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New Zealand

New Zealand To Begin Charging Foreign Tourists To Visit Famous Sites 

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New Zealand announced its plans to start charging international tourists fees in order to visit some of their countries most famous natural sites. With these transactions, New Zealand is hoping to make it easier for local businesses to operate on conservation land and allow room for ecological, cultural, and economic growth. 

Reports indicate the government is planning to charge visiting tourists NZ$20-40 ($12-24) per person in order to gain access to their famous sites. These sites will include spots such as Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track and Aoraki Mount Cook.

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According to the plans, the fees will likely be implemented in 2027. 

Tama Potaka, the conservation minister, estimated that the new fees could generate up to NZ$62 million annually, “so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.” 

The implementation of these new fees is a part of a larger-scale plan to shift the nation’s conservation law regarding selling or exchanging conservation land so more activities can occur in these places without needing a permit. 

“In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth and higher wages, the government would unleash a fresh wave of concessions including in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure at some locations,” prime minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday, according to the Guardian. 

Conservation land makes up one third of New Zealand territory and it is protected and publicly owned. It’s known for its biodiversity, historic, and cultural value. 

“Some businesses such as ski fields and grazing already operated on conservation land but many other businesses struggled to gain the same permission,” Luxon said. This is just one of many newer policies in New Zealand that is seeking to loosen regulation on natural sites in the name of economic growth. 

Last year, the government passed a law that will potentially allow for contentious mining and infrastructure projects to be fast-tracked for approval. There have also been proposed law changes to make it easier for companies to kill protected wildlife for infrastructure projects. 

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Conservation and climate initiatives are also experiencing budget cuts. 

Critics are speaking out against these new policies, stating its irresponsible to risk harming not only the environment but vulnerable and protected species. New Zealand is known for their biodiversity, but like the rest of the world, many species are threatened by endangerment and on the brink of extinction. 

Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said “Luxon was putting profit above the protection of nature,” according to the Guardian. 

“That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It’s not regular people, future generations or a healthy environment,” she said in a statement to the Guardian.

“[The latest reforms] represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation and would increase pressure on vulnerable species,” said Nicola Toki, the chief executive of New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, Forest & Bird.

“They shift the focus from protection to exploitation, dismantling the very purpose of our national parks and conservation lands.”

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Conservationists Are Dropping Thousands Of Mosquitos By Drone In Hawaii 

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This summer, dozens of biodegradable pods containing about 1,000 mosquitos each were dropped by drone in the forests of Hawaii. While releasing a high population of mosquitos into a natural environment may seem like a questionable choice, it’s all in the name of conservation and wildlife protection. 

The mosquitos themselves are non-biting male mosquitos that carry a common bacterium that will ensure new eggs don’t hatch when the males mate with wild females, according to reports from CNN. 

The main goal for this is to help control the archipelago’s invasive mosquito population which is greatly impacting the native bird population, particularly among rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. 

The birds play a central role in Hawaiian culture, as they are key pollinators and seed dispersers. Reports indicate that at one time, there were more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, and now there are only 17 left, and they are mainly endangered. 

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Just last year, the ‘akikiki, a small gray bird, was practically extinct in the wild, and less than 100 of the yellow-green ‘akeke’e are estimated to still be alive. According to Dr. Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), one of the biggest “existential threats” is avian malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes.

Mosquitos themselves are not actually native to Hawaii, and were initially reported on the islands in 1826. It’s believed that they were unintentionally carried over to the islands by whaling vessels and “caused waves of extinction,” according to Farmer. Many native birds have no resistance to malaria, including the honeycreepers. 

Mosquitos are also known to thrive in warmer tropical habitats, so the low elevations of Hawaii’s islands are a perfect breeding ground. Farmer stated that the higher mountains of the islands offer refuge for honeycreepers and other avian species. 

“With climate change, we are seeing warmer temperatures and we’re watching the mosquitoes move up the mountains. [In places like Kauai] we’re watching the populations of birds there just completely plummet.”

“It’s a constant march of mosquitoes moving up as the temperatures allow them and the birds getting pushed further and further up until there’s no habitat left that they can survive in. If we don’t break that cycle, we’re going to lose our honeycreepers,” Farmer emphasized. 

Conservationists have long been looking for a way to maintain and protect the honeycreeper population by controlling mosquitos. Farmer stated that this has been no easy feat, as mosquitos are far spread throughout the large landscape of the islands. 

Pesticides have been one solution, however, they also damage other native insect populations that are integral to the multiple ecosystems throughout Hawaii. 

Mosquitos in general are also a major threat to human health, as they spread diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, the zika virus, and more. The recent move to drop drones among Hawaii is a part of a solution known as the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT).

The IIT involves releasing male mosquitos that contain a strain of bacteria that causes non-viable eggs to be laid when they mate with females. Over time, with repeated releases, the wild population should decline. 

In 2016, ABC teamed up with Birds, Not Mosquitos, a multi-agency partnership dedicated to protecting Hawaiian honeycreepers. The agencies decided that IIT would have the greatest success rate when it came to helping protect the bird population while investigating how to combat avian malaria. 

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“The mosquito that transmits avian malaria is different from the one that transmits human malaria,” explained Farmer.

Due to this difference, Farmer and his team began testing various strains of Wolbachia, the naturally occurring bacteria in the male mosquitos, to determine which would provide the greatest success rate. 

The process was extensive and took many years due to a “combination of the science, community engagement and the regulatory process. Naturally, whenever you say, ‘I want to release millions of mosquitoes in the forest,’ people have a lot of very legitimate questions.”

“We have a rough estimate for how many mosquitoes there are in the wild, and we try to release 10 times as many of these Wolbachia mosquitoes, so (that they) find these females and are able to mate with them, and then their eggs don’t hatch. Right now, we’re releasing 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Maui and 500,000 mosquitoes a week on Kauai,” says Farmer.

“[This is] the first known instance of specialized mosquito pods being dropped by drones. We have more flexibility with deployment timing in areas that generally have very unpredictable weather and it’s safer because no humans need to ride in the aircraft to deploy the mosquitoes,”  says Adam Knox, project manager for ABC’s aerial deployment of mosquitoes.

“[It also] reduces costs, team flight times, emissions and noise, which in turn means cheaper, more sustainable deployments,” he stated.

Farmer is predicting it will be about a year before they see real results of the most recent deployment, and they’re hoping that will buy them enough time for the bird population to recover. He’s confident that they’ll see at least some improvement, which could mean amazing things for the future of conservation. 

“We have the ability to save these species. If we don’t save these birds in this decade, then they probably won’t be here for the future. And so the ability to make a difference in the world, make a difference in the future, motivates us all.” 

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Endangered African Penguins Getting New Protections As South Africa Enforces No-Fishing Zones

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Conservationists and fishing industry groups in South Africa have increased their efforts to protect the critically endangered African penguin through a legal settlement on creating no-fishing zones around the penguins major breeding colonies, according to reports. 

Sardine and anchovy fishing is now banned within a 12 mile radius of a penguin colony in Cape Town on Robben Island, as well as Bird Island. According to the court order, the no-fishing zones will also be implemented around four other colonies. 

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Commercial fishing greatly impacts the African penguin population as it takes away a majority of their food source. Reports state that the species are currently threatened with extinction by 2035 if their population continues to decrease at the current rate, which is about 7.9% annually. 100 years ago there were about 1 million breeding pairs, today there’s less than 10,000.

“Today’s order is a significant step forward in our fight to save the African Penguin from extinction … However, while we celebrate today’s success, we remain acutely aware that our journey is far from over. The threats facing the African Penguin are complex and ongoing,” said Nicky Stander, head of conservation at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB).

The South African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association and the Eastern and Southern Cape Pelagic Association, stated: 

“The perception that the fishing industry (or that fishing near to breeding sites) is the primary cause of the decline in the penguin population is a false one … We are especially pleased that this settlement will now allow scarce resources to be used constructively to scientifically determine the principal factors causing the decline in the penguin population and to ameliorate those where possible.” 

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“This agreement is a testament to what can be achieved when industries and conservationists unite for a common cause. It delivers on the DFFE’s vision of protecting our penguins and preserving our biodiversity, while ensuring the sustainability of our fishing industry,” said Dion George, South Africa’s environment minister. 

“It is good to hear that the island closures have been agreed at last,” said Bob Furness, a University of Glasgow emeritus professor.

“These alone may not be sufficient if penguins continue to be under pressure from many factors and in particular if sardine total stock biomass remains vulnerable to overexploitation at low stock abundances.”

“The fishing closures now needed to be monitored,” said Phil Trathan, who was also part of the expert panel. 

“It is now critical that the focus now turn to examining the industrial fisheries for sardine and anchovy.”

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America’s Butterflies Are Disappearing At An Alarming Rate

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A new study has found that America’s butterfly population is dwindling at a “catastrophic” rate due to climate change, habitat loss, and insecticides. Some populations have decreased by 22% since 2000. 

This study marks the first nationwide systematic analysis of butterfly population densities. They found that throughout the lower 48 states, butterfly populations have been declining at a rate of 1.3% annually since the year 2000. 114 species have reflected significant declines with only 9 species increasing. The study itself was published in the journal Science. 

