WLTnews ISSUE No 56 AUTUMN 2017
Saving habitats Saving species since 1989 Sponsored by
worldlandtrust.org
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worldlandtrust.org
Please support Big Match Fortnight
The Treasure Chest Appeal Saving the green gold of the Caribbean
Help us save this mountain rainforest
A real treasure chest of species can be found in the mountains of Caribbean Guatemala. The Sierra Santa Cruz is a tropical rainforest full of wildlife, a home to an incredible diversity of species, from jaguars and tapirs to two tiny frogs that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. But as is so often the case, surrounding the mountains and creeping up the slopes are monocultures such as African Oil Palm and cattle ranches. This incredible hotspot of biodiversity has already shrunk under these pressures, and now even the core of rainforest is under threat.
Plan of action The Santa Cruz mountain range is one of the last areas of rainforest left unprotected in Guatemala, and we need your help to secure it before it is too late. To protect approximately 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) and create the reserve, we need to raise £625,000. This reserve will be managed and protected by WLT’s partner Foundation for Eco-development and Conservation (FUNDAECO), who have a track record of protecting habitats in Caribbean Guatemala.
The reserve in Santa Cruz will protect around 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) of tropical rainforest in the mountains from the deforestation which surrounds it
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PROPOSED SIERRA SANTA CRUZ PROTECTED AREA TREASURE CHEST APPEAL TARGET PROPERTIES
How can I help? The reserve in Santa Cruz will provide a core of protected habitat, which can then be extended to prevent further deforestation in the area. Please support this appeal to make sure this land is protected from the threats surrounding these mountain forests. All donations made between October 4-18 in WLT’s annual Big Match Fortnight will be doubled by our match sponsors, so your support will go twice as far.
Of the 142 mammal species recorded in Santa Cruz, 12 are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. It is home to several cat species, including Ocelot (pictured), Puma, Margay and Jaguar
Donations towards the Treasure Chest Appeal can be made by post, telephone or online
All donations doubled between October 4-18, 2017
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Protecting the green gold of the Caribbean A wealth of wildlife in Sierra Santa Cruz
Cross-continental flyway
Sierra Santa Cruz is a hotspot for endangered wildlife, and by protecting its rainforest we can secure a lifeline for species which are threatened across their range in Latin America. Of the amphibian species currently recorded in Santa Cruz, more than a third are classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List. Four of these species are Critically Endangered, which means they are categorised as facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild: Chinamococh Stream Frog (featured below), Black-eyed Leaf Frog, Copan Stream Frog and a rough skinned frog with no English name (Craugastor trachydermus). This region of the Caribbean also has a high diversity of salamanders. The species known in Santa Cruz include Guatemala’s largest, Doflein’s Mushroomtongue Salamander, pictured below with the smallest, Dunn’s Climbing Salamander.
Bird species recorded 600+ 500 400 300 250 200 150 100 50 15 0
The Caribbean coast of Guatemala is a hotspot for bird diversity in the Americas
As well as having a high diversity of resident bird species, which include striking raptors such as the King Vulture (pictured top centre on cover), Caribbean Guatemala provides important stopover habitat for birds migrating between the continents and wintering in tropical forests. Some of the North American birds which take their winter ‘holidays’ in Santa Cruz are the Woodthrush, Worm-eating Warbler and Kentucky Warbler. At least 40 species of neotropical migratory birds rely on this habitat for food as they make their way to the South American continent. These include the Blackburnian Warbler, Swainson’s Hawk and Eastern Wood-Pewee. All this activity makes the conservation of this habitat vital for American bird diversity, as shown left by the ‘Bird Hotspot’ map created with data from the tracking app ‘eBird’.
