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The World Economic Forum, meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland, is the biggest annual gathering of influential thinkers and leaders from the worlds of business, politics, media and civil society. WWF Director General Jim Leape explains why WWF is there.

What are the main environmental issues on your mind going into this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos?

There is an ever greater need for a sustainable approach to business – especially regarding resource use, in a world of rapidly increasing consumption. Humanity is already using the equivalent of over 1.5 planets – yet for life we all rely on clean air and healthy freshwater resources, abundant forests and thriving natural ecosystems.

WWF is active in preserving freshwater systems, ocean life and forests; encouraging the use and development of renewable energy; reducing the impact on natural resources of major commodity supply chains like paper, palm oil and soy; and generally lightening humanity’s footprint on the natural world. We envision a future where humans live in harmony with nature, and we partner with major players on the world stage – politicians, civil society, faith groups, labour unions, businesses and many others – in achieving that goal.

The theme of this year’s Davos event is ‘The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models’, and this links closely with WWF’s vision of change that makes room for both social and environmental sustainability. We only have one planet, and a finite bank of precious natural resources. But with bold and thoughtful solutions, there is ample room for green businesses to thrive within a model of global sustainable development.

In recent years, WEF has proved to be an increasingly important place to engage with companies on sustainability. Good initiatives have started to emerge regarding water, agriculture and sustainable consumption – and I look forward to see how these good intentions can become more concrete in the coming days and weeks.

The WEF event in Davos is an opportunity to catch up with business and corporate contacts. How important is WWF’s work with the private sector, and why should businesses care about the environment?

Business and industry have a massive impact on natural resources, and companies have a duty to ensure that they use those resources sustainably. We all benefit from products and services in our daily lives, but the private sector should be encouraged to conduct its business in a way that entails a minimum impact on the natural world and the ecosystems on which we all depend.

Companies that want to be competitive today and tomorrow should be concerned about sustainability. Licence to operate is being increasingly influenced by environmental and social performance – and this trend will only continue.

WWF engages with corporate partners to bring about real change on the ground – supporting responsible businesses to reduce their ecological footprint.

The next big event this year is the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development in Brazil in June. What does WWF hope will come out of that global gathering?

Two decades after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this year’s Rio+20 conference is a major opportunity for the world to commit to charting a course for creating shared prosperity within the limits of this one planet. Twenty years ago the term ‘sustainable development’ came into currency, but this has still not been followed by sufficient action in making the concept a reality. Rio is an opportunity to put things back on track.

I am hopeful that Rio+20 will prove a catalyst in sparking new commitments and urging major players – including governments, businesses and others – to stretch themselves in aiming for a more sustainable approach to what they do. The WEF in Davos this week is an ideal platform to inspire governments, corporate players and others to step up and prepare the road to Rio.


For more information:
Gemma Parkes, WWF International, Executive Communications Manager - gparkes@wwfint.org, +41 79 253 6386

Sofia, Bulgaria: Bulgarian authorities have confirmed that a one year ban on sturgeon fishing in the Danube river is to be extended for a further four years.  Bulgaria's original ban ended the anomaly of sturgeon receiving protection only on the Romanian side of the Danube, following that country's 2006 announcement of a 10 year sturgeon fishing ban.

“It is of utmost importance that Bulgaria has finally joined Romania in this very important measure”, said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria. “The Romanian moratorium came into force in April 2006, but considering that the Danube serves as a national border between Bulgaria and Romania, a one-sided ban was not effective”.

Originating 200 million years ago, sturgeons have outlasted the dinosaurs, but today most species are critically endangered according to the IUCN red list. Bulgaria and Romania hold the only viable populations of wild sturgeons in the European Union, but five of the six native sturgeon species in the Danube are critically endangered.

“Overfishing because of persistent illegal trade in their caviar involving Bulgaria and Romania, is the biggest cause for concern, but habitat alteration, including hydropower, and pollution are also contributing causes”, Kavrakova said.

Caviar is one of the most expensive wildlife products. Among the sturgeon species native to the Danube basin is the Beluga sturgeon famous for its expensive caviar.