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“Butterflies have been declining the last 20 years, and we don’t see any sign that that’s going to end,” said study co-author Nick Haddad, an entomologist at Michigan State University, to the Associated Press.

AP reported that the study collected its data utilizing over 76,000 surveys from 35 monitoring programs around the country and “blended” the information to count over 12 million butterflies over the past 25 years. 

Entomologist David Wagner, who wasn’t involved in the study, praised it for offering valuable information to America’s butterfly populations, but emphasized that the data was concerning, calling it “catastrophic and saddening.”

“In just 30 or 40 years we are talking about losing half the butterflies (and other insect life) over a continent! The tree of life is being denuded at unprecedented rates.”

“The United States has 650 butterfly species, but 96 species were so sparse they didn’t show up in the data and another 212 species were not found in sufficient numbers to calculate trends,” said study lead author Collin Edwards, an ecologist and data scientist at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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“I’m probably most worried about the species that couldn’t even be included in the analyses because they were so rare,” said entomologist Karen Oberhauser. 

This data is also so concerning for experts because it offers insights into the future of humans and our environment. 

“The loss of butterflies, parrots and porpoises is undoubtedly a bad sign for us, the ecosystems we need and the nature we enjoy,” said butterfly expert Anurag Agrawal.

“They are telling us that our continent’s health is not doing so well … Butterflies are an ambassador for nature’s beauty, fragility and the interdependence of species. They have something to teach us.”

“What’s happening to butterflies in the United States is probably happening to other, less-studied insects across the continent and world,” Wagner said. 

“Butterflies are also pollinators, though not as prominent as bees, and are a major source of pollination of the Texas cotton crop,” Haddad said.

India Has Doubled Its Tiger Population Over A Decade

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According to a new study published this week, India has doubled its tiger population in about a decade by protecting the species from dangers such as poaching and habitat loss.

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Museum Of Zoology In Cambridge Is Utilizing Artificial Intelligence To Give Animals A Voice 

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A month-long project at Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology will utilize artificial intelligence to give deceased animals, extinct and common, the ability to share their life stories and experiences of the afterlife. 

According to reports, the museum will feature more than a dozen exhibits including ones of an American cockroach, dodo, red panda, and skeleton parts of a whale fin, all of which will be able to “speak” to visitors. 

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The models of the various species will each have their own personalities and accents to reflect the regions they’re from and their known personalities in the wild. Visitors can converse will the models through voice or text on their phones. One of the major goals of this is to emphasize the crisis of dwindling biodiversity in our world. 

“Museums are using AI in a lot of different ways, but we think this is the first application where we’re speaking from the object’s point of view,” said Jack Ashby, the museum’s assistant director. 

“Part of the experiment is to see whether, by giving these animals their own voices, people think differently about them. Can we change the public perception of a cockroach by giving it a voice?”

Nature Perspectives is the name of the company behind the exhibit. Their overall goal as an organization is to build AI models that will help connect humans to the natural world more, especially now that the Earth is really feeling the impact of climate change.

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When it came to bringing the collection together, each exhibit was equipped with AI that was given specific details on where the specific species lives, its natural environment, and how it arrived in the collection. Additional information is also provided, according to the Guardian. 

The exhibits will also motif their language and tone based on the age of the visitor interacting with it. Each can communicate in over 20 languages as well. 

Ashby is hoping “visitors will learn more than can fit on the labels that accompany the specimens.”

“When you talk to these animals, they really come across as personalities, it’s a very strange experience,” Ashby said.

 “I started by asking things like ‘where did you live?’ and ‘how did you die?’, but ended up with far more human questions.”

The exhibit officially opened this week and will be within the museum for the next month, or until November 15th. To learn more about it, visit their website!

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United Nation Reports Global Wildlife Trafficking Is Causing ‘Untold Harm Upon Nature’

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A report from the United Nations has warned that more than 4,000 species of animals around the world are currently being targeted by traffickers, which is causing an unknown level of “harm upon nature.”

Crimes and trafficking involving wildlife are driven by demands for medicine, pets, bushmeat, ornamental plants, and trophies, according to reports. Of all the animals currently being trafficked, 40% are on the “red list” of threatened or near-threatened species. 

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The wildlife trade is active in more than 80% of countries around the world, according to the report which came from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

“Despite gaps in knowledge about the full extent of wildlife trafficking and associated crime, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that this remains a significant global problem far from being resolved.”

Researchers for the report looked at more than 140,000 wildlife seizures that took place between 2015 and 2021. They found that Corals, larger reptiles like crocodiles, and elephants had the largest number of individual seizures. 

