List of birds of Morocco

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Morocco. The avifauna of Morocco include a total of 483 confirmed species as of March 2020 according to iGoTerra. Of them, 133 are rare or accidental, four have been introduced by humans, and five have been extirpated from Morocco. Non-native species which have not become established, or whose natural arrival is uncertain, are not included here.
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (English and scientific names) are those of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 2019 edition.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence.
Ostriches.
Order: StruthioniformesFamily: Struthionidae
The ostriches are a flightless birds native to Africa. They are the largest living species of bird and are distinctive in appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds. This species was extirpated from Morocco some time before 1990; a re-introduction programme for the North African ostrich is in progress.
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl.
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as swans and geese.
Guineafowl.
Order: GalliformesFamily: Numididae
Guineafowl are a group of African birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage.
Pheasant, grouse, and allies.
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae
Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, francolins and pheasants. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.
Flamingos.
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
Grebes.
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds.
Pigeons and doves.
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Sandgrouse.
Order: PterocliformesFamily: Pteroclidae
Sandgrouse have small, pigeon-like, heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies.
Bustards.
Order: OtidiformesFamily: Otididae
Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. The Arabian bustard has been extirpated from Morocco since about 1985 and the houbara bustard is close to being extirpated.
Cuckoos.
Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae
The cuckoos are birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.
Nightjars and allies.
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs, and very short bills.
Swifts.
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae
Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying.
Rails, gallinules, and coots.
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules.
Cranes.
Order: GruiformesFamily: Gruidae
Cranes are large, long-legged, and long-necked birds. The demoiselle crane has been extirpated since 1985.
Thick-knees.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Burhinidae
The thick-knees are a group of waders found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.
Stilts and avocets.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds which includes the avocets and stilts.
Oystercatchers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae
The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
Plovers and lapwings.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings.
Painted-snipes.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Rostratulidae
Painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly coloured.
Sandpipers and allies.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized waders including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Buttonquail.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Turnicidae
The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. This species is close to being extirpated in Morocco.
Pratincoles and coursers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings, and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings, and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.
Skuas and jaegers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings.
Auks, murres, and puffins.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Alcidae
Alcidae live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest.
Gulls, terns, and skimmers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds.
Loons.
Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Loons are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Albatrosses.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Diomedeidae
The albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus "Diomedea" have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.
Southern storm-petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae
The storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like. Until 2018, this family's species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae.
Northern storm-petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae
Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.
Shearwaters and petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Storks.
Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.
Boobies and gannets.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae
The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.
Anhingas.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae
Anhingas or darters are water birds with a distinctive long slender neck and bill.
Cormorants and shags.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large fish-eating waterbirds.
Pelicans.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae
Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak.
Herons, egrets, and bitterns.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.
Ibises and spoonbills.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills.
Osprey.
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae
The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey, a medium large bird of prey with a worldwide distribution.
Hawks, eagles, and kites.
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae
The Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. The bearded vulture, dark chanting-goshawk, and tawny eagle are all close to being extirpated in Morocco.
Barn-owls.
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae
Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces.
Owls.
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae
The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey.
Hoopoes.
Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Upupidae
Hoopoes have black, white, and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.
Kingfishers.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
Bee-eaters.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers.
Rollers.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae
Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters.
Woodpeckers.
Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues.
Falcons and caracaras.
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
Old World parrots.
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae
Parrots are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape.
Old World orioles.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Oriolidae
The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds, not related to the New World orioles.
Bushshrikes.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Malaconotidae
Bushshrikes are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush.
Shrikes.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae
Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions on thorns.
Crows, jays, and magpies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae
The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, and magpies. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.
Tits, chickadees, and titmice.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Paridae
The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills.
Penduline-tits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Remizidae
The penduline-tits are a group of small passerine birds related to the true tits.
Larks.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alaudidae
Larks are small terrestrial birds, mostly fairly dull in appearance.
Bearded reedling.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Panuridae
The bearded reedling is a small bird found in reed beds across temperate Asia with smaller populations throughout Europe. It is the only member of its family.
Cisticolas and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cisticolidae
The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer regions of the Old World.
Reed warblers and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae
The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.
Grassbirds and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Locustellidae
Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over.
Swallows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae
The family Hirundinidae is a group of passerines adapted to aerial feeding.
Bulbuls.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pycnonotidae
Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage.
Leaf warblers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae
Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with greyish-green to greyish-brown colors.
Bush warblers and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Scotocercidae
The members of this family are found throughout Africa, Asia, and Polynesia.
Long-tailed tits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Aegithalidae
Long-tailed tits are a group of small passerine birds with medium to long tails.
Sylviid warblers, parrotbills, and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sylviidae
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs.
Laughingthrushes and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Leiothrichidae
The members of this family are diverse in size and colouration, though those of genus "Turdoides" tend to be brown or greyish. The family is found in Africa, India, and southeast Asia.
Kinglets.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Regulidae
The kinglets and "crests" are a small family of birds which resemble some warblers. The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their name.
Wallcreeper.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Tichodromidae
The wallcreeper is a small bird, with crimson, grey, and black plumage, related to the nuthatches.
Nuthatches.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae
Nuthatches are small woodland birds.
Treecreepers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Certhiidae
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below.
Wrens.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Troglodytidae
The wrens have short wings and thin down-turned bills.
Dippers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cinclidae
Dippers are a group of perching birds which specialise in feeding in running water.
Starlings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds.
Thrushes and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
Old World flycatchers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Muscicapidae
Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.
Accentors.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Prunellidae
The accentors are in the only bird family which is completely endemic to the Palearctic.
Old World sparrows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae
In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.
Wagtails and pipits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae
The Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They are slender ground-feeding insectivores of open country.
Finches, euphonias, and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Fringillidae
Finches are seed-eating passerine birds that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
Snow buntings and longspurs.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Calcariidae
The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that had been traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
Old World buntings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Emberizidae
Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.


Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns

The Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns is a UNESCO World Heritage site which consists of Sukhothai historical park, Kamphaeng Phet historical park and Si Satchanalai historical park. These historical parks preserve the remains of the three main cities of the Sukhothai Kingdom which flourished during the 13th and 14th century CE. The Sukhothai Kingdom is viewed as having been the first of the Thai kingdoms.
Sukhothai Historical Park.
Sukhothai Historical Park (Thai: อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์สุโขทัย) covers the ruins of Sukhothai, which means 'Dawn of Happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in what is now the north of Thailand. It is near the modern city of Sukhothai, capital of a province of the same name. The city walls form a rectangle about two km east-west by 1.6 km north-south. There are 193 ruins on 70 square kilometers of land. There is a gate in the centre of each wall. Inside are the remains of the royal palace and twenty-six temples, the largest being Wat Mahathat.
Si Satchanalai Historical Park.
Si Satchanalai Historical Park (Thai: อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์ศรีสัชนาลัย) covers the ruins of Si Satchanalai, the second-most important town of the Sukhothai Kingdom. It is on a bank of the Yom River near the modern town of Si Satchanalai in Sukhothai Province. There are 215 ruins inside the historical park.
Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park.
Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park (Thai: อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์กำแพงเพชร) is an archeological site in Kamphaeng Phet. Major features in the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park include archaeological remains of ancient sites such as Mueang Chakangrao to the east of the Ping River, Mueang Nakhon Chum to the west, and Mueang Trai Trueng some 18 km from the town to the southwest. Chakangrao, the ancient Kamphaeng Phet town, had the same town planning concept as the old Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai, with separate zones for religious sites both within and outside town limits. Structures are usually large and made of laterite. Religious sites on the west bank of the Ping River at Nakhon Chum are built of bricks and of smaller size. City walls and old fortifications mark the boundary of the rectangular town area, measuring 300–700 metres wide and 2,200 metres long.