Dams such as the Iron Gates between Serbia and Romania have cut off the migration routes of sturgeons, which has led to loss of spawning habitats, impacting sturgeon populations. According to the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, the Danube is the only large river system in Europe where protection of existing but dwindling sturgeon stocks is still possible.

“What we need now, is to see various activities conducted in support of sturgeon populations, for example restocking and monitoring of the status of sturgeons. We need to see an effective information campaign among fishing communities and a true enforcement of the ban”, Kavrakova said.

“We want to see that both Romania and Bulgaria raise awareness among enforcement agencies of the illegal caviar trade and strengthen their capacity to control and monitor the trade”, she added.

The Danube, as one of the major feeder rivers and estuaries of the Black Sea, is crucial for sturgeons. Most sturgeons live in estuaries and coastal waters but swim upstream to spawn. The Black Sea is one of the most important sturgeon fisheries in the world, second only to the Caspian Sea.

Jakarta - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree on Jan 5 authorising conservation of at least 45 percent of its share of the island of Borneo, known as Kalimantan. 

The decree covers a massive area of more than 250,000 km2 encompassing vast tracts of rainforest in the Heart of Borneo and landscapes beyond.

"At least 45 percent of Indonesian Borneo will serve as the lungs of the world… with the plan ensuring that local ecosystems are protected and the biodiversity of the island is allowed to flourish," a presidential press release said. 


Indonesia is rated as the world's third-worst emitter of greenhouse gases with emissions mainly due to deforestation caused by expanding palm oil, timber and pulp & paper industries.

"We hope with the decree, Indonesia will be able to meet its target of reducing gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020," forestry ministry secretary general, Hadi Daryanto, told the international media.

The regulation looks to promote the sustainable use of the island’s resources while ensuring an ambitious network of conservation areas are linked together by a series of “ecosystem corridors". In addition, existing protected areas are to be strengthened and degraded areas rehabilitated.

A new measure of capital?



The Presidential press release also noted that Kalimantan would become a center for plantations of palm oil, rubber and other sustainable forest products, an issue which has raised concerns amongst some international organizations.



Adam Tomasek, head of the WWF’s Heart of Borneo Initiative, believes the new decree offers a fantastic opportunity to secure the future of Borneo as a place where sustainable development exists in balance with a practical and beneficial conservation regime. However, the targets set out in the regulation will not be met unless the values of ecosystems and biodiversity, or ‘natural capital’, become key features of future economic development planning.

“WWF has been working for a long time with both National and local governments to develop spatial plans, and engage businesses and communities to drive conservation and sustainable development in Borneo. The decree is a leadership statement from the President of Indonesia that will help ensure the previous commitments on the Heart of Borneo will be met,” Mr Tomasek said.

Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:#0400;mso-fareast-language:#0400;mso-bidi-language:#0400;}New Delhi - The New Year brought a new surprise for wildlife monitoring teams near northeastern India’s Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, as a tiger was captured for the first time using one of the important wildlife corridors south of the famous park.

The Karbi Anglong landscape south of Kaziranga has been used by wildlife for generations during peak monsoon periods when the Reserve itself if flooded. Camera traps set up by WWF’s Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Conservation Programme (KKL) caught the tiger in late December using the Kanchanjuri corridor.

As the communities and tourism activities in the already heavily populated region south of Kaziranga grow, the area’s four main wildlife corridors, including Kanchanjuri, continue to be squeezed by human activity and infrastructure. In addition to the tiger, the photos also captured important and endangered wildlife such as elephants, common leopards, wild boar, barking deer and even a melanistic leopard, commonly called a black panther.

The discoveries have led WWF-India to reiterate its long term support for these vital wildlife corridors. The WWF KKL team has been working with communities in the region since 2005, and has been documenting wildlife using the corridors since initially setting up camera traps in June 2010.

The Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape, in the far northeastern Indian state of Assam, is one of 12 priority landscapes in which WWF focuses its tiger conservation efforts. Kaziranga Tiger Reserve has the world’s highest density of Bengal tigers. Animals migrating from Kaziranga during floods to the Karbi Anglong hills to the South use specific forested strips or ‘corridors’ running across National Highway 37 to reach higher ground. Four main corridors are currently intact – Kanchanjuri, Panbari, Haldibari and Amguri.

