Robert Muthami’s Post

This Reconciliation Week, we're celebrating a successful collaboration between Traditional Owners and scientists, who have joined forces to protect and restore a crucial natural resource for native wildlife in the South East known as "freshwater soaks".   A soak, or soakage, is a source of water often stored below ground, sometimes as part of an ephemeral river or creek. The name ‘soak’ refers to the way water seeps into the sand. The soaks are a vital resource for species such as swamp wallabies, common wombats, emus, spotted marsh frogs and herons.   For this project, Traditional Owners of the Coorong region, Ngarrindjeri and First Nations of the South East teamed up with the Department for Environment and Water's Aboriginal Partnerships team and Freshwater, River Murray and Coorong Science Team to study the areas's soaks using groundwater loggers and fixed cameras   The Murraylands Riverland Landscape Board and groundwater researchers from Flinders University also provided support to facilitate and assist with monitoring and research.   Part of the Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin program, the project has a strong focus on incorporating First Nations Knowledge with contemporary scientific methods, which has led to a rich exchange of cultural insights.   The knowledge gathered through the project will be critical in the ongoing management of ecologically and culturally important areas of the region.   Follow the link to learn more about this amazing partnership: https://lnkd.in/g372iSWU   #TheCoorong #Coorong #FreshwaterSoaks #Ecology

New paper published this week! Here we show how a natural capital risk register can be used to support the development of funding mechanisms for seagrass habitat restoration.  Key takeaways: 🔵Nature finance products rely on the delivery of ecosystem services. 🔵Natural capital risk registers can be used to assess the risk of ecosystem service loss and support the development of funding mechanisms and governance actions for habitat enhancement. 🔵This approach to risk is highly transferable and is demonstrated through a case study on Plymouth Sound seagrass beds. University of Plymouth, Sian Rees, Matthew Ashley, Tom Mullier, Martin Attrill, Amelia Sturgeon, Zoe Sydenham, Mark Parry, Dr. Katey Valentine

.@FAO, @SERestoration & @IUCN_CEM have released new guidance on how to carry out ecosystem restoration projects for the maximum benefit of nature & people. Read more on 5 key phases & 300 recommendations for long-term success. 👉 bit.ly/3PxmZkW #GenerationRestoration

🌿 Exciting Insights into Voluntary Land Conservation in Peru! 🇵🇪 Why do people voluntarily conserve nature in a context of no support or incentives? In this paper, we used a relational approach to uncover the meaningful relationships that sustain landowners' efforts. The relational values of place attachment, stewardship, love and care, and responsibility were among the main drivers to keep on protecting nature. 🤝 A Call for Relational Perspectives: Our findings emphasize the importance of adopting a relational perspective in studying land conservation. Acknowledging that our existence is intricately intertwined with our relationships with others and nature, we highlight how PPAs reflect landowners' intentions to preserve, protect, and restore the multitude of relationships embedded in the land. by Kai Chan Nathan Bennett Santiago De la Puente Jeri Janette Bulkan UBC IRES https://lnkd.in/djyK7tax

Today marks the launch of the government's new Biodiversity Net Gain scheme (BNG), whereby commercial and housing developers will be required to demonstrate a plan to improve biodiversity by at least 10% - either through on-site mitigation, or purchase of off-site credits - in order for a development to receive planning approval. At Nattergal Ltd, we welcome this new initiative as it not only aligns with our own mission to restore nature and benefit communities, it also provides a vital new source of funding to help enable Nature to thrive. We proudly invest in landscape-scale Nature recovery and have a 1000ha portfolio of projects across the country, including Boothby Wildland in Lincolnshire and High Fen Wildland in Norfolk, with more sites in the pipeline. Now in its third year, Boothby Wildland is introducing a range of ecological interventions to kickstart nature recovery, such as sowing wildflower seed and river restoration. This will help the site's natural recovery and regeneration, as will the next stage when we reintroduce large free-roaming herbivores, such as ancient breed cattle, pigs, and ponies. The project will not only help to restore biodiversity, it is also expected to help capture and remove more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next 50 years, whilst providing access and social benefits to the local community. To learn more about our Boothby Wildland project click below: https://lnkd.in/eUSQ4wBq To learn more about BNG via Nattergal click the following link: https://lnkd.in/ercppeZs #BNG #biodiversity #naturerecovery

How can we identify potential key Fish habitats in our local waterways? This recently published work proposes a conceptual framework for developing a rapid field appraisal in ephemeral streams that are largely forgotten or ignored in management and restoration interventions. With Megan Powell, Daniel Svozil, Aaron Wright and PeterScanes Full paper: https://lnkd.in/gGreJRui

The Managalas Plateau in Papua New Guinea is home to unique and threatened species like the Raggiana birds-of-paradise, long-beaked echidnas, and the world's largest butterflies. This 215,000-hectare plateau has drawn international attention due to the looming threats of logging, mining, and oil palm plantations. Declared the country's largest conservation area in 2017, the plateau still faces ongoing challenges. To address these challenges, CIFOR-ICRAF has stepped in to support the development of a bottom-up community conservation approach, with Managalas as the pilot area. Funded by the European Union’s Forestry-Climate Change-Biodiversity (EU-FCCB) Nexus Programme, the project aims to support the Managalas communities in their vision for sustainable economic development in a forest landscape. Read more: 🔗 https://bit.ly/4bDqgIu European Union in Papua New Guinea | Will Unsworth #TreesPeoplePlanet

Love this work by the team at Baygold, such a beautiful property and having an incredible environmental impact! Thanks for leading the charge Olivia Manusauloa! 'The new phase of the project comes just as Niwa updated figures showing just how successful the initial wetland has been in filtering out contaminant concentrations. Between September 2022 and January 2024, nitrate nitrogen levels dropped 89 per cent, for example, while total nitrogen readings were reduced by 55 per cent. There was a 90 per cent reduction in dissolved reactive phosphorus, a 43 per cent drop in total suspended solids and an 80 per cent drop in E. coli levels.' 'While contaminants have dropped in the new wetland, there have been significant increases in native wildlife using the ponds and reeds as habitat. Scientists have even sighted the rare New Zealand dabchick (weweia), a type of grebe that has a total population estimated at 1900-2000.' https://lnkd.in/gUNNMtFa

Very interesting methodology to help update IUCN Red List data, used in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

Wetlands in Indo-Burma are home to many species endemic to the region, making it one of the top 10 Biodiversity Hotspots for irreplaceability. To strengthen their conservation, participants from five countries convened at the 7th Annual Meeting of Indo-Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative (IBRRI) meeting to share national progress and outline the next IBRRI Strategic Plan (2025-2030).   The meeting provided an opportunity for partners, including representatives of government, non-governmental organisations and Ramsar International Organization Partners to share updates on wetland conservation and management in 2023, and discuss future priorities and opportunities for enhanced wetlands management in the region.                From integrating local wisdom & knowledge to strengthening disaster management, here are some ways IBRRI can support in advancing the protection of wetlands across the region: