WLI Bulletin October 2022
Category: 6-month newsletter, News, WLI Regional News
Last updated: July 24th, 2023
WLI World October 2022
Issue 26 of WLI World: you can both download as PDF to print, or view story-by-story here. Open each story by tapping on its title.
Welcome to the WLI World Bulletin for October 2022. Within these pages your fellow members of Wetland Link International will tell you about trees, insects, crustaceans, and birds, all connected with our expert field, Communications, Education, Participation, and Awareness (CEPA). As ever, we welcome your submissions for the next newsletter.
July saw WLI members meeting in Manilla for the 8th WLI Asia Conference, Part 2.
WLI Global and WLI-Asia regularly collaborate to organize biennial conferences aimed to facilitate interaction among members through discussion of specific themes on wetland centr eoperation and management. The 8th WLI-Asia Conference, held in the Philippines last July, was also an opportunity to launch the expansion of the network to become WLI Asia-Oceania. Read the detailed Conference report.
Finally, it is nearly time to find out who has won the WLI Star Wetland Centre Awards! We will be announcing the winners in Geneva on 9 November. Convention of Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Ramsar COP14, will be the perfect setting to share news of CEPA excellence around the world.
Connor Walsh
connor.walsh@wwt.org.uk
You may encounter two new people contacting you about WLI. The Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia, currently serving as a WLI Asia-Oceania Secretariat, welcomes Ms. Sara Ceddia, Assistant Network Officer, who will support the center’s work in coordinating the network. Sara, along with Ms. Seongbo Kim, Network Officer, will work as a focal point for the network in the Asia-Oceania region and will support the coordination of current and future activities. Sara joined just the Ramsar Regional Centre-East Asia just before the WLI Asia Conference in July so some of you will already have met her.
Ibrahim Hama joins the team as WWT’s International CEPA Assistant, the new iteration of the old WLI Internship. He joins us part-time in Dakar, and those involved in the Migratory Birds for People network will already know him well. As well as that he will support WLI activites in other regions, and adds more French language skills to the team.
Welcome, Sara and Ibrahim!
Head of Conservation Without Borders, Sacha Dench, writes from their East Atlantic Flyway expedition.
The Flight of the Osprey (FOTO) expedition team and I are looking out over a vast reedbed, listening to the sounds of thousands of small birds. These birds have stopped for a day, or maybe more, to feed on mosquitos and other insects before their next move south. We are listening to the noise of migration in action. An osprey soars over the pools between the reeds, hunting mullet and other fish that have come in with the tide to feed.
From nowhere a helicopter appears, flying 20m over the surface of the reeds, the downdraft causes the reeds to spin and flatten as it passes over, again, and again, tracking back and forth over the site. The disturbance to the wildlife is awful but there must be someone in trouble out on the estuary?
The reed bed is on the edge of the Gironde estuary in France, the largest estuary in Western Europe, and a critical site for birds on migration. Formed over a couple of decades after a sea wall collapsed the farmland was taken back by nature, creating a vast tidal wetland. Scientists such as Raphael Musseau, who we are spending time with here, have been looking at how to create more habitat like this. Since rising sea-levels against man-made sea walls result in vital tidal wetlands disappearing.
As the helicopter passes over again, I once more assume it must be looking for a missing person. There is a long boardwalk which allows people to get amongst the reeds and experience the migration. Maybe a child has wandered off track, I think.
“It looks like the helicopter is spraying something,” FOTO team member Poul says.
It takes a moment for me to register this, as it is peak migration period, and this is a protected wetland. Surely spraying anything here can't be legal?
It wasn’t till later that evening, speaking to Raphael Musseau, that I learned of the legal practice of spraying bacteria to control mosquitos, during the tourist season. For tourist comfort, they are killing the mosquitos, which are the base of the food chain for the very wildlife the tourists have come to see. I am surprised at how short sighted this is. Tourism is a key part of the economy. No mosquitoes mean no food for wildlife. No wildlife means no tourists.
I’ve since learned how widespread this practice is. I have heard arguments that ‘it’s better than chemicals’. But, I’m still struggling to see how anyone, except perhaps the contractors being paid for the work, can think this is a good idea.