WWF India is continuing to document tiger and wildlife migrations, and will intensify its efforts with communities in the region to ensure thriving corridors and protection of the species that use them.

A new WWF commissioned study highlights the impact European fisheries are having globally by fishing outside of European waters.



The report entitled Spatial expansion of EU and non-EU fishing fleets into the global ocean 1950 to the present clearly shows that European Union (EU) fishing fleets have expanded beyond EU waters exploiting new fishing ground since 1980 and increasing the pressure on fish stocks.

The study for the first time allows viewers to easily see the global expansion of fishing activity, from 1950 to the present, through an animated map.

It shows that European vessels are now traveling to the furthest corners of the world to fish. Declining domestic catches and efforts to reduce the number of vessels fishing in European waters have resulted in many European fishing fleets concentrating their fishing efforts elsewhere.

As part of its campaign to see ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), WWF is calling on the EU and Member States to ensure that this fishing zeal is matched by the accountability to ensure its fleets fish sustainably, and to champion sustainable fisheries management on the international stage.

WWF also asks that the €1 billion in earmarked EU budget for distant water fleet operations and management are in no way used to fund destructive or unstustainable fishing practices.

The reform of its Common Fisheries Policy is a unique opportunity for the EU to ensure all EU vessels, wherever they operate in the world, fish sustainably and to promote sustainability principles internationally.

"We need to save fisheries worldwide from decline and bankruptcy and reverse marine degradation. If the EU fails to take a leadership role in global fisheries management and ocean protection, it will further contribute to the global fisheries crisis and jeopardise global food security in the long run" Aimee Gonzales, Manager, EU Fisheries and Trade, WWF International.

An immediate moratorium on habitat conversion is needed to secure a future for Sumatran elephants, conservation organization WWF says.

The Sumatran elephant has been uplisted from “endangered” to “critically endangered” after losing nearly 70 per cent of its habitat and half its population in one generation. The decline is largely because of elephant habitat being deforested or converted for agricultural plantations.

IUCN has classified the Sumatran elephant subspecies (Elephas maximus sumatranus) as critically endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species. There are only an estimated 2,400 to 2,800 of the animals remaining in the wild, a reduction of about 50 per cent from the 1985 population estimate. Scientists say that if current trends continue, Sumatran elephants could be extinct in the wild in less than 30 years.

According to the IUCN Red List, “Although as a species Sumatran elephants are protected under Indonesia law, 85 per cent of their habitats which are located outside of protected areas, are outside of the protection system and likely to be converted to agricultural and other purposes.”

Sumatra is thought to hold some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka. Yet within the Asian elephant’s range, Sumatra has experienced perhaps the most rapid deforestation rate. Sumatra has lost over two-thirds of its natural lowland forest in the past 25 years – the most suitable habitat for elephants – resulting in local extinctions of the elephant from many areas.

“The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered, including the Sumatran orangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger,” said Dr. Carlos Drews, Director of WWF’s Global Species Programme.

“Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime.”

WWF is calling on the Indonesian government to prohibit all forest conversion in elephant habitats until a conservation strategy is determined for conserving the animals. The organization recommends that the government conduct an assessment to determine large habitat patches and designate them as protected areas. Additionally, smaller habitat areas should be linked with conservation corridors, and areas of possible habitat expansion or restoration explored.

“It’s very important that the Government of Indonesia, conservation organizations and agro-forestry companies recognize the critical status of elephant and other wildlife in Sumatra and take effective steps to conserve them,” said Asian elephant expert Ajay Desai.

“Indonesia must act now before it’s too late to protect Sumatra’s last remaining natural forests, especially elephant habitats.”

Forest loss a major factor in species decline

In Sumatra’s Riau Province, where pulp and paper industries and oil palm plantations are causing the some of the world’s most rapid rates of deforestation, elephant numbers have declined by a staggering 80 per cent in less than 25 years. Habitat fragmentation has confined some herds to small forest patches, and these populations are not likely to survive in the long term.

