Enjoy this short 5 minute film on ‘Why Nature Tourism is critical to saving Tigers and India’s forests.’

Please add your comments below about the film.

Thanks

Abhishek Behl
abhishek.kr.behl@gmail.com

Press Releases and Journals

Posted here are TOFT’s latest press releases. Should you wish to enquire about any part of this campaign, or its membership please contact Julian Matthews on julian.matthews@toftigers.org or call +44 1285 643333.

The TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards 

Two individual wild Tigers pick up ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for their hundred million dollar contribution to the Indian economy

“They are multi-million dollar earners but it isn’t a business award they are being given but an environmental one. 

“Machali herself earns as much as a top cricketer or Bollywood actress” says Julian Matthews, “and it’s critical to recognise these extraordinary economic benefits that come from saving her species in the wild. She literally provides livelihoods for thousands of people from forest guards to wildlife guides, drivers to hoteliers!.” 

TOFT Lifetime Achievement Awards will be made tonight, (Friday 24th April)  to Ranthambhore’s famous tigress Machali and Bandavgarh’s celerity male Tiger, known as B2 (or Sundar) in recognition of their star pulling power in Ranthambhore and Bandavgarh Tiger Reserves.

The two tigers – though not personally accepting the awards – with be given the prize at the launch of the TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards, being held at the Residency of the British High Commission in Delhi.

TOFT has calculated that the extraordinary pulling power of Machali has earned nearly US$100 million (48000 crores) for the Indian Economy since she became a dominant resident female in the Tourism zone of Ranthambhore in 1998 as well as bringing up 11 cubs, two of whom are now in Sariska NP. Like all good stars she even has a Facebook page, has been seen by over 150000 visitors and millions on TV across the globe.

B2 in Bandavgarh is also an extraordinary tiger. He has sired over 35 tigers, 90% of which lived to adulthood, an extraordinary high ratio itself thanks to the protection he has been able to afford his many lovers! The sizable majority of tigers living in Bandhavgarh today are his sons and daughters. As Head of the family business, B2 has been estimated to have earned US$30m over his 7 year reign in the Tala Tourism range. 

There is an old maxim – if it pays it stays – and these two tigers justify the extraordinary efforts and costs that going into preserving her, her kin and her forest habitat. 

“The award is being made to two tigers tonight on behalf of the wildlife tourism industry but of course it is also very much in recognition of the hard work and dedication of all the Park staff – forest guards, wildlife and forest officers and administrators over many years. So to all of these people let us all say a big thank you.”

Accepting the Award on behalf of Machali is Ranthambhore’s Field Director, Shafaat Hussain, and his colleague Mr Shekawhat, DFO. 

Abhishek Behl, TOFT India Director, added……

“These awards mark the launch of a new Annual Award’s we are running to highlight the work of all those involved who are using the wildlife tourism industry, its entrepreneurship, manpower and visitors most effectively to support conservation and restore wildlife habitat. It will reward best practice and sustainability across the lodge community, enhance cooperation and partnership with parks, motivate guides and guards and highlight the best community tourism initiatives wherever they are found. This is an exciting time for wildlife tourism, it has an extraordinary potential to be a major force for good in helping protect the tiger and we know these TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards will become a key event in the Wildlife Tourism and Conservation calendar.

Notes to Editors

Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT) and Travel Operators for Tigers India Wildlife  Association (TOFT India) are international not for profit organisations representing all sectors of the wildlife tourism community including over 160 International tour operators, Indian destination management companies and local wilderness hotel and lodge operators. 

TOFT was established in 2004 by Julian Matthews – who was also the founder of a pioneering nature travel operator in the UK – it’s aims is to encourage best practice in wildlife tourism, thereby creating a more visionary, more sustainable and more environmentally responsible conservation tool for saving Tigers and their habitat across India.  

For more details call Julian Matthews on 09971708070 or Abhishek Behl on 09873344304.

http://www.toftigers.org/Resources/PressReleases.aspx 

24 April 2009, Friday
The TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards 

The TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards were launched on Friday 24th April, hosted at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Delhi, and attended by a large number of TOFT members, conservationists and Forest officials. 

Sponsors for the awards include Incredible India, and media partners are Sanctuary Asia magazine. 

 

At the launch TOFT gave two ‘TOFT Lifetime Achievement Awards’ to two very special individuals, who between them have given not only huge pleasure to all who visit them, but have earned over £85 million (US$130million/Rs650 Crore) for the Indian economy. 

http://www.toftigers.org/news/news.aspx?nid=104

Old-growth forests important carbon sinks, says study

EurActiv.com, 16 September 2008 – The Commission has rejected the notion that farmers should implement river basin management schemes in exchange for agricultural subsidies, despite increasing fears over water shortages and droughts.

The international group of scientists’ findings indicate that old-growth forests in the northern hemisphere account for at least 10% of global net uptake of carbon dioxide. This contrasts with the commonly accepted view that these forests are carbon neutral, a hypothesis based mainly on a single study from the 1960s.

The new research builds on 519 plot studies and shows that carbon accumulation continues in forests that are centuries old. Nevertheless, the Kyoto Protocol does not call for forests to be left intact, instead demanding changes to the carbon stock by afforestation, reforestation and deforestation.

Old-growth forests have been accumulating carbon for centuries, yet much of it will be lost to the atmosphere if disturbed, the study warned. The researchers therefore conclude that “the carbon-accounting rules for forests should give credit for leaving old-growth forest intact”.

“If you are concerned about offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and look at old forests from nothing more than a carbon perspective, the best thing to do is leave them alone,” said Professor Beverly Law, a co-author of the study.

Deforestation is widely considered to be a key driver of global warming as tropical and other forests absorb CO2, thus mitigating the effects of emissions on the climate. But EU policymakers are struggling to define rules to keep trees standing. 

Article reference: http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MzE1NTk

Scientists promote ‘global cooling’ plan

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

by Staff Writers
Sacramento (UPI) Sep 10, 2008
U.S. scientists say they’ve found a way to determine how much carbon dioxide can be offset by expanding the reflectivity of such urban surfaces as rooftops.”White roofs can cut a building’s energy use by 20 percent and save consumers money,” said California Energy Commissioner Art Rosenfeld. He said the potential U.S. energy savings are in excess of $1 billion annually.

Rosenfeld and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists Hashem Akbari and Surabi Menon created a formula to quantify the effects of white roofs in populated settings in terms of CO2 offset.

The researchers estimate replacing non-reflective, dark roofing materials with white ones on an average 1,000-square-foot would result in an equivalent carbon dioxide offset of 10 metric tons annually.

Since 2005, commercial buildings with flat roofs in California have been required to have white roofs. Beginning next year, residential sloped roofs and retrofit constructions in California will be required to have “cool-colored” roofs that reflect a higher fraction of the sun’s rays than current roofing materials of the same color.

The research is to be published in the journal Climate Change.

Article Reference: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Scientists_promote_global_cooling_plan_999.html

Study: Sea Levels Won’t Rise As Much As Predicted

Environment

by Richard Harris

Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:00 p.m. ET

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Tad Pfeffer/University of Colorado

While the disintegrating Columbia Glacier in Alaska is adding to ocean levels, the total global sea rise by 2100 may be lower than some are anticipating, according to a new study.

Climate Connections

In a yearlong series, NPR explores how we are shaping climate and how climate is shaping us.

September 5, 2008 ·

Sea levels could rise between 2.5 and 6 feet this century as a result of global warming, a new study in the journal Science reports. That estimate is lower than some widely circulated figures, but still represents a serious threat to people who live near the coast.

Tad Pfeffer at the University of Colorado decided to do the study after hearing colleagues predict high rates of sea level rise, without backing the predictions with any solid science.

It’s widely agreed that melting ice and expanding seawater could increase sea level by a foot or two this century. But levels can also rise as glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica flow into the sea and break up into icebergs. Scientists have had trouble trying to figure out the size of that effect.

Pfeffer and his colleagues looked for the highest ice-flow rates ever recorded and then assumed, as a worst case, that those would apply to glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica.

In their worst-case scenario, the researchers found, global sea level could rise by between 2.5 feet and 6 feet this century.

The new figure is lower than some guesstimates that seemed to be taking root, but Pfeffer says it’s important to have a realistic number.

“A policymaker who’s trying to plan for 2 to 4 meters [6.5 to 13 feet] of sea level rise is going to make a very different set of decisions than someone who’s trying to plan for 80 centimeters to 2 meters [2.6 to 6.5 feet] of sea level rise,” he says.

Still, sea level rise in that lower range could have serious consequences for many millions of people who live near the coast. And sea levels will continue to rise for many centuries beyond 2100, so those higher numbers could eventually become reality.

