Botswana mulls proposal to lift hunting ban

Yahoo – AFP, February 21, 2019

The proposed legislation would overturn a 2014 ban on hunting which was introduced
 to protect Botswana's wildlife and reverse a decline in the elephant population (AFP
Photo/CHRIS JEK)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana's government on Thursday proposed ending a strict ban on hunting, which was introduced to protect wildlife in this game-rich southern African country, prompting conservationists to warn it could harm tourism.

The controversial proposals, which must be debated by cabinet before becoming law, would overturn a hunting ban that was introduced in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of elephants and other wildlife.

"If needs be, we will give the opportunity to parliament to also interrogate it," said President Mokgweetsi Masisi after receiving the report.

The ban was one of the flagship policies of his predecessor, former president Ian Khama, who was an ardent conservationist.

The ruling Botswana Democratic party has been lobbying to overturn the ban, especially on elephant hunting, saying populations have become unmanageably large in parts -- placing the animals on a collision course with humans.

The proposals also include the introduction of elephant culling to manage numbers.

But conservationists laid into the proposed legislation, describing it as "a disaster".

Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 

135,000 of them living in what has long been known as one of the safest places

for them (AFP Photo/MONIRUL BHUIYAN)

"Botswana has got two million residents and the economy thrives on diamonds and tourism," said Dex Kotze, an independent conservation expert.

"This can do major brand damage to Botswana's tourism industry. It's crazy."

Masisi took over as president in April last year and the review began five months later, just days after a wildlife charity said some 90 elephants had been slaughtered for their tusks, suggesting a sudden spike in poaching.

But the government quickly sought to debunk the claims by Elephants Without Borders (EWB).

According to a report put together by Rural Development Minister Frans Van Der Westhuizen, overturning the hunting ban would "promote conservationism".

And rural communities, he wrote, would no longer be "concentrating on the negative aspects of property destruction and loss of human lives caused by wildlife".

Landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 of them roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces.

Over the past decade, the number of elephants on the continent has fallen by around 111,000 to 415,000, according to figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Spotted hyena returns to Gabon park after 20 years: researchers

Yahoo – AFP, January 20, 2018

Spotted hyenas have been spotted in Gabon for the first time in 20 years
 (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Libreville (AFP) - A spotted hyena has been sighted in a Gabon national park for the first time in 20 years, conservationists said Friday, the latest large predator to have returned to a region where many had gone locally extinct.

The Bateke Plateau National Park lies close to Gabon's border with the Republic of Congo.

Its forests and grasslands once teemed with wildlife, including many large mammal predators, but the ecosystem was decimated by decades of poaching.

Officials said a spotted hyena had been caught on camera traps in the park for the first time in two decades giving hope that more large mammals might return after years of conservation efforts.

The sighting comes two years after a lone male lion was photographed by camera traps after returning.

"The return of these large carnivores is a great demonstration that the efforts of our rangers and partners are having a positive effect on Bateke wildlife," professor Lee White, director of Gabon's National Parks Agency said in a press release.

The spotted hyena was so unknown in recent memories that when researchers showed local park rangers the photographs from the camera traps they did not know the species.

But village elders in communities north of the park instantly recognised the hyena, researchers said.

The sightings are a far cry from when researchers first set up their camera traps in 2001.

That year all they photographed in Bateke was a lone antelope and multiple poachers crossing into the park from the Republic of Congo.

The lion first spotted in 2015 has since made the park his home. But he has yet to be joined by any others.

"This lion... has been continuously photographed during his three-year reign of the park, but remains alone, calling for a mate," the researchers said.

Israel uncovers ancient Roman history at Mediterranean port

Yahoo – AFP, April 26, 2017

People sit next to an ancient aqueduct in the Roman-era city of Caesarea which
is set for renovation as part of a multi-million-dollar project (AFP Photo/Jack GUEZ)

Caesarea (Israel) (AFP) - Israeli archaeologists working on a major Roman-era port city on Wednesday unveiled new discoveries including an altar dedicated to Augustus Caesar and a centuries-old mother-of-pearl tablet inscribed with a menorah.

The finds at Caesarea, a complex on the Mediterranean coast 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Tel Aviv, were the result of "one of the largest and most important conservation projects ever undertaken in Israel," the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

Caesarea was established some 2,030 years ago by Roman-appointed King Herod the Great, who ruled what was then Judea.

Today, the ruins are a popular tourist destination where concerts are still held in the remains of an ancient Roman theatre.