“Riau Province has already lost six of its nine herds to extinction. The last surviving elephants may soon disappear if the government doesn’t take steps to stop forest conversion and effectively protect the elephants,” said Anwar Purwoto of WWF-Indonesia.

“Forest concession holders such as pulp and paper companies and the palm oil industry have a legal and ethical obligation to protect endangered species within their concessions.”

Similarly, Lampung Province has seen its number of elephant herds decline from twelve in the 1980s to only three by 2002 as a result of forest loss. Just two of the remaining herds are considered biologically viable.

“In the mid-1980s, Sumatra had 44 elephant populations spread across all of its eight provinces, and the island still had half of its natural forests,” said Dr. A. Christy Williams, Head of WWF’s Asian Elephant Programme.

“Due to conversions of those forests for human settlement and agricultural production, many elephant populations have come into serious conflicts with humans. As a result, a large number of elephants have been captured from the wild or killed.”

WWF calls upon all stakeholders, including the Government of Indonesia, oil palm companies, members of the pulp and paper industry and conservation organizations, to work together to conserve Sumatran elephant habitat. Urgent measures are needed to protect Sumatra’s remaining natural forests so that future generations of Indonesians can inherit a natural heritage that includes wild elephants, tigers, orangutans and rhinos.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – At the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) held in Abu Dhabi this week, WWF Director General Jim Leape called for agencies, governments and industry to proactively collaborate in transitioning towards a sustainable energy future on a global level, flagging up WWF’s vision of a world powered by 100% renewable energies by 2050.

WWF’s Energy Report launched in February 2011 shows that all of the world’s energy needs could be provided cleanly and renewably, in ways that can be sustained by the global economy and the planet, and that such a transition is not only possible but cost-effective.

At the event ‘Insights from the International Energy Agencies: Building Sustainable Partnerships’ held during the WFES, Jim Leape highlighted alternative options facing a world increasingly dependent on fossil fuels.

“We only have one earth, and humanity’s ecological footprint is much too heavy for one planet to sustain. We are fast running out of the natural resources on which our lives depend – but a future powered by renewable energies is entirely possible. With political commitment, and investment in the development of solar, wind, wave, and other alternatives – as well as energy conservation – a future with clean, efficient and secure energy for all is within our grasp”, said Jim Leape.

Providing reliable, affordable and clean energy on the scale required will need a global effort. The initiative lies with individuals, opinion leaders, policy makers, industry and businesses alike. Leape went on to stress that we are entering an era of resource scarcity defined by shortages of land, water and energy, and that this presents profound challenges.

A bright future for innovations in sustainability

WWF strongly believes that the future will belong to businesses who find ways to help meet those challenges. By driving sustainability across their values chains, helping their suppliers produce in a more sustainable way, providing their customers with products that help them live more sustainably, businesses can have a positive impact on the planet.

“Successfully overcoming the global energy crisis needs a two-track approach – the formal international policy process in tandem with the proactive leveraging of alternative solutions to shift the energy paradigm. WindMade, for example, is the first global consumer label identifying businesses that use wind power in their operations or production, and is a fantastic model for how the private sector – as well as consumers – can be empowered to use more renewable energy, in a way that also makes business sense.

"Every player in society can do their bit, be it businesses, politicians, or concerned individuals,” said Leape.

At the WFES in Abu Dhabi, a new “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative was launched by United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon – aiming to ensure universal access to modern energy services by 2030, double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Though the new initiative is not legally binding, WWF welcomes this important statement of the need for all sectors of society around the globe to collaborate in achieving a clean energy future.

Over the past decade, WWF has been active in Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Emirates Wildlife Society. EWS-WWF has become known as a leader in environmental conservation in the United Arab Emirates, addressing key conservation and environmental issues by implementing projects that aim to tackle energy efficiency and bring renewable energy solutions, conserve biodiversity and address the UAE’s ecological footprint.

