Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni

Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park (Italian "Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni") is an Italian national park in the Province of Salerno, in Campania in southern Italy. It includes much of the Cilento, the Vallo di Diano and the Monti Alburni. It was founded in 1991, and was formerly known as the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano.
History.
The park was officially instituted on December 6, 1991 to protect the territory of Cilento from building speculation and mass tourism. Originally named Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano, in 1998 it became a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, also with the ancient Greek towns of Paestum, Velia and the Padula Charterhouse.
The other natural reserves instituted in the area of the park are the "Natural reserve of Foce Sele-Tanagro" (created in 1993, with the Oasis of Persano) and the "Maritime reserve of Punta Licosa", in the municipality of Castellabate.
Geography.
The national park's territory, one of the largest in Italy, does not include all the municipalities of the areas of Cilento and Vallo di Diano. It includes almost all the Cilentan Coast and its central forest area is Pruno. The administrative offices are located in Vallo della Lucania, at Piazza Santa Caterina nr. 8.
The municipalities part of the park are: Agropoli, Aquara, Ascea, Auletta, Bellosguardo, Buonabitacolo, Camerota, Campora, Cannalonga, Capaccio-Paestum, Casalbuono, Casal Velino, Casaletto Spartano, Caselle in Pittari, Castel San Lorenzo, Castelcivita, Castellabate, Castelnuovo Cilento, Celle di Bulgheria, Centola, Ceraso, Cicerale, Controne, Corleto Monforte, Cuccaro Vetere, Felitto, Futani, Gioi, Giungano, Laureana Cilento, Laurino, Laurito, Lustra, Magliano Vetere, Moio della Civitella, Montano Antilia, Montecorice, Monteforte Cilento, Monte San Giacomo, Montesano sulla Marcellana, Morigerati, Novi Velia, Ogliastro Cilento, Omignano, Orria, Ottati, Perdifumo, Perito, Petina, Piaggine, Pisciotta, Polla, Pollica, Postiglione, Prignano Cilento, Roccadaspide, Roccagloriosa, Rofrano, Roscigno, Sacco, Salento, San Giovanni a Piro, San Mauro Cilento, San Mauro la Bruca, San Pietro al Tanagro, San Rufo, Santa Marina, Sant'Angelo a Fasanella, Sant'Arsenio, Sanza, Sassano, Serramezzana, Sessa Cilento, Sicignano degli Alburni, Stella Cilento, Stio, Teggiano, Torre Orsaia, Torchiara, Tortorella, Trentinara, Valle dell'Angelo and Vallo della Lucania.


Sir Ralph Verney, 5th Baronet

Major Sir Ralph Bruce Verney, 5th Baronet, (18 January 1915 – 17 August 2001) was a British Army officer, local politician and landowner, who served as Chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council from 1980 to 1983.
Early life.
Verney was the son of Sir Harry Verney, 4th Baronet and Lady Rachel Catherine Bruce, the daughter of Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin. He was educated at Canford School and Balliol College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1937. He then began his training as an accountant.
Military career.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1940 he was commissioned into the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry. He served as an instructor at Catterick Garrison and was later deployed to India with the Berkshire Yeomanry. He saw active service in the liberation of British Malaya in 1945. He ended the war with the rank of Major.
Conservation and public work.
After returning from the Far East, Verney began a major restoration project on his family seat, Claydon House, which had been occupied by schools during the war. In 1957 he gifted the house and 7,000-acre estate to the National Trust, on the understanding that he and his family would always be able to live at the property. Between 1960 and 1996 Verney was Chairman of the Radcliffe Trust.
In 1980 he became Chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council, and used the NCC to promote the designation of some 4,000 locations as "sites of special scientific interest" under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, often against opposition from farmers and other interested parties. Verney's unpopularity among some in the landed element of the Conservative Party led to him not being reappointed by the government when his term expired in 1983.
For 30 years Verney was a trustee of the Ernest Cook Trust. He was a member of Buckinghamshire County Council and was closely involved both in the planning of the new town of Milton Keynes and the creation of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Chilterns. He served as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1957, was a Deputy Lieutenant for the county from 1960 to 1965, and held the office of Vice-Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire between 1965 and 1984. He was High Steward of Buckingham in 1966, and was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974. That same year he succeeded to his father's baronetcy.
Personal life.
He married Mary Vestey, daughter of Percy Charles Vestey and Dorothy Emmeline Johnston, on 7 July 1948. Together they had four children.


Giant pandas around the world

As of 2019, there are 26 zoos in 20 countries outside of mainland China (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, , and United States) that have giant pandas. These zoos have contracts with China to house these pandas for a few years. Giant pandas are on the IUCN Red List so part of the reason these contracts exist between China and international zoos is to try to help the species reproduce before they are brought back to their native land. For this reason, pandas are treated very well.
Europe.
France.
ZooParc de Beauval, Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, France – home to Huan Huan (F) and Yuan Zi (M) since 15 January 2012.
Belgium.
Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza hosts five giant pandas; Hao Hao and Xing Hui since April 2014. Tian Bao was born in Pairi Daiza in 2016; he is the baby of Hao Hao and Xing Hui. In 2019, Hao Hao gave birth to a male and a female.
Scotland.
Tian Tian and Yang Guang are the pandas that are housed in the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland. They live in 275,000 pounds suites and have organic food flown in from the Continent. They are on loan from China and will return in 2021. “Tian Tian and Yang Guang have been put in enclosures designed by animal psychologists, which come complete with dens, private pools, a viewing platform and a room where the pandas will be given health check-ups.”
In their new habitats, each panda has a climbing frame that will enable them to see each other over the tops of their enclosures. The design of the habitat is to resemble their natural habitat in the wild. They have caves to sleep in and rocks where they can lay.
Austria.
The former elephant enclosure became the Panda House at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn Zoo with a well-structured grounds (1015 m2) adapted. These pandas are also fed a nutritious diet, and provided with proactive medical care and a dedicated nurse team - one of the most important aspects of the panda attitude. Air-conditioning and a fog machine were installed in their habitat to keep the pandas safe and happy on hot summer days.
Finland.
Finnish Ähtäri Zoo also hosts two giant pandas named Lumi and Pyry. They arrived in Finland 18 January 2018 and opened for public 17 February, after one month of quarantine. They were named after the snowstorm that prevailed at the time they arrived in Finland. Lumi means snow in Finnish, while Pyry is the equivalent of snowfall.
Spain.
The Zoo Aquarium, in Madrid (Spain) is the home of Bing Xing (M) and Hua Zuiba (F) since 2007. They gave birth to twin cubs on 7 September 2010. Another cub, Xing Bao (F), was born in 2013 and in September 2016 Chulina (F). The zoo was also the site of the first giant panda birth in Europe, Chulin (M) in 1982 whose parents, Shao Shao (F) and Chang Chang (M), arrived in 1978. Chulin (M, 1982) was the first panda to be born in captivity in the western hemisphere by artificial insemination
Denmark.
On 4 April 2019 Copenhagen Zoo received two pandas, Xing Er, and Mao Sun. The pandas live in a brand new enclosure designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and civil engineer company MOE.
Netherlands.
The Dutch Zoo Ouwehands Dierenpark houses two giant pandas named Xing Ya and Wu Wen. They live in a 3,400 meter2 Chinese-style enclosure. Wu Wen gave birth to a cub on 1 May, 2020.
Australia.
Adelaide Zoo in Australia houses two pandas, Wang Wang and Funi, who were earlier rescued from China. They were donated to Australia in 2009. They live together as male and female but also live with six red pandas. Space was created to provide comfort for the pandas but do not have the exhibit so big that the panda species would not be able to interact. In each inside room, there is “deep litter” which is a type of mulch to provide a clean inside for the pandas to live in.
The landscape of the exhibit was designed to mirror the native home of the two pandas, China. The giant panda exhibit is over 3,000 square meters and gives the pandas the options such as moving outside to lay on cool rocks or to bath in waterfalls. The two pandas that the Adelaide Zoo in Australia holds also have the option of staying inside in either air-conditioned rooms or in more natural caves to provide comfort for the pandas. The exhibit also has new 24-hour closed-circuit television to observe the pandas and how they interact with one another as well as other species in the exhibit. There is also a public viewing terrace under a bamboo canopy to accommodate the crowds but also to manage the privacy of the pandas. The zoo has specialist keepers just for the pandas as well as vets on hand at the zoo to make sure the pandas are well taken care of and protected.
Asia.
China.
In Asian zoos, a diet of mostly gruel and bread is fed to pandas. In an experiment on how nutritious the pandas' diet in Chinese zoos is, two 5 day feeding trials were conducted. The pandas were both different age. The younger panda ate more bamboo than the older panda did. Gruel, however, can cause problems for the panda’s digestive system. The diets of pandas in captivity do not consist of enough bamboo, which can be harmful to their wellbeing.
In a study done on pandas in China to test for brominated flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, and organochloride pesticides in the giant panda’s tissues, results stated that chemicals such as PCB and PBDE were found in the panda’s tissues. Factors that contribute to the chemicals found in the tissues of pandas are diet and inhalation of polluted air.
In February 2014, at China’s Zhengzhou Zoo, a 7-year-old female panda named Jin Yi died. Torture allegations were denied by Zoo officials.
Singapore.
The largest panda exhibit built in Southeast Asia, this exhibit spans 1,500m2. Simulating the bears’ natural habitat with lush plantings, boulders, and water features, the state-of-the-art biodome is also temperature- and humidity-controlled to ensure the pandas’ comfort. River Safari has two pandas named Kai Kai and Jia Jia on a 10 year loan
North America.
United States.
Zoo Atlanta has several giant pandas being loaned from China. The loan fee that the zoo pays goes towards the conservation of giant pandas. The zoo itself has given over ten million dollars for giant panda conservation. Their projects include infrastructure, research, and management.
In April 2003, the Memphis Zoo became one of only four U.S. zoos to exhibit the giant panda. One male and one female giant panda ("Ya Ya" and "Le Le") share their 3-acre (1.2 ha) home with several other species native to China, in the first Memphis Zoo exhibit to be built as a zoogeographical exhibit. The buildings, plant life and even the sounds of China are represented in this $16 million exhibit.
At the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, zookeepers provide various forms of enrichment to their giant pandas and switch up their routine. They provide honey, apples, and leaf-eater biscuits inside the panda toys. The toys are usually made of plastic, rubber, and bamboo to ensure that the pandas don’t break the toys too easily. Giant Pandas are allowed to play with water bottles, burlap bags, blankets, boxes, and fruitsicles- frozen fruit juice and water with cut-up fruit inside. The exhibit itself includes a room with a waterfall and rocky outcrop, a den, and several sustainable design features. There are green roofs, a solar hot water system, and natural material for the visitor paths. Not only is the exhibit sustainable, but it also creates an environment that allows for the pandas to stay at a cool temperature when it is hot outside while providing areas for privacy. Short trees, shrubs, pools, and streams, allow them to stay comfortable at all times. The National Zoo has had 4 cubs: Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, who all live in China (Bei Bei was sent to China on November 19, 2019.) The 4th, born August 21, 2020 is named Xiao Qi Ji (Mandarin Chinese for "Little Miracle") born when his mother, Mei Xiang was 22 - the oldest female panda in North America to give birth.
The San Diego Zoo had Giant Pandas on-loan from China from 1996-2019 as part of the breeding program that successfully boosted the Giant Panda from "endangered" to "vulnerable." The agreement for the San Diego Zoo to house the breeding pair of Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu ended in 2019, and the pandas have been set to be returned on April 27th. The San Diego Zoo has stated that it will try to negotiate with the Chinese government to renew the partnership.
Mexico.
The Chapultepec Zoo (Zoológico de Chapultepec) is one of the four zoos of Mexico City, and it is especially famous for its success in giant panda breeding; in 1980 Chapultepec Zoo became the first institution outside of China to successfully breed the previously endangered species in captivity. The first bear born, Xeng-Li, lived only eight days after its August 10 birth but was accidentally smothered by its mother, Yin-Yin.
In total there have been eight live births at the zoo. The most famous panda to have lived at the zoo is Tohui (1981-1993). As of November 2019, the two female giant pandas who live at the zoo, Shuan Shuan (b. 1988) and Xin Xin (b. 1990), are the oldest Giant Pandas in captivity.
The pandas at Chapultepec are special in that China does not have ownership. The original pair was given to Mexico and subsequent pandas have all been born prior to the change in policy from gifting to loaning. Zoo officials have also come to an agreement with China that any new offspring born at Chapultepec will belong to China. However, these pandas will be allowed to stay at the zoo (in contrast to other institutions, where offspring have to be returned to China after reaching five years of age).
Canada.
Giant pandas Jia Yueyue and Jia Panpan were the first pandas to be born in Canada.


Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve

Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve is a nature reserve in Nicaragua. It is one of the 78 reserves that are under official protection in the country.


Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay (, , ) is a 400 km2 bay in the Strait of Malacca between the island of Phuket and the mainland of the Kra Isthmus of southern Thailand. Since 1981, an extensive section of the bay has been protected as the Ao Phang Nga National Park. The park is in Phang Nga Province, at 08°17'N 098°36'E.
Limestone cliffs with caves, collapsed cave systems, and archaeological sites are found about Phang Nga Bay. Around 10,000 years ago, when sea levels were lower, it was possible to walk from Phuket and Krabi.
Etymology and history.
"Phang Nga" is the modern Thai transliteration of the Malay word "pangan", literally 'heathen, pagan, primitive people,' or as proper noun, "Pangan" in reference to a generalised tribe or people typically inhabiting jungle areas of the Malay Peninsula and its offshore islands. Historically, in 1824 when Siamese troops defeated the Burmese and the challengers were expelled, King Rama III renamed a major area adjacent to the bay "phang-nga". This bastardisation of Malay "pangan" offers vivid indication that the entire region was likely populated by Orang Asli or other aboriginal people.
Ramsar site.
Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park was declared a protected Ramsar Site (no. 1185) of international ecological significance on 14 August 2002. Phang Nga is a shallow bay with 42 islands, comprising shallow marine waters and intertidal forested wetlands, with at least 28 species of mangrove; seagrass beds and coral reefs are also present.
At least 88 bird species, including the globally threatened Malaysian plover ("Charadrius peronii") and Asiatic dowitcher ("Limnodromus semipalmatus"), can be found within the site, as well as 82 fish species, 18 reptiles, three amphibians, and 17 mammal species. These include the dugong (a vulnerable species), white-hand gibbon ("Hylobates lar"), the endangered serow ("Capricornis sumatraensis"), and the black finless porpoise ("Neophocaena phocaenoides").
A number of diverse cultures co-exist in local communities, which practice fishing, harvesting Nypa palm fronds for thatch, and catering to an international tourist presence drawn both by the natural beauties and by the archaeological sites, which have paintings more than a thousand years old.
In pop culture.
The most famous of the many islands in the bay is the so-called James Bond Island, a needle formed limestone rock in the sea, which featured in the movie "The Man with the Golden Gun", & Tomorrow Never Dies Nearby villages include Ao Luk.
In "", the bay was used as main photography for the planet Kashyyyk.


Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos

The Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos are located in Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia. Six of these former missions (all now secular municipalities) collectively were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Distinguished by a unique fusion of European and Amerindian cultural influences, the missions were founded as reductions or "reducciones de indios" by Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries to convert local tribes to Christianity.
The interior region bordering Spanish and Portuguese territories in South America was largely unexplored at the end of the 17th century. Dispatched by the Spanish Crown, Jesuits explored and founded eleven settlements in 76 years in the remote Chiquitania – then known as Chiquitos – on the frontier of Spanish America. They built churches ("templos") in a unique and distinct style that combined elements of native and European architecture. The indigenous inhabitants of the missions were taught European music as a means of conversion. The missions were self-sufficient, with thriving economies, and virtually autonomous from the Spanish crown.
After the expulsion of the Jesuit order from Spanish territories in 1767, most Jesuit reductions in South America were abandoned and fell into ruins. The former Jesuit missions of Chiquitos are unique because these settlements and their associated culture have survived largely intact.
A large restoration project of the missionary churches began with the arrival of the former Swiss Jesuit and architect Hans Roth in 1972. Since 1990, these former Jesuit missions have experienced some measure of popularity, and have become a tourist destination. A popular biennial international musical festival put on by the nonprofit organization Asociación Pro Arte y Cultura along with other cultural activities within the mission towns, contribute to the popularity of these settlements.
Location.
The six World Heritage Site settlements are located in the hot and semiarid lowlands of Santa Cruz Department of eastern Bolivia. They lie in an area near the Gran Chaco, east and northeast of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, between the Paraguay and Guapay rivers.
The westernmost missions are San Xavier (also known as San Javier) and Concepción, located in the province of Ñuflo de Chávez between the San Julián and Urugayito rivers. Santa Ana de Velasco, San Miguel de Velasco, and San Rafael de Velasco are located to the east, in José Miguel de Velasco province, near the Brazilian border. San José de Chiquitos is located in Chiquitos province, about south of San Rafael.
Three other former Jesuit missions – San Juan Bautista (now in ruins), Santo Corazón and Santiago de Chiquitos – which have not been named UNESCO heritage sites  – lie east of San José de Chiquitos not far from the town of Roboré. The capital of José Miguel de Velasco Province, San Ignacio de Velasco was founded as a Jesuit mission but also is not a World Heritage Site as the current church is a reconstruction, not a restoration.
The name “Chiquitos”.
Ñuflo de Chavés, a 16th-century Spanish conquistador and founder of Santa Cruz "la Vieja", introduced the name "Chiquitos", or "little ones". It referred to the small doors of the straw houses in which the indigenous population lived. "Chiquitos" has since been used incorrectly both to denote people of the largest ethnic group in the area (correctly known as Chiquitano), and collectively to denote the more than 40 ethnic groups with different languages and cultures living in the region known as the [Gran] Chiquitania.
Properly, “Chiquitos” refers only to either a modern-day department of Bolivia, or the former region of Upper Peru (now Bolivia) that once encompassed all of the Chiquitania and parts of Mojos (or Moxos) and the Gran Chaco.
The current provincial division of Santa Cruz department does not follow the Jesuits’ concept of a missionary area. The Chiquitania lies within five modern provinces: Ángel Sandoval, Germán Busch, José Miguel de Velasco, Ñuflo de Chávez and Chiquitos province.
History.
In the 16th century, priests of different religious orders set out to evangelize the Americas, bringing Christianity to indigenous communities. Two of these missionary orders were the Franciscans and the Jesuits, both of which eventually arrived in the frontier town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and then in the Chiquitania. The missionaries employed the strategy of gathering the often nomadic indigenous populations in larger communities called reductions in order to more effectively Christianize them. This policy sprang from the colonial legal view of the “Indian” as a minor, who had to be protected and guided by European missionaries so as not to succumb to sin. Reductions, whether created by secular or religious authorities, generally were construed as instruments to force the natives to adopt European culture and lifestyles and the Christian religion. The Jesuits were unique in attempting to create a theocratic "state within a state" in which the native peoples in the reductions, guided by the Jesuits, would remain autonomous and isolated from Spanish colonists and Spanish rule.
Arrival in the Viceroyalty of Peru.
With the permission of King Philip II of Spain a group of Jesuits traveled to the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1568, some 30 years after the arrival of the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians and Mercedarians. The Jesuits established themselves in Lima in 1569 before moving east toward Paraguay; in 1572 they reached the Audience of Charcas in modern-day Bolivia. Because they were not allowed to establish settlements on the frontier they built chapter houses, churches and schools in pre-existing settlements, such as La Paz, Potosí and La Plata (present day Sucre).
In 1587 the first Jesuits, Fr. Diego Samaniego and Fr. Diego Martínez, arrived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located just south of where the future mission of San José de Chiquitos would be established. In 1592 the settlement had to be moved west because of conflicts with natives, although the remains of the original town exist in the "Santa Cruz la Vieja" archaeological site. The Jesuits did not start missions in the valleys northeast of the "cordillera" until the 17th century. The two central areas for their activities were Moxos, situated in the department of Beni, and the Chiquitania (then simply Chiquitos) in the department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. In 1682, Fr. Cipriano Barace founded the first of the Jesuit reductions in Moxos, located at Loreto.
The Jesuits in the Chiquitania.
While the mission towns in Paraguay flourished, the evangelization of the Eastern Bolivian Guarani (Chiriguanos) proved difficult. With encouragement from Agustín Gutiérrez de Arce, the governor of Santa Cruz, the Jesuits focused their efforts on the Chiquitania, where the Christian doctrine was more readily accepted. Between 1691 and 1760 eleven missions were founded in the area; however, fires, floods, plagues, famines and conflict with hostile tribes or slave traders caused many missions to be re-established or rebuilt. The Chiquitos missions suffered from periodic epidemics of European diseases killing up to 11 percent of the population in a single episode. However, the epidemics were not as severe as they were among the Paraguayan Guarani to the east, mainly because of their remote locations and the lack of transportation infrastructure.
The first Jesuit reduction in the Chiquitania was the mission of San Francisco Xavier, founded in 1691 by the Jesuit priest Fr. José de Arce. In September 1691, de Arce and Br. Antonio de Rivas intended to meet seven other Jesuits at the Paraguay River to establish a connection between Paraguay and Chiquitos. However, the beginning of the rainy season brought bad weather, and Arce and his companion only got as far as the first native village. The local Piñoca tribe, who were suffering from a plague, begged Arce and Rivas to stay and promised to build a house and a church for the Jesuits, which were finished by the end of year. The mission was later moved a number of times until 1708 when it was established in its present location.
Ten more missions were founded in the Chiquitania by the Jesuits in three periods: the 1690s, the 1720s, and after 1748. In the 1690s, five missions were established: San Rafael de Velasco (1696), San José de Chiquitos (1698), Concepción (1699) and San Juan Bautista (1699). San Juan Bautista is not part of the World Heritage Site, and only the ruins of a stone tower survive near the present village of (San Juan de) Taperas.
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) caused a shortage of missionaries and instability in the reductions, so no new missions were built during this period. By 1718 San Rafael was the largest of the Chiquitos missions, and with 2,615 inhabitants could not sustain a growing population. In 1721 the Jesuits Fr. Felipe Suárez and Fr. Francisco Hervás established a split-off of the San Rafael mission, the mission of San Miguel de Velasco. To the south, San Ignacio de Zamucos was founded in 1724 but abandoned in 1745; today nothing remains of the mission.
A third period of mission foundations began in 1748 with the establishment of San Ignacio de Velasco, which was not declared a part of the World Heritage Site. The church is nonetheless a largely faithful 20th-century reconstruction – as opposed to renovation (a key criterion for inclusion in the World Heritage Site group) – of the second Jesuit "templo" built in 1761. In 1754 the Jesuits founded the mission of Santiago de Chiquitos. This church also is a reconstruction, dating from the early 20th century and likewise is not part of the World Heritage Site group. In 1755 the mission of Santa Ana de Velasco was founded by the Jesuit Julian Knogler; it is the most authentic of the six World Heritage Site missions dating from the colonial period. The last mission in the Chiquitania to be established was founded by the Jesuits Fr. Antonio Gaspar and Fr. José Chueca as Santo Corazón in 1760. The local Mbaya peoples were hostile to the mission and nothing of the original settlement remains in the modern village.
The Jesuits in the Chiquitania had a secondary objective, which was to secure a more direct route to Asunción than the road then being used via Tucumán and Tarija to link the Chiquitania with the Jesuit missions in Paraguay. The missionaries in Chiquitos founded their settlements increasingly further east, towards the Paraguay River, while those south of Asunción moved closer to the Paraguay River by establishing their missions increasingly farther north, thereby avoiding the impassable Chaco region. Although Ñuflo de Chávez had attempted a route through the Chaco on an expedition as early as 1564, subsequent Jesuit explorations from Chiquitos (e.g. in 1690, 1702, 1703, and 1705) were unsuccessful. The Jesuits were stopped by the hostile Payaguá and Mbaya (Guaycuruan-speaking tribes), and by the impenetrable swamps of Jarayes. In 1715, de Arce, the co-founder of the first mission in San Xavier, set out from Asunción on the Paraguay River with the Flemish priest Fr. Bartolomé Blende. Payaguá warriors killed Blende during the journey, but de Arce struggled on to reach San Rafael de Velasco in the Chiquitania. On the return trip to Asunción he too was killed in Paraguay. Not until 1767, when the missions had encroached sufficiently on the hostile region and just before the Jesuits were expelled from the New World, did Fr. José Sánchez Labrador manage to travel from Belén in Paraguay to Santo Corazón, the easternmost Chiquitos mission.
Expulsion and recent development.
In 1750 as a result of the Treaty of Madrid seven missions in present-day Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil were transferred from Spanish to Portuguese control. The native Guaraní tribes were unhappy to see their lands turned over to Portugal (their enemy for over a century) and they rebelled against the decision, leading to the Guarani War. In Europe, where the Jesuits were under attack, they were accused of supporting the rebellion and perceived as defending the native peoples. In 1758, the Jesuits were accused of a conspiracy to kill the king of Portugal, known as the Távora affair. All members of the Society of Jesus were evicted from Portuguese territories in 1759, and from French territories in 1764. In 1766 Jesuits were accused of causing Esquilache Riots in Madrid; consequently in February 1767, Charles III of Spain signed a royal decree with expulsion orders for all members of the Society of Jesus in Spanish territories.
From then on, spiritual and secular administration were to be strictly separated. At the time of the expulsion, 25 Jesuits served a Christianized population of at least 24,000, in the ten missions of the Chiquitania. The Chiquitos mission properties included 25 "estancias" (ranches) with 31,700 cattle and 850 horses. Libraries across the settlements held 2,094 volumes.
By September 1767, all but four Jesuits had left the Chiquitania, and they went the following April. The Spanish considered it essential to maintain the settlements as a buffer against Portuguese expansion. The archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Francisco Ramón Herboso, established a new system of government, very similar to that set up by the Jesuits. He stipulated that each mission be run by two secular (parish) priests, one to take care of the spiritual needs while the other was in charge of all other – political and economic – affairs of the mission administration. One change was that the Indians were allowed to trade. In practice, the shortage of clergy and the low quality of those appointed by the bishop – almost all of whom did not speak the language of the local peoples and in some cases had not been ordained – led to a rapid general decline of the missions. The priests also broke ethical and religious codes, appropriated the major part of the missions' income and encouraged contraband trade with the Portuguese.
Within two years of the expulsion, the population in the Chiquitos missions dropped below 20,000. Despite the general decline of the settlements, however, the church buildings were maintained and, in some cases, extended by the towns' inhabitants. The construction of the church in Santa Ana de Velasco falls into this period. Bernd Fischermann, an anthropologist who studied the Chiquitano, suggests three reasons that the Chiquitano preserved the heritage of the Jesuits even after their expulsion: the memory of their prosperity with the Jesuits; the desire to appear as civilized Christians to mestizos and white people; and to preserve the ethnicity that originated from a mix of various culturally distinct groups blended by an enforced common language and customs learned from the Jesuits.
In January 1790, the Audiencia of Charcas ended the diocese’s mismanagement, and temporal affairs were delegated to civil administrators, with the hope of making the missions economically more successful. Sixty years after the expulsion of the Jesuits the churches remained active centers of worship, as the French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny reported during his mission to South America in 1830 and 1831. Although much diminished economically and politically, the culture the Jesuits established was still evident. According to d'Orbigny, the music at a Sunday mass in San Xavier was better than those he had heard in the richest cities of Bolivia. The population of the Chiquitania missions reached a low of around 15,000 inhabitants in 1830. In 1842 the Comte de Castelnau visited the area and, referring to the church in Santa Ana de Velasco, proclaimed: "This beautiful building, surrounded by gardens, presents one of the most impressive views imaginable."
By 1851, however, the reduction system of the missions had disappeared. Mestizos who had moved to the area in their quest for land began to outnumber the original indigenous population. Starting with the creation of the Province of José Miguel de Velasco in 1880, the Chiquitania was split into five administrative divisions. With the rubber boom at the turn of the century, more settlers came to the areas and established large haciendas, moving the economic activities together with the native peoples out of the towns.
