International Orang-utan Day

The 19th August is International Orang-utan Day.

We all know, by now, that palm oil is in intensively farmed monocrop that is grown in the tropics. There are lots of people out there on social media calling for a boycott of this crop, as it rapidly increases in production in Borneo and Sumatra, the last refuges of orang-utans. Opinions are split, and the arguments on Twitter are heated and emotive. The only thing that seems certain is that it is a complex problem, without an easy solution. I've spent a lot of time reading the recent scientific papers, pondering, chatting to my colleagues and friends in the industry, and perusing the websites of organisations I trust. And the following is where I stand on the issue at the moment.

I think the best course of action for the consumer is to consider switching your products to those which include sustainable palm oil. I know some of you reading this would prefer to see a palm oil boycott, but the reality is that there is global demand for oil which will be met one way or another by the industry. Whilst we're waiting for the entire world to stop using oil crops(!), we might as well push to make what's currently in use as sustainable as possible.

As all of the alternative edible oilseed crops are less productive, a boycott would simply see a shift to an alternative which requires more land to produce.

The RSPO seem to be addressing several of the problems that have previously been highlighted with the initiative (I hear the phrases "sustainable palm oil doesn't mean anything" and "there are lots of problems with the RSPO" banded around in my line of work sometimes). It is also clear to me that a demand for sustainable palm oil (and I appreciate that a monoculture of any kind cannot be 100% sustainable) increases the motivation to improve the industry, which a boycott does not. Supporting initiatives such as the RSPO, whilst subjecting them to a healthy level of questioning and constructive criticism, pushes organisations to work together to find solutions that protect what we can whilst meeting the global demands for food and fuel.

I think it's great to make consumer choices that involve fewer processed products (which often contain oils such as palm), and choose locally sourced products for the good of the environment, and I'm in no way criticising anyone who is managing to sustain a palm-oil-free lifestyle, good on you! But I'm also supportive of any efforts to minimise the negative impacts of worldwide consumption on the environment, and aware that many of the alternative oils used in palm oil free products (and I'm talking here about something that contains an equivalent oil, not something like an apple!) are actually worse for our forests.

Walking with the Wounded Badger Patrol

Walking at night with the Dorset Wounded Badger Patrol, naturalist Rachel Henson witnesses the controversial badger cull first hand, reflecting on the impact it has on one of our most iconic mammals.

The fields were laced with orange mist, illuminated by a Halloween pumpkin moon. The sloping fields were kept from running away by hedgerows hiding mammals and the traps laid out to catch them with. This part of Dorset was hosting a nocturnal battle for the fourth consecutive autumn. The government-led badger cull was brought in as part of an attempt to curb bovine tuberculosis, but arguments over efficiency and animal welfare rose in temperature until activists raised up from their armchairs and put on welly boots and head torches. By day these paths led dog walkers and ramblers, but during the cull the traffic changed. After the ten o’clock news, a human on these paths could be a peaceful protestor, a cull contractor with a weapon, a hunt saboteur, a police officer or a curious neighbour. For a badger, it would make the world of difference.

Lowland navigation is hard at the best of times. Map reading by moonlight is harder. Hedgerows merged into the night, distorting field boundaries. Distant landmarks couldn’t help us after dark, keeping quiet until sunrise. Every cowpat squelch or cracking leaf made my muscles tense, but not as much as the pigeons who chose flight over fight as we interrupted their sleep. We entered the woods, sinking into land that gave way under foot, hidden by water left behind from a storm the week before. I shone my torch to the base of each tree, looking for any sign of mammalian life. The map indicated that this was Brock Farm. It couldn’t confirm the presence of badgers, but it seemed like a safe gamble. Memories of a previous outing came to mind when my torch light picked up a badger, standing still at the entrance to its sett. It didn’t leave immediately. Dipping our beams in respect we watched the badger as it decided that whatever threat we posed was minor, and turning slowly, its tail wobbled back underground behind it.

A tawny airborne steam train hooted in the distance, making me stop in my tracks. I chilled from nerves as well as my wet feet encased in no longer waterproof boots. Having recomposed myself, a barn owl barked above my head, and I started to think the badgers would be fine looking after themselves.

“I’ve got one.” Katie called from behind a bank peppered with sett holes. I scrambled closer, cursing foliage too low for my torch to warn me about, that only announced itself by smacking me on the forehead. The cage sat ugly in the amber glow. I had expected it to be shiny, but it was painted bullshit brown. The death box was tied open with baling twine, which tripped effortlessly with a sturdy stick. At the very least it wouldn’t kill anything that night. A silent text message carried away our location as I studied the trap. Either the badgers had grown wise, or this sett was already empty. Peanuts remained in the bait point, the trap untouched.

Less than a mile away, a sow dragged her bleeding body back to her sett, seeping the soil red because the free-shooter couldn’t get a clean shot. The ladies on patrol found her at the entrance, too exhausted to make it underground. At least with a trap, it should be a quick kill. But if a badger enters the trap at sunset, it has no choice but to cower there until somebody comes to shoot it after breakfast. Many of these contraptions were recalled from the vaccination trials and reissued for this year’s extended culling. Standing where a protected species was due to be shot at dawn, the cull seemed an expensive slaughter of scapegoats for a disease mismanaged by humans.

