Latest news with #highlands
Arab News
6 days ago
- Arab News
Najran's Bir Askar village beckons hikers, nature enthusiasts
(Photos by SPA) Located in the highlands of Najran in the Kingdom's southwest, Bir Askar village is emerging as a popular destination for both residents and visitors, especially during the summer and spring seasons. The village, which blends tourism and entertainment, is celebrated for its stunning landscapes. Bir Askar is a magnet for hikers and nature enthusiasts, offering a diverse environment with its white sandy valleys, lush vegetation, and unique mountain formations. These scenic views are particularly appealing to photographers. Municipal services in the area include parks, recreational zones, and playgrounds, which provide families with ample opportunities for relaxation. Visitors appreciate Bir Askar's convenient location close to Najran city, the availability of essential services, and the scenic routes leading to the village's elevated areas.
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tapirs, hummingbirds and a billion-dollar bedrock of gold: the Ecuador reserve that is now a battlefield over a new mine
Golden grasses, mossy hummocks and scattered lakes unfurl across the highlands of Macizo del Cajas, Azuay province. The vastness of this high-altitude Ecuadorian moorland combines with its near-silence to create an empty, alien atmosphere. But this unique landscape teems with life. The páramo – a high-altitude tropical ecosystem that stretches across the northern Andes – is a living sponge, quietly drawing moisture from the clouds that drift at more than 3,000 metres (9,800ft) above sea level. Endangered mountain tapirs and endemic hummingbirds hide among the twisted, copper-barked Polylepis trees. Beneath the ground, ancient tectonic shifts and glaciers have cracked the bedrock, channelling water through veins that feed six large rivers, supplying mountain communities, cities and fragile ecosystems – including the Ecuadorian Amazon. That bedrock, however, also holds billions of dollars in gold, silver and copper. For more than three decades, these deposits have made the Cajas a battlefield between Ecuadorians who see large-scale mining as the answer to the country's economic woes and those who see it as an existential threat. Unesco designated the Cajas a biosphere reserve in 2013, but the title offers scant protection. Mining companies now hold more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of concessions in the Cajas, with more than 15,000 of those hectares in the páramo. Authorities say that the government has given the most important segments of ecosystems protected or national park status. But scientists argue that the zoning is arbitrary. 'What areas are 'protected' is a political decision, not a technical one,' says Juan Carlos Sánchez-Nivicela, a herpetologist and conservation biologist who has been studying Ecuador's high-altitude ecosystems for more than a decade. 'You can't separate these areas. Any damage done to one directly affects the other.' So far, large-scale mining activity in the páramos has been limited to exploration – in part, thanks to local resistance, inside and outside the courtroom. But now, new battle lines are being drawn in the Cajas. On 23 June, the Canadian mining multinational Dundee Precious Metals was granted its environmental licence for exploitation of the Loma Larga project, which sits on the Quimsacocha páramo and surrounds the protected area. 'The company has satisfactorily fulfilled all requirements and prerequisites necessary … which is very difficult and time consuming in my country,' says Patricio Vargas Coronel, president of Cuenca's Chamber of Mining. 'It can now sign the mining contract and begin construction, generating about 1,200 jobs and an investment of $450m (£337m).' Dundee's president and CEO, David Rae, touts the achievement as 'an important milestone for Loma Larga – an attractive future growth opportunity for [Dundee] with significant potential to deliver strong returns for our investors and stakeholders'. Activists and ecologists, however, allege that the mine could cause enormous environmental damage, that the government has failed to properly consult local communities, and that they are subject to intimidation and surveillance for protesting against the mine. Dundee rejects the claims. 'We are being followed,' says Esther Remache, an anti-mining activist, pointing out the white pickup truck trailing behind. 'Oh, they're just looking after us,' replies Federico Guzmán, councillor for Cuenca and another longtime activist, with a wink. The road to Loma Larga is public, and cuts through the Quimsacocha recreation area. Yet, it's lined with private security personnel who peer out from booths guarding the offices and buildings of Dundee Precious Metals. As Guzman parks his vehicle, the pickup behind also stops and a guard exits, using his phone to film the group of activists, almost all of whom are over 60. 'They always follow us when we go up here,' says Remache, who believes this is an intimidation technique. 'They'll openly photograph us … you have to wonder, what are those photos for?' In a letter to the Guardian, Dundee representatives denied these allegations, noting that all Loma Larga security personnel 'have undergone human rights training and behave with full respect'. They said that the project's fence had been frequently vandalised, and guards took action to prevent trespassing, but that Dundee 'regularly welcomes visitors to the project area'. Quimsacocha, a páramo at an altitude between 3,600m and 3,900m, is a vital water source and biodiversity refuge. It's here that Sánchez-Nivicela says he rediscovered a tiny frog thought to be extinct. 