Beijing - A new WWF study finds that many Yangtze River Basin lakes are shrinking dramatically and could dry up completely if measures aren’t taken to stem the impacts of climate change, increased industrialization, and urbanization along China’s longest river.

The Yangtze Conservation and Development Report 2011 (YCDR 2011) shows that lower water levels, rapid urbanization and large water infrastructure projects across the Yangtze Basin are impacting the overall health of many lakes along the 6,300km river, which supports the livelihoods of nearly one-third of China’s population.

“Lake ecosystems in the Yangtze River Basin are showing tell-tale signs of degradation, and problems like water eutrophication from industrial runoff are on the rise. We are also seeing a decline in flood retention capacity and insufficient water supply. These changes are putting increased pressure on many of the species found in the Yangtze, including the finless porpoise and Chinese carps,” says Yang Guishan, President of the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Climate change in the Upper Yangtze
While water resources will increase over the short term, the YCDR 2011 predicts that the long-term impacts of climate change will result in massive water shortages in headwater regions.

“Over the short term, increased glacial melt in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau means more water. But after the glaciers are gone – and with them the source of the Yangtze River - available water resources will decline. The lack of water could cause lakes that depend on glacial melt to shrink or dry up completely,” says Yang Guishan.

Pollution, population and land reclamation
From 1950-2010, the central and lower reaches of the Yangtze lost approximately two thirds of its lakes due to increased land reclamation for agriculture and industrial development. This has resulted in a water storage capacity loss roughly equivalent to 20 million Olympic-sized swimming pools – and means that smaller floods now have the potential to inflict much more damage.

Meanwhile, population growth and rapid economic development - particularly in the central and lower Yangtze - as well as excessive fish farming has resulted in more serious water pollution issues and increased instances of eutrophication, a process where excessive nutrients diminish water quality in lakes or other bodies of water.

Water quality monitoring data from 2007-2010 in the central and lower Yangtze shows that 77 per cent of the 77 lakes with an area of 10 km2 or more could not provide safe drinking water, while over 88 per cent were in various stages of eutrophication. Meanwhile, in 2009 alone, over 33 billion tonnes of sewage was discharged into the Yangtze River Basin, nearly a 22 per cent rise from 2003.

Solutions
Similar to the diagnosis offered in the previous two editions of the YCDR, the 2011 update points out that more work still needs to be done to ensure the future health of the Yangtze River:

“The Yangtze Conservation and Development Report 2011 shows that a comprehensive action plan is an absolute necessity to ensure the future of this irreplaceable resource,” said Jim Grandoville, CEO of WWF China. “WWF will be working with partners and seek solutions towards the protection and sustainable usage of the lakes along the Yangtze.”

The report also emphasizes the importance of mitigating the accumulative impacts of large infrastructure projects such as the Three Gorges Dam and South to North Water Transfer Project on the Yangtze River, especially downstream.

Known as the “Yangtze health check”, this is the third edition of the Yangtze Conservation and Development Report. It is jointly developed by WWF, the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Development Bank.

Wellington, New Zealand - The number of oiled wildlife reported dead is a tiny fraction of the true figure killed by the Rena oil spill, WWF-New Zealand said today.

The conservation organisation said that the tragedy should act as a wake up call for Government, yet its recent proposed legislation for New Zealand’s offshore environment does little to protect wildlife from future oil spills.
 
Maritime New Zealand reported yesterday that 45 dead oiled birds have been collected by wildlife recovery teams since the beginning of the week when the stern section of the storm-battered Rena began to sink, releasing more oil and littering the ocean with debris and containers. The current total number of dead wildlife recorded stands at 2066.
 
“The true number of wildlife killed by the spill will be far greater than the numbers recovered – the corpses the teams are collecting are the tip of the iceberg, and of course the number of animals affected by the spill is greater still,” said WWF-New Zealand Marine Programme Manager Rebecca Bird.  “Our main concern remains the long term impacts of the oil spill on the environment. This latest release of oil occurred during a significant storm, so oiled birds would have drowned more quickly and many will disappear from view. The vessel breaking up, discharging more oil and harming more wildlife clearly puts more pressure on an already damaged environment. However if this had happened before the majority of the oil was removed, it would have been an even greater catastrophe,” she said. 

