Make you Fink on Friday

Just how stupid are we?

Europe’s vultures under threat from drug that killed millions of birds in Asia

After an ecological disaster in India, wildlife groups call for ban on vets using diclofenac in Italy and Spain

A Spanish griffon vulture. Vultures in Europe could be under threat from approval of the use of the drug diclofenac in Italy and Spain. Photograph: Chris Hellier/CORBIS

Wildlife groups have launched a Europe-wide campaign to outlaw a newly approved veterinary drug that has caused the deaths of tens of millions of vultures in Asia. They say that the decision to allow diclofenac to be used in Spain and Italy not only threatens to wipe out Europe’s vultures but could harm other related species, including the golden eagle and the Spanish imperial eagle, one of the world’s rarest raptors.

Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory agent and painkiller, was introduced around the end of the 20th century in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh to treat sick cattle. But when the cattle’s carcasses were eaten by vultures, the birds contracted a fatal kidney condition. Within a few years, vulture numbers had declined by a staggering 99.9% across south Asia. The worst-affected species included long-billed, slender-billed and oriental white-backed vultures. Dead cattle were left to rot without vultures to consume their flesh. Packs of feral dogs grew to fill the ecological gap. The risk of rabies also rose, said health experts. Now diclofenac has been approved for use in Italy and Spain.

“It defies common sense to approve of a drug when there is abundant, solid evidence to show that it is deadly to so many species of birds and that it causes such ecological damage,” said José Tavares, director of the Vulture Conservation Foundation. “We now know diclofenac was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of vultures in India. Several species were brought to the brink of extinction in the process. Once the Indian government realised that, it banned diclofenac. That was in 2006. Now two countries in Europe have decided to give it the go-ahead. It is simply appalling.”

Dr Toby Galligan of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: “It is utterly brainless to approve a drug which you know has killed tens of millions of birds in such a short space of time. Yet this is exactly what the Italian and Spanish governments have done. Based on some very, very poor risk assessments, they have given approval to an agent that could have devastating consequences for critically important large birds in Europe.” Galligan’s own research has found that diclofenac not only kills vultures but is also fatal to eagles of the genus Aquila whose members include the golden eagle and the Spanish imperial eagle. At present there are only about 300 pairs of imperial Spanish eagles left.

Most worries are focused on diclofenac’s probable impact on vultures, which play a critical ecological role by rapidly disposing of animal carcasses before they rot. “In Africa, vultures have been in severe decline for a long time,” said Tavares. “Then, in south Asia, we had the impact of diclofenac which has left the subcontinent with hardly any vultures.”

Europe is now the last refuge of Old World vultures. (New World vultures, including Andean and Californian condors, are made up of different species.)

A spokesman for the UK’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate said: “As a precautionary measure the VMD will not approve any requests from vets to import products containing diclofenac. Furthermore, we have agreed not to issue any export certificates which name diclofenac-containing products in the list of products to be exported.”

In a bid to persuade the EU to ban diclofenac, a petition – set up privately in the UK – has been signed by 28,000 people so far. It calls on the European commissioner for health, Tonio Borg, and the commissioner for the environment, Janez Potocnik, to intervene. This could be done by diclofenac being referred to the EU medicines agency, which could ultimately ban the drug.

Source: TheGuardian

Opinion:

Sometimes I just outrightly dispair at the sheer stupidity of man.

This is but one example.

When are we as a species going to get our act together?

 

Nature Ramble

Another different ramble today, in fact it’s not a ramble at all, so just sit back and learn something about Africa, us and famine.

A long film, 1½ hours, but sit it out.

This documentary will change many of your preconceptions about man and the world.

I found this documentary while looking for information on Okavango Delta in Botswana one of the few inland river deltas in the world.

“The 1986 African environmental documentary of filmmaker Rick Lomba, who was tragically killed while filming the rescue operation at the Luanda Zoo in 1994. The message is as relevant today as it was at the time.” – YouTube blurb

The End of Eden

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Nature Ramble

 

Once again, we often see tigers and bigger animals facing extinction in the news, but we rarely see the smaller beasties.

Especially the rarer ones.

If I were to mention the pangolin, most people would think I was talking about a Chinese ukelele… no that’s a mandolin. Which also goes to demonstrate how good our education system is, but that is another issue.

‘Shocking’ scale of pangolin smuggling revealed

Official records show that pangolins are being illegally traded on a “shocking” scale, according to a report.

The globally threatened animals are sought for their scales which are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Annual seizures have been estimated at roughly 10,000 animals but experts warn the illegal trade is far greater

Chinese enforcement officials worked with researchers from the UK to assess the extent of the problem.

Zhao-Min Zhou, from the Public Security Bureau for Forests in China’s Yunnan province, worked with researchers from the University of Oxford to analyse official records of pangolins seized from smugglers.

The findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

“The numbers of pangolins traded are shocking, and all the more so considering the pharmaceutical pointlessness of the trade. This trade is intolerably wasteful,” said Prof Macdonald, director of the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), and a co-author of the paper.

He praised the leadership of Mr Zhou in the study, which gives conservationists the first glimpse of official records of seizures.

The research team uncovered records that 2.59 tonnes of scales, representing approximately 4,870 pangolins, along with 259 intact pangolins (220 living; 39 dead) have been seized since 2010, resulting in 43 enforcement cases.

There are eight species of pangolin, four of which are found in Asia and four of which live in Africa.

Chinese and Sunda pangolins are listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Indian and Philippine pangolins are considered Near Threatened, as are Africa’s giant and white-bellied species.

The animals roll into a ball for protection but this only makes it easier for poachers to collect and transport them unnoticed.

Mr Zhou examines the bodies of seized pangolins

In traditional Chinese medicine, roasted pangolin scales are thought to detoxify and drain pus, relieve palsy, and stimulate lactation.

Rapid economic growth in Asia has resulted in soaring demand in recent years.

Pangolins by post

In addition to smuggling whole animals, traffickers use the postal system to transport their contraband.

In the report, Prof Macdonald and colleagues highlight that last November, Beijing customs officials intercepted five parcels of pangolin scales weighing 70kg each.

They subsequently discovered a further tonne of scales had been shipped in this way since April, the equivalent of 1,660 individual animals.

Prolific smugglers have received prison sentences from 11 years to life but with demand out-stripping supply, the trade is only becoming more lucrative.

According to the report, pangolin scales are currently worth £360 ($600) per kilo, twice the amount they traded for in 2008.

Read more

Make you Fink on Friday

This post is almost an UPDATE on yesterday’s,

Whereas yesterday the topic was viruses, today’s is malaria and the effects of global warming.

Malaria ‘spreading to new altitudes’

Malaria parasites – seen here infecting red blood cells – and mosquitoes do not like cold temperatures

Warmer temperatures are causing malaria to spread to higher altitudes, a study suggests.

Researchers have found that people living in the highlands of Africa and South America are at an increased risk of catching the mosquito-borne disease during hotter years.

They believe that temperature rises in the future could result in millions of additional cases in some areas.

The research is published in the journal Science.

Prof Mercedes Pascual, from the University of Michigan in the US, who carried out the research, said: “The impact in terms of increasing the risk of exposure to disease is very large.”

Vulnerable to disease

Areas at higher altitudes have traditionally provided a haven from this devastating disease.

Both the malaria parasite and the mosquito that carries it struggle to cope with the cooler air.

Prof Pascual said: “The risk of the disease decreases with altitude and this is why historically people have settled in these higher regions.”

But the scientists say the disease is entering new regions that had previously been malaria-free.

To investigate, scientists looked at densely populated areas in the highlands of Colombia and Ethiopia, where there are detailed records of both temperature and malaria cases from the 1990s to 2005.

They found that in warmer years, malaria shifted higher into the mountains, while in cooler years it was limited to lower elevations.

Read more

Opinion:

Once again, we see the effects of global warming in yet another area.

It doesn’t matter if the global warming is man-made, or a natural phenomena, it is happening.

The danger is that not only is the mosquito gaining ground in altitude, but it is able to spread further north and south and that begins to eventually put all of the civilised world within its reach.

Global warming, whatever the cause, cannot be ignored.

Do you ever think about…

Ghana?

Sometimes, maybe…

What about Ghana and Farmer’s Markets…

Isn’t that an oxymoron, you know like ‘military intelligence’?

Apparently not.

Well… no never!

Better think again because the idea of famer’s markets is spreading.

Ghana’s first farmers’ market: ‘We need more like this’

A fair in Accra selling local, organic sustainably grown produce is proving a hit among the growing middle class

Moco’s Savannah Honey is on sale at Accra Green Market for 10 Ghana cedis, and also exported to the UK. Photograph: Edison Gbenga Abe/Phosmic Impressions

There are some things about public gatherings in Ghana‘s capital Accra that are guaranteed. A certain amount of dust and Atlantic spray on the breeze, a sound system blaring Azonto – a local music sensation – just a bit too loud, fearless children lining up to show off their moves, and an orderly row of canopies where the hot and the tired sit down on plastic chairs and take stock.

But if you looked a little closer at the fair in Ako Adjei park on Saturday, you would have found that what appeared a typical Accra event was quietly masking something quite unusual: a farmers’ market. The dozen or so small-scale producers selling their wares at The Accra Green Market were busily making history as participants in Ghana’s first ever fair for locally grown, sustainable, organic produce. “This is a great way to give exposure to organic, local products,” says Jeffrey Mouganie, 22, founder of Moco Foods, an organic company that produces local forest honey and fiery chilli sauce, guaranteeing a traceable supply chain and hiring workers with disabilities. “The only space we usually get to market our products are at the bazaars of international schools, where we sell to a lot of expats,” he says. “But we need more markets like this – the best feedback we have had for our products is from Ghanaians.”

Displaying produce at Accra Green Market. Photograph: Edison Gbenga Abe/Phosmic Impressions

Moco’s Savannah Honey, on sale here for 10 Ghana cedis – approximately £3 – is being exported to the UK where it will go on sale at Harrods and Selfridges for what the producers expect to be around five times that price. Also on sale, organic mushroom wine – said to be a treatment for practically every medical condition from sclerosis to high blood pressure, asthma and “sexual weakness” – pak choi, gloriously frothy-leaved heads of broccoli, watermelon, small, knobbly carrots, and tough-skinned, tangy nectarines full of seeds and sweet-sour juice.

The organisers of the market believe they are part of a new trend towards sustainable, organic and local food, which they say goes hand in hand with the growth of Ghana’s new middle class. “Things in Ghana are changing – it is no longer a poor country but a middle-income country. And because of that, people are more interested in what they eat,” says Edison Gbenga Abe, 29, founder of Agripro – a mobile application company that provides farmers with access to marketplaces and which organised the Accra Green Market. “In East Africa, farmers’ markets are already really popular, but in West Africa, there is nothing like this. We plan to take it to different locations in Ghana, and we have had interest from Nigeria too.”

Constance Korkoi Tengey, founder of Immaculate Gold Beads, Mushrooms and Snails, is typical of the kind of small-scale grower whose products the market is designed to showcase. An energetic 62-year-old who carefully dishes out mushroom sandwiches, mushroom salad and mushroom gari foto – a veggie version of a popular Ghanaian dish made from cassava tubers – Tengey began growing mushrooms in her back garden seven years ago and says sales are on the rise. “I eat a lot of mushrooms as a substitute for meat, and I’ve noticed that I don’t gain as much weight, and it keeps me looking younger,” Tengey says. “People in Ghana are becoming more health-conscious these days, they are really showing an interest in my products. It’s a profitable business for me.”

Read more

Nature Ramble

India, Bangladesh and Africa this week.

Regal species are losing ground.

I’m talking about Bengal tigers and African lions.

Tigers under threat from disappearing mangrove forest

Report shows vast forest, shared by India and Bangladesh, is being rapidly destroyed by environmental change

A tiger roams within the Sunderban, some 140 km south of Calcutta. Photograph: EPA/Piyal Adhikary Photograph: Piyal Adhikary/EPA

A vast mangrove forest shared by India and Bangladesh that is home to possibly 500 Bengal tigers is being rapidly destroyed by erosion, rising sea levels and storm surges, according to a major study by researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and others.

The Sundarbans forest took the brunt of super cyclone Sidr in 2007, but new satellite studies show that 71% of the forested coastline is retreating by as much as 200 metres a year. If erosion continues at this pace, already threatened tiger populations living in the forests will be put further at risk.