Archaeologists say a small tablet engraved with a seven-branched menorah, 

discovered during at the ancient harbour of Caesarea, indicates Jewish presence

at the site dating back to the fourth or fifth centuries (AFP Photo/JACK GUEZ)

Archaeologist Peter Gendelman, leading a tour of the site, said the preservation work was perhaps the most "complicated and interesting" project he had worked on in his 30-year career.

Some of the finds are "completely changing our understanding of the dynamics of this area", he said.

Authorities are planning to finish the excavations within months and open a visitors' centre built into ancient vaults to illustrate the city's history.

Guy Swersky, vice chairman of the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation, said Caesarea was a major city from Roman times right through to the Crusader era.

"This was by far the most important port city in this area of the Middle East," he said.

A picture taken on April 26, 2017 shows part of an ancient synagogue in the

Roman-era town of Caesarea on the Israeli coast (AFP Photo/JACK GUEZ)

The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and local authorities have allocated more than 100 million shekels ($27 million, 25 million euros) for the project.

The site, which contains ruins from later periods including the Byzantine, Muslim and Crusader eras, has been the focus of major excavation work over the decades but recent work has revealed new secrets.

The project also aims to preserve the remains of an ancient synagogue and a nearby aquaduct.

Officials said a small mother-of-pearl tablet engraved with a menorah was testimony to an ancient Jewish presence at the site.

Archaeologists said it likely dates to the fourth or fifth century AD.

Global trade in African grey parrots banned

Yahoo – AFP, October 2, 2016

African Grey parrots on sale at a bird market in Kuwait City (AFP Photo/
Yasser al-Zayyat)

Johannesburg (AFP) - Delegates at a global wildlife conference on Sunday voted to ban international trade in African grey parrots, one of the world's most trafficked birds.

Prized for their ability to mimic human speech, the birds are a highly sought-after pet, but their numbers have been decimated in recent years by poaching and the destruction of their forest habitats.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Johannesburg voted 95 to 35 in a secret poll to ban the global commercial trade of the parrot.

The African grey parrot will now have 

"the highest level of protection" (AFP

Photo/Ronaldo Schemidt)

CITES said the vote result would give the African grey the "highest level of protection" by listing it in "appendix 1", which outlaws all international trade in animals facing possible extinction.

Dr Colman O'Criodain of conservation group WWF called the move "a huge step forward" in protecting the bird.

"Fraud and corruption have enabled traffickers to vastly exceed current quotas and continue to harvest unsustainable numbers of African grey parrots from Congo’s forests to feed the illegal trade," he said.

"Banning the trade will make it easier for law enforcement agencies to crack down on the poachers and smugglers, and give the remaining wild populations some much-needed breathing space."

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) estimates that between 2.1 and 3.2 million African greys were captured between 1975 and 2013.

Susan Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society said the parrot had experienced "significant population declines throughout its range in West, Central and East Africa".

"It is extremely rare or locally extinct in Benin, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo," she said in a statement

"If this bird could talk –- and it certainly can -– the African grey parrot would say thank you."

The CITES treaty, signed by 182 countries and the European Union, protects about 5,600 animal and 30,000 plant species from over-exploitation through commercial trade.

The 12-day conference, which ends on Wednesday, is sifting through 62 proposals to tighten or loosen trade restrictions on around 500 species.

World governments urge end to domestic ivory markets

Yahoo – AFP, Kerry Sheridan, September 11, 2016

After fierce debate, including opposition from Namibia and Japan, a motion was 
adopted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress to urge closure of all 
domestic ivory markets (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Miami (AFP) - In a bid to stop the killing of elephants for their tusks, world governments voted at a major conservation conference to urge the closure of all domestic ivory markets.

After fierce debate -- including opposition from governments like Namibia and Japan -- the motion was adopted on the final day of the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, a 10-day meeting that drew 9,000 people to Honolulu, Hawaii this month.

"Today's vote by IUCN members is the first time that a major international body has called on every country in the world to close its legal markets for elephant ivory," said Andrew Wetzler, deputy chief program officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"It's truly a landmark moment, and a victory for elephants that will hopefully be repeated later this month at the next meeting of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg."

Although the motion is non-binding, it "urges the governments of countries with domestic ivory markets to take all necessary legislative and regulatory efforts to close them," according to the IUCN.

Experts say that domestic ivory markets help fuel poaching by allowing traffickers a cover for their illegal imports and exports.

The United States and China, among the biggest consumers of ivory, have already agreed to enact near-total bans on their domestic markets.