WWF said wildlife recovery efforts it had observed first-hand, which were led by the National Oiled Wildlife Recovery Team coordinated by Maritime New Zealand are ‘world class’, and praised the dedication and professionalism of the staff involved.
 

 
“The speed with which the wildlife response teams recovered oiled wildlife, and the high standard of expertise from those involved – from local volunteers to wildlife professionals - is world class,” said Ms Bird. “The teams out in the field recovering wildlife affected by the spill and those at the recovery centre caring for and restoring the animals to health have worked tirelessly and with sound judgment - you couldn’t find a better operation anywhere in the world.”
 
The conservation organisation says the tragedy should be a wake up call for Government, yet proposed legislation governing New Zealand’s offshore environment – the Government’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill – will fail to protect wildlife from future spills.  WWF-New Zealand Marine Advocate Bob Zuur said:
 
“At a time when we are counting the cost of the Rena oil spill, the Government’s draft legislation for environmental controls in our offshore environment does little to prevent future spills killing more wildlife. It appears that its primary purpose is to smooth the way for the Government's Petroleum Action Plan which aims attract more oil and gas exploration in our oceans,” he said. “It will allow petroleum development in areas which are so significant for wildlife they should be never be exploited – the equivalent of allowing mining in national parks.”
 
Currently, the draft legislation does nothing to prevent risky activities such as offshore mining in sensitive areas of the ocean which are home to unique wildlife.  WWF is calling for the Government to set aside regions of outstanding biodiversity in marine reserves, or national parks of the sea, separate high risk activities from important vulnerable areas of ocean, and specify mandatory areas to be avoided by shipping such as currently exist around the Three Kings Islands, Poor Knights and in Taranaki.
 
“The Rena oil spill is a tragedy in itself for the wildlife harmed and killed, the damage to the environment, and the impact on the local community.  The Government should shelve plans to open up more of New Zealand’s oceans for deep sea oil and gas drilling, at least until it is willing to draft legislation that will protect the vulnerable ocean environment,” said Mr Zuur.
 
WWF is calling on the Government to protect areas important for wildlife, and strengthen the legislation, reducing the risk of spills happening: “Failure to do so would be a kick in the teeth to all those who are working to clean up their beaches and recover wildlife following the Rena spill,” said Mr Zuur.
 
Submissions on the Government’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental
Effects) Bill close on 27 January.
 
For more information please contact
Jenny Riches, Marketing & Communications Manager 0274 477 158 jriches@wwf.org.nz

Despite increased law enforcement efforts, rhino poaching accelerated in South Africa last year. The country lost 448 rhinos to poaching in 2011, official government statistics reveal. The total includes 19 critically endangered black rhinos, of which fewer than 5,000 remain in the wild. In 2010, 333 South African rhinos were killed by poachers, nearly three times the number killed in 2009.

“The rate of poaching increase may appear to be faltering, but the bottom line is more rhinos than ever were poached in 2011,” said Dr Colman O Criodain, WWF’s wildlife trade policy analyst. “If left unchecked, poaching gangs could put the survival of these iconic species in jeopardy.”

More than half of South Africa’s rhino deaths occurred in world-famous Kruger National Park. The popular safari destination lost 252 rhinos in 2011, and witnessed the poaching of an additional eight rhinos in the first weeks of the new year, according to authorities from South Africa National Parks.

South African law enforcement officials made 232 poaching-related arrests in 2011, compared to 165 the previous year. Sentences imposed for rhino crimes have also increased in recent years, with poachers and horn smugglers receiving as long as 16 years in prison.

“Rhino poaching is being conducted by sophisticated international criminal syndicates that smuggle horns to Asia,” said Dr Morné du Plessis, CEO of WWF-South Africa. “Its not enough to bust the little guy; investigators need to shut down the kingpins organizing these criminal operations. Governments in Africa and Asia must work together across borders to stop the illegal trade.”

