Monthly Archives: May 2015

Burma’s race laws, expulsions, driving Rohingya refugees

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A statement by Human Rights Watch attributes the dramatic surge in boat people leaving western Burma and Bangladesh to “decades of repression and denial of rights to the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.”

The refugees from both countries are the Rohingya, a Muslim community that originates in Burma but has suffered a succession of discriminatory laws, expulsions and denial of citizenship.

The current round of problems began in 1978 when the Burmese army violently expelled over 250,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh – which forcibly returned many of them soon afterwards.

In 1991, Burmese security forces again violently expelled hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. A second forcible return followed in 1995.

Burma’s government has refused to accept the term ‘Rohingya’ and refers to them as ‘illegal Bengalis’ – although they have been living in Burma long before the state’s creation. The Rohingya have been denied full citizenship ever since the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law made it “almost impossible for Rohingya to prove their claims to citizenship.”

Standed on the border

Since the explulsions began thousands of Rohingya have lived predominantly in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships along the border, says HRW, “under restrictive conditions that severely curtail their freedom of movement, ability to seek work, and access to basic social services, and curbs on the right to religion.”

Bangladesh current;ly hosts some 30,000 recognized Rohingya refugees in UNHCR camps – but only those that arrived in Bangladesh before 1993. Since then Rohingya have been denied any opportunity to lodge claims in Bangladesh for refugee status regardless of their need for international protection.

Consequently, another estimated 30,000 who are not recognized refugees live in makeshift sites around these camps near Teknaf in Cox’s Bazaar, and another 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Rohingya live around the area.

Those residing outside the UNHCR-run camp “often face abuse and discrimination from local Bangladesh officials and communities”, according to HRW.

An exodus of small boats

Starting in 2005, small boats carrying Rohingya and Bangledeshi migrant workers started leaving the coast of southern Bangladesh, carrying mostly men to Malaysia to join the migrant worker population there.

These small vessels often came ashore in Thailand, and the refugees then used the existing network of smuggling routes into Malaysia. The number of boats arriving gradually grew, prompting the Thai authorities to take action. In 2009, several ships were towed long distances out to sea by Thai security officials, sparking a major international outcry.

Thailand then changed to a so-called ‘help on’ policy, where officials were ordered to re-provision boats that arrived in Thai territorial waters with humanitarian supplies, refuse them the right to land in Thailand, and direct them south to Malaysia.

But as HRW reports, “this policy later mutated into a policy of corruption and directing arriving boats into the hands of gangs, who then placed the people aboard in jungle camps where they were held and extorted for money before being permitted to travel to Malaysia.”

The exodus has grown to tens of thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshis, some who are fleeing violence and discrimination, and others who are seeking work.

A recent report by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 25,000 people travelled on boats from Burma and Bangladesh in the first three months of 2015, with an estimated 300 dying of starvation, dehydration, or beatings by smuggling crews, or as a result of fights on board ships.

Fundamentalist Buddhists’ ethnic violence

Sectarian violence between ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya and other Muslims erupted first in June 2012. A second round of violence in October 2012, says HRW, “resulted in government-backed crimes against humanity amounting to a campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed to drive the Rohingya from urban areas of Arakan State.

“Overall, there were at least 167 deaths and widespread property destruction. There remain over 140,000 internally displaced Rohingya and Arakanese in camps throughout Arakan State.

“Many Rohingya have been receiving only rudimentary and inadequate assistance due to government restrictions and intimidation by Arakanese ultra-nationalists against international aid workers.”

The March-April 2014 census conducted by the Burmese government with assistance from the UN Population Fund did not enumerate people who self-identified as Rohingya. Preliminary results released in August estimated that 1.09 million people were not counted.

In response to the prolonged displacement, the government formulated a draft Rakhine Action Plan, which was disclosed by the media in September 2014, prompting Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, to comment:

“The long-awaited Rakhine State Action Plan both expands and solidifies the discriminatory and abusive Burmese government policies that underpin the decades-long persecution of the Rohingya. It is nothing less than a blueprint for permanent segregation and statelessness that appears designed to strip the Rohingya of hope and force them to flee the country.”

2015: the noose tightens

In 2015, the Burmese government stripped the Rohingya of the right to hold temporary identification cards, so-called ‘white cards’ that gave them the right to vote in the 2008 constitutional referendum and the 2010 nationwide elections, but did not guarantee the full rights of a citizen.

Over 400,000 Rohingya have so far relinquished the cards ahead of the May 31 deadline, with the Burmese government promising some form of ID to be issued in the future if Rohingya self-identify as ‘Bengali’ – and not as ‘Rohingya’ – effectively denying their own ethnic, cultural and religious identity.

“Also deeply troubling”, says HRW, “is the passage of four so-called race and religion laws, which many see as targeting the Muslim minority in Burma generally, and the Rohingya in particular, including the recently passed Population Control Healthcare law, which could be used to limit Rohingya birth rates.

“It is these developments, and the escalated violence against Rohingya since 2012, that has largely fuelled the current exodus.”

Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, commented: “Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia need to agree to never again engage in pushbacks of people stuck at sea, find any remaining boats, bring the people on board to safe ports, and ensure that their rights are respected.

“Just as important, there will be no long-term solution unless Burma ends its rights-abusing and discriminatory policies toward the Rohingya and joins other countries in taking action against smugglers and traffickers who abuse and prey on them.”

Dalai Lama implores Aung San Suu Kyi – ‘Do something!’

Speaking to The Australian newspaper, the Dalai Lama, who heads the greater part of Tibet’s Buddists, implored his fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest for critic­ising Myanmar’s military junta, to speak out on behalf of the Rohingya – a topic on which she has been almost entirely silent.

In his interview, the Dalai Lama revealed that he had already ­appealed to her twice,  in person to stand up for the Rohingya since 2012. 

“I met her two times, first in London and then the Czech Republ­ic. I mentioned about this problem and she told me she found some difficulties, that things were not simple but very complicated. But in spite of that I feel she can do something … It’s very sad. In the Burmese case I hope Aung San Suu Kyi, as a Nobel laureate, can do something.”

Despite the influential call, however, Suu Kyi has remained silent. She has previously excused her non-intervention on the grounds that she is “a politician and not a human rights champion.” This may refer to the fact that the Rohingya cause is not popular among the Buddhist majority.

However the Dalai Lama appealed to all of Burma’s Buddhists to “remember the face of the Buddha” in their dealings with the Rohingya minority.

 

 

Also on The Ecologist:


Oliver Tickell edits The Ecologist.

 






The Northern Bald Ibis is extinct in the Middle East – but we can’t blame it on IS

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A few days ago the BBC reported that the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State (IS) threatens to propel the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) into extinction. Sadly they are wrong – because sadly this iconic and unique population already went extinct in Syria a few months ago.

The Northern Bald Ibis vanished from the wild as a breeding species due to known threats along the migratory route, including hunting and habitat degradation. One of our tagged birds, named Julia, was shot in northern Saudi Arabia in 2009.

Three birds, including Zenobia, had been observed at the wintering site in Ethiopia during winter 2013-14, but only she came back to Palmyra in spring 2014, alone for the second year in a row. That made 2014 the last year she was seen at the Palmyra breeding site.

So this year, for the first time in millennia the Bedouin nomads of the Palmyra desert saw no Northern Bald Ibis in late February, at the beginning of the spring, as I was informed by my contacts in Palmyra. The bearded and black-clothed extremists were only the unaware funereal witnesses of the ibis’s absence.

Palmyra, my second home for 10 years, has in fact enjoyed a couple of years of relative peace, following the crushing of local protests by Government forces in 2012. But some days ago communications with people in Palmyra suddenly were interrupted due to the capture of Palmyra by IS – leaving me in great anguish for the fate of colleagues, friends and companions.