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rangers prepare a pyre in preparation for a burning 

of tonnes of ivory, rhino-horn and other confiscated wildlife trophies (AFP Photo/

Tony Karumba)

At the IUCN meeting, Japan and Namibia -- which also have thriving domestic ivory markets -- sought to soften the language of the motion by making 20 different amendments, but those efforts were rejected.

"The global conservation community is stepping up," said Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristian Samper.

"No more domestic ivory sales. Elephants have had enough of the ivory trade and so has the world."

Poaching persists

CITES banned the international commercial trade in African elephant ivory in 1989.

But illegal poaching of endangered elephants for their tusks persists at dangerous levels, according to research released at the start of the September 1-10 conference, the largest of its kind in the conservation community.

Savanna elephants have declined at a rate of 27,000 -- or eight percent -- per year, with a total of 144,000 lost in less than a decade, said the findings.

Poaching hotspots identified include Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania, where "staggering population declines" were found, said the study funded by Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen.

The US and China, among the biggest consumers of ivory, have already agreed

to enact near-total bans on their domestic markets (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Other populations face "local extinction" in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Cameroon and southwest Zambia.

Wildlife groups hailed the IUCN move and called for more action at the CITES talks in Johannesburg later this month.

"There, we remain hopeful the delegates will be emboldened by the IUCN vote to adopt a resolution submitted by African governments that also calls for closure of domestic ivory markets," said Samper.

"The shutting down of domestic ivory markets will send a clear signal to traffickers and organized criminal syndicates that ivory is worthless and will no longer support their criminal activities causing security problems in local communities and wiping out wildlife."

Related Article:

US, China join climate deal in 'turning point' for planet

Danish auction house stops ivory sales after protests

Yahoo – AFP, 24 Nov 2015

Ivory, as displayed here at an auction on October 28, 2008 in Windhoek, Namibia,
is sold for jewellery and decorative objects, with much of it is smuggled to China,
where many increasingly wealthy shoppers are buying ivory trinkets (AFP)

Denmark's second largest auction house said Monday it had stopped selling ivory products amid a social media storm over its planned sale of two tusks belonging to an African elephant.

The nearly two-metre (80 inch) tusks, weighing 28 kilogrammes (62 pounds) each, were to have gone under the hammer for a total of 150,000 kroner (20,107 euros, $21,344) on Wednesday.

"We try to be as aware as possible of what can cause offence," Kasper Nielsen, a sales director at Bruun Rasmussen, told AFP.

The move had been based on "the reactions we have received both" from the conservation group WWF "and our customers on social media," he said.

The decision also covered any tusks and horns belonging to the endangered species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the company said.

The auction had been slammed by the WWF as immoral, and on the company's Facebook page one user had left comments that said: "Supporting the poachers is horrific!" and: "I will never do business with this outfit again."

Rampant poaching of elephants in Africa has caused a major drop in their numbers over recent decades.

There are between 419,000 and 650,000 elephants left, according to conservation group Save the Elephants.

In a bid to show their determination to end the trade in ivory, Kenya's wildlife authority last week vowed to destroy its vast ivory stockpile from several thousand elephants, nine times more than the largest pile torched so far.

Ivory is sought out for jewellery and decorative objects and much of it is smuggled to China, where many increasingly wealthy shoppers are buying ivory trinkets as a sign of financial success.

Eyes on elephants as Google cameras snap Kenya reserve

Yahoo - AFP, September 15, 2015

A Google Street View vehicle collects imagery for Google Maps while driving down

a street in Calais, northern France, on July 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Philippe Huguen)

Samburu (Kenya) (AFP) - For once, Google was unlikely to face privacy complaints as the US Internet giant on Tuesday launched its Street View service in Kenya's Samburu park, in a move conservationists said could help protect endangered elephants.

Special cameras have taken panoramic images of the reserve while driving down dusty tracks -- and have also been fixed to a backpack to penetrate deep into the bush.

Some of Google's previous Street View forays have brought complaints on privacy grounds.

A lioness stands near an oryx at the Samburu

National Park in Kenya (AFP Photo/

Pedro Ugarte)

But this time there were no demands to blur out faces -- the main residents of the 165 square kilometre (65 square mile) reserve are 900 elephants.

The idea is to allow viewers to click and view the elephant herds close up.

"We hope that by bringing Street View to Samburu, we will inspire people around the world to gain a deeper appreciation for elephants," said Farzana Khubchandani of Google Kenya.

