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| Projects
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| Eco-Warriors
changing environmental attitudes |
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The number of children in South Africa
that have little or no exposure to environmental awareness
is staggering, creating a sense of urgency for environmental
educators. This urgency usually results in environmental
education initiatives being drawn into the trap of
trying to expose as many children as possible to some
form of environmental awareness as quickly as possible.
This approach is usually ineffective; no matter how
exciting and informative the learners find the environmental
education session, its impact is short lived because
of the length of the exposure and its lack of relevance
to their daily lives. Take Masego as an example…
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Masego
was born in an informal settlement on the banks of the Jukskei
River in Alexandra and here, in this densely populated part
of Greater Johannesburg, she has spent the first twelve years
of her life. Her closest contact with nature has been playing
with her friends on the banks of the polluted river, …
a far cry from the clean mountain streams of the eastern Cape,
where her father and grandfather grew up.
Click
here to read more.
Written by Edward Farrell Manager of the Conservations Leadership
Group. For more information contact Ed on edwardf@ewt.org.za
or call 011-486-1102.
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| The
Big Cat Catching Effort |
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The study of the Kalahari African
Wild Cat is being carried out jointly by the Endangered
Wildlife Trust (as a project of the Carnivore Conservation
Working Group*) and the University of Pretoria, in collaboration
with South African National Parks and the Department
of Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana. The study
is taking place in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
(KTP), incorporating the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park,
SA and Botswana. The main study area is along the Nossob
River bed around the Leeuwdril area in the extreme south
of the park, on both sides o the river, depending on
the extent of the movement of the cats. Click
here to read more.
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For more information contact:
African Wildcat Project Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Private
Bag X5890, Upington, 8800 Phone:(054) 561 2012 Fax:(054) 561
2005 Email: MarnaH@sanparks.org
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| Rare
Sighting of Leucistic Blue Crane |
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A farmer reported that an ‘albino’
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus was present in
the Nieu-Bethesda basin area (between Middelburg and
Graaff-Reinet) and the bird was reported by the farm
workers to have fledged from this area in 2005. Following
this report, Bradley Gibbons, the Project Coordinator
of the Karoo Crane Conservation Project of the Endangered
Wildlife Trust’s South African Crane Working
Group went out to find this crane and it was then
spotted after a short time in the area. It was very
easy to spot due to its unusual white colour, as opposed
to the regular blue/grey colour of these cranes.
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Photo by
Bradley Gibbons |
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Right: A photo of the leucistic Blue
Crane seen between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet. |
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Click
here to read more.
For more information contact: Bradley Gibbons Project Co-ordinator:
Karoo Crane Conservation Project South African Crane Working
Group, Cell: # 27 (0) 82 566 5803 Email: BradleyG@ewt.org.za
Karoo Project funded by The Green Trust.
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| Eco
News |
| South
African law enforcement staff trained on CITES implementation. |
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Finally
"hitting the road" after 18 months of preparation,
the TRAFFIC training team in South Africa held three
training events for government agencies between April
and September 2005. These were part of DANIDA-funded
project aimed at building the capacity of South African
law enforcement staff to implement CITES and national
wildlife trade controls effectively. Plans for 2006
are already in place and besides specialised training
focussing on species identification and CITES, the team
will be offering training to law enforcement officials
in other African countires.
Click
here to read more.
Written by Jonathan Evans, Programme Officer, TRAFFIC
East/Southern Africa-South Africa |
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| World
Wetlands Day, February 2nd 2006 |
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For the wetlands community
January kicks in with a mad scramble to finalise arrangements
for World Wetlands Day celebrations. The focus this year is
on wetlands and poverty alleviation and the slogan for February
2nd is " In the face of poverty, wetlands are a lifeline."
Not only do urban communities depend on healthy wetlands for
water and other ecosystem services such as mitigation of natural
disasters, but rural communities rely on them for food and
medicine, grazing and building materials as well as crafts
materials from which they can earn cash.
Click
here to read more and find out if your province is actively
participating.
Contact your provincial wetlands forum for
details of World Wetlands Day activities in your region. A
full list will be distributed to the press next week, so do
let us know what you're planning.
Contact Rehana Dada / rehana@greenit.co.za
/ 082-8296933 |
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| Know
your seafood? Think twice… |
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More and more people
are eating fish and seafood because it's seen as a healthier
food choice and is available in an incredible variety of delicious
forms, flavours and textures. But how much do you really know
about your farourite seafood? Do you know that not all fish
are equal, and that if you knew more, you may want to make
different choices? |
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Do you know? |
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Where your fish comes from |
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How it is caught |
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That some species are severely over
fished |
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Which species may or may not be sold
legally, and the reason for this |
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Click
here to read more. |
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Less widely known are
conservation issues surrounding seafood species. Would you
still happily eat that crispy fish fillet if you knew that
it came from a species of which the population has been overfished
down to 5% of the original pre-exploitation levels, or would
you willingly choose fish that are caught by a fishery that
kills thousands of endangered albatrosses as bycatch every
year?
