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Small Gardens as Self-Help
Landau, 1st July 2020.
In Chile, the number of people infected with Covid 19 is 6,5 times higher than in Germany, the death toll nearly 3 times (2,8). The real numbers are probably even higher. The fight against the pandemic by the Piñera government was deficient from the beginning; the government believed that economic interests had to be put above protective measures. The result is detrimental to both the economy and the health of the population. Chile's health system is on the verge of collapse, with doctors and nurses complaining of a lack of protective clothing and defective equipment. People in many regions are therefore trying to help themselves, erecting roadblocks to protect their villages, and organizing soup kitchens for the poorest of the poor.
In order to show solidarity and support the efforts to help people, the Alliance for the Protection of the Environment, "Alianza Humboldt" (SPHENISCO is part of the Alliance) launched a relief operation for the coastal villages of the municipality of La Higuera. The alliance raises funds to provide especially poor people with the necessities such as potatoes, flour, onions, disinfectant and clothing, as well as salad and vegetable plants to those interested. A picture gallery for the "Small Garden" campaign shows some of the first deliveries and activities.
Unfortunately, SPHENISCO cannot support this action, as the statutes of our organization do not provide for such measures. Some members have therefore personally donated to the "Food and Small Gardens" campaign; SPHENISCO then forwarded the money via Nancy Duman to "Alianza Humboldt". If you would like to support the campaign, you can send a donation to SPHENISCO’s account (account details: Sparkasse Südliche Weinstraße IBAN: DE 98 548500101700139320). Klaus Blumer (our Treasurer) will collect the donations and transfer them to Chile together with other payments in order to minimize the high transfer fee.
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Situation of the Archipiélago de Humboldt
Landau, 24 June 2020.
Since its foundation in 2008, SPHENISCO has been supporting the protection of the "Archipiélago de Humboldt" near La Serena, northern Chile. Together with Chilean nature and species conservationists - the action groups MODEMA and Defensa Ambiental IV Región, the large alliance Alianza Humboldt as well as the NGO Oceana - the association has been organizing and shaping information and projects in the region Coquimbo / La Serena since then.
In the video documentation "Situation of the Archipiélago de Humboldt", Nancy Duman, employee of SPHENISCO, gives an overview of last year’s species protection work on the occasion of an interview with Gabriele and Werner Knauf (Chairperson and CEO of the Penguin Association).
Nancy Duman starts with the international conference "Áreas marinas costeras protegidas" in La Serena on 3 October and then gives a summary of the actions during the period of citizen protests - from October 2019 - and since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Nancy Duman describes how the forms of nature and species protection work have - within a few months - been adapted to completely altered conditions due to the historical crises (see also News).
Her contribution is part of the reporting, more specifically the preparation of the general meeting of SPHENISCO on 27 June 2020, which is organised as a video conference.
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translated by Angelika Velken
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Penguin Research in Landau
Landau, 22 June 2020.
At the end of June, a research project on Humboldt penguins will start at the Landau Zoo. On behalf of SPHENISCO, Prof. Culik (http://www.fh3.de), in cooperation with the University of Koblenz-Landau, will be testing a warning device to avoid by-catch. In long tests series the question has to be clarified if and how the penguins react to the acoustic warning signals. This scientific research project is generously supported by Vogelpark Marlow (vogelpark-marlow.de), which is a member of SPHENISCO.
The warning device (PAL) was developed by Prof. Culik and successfully used to protect porpoises in the Baltic Sea. With the PAL the by-catch of porpoises could be reduced by 80%. At present, 2,500 warning devices are being used in Baltic Sea fisheries. In several other oceans the device is currently being tested.
As well as the Baltic porpoises, Humboldt penguins are also severely threatened. Like them, these penguins are - among other causes - severely decimated by unwanted by-catch in the gillnets off the coasts of Chile and Peru. The researchers and SPHENISCO now hope that the penguins at the Landau Zoo will react positively to the acoustic signals and be "warned". This could be the first step towards the reduction of by-catch in Humboldt penguins. If the results in Landau are positive, it is planned to test the warning device in the open field.
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translated by Angelika Velken
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There is no translation available for this article. Article in German.
No hay traducción disponible para este artículo. Artículo en alemán.Wir wollen leben - Umweltbildung in Ica, Südperu
Landau 11. Juni 2020
Seit 10 Jahren organisiert und gestaltet Acorema Programme zur Umweltbildung im Auftrag von SPHENISCO. Begonnen hat die peruanische NGO ihre Kampagnen beim Reserva Nacional de Paracas (UNESCO Weltnaturerbe) in der Nähe von Pisco, Südperu. Inzwischen hat sie ihre Bildungsarbeit auf Regionen bei anderen wichtigen Brutgebieten wie das Reserva Nacional San Fernando und San Juan de Marcona in der Provinz Ica ausgeweitet. In der langen Zusammenarbeit überrascht Acorema immer wieder mit neuen Medien, die nicht nur inhaltlich hochwertig sondern auch wunderschön gestaltetet sind. Aktuell mußten Milagros Ormeño B. und ihre Mitstreiter die Arbeit wegen der Pandemie leider unterbrechen. Es ist geplant sie so bald wie möglich wiederaufzunehmen.
In dem kleinen Film https://vimeo.com/426299013 berichtet Gabriele Knauf über die Arbeit in den Jahren 2017-2019. Der Beitrag ist Teil der Berichterstattung bzw. der Vorbereitung der Mitgliederversammlung von SPHENISCO am 27. Juni 2020, die als Videokonferenz gestaltet wird.
Information about the Humboldt Penguin
written by Gabriele and Werner Knauf.
here in pdf-format (in German)