Latest news with #Conservation
Muscat Daily
6 days ago
- General
- Muscat Daily
Oman plans management for Arabian Sea humpback whales
Muscat – Environment Authority (EA) launched a regional workshop titled 'Managing the Protection and Conservation of Arabian Sea Humpback Whales' on Tuesday in collaboration with Environment Society of Oman. The three-day event aims to enhance conservation efforts for one of the world's most endangered whale populations. Held with participation of international experts, researchers, and representatives from public and private sector entities, besides civil society organisations, the workshop is focused on developing a comprehensive management framework to protect the Arabian Sea humpback whale. Believed to number fewer than 100 individuals, the species is primarily found in waters off Oman, especially in the Gulf of Masirah. Key discussions during the workshop include the most pressing threats to the species, such as shipping traffic, oil and gas exploration, and fishing activities. Participants will also explore the latest scientific research from Oman and India, and evaluate practical steps for implementing a joint conservation management plan. The workshop will include a review of the plan's structure, with emphasis on coordinated actions between countries bordering the Arabian Sea. EA presented updates from the Marine Mammal Species Survey Project in Musandam, covering the period 2023 to 2025, at the workshop. The survey is part of broader efforts to enhance regional cooperation in marine conservation. A key part of the workshop is a proposal to establish a non-binding cooperation agreement between Oman and India to protect the Arabian Sea humpback whale. Additionally, a draft regional management plan will be prepared and a joint coordination committee will be formed comprising international partners from the International Whaling Commission. The Arabian Sea humpback whale has been under scientific observation in Oman since 2000. In 2008, the species was added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species due to its critically low population and isolated habitat. This week's workshop is expected to play a pivotal role in aligning regional conservation strategies and ensuring the long-term survival of this unique marine species.
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Regional workshop discusses protection of Arabian Sea humpback whales
Muscat: A workshop titled "Management of Protection and Conservation of Arabian Sea Humpback Whales" was held on Tuesday to explore means of enhancing regional cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and India to adopt a joint executive action framework known as the "Conservation Management Plan'. The three-day workshop aims to establish a cooperative framework to strengthen scientific research, reduce threats, raise awareness, and set objectives to improve the environmental status of this endangered species. Organised by the Environment Authority in collaboration with Oman Environment Society and Future Seas Company, the workshop brings together a select group of international experts, researchers, government and private sector representatives, and civil society organisations. It highlights the key threats facing whales in their habitats, particularly in the Gulf of Masirah in Oman. The workshop discusses the latest scientific developments regarding whales and their threats in Oman and India, ways to foster mutual understanding and cooperation on implementing the conservation management plan, identifying joint activities, and familiarising participants with the structure of the whale protection and conservation plan. Additionally, it reviews solutions to threats posed by shipping traffic, oil exploration, and fishing activities. The Environment Authority presented a visual presentation on the key efforts of the Marine Mammal Species Survey Project in Musandam Governorate from 2023 to 2025. The workshop aims to enhance regional coordination and integration in protecting this rare whale species and adopt a non-binding cooperation agreement between Oman and India for the conservation of Arabian Sea humpback whales. It also seeks to draft a preliminary regional management plan for these whales and form a coordination committee comprising representatives from Oman and India, along with international partners from the International Whaling Commission. The Arabian Sea humpback whales are a unique species that has been the subject of ongoing scientific research off the coast of Oman since 2000. This species was officially listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2008, with estimates suggesting their population does not exceed 100 whales. They are found in all countries bordering the Arabian Sea.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Lesser flamingos lose one of their only four African breeding sites to sewage
By Tim Cocks KIMBERLEY, South Africa (Reuters) -Until the last half-decade, the majestic lesser flamingo had four African breeding sites: two salt pans in Botswana and Namibia, a soda lake in Tanzania, and an artificial dam outside South Africa's historic diamond-mining town of Kimberley. Now it only has three. Years of raw sewage spilling into Kamfers Dam, the only South African water body where lesser flamingos congregated in large enough numbers to breed, have rendered the water so toxic that the distinctive pink birds have abandoned it, according to conservationists and a court judgment against the local council seen by Reuters. Lesser flamingos are currently considered near-threatened, rather than endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature: there are 2-3 million left, four-fifths of them spread across Africa, the rest in a smaller area of South Asia. But they are in steep decline, and the poisoning of one of their last few breeding sites has worsened their plight dramatically. Tania Anderson, a conservation biologist specialising in flamingos, told Reuters the IUCN was about to increase its threat-level to "vulnerable", meaning "at high risk of extinction in the wild", owing largely to their shrinking habitats of salty estuaries or soda lakes shallow enough for them to wade through. "It's really very upsetting," Anderson said of the sewage spills in Kamfers Dam. "Flamingos play a pivotal role in maintaining the water ecosystems of our wetlands." A 2021 study in Biological Conservation found sewage threatens aquatic ecosystems across a vast area of the planet. Although 200 nations came together at the U.N. COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia last year to tackle threats to wildlife, no agreement was reached. 