Latest news with #NatureConservancy
NZ Herald
24-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Rand Merchant, South Africa parks mull conservation, rhino bonds
So-called conservation bonds are being seen as a new tool to raise money for the preservation of wild spaces and as a way of enhancing biodiversity. They are a subset of the US$6.5 trillion ($7.9t) use-of-proceeds bond market, which spans labels from green and social to blue bonds. Nature bonds, coined by the Nature Conservancy, have been used to finance debt swaps where proceeds from lower interest rates are allocated to environmental projects. Collectively, such bonds are expected to help close the US$200 billion ($243.1b) per year gap in funding to halt and reverse widespread global nature loss. The World Bank rhino bond, at the time the world's first wildlife bond, has been structured so that instead of paying a coupon, the issuer makes contributions towards conserving the animals and the buyers of the bond receive a payment from the Global Environment Facility based on preset targets for population growth. To receive the maximum payment the rhino population in the two parks would need to increase by more than 4% per annum. RMB, the Johannesburg-based investment-banking unit of FirstRand, last year said it was working on selling five-year bonds worth about US$233m ($283.2m) aimed at raising money for the conservation of wild dogs and lions in southern Africa. RMB was working on the wild dog bond with the Endangered Wildlife Trust and on the lion bond with the EWT and the Peace Parks Foundation. 'We are in conversations with numerous clients around opportunities in this space,' RMB said, declining to comment on talks with SANParks. FirstRand is Africa's biggest bank by market value. South Africa is home to about 80% of the world's rhinos, with most of those in the country being white rhinos, the world's most populous species. The animals have been subjected to sustained poaching for their horns, which are hacked off the dead animal's carcass and smuggled to Southeast Asia, where they are ground into powder and consumed as they are believed by some to boost virility and cure cancer. In 2010 the country had a rhino population of about 20,000 with more than 12,000 of those in the Kruger National Park, a reserve on South Africa's eastern border that's the size of Israel. Now, Environment Minister Dion George said on July 15, there are 14,389 rhinos in the country and less than 2000 in the Kruger. That reduction is because of both poaching and a drought in 2015 and 2016 that saw more rhinos than usual die and their reproduction rate slow.
CTV News
19-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Historic Quebec scout camp to become conservation land, recreational tourism site
A cabin and the canteen are shown at the Tamaracouta Scout Reserve in Mille-Isles, Que., Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) MILLE-ISLES, QUEBEC — The new buyers of a more than century-old Scouts camp site north of Montreal say the property will become a mix of conservation land and a recreational tourism site. Scouts Canada announced earlier this week that it has sold Tamaracouta Scout Reserve to entrepreneur Eric Desroches, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the town of Mille-Isles, Que. A project manager for the Nature Conservancy of Canada told a town meeting today that the organization will spend about $3.5 million to acquire some 82 per cent of the land. Catherine Lefebvre said the organization is acquiring more than 200 hectares, but will cede around 90 of them to the town of Mille-Isles, about 70 kilometres northwest of Montreal. Opened in 1912, the camp closed in 2019 after what Scouts Canada called years of successive financial hardship and looming costly repairs. Scouts Canada previously described the property as the oldest operating Scout camp in the world. Desroches told the meeting that the portion of the land he will own will be developed into an ecotourism project, but that he hasn't yet worked out the details. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025. Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
CBC
18-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Scouts Canada sells historic 110-year-old Quebec campsite
Scouts Canada says it has accepted an offer to sell a historic camp site north of Montreal that first opened more than 110 years ago. The organization announced Thursday it has sold Tamaracouta Scout Reserve to entrepreneur Eric Desroches, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the town of Mille-Isles, Que. The organization says the new owner will preserve over 80 per cent of the land for conservation, while opening a part to the public. The camp closed in 2019 after what Scouts Canada called years of successive financial hardship and looming costly repairs. The president of a citizens' group that has fought to preserve the site says there were concerns that the property would be sold to a developer and that its wilderness would be degraded. Karine Peloffy says she's cautiously optimistic about the sale but is looking for concrete proof that the new owner will preserve the land and maintain access for young people.
