Global Environment Facility’s Post

Did you know that mangroves are pretty awesum? A few facts about these spectacular ecosystems: 🌳 Mangroves store almost three times the amount of carbon of tropical forests 🌳 Mangroves protect 15.4 million people and USD 65 billion worth of property per year from coastal disasters 🌳 Mangroves support 126 million fishing days per year, what makes them a key source of food and employment Today is International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. An important day to raise awareness for mangroves, as they are not doing very well, to say the least. Together with Wetlands International, we are on a mission to restore 5.1 million hectares of degraded forests and mangroves in Kenia. Wouldn't today be the perfect day to join us in this project? That's what we thought 🤓 link in the comments! #mangroves #mangroveecosystems #internationalmangroveday #dosumthing #naturerestoration

February is World Wetlands Month! 👉🏽 Did you know South Africa has 26 wetlands that have been rated as internationally important and known as Ramsar sites. Approximately 300 000 wetlands remain, making up only 2.4% of South Africa’s area. Of South Africa’s 791 wetland ecosystem types, 48% are critically endangered, 12% are endangered, 5% are vulnerable, and 35% are least threatened. This is why it's crucial for industrial and municipal wastewater to be treated so that it's environmentally safe for discharge into our environment. One of the most spectacular wetlands is the St Lucia System, which stretches for 155 000 hectares and is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal. Other wetland jewels that are home to a variety of plants and wildlife include: 💧 The mouth of the Gariep (Orange) River 💧 De Mond nature reserve in the Overberg 💧 The Natal Drakensberg park, now known as the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park 💧 The Makuleke wetlands within Kruger National Park Wetlands play a critical role in allowing water to enter our rivers to fill dams and recharge groundwater resources – particularly important as rainfall patterns vary, with more frequent droughts. #worldwetlandsday #wetlands #waterpreservation #waterinafrica #sustainabledevelopment

At what point do authorities and corporations start realizing that profit at the expense of our environment is stealing from our children...

This map represents the streams of three basins in northern Jordan, including the Azraq Wetland (where I come from, and where my family currently lives ). This wetland is an important stopover (in the middle of the Jordanian desert) for migratory birds traveling between Europe and Africa. After drying up in the early 1990s, the wetland is partially sustained through pumping groundwater to preserve the ecosystems. As someone from Azraq, I'm committed to discussing and promoting sustainable practices to protect our natural resources and considering the balance required to capture water upstream for local communities such as farmers, and livestock owners  while ensuring enough reaches this critical habitat, and preserving the groundwater resources. #WaterConservation #MigratoryBirds #Jordan #Sustainability #SocioEconomy

🎉 Thrilled to be part of this project! I still recall video calling Arockia Ferdin while he was navigating four sectors, seeing rhino walking on the road around Chitwan National Park. Thanks to the positive support, our article titled "Prioritizing Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Strategies Through Importance-Performance Analysis: Insights from Chitwan National Park, Nepal" is now published. This paper evaluates the perceptions of local communities to determine the effectiveness of protected areas. Human-wildlife conflicts are driving iconic wildlife towards extinction, both locally and globally. 🐘 This article is especially useful for protected area managers, particularly in developing countries with limited funding, to balance conservation and human well-being goals. 🌱 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g-fTqyXv (available for 50 days) #HumanWildlifeConflict #SustainableDevelopment #ProtectedAreaManagement #Coexistence #BiodiversityConservation

Miombo forest, one of our planets most important eco-zones. It is being deforested at an unprecedented pace. When you read articles critizising REDD carbon projects because they are not exact science (REDD was never intended to be, hence its extremely conservative issuance patterns!), remember: 🌳The Miombo woodlands are massive, covering 1.9 million square kilometers (726,000 square miles) principally in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique. 🐘includes 8,500 plant species, more than half of them found only in the Miombo, as well as iconic megafauna like lions, leopards, wild dogs and elephants. 💰 (Miombo) woodlands make up a quarter of all cash and subsistence income in rural areas and are valued at approximately $9 billion annually, according to a 2016 study. 〽️From 1980-2020, the Miombo lost 800,000 km2 (309,000 mi2), shrinking the area under forest cover by nearly a third. 🌍 recent research suggests that Miombo woodlands may store up to 2.2 times more carbon aboveground than previously thought. https://lnkd.in/eE4Gwtg8