'There's something like 20-plus amphibian species in the Cajas: 80 to 90% of these are endemic – but we keep finding more each year,' he says. Scientists warn that mining in Cajas could irreversibly destroy fragile ecosystems and poison the water supply that hundreds of thousands of people depend on. 'Protection is not just a matter of the environment,' says Sandra Barros, a municipal hydrology engineer who evaluated the risks of the Loma Larga project. 'It is a matter of survival.' Several past referendums held in affected communities had rejected mining in local watersheds. In 2023, a provincial court upheld the decision to suspend the Loma Larga project, but also opened the door for Dundee to revive its project if new environmental studies and local consultations showed support. In April, Daniel Noboa, the country's recently re-elected president, extended the Loma Larga concession for another 25 years. In 2024, he attended the world's largest mining conference in Canada to reassure investors that a new era of Ecuadorian mining was dawning. Current gold prices value Loma Larga's estimated deposits at more than $6bn. Ecuador's government also stands to make hundreds of millions from the project. On 23 June, the country's environmental ministry quietly approved the project's environmental licence – the final hurdle for Dundee to begin exploitation. Dundee's environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Loma Larga claimed mining posed only a 'mild risk' to the ecosystem. However, a study by the municipal water and sanitation company (ETAPA) claimed there were dozens of errors and omissions in that assessment. It concluded mining risked serious, potentially irreversible damage to nature, water resources, and public health in the Quimsacocha region. Other studies corroborate the ETAPA's findings. 'Do you think contamination would stop at some arbitrary red line just because [the mining company] says that's where their impact stops? Of course not. Any contamination will end up in the rivers downstream,' says Barros, the ETAPA study's main author. Dundee, however, called the ETAPAreport 'misinformation' and says that it is 'designing and advancing Loma Larga in line with the highest standards for environmental and water management', pointing to the positive results of its EIA, the evaluation and approval of which 'is the sole responsibility of the ministry for the environment, not ETAPA'. The environment ministry did not respond to the Guardian's requests for comment, and on July 24, Noboa eliminated the environment ministry entirely, transferring its responsibilities to fall under the ministry for mining. Ecuador's constitution requires the government to consult local and Indigenous communities before allowing any mining project to begin. Under Noboa, however, allegations of irregularities in this process have become so widespread that UN human rights officials issued a formal warning last year, saying Indigenous groups and local communities were being excluded from consultations, not offered complete information, and arrested for protest or criticism of projects. 'We are concerned that the failure to convene all potentially affected people, together with the lack of full and impartial information regarding the potential negative consequences of these projects have exacerbated social conflict,' the UN experts say. In other parts of Ecuador, the government has responded to protests with force. When communities protested against Canadian mining in Ecuador's north-western cloud forest last year, Noboa sent in the military. Security forces injured at least 36 people, and more than 100 were charged with terrorism or organised crime offences. In May, the ministry of energy and mines (MEM) said authorities had finished consulting local communities on Loma Larga, and reported that they had agreed to let the project proceed to exploitation. Communities had 'access to ample, timely and adequate information' on the vote, MEM said. But community members and activists had a starkly different view of the consultation: of eight interviewed, not one said they knew that it had taken place. They recalled a day in January, when the environment ministry sent 200 police and troops to 'oversee' a vote on the mine outside town. Instead, one said, authorities were forced to cancel the vote. 'People saw the soldiers, the militarised area, the tents and they showed up to protest,' says Nataly Torres, a sociologist and member of the community. In its report, MEM characterises the protest as 'violent incidents … restricting the right of other members of the community to be consulted'. Dundee says it cooperated with all of Ecuador's 'strict and well-defined regulations'. In a statement, the ministry said that communities had been consulted in accordance with the law. The fear of state violence now hangs over environmental defenders in the Cajas region as well, activists say. 'Now, they have bigger, deadlier arms, and they use them to intimidate us,' Remache says. And the stakes are high for biodiversity, water and communities. 'Any disturbance, any change in land use, any extractive activity [in the Cajas] will directly affect species that have nowhere else to go,' Sánchez says. 'We'll lose not only unique species but also the water supplying entire communities,' he adds. And the outcome here may set a precedent for the rest of Ecuador. 'This is the mother of all battles,' says Carlos Castro, a legal professor and opponent of mining in the region. 'If we lose here, the rest will fall like dominoes.' Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tapirs, hummingbirds and a billion-dollar bedrock of gold: the Ecuador reserve that is now a battlefield over a new mine