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People: Farming Is America's First Line Of Defense
We all know fresh fruits and vegetables are good for our health – but did you know that the soil and surrounding environment the crops grow in also matters to our health and well-being? The Administration's new Make American Healthy Again report highlights how surrounding environmental factors, including chemical exposure, can impact our health. Regardless of what side of the aisle we sit on, the health of our fellow citizens, both adults and children, is a concern we all share. Tractor cultivating field at spring. This new report opens the opportunity to address the issue head on by advancing nature's first defense against disease: our food. Or more specifically, how our food is grown. When produced in harmony with nature, our food has the potential to benefit human health, while improving the lands, waters and wildlife we all depend on. American farmers—the men, women and families who grow our food, contribute to our economy and steward our agricultural lands—have a crucial role to play in making America healthy. But for our farmers to adopt new practices, we have to provide them with the incentives and the support to make these changes affordable and accessible. At the Nature Conservancy, this is something we've put into action. We know the wide-scale adoption of conservation management practices can help reverse the upward trend of chronic disease suffered by an estimated 129 million Americans. When farmers have the opportunity and resources needed to use practices like precision fertilizer management, cover crops and buffer strips at the edges of their fields, they can keep fertilizers and other agricultural inputs on the fields and out of the air and water we all share. Data show certain farming practices can have serious unintended health consequences. Scientists have documented that unintentional exposure to excess fertilizers and animal waste byproducts is a public health problem impacting both rural and urban communities, with evidence pointing to increased risk of cancer, thyroid disease, respiratory illness and prenatal conditions in developing children. As a doctor, I know how devastating these illnesses can be for patients and their families. Farmers take these risks seriously, but, unfortunately, current policies and programs are not creating enough demand for farming practices that could support better health outcomes, and too many farmers lack the necessary funding and resources to adopt management practices that can help. Heavy rains in the Midwest causing fields to flood and delaying farmers from planting corn and ... More soybeans. Flooding can also lead to soil erosion and chemical runoff. Research also recognizes that well-managed farm fields can reduce the runoff of nitrogen, phosphorus and other chemicals into our waterways. Cover crops, reduced tillage, effective manure management, and optimizing when, where and how much fertilizer is applied to the fields all reduce excess chemicals in water and air. At the edges of fields, practices like vegetated buffers, constructed wetlands and prairie strips can capture fertilizer and crop treatment byproducts from leaving fields and keep them from entering waterways. Capturing excess nutrient runoff from crop fields is good for both public health and the environment. Riparian buffers are something my wife Tracy and I have put in place on our own farm in Sinking Creek, Virginia, which has notably impacted the water quality in the surrounding creeks and streams. Water and air quality are not the only ways farmers contribute to improving health. Food safety is an important issue for all Americans. Some of the pathogens that harm consumers come from the farm. Contamination on leafy greens, for instance, costs $5 billion every year in the U.S. Some food safety regulations have encouraged farmers to remove vegetation around fields and to kill wildlife that could be potential pathogen vectors. Yet science shows the opposite: native vegetation and diverse wildlife can be protective against pathogen transmission, while also supporting native pollinators that benefit crop yields and native pest control measures that can reduce need for pesticide use. While livestock and wildlife need careful management around farm fields, farming practices can benefit both food safety and the environment. Fresh harvested vegetables. Farmers are increasingly adopting conservation farming practices due to their health benefits, positive environmental impact, improved soil fertility, and lower costs. Federal and state programs have further supported this shift, leading to the implementation of these practices across millions of acres in the Mississippi River Basin and Chesapeake Bay regions—resulting in measurable improvements in water quality. In my home state of Tennessee, for example, the Agricultural Resources Conservation Fund provides cost share for management practices that help recover our impaired waters. Federal programs play a vital role as well—during my time in the U.S. Senate, we were able to expand access to on-farm conservation practices nationwide through new programs that reduced costs for producers and helped farmers and ranchers establish sustainable grazing operations. Despite the impact of these federal and state programs, we still need greater adoption to see progress in human and environmental health. Many farmers still need better access to funding, technical assistance, equipment and other resources to implement these practices on their farms. Voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs authorized by the U.S. Farm Bill are popular among American farmers. Unfortunately, applications for these programs still far exceed available funding. How can we turn the tide and accelerate and expand the use of these practices on the nation's working lands? The Make America Healthy Again Commission has an opportunity to embrace several effective tactics in its upcoming strategy document due out this summer. One example they could undertake is to expand state programs and federal cost-sharing programs that encourage adoption in ways that are flexible to farmers' needs. Farmers would also benefit from new policies that incentivize adoption of conservation management strategies, while safeguarding against financial risk. These policies could include reducing crop insurance premiums for farmers who implement nutrient management plans, buffer strips, and other important practices. Another example would be to offer tailored lending rates to producers who are interested in purchasing precision agriculture equipment that would optimize their fertilizer use. Additionally, the Commission could suggest introducing a government procurement preference for crops grown using conservation farming practices. All these policies would make it easier and more economical for farmers to adopt these approaches. Nature-based agriculture practices are proven, science-based strategies that benefit both human health and the health of the land, water and air. But there is still much to do. We, as a nation at both the federal and state levels, need to support farmers as they strive to keep America's farms and people healthy, now and far into the future.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists thrilled after finding elusive 'tiny mystery' flower thriving in unexpected location: 'There's still hope'
The rare Camatta Canyon amole (Chlorogalum purpureum var. reductum) appears to be making a comeback in California, as scientists from the Nature Conservancy and the California Native Plant Society discovered around 16,000 of these flowers not far from San Luis Obispo this past spring. According to LAist, this endangered flower, which at least one scientist has referred to as a "tiny mystery," was thought to only have a global population of around 10,000 until this discovery, leaving researchers stunned and excited. Due to scientists' belief that the Camatta Canyon amole was limited in population, the plant is currently protected by federal and state Endangered Species Acts, though this may change with the recent discovery. The plant is geographically concentrated, growing in only a couple of locations within a 90-acre area. Between the centralized growth area, grazing by livestock, and being run over by off-road vehicles, the plant has had a challenging time thriving. As for why the amole has suddenly reappeared, scientists theorize that weather conditions may have strengthened underground amole bulbs. Drought-like conditions from previous years may have harmed plants competing with the amole for space and resources, while subsequent years saw higher amounts of rainfall, which could have reached the bulbs. However, it is also possible that the plant was around the whole time, and no one came across it. The discovery of so many of these flowers is a reason for optimism, as it could mean finding more blooms in the area. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviews animal and plant species considered threatened every five years, and scientists hope that by the next review, they will have found enough amoles to remove the plant from the endangered list. Considering this amole has been in decline for decades, this finding opens up the possibility for research that could lead to a wealth of new knowledge about the flower. The reemergence of the Camatta Canyon amole could help rebalance the local ecosystem, too, making it healthier and more diverse. Not only would that protect endangered species of all kinds, but it would also benefit human well-being by protecting food and water sources, as well as limiting the spread of disease. Heather Schneider, a senior rare plant conservation scientist at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, told LAist, "All is not lost. There's still hope. Nature waits. And I hope it inspires people that putting efforts into conservation and looking for plants pays off." Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