Bassae

Bassae (, - "Bassai", meaning "little vale in the rocks") is an archaeological site in Oichalia, a municipality in the northeastern part of Messenia, Greece. In classical antiquity, it was part of Arcadia. Bassae lies near the village of Skliros, northeast of Figaleia, south of Andritsaina and west of Megalopolis. It is famous for the well-preserved mid- to late-5th century BC Temple of Apollo Epicurius.
Although this temple is geographically remote from major polities of ancient Greece, it is one of the most studied ancient Greek temples because of its multitude of unusual features. Bassae was the first Greek site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (1986).
History of the Temple of Apollo Epicurius.
The temple was dedicated to Apollo Epikourios ("Apollo the helper"). It sits at an elevation of 1,131 metres above sea level on the slopes of Kotylion Mountain. Its construction is placed between 450 BC and 400 BC. It was supposedly designed by Iktinos, architect at Athens of the Parthenon.
The ancient writer Pausanias praises the temple as eclipsing all others but the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea by the beauty of its stone and the harmony of its construction.
Pausanias described it in the 2nd century:
It was in use until the 4th- or 5th-century AD, when all pagan temples were forcibly closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Construction and decoration.
The temple is aligned north-south, in contrast to the majority of Greek temples which are aligned east-west; its principal entrance is from the north. This was necessitated by the limited space available on the steep slopes of the mountain. To overcome this restriction a door was placed in the side of the temple, perhaps to let light in to illuminate the cult statue.
The temple is of a relatively modest size, with the stylobate measuring 38.3 by 14.5 metres containing a Doric peristyle of six by fifteen columns (hexastyle). The roof left a central space open to admit light and air. The temple was constructed entirely out of grey Arcadian limestone except for the Bassae Frieze which was carved from marble (probably in ancient times colored with paint). Like most major temples it has three "rooms" or porches: the "pronaos", plus a "naos" and an "opisthodomos". The "naos" may have housed a cult statue of Apollo, although it is also surmised that the single 'proto-Corinthian' capital discovered by Charles Robert Cockerell and subsequently lost at sea, may have topped the single column that stood in the centre of the naos, and have been intended as an aniconic representation of Apollo Borealis. The temple lacks some optical refinements found in the Parthenon, such as a subtly curved floor, though the columns have entasis.
The temple is unusual in that it has examples of all three of the classical orders used in ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric columns form the peristyle while Ionic columns support the interior and a single Corinthian column features in the centre of the interior. The Corinthian capital is the earliest example of the order found to date.
It was relatively sparsely decorated on the exterior. Inside, however, there was a continuous Ionic frieze showing Athenians in battle with Amazons and the Lapiths engaged in battle with Centaurs. This frieze's metopes were removed by Cockerell and taken to the British Museum in 1815 (they are still to be seen in the British Museum's Gallery 16, near the Elgin Marbles). Cockerell decorated the walls of the Ashmolean Museum's Great Staircase and that of the Travellers Club with plaster casts of the same frieze.
Re-discovery and removal by the British.
The temple had been noticed first in November 1765 by the French architect J. Bocher, who was building villas at Zante and came upon it quite by accident; he recognized it from its site, but when he returned for a second look, he was murdered by bandits. Charles Robert Cockerell and Carl Haller von Hallerstein, having secured sculptures at Aegina, hoped for more successes at Bassae in 1811; all Haller's careful drawings of the site were lost at sea, however.
The site was explored in 1812 with the permission of Veli Pasha, the Turkish commander of the Peloponnese, by a group of British antiquaries who removed 23 slabs from the Ionic cella frieze and transported them to Zante along with other sculptures. Veli Pasha's claims on the finds were silenced in exchange for a small bribe, and the frieze was bought at auction by the British Museum in 1815. This frieze's metopes were removed personally by Cockerell. The frieze sculptures were published in Rome in 1814 and officially, by the British Museum in 1820. Other hasty visits resulted in further publications. The first fully published excavation was not begun until 1836; it was carried out by Russian archaeologists, among which the painter Karl Bryullov. Perhaps the most striking discovery was the oldest Corinthian capital found to date. Some of the recovered artefacts are on display at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.
In 1902, a systematic excavation of the area was carried out by the Greek Archaeological Society of Athens under archaeologist Konstantinos Kourouniotis along with Konstantinos Romaios and Panagiotis Kavvadias. Further excavations were carried out in 1959, 1970 and from 1975–1979, under the direction of Nikolaos Gialouris.
Preservation.
The temple's remoteness— Pausanias is the only ancient traveller whose remarks on Bassae have survived— has worked to its advantage for its preservation. Other, more accessible temples were damaged or destroyed by war or preserved only by conversion to Christian uses; the Temple of Apollo escaped both these fates. Due to its distance from major metropolitan areas it also has less of a problem with acid rain which quickly dissolves limestone and damages marble carvings.
The temple of Apollo is presently covered in a white tent in order to protect the ruins from the elements. Conservation work is currently being carried out under the supervision of the Committee for the Conservation of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios of the Greek Ministry of Culture, which is based in Athens.


White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal

The White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal in Russian Federation have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The patrimony embraces eight medieval limestone monuments of Zalesye from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. They include Russian Orthodox churches and monastery, as well as a castle and gate:


Justin Brande

Justin Herbert Brande (1917–2000) was a conservationist and a farmer. Brande was the son of noted writer Dorothea Brande. He led conservation efforts in Vermont to promote organic agriculture and protect natural resources that spanned several decades.
Early life and education.
Brande was born to Dorothea Brande and Herbert Brande in Chicago, Illinois on May 30, 1917. He graduated from the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey in 1935. During his studies at the school, Brande played for the ice hockey team.
As a junior, Brande played on the 1933-1934 Morristown School hockey team that went on an overseas tour of Europe; the team played games against Germany, France, and Switzerland. They received a personal message of good luck in a telegram from President Franklin Roosevelt. During Brande's senior year, his Morristown School hockey team won the 1935 championship title for the New Jersey Prep School Hockey League. They defeated Montclair Academy (now Montclair Kimberley Academy) by a score of 8-2 at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.
Brande completed his bachelor's degree in philosophy at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He later earned a master's degree in resource economics from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont in 1975. After his graduate studies, Brande taught at the university's environmental studies department until 1985.
Leadership in conservation and organic agriculture.
Brande helped start several organizations in Vermont to facilitate conservation and sustainable agriculture. In 1963, he co-founded the Vermont Natural Resources Council with Dick Brett, Jim Martin, and Perry Merrill. At the Council's first annual meeting, Brande took on the role of chair. After the Council formed a board of directors in 1965, he served as a board member; four years later, he served as the Council's first executive director. During the 1990s, Brande co-founded the Smallholders Association with Morris Earle to advocate for sustainable farms and businesses. He also organized a conservation commission in Cornwall, Vermont during the 1970s.
During the 1950s, Brande invited organic farming pioneer Lady Eve Balfour to speak at Middlebury Grange Hall in Middlebury, Vermont. He then organized regional conventions for organic farming that influenced the establishment of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. Brande later helped establish the Lake Champlain Committee, which supports protection of the lake and its surrounding region. During the 1960s, he then served as coordinator of the committee's activities. He also served as a member of the board of directors of the Otter Creek Audubon Society and as a delegate to the Addison County Regional Planning Commission. In 1998, the Otter Creek Audubon Society awarded him their Silver Feather Award for exceptional service to the community.
Environmental legislation advocacy.
During the 1960s, Brande led advocacy in support of passage of Vermont Act 250, the state's land use and development law. Vermont's state legislature passed the act into law in 1970. Describing Brande's efforts to promote its passage, Governor Deane C. Davis stated, "Although a staunch environmentalist, he came to problems open-minded until all the evidence was in. Then be took his stand. Justin got me started, and kept after me until Act 250 was signed into law."
During the 1970s and 1980s, Brande testified at multiple Congressional hearings on environmental issues. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and its subcommittees held the hearings on:
Recognition and legacy.
On June 27, 2000, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy commemorated the legacy of Brande's conservation activities in Vermont on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Two years later, the Vermont Assembly in Montpelier, Vermont adopted a joint concurrent resolution (J.C.R.H 30) to honor his work. In 1999 and 2000, Middlebury College hosted the Justin Brande Symposium to discuss sustainability in energy and resource usage.
Family.
Brande married Susan (Kennedy) Brande, a graduate of Smith College, in Wonalancet, New Hampshire on October 9, 1948. They then moved to Vermont and purchased the family dairy farm in Cornwall in 1951. Brande and Susan Brande had eight children.


Lam Nam Nan National Park

Lam Nam Nan National Park () is a national park in Thailand's Phrae and Uttaradit provinces. The park is home to rugged mountains and the reservoir of the Sirikit Dam.
Geography.
Lam Nam Nan National Park is located about north of Uttaradit town in the Mueang district of Phrae Province and the Tha Pla and Nam Pat districts of Uttaradit Province. The park's area is .
The highest point is the Phu Phaya Pho peak in the Phi Pan Nam Range. The Sirikit Dam, impounding the Nan River, forms a large reservoir in the park. The park's streams also feed the Yom River, a tributary of the Nan.
Attractions.
The Sirikit Dam reservoir is a popular boating recreation spot and features a number of small islands and reefs. Choeng Thong waterfall is a year-round waterfall located on the Phrae side of the park. Phu Phaya Pho mountain offers sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and forested landscape.
Flora and fauna.
The park features numerous forest types, including deciduous, deciduous dipterocarp and dry evergreen forest. Tree species include teak, "makha", "Xylia xylocarpa", "Dalbergia oliveri", "Pterocarpus macrocarpus", "Shorea obtusa", "Prunus cerasoides", Burmese ebony and Siamese sal.
Animal species include Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear, serow, sambar deer, macaque, porcupine, palm civet and wild boar. Bird life includes malkoha, coucal, coppersmith barbet and bulbul.