Amazingly, it is just one of more than a dozen threats to the ospreys we have either seen for ourselves or heard about from the incredible people we have met along the way. And we haven’t even left Europe, yet.
Best foot forward
Our team has already faced all manner of challenges with life on the road and in close proximity for weeks on end. We opted for older model Land Rovers with the same engines and shared spares. But have faced vehicles struggling with power drain or engines straining with the weight of our kit on the steep mountain roads of the Pyrenees. We even had a breakdown on the motorway in the midday heat.
These challenges for the team and I pale compared to the challenges of the ospreys. Whilst we knew we’d hear lots of stories of electrocution on powerlines (in Urdaibai alone, three of their 11 tracked ospreys died this way), ospreys have been blown out to sea, shot – likely victim of the taxidermy trade – faced oil spills at key fishing spots, and have had to navigate around wildfires and smoke on a scale that hasn’t been seen in Europe before.
It has now been a month getting inside the head of an Osprey and learning about the challenges they face. These will be some of the challenges the three tagged juvenile birds from Tweed Valley – Glen, Kirk and Tweed – will navigate. And following a tentative start, as we track their route via satellite, we will be holding our breath that they make it to their winter home and back to the UK next year.
We will be sharing more of the impact of insect spraying story, and delving deeper into the ramifications of these actions. Keep an eye on our social media channels for our podcasts, as we speak to those with direct knowledge of this and the other threats to Ospreys and the other wildlife that shares its flyway.
A school in Benin is adding a nursery… a nursery for mangroves! It is just part of the school and community engagement in the project "Des Leçons sur la Mangrove" and carry out fieldwork in the lagoon of Ouidah.
Séverin Tchibozo from the Centre de Recherche pour la Gestion de la Biodiversité (CRGB) is partnering with Germany’s Verein für Mangrovenschutz e.V.
In Avlékété, a coastal village in the district of Ouidah, students and teachers will be taught about mangroves as part of the pilot project. The aim of the project is to empower young people through theoretical knowledge and practical skills for the conservation and restoration of the mangroves in the Ouidah lagoon. Due to their multiple ecosystem services, mangroves contribute significantly to the well-being of coastal communities. The destruction of mangroves particularly affects the income, health and security of local people. For example, the loss leads to declining fish stocks and increased vulnerability to extreme weather events. The main sources of income for the local population are fishing, salt extraction and agriculture - all three economic sectors are directly or indirectly linked to the mangroves.
The project will establish a mangrove tree nursery on the school grounds, a few metres away from the mangroves. The students' awareness of mangroves will be strengthened by a mixture of theory and practice – lessons, excursions and training. In the nursery, the students can learn practical skills in cultivation and support the natural regeneration of degraded areas. In addition, the aim of the project is to establish a youth group committed to the long-term preservation of the mangroves in the region.
Two people from the village, students, teachers and Mr. Tchibozo from the CRGB will together supervise the nursery. The planting and the selection of the specific planting sites will be done in consultation with the inhabitants of the village. The planted seedlings will be marked to record plant growth and survival and to provide regular feedback to the school and other stakeholders on the status of the plants.
In the long term, a concept will be developed that can be transferred to other villages in the lagoon. They have already planned these topics with the primary school for the remainder of 2022:
- Ecosystem goods and services
- Mangrove species in Benin
- Animals in the mangrove ecosystem
- Cultural services
You can make a donation to support the project via the partners in Germany:
Verein für Mangrovenschutz e.V.
IBAN : DE34 5003 1000 1074 2220 01
BIC : TRODDEF1
Reference: Projekt Benin
Triodos Bank Deutschland
Mangroves interact with the local economy in three main categories.
Fisheries
The dead plant material of mangroves (leaf litter, dead wood) decomposes in the water and serves as food for marine life, making mangroves an important part of the food chain.
- Mangroves serve as breeding grounds and nurseries for fish, molluscs and crustaceans – in addition to food, the structures of mangroves with their dense root network offer protection from predators.
- Mangroves are a habitat for shellfish such as oysters, which find support and grow on the roots.
Fishermen in the Ouidah lagoon have already noticed that the size and number of fish have decreased over the years The fish caught are getting smaller and crabs rare in certain parts of the lagoon.
