Mount Leuser National Park

Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km2 in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces, a fourth portion and three-fourths portion, respectively. The national park, settled in the Barisan mountain range, is named after Mount Leuser (3,119 m), and protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary at Bukit Lawang is located within the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat National Parks, it forms a World Heritage Site, the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
Geography.
Gunung Leuser National Park is 150 km long, over 100 km wide, and mostly mountainous. About 40% of the park, mainly in the north-west, is steep, and over 1,500 m in elevation. This region is billed as the largest wilderness area in Southeast Asia, and offers wonderful trekking. Around 12% of the park, in the lower southern half, is below 600 m above sea level. Eleven peaks are over 2,700 m. Mount Leuser (3,119 m) is the third-highest peak on the Leuser Range. The highest peak is Mount Tanpa Nama (3,466 m), the second-highest peak in Sumatra after Mount Kerinci (3,805 m).
Ecology.
Gunung Leuser National Park is one of the two remaining habitats for Sumatran orangutans ("Pongo abelii"). In 1971, Herman Rijksen established the Ketambe Research Station, a specially designated research area for the orangutan. Other mammals found in the park are the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, siamang, Sumatran serow, sambar deer and leopard cat.
After researchers put 28 camera traps in July 2011, 6 months later the researchers found one male and six females, and predicted the population is not more than 27 Sumatran rhinos, of which the total population is predicted to be around 200 in Sumatra and Malaysia, half the population of 15 years ago.
Water supply.
The first signs of reduced water replenishment have already been seen in and around the Leuser Ecosystem. Groundwater reservoirs are rapidly being exhausted, and several rivers fall completely dry during part of the year. This has severe consequences for the local community. Both households and industries need to anticipate water shortages and higher costs for water.
Fishery.
Coastal fisheries and aquaculture in and around Leuser are very important. They provide a large portion of the animal protein in local people’s diets and generate ample foreign exchange. Their annual value currently exceeds US $171 million. If the Leuser Ecosystem is degraded, the decline in fresh water may have a detrimental impact on the functioning of the fishery sector.
Flood and drought prevention.
Flooding generally becomes more frequent and more destructive as a result of converting forests to other uses. Annual storm flows from a secondary forest are about threefold higher than from a similarly sized primary forest catchment area. In Aceh, local farmers have reported an increasing frequency of drought and damaging floods due to degradation of the watercatchment area. In May 1998, over 5,000 ha of intensive rice growing areas were taken out of
active production. This was the result of the failure of 29 irrigation schemes due to a water shortage. Furthermore, floods in December 2000 cost the lives of at least 190 people and left 660,000 people homeless. This cost the Aceh province almost US $90 million in losses (Jakarta Post, 2000a). Logging companies are slowly recognising their role in increased flooding and have made large donations to support the victims.
Agriculture and plantations.
Agriculture is a major source of income for the local communities around Leuser. Large rubber and oil palm plantations in northern Sumatra play a major role in the national economy. Almost all remaining lowland forest has been given out officially for oil palm plantations. Yield decline has been recorded, however, in several Leuser regencies. This decline can be ascribed mainly to a deterioration of nutrients in the soil, along with soil erosion, drought and floods, and an increase in weeds. Clearly, these causes of decline are linked to deforestation. For example, the logging of water-catchment areas in Leuser is found to be responsible for taking 94% of failed irrigation areas out of production.
Hydroelectricity.
Several regencies, such as Aceh Tenggara, have hydroelectric plants that use water from Leuser. The plants operated in Aceh Tenggara are designed as small-scale economic activities. It appears that the operational conditions for the hydroelectric plants have worsened in recent years. Increased erosion of the waterways has forced the operators to remove excessive sediments from their turbines. This has led to frequent interruption of the power supply, higher operational costs, and damage to the blades of the turbines. One plant closed down due to lack of water supply. Most of these disturbances are considered abnormal and may, therefore, be attributed to deforestation.
Tourism.
Low-impact ecotourism can be one of the most important sustainable, nonconsumptive uses of Leuser, thereby giving local communities powerful incentives for conservation. Given the opportunities to view wildlife such as orangutans, some experts view ecotourism as a major potential source of revenue for communities living around Leuser.
A 7- to 8-hour drive from Medan, Tangkahan is visited by 4,000 foreign tourists and 40,000 domestic/local tourists a year. Modest inns are available, but generation set electricity is limited. Many Tangkahan people nowadays work for tourism and avoid illegal logging, with education sometimes past the elementary school, but with training, they can serve the tourists well. All tourists should enter Tangkahan Visitor Center first, and choose the various packages, with up to 4 day and 3 night packages, the prices are fixed even for the porters. Trekking can be done by foot or using elephants.
Biodiversity.
People living in areas with a high biodiversity value tend to be relatively poor. Hence, the highest economic values for biodiversity are likely to be found within institutions and people in wealthy countries. Funds can come from several sources, including bioprospecting, the GEF, and grants from international NGOs (with donations possibly being proportional to biodiversity value).
Carbon sequestration.
Anthropogenic increases in the concentrations of greenhouse gases (such as CO2) in the atmosphere lead to climate change. Carbon sequestration by rainforest ecosystems, therefore, has an economic value, since the carbon fixed in the ecosystem reduces or slows increases in atmospheric concentrations.
Nontimber forest products.
Nontimber forest products can provide local communities with cash as long as exploitation does not surpass a threshold level.
Threats.
In November 1995, the Langkat Regency government proposed a road to connect an old enclave, known as Sapo Padang, inside the park. In pursuit of business opportunities, 34 families who had been living in the enclave formed a cooperative in March 1996 and subsequently submitted a proposal to develop an oil palm plantation in August 1997. The oil palm proposal was accepted by the regency and the head of the park agreed to the road construction.
In accordance to the government's Poverty Alleviation Program, the oil palm project proceeded with 42.5 km2 of clearance area, but the project caused major forest destruction in the park during its implementation. The local cooperation unit formed a partnership with PT Amal Tani, which has strong relationship with the military command in the area. In January 1998, the Indonesian Forest Ministry granted permission for 11 km road to be built. In June 1998, the local office of the Forestry Service issued a decree stating that the Sapo Padang enclave was no longer legally a part of the national park, a controversial decision, which consequently led to further forest destruction during the road construction and invited newcomers to slash and burn forest area to create local plantations a way deeper to the park. The park during this time was subject to illegal logging.
In 1999, two university-based NGOs filed a legal suit to the Medan State Court, while a group of 61 lawyers brought a parallel case in the National Administrative Court. In July 1999, the National Administrative Court rejected the case, while the local NGOs won with 30 million rupiahs damage, but the legal process continues with appeals. The legal process did not stop the project that extensive logging and clearing, road-building, and oil palm plantation continue operating inside the national park.
Pressures on locals, in a 2011 report, from palm oil profits has led to illegal slashing and burning of 21,000 hectares per year.
Relocations.
In December 2010, 26 families comprising 84 people were moved from Gunung Leuser National Park area to Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra. Thousands of people inhabit the park illegally, and the Indonesian government plans to move them. Many of the inhabitants are refugees from the violence and disasters in Aceh.


