Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain -Henry David Thoreau: Posted via web from Rickbischoff’s posterous | Comment »
Maps reveal secret life of marine turtles in urgent need of protection
Posted on 28 July 2009
© WWF-Canon / Cat Holloway
Marine turtles play a crucial role in the delicate web of ocean life by maintaining the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are home to other marine species such as shrimp, lobster, sharks, dugongs and innumerable reef fish.
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A series of conservation maps produced by WWF reveal for the first time the secret life of endangered turtles in the world’s most diverse marine region – the Coral Triangle.
The maps are the first to bring together the different life cycle movements, migration routes, foraging grounds, and nesting sites of green, hawksbill and leatherback turtles.
The maps were produced with the help of satellite tracking, and allow the identification and targeting of areas in urgent need of protection. They also highlight the inter-connectedness of marine habitats making a strong case for cooperation among Coral Triangle countries for the protection of shared marine resources in the region.
“We now have a better picture and more comprehensive understanding of where marine turtles feed, breed, and nest around the waters of the Coral Triangle,” says Matheus Halim, WWF Coral Triangle Turtle Strategy Leader.
Marine turtles play a crucial role in the delicate web of ocean life by maintaining the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are home to other marine species such as shrimp, lobster, sharks, dugongs and innumerable reef fish.
The maps serve as a guideline for where to establish Marine Protected Areas. “The maps clearly identify which areas in this region need protection”, added Halim. “WWF is calling for the establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that encompass these locations as part of the new six nations Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and for turtles to be made a priority under The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).”
Apart from showing life cycle movements, the maps also give valuable information about locations with the high incidence of turtle bycatch in the region, helping to identify where fishing methods require modification.
The Coral Triangle, home to six of the seven known species of marine turtles in the world, stretches across six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, covering the seas of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.
Marine turtles are listed on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species as either ‘Endangered’ or ‘Critically Endangered.’ This means they are among the most threatened animals on the planet and face the real risk of extinction.
The loss of nesting beaches and feeding habitats due to pollution and coastal development, the illegal trade and consumption of turtle eggs, meat, and other derivatives for commercial purposes, and the accidental catch (or ‘bycatch’) of turtles in fishing gears are just some of the many threats facing marine turtles.
Marine habitats in the Coral Triangle important to commercially-valuable fish species are being lost or degraded at an unprecedented rate. The last decade alone has seen a drastic decline in fish stocks due to inadequate fisheries management and widespread overuse of marine and coastal resources.
Establishing a network of MPAs can help alleviate the stress on marine and coastal resources and help build the marine environment’s resilience against other threats such as coral bleaching, caused by climate change.
“MPAs offer a range of benefits for fisheries, people, and the marine environment by providing safe havens for endangered species to thrive and for depleted fish stocks to recover,” says Dr Lida Pet-Soede, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Leader. “MPAs provide services to local communities who depend on the sea and its resources. Protecting these critical marine habitats means protecting the food and livelihood of millions people in the Coral Triangle region and beyond.”
The maps were produced by WWF in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation and other regional partners.
via panda.org
Too many spinning plates
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao-Tzu
“One essential goal-setting strategy is to be as specific as possible about your desires. Write out your goals and formulate a detailed plan about how you are going to achieve this goal. Baby steps are important, but keep them focused. Often we are pulled in many directions at once. It is important though, to devote time and effort to a single goal at a time to avoid distraction that can lead to putting forth less effort. Take time to put down some of your “spinning plates” and track your progress over time.” www.sparkpeople.comWhat do you think? For me this is so true. I have found that when there are several new learning experiences going on in my life at one time, that I CAN prioritize what I’m doing each day and which goal I want to focus on (or is banging on the door of life) first.
When asked recently in my mastermind group what my goals were, I listed a long string of things and I felt overwhelmed. I was getting coached on one goal in particular: giving a workshop (in fact, I’ve been talking about this one for years) and couldn’t figure out where my reluctance to forge ahead with it was coming from. I knew I knew HOW to complete all the preparation steps and that I could deliver the event, but wasn’t doing it.
I thought long and hard about it. I asked my inner wise self. I let my body give me clues. When thinking about this goal in particular, I felt a tightening in my gut—a shutting down. I’ve learned that unless I have an open. light, expansive feeling that it isn’t the best fit for RIGHT NOW. Not that I might not revisit this at another time, but when I took this spinning plate down my life felt so much more in control. So I set it on the self for now. I found that what I really wanted was to work on improving my physical environment so my life felt more in balance.
Ask your wise inner self. I believe we all have have the wisdom of our wise wise knowing self, our highest self, available to us at all times. We’ve just forgotten how to ask, then “be still” and listen.
Here are some steps and an exercise to help clarify your goals. Get a journal, write what you think you want in your future. Close your eyes, in whatever atmosphere works best for you, and ask your inner wisdom (pretend it’s your best friend) what do I need to know, what questions do I need to ask, what information do I need, to clarify these goals?