Slightly larger than a basketball, Google's camera contains 15 individual fixed-focus lenses that simultaneously capture a 360 degree image roughly every three metres.

The Kenya project was launched in collaboration with conservation group Save the Elephants.

"It's exciting to open a window onto Samburu, and to help us better protect its elephants," said Save the Elephants chief Iain Douglas-Hamilton, speaking in Samburu, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Kenya is struggling to stem poaching to protect its remaining elephant population -- currently estimated at 30,000 -- and just over a thousand rhinos.

With ivory raking in thousands of dollars a kilo in Asia, conservationists have warned that African elephants could be extinct in the wild within a generation.

"Giving people a virtual tour will bring Samburu to the world, and inspire the world to come to Samburu," county governor Moses Lenolkulal said.

"The more people experience our culture, our people and the majestic elephants and other wildlife with which we co-exist, the more we are able to conserve and sustain the Samburu culture and its fragile ecosystem for generations to come."

Zimbabwe hunter given bail over death of Cecil the lion

Yahoo – AFP, Auntony Zinyange, 30 July 2015

Cecil was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe's largest game reserve in 

Hwange National Park, due to his distinctive black mane (AFP Photo)

Hwange (Zimbabwe) (AFP) - A professional hunter was granted bail on charges of "failing to prevent an illegal hunt" after he organised the expedition on which an American dentist killed Zimbabwe's beloved Cecil the lion.

The lion's death triggered an outpouring of anger around the world after it was alleged that he was lured out of Hwange National Park and shot with a powerful bow and arrow.

Theo Bronkhorst, wearing a green sleeveless jacket, was ordered Wednesday to lodge a $1,000 deposit at the court in Hwange in northwestern Zimbabwe after a day of negotiations between police, prosecutors and lawyers.

The death of Cecil the lion has triggered 
an outpouring of anger with protesters 
demonstrating outside Walter Palmer's
River Bluff Dental Clinic in Bloomington,
 Minnesota, on July 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/
Adam Bettcher)

Co-accused Honest Ndlovu, a land owner, was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday on separate charges.

"After hearing submissions from both counsel, bail is hereby granted," magistrate Lindiwe Maphosa said, setting Bronkhorst's trial date for August 5.

Dentist Walter Palmer, an experienced trophy hunter from Minnesota whose whereabouts are unknown, is thought to have left Zimbabwe some weeks ago.

'Destroyed the family'

He has been targeted with vicious abuse after he admitted killing Cecil and said he had been misled by his guides.

Images of the dentist grinning over a small zoo's worth of dead prey from previous hunts -- a limp leopard held up to the camera, a rhino, an elk, a big horned sheep, a cape buffalo -- circulated widely on the Internet and fed a firestorm of criticism.

A family friend said that Bronkhorst believed he had acted legally during the hunt this month and was shocked to find that the lion was wearing a tracking collar, fitted as part of a University of Oxford research programme.

"He is a very professional, very honest conservationist," Ian Ferguson told AFP on Wednesday.

"This has just about destroyed the family, his wife has virtually had a nervous breakdown.

Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst (left)

 and his defence lawyer wait outside the

 Magistrate's Court in Hwange, on July 29,

2015 (AFP Photo/Zinyange Auntony)

"The whole thing was perfectly legal. When they found the lion had a collar... he went and reported to the national parks immediately.

"This was just a terrible, very unfortunate act."

Palmer issued a statement on Tuesday, saying he had "relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt".

"I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the US about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have," he said.

Amid a fierce outpouring of anger, radical US animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) even called for Palmer to be hanged.

"He needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged," Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA US, said in a statement.

"All wild animals are beloved by their own mates and infants, but to hunters like this overblown, over-privileged little man... they are merely targets to kill, decapitate, and hang up on a wall as a trophy."

The professor who spent years following Cecil's movements meanwhile urged those moved by his death to donate to conservation efforts to save Africa's dwindling population of the giant cats.

Protesters place stuffed animals outside Walter Palmer's River Bluff Dental Clinic

 in Minnesota after it was revealed the US dentist had paid $50,000 to kill a lion 

on a hunting trip to Zimbabwe (AFP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

'Iconic' animal

"This has obviously caused an enormous stir internationally with millions of people concerned about it," said Professor David Macdonald, founding director of the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, which had tracked Cecil since 2008.

"If all of those millions of people were to donate just a little bit of money to our project then it would revolutionise our capacity to work for the conservation of lions."