Tower of Hercules

The Tower of Hercules () is the oldest extant lighthouse known. It has an ancient Roman origin on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the 20th century, it was known as the Farum Brigantium. The Latin word "farum" is derived from the Greek Φάρος, "Pharos", for the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The structure stands tall and overlooks the North Atlantic coast of Spain. It was built in the 1st century and competently renovated in 1791.
There is a sculpture garden featuring works by Pablo Serrano and Francisco Leiro. The Tower of Hercules is a National Monument of Spain, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 27 June 2009. It is the second-tallest lighthouse in Spain, after the Faro de Chipiona.
Construction and history.
The tower is known to have existed by the 1st century, built or perhaps rebuilt under Trajan, possibly on foundations following a design that was Phoenician in origin. Built with the original plans of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Its base preserves a cornerstone with the inscription , permitting the original lighthouse tower to be ascribed to the architect Gaius Sevius Lupus, from Aeminium (present-day Coimbra, Portugal) in the former province of Lusitania, as an offering dedicated to the Roman god of war, Mars. The tower has been in constant use since the 2nd century and is considered to be the oldest existent lighthouse. The original tower was shorter and wider, as the surviving core was surrounded by a spiral ramp. The outline of this ramp is still visible in the restored exterior. The final storey was likely surmounted with a dome.
The earliest known reference to the lighthouse at Brigantium is by Paulus Orosius in "Historiae adversum Paganos" written around 415–417:
Secundus angulus circium intendit, ubi Brigantia Gallaeciae civitas sita altissimum farum et inter pauca memorandi operis ad speculam Britanniae erigit<br>("At the second angle of the circuit circumnavigating Hispania, where the Gallaecian city of Brigantia is sited, a very tall lighthouse is erected among a few commemorative works, for looking towards Britannia.")
In 1788, the surviving tower core was given a neoclassical restoration, including a new fourth story. The restoration was undertaken by naval engineer Eustaquio Giannini during the reign of Charles III of Spain, and was finished in 1791. UNESCO praised the work: "The Tower of Hercules was restored in the 18th century in an exemplary manner, which has protected the central core of the original Roman monument while restoring its technical functions". Within, the much-repaired Roman and medieval masonry may be inspected.
The Romans who conquered this region of Spain believed it to be, in a figurative sense, the end of the earth – hence its name, "Finisterra". This region is notorious for shipwrecks, earning it the name "Costa da Morte", "Coast of Death".
Myths.
Through the millennia many mythical stories of the lighthouse's origin have been told. According to a myth that mixes Celtic and Greco-Roman elements, the hero Hercules slew the giant tyrant Geryon after three days and three nights of continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture—buried the head of Geryon with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The lighthouse atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules’ slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of Coruña.
Another legend embodied in the 11th-century Irish compilation "Lebor Gabála Érenn"—the "Book of Invasions"—King Breogán, the founding father of the Galician Celtic nation, constructed a massive tower of such a grand height that his sons could see a distant green shore from its top. The glimpse of that distant green land lured them to sail north to Ireland. According to the legend Breogán's descendants stayed in Ireland and are the Celtic ancestors of the current Irish people. A colossal statue of Breogán has been erected near the Tower.
Possible locations of Brigantia.
Early geographical descriptions on the location of "Brigantia" point out that the town could be actually located in Corunna or in the locality of the modern town of Betanzos. There is some debate about this, as the people from Betanzos claim it as a fact that Betanzos was referred to as "the former city of Brigancia" until the 17th century, both in literary accounts as well as in maps, and they also believe that the name "Betanzos" is a phonetical evolution from "Brigantium > Breganzo > Betanzos". This, however, could be a false etymology.
The Betanzos tradition claims that the port of Betanzos was getting too small for the larger mediaeval ships, and that king Alfonso IX of León decided to create a bigger port nearby in the 13th century. The place he chose was an uninhabited place called "Clunia", which later on evolved to "Cruña" and Coruña, and so (in English) to Corunna. The place name Clunia is believed to come from the Proto-Celtic root *klou̯ni (cf. Old Irish "cluain"), meaning "meadow".
However, the Coruña tradition maintains that the "port" of Betanzos (which is a fluvial one, in a quite small river) was far too small for Roman warships to dock at, for example when Julius Caesar visited this area with "more than a hundred triremes". It is demonstrated that Corunna was an important Roman site, as graveyards and other Roman remains have been found in the city centre, demonstrating that the site was inhabited in the Roman period, and was deserted only during the early Middle Ages due to Viking attacks, when its people moved inland to O Burgo (now Culleredo). The proponents of Corunna also explain the different name as a change that occurred in the Middle Ages, and point out that the lighthouse, which was called "Pharum Brigantium", was erected in Corunna, and is at least 25 km (or a day's walk) from Betanzos.
Also in La Coruña there was the tribe of the Brigantes, in Betanzos the tribe of the Nemeti. Today almost all historians agree that Brigantia is La Coruña. Brigantia is not only La Coruña; today it is believed that Brigantia was located from La Coruña until A Laracha and Carballo in the Bergantiños region (Brigantes > Brigantinos > Bergantiños undoing the modification of medieval Galician).


Botanical Gardens (Tirana)

The Botanical Gardens of Tirana is a scenic botanical gardens complex located in southern Tirana, Albania.
 It is the only botanical gardens complex in Albania. Construction commenced in 1964, with the original site covering approximately 15 hectares. It was completed in 1971.
It is situated towards the south of the city and is overlooked by the Tirana and Kruja mountains.
The Botanic Garden of Tirana, which is part of the University of Tirana, has become institutionalised with international links with Canadian, Hungarian, Chinese and Romanian gardens.
The garden contains around 2,000 species of plants and is maintained by horticultural experts and scientists who also use the gardens for study purposes. The Gardens are part of Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
Current areas of study include the ecology of introduced plant species, the threatened endemic species and other areas of study are concentrated in the phytosociological study of the black pine, oak and natural pasture lands.


Borok Island

Ostrov Borok (Russian: Остров “Борок”) is a natural monument listed among the protected areas of Ulyanovsk Oblast in Russia.
The territory is heavily forested, and its trees are home to a large colony of grey herons, with approximately 403 breeding pairs. The nitrogen-rich soil allows nettles and celandine in to grow large quantities. Birds are common here, including black hawk, cheglok, sea-eagle, vyakhir, coast swallow, the eastern Zavirushka bluebird, finches, seagulls, and krachki. The area is also the habitat of the quick lizard and raccoon dogs.
Felling trees is forbidden in this territory and human visits are limited to fishermen, hunters, and scientists observing the biocenosis.