🌿 Today we celebrate International Mangrove Ecosystem Conservation Day! 🌿 Highlighting the importance of mangroves in Bolivia, especially in the Indigenous Territories of #Tipnis and #Itonama. 💚 Did you know? - The #Mangroves of the Tipnis and Itonama Indigenous Territories are home to incredible #Biodiversity, from spider monkeys 🐒 and pink dolphins 🐬 to jaguars 🐆 and hundreds of bird species 🦜. - They act as a natural barrier against floods, erosion and the onslaught of the sea, protecting local communities from disasters. - They capture and store large amounts of carbon, helping to combat #ClimateChange and its devastating effects. - The communities of Tipnis and Itonama depend on mangroves for fishing 🎣, natural resource collection 🌿 and #SustainableTourism 🌏. How can we help? - Supporting local communities: Get involved in projects that protect mangroves and promote sustainable development in Tipnis and Itonama. - Consume responsibly: Avoid products that contribute to the destruction of mangroves, such as shrimp from unsustainable farms 🚫. - Demanding protection policies: Support laws and regulations that ensure the long-term conservation of these vital ecosystems. Together, we can protect the #Mangroves of these important #IndigenousTerritories, ensuring their future and that of the communal people who depend on them! 💪🌿 #Mangroves #Tipnis #Itonama #GreenCarbonBolivia #Conservation #Sustainability #ClimateChange #Biodiversity

Last Monday we had a great talk by Hjalmar Kühl entitled “Great Apes in a Changing World” Here are the key facts: 🌍 The ranges of bonobos, and the different species and subspecies of chimps and gorillas in Africa, as well as of the species and subspecies of orang-outans in Asia are shrinking. The remaining populations are becoming more and more scattered. 🗺 Hence, great ape geographic ranges become less informative for great ape conservation status. Their density distribution is characterized by low densities across a large proportion of their geographic ranges and restricted areas with high densities. 🐒 🦍 Only between 600,000 and 800,000 great apes remain in the wild. Only mountain gorillas show a population increase. All other species and subspecies are becoming rarer and rarer. Even an annual decrease of 1.5% would reduce the total populations of >50% within a few decades. 🔴 Hunting is considered to be the greatest threat to apes, followed by habitat loss due to logging and wood harvesting. One-third of Africa’s great apes may be threatened by mining! 🌦 The consequences of the impact of climate change on great apes are not well studied and understood. 🛰 The best most effective conservation intervention to protect great apes are (effectively managed) protected areas. Reintroduction and translocation are not effective. The greatest gap to effectively protect great apes (with the measures we have at hand right now) is the lack of law enforcement. #biodiversity #greatapes #apes #conservation #gorilla #chimp #orangoutan #bonobo

Yesterday was #WorldWetlandsDay! 🦩 In northern #Chile's Andean highlands, Andean, Chilean, and Puna #Flamingos cohabitate in flocks that rely on unique #Wetlands habitats called salars for feeding, breeding, and nesting. Unfortunately, human activities like #Mining and unregulated #Tourism increasingly disturb these critical habitats, posing significant threats to the survival of these three flamingo species. #AZA's SAFE Andean highland flamingo program, established in 2019, focuses on conserving Andean, Chilean, and Puna flamingos and the wetlands in which they live. The program connects and supports AZA-accredited facilities in #Research, monitoring, public engagement, training, community outreach, and #Education. Learn more about these flamingos and the #SAFE program's efforts to preserve their habitats🌱: https://bit.ly/3xgRUrI. #SavingSpecies

#GoodNews posts #optimism: (source: Fix The News): New protected area in #Bolivia - https://lnkd.in/eckEvt6H The #PuertaAmazónica municipal conservation area in #Guanay will protect 426 km2 of tropical #Yungasforests, which are home to several vulnerable species, including the #harpyeagle, the #giantanteater, and the #giantarmadillo. The designation will protect the area from gold mining and support #watersecurity for the 26 communities located within the reserve.