Salt extraction
Salt extraction has a long tradition in Benin. It is considered a driving force in the destruction of mangroves in the region, as timber is used in the process for various purposes.
The sites for salt extraction are found in the adjacent grasslands, which are flooded seasonally. The area for salt extraction is fire-cleared before use. The baskets for extracting the brine are made of mangrove wood and then filled with the saline soil. Standing water is taken out and put into the baskets filled with saline soil to wash out the salt. The brine obtained from the filtration process is brought to boil by burning wood, in the process the salt solution evaporates and the sodium chloride crystallises.
Agriculture
The sedimentary organic material from the mangroves is spread on fields to serve as organic fertiliser.
The mangrove forest is the most dominant among the plants found in the coastal region of the Niger Delta area. The reason for large species diversity in mangrove forests of the Niger Delta is high reproduction and productivity. The mangroves of the Niger Delta are the third largest in the world and the largest in Africa. It is a biodiversity hotspot, and close to the equator where rainfall persists all year round.
However, indigenous fishing communities on the coastline of Atlantic Ocean in the Niger Delta area harvest mangrove wood for household use – cooking and smoking fish. This has put severe pressure on mangrove forests, leading to steady deforestation.
In view of this, Finima Nature Park engaged in yearly mangrove reforestation with 50,547 red mangroves planted between 2018 and 2022. In 2022, recognizing the role communities play in deforestation, a new initiative was introduced where members of the four coastal communities bordering the park, namely Agaja, River 7/Finitasingi and Sibekiri were trained to identify viable propagules, nurture, and plant these in degraded wetlands along the coastline.
As part of activities to commemorate World Environment Day (June 5), the park in conjunction with some of the community members planted 7,000 propagules. This activity is ongoing, and the strategy is to plant 500,000 propagules by 2023 in the wetlands along the coastline of the Niger Delta.
by Meghan Kolk, Conservation Scientist
reTURN the Favor (RTF) volunteers have a lot to be proud of as The Wetlands Institute’s horseshoe crab rescue program celebrated its tenth season this year. This dedicated team of horseshoe crab heroes has developed into a key piece of the conservation puzzle, contributing to the recovery of a keystone species in the Delaware Bay.
Although the Delaware Bay hosts the largest concentration of spawning horseshoe crabs in the world, this population has experienced a substantial decline resulting primarily from overharvesting and habitat degradation. Many other species within the local ecosystem are affected by this decline, as horseshoe crab eggs play a significant role in the food web. The horseshoe crab’s most important ecological role is their connection to the survival of migratory shorebirds.
Each May, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds make a stopover on the Delaware Bay beaches on their way from South America to their breeding grounds in the Arctic, timing their two-week rest to coincide with the horseshoe crab’s spawning season. In order to compete the long-distance migration, which can exceed 9,000 miles, shorebirds rely on nutrient-rich horseshoe crab eggs to double their body weight and replenish depleted energy reserves. As the number of horseshoe crabs has plummeted, so have the populations of shorebirds that depend on them, particularly the federally threatened red knot.
Changes in the condition of beaches and nearshore habitat have also impacted the population. During typical spawning activity, an estimated 10 percent succumbs as a result of stranding. While coming ashore they can be easily overturned by waves, and are then vulnerable as their soft undersides are exposed to the sun and to predators. It is likely the amount of loss from stranding has increased due to erosion of beaches from rising tides and rougher waters. These conditions create hazards as rubble from past infrastructure is exposed and horseshoe crabs risk becoming trapped.
The RTF program was introduced in 2013 to address these forms of stranding mortality and to bring more awareness to horseshoe crab conservation. Volunteers are trained by conservation professionals to properly rescue overturned and trapped horseshoe crabs that would otherwise succumb to dehydration or predation on eighteen beaches along the Delaware Bay. The program provides each volunteer the opportunity to take direct conservation action by saving the lives of horseshoe crabs one at a time, while the combined effort of all volunteers contributes to the recovery of a keystone species.
Devoted volunteers go out on the beaches to rescue at all hours, and endure challenging conditions and biting insects to make their rescues. It is labor intensive work, but volunteers agree that the hard work is worth the reward of saving lives and contributing to conservation. RTF also gives volunteers a sense of community as they all share a passion for what they do, and many close friendships have been born out of the program.