'THEY JUST DISAPPEARED' Footage taken by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa in May 2020 shows Kamfers Dam turned flamboyant pink with flamingos. When Reuters visited this month, there were none. A closer look at the water revealed a green sludge that bubbled and stank of human waste. "It was a sea of pink," Brenda Booth recalled, as she gazed over the bird-free lake located on the farm she owns, dotted with acacia trees and antelope. "They all just disappeared," said Booth, who last month secured the court order compelling the African National Congress-run municipality in charge of Kimberley, a city of 300,000, to fix the problem. Over the years, the treatment plant "became progressively dysfunctional to the point where ... approximately 36 megalitres a day of untreated sewage was being discharged into the dam," said Adrian Horwitz, the lawyer bringing the case in the High Court of South Africa, Northern Cape division. Municipality manager Thapelo Matlala told Reuters thieves had vandalised the plant and stolen equipment, grinding it to a halt. "We are working on a new strategy for ... repairing the damage," he said outside his office, adding that this needed 106 million rand ($5.92 million), money the council didn't have. Failure to deliver services was one of the main reasons the ANC lost its 30-year-strong majority in last year's elections. Lesser flamingos mostly eat spirulina, a blue-green algae - filtering it through their beaks. This limits them to alkaline water bodies, largely in East Africa's Rift Valley. They're fussy about where they breed, with just three sites in India alongside the remaining three in Africa. Flamingos began breeding at Kamfers Dam in 2006, said Ester van der Westhuizen-Coetzer, wetlands specialist for local diamond miner Ekapa Group, as she waded through grassland at the edge of another lake where she had spotted a flock. In 2020, there were 71,000 on the dam, with up to 5,000 new chicks each season. "They've missed three or four breeding seasons," she said, and many also died of botulism, a disease that flourishes in waste. Sewage has become a problem across South Africa, where few treatment plants are in working order, and if nothing is done, "the whole system will degrade and blow up," she said. "That will have a huge impact, and not only on flamingos." ($1 = 17.8903 rand)
CBC
24-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Habitat for endangered caribou threatened by eastern Manitoba wildfire
A wildfire around Nopiming Provincial Park has destroyed much of the habitat for a woodland caribou herd during the season in which females are giving birth. Experts are worried about the long-term effect on boreal woodland caribou, classified as threatened under Manitoba's Endangered Species Act.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida state parks gain new protections after DeSantis signs ‘State Land Management' bill into law
The Brief Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 209, the "State Land Management" bill, into law on Thursday. It will give Florida's almost 200 state parks more protections that will help prevent development. The bill was the product of controversy last year, after they said a whistleblower brought attention to possible plans to allow development at several state parks. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Almost 200 parks across Florida will now have more protections. Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 209, the "State Land Management" bill, into law on Thursday. The Legislature approved the bill, which aims to prevent development in state parks, unanimously. PREVIOUS: State parks bill teed up in Florida Senate What they're saying "The idea of putting golf courses and mega-hotels in our state parks, as Floridians, we're just not going to stand for it," Rep. Lindsay Cross said. The new law will require public hearings for all updated conservation and non-conservation land management plans. "Just strengthening the policy in the bill that would require for there to be public facing processes," Rep. Anna Eskamani said. RELATED: State employee fired over leak of Florida park development plans The backstory State lawmakers said this bill was the product of controversy last year, after they said a whistleblower brought attention to possible plans to allow development at several state parks. The proposals included things like pickleball courts and a hotel. However, earlier this month, DeSantis was asked if he would sign the bill into law, to which he said yes. The bill received strong support from residents around the state and state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. "I do think the environment continues to be one of those topics that can build bridges," Eskamani said. "And oftentimes, it's not red versus blue. It's people versus corporations." The bill was also met with loud support from residents across the state. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube Dig deeper State lawmakers say the new law also outlines things you can and cannot do on state park land. "Things like hiking, bird watching, really more passive recreation, things that doesn't require the creation of a pickleball court or a golf course that uses lots of fertilizer and water," Cross said. "Those really nature-based activities. And then, it outlines some of the that things that you can't do, such as golf courses or tennis or pickleball courts there. It also limits the type of lodging that we can have." What's next State leaders said this new legislation sends the message that this land isn't for sale. Some lawmakers said this is just a step in a long-term effort to protect the environment. The new law takes effect on July 1. The Source The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kylie Jones. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