In 1931, the spiritual administration of the missions was given to German-speaking Franciscan missionaries. Ecclesiastical control moved back to the area with the creation of the Apostolic Vicariate of Chiquitos in San Ignacio in that year. As of , the churches not only serve the mestizo inhabitants of the villages but present spiritual centers for the few remaining indigenous peoples living in the periphery.
In 1972, the Swiss architect and then-Jesuit priest Hans Roth began an extensive restoration project of the missionary churches and many colonial buildings that were in ruins. These churches exist in their present form as a result of Roth's effort, who worked on the restoration with a few colleagues and many local people until his death in 1999. The restoration works have continued sporadically into the beginning of the 21st century under local leadership.
Six of the reductions were listed as part of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. The churches of San Ignacio de Velasco, Santiago de Chiquitos and Santo Corazón have been reconstructed from scratch and are not part of the World Heritage Site. In San Juan Bautista only ruins remain. UNESCO listed the site under criteria IV and V, acknowledging the adaption of Christian religious architecture to the local environment and the unique architecture expressed in the wooden columns and banisters. Recently ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, warned that the traditional architectural ensemble that makes up the site has become vulnerable following agrarian reforms from 1953 which threatened the fragile socioeconomic infrastructure of the region. At the time of the nomination, the World Heritage Site was protected by the "Pro Santa Cruz" committee, "Cordecruz", "Plan Regulador de Santa Cruz", and the local mayoral offices of the mission towns.
World Heritage Missions.
San Xavier.
Initially established in 1691, the mission of San Xavier was the first of the missions listed in the World Heritage Site. In 1696, due to the incursion of Paulistas from Brazil in the east, the mission was relocated toward the San Miguel River. In 1698, it was relocated closer to Santa Cruz, but in 1708 was moved away to protect the Indians from the Spaniards. The original inhabitants of San Xavier were the Piñoca tribe. The church was built between 1749 and 1752 by the Swiss Jesuit and architect Fr. Martin Schmid. The school and church, as well as other characteristics of residential architecture, are still visible today in the village. San Xavier was restored by Hans Roth between 1987 and 1993.
San Rafael de Velasco.
The mission of San Rafael de Velasco was the second mission built out of the six inscribed the World Heritage Site. Founded in 1695 by the Jesuits Fr. Juan Bautista Zea and Fr. Francisco Hervás, it was moved several times. The mission had to be moved in 1701 and 1705 because of epidemics in the region. In 1719 the mission was moved once more due to fire. Fr. Martin Schmid built the church between 1747 and 1749, which has survived. San Rafael de Velasco was restored between 1972 and 1996 as part of Hans Roth's restoration project.
San José de Chiquitos.
Founded in 1698 by the Jesuits Fr. Felipe Suárez and Fr. Dionosio Ávila, the mission of San José de Chiquitos was the third mission built of those of the World Heritage Site. At first, the mission was inhabited by the Penoca tribe. The church was built between 1745 and 1760 by an unknown architect. It is built of stone, unlike other mission churches in the area which were built with local adobe and wood. The mission is one of four that remain in their original location. As of , a mortuary chapel (1740), the church (1747), a bell tower (1748), a house for the priests ("colegio") and workshops (both 1754) still exist, and were renovated by Hans Roth's restoration project between 1988 and 2003. Restoration efforts continue.
Concepción.
The fourth mission in the World Heritage Site, the mission of Concepción, was initially founded in 1699 by the Jesuit priests Fr. Francisco Lucas Caballero and Fr. Francisco Hervás. A nearby mission, San Ignacio de Boococas, was incorporated in 1708. The mission was moved three times: in 1707, 1708 and 1722. The mission was inhabited by the Chiquitanos, the largest tribe in the region. The mission church was constructed between 1752 and 1756, by Fr. Martin Schmid and Fr. Johann Messner. From 1975 to 1996 the mission was reconstructed as part of Hans Roth's restoration project.
San Miguel de Velasco.
The fifth mission in the World Heritage Site, that of San Miguel de Velasco, was established by the Jesuits Fr. Felipe Suarez and Fr. Francisco Hervás in 1721. San Miguel was an offshoot of the mission of San Rafael de Velasco, where the population had grown too large. The mission church was built between 1752 and 1759, probably by Fr. Johann Messner, a collaborator with or student of Fr. Martin Schmid. The church was restored by Hans Roth between 1979 and 1983.
Santa Ana de Velasco.
The mission of Santa Ana de Velasco was the final World Heritage Site-inscribed mission to be established. It was founded by the Jesuit priest Fr. Julian Knogler in 1755. The original native inhabitants of the missions were the Covareca and Curuminaca tribes. The mission church was designed after the expulsion of the Jesuits between 1770 and 1780 by an unknown architect and built entirely by the indigenous population. The complex, consisting of the church, bell tower, sacristy and a grassy plaza lined by houses, is considered to have the most fidelity to the original plan of the Jesuit reductions. Starting in 1989 and lasting until 2001, the mission underwent partial restoration through the efforts of Hans Roth and his team.
Architecture.
In their design of the reductions, the Jesuits were inspired by “ideal cities“ as outlined in works such as "Utopia" and "Arcadia", written respectively by the 16th-century English philosophers Thomas More and Philip Sidney. The Jesuits had specific criteria for building sites: locations with plenty of wood for construction; sufficient water for the population; good soil for agriculture; and safety from flooding during the rainy season. Although most of the missions in the Chiquitania were relocated at least once during the time of the Jesuits, four of ten towns remained at their original sites. Wood and adobe were the main materials used in the construction of the settlements.
Mission layout.
The architecture and internal layout of these missions followed a scheme which was repeated later with some variations in the rest of the missionary reductions. In Chiquitos, the oldest mission, San Xavier, formed the basis for the organizational style, which consisted of a modular structure, the center formed by a wide rectangular square, with the church complex on one side and the houses of the inhabitants on the three remaining sides. The centralized organization of the Jesuits dictated a certain uniformity of measures and sizes. Despite being based on the same basic model, the towns of Chiquitos nonetheless show remarkable variations. For example, the orientation of the settlements toward the cardinal points differed and was determined by individual circumstances.
Plaza.
The plaza was an almost square area varying in size from in the older towns of San Xavier and San Rafael de Velasco to in San Ignacio de Velasco. As they were used for religious and civil purposes, these were open spaces free of vegetation except a few palm trees surrounding a cross in the center of the plaza. The evergreen palm trees symbolizing eternal love, deliberately hearkened to Psalm 92:12. Four chapels facing the central cross were placed at the corners of the square and were used in processions. Almost no remains exist of the chapels at the mission sites, as the plazas subsequently were redesigned to reflect the republican and mestizo lifestyle prevalent after the period of the Jesuits. Most have undergone recent expansion as well. Trees and shrubs were planted, and in some cases monuments were erected. Out of the original ten missions, only the plaza at Santa Ana de Velasco does not show major changes, consisting as it did in colonial times, of an open grassy space.
Houses.
The houses of the natives had an elongated layout, and were arranged in parallel lines extending from the main square in three directions. Those facing the plaza were originally occupied by the chiefs of the indigenous tribes, and often were larger. The architecture of these houses was simple, consisting of large rooms (6x4 meters), walls up to thick, and a roof made of reed ("caña") and wood ("cuchi") that reached a height of in the center. Double doors and open galleries provided protection from the elements. The latter have had a social function as meeting places up to the present day.
Over the last 150 years, this layout has been replaced by the usual Spanish colonial architecture of large square blocks with internal patios. Remnants of the initial design can still be seen in San Miguel de Velasco, San Rafael de Velasco and Santa Ana de Velasco, places that were not as much exposed to modernization as the other settlements.
Church complex.
Along the fourth side of the plaza lay the religious, cultural and commercial centers of the towns. In addition to the church, which dominated the complex, there would have been a mortuary chapel, a tower and a "colegio" or "school", connected by a wall along the side of the plaza. Behind the wall and away from the plaza would have been the patio with living quarters for the priests or visitors, rooms for town council matters, for music and storage, as well as workshops, which often were arranged around a second patio. Behind the buildings, a vegetable garden surrounded by a wall and a cemetery likely would have been found. The cemeteries and workshops have disappeared completely from the mission settlements, while the other elements of the church complex still survive to varying degrees. Two stone towers (in San Juan Bautista and San José de Chiquitos) and one of adobe (in San Miguel de Velasco) can be traced back to the time of the Jesuits. Others are of more recent construction, or the result of the conservation and restoration work spearheaded by Roth toward the end of the 20th century. Many of these are tall wooden constructions open on all sides. Of the Jesuit schools only those in San Xavier and Concepción are preserved entirely. Like the houses of the indigenous residents, the buildings of the church complex were single-level ones.
Church.
Once a settlement had been established, the missionaries, working with the native population, began to erect the church, which served as the educational, cultural and economic center of the town. The initial church in each mission (except in Santa Ana de Velasco) was temporary, essentially no more than a chapel and built as quickly as possible of local wood, unembellished save for a simple altar. The Jesuit masterpieces seen today general were erected several decades into the settlements’ existence. Fr. Martin Schmid, Swiss priest and composer, was the architect for at least three of these missionary churches: San Xavier, San Rafael de Velasco, and Concepción. Schmid combined elements of Christian architecture with traditional local design to create a unique baroque-mestizo style. Schmid placed a quotation from the Genesis 28:17 above the main entrance of each of the three churches. In San Xavier the quotation is in Spanish: ; and in Latin at the other two churches: , meaning "The house of god and the gate of heaven".
The construction of the restored churches seen today falls in the period between 1745 and 1770 and is characterized by the use of locally available natural materials like wood, used in the carved columns, pulpits and sets of drawers. Artistic adornments were added even after the Jesuits’ expulsion in 1767, until around 1830. Some of the altars are covered in gold. Often the walls of the mission churches were made of adobe, the same material that had been used for the houses of the natives. In San Rafael de Velasco and San Miguel de Velasco, mica also was used on the walls, giving them an iridescent effect. The construction of the church in San José de Chiquitos is an exception: inspired by an unknown baroque model, it has a stone façade. The only other example where stone was used on a grand scale is in the construction of San Juan Bautista, although only the ruins of a tower remain.
All of the churches consist of a wooden skeleton with columns, fixed in the ground, which provided stability to the building and supported the tile-covered roof. The adobe walls were placed directly on the ground, virtually independent of the wooden construction, and had no supporting role. Porticos and a large porch roof provided protection from the heavy tropical rains. The floor was covered in tiles which, like those of the roof, were produced in local tile works. The churches have a barn-like appearance, albeit of monumental size (width: , length: height: ) with a capacity for more than 3,000 people, with a wide structure and distinctive low-hanging eaves. This style also is evident in the building method of native community houses.
The construction of the church required a major effort by the community and employed hundreds of indigenous carpenters. Fr. José Cardiet described the process:
The walls were decorated with cornices, moldings, pilasters and at times blind arcades. First the walls were plastered entirely by a mix of mud, sand, lime and straw, both inside and outside. Paint in earth tones was applied over the lime whitewash, and ornaments were drawn, featuring elements from flora and fauna, as well as angels, saints and geometrical patterns. As noted above, in some cases mica was used to decorate the walls, columns and woodworks. Large oval "oeil-de-boeuf" windows, surrounded by relief petals, above the main doors are a characteristic feature.
The churches had three aisles, divided by wooden columns, often solomonic columns, carved with twisted fluting resembling those at St. Peter's baldachin in St Peter's, Rome. Until modern times, there were no pews so the congregation had to kneel or sit on the floor. A variety of fine pieces of art adorn the inside of the churches, notably their altars, which are sometimes covered in gold, silver or mica. Especially remarkable are the pulpits made of brightly painted wood and supported by carved sirens. The pulpit in the church of San Miguel de Velasco features motifs derived from local vegetation. Elements specific to the Chiquitos missions exist also in other decorations. The altars of the churches of San Xavier and Concepción include depictions of notable Jesuits together with indigenous peoples. There remain a handful of original sculptures in retablos often depicting Madonnas, the crucifixion, and saints, carved in wood and then painted. These sculptures exhibit a style unique to the Chiquitos region, differing from that of the reductions in Paraguay or the Bolivian highlands. The tradition of figure carving has been preserved to the present day in workshops where carvers make columns, finials and windows for new or restored churches or chapels in the area. In addition, carvers produce decorative angels and other figures for the tourist market.
Restoration.
The missionary churches are the true architectural highlights of the area. Hans Roth initiated an important restoration project in these missionary churches in 1972. In San Xavier, San Rafael de Velasco, San José de Chiquitos, Concepción, San Miguel de Velasco and Santa Ana de Velasco, these churches have undergone meticulous restoration. In the 1960s, the San Ignacio de Velasco church (a non-current UNESCO WHS) was replaced with modern construction; in the 1990s, Hans Roth and his co-workers brought the restoration as close as possible to the original edifices. In addition to the churches, Roth constructed more than a hundred new buildings, including schools and houses. He also founded museums and archives.
Roth researched and recovered the original techniques used to construct churches prior to the restorations. He installed new building infrastructure including saw mills, locksmith shops, and carpentry and repair shops, and trained local people in traditional crafts. European volunteers, non-profit organizations, the Catholic Church, and the Bolivian Learning Institute (IBA) helped in the project.