Golden grasses, mossy hummocks and scattered lakes unfurl across the highlands of Macizo del Cajas, Azuay province. The vastness of this high-altitude Ecuadorian moorland combines with its near-silence to create an empty, alien atmosphere. But this unique landscape teems with life. The páramo – a high-altitude tropical ecosystem that stretches across the northern Andes – is a living sponge, quietly drawing moisture from the clouds that drift at more than 3,000 metres (9,800ft) above sea level. Endangered mountain tapirs and endemic hummingbirds hide among the twisted, copper-barked Polylepis trees. Beneath the ground, ancient tectonic shifts and glaciers have cracked the bedrock, channelling water through veins that feed six large rivers, supplying mountain communities, cities and fragile ecosystems – including the Ecuadorian Amazon. That bedrock, however, also holds billions of dollars in gold, silver and copper. For more than three decades, these deposits have made the Cajas a battlefield between Ecuadorians who see large-scale mining as the answer to the country's economic woes and those who see it as an existential threat. Unesco designated the Cajas a biosphere reserve in 2013, but the title offers scant protection. Mining companies now hold more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of concessions in the Cajas, with more than 15,000 of those hectares in the páramo. Authorities say that the government has given the most important segments of ecosystems protected or national park status. But scientists argue that the zoning is arbitrary. 'What areas are 'protected' is a political decision, not a technical one,' says Juan Carlos Sánchez-Nivicela, a herpetologist and conservation biologist who has been studying Ecuador's high-altitude ecosystems for more than a decade. 'You can't separate these areas. Any damage done to one directly affects the other.' So far, large-scale mining activity in the páramos has been limited to exploration – in part, thanks to local resistance, inside and outside the courtroom. But now, new battle lines are being drawn in the Cajas. On 23 June, the Canadian mining multinational Dundee Precious Metals was granted its environmental licence for exploitation of the Loma Larga project, which sits on the Quimsacocha páramo and surrounds the protected area. 'The company has satisfactorily fulfilled all requirements and prerequisites necessary … which is very difficult and time consuming in my country,' says Patricio Vargas Coronel, president of Cuenca's Chamber of Mining. 'It can now sign the mining contract and begin construction, generating about 1,200 jobs and an investment of $450m (£337m).' Dundee's president and CEO, David Rae, touts the achievement as 'an important milestone for Loma Larga – an attractive future growth opportunity for [Dundee] with significant potential to deliver strong returns for our investors and stakeholders'. Activists and ecologists, however, allege that the mine could cause enormous environmental damage, that the government has failed to properly consult local communities, and that they are subject to intimidation and surveillance for protesting against the mine. Dundee rejects the claims. 'We are being followed,' says Esther Remache, an anti-mining activist, pointing out the white pickup truck trailing behind. 'Oh, they're just looking after us,' replies Federico Guzmán, councillor for Cuenca and another longtime activist, with a wink. The road to Loma Larga is public, and cuts through the Quimsacocha recreation area. Yet, it's lined with private security personnel who peer out from booths guarding the offices and buildings of Dundee Precious Metals. As Guzman parks his vehicle, the pickup behind also stops and a guard exits, using his phone to film the group of activists, almost all of whom are over 60. 'They always follow us when we go up here,' says Remache, who believes this is an intimidation technique. 'They'll openly photograph us … you have to wonder, what are those photos for?' In a letter to the Guardian, Dundee representatives denied these allegations, noting that all Loma Larga security personnel 'have undergone human rights training and behave with full respect'. They said that the project's fence had been frequently vandalised, and guards took action to prevent trespassing, but that Dundee 'regularly welcomes visitors to the project area'. Quimsacocha, a páramo at an altitude between 3,600m and 3,900m, is a vital water source and biodiversity refuge. It's here that Sánchez-Nivicela says he rediscovered a tiny frog thought to be extinct. 'There's something like 20-plus amphibian species in the Cajas: 80 to 90% of these are endemic – but we keep finding more each year,' he says. Scientists warn that mining in Cajas could irreversibly destroy fragile ecosystems and poison the water supply that hundreds of thousands of people depend on. 'Protection is not just a matter of the environment,' says Sandra Barros, a municipal hydrology engineer who evaluated the risks of the Loma Larga project. 