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Updated: May 11, 2008 Latest News Ray of hope at Ranthambore National Park: tiger cubs
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Centennial Challenge Key Step to Future of National Parks
May 11, 2007, Washington D.C. The innovative National Park Centennial Challenge embodied in the Grijalva substitute will – if enacted – create a 10-year partnership between the federal government and private American citizens to begin to repair and enhance the national parks before their 2016 centennial. It seeks to double private philanthropic and other non-federal donations to carry out projects and programs in the parks beyond what is possible through the yearly federal budget and appropriations process, and to inspire continued public and private investment in America’s national parks. “We thank Chairman Rahall, Chairman Grijalva, Congressman Young, Congressman Bishop, and other key committee members for their leadership in helping to move the bill. It is truly an investment in our national heritage, our economy, and the continuing legacy we leave to future generations,” Obey said. “We call on Congress to act quickly to enact this historic legislation, and we pledge to do everything we can to help make that happen.” Park SoundscapesElk bugling in the cool autumn air of Rocky Mt National Park, birds calling in the Everglades, waterfalls thundering into Yosemite Valley, the quiet reverence at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These are examples of natural sounds that make a trip to our national parks a unique and unforgettable experience. Cultural and historic sounds are also important components of the many National Park units. The sound of a cannon shot echoing across a civil war battlefield or the hypnotic drumbeat of a sacred tribal dance provide visitors with insight into historic events or an earlier lifestyle, people, or culture. Cultural and historic soundscapes are treated and managed as a park resource with a truly unique and inherent value, and as an important component of the park experience for visitors. National Parks were also created in part to allow the public to enjoy and appreciate the unique natural and cultural resources protected within our parks. Therefore, the sounds of people enjoying the parks through a variety of recreational activities are a common element of National Park soundscapes. Careful management will ensure that the sounds that contribute to our park experience are protected for current and future generations. Definition of Soundscapes:A soundscape refers to the total acoustic environment of an area. Both natural and human sounds may be desirable and appropriate in a soundscape, depending on the purposes and values of the park. For example, the sound of canon fire and muskets may be appropriate and desirable at Gettysburg National Military Park but not in the wilderness of Yellowstone. Soundscapes often vary in their character from day to night and from season to season and can be affected by changes in numbers of visitors who introduce human-caused sound into the environment. The soundscape of a national park, like water, scenery, or wildlife, is a valuable resource that can easily be degraded or destroyed by inappropriate sounds or sound levels. As a result, soundscapes require careful management if they are to remain unimpaired for future generations. How are Sounds Experienced?Sound is defined as pressure
variations or a wave traveling through the air that can be detected by humans
and other animals. How we experience sound depends on two important
characteristics: Frequency and Amplitude. The number of pressure variations per
second in the air or the number of peaks and troughs in the sound wave is called
the frequency of the sound and is expressed in hertz (Hz). Humans are usually
able to hear sound with frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Amplitude
is what we normally refer to as volume or loudness. As an object vibrates it
creates sound waves and as it vibrates harder, the height of the wave, or the
distance between the peaks and troughs in the wave, increases. This height (or
the distance between the peaks and troughs in the sound wave) is known as the
amplitude and is measured in decibels (dB). Most sounds contain numerous
frequencies and each frequency can have a different amplitude. This complex
combination of frequencies and amplitudes is how we experience the unique
soundscape within a park.
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Wild Wonders of Europe Today, the day before Europe Day, 'Wild Wonders of Europe' rolls into action. 55 of Europe's top nature photographers embark on 90 assignments to 44 countries. The mission: To reveal the amazing natural heritage of
Europe and to inspire a desire to save it. This project is endorsed by UNEP.
Asian vultures will be extinct in the wild within a decade without urgent action to eliminate the livestock drug that has caused their catastrophic decline, a newly published paper warns. The new study shows that the population of White-rumped Vultures Gyps bengalensis is dropping by more than 40 per cent each year in India where it has plunged by 99.9 per cent since 1992. Numbers of Indian G. indicus and Slender-billed Vultures G. tenuirostris together, have fallen by almost 97 per cent in the same period. Conservationists say that banning the retail sale of the veterinary drug diclofenac and constructing three more captive breeding centres is the only way to save the birds. Manufacture of the veterinary form of the drug, as an anti-inflammatory treatment for livestock, was outlawed in India in 2006 but it remains widely available. Furthermore, diclofenac formulated for humans is being used to treat livestock. The study, published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, states that White-rumped Vulture is now in dire straits with only one thousandth of the 1992 population remaining. Scientists counted vultures in northern and central India between March and June last year. They surveyed the birds from vehicles along 18,900 kilometres of road. Their study followed four previous counts, the last in 2003. Source, Birdlife International, April 30, 2008 The Problem with Palm OilPalm Oil, an ingredient found in many everyday food and cosmetic products, is contributing to the rapid destruction of rainforests. Orangutan habitat in Sumatra and Borneo is being clear-felled at an alarming rate for conversion to oil palm plantations. On Sumatra there is now more than 4 times as much land cultivated with oil palms as there is orangutan habitat remaining. Over the past few decades, oil palm plantations have rapidly spread across South-east Asia and are a source of important economic benefits in terms of foreign exchange and employment in Indonesia. However, this development has become a source of serious concern, because much of the plantation expansion has happened at the expense of Indonesia's tropical forest cover, where forests are disappearing at a rate of more than 2.8 million hectares per year. There is a huge amount of degraded land available for planting oil palms in Sumatra and Borneo, but palm oil companies can make a quick profit when they cut down rainforests and sell the timber, so the relentless deforestation continues. We do NOT advocate a boycott of products containing palm oil, or companies using palm oil in their products. However, the international community must demand that oil-palm concessions are not granted in forested areas, and that our local retailers and consumer goods manufacturers only source their palm oil from non-destructive plantations. Click here to download a report linking the expansion of oil palm plantations to the destruction of orangutan habitat: Oil for Ape Scandal
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