The phone screen glared in the darkness: “Thanks, will sort it.” We carried on our night walk, relieved that the trap was retiring soon. Thoroughbred Black Beauties lined the fences as we returned towards the houses. Demon eyes and Batman ears surveyed the situation. Galloping into the fog they took our secrets back to the farm, but we were gone long before they told anyone.

What are our woodlands worth?

Back in November a report was published called 'The Forestry Commission and the sale of public forests in England', which concluded that the sale of public forest estate was inevitable due to governmental spending constraints. What wasn't predicted was the current talk of selling off all land managed by the Forestry Commission, and it has split public opinion quite nicely down the middle.

The 'It's not so bad' Arguement
If the woodlands to be sold could be guaranteed a future, guaranteed appropriate management and guaranteed not to be sold off to developers, then the release of them from government control may not be such a bad thing. It could give greater control to local wildlife trusts and devolve power to those more in the know, perhaps, than a public body such as the Forestry Commission. Commentators sitting in this camp are also likely to mention the fact that many nature reserves are already privately owned and managed by individuals, or that businesses fund various parts of conservation measures in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, for the writing of this paragraph, I do not hold these opinions so I'll swiftly move on to the counter-arguement.

The 'Up-in-arms about it' Arguement
Think about England. Imagine you've just met somebody abroad who has never had access to a television or the internet and you're asked to describe the place. It's an opportunity to sell this little country as best you can, and apart from an obligatory mention of London's sights, The Beatles and copious amounts of tea-drinking, you look for something else that epitomises our nation. Unless you're a city fanatic, surely you wouldn't fail to mention the English countryside? The coastline, the green fields, the woodlands...

The woodlands we have left are under threat if they're sold off. If these woodlands cannot be sold to one buyer then some of them will undoubtedly be lost. If they can be sold to one organisation with good intentions, then fabulous, maybe this can work out okay, but what sort of organisation has enough spare cash to buy 635,000 acres of ancient and royal forests, heathlands and woods? Non-governmental organisations do a wonderful job of managing natural areas in the UK, but even huge organisations like the National Trust and the RSPB have to think about how to manage their existing land; buying all of this extra forested land would be a huge commitment. If the government resort to selling to the highest bidders, who's to say that developers won't get their hands on huge areas of our precious forests? Nobody can promise that, and this is why I think that this is a very bad idea.

Yesterday, 3,000 people made their feelings known at a protest march in the Forest of Dean. Protesters worried that privatising Britain's largest ancient oak forest would result in limited access to the public and increased commercial activities within the forest. Other famous forests in the firing line are the New Forest and Sherwood Forest. Whatever would Robin Hood make of all this? He'd probably be backing something along the lines of 'steal from the rich and give to the poor', rather than 'steal our forests from future generations to make up a small part of the deficit'.

"We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and biodiverse forests", said a spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It's hard to take this entirely seriously when "We will not increase tuition fees" is a wound still fresh.

If you haven't gauged my opinion on this yet, then David Bellamy sums it up nicely: "The green heart of Britain is not for sale." You tell 'em David. It would be so very sad to lose even more of our forests.

Good for Gorillas

A recent census of mountain gorillas in the Virunga national parks, has indicated that population numbers are on the increase.

The three Virunga national parks in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo cover 450 square kilometres of potential gorilla habitat. The recent studies suggest that the population is growing at a rate of 3.7% each year, which is fantastic news for the (truly) great apes! It even comes close to deserving the Guardian's optimistic headline: Mountain Gorilla Numbers Soar. To some this may seem like a slight exaggeration, at an increase of 100 individuals since 2003, but it's not bad going for an animal with such slow reproductive habits, subject to disease outbreaks with disastrous consequences and living in such a fragile habitat.

The favoured explanation for the increase seems to be improvements in protecting the gorillas from disease outbreaks, for example by reducing contact time with humans, and by cracking down on poaching for trade in body parts.

This happy news comes just in time for Christmas, but it's important not to get complacent; there's a long way to go for the mountain gorilla.

Revision of Local Conservation Politics

It's exam time; we're all starting to crack.

The following is the product of the last hour's revision session concerning the development of UK conservation legislation:

Local Politics and Conservation

In 1949 was the Nature Conservancy
The 1960s saw eco-popularity,
In ‘65 it joined the NERC
And split again in ‘73.
Research in the NCC
Is now CEH, which was ITE.

In ‘81 we had the W & C Act,
Opposed by NFU: True Fact.
In’ 89 it all went statutory
With the breaking down of the JNCC.
A ’92 summit was quite big in Rio,
BAPS in ’94 were backed by 2000’s CROW.

Natura 2000 and the Habitats Directive,
Ramsar Wetlands, quite effective.
NERC ’06 said each public body
Must be nice to the environment (like Bill Oddie).
NNRS and triple-Sis
Keep our country fairly nice.

Now, if only I can memorise that for the exam tomorrow...

Tigers in Society...

You don't see many tigers in Cardiff. Or in Bournemouth. Or anywhere else in the UK really, but whilst pondering what to write about tigers it struck me that they're pretty much everywhere:

At the pub...


...at breakfast...


...and in the news...


...and they'll probably be lurking in those areas for some time to come. Make sure they continue to grace forests too. Check out this website for further information.