Sierra Santa Cruz is an important habitat for migrating birds. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (left) winters in Caribbean Guatemala, the Blackburnian Warbler (right) uses it as a stopover on its way south
Critically Endangered and endemic to Sierra Santa Cruz Meet the Chinamococh Stream Frog
Amphibians of Caribbean Guatemala: the Critically Endangered Blackeyed Leaf Frog (top), O’Donnell’s Salamander (centre) and below Guatemala’s largest salamander pictured with the smallest (Dunn’s Climbing Salamander)
Latin name: Ptychohyla sanctaecrucis Habitat: Threats:
Undisturbed Wet Forest Habitat loss, water pollution, chytridiomycosis
The Chinamococh Stream Frog can only be found in the tropical rainforest of Sierra Santa Cruz, where it breeds in the mountain streams. It is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List due to loss of habitat from expanding agriculture, illegal logging and water pollution. Another threat to this endemic frog is chytridiomycosis, an infectious fungal disease in amphibians. Together with habitat loss, this fungus is thought to be responsible for the global decline in amphibians. The conservation priority for this species is to protect its only known range in Sierra Santa Cruz, before species-specific measures against chytridiomycosis can be established.
worldlandtrust.org
Borneo target tripled Star couple: Steve and Helen Backshall
WLT Patron Steve Backshall and his wife, Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover, kayaked 125 miles from Devizes to Westminster in the DW race (nicknamed ‘Canoeist’s Everest’) to raise funds and awareness for WLT’s Saving Kinabatangan Appeal. The original target for the appeal was £100,000 to purchase three properties close to the Keruak Corridor WLT had previously protected with partner Hutan. The appeal received an unprecedented amount of support, breaking WLT’s overnight fundraising record after Steve and Helen appeared on BBC’s The One Show. After exceeding the original target, we were notified that a fourth property of 12 acres (4.8 hectares) alongside the first three of 7 acres (2.8 hectares) could also be protected if we could keep up the fundraising momentum and we upped the target to £250,000.
The urgency of these land purchases and the importance of Bornean biodiversity continued to inspire the remarkable generosity of supporters, and by the end of June the appeal had tripled its original target, raising enough to protect a fifth property of another 12 acres (4.9 hectares).
Steve and Helen spent six weeks training for the 24 hour kayak race. They visited the UK’s largest indoor rainforest for inspiration: The Eden Project in Cornwall
Roger Wilson (1949-2017)
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Extract from Reminiscences by John Burton “I have known Roger since the late 1970s. When he died suddenly in June 2017, he left a chasm in my life which will never be filled. Roger was an exceptionally innovative person and one of the most experienced, practical conservationists of his generation. He travelled the globe, and his professional experiences ranged from island bird conservation in the Indian Ocean to Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda; from the forests of Belize to the Gran Chaco of Paraguay; from the Falkland Islands to the Philippines and many more. His career included working for the big foreign aid programmes, including the EU, as well as large conservation bodies such as The Nature Conservancy. But he was
in his element when working with smaller organisations, where he could develop his unique style of pioneering and effective conservation, creating new models for future generations. For the past decade he brought his incredible skills to World Land Trust and led our conservation programmes.” The reminiscences can be read in full on the World Land Trust website.
WLT News is printed using Carbon Balanced Paper, which offers a simple way to reduce the carbon impact of the paper used for communications and support WLT’s land protection projects at the same time. Ask your printer to quote on Carbon Balanced Paper.
World Land Trust would like to thank supporters of our online appeal for the Blue-throated Macaw natural fencing project in Bolivia which raised the target of £20,000. The appeal was supported by the Bird Race Challenge earlier this year, and an online auction of exclusive ceramics by Maureen Minchin (pictured above). This appeal was launched in our online eBulletin and social media. Not subscribed? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and sign up for the monthly eBulletin on our website.
Photo credits: Cover: Glass Frog (Esteban Alzate), King Vulture (Jason Thompson), Salamander (Carlos Vasquez Almazan), Ocelot (Shutterstock), Frog (Carlos Vásquez Almazán), Hummingbird (Rick Alabama); Page 2: Sierra Santa Cruz (FUNDAECO); Page 3: Black-eyed Leaf Frog (Ivan Castro), salamanders (Robin Moore), hotspot map (eBird/Cornell Lab of Ornithology), Warbler (Alan Schmierer), Chinamococh Stream Frog (Carlos Vásquez Almazán); Back cover: Steve and Helen (Jamie Unwin), Roger Wilson (Mark Stanley Price)
World Land Trust, Blyth House, Bridge Street, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8AB, UK Tel: 01986 874422 Fax: 01986 874425 Email: info@worldlandtrust.org Registered Charity 1001291
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It is with great sadness that we report the loss of our Director of Conservation, Roger Wilson. Roger passed away unexpectedly in June 2017, and is greatly missed by his friends, family and colleagues.
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