Focus on your third eye (the center of your forehead) if you can. If not, focus on where in your body you “sense” your highest self exists, shrink yourself mentally into that spot and just observe what you see or feel. Ask what you need to know to clarify your direction.
Sit in silence and listen for 5 min. If you’re very in tune with yourself, that may be all you need, or all you can absorb the first time. Have a journal by you and free write whatever came up for you and more may keep coming up.
Don’t try to figure this all out at first. Do this daily—OR—ask this question before bed to the Universe and be prepared to write as soon as you awake. After doing this daily for a week—what themes do you see?
Where ever you are-whatever experiences you are having now, are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now for your lessons and journey. All roads take us to the same end, how we get there or how long it takes may vary.
So check out the spinning plates on your poles. Is there one calling out for more attention? How will you answer that call?
..this is part of a series of miniLand Art photos I am currently building
miniLand Art
..peace-
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Sometimes, the Greenest thing to do, is to do nothing at all.While reading my morning news, I came across an article on Planet Green entitled “Are You Confusing “Greener” with “Green?” Which got me to thinking about an article I wrote called “Do You Want to Do More Than Recycle? How to Precycle.” It all sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it? Greener, Green, Recycling, Precycling. Are we making things harder than they need to be?
Stop. Let’s take a deep breath and get back to basics. We’re not talking about Climate Change here. (That’s a different topic and a different article) What were talking about is getting back to basics.
That’s what got us into all this trouble any way, isn’t it? Doing too much, to fast? Getting caught up in the daily hype and spin of consumerism, self gratification through the iconic representation of material goods?
We’ve spent the last decade trying to fill the space between the floor and the bottom of the Christmas tree with cheap, Walmart junk. We’ve worried more about the brand name on the outside of your purse than what’s inside it. We’ve been listening to the dry hollow sound of cold air sweeping through our floor vents and forgotten what a breeze feels like and what the birds sound like.
Let me say this, Sometimes, the greenest thing to do is to do nothing at all.
The Planet Green article I mentioned above says that Hybrid cars are greener; bicycling is green and grass-fed beef is greener, but not eating meat is green. I couldn’t agree more. In both of these cases, not doing something is the greenest thing to do. Not buying a Hybrid, but riding the bike that’s already gathering dust in your garage and not eating meat are both simpler than the alternatives.
In my precycling article I talk about the energy it takes to recycle something. Not buying that something in the first place (precycling) is greener than recycling it. Case in point. Recycling your water bottles is greener, not buying bottled water in the first place is green.
The list goes on and on:
- Raising the temperature on your air conditioner is greener, not turning on the a/c at all is green.
- Replacing your dated linoleum with bamboo is greener, not replacing your linoleum at all is green.
How far can we take this?
- Taking public transportation to work is greener, working from home is green.
- Buying an energy star rated TV is greener, not watching TV is green.
We can go as far as we want:
- Buying cage free, organic eggs at the farmers market is green. Raising your own chickens is Green. Going Vegan is well, I don’t know, I haven’t gone there, but it’s pretty green!
What I’m saying is that you don’t have to “Go” Green. You don’t have to “Buy In” to Green. You can be as Green as you wanna be, without doing anything at all.
Do nothing, and call it Green.
…WOW! do less is more??
That is a GRT! concept to share Adem,
…the one benefit to the ‘Green’ products ‘Hipe’
is the promotion of ‘Green’ awareness ( fist step )
what your talking about I HOPE will become
the next ‘Hipe’ ……………………..( 2nd step )
…peace-
Watching, Rushing Waters
TheNatureStation, one of my Favorite YouTube Channels
take five , and enjoy the sites and sounds…
get grounded
…peace-
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Safer Cycling for a Cooler, Cleaner Worldvia sierraclub.typepad.com
Riding a bike to work is a great deal: you save money on gas, start your day with a workout, and help the planet by curbing emissions. So why don’t more of us partake? It might have something to do with the 44,000 injuries bicyclists incurred in traffic accidents in 2007. Or maybe it’s the fear inspired by the horn-honking hostility some drivers have toward cyclists. Either way, in any metal-bending battle between a bike and car, the car will always win.
Which is why David Zabriskie created an organization to help keep cyclists safe on the road. The record-holder for the fastest time trial at the Tour de France, Zabriskie has been hit three times by cars while riding his bike. The worst collision left him in a wheelchair. While he was able to recover and is participating in this year’s Tour de France, he realizes that not all cyclists are as lucky. So he started Yield to Life.
Yield to Life promotes positive attitudes toward cyclists, works to incorporate more bicycle road rules into driver-education programs, and runs Zabriskie-led presentations about bike safety at student assemblies.
Not all the responsibility for keeping cyclists safe is on motorists. Safety rules for cyclists can also help reduce the number of unfair match-ups between bikes and cars. But drivers, even if they can’t part in a cleaner commute, can at least help encourage others to by following simple safety tips to make the road a less intimidating place.
—Sarah F. Kessler
