Sea Turtle Shell Bracelets (Photo: Hal Brindley) Several years ago, Brad Nahill, co-founder of ecotourism organization SEE Turtles*, was shopping for souvenirs in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua when he noticed something rather troublesome. “I was shocked to see how many [turtleshell products] were being sold in the souvenir shops and artisan stands around town,” […]
Tourism can be a boost to any country’s economy. It can bring in millions of dollars and create thousands of jobs. But, it can also damage the environment and destroy what made a place so special and attractive to tourists in the first place. Consequently, countries across the globe have begun limiting the number of […]
There was good news from Nepal last month as the country proudly announced that absolutely no poaching had occurred in the 12-month period ending with February 2014—the second year with zero poaching. Back in 2011 Nepal also celebrated a year without poaching, and in 2012, only one rhino was poached. Nepal has strict anti-poaching laws […]
Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears could be gone by 2050, with the remaining third extinct by the end of the century, if current trends continue. The International Forum of the Conservation of Polar Bears is meeting in Moscow this month to discuss the impact of climate change on polar bear populations and how to […]
One of Australia’s iconic creatures, the koala is beloved around the world, yet if current trends continue, a day may come when this cuddly marsupial may be no more than a memory. The koala is facing extreme threat from habitat destruction, attacks by domestic and feral dogs, road accidents, climate change, and other factors. According […]
The seemingly relentless slaughter of orangutans and the destruction of tropical rainforests across the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are hardly breaking news, but the problems continue to intensify.. Rapid increases in the international demand for palm oil have resulted in the felling of more than half of Indonesia’s rainforest, with more than 70 percent […]
More than a dozen rhinos are cruelly slaughtered in South Africa each week in order to fuel an increasing demand from Asia for their highly coveted horn. The South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, recently confirmed that 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year as a result of poaching. […]
The South Korean government has abandoned plans to begin scientific whaling following domestic and international resistance. Scientific whaling involves the killing of whales for the purpose of research – a practice environmentalists dismiss as a thinly veiled cover for illegal commercial whaling operations. More than 100,000 concerned citizens from 124 countries signed an online petition […]
The world’s last remaining turtle farm has recently come under heavy criticism from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Sea Turtle Conservatory (STC). As part of a global campaign targeting sea turtle farming practices, the WSPA has proposed that the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) transition its business from a facility […]