Roth convinced the local inhabitants of the importance of the restoration works, which required a large labor force: typically 40 to 80 workers in towns with populations of 500 to 2,000 were required for church restoration. The effort indicates the strength of and commitment to the unique shared heritage present in the towns. This restoration has resulted in a revival of local traditions and a qualified workforce.
Life in the mission towns.
The reductions were self-sufficient indigenous communities of 2,000–4,000 inhabitants, usually headed by two Jesuit priests and the "cabildo" (town council and "cacique" (tribal leader), who retained their functions and played the role of intermediaries between the native peoples and the Jesuits. However, the degree to which the Jesuits controlled the indigenous population for which they had responsibility and the degree to which they allowed indigenous culture to function is a matter of debate, and the social organization of the reductions have been variously described as jungle utopias on the one hand, to theocratic regimes of terror, the former description being much closer to the mark.
The Jesuits quickly learned the languages of their subjects, which eased the missionary work and contributed to the success of the missions. Although initially each mission were conceived as home to one specific tribe, numerous tribal families lived in the Chiquitania, and often were gathered in next to each other on the same mission. According to a report from 1745, of the 14,706 people living in the missions, 65.5% spoke Chiquitano, 11% Arawak, 9.1% Otuquis, 7.9% Zamucos, 4.4% Chapacura and 2.1% Guaraní. It should, however, be understood that by this time most of the inhabitants of these missions spoke Chiquitano as a second language. Such ethnic diversity is unique among the Jesuit missions in America. Reflecting the view of the colonial powers, the Jesuit records only distinguished between Christian and non-Christian Indios. Eventually Gorgotoqui, the formal name for language spoken by the Chiquitano tribe, became the "lingua franca" of the mission settlements, and the numerous tribes were culturally united in the Chiquitano ethnic group. By 1770, within three years of the expulsion of the Jesuits, Spanish authorities instituted a new policy of forced "castilianization" or "Hispanicization" of the language, thereby causing the number of speakers of native languages to decline.
Many Indians who joined the missions were looking for protection from Portuguese slave traders or the "encomienda" system of the Spanish "conquistadores". In the reductions, the natives were free men. The land in the missions was common property. After a marriage, individual plots were assigned to newly founded families. For the Jesuits, the goal was always the same: to create cities in harmony with the paradise where they had encountered the indigenous peoples.
Though the settlements were officially a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru through the Royal Audiencia of Charcas and of the diocese of Santa Cruz in church affairs, their remoteness made them effectively autonomous and self-sufficient. As early as 1515, the Franciscan friar Bartolomé de las Casas had initiated a "foreigner law" for the "'Indian people'", and no white or black man, other than the Jesuits and authorities, was allowed to live in the missions. Merchants were allowed to stay for three days at most.
Economy.
Traditionally most of the Chiquitos tribes practiced swidden agriculture, growing maize and yuca on a small scale. After contact with the Spanish, cocoa and rice also were cultivated. Hunting and fishing provided additional nutrition in the dry season. The Jesuits introduced cattle breeding.
In each settlement, one of the Jesuits was responsible for church matters, while another dealt with commercial affairs and the general well-being of the community. As the Swiss priest, musician and architect Fr. Martin Schmid wrote in a 1744 letter from San Rafael: The Jesuits administered labor, the introduction of new technologies, and the disposition of goods. They designated that each family receive all that was necessary to live. The Jesuits did not rely on donations, because by right the priests received a fixed income (usually insufficient for their needs) from the community to support their work. The thriving economy in the reductions enabled them to export surplus goods to all parts of Upper Peru, although ironically not to Paraguay – the region the Jesuits most wanted to reach. The income was used to pay royal tributes and to purchase goods not locally available, such as books, paper, and wine, from as far away as Europe. In the missions themselves money was not used. This laid the foundation of the belief that the Jesuits were guarding immense riches acquired through local labor. In reality the communities were economically successful but hardly constituted any important source of income for the Jesuit order.
All the inhabitants, including the young and elderly, were subject to a schedule of alternating work, religious practice, and rest. According to d'Orbigny, the inhabitants of the Chiquitos missions enjoyed considerably more freedom than those in the Mojos missions. There was also less time spent practicing religion. The catechumens were instructed by the Jesuits in various arts. They learned very quickly and soon became proficient carpenters, painters, weavers, sculptors and artisans. Each settlement had its own set of craftsmen; as a result, in addition to the caciques, a new social class of craftsmen and artisans emerged. This group and the rest of the population, who worked primarily in agriculture or cattle raising, were each represented by two "alcaldes". Initially the main commercial products included honey, yerba maté, salt, tamarind, cotton, shoes, and leather. Later, artisans exported musical instruments, liturgical items, rosaries, and silverware.
Music.
Music played a special part in all aspects of life and in the evangelization of the natives. Realizing the musical capacities of the Indians, the Jesuits sent important composers, choir directors, and manufacturers of musical instruments to South America. The most famous was probably the Italian baroque composer Domenico Zipoli, who worked in the reductions in Paraguay. Fr. Johann Mesner and Fr. Martin Schmid, two Jesuit missionaries with musical talent, went to the Chiquitania. Schmid in particular was responsible for this skill being developed to such a high degree that polyphonic choirs would perform, and whole orchestras would play Baroque operas on handmade instruments. He directed the production of violins, harps, flutes, and organs, and wrote and copied masses, operas, and motets. He built an organ with six stops in Potosí, disassembled it, transported it by mules over a distance of on a difficult road to the remote mission of Santa Ana de Velasco, and re-assembled it there from hand. It is still is use. The Jesuits used musical lessons as a first step to the Christianization of the natives.
As Schmid, who also acted as a composer, wrote in a 1744 letter from San Rafael de Velasco:
Today.
Some Jesuit institutions still exist in the Chiquitania. For example, the towns of San Rafael de Velasco, San Miguel de Velasco, Santa Ana de Velasco and San Ignacio de Velasco have functioning town councils ("cabildos"), and the "caciques" and the sexton still retain their capacities. The majority of the population of the Chiquitania is staunchly Catholic; the Chiquitano cosmovision is now only a dimly understood mythology for its inhabitants. Between 1992 and 2009, the populations of San Xavier and especially Concepción tripled, and more than doubled in San Ignacio de Velasco, now the region’s fastest-growing municipality. In other mission towns the population also increased, albeit on a smaller scale. As of 2011, San José de Chiquitos, San Xavier and Concepción have around 10,000 inhabitants each; and San Ignacio de Velasco, the largest town in the Chiquitania, has about 35,000 and is now boasts a campus of a national university. On the other hand, in Santa Ana de Velasco there are currently only a few hundred people. The remoter settlements of Santiago de Chiquitos and Santo Corazón are quite small as well. According to various sources, in Bolivia the number of ethnic Chiquitanos is between 30,000 and 47,000  of which less than 6,000 – mainly elderly people – still speak the original language. Only a few hundred are monolingual in the Chiquitano language.
Economically, the area depends on agriculture. Maize, rice, yuca, cotton and heart of palm are produced and exported. Cattle ranching and the industrial processing of milk and cheese have been developed extensively in recent years. Crafts, often carved of wood using the same techniques as in colonial times, provide additional income. Since the launch of the Jesuit Mission Circuit – a marketing label to promote regional tourism – in 2005, craftsmanship and tourism have been closely related.
The musical festivals and concerts held regularly in the Chiquitos formermission towns testify to the living heritage of this art form. Some of the original instruments and sculptures made by Fr. Martin Schmid and his apprentices survive in small museums in the mission towns, most notably in Concepción which also houses the music archive. In San Xavier, San Rafael de Velasco and Santa Ana de Velasco three original harps from the time of the Jesuits are preserved. The church in Santa Ana de Vealsco also houses the only original organ in Chiquitos, transported there from Potosí by mule, accompanied by Schmid in 1751. More than a dozen orchestras and choirs brought together by the "Sistema de Coros y Orquestas" (SICOR) dot the area.
Since 1996, the nonprofit institution "Asociacion Pro Arte y Cultura" (APAC) has organized the biennial "Festival Internacional de Musica Renacentista y Barroca Americana "MISIONES DE CHIQUITOS"".
Starting in 1975, restoration work on the church (now cathedral) of Concepción unearthed more than 5,000 musical scores from the 17th and 18th centuries. Later another 6,000 scores were found in Moxos and several thousand additionally in San Xavier. Some of these works have been interpreted at the 2006 and 2008 festivals. The statistics of these festivals over the years is as follows:
The festival is carried out in the designated "Plazas Misionales" (among other places), usually housed in churches and also in the main plaza of Santa Cruz. In one event, orchestras of various countries compete against each other. One of the local orchestras, "Orquesta Urubicha", is made up of people native to the ex-missions who use instruments which they build themselves according to plans left by the Jesuit missionaries.
Tourism.
Shortly after the start of the restoration effort, the potential for tourism in the missions was assessed in a report published by UNESCO in 1977.
To promote the missions as a tourist destination, travel agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, the towns' mayors, native communities and other institutions organized the , a five-day tourist event lasting from March 23–27, 2006. Journalists and international tour operators were shown the important tourist attractions, and introduced to the culture through visits to museums, local workshops, various concerts, native dances, high masses, processions, crafts festivals, and local cuisine. The organisers’ goal initially was to raise the number of tourists from 25,000 to 1 million per year over a ten-year period, which would have represented US$400 million of income. Subsequently, in the face of lack of support from the Bolivian government and the downturn of the national and local economies, a more modest goal of attracting between 200,000 and 250,000 people per annum was established.
Tourism is now an important source of income for the region, amounting in Concepción Municipio alone to US$296,140, or 7.2% of the annual gross production. An additional US$40,000 or 1% comes from crafts. According to a report published by the "Coordinadora Interinstitucional de la Provincia Velasco" in 2007, 17,381 people visited San Ignacio de Velasco, the largest town in the region, as tourists in 2006. About 30% of them came from outside of Bolivia. The main attraction for tourists are the nearby missions of San Miguel de Velasco, San Rafael de Velasco and Santa Ana de Velasco. Tourism to San Ignacio de Velasco generated 7,821,450 Bolivianos in income in 2006. Tourism income is ostensibly translated to improvements in the infrastructure, although there has been criticism that earmarked funds do not always reach their intended destinations. Other than cultural tourism to the missionary circuit and musical festivals, the region offers many natural attractions like rivers, lagoons, hot springs, caves and waterfalls, although there is no infrastructure to support tourism in this regard.
Cultural references.
Many elements of the early days of the Jesuit missions are shown in the movie "The Mission", although the movie attempts to depict life in the Guaraní missions of Paraguay, not those of the Chiquitos missions, which were considerably more culturally expressive. The events around the expulsion of the Jesuits (the Extrañamiento) are depicted in Fritz Hochwälder's play (The Strong are Lonely). Both are set in Paraguay. It has been suggested that "Das heilige Experiment" sparked interest in the 20th century among scholars in the forgotten Jesuit missions.
See also.
Jesuit missions in neighboring countries
Further reading.
Historic accounts.
Of the primary sources, i.e., those composed by the Jesuits themselves during the years 1691 through 1767, those that have been extensively researched (many as yet have not been thoroughly examined) are few. The most useful is the monumental "Historia general de la Compañía de Jesús en la Provincia del Perú: Crónica anómina de 1600 que trata del establecimiento y misiones de la Compañía de Jesús en los países de habla española en la América meridional", vol. II, edited by Francisco Mateos (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1944). Also of importance is the unedited archive of correspondence from the Jesuits of Paraguay from the years 1690-1718. Collectively known as “Cartas a los Provinciales de la Provincia del Paraguay 1690-1718,” these manuscripts are housed in the Jesuit Archives of Argentina in Buenos Aires, which also contain the invaluable annals of the Paraguay Province of the Company of Jesus, covering the years 1689-1762. The German edition of Fr. Julián Knogler’s "Inhalt einer Beschreibung der Missionen deren Chiquiten, Archivum Historicum Societatis Jesu, 39/78" (Rome: Company of Jesus, 1970) is indispensable, as is his account "Relato sobre el país y la nación de los Chiquitos en las Indias Occidentales o América del Sud y en la misiones en su territorio", for a condensed version of which, see Werner Hoffman, "Las misiones jesuíticas entre los chiquitanos" (Buenos Aires: Fundación para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura, 1979). Fr. Juan de Montenegro’s "Breve noticia de las missiones, peregrinaciones apostólicas, trabajos, sudor, y sangre vertida, en obsequio de la fe, de el venerable padre Augustín Castañares, de la Compañía de Jesús, insigne missionero de la provincia del Paraguay, en las missiones de Chiquitos, Zamucos, y ultimamente en la missión de los infieles Mataguayos", (Madrid: Manuel Fernández, Impresor del Supremo Consejo de la Inquisición, de la Reverenda Cámara Apostólica, y del Convento de las Señoras de la Encarnación, en la Caba Baxa, 1746) and Fr. Juan Patricio Fernández’s "Relación historial de las misiones de los indios, que llaman chiquitos, que están a cargo de los padres de la Compañía de Jesús de la provincia del Paraguay" (Madrid: Manuel Fernández, Impresor de Libros, 1726) are also valuable. There are other primary sources as yet unexamined, the majority of which are archived in Cochabamba, Sucre, and Tarija (in Bolivia); Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Tucumán (in Argentina); Asunción (Paraguay); Madrid; and Rome.
References to many others are found in the extensive bibliography offered by Roberto Tomichá Charupá, OFM, in "La Primera Evangelización en las Reducciones de Chiquitos, Bolivia (1691-1767)", pp. 669–714.