Paljor Dorji

Dasho Paljor Jigme Dorji, commonly known as Dasho Benji, is a Bhutanese environmentalist, judge and diplomat.
Career.
Environmentalism.
Often referred to as Bhutan's "Godfather of Conservation", he established Bhutan's first non-governmental organization, the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature in 1987 to conserve the country's black-necked crane population and to preserve the country's biodiversity in general.
He was also involved in the drafting of "The Middle Path" the country's first National Environmental Strategy which was published in 1998. He also served as an advisor to numerous conservation and environmental organizations in Bhutan including the National Environment Commission. Dorji was also conferred the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Outstanding Environmental Stewardship Award for Policy Leadership. The Bhutan Ornithological Society as well as the Bhutan Ecological Society was founded by himself with him serving as founding president of the two organizations.
In 2018, he was named as one of the "Nature's Heroes" by the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature.
In the government.
Dorji has served in the government of Bhutan as early as 1969. He served as an advisor to the former king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck
As judge he served as Magistrate of Paro District from 1969 to 1972, as High Court Judge from 1972 to 1974. Jigme Palden Dorji appointed him as the first Chief Justice of Bhutan's High Court serving from 1974 to 1987 (acting capacity from 1974 until 1985). He was succeeded by "Lyonpo" Sangay Penjore who was appointed by the king in 1987.
He was also Deputy Minister for Social Services from 1988 to 1991, and Deputy Minister to the National Environment Commission 1994 to 1997.
As Diplomat.
As a diplomat, Paljor Dorji served as Ambassador to the United Nations and European capitals from 1991 to 1994.
Filmography.
Paljor Dorji featured in the 2016 film "Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart of Water in Bhutan" an adventure documentary by American director Greg Hamilton which tackles about the issues on setting up dams in Bhutan's rivers.
Personal life.
Paljor Dorji is the son of Bhutan's first prime minister, Jigme Palden Dorji. Tobgye Dorji is his brother, a former diplomat who became a hotelier in Paro. A member of the royal family, Paljor Dorji is a cousin of Bhutan's fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. His mother was Ashi Tsering Yangzom.
He is also credited for bringing the sport of basketball in Bhutan having learned the sport in from Canadian Jesuits in a boarding school in Darjeeling, India. He also introduced the sport to the royal family having taught the sport to King Jigme Singye Wangchuck when the monarch was still a teenager.


Tristan Island

Tristan Island or the Île Tristan is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid Estuary off the French port of Douarnenez in south-western Brittany. It is only about 450 m long and 250 m wide but despite its small size, it has a rich history. It is closely associated with Breton legends and the lost island of Ys. In the Middle Ages a priory was built there and the island was inhabited through much of the 20th century. In the 19th century, it became famous as the site of the first canning factory for sardines fished in the Bay of Douarnenez, the beginning of the sardine industry which was important for this region.
Now uninhabited, the island has become part of the national Parc naturel marin d'Iroise (Marine Park) established in 2007. It is accessible to tourists at low tide during spring tides most of the year, for a couple of hours at a time. A schedule is displayed on the mainland just across from the island, or can be obtained from the tourist office. At low tide, the island is connected to the mainland on the Douarnenez (or Eastern) side of the estuary.
History.
Tristan bears traces of civilization dating back to the Bronze Age. The written history of the island begins around 1118 when, according to a charter dated 1126, Robert de Locuvan, bishop of Cornouaille, donated the Island of St Tutuarn and the lands belonging to it to the Abbey of Marmoutier. As a result, a priory was built on the island. Douarnenez is Breton for the "land of the island," as the priory that owned the site on which the town was later built. In the 14th century, the island became known as Tristan, after the Breton legend of Tristan and Iseult.
One of the most colourful figures associated with Tristan was Guy Éder de la Fontenelle, a rebel-bandit who took possession of the island in 1595. He stationed his garrison of some 700 soldiers there, and proceeded to plunder most of the surrounding towns and villages.
After the island was acquired by Gustave le Guillou de Penanros in 1854, in the southern part of the island, La Planiche built a sardine press. Le Guillou de Penanros developed the harbour and the sardine processing plant on the island, the first of its kind. The sardine industry developed as Douarnenez' principal economic activity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1911, the island was purchased by Jean Richepin, an author and playwright. He built the rotunda and the Chapelle des Aviateurs commemorating the first transatlantic flight from Europe to the United States by Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte in September 1930.
In 1995, the island was bought by Conservatoire du Littoral. It has carried out restoration work on the buildings and maintained the paths and gardens. The island is now maintained as part of the national Parc naturel marin d'Iroise (Marine Park) established in 2007.
Landscape.
The small island has rocky coasts and sea cliffs. From its years of habitation, an orchard, and a tropical garden were cultivated and are still maintained. Several footpaths reveal stunning views of the Bay, as well as Tréboul and Port Rhu on the mainland. At the northern end of the island, a lighthouse and the ruins of an old fort can be seen.
Fauna and flora.
Rabbits and lizards abound on the island, as do a wide variety of seabirds, especially cormorants, guillemots and herons. The vegetation is particularly rich in magnolias, medlars and quince trees. Cedars, oak and apple trees have been planted, as well as exotic varieties of bamboo, myrtle and mimosa. A large orchard is located in the southern part of the island, in addition to a tropical garden with a giant bamboo plantation, magnolia and fuchsia.
Offices for the Marine Park.
The recently renovated canning factory is now used as offices for staff working for the national Iroise Marine Park or "Parc naturel marin d'Iroise" created in 2007.


Mozaffari Protected Area

Mozaffari Protected Area is a protected area in west of Ferdows County in South Khorasan province. It is located 40 kilometers west of Ferdows city. Its area is .
Polond desert and Ferdows Hole-in-the-Rock are located in Mozaffari Protected Area.


Addison Fischer

Addison M. Fischer is an American businessperson in information technology, a venture capital investor, and a philanthropist in the conservation of the environment.
Education.
Fischer holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from West Virginia University (1966-1972).
Career.
His career spans a variety of roles including computer software scientist, cryptologist, entrepreneur, inventor, investor, ecologist, conservationist and philanthropist.
1960s.
In 1968, while working for West Virginia University, he created software that amplified the throughput capability of IBM mainframe systems up to 40% (the high speed "Executor").
1970s.
In 1973 he created his first high-tech start-up company which in the late 1970s developed the "Top Secret" IBM mainframe security software (this is now owned by Computer Associates).
1980s.
In 1980 he was a principal founder of the Community School of Naples (FL), an independent K-12 school and was a trustee from 1980 through 2005.
In 1981 he founded Fischer International Systems Corporation, a communications software provider to the Global 2000, and serves as its Chairman. Current products include TAO, TapeSTREAM, and IOF. Retired products include Watchdog (PC security), and EMC2.
In 1981 he became co-owner, together with principal Stanley Druckenmiller, of Duquesne Capital Management until Druckenmiller's retirement in 2010. DCM had 30 consecutive years of positive investment returns averaging 30%.
In the 1980s he became majority owner of RSA Data Security and remained a board member until its merger with Security Dynamics in 1996.
1990s.
In 1995 he provided initial seed funding for the creation of Verisign Inc. which quickly attracted strategic partners and additional financing. Verisign became well known as a standard of internet commerce integrity.
In the early 1990s, he co-founded two small private Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Tierra del Oro and Camino del Oro, specializing in high-tech startup companies. These ventures have been incorporated into Zenerji LLC. He continues as a principal investor in a number of companies, including Audible Magic and Actify.
2000s.
In 2005 he established Fischer International Identity LLC to focus on internet cloud-based security software. He is Chairman.
2010s.
In 2011 he was a founding board member of
Oceans/Five, a role in which he continues.
In 2019 he joined the board of Tri-Alpha Energy, since renamed TAE Technologies, a company developing aneutronic atomic fusion to provide nuclear energy without radioactive by-products.
Standards work.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a member of several official ANSI committees that set U.S. standards for commercial computer security (ANSI X9) and electronic commerce (ANSI X12). He addressed the U.S. Congress, by invitation, on several topics, including digital signature standards, proposed FBI digital telephony legislation, and global U.S. competitiveness
From 1995 through 1999 he was a member of the Computer Systems Security and Privacy Advisory Board (since renamed the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board), and was involved in issues ranging from privacy to cyber-warfare.
He holds numerous U.S. and international patents.
Conservation and environment.
In addition to business interests, he is actively involved in preserving for future generations our environment, natural resources, health, food supply, and freedom.
In 2000, he organized acquisition of a substantial amount of sensitive primeval Costa Rican rainforest to prevent its destruction by timber and farming interests (www.LasAlturas.com).
From 2003 through 2005 he was a member of the board of the Amazon Conservation Team, a private NGO that works in concert with indigenous South American tribes to protect their ancestral lands. He serves as a member of their Advisory Board.
In 2005 he began supporting and working closely with Dr. Jane Goodall, and her worldwide conservation efforts. He has been a board member of the Jane Goodall Institute since 2008 and Vice-Chairman since 2011.
In 2007 he assumed an Advisory Board role in EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Has been a board member since 2011.
In 2008 he founded, with Ms. Cindy Mercer, the not-for-profit Planet Heritage Foundation to provide additional focus on global ecological issues (including forests, oceans, wildlife, and climate), and various other social, health and economic issues. The foundation works by fostering collaboration among other NGOs and governments to tackle the very large issues. The Oceans/Five funding collaborative is one of these.
In May 2009 he was elected as a director of the East West Institute which works to resolve and prevent international conflicts through non-governmental diplomatic channels.
In April 2010, he supported oceanographer Sylvia Earle and the TED Conference's Mission Blue voyage. This brought together in the Galapagos Islands 100 influential world leaders to seek strategic solutions to restoring and protecting the ocean. It was aboard this voyage that Oceans 5 was created.
Awards.
1990: Outstanding Paper of the Year, A.M.Fischer, "Electronic Document Authorization"
2000: received the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Recognition Award.
June 2008: awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from West Virginia University and delivered the commencement address.
June 2009: awarded the Hero of Privacy Award by the Electronic Privacy Information Center recognizing his efforts to focus attention on emerging civil liberties issues and protecting privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values.
2011: awarded the Philanthropist of the Year award by Wild Aid for his work in Asian Tiger Conservation.
2019: he was honored with the CQR Chairman's Award
by the IEEE Communications Quality and Reliability Technical Committee


