Tag: Wildlife

#WorldEnviornmentDay June 5th, 2023 #BeatPlasticPollution

Published on by elephanatic

June 5th is #WorldEnvironmentDay

The theme of World Environment Day 2023 is to focus on solutions to plastic pollution. #BeatPlasticPollution 

Plastic is being consumed in large amounts by elephants primarily in Asia and India largely due to increased population growth which has caused habitat loss, fragmentation, and forced elephants to search for food in unhealthy places.

As this video  will explain, in Sri Lanka alone, elephants have been found to consume enormous amounts of plastic from toxic waste sites causing them a horrific painful death. In India, elephants consume plastics from nearby village dumps and transport them deep into forests. 

85 percent of waste found in elephant dung in the town of Kotdwar, India, was plastic. This has a cascading effect on other animals feeding off their dung and is a leading concern of what the effects of plastic are on land ecosystems. 

Because elephants are prolific seed dispersers and a keystone species responsible for the ecosystems in which they live, plastic is a grave danger to all species involved in the chain reaction.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has stated that the amount of plastic that is produced annually is set to triple by 2060, driven by rising populations and income. 

In their report they propose concrete policies that can be implemented along the lifecycle of plastics that could significantly curb, or even eliminate, plastic leakage into the environment. What can we all do to expedite some of the initiatives and policies outlined in this report? 

Set a personal #Goal to help end #PlasticConsumption and #BeatPlasticPollution 

  • Adopt a circular lifestyle. … meaning reuse the waste that you produce instead of filling up landfills and oceans and exploiting raw materials.
  • Rethink your fashion and laundry choices…buy second hand.
  • Make sure your toiletries are plastic-free.
  • Say “no” to plastic when shopping. … take your own bag!!
  • Don’t accept plastic containers for takeout … approach owner of business and encourage them to purchase cardboard takeaway containers … a great example of environmental, social, and governance strategy (ESG) is Snooze, a restaurant who has been a leader in ESG for years. Support restaurants like this who are making necessary transitions for a healthier planet!
  • Roll up your sleeves and get cleaning. … volunteer with an organization who does plastic clean up.
  • Recycle!
  • Join the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Clean Seas campaign.
  • Support an elephant conservation organization – Elephanatics – whose core values and beliefs are:

Sustainability – Environmental and social sustainability are our core values and is reflected in    the work we do and how we do it.
Professionalism – Being transparent, accountable, and responsible for all we do within      our organization and how we project that through the work we do.
Community – Our community of social media followers, partners, and volunteers are key      components in achieving our goals of spreading awareness and holding fundraising events. Education is key to change and must be done in a compassionate, environmentally friendly, manner.

Enjoy World Environment Day by setting a goal to make the world a better place for all of us, especially elephants! 

 

Just Released: Routledge Handbook of Rewilding

Published on by elephanatic
At the start of the UN #Biodiversity #COP15 taking place in Montreal from Dec 7-16, we are very excited to announce the launch of the Routledge Handbook of Rewilding!
The Handbook is edited by founding members (including Rene Beyers of Elephanatics) of the #IUCN Rewilding Thematic Group and written by more than 60 distinguished experts offering a large diversity of experiences and perspectives.
The book is an invaluable resource for conservation students, academics, rewilding practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Conservation practitioners who want to integrate rewilding principles into their conservation programs will also highly benefit from this book.
#Rewilding is a fascinating and rapidly emerging field with the goal of helping degraded ecosystems recover and become healthy, resilient, persistent and self-sustaining systems with no or minimal human interference. Rewilding also offers a transformational paradigm shift in the way we think about our relationship with nature. The four sections in the book give a comprehensive overview of key areas of rewilding including: the history of rewilding, ecological theory and practice, rewilding ethics and philosophy. The book gives a global perspective, drawing on case studies from across the world.
Buy yours today at: https://bit.ly/3uyB2ww
"Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources."

Schindlers Eco Forensics: Letter to Canadian Government: ReconAfrica

Published on by elephanatic

https://schindlersforensics.ai/eco-forensics-letter-to-the-canadian-government-in-re-reconafrica-kavango-oil-exploration/

…… Dear Sirs/Mesdames,

RE: RECONAFRICA PETROLEUM EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES IN PEL NO. 73 KAVANGO BASIN, NAMIBIA

  1. The above matter refers.
  2. We, as Schindlers Attorneys, a law firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Schindlers EcoForensics (“Schindlers”) a registered interested and affected party (“IAP”) for the above matter, address this letter in our capacity as such with regard to the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) for the petroleum exploration activities conducted by ReconAfrica in Pel No. 73 Kavango Basin, Namibia (“the Project”). An email confirming Schindlers’ registration as an IAP is attached hereto, marked as Annexure “A”.
  1. This letter is intended to convey our concerns regarding Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd (“ReconAfrica”),1 specifically whether ReconAfrica have successfully complied with all the statutory requirements in terms of the Namibian Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (“EIA Regulations”) as well as the provisions of the Namibian Environmental Management Act (“EMA”),2 insofar as same relate to the Project. A letter containing Schindlers’ comments and submissions in relation to the above is attached hereto, marked as Annexure “B”.
  2. Furthermore, this letter addresses our concerns over the actions of a Canadian-registered company which is clearly violating international agreements to which Canada is a signatory.
  3. If the Project is allowed to proceed, the proposed activities will have devastating effects on global climate change and the ecosystem within the proposed drilling site, further infringing both the human and socio-economic rights of the local and indigenous peoples of Namibia……….

Read the full letter in link above.