Malacca City

Malacca City ( or "") is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca. As of 2019 it has a population of 579,000. It is the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, having become a successful entrepôt in the era of the Malacca Sultanate. The present-day city was founded by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince who escaped to the Malay Peninsula when Srivijaya fell to the Majapahit. Following the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate, the city drew the attention of traders from the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the Portuguese, who intended to dominate the trade route in Asia. After Malacca was conquered by Portugal, the city became an area of conflict when the sultanates of Aceh and Johor attempted to take control from the Portuguese.
Following a number of wars between these territories, Aceh declined in influence while Johor survived and expanded its influence over territory previously lost to Aceh in Sumatra when Johor co-operated with the Dutch who arrived to establish dominance over Java and Maluku Islands. However, due to royal internal strife between the Malay and Bugis, the Johor-Riau Empire was divided into the sultanates of Johor and Riau-Lingga. This separation became permanent when the British arrived to establish their presence in the Malay Peninsula. The Dutch, who already felt threatened in the presence of the British, began conquering the Riau-Lingga Sultanate along with the rest of Sumatra, while Johor came under British influence following the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
When the British succeeded in extending their influence over the Malay Peninsula, the city soon became an area of development under the Straits Settlements as part of the British Empire. The development and burgeoning prosperity were, however, halted when the Japanese arrived in World War II and occupied the area from 1942 to 1945. During the occupation, many of the city's residents were taken and forced to construct the Death Railway in Burma (present-day Myanmar). After the war, the city was returned to the British and remained as the capital of Malacca. The status as a capital remained until the formation of Malaysia in 1963, and in 2008 it was listed, together with George Town of Penang, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its long history.
The economy of Malacca City is largely based on tourism. As the economic centre of the state of Malacca, it also hosts several international conferences and trade fairs. The city is located along the Maritime Silk Road, proposed by China in 2013. Among the tourist attractions in Malacca City are Porta de Santiago, Jonker Walk, Little India, Portuguese Settlement, Stadthuys, Maritime Museum, Christ Church, Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum and Taming Sari Tower.
Etymology.
According to legend, the site that is now Malacca City was named "Malaka" when Parameswara, a Sumatran prince arrived there. While he was resting under a tree known as a Malacca tree, he saw his warrior's hunting dogs were challenged and kicked into a river by a tiny mouse deer. Amused by this, he chose to name the site "Malaka" after the tree under which he was sitting. When the city came under Portuguese administration, its name was spelled "Malaca", under Dutch administration as "Malakka" or "Malacka", and under British rule, "Malacca". The Straits of Malacca were named after the city at the time of the Malacca Sultanate.
History.
Founding of Malacca.
Malacca was established when Parameswara, who had escaped from Palembang in Sumatra, decided to build a new kingdom following Malay Srivijaya's fall in 1377 after being attacked by Javanese Majapahit. Before he reached the site, he arrived in Temasek, which he decided to make the centre of the new Malay Kingdom's administration. But when Parameswara lived there, he killed Temagi, a Regent of Singapura who served under the Siamese King to take over the throne from Temagi. Fearing further reprisals by Siam when the news reached the Siamese Kingdom, Parameswara decided to move to a new place. After he left Temasek, it was attacked by Majapahit. Parameswara then headed to the north of Malay Peninsula and arrived at Muar, where he tried to establish another new kingdom at either Biawak Busuk or Kota Buruk, but found the locations unsuitable.
Parameswara continue his journey to the north, where he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (now Sungai Ujong) before arriving at a Malay fishing village at the mouth of Bertam River (now Malacca River). He decided to stop there to rest. While he was resting under a tree, he saw his follower's hunting dogs fighting with a small mouse deer before they were kicked into a river by the deer. Amused by this, he thought the place he rested must be an unusual place; following this event, in 1396 he announced the place would be called "Malaka". Soon, the site became the centre of the Malay world in the 15th and 16th centuries and the most prosperous entrepôt in the Malay Archipelago. In 1403, the first official Chinese trade envoy led by Admiral Yin Qing arrived in Malacca. Later, Parameśwara was escorted by Zheng He and other envoys in his successful visits. Malacca's relationships with Ming granted protection to Malacca against attacks from Siam and Majapahit and Malacca officially submitted as a protectorate of Ming China. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major trade settlement on the trade route between China and India, Middle East, Africa and Europe. To prevent the Malaccan empire from falling to the Siamese and Majapahit, he forged a relationship with the Ming dynasty of China for protection. Following the establishment of this relationship, the prosperity of the Malacca entrepôt was then recorded by the first Chinese visitor, Ma Huan, who travelled together with Admiral Zheng He. On his descriptions, he wrote;
In Malacca during the early 15th century, Ming China actively sought to develop a commercial hub and a base of operation for treasure voyages into the Indian Ocean. Malacca had been a relatively insignificant region, not even qualifying as a polity prior to the voyages according to both Ma Huan and Fei Xin, and was a vassal region of Siam. In 1405, the Ming court dispatched Admiral Zheng He with a stone tablet enfeoffing the Western Mountain of Malacca as well as an imperial order elevating the status of the port to a country. The Chinese also established a government depot (官廠) as a fortified cantonment for their soldiers. Ma Huan reported that Siam did not dare to invade Malacca thereafter. The rulers of Malacca, such as Parameswara in 1411, would pay tribute to the Chinese emperor in person. Because of its strategic location, Malacca was an important stopping point for Zheng He's fleet. To enhance relations, Hang Li Po, according to local folklore, a daughter of the Ming Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry Sultan Manshur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married locals and settled mostly in Bukit Cina. Due to Chinese involvement, Malacca had grown as key alternative to other important and established ports.
Due to the large influence of Arab, Persian, and Indian traders, Malacca soon turned into an Islamic sultanate, and Parameswara converted to Islam when he married a princess from Pasai, changing his name to Sultan Iskandar Shah. With the rise of Melaka as an empire, both the Majapahit and Siamese kingdoms were unable to conquer it, especially with the Chinese protection. During this time, a HinduMalay and TamilMalay society were also formed. The Sultan died in 1414 and was succeeded by his son, Megat Iskandar Shah. Malacca continued to prosper until the eighth Sultanate of Malacca, Mahmud Shah, with the various races who came to trade becoming associated with particular trade specialties; the Gujaratis, Tamils, and Bengalis were mostly cloth merchants, the Arabs and Persians waited for their vessels to be filled with goods from China, the Chinese dealt mainly in silk, camphor, and porcelain, and the natives of Malay Archipelago, like the Bugis and other island peoples, traded mainly in spices and sandalwood, and the Minangkabau in pepper and gold, with the Javanese controlling the rice and imported foodstuffs. Like other traders, the Chinese established their own area in the city, occupying the southeast side of the port around a hill called Bukit Cina, where they constructed temples and a well called Hang Li Poh's Well, named after Hang Li Po, the fifth wife of the sixth Sultan of Malacca, Mansur Shah, who was a Chinese princess from the Ming Dynasty.
European conquest.
Due to its riches, the news of the success of Malacca reached the Portuguese, who had an established presence on Indian ports. The Portuguese, under King Manuel I, sent a representative named Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to establish contact with the Sultanate. At the first, Sequeira was well received by Sultan Mahmud Shah. But the Tamil Muslim community, who already had an established presence in Malacca, convinced the Sultan to eliminate the Portuguese based on their treatment of the Muslims of Goa. Reacting to the report, Sultan Mahmud then ordered several men from the Portuguese delegation to be captured and killed, but some of them managed to escape with their ships. Thus, in April 1511 Afonso de Albuquerque, who was the Portuguese expedition leader together with his armada, arrived in Malacca to sever its Islamic and Venetian trade. His intention was described in his own words when he arrived to Malacca:
The Portuguese launch their first attack on 25 July 1511, but this was met with failure. Albuquerque then launched another attack on 15 August 1511, which proved successful as Malacca was captured on that day. The Portuguese constructed a fortress called A Famosa using rocks and stones taken from Muslim graves, mosques, and other buildings. Several churches and convents, a bishop's palace, and administrative buildings such as the governor's palace were built. The Portuguese imposed higher taxes on Chinese traders and restricted their ownership of land. The news of the city's capture reached the Ming Dynasty of China; the Chinese were also displeased about the kidnapping of many Chinese children by the Portuguese in Tuen Mun. In retaliation for Portugal's activity in Malacca, several Portuguese were later killed by the Chinese in the battles of Tunmen and Xicaowan in China.
By the mid-16th century, the two sultanates of Aceh and Johor had arisen to take control of Malacca from the Portuguese which then became the centre of struggle between the three. By 1564, Aceh had retaken Aru (a territory which Sumatra had previously lost to Johor) and destroyed Johor's capital, Johor Lama, with the Johor royal family taken to Aceh to rule Johor as a vassal state. Other attacks were carried out in 1570, 1613, and 1623, when Johor tried to break away from Aceh. Aceh's ambition for domination later led to a clash with the Portuguese in Malacca. The two sultanates and the Portuguese became involved in a triangular war, but when both the Portuguese and the Johor saw Aceh as a threat due to its constant attacks against them, the two began to collaborate to fight Aceh. In 1582 the Portuguese assisted Johor to thwart an attack by Aceh, but arrangement ended when Johor attacked the Portuguese in 1587. Aceh continued its attacks against the Portuguese, and was later destroyed when a large additional armada from the Portuguese port in Goa came to defend Malacca and destroy the sultanate.
After Aceh was left weakened, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived, and Johor formed a treaty with them to flush out the Portuguese in the second capture of Malacca. The Dutch succeeded at overtaking Malacca while Johor managed to re-establish its suzerainty over many of its former dependencies in Sumatra, such as Siak (1662) and Indragiri (1669). The Dutch expanded the size of the city fort and built a significant amount of additional infrastructure. As they had less interest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra than they had in Java and the Maluku Islands, the Dutch remained neutral in local disputes until 1756 when the Bugis, who ruled the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, began to threaten Dutch maritime trade. The threats increase in the 18th century, when English rivalry started to establish its presence over areas in the northern Malay Peninsula. This led the Dutch to seize the Bugis areas of Riau and expel the Bugis from both Riau and Selangor, for fearing that these areas would otherwise have fallen under British rule. Malacca was placed under the direct control of Batavia in Java.
From 1796 until 1801, and 1807 to 1818 Malacca was temporarily placed under a British Resident as the Netherlands were conquered by France in the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818. Malacca served as the staging area for the British victory in 1811. A treaty was later signed in 1824 between the British and Dutch to prevent further British influence in Java; one result was that the Johor-Riau Empire fell under two colonial powers along with Malacca, which was then officially handed to the British in 1825 and integrated as part of the Straits Settlements. The city came under direct control of a Resident in Penang, and the old fort in the city was then dismantled. The British established regulations for infrastructure with the construction of, for example, back alleys, chimneys, back yards, fire escapes, fire alleys, and pedestrian arcades.
World War II, post-independence and present.
During the first stage of World War II, the city's residents continued to live normally until the news of the Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse on 10 December 1941 reached the city and struck panic. British colonial officials began to flee and thousands of the city's residents hid in rubber estates and jungles since they heard about the acts of cruelty committed in other parts of Malaya following their conquest by the Japanese. The Japanese Army arrived in the city on 14 January 1942 in a convoy of bicycles, but as they mainly focused on ensuring the retreat of the British to the south of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, there was no major battle in the city or other parts of Malacca. During their occupation, a "kempeitai" headquarters was established in the formerly British "Government Rest House" which served as a place for arrests, torture and executions. Those who still lived in the city were given low rice rations with a tapioca supplement and a number of them were taken to Thailand and forced to construct the Burma–Siam Railway.
When the Allies began to counter-attack against the Japanese, the Japanese officially surrendered to the Allies in August 1945 with the city left undamaged as there were no heavy battles, and it was administered as part of the British Military Administration until the formation of the Malayan Union and then the Federation of Malaya. After Malaya achieved its independence on 31 August 1957, a colonial building named "Malacca Club" was built by the British in the city as the social centre for Britons in British Malaya. The building was then turned into a memorial after 38 years to commemorate the Malayan independence day. After the Federation of Malaya, together with North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Malacca was extensively developed and in 2003 it was granted city status. On 7 July 2008, Malacca City was listed as one of the historical cities in Malaysia, together with George Town in the northern Malay Peninsula.