Tso Moriri

Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri () or "Mountain Lake", is a lake in the Changthang Plateau (literally: northern plains) in Ladakh in Northern India. The lake and surrounding area are protected as the Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve.
The lake is at an altitude of . It is the largest of the high altitude lakes entirely within India and entirely within Ladakh in this Trans-Himalayan biogeographic region. It is about 16 miles (26 km) north to south in length and two to three miles (3 to 5 km) wide. The lake has no outlet at present and the water is brackish though not very perceptible to taste.
The lake is fed by springs and snow-melt from the adjacent mountains. Most water enters the lake in two major stream systems, one entering the lake from the north, the other from the southwest. Both stream systems include extensive marshes where they enter the lake. It formerly had an outlet to the south, but this has become blocked and the lake has become an endorheic lake. The lake is oligotrophic in nature, and its waters are alkaline.
Accessibility to the lake is largely limited to summer season, though Karzok on the northwest shore and the military facilities on the eastern shores have year-round habitation.
Topography.
As per a classification of the Himalayan Lakes done on the basis of their origin, there are four groups and Tso Moriri falls under the third group of "remnant lakes". The classification as reported states:
"(i) Glacial lakes which are formed in and around glaciers; (ii) Structural lakes, formed by folds or faults due to movements in earth’s crust (e.g. Nainital lake in Uttarakhand), (iii) "Remnant lakes" which were originally structural but represent the remnants of vast lakes (e.g., Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Pangong Tso in Ladakh, and Dal Lake in Kashmir), (iv) Natural dammed lakes i.e., temporary water bodies formed along the river courses due to deposition of rocks or debris e.g. Gohna Tal in Garhwal, Uttarakhand."
The Changthang Plateau in the eastern Ladakh represents a landscape of low productive ecosystems which protects unique floral and faunal species. The area is an extension of the western Tibetan plateau that lies above msl and supports diverse but low populations of several globally threatened mammals. The lake's basin could also be categorised as an basin since it is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans.
The lake is 20 to 50 kilometers southeast of the elevated valley of the core Rupshu Valley and falls within the greater Rupshu Plateau and valley area. The lake is ringed by mountains rising over , including Mentok Kangri and Lungser Kangri. "Changpa", the nomadic migratory shepherds (pastoral community) of yak, sheep, goat, and horses of Tibetan origin and who are engaged in trade and work on caravans in Ladakh region, are the main inhabitants of the area. Changpa (Champa) herders use the land of this valley as grazing ground and for cultivation.
The Working Report (2006) of the Planning Commission of the Government of India also reports:
Despite a poor vegetation cover, relatively low standing biomass and high anthropogenic pressure, this area sustains a considerably high livestock population. Steady increase in the livestock population in the area is mainly attributed to influx of nomadic herders from Tibet during recent decades and promotion of Pashmina goat production by the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) for fine quality under wool (Pashmina). The herders and AHD officials, in recent years have begun to raise concern over degradation of pastures, resultant shortage of forage, and mass mortality of livestock during severe winters.
The Korzok Monastery, on the western bank of the lake is 400 years old and attracts tourists and Buddhist pilgrims. Tourism during May – September attracts large number of foreign and local tourists even though tented accommodation is the facility available, apart from a small PWD guest house close to the Lake.
Northeast of Tso Moriri is a small lake which is known locally as Lake of Joy.
Access.
The lake is located to the southeast of Leh in eastern Ladakh, ladakh, at a road distance of . The road is in a good condition for the most part. One can also reach Tsomoriri directly from the Pangong Tso via the remote Changtang region. This is considered to be one of the most beautiful drives in the entire Ladakh region. Foreigners are not allowed to go beyond the Man - Merak villages on Pangong Tso as permits are not issued for them. The distance between Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri is 235 km and there are no petrol pumps in the area. Carrying enough fuel is therefore necessary. Leh is also connected by air with many destinations in India.
Hydrology and water quality.
The lake, with water spread area of is enclosed by peaks exceeding 6,000 meters on both the east and west sides. On the south, a nearly flat valley connects with but does not drain into or out of the Pare Chu river which is part of Sutlej river basin. Lingdi Nadi, major tributary of Tso Moriri, drains western catchment area of the lake and joins the lake on its south side. This valley contains the Nuro Sumdo wetlands (with a catchment area of ), a boggy area that mostly drains into the Pare Chu. Several small mountain streams feed the lake, including one through pasture land at Peldo Le. The lake is fed by springs and snow melt and has a maximum depth of . Aridity and cold desert conditions prevail in the lake region; with summer temperature varying from 0° to 30 °C (32° to 86 °F) and winter temperature recording −10° and −40 °C (14° to -40 °F). Geologically the lake is in Ordovician rock.
Fauna and flora.
An avifaunal survey of the lake and its adjoining Nuro Sumdo wetland conducted in July 1996 revealed the following facts:
Vegetation.
While the deeper parts of the lake have no vegetation, the shallow areas are reported to have "Potamogeton" sps. Marshes have several species of sedges and reeds, particularly "Carex", "Caragana" and "Astragalus" sps., which are all representative of the surrounding arid steppe vegetation. Details of the Vegetation recorded in the area comprises the following:
Ramsar site.
Largely based on the ecological diversity of the Lake (explained in the previous section) and its surroundings, the Tsomiriri was notified in November 2002 under the List of Ramsar Wetland sites under the Ramsar Convention. The justification could be summarized as:
Threats to the lake.
There are a number of threats to the Lake, such as:
Conservation efforts.
The need for evolving a strategy and an action plan to preserve the extreme fragility of the lake ecosystem has been recognized with the needed emphasis at the National and International level to develop the lake conservation activity with participation of all stakeholders. The actions initiated in this direction are:
Tso Moriri is an administratively declared Wetland Reserve. Legally, shooting wildlife is prohibited. The State Department of Wildlife has set up a check post near Mahe Bridge at the entrance towards the lake.
WWF-India Project has established a field office at Korzok on the northwest shore of Tso Moriri for ‘Conservation of High Altitude Wetlands in Ladakh Region’ to carry out surveys, interact with tourists, tour guides, act as information centre and conduct education awareness programmes for locals, tourists etc.
Wildlife Institute of India has also set up a field station at Leh to carry out scientific research in the region. Nature clubs have been set up and Information booklet on the lake published. Efforts of WWF – India has also resulted in the local community declaring Tso Moriri as a ‘Sacred Gift for a Living Planet’ during the Annual Conference held in Nepal in November 2000.
Some of the other achievements so far reported on the Lake's conservation are:
The Indian Army has committed to support and set up a Nature Interpretation Centre at 'Hall of Fame', Leh.
World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) role.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature — India (WWF-India) is spearheading the efforts at conservation of the Tso Moriri lake in particular, and the Ladakh region in general. WWF's activities as a NGO have spanned more than 30 years. The main objective set by WWF is the main activities planned for the Tso Moriri and other wetlands in Ladakh regions are:
"The Promotion of Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection as the Basis for Sustainable and Equitable Development."


