Monthly News Edition 10-15
Bulletin #10 July 2015.
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.
1. JULY CHAIR REPORT
G ‘ day
It has been another very busy month behind the scenes in Rotary and RAGES.
Welcome to all our new members and I welcome you to join us on Facebook and on our web site. I especially welcome you to write ot me and let me know what interest you and how you feel that you can help with our work. Keep an eye on the projects page and the front page of our web site.
We would also appreciate knowing if you will be in Seoul for the 2016 RICON as we need help with our booth.
We have now sent a letter to all the District Governors world wide and as the letter has only just gone out it is too early to say how it was received. However already several Governors have written expressing their support. One District has sent the letter on to all of the members in that District.
What are we looking to do to make RAGES work? Well it is early days however your Board has been working hard on the three projects that we have identified as being of merit for us to support.
A. The Chipembere Rhino Foundation and the Rhino International Survival Kits or RISK Boxes.
B. The Oloimugi Maasai Village Education in basic literacy and wildlife conservation.
C. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and their Community Outreach Programme.
As we develop these ideas into actual projects more information will be sent to you all.
We are also looking at lions and primates.
During July we welcomed Duke Ingram from the band Besuries as a consultant on fund raising projects that we will be promoting. This will include the Say NO! Poster Campaign of which there are now many well known conservationists who have signed the poster. Duke and Rubin Besureis have done a remarkable job in obtaining these signatures.
Besureis will also be engaged in concerts for conservation and their One Fight Unite RAGES Campaign. More on this however they have been asked to be part of the Lion Aid Day in Trafalgar Square on August 22nd. If any of you are in the area please support this event.
Besureis and our Patron Dr Jane Goodall DBE.
Some good publicity in Rotary this month of July:
By Philip Merritt, vice chair of the Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species and a member of the Rotary Club of Mabalacat Clark, Pampanga, Philippines
About three years ago, Rotary member John Glassford sent a message to the Rotarians on the Internet (ROTI) Fellowship’s discussion list asking if anyone had any ideas on how we could help stop the poaching of elephants. I responded: “Why don’t we start a Rotarian Action Group (RAG)?”, and from that point forward, it was a long journey to finally get the Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species (RAGES) recognized by the RI Board in January.
ROTARY VOICES
Thank you Vice-Chair Philip Merritt.
Yours in Rotary
John Glassford
Chair 2014 -2016
Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species
Rotary Club of Coolamon District 9700
New South Wales, Australia
1. The RISK Boxes
We are working on the composition and cost of the Rhino International Survival Kits.So Kit 1 Level 1 will be around US$450. Includes Headlamp, camel back hydration pack, binoculars, 1st Aid kit.
2. THE POSTER CAMPAIGN.
Gathering momentum and the latest to join us include:
Dr. William Fowlds.
Russell Brand
Martin “Pottz” Potter, Kelly Slater, Owen Wright
RAGES Facebook Page
RAGES One Fight Unite Facebook Page
STAY TUNED FOR THE SAY NO! POSTER CAMPAIGN LAUNCH!
3. HOPE.
Latest news on Hope the poached rhino who survived the brutal attack for her horns.
Update from Saving the Survivors
“Its been a busy week and we thought you guys would like an update on Hope. She is doing very well, but true to form she has removed her shield – again.
We are extremely satisfied with how the wound looks. Her new enclosure sponsored by the Wilderness Foundation is almost complete and the gates just need to be added.
Our next procedure is planned in two weeks so we have decided not to replace the shield now and just monitor her closely. We are on plan number D on how to make the perfect shield so our investigation and brainstorming continues. The first picture is today and the second picture was taken before we started the second procedure at the end of May. It is great to see just how far this girl has come and how well she is healing.
Where there is life, there is Hope!”
4. RAGES NEWS FEATURE
Here are a few of the many stories that we have posted to our Facebook and Web Sites. They all have very interesting information that you may like.
i/. Big game is worth more alive than dead!
