Conservation Knows No Boundaries

A Basra reed warbler and its young. Photo courtesy: Mudhafar Salim/Nature Iraq

The Mesopotamian Marshes, a vast expanse of reeds and open water twice the size of Norfolk, are the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and support a number of species of global conservation concern. The marshes hold the only breeding population of the globally-endangered Basra reed warbler and the world's highest wintering numbers of the threatened marbled duck.

Now the marshes are under threat again, this time from the building of huge dams in Turkey on the Tigris and Euphrates, the rivers that feed and nourish a wetland complex so important for biodiversity as well as being the homelands of the Marsh Arabs, made famous by the writings of Wilfred Thesiger. The charity Nature Iraq is actively campaigning to influence the building and use of these giant structures that can have such a devastating effect for the lives of people and wildlife.

Construction of a 'mudhief' (reed house). Photo courtesy: Mudhafar Salim/Nature Iraq

Another NI major activity has been surveying more than 220 sites throughout Iraq to identify the country's key areas for biodiversity. Often in difficult and very dangerous circumstance these surveys by young NI biologists have spanned seven years, summer and winter, and are the first step towards establishing a network of protected areas. This is wonderful conservation work from a country where the daily news is rarely uplifting. They have already produced their own bird field guide – in Arabic – the first Middle East country to do so.

But it's not just conservation in Iraq that is NI's motivation. It may surprise many that this NGO has just made a donation of $1,000 to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's £1m appeal to purchase 143 acres of land next to Cley Marshes on England's North Norfolk coast. Nature Iraq has received much help from colleagues in the UK, especially through BirdLife International, and makes this donation as an act of global support for the protection of marshes everywhere.

Dr Azzam Alwash, the president of NI, who was instrumental in the programme of re-flooding the Mesopotamian Marshes after years of drainage under the Saddam regime and has stayed in Cley village during visits to England, explains the reasoning behind the donation: "Nature Iraq has received great support from international organisations for the conservation of our famous Mesopotamian Marshes. This small token to support the extension of Cley Marshes is to honour that support and show our brotherly care for the environment everywhere."

Iraq's first bird book. Photo courtesy: Richard Porter/Nature Iraq

He later tells me: "Wetlands are under attack worldwide and we need to draw parallels between the reedbeds of Cley and the marshes of Iraq. Those who are fighting the good fight need to help each other and learn from each other. Nature Iraq made the donation not only as a gesture of goodwill to wetland enthusiasts in the UK, but also in the hope of raising the profile of the marshes of Iraq within the community that loves wetlands, as we all need to work together to help pressure the Iraqi government, as well as the Turkish government and the Iranian government, to do the right thing and make sure that the marshes of Iraq survive the era of dam building and climate change."

Boat traffic in the Iraq marshes. Photo courtesy: Omar Fadhil/Nature Iraq

On the newly acquired land, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust will create more reed beds, grazing marsh and freshwater for marsh harriers, bitterns, bearded tits, otters, water voles and avocets which live at Cley Marshes; for the countless thousands of migratory birds which use it; and for the 100,000 people who visit each year – and for whom a new centre is to be built – the Simon Aspinall Education Centre, after the Middle East naturalist who lived in Cley.

Encouraged by the NWT education endeavours and those of the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), Nature Iraq is embarking on an exciting new programme to encourage Iraqi visitors to the Mesopotamian Marshes to witness the wonders of this national and global treasure. "If we can replicate some of the actions done by conservation bodies in Britain to make people appreciate wildlife, I will be a very happy man," Azzam said.

"No Plastic Bag" Day

Going green: Customers at Carrefour will need to pay 10 sen ($0.03 CDN) for a plastic bag if they insist on having one.

For those stores that haven’t completely banned plastic bags, one city in Malaysia is setting the example for the rest of the world. The paper vs. plastic vs. reusable bag debate has been discussed heatedly for years everywhere from government boardrooms to back yard fences.

Many grocery chains, cities and countries are encouraging shoppers to bring their own reusable bags in an attempt to reduce the number of plastic bags used. However, apathy from consumers; forgetful shoppers; tepid advertising; and, other factors have prevented the change from achieving much success.

In order to try to reduce the demand for and usage of plastic bags, the Selangor (one of the Malaysian states) government had declared its plan to make every Saturday a plastic-bag free day. This plan had been announced on Dec. 20/09; and, came into effect on Jan. 1/10. However, since the first Saturday of this year was Jan. 2/10, the first plastic-bag free day caught many shoppers unprepared. While many were delighted when informed of what had happened; a few were more than a little miffed at being caught without any reusable bags.

Carrefour, one of the world’s largest retailers and operator of hypermarkets (supermarket combined with a department store), supermarkets, hard discount and convenience stores has over 15,000 stores - either company-owned or franchise - globally. Company spokesmen say that the few complaints they received about “no plastic bags” day came from consumers who were unaware the campaign had gotten underway.

Carrefour public relations manager, Salmieah Mohd Zin, explained that "most Carrefour stores in the Klang Valley have been plastic bag-free since last year and their target was to have no plastic bags in Carrefour Malaysia by 2012."