Document reference: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94273237&ft=1&f=1025

UK citizens using 58 baths of water a day

Posting this news after some days as have been busy with work – this time around i think water conservation and utilisation of water is one of the most important focuses we need to keep in mind. A piece of water conservation write-up from UK:

abhishekrbehl@gmail.com

———

from WWF – Environmental News & Opinions

While each person in the UK drinks, hoses, flushes and washes their way through around 150 litres of mains water a day, they consume about 30 times as much in “virtual” water embedded in food, clothes and other items – the equivalent of about 58 bathtubs full of water every day.

Launching the report, UK Water Footprint: the impact of the UK’s food and fibre consumption on global water resources, at World Water Week in Stockholm today, Stuart Orr, WWF-UK’s water footprint expert, said the UK was the sixth largest importer of water in the world.

“Only 38 per cent of the UK’s total water use comes from its own rivers, lakes and groundwater reserves,” he said. “The rest is taken from water bodies in many countries across the world to irrigate and process food and fibre crops that people in Britain subsequently consume

“What’s particularly worrying is that huge amounts of these products are grown in drier areas of the world where water resources are either already stressed or very likely to become so in the near future.”

Just one tomato from Morocco takes 13 litres of water to grow while the various ingredients in a cup of coffee collectively use 140 litres. A shirt made from cotton grown in Pakistan or Uzbekistan cotton – and possibly irrigated by water from the Indus river or the rivers that feed the Aral Sea in central Asia – soaks up 2,700 litres of water.

Cotton producing Pakistan has recently experienced its lowest water availability on record and the Indus river often runs dry before it reaches the sea. This affects the communities and critical habitats in the Indus delta as well as endangered species such as the Indus river dolphin. Over abstraction from the rivers that flow into the Aral Sea for the irrigation of cotton fields has led to the loss of 60% of its area and 80% of its volume in the last 40 years.

Closer to home, Spanish oranges and grapes come from a country where, earlier this year, drinking water has been shipped in from France due to acute shortages.

“Most people aren’t even aware that it takes massive amounts of water to grow the food and fibres we consume on top of what is used for drinking and washing and watering the lawn,” Mr Orr said.

”Therefore, it is essential that business and government identify the areas that could potentially suffer water crises and develop solutions so the environment is not overexploited to the point that people and wildlife lose out.”

WWF is encouraging some of the UK’s largest companies, such as Marks and Spencer, to evaluate their water footprints. A water footprint assesses the amount of water a business uses both directly from the tap and virtually through its supply chain. It includes water taken from both UK rivers and aquifers and those in other countries where crops are grown and processed.

WWF also asks companies to promote sustainable water use in areas where water is scarce.

“The private sector has a very important role to play. It can engage with governments and communities along its supply chain to support better water management,” Mr Orr said. “In order to reduce risk, businesses need to do their utmost to encourage more efficient and effective water use in water stressed areas where they operate.”

In India and Pakistan, WWF is working with farmers who grow thirsty crops such as cotton, rice and sugar cane to explore ways in which farmers can use less water to grow more crops. In one sugar cane trial, agricultural water use has dropped by 40 per cent while yields have risen by a third.

“This is not just an issue for food and clothing companies, producers and retailers. Insurers and investors have a vested interest in encouraging efficiency of water use and security of water supply in an ever thirstier world. Water is irreplaceable and climate change and population growth are only going to exacerbate the problem,” said Mr Orr.

He added: “There’s an important role for the public here. As a consumer you can ask businesses, including your local supermarkets, to tell you what they are doing to ensure good water management along their supply chains. As a citizen you can urge your government to make good water management a priority both in this country and overseas. But if we do nothing to alleviate the acute pressures on water resources at home and abroad then our inaction could have far reaching consequences for people and habitats.”

Notes:

• A copy of the report is available from http://www.wwf.org.uk/freshwater
• To find out more about your own water consumption visit: http://www.waterfootprint.org/

For further information, please contact:

Phil Dickie tel +41 797031952, email: pdickie@wwfint.org
Robin Clegg, tel: +44 7771 818 707, rclegg@wwf.org.uk

Document refered: wwf UK

Beijing, 12 August 2008 – Beijing’s air quality significantly improved over the last two days, with the sky clearly visible today after rains on 10 and 11 August washed away the pollution across the city.

In what could be a sign that the measures taken by the Beijing authorities are working, official data measured an Air Pollution Index (API) of 32 on 12 August. This is far below the benchmark set by the Chinese authorities, whereby an Air Pollution Index of 50 and below is considered excellent.

The news will most likely come as a welcome development for all the athletes as well as for Olympic fans across the world. The United Nations Environment Programme’s Beijing team sees this as an indication that measures like the ones taken by the Chinese authorities can make a significant impact.

