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IUCN Species Survival Commission
(SSC) E-Bulletin March 2005
This monthly Bulletin, as a supplement to SPECIES,
SSC’s published newsletter, is to keep staff, members
and the wider IUCN network up-to-date with news and announcements
from the Commission.
This issue and all previous issues are available on the SSC website: www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/
Previous issues: visit the archives
In this issue:
Headline news
New projects
Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme news
Workshops and meetings
RARE SABLE ANTELOPE SURVIVES THE ANGOLAN CIVIL WAR
The rare giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), unique to Angola and feared extinct after almost three decades of civil war, has survived. A majestic but notoriously skittish beast, the 'Palanca Negra' is informally regarded as the country's national animal. The striking curved horns of the adult male, which can grow up to 165cm long, appear on the logo of Angola 's national airline and football team. Many assumed that 27 years of fighting had wiped out the species because there had been no confirmed sighting since 1982. But a team from the Catholic University's Centre for Scientific Studies and Investigation, using remote cameras triggered by an infrared beam, caught a herd of giant sable on film in the Kangandala National Park in the northern province of Malanje. The news has delighted SSC’s Antelope Specialist Group as determining the status of the giant sable has been its long standing priority and group members have been involved in previous searches. Full story
‘OLULU – THE HAWAIIAN PALM: CONSERVATION ON YOUR WINDOW SILL
SSC has partnered with Dutch plant company Plant Planet and W. van Diemen’s nurseries, in a project aimed at helping to save the Critically Endangered ‘olulu or Hawaiian palm (Brighamia insignis) in the wild. Once very common on several Hawaiian islands , there may now be as few as seven plants left in the wild, growing on steep volcanic slopes. Conservation efforts have required scientists to become mountaineers, using climbing equipment to hand-pollinate the flowers and collect seeds. Seeds of the palm are being propagated in nurseries in Holland and thousands of these plants are being sold through horticultural outlets around the world. For every plant sold, a contribution is being made to conservation projects in Hawaii being carried out by SSC’s Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group. Full story.
NO FISH, NO FOOD
The inland waters of Eastern Africa are home to a wide variety of plants and animals such as fish, crabs, and snails that are critical for food and livelihoods. But decision makers rarely consider species conservation when planning water development projects and serious damage is being caused to these fragile ecosystems. The problem is partly due to a lack of readily available information on the status and distribution of inland freshwater species. In response SSC and the IUCN Species Programme are conducting an Africa-wide study of freshwater biodiversity and making the information widely available to those who can act on it. The results of the first regional assessment – for Eastern Africa - are now available, published as a report The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Eastern Africa available online, with the data on CD-ROM. This region suffers from water shortages, a high dependence on freshwater biodiversity products, and until now, widely dispersed, largely inaccessible, information on freshwater biological diversity. More than 1,600 species were assessed including fish, molluscs, crabs and dragonflies. Full story
SSC FRESHWATER FISH SPECIALIST GROUP RE-BORN
The new SSC/Wetlands International Global Freshwater Fish Specialist Group held its inaugural meeting on 9 March at the UK ’s Chester Zoo. Establishment of the group fills a significant gap in the SSC expert network created when the previous Specialist Group ceased operating in 1997. Peter Maitland, one of the previous Chairs, was present to offer valuable advice on Group management and structure. Although not intended to be fully representative at this early stage, the core group of key people present showed great enthusiasm for the upcoming work. Key challenges and priorities were discussed and a mission and vision developed. The meeting was supported by the North of England Zoological Society and IUCN. A smaller strategy meeting will take place in July to take the actions forward. See the group’s website at www.wetlands.org/networks/Fish/Fish.htm
IMPORTANT AREAS FOR FRESHWATER FISH
IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Programme has taken the lead in developing criteria for the identification of important sites for freshwater taxa. This work will feed directly into the ongoing work of a group of large NGOs (Conservation International, BirdLife International, Plantlife International and IUCN) to develop the protocol for identifying Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). Guidelines for applying the criteria in identifying important areas for freshwater fish were further developed through a workshop that preceded the Global Freshwater Fish Specialist Group meeting, again supported by the North of England Zoological Society and IUCN. More than 20 specialists with differing areas of expertise were present. The guidelines developed will now be tested by the Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme to better identify relevant quantitative thresholds. This work will complement the outputs from an earlier workshop during which guidelines were developed for identification of important sites for freshwater molluscs.
CONSERVING EUROPEAN CROP WILD RELATIVE DIVERSITY
IUCN's Red List Programme staff recently led the fifth in a series of six European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum workshops which fall under the EC-funded Plant Genetic Resources Forum (PGR Forum). PGR Forum provides a platform for the assessment of taxonomic and genetic diversity of European crop wild relatives and the development of appropriate conservation strategies. The three-year project brings together 23 partners from 21 countries as well as IUCN and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. A broad cross-section of the professional European PGR community is represented, including conservationists, taxonomists, plant breeders, information managers, policy-makers and end-users. The workshop, held in Korsør, Denmark, 27-30 April, entitled "threat and conservation assessment" focused on Red List assessments of crop wild relatives and how this information can be used in conservation planning. A number of SSC members were involved. The 'First International Conference on Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use' will be held in Agrigento , Italy 14-17 September 2005. This final meeting of the PGR Forum project is open to anyone interested in the conservation of plant genetic resources. Further details can be found at www.pgrforum.org.
If you would like more information on any of the items included in this issue or wish to submit an item to future issues, please contact Anna Knee (alk@iucn.org) or Andrew McMullin (mcmullina@iucn.org); tel: +41 (0)22 999 0153.
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