Certainly the arrival of IS could have turned into a threat for the endangered ibis, had it occurred while they were still around – and especially if their occurrence and associated risks were advertised on mainstream media worldwide as it has been over these last few days.

Surely the bearded fanatics would have been tempted to give the coup de grace to the bald bird colony in their quest for media glory – notwithstanding the views of numerous Islamic scholars that all Muslims have a duty to protect endangered species, and the bird’s ancient role as guide to desert pilgrims.

In addition the news of a reward to find Zenobia, mentioned by the same BBC article, seems quite extravagant, not to say totally impractical and of uncertain usefulness. If by any chance Zenobia is still alive within the migratory range, encompassing 3,200 km between western Arabia and Eastern Africa (and I really doubt this), are we encouraging people to trap her?

An irreversible loss

We are currently experiencing what has been called the sixth wave of mass extinction on the planet. Species of life forms are estimated to become extinct in the order of hundreds every year. Most of them are not known by science – and never will be.

The extinction of the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis from its native range (Middle East and Eastern Africa) is an irreversible loss for the ecosystems of the Syrian steppe and of the Ethiopian highlands. It is also a permanent loss for the cultural heritage of the Middle East where the bird had been contemplated with awe by successions of civilizations through the millennia.

The few surviving birds in question were the last living descendants of those revered by the ancient pharaohs. The bald ibis is in fact unmistakably represented in hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt dated thousands of years ago, symbolizing the afterworld divinity Akh (see photo, above right).

It is also mentioned in the Old Testament as a messenger of fertility, and was regarded as a guide for haj pilgrims bound to Holy Makah by Muslim communities of Southern Anatolia.

Declaring a species extinct in the wild can require years. The same relict colony of Northern Bald Ibis in question, according to the ornithological literature, should have not existed at all. Its oriental population was declared extinct from the Syrian desert around the 1990s, as no bird had been sighted there since the early 1930s. That is why the news of their rediscovery in 2002 made headlines worldwide.

But this time it seems that the extinction of the Oriental Bald Ibis from the Middle East is really turning into something awfully true. Surely the bird is now extinct in Syria as a breeding species with the non return of Zenobia. The only hope for the species – and a slim one at that – is that a few immature birds may still survive somewhere between western Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

A 10-year conservation saga

Reduced to only seven individuals in 2002 (when they were rediscovered) and breeding in a then politically highly secretive and paranoid country like Syria, undoubtedly only a miracle would have enabled to prevent the extinction of this long-range migrant, travelling twice a year across 10 countries among the most difficult to work within.

And yet during the first years soon after the discovery the miracle seemed almost to take form thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of few dedicated individuals, including Syria’s First Lady.

In the end despite its cultural relevance at regional level, the strenuous and misadventurous efforts taken along ten years in Palmyra and the mobilization of the upper circles in Damascus, the extinction of this unique and iconic population could not be prevented due to a complex combination of reasons.

Certainly the fact that the species is included in the Western Paleartic Bird Guide (together with all other species of birds occurring in Europe), that it is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, listed among the 100 most endangered species in the world and among the top 100 most Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered species were not regarded as sufficient reasons by international conservation organizations to raise to the challenge with the required energy, strategic approach and determination.

The onset of the war in 2011 appeared as the classic straw that broke the camel’s back. At that time the adult population was reduced to only two individuals. And the emergency action plan I had proposed two years earlier had just remained on paper. At that moment, in 2011, the fate of the ancient guide of haj pilgrims seemed to me already determined.

Coverage of the war in Syria

It is a fact that the coverage of the war in Syria by international mainstream media has been so far very poor. Partly because it is intrinsically very challenging to get reliable information from a country that is gripped in a brutal war.

Also because media tends to publish what can best attract the attention of the average reader. After four years of intense war, readers have become sadly addicted to the daily toll of human life taken either by the barrel bombs dropped by the loyalist army, or by the rebels or by the invading army of fanatics.

This last week international media have fully covered the fall of iconic Palmyra under the control of IS. With the consequent voiced concern for the safety of the unique UNESCO Heritage site.

My colleague archaeologist Alberto Savioli, who worked with me in Palmyra and excavated at several sites in Syria in a long time, maintains in a post he wrote (in Italian) that despite his deep love for the ruins he could not avoid but to observe that far too much emphasis was placed on the concern for the cultural heritage. Without at the same time expressing respectfully the concern for the civilians of Palmyra threatened by IS invasion.

Now comes my turn, in my position as naturalist and champion of an ex-endangered bird. After reading the mentioned news from the BBC web site, I must endorse my archaeological colleague’s views – at this tragic turn it seems quite out of place to turn abruptly the attention from the intense sufferance and loss of human life to the threats for the cultural or natural heritage.

But I also have to add that the BBC’s news story was fundamentally incorrect as it was clearly based on a non updated source.

I am not a supporter of the bearded extremists but let’s not charge IS with responsibility for the demise of the Oriental Bald Ibis. They bear already the burden of enough atrocities.

 

 

Gianluca Serra has been engaged in front line biodiversity conservation as a researcher, civil servant, practitioner and activist during the past two decades internationally, on the five continents. During 2000-2011 he has worked in Palmyra, Syria, under various umbrellas (UN, EU, NGOs, volunteer). He assisted the Syrian Government in prompting biodiversity conservation in the country and in establishing the first protected areas. He led the discovery of the colony in 2002 under a UN-FAO/Italian Cooperation project, and coordinated the protection and research efforts, while training local and Government staff, up to the onset of the war.

The author expresses his deep appreciation of all who assisted with the conservation of the Northern Bald Ibis, including Palmyreans, other Syrians, and foreigners.

More information: A photographic and technical booklet about the 10-year ibis conservation saga is about to be published at thelastflight.org (free download). A non-fiction narrative book about the same subject will be also published soon at salaamhasreturned.org.

 






Burma’s race laws, expulsions, driving Rohingya refugees

Leave a reply




A statement by Human Rights Watch attributes the dramatic surge in boat people leaving western Burma and Bangladesh to “decades of repression and denial of rights to the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.”

The refugees from both countries are the Rohingya, a Muslim community that originates in Burma but has suffered a succession of discriminatory laws, expulsions and denial of citizenship.

The current round of problems began in 1978 when the Burmese army violently expelled over 250,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh – which forcibly returned many of them soon afterwards.

In 1991, Burmese security forces again violently expelled hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. A second forcible return followed in 1995.

Burma’s government has refused to accept the term ‘Rohingya’ and refers to them as ‘illegal Bengalis’ – although they have been living in Burma long before the state’s creation. The Rohingya have been denied full citizenship ever since the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law made it “almost impossible for Rohingya to prove their claims to citizenship.”

Standed on the border

Since the explulsions began thousands of Rohingya have lived predominantly in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships along the border, says HRW, “under restrictive conditions that severely curtail their freedom of movement, ability to seek work, and access to basic social services, and curbs on the right to religion.”

Bangladesh current;ly hosts some 30,000 recognized Rohingya refugees in UNHCR camps – but only those that arrived in Bangladesh before 1993. Since then Rohingya have been denied any opportunity to lodge claims in Bangladesh for refugee status regardless of their need for international protection.

Consequently, another estimated 30,000 who are not recognized refugees live in makeshift sites around these camps near Teknaf in Cox’s Bazaar, and another 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Rohingya live around the area.

Those residing outside the UNHCR-run camp “often face abuse and discrimination from local Bangladesh officials and communities”, according to HRW.

An exodus of small boats

Starting in 2005, small boats carrying Rohingya and Bangledeshi migrant workers started leaving the coast of southern Bangladesh, carrying mostly men to Malaysia to join the migrant worker population there.