In addition to rescuing the crabs, volunteers collect important data to support habitat restoration. Beach restoration along the Delaware Bay has become one of the most significant strategies to protect spawning habitat for horseshoe crabs and foraging habitat for migratory shorebirds. The data collected by RTF volunteers has played a vital role in that work by identifying beaches in need of rubble removal and/or sand replenishment. Program coordinators recently developed an interactive map for biologists and the public to visualize program data including key hazards and beaches to prioritize restoration projects and effort.
The RTF program has grown significantly in the past decade as its message reaches more people each year. The enthusiasm of the volunteers to spread the word and share their passion as horseshoe crab ambassadors has played a huge role in the growth of the program. In its first year, the program started with six walk leaders, 45 volunteer hours, 43 individual walks, and saved just under 5,000 horseshoe crabs. Those numbers have steadily increased each year, as shown by the same statistics from 2021: 107 walk leaders, 2605 volunteer hours, 867 individual walks, and almost 153,000 crabs rescued. In total (not including 2022) over 840,000 crabs have been saved!
TWI’s partners associated with this program include the Executive Office of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network – Manomet, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, Citizens United for the Maurice River, Friends of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Audubon Society, and New Jersey Fish and Wildlife. The program is currently supported by Ocean Wind (An Orsted and PSEG project) and the Marshall Reynolds Foundation.
Molly R. Gaskin, President, The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust, write with activities marking the 60th anniversary of independence for Trinidad and Tobago.
From 1985-to date, 9725 locally endangered Wild Muscovy ducks have been released in the Nariva Wetlands and other natural wetland areas in Trinidad.
Other species of locally endangered wetland waterfowl have also been released into viable wetlands in Trinidad & Tobago. Numerous endangered Blue & Gold Macaws have also been released over the past few years.
The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust released 20 Wild Muscovy Ducks, 10 Fulvous Whistling Tree Ducks, and 12 Blue and Gold Macaws.
The P-a-P Wildfowl Trust is focusing on the conservation of the Monarch Butterfly, given that it is now endangered and listed on the IUCN Red List. A number of Butterfly Gardens have been added with the help of volunteers from Schools and the South Soroptomists.
Butterflies thrive where there is sunshine, warmth and a great abundance of flowering shrubs and trees.
In proportion to its size Trinidad is one of the richest on Earth for butterflies. Our little country is some 200 times more popular than Brazil which is the world’s largest butterfly hot house. Trinidad possesses (last known count, 1968): 617 indigenous species. Tobago, 123 species, many close to extirpation. 10,000 species are known to exist in the “New World”. The presence of specific “food plants” is of primary influence to the presence of butterflies. A very dry season, followed by heavy rain is good for butterfly breeding and hatching.
Thus, climate change is a serious threat.
The Monarch, or Soldier Martinique as it was called in Trinidad (Danaus plexippus megalippe) ranging North & South America & the West Indies, is well-known in Temperate Countries as one of the World’s greatest migrants. In Trinidad it’s migratory instinct is completely lost in the relative uniformity of our climate & it exists here happily. A solitary flier here, seldom in large numbers. Specific food plant Asceplias currasavica. They also like Swamp asceplias and asclepias syrrcaca (Milkweeds). Reference: Malcolm Barcant: D.I.C.T.A.
Our longstanding friend, Charles de Gannes, DVM is our local repository of butterfly information in Trinidad who still goes collecting!
Licer Taller San Miguel in Colombia is working with the navy to celebrate marine wetlands! They have created a nice video which you can see in the online version of this newsletter, on wli.org.uk.
Leslie Lowe at Klamath Wingwatchers writes with a tribute to the late Dave Menke.
Dave Menke worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) Refuges and was on the Board of Wingwatchers for many years until his death April 28, 2011. Dave created our professionally looking newsletters, worked on the trail, and helped develop the Klamath Basin Birding Trail (KBBT) guidebook, but what was most important about Dave was his vision of the Wingwatchers trail.