Clean Water Network

The Clean Water Network (CWN) is an American coalition of more than 1,200 local, state, and national non-profit interest groups coordinating to promote water health, safety, and quality interests in the United States.
History.
CWN was formed in 1992 as a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council. The primary functions of CWN are to coordinate a variety of public interest organizations on clean water issues so that these groups may combine resources and advocate together, and to "safeguard water quality for future generations by working to defend, strengthen and implement the Clean Water Act and other key federal and state legislation impacting water."
Since 1992, the Clean Water Network has served public interest groups by serving as a portal for the latest news and information on federal clean water policy developments. The Network facilitates communications among member groups and coordinates joint policy and position statements as well as activities. This combination of federal policy work and field advocacy aims to achieve a stronger national program that will help to bring polluted waterways back to health and preserve the nation’s rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, estuaries and coastal waters.
The Clean Water Network is the country’s largest advocacy coalition focused on protecting and restoring America's waters. In 2008, CWN became its own 501 (c) 3 independent organization; for its first 16 years it was a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council. CWN’s main collaboration techniques include creating priority projects and campaigns with its members, hosting events, providing strategic communication tools, building partnerships, tapping local, state, and national expertise, and linking technical and policy experts with citizen leaders to help members participate in policy making.


Old Oyo National Park

Old Oyo National Park is one of the national parks of Nigeria, located across northern Oyo State and southern Kwara State, Nigeria.
The park is 2,512 km2 of land in northern Oyo state, south west Nigeria, at latitude 8° 15’ and 9° 00’N and longitude 3° 35’ and 4° 42’ E. The location has inevitably placed the park at a vantage position of abundance land area as well as diverse wildlife and cultural/historical settings. Eleven local government areas out of which ten fall within Oyo State and one in Kwara State surround it. The Administrative Head Office is located in Oyo, Isokun area along Oyo-Iseyin road, where necessary information and booking could be made. The landscaping and organized space within the large yard has made the facility very endearing to the public.
It is rich in plant and animal resources including buffaloes, bushbuck and a variety of birds. The park is easily accessible from southwestern and northwestern Nigeria. The nearest cities and towns adjoining Old Oyo National Park include Saki, Iseyin, Igboho, Sepeteri, Tede and Igbeti which have their own commercial and cultural attractions for tourism.
History.
The park takes its name from Oyo-lle (Old Oyo), the ancient political capital of Oyo Empire of the Yoruba people, and contains the ruins of this city.
The national park originated in two earlier native administrative forest reserves, Upper Ogun established in 1936 and Oyo-lle established in 1941. These were converted to game reserves in 1952, then combined and upgraded to the present status of a national park.
Environment.
The park covers 2,512 km2, mostly of lowland plains at a height of 330 m and 508 m above sea level. The southern part is drained by the Owu, Owe and Ogun Rivers, while the northern sector is drained by the Tessi River. Outcrops of granite are typical of the north eastern zone of the park, including at Oyo-lle, with caves and rock shelters in the extreme north.
The central part of the park has scattered hills, ridges and rock outcrops that are suitable for mountaineering.
The Ikere Gorge Dam on the Ogun river provides water recreation facilities for tourists.
Flora and fauna.
The Old Oyo National Park was previously habitat for the endangered West African wild dog ("Lycaon pictus manguensis"). However none now exist in the park due to hunting pressure and the expanding human population in the region.