Cecil, aged about 13, was described by safari operators as an "iconic" animal recognised by many visitors to Hwange due to his distinctive black mane.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity said Palmer and Bronkhorst had gone out at night with a spotlight and tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil into range.

It alleged Palmer's first shot did not kill the lion, which was eventually shot dead 40 hours later.

Palmer is well-known in US hunting circles as an expert shot with his bow and arrow.

His kill list of 43 different animals also includes a polar bear, mountain lion, an elephant and an African lion he killed in 2005, according to club records obtained by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Zimbabwean landowner Honest Ndlovu

appeared at the Magistrate's Court in

 Hwange, on July 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Zinyange Auntony)

His Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice -- in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota -- were shut down after being flooded with blistering attacks.

A makeshift memorial formed outside his shuttered office as people outraged by the story dropped off stuffed animals and flowers.

Hwange national park attracted 50,000 visitors last year, about half of them from abroad.

Some hunting of lions and other large animals is legal in countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where permits are issued allowing hunters to kill certain beasts.

It is outlawed, however, in Zimbabwe's national parks.

Bronkhurst, whose son Zane is being sought for questioning, was ordered by the judge to report to a police station three times a week and surrender his passport.

Related Article:

Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

Zambia lifts ban on hunting of big cats

Yahoo – AFP, 20 May 2015

Zambia has lifted a ban on the hunting of big cats (AFP Photo/Joe Klamar)

Lusaka (AFP) - Zambia has lifted a ban on the hunting of big cats that was imposed over allegations of corruption in the awarding of government hunting concessions, officials said Wednesday.

The decision removes the last remaining restriction of a total hunting ban introduced in January 2013 and gradually lifted since last August, after the government said it was losing too much revenue.

"The hunting of lions will start during the 2016 to 2017 hunting season and this will be done very cautiously," Tourism Minister Jean Kapata told AFP, adding that leopard hunting would resume this year.

"We made sure there were no complaints of corruption and only people that met the required standards were given the concessions."

She said the government was now satisfied with population sizes, with around 4,000 lions and 8,000 leopards in the southern African country.

But conservationists condemned the move, and said the government's figures were wrong.

"The decision is not good at all and frankly we have a crisis," James Chungu, of the the Lusengwa Conservation Trust, told AFP.

"The Zambia Wildlife Authority and the minister are saying we have 4,000 lions but our findings show that we have only 1,500.

"I hope she will reverse this decision."

Government-licensed hunting is common across the region, with tourists paying to shoot a small number of selected animals.

The practice is controversial but many wildlife experts accept that hunting can aid long-term conservation.

In neighbouring Botswana, a group of lawmakers is seeking to end a ban on elephant hunting, saying the animals have multiplied in some areas to unmanageable levels.

How important is gender in conservation?

Could paying greater attention to gender roles help save the environment? Ever more environmental groups believe it can. Some examples from practice - like reforestation in Malawi - indicate this is indeed the case.

Deutsche Welle, 7 April 2015

Collecting firewood is typically a woman's task in Malawi (Photo: Seline Meijer)

When local farmers in Malawi plant trees, a separation of labor is clear: While the farmer plants the small seedlings, his wife takes care of older trees, sweeps away old leaves from the ground, collects firewood for cooking and harvests the fruit.

Gender obviously plays a huge role in life - and also for conservation. Scientists and environmental organizations are now starting to paying attention to exactly what makes up these differences.

What's emerging is not only important for conservation - it's also a bit surprising.

Gender matters

Conservation International recently even created a job position dedicated to looking at gender aspects in conservation. Kame Westerman, advisor for gender and conservation, is convinced that gender is key - especially in conservation projects that take place on a grassroots, community level.

"Men and women use natural resources differently," Westerman told DW. "That's due to roles and responsibilities, and the different things that men and women do in their lives."

The main issue: Although women in local communities do take over crucial tasks relating to conservation, they are easily overlooked in the decision-making process, Westerman says.

In many communities women might not traditionally be included in the decision-making elite of a community - yet it's usually these leaders that outside environmental organizations and researchers first address.

Trees as far as the eye can see - a successfully reforested site in northern Malawi

Failure is easy

Ignoring women or not considering gender roles is the easiest way to let a project run to ruin, Westerman thinks.

By way of example, she refers to a conservation organization that tried to reduce deforestation in a community where men were in charge of harvesting trees. The conservationists tried to find another source of income for men to stop the deforestation, so men were taught how to farm and harvest vanilla instead.

