I love the Brecks – not least, because a visit takes you to a place obviously different. A distinctive landscape shaped by soil, low rainfall and thousands of years of human activity.
We've followed the fate of one of the Brecks most distinctive inhabitants, the stone-curlew, through this blog. The proposal to dual the A11 put this sensitive nocturnal migrant wader centre-stage and the eventual outcome was well balanced between the need to tackle a serious road improvement project and ensure that the future of one of Breckland's own was secure.
Planning in the Brecks has increasingly recognised the importance of the area's natural environment and we have been impressed by the progress made through the Local Development Frameworks that have been produced recently (positive case-studies we will regularly return to as the English planning system undergoes a substantial re-organisation).
So I was particularly interested in the news, today, of the findings of a major survey into Breckland's biodiversity. The study was undertaken by the University of East Anglia and documented 12,500 different species with some 2,000 of national conservation concern.
For over 25 years, we've been working with farmers and landowners to help stone-curlews boost their numbers (an update on that story will be coming soon) and with enlightened planning and a thorough survey of the area's natural richness – the future should be bright for this unique corner of the world.
Follow me on twitter.
The world's eyes will be on the latest round of climate talks taking place in Cancun, Mexico. We have two colleagues there working with BirdLife International to press for the best outcomes from these important talks. No one is expecting this round of talks to provide all the answers - but real progress needs to be made. Negotiations about forests are at a critical stage and I've popped over to the Climate Change blog - and you can read more about Cancun there.
As always, I'll tweet blog posts - so I'd be delighted if you follow me. Here's the link to twitter.
I suspect most readers of this blog have no difficulty in the idea that we should strive to ensure that the rest of life on earth should have a future. In Europe, our best places for wildlife – identified, designated and (to some extent) protected are brought together as a network known as Natura 2000. It’s a term that is rarely used or heard in the UK – though it is no less important here – on the off chance the term comes up in a pub quiz, you can read more about it here.
Safeguarding nature for it’s own sake should be justification enough, but increasingly the case must be made to show that the benefits of protecting our natural environment are measured not just in terms of the health of our wildlife populations, not just in terms of our own well-being underpinned by our love of nature, but in terms of hard cash.
The good news is that the figures stack up – and here is a very substantial report to back up the claim.
From the high veldt in South Africa
One of the attractions of spending a couple of weeks in South Africa was the chance to escape a bit of the British winter – so why was I wrapped up, wishing I had brought gloves, walking into a foggy dawn?
Altitude.
I was visiting the high grasslands near Wakkerstroom home to some rare and very special birds. The fog shrouded a rolling landscape of extensive fields as our party gathered to wait for the mist to clear. It was the prelude to one of those great days, made special by being able to share the experience with friends (if you are interested, you can read about the trip here). Blue korhans (a small species of bustard), including a group with a chick, two blue cranes and eventually, in song-flight as the sun warmed the air, the rare and critically endangered Rudd’s lark. Now Rudd’s lark isn’t one of the species that normally gets to illustrate the amazing heritage of wildlife in South Africa (we did see meekats later in the day) – but this corner of the world is their only home.
I was prompted to recall my wonderful visit to Wakkerstroom the other day when news came in that a 3,600ha privately owned farm has just been declared a Protected Environment. The declaration of the KwaMandlangampisi Protected Environment (pictured), stretching from Wakkerstroom to Luneburg, has been warmly welcomed by South African conservationists as it protects high altitude grasslands, wetlands and mist-belt forests that support a stellar cast of wildlife including South Africa’s three crane species and the rare Oribi.
You can read the full story here.
The grasslands have been under threat as prospecting rights for coal mining raised the spectre of future development in the area. These have been set aside by the mining company and the declaration of a Protected Environment heralds a brighter future for this area, it’s wildlife and the protection of a critically important water catchment.
This is great news and is a major achievement for WWF and Nedbank’s Green Trust supported by campaigns to save the area from the threat of mining by BirdLife South Africa and the Botanical Society. Crucial to the whole outcome has been the commitment and involvement of local farmers.
Gola Forest – a National Park in the making
The RSPB has been involved in Sierra Leone’s Gola Forest for many years, so the news that Sierra Leone and Liberia are starting the formal process of designating the forest as a National Park and Protected Area is welcome – do read more about the announcement here.
New webpages
We’ve been busy updating and adding pages to the Saving Special Places area on the website and here are the links to stories we are following covering threats to some of Africa’s most significant wildlife sites. Firstly, the new pages for the Dakatcha Woodlands and the proposed Serengeti highway and refreshed pages for Lake Natron and the Tana River Delta.
The drive to plant energy-crops to provide biofuels is central to the threats faced by the Dakatcha Woodlands and the Tana River Delta – and colleagues are now telling me of another site threatened by the insatiable thirst for biofuels – the Kilwa District Coastal Forests in Tanzania. Despite the real progress made on some fronts the scale of the new wave of threats to vital natural resources across Africa highlights the challenges conservationists face.
In any analysis of the really, really important environmental issues facing the world there’s one that always tops the list – the need to keep tropical forests standing. Given that is probably one of the most obvious statements I’ve made for a while – I must say I’ve been a bit rubbish at covering the issue in the Saving Special Places blog. In my own defence, our Harapan Rainforest project in Sumatra does have its own blog, and I hope you are reader. Here’s the link.
One reason why I have great pleasure in being able to add Harapan to the tags at the bottom of this blog is that I was asked to contribute to our latest Nature’s Voice podcast – do have a listen here.
Amongst the many reasons that tropical forest survival is crucial to the future of the planet is the combination of the amazing wealth of life they support and the contribution healthy tropical forests bring to tackling climate change. So both in Sumatra and on the wider policy front the RSPB and our partners are currently very active – and up can help.
The work to restore Harapan is underway and our aim is to plant 1 million trees – together with 200 people from communities local to the forest, the work is underway, each tree costs £2 and that’s where you can help – find out how here.
Getting the right deal done in Cancun (the next big climate conference taking place in Mexico at the end of the month) to ensure tropical forests are protected is vital. The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries programme (REDD+ for short) is the way forward provided agreement can be reached. You can add your voice by contacting the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne and urging him to do all he can to secure the deal – find out how here.
If you can help with either or both of these – thank you.