Volunteers are being asked to help save the water vole by taking part in the annual People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) survey and visiting one of 850 pre-selected sites across England, Wales and Scotland between the 15 April – 15 June.

Wildlife charity PTES launched the first ever National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) to help save water voles – the UK’s fastest declining mamma – in 2015.

With their glossy brown or black fur, small round eyes, blunt muzzle and furry tail, water voles are extremely endearing. They are also extremely endangered, having experienced the most rapid and serious decline of any British wild mammal in the last century.

Devastating impact 

There are various factors behind their decline, from loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat (streams, rivers and other fresh waterways) and agricultural intensification, to pollution of watercourses and predation by non-native American mink.

The impact of mink has been particularly devastating – between 1989 and 1998 the water vole population crashed by almost 90 percent.

New sites can also be registered if there isn’t a pre-selected site nearby. Once a site has been chosen or a new site registered, it just needs to be surveyed once and all sightings and signs of water voles along a 500m length of riverbank recorded online here.

Volunteers need to register online and after that simply enter their postcode to find the closest survey site or register a suitable site near where they live. No previous experience is required, but those taking part will need to learn how to identify water voles and their signs, information about which is also on PTES’ website.

Monitoring population 

Last year, 249 sites were surveyed in Britain: 152 in England (from Cornwall to the North Pennines), 92 in Scotland (from the Highlands to East Ayrshire) and 5 in Wales, in areas such as Monmouthshire and Anglesey.

105 sites (42 percent) showed signs of water voles being present, and while this is encouraging, there are gaps in survey areas where PTES needs more help, including mid and south west Wales, the West Midlands, the South West (Somerset & Gloucestershire) and southern Scotland, to get a really clear picture of water vole numbers across Britain.

Emily Thomas, Key Species Data & Monitoring Officer at PTES explained: “Water voles used to be found in almost every waterway in England, Scotland and Wales, but sadly now their numbers are declining dramatically.

“These adorable mammals need all the help they can get, so we hope as many people as possible, in all corners of Britain, sign up to survey a site this spring. We use the data gathered to monitor population trends year on year, which in turn helps to guide our conservation work and inform us where action is needed most.”

To take part in the 2019 National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, and to find out more about water voles click here. 

This Article 

This article is based on a press release from People’s Trust for Endangered Species. 

Image: Peter Trimming, Flickr. 

Almost 250 million people who play the online video game Fortnite every day are being challenged by conservation charity WWF to survive the game – but with a twist.

The #NoBuildChallenge rule is simple: players are expected to proceed through the game without exploiting any of the usual natural resources which allow them to survive and increase their skills: this means no wood, no stone and no metal.

The idea is that the #NoBuildChallenge participants will understand a simple fact: staying alive is difficult without the planet’s natural resources. These players will be encouraged to share this message with their Fortnite networks all over the world.

Earth day

The #NoBuildChallenge campaign was officially launched on Friday 5 April by Solary, the French pro-gamers team, with a live stream on their Twitch channel, which has 730,000+ followers.

Solary includes star gamers such as Kinstaar, Hunter, Nikof and Yoshi. The first #NoBuildChallenge live session drew 7,000 gamers in two hours.

Fortnite has become a space of exchange and creativity and its community of YouTube and Twitch gamers and streamers are also invited to join in and rise to the challenge.

Live games and recorded content will be broadcast to spark a conversation throughout the campaign, which runs until Earth Day on Monday April 22.

The campaign has been created for WWF France by the Paris-based socially-led creative agency We Are Social. It kicks off as students in more than a hundred countries, from Sweden to South Africa, close their books and take to the streets to demand an urgent response to climate change.

Gammer communities

Jacques-Olivier Barthes, Communications Director at WWF France, said: “Survival is a concept that will probably not be virtual in the future, as we continue to consume more resources than the earth is able to offer.

“Quite simply, if we do not change the rules, we will not survive. By engaging Fortnite’s community of young, active players, we hope more and more people will join the fight to preserve our planet.”

Sandrine Plasseraud, President of We Are Social France, said: “The gamer community is mostly young, and they are going to be the inheritors of our planet – a planet whose resources are running out faster every year.

“Gamers are already using their networks to convey positive messages. The idea of ​​the #NoBuildChallenge is to capitalize on this community which is already very committed to meeting our new environmental challenges.”

This Author 

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from We Are Social. 