But it didn't work out - after several bad harvests, the reason became clear: Traditionally in this community, women had been in charge of small-scale agriculture. But they'd never been asked, nor trained on vanilla cultivation.

So the women likely ended up with a double burden of work. As the men sat around doing nothing, women deliberately plucked off vanilla flowers to prevent pollination, in order to reduce their workload.

To avoid pitfalls like these, large conservation organizations ranging from IUCN, the Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International to WWF have all started issuing guidelines on how to deal with gender roles in conservation.

Digging deep brings success

Meijer conducted extensive fieldwork
in Malawi

Seline Meijer, a postdoctoral researcher at University College Dublin, based her most recent research project in a gender approach. The research, which was carried out in partnership with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) looked at if, how and why local farmers plant new trees in Malawi. Deforestation is a major problem in Malawi: 30 percent of its forests have disappeared in the last 10 years.

"It gives you a better understanding of what the situation is like on the ground," Meijer told DW. "There is a big difference in gender roles, and the benefits that people get from projects," she added.

In Malawi, tree-planting typically would fall to men. But when Meijer looked at gender roles and the impact women have, she was surprised to find that in the south of the country, more trees are being planted than in the north - due to different gender dynamics there.

In the north, households are traditionally led by men, and the decision on whether to plant trees is up to them. However, in the south women often head the household and family structures are traditionally matrilineal.

Even though the actual physical task of planting trees is carried out by men as in the north, the decision to plant trees is made differently in the south: It's either up to the women alone; or women and men make the decision together. In the end, this results in more trees being planted.

In this case, women can have a concrete impact on reforestation. This research finding was recently published in the Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security. It will for example be helpful when setting up large-scale reforestation projects in Malawi.

Good for nature - and women

Thinking about gender when implementing conservation projects is not only beneficial for the environment, said Westerman - it also protects the women. "Each project will impact men and women differently," she pointed out.

Including a female-dominated discussion round on tree-planting could
increase the project's chances for success

So how could a gender-sensitive project look? The first step, according to Westerman, is to understand gender dynamics - to understand whom is tasked with what, and how the community makes decisions.

To enable women participation in a project, it might also be necessary to organize childcare, provide additional education to women, or run workshops for men and women separately. "These are already small things we can do to help women participate," Westerman said.

Men still vital

"Sometimes when programs talk about gender, it almost becomes synonymous with 'women,' Meijer said. But it's crucial both genders continue to play a role, she added.

Westerman agrees, as men are important advocates: "At the end of the day, in many of these traditional cultures, unless men are on board, [the project] really won't go anywhere."

When being asked whether women would be better conservationists than men, if given more power, Westerman laughed out loud. She responded: "Women and men both have the potential to be amazing conservationists - our job is to ensure that both have the ability to be the best conservationists possible."

Chinese company fights for flamingos in Angola

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-03-27

Flamingos at a park in Nanchang, Jiangxi province,
March 27, 2003. (File photo/Xinhua)

A Chinese company is actively involved in preserving the wetlands of the southern harbor city of Lobito, Angola a key part of the migration route of flamingos from neighboring Namibia to Kenya.

Thousands upon thousands of flamingos can be seen on the wetlands during the peak time of migration though only hundreds of flamingos stopped by the wetland during the past week due to torrential rains, said Zhang Huaqiang, a project manager of China Harbor Engineering Company (China Harbor).

China Harbor, a key player in the reconstruction of harbors in the formerly war-torn African country, joined hands with local volunteers and governmental environmental protection organizations in safeguarding the wetlands, removed dustbins, and levelled the banks of the two lakes to provide a better environment for the migrating birds.

The Chinese company also organized on-spot awareness campaigns on wetlands to educate local residents and Chinese expats working in Lobito on the breeding, growth and habits of flamingos. The group also joined local volunteers to patrol the area to guard against poaching of the birds, which were a symbol of Lobito city.

Zhang said his company entered Angola in 2006 and constructed or rebuilt 16 harbors there, and the protection of flamingos and conservation of the wetlands in Lobito is part of his company's efforts to shoulder its social responsibilities and pay back to local societies.

China Harbor is not only actively involved in the post-war reconstruction process but also became a part of local society, and his company is willing to share the dividends of economic development with the local population, Zhang said.

China Harbor is now building a new oil tanker terminal in Lobito with an investment of US$120 million from the Angolan government. Before this, it reconstructed the container terminal and the terminal for bulk minerals at Lobito, 550 kilometers south of the capital city of Luanda.