These small vessels often came ashore in Thailand, and the refugees then used the existing network of smuggling routes into Malaysia. The number of boats arriving gradually grew, prompting the Thai authorities to take action. In 2009, several ships were towed long distances out to sea by Thai security officials, sparking a major international outcry.

Thailand then changed to a so-called ‘help on’ policy, where officials were ordered to re-provision boats that arrived in Thai territorial waters with humanitarian supplies, refuse them the right to land in Thailand, and direct them south to Malaysia.

But as HRW reports, “this policy later mutated into a policy of corruption and directing arriving boats into the hands of gangs, who then placed the people aboard in jungle camps where they were held and extorted for money before being permitted to travel to Malaysia.”

The exodus has grown to tens of thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshis, some who are fleeing violence and discrimination, and others who are seeking work.

A recent report by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 25,000 people travelled on boats from Burma and Bangladesh in the first three months of 2015, with an estimated 300 dying of starvation, dehydration, or beatings by smuggling crews, or as a result of fights on board ships.

Fundamentalist Buddhists’ ethnic violence

Sectarian violence between ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya and other Muslims erupted first in June 2012. A second round of violence in October 2012, says HRW, “resulted in government-backed crimes against humanity amounting to a campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed to drive the Rohingya from urban areas of Arakan State.

“Overall, there were at least 167 deaths and widespread property destruction. There remain over 140,000 internally displaced Rohingya and Arakanese in camps throughout Arakan State.

“Many Rohingya have been receiving only rudimentary and inadequate assistance due to government restrictions and intimidation by Arakanese ultra-nationalists against international aid workers.”

The March-April 2014 census conducted by the Burmese government with assistance from the UN Population Fund did not enumerate people who self-identified as Rohingya. Preliminary results released in August estimated that 1.09 million people were not counted.

In response to the prolonged displacement, the government formulated a draft Rakhine Action Plan, which was disclosed by the media in September 2014, prompting Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, to comment:

“The long-awaited Rakhine State Action Plan both expands and solidifies the discriminatory and abusive Burmese government policies that underpin the decades-long persecution of the Rohingya. It is nothing less than a blueprint for permanent segregation and statelessness that appears designed to strip the Rohingya of hope and force them to flee the country.”

2015: the noose tightens

In 2015, the Burmese government stripped the Rohingya of the right to hold temporary identification cards, so-called ‘white cards’ that gave them the right to vote in the 2008 constitutional referendum and the 2010 nationwide elections, but did not guarantee the full rights of a citizen.

Over 400,000 Rohingya have so far relinquished the cards ahead of the May 31 deadline, with the Burmese government promising some form of ID to be issued in the future if Rohingya self-identify as ‘Bengali’ – and not as ‘Rohingya’ – effectively denying their own ethnic, cultural and religious identity.

“Also deeply troubling”, says HRW, “is the passage of four so-called race and religion laws, which many see as targeting the Muslim minority in Burma generally, and the Rohingya in particular, including the recently passed Population Control Healthcare law, which could be used to limit Rohingya birth rates.

“It is these developments, and the escalated violence against Rohingya since 2012, that has largely fuelled the current exodus.”

Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, commented: “Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia need to agree to never again engage in pushbacks of people stuck at sea, find any remaining boats, bring the people on board to safe ports, and ensure that their rights are respected.

“Just as important, there will be no long-term solution unless Burma ends its rights-abusing and discriminatory policies toward the Rohingya and joins other countries in taking action against smugglers and traffickers who abuse and prey on them.”

Dalai Lama implores Aung San Suu Kyi – ‘Do something!’

Speaking to The Australian newspaper, the Dalai Lama, who heads the greater part of Tibet’s Buddists, implored his fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest for critic­ising Myanmar’s military junta, to speak out on behalf of the Rohingya – a topic on which she has been almost entirely silent.

In his interview, the Dalai Lama revealed that he had already ­appealed to her twice,  in person to stand up for the Rohingya since 2012. 

“I met her two times, first in London and then the Czech Republ­ic. I mentioned about this problem and she told me she found some difficulties, that things were not simple but very complicated. But in spite of that I feel she can do something … It’s very sad. In the Burmese case I hope Aung San Suu Kyi, as a Nobel laureate, can do something.”

Despite the influential call, however, Suu Kyi has remained silent. She has previously excused her non-intervention on the grounds that she is “a politician and not a human rights champion.” This may refer to the fact that the Rohingya cause is not popular among the Buddhist majority.

However the Dalai Lama appealed to all of Burma’s Buddhists to “remember the face of the Buddha” in their dealings with the Rohingya minority.

 

 

Also on The Ecologist:


Oliver Tickell edits The Ecologist.

 






The Northern Bald Ibis is extinct in the Middle East – but we can’t blame it on IS

Leave a reply




A few days ago the BBC reported that the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State (IS) threatens to propel the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) into extinction. Sadly they are wrong – because sadly this iconic and unique population already went extinct in Syria a few months ago.

The Northern Bald Ibis vanished from the wild as a breeding species due to known threats along the migratory route, including hunting and habitat degradation. One of our tagged birds, named Julia, was shot in northern Saudi Arabia in 2009.

Three birds, including Zenobia, had been observed at the wintering site in Ethiopia during winter 2013-14, but only she came back to Palmyra in spring 2014, alone for the second year in a row. That made 2014 the last year she was seen at the Palmyra breeding site.

So this year, for the first time in millennia the Bedouin nomads of the Palmyra desert saw no Northern Bald Ibis in late February, at the beginning of the spring, as I was informed by my contacts in Palmyra. The bearded and black-clothed extremists were only the unaware funereal witnesses of the ibis’s absence.

Palmyra, my second home for 10 years, has in fact enjoyed a couple of years of relative peace, following the crushing of local protests by Government forces in 2012. But some days ago communications with people in Palmyra suddenly were interrupted due to the capture of Palmyra by IS – leaving me in great anguish for the fate of colleagues, friends and companions.

Certainly the arrival of IS could have turned into a threat for the endangered ibis, had it occurred while they were still around – and especially if their occurrence and associated risks were advertised on mainstream media worldwide as it has been over these last few days.

Surely the bearded fanatics would have been tempted to give the coup de grace to the bald bird colony in their quest for media glory – notwithstanding the views of numerous Islamic scholars that all Muslims have a duty to protect endangered species, and the bird’s ancient role as guide to desert pilgrims.

In addition the news of a reward to find Zenobia, mentioned by the same BBC article, seems quite extravagant, not to say totally impractical and of uncertain usefulness. If by any chance Zenobia is still alive within the migratory range, encompassing 3,200 km between western Arabia and Eastern Africa (and I really doubt this), are we encouraging people to trap her?

An irreversible loss

We are currently experiencing what has been called the sixth wave of mass extinction on the planet. Species of life forms are estimated to become extinct in the order of hundreds every year. Most of them are not known by science – and never will be.

The extinction of the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis from its native range (Middle East and Eastern Africa) is an irreversible loss for the ecosystems of the Syrian steppe and of the Ethiopian highlands. It is also a permanent loss for the cultural heritage of the Middle East where the bird had been contemplated with awe by successions of civilizations through the millennia.

The few surviving birds in question were the last living descendants of those revered by the ancient pharaohs. The bald ibis is in fact unmistakably represented in hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt dated thousands of years ago, symbolizing the afterworld divinity Akh (see photo, above right).

It is also mentioned in the Old Testament as a messenger of fertility, and was regarded as a guide for haj pilgrims bound to Holy Makah by Muslim communities of Southern Anatolia.