Some of the air pollution reduction measures that have been adopted by the Chinese authorities for the Olympic Games include the closing down of heavy polluting factories around the city and beyond, a traffic crackdown reducing car traffic around the city by about half, and free use of public transport for people holding tickets to Olympic event or Olympic accreditation.

For more information please contact:

Theodore Oben, UNEP Chief of Sports & the Environment in Beijing on:

+86-13501210290

Or Anne-France White, UNEP Associate Information Officer, on: +254 (0)728 600 494

Source: UNEP Environment & Development web page

by Staff Writers
Syracuse NY (SPX) Aug 12, 2008

A study by researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has documented, for the first time in the northeastern United States, that a variety of bird species are extending their breeding ranges to the north, a pattern that adds to concerns about climate change.Focusing on 83 species of birds that have traditionally bred in New York state, the researchers compared data collected in the early 1980s with information gathered between 2000 and 2005. They discovered that many species had extended their range boundaries, some by as much as 40 miles.

“They are indeed moving northward in their range boundaries,” said researcher Benjamin Zuckerberg, whose Ph.D. dissertation included the study. “But the real signal came out with some of the northerly species that are more common in Canada and the northern part of the U.S. Their southern range boundaries are actually moving northward as well, at a much faster clip.”

Among the species moving north are the Nashville warbler, a little bird with a yellow belly and a loudly musical two-part song, and the pine siskin, a common finch that resembles a sparrow. Both birds have traditionally been seen in Northern New York but are showing significant retractions in their southern range boundaries, Zuckerberg said.

Birds moving north from more southern areas include the red-bellied woodpecker, considered the most common woodpecker in the Southeastern United States, and the Carolina wren, whose “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle” song is surprisingly loud for a bird that weighs less than an ounce.

“There are a wide spectrum of changes that are occurring and those changes are occurring in a relatively short amount of time. We’re not talking centuries, we’re talking decades,” said William Porter, an ESF faculty member and director of ESF’s Adirondack Ecological Center, who worked with Zuckerberg on the study.

“New York citizens need to recognize that these changes are occurring,” Porter said. “Whether they are good or bad, whether they should be addressed, whether we should adapt to them, whether we should try to mitigate some of this, those are questions that really, rightfully, belong in the political arena.”

The study compared data collected during the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Breeding Bird Atlas census, which engaged thousands of citizen volunteers to observe and report the birds they could identify. The first atlas was created between 1980 and 1985; the second was done between 2000 and 2005.

New York was the first state to complete two breeding bird atlases, Zuckerberg said, making it the only state that is able, at this point, to produce this kind of research.

Zuckerberg said similar changes were found in birds that breed in forests and those that inhabit grasslands, in both insectivores and omnivores, and even in new tropical migrants that are typically seen in Mexico and South America.

“What you begin to see is a systematic pattern of these species moving northward as we would predict with regional warming,” he said.

Article reference: Terra Daily

Scientists warn forest clearing more harmful than thought

by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Aug 5, 2008
Clearing natural forests in Australia would pose a greater danger to the global climate than previously thought because they hold three times as much carbon as estimated, a report released Tuesday said.The Australian National University report warns that all nations, not just those in the developing world, should prevent the clearing of their forests because this could release huge amounts of harmful carbon into the atmosphere.

“From a scientific perspective, green carbon accounting and protection of the natural forests in all nations should become part of a comprehensive approach to solving the climate change problem,” the report said.

While current international talks focussed on reducing the destruction of forests in developing countries only, the forests of nations such as Australia, Canada, Russia and the US also needed to be protected, it added.

“Protecting the carbon in Australia’s and the world’s natural forests is no longer an option — it is a necessity,” report co-author Professor Brendan Mackey said.

“If natural forests continue to be cleared and degraded then the carbon dioxide released will significantly increase concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

The scientists found that unlogged natural eucalypt forests in Australia’s southeast stored about 640 tonnes of carbon per hectare.

That compares with the 217 tonnes per hectare estimated by the world’s leading scientific body on the issue, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In some areas, the storage levels are estimated to be ten times higher than previously thought.

Mackey said the findings highlighted the need for a new approach to account for carbon stored in natural forests.

“To date, in climate change discussions in the forest sector, all the attention has been on reforestation and afforestation,” he told AFP.

“At the Bali climate change conference (in December) everybody kind of woke up and realised that natural forests store a vast amount of carbon and that we can’t afford to allow further emissions from deforestation and forest degeneration because these are on top of fossil fuel burning.”

Mackey said deforestation accounted for 17.5 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Article referred from: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Scientists_warn_forest_clearing_more_harmful_than_thought_999.html