By Sir Richard Branson
The senseless and brutal killing of the Zimbabwean lion affectionately known as Cecil, by a US hunter two weeks ago, triggered understandable global outrage, far beyond the wildlife conservation community. The way this majestic animal was allegedly lured out of its protected habitat raises a lot of questions about the reality of “recreational” big game hunting in Africa. The people involved in this hunt should be held responsible to the full extent of applicable criminal and civil laws. Cecil was poached, plain and simple.
FULL STORY HERE
ii/. Paula Wiegmink Nee Fink Artist
The wonderful Paula has done it again. Paula painted the Crying Rhino which Paula has allowed us ot use and now has done a painting of Cecil the lion:
“I was asked if I would do a painting of Cecil for Lion Aid. I put out a request on Facebook asking if anyone had any photos of him that they would give me permission to use as a reference. Almost immediately Shaynie Beswick responded sending me some of her wonderful photos. Together with references supplied to me from another source as well I had enough information to do a portrait.
I thank you both so much for sharing your photos with me. As time is of the essence I decided to use acrylic on canvas. The painting still needs a few tweaks and has to be varnished. While painting Cecil, I could feel his presence. He has some very distinguishing marks and when you look closely you can see his battle scars.The strength and experience of this animals oozes from what was once a lion to behold. I hope that Cecil is the catalyst we needed to bring about change and that his life was not lost in vain.”
Paula Wiegmink.
iii/. ZAMBEZI VALLEY ELEPHANTS IN ZIMBABWE:
- There has been a 75% decline in the numbers of elephants in the Zambezi Valley south of Lake Kariba (Sebungwe area) since 2001 – from 14,000 to 3,500.
- A 40% decrease has been recorded in the middle Zambezi Valley complex (which includes Mana Pools) – from 18,000 to 11,500.
FULL STORY HERE
ZAMBEZI SOCIETY WEB SITE.
iv/. Oil palm expansion puts Bornean orangutans at risk of extinction.
More than eighty percent of the remaining orangutan habitat in Borneo could be lost by the year 2080 if the island’s current land-use policies remain intact, according to a new United Nations report.
The report, entitled “The Future of the Bornean Orangutan: Impacts of Change in Land Cover and Climate”, states that the massive conversion of Borneo’s forests for agricultural development – primarily oil palm plantations – will leave the endangered orangutans fragmented and facing extinction in a number of areas.
In addition, the environmental impact of climate change, exacerbated by the deforestation of Borneo, could result in severe floods, temperature rises, reduced agricultural productivity, and other negative effects.
FULL STORY HERE
v/. Why Chimps Are Disappearing and How to Save Them.
Infant chimps, like humans, need affection and play. Caretaker Ludovic Rabasa, at the Tchimounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo, provides both.
Author and conservationist Nancy Merrick first fell under the spell of chimpanzees in the 1970s, when she worked at Jane Goodall’s legendaryGombe Stream Research Center. Charmed by their intelligence and sensitivity, she went on to have a distinguished career at Stanford University founding ChimpSaver.org, an interactive website that helps users contribute to chimp conservation.
In 2008, she took her children back to Africa to discover that forests had been destroyed and the number of chimps had shrunk dramatically. Her new book, Among Chimpanzees: Field Notes From The Race To Save Our Endangered Relatives, is both a clarion call for action and a tender evocation of the emotional lives of man’s closest relative.
FULL STORY HERE.
5. RICON 2016 SEOUL SOUTH KOREA.
Your Board is calling for volunteers who will be in Seoul next May 28th-June 2nd 2016.
We will need help to man our RAGES Booth in the House of Friendship and also the possibility of holding a break out session.
Our AGM will also be set for Seoul.
It is a requirement as a Rotarian Action Group to hold our Annual General Meeting at the RI Convention. In 2016 it will be in Seoul.
Get back to me if you are going and can help. It is not too early to plan for this event. I will be going.
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.