An international coalition of NGOs – including a group representing more than 300 Brazilian indigenous groups – has called for the European Union (EU) to end its complicity in the assault on indigenous rights and the destruction of the Amazon, on Jair Bolsonaro’s one-hundredth day in office.

Since President Bolsonaro became leader of the world’s fourth largest democracy on 1 January, his government has dismantled environmental protections, incursions by armed invaders on Indigenous Peoples’ lands have surged, and deforestation rates in the Amazon have risen.

The EU provides a huge market for Brazilian soy and beef, which drives deforestation and human rights abuses in Brazil on a vast scale. The EU is also Brazil’s second largest trading partner, and together its Member States are Brazil’s largest source of foreign direct investment.

Unfolding destruction 

The coalition is calling for tough new EU laws guaranteeing that products sold in the EU do not cause deforestation and human rights abuses in Brazil.

Nicole Polsterer, Forests and Consumption campaigner at Fern, the forests and rights NGO, said: “The EU already has laws to stop illegally logged wood, illegally sourced fish and conflict minerals entering its markets.

“The unfolding destruction in Brazil show the glaring need for similar laws for agricultural goods. The EU must clean up its [agricultural] supply chains, make them transparent, and use its enormous economic leverage to reduce the threat Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples face.” 

Sônia Guajajara, coordinator of Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB ) which represents more than 300 Brazilian indigenous groups, reinforced this call for EU action: “The first 100 days of Bolsonaro’s presidency are the latest chapter in a long war of attrition against Brazil’s Indigenous People.

“The crimes that are being committed today are happening in the name of agricultural production. The EU must not evade its responsibility for this.” 

Economic leverage 

Guajajara added: “The EU must use its consumer power to ensure our rights are protected and our forests are preserved.” 

The international call for EU action coincides with the release of a new Fern briefing, 100 Days of Bolsonaro: Ending the EU’s role in the assault on the Amazon, which details the dizzying speed at which environmental laws have been eroded, and land grabs and attacks on indigenous communities have accelerated in the first three months of Bolsonaro’s presidency.

In January 2019, deforestation in the Amazon reportedly rose by 54 perent compared to  the same month in 2018.

The report calls for a new EU law preventing commodities being sold on the EU market which have caused deforestation or the violation of human rights. It also calls the EU to use its economic leverage to protect Brazil’s forests and Indigenous Peoples by suspending its talks for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the Mercosur trading bloc – of which Brazil is the largest and most powerful member – until Brazil renews its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, and the deal’s Sustainability Impact Assessment is released publicly and its findings taken into account.

The Mercosur deal should also include binding, enforceable provisions to end deforestation and respect customary tenure rights.

Forest defenders 

The report also argues that the European External Action Service (EEAS) should strengthen the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and include more proactive consultation with Brazilian civil society organisations.

The EU should also monitor and respond to human rights violations and strengthen human rights defenders’ protection mechanisms.

For those most at risk, including Indigenous Peoples and environmental defenders, the EU should provide direct, urgent support where required, including through political representations. 

Perrine Fournier, Fern’s Trade and Forests campaigner, said that signing the Mercosur trade deal as it stands, would exacerbate an already dangerous situation: “The EU says it supports values based trade. Bolsonaro is the litmus test for this.

“Signing the Mercosur deal as it stands would mean renouncing the EU’s commitment to end deforestation by 2020, sacrificing indigenous rights and forests on the altar of trade.” 

This Author 

Marianne Brooker is content editor for The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Fern. 

Image: Marcelo Camargo, Wikimedia. 

A large number of people in Tanzania still live below the poverty line, and we are seeing the devastating effects of climate change, including more frequent and intense droughts and unpredictable rainfall.

This week, I’m attending the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC with a message for World Bank officials from my home country: it’s vital that the World Bank, under its new president, keeps its promises to tackle climate change and becomes a real champion.

This would demonstrate the bank’s leadership on climate change and investments in clean energy, like off-grid solar power to reach the poorest.

Solar lamps

One billion people still live in the dark, without any electricity. Energy poverty is particularly stark in rural and remote regions in Africa.

In Tanzania, less than a fifth of people in rural areas have access to electricity. Off-grid renewables, like small solar systems, often reach rural communities more quickly and cheaply than a central grid, and are safer and cleaner than local alternatives like kerosene.

The Christian Council of Tanzania saw the benefit of this approach, and is working with Tearfund to pilot off-grid renewable projects and to advocate for greater government support. These kind of projects can improve people’s health, education, gender equality and income generation.

