Vodpod videos no longer available.
Along the Yucatan Peninsula, in a land of heat and drenching humidity thrives a rare mangrove ecosystem, important for coastal life and home to jaguarundi, hundreds of bird species and, yes, maybe a mosquito or two. I hope you enjoy this short jaunt into the mangroves, sans the mosquitoes, near Celestun in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. One afternoon doesn’t do a place like this justice, but it is a glimpse into this vulnerable ecosystem that is increasingly under threat from climate change, deforestation, pollution and coral reef degradation.
Leave a comment | tags: adventure, boat-billed heron, Celestun, Central America, climate change, Conservation, Conservation Photography, coral reef, deforestation, degradation, eco, Ecotourism, endangered ecosystem, forest, frigatebird, heron, ibis, iLCP, jaguarundi, jungle, magnificent frigatebird, Mangrove, Merida, Mexico, migration, Morgan E. Heim, Morgan Heim, mosquito, overfishing, pollution, tannin, Tourism, white ibis, Yucatan, Yucatan Peninsula | posted in Central America, Conservation, Conservation Photography, ecology, Ecotourism, Endangered Ecosystems, global warming, migration, Photography, Tourism, Uncategorized, Wildlife
Only about 500 of the birds remain in the world, making the white-shouldered ibis a creature that flirts dangerously
A white-shouldered ibis in Cambodia. Human impact on this critically endangered bird can be beneficial rather than destructive, and could even save it from extinction. (Photo/Hugh Wright)
with extinction. The once common bird’s number is not up just yet however, as the ibis’ saving grace may lie in their relationship with small-scale farmers of Cambodia, a partnership likely to help save both the bird and a traditional way of life in Southeast Asia.
A new study published in the journal Animal Conservation highlights the work of the University of East Anglia and BirdLife International as they look at the benefits of traditional small-scale farming to survival of the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis. Farming and cattle grazing create ideal forage land for the birds and opens a clean line of sight for spotting predators and prey. These findings draw attention to the friendlier side of human impacts. But plans for large-scale development in western Siem Pang, Cambodia, threaten both the farmer’s way of life and the ibis’ last hope for survival.
Scientists, conservation groups and the Cambodian government are currently looking at ways to mediate impacts. “The Forestry Administration in Cambodia is supportive of a proposal to make the area a protected forest,” said Hugh Wright, lead author of the study, in a press release “and we believe that this – along with the continuation of local farming methods practiced for generation after generation – will be crucial in saving this once common species from extinction.”
To find out more about the plight of the white-shouldered ibis, check out BirdLife International.
Leave a comment | tags: asia, asian, avian, biology, BirdLife International, birds, Cambodia, Conservation, critically endangered, culture, ecology, Endangered Species, extinction, farm, forest, Hugh Wright, ibis, land management, nature, ornithology, rural, save, saving, science, small-scale farms, southeast asia, survival, traditional, University of East Anglia, University of East Angllia, way of life, Wetlands, white-shouldered, white-shouldered ibis, Wildlife | posted in biology, birds, Conservation, land management, Population Declines, science, Uncategorized, Wetlands, Wildlife, Wildlife in Danger
The Nature Files 