Ventana Wildlife Society

Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1977 by a group of private citizens to restore endangered species native to central California. VWS has three full-time staff biologists, together with seasonal interns, monitoring, tracking and researching endangered species, songbirds and butterflies. Educational science programs for school children bring youth in touch with nature in their own neighborhoods, or through summer science camps.
During the 2020 California wildfire season, a research building, pens, and other facilities were destroyed on their sanctuary in Big Sur that has been used to release captive-bred condors into the wild since 1997.
Mission.
The mission of Ventana Wildlife Society is "Conserving Native Wildlife and Their Habitats". There are over 130 endangered species in California and many others that are threatened with extinction.
Programs.
VWS has four primary areas of focus:
History.
In 1977, the Ventana Wildlife Society began by rehabilitating and releasing wildlife at a remote site in the Ventana Wilderness.
1982: VWS introduced a prairie and peregrine falcon release program.
1986: VWS began a bald eagle restoration project to reintroduce bald eagles after an absence of 60 years from the region. In only 10 years, VWS achieved success. In 2007, the bald eagle was officially declared recovered and delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
1992: The Ventana Wildlife Society Research and Education Center opened in Andrew Molera State Park, off scenic Highway 1, Big Sur. The primary purpose of this new facility is to increase public outreach efforts and to expand programs to include environmental education and habitat restoration.
1996: VWS was commended by the California State Senate for its distinguished record of serving the recovery needs of Central Coast endangered species and for instilling a sense of stewardship for the environment through direct educational experience.
1997: VWS joined federal and state efforts to reintroduce the California condor and is the only non-profit releasing condors in California.
2009: VWS Discovery Center opened in Big Sur. The center currently features a special exhibition, "Bringing the Condors Home".
2012: A total of 26 bald eagle nesting pairs were documented in central California Sorenson et al. 2017.
Condor breeding program.
In 1987 the last of the wild free-flying condors were taken from the wild to become part of a captive breeding program. From a population perhaps numbering thousands across the U.S., the last surviving 27 birds were removed to prevent extirpation in California. Decades of shooting, environmental degradation, and lead poisoning had reduced the population to an unviable number that most likely would not survive to the new millennium without this urgent, and at times controversial, intervention.
In 1997, VWS began releasing captive-bred condors in Big Sur with great success and in 2003 initiated a second release site at Pinnacles National Monument (now Pinnacles National Park) in collaboration with the National Park Service.
All of the free-flying birds are tagged and can be tracked via radio transmitter or GPS. VWS has created a website where one can learn more about the varied personalities of each of the birds of the Big Sur flock, and a live streaming camera operated by Explore.org.
In 2007, the first condor chick hatched in the wild (in Monterey County) in 100 years.
At the end of 2007, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to adopt regulations to restrict the use of lead bullets within the range of the California condor and to implement AB 821, legislation signed earlier that year.
In 2009, 42 condors were reported free-flying in central California. With five chicks set to fledge, this was one of the best years for the Central Coast population. But California condors continue to be plagued with lead poisoning, micro-trash ingestion, and DDT residues, which all are seriously hampering the long-term recovery of the species.
The "Vallejo Times Herald" reported that in May 2014, California condor #597 (also known as Lupine) was spotted near Pescadero, a coastal community south of San Francisco. This is the first California condor spotted in San Mateo County since 1904. The three-year-old female flew more than north from Pinnacles National Park, in San Benito County, on May 30, and landed on a private, forested property near Pescadero, on the San Mateo County Coast, where it was photographed by a motion-activated wildlife camera. Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, stated: "It's very important. It shows that they really are spreading out in their range. It's very exciting. It shows that we're on the right track. The population is expanding. They are breeding on their own. They are finding food on their own."
By July 2014, the condor population, including sites in California, Baja California and Arizona, has grown to 437. There is a population of 232 wild birds and 205 in captivity. Ventana Wildlife Society manages 34 free-flying condors, of which it has fledged 9.


Grenville Llewellyn Lucas

Grenville Llewellyn Lucas O.B.E., B.Sc, F.L.S. F.R.G.S. (born 1935), British botanist and conservationist, who was Keeper of the Herbarium and Library at Kew Gardens.
Biography.
Born in Cardiff (December 1935) he had an early interest in natural history stimulated by the National Museum of Wales but his first job was working for the Distillers Company on the development and use of plastics and resins. After reading "The Geography of the Flowering Plants" by Ronald Good his interest took him to the University of Hull to study botany under Professor Good, where he received a degree in Botany.
Gren worked at Kew as a research student for the Colonial Office before taking up a post as Scientific Officer in the East African Herbarium in Nairobi. While in Nairobi he became interested in conservation work. In 1962 he returned to Kew to work on the Flora of Tropical East Africa. He and his wife were both supporters of the Surrey Naturalists' Trust. In 1974 he created the Kew Conservation Unit, which included work on CITES for the UK Government and setting up of the I.U.C.N. Threatened Plant Committee Secretariat that became integrated into the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The International Plant Red Data Book published in 1979 co-edited with Hugh Synge was one of the products of this work.
He was a Trustee (1979-1990) of WWF (U.K.) and Council Member (1978-1990) of I.U.C.N. He served as Chairman of the Species Survival Commission of the I.U.C.N. for eight years. He was treasurer of the Linnean Society for 20 years. In 1998 he was appointed to the Council of English Nature.
He was promoted to Senior Principal Scientific Officer and in 1989 appointed the Keeper of the Herbarium and Library at Kew and Deputy Director; he retired in 1995. After retirement he remained at Kew for a year as head of the Information Services Department.
Gren met his wife Shirley while at University and they were married while in Nairobi.
Honours.
He was awarded an O.B.E. for services to Conservation in the 1980 Birthday Honours. In 1986 he received the award of Officer of the Order of the Golden Ark from Prince Bernhard. In 1987 he received the Bruno H. Schubert Prize, awarded by the Frankfurt-based Bruno H. Schubert Foundation to individuals for their exceptional commitment to preserving the biological diversity of our planet. In 1989 he was made Visiting Professor in the Department of Botany at Reading University. He was also awarded a medal in 1990 by the South African Association of Botanists (S.A.A.B.) for his contribution to African botany. In 1991 he was awarded the Sir Peter Scott Merit Award Medal by the Species Survival Commission in Australia for his work on "the survival of species of fauna and flora throughout the world." In 1997 he was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Busk Medal. He was awarded the Linnean Gold Medal in 2007.


Conservation Districts (Manitoba)