For example, solar power has also enabled basic computer classes to be held and has improved teacher retention rates in Tanzania’s rural areas. We have similarly seen how hydro mini-grids have improved health facilities, which with a reliable electricity supply can use microscopes and refrigerators for medicine storage.

A network of women entrepreneurs in Tanzania have substituted kerosene with solar lamps, using the savings for school fees, farming inputs and investment in businesses.

Investment

Rachel is a farmer and tailor in Makutupora in central Tanzania who bought a solar panel with a loan from a self-help group supported by Tearfund. Now that she has a solar light, she can work in the evenings, making clothes to sell to people in the village.

By working three or four hours each evening, she has increased the family’s monthly income from 70–80,000 TZS ($31–35) to sometimes as much as 150,000 TZS ($66).

Off-grid renewables can help support small businesses, enabling them to open longer hours and thereby reach a higher number of customers, increasing profits.

Ali, from the Dodoma region of central Tanzania, has used solar light to open his kiosk in the evenings, selling cattle medicines to farmers when they return from the fields. He’s seen his income more than double, enabling him to buy a plot of land on which he intends to build a house for his family.

We need to see much more investment in initiatives like this in Tanzania and scale them up. Business as usual won’t ensure that the poorest have clean energy.

Energy for all

The World Bank has made steps to increase their investments in off-grid renewables to $600m in 2018, but this is still a small proportion of their overall energy budget.

We need the World Bank to develop a roadmap on how it will ramp up its investments to meet the demand for clean energy in African countries like mine and mainstream off-grid renewable energy into its energy portfolio.

For example, the African Development Bank has set an ambitious strategy to achieve electricity access by 2025.

The World Bank’s investments send a crucial signal to other investors so it must set the direction to clean energy and energy for all.

This Author

Emmanuel Kimbe represents the Christian Council of Tanzania, a Tearfund partner. This Article first appeared at Climate Home News.

Protesters plan to block traffic at four London locations “around the clock” to force the Government to take urgent action on climate change and wildlife declines.

Campaign group Extinction Rebellion said it will take to the streets at Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Parliament Square from Monday April 15 to cause disruption and force the Government to act.

Thousands of people will converge on the four busy locations, peacefully blocking traffic and creating a “festival” of action including people’s assemblies, performances, talks, workshops and food, the group said.

Stand up

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to act to halt wildlife loss and bring greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025, and create a citizens’ assembly to deliver action on the environment.

Coaches will bring people from around the country to the protest, where they will be joined by cyclists and marchers who have travelled to the capital by bike and on foot.

The direct action campaign calling for governments to urgently tackle the “climate and ecological emergency” has spread into an international movement and is backed by celebrities, academics and writers.

Actress and activist Dame Emma Thompson said: “Our Government has signed agreement after agreement and broken every single promise they made with staggering regularity.

“It is time to stand up and save our home. There will be talks, politics, music, arts. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, but be prepared to stay. Because now’s the time to save the planet. As we all know, there is no planet B. Be there.”

Families

Jayne Forbes of Extinction Rebellion warned that the window to reduce carbon emissions and halt the “sixth mass extinction” was closing rapidly.

“Extinction Rebellion calls on everyone, regardless of your political or religious or cultural beliefs, to join us as we peacefully disrupt for the future of humanity and for all life on Earth.

“If even a small part of you is sitting at home wondering what to do about the climate and ecological emergency, this is what we need to do. This is the best shot we have, we can’t get a new planet.”

She urged people to book at least two weeks off work, if possible, and bring their tents and families to “rebel for life on Earth”.

This Author

Emily Beament is the environment correspondent for the Press Association.

Protesters plan to block traffic at four London locations “around the clock” to force the Government to take urgent action on climate change and wildlife declines.

Campaign group Extinction Rebellion said it will take to the streets at Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Parliament Square from Monday April 15 to cause disruption and force the Government to act.

Thousands of people will converge on the four busy locations, peacefully blocking traffic and creating a “festival” of action including people’s assemblies, performances, talks, workshops and food, the group said.

Stand up

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to act to halt wildlife loss and bring greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025, and create a citizens’ assembly to deliver action on the environment.

Coaches will bring people from around the country to the protest, where they will be joined by cyclists and marchers who have travelled to the capital by bike and on foot.