Declaring a species extinct in the wild can require years. The same relict colony of Northern Bald Ibis in question, according to the ornithological literature, should have not existed at all. Its oriental population was declared extinct from the Syrian desert around the 1990s, as no bird had been sighted there since the early 1930s. That is why the news of their rediscovery in 2002 made headlines worldwide.

But this time it seems that the extinction of the Oriental Bald Ibis from the Middle East is really turning into something awfully true. Surely the bird is now extinct in Syria as a breeding species with the non return of Zenobia. The only hope for the species – and a slim one at that – is that a few immature birds may still survive somewhere between western Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

A 10-year conservation saga

Reduced to only seven individuals in 2002 (when they were rediscovered) and breeding in a then politically highly secretive and paranoid country like Syria, undoubtedly only a miracle would have enabled to prevent the extinction of this long-range migrant, travelling twice a year across 10 countries among the most difficult to work within.

And yet during the first years soon after the discovery the miracle seemed almost to take form thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of few dedicated individuals, including Syria’s First Lady.

In the end despite its cultural relevance at regional level, the strenuous and misadventurous efforts taken along ten years in Palmyra and the mobilization of the upper circles in Damascus, the extinction of this unique and iconic population could not be prevented due to a complex combination of reasons.

Certainly the fact that the species is included in the Western Paleartic Bird Guide (together with all other species of birds occurring in Europe), that it is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, listed among the 100 most endangered species in the world and among the top 100 most Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered species were not regarded as sufficient reasons by international conservation organizations to raise to the challenge with the required energy, strategic approach and determination.

The onset of the war in 2011 appeared as the classic straw that broke the camel’s back. At that time the adult population was reduced to only two individuals. And the emergency action plan I had proposed two years earlier had just remained on paper. At that moment, in 2011, the fate of the ancient guide of haj pilgrims seemed to me already determined.

Coverage of the war in Syria

It is a fact that the coverage of the war in Syria by international mainstream media has been so far very poor. Partly because it is intrinsically very challenging to get reliable information from a country that is gripped in a brutal war.

Also because media tends to publish what can best attract the attention of the average reader. After four years of intense war, readers have become sadly addicted to the daily toll of human life taken either by the barrel bombs dropped by the loyalist army, or by the rebels or by the invading army of fanatics.

This last week international media have fully covered the fall of iconic Palmyra under the control of IS. With the consequent voiced concern for the safety of the unique UNESCO Heritage site.

My colleague archaeologist Alberto Savioli, who worked with me in Palmyra and excavated at several sites in Syria in a long time, maintains in a post he wrote (in Italian) that despite his deep love for the ruins he could not avoid but to observe that far too much emphasis was placed on the concern for the cultural heritage. Without at the same time expressing respectfully the concern for the civilians of Palmyra threatened by IS invasion.

Now comes my turn, in my position as naturalist and champion of an ex-endangered bird. After reading the mentioned news from the BBC web site, I must endorse my archaeological colleague’s views – at this tragic turn it seems quite out of place to turn abruptly the attention from the intense sufferance and loss of human life to the threats for the cultural or natural heritage.

But I also have to add that the BBC’s news story was fundamentally incorrect as it was clearly based on a non updated source.

I am not a supporter of the bearded extremists but let’s not charge IS with responsibility for the demise of the Oriental Bald Ibis. They bear already the burden of enough atrocities.

 

 

Gianluca Serra has been engaged in front line biodiversity conservation as a researcher, civil servant, practitioner and activist during the past two decades internationally, on the five continents. During 2000-2011 he has worked in Palmyra, Syria, under various umbrellas (UN, EU, NGOs, volunteer). He assisted the Syrian Government in prompting biodiversity conservation in the country and in establishing the first protected areas. He led the discovery of the colony in 2002 under a UN-FAO/Italian Cooperation project, and coordinated the protection and research efforts, while training local and Government staff, up to the onset of the war.

The author expresses his deep appreciation of all who assisted with the conservation of the Northern Bald Ibis, including Palmyreans, other Syrians, and foreigners.

More information: A photographic and technical booklet about the 10-year ibis conservation saga is about to be published at thelastflight.org (free download). A non-fiction narrative book about the same subject will be also published soon at salaamhasreturned.org.

 






Burma’s race laws, expulsions, driving Rohingya refugees

Leave a reply




A statement by Human Rights Watch attributes the dramatic surge in boat people leaving western Burma and Bangladesh to “decades of repression and denial of rights to the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.”

The refugees from both countries are the Rohingya, a Muslim community that originates in Burma but has suffered a succession of discriminatory laws, expulsions and denial of citizenship.

The current round of problems began in 1978 when the Burmese army violently expelled over 250,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh – which forcibly returned many of them soon afterwards.

In 1991, Burmese security forces again violently expelled hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. A second forcible return followed in 1995.

Burma’s government has refused to accept the term ‘Rohingya’ and refers to them as ‘illegal Bengalis’ – although they have been living in Burma long before the state’s creation. The Rohingya have been denied full citizenship ever since the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law made it “almost impossible for Rohingya to prove their claims to citizenship.”

Standed on the border

Since the explulsions began thousands of Rohingya have lived predominantly in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships along the border, says HRW, “under restrictive conditions that severely curtail their freedom of movement, ability to seek work, and access to basic social services, and curbs on the right to religion.”

Bangladesh current;ly hosts some 30,000 recognized Rohingya refugees in UNHCR camps – but only those that arrived in Bangladesh before 1993. Since then Rohingya have been denied any opportunity to lodge claims in Bangladesh for refugee status regardless of their need for international protection.

Consequently, another estimated 30,000 who are not recognized refugees live in makeshift sites around these camps near Teknaf in Cox’s Bazaar, and another 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Rohingya live around the area.

Those residing outside the UNHCR-run camp “often face abuse and discrimination from local Bangladesh officials and communities”, according to HRW.

An exodus of small boats

Starting in 2005, small boats carrying Rohingya and Bangledeshi migrant workers started leaving the coast of southern Bangladesh, carrying mostly men to Malaysia to join the migrant worker population there.

These small vessels often came ashore in Thailand, and the refugees then used the existing network of smuggling routes into Malaysia. The number of boats arriving gradually grew, prompting the Thai authorities to take action. In 2009, several ships were towed long distances out to sea by Thai security officials, sparking a major international outcry.

Thailand then changed to a so-called ‘help on’ policy, where officials were ordered to re-provision boats that arrived in Thai territorial waters with humanitarian supplies, refuse them the right to land in Thailand, and direct them south to Malaysia.

But as HRW reports, “this policy later mutated into a policy of corruption and directing arriving boats into the hands of gangs, who then placed the people aboard in jungle camps where they were held and extorted for money before being permitted to travel to Malaysia.”

The exodus has grown to tens of thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshis, some who are fleeing violence and discrimination, and others who are seeking work.

A recent report by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 25,000 people travelled on boats from Burma and Bangladesh in the first three months of 2015, with an estimated 300 dying of starvation, dehydration, or beatings by smuggling crews, or as a result of fights on board ships.

Fundamentalist Buddhists’ ethnic violence

Sectarian violence between ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya and other Muslims erupted first in June 2012. A second round of violence in October 2012, says HRW, “resulted in government-backed crimes against humanity amounting to a campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed to drive the Rohingya from urban areas of Arakan State.

“Overall, there were at least 167 deaths and widespread property destruction. There remain over 140,000 internally displaced Rohingya and Arakanese in camps throughout Arakan State.

“Many Rohingya have been receiving only rudimentary and inadequate assistance due to government restrictions and intimidation by Arakanese ultra-nationalists against international aid workers.”