The recent upsurge in rhino poaching has been tied to increased demand for rhino horn in Asia, particularly Vietnam, where it carries prestige as a luxury item, as a post-partying cleanser, and also as a purported cancer cure.

“Rhino horn has gained popularity among wealthy Vietnamese elites and business people to give as a gift, when currying political favour, or taking as an antidote to overindulgence,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s rhino trade expert. “But killing endangered rhinos to mitigate a hangover is a criminal way to see in the New Year,”

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine experts, rhino horn has no proven cancer treating properties. Contrary to popular myth, it has never been used in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has found that consumer demand in Vietnam is driving much of the rhino poaching. CITES has also ruled that Vietnam needs to show progress in curtailing illegal trade in rhino parts and derivatives.

“So far we have yet to see Vietnam respond to this ruling from CITES,” says O Criodain. “For that matter, CITES must put pressure on Vietnam to respond meaningfully, as it has done with other countries whose compliance with the Convention has been called into question.”

Because it is home to most of world’s rhinos, South Africa has been the epicentre of poaching. However, rhinos in other African and Asian range countries are also being targeted by poachers.

In October, WWF announced the extinction of rhinos in Vietnam. The last Javan rhinoceros in the country was killed by poachers and its horn removed. In Nepal, however, strong conservation and law enforcement efforts ensured that no rhinos were lost to poaching in 2011.

In both Africa and Asia, WWF and TRAFFIC are providing assistance to field rangers, criminal investigators, prosecutors, and customs authorities. Additionally, TRAFFIC has facilitated visits between South African and Vietnamese government officials to discuss deepening cooperation on law enforcement.

A bilateral treaty to ramp up law enforcement collaboration between South Africa and Vietnam was negotiated in September 2011 but still remains unsigned.

Gland, Switzerland – The first negotiating draft for the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development has the direction right, but the magnitude wrong, global environmental organization WWF said today.

“The Future We Want” Zero Draft acknowledges the need for poverty eradication, food security, and measures of progress towards sustainable development, but has few practical measures to enable the world to meet challenges in balancing competing global food, water and energy needs over the next 10 years.

“This document recognizes that countries have failed to act effectively on the environment and development over the last two decades but its lack of binding commitments risks setting us up for another decade of failure,” said Lasse Gustavsson, Executive Director, Conservation at WWF International.

“The proposed “Register of Voluntary Commitments” just will not get the world where it needs to be,” he said.

WWF has identified the need to solve the “Food, Energy, Water” equation as crucial to the success of such a critical global conference intended to give the world a new sense of purpose in achieving sustainable development 20 years after the original Earth Summit. But this first negotiating draft for the Rio+20 summit is especially weak on water-related ambition.

“Rio 2012 could fail solely on the basis of what it does – or doesn’t do – on freshwater,” said Gustavsson. “At this point, the document isn’t offering much more than a recommitment to sanitation systems.”

“What we need is water management based on natural, not political boundaries; a commitment to protect and restore vital freshwater systems; protection for the forests that safeguard our water supplies; and to prepare the world for the major water supply impacts of climate change.”

WWF welcomes the commitment to the sustainable management of marine and ocean resources, but is concerned there is no commitment to a sorely needed system of high seas protection, no workable safeguards for the sustainability of dwindling fish stocks, and no proposals for curtailing criminal exploitation of marine living resources.

“We welcome the fact that a number of priority issues have been addressed, including the need for government and business frameworks to develop green economies, a move towards low carbon development and the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies,” said Gustavsson.

Other WWF concerns:

· The proposals for change are based on “voluntary national commitments” – which are not legally binding and will not commit countries to meet any targets or to work within a given timeframe. Countries need to agree targets, timelines and funding that match the challenges they are tackling.

· The text on developing green economies fails to require bringing social and environmental costs into national accounts, tax measures and certification schemes.

· Proposals to tackle food, water and energy security need specific targets, concrete implementation measures and a clear funding agreement.

· The text fails to take into account the critical role of climate change, and of ecosystem services which are key factors underpinning the production of food, energy and water.

· Many of the proposals for change are vague and open-ended. For example there are no targets for stopping deforestation or goals for effective water management.