Read more

Big cat crisis: Africa’s lions being crowded out by people

Satellite survey shows farms and settlements eating up open savannah, especially in west Africa where only 500 lions remain

The lions that roam Africa’s savannah have lost as much as 75% of their habitat in the last 50 years, a study has found. Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP

African lions are running out of room to roam and some local populations, especially in west Africa, are heading for extinction, a new study warns.

New satellite data, studied by scientists from Duke University, found about three-quarters of Africa’s wide open savannah had disappeared over the last half century, broken up into farms or engulfed by development.

“The reality is that from an original area a third larger than the continental United States, only 25% remains,” Stuart Pimm, a conservation ecologist at Duke and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Lion populations have dropped by two-thirds over the last half century – down to as few as 32,000, confined to isolated pockets of land. Only 10 of those 67 lion areas are stable and well-protected – lion “strongholds”. Other populations, especially in west and central Africa, were so small and so threatened – by poachers, disease, or inbreeding – they may not survive for long into the future.

The study estimates that more than 6,000 lions are in populations with a very high risk of local extinction.

Read more

Comment:

So sad to see these, amongst the most regal animals, are threatened by man’s progress.

What a high price we pay.

 

 

Monday Moaning

Pee Power

Urine-Powered Generator Could Change Lives

We’ve talked about park lamps fueled by dog poop, and now a group of teens in Africa have developed a generator that runs on urine.

Yes, there’s a bit of an ick factor any time we’re talking bodily functions, but in areas where electricity is at a premium or not available at all, this innovation could make a huge impact on folks’ quality of life. If you’re reading this on a computer, chances are electricity doesn’t feel like a luxury, but for millions of people the lights don’t come on at the flip of a switch.

While turning the lights on might not seem like a big deal, we take electricity for granted in so many other ways, like heating and cooling our homes when the weather is sweltering or freezing. Or in hospitals, where electricity saves lives by powering medical equipment.

How it Works

The generator – showcased at this year’s Africa Maker Faire – was developed by:

• Duro-Aina Adebola, age 14
• Akindele Abiola, age 14
• Faleke Oluwatoyin, age 14
• Bello Eniola age 15

One liter of urine can produce six hours of electricity in their generator using an electrolytic cell to separate the hydrogen from the urine. The hydrogen moves through a filtration system and liquid borax, a system that purifies the hydrogen gas so that it can power the generator.

Six hours of pee power means folks in rural and developing areas can generate their own electricity without petroleum products. Can you imagine the impact this could have if researchers could scale it up, so whole cities could run on pee power?

Images via Maker Faire Africa

Source: Green Upgrader

Opinion:

If four kids can do it, why hasn’t it been done before?

Of course, that wouldn’t be profitable for the oil companies, would it?

This technology needs to be exploited immediately for the benefit of the planet; to hell with the oil companies and their profits.

Imagine that, six hours of light from a litre of pee. How many billions of litres of pee, both human and animal, go to waste each year?

With this technology coal, gas, oil and nuclear generated electricity would be a thing of the past.

It is vital to the survival of the species.

 

Western black rhino declared extinct

Black rhino: For some species on the edge, captivity is the only hope

No wild black rhinos remain in West Africa, according to the latest global assessment of threatened species.

The Red List, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has declared the subspecies extinct.

A subspecies of white rhino in central Africa is also listed as possibly extinct, the organisation says.

The annual update of the Red List now records more threatened species than ever before.

The IUCN reports that despite conservation efforts, 25% of the world’s mammals are at risk of extinction. As part of its latest work it has reassessed several rhinoceros groups.

Poaching vulnerability

As well as declaring the western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) extinct, it records the northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), a subspecies in central Africa, as being on the brink of extinction.

The last Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) outside Java is also believed to have disappeared. My post Man’ Finest Hour

Overall numbers of black and white rhinos have been rising, but some subspecies have been particularly vulnerable to poaching by criminal gangs who want to trade the animals’ valuable horns.

Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, told BBC News: “They had the misfortune of occurring in places where we simply weren’t able to get the necessary security in place.

“You’ve got to imagine an animal walking around with a gold horn; that’s what you’re looking at, that’s the value and that’s why you need incredibly high security.”

Another focus for this year’s list is Madagascar and its reptiles. The report found that 40% of terrestrial reptiles are threatened. But it also says that new areas have been designated for conservation.

Source: BBC News Read more