Bulletin #09-16 September Edition 2016.

Bulletin #09-16 September Edition 2016.

This Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species or RAGES is a Rotarian Action Group and operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by Rotary International.

I.  SEPTEMBER CHAIR REPORT

G ‘ day

The month of September saw the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  There was much discussion on Facebook and on the whole most posts declared CITES to be toothless or at worst incompetent.  I have added a story in the section below on Facebook news.

I hope that you enjoy the above link to a lovely video on a gorilla family crossing the road.

This month also saw one of our RAGES Board Members start a campaign for RAGES.  Debbie Mair is our SE Asia Project Director and here is a sample of what Debbie is doing:

You can help Debbie by going to this web site:

RAGES Borneo Pygmy Elephant Project

Good on you Debbie:

Day 10/10 – The Rotary Action Group Endangered Species Protection – RAGES wants everyone to Sit up & Take Notice that 100 elephants are killed every day. Without urgent action to save their species, elephants could be gone from the wild within a single generation.

SITUP AND TAKE NOTICE

Our RAGES web site is being improved to include the three RAGES endorsed projects with donation levels for each project.

You will see that we have created three drop downs one for each project.  The levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond sponsorship.   Example below for teh Rhinos:

RHINO RISK BOXES.

So we are looking for all of you to work  on ideas for awareness and raising the funds for your chosen project.  We will assist you and provide any information that you may need.  Debbie Mair has now set an example for us to follow.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime.

Sammy the Anti Poaching Canine patrol is going well at the Chipembere Rhino Foundation:

Talk soon and please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours in Rotary
John Glassford
RAGES Chair 2014 -2017

Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species
Rotary Club of Coolamon District 9700
New South Wales, Australia

P.S.  Message from one of our newest members:

I live in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, Brazil, where so many animals are on the red list, as you can verify using the following link, in which scientific names are featured: http://www.meioambiente.pr.gov.br/arquivos/File/cobf/livro_fauna_extincao.pdf I am new to Rotary (joined last May 2016), and wonder if I can launch a specific project here, or by joining this Action Group I would be helpful just by making donations. Thanks, and congrats on your awesome actions! ” Margie” Margarida Gasndara Rauen RC of Ill Milenio D4730 Brazil.

Welcome to RAGES Margie!

RAG Endangered Species

1  Wildlife Vet Says “It’s too Much Now” After Brutal Fortnight of Rhino Poaching in KZN

 

2 A nail campaign highlights the absurdity of the illegal wildlife trade

Collecting nails to draw attention to the problem

Marjo Hoedemaker from the Hoedemaker Elephant foundation, and Simone Eckhardt from Stichting SPOTS, are both from the Netherlands and thought of a remarkable project to draw people’s attention to the problem. They have asked people to collect and send them their nails.

FULL STORY HERE

3  Madagascar’s Largest Tortoise Could Become Extinct in 2 Years

One of the world’s rarest tortoises, the ploughshare tortoise, is about to become extinct.

Fewer than 100 ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) remain in the wild, conservationists estimate, and continued poaching of these animals for the illegal pet trade is likely to wipe out the last few individuals in the next two to three years. A coalition of conservation groups made this announcement in a statement to governments attending the ongoing Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“I think the loss of the ploughshare tortoise would be a tragedy and damning indictment of the state of things in Madagascar,” Andrew Terry of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust told Mongabay. “This is not only an ancient species that has every right to exist and not to be traded into extinction, but it is another example of how external forces are able to strip out the country’s natural resources with impunity.”

FULL STORY HERE

 

4  JIM JUSTUS NYAMU WALKS FOR ELEPHANTS

I very much admire Jim and his dedication to the cause.  You can all ask your club members to start a walk or ride in aid of the elephants and rhinos.  Create awareness and then run a function to raise funds for RAGES and our endorsed projects.

Here are Jim’s latest views on CITES:

“It’s now official that African Elephants will not be listed in Appendix I by CITES. The just concluded Cop 17 led by EU , US among other did not see or consider the African elephants range states proposal that would have saved the elephants by removing Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe from Appendix II. So the status remain the same and elephant poaching continues . Africa has about 400,000 elephants (2013) according to African Elephant Status report .

This number is expected to drop in the next 3 years before the CITES CoP18. The big question here ; Do we need CITES to save our African elephants ? Africa continue receiving financial support to EU and US to cub poaching through different means ; why are they not supporting the African proposal ?  I am finishing 3200km campaign walk that has taken 126 days in three countries classified by CITES again as a source of ivory . Ending poaching in Africa is in African hands and we have to explore another means not CITES.

 

5 CITES CONFERENCE 2016

There has been much said about this conference for CITES.

CITES CoP 17 closes after key votes on elephants, lions, pangolins, rosewood, and more.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Since September 24, representatives from more than 180 countries have been gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa for the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which closed recently October 5th 2016.

Numerous proposals and measures related to elephants and the ivory trade were debated at CoP17, including one that resulted in a call countries that have a legal domestic market for ivory that is contributing to poaching or illegal trade to take all necessary legislative, regulatory, and enforcement measures to close markets for raw and worked ivory.

Though the call for closure of domestic ivory markets is not a binding resolution, its passage by consensus in Johannesburg was seen as a strong signal from the CITES Parties — including China, the largest ivory market in the world — that the ivory trade’s days are numbered.

FULL STORY HERE

ORANGUTAN RISK BOXES

Sue Sheward our RAGES Director for primates has put together a series of RISK Boxes for the orangutans in Borneo.

RISK (RAGES Inc. Survival Kits)

The Rotary International Convention in Atlanta will be a large gathering of the Rotary Family.  It will be the centenary of our Foundation.

RAGES as a Rotarian Action Group is obliged to be there in a booth as we did in the Seoul 2016 RICON.

RAGES will also be asking for a break-out session and we will be holding our AGM and the election of our board.

We will be looking for help on the booth and as members we encourage you to attend our AGM and Break-Out Session if we have one allocated to us.

 

You can book here:  Atlanta 2017 RICON.

FOOTNOTE

RARE: A loving welcome to Anna’s newborn calf – Lewa and Borana’s 85th black rhino!

We wish this little one a long and healthy life, and a contribution to the gene pool of this iconic and critically endangered species.

STOP THE PRESS:

THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST

“Magical and Miraculous

Hot, Hot, Hot off the press – ex orphan Wendi has given birth to a tiny baby girl! We wanted to share this news with you all straight away, in fact we haven’t even chosen a name for this tiny bundle of life.

Wendi bringing new life into the world is a true miracle. We rescued Wendi when she was only days old in 2002, a victim of poaching. So young that we do not believe she even received her mother’s colostrum, so we gave her powdered colostrum in her first bottles of milk. Wendi surviving was a miracle, made possible by our dedicated team of carers and their knowledge and expertise.

RAGES FACEBOOK PAGE

Still getting a lot of visits to our Facebook site.

Click on the logo below and join us please on Facebook.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Email: [email protected]

Phone:  61 2 6927 6027  {61 is the code for Australia}.

Postal: 22 Moore Street, GANMAIN, NEW SOUTH WALES 2701, AUSTRALIA.