Capital city.
Malacca City is the centre of political and economic administration for the state of Malacca. There is one member of parliament (MP) representing one parliamentary constituency in the city: Kota Melaka (".138"). The city also elects five representatives to the state legislature from the state assembly districts of Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Duyong, Bandar Hilir and Telok Mas.
Local authority and city definition.
The city is administered by the Malacca City Council ("Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah", MBMB). Formerly known as Malacca Municipal Council ("Majlis Perbandaran Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah", MPMBB), it was merged with the "Malacca Municipality Area" on 1 January 1977 with a new combined area of 114.7 square miles (303 square kilometres). Then on 15 April 2003, MPMBB was upgraded into MBMB before part of its area, covering 57.66 kilometres separated for Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council (MPHTJ). MBMB area is currently at 277 sq kilometres as a result of land reclamation, with a new administration area of 30.86 sq kilometres. Together these areas comprise a metropolitan area of 307.86 sq kilometres. As of 2016, the current mayor is Zainal Hussin.
Geography.
The city is located on both sides of the Malacca River near its mouth on the Straits of Malacca. The city is approximately 152 kilometres from Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Due to large-scale land reclamation, it has grown in size, especially in the south. Its physical features are characterised by flat and gently undulating land stretching from its coast.
The historic central area of the city is located near the old coastline; it includes St Paul's Hill with the ruins of the Portuguese fortress and the Dutch Square on the right (eastern) bank of the river, and the old Chinatown on the left (western) bank. The Chinese Hill (Bukit Cina), where a large old Chinese cemetery is located, was formerly located to the northeast of the city, but is now surrounded by new buildings on all sides.
Climate.
Malacca's weather is hot and humid throughout the year with rainfall, the intensity of which depends on the time of the year. It is one of the driest cities in Malaysia, receiving just under of rainfall while most areas in Peninsular Malaysia receive an average of around of rainfall annually. However, Malacca has no dry season as average rainfall is more than for each month. Malacca is classified as having a tropical rainforest climate ("Af") under the Köppen climate classification system, more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and with no cyclones so a pure equatorial climate. The relatively stable weather allows Malacca to be visited year-round.
Demography.
Ethnicity and religion.
The Malaysian Census in 2010 reported the population of Malacca City was 484,885. Malays comprised the majority with 273,844, followed by Chinese with 158,828, Indian with 20,310 and others totalling 9,732. Around 22,171 were identified as a Non-Malaysian citizens. Due to a large amount of interracial marriage since the era of the Malacca Sultanate, the city features its own ethnic mixtures of Baba Nyonya, Chitty and Kristang peoples. The Majority of the Malays were Muslims, and the Chinese and Peranakan were either Buddhists, Confucianists, Taoists or followers from other denominations of Chinese folk religion. The Indians, including the Chitty, were mainly Hindus while the Kristang were mostly Christian.
The Baba Nyonya are Straits-born Chinese, who have resided for generations since the era of the Malacca Sultanate as traders and intermarried with the local Malay women. They adopted the local culture and the Malay language as part of their lives while at the same time preserving some of their Chinese heritage and religious traditions. The Chitty are also a mixture of Indian traders with local women of various ethnic backgrounds such as Malays, Javanese, Bataks and Chinese. The Kristang exist as a result of marriage between the European Portuguese men with Malay women during the era of Portuguese Malacca.
Languages.
The main language spoken in the city is the Malay, although the Baba Nyonya and Chitty have their own variations of Baba and Chitties creoles respectively. The Malaccan Portuguese have their own version of Portuguese creole, known as Kristang language.
Economy.
Since the era of Malacca Sultanate, the city has prospered as a successful entrepôt, putting it in the same position as Venice, Cairo and Canton. When the European conquest begin, Malacca had developed into a cosmopolitan city with a long-standing European heritage. The arrival of Chinese traders and coolie during the sultanate era and European colonisation saw a large boost to the economy, especially during the administration of Dutch and the British. In modern times, the tourism is more dominant than the primary-based industry due to its historical riches with the melting pots of cultural influences which attracted many local and foreign tourists to visiting the city, which also became part of the state economy income. In addition to its strategic location in the maritime Silk Road, the city benefited from the rise of China and India as world economic powers. Malacca City has hosted numerous national, regional and international conferences, congresses and trade fairs in the Malacca International Trade Centre. In early 2016, the Malacca state government has start to develop a new economic development area in the central city centre which will be known as the Hang Tuah Trade Centre that will encompassing trade centres, higher education, hospitality and business.
Transport.
Land.
Internal roads linking different parts on the city are mostly federal roads constructed and maintained by the Malaysian Public Works Department. The city is accessible through the North–South Expressway and the coastal Syed Abdullah Aziz Road. There is also an old trunk road system, which once served as a main passageway to the city until the mid 1980s, when the North–South Expressway was built. In the old city centre, trishaw services are available through the Stadhuis Red Square.
There was previously a proposal by the state government of Malacca to revive a bridge project named Malacca Strait Bridge that will connect land transportation in the city with the Indonesian city of Dumai on Sumatra island.
Public transport.
 is the main bus and taxi terminal for the city, with services in and around the city as well as domestic services. Most taxis in the city are executive taxis with either four, six or fourteen seats; but only two types of taxis, the limousine (4 seats) and "bas persiaran" (14 seats), provide services to Singapore with the rest providing services only to other parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
There were railway tracks from Pulau Sebang to Malacca City before World War II, but these were dismantled by the Japanese for the construction of the Burmese Death Railway. On 10 October 2015, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) commuter service has introduced a new route, shuttle service between Seremban-Sebang/Tampin-Gemas station.
A 1.6-km line of Malacca Monorail was launched in October 2010, served the route along the Malacca River. Due to several technical glitches months into its operation, the system was left idle in 2013. However, in June 2015 the Malacca State Government decided to revive the project. On 4 December 2017, Malacca Monorail has re-operate with enhanced safety features such as lightning-prevention devices and the addition of a rescue vehicle to attract wagons in the event of a technical problem. The previous incident is believed will not recur as tests had been performed for two months before re-operation. The Malacca Monorail operating hours are 10.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekdays and will be continued until 12.00 midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.
Water.
The main water transportation in the city is the Malacca River Cruise with evening cruises along the Malacca River. The cruise route is an area marking the border between historic Chinatown and Malay area. The Melaka Gateway is a project under construction involving the development of one natural and two man-made islands off the coast of Malacca which will feature an international cruise terminal and aid water transport in the city. An international shipping port is also planned to be built as part of China's Maritime Silk Route economic belt.
Other utilities.
Courts of law and legal enforcement.
The city high court complex is located along Tun Abdul Razak Road, while another court for Sharia law is located on Old Ayer Keroh Road. The Malacca Police Contingent Headquarters is also located on Old Ayer Keroh Road. The main district police headquarters is located in Central Malacca. There are around thirteen police stations and eight police substations (Pondok Polis) serving the city. The main prison is located along the Ayer Keroh road, and was built in 1969. Another three prisons are located in the districts of Central Malacca, Tanjung Kling, Telok Mas and Sungai Udang. The Bandar Hilir Prison has been transformed into a museum with all the inmates moved to Sungai Udang Prison.
Health care.
There is one public hospital and twelve government health clinics in and nearby the city. There are also 52 private clinics and three 1Malaysia clinics in Malacca City. Malacca General Hospital, which is located along Mufti Haji Khalil Road, is the main and oldest hospital in the state with 359 beds. Oriental Melaka Straits Medical Centre is the largest private hospital with 300 beds. Mahkota Medical Centre, located on Syed Abdul Aziz Road, is the second largest with 266 beds.
Education.
Various government or state schools are available in the city. The secondary schools include the Malacca High School, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Melaka, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Perempuan and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Katholik. Other types of secondary schools such as religious, vocational, technical and fully residential schools are available inside and outside the city's metropolitan area. There are also a number of independent private schools in the city. These include Melaka International School, Wesley Methodist School and Pay Fong High School.
Libraries.
The Malacca Public Library headquarters is the main library in the state, located off Bukit Baru Road. Another public library branch is in the Malacca Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), while other libraries or private libraries were available in other universities as well as in schools and colleges. Other village libraries are also available through the districts of Central Malacca.
Culture and leisure.
Attractions and recreational spots.
Cultural.
The Malacca Sultanate Palace was built to represent the Malay culture and Malaccan history during the sultanate era. The building was constructed without using any nails. The city also includes a variety of other cultural attractions such as Chinatown, Little India and Portuguese Settlement. The Chinatown feature a strong Chinese cultural influences, with Clan associations, regional Chinese eateries and prominent Chinese Temples like Cheng Hoon Teng located around the areas where many Chinese traders have settling since the era of Sultanate of Malacca. The most recognisable part of the Chinatown is the Jonker Walk where many outdoor stage performances occur. The Kopitiam and restaurants around the city serve mixed cultural influences of Malay and Baba Nyonya as well as various regional Chinese cuisines such as Teochew and European cuisines. The No 8 Heeren Street Heritage Centre is an old two-storey shop house which has been undergoing restoration for years. The Cheng Ho Cultural Museum is the site where Zheng He, a famous Muslim Chinese voyager, was believed to have set up a large warehouse complex along the northern side of the Malacca River, while the Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum is a site where there has been a collection of Chinese jewellery design and motifs since the establishment of relations between Malacca and the Ming dynasty of China. Little India is the site where Indian culture is presented with a variety of Indian shops and restaurants as well as fabric shops selling various saris, Punjabi suits and other Indian fabric designs. Located within the Portuguese settlement is a "Mini Lisbon" which has become the city's centre of Portuguese culture, with many Eurasians descended from marriages between Portuguese men and local women that took place after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca residing there.
Historical.
The Dutch Square is an area surrounded by Dutch buildings such as the Stadthuys, Christ Church, British Queen Victoria's Fountain, and Chinese settlers structure of Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower in honour of a generous late Chinese tycoon, Tan Beng Swee. The original clock tower was imported from England but has since been replaced with the one from Japan. The Portuguese traces are mostly on Porta do Santiago which can also be seen across the square on the bank of Malacca River and on St. Peter's Church. The Kuomintang Cenotaph (Malacca Warrior Monument) in Bukit Cina is a memorial where thousands of Chinese people in Malacca were killed by the Japanese during their occupation.
Leisure and conservation areas.
Malacca Zoo is the main zoo in the city metropolitan, featuring 215 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians including the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Malayan gaur, Serow and the Indochinese tiger. An oceanarium located inside the Shore shopping malls complex features a variety of fish species and other sea creatures.
Other attractions.
Other attractions include the Maritime Museum, Taming Sari Tower and Macau Gallery Melaka. The Maritime Museum features a replica of a historical ship, the Flor de la Mar, and describes the trading history of Malacca, while the Taming Sari offers a scenic view of the city centre. The Padang Pahlawan is the site where Tunku Abdul Rahman, the father of Malayan independence, made his first independence announcement. St. Paul's Hill is where the Governor's Museum, Malacca Literature Museum and Malacca Light are located.
Shopping.
A number of shopping malls and traditional art and craft shops are available around the city, with the most popular shopping malls being Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall, The Shore, and the ÆON Bandaraya Melaka and JUSCO shopping centres.
Entertainment.
The main cinemas in the city are the Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), with one located inside the building of Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall with a capacity of 2,004, while the second largest, in ÆON Bandaraya Melaka, has a capacity of 1,793. Another cinema, known as the MBO Cinemas, with a capacity of 1,212 is located in the MBO Melaka Mall.
Sports.
The second largest football stadium in the state of Malacca, Hang Tuah Stadium, is located in the city; it has a capacity of around 15,000 and is the oldest stadium in the state. The stadium is the second home ground for Melaka United, after Hang Jebat Stadium in Krubong.
International relations.
Saudi Arabia has set up its consulate in Malacca City. Malacca first started twinning in 1984 with the city of Lisbon, Portugal and it is now twinned with or established as a friendship city with the following cities:


