One of the most important parts of Iranian natural heritage and environmental treasures is the Persian Gulf.

The gulf is a source of essential nutrition for marine life . However, the number of these species are decreasing rapidly. The threat comes from unlawful and unregulated fishing.

According to the local people, unlicensed fishing boats that operate far from the control of the authorities are creating many new dangers for marine life.

It is necessary to note that the livelihood of the local people all along the Persian Gulf also depend on fishing and the poor economic conditions of the country has increased this dependency. But, it is obvious that the main threat comes from the pollution caused by oil and gas industry that dominates the coast. Using the sea water for refineries and then returning the polluted water and the industrial waste to the sea is yet another cause of serious threat to the environment and marine life in the Persian Gulf

It was in 2000 when the population of fox dropped to an all-time low of just 70 animals on Santa Cruz Island. However, after 13 years, the rare and tiny island fox is on the verge of making a comeback from near-extinction in the northern Channel Islands, a rugged and wind-swept chain of islands off of Southern California coast as reported last month (May, 2013) by the Associated Press. The U.S. National Park Service estimates the number to be about 1,300 foxes now.
Populations of fox on nearby San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands have also bounced back into the hundreds after dropping in 1999 to just 15 of the cat-sized animals on each island. It is important to note that the island fox is only found on six of the Channel Islands, a chain of eight islands, five of which form a national park. Each of the six islands has its own unique fox subspecies known because of extensive genetic screening studies based on Yahoo News report.
In 1990s, a five-year period in fox populations decreased more than 90 percent on the islands due to an influx of golden eagles, which preyed on foxes and other small animals like feral pigs. The eagles were attracted by hundreds of feral pigs which were descendants those brought to the island years ago by ranchers.
In 2002, biologists on Santa Cruz Island trapped the few remaining mating fox pairs and kept them in captivity to try to boost their numbers and four of the six subspecies were listed as federally protected endangered species in 2004, but now biologists say they may soon come off the list.

As reported by Associated Press (AP), a Chinese teenager who defaced an ancient temple in Egypt with graffiti has come under major criticism at home in China. The public as well as press have widely criticized and commented on the incident while emphasizing that the Chinese need to cultivate a good image overseas as more Chinese travel abroad.

The teen scratched “Ding Jinhao visited here” in Chinese on a temple wall in the ancient city of Luxor.  The world found out about the incident as another Chinese tourist posted a photo of it on a popular microblog with the comment: “My saddest moment in Egypt. Ashamed and unable to show my face.” as reported by AP.

Many criticized Ding’s act as an embarrassment to the country and even the People’s Daily, which is a government sponsored paper echoed on the sentiments and criticisms.  The outcry prompted Ding’s parents to publicly apologize.

The most interesting comment came from a well known and prominent journalist with Shanghai Television, who wrote on his microblog: “Why there are so many citizens who go abroad and humiliate us? How many generations will it take to change this kind of behavior?”

This incident happened as Chinese tourism overseas has seen an explosion in growth over the past decade, fueled by rising incomes and the relaxation of government restrictions on citizens’ ability to travel abroad.  China is now ranked the fastest-growing source of international tourists in the world according to the U.N.’s World Tourism Organization. The organization said the volume of international trips by Chinese tourists has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012 and most importantly this accompanies a nearly eightfold increase in spending. 

What is most impressive in terms of economic impact and spending in those countries that are the destinations for Chinese tourists is that China also surpassed Germany to become the largest spender in international tourism, with tourists’ expenditure amounting to a record $102 billion.  However, Chinese tourists, who mostly travel with tour groups, are frequently criticized for rude behavior.

Officials in Egypt have reported that the graffiti has now been removed and the wall has been cleaned and restored to the original condition.

http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-teen-defaces-egypt-temple-135035477.html

In the recent years, because of the activities and efforts of experts and professionals, many young and educated individuals have started paying more attention to natural and cultural heritage.

While there are activities before the national elections in Iran, the candidates, because of drawing attention from the electorate, are including topics on the natural and cultural heritage in their speeches. In the last few days, three of the candidates have asked Nasser Karami to write speeches on the environmental issues.  Dr. Nasser Karami is one of the Iranian experts in natural heritage and the director of an independent non-governmental broadcasting agency in Iran. Karami has declined the invitation of these candidates and has stated some reasons which include the followings:

–         Caring for the environment does not require any technical knowledge. It needs, above all, moral courage. It is like being honorable or truthful or courageous. You either have these traits or not. If you lack it you cannot posses it by a declaration.

–         For a President, caring for the environment should demonstrate itself within a grand scheme based on concepts such as sustainable development and considering the multiplicity of life – not only in the ecological sense but within the context of human concepts and values, certain economic plans and how such endeavors are related to the ecological potential of the country. Otherwise, everyone knows that you should not trample the grass and clip the flowers.

From: www.savepasargad.com

Translation by WCHV

As reported by BBC earlier this month, a heavily armed gang has killed an unknown number of elephants at a world heritage site in the Central African Republic. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the ivory poachers were seen using a scientist’s observation platform to shoot the animals, which gather there in large numbers. Up to 200 elephants are said to gather daily in one location to drink mineral salts present in the sands.

The site is in the Dzanga-Ndoki Park which is located in the south-western corner of the Central African Republic (CAR), where it borders Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. It is described as a unique habitat for forest elephants in particular.

WWF issued a warning that a group of 17 individuals, some armed with heavy-calibre rifles, had entered the park and was heading for the Dzanga-bai, an area known locally as the “village of elephants”.  It is believed that the raiders were Sudanese ivory poachers who have been trying to operate in the area and are now taking advantage of the lawless state of the country.

The elephant raid has also alarmed international conservation authorities. African countries have seen a serious spike in the illegal killing of elephants because of the high demand for ivory especially from China which is now at the highest level in 16 years.

Earlier this year (March, 2013) the Thai prime minister promised to outlaw Thailand’s domestic ivory trade.  Yingluck Shinawatra’s announcement at the opening of wildlife trade meeting, Cites in Bangkok, came as African elephants are once again in danger of extinction. During the Cites meeting, a video address from the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, appealing to nearly 200 governments, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade was shown.

It has been reported that more than half of ivory on the streets of China is illegal, and that is in spite of reports that the government of China is trying to control the illegal trade.  However, China is more and more under pressure and scrutiny. Guardian reported that in 2011 more than 150 Chinese citizens were arrested across Africa and according to the Kenya Wildlife Service, 90% of ivory seized at Kenya’s airports involves Chinese citizens.