The March-April 2014 census conducted by the Burmese government with assistance from the UN Population Fund did not enumerate people who self-identified as Rohingya. Preliminary results released in August estimated that 1.09 million people were not counted.

In response to the prolonged displacement, the government formulated a draft Rakhine Action Plan, which was disclosed by the media in September 2014, prompting Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, to comment:

“The long-awaited Rakhine State Action Plan both expands and solidifies the discriminatory and abusive Burmese government policies that underpin the decades-long persecution of the Rohingya. It is nothing less than a blueprint for permanent segregation and statelessness that appears designed to strip the Rohingya of hope and force them to flee the country.”

2015: the noose tightens

In 2015, the Burmese government stripped the Rohingya of the right to hold temporary identification cards, so-called ‘white cards’ that gave them the right to vote in the 2008 constitutional referendum and the 2010 nationwide elections, but did not guarantee the full rights of a citizen.

Over 400,000 Rohingya have so far relinquished the cards ahead of the May 31 deadline, with the Burmese government promising some form of ID to be issued in the future if Rohingya self-identify as ‘Bengali’ – and not as ‘Rohingya’ – effectively denying their own ethnic, cultural and religious identity.

“Also deeply troubling”, says HRW, “is the passage of four so-called race and religion laws, which many see as targeting the Muslim minority in Burma generally, and the Rohingya in particular, including the recently passed Population Control Healthcare law, which could be used to limit Rohingya birth rates.

“It is these developments, and the escalated violence against Rohingya since 2012, that has largely fuelled the current exodus.”

Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, commented: “Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia need to agree to never again engage in pushbacks of people stuck at sea, find any remaining boats, bring the people on board to safe ports, and ensure that their rights are respected.

“Just as important, there will be no long-term solution unless Burma ends its rights-abusing and discriminatory policies toward the Rohingya and joins other countries in taking action against smugglers and traffickers who abuse and prey on them.”

Dalai Lama implores Aung San Suu Kyi – ‘Do something!’

Speaking to The Australian newspaper, the Dalai Lama, who heads the greater part of Tibet’s Buddists, implored his fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest for critic­ising Myanmar’s military junta, to speak out on behalf of the Rohingya – a topic on which she has been almost entirely silent.

In his interview, the Dalai Lama revealed that he had already ­appealed to her twice,  in person to stand up for the Rohingya since 2012. 

“I met her two times, first in London and then the Czech Republ­ic. I mentioned about this problem and she told me she found some difficulties, that things were not simple but very complicated. But in spite of that I feel she can do something … It’s very sad. In the Burmese case I hope Aung San Suu Kyi, as a Nobel laureate, can do something.”

Despite the influential call, however, Suu Kyi has remained silent. She has previously excused her non-intervention on the grounds that she is “a politician and not a human rights champion.” This may refer to the fact that the Rohingya cause is not popular among the Buddhist majority.

However the Dalai Lama appealed to all of Burma’s Buddhists to “remember the face of the Buddha” in their dealings with the Rohingya minority.

 

 

Also on The Ecologist:


Oliver Tickell edits The Ecologist.

 






The Northern Bald Ibis is extinct in the Middle East – but we can’t blame it on IS

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A few days ago the BBC reported that the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State (IS) threatens to propel the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) into extinction. Sadly they are wrong – because sadly this iconic and unique population already went extinct in Syria a few months ago.

The Northern Bald Ibis vanished from the wild as a breeding species due to known threats along the migratory route, including hunting and habitat degradation. One of our tagged birds, named Julia, was shot in northern Saudi Arabia in 2009.

Three birds, including Zenobia, had been observed at the wintering site in Ethiopia during winter 2013-14, but only she came back to Palmyra in spring 2014, alone for the second year in a row. That made 2014 the last year she was seen at the Palmyra breeding site.

So this year, for the first time in millennia the Bedouin nomads of the Palmyra desert saw no Northern Bald Ibis in late February, at the beginning of the spring, as I was informed by my contacts in Palmyra. The bearded and black-clothed extremists were only the unaware funereal witnesses of the ibis’s absence.

Palmyra, my second home for 10 years, has in fact enjoyed a couple of years of relative peace, following the crushing of local protests by Government forces in 2012. But some days ago communications with people in Palmyra suddenly were interrupted due to the capture of Palmyra by IS – leaving me in great anguish for the fate of colleagues, friends and companions.

Certainly the arrival of IS could have turned into a threat for the endangered ibis, had it occurred while they were still around – and especially if their occurrence and associated risks were advertised on mainstream media worldwide as it has been over these last few days.

Surely the bearded fanatics would have been tempted to give the coup de grace to the bald bird colony in their quest for media glory – notwithstanding the views of numerous Islamic scholars that all Muslims have a duty to protect endangered species, and the bird’s ancient role as guide to desert pilgrims.

In addition the news of a reward to find Zenobia, mentioned by the same BBC article, seems quite extravagant, not to say totally impractical and of uncertain usefulness. If by any chance Zenobia is still alive within the migratory range, encompassing 3,200 km between western Arabia and Eastern Africa (and I really doubt this), are we encouraging people to trap her?

An irreversible loss

We are currently experiencing what has been called the sixth wave of mass extinction on the planet. Species of life forms are estimated to become extinct in the order of hundreds every year. Most of them are not known by science – and never will be.

The extinction of the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis from its native range (Middle East and Eastern Africa) is an irreversible loss for the ecosystems of the Syrian steppe and of the Ethiopian highlands. It is also a permanent loss for the cultural heritage of the Middle East where the bird had been contemplated with awe by successions of civilizations through the millennia.

The few surviving birds in question were the last living descendants of those revered by the ancient pharaohs. The bald ibis is in fact unmistakably represented in hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt dated thousands of years ago, symbolizing the afterworld divinity Akh (see photo, above right).

It is also mentioned in the Old Testament as a messenger of fertility, and was regarded as a guide for haj pilgrims bound to Holy Makah by Muslim communities of Southern Anatolia.

Declaring a species extinct in the wild can require years. The same relict colony of Northern Bald Ibis in question, according to the ornithological literature, should have not existed at all. Its oriental population was declared extinct from the Syrian desert around the 1990s, as no bird had been sighted there since the early 1930s. That is why the news of their rediscovery in 2002 made headlines worldwide.

But this time it seems that the extinction of the Oriental Bald Ibis from the Middle East is really turning into something awfully true. Surely the bird is now extinct in Syria as a breeding species with the non return of Zenobia. The only hope for the species – and a slim one at that – is that a few immature birds may still survive somewhere between western Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

A 10-year conservation saga

Reduced to only seven individuals in 2002 (when they were rediscovered) and breeding in a then politically highly secretive and paranoid country like Syria, undoubtedly only a miracle would have enabled to prevent the extinction of this long-range migrant, travelling twice a year across 10 countries among the most difficult to work within.

And yet during the first years soon after the discovery the miracle seemed almost to take form thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of few dedicated individuals, including Syria’s First Lady.

In the end despite its cultural relevance at regional level, the strenuous and misadventurous efforts taken along ten years in Palmyra and the mobilization of the upper circles in Damascus, the extinction of this unique and iconic population could not be prevented due to a complex combination of reasons.

Certainly the fact that the species is included in the Western Paleartic Bird Guide (together with all other species of birds occurring in Europe), that it is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, listed among the 100 most endangered species in the world and among the top 100 most Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered species were not regarded as sufficient reasons by international conservation organizations to raise to the challenge with the required energy, strategic approach and determination.

The onset of the war in 2011 appeared as the classic straw that broke the camel’s back. At that time the adult population was reduced to only two individuals. And the emergency action plan I had proposed two years earlier had just remained on paper. At that moment, in 2011, the fate of the ancient guide of haj pilgrims seemed to me already determined.