Antelope Valley Conservancy

Antelope Valley Conservancy is a public-benefit corporation that preserves natural habitats and watershed resources. It was founded 2005, granted 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(a)(vi) tax status in 2006, absorbed the Antelope Valley Trails Recreation and Environmental Council (AVTREC) in 2007, and earned authorization from the California Department of Fish and Game to hold mitigation lands in 2008.
Antelope Valley Conservancy focuses its services in the Antelope-Fremont Valleys Watershed and upper Santa Clara River Watershed, serving three dozen communities spanning a -area of northern Los Angeles County and southeastern Kern County, known locally as Antelope Valley. It is a diverse region, containing a wide variety of biotic communities, from Joshua tree woodlands and alkali scrub of the Mojave desert to the scrub oak and ancient forblands of the Tehachapi Mountains.
What is called "the Antelope Valley" is a socio-economic region of rural and suburban communities, roughly bounded by the mountains that surround the watershed. In simplistic terms, the function of this closed-basin watershed is for snow melt and rain from the Tehachapi and San Gabriel Mountains to run-off downstream to the dry lakes. The flat, clay surface of the dry lakes are the heart of Edwards Air Force Base, site of innumerable historic flight tests and alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle.
Antelope Valley Conservancy is an active Stakeholder in the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Group and the Southern California Association of Governments' Open Space Working Group. It is a member of the Land Trust Alliance and adopted the LTA Standards and Practices in 2006. Nonprofit verification for the conservancy is available at Guidestar. The Antelope Valley Conservancy sponsors research, such as the Antelope-Fremont Watershed Assessment Project (AFWAP). It also sponsors community service and environmental education activities, such as the Endangered Species Day Conference, Antelope Valley Bicycle Fun Ride, Bicycle Ride Day, Earth Day Cleanup, Trail Policy Project, Antelope Valley Bag Exchange, and presentations.


Quito

Quito (; ; ; formally Saint Francis of Quito) is the capital of Ecuador and at an elevation of above sea level, it is the second highest official capital city in the world, and the closest to the equator. It is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains.
In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.
The historic centre of Quito is one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved in the Americas. Quito and Kraków, Poland, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. The central square of Quito is located about south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as "la mitad del mundo" (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word "" is Spanish for equator.
History.
Pre-Columbian period.
The oldest traces of human presence in Quito were excavated by American archaeologist Robert E. Bell in 1960, on the slopes of the Ilaló volcano, located between the eastern valleys of Los Chillos and Tumbaco. Hunter-gatherers left tools of obsidian glass, dated to 8000 BC. This archaeological site, called "EI Inga," was brought to Robert Bell's attention by Allen Graffham. While employed as a geologist in Ecuador, Graffham pursued his amateur interest in archaeology. He made surface collections at the site during 1956. The discovery of projectile points, particularly specimens with basal fluting, stimulated his interest, and he made several visits to the site to collect surface materials. Graffham's previous interest in Paleo-Indian remains, and his experience with early man materials in Kansas and Nebraska in the Central Plains of the United States, led him to believe that the site was an important discovery.
The second important vestige of human settlement was found in the current neighborhood of Cotocollao (1500 BC), northwest of Quito. The prehistoric village covered over 26 hectares in an area irrigated by many creeks. Near the ancient rectangular houses, there are burials with pottery and stone offerings. The Cotocollao people extracted and exported obsidian to the coastal region.
Early colonial priests and historians wrote about the Quitu people and a Kingdom of Quito. Their accounts said that another people, known as the Cara or the Schyris, came from the coast and took over the region by AD 890. On what is sometimes called the Cara-Quitu kingdom, they ruled until the Inca took over the territory in the 15th century. Quitu descendants survived in the city even after the Spanish conquest.
But by the 20th century, some prominent historians who began more academic studies, doubted accounts of the Quitu-Cara kingdom. Little archeological evidence had been found of any monuments or artifacts from it. They began to think it was a legendary account of pre-Hispanic man in the highlands.
In the early 21st century, there were spectacular new finds of 20-meter deep tombs in the Florida neighborhood of Quito. Dating to AD 800 they provide evidence of the high quality of craftsmanship among the Quitu, and of the elaborate and complex character of their funerary rites. In 2010 the Museum of Florida opened to preserve some of the artifacts from the tombs and explain this complex culture.
Colonial period.
Inca indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization continued during 1534. The conquistador Diego de Almagro founding Santiago de Quito (in present-day Colta, near Riobamba) on 15 August 1534, renamed as San Francisco de Quito on 28 August 1534. The city was later refounded at its present location on 6 December 1534 by 204 settlers led by Sebastián de Benalcázar, who captured leader Rumiñahui, effectively ending all organized resistance. Rumiñahui was executed on January 10, 1535.
On 28 March 1541 Quito was declared a city, and on 23 February 1556 it was given the title "Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de San Francisco de Quito" ("Very Noble and Loyal City of San Francisco of Quito"), marking the start of its next phase of urban development. In 1563 Quito became the seat of a "Real Audiencia" (administrative district) of Spain. It was classified as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1717, after which the "Audiencia" was part of the new Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada. Under both Viceroyalties, the district was administered from Quito, (see Real Audiencia de Quito).
The Spanish established Roman Catholicism in Quito. The first church ("El Belén") was built before the city was officially founded. In January 1535 the San Francisco Convent was constructed, the first of about 20 churches and convents built during the colonial period. The Spanish converted the indigenous population to Christianity and used them as labor for construction.
In 1743, after nearly 210 years of Spanish colonization, Quito was a city of about 10,000 inhabitants. Quito briefly proclaimed its de facto independence from Spain between 1765 and 1766 during the Quito Revolt. On 10 August 1809, a movement was again started in Quito to win independence from Spain. On that date a plan for government was unveiled, which appointed Juan Pío Montúfar as president and prominent pro-independence figures in other government positions.
This initial movement was defeated on 2 August 1810, when colonial troops arrived from Lima, Peru, and killed the leaders of the uprising and about 200 other settlers. A chain of conflicts climaxed on 24 May 1822, when Antonio José de Sucre, under the command of Simón Bolívar, led troops into the Battle of Pichincha, on the slopes of the volcano. Their victory established the independence of Quito and the surrounding areas.
Republican Ecuador.
In 1833 members of the Society of Free Inhabitants of Quito were assassinated by the government after they conspired against it. On 6 March 1845 the Marcist Revolution began. In 1875 the country's president, Gabriel García Moreno, was assassinated in Quito. Two years later, in 1877, Archbishop José Ignacio Checa y Barba was killed by poison while celebrating Mass in Quito.
In 1882 insurgents rose up against the regime of dictator Ignacio de Veintimilla. However, this did not end the violence that was occurring throughout the country. On 9 July 1883 the liberal commander Eloy Alfaro participated in the Battle of Guayaquil, and after further conflict he became the president of Ecuador on 4 September 1895. Upon completing his second term in 1911, he moved to Europe. He returned to Ecuador in 1912 and attempted to return to power unsuccessfully; he was arrested on 28 January 1912, and imprisoned, then lynched by a mob that stormed the prison. His body was dragged through the streets of Quito to a city park, where it was burned.
In 1932 the Four Days' War broke out. This was a civil war that followed the election of Neptalí Bonifaz and the subsequent realization that he carried a Peruvian passport. On 12 February 1949 a realistic broadcast of H. G. Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds" led to citywide panic, and the deaths of more than twenty people who died in fires set by mobs.
21st century.
In 2011 the city's population was 2,239,191 people. Since 2002 the city has been renewing its historical center. The old airport, built on filling in a lagoon, was closed to air traffic on 19 February 2013. The area was redeveloped as the "Parque Bicentenario" (Bicentenary Park). The new Mariscal Sucre International Airport, 45 minutes from central Quito, opened to air traffic on 20 February 2013.
During 2003 and 2004, the bus lines of the Metrobus (Ecovia) were constructed, traversing the city from the north to the south. Many avenues and roads were extended and enlarged, depressed passages were constructed, and roads were restructured geometrically to increase the flow of traffic. A new subway system is under construction.
Geography.
Quito is located in the northern highlands of Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin. The city is built on a long plateau lying on the east flanks of the Pichincha volcano. The valley of Guayllabamba River where Quito lies is flanked by volcanoes, some of them snow-capped, and visible from the city on a clear day. Quito is the closest capital city to the equator. Quito's altitude is listed at .
Nearby volcanoes.
Quito's closest volcano is Pichincha, looming over the western side of the city. Quito is the only capital city that was developed so close to an active volcano. Pichincha volcano has several summits, among them Ruku Pichincha at above sea level and Guagua Pichincha at .
Pichincha is active and being monitored by volcanologists at the Geophysical institute of the national polytechnic university. The largest eruption occurred in 1660 when more than of ash covered the city. There were three minor eruptions in the 19th century. The latest eruption was recorded on October 5, 1999, when a few puffs of smoke were seen and much ash was deposited on the city.
Activity in other nearby volcanoes can also affect the city. In November 2002 the volcano Reventador erupted and showered the city in fine ash particles, to a depth of several centimeters.
The volcanoes on the Central Cordillera (Royal Cordillera), east of Quito, surrounding the Guayllabamba valley, include Cotopaxi, Sincholagua, Antisana and Cayambe. Some of the volcanoes of the Western Cordillera, to the west of the Guayllabamba valley, include Illiniza, Atacazo, and Pululahua (which is the site of the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve).
Climate.
The southern part of Quito has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfb"), while the northern part has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csb"). Because of its altitude and location on the equator, Quito has a fairly constant cool climate. The average afternoon maximum temperature is , and the average night-time minimum temperature is . The annual average temperature is . The city has only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season, June through September (4 months), is referred to as summer; the wet season, October through May (8 months), is referred to as winter. Annual precipitation, depending on location, is about .
Due to its altitude, Quito receives some of the greatest solar radiation in the world, sometimes reaching a UV Index of 24 by solar noon.
The fact that Quito lies almost on the equator means that high pressure systems are extremely rare. Pressure is stable, so very low pressure systems are also rare. From 1 July 1 2010 to 30 June 2011 the lowest pressure recorded was , and the highest was . Despite the absence of high pressure, Quito can still experience settled weather. Generally, the highest pressure is around midnight and the lowest in the mid-afternoon.
Topographical zones.
Quito is divided into three areas, separated by hills:
Economy.
Quito is the largest city in contribution to national GDP, and the highest in per capita income. Quito has the highest level of tax collection in Ecuador, exceeding the national 57% per year 2009, currently being the most important economic region of the country, as the latest "study" conducted by the Central Bank of Ecuador.
The top major industries in Quito includes textiles, metals and agriculture, with major crops for export being coffee, sugar, cacao, rice, bananas and palm oil.
Petroecuador, the largest company in the country and one of the largest in Latin America is headquartered in Quito.
Headquarters and regional offices of many national and international financial institutions, oil corporations and international businesses are also located in Quito, making it a world class business city.
In "The World according to GaWC" global cities report, which measures a city's integration into the world city network, Quito is ranked as a Beta city: an important metropolis instrumental in linking its region or state into the world economy.
Politics.
Governance.
Quito is governed by a mayor and a 15-member city council. The mayor is elected to a five-year term and can be re-elected. The position also doubles as Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito (the canton). The current mayor is Jorge Yunda Machado.
Urban parishes.
In Ecuador, cantons are subdivided into "parishes", so called because they were originally used by the Catholic Church, but with the secularization and liberalization of the Ecuadorian state, the political parishes were spun off the ones used by the church. Parishes are called "urban" if they are within the boundaries of the seat (capital) of their corresponding canton, and "rural" if outside those boundaries. Inside Quito (the city proper), subdivision into urban parishes depends on the organizations that use these parishes (e.g., the municipality, the electoral tribunals, the postal service, the Ecuadorian statistics institute). The urban parishes of different types are not necessarily coterminous nor the same in number or name.
, the municipality of Quito divided the city into 32 urban parishes. These parishes, which are used by the municipality for administrative purposes, are also known as "cabildos" since 2001. Since the times of the Metropolitan District of Quito, parishes of this type are also grouped into larger divisions known as "municipal zones" ("zonas municipales"). These parishes are as follows:
Ecclesiastical parishes.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quito divides the city into 167 parishes, which are grouped into 17 zones.
Transportation.
Public transportation.
The MetrobusQ network, also known as "Red Integrada de Transporte Público", is the bus rapid transit system running in Quito, and it goes through the city from south to north. It's divided into three sections—the green line (the central trolleybus, known as "El Trole"), the red line (the north-east Ecovía), and the blue line (the north-west Corridor Central). In addition to the bus rapid transit system, there are many buses running in the city. The buses have both a name and a number, and they have a fixed route. Taxi cabs are all yellow, and they have meters that show the fare. There are nearly 8,800 registered taxicabs.
In August 2012 the Municipality of Quito government established a municipal bicycle sharing system called Bici Q.
Highway transportation.
Although public transportation is the primary form of travel in the city, including fleets of taxis that continually cruise the roadways, the use of private vehicles has increased substantially during the past decade.
Because of growing road congestion in many areas, there were plans to construct a light rail system, which were conceived to replace the northern portion of the "Trole". These plans have been ruled out and replaced by the construction of the first metro line (subway) in 2012. It is expected to be operational by March 2020, joining the existing public transportation network.
Roads, avenues and streets
Because Quito is about long and at its widest, most of the important avenues of the city extend from north to south. The two main motorways that go from the northern part of the city to the southern are Avenue Oriental (Corridor Periférico Oriental) on the eastern hills that border the city, and Avenue Occidental on the western side of the city on the Pichincha volcano. The street 10 de Agosto also runs north to south through most of the city, running down the middle of it. The historic centre of the city is based on a grid pattern, despite the hills, with the streets Venezuela, Chile, García Moreno, and Guayaquil being the most important.
Air transportation.
The Mariscal Sucre International Airport serves as the city's principal airport for passenger travel and freight. The airport is located east of the city's centre in the Tababela parish. It began operations on February 20, 2013, replacing the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport located north of the city centre within city limits. The old airport was replaced due to tall buildings and nighttime fog that made landing from the south difficult. The old airport has become a metropolitan park.