The direct action campaign calling for governments to urgently tackle the “climate and ecological emergency” has spread into an international movement and is backed by celebrities, academics and writers.

Actress and activist Dame Emma Thompson said: “Our Government has signed agreement after agreement and broken every single promise they made with staggering regularity.

“It is time to stand up and save our home. There will be talks, politics, music, arts. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, but be prepared to stay. Because now’s the time to save the planet. As we all know, there is no planet B. Be there.”

Families

Jayne Forbes of Extinction Rebellion warned that the window to reduce carbon emissions and halt the “sixth mass extinction” was closing rapidly.

“Extinction Rebellion calls on everyone, regardless of your political or religious or cultural beliefs, to join us as we peacefully disrupt for the future of humanity and for all life on Earth.

“If even a small part of you is sitting at home wondering what to do about the climate and ecological emergency, this is what we need to do. This is the best shot we have, we can’t get a new planet.”

She urged people to book at least two weeks off work, if possible, and bring their tents and families to “rebel for life on Earth”.

This Author

Emily Beament is the environment correspondent for the Press Association.

Protesters plan to block traffic at four London locations “around the clock” to force the Government to take urgent action on climate change and wildlife declines.

Campaign group Extinction Rebellion said it will take to the streets at Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Parliament Square from Monday April 15 to cause disruption and force the Government to act.

Thousands of people will converge on the four busy locations, peacefully blocking traffic and creating a “festival” of action including people’s assemblies, performances, talks, workshops and food, the group said.

Stand up

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to act to halt wildlife loss and bring greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025, and create a citizens’ assembly to deliver action on the environment.

Coaches will bring people from around the country to the protest, where they will be joined by cyclists and marchers who have travelled to the capital by bike and on foot.

The direct action campaign calling for governments to urgently tackle the “climate and ecological emergency” has spread into an international movement and is backed by celebrities, academics and writers.

Actress and activist Dame Emma Thompson said: “Our Government has signed agreement after agreement and broken every single promise they made with staggering regularity.

“It is time to stand up and save our home. There will be talks, politics, music, arts. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, but be prepared to stay. Because now’s the time to save the planet. As we all know, there is no planet B. Be there.”

Families

Jayne Forbes of Extinction Rebellion warned that the window to reduce carbon emissions and halt the “sixth mass extinction” was closing rapidly.

“Extinction Rebellion calls on everyone, regardless of your political or religious or cultural beliefs, to join us as we peacefully disrupt for the future of humanity and for all life on Earth.

“If even a small part of you is sitting at home wondering what to do about the climate and ecological emergency, this is what we need to do. This is the best shot we have, we can’t get a new planet.”

She urged people to book at least two weeks off work, if possible, and bring their tents and families to “rebel for life on Earth”.

This Author

Emily Beament is the environment correspondent for the Press Association.

Protesters plan to block traffic at four London locations “around the clock” to force the Government to take urgent action on climate change and wildlife declines.

Campaign group Extinction Rebellion said it will take to the streets at Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Parliament Square from Monday April 15 to cause disruption and force the Government to act.

Thousands of people will converge on the four busy locations, peacefully blocking traffic and creating a “festival” of action including people’s assemblies, performances, talks, workshops and food, the group said.

Stand up

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to act to halt wildlife loss and bring greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025, and create a citizens’ assembly to deliver action on the environment.

Coaches will bring people from around the country to the protest, where they will be joined by cyclists and marchers who have travelled to the capital by bike and on foot.

The direct action campaign calling for governments to urgently tackle the “climate and ecological emergency” has spread into an international movement and is backed by celebrities, academics and writers.

Actress and activist Dame Emma Thompson said: “Our Government has signed agreement after agreement and broken every single promise they made with staggering regularity.

“It is time to stand up and save our home. There will be talks, politics, music, arts. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, but be prepared to stay. Because now’s the time to save the planet. As we all know, there is no planet B. Be there.”

Families

Jayne Forbes of Extinction Rebellion warned that the window to reduce carbon emissions and halt the “sixth mass extinction” was closing rapidly.

“Extinction Rebellion calls on everyone, regardless of your political or religious or cultural beliefs, to join us as we peacefully disrupt for the future of humanity and for all life on Earth.

“If even a small part of you is sitting at home wondering what to do about the climate and ecological emergency, this is what we need to do. This is the best shot we have, we can’t get a new planet.”