'It is a matter of survival.' Several past referendums held in affected communities had rejected mining in local watersheds. In 2023, a provincial court upheld the decision to suspend the Loma Larga project, but also opened the door for Dundee to revive its project if new environmental studies and local consultations showed support. In April, Daniel Noboa, the country's recently re-elected president, extended the Loma Larga concession for another 25 years. In 2024, he attended the world's largest mining conference in Canada to reassure investors that a new era of Ecuadorian mining was dawning. Current gold prices value Loma Larga's estimated deposits at more than $6bn. Ecuador's government also stands to make hundreds of millions from the project. On 23 June, the country's environmental ministry quietly approved the project's environmental licence – the final hurdle for Dundee to begin exploitation. Dundee's environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Loma Larga claimed mining posed only a 'mild risk' to the ecosystem. However, a study by the municipal water and sanitation company (ETAPA) claimed there were dozens of errors and omissions in that assessment. It concluded mining risked serious, potentially irreversible damage to nature, water resources, and public health in the Quimsacocha region. Other studies corroborate the ETAPA's findings. 'Do you think contamination would stop at some arbitrary red line just because [the mining company] says that's where their impact stops? Of course not. Any contamination will end up in the rivers downstream,' says Barros, the ETAPA study's main author. Dundee, however, called the ETAPAreport 'misinformation' and says that it is 'designing and advancing Loma Larga in line with the highest standards for environmental and water management', pointing to the positive results of its EIA, the evaluation and approval of which 'is the sole responsibility of the ministry for the environment, not ETAPA'. The environment ministry did not respond to the Guardian's requests for comment, and on July 24, Noboa eliminated the environment ministry entirely, transferring its responsibilities to fall under the ministry for mining. Ecuador's constitution requires the government to consult local and Indigenous communities before allowing any mining project to begin. Under Noboa, however, allegations of irregularities in this process have become so widespread that UN human rights officials issued a formal warning last year, saying Indigenous groups and local communities were being excluded from consultations, not offered complete information, and arrested for protest or criticism of projects. 'We are concerned that the failure to convene all potentially affected people, together with the lack of full and impartial information regarding the potential negative consequences of these projects have exacerbated social conflict,' the UN experts say. In other parts of Ecuador, the government has responded to protests with force. When communities protested against Canadian mining in Ecuador's north-western cloud forest last year, Noboa sent in the military. Security forces injured at least 36 people, and more than 100 were charged with terrorism or organised crime offences. In May, the ministry of energy and mines (MEM) said authorities had finished consulting local communities on Loma Larga, and reported that they had agreed to let the project proceed to exploitation. Communities had 'access to ample, timely and adequate information' on the vote, MEM said. But community members and activists had a starkly different view of the consultation: of eight interviewed, not one said they knew that it had taken place. They recalled a day in January, when the environment ministry sent 200 police and troops to 'oversee' a vote on the mine outside town. Instead, one said, authorities were forced to cancel the vote. 'People saw the soldiers, the militarised area, the tents and they showed up to protest,' says Nataly Torres, a sociologist and member of the community. In its report, MEM characterises the protest as 'violent incidents … restricting the right of other members of the community to be consulted'. Dundee says it cooperated with all of Ecuador's 'strict and well-defined regulations'. In a statement, the ministry said that communities had been consulted in accordance with the law. The fear of state violence now hangs over environmental defenders in the Cajas region as well, activists say. 'Now, they have bigger, deadlier arms, and they use them to intimidate us,' Remache says. And the stakes are high for biodiversity, water and communities. 'Any disturbance, any change in land use, any extractive activity [in the Cajas] will directly affect species that have nowhere else to go,' Sánchez says. 'We'll lose not only unique species but also the water supplying entire communities,' he adds. And the outcome here may set a precedent for the rest of Ecuador. 'This is the mother of all battles,' says Carlos Castro, a legal professor and opponent of mining in the region. 'If we lose here, the rest will fall like dominoes.' Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage
The Australian
01-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Southern Highlands: $4.7m Bowral Lodge joins luxury property surge
