Wildlife Conservation and Protection

Context (and thanks for the help in that thread) https://lemmy.world/post/48690873

It's been a week since I seriously injured that snail. The day after the injury I returned with a plastic box you might get a pair of boots in and put 1-2cm of soil from the surrounding area into it. I added leaves for shelter, some calcium carbonate, moisture and daily replacement of fresh greens.

Just before I moved her to the box, she had been trying but failing to climb over a small wooden log (for about an hour). Her tentacles seemed perfectly straight so I assumed she was somewhat healthy.

I scooped her up gently with a pair of playing cards and added her to the box. When I got home, which was a 5 minute walk, there was no sign of her besides her broken shell. I'm assuming she borrowed slightly into the soil or took shelter under the leaves.

She's shaded and sheltered now. Curiously, I've noticed some days when I replace the food, the previous day's food has a few nibbles in it (see pics 1 & 2). So something is eating. There were other tiny creatures in the soil that I couldn't entirely shake off.

From what I've read online the smell of a dead snail is unmistakeable, but since this box is outdoors (although well sheltered) I wonder if I'd notice. For now I'll keep an eye and try to maintain fresh food and humidity. I assume that if she's still alive, she'll emerge when she's ready.

I can't tell what's in the box now (pic 3) and I'm afraid to disturb anything. Thanks to everyone for the advice and encouragement so far!

The shell is broken into several pieces, and I can see the snail's body through the cracks. There are signs of life, but it is not moving along the path anymore. I'm sure it's in shock now and I don't have confidence in its chances located there.

I've read this guide on caring for snails that have been stepped on, but I don't know if it's safe to move it now, if I have a container for it in my shared accommodation, or generally where to start.

I didn't even have a credit card to scoop him up and leave him somewhere safer. I had to keep going but I can return tomorrow and check if it's still there.

I'm skeptical of all parties involved, but it seems like it'd be a good thing from the sound of it.

A Force of Nature aims to protect ecosystems and wildlife for the betterment of Canada. In contrast, the reforms proposed in “Getting Major Projects Built” could threaten natural environments, species-at-risk and human health for generations.

One proposal in the discussion paper is the creation of “federal economic zones,” in which environmental impact assessments would not be required. For others outside these zones, construction could begin before assessments are complete.

But impact assessments are not red tape. [...]

• Brazil’s environmental agency approved oil drilling off the mouth of the Amazon River, even though oil company Petrobras considers it “unfeasible” to rescue large animals like manatees in the event of an oil spill.

• Potential oil spills threaten a unique hybrid manatee population perfectly suited to live in the Amazon River mouth area.

• A simulation testing Petrobras’s wildlife rescue plan showed lack of basic supplies and boat accidents.

Songbirds generally make their migratory flights at night, and during spring migration tens of millions of birds may be streaming north above us as we sleep. But when the sun rises, where do these tired birds choose to stop, rest, and refuel?

You may picture a nature preserve or grassy field, but a study published earlier this year in the journal Nature Cities shows that a large percentage of these birds are making their “stopovers” in cities, illustrating the importance of urban conservation efforts.

"The reason why she came here escapes us," [...] "These animals do not get lost. They can communicate over distances of up to 20 kilometers," she added. "We know she can hear the other animals."

"Unfortunately, we end up managing humans more than the dolphin, because it's human behavior that causes problems,"

Experts caution that frequent close contact with humans can be harmful to dolphins, increasing the risk of injury or death. Once they become fully accustomed to human presence, they may lose their natural wariness of people, boats, and jet skis, and most do not survive for long under such conditions.

A new review in Conservation Science and Practice, by Michael Kowalski and colleagues, offers a useful stocktake of the field. The authors define participatory mapping as a collaborative process in which participants and cartographers co-develop maps representing local knowledge, experiences and preferences about a place. Their review covers 398 peer-reviewed studies, tracing how the method has been used across conservation science and practice. It also makes clear that a field built around community knowledge still lacks consistent standards for how that knowledge should be gathered, interpreted, protected and used.

This story is bleak.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/8811078

Archived link

A new study led by UBC [University of British Columbia] researchers has found that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples consistently protect forests, biodiversity and carbon stores at levels equal to or greater than government-designated protected areas—yet most of these lands remain inadequately recognized or resourced.

The paper, published recently in People and Nature, is the largest study of its kind to date. It analyzed 111 peer-reviewed papers examining forest cover, biodiversity, carbon storage, wildfire activity and other conservation outcomes across the Amazon, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Canada and other regions. Three-quarters of those studies found a positive relationship between Indigenous lands and conservation.