Coverage of the war in Syria

It is a fact that the coverage of the war in Syria by international mainstream media has been so far very poor. Partly because it is intrinsically very challenging to get reliable information from a country that is gripped in a brutal war.

Also because media tends to publish what can best attract the attention of the average reader. After four years of intense war, readers have become sadly addicted to the daily toll of human life taken either by the barrel bombs dropped by the loyalist army, or by the rebels or by the invading army of fanatics.

This last week international media have fully covered the fall of iconic Palmyra under the control of IS. With the consequent voiced concern for the safety of the unique UNESCO Heritage site.

My colleague archaeologist Alberto Savioli, who worked with me in Palmyra and excavated at several sites in Syria in a long time, maintains in a post he wrote (in Italian) that despite his deep love for the ruins he could not avoid but to observe that far too much emphasis was placed on the concern for the cultural heritage. Without at the same time expressing respectfully the concern for the civilians of Palmyra threatened by IS invasion.

Now comes my turn, in my position as naturalist and champion of an ex-endangered bird. After reading the mentioned news from the BBC web site, I must endorse my archaeological colleague’s views – at this tragic turn it seems quite out of place to turn abruptly the attention from the intense sufferance and loss of human life to the threats for the cultural or natural heritage.

But I also have to add that the BBC’s news story was fundamentally incorrect as it was clearly based on a non updated source.

I am not a supporter of the bearded extremists but let’s not charge IS with responsibility for the demise of the Oriental Bald Ibis. They bear already the burden of enough atrocities.

 

 

Gianluca Serra has been engaged in front line biodiversity conservation as a researcher, civil servant, practitioner and activist during the past two decades internationally, on the five continents. During 2000-2011 he has worked in Palmyra, Syria, under various umbrellas (UN, EU, NGOs, volunteer). He assisted the Syrian Government in prompting biodiversity conservation in the country and in establishing the first protected areas. He led the discovery of the colony in 2002 under a UN-FAO/Italian Cooperation project, and coordinated the protection and research efforts, while training local and Government staff, up to the onset of the war.

The author expresses his deep appreciation of all who assisted with the conservation of the Northern Bald Ibis, including Palmyreans, other Syrians, and foreigners.

More information: A photographic and technical booklet about the 10-year ibis conservation saga is about to be published at thelastflight.org (free download). A non-fiction narrative book about the same subject will be also published soon at salaamhasreturned.org.

 






The Northern Bald Ibis is extinct in the Middle East – but we can’t blame it on IS

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A few days ago the BBC reported that the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State (IS) threatens to propel the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) into extinction. Sadly they are wrong – because sadly this iconic and unique population already went extinct in Syria a few months ago.

The Northern Bald Ibis vanished from the wild as a breeding species due to known threats along the migratory route, including hunting and habitat degradation. One of our tagged birds, named Julia, was shot in northern Saudi Arabia in 2009.

Three birds, including Zenobia, had been observed at the wintering site in Ethiopia during winter 2013-14, but only she came back to Palmyra in spring 2014, alone for the second year in a row. That made 2014 the last year she was seen at the Palmyra breeding site.

So this year, for the first time in millennia the Bedouin nomads of the Palmyra desert saw no Northern Bald Ibis in late February, at the beginning of the spring, as I was informed by my contacts in Palmyra. The bearded and black-clothed extremists were only the unaware funereal witnesses of the ibis’s absence.

Palmyra, my second home for 10 years, has in fact enjoyed a couple of years of relative peace, following the crushing of local protests by Government forces in 2012. But some days ago communications with people in Palmyra suddenly were interrupted due to the capture of Palmyra by IS – leaving me in great anguish for the fate of colleagues, friends and companions.

Certainly the arrival of IS could have turned into a threat for the endangered ibis, had it occurred while they were still around – and especially if their occurrence and associated risks were advertised on mainstream media worldwide as it has been over these last few days.

Surely the bearded fanatics would have been tempted to give the coup de grace to the bald bird colony in their quest for media glory – notwithstanding the views of numerous Islamic scholars that all Muslims have a duty to protect endangered species, and the bird’s ancient role as guide to desert pilgrims.

In addition the news of a reward to find Zenobia, mentioned by the same BBC article, seems quite extravagant, not to say totally impractical and of uncertain usefulness. If by any chance Zenobia is still alive within the migratory range, encompassing 3,200 km between western Arabia and Eastern Africa (and I really doubt this), are we encouraging people to trap her?

An irreversible loss

We are currently experiencing what has been called the sixth wave of mass extinction on the planet. Species of life forms are estimated to become extinct in the order of hundreds every year. Most of them are not known by science – and never will be.

The extinction of the oriental population of Northern Bald Ibis from its native range (Middle East and Eastern Africa) is an irreversible loss for the ecosystems of the Syrian steppe and of the Ethiopian highlands. It is also a permanent loss for the cultural heritage of the Middle East where the bird had been contemplated with awe by successions of civilizations through the millennia.

The few surviving birds in question were the last living descendants of those revered by the ancient pharaohs. The bald ibis is in fact unmistakably represented in hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt dated thousands of years ago, symbolizing the afterworld divinity Akh (see photo, above right).

It is also mentioned in the Old Testament as a messenger of fertility, and was regarded as a guide for haj pilgrims bound to Holy Makah by Muslim communities of Southern Anatolia.

Declaring a species extinct in the wild can require years. The same relict colony of Northern Bald Ibis in question, according to the ornithological literature, should have not existed at all. Its oriental population was declared extinct from the Syrian desert around the 1990s, as no bird had been sighted there since the early 1930s. That is why the news of their rediscovery in 2002 made headlines worldwide.

But this time it seems that the extinction of the Oriental Bald Ibis from the Middle East is really turning into something awfully true. Surely the bird is now extinct in Syria as a breeding species with the non return of Zenobia. The only hope for the species – and a slim one at that – is that a few immature birds may still survive somewhere between western Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

A 10-year conservation saga

Reduced to only seven individuals in 2002 (when they were rediscovered) and breeding in a then politically highly secretive and paranoid country like Syria, undoubtedly only a miracle would have enabled to prevent the extinction of this long-range migrant, travelling twice a year across 10 countries among the most difficult to work within.

And yet during the first years soon after the discovery the miracle seemed almost to take form thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of few dedicated individuals, including Syria’s First Lady.

In the end despite its cultural relevance at regional level, the strenuous and misadventurous efforts taken along ten years in Palmyra and the mobilization of the upper circles in Damascus, the extinction of this unique and iconic population could not be prevented due to a complex combination of reasons.

Certainly the fact that the species is included in the Western Paleartic Bird Guide (together with all other species of birds occurring in Europe), that it is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, listed among the 100 most endangered species in the world and among the top 100 most Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered species were not regarded as sufficient reasons by international conservation organizations to raise to the challenge with the required energy, strategic approach and determination.

The onset of the war in 2011 appeared as the classic straw that broke the camel’s back. At that time the adult population was reduced to only two individuals. And the emergency action plan I had proposed two years earlier had just remained on paper. At that moment, in 2011, the fate of the ancient guide of haj pilgrims seemed to me already determined.

Coverage of the war in Syria

It is a fact that the coverage of the war in Syria by international mainstream media has been so far very poor. Partly because it is intrinsically very challenging to get reliable information from a country that is gripped in a brutal war.

Also because media tends to publish what can best attract the attention of the average reader. After four years of intense war, readers have become sadly addicted to the daily toll of human life taken either by the barrel bombs dropped by the loyalist army, or by the rebels or by the invading army of fanatics.

This last week international media have fully covered the fall of iconic Palmyra under the control of IS. With the consequent voiced concern for the safety of the unique UNESCO Heritage site.

