Pages tagged with “conservation”

• Dive deeper, aim higher, fly further!

  By Olivia Taylor In the spirit of engaging young people who are involved in conservation, please see below a third blog from Olivia Taylor who is giving her own perspective on shark conservation in South Africa. The first time you see a shark in open water and all you have on is a skimpy costume, diving fins and a mask,…

• Whitley Award Winners

  The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK registered charity offering awards and grants to outstanding nature conservationists around the world. Similarly to the Goldman Environmental Prize that we wrote about last week, the Whitley Awards are granted to exceptional individuals doing conservation across the globe. This year WFN granted one Gold Award to Çağan Şekercioğlu for his work…

• The Goldman Environmental Prize

  In April 2013, the winners of the Goldman Prize for Environmental Excellence were announced. Awards were granted to six activists from around the world doing amazing work to protect their environment and the people that depend on it. Winners included: Jonathan Deal from South Africa, who led a successful campaign against fracking in South Africa to protect the Karoo, a…

• Earth Day

  Today is the 43rd annual Earth Day. Across the globe, over 1 billion people in 192 countries will be participating. Last year some of the efforts included: • In Iraq 5 million trees were planted • In Sultanate, Oman every school (7000+) was called upon to take part in environmental actions • In Madhya Pradesh, India free energy efficient solar…

• What an action packed 6 months!

  Six months ago we held a one of a kind event at London Zoo in aid of the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) EDGE of Existence programme and the unique and endangered species it works to conserve.  We had penguins and champagne, llamas and cocktails and a bicycle rickshaw ride around the zoo. A lot has happened in the six…

• Réseau CREF

  We are very excited to provide details for the last of our recently funded projects. Synchronicity Earth is supporting Réseau CREF (Le Réseau pour la Conservation et la Réhabilitation des Ecosystèmes Forestiers / Network for the Conservation and Restoration of Forest Ecosystems) to develop and support community forestry initiatives in the Beni-Lubero Region, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Click…

• Rhino poaching and conservation, South Africa

  By Quinton Paul Josop In the spirit of engaging young people who are involved in conservation, please see below a second blog from Quinton Paul Jesop who is giving his own perspective on Rhino poaching in Africa. In South Africa we are currently faced with the problems of rhinos being killed for their horns and The Bush Meat Trade (killing…

• Why Conservation?

  By Quinton Paul Josop My name is Quinton Paul Josop.  I'm currently in my second year studying advanced nature guiding and conservation in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. I have a keen interest in the natural world, especially birds, trees, mammals, insects, flowers and the marine environment. I'm also inspired by people that promote conservation and see why it is…

• Olivia the Bearded Vulture: Not everything goes well in conservation…

  By Olivia Taylor The Bearded Vulture is dying out in Southern Africa. One day, all we will have are photographs to remind us of the amazing creatures that once flew in our skies. Regrets and the further erosion of our environment is highly unnecessary. There are less than 100 bearded vulture nesting pairs left.  The Ezemvelo Bearded Vulture Project commenced…

• BLOOM Association

  We're pleased to provide details about the ninth of 12 recently funded projects. Synchronicity Earth is supporting BLOOM Association in its campaign to end deep-sea bottom trawling in Europe. Click here to read more. More to follow on Monday so watch this space for details on our other funded projects and new partners.

• Meet our new Youth Advisor

  We have a new youth advisor, Olivia Taylor. She started up Four Elements Conservation.  To read more about Olivia click here or watch this video.  