College of African Wildlife Management

The College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM) commonly known as Mweka College or just Mweka, is located near the Village of that name on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, above the city of Moshi, about 14 kilometres north of its centre.
The locality also gives its name to the Mweka Trail, one of the routes on Kilimanjaro, used for the descent.
Following the independence of Tanganyika in 1961, the College of African Wildlife Management was established in 1963 by Bruce Kinloch as a pioneer institution for the training of African wildlife managers. Initial funding for Mweka was provided by the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation (now known as the African Wildlife Foundation), the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, with facilities donated by the government of Tanganyika. Since this time, the College has trained over 5,000 wildlife managers from 52 countries worldwide (28 African countries and 24 other countries in the world), the majority are working in protected areas throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The majority of the College's students come from the SADC region, although the College opens its doors to all students with an interest in African wildlife management. A good number of students also come from countries such as Western and Eastern Europe, United States, India, Sri Lanka, Japan and many other countries.
The college, in theory, serves two main purposes:
1) To prepare both local and international students for work within the national parks and reserves of Tanzania and whole Africa.
2) To prepare students for work within the safari industries (photographic & hunting) within Tanzania and whole Africa.


Trier Cathedral

The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (), or Trier Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest church in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier, notable for its long life span and grand design. The central part of the nave was built of Roman brick in the early fourth century, resulting in a cathedral that was added onto gradually in different eras. The imposing Romanesque westwork, with four towers and an additional apse, has been copied repeatedly. The Trier Cathedral Treasury contains an important collection of Christian art. In 1986 the church was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier.
History.
According to certain sources, the cathedral was commissioned by Emperor Constantine the Great and built on top of a palace of Saint Helen, his mother. Following the conversion of Constantine to Christianity, bishop Maximin (329-346) is said to have coordinated the construction of a cathedral, which at the time was the grandest ensemble of ecclesiastical structures in the West outside Rome. On a groundplan four times the size of the present cathedral no less than four basilicas, a baptistry and outbuildings were constructed. Archaeological research confirms that the current cathedral, as well as the adjacent cloisters and Church of Our Lady, is raised upon the foundations of ancient Roman buildings of "Augusta Treverorum". The four piers of the crossing of the present church, as well as parts of the brick outer walls are remnants from this period.
The fourth-century church was left in ruins by the Franks but rebuilt. It was destroyed again by the Vikings in 882. Under Archbishop Egbert (d. 993) rebuilding started, completed by Poppo of Babenberg (1016-1041). The famous west façade dates from this period, although the apse was not finished until 1196. Throughout the centuries the church continued to be rebuilt and embellished, according to the fashion of the period with Gothic vaults, Renaissance sculptures and Baroque chapels, but the overall style of the building remains Romanesque with a Roman core.
Description.
Exterior.
Large sections of Roman brickwork are visible on the north façade. The imposing westwork of Trier Cathedral consist of five symmetrical sections and is typical of Romanesque architecture under the Salian emperors (11th century). The westwork was started by Poppo von Babenberg (1010-47) and completed by Eberhard (1047-66). Its four towers are more or less symmetrically placed on both sides of the western apse. It served as an example for many other churches in Rhine-Meuse area. The Latin inscription above the clock on the tallest tower reads "NESCITIS QVA HORA DOMINVS VENIET" ("You do not know what time the Lord is coming"). The east choir is less prominent, due to its built-in location and the addition of the Chapel of the Holy Tunic in the early 18th century.
Interior.
The interior measures 112.5 by 41 meter. It consists of three largely Romanesque naves with Gothic vaulting. The original Roman structure is difficult to read on the inside but its basic rectangular form may still be recognized in the three easternmost bays of the nave. The four original columns were reused in the 11th century but changed into cruciform piers. A Baroque chapel for the relic of the Seamless robe of Jesus, recovered from the previous main altar in 1512, was added behind the east choir and is visible through an opening in the wall. The west choir is also decorated in the style of the German Baroque, and so are the chapels of Our Lady and the Holy Sacrament (with the "Golden Gate", part of the former rood screen), and most of the altars in the church. A Romanesque tympanum depicts Christ with the Virgin Mary and Saint Peter. The main church organ appears old but dates from 1974.
Treasury and relics.
The Seamless Robe of Jesus, the robe said to have been worn by Jesus shortly before his crucifixion, is the best-known relic of the cathedral. It is kept in an annex chapel and shown to the public infrequently, most recently in 2012. The skull of St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is displayed in the east crypt of the cathedral. Her drinking cup is kept in the cathedral's treasury as well as the so-called Egbert Shrine. This is a decorated portable altar that contained the sole of a sandal of St. Andrew and other relics. Another reliquary from the same period contains a Holy Nail from the Cross of Jesus. Both objects are considered highlights of Ottonion goldsmithery.
Cloisters.
The Gothic cloisters were built between 1245 and 1270. They connect the Cathedral and the Liebfrauenkirche. In the western section of the cloisters is a chapel where the cathedral's canons were buried. On the outside wall is a bell from 1682. Adjacent to the cloisters are several annex buildings. The so-called "Romanesque Room" was the former cathedral school. The "Gothic Room" was used for distributing bread to the poor.


Society for the Promotion of Himalayan Indigenous Activities

The Society for the Promotion of Himalayan Indigenous Activities (SOPHIA) is a non-profit organisation based in the state of Uttarakhand in India. SOPHIA's office is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, while its operational coverage extends through the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand (UK), and Himachal Pradesh (HP). The organisation works for indigenous communities to improve their living conditions and to facilitate the process of claiming forests rights through the 2006 Forest Rights Act. SOPHIA's director is Praveen Kaushal.
Since its founding, SOPHIA has particularly worked with the Muslim nomadic Van Gujjar community who dwell in the forest of the Western Himalayas and practice buffalo pastoralism. The Van Gujjars have since the early 1990s been subject to politics of forest conservation where the construction of Protected Areas, nobably Rajaji National Park and Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, has led to governmental actions for their forced displacement. SOPHIA has worked to advocate the claims of Van Gujjars and to help the Gujjar community access information through the Right to Information Act in this process.
History.
SOPHIA was registered as a Society in Uttarakhand in August 1996. The organisation was an offshoot of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that behan working for the Van Gujjar community but increasingly had turned to other issues. Consequently, SOPHIA was founded by staff from RLEK's former Van Gujjar Programme.
Since 1996 SOPHIA has run a milk marketing programme with the Van Gujjar community while advocating Van Gujjar issues in media and legal institutions. Between 2001 and 2004 SOPHIA ran a health programme in the Van Gujjar community. Addressing health and family planning issues served as a means for women's empowerment through the formation of women's groups. In these groups Gujjar women could also raise non-health related issues and set aside money for women-only loans.
After 2004 SOPHIA's focus has shifted to a rights-based approach focusing on domicile rights (including claiming the rights of Van Gujjars to vote in state and national elections), anti-corruption, and forest rights. SOPHIA's work is based on a Van Gujjar community "self-diagnosis process" in which the Gujjars formulate the priorities to be kept by SOPHIA.
The Milk Programme.
The Milk Programme is a market intervention project initiated by RLEK and taken over by SOPHIA in 1996. The programme has set up a collection point in Mohand, UP, where Van Gujjars deliver buffalo milk. The milk is then distributed in a van directly to consumers.
The programme was initiated to alleviate a set of economic difficulties emanating from the gradual transformation, beginning in the 1950s, of the milk-based economy of the Van Gujjars. Whereas the Van Gujjar economy had been based on bartering, the milk was increasingly incorporated in a monetised market. In this process, the Van Gujjar community was caught in a vicious circle of debt-induced dependency on milk middlemen who offered only a fraction of the selling price of milk to Van Gujjar producers.
By setting up facilities in Mohand, SOPHIA offers substantially lower prices for the milk than that of competing dairy traders. This forced an immediate price hike in the mid-1990s. In 1995, before the programme was initiated, Van Gujjars received Rs. 6.25 per litre. After the programme's initiation in 1996 prices rose to Rs. 9 per litre. As of 2012, one litre sells for Rs. 38 of which the Van Gujjar producers receive Rs. 36. Prices have steadily stayed ahead of general Indian inflation and all Van Gujjars are today free from debt-induced constraints.
Forest rights claims.
Since the enactment of the "Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act", commonly referred to as the Forest Rights Act, in 2006 SOPHIA has assisted Himalayan indigenous communities, notably the Van Gujjars, to file forest rights claims. Many tribal community settlements are located on land owned by the Indian Forest Department which puts them under constant threats of eviction. The Forest Rights Act gives an opportunity for forest dwelling communities to hold legal rights to land and minor forest produce if they can prove, through documentation, that they have been residing in the area for at least three generations or 75 years. In this process SOPHIA works to capacitate the Van Gujjar community and settled populations in Saharanpur (UP), Dehradun (UK), and Uttarkashi (UK) districts to negotiate legal and regulatory pathways to securing forest rights.