My colleague archaeologist Alberto Savioli, who worked with me in Palmyra and excavated at several sites in Syria in a long time, maintains in a post he wrote (in Italian) that despite his deep love for the ruins he could not avoid but to observe that far too much emphasis was placed on the concern for the cultural heritage. Without at the same time expressing respectfully the concern for the civilians of Palmyra threatened by IS invasion.

Now comes my turn, in my position as naturalist and champion of an ex-endangered bird. After reading the mentioned news from the BBC web site, I must endorse my archaeological colleague’s views – at this tragic turn it seems quite out of place to turn abruptly the attention from the intense sufferance and loss of human life to the threats for the cultural or natural heritage.

But I also have to add that the BBC’s news story was fundamentally incorrect as it was clearly based on a non updated source.

I am not a supporter of the bearded extremists but let’s not charge IS with responsibility for the demise of the Oriental Bald Ibis. They bear already the burden of enough atrocities.

 

 

Gianluca Serra has been engaged in front line biodiversity conservation as a researcher, civil servant, practitioner and activist during the past two decades internationally, on the five continents. During 2000-2011 he has worked in Palmyra, Syria, under various umbrellas (UN, EU, NGOs, volunteer). He assisted the Syrian Government in prompting biodiversity conservation in the country and in establishing the first protected areas. He led the discovery of the colony in 2002 under a UN-FAO/Italian Cooperation project, and coordinated the protection and research efforts, while training local and Government staff, up to the onset of the war.

The author expresses his deep appreciation of all who assisted with the conservation of the Northern Bald Ibis, including Palmyreans, other Syrians, and foreigners.

More information: A photographic and technical booklet about the 10-year ibis conservation saga is about to be published at thelastflight.org (free download). A non-fiction narrative book about the same subject will be also published soon at salaamhasreturned.org.

 






Help our vital pollinators – join the Great British Bee Count!

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The buzz of bees is a familiar summer sound across the UK.  But this idyllic scene is under serious threat.

Earlier this year the International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] warned that almost one in ten of Europe’s native wild bees face extinction.

And this alarming report has been echoed by other studies:

  • The diversity of wild bumblebee species is down;
  • Honey bee numbers are mostly down despite the recent trend in beekeeping;
  • Solitary bees are also suffering with declines in over half (52%) of the areas studied.

Bees provide us with a crucial economic service too. It has been estimated that replacing bee pollination with hand pollination could cost farmers at least £1.8 billion a year in labour and pollen alone.

Pesticides and habitat loss driving bee declines

The causes of bee decline are widely recognised. Loss of habitat especially because of changes in agriculture (including pesticide use) is the main cause of bee decline across Europe.

For example, species rich grass meadows have declined by 97% in the UK since the 1930s, removing an important source of forage for bees. There are other important factors too, such as climate change, pests and diseases.

But despite the Government introducing a National Pollinator Strategy last year, following a campaign by Friends of the Earth, major loopholes in this strategy remain – in particular tougher action is needed to reduce the impact of intensive agriculture.

Of course we can all play a part in helping Britain’s beleaguered bee populations. With farmland being a less rich feeding ground for bees than it was, our gardens, schools and parks are crucial for bees. With a little thought and effort these local places can be transformed into bee-friendly habitat.

Planting nectar and pollen-rich flowers, avoiding pesticides and providing a source of water are just some of the things that people can do to help our bees.

Join the Great British Bee Count!

And people can also help by downloading the free app and joining the Great British Bee Count 2015, which runs until Sunday 31st May.

To help you identify the bees you find, we have included a photographic guide to the top ten bees – above right, including seven bumblebee species – captions thanks to Dave Goulson who has this valuable advice to offer:

“At this time of year the queen bumblebees have just come out of hibernation – huge, furry zeppelins of the insect world. If you have bee-friendly flowers in your garden you will see them hungrily feeding, for they haven’t had a meal for seven months.

“Once they are replete, you’ll see them flying low to the ground – they are hoping to find a hole that leads down to a cosy abandoned mouse nest, their favourite place to build their own nest. Bumblebees are wild creatures, cousins of the smaller, more drab honeybees that we keep in hives.

“Take a moment to watch them and you will soon see that there are different types – we have 26 species in the UK, and you can easily see seven different ones in any garden or park. Learn these seven and you can amaze and amuse (or annoy) your friends by pointing out the different types.”

How ‘Citizen Science’ can help save our bees

As bee populations continue to decline a national picture is needed to help inform scientists and Government policy. The Great British Bee Count aims to provide an annual picture of national bee populations, while also raising awareness of bee diversity.

Citizen science has really taken off in recent years, and armed with just a smartphone or tablet and a free-to-use app, people up and down the country can play a crucial role in monitoring the nation’s bees.

Wildlife presenter and BBC Springwatch host Michaela Strachan, who is backing the bee count, said:

“Bees are the most amazing creatures and a lot of people are totally unaware of how important they are. In the UK we are lucky enough to have around 250 different types of bee and a lot of people don’t know that. So get outside and see how many you can spot and do what you can to help these awesome little pollinators.”

So far over 5,000 people have taken part in the Great British Bee Count, recording over 80,000 bees. And people have also been using the app to send in some fabulous pictures too.

So be bee-friendly, download the app and help Britain’s bees.

 

 

Paul de Zylva is nature campaigner with Friends of the Earth England & Wales.

See photos, above right, to help you identify our ‘top ten’ British bee species.

More information: The Great British Bee Count is run by Friends of the Earth, Buglife and Waitrose and ends on Sunday 31st May 2015.

Also on The Ecologist: ‘If modern farming can’t sustain bees, how much longer can it sustain us?‘ by Dave Goulson.

 

 

 






Pacific Islands heading for 100% renewable energy

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Climate scientists say the Pacific islands are disproportionally affected by climate change, with sea level rises and increases in ocean temperatures impacting on communities and livelihoods.

And Samoa’s Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, is determined to do something about it. As he  told climate experts at this year’s Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR) meeting in Apia, Samoa earlier this month:

“We’re committed to a 100 percent renewable energy target by 2017, with China, New Zealand and the Asia Development Bank. My government accepts that climate change is a reality, it’s happening, it’s urgent and we have to act now … in Samoa the share of renewable energy mix has made significant improvements.”

“Climate change posses a fundamental threat to the lives and wellbeing of the Pacific people. It represents an existential threat to the survival of the Pacific people. The lessons we learn, the causes of climate change, are beyond the capacity of our country alone. We can’t address the challenges without the support of partners.”

As well as using solar power to meet its goal, Samoa has an existing hydroelectric power station that has historically produced a third of its electricity, and a small biomass power capacity using coconut shells which it aims to expand. Local biomass is also used in cooking and water heating.

International investment helping combat climate change

PCRR delegates also heard how Tokelau, a small New Zealand territory mid-way between Hawaii and New Zealand, and just over 300 miles north of Samoa, has achieved 94% energy supply from renewable sources.

It has achieved 100% renewable electricity following the completion of a 1 MW solar array in 2012, allowing the closure of its three diesel generation units. Cooking and water heating is carried out using local biomass, and now the island is turning to locally produced coconut oil to satisfy its remaining energy needs, for example to fuel the island’s handful of cars.

Tokelau’s representative Jolivisi Suveinakam said: “in the drive to be sustainable Tokelau’s total conversion to renewable energy has cost £6m (NZD $12.5 million). Since converting, communities have developed better ways of using the technology and streamlining the processes.”

The Cook Islands and Tuvalu are also aiming for 100% renewable energy in 2050. This month a New Zealand-financed $20.5 million project was completed on the Cook Islands bringing solar arrays to Rakahanga, Pukapuka, Nassau, and Palmerston, and finally on the northern Cook islands of Penrhyn and Manihiki. However Tuvalu is still working to raise the financial backing needed to realise its ambitions.