These crimes are also actively driving extinction rates in species of rare orchids, succulent plants, reptiles, and fish, according to UNODC. 

“About 16,000 tonnes of goods were seized. Actual wildlife trafficking levels are of course far greater than the recorded seizures,” researchers say in the report.

“Wildlife crime inflicts untold harm upon nature, and it also jeopardizes livelihoods, public health, good governance and our planet’s ability to fight climate change,” said Ghada Waly, the executive director of the UNODC.

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Separate research has found that specific populations of spider monkeys and Baird’s tapir have declined up to 99.9% due to the illegal wildlife trade exclusively. Researchers want the world to know that this illegal trading can lead to global extinctions of multiple species, which would also impact the overall environment. 

“Much wildlife crime is linked to large organized crime groups. Corruption plays a critical role in undermining efforts to stop wildlife trafficking, from bribes paid to inspectors, to government officials allowing fake permits,” the report says.

“An absence of seizures of a particular commodity or at a certain location could reflect lack of enforcement, rather than evidence that illegal trade was not taking place,” researchers said. 

It is estimated that the illegal wildlife trading industry could be worth around $23 billion annually, with over 100 million plants and animals being trafficked every year. While the UNODC has the goal of ending all trafficking of protected species, it seems unlikely that they’ll reach that by 2030 as they initially planned. 

“To address this crime, we must match the adaptability and agility of illegal wildlife trade,” said Waly.

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India’s Endangered Tiger Population Is Steadily Increasing Thanks To Conservation Efforts 

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In the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 100,000 tigers roaming around Asia before human intervention caused that number to plummet. In 2006, it was reported that only around 1,411 tigers remained in India; the nation with the most of the world’s remaining tiger population. 

Now, conservation efforts have helped that number grow, and nearly double, to around 3,167, according to reports from last year from a tiger census study. 

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Currently, that number accounts for around 70% of the world’s tiger population, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on this increase in an address on Sunday.

“We have thousands of years of history related to tigers … The tiger is considered our brother in many tribes. A better future for humanity is only possible when our environments are protected and our biodiversity continues to expand.”

The tiger population in Asia began steeply declining in the 1940s due to an increase in the human population. Human’s efforts with agricultural expansion, deforestation, and natural infrastructure has impacted the natural environments in which tiger’s live. 

The WWF stated that these human interventions have caused tigers to no longer have a solitary environment, and drastically removed the large territories they use for hunting. They also reported that as of today, tigers exist on only 7% of the land they used to occupy. 

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In 1971, India had a population of around 547 million, and today they’re at 1.4 billion and set to become the world’s most populated country this year. 

In the 1980s, unregulated poaching also caused the tiger population to decline drastically. Tigers have been hunted for sport, social status, and consumption. Although India banned tiger hunting in 1972, it still remains a major issue; in 2005 India cited poaching as the reasoning for the complete extinction of tigers living in an Indian reserve. 

In the past years, conservation efforts have developed 53 new tiger reserves that stretch across 75,800 square kilometers; initially these efforts only had 9 reservations. Authorities have even paid and relocated entire villages as a means of making more space for the tigers. 

Government funded technology has embraced the use of drones, camera traps, and advanced software systems to track tiger populations and ideally keep them safe from illegal poachers. 

While poaching and the ongoing threat of climate change still poses a major threat to the tiger population, the conservation efforts have given many a lot of hope, so much so that India has begun sharing their techniques and strategies with other countries to help them ideally increase declining tiger populations.

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Endangered Black Rhinos Moved to Malawi For A New Chance At Life

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Animal endangerment has become one of the most common issues associated with climate change. Many species have entered what’s known as the “red list” of endangerment, meaning their population is so sparse that reproduction and recovery chances are slim. This is a result of the destruction of countless ecosystems and habitats globally, as well as over-hunting and poaching, an issue that’s been around for decades. Just recently the Koala population in New South Wales, Australia was cut by 30% due to the extreme bushfires taking over the continent. 

Rhinoceroses have taken one of the hardest hits in terms of population decline due to man-made interference. According to Reader’s Digest, at the beginning of the 20th Century there were about half a million rhinos roaming the planet, and now, that number is down to less than 30,000. 

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“There were many more rhinos in the early 1900’s, but today they are threatened by poaching and habitat loss. As human populations increase, they are putting more pressure on rhino habitats as well, contracting the living space for rhinos and increasing the likelihood of contact with humans—often with fatal results,” says Bas Huijbregts, African Species Manager at the World Wildlife Fund.