A spate of big-ticket homes are about to hit the market following the recent $26m sale of Linden Hall in Bowral, the Southern Highlands district that's become Sydney's answer to the Hamptons because it offers luxurious real estate, high-end shops and fine dining. Sydney eastern suburbs-based corporate executive Alan Stuart-Grant has reluctantly listed his luxury Bowral Lodge with a price guide of $4.5m-$4.7m, saying he is now more tied to Sydney because of his children's sporting interests and doesn't get as much time as he would like to visit the Highlands. Billed as a showstopping Hamptons-style retreat in landscaped gardens, the 13 Hamilton Avenue property is positioned in the heart of Old Bowral and, apart from being occupied by the Stuart-Grant family as a weekender about once a month, is also a popular short-stay luxury rental. Positioned on more than 4600sq m, the property is presently managed by Contemporary Hotels. According to the marketing agents, Drew Lindsay Sotheby's Samuel Lindsay and Lisa-Marie Cauchois, the five-bedroom and four-bathroom Bowral Lodge ranks as the most sought-after Airbnb-style listing in the Southern Highlands, being regularly booked as a luxury weekender for city dwellers. Mr Stuart-Grant told The Australian his family were selling the property, which has three ensuite bathrooms, because of his children's commitments in Sydney, adding: 'Life has taken over.' Expressions of interest close through Drew Lindsay Sotheby's on August 7. Mr Lindsay said Contemporary Hotels had listed the property as one of its best earners in the region. 'A range of prospective purchasers have expressed interest, including a number of locals,' Mr Lindsay said. He said the property was attractive to a mix of locals who understand that the position was very good. 'It's a short walk to town, and is very quiet and private. Local prospective buyers recognise the area is great. It's a cute house,' he said. Buyers from outside the area, mostly hailing from Sydney, are either investors looking for a weekender that has a proven return, or a property that is an easy lock-and-leave. According to publicly available data, Mr Stuart-Grant purchased the Bowral property for $4.05m in January, 2023. Other recent big-ticket sales include the $26m sale of Linden Hall, the Southern Highlands mansion that was sold by restaurateurs and developers David Graham and David Kunde. The sale set a record for the Southern Highlands township of Robertson. The property had a price guide of $25m-$27m when it hit the market 12 months ago. The Covid pandemic might be long over, but the super-rich and middle-class homeowners alike continue to flee Sydney's prime postcodes for the Southern Highlands, whether moving permanently or using a property as a weekender. Agents said there was a raft of homes about to come on the market for the spring selling season. Mr Lindsay said every year there was an expectation that, come spring, there was a lot more property coming on the market. 'But whether it's the seasonal gardens coming into bloom, we do as much trading, listing and selling through winter as we do in spring,' he said. 'Spring is a good time to buy, there's more property on the market, more buyers come out and look, and of course the real buyers who are active if the right property comes up – they will buy. 'We will probably see more property coming on the market come spring.' Another local agent added that most residential sales were negotiated with extended settlement periods allowing Sydney purchasers time to sell their city property before moving to the Highlands. Read related topics: Luxury HomesWealth Lisa Allen Associate Editor & Editor, Mansion Australia Lisa Allen is an Associate Editor of The Australian, and is Editor of The Weekend Australian's property magazine, Mansion Australia. Lisa has been a senior reporter in business and property with the paper since 2012. She was previously Queensland Bureau Chief for The Australian Financial Review and has written for the BRW Rich List. Business Jon Adgemis' financial fate was set to be decided on Friday before a late intervention from the tax office and bankruptcy regulators. AFSA said in a letter bankruptcy trustees may have not satisfactorily investigated Mr Adgemis' financial affairs. Companies The casino company has been left reeling after the deal which would have extracted it from the troubled Queen's Wharf precinct collapsed, leaving it to deal with hefty debts.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Sky Bet BOOST odds to 2/1 on defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar to win brutal stage 10 as cyclists take on 4,500m climb
Three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar leads the general rankings through the first nine stages of the 2025 tour. But stage 10 promises to be a turning point in the competition with the year's first major day of climbing. As things stand, the Slovenian has barely a minute's advantage over Remco Evenepoel after topping the last three stages. Pogacar's prowess makes him a contender for cycling's most famous race in most years and ahead of the gruelling day of action through the highlands of south-central France, Sky Bet are offering an enticing Price Boost involving the 26-year-old. Odds on Pogacar to win Stage 10 have been boosted from 9/5 to 2/1 ahead of the action, which gets underway on Monday afternoon. Irish cyclists Ben Healy and Frenchman Romain Gregoire are the second and third favourites for the stage that demands participants to complete 4,450m of elevation and eight categorised climbs over the 165km stage. Pogacar is also the outright favourite with Sky Bet to win the Tour de France, with odds of 1/9. His arch rival the winner of the Tour in 2022 and 2023, Jonas Vingegaard, is the second favourite, priced at 9/2. Evenepoel is a distant third favourite with odds of 28/1. Sky Bet Price Boost Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar to Win Stage 10 of TDF 2025 WAS 9/5 NOW 2/1 Sky Bet odds Outright Winner Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar 1/9 Jonas Vingegaard 9/2 Remco Evenepoel 28/1 Matteo Jorgenson 66/1 Felix Gall 200/1
