Global Forest Watch’s Post

BREAKING: Two new fire ant nests have been discovered in Meringandan West, north of Toowoomba. 🚨 We're running out of time to protect our native wildlife and communities from these tiny killers. If we're going to get eradication back on track, the state and federal governments must implement the recommendations from the recent senate inquiry into fire ants. We need ✅ more community outreach, education and advertising, ✅ increased fire ant checks and compliance and ✅ additional funding and resources.

Excited to share the publication of a report I authored, with Anuradha Mittal, examining the ongoing legacy of violence against Indigenous communities residing on an illegally demarcated reserve in Kenya. The report, “Nowhere to Go: Violent Evictions Threaten Land and Lives in Kenya’s Kamnarok Game Reserve,” is based on interviews with local residents, an extensive review of government and financial documents, and a number of local media reports. Prompted by recent evictions in May - which included the burning and demolition of homes, gardens, and businesses - this report highlights the ongoing history of dispossession and violence in a little-known tourist park in Baringo County. Further, it covers troubling links between Western government funding and the conservation of this illegally seized land, calling for transparency, compensation, and the restoration of the land to its rightful owners. Read the full report here, on the The Oakland Institute's website:

🌱In #Cambodia, the O Taneung community has secured legal recognition of their forest and restored an area threatened by illegal logging into a thriving ecosystem. 🌳A community credit scheme enables members to sustainably manage their forest. Other initiatives, like deadwood harvesting, support these efforts. Furthermore, support from local authorities has enabled community members to reduce illegal logging and land grabbing substantially, demonstrating the impact of secure tenure rights on both livelihoods and conservation. 👉🏽https://lnkd.in/gUtfFpp3 #UNited4Land #DesertificationandDroughtDay

Tackling #InvasiveSpecies calls for strategic approaches: 🔍 Swift identification & action 🌲 Reviving native habitats 📢 Community awareness 📃 Enforcing robust policies 🤝 United multisectoral effort These open the door to protecting our ecosystems! Learn more from IPBES 👇

Have your say about keeping predators at bay! The annual Te Korowai o Waiheke community survey is now underway, and it would be great to hear your thoughts about all things around predator eradication and control on Waiheke. The communities support is critical to the project, and your feedback will help to shape plans moving forwards. Fill out the quick survey here: https://bit.ly/3WjOnYF #PredatorFree2050

In addition to mitigation measures, the world needs to deal with the impact of climate change that is already here. Having visited beautiful Valparaiso and Vina del Mar in Chile a number of years ago, this story was very touching. So what did Villa Botania do to survive these fires? Digging deeper from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) I found this article (link below) from Thomson Reuters where it mentions that “before the flames crept close, the community cut back vegetation, pruned foliage and cleared trash surrounding the hilltop homes. They also brought in water to keep soil wet, and a wall and trench around the area kept the blaze from coming closer.” We need to share these sample cases of sucess, including details on how these initiatives came about and how were they funded, to encourage other communities to implement #adaptation and #resiliency measures to deal with high risk, high frequency events such as forest fires. https://lnkd.in/gQ8vk4wA

During Shea Month this July, we're bringing attention to the environmental threats facing shea parklands, the impact on the shea supply chain and the communities that depend on it. This year, we're also focusing on how you can contribute to parkland restoration efforts to combat and reverse these challenges. The Global Shea Alliance partnered with its members to create a comprehensive guide for cultivating shea seedlings in community based nurseries. One of the goals of the Action for Shea Parklands (ASP) initiative is to grow 10 million trees and important to this mission is the availability of tree seedlings. By fostering the creation of community nurseries and motivating individuals to take part in shea and native tree cultivation, we can all play a role in revitalising shea parklands. ASP empowers individuals and communities to actively engage in environmental preservation, secure the shea supply chain and support the livelihoods of those reliant on these trees. Discover how you can get involved and find our guide to sowing shea seeds here: https://shorturl.at/g6hiF #WomenInShea #SheaMonth2024 #Sheaparklands #SahelParklands #Action4shea #Partnership4Shea #GenerationRestoration

Community engagement is very key in conservation

Overall funding for Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ tenure and forest guardianship has increased by 36% since 2020, with 72% of the increase driven by the IPLC Forest Tenure Pledge. IP- and LC-led funding mechanisms can ensure that more of this funding is channeled to communities’ own local organizations!  The Rights and Resources Initiative’s IP- and LC-led funding mechanism, the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative (CLARIFI), represents the next generation of an Indigenous-led global movement to secure rights and safeguard nature. By supporting the self-determined priorities of local peoples, CLARIFI ensures that they have agency in shaping their own future.  #ThePledgeWeWant Learn more here → clarifirights.org

The species is at risk of imminent extirpation from two rivers in the Rouge Watershed. And are likely in decline in 3 other rivers. However without an ability to sample and study the species it is impossible to prove. The major cause for the species decline is stormwater within urbanized portions of its range. An activity that is unregulated with regards to species and habitats. More permits and regulation are in place for work that seeks to understand and conserve the species than activities that do the opposite.