“Indigenous Peoples are among the world’s most effective land stewards, yet many are still fighting for basic recognition of their rights to lands they have protected for generations. The science is clear—we need to catch up,” said Dr. William Nikolakis, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Indigenous land and natural resources governance at UBC.

...

Evidence across continents and ecosystems

In the Brazilian Amazon, one study found that between 2005 and 2012, native vegetation loss was 17 times lower on Indigenous lands than on similar unprotected areas. Indigenous lands also consistently had greater biodiversity: in Australia alone, 60 per cent of the country’s 1,574 threatened species were found on Indigenous lands. Carbon storage on Indigenous lands was also strong, with research from the Amazon and Panama finding that these lands preserved carbon stocks at levels equal to or greater than protected areas.

Despite this evidence, serious gaps persist. The authors note that 60 per cent of Indigenous lands worldwide face threats from industrial development and climate change. Many remain legally unrecognized by governments, leaving them vulnerable to encroachment by logging, agriculture and extractive industries. Where legal protections were weak or absent, conservation outcomes declined.

...

The review comes as countries work toward protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. Three policy priorities emerged consistently from the literature: securing formal land rights for Indigenous Peoples, funding and resourcing Indigenous stewardship and supporting Indigenous-led governance. Researchers said these approaches work best together—land rights without resources, or resources without governance authority are insufficient on their own.

“If we are serious about conservation in Canada, we need to support Indigenous governance,” said Dr. Nikolakis. “That means secure land tenure, stable funding for stewardship, and enabling Indigenous Peoples to make decisions about their lands without external pressure.”

...

Per acre, these coastal plants can store up to 20x more carbon than forests on land. In fact, 93% of all the world's CO2 is stored in the ocean with the help of marine vegetation, algae, and coral, and losing just 1% of this ecosystem was equivalent to releasing the emissions of 97 million cars.

By continued extraction of fish out of our oceans, you are essentially deforesting our oceans. By not only removing the fish, but the act of removal, the methods of removal, are devastating to habitats, to ecosystems. And it's even more so there, because it's out of sight, out of mind.

Trawling was, by far, the most destructive form of fishing. The largest trawl nets are so big, they could swallow whole cathedrals, or up to 13 jumbo jet planes. The nets drag heavy weights at the bottom, scarring the seafloor that was once abundant with life, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland behind. This was just like bulldozing pristine Amazonian rainforest, except it was much, much worse.

Every year, approximately 25 million acres of forest are lost. This was equivalent to losing about 27 soccer fields per minute. However, bottom trawling wipes out an estimated 3.9 billion acres every year. This was equivalent to losing 4316 soccer fields every single minute. Tallied up across the year, this was equivalent to wiping out the land area of Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Iran, Thailand, and Australia combined.

Where are the big environment groups? Why aren't they all over this like a rash? It's so obvious, it's just shouting in our faces: it is the fishing industry that is destroying the fish and the rest of the life in the seas. How much more obvious does it need to be? And yet, for the most part, they are silent; they're not speaking out against it; they are deliberately not engaging with the most important issue of all.

In 2024, a paper in Science led by Kopf introduced the term “longevity conservation,” giving name to a simple idea: protecting wildlife means maintaining the full age structure of populations, including their oldest members. The concept quickly moved beyond theory. Last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted a resolution on the issue, formally recognizing the importance of protecting older individuals and elevating the concept into conservation policy. And at the recent United Nations Convention on Migratory Species meeting in Brazil, protecting “old and wise” animals was a major talking point.

While other species including gibbons and long-tailed macaques have also been spotted crossing there, "this is a world first for Sumatran orangutans,"

"These canopy bridges demonstrate that human development and wildlife don't have to be at odds. Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most effective,"

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies Sumatran orangutans (...) as critically endangered,

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45805435

🌊 We must stop eating wild ocean animals, including open‑pen "farmed" saltwater fish such as salmon. https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/exploring-underbelly-chiles-salmon-farming-industry

If you’re not urgently dependent on seafood for survival, simply switch to other options such as land / closed‑system aquaculture or plant based solutions.

I'm not saying everybody needs to become a vegan/vegetarian right now, that is up to each individual, but we should avoid the worst of the worst.

That is, if we want to at least keep a few of the giants of the seas alive. 🦈🐳🦑🐠🐟🐡🐬🦑🪸🦐

Scientists have deployed acoustic monitoring techniques to measure the success of a forest protection mechanism in Costa Rica.