She urged people to book at least two weeks off work, if possible, and bring their tents and families to “rebel for life on Earth”.

This Author

Emily Beament is the environment correspondent for the Press Association.

Developers must take more care to protect wildlife during building work, the Government has said, amid concern over netting trees to stop birds nesting.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has written to leading developers reminding them of their legal obligation to consider the impact of projects on local wildlife and the need to take action to protect habitats.

The move comes after members of the public and conservationists raised concerns over netting being placed over trees and hedgerows ahead of building work near housing developments.

Voles

Taking, damaging or destroying active nests is against the law but covering vegetation before the nesting season can prevent birds nesting in the first place.

Conservationists, who say the practice can be used to prevent delays in development by allowing trees and shrubs to be removed during the nesting season, have criticised it for showing an “alarming disregard” for wildlife.

The Woodland Trust said it blocks birds from finding a place to nest, can trap other wildlife that relies on hedgerows such as voles and hibernating hedgehogs, and allows the removal of valuable natural features.

A parliamentary petition to make netting hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting a criminal offence has received more than 225,000 signatures.

In his letter, Mr Brokenshire emphasised that birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 and mitigation plans will need to show how developers will avoid or manage any negative effects on protected species during building work.

Sustainable

He has not ruled out further action to protect nature if developers do not follow their obligations, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.

Mr Brokenshire said: “Whilst building new homes is vital, we must take every care to avoid unnecessary loss of habitats that provide much-needed space for nature, including birds.

“Developments should enhance natural environments, not destroy them.

“Netting trees and hedgerows is only likely to be appropriate where it is genuinely needed to protect birds from harm during development.

“I hope developers will take these words on board and play their full role to make sure we can deliver new communities in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Neighbourhoods

Martin Harper, the RSPB’s director for conservation, said: “We cannot keep trying to squeeze nature into smaller and smaller spaces or demand that wildlife fits in with our plans.

“Across the UK wildlife is vanishing at an alarming rate, and our planning system must play a vital role in not just reversing this decline but helping nature to recover.”

He said tree and hedge removal should be completed outside of the nesting season.

“However, if there is absolutely no alternative, then netting must be used sparingly in line with the legal duties and responsibilities on developers, including regular checks to ensure wildlife isn’t getting trapped, injured or worse.

“We are pleased to see the secretary of state is acknowledging the concerns many people have about the use of netting, and how strongly we all feel about sharing our future neighbourhoods with nature rather than pushing it away.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the environment correspondent for the Press Association.

Europe’s rivers and canals contain more than 100 pesticides – including 24 that are currently banned, a study has found.

Researchers tested samples from 29 waterways in 10 European countries, including two in the UK. Every single river and canal was found to contain multiple pesticides. In addition, the study discovered evidence of 21 veterinary drugs.

Thirteen waterways held concentrations of at least one chemical that exceeded European safety limits.

Pesticides

A total of 24 pesticides that are not licensed for use in the European Union were detected. And 70 different pesticides were identified in one Belgian canal with the highest level of contamination.

Dr Jorge Casado, from Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter, said: “There is huge uncertainty about what effects these mixtures of chemicals could have on wildlife and human health. We know many of these individual pesticides are a cause for concern.”

The fact that unlicensed pesticides were found in the waterways does not necessarily mean they were used illegally, the researchers pointed out.

They could have been used lawfully before the bans came into force. Several pesticides were discovered in multiple rivers.

The fungicide chemical carbendazim, which is banned in the EU, was detected in 93 percent of samples – a finding the study authors described as “remarkable”.

Rainfall

Of the 103 pesticides identified, almost half were herbicides and the rest were fungicides or insecticides.

Most of the veterinary drugs that found their way into rivers and canals were antibiotics, said the researchers writing in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Co-author Dr Paul Johnston, also from the University of Exeter, said: “This is not a case of us versus farmers or water companies.

“Farmers don’t want to pollute rivers, and water companies don’t want to have to remove all that pollution again downstream, so we have to work to reduce reliance on pesticides and veterinary drugs through more sustainable agriculture.”

Samples were taken from two UK waterways, the rivers Otter and Tale, both in Devon. Pesticide concentration in the Tale increased dramatically from 54.6 nanograms per litre (ng L) to 179.5 ng L between March 7 and July 2, 2018. This coincided with a big increase in rainfall between the two dates.

This Author

John van Radowitz is the science correspondent for the Press Association.