7 stories of optimism this week (21.04.26-04.05.26)

Wondering what went right this week in the conservation world? We’ve got you covered with our Conservation Optimism Round-Up! We are collating stories of optimism from around the globe so that you never miss your dose of weekly motivation.

(Featured image credit: Kalij Pheasant, Himalayan Foothills, India. By Mprasannak, Wikimedia Commons)

1. Bragg Creek community celebrates local wildlife

Conservationists, nature enthusiasts and community members celebrate and educate about the environment and wildlife that surrounds the town west of Calgary. Renée Delorme, president and founder of Bragg Creek Wild, said the goal of the event was to bring together experts, advocates and community members to learn from each other, further conversations and build community.

2. Sustainable Rivers Program Delivers Strong Returns for Taxpayers, Communities and Recreation

Commissioned by The Nature Conservancy and conducted by RTI International, the analysis found the SRP returns roughly $12 to $14 in benefits for every $1 invested. By 2040, the program is projected to generate approximately $243 million to $265 million in net present value. In plain terms: this program pays off and then keeps paying off.

3. Chinese pangolins are making a comeback in the wild for the first time this century.

The Chinese tree pangolin, a Critically-Endangered species according to the IUCN, is steadily growing in population size 6 years after China placed the animal under first-class national protection measures.

In Guangdong Province, the wild population is estimated at 1,778, which if divided across its distribution areas, amounts to 0.33 pangolins per square kilometer. This is a marked improvement from earlier this century when the population plummeted to zero in areas of counties Meizhou, Huizhou, and Heyuan.

4. Angola’s highest mountain and its unique wildlife are now protected

The Serra do Moco Conservation Area, which includes a complex of elevations, slopes and valleys in the municipality of Londuimbali, Huambo province, will now be under “a special regime of environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable use,” according to a government notice published April 9.

The declaration protects around 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of land, ornithologist Michael Mills told Mongabay. “It encompasses all areas where there can potentially be forest,” he added. Mills has worked since 2011 with residents of Kanjonde village, at the foot of Mount Moco, to restore forest lost to timber harvesting and wildfires.

5. Conservationist wins top award to protect lions and people in Zimbabwe

Lion conservationist Moreangels Mbizah and her colleagues chose the name “Batabilili” for the community guardians they’re training in northern Zimbabwe. The word means “protectors” in the local language, Tonga, and its meaning cuts both ways: the guardians protect people and their livestock from lions, and lions from people.

Community guardians employed by WCA warn farmers when lions enter their farming areas; promote the use of secure animal enclosures for cattle, goats and sheep, and oversee the installation of solar-powered flashing lights to deter nocturnal raids by lions

6. A French city cut its marine pollution — and its seagrass bounced back

Neptune grass is generally regarded as the most ecologically important seagrass and shallow-water habitat in the Mediterranean Sea. It suffered a severe decline during the 20th century, and there have been myriad efforts to actively restore it via replanting schemes. A new study points to the merits of a different approach: Remove the human-caused drivers of the decline and let the meadows regrow on their own.

7. How salt water is restoring life to parts of the Queensland coast

Conservation groups, traditional owners and landholders are removing tidal gates and barriers that have blocked the flow of salt water into coastal wetlands for the past 50 years.

Across the Mackay region, there are an estimated 500 to 600 barriers to tidal flow, with thousands more across Queensland. As knowledge of wetland ecosystems improves, efforts to remove these barriers have gained momentum.

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