The Road of Heritage Sites in Central Vietnam

The Road of Heritage Sites in Central Vietnam is a tourism program initiated by the Administration of Tourism of Vietnam. This road will link World Heritage Sites in the Middle of Vietnam, namely: Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh province), ancient capital of Huế, ancient trade port city of Hoi An (Quang Nam province) and My Son Champa ancient capital. This road will also link other World Heritage points of Angkor Wat (Cambodia) and Luang Prabang (Laos) in another tourism program called "Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia, 3 countries, one destination".


Charles Gordon Hewitt

Charles Gordon Hewitt (February 23, 1885February 29, 1920) was a Canadian economic entomologist and pioneer of conservation biology. He was appointed dominion entomologist of Canada in 1909. He helped pass the Destructive Insect and Pest Act in 1910, and implemented significant changes in the Department of Agriculture. He published several books on the subjects of biology and entomology, and helped to further the 1916 treaty between Canada and the United States for the protection of migratory birds.
Early life and education.
Hewitt was born in Macclesfield, England on February 23, 1885. His parents were Thomas Henry Hewitt and Rachel Frost. Hewitt studied at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Macclesfield, and subsequently attended the University of Manchester from 1902 to 1909. He received a BSc in 1902, an MSc in 1903 and a DSc in 1909 from that university, and was appointed assistant lecturer in zoology in 1902 and lecturer in economic zoology in 1909.
Department of Agriculture.
Expansion of entomology services.
Hewitt was appointed dominion entomologist of Canada in May 1909, the second to hold that post, succeeding James Fletcher. He travelled to Canada in September of the same year to take up his position, and immediately began an overhaul of the entomology service in the Department of Agriculture. By 1915, Hewitt had expanded the entomology service from a small division of the experimental-farms branch into its own branch of the Department with four divisions, each headed by an entomologist. These divisions included systemic entomology, field-crop and garden insects, forest insects, and foreign-pest suppression. Hewitt had a talent for attracting the top entomologists of the time, including Reginald Charles Treherne and Norman Criddle. In 1916, Hewitt became consulting zoologist to the dominion as well as dominion entomologist.
Destructive Insect and Pest Act 1910.
Hewitt was instrumental in the initiation and implementation of the Destructive Insect and Pest Act 1910. Hewitt helped draft the act, and established twelve field laboratories, which sought to investigate insect problems and outbreaks regionally through the central federal government. Hewitt structured entomological issues as a central issue, which resulted in a vast number of insect-pest problems in the agricultural industry being solved.
Conservation biology.
Hewitt was also very involved with the parks and forestry branches of the Department of the Interior, working closely with James Bernard Harkin on the subjects of bird sanctuaries, game preserves, and the general protection of wildlife. He helped to further negotiations in the 1916 Convention on the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the United States, which provides regulations on the hunting of migratory game birds. Hewitt was also instrumental in the negotiation of the Northwest Game Act of 1917, which set regulations for the hunting of birds and animals in the north of Canada.
Publications and scientific legacy.
He published over 130 articles, monographs and reports on subjects ranging from conservation biology to the control of pest insects, compiled in the bibliography "The Writings of the Late C. Gordon Hewitt After His Death" by the entomological branch. He published several notable books, including "The Conservation of Wild Life in Canada" and "Miscellaneous Papers on Insects". He was a fellow of the Entomological Society of London, a member of the Zoological Society of London, a fellow of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, president of the Entomological Society of Ontario, a fellow and treasurer of the Royal Society of Canada, president of the American Association of Economic Entomologists, and president of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. The C. Gordon Hewitt Award is awarded annually by the Entomological Society of Canada to persons under the age of 40 who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of entomology.
Awards.
Hewitt was awarded the gold medal of the RSPB in 1918 for his role in negotiating the Convention on the Protection of Migratory Birds of 1916 and for his role in negotiating the Northwest Game Act of 1917.
Other activities.
In addition to his entomological and conservation activities, Hewitt was president of the Ottawa Boys' Home, a councilor of the Ottawa Humane Society, and founding president of the Professional Institute of the Civil Service of Canada in 1920, which was renamed as the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada in 1950. Hewitt also had interests in home-gardening, literature, art, and music.
Death.
He contracted influenza after returning from the Federal Commission of Conservation in Montreal in February 1920. Several days later his influenza developed into pleural pneumonia, and he died at the age of 35 on February 29, 1920.


Tortuguero Conservation Area

Tortuguero Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in Limón Province, northeastern Costa Rica.
It contains a national park, several wildlife refuges and protected zones.


Mararoa River

The Mararoa River is one of the braided rivers of the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long-lasting cultivations" for "Māraroa".
Description.
The river feeds into the Mavora Lakes and discharges into the Waiau River eight kilometres downstream from where it leaves Lake Manapouri. Water from the Mararoa River is fed into the Waiau River by a control structure at the confluence of the two rivers. This is used to control the level of Lake Manapouri for hydroelectric power generation.
The river has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull. Didymo, an invasive organism discovered in New Zealand in 2004, has been found in the river.


List of World Heritage Sites in Croatia

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Croatia, following its declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991, succeeded the convention on 6 July 1992.
Currently, there are ten sites inscribed on the list and 15 sites on the tentative list. The first three sites, Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian, Dubrovnik, and Plitvice Lakes National Park, were inscribed to the list at the 3rd UNESCO session in 1979. Further sites were added in 1997, 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2017. In total, there are eight cultural and two natural sites, as determined by the organization's selection criteria. Three of the sites are shared with other countries.
During the Croatian War of Independence, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, military confrontations took place in Dubrovnik (Siege of Dubrovnik) and in the Plitvice Lakes area. Extensive artillery damage in Dubrovnik and landmines laid around Plitvice resulted in the two sites being listed as endangered in 1991. Following their restoration, Plitvice and Dubrovnik were removed from the list of endangered sites in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Although Croatia's World Heritage Sites generate large numbers of visitors, new threats are emerging due to the detrimental effects of uncontrolled mass tourism.
World Heritage Sites.
UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, whereas vii through x are natural.
Tentative list.
In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. As of 2021, Croatia recorded fifteen sites on its tentative list.
External links.


Campaign to Save Native Forests

The Campaign to Save Native Forests (W.A.) (CSNF) was the name of a grassroots organisation which grew from a campaign started in Perth, Western Australia, in 1975, as a response to the development of a woodchipping industry in the south-west jarrah and karri forests of Western Australia. The Manjimup woodchip project aroused significant levels of protest in Perth and the South West region out of public concern that inadequate measures had been made for conservation alongside exploitation of the south west hardwood forests.
The public figures and faces of the CSNF at the time—Beth Schulz, Basil Schur, and Neil Bartholomaeus—each gained extensive coverage on the local media during public rallies at Wagerup and elsewhere.
At the times that the CSNF tried to cope with the issues of governmental and forestry business pressures to develop woodchipping, and mining in the jarrah forest, another group started as well—the South West Forests Defence Foundation. There was co-operation between the groups on some issues as well as joint publications.
The CSNF subsequently campaigned in response to mining by Alcoa in the jarrah forest on the Darling Scarp, conducting rallies and protests outside the alumina refinery construction site at Wagerup in February, May, and August 1979. It was involved in submissions to Australian federal and Western Australian state inquiries on forestry through the late 1980s.
Many members of CSNF went on to become involved in other groups and associations, such as West Australian Forest Alliance, Great Walk Networking, and other groups usually associated with the Conservation Council of Western Australia. Many of these groups did not gain the extensive national attention and subsequent political ramifications that, for example, the Tasmanian Wilderness Society did with its early 1980s "No Dams" campaign for the Franklin River, which influenced Tasmanian domestic politics for a decade. However, they did have coverage in local media for their particular issues, and despite the lack of national attention they had marked impact on the ways that all levels of government proceeded with environmentally problematic issues.
Journal.
" C.S.N.F. news." Perth [W.A.] : Campaign to Save Native Forests. July 1978-April 1991
References.
0724462767 - Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Science and the Environment on the Woodchips (Manjimup) Project.