Poaching is very common in different areas of Africa, which has caused two specific species of rhino to be hit the hardest. Black and white rhinos are native to Africa, as of this year about 5,500 black rhinos are still alive, and up to 17,000 white rhinos are still alive; however, within the subspecies of northern white rhinos, only two are still in existence. In an attempt to combat the growing poaching issue, members of the British army have stepped in to relocate the black rhinos to offer them a safer environment for them to continue living. 

The troops are moving the black rhinos from the coast of Southern Africa to Malawi, a land-locked area further north, in what they’re calling “one of the largest international rhino translocations to date.” British troops are working with the conservationist group African Parks, who specialize in saving the many endangered species that are native to Africa. The conservationist group helped provide transportation services for the animals’ big move. 

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According to Africa Parks (AP) report, so far the groups have successfully moved 17 black rhinos to their new place in Malawi. The troops themselves were originally stationed in Malawi for three months as a counter-poaching measure. They worked with individuals who were a part of Liwonde National Park in Malawi, and that’s how they got connected with Africa Parks, as the park falls under AP’s jurisdiction. 

Their initial mission, before the big rhino move, was to work with AP to train all of the new, and current, rangers working in the national park on new methods of catching poachers and implementing more effective patrolling methods. They also wanted to improve upon communication standards as a means of prevention before the poachers can even get access to the park. 

“Helping with the rhino move was a fitting end to our time in Malawi, getting up close to the animals we are here to help protect was an experience the soldiers won’t forget,” Major Jez England, Officer Commanding British Army Counter Poaching Team in Liwonde, said in a statement to CNN.

As previously stated only about 5,500 black rhinos are still alive. The British Army and AP hope this move can continue to help conserve the population and rebuild even a little bit of what was lost. The British troops have since returned home; however, their efforts with African Parks and the WWF continue on.

Polar Bears

A Village In Russia Is Being Invaded By Polar Bears

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The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has put out an official warning for the town of Ryrkaypiy, Russia stating that villagers need to be on constant high alert for polar bears, as it seems a large number of them have begun migrating south towards the town in an attempt to reach a colder climate. The WWF states that there can be upwards of 50+ bears roaming around the shores looking for food; the shores border the village.

Groups of police officers around the town have been assigned “Polar Bear Patrol.” According to the BBC, patrolmen have been posted all around the village’s border keeping an eye out for any wandering hungry bears, as well as standing guard near all schools in the town’s district to ensure every child’s safety. Additionally, police have enforced special buses to take children to and from school to make sure none of them are walking home alone and vulnerable. 

The “bear invasion” is causing major terror in the Chutkotka region of Russia, so much so that all public events in the area have been cancelled indefinitely until they can gain further control over the situation. So far, police doing their daily border inspections have counted 56 bears conglomerating near the shores of Ryrkaypiy (BBC).

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Conservationists and workers for the WWF alike are blaming climate change for the sudden migration. Typically, these bears live on Cape Schmidt, an area that’s less than 2 miles away from Ryrkaypiy; however, within the past few years there’s been more and more polar bear sightings in the village, this year being the largest group of bears yet. The Cape is typically an amazing source of food for the polar bears, but climate change has caused the area to become a lot warmer, weakening the coastal ice which removes a large area where the bears hunt for food. As a result of this, the bears travelled further along the coast to search for a colder area with a more vast food supply, thus the Ryrkaypiy invasion. 

“The animals are both adults and young there are females with cubs of different ages. Almost all of them appear to be abnormally thin,” said Tatyana Minenko, head of Ryrkaypiy’s bear patrol program.

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Minenko also mentioned how quickly this problem has progressed for the village, emphasizing that just five years ago the bear patrol team only had to deal with about five bears getting close to the village. The fact that the number has multiplied by ten within such a short span of time worries experts in the WWF and police, so much so that specialists feel the village should be completely evacuated. At the rate that the polar bear numbers are increasing, experts are worried about what the state of the village will be in another five years. However, the 700+ Ryrkaypiy residents are standing their ground, at least for now. 

“If the ice were strong enough the bears, or at least some of them, would have already gone to sea, where they could hunt for seals or sea hares,” said WWF conservationist Mikhail Stishov.

“I as a scientist believe [Ryrkaypiy village] should not remain there,” he said. “We try to control the situation, but nobody would want to think what may happen there in three to five years,” said Anatoly Kochnev, polar bear specialist from the Institute of Biological Problems of the North.

Scientists and the WWF have made it clear to residents that if they wish to relocate their village they could “organize a referendum” to establish a general consensus, and decide as a democracy the easiest way to relocate. For now though, it seems as though villagers aren’t budging on leaving their homes, so the situation continues to be closely monitored.