From now on, the price of being caught without a reusable bag will be 10 sen ($0.03 CDN) – a possible incentive to carry a reusable bag at all times.

This recently-invented insult to the environment was introduced a mere 25 years ago; and, society has become so enamoured of them that we go through 500,000,000,000 (500 billion) plastic bags annually. That is almost 1 million bags a minute.

Introduced just over 25 years ago, society's consumption rate of plastic bags is now estimated at well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute.

Most people are unaware that plastic bags photodegrade. They know they will last forever in a landfill; but, what of other arenas. Since they photodegrade – breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic particles – they are capable of contaminating soil, contaminating and/or clogging waterways; and, enter the food chain through accidental animal ingestion. For more information on the environmental crisis caused by plastic bags, go to ReusableBags.com.

Some major locations such as San Francisco, the Republic of Ireland, China and South Africa have all implemented various taxes or outright banning of plastic bags. Despite the actions of these forward thinkers, plastic bags still account for monumental amounts of waste and toxic emissions globally.

Meanwhile, checking back in to the State of Selangor, the chain store Giant will start its “no plastic bag” days from Jan. 9/10 says their marketing manager Ho Mun Hao. He adds that their stores in Penang have gotten behind the campaign enthusiastically, promoted the campaign well and used managers to explain the concept to customers.

“We will prepare carton boxes for customers to pack their things. Plastic bags will still be available at 20 sen ($0.06 CDN); but, we will be selling reusable bags at RM1.99 ($0.62 CDN),” Ho added.

Cold Storage will also observe the “no plastic bag day” on Saturdays. Currently, the stores do not give out plastic bags on Thursdays; however, it is not clear whether Cold Storage will add Saturday as an additional “no plastic bag” day or just switch their “no plastic day” to Saturday.

Convenience store chain 7-11 will also be starting its “no plastic bag” campaign this Saturday, its website said.

Via Star Online and Care2

Saving Money AND the Environment

Well, it doesn't get much better than this, does it? Saving money and the environment. Since this blog is still in its infancy, I thought I would start with tips we may or may not be familiar with.

1. Take an empty 1 litre plastic bottle, fill it with water, cap it securely and place in the toilet tank. By doing this, you are displacing 1 litre of water that will not be used per flush. Most people don't realize (until it's pointed out to them) that the same quality of water you use in your toilet is the same quality water that you drink from your kitchen tap. Yup!! If it were not for the container it comes in, you could drink your toilet water.

So what does this mean for us consumers? It means that unless we change the way we handle some of our water delivery, we will literally be flushing good, drinkable water down the toilet.

Our water-processing plants have a finite limit on the amount of water they are able to process without building new plants. Unless we conserve water where we can, we could soon be experiencing the kind of water conservation problems that places like California are having.

Not only does this tip save the environment 1 litre a flush; but, it also helps to reduce the risk of the toilet overflowing as less water is being circulated. If you are living in a place that charges you for water, you'll save a little there too.

2. Start checking out water-saving shower heads immediately. Again, another incidence of water literally going down the drain. Water-saving shower heads work by mixing air in with the water. This allows for less water without having to extend shower time.

Some of these heads have managed to reduce the amount of water they use to 1.5 gallons per minute. This a water saving of at least 1 gpm. They can use up to 1/3 less water and 6% less energy. For a family of four these water and energy savings can be approx. $600.00 a year. WOW!!

3. Let's talk electricity for a moment. Our electric power is in somewhat the same position our water power is in. While we have all the water we need to make the electricity in most places, what is missing are the power plants to process it.

While we all know about turning off lights (and TV) when we leave a room, using lower wattage, energy-saving bulbs, etc.; how many of us have thought about the "ghost" electricity used by instant-on appliances. For every instant-on appliance we have uses electricity whether it is turned on or off. This is the "ghost" electricity used to keep it in an "instant-on" mode. Electricity we don't see being used.

The solution is as simple as a power bar. Plug these energy pigs into a power bar that you can turn off at night. You will have to wait a moment or two for these appliances to power up; but, the environment will thank you.

4. Save electricity when baking and/or cooking with these tips.

• when using your oven, try to bake as many things as possible at one time. When roasting chicken and vegetables on the top rack, try baking the cherry pie for tomorrow's dessert on the bottom rack.
• turn the oven off 15 mins. before the items are thoroughly cooked. Leave the oven closed for the next 1/2 hour. Do NOT open the door. This traps and allows the residue heat in the oven to finish the cooking without using any energy.
• always cover pots - they boil much faster that way

5. Try to buy organic whenever possible. Much of our agricultural land is becoming unuseable due to overuse of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. The nutritional value in soil is becoming more and more depleted meaning fewer crops, less nutrient-rich food, and more land becoming worthless as farm land.

Organic farming treats our soil with more respect. No chemicals or pesticides are allowed anywhere on the property. Absolutely nothing that is not 100% natural and/or organic is used in crop production.

The result? Produce that is tasty; healthy; loaded with valuable vitamins, minerals and fibre; and, good for our bodies. The even better news is that organic produce costs approx. the same as that produce grown on artifical fertilizer and chemical-laden pesticides.