List of protected areas of Estonia

Protected areas in Estonia are national parks, nature reserves and landscape protection areas (nature parks).
Estonia has five national parks, 167 nature reserves and 152 landscape conservation areas. In addition, there are 116 (118) protected areas with an old (Soviet-era) protection regulation and 537 parks. In total, 18.1% of Estonia are protected nature areas, with Lääne County having the highest percentage (32%) and Põlva County the lowest percentage of protected areas, about 9%.


Ss. Peter and Paul, Wannsee

Ss. Peter and Paul Church on Nikolskoë is a Protestant church in the Volkspark Glienecke in Berlin, Germany. It is currently administered by the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin.
History.
King Friedrich Wilhelm III had the church built for the residents of Klein-Glienicke and Pfaueninsel on a bluff on the Havel near the Pfaueninsel and the Nikolskoë Blockhouse. It was designed by the architects Friedrich August Stüler and . Friedrich Wilhelm selected the Russian style to commemorate the marriage of his daughter Charlotte to the later Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. The king visited them at St. Petersburg in 1818 and for a return visit a year later had a Russian-style blockhouse built in the park at Glienicke, naming it "Nikolskoë". In 1832, the king then ordered the construction of the nearby church which took place from 1834 to 1837.
It was inaugurated on August 13, 1837.
Until 1961, when the Berlin Wall cut the parish into three separate parts, Ss. Peter and Paul Church was part of the "Evangelical Congregation of Neubabelsberg", then comprising a parish in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Klein-Glienicke (divided between Berlin and Potsdam), Nikolskoë and Potsdam-Sacrow with the further chapel in Klein-Glienicke and the Church of the Redeemer, Sacrow.
On December 22, 1941 the official "German Evangelical Church" called for suited actions by all Protestant church bodies to withhold baptised non-Aryans from all spheres of Protestant church life. Many German Christian-dominated congregations followed suit. However, the "Evangelical Congregation of Neubabelsberg" handed in a list of signatures in protest against the exclusion of the stigmatised Protestants of Jewish descent.
Description.
The church has a Russian Orthodox profile, with the noteworthy difference that it has only one onion dome, instead of the five usually seen in Russia.
Ss. Peter and Paul contains the grave of Prince Charles of Prussia. The design of its current glockenspiel is based on that of the Potsdam Garrison Church.


Minerva Hamilton Hoyt

Minerva Hamilton Hoyt (March 27, 1866 – December 15, 1945) was an early American activist who worked to preserve California desert areas, and promoted the establishment of Joshua Tree National Park. Born on a Mississippi plantation, she later lived in East Coast cities with her physician husband before they moved to South Pasadena, California in 1897. There she gradually became deeply interested in desert plants and habitat.
Early life and move to California.
Minerva Hamilton was born on March 27, 1866 on a plantation near Durant, Mississippi to an upper-class family. She attended a local school for white students, many from the planter class.
After marrying Dr. Albert Sherman Hoyt, they live for a time in New York and Baltimore, and had two sons together.
In 1897 they moved to South Pasadena, California. In California, Hoyt used her influence as a wealthy socialite to support civic causes. Among these was the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Preserving natural habitat.
Hoyt became interested in Southern California's desert plants through her interest in gardening, particularly cactus and Joshua Trees. After the death of her husband in 1918, she became concerned that increased automobile traffic in the desert was threatening the area.
Hoyt began to exhibit desert plants across the country, to educate people about their qualities. Exhibitions included the national 1928 Garden Club of America show in New York, where the work was seen and commented on by Secretary of Agriculture William Jardine. She later exhibited as far as London. The exhibitions were significant efforts—for the New York exhibition, seven freight cars of rocks, plants, and sand were shipped across the country, and fresh flowers were flown in.
In March, 1930 Hoyt founded the International Desert Conservation League. Throughout the 1930s she worked to encourage the state of California to create three parks, including Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Anza-Borrego Desert. Though initially thwarted, in 1936, she gained support by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which designated more than 800,000 acres in California desert area as the Joshua Tree National Monument.
She also worked to appeal to the Mexican government, appealing to the latter to set aside 10,000 acres for cactus preservation.


Edwards Barham

Erle Edwards Barham (July 10, 1937 – October 17, 2014) was a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, the first from that party since Reconstruction. He first won the Senate seat in December 1975 beating L.B Loftin by just 89 votes.
Barham was a certified flight instructor, and was killed when he struck a perimeter fence while taxiing an airplane on the runway.


Egyptian Protectorates

Law 102 of 1983 empowered the Prime Minister to designate certain areas to be declared as protectorates. A Prime Minister's decree defines the limits of each protected area and sets the basic principles for its management and for the preservation of its resources. Twenty four protectorates have been declared so far. Note that these are completely unrelated to colonial "protectorates".


Jan Herman van Heek

Jan Herman van Heek (Enschede, 20 October 1873 – Doetinchem, 25 January 1957) was a Dutch industrialist, textile manufacturer, patron of the arts, art collector and nature conservationist and owner of Huis Bergh.


Hardap Recreation Resort

The Hardap Recreation Resort (also known as "Hardap Nature Reserve") is a National Park located in southern Namibia. It was proclaimed in 1968 and measures . Hardap is situated in Hardap Region, about south of Windhoek and about west of Mariental. It surrounds the Hardap Dam, Namibia's largest dam, which lies on the Fish River. There is a game park on the southern side of the dam.
History.
The name Hardap is derived from the Nama word meaning 'nipple' or 'wart', in reference to the surrounding landscape of low conical shaped hills. Although first investigations to build a dam at Hardap were carried as early as 1897, construction started in 1960 and the dam was completed in 1963. It has a capacity of 320 million m3 and a surface area of 25 km2.
Geography and Access.
The Resort is dominated by the Hardap Dam, the Fish and Groot Komatsas rivers. There are open savannah plains and mountanious areas include the Gemsbok Plateau.
Biology and ecology.
Flora.
Hardap is in the Nama Karoo Biome and is characterised by Dwarf Shrubland. Common trees include the Shepherd's tree ("Boscia albitrunca"), camel thorn ("Vachellia erioloba", formerly "Acacia erioloba") green-hair thorn ("Parkinsonia africana") Karee or willow rhus ("Searsia lancea") and buffalo thorn ("Ziziphus mucronata").
Fauna.
Common mammals are kudu, oryx, springbok, steenbok, Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, red hartebeest and ostrich. There is also a small population of black rhino. Nearly 300 bird species are found here, including Yellow-billed stork, Osprey, African fish eagle, Goliath heron, Bradfield's swift and Stark's lark. The dam has one of the three largest Great white pelican breeding colonies in Namibia.
Recreation.
Hardap is a popular angling area. Annual angling competitions are held. Permits are required and are obtained from the Hardap Regional Council office. Water sports such as canoeing and boating are permitted. There are two hiking trails in the park for day hikers. Game drives are permitted in the game park surrounding Hardap Dam, within the Resort area.
Namibia Wildlife Resorts manages accommodation in the Park. Accommodation was upgraded during a four-year, N$40 million renovation period, and the resort reopened on 1 December 2015. Hardap has a restaurant, conference facilities, a swimming pool, 5 VIP Bungalows, 15 self-catering Family Chalets, 30 Bush Chalets, a dormitory and campsites.
Park Management.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is responsible for park management. Invasive plants such as "Datura inoxa", "Nicotiana glauca" and "Prosopis glandulosa" are a key environmental issue. Incidents of subsistence poaching, involving traps and snares for small antelope are recorded.


Whitestone River

The Whitestone River is a river in New Zealand, a tributary of the Mararoa River. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.


Calaminarian grassland

Calaminarian grassland is grassland where the process of seral succession has been halted due to the toxicity of soils containing high levels of toxic metal ions. These habitats may be semi-natural on naturally exposed deposits, or the result of mining, or from erosion by rivers, sometimes including washed-out mine workings.
In the United Kingdom calaminarian grassland is regarded as one of its 'habitats of principal importance for biodiversity conservation' and is predominantly found on industrial or post-industrial land, especially in the east of Cumbria and western dales, the Peak District and north west Wales and parts of the Scottish Highlands. Semi-natural examples are rarer and found mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Some examples include Cwmystwyth in West Wales, Halkyn Mountain in Flintshire, Upper Teesdale in County Durham, Oxclose in Tyne and Wear, Caenlochan in eastern Scotland, the Isle of Rhum in western Scotland and Keen of Hamar in Shetland.
Situations where such grasslands occur include near-natural, on Serpentine soil and mineral vein outcrops with thin soils; on riverside shingle in areas with high levels of lead and zinc, especially when there has been mining activity upstream; spoil heaps and areas surrounding old mine workings, especially in limestone areas.
Species typical of Calaminarian grasslands include spring sandwort ("Minuartia verna"), field pennycress ("Thlaspi arvense"), genetically adapted races of species such as thrift ("Armeria maritima") and bladder campion ("Silene uniflora"). Other notable species include Young's helleborine ("Epipactis youngiana"), forked spleenwort ("Asplenium septentrionale"), Cornish path-moss ("Ditrichum cornubicum"), western rustwort ("Marsupella profunda"), "Cephaloziella nicholsonii", " Ditrichum plumbicola", Scottish sandwort ("Arenaria norvegica") and Shetland mouse-ear ("Cerastium nigrescens").
Grasslands of this type and the rocky outcrops they are associated with provide habitat for several of Britain's rarest plants. These include northern rock-cress ("Arabis petraea"), forked spleenwort ("Asplenium septentrionale") and Young’s helleborine ("Epipactis youngiana"). There are also a number of rare mosses, liverworts and lichens.