Written by Jaco Barendse/ Email Jaco Jbarendse@deat.gov.za
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| Events |
| Go
with that gut feeling – John Bassi of BASSAIR Helicopters |
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John Bassi of BASSAIR
Helicopters will be our guest speaker on Tuesday 7 February
at the Johannesburg Country Club.
BassAir specialises in Capture and Wildlife services in southern
Africa. John will present on his wealth of experiences and
expertise, in this challenging and fascinating field of work
of game capturing, counting and surveying from Black Rhino
and all antelope species. Click
here to read more.
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| "Love
is in the Air" Valentine's Day celebration |
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The Durban Botanic Gardens is a wonderful place to
visit during our hot summer months, particularly during
the romantic month of February. Stroll through avenues
of trees, relax on the rolling green lawns, take a
picnic for the family and enjoy time out.
Bring a picnic and share a magical evening under the
stars. Watch the press for details. The concert starts
at 6:30pm. Click
here to read more.
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| Tips |
| Live
a Greener life – 5 Energy saving tips you can practice
regularly |
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Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. |
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Insulate your home against heat loss
and periodically check insulation. |
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Avoid using cars — walk, cycle
or use public transportation whenever possible. |
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Avoid anything battery operated (or
use rechargeable or solar rechargeable if batteries are
unavoidable). |
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Buy locally — not only is it
good for the local economy; it will save energy because
products haven’t traveled across the globe to get
to you. |
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‘Excerpts from Green Peace international’
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New
Year resolutions astound in the first few weeks of January
each year. It’s a time for making a list of new
things to do, clearing out those forgotten corners and
cupboards, and throwing out unwanted items to make space
for the year ahead. If you're at a loss on what to do
with unwanted items, why not donate them to the EWT.
The EWT has a New Year wish list that you could contribute
to. From time to time, we at the EWT require items
to assist in providing a suitable working environment
for our
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staff.
As most of our funds are spent on conservation, we would
greatly appreciate your assistance for the following
items: |
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Material, such as poles and
corrugated iron to build carports |
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Click
here to read more. |
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Please contact Penny Buthelezi
on (011) 486-1102 or email her on pennyb@ewt.org.za
to organise for deliveries, and collections where necessary. |
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The word permaculture
comes from permanent agriculture. Permaculture strives for
agriculture that is ecologically sound and sustainable in
the long term: this means that it should be non-polluting,
economically and socially viable, and provide for its own
needs. Permaculture uses the inherent, or natural, qualities
of plants and animals, combined with the natural characteristics
of landscapes and structures, to produce a life- supporting
system for city and country, using the smallest area possible.
Permaculture is essentially a way of achieving efficient and
sustainable food production.
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For more information or
to attend a Permaculture course please contact: Alex Kruger
044 8711 405 or 072 241 1514, Email at: mandala01@telkomsa.net
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| Benefits
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| Discounted
lifestyle offers great bargains to members |
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As a registered and active
member of EWT you automatically qualify for all the discounts
offered through the Discounted Lifestyle Programme.
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Here are some examples of the discounts
you will receive: |
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Discounted Accommodation-
Between 20% - 50% discounts at over 800 registered local
venues |
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Discounted Appliances
– Small -10% discount at all listed suppliers
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Discounted Furniture- 10% discount
at all listed suppliers |
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Discounted Travel – 10% -25%
from flights to car rentals |
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Click
here to subscribe and join the EWT Members
community today and take advantage of these benefits. |
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New Vision Annual on sale |
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The Thirteenth edition
of “Vision” was launched on 2 December, in the
SASOL Aviary, at the Johannesburg Zoo. This annual publication
from the Endangered Wildlife Trust has become an important
reference work in the field of environmental conservation
literature in southern Africa. The Trust itself has been dedicated
to the conservation of species and ecosystems for 32 years.
Click
here to read more and order your request.
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Cost: |
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EWT members R250.00
including vat |
Non- members R299.00
including vat |
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| New
Atlas of the Birds of Central Mozambique, now available |
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The EWT is pleased to
announce the recent completion of the Atlas of the Birds
of Central Mozambique, as follow up to the Atlas of the
Birds of Southern Mozambique produced in 1999. The first Atlas
comprised research and distribution data for the birds of
southern Mozambique (Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane provinces)
and this second Atlas covers the birds found specifically
in the Manica, Sofala and Tete provinces of central Mozambique.
Mozambique is, ornithologically speaking, the most poorly
known part of southern Africa. The Southern African Bird Atlas
Project brought about a huge advance in knowledge of bird
distributions, but excluded Mozambique because of the civil
war raging at the time. This project therefore aims to advance
the knowledge of bird distributions and population sizes in
Mozambique to at least the same level as the rest of southern
Africa.
The Atlas was produced by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and
the Avian Demography Unit of the University of Cape Town after
2 years of intensive field research by renowned ornithologist
Vincent Parker and comprises over 300 pages of distribution
data, maps and related information. Sponsorship for the project
was received from Sasol, Conservation International, The Royal
Netherlands Embassy in South Africa, Office of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, Rufford Small
Grants, BP Mozambique, Mustek Computers and Daimler Chrysler
South Africa.
Copies of the Atlas can be obtained from Penny Buthelezi at
the Endangered Wildlife Trust on 011 486 1102 or via pennyb@ewt.org.za |
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