Executive Manager's Message

The summer is winding down here in the northern hemisphere, and what a busy summer it has been! The CLP team spent a month in Alberta, Canada, where we hosted this year’s international training course for 2010 Conservation Award winners and participated in the 24th annual International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB).

The training course took place at the University of Calgary’s biological field station just outside of Banff National Park. The scenery was spectacular; and above and beyond that, we had an extraordinary group of 30 CLP award winners, including a number of CLP alumni who participated as interpreters.

After two weeks of training, the group emerged with new knowledge, a huge amount of excitement and a strong sense of camaraderie – to the point they did not want to leave. Thankfully, our time together did not end there.

We loaded a bus and made our way to Edmonton for the ICCB, where we were joined by 20 additional CLP alumni, bringing the total count to 50. From this group, nearly 30 gave oral or poster presentations and the CLP presence was felt throughout the Congress.

Believe it or not, despite having just met this year’s winners, we are ready to start the process all over again! We are pleased to announce that the CLP is now soliciting proposals for 2011 Conservation Awards. The deadline for proposals is November 15th, 2010 and materials can be found on our website, including Guidelines for Applicants and an offline application form (details must be transferred to our online application website, which will be ready in October).

Enjoy reading about the progress of current CLP-supported projects – from participation in the International Ornithological Congress in Brazil to the sighting of a rare toad in India that hasn’t been seen in 10 years.

Robyn Dalzen, Executive Manager

[FBLIKE]

12 - 18 September 2010 International Primatological Society’s XXIII Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark

18 - 29 October 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 10, Nagoya, Japan

3 – 5 November 2010 Student Conference on Conservation Science, New York, USA

7-14 November 2010 5th International Galliformes Symposium, Chiang Mai, Thailand

22 – 24 March, 2011 Student Conference on Conservation Science, Cambridge, UK. Application deadline: October 31

14 - 18 May, 2011 2nd International Marine Conservation Congress, Victoria, BC, Canada

Rare Toad Spotted After a Decade!

A Video Message to Save the Araripe Manakin

New Species of Monkey Discovered in Caquetá, Colombia

News from the Field

Team Awards are granted to teams of three or more individuals who are undertaking high-priority conservation projects. The awards are arranged in a tiered system to allow for progression and include the Future Conservationist Award, Conservation Follow-up Award and Conservation Leadership Award.

AFRICA
Dugong without Borders: Building Capacity for Indian Ocean Sirenian Conservation, Comoros (2009)
As one of the first Signatory States of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout its Range, it was particularly apt that Madagascar played host to the first regional technical meeting on this species. The meeting was held with government, UNEP/CMS and fisheries and wildlife management representatives in attendance, as well as NGOs currently engaged in dugong research.
Read more about projects in Africa...

ASIA/PACIFIC
Community Awareness and Capacity Building for Endangered Turtle Conservation in Northeast India (2010)
Located at the junction of the Himalaya and the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots, northeast India is regarded as a priority area for turtle conservation. This region supports a remarkable 23 species of turtles and tortoises, making it one of the most diverse turtle faunas in the world. Since its inception in 2009, the “Turtle Conservation and Research Program” (TCRP), has initiated a freshwater turtle conservation program in the state of Assam as a part of the Turtle Survival Alliance-India Program. In 2010, TCRP has started a community awareness and capacity building project for safeguarding the region’s turtle.

Transboundary Habitat Evaluation and Conservation of Cao Vit Gibbon, China (2008, 2010)
Rare Cao-vit Baby Born
The cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), also known as the eastern black crested gibbon, is one of the rarest apes in the world. On 20th July, the CLP Team made an exciting observation: an adult female carry a new baby! Because the team caught glimpses of its pink skin next to the gold fur of its mother, they believe that the baby is just one week old. “I have not yet taken photos of this newborn. It was protected very well by its mother and we usually observe them from too far away.” said team leader, Dr Fan Peng-Fei. Photos of other young cao-vit gibbons show how well they are protected.

Community-Driven Conservation of Cambodian Chelonian (2004, 2005, 2007)
The endangered Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle, Pelochelys cantori, is one of the rarest freshwater turtles in the world and also one of the largest --it can reach over four feet in length. Two programs, focusing on environmental awareness and nest protection, have been taking place to conserve this endangered species from extinction.
Read more about projects in Asia/Pacific...

EURASIA
CHAGRA 2010: enhancing conservation profile of chalk grasslands in Ukraine (2000, 2010)
This year (May to July) the Chagra 2010 team made several expeditions to the project site and detected two small populations of an extremely rare chalk sub-shrub, Silene cretacea, the first and only discovery of this species in the region. The information gathered in expeditions may serve a proof of clarification for global conservation status of rare plants.

Conservation of Rare Plants of Lake Baikal, Russia: Monitoring of Plants and Education of Local Community (2008)
During the initial CLP project in 2008 and 2009 a population of a rare endemic legume plant (Astragalus sericeocanus Gontsch.) was studied. This species is included in the Red Book of Republic of Buryatia (2002) and the Red Book of the Russian Federation (1988) and only two localities of this rare species were recorded. Since the end of the CLP project in 2009, members of NGO “EcoLeague” continue to study this plant species. In August 2010 they organized a special field expedition to the northern part of Lake Baikal in order to find and describe populations of Astragalus sericeocanus. As a result, one population was found in the old locality (on the Yarki island) and a new population has been discovered.
Read more about projects in Eurasia...

LATIN AMERICA
Araripe Manakin Conservation Center, Brazil (2004, 2007, 2010)
The 25th International Ornithological Congress (IOC) took place in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil this year, bringing together bird researchers from all over the world. Five members of the Araripe Manakin project, supported by the CLP since 2004 and this year recognized with a Leadership Award, highlighted the Araripe Manakin conservation initiative with an information booth, shared with SAVE Brasil (BirdLife Affiliate in Brazil).

Participative Research On Biodiversity in (R.O.B.IN) Uruguayan artisanal red-shrimp fishery (2010)
Early one cold foggy morning some of the ROBIN team members, wearing water boots, walked almost one kilometre cross-country to the house of an artisanal fisherman of the area. At mid-day, as the sun started to brighten and the sky turned blue and after a long talk with the fishermen about shrimp fishing gears and sustainable technologies, the fishermen agreed to try the trawling net with the fishing excluder device (DEPEJU) as the team had hoped!

Advancing seabird conservation through research and education, Peru (2005, 2007)
This 2010 has been great and busy for the Pro Delphinus team and its work on seabirds, especially those from the family Procellariforms. Main efforts have been on research based conservation campaigns for albatrosses and petrels directed towards Peruvian fishermen at Salaverry port.
Read more about projects in Latin America...

CLP Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Rising Through the Ranks – Tom Brooks

Tom Brooks became a CLP alumnus in 1992 and has since risen the ranks as a conservation professional. From 2002 to 2010 he served on the CLP Executive Committee as CI’s Vice-President, Conservation Priorities and Outreach. Tom is currently Vice President for Science and Chief Scientist at Natureserve. Stuart Paterson caught up with him after another fun-filled CLP party at the International Conference for Conservation Biology.

To read more about Tom, click here.

Final Reports

These recently concluded projects have had some exciting results. To download a pdf copy of a project report, click on the project title below to visit the relevant project page on the CLP website.

Project Websites

Check out project websites for updated news and images from award winning teams in the field: