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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.”

‘The Acrobats Of The Skunk World,’ Scientists Discover Handstanding Spotted Skunks

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Scientists have recently discovered that there are more spotted skunk species than initially thought. Initially, it was agreed that there were four different species of spotted skunk, but according to the Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution scientific journal, there are seven spotted skunk species. 

“North America is one of the most-studied continents in terms of mammals, and carnivores are one of the most-studied groups. Everyone thinks we know everything about mammalian carnivore systematics, so being able to redraw the skunk family tree is very exciting,” said study author Adam Ferguson.

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Spotted skunks are smaller than their striped relatives; about the size of a squirrel. They live all throughout North America and are carnivores. When it comes time to scare off a predator, these skunks perform a handstand and kick out their back legs as a form of intimidation.

“When they’re stressed, they bounce up onto their forelimbs and then kick out their hind limbs, puff their tail up, and they actually can walk towards the predator, basically making them look bigger and scarier. These ‘ecologically cryptic’ creatures live in dense environments and remote areas and seem less adaptable to urbanization than their larger, striped counterparts, Ferguson said.

Spotted skunks keep such a low profile that it makes them hard to study. The first spotted skunk was discovered in 1758, and since then there have been 6 potential other skunk species. Ferguson explained how they determined there were seven kinds of spotted skunks after analyzing data and observing them in their natural habitat. 

Ferguson and his team went to Mexico six times, and never caught a spotted skunk, but if they did they likely would’ve had a smelly surprise waiting for them. 

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“We call it the smell of success because it means we’ve actually encountered one, which is the ultimate goal. I was inspired to make ‘wanted’ posters and distribute them across central Texas in feed stores and areas where ranchers and trappers operate. The posters described the need for any spotted skunks that may have been trapped or found as roadkill and showed photos of the creatures,” he explained. 

The researchers also analyzed museum collection specimens to give them a greater understanding of their evolution and history. 

“I was able to extract DNA from century-old museum samples, and it was really exciting to see who those individuals were related to. It turns out that one of those was a currently unrecognized, endemic species in the Yucatan,” said study author Molly McDonough.

“The study wouldn’t have been possible without the museum specimens we had. The only reason we were able to get sequences from the more recent spotted skunk discoveries were museum specimens that were collected 60 or 70 years ago,” Ferguson said.

Skunks originally appeared in fossil records some 25 million years ago, and during that time they evolved and split into different species due to climate change and the ice age. 

“Knowing more about spotted skunks can also help conservation efforts to protect these animals. Skunks have their own role to play within the ecosystem, consuming fruit and defecating seeds that help with the dispersal of plants, as well as preying on crop pests and rodents,” Ferguson said.

Songbird

Flock of Undiscovered Songbirds Discovered Across Remote Islands

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Since 1999, only an average of around five or six new bird species have been discovered across the planet each year. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the discovery of ten previously unseen songbird species has been met with a great deal of interest by ornithology and biodiversity experts the world over.

The discovery, detailed in the Jan. 10 issue of Science magazine, reveals an intriguing look at avian biodiversity. Made across several Southeast Asian islands near Sulawesi in the Wallacea region – Peleng, Taliabu and the Togian group – the discovery lists five new species alongside five new subspecies, based on the physical features, DNA and song variations of the birds. Some of these differences are visually prominent – for example, the yellow-bellied Togian jungle-flycatcher (Cyornis omissus omississimus) features a crown of iridescent blue feathers to set it apart from its cousins.

It had long been suspected that islands of Taliabu, Peleng and the Togian group may be home to a number of undiscovered bird species. The islands in question are separated from Sulawesi, the nearest landmass, by deep ocean waters; this has restricted a number of animals for intermingling throughout the region, as well as limiting access from predators. In fact, a number of tropical forest birds in the area rarely explore outside of safe, shady forest cover, meaning they are relatively undisturbed by other species.

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In recent years, the majority of new bird species have been found in South America, namely Peru and Brazil. The discovery of new species in Indonesia isn’t a total surprise though, as some researchers in the 1990s did identify what they believed to be new songbird species in the region, but neglected to collect specimens or formally describe any findings. However the fact that animals have been able to exist and survive there for so long without being documented is somewhat surprising – especially considering the number of species found.

The birds are not living without risk though – logging and severe forest fires have been threatening their habitats in recent years, and some predictions suggest the newly discovered species may not survive many more years. These elements are putting a great deal of pressure on biodiversity across the planet, and while conservation efforts are working hard to ensure the survival of such species, little can be done for those that have yet to be discovered.

So what does this discovery mean for avian biodiversity across the world as a whole? Considering North America alone has seen numbers of birds decline by 29% since 1970, the survival of these species is crucial. In the U.S., these numbers are largely due to the loss of natural habitat caused by both climate change and agricultural development, as birds are struggling to survive without the correct environment available, while seabirds are also facing the threat of marine heat waves. Living so remotely, the newly discovered songbirds have managed to largely avoid some of these factors – however this does not mean they aren’t at risk from environmental threats.

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The general consensus between researchers is that Earth is currently undergoing a sixth mass extinction, meaning for the sixth time in the life of the planet global fauna is experiencing a catastrophic collapse in numbers. The United Nations predicts up to one million species could face extinction, and this includes a large number of birds. Conservation groups are working hard to ensure that animals are protected from threats, but as we have seen with the recent wildfires in Australia, this is not always possible. Taliabu and Peleng’s own forest fires have proved that the birds are at risk, and the situation is not getting any better.

Frank Rheindt, associate professor of biological sciences at NUS and one of the researchers involved in the discovery, has been keen to encourage the importance of increased protective efforts, stating that “while most of the avifauna we described seems to tolerate some form of habitat degradation and is readily detected in secondary forest and edge, some species or subspecies are doubtless threatened by the immense levels of habitat loss on these islands. As such, urgent, long-lasting conservation action is needed for some of the new forms to survive longer than a couple of decades beyond their date of description.”

On the whole, the revelation is an overwhelmingly positive one – such a wealth of species points to positive levels of biodiversity in the region. Rheindt and his team are optimistic that the methods used in this discovery could be effectively applied in other regions and for other forms of wildlife in the future. “Going forward, the use of earth-history and bathymetric information could also be applied to other terrestrial organisms and regions beyond the Indonesian Archipelago to identify promising islands that potentially harbour new taxa to be uncovered,” stated Rheindt.