo TV network said. No arrests have been made.
Machado had often reported illegal logging and shipments of lumber in Para, a largely lawless state where American nun and rain forest defender Dorothy Stang was killed in 2005.
Machado told the environmental protection agency Ibama that locals were forced to deliver wood to loggers and were killed if they refused.
"He made various complaints to us, and we seized lumber and boats thanks to his reports," Anibal Picanco, Ibama's superintendent in Para, said in a televised interview.
Para has been targeted in a government crackdown after satellite photos showed illegal logging in the Amazon was on the upswing.
In February, officials seized more than 10,000 cubic feet (280 cubic meters) of wood and shut down three saw mills in the town of Tailandia. Some 2,000 enraged residents burned tires, blocked roads and forced Ibama workers to flee. The government sent in federal police and military troops to restore order.
Brazil has strict environmental laws that require landowners in the Amazon basin to keep 80 percent of their forested areas standing and file detailed forest management plans before they can harvest wood.
But the laws are routinely flouted, and there aren't enough federal agents in the region to enforce them.
An estimated 20 percent of the Amazon's forest cover has been cut down for logging, cattle ranching and soybean farming. An Amazon farmer who received death threats after reporting illegal logging to the government was shot to death as he left his house, ... more -
Illegal logging in the Amazon: what Brazil is doing
Operation Arc of Fire is Brazil's latest effort to crack down on illegal logging in the Amazon forest. Click the link and watch the video. Operation Arc of Fire is Brazil's latest effort to crack down on illegal logging in the Amazon forest. Click the link and watch ... more
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Mass Tree Planting In Indonesia
Great effort...Now all they have to do is keep the illegal loggers from getting their hands on these trees./////Indonesia is trying to plant nearly 80 million trees in a single day, in an attempt to set a new world record and deflect criticism about deforestation.
Police, soldiers and local officials joined President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the nationwide project. /////The plan is part of a campaign launched at UN climate change talks last year.//////A World Bank report puts Indonesia as the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter - owing to deforestation, land clearing and forest fires./////President Yudhoyono took part in the planting of more than 1,000 native trees in Bogor, west Java.//////Mr Yudhoyono declared the trees a gift to the world, and said the event showed Indonesia was serious about protecting the environment./////end of excerpt. Great effort...Now all they have to do is keep the illegal loggers from getting their hands on these trees./////Indonesia is trying to... more
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Illegal Logging
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Illegal Logging