Katsuren Castle

 is a Ryukyuan "gusuku" in Uruma, Okinawa. In 2000, Katsuren Castle was designated as a World Heritage Site, as a part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu.
History.
Katsuren Castle was built on a large hill of Ryukyuan limestone, above sea level on the Katsuren Peninsula. With the Pacific Ocean on two sides, it is also called the "Ocean Gusuku". Its "golden age" was in the mid-15th century, under the powerful Aji of Katsuren, Amawari. The castle was destroyed in 1458 by the Ryukyuan army. Precious tile and Chinese porcelain of the era have been excavated from Katsuren. Such remains testify to the magnificence of the ancient structure and the robust entrepôt trade between Japan, Korea, China, and Southeast Asia. The castle also has an active shrine of the Ryukyuan religion within the first bailey dedicated to Kobazukasa. In the 2010 Okinawa earthquake an outer wall at the northeast of the third bailey of Katsuren Castle was damaged.
Katsuren Castle was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 as part of one of the nine "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu". Katsuren Castle was designated a by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1972.
In 2016, both ancient Roman currency and medieval Ottoman currency were excavated there. This was the first time that Roman coins were excavated in Japan.
Transportation.
Katsuren Castle can be reached from the Naha Bus Terminal at Naha Airport via the Number 52 bus route, a ride of 1 hour and 20 minutes from the bus terminal. The castle is a five-minute walk from the stop. The castle site can also be reached by the Okinawa Expressway via the Okinawa Minami IC.


Friends of Quantock

Friends of Quantock is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the object of the “conservation, protection and improvement of the landscape and natural environment of the Quantock Hills”. They are a totally independent charity, funded and governed by their own membership as “guardians of the
Quantock Hills on behalf of the public”.
Quantock Hills.
The Quantock Hills is an area of Somerset in the UK, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), much of it also Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of great natural beauty, historical, literary and scientific importance, a haven for wildlife and rare species containing upland heath, forest and coastline open for public access.
History.
Friends of Quantock was first formed in 1949 in response to proposals to fell ancient woodland in Hodders Combe and to turn over a large area of heathland to commercial conifer plantation. The first president was the Bishop of Bath and Wells. After gathering public support to successfully defeat those proposals The Friends of Quantock subsequently campaigned for proper management and protection of the Hills leading to the Quantocks becoming an AONB in 1956 and to the setting up of the Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee in 1973.
They opposed plans to build an 18 hole Golf Course on top of the hills in the 1970s.
In 2013 they acquired two tracts of land from Somerset County Council and were incorporated as a CIO.
Activities.
Over the years Friends of Quantock has commissioned reports and surveys of Quantock plants and wildlife, made grants for restoration projects of landscape features, published books and leaflets, commented on planning applications and served on the Joint Advisory Committee. They have campaigned over litter, vehicle use, deer poaching, quarries, overhead power lines, and public rights of way.
Land acquisition.
In 2012 Somerset County Council declared their land holdings on the Quantocks to be 'Surplus' and announced their intention to sell them. Friends of Quantock opposed in principle the transfer of Quantock land out of public ownership but was successful in negotiating the acquisition of of heathland and forest under a Community Asset Transfer Scheme for the sum of £2. Over Stowey Customs Common and Thorncombe Hill are therefore owned and held by Friends of Quantock for the benefit of the public. As a result of this purchase the Charity was dissolved and reincorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation to protect its trustees from the liabilities of property ownership.


Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada . It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining exploration and development in the area, and protect the area for its strong natural heritage and biodiversity values.
The park is situated in the very northwestern corner of British Columbia, bordering the American state of Alaska and the Canadian Yukon Territory. Nestled between the Yukon's Kluane National Park and Reserve in the Yukon and Glacier Bay & Alaska's Wrangell–St. Elias National Parks and Preserves, the park includes all land in British Columbia west of the Haines Highway. It is part of the Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek park system, and in 1994 was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History.
Over the centuries, numerous indigenous peoples lived in this area, including the historic Tlingit and Southern Tutchone, who built fishing villages along the rivers. The eastern edge of the park follows an ancient trade route used by the Chilkat (a Tlingit people) to barter with the Tutchone.
In the mid-19th century, the sudden breakup of a natural dam on the Alsek River caused a severe flood. The dam had been formed by the advance of a glacier across the entire Alsek River channel; the obstructed river formed a large temporary lake upstream of the blockage. A wall of water  high and  wide swept an entire Tutchone village into the sea at Dry Bay, killing all the inhabitants.
Tatshenshini-Alsek was one of the last areas of British Columbia to be mapped and explored. In the 1960s the first geological exploration for minerals took place in the area. Significant copper deposits were found in the vicinity of Windy Craggy Mountain, in the middle of the Tatshenshini region. In the mid-1970s two companies began rafting the Tatshenshini (aka "the Tat", a term also used to refer to the region) and Alsek rivers for the first time. In the mid-1980s a proposal surfaced to develop Windy Craggy peak into a huge open-pit mine.
In 1991 Tatshenshini International was established, linking together the top 50 conservation organisations in North America. An extremely intensive campaign followed in Canada and in the United States, particularly the U.S. Congress and eventually the White House, when the active involvement of then Vice-President Al Gore was enlisted. Eventually, BC Premier Mike Harcourt responded by undertaking a review of the issues surrounding Tatshenshini-Alsek by the Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE). BC government under Premier Harcourt decided in June 1993 to protect Tatshenshini-Alsek as a Class A park. The owners of the Windy-Craggy mineral claims were given a $103.8 million settlement.
In combination with the adjoining national parks, this completed protection of the world's largest international park complex. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) proposed the area for protection as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek transfrontalier park system comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes, in addition to the importance of its habitat for grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep.
In 1999, a party of sheep hunters found artifacts and remains of a young male at the foot of a glacier in the park; he was later called Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi, or "Long Ago Man Found". The well-preserved frozen body turned out to be between 300 and 550 years old. Representatives of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations were consulted for this find on their historic territory, and they named the young man. In addition, they agreed to scientific and DNA testing of the remains. Researchers recruited volunteers to see if people could be found who were genetically related to the "iceman". Some 241 volunteers were tested from the area Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and related peoples in Yukon, British Columbia and Alaska. Seventeen living relatives, including two sisters, were found in the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations who are related through a mitochondrial DNA match of the direct female line. Fifteen of these 17 identify as Wolf clan, suggesting the young man also belonged to that clan. In the matrilineal kinship system, children are considered born into their mother's clan, and descent is figured through the mother's line.
Wildlife.
The Alsek and Tatshenshini rivers flow through the park in glacier-carved U-shaped valleys. These valleys through the coastal mountains allow cool, moist ocean air into the cold interior. The quick change from ocean to interior environment, frequent floods, landslides and avalanches, a varied geology and great elevation changes have together created an exceptionally diverse range of habitat conditions.
Tatshenshini-Alsek Park supports a large grizzly bear population. A green area that cuts through a barrier of mountain and ice connects coastal and interior grizzly bear populations and provides a perfect habitat. The park is the only Canadian home of the glacier bear. This extremely rare blue-grey colour phase of the black bear is found only within the park and just over the border into the United States.
As well as bears, Tatshenshini-Alsek Park also supports Dall's sheep, and exceptional numbers of mountain goats, Kenai moose, grey wolves, eagles (bald and golden), falcons (peregrine and gyr), and trumpeter swans.
Along the coastline, sea lions and humpback whales can be seen.
Alsek Ranges are situated there and Mount Fairweather, at is the province's highest peak. The Tatshenshini-Alsek area lies in a region of high earthquake activity. Slippages along the Fairweather and Hubbard/Border Faults to the west and the Denali Fault to the north cause regular quakes.