The islands’ aim in going 100% renewable is twofold. First, to reduce their own dependence on costly fossil fuel imports by turning to indigenous energy sources. In 2010/2011, for example, over 12% of Samoa’s domestic product was spent in importing petrolum products.

The second purpose is to set a low carbon example to the world in the hope that other countries will follow their lead – and so help to save low-lying Pacific island nations from sea level rise.

Donors step up to the mark

Also at the PCCR meeting, Switzerland announced a $100 million contribution to the Samoa-based Green Climate Fund, to be used for a variety of mitigation and adaptation projects inlcuding renewable energy expansion.

Prime Minister Malielegaoi went on to announce a new Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) funded by Japan. The PCCC will develop partnerships throughout the pacific region and internationally in resilience strategies for Pacific countries to climate change.

“The centre has the full support of my government and the Government of Japan. PCCC will build on the current Pacific climate change program … and work with likeminded countries and ensure a legally binding agreement”, he said.

Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, attending the Seventh Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM7), in Fukushima last week, announced £290m (¥55bn) funding package to tackle climate change related issues on the Pacific islands.

Pacific leaders also welcomed Japan’s initiative to host a series of events in 2015 to promote renewable energy in Pacific island countries, in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

From the Pacific to Paris

Pacific Island leaders and climate experts will next meet at the 46th Pacific Islands Forum, Papua New Guinea in September.

The agenda will be dominated by climate change as pacific island governments gather a collective response to take to Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and 11th meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 21/CMP 11).

Tuilaepa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi added “The Convention in Paris is critically important for our region and we will work with like-minded countries to ensure a legally binding agreement.”

Climate change is a daily issue in the Pacific Islands, with many island nations on low-lying land making them prone to land erosion, cyclones and tsunamis. Kiribati, south of Hawaii, is losing land mass from rising sea levels.

In 2013 one former Kiribati resident claimed climate refugee status on the basis that global warming is a form of persecution.

 

 

Dr Maxine Newlands is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Education & Social Sciences School of Arts & Social Sciences of James Cook University. Her research focuses on environmental politics from emissions trading, carbon tax to environmentalism, activism, protest, social justice, journalistic practices and occasionally sportsmedia. She tweets @Dr_MaxNewlands.

Additional reporting by The Ecologist.

 






The poisonous extremism at the heart of yesterday’s Queen’s Speech

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First they came for them …
Then they came for me …
Will they now come for you?

Given far far too little publicity and critique, this is what David Cameron said after being elected about the ‘Extremism’ legislation, which was outlined in yesterday’s legislative programme:

“For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens ‘as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone’. It’s often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that’s helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance.”

What the hell does this mean?!! Even if we obey the law, if the police or the government or the Daily Mail or Rupert Murdoch decide that they do not like us, they will still not let us alone?!!

It is, simply, one of the most chilling statements by a British Prime Minister in my entire life – and surely the most fundamental attack on our freedom in a liberal democracy.

Don’t mention the war – the one against us!

Was there any mention of this proposal in the BBC’s coverage yesterday? On the One O’Clock news they interviewed children about seeing the Queen’s gilded coach and a long ten minute interview with Arsene Wenger about the “aesthetics” of soccer – but no mention of this fundamental attack on our freedom.

Here’s what the Queen announced: “Measures will also be brought forward to promote social cohesion and protect people by tackling extremism. New legislation will modernise the law on communications data, improve the law on policing and criminal justice … My Government will work to reduce the threat from nuclear weapons, cyber attacks and terrorism.”

Note the insidious change and abuse of language as it has developed over the years. Until recently, all the language after the illegal Iraq invasion understandably radicalised some young Muslims, was about tackling ‘Islamic terrorism’.

Then it became tackling ‘terrorism’. But very recently it has extended to tackling ‘domestic extremists’, ‘extremism’ and those who threaten ‘British values, tolerance and our concept of democracy.’

The law will allow the police to require those citizens it deems ‘extremist’ to submit all their Facebook postings or Tweets to the police for approval. Remember we do not need to have been found guilty of a crime before they can demand this of us.

Who are the real extremists?

They are giving Ofcom powers to tackle any broadcaster who interviews someone they decide is an ‘extremist’. So who and what is an ‘extremist’?

  • Republicans?
  • Animal rights protectors?
  • Fracking protesters?
  • Occupy?
  • Anti-roads campaigners?
  • Council Housing demolition protesters?
  • GM crop direct action advocates?
  • Tories?!!!
  • Civil disobedience promoters?
  • Trade unionists?
  • NHS defenders?
  • Greenpeace?
  • Campaigners against the UK’s nuclear weapons of mass destruction?
  • People who oppose the UK’s and NATO’s reckless and murderous military adventurism in faraway lands?
  • Anyone who doubts the legitimacy of a government voted for by under a quarter of the electorate, that claims a ‘mandate’ to impose deep, far reaching, dangerous and deeply divisive changes on our country?
  • Journalists, editors and photographers in the alternative media – like The Ecologist – or who simply express ideas or publish articles that dissent from the mainstream?
  • Me – for writing this article?

Does this mean that all hunt saboteurs will be banned from being interviewed? Does it mean anti-fur campaigners will have to submit all their Facebook comments to the police for vetting before being allowed to post?

Does it mean that they will close down UK operations of TV stations like RT and Al Jazeera if they interview a Muslim imam who has not committed any crime but who has views the state has arbitrarily decided are ‘extremist’? Is this not the end of free speech?

A blank cheque for the suppresion of civil iberties

The wording is so vague and all-encompassing, that it gives the police a blank cheque to make criminals of all of us, without any of us even committing a crime. Is it not the ultimate in thought crime?

And of course the government also wants to repeal the Human Rights Act, pass a new ‘British Bill of Rights’, and declare its immunity from the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights – something it would surely have to do to impose its ‘thought crime law’.

We already have one indication of how the law may be used – and that the media are very much in the sights of the police. In 2013 six journalists found that the Metropolitan Police had entered them onto their Domestic Extremism Database – among them Adrian Arbib, who wrote about his experience for The Ecologist.

As Arbib warned, “to judge by its shabby record, the British state is all too ready to abuse its powers by turning them against people in ways that were never envisaged or intended by legislators, including legitimate and peaceful campaigners, protestors, dissidents of various stripes – and the media.

“The last thing we should allow is for the state to take on yet greater powers, only for them to turn against us when it suits them, and further restrict the freedom of the media that holds an essential role in any free and democratic nation.”

The pic above was taken during my arrest whilst chanting in a tiny pop-up tent, at the foot of Mahatma Gandhi’s feet, in a protest calling for the criminalisation of fossil fuel exploration. My initial court hearing for this ‘crime’ will be on Monday morning.

Will I now have to submit all of my Facebook postings / comments to the police before writing future postings? Will you? Will our Muslim friends?

This ‘thought crime law’ has no place in a liberal democracy. It turns us into a de facto Murdocracy. It must be stopped.

The Prostitute State is now running rampant!!

 

 

Donnachadh McCarthy is a member of Occupy Democracy, co-organiser for Occupy Rupert Murdoch Week, a former Deputy Chair of the Liberal Democrats, and author of “The Prostitute State – How Britain’s Democracy Has Been Bought”. He can be reached via his website 3acorns. Follow on Facebook.

Petition: ‘Save the Human Rights Act‘ (38 Degrees).

Copies of ‘The Prostitute State – How Britain’s Democracy Has Been Bought‘ are available from theprostitutestate.co.uk. E-book version available from Lulu.com.

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