Current projects
Current Projects
The last year has been a busy one for me. I took a break from managing critically endangered species recovery programmes for the New Zealand Government and spent a year overseeing the establishment of an conservation research and adaptive management project in Sri Lanka on behalf of the Zoological Society of London.
Whilst I believe there is no greater country to practice professional conservation in than New Zealand, the need for skills and progress in the developing world is dire.
This project focused on the nocturnal lorises of the wet zone and proved to be a challenging and rewarding process. To read more go to the Sri Lanka page under the Conservation tab.
Loris tardigradius, the red slender loris, this is a ‘parked’ juvenile, Sri Lanka 2009
I am also involved in the mammoth task of advancing amphibian conservation. Globally, amphibians are suffering the worst extinction crisis ever suffered by a single taxa. This is worrying for more than the frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caecilians (limbless, tail-less amphibians) as amphibians with their permiable skins and sensitivity to climate and pollution tell us a great deal about the health and stability of the ecosystems on which all of humanity rely for clean water, stable soils and the other ecosystem services, without which society cannot function. Many organisations are engaging with this problem but as usual, the resources needed and the political will of governments to prioritize sustainable natural resource management in the face of development and exploitation to feed unsustainable economies makes for an enormous challenge. To read more go to the amphibian crisis page under the Conservation tab.
Pleurodema thaul, the four eyed frog green morph calling at breeding pool, Patagual, Chile 2008
Over the past few months I have also been trying to organise my large photolibrary and put aselection of images here, organised firstly by region or country. The trouble is, once i start trawling through the old hard drives I find myself pouring for hours over the amazing sights and species i’ve seen and it’s hard to get down to the tedious job of processing and uploading images.
Shortly I will be returning to New Zealand for a spell towork once more for the New Zealand Government’s Department of Conservation. This organisation is a world leader in applied conservation management and wherei have learned the vast majority of my practical conservation management skills. This timei shall be in the deep south engaging with the technical issues facing fauna conservation in the remoteness of Fiordland, Stewart island and the windswept Sub-Antarctic Islands.
Department of Conservation boat, New Zealand 2005
Update, June 2010
I’m now well and truely back in the groove of applied conservation management in New Zealand. In short, I’m working on an ecosystem management proposal for the lanscape level management of pests in Fiordland alpine systems, advancing management of some data deficient and threatend species on islands and in the alpine ecosystem, reviewing a few species management programmes for species such as Fiordland crested penguins and Takahe, engaging with the taxon planning programme for kiwi, helping out with the media arm of the Department of Conservation, selling the message of value it or loose it, and lots and lots of other little projects.
