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June 28, 2009  Updated every Sunday

Belize barrier reef and Los Katios park in danger

The Belize Barrier Reef System and Los Katios National Park in Columbia are the two natural sites added to the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the advice of IUCN.

Composed of seven protected areas, many small mangrove islands and coastal lagoons, the Belize Barrier Reef System is home to a number of threatened species, including marine turtles and the American crocodile.

A series of technical assessments and a joint IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission to Belize in March 2009 revealed alarming developments such as extensive mangrove cutting and sale of mangrove islands. The Belize Barrier Reef, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere, is also the country’s top tourist destination.

“By adding the Belize Barrier Reef to the List of World Heritage in Danger, the World Heritage Committee is acting to ensure that one of the world’s most outstanding natural places is being protected and that the international community is doing its utmost to support Belize in its conservation efforts," says Tim Badman, Head of the IUCN delegation at the World Heritage Committee meeting.

Los Katios National Park was added to the World Heritage List in 1994 because of the exceptional diversity of flora and fauna in the area, consisting of low hills, tropical rainforests and wetlands. Illegal logging, security concerns, overfishing and potential road construction are all recognized threats to the outstanding value of the site.

“Los Katios National Park needs a high level of protection, one that must involve not only the national authorities but the international community as well," says Pedro Rosabal, IUCN’s Senior Programme Officer on Protected Areas. "IUCN commends the State Party for its proposal to put the site on the danger list. Critical conservation threats call for global action and the danger list is the mechanism we have at our disposal to help countries protect the world heritage.”

 

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Great blue heron by Rick LoBello

Salazar Moves to Place Everglades National Park Back on List of World Heritage Sites in Danger

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced he is taking steps to have Everglades National Park added again to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger by the United Nation’s World Heritage Committee.

The Everglades was hastily removed from the list in 2007 at the request of the previous Administration without adequate consultations with the National Park Service, the state of Florida and other stakeholders and without appropriate measures in place to evaluate the progress of on-going efforts to restore the South Florida ecosystem, Salazar said.

“The Everglades remains one of our world’s most treasured – and most threatened – places,” Salazar said at a meeting of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force in the department’s Sydney Yates Auditorium. “The federal government must once again stand up and meet its responsibilities to Everglades restoration so that one day, when we achieve restoration, we can remove the park from the list of sites that in danger. President Obama has already made a major commitment to Everglades restoration in the budget and through the Recovery Act; we will stay focused on this high priority for our nation and the world.”

President Obama has increased federal support for Everglades restoration, the largest watershed restoration project in history.

The Omnibus Appropriation Act for fiscal year 2009, signed by the President early this year, provides a total of $241 million for Everglades’ projects, including $118 million from the Department of the Interior and $123 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also enacted earlier this year, provided $119.2 million in stimulus funding for Everglades work, including $18.6 million for Interior agencies and $100.6 million from the Army Corps of Engineers.

President Obama’s budget request for 2010 would provide $278 million for Everglades’ restoration, including $64 million from Interior and $214 million from the Corps. The 2010 budget for Everglades is $37 million above the 2009 enacted level.

“With the President’s strong commitment to restoration, there is hope for a new day in the Everglades,” Salazar said. “We will work with other countries to relist the park at the earliest possible time and develop criteria by which we will be able to determine when that day has arrived and the park can be legitimately removed from the danger list.”

The 21-nation World Heritage Committee oversees the list of World Heritage Sites that are of significant cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. Sites that are deemed to be in jeopardy are placed on the danger list.

The committee currently is meeting in Seville, Spain. While it may be too late to formally get the Everglades relisted at this meeting, Salazar directed the National Park Service representatives attending to initial discussions with other delegates.

In 1993, the park was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1993 after Hurricane Andrew, based on concerns regarding the deterioration of the park’s ecological integrity. The list is intended to focus attention and, thereby, resources of the international community and encourage action to address those threats, primarily by the concerned.



 


 

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Illegal logging at Marojey and Masoala National Parks in Madagascar

Some protected  areas are being invaded by organized criminals cutting down valuable rosewood trees and extracting other resources. Most of the wood is known to come from Marojejy National Park and Masoala National Park.

The 13 signatories of the statement include the embassies of France and Germany, the World Bank and other international organizations as well as the World Wide Fund for Nature and Conservation International.

 "We believe the recent, dramatic escalation in illegal logging is directly linked to the irresponsible actions by mafia-like groups and governance challenges linked with a fragile institutional context that makes enforcement of existing laws and regulations difficult," the statement said.

"We are troubled that Madagascar’s image, nationally and internationally, as a country committed to the protection of its unique biodiversity and natural resources is being irreparably damaged."

The organizations said they were also afraid the damage could spread around other Protected Areas and their peripheral zone.

The increased illegal logging calls into question Madagascar’s genuine commitment to a transparent wood control system that documents the legality of harvesting and sales.

A significant amount of precious resources - hardwood, unique biodiversity and non-collected fees - are irreversibly lost from this uncontrolled timber harvesting. The Malagasy rural people only marginally benefit from this illegal trade of precious wood, as the international value of the exported wood is over 600 times the benefits to the collector.

According to the document, the current situation also stands in the way of the country's  fight against poverty or the livelihoods of Madagascar’s rural population.

Illegal trade of timber is growing in importance and concern at the global level. The United States and European Union are putting in place new strict laws and regulations to stop the importation of illegally harvested and traded wood products.

But according to the international community and the conservation partners a "more proactive and aggressive" response is needed to address this increased harvesting of Madagascar’s unique natural resources. 

"It is essential that the Malagasy authorities, with the support of all stakeholders, improve support to protected areas in order to preserve the extraordinary biological riches of Madagascar."

The statement was signed by:

• The French Embassy
• The German Embassy
• The Japanese Embassy
• The Norwegian Embassy
• The Swiss Embassy
• The USA Embassy
• KfW Entwicklungsbank
• United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
• US Agency for International Development
• World Bank
• Conservation International
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• Worldwide Fund for Nature


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