Suddenly Manila! CMS CoP12

The great meeting hall during the 'high level panel'

Suddenly it is the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12). Which, as its theme has 'Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People'. 

This is the first time that CMS has met in Asia since the international treaty was adopted in Bonn, Germany in 1979 and came into force in 1985. CMS has some 120 parties (nations that have adhered to it) and at this meeting ('the CoP') hundreds of people from all over the world are in attendance. We  are meeting in the vast concrete structure of the Philippines International Conference centre and here - over the next few days - 31 proposals from 24 countries to add species to the Convention’s two Appendices will be considered alongside a slew of other issues impacting global wildlife such as marine debris and climate change.

But first bring on the dancing girls..... and boys. 

The first day of meetings here (Sunday) features the 'Standing Committee' which considers matter such as how to manage the large number of proposals on the agenda and the executive secretary of CMS explains that there will be taxonomic working groups to consider proposals before they come back to the CoW (the meeting of the whole). There will be a marine working group (dealing with marine species), a terrestrial one and the third will focus on bird-related matters.

The standing committee in action - Bradnee Chambers, second from left

After this administrative session, a 'High Level Panel' breaks out and the podium hosts a long line of dignitaries from various countries and some experts who - each in their own way - are encouraged to consider the theme of the CoP and how we might do better. 

A scene from the High Level Panel

The sprightly Philippines moderator

The third part of the day is taken up with the 'Champions' event and here various nations are thanked for their contributions to CMS. This included Germany, the EU and Monaco (the last for its work on marine conservation).  

The delegate from Monaco takes her award 

Abu Dhabi gets an award for its work on Dugongs

Finally... we move in a long stream of people to the nearest hotel for the 'Champions Reception'. A nice vegetarian buffet and a floor show - which is a remarkable mix of different dance traditions - is enjoyed by all. 

Dancers with coconut shells in unexpected places

Delegates are all given a fine 'goody bag' by the hosts - this includes two notebooks, a T-shirt, a flask, a document wallet, a dugong-shaped memory stick and much more.

La Spezia - on the Ligurian Sea

The next meeting of the European Cetacean Society will be in Italy in the coastal city of La Spezia.

Here are some photos from the locality - mainly based on a sunny trip offshore along the beautiful coast of the Cinque Terre to the west of the city and, in addition some images of the city and  main ECS venue. 

The coast includes some remarkable geology: sheer cliffs with wonderful rock layers and, beyond, the Maritime Alps in the west and the Apennines in the east. 

This is a landscape of many layers.

La Spezia which has long big a major naval port also has a modern marina and hosts a significant fishing fleet. 

A view of La Spezia city from the marina with fishing boats in the foreground

The palm-lined promenade

Ancient fort  in the Golfo dei Poeti.

Luis Freitas enjoys the sea trip.

A remarkable landscape comes into  view 

And  looking back another - layers of maritime mountains.

A coastline guarded by the Madonna on the edge of the
Island of Tino, which marks the end of the protected waters
of the Golf of La Spezia.

Lighthouse on Tino.

An important prehistoric site in the wonderfully layered cliffs.

Were these the homes of the original humans that came to live in the region?

Approaching the church of St Peter.

Fortezza con la Chiesa oi San Pietr

A passing 'pirate' vessel.

Back along the coast past Porto Venere

....with it remarkable lopsided buildings.

The Council of the European Cetacran Society at sea.

Moving to the venue of the event.

Here the the better partv of the ECS Council gathers outside La Spezia Teatro Civico.

A view of the theatre from the upper stalls

The theatre  and much of the city are products of the 1930s and the enthusiasm at that time for the 'art noveau' - here is just a little sample:

Return to Seal Island.

View from Southend back towards the 'mountain' on Bardsey Island.

It was lovely to return to Bardsey Island this autumn in time to see the breeding season of the local grey seal colony there. This is a tremendous spectacle - an animal drama with births and deaths, sex and tragedy all interfaced with the gales and high seas that characterize this season.

But first some birds - for Bardsey is famously the home of the Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory (BBFO) which has been monitoring resident and migrant birds since it was established in the 1950s. 

So here are a few birds:

Redstart (probably on its way south for the winter).

One of Bardsey's specialties -  a late chick of the Manx shearwater. Its parents
are gone and it is losing its baby fluff (and some weight), after which it will finally
emerge into the daylight and take to the sky.

Some of the burrows where the
shearwaters  raise their chicks.

Oystercatchers against a sullen sky. 

Rock pipit

Majestic adult gannet - with a two metre wingspan -against a stormy sea.

Another island specialty - a pair of choughs.

And back to the seals - firstly  there is a new encouragement to visitors not to go down onto the shore whilst breeding is ongoing. The sign, written on two washed-up buoys, is in Welsh and English. 

Mother and swimming white-coat pup. (The pup is only a few days old).

Another young pup in the rain.

The BBFO is housed in a Victorian farm house and provides inexpensive but very comfortable
self-catering accommodation on the island as well as acting as a wildlife monitoring centre.  

A handsome female grey seal watching the watchers,

Mother and pup playing in the shallow sea on a calm day.

A large bull courts a lady seal. 

Concerning the Badger Cull.

Professor Rosie Woodroffe is a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Zoology of the Zoological Society of London.

She has just published an article in New Scientist magazine on the badger cull in the UK which the government here has just expanded so that up to 33,000 may be killed in parts of England over the next six weeks over an area of  over 8000 square kilometers of farmland.

Here are some key points that she made:

“The decision to expand badger culling… flies in the face of evidence that it won’t eradicate the disease.”

“Killing badgers seemed like an obvious solution, until a large-scale randomised field trial… showed that culling led badgers to roam more widely, increasing transmission within their own population and infecting cattle over wider areas.”

“The UK government has seen no clear benefits from three years of farmer-led culling in England.”

“The uncertainty over benefits contrasts with the costs. The culls cost UK taxpayers over £5 million in 2016 alone.”

“Badgers also pay a cost. Concerns that shooting causes an unacceptable level of suffering to badgers led the British Veterinary Association to withdraw its support for the approach.”

Badgers in the rain.

With the nights closing in, the badgers are coming to the garden earlier. Here they are enjoying some snacks left over from a birthday party. Among them is a bowl of fruit, cream and meringue.

In the first snippet of film the badger coming in from the right seems to scent the sweet things (the small white bowl in the  middle of the image) and seems astonished. He is soon however eating it. Badgers clearly have a sweet tooth!

A few minutes later the rain starts to pour.

In the second snippet, in the rain, the badgers find a few items that are so delicious that two of them have to take them and run off (heads up) to the shelter of the hedgerow at the back of the garden to fully enjoy their treasures.

Tucking in.

Little treasures