The Manitoba Watershed District Program is a provincial-municipal partnership directed to the conservation and management of water and soil resources. There are 14 watershed districts including more than 130 municipalities covering almost all of the agricultural areas of Manitoba, Canada. The Province provides substantial funding and general guidance but the programs are developed and administered locally. The districts spend more than $8 million each year on a wide variety of conservation programs.
Whitemud Watershed District.
The Whitemud Watershed District created in 1972 was the first district formed in Manitoba. The district covers about in south central Manitoba. It includes all or portions of 15 rural municipalities and three towns. It includes all the area that drains into the Whitemud River. The district's goal is to promote soil and water stewardship and to facilitate agricultural land drainage on a watershed basis. The District is responsible for over of drainage infrastructure and 1,200 crossings. Major activities include maintenance and replacement of infrastructure, as well as proactive soil and water conservation projects such as forage assistance, shelterbelts, grassed runways, water retention, shale traps, habitat preservation, conservation corridors, stream bank stabilization and riparian management.
West Lake Watershed District.
The West Lake Watershed District was born in 1978 as the Alonsa Conservation District, in 2020 it expanded and the name was changed. It is on the west shore of Lake Manitoba. The beef cattle industry dominates the local economy as well as commercial fishing in the winter months. The District has been involved in soil and water management. Some of the major projects include channel construction, improvements and maintenance, water level and flood control, land drainage, forage seed assistance, waterfowl nesting grounds, waterfowl enhancement and school conservation education programs.
Northeast Red Watershed District.
The Northeast Red Watershed District was started in 1979 as the Cooks Creek Conservation District in 2020 the name and boundaries were changed to watershed boundaries. The municipalities include Springfield, Tache, Ste. Anne, Brokenhead and Reynolds. Water management is the most important issue in the District. The District places emphasis on the maintenance and upgrading of agricultural drainage channels. Other initiatives include sealing abandoned wells, crossing replacements and repairs and public education.
Pembina Watershed District.
The Pembina Waterhed District was formed in 1989 as the Pembina Valley Conservation District. The name and boundaries were changed in 2020. The District includes portions of the Turtle Mountain, Pembina Valley, Tiger Hills, Red River Valley and Pembina Escarpment. municipalities included in the District are Killarney Turtle Mountain, Boissevaine-Morton, Lorne, Thompson, Cartwright-Roblin, Louise, Stanley and Pembina. Towns included are Killarney, Pilot Mound and Manitou, in addition to the Village of Crystal City. The District's priorities are conservation farming and water management.
Souris River Watershed District.
The Souris River Watershed District was incorporated in 1995 as the West Souris Conservation District. The name and boundaries were changed in 2020 absorbing about half of the Turtle Mountain Conservation District. Is located in southwest corner of Manitoba. The municipalities included are Deloraine-winchester, Brenda-Waskada, Grassland, Boissevain-Morton, Two Borders, Pipestone, Sifton, Cameron and Wallace. Water and soil management programs are priorities of the District. Programs include water storage, sealing abandoned wells, well development, shelterbelt planting, riparian management, forage rotation, zero tillage and habitat conservation initiatives.
The district recognizes the important links between human health and watershed health. Through education, innovative leadership, community input and partnerships the district strives to manage the watershed as a complex sustainable system emphasizing prevention and protection programs. The District places a particular focus on public education.
Major streams found in the district include Gopher, Pipestone, Stoney, Jackson, Graham, Gainsborough, Antler, Medora and the Souris River. Major water bodies include Whitewater, Maple, Oak and Plum Lakes.
Assiniboine West Watershed District.
This district, was created in 2020 combining the Lake of the Prairies, Upper Assiniboine and Little Saskatchewan River Conservation Districts
The district can be divided into three distinct landscapes: uplands, plains and river valleys. From the Newdale Plain to the border of Riding Mountain National Park, the undulating topography can vary over 200 meters. The dominant feature is the Assiniboine River meandering through the area. In places the valley is more than 1 mile (2 km) wide and over 75 meters deep with steep slopes. The Assiniboine River Valley is one of the most scenic aspects but also presents a major resource management issue.
Inter Mountain Watershed District.
The Inter Mountain Watershed District was formed in 1997. In 2020 the Turtle River District was added. Riding Mountain National Park, Duck Mountain Provincial Forest, Crown Territory and Lakes Dauphin and Winnipegosis surround the District. The municipalities included in this District are Ste. Rose, McCreary, Dauphin, Ethelbert, Gilbert Plains, Grandview, Mossey River and Mountain. The Villages of McCreary, Ste Rose du lac , Winnipegosis and Ethelbert, the towns of Grandview and Gilbert Plains and the City of Dauphin are also included. Water management is the highest priority. Soil conservation and public education are priorities as well.
Kelsey Watershed District.
The Kelsey Conservation District was born in 1999 and the name was changed in 2020. It is located in the west-central Manitoba and includes the Pasquia hills and Carrot River drainage basins. The District is most interested in developing programs that educate the public about prudent resource management, soil and water conservation practices and local decision-making as a means to maintain a healthy rural landscape. Some projects include off-site watering, exclusion fencing, forage assistance, abandoned well capping, well disinfecting, tree planting and wildlife habitat enhancement.
Central Assiniboine Watershed District.
The Central Assiniboine District was formed in 2020. It covers . It includes the municipalities of Argyle, Victoria Manitoba|Victoria]], Glenwood, Cornwallis, Prairie Lakes and South Cypress and the Village of Glenboro and Wawanesa and the town of Souris. The board has stressed soil conservation, water management and conservation education programs.
Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District.
The Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District is made up of three main watersheds; the Roseau River, the Seine River and the Rat River Watersheds. The five sub-watersheds that all drain into the Seine River Watershed are the Upper Seine River, the Lower Seine River, the Seine River Diversion, the Tourond Creek and the Manning Canal. The two sub-watersheds that contribute to the Rat River Watershed are the Upper Rat River and the Lower Rat River/Joubert Creek watersheds.
The district includes the municipalities of La Broquerie, Ste. Anne, Hanover, De Salaberry, Ritchot, Stuartburn, Reynolds, Montcalm, City of Steinbach, Town of Ste. Anne, the Village of t. Pierre-Jolys, Emerson-Franklin, the Town of Niverville, Piney, Springfield and Tache. The only outstanding municipalities are the City of Winnipeg and Morris, who have yet to join and complete the entire watershed as a unified voice of water management together over southeastern Manitoba. The district operates under the board of directors, made up of municipal appointed rate-payers and councilors who are all working together for the overall health of the watershed. Decision-making processes are based on watershed boundaries and local grassroots knowledge, with the leader of each sub-watershed taking a position on the main district board. All recommendations are made by the local sub-watershed committees and are brought before the main board for approval.
The Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District covers an area southeast of Winnipeg, over 7,000km2 and is home to approximately 68,000 people. The district offers a full line of water management programs with a particular focus on surface and groundwater management initiatives. One of the main objectives lies in creating water retention projects to hold back water during spring run-off to alleviate flooding downstream and provide greater aquifer recharge areas, as groundwater is a major drinking water supply to residents. Both objectives increase water quality on the surface and sub-surface overall. The district also provides funding to seal old and abandoned wells that present a point of contamination to groundwater; for livestock producers to purchase alternative watering systems & riparian fencing to keep livestock out of dugout, creeks and rivers; and to monitor well water in rural homes throughout the district are among the most popular programs. More information can be found at www.srrcd.ca
Redboine Watershed District.
The Redboine Watershed District was established in 2020, formerly the LaSalle Redboine Conservation Districy. It includes all or parts of the municipalities of Dufferin, Grey, South Norfolk, Cartier and Victoria. It also includes Carman, St. Claude and Treherne. Their programs include grassed waterways, off channel watering systems, cover programs, rotational grazing systems and pasture pipelines.
East Interlake Watershed District.
The East Interlake Watershed District was renamed in 2020, originally incorporated as East Interlake Conservation District in 2005. The district covers about and is home to 55,000 residents. The District includes all or parts of the municipalities of Armstrong, Bifrost, Fisher, Gimli, St. Andrews, West St. Paul, Rockwood, Rosser, City of Selkirk, Towns of Arborg, Stonewall, Teulon and Winnipeg Beach, Villages of Riverton and Dunnottar. The district offers a wide range of programs, such as riparian management, well inventory, sealing abandoned wells, benthic invertebrate monitoring, culvert assessment and inventory, and water quality monitoring.
West Interlake Watershed District.
The West Interlake Watershed District started in 2008 as a conservation district changed name to watershed district in 2020. The District covers and is home to more than 6,500 people. The District is located along the eastern shores of Lake Manitoba. Municipalities include Armstrong, Coldwell, Eriksdale, Siglunes, St. Laurent, and Woodlands. The district develops and deliver programs to address priority land and water management issues and public education.
Swan Lake Watershed District.
The Swan Lake Watershed District is the dedicated to regional land and water issues in a co-operative, long-term planning. It was formed in 2006, is about . The District is located in western Manitoba between the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and forest and Porcupine Provincial Forest.
Municipal partners include the rural municipalities of Minitonas, Mountain and Swan River, the towns of Birch River, Minitonas and Swan River and the villages of Benito and Bowsman.


Blackstone Park Conservation District

The Blackstone Park Conservation District is a public, 45-acre woodland conservation area on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. It is run by the non-profit Blackstone Parks Conservancy in partnership with the Providence Parks Department. The park is situated on the west bank of the tidal Seekonk River, within the watershed and wildlife corridor of the Blackstone River Valley. Unlike many city parks, it is actively managed for the purpose of providing habitats for wildlife and supporting a healthy ecosystem for native flora and fauna.
History of the site.
The park is situated in an area where people of the Narragansett Indian tribe lived prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century. In the 1700s, the site was a part of the 300 acre farm owned by the merchant and abolitionist Moses Brown. The area was subdivided by Brown's descendant Moses Jenkins in 1861 as the Blackstone Park Plat. Jenkins donated five acres of land for a public park as part of the subdivision plan in 1866. Several decades later, in 1893, the city purchased eighteen acres from landowners for park development, with additional land acquired over subsequent decades.
Ecology.
Ecologically, the Blackstone Conservation District is a Northeastern coastal forest. The woodland is dominated by broadleaf trees, predominantly oak, American beech, and black birch. The woods and shoreline are home to many species of shorebirds, gulls, owls and songbirds, as well as various small mammals. The ponds are home to several species of turtle. Along the Seekonk River, there are horse mussels, horseshoe crabs, and occasional harbor seals.
Management and funding.
The Blackstone Parks Conservancy and the City of Providence Parks Department jointly manage the Blackstone Park Conservation District. In addition to public funding and private donations, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) provided partial funding to the Conservancy in 2020 for coastal upland edge restoration, to mitigate trail erosion.


Sacro Monte di Orta

The Sacro Monte di Orta (literally: "Sacred Mountain of Orta") is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the comune of Orta San Giulio (Piedmont, northern Italy) on the summit of a hill known as San Nicolao, which faces the western shore of Lake Orta. It is one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.
It is a stop-over on the CoEur devotional path.
Many of the artworks are of a high quality, some of the most highly thought of painters and sculptors of the period having been commissioned to produce them. The vegetation of the Sacred Mountain runs down to the shores of Lake Orta and was designed in line with ornamental criteria to match the architecture.
History.
Construction of the complex, dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, began in 1583. The project by the Capuchin friar Cleto da Castelletto Ticino involved 36 chapels, of which only 20 were built. Until 1630 they were mostly in the Mannerist style, but from the mid-17th century Baroque and other influences predominated. Construction ended in 1788.
External links.
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Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust

The Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) is a conservation trust in Malawi.
The trust focuses on the Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve.
The Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust was established in 2000 as a non-governmental organization and became a conservation trust fund in 2005.
The trust is based in Mulanje of Southern Region, Malawi. The trust is funded by the World Bank through the Global Environment Facility.
The trust was partnered with the United States Agency for International Development.


Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area is a group of protected areas in southern Africa, straddling parts of South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini, including the following:
Future plans.
This park once it proved itself is to become part of the Greater Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area.


National Wildlife Area

A National Wildlife Area is a conservation status for a geographical region in Canada that restricts most human activities on that region. However, land use permits may be issued "for activities that are compatible with conservation". Such areas are established and managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service, a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. They may consist of land and water features, as well as coastal areas extending up to from shore.
The largest national wildlife area is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area in British Columbia, which covers an area of .
Protections.
Each National Wildlife Area involves a management plan which specifies activities which are generally allowed within the protected area, as well as activities requiring permits. Under the Wildlife Area Regulations, traditional, personal and recreational activities such as hunting, fishing or canoeing are allowed, whereas resource extraction or livestock grazing would be permitted only under the authority of a yearly permit with strict limits. Some National Wildlife Area in the territories, such as Polar Bear Pass, require co-management between federal government agencies and the Inuit, per the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.