I remember walking the trail with Dave one day, thinking our trail was kind of puny, given that it was short, next to Highway 97 and noisy, not to mention the constant trash pickups needed from highway litter and careless trail walkers. But Dave’s eyes were beaming as he talked about the virtues of the trail. “How many small cities can boast such a wonderful trail next to a lake and right downtown!? Look at the birds we see! And we look across the lake to the mountains, which are really beautiful when snowcapped in winter and greening up in Spring.“
Dave was a superb photographer and took many wildlife pictures that spoke 1000 words. But those few words he said to me as we walked that day created my desire to help make this a truly great trail. And now it is great because of our many, many dedicated volunteers, who created many amenities from picnic tables and benches, informational kiosks, and now wetland education signage and a new entrance to the Ken Hay trail (a tribute to another man with vision).
So, Thanks Dave, wherever you are.
* a quote in part from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre Inc is a volunteer group dedicated to the local wetlands of the Ramsar listed Cheetham Wetlands in Melbourne, Australia. We are proposing building a brand new state of the art wetlands centre which will be located on the HD Graham Reserve in Altona Meadows, just outside of the city of Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia.
This area is a biodiversity hotspot that contributes significantly to social, cultural, economic, and environmental values in Victoria. A wetlands centre located here will unlock the eco-tourism potential of one of Melbourne’s best-kept local secrets. It is a key stop on the East Asian-Australasian migratory bird flyway, with thousands of migratory birds travelling to this location in their non-breeding season.
The western shoreline of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne is a hidden gem, on the lands of the Bunurong people of the south-eastern Kulin Nation. Recognising that our local wetlands are vital eco-systems that are under threat from climate change, the Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre Inc, together with the Hobsons Bay City Council are leading the way with partners, Deakin University, Melbourne Water, Greater Western Water, Ecolinc, Cirqit Health, Birdlife Australia in pursuit of a funding commitment from the state and federal governments towards a new nature-based Wetlands Centre to be built in Melbourne’s west, providing a unique and innovative approach to wetland conservation.
The vision is a state-of-the-art visitors centre suitable for all ages, stages, and abilities. A place where people can improve their health and wellbeing by connecting with nature and learning about the importance of our precious natural environment.
The purpose-built centre will be a community asset and will feature dedicated visitor and research facilities; classrooms; nature and water-based play areas; indoor/outdoor public spaces; a café and office space; accessible walking trails and boardwalks; landscaping and an ephemeral wetland.
With a team led by Grimshaw Architects, the centre has been co-designed in consultation with Elders of the Bunurong Land Council using Australian-first biophilic and indigenous design architectural principles to blend in with its natural surroundings. By optimizing the visitor experience we can enhance public education of the importance of the wetlands and its cultural heritage and conserve the natural environment with predator proof fencing to enhance biodiversity.
Some of the valuable opportunities our proposed Wetlands Centre will provide will be for recreation, education, conservation and connection with others.
Recreation for health and wellbeing: Our centre will encourage people of all ages to connect with and relax amongst nature, with all the inherent benefits to the mind and body and will link with existing picnic areas and trails. There will be a nature play area for children. There will be bird watching, observing nature, walking tours, and photography and art classes. It will provide a healthy, peaceful, natural environment for activities that support wellbeing, such as meditation and walking.
Education and learning: Our centre will increase awareness of the important role played by wetlands in many ways, including combatting climate change. Universities, schools and kindergarten groups will enjoy a range of activities in the centre and its surrounding areas. It will expand knowledge of the local environment and cultural heritage. There will be interactive and interpretive displays throughout the centre and surrounding areas, and it will be a place to have community events held.
Conservation and research programs: Our centre will work alongside council, government departments and universities to implement local, national and international biodiversity and conservation strategies. Priorities will include enhanced habitat protection within the East Asian Australasian migratory bird flyway and protection of international and local threatened species of all kinds.
Connection with others: Our centre will be available as a meeting space for community groups and as a base for nature-based special interest groups, such as birdwatching, photography and nature art groups. It will be a place for community festivals and events and a draw card for locals and visitors from across Melbourne and beyond.
The Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre supports a number of strategies and plans at international, commonwealth, state and local government levels. These strategies are aimed at protecting and restoring the natural environment as well as promoting community health and wellbeing.
For more information on the proposed Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre visit: www.hobsonsbaywetlandscentre.org.au