• Wetlands International

  We're pleased to provide details about the fifth of 12 recently funded projects. Synchronicity Earth is supporting Wetlands International to carry out a user needs assessment. This initiative is the first stage of a much bigger project, currently known as the Global Wetlands Observation System (GWOS). Click here to read more. More to follow on Monday so watch this space…

• Looking back at projects

  As our support for the Senior Policy Advisor post at The London Zoological Society (ZSL) comes to an end, we look back at how supporting this position has helped conservation. Katherine Secoy successfully secured her position at ZSL as the Senior Policy Advisor in Jan 2012 and has since made significant progress on ZSL’s policy impacts and their fundraising targets.…

• Jessica Sweidan speaks at “The Inheritors” workshop at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, 7.9.12

  I think I was asked to participate in this session because I am reasonably young (at heart at least) and possibly because I seem to be displaying an interest in doing things differently. I was asked to discuss the kinds of commitments and actions needed to involve young people in the IUCN and conservation in general – and, frankly, I…

• Conservation Evidence – A project update

  It has been three months since we started supporting the Conservation Evidence group at the University of Cambridge to develop a synopsis of evidence on amphibian conservation. Conservation Evidence publishes a website www.conservationevidence.com (with a searchable database), a journal and a series of books providing evidence on the effectiveness of conservation interventions to support decisions about nature conservation. Work for…

• Senior Policy Officer at ZSL

  In January on this year (2012), Synchronicity Earth began its support of a new post at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) for a Senior Policy Officer. The need for this post was evident due to the growing need to communicate effectively with political leaders and other decision makers, to help influence and inform policy impacting conservation.

• Conservation Evidence Group: Amphibian Synopsis

  Synchronicity Earth is funding the Conservation Evidence Group, based at Cambridge University, to develop a synopsis for Amphibian conservation evidence. The group works on the premise that conservation practitioners largely base their activities on their own experience and of others nearby and rarely access published literature.

• Amphibian Survival Alliance

  ASA is a network of organisations with the common goal of addressing the global amphibian crisis, and is the first organisation tasked with saving a whole branch of the tree of life.

• EDGE Fellows

  Since 2007 EDGE has provided small grants, training and technical advice to 17 future conservation leaders in 14 countries. Each Fellow has undertaken a two-year applied research or conservation project…

• EDGE of Existence: Slender Loris

  The Red Slender Loris is ranked 22 out of over 4,000 mammals by the EDGE of Existence programme. This means that the Loris is globally endangered and evolutionary distinct.

• Exotic Species

  The introduction - intentional or otherwise – of exotic species into freshwater ecosystems can result in localized species extinctions, altering the make-up of the ecosystem and in turn affecting other species.

• SCALE

  Many of the threats facing wildlife and natural ecosystems are simply too large and entrenched to be tackled by any one organisation. Powerful vested interests often stand in the way of environmental progress, and conservation groups are unable to compete directly in terms of resources and influence. The response of conservationists can be described as tactical rather than strategic –…

• Amphibians

  The Global Amphibian Assessment, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2004, revealed that amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates, with at least 1 in 3 species currently facing extinction…

• Habitat Loss

  Coastal habitats – including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves – are home to 90% of known marine wildlife. They also provide us with the majority of fish catches and play vital roles as buffers against storms and sea level rise, and as stores of carbon.

• Portfolios & Projects

  Our in-house team conducts research and analysis on a number of important themes in global conservation, as well as performing due diligence on charities. This helps us map out where the greatest needs are for conservation, what needs to be done, and the most effective organisations to partner with. This research forms the basis of our portfolios. These are made…

• Overfishing

  Oceanic life starts with the smallest creatures. Microscopic plankton convert sunlight and atmospheric carbon dioxide into oxygen – one species of blue-green algae, Prochlorococcus, is present in such abundance that it produces one out of every five breaths we take. These are scooped up by grazers such as krill, which are then eaten by small baitfish – anchovies, herrings and…

• Species

  ‘If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering’. Aldo Leopold, Round River, 1953 A large proportion of research and financial support for conservation is directed towards ‘charismatic’ species.…

• Oceans

  ‘We have underestimated the overall risk [to the oceans] … the whole of marine degradation is greater than the sum of its parts, and that degradation is now happening at a faster rate than predicted’. IPSO, 2011 Oceans make up over 70% of our planet. They provide many millions of people with food and livelihoods, buffer coastal communities against storms…