Rail transportation.
There is a railroad that goes through the southern part of Quito and passes through the "Estación de Chimbacalle". It is managed by the Empresa de Ferrocarriles Ecuatorianos (EFE). This form of transportation is nowadays used mostly for tourism.
Subway.
A metro subway system (Quito Metro) is under construction. Phase One, begun in 2013, entailed the construction of stations at La Magdalena and El Labrador. Phase Two, begun in 2016, involves 13 more stations, a depot and sub-systems. The project is expected to carry 400,000 passengers per day and to cost $1.5 billion with financing coming from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and is expected to be operating in 2020.
Points of interest.
Historic center.
Quito has the largest, least-altered, and best-preserved historic center in the Americas. This center was, together with the historic center of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978. The Historic Centre of Quito is to the south of the capital's current center, on an area of , and is one of the most important historic areas in Latin America. There are about 130 monumental buildings (which host a variety of pictorial art and sculpture, mostly religiously-inspired, in a multi-faceted range of schools and styles), and 5,000 properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties.
Carondelet Palace () is the seat of the Government of the Republic of Ecuador, located in the historical center of Quito. The palace overlooks the bustling public space known as Independence Square or Plaza Grande (colonial name), together with the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Hotel Plaza Grande and the Metropolitan Cathedral. During the Republican era almost all the presidents (constitutional, internees and dictators) have governed from the Carondelet Palace. The presidential residence is located on the third level of the Palace, along with administrative offices. The residence is a luxurious colonial-style apartment in which the President and his family dwell. Rafael Correa, president from 2007 to 2017, converted the presidential compound into a museum that is accessible to all who wish to visit it.
The monumental Basilica del Voto Nacional is the most important neo-Gothic building in Ecuador, and one of the most representative of the American continent. It was once the largest in the New World.
The Cathedral of Quito, is one of the largest religious symbols of spiritual value for the Catholic community in the city. Construction of this church began in 1562, seventeen years after the Diocese of Quito was created in 1545. The church building was completed in 1806, during the administration of President of the Real Audiencia, Baron Héctor de Carondelet.
One of the major events that took place in this cathedral was the murder of the Bishop of Quito, José Ignacio Checa y Barba, who during the mass of Good Friday on 30 March 1877, was poisoned by strychnine dissolved in the consecrated wine. The cathedral is also the burial place of the remains of the Grand Marshal Antonio José de Sucre and also of several presidents of the Republic, as well as of bishops and priests who died in the diocese. The cathedral is on the south side of the Plaza de La Independencia.
Construction of The Church of La Compañía began in 1605. Building took 160 years. In 1765 the work was completed with the construction of the façade. This was done by Native Americans who carefully shaped the stones to build the façade in the ornate Baroque style, in what is one of the finest examples of this art in the Americas.
The San Francisco is the largest of the existing architectural ensembles in the historic centers of cities in Latin America. The construction of the church began in 1550, on land adjacent to the plaza where the Native Americans engaged in the barter of products.
In colonial times, the Church of El Sagrario was one of the largest architectural marvels of Quito. The construction is of the Italian Renaissance style and it was built in the late 17th century. It has a screen that supports its sculptures and decorations. This structure was built by Bernardo de Legarda. Its central arch leads to a dome decorated with frescoes of biblical scenes featuring archangels. It was done by Francisco Albán. The altarpiece was gilded by Legarda. It is located on Calle García Moreno, near the Cathedral.
Although they arrived in Quito in 1541, the Dominicans started to build their own temple in 1580, using the plans of Francisco Becerra, and under his direction. The work was completed in the first half of the 17th century. Inside the church are valuable structures, such as the neo-Gothic main altar. This was installed in the late 19th century by Italian Dominicans. The roof of the Mudéjar style church features paintings of martyrs of the Order of Saint Dominic. The roof of the nave is supported by a pair-and-knuckle frame, decorated inside by tracery. In the museum on the north side of the lower cloister, there are wonderful pieces by great Quito sculptors such as the Saint Dominic de Guzmán by Father Carlos, the Saint John of God by Caspicara, and the Saint Thomas Aquinas by Legarda. Another Baroque masterpiece that still stands today, is the Chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a recognizable architectural icon of Quito. This chapel was built next to the church. The largest fraternity in the city of Quito was founded in this chapel.
El Panecillo.
El Panecillo is a hill in the middle west of the city at an altitude of about above sea level. A monument to the Virgin Mary is located on top of El Panecillo and is visible from most of the city of Quito. In 1976, the Spanish artist Agustín de la Herrán Matorras was commissioned by the religious order of the Oblates to build a –tall aluminum monument of a madonna, which was assembled on a high pedestal on the top of Panecillo. The statue of the Virgin on the Panecillo is a replica of a sculpture made by Bernardo de Legarda in 1732. So this monument is also called Virgen de Legarda or Virgen del Panecillo.
La Mariscal.
This modern area is considered to be the city's entertainment hub. It is a meeting point for both local residents and tourists. Its cosmopolitan atmosphere is expressed in a wide variety of culinary, artistic, and cultural options, and the large number of hotels, inns, travel agencies, shops, bars, and discothèques that light up when the sun sets.
Plaza Foch (La Zona).
This area is considered to be the "zona rosa" of the city. It hosts various night clubs and bars, and has a great night vibe, complete with street vendors selling gum, cigarettes and other small items. Plaza Foch is heavily frequented from Thursday to Saturday, and draws tourists from all over the world. For this reason, prices for liquor, beer and food are expensive compared to other places in Quito. Due to its small driveways and big sidewalks, it's mostly a pedestrian area.
Parks.
Metropolitano.
Parque Metropolitano Guanguiltagua is the largest urban park in South America at (as reference, New York's Central Park is ). The park is located in northern Quito, on the hill of Bellavista behind Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. The park is suited for mountain biking, walking, and running. Most of it is eucalyptus forest with trails, but there also are numerous sculptures on display. The park has four sites that can be used for picnics or barbecues, and the eastern section has a view of Cotopaxi, Antisana, and the Guayllabamba river basin.
Bicentenario.
Parque Bicentenario is the second largest urban park in Quito (surpassed only by the Parque Metropolitano), located in the site of the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport. It was inaugurated on April 27, 2013. This park has , and it is located at , above mean sea level. The former runway has been converted into recreational space with lanes painted for bicycles and pedestrians. There are play structures and games for children. As well, there is outdoor exercise equipment for adults. The park contains a man-made pond and more than one thousand trees, many newly planted. The park also hosts cultural exhibits and outdoor concerts.
La Carolina.
La Carolina is a 165.5-acre (670,000 m2) park in the centre of the Quito main business area, bordered by the avenues Río Amazonas, de los Shyris, Naciones Unidas, Eloy Alfaro, and de la República. This park started from the expropriation of the farm La Carolina in 1939. The design of the park was made by the Dirección Metropolitana de Planificación Territorial (DMPT). Pope John Paul II headed a great mass in the park during his visit to Ecuador in 1985. A giant cross has been built in this place.
El Ejido.
El Ejido is the fourth-largest park of Quito (after Metropolitan, Bicentenario and La Carolina), and it divides the old part of the city from the modern one. This park is known for handicrafts available for sale every Saturday and Sunday, with all pricing subject to negotiation (that is, haggling). Local painters sell copies of paintings by Oswaldo Guayasamín, Eduardo Kingman, and Gonzalo Endara Crow. Otavaleños sell traditional sweaters, ponchos, carpets, and jewelry.
Guápulo.
Set on the side on a cliff with González Suárez Street, one of the most famous in Quito and to the other side the valley and further in the distance, the Amazon Jungle. Guápulo is a district of Quito, Ecuador, also called an electoral parish ("parroquia electoral urbana"). The parish was established as a result of the October 2004 political elections when the city was divided into 19 urban electoral parishes. Set behind Hotel Quito, the neighborhood of Guápulo runs down the winding Camino de Orellana, from González Suárez to Calle de los Conquistadores, the main road out of Quito and to the neighboring suburbs. Often considered an artsy, bohemian neighborhood of Quito, Guápulo is home to many local artists and a couple of hippy cafés/bars. Every year on September 7 the guapuleños honor their neighborhood with the Fiestas de Guápulo, a fantastic celebration complete with costumes, parade, food, drink, song, dance, and fireworks.
La Alameda.
The long triangular La Alameda is located at the beginning of street Guayaquil, where the historic centre begins. It has an impressive monument of Simón Bolívar at the apex. There are several other interesting monuments in this park. In the centre of the park is the Quito Observatory, which was opened by President García Moreno in 1873. It is used for both meteorology and astronomy. At the north end of the park are two ornamental lakes, where rowboats can be rented.
La Floresta.
One of the most iconic neighborhoods in the city, with an important cultural and gastronomic offer. The neighborhood has local and international restaurants, a cinema, small theaters, cafes, bars, museums and coworking spaces.
TeleferiQo.
The Aerial tramway Station at Cruz Loma (part of the Pichincha mountain complex at about ). Since July 2005, Quito has had an aerial tramway, known as the "Telefériqo", from the city centre to the hill known as Cruz Loma on the east side of the Pichincha volcano. The ride takes visitors to an elevation of about . There are also trails for hiking and areas where pictures can be taken of Quito. Because of the increased elevation and the wind on the mountain, it is considerably cooler.
Besides the aerial tramway to Cruz Loma, the Telefériqo as a whole is a visitor centre that includes an amusement park (Vulqano Park), fine-dining restaurants, Go Karts, Paint Ball, shopping malls, an extensive food court, and other attractions.
Outside the city.
La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) is a small village administered by the prefecture of the province of Pichincha, north of Quito. It has since been determined, with the use of Global Positioning System technology, that the actual equator is some north of the monument area. Nearby is the Intiñan Solar Museum, which may be closer to the true equator. The Intiñan Solar Museum provides a demonstration which purports to show the Coriolis force causing a clockwise rotation of sink water a few meters south of the equator and a counterclockwise rotation a few meters north, but many scientific sources claim that this is implausible.
Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, located a few miles northwest from La Mitad del Mundo, contains the Pululahua volcano, whose caldera (crater) is visible from a spot easily accessible by car. It is believed to be one of only a few in the world with human inhabitants.
Quito Zoo,
located near the rural parish of Guayllabamba, about outside Quito, has the biggest collection of native fauna in Ecuador, including several kinds of animals that are sometimes targeted in Ecuador in the illegal fur trade. The Zoo works in conservation and education in Ecuador and has successfully bred the endangered Andean condor.
Maquipucuna Reserve is located in Quito's rural parish of Nanegal. This 14,000 acre high biodiversity rainforest and cloudforest reserve protects over 1966 species of plants (10% of Ecuador's plant diversity) and close to 400 bird species. This reserve, which is surrounded by a 34,000 acre protected forest, was declared an IBA (Important Bird Area) in 2005 and is the core of the conservation corridor for the spectacled bear (Andean bear) declared in 2013. The area has an ecolodge located in the northern end of the Reserve where the spectacled bear can be sighted for about two months every year.
Some of the other nearby natural attractions are:
Culture.
Quito is a city with a mix of modern-day and traditional culture. There is a large Catholic presence in Quito; most notably, Quito observes Holy Week with a series of ceremonies and rituals that begin on Palm Sunday. At noon on Good Friday, the March of the Penitents proceeds from the Church of San Francisco.
Education.
Universities.
According to the National Council for Higher Education of Ecuador (CONESUP), these are the universities founded in or around Quito before 2006:
Libraries.
One of the oldest and most important library in Ecuador is the Central University Library in Quito. It was founded in 1586 and has 170,000 volumes in its possession. The Aurelio Espinoza Polit in Cotocollao, Casas de la Cultura and Catholic University are also important ones.
Sports.
Quito is home to two prominent football clubs in the country. The city's top clubs (LDU Quito, El Nacional) have won a total of 28 national championships, over half of all championships played. Deportivo Quito and Aucas were the first home teams to play in the national league. Deportivo Quito was also the first out of the three home teams to win the title. LDU Quito is the only club from the capital to have won 4 continental titles. The other club being Independiente del Valle which won the CONMEBOL Sudamericana in 2019. El Nacional is the fourth most titled team in Ecuador's history, with 13. América de Quito was one of the most titled clubs in the past but has recently played in the lower divisions.
The professional teams in the city are:
One of the more interesting facts of Quito is that the stadiums are located over above sea level, this gives the city the special feature and a great advantage for local teams when they play against foreign teams and it is one of the reasons that has allowed Ecuador to qualify for the last two World Cups.
Crime.
The U.S. Department of State notes that petty theft is the most common crime issue facing tourists in Quito, stating in 2015: "Pickpocketing, purse snatching, robbery, bag slashing, and hotel room theft are the most common types of crimes committed against U.S. citizens."
International relations.
Quito is twinned with:


Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland

The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Wildlife Queensland) based in Queensland, Australia is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to engage communities to deliver conservation outcomes.
Founded in 1962, Wildlife Queensland works with community groups, schools, government, private landholders and businesses to achieve conservation goals.
With over 5,000 supporters, members and dedicated volunteers at head office in Brisbane and branches throughout the state, Wildlife Queensland draws attention to wildlife's plight and conservation and by consulting with government departments, raises awareness at every level.
Background.
Wildlife Queensland is the oldest and largest wildlife-focused conservation group in Queensland, and been a part of all the major conservation issues in Queensland for 50 years.
Early campaigns protected important places such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Hinchinbrook Channel and Fraser Island. The organisation has encouraged governments to protect important habitats from the coast to the rainforests through planning and legislation. Founded to educate the community about wildlife and wildlife issues, and sharing information via the Wildlife Queensland website, publications, nature journal "Wildlife Australia" and regular special events such as the Batty Boat Cruises. All campaigns and submissions are based on policies created, debated and written by members, such as biodiversity, population and water policies.
History.
The first members were concerned about the increasing destruction of the natural environment and felt that by establishing an organisation to work for conservation and continuing environmental education, the community could be encouraged to be aware of, and accept, sound conservation ideals.
The Society was created as a community-based, non-profit organisation, founded in 1962 by Judith Wright, Brian Clouston, David Fleay and Kathleen MacArthur. Current patron, Margaret Thorsborne, is an eminent veteran conservationist who worked alongside Judith Wright in the original campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef in 1967.
Objectives.
Wildlife Queensland's objectives as set out in the constitution are:
Current projects.
Wildlife Queensland has numerous ongoing projects aimed at the conservation of various forms of wildlife, involving members and communities. These include the following:
Achievements.
Achievements include;
Investing in the future.
Wildlife Queensland runs a ‘Student Research Grants Program’ available to students at Queensland universities. Five grants of $1,000 each are awarded each year. Eligible research projects are those which investigate methods of addressing or reversing the decline in threatened native plant and animal species or their habitat, or other applied conservation outcomes in Queensland. This incorporates biodiversity conservation including endangered species, vegetation communities and regional ecosystems.
Awards.
Every year Wildlife Queensland recognises the achievements and efforts of members through a special award ceremony held at an annual dinner in September.
The categories are:
Community engagement.
Community engagement is facilitated through free participation in projects involving research, field work, and community education days, as well as formal events, excursions, educational presentations, branch memberships and organisational memberships.
This aims to educate and raise awareness of current issues and projects, and along with voluntary contributions and donations, contributes to the ongoing process of conserving Queensland’s wildlife.


List of rare flora of the Warren region

This is a list of endangered flora of the Warren region, a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia. It includes all taxa that occur in the region, and that have been classified as "R: Declared Rare Flora - Extant Taxa" or "X: Declared Rare Flora - Presumed Extinct Taxa" under the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List, and are hence gazetted as endangered extant flora under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.
There are 28 endangered taxa. "Leucopogon cryptanthus" is presumed extinct. The other 27 are believed extant:


Eibingen Abbey

Eibingen Abbey (, full name: Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard) is a community of Benedictine nuns in Eibingen near Rüdesheim in Hesse, Germany. Founded by Hildegard of Bingen in 1165, it was dissolved in 1804, but restored, with new buildings, in 1904. The nuns produce wine and crafts. They can be heard singing their regular services, which have been at times recorded. The church is also used as a concert venue. The abbey is a Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site.
History.
The original community was founded in 1165 by Hildegard of Bingen. This was the second community founded by her. It was disestablished in 1804. After the "Reichsdeputationshauptschluss" (German mediatization), the land once owned by the convent became part of the domains of the prince of Nassau-Weilburg who, in 1831, even bought both the monastery and its church.
The community was reestablished by Charles, 6th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg in 1904 and resettled from St. Gabriel's Abbey in Prague. The nunnery belongs to the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation. A new building was erected in Neo-Romanesque style. In 1941, the nuns were expelled by the Nazis; they were not able to return until 1945. In 1988, the sisters founded Marienrode Priory at Hildesheim, which became independent of Eibingen in 1998.
The nuns work in the vineyard and in the craft workshops, besides undertaking the traditional duties of hospitality. A visitor watched the nuns using GPS systems, computers and modern kitchen tools. They can be heard (but not seen) singing their regular services. The nuns have recorded their Vespers. A first recording was made in 1973 and contained only two works by Hildegard of Bingen, a Kyrie and "O virga ac diadema". A second recording appeared in 1979, to remember the 800th anniversary of Hildegard's death, including the same pieces and antiphones, a hymn, a responsory and parts of "Ordo virtutum". In 1989, a third recording appeared, conducted by P. Johannes Berchmans Göschl, a scholar of Gregorian chant. A reviewer of Gramophone noted about a 1998 recording: "These nuns are living the same life as that of Hildegard's community, singing daily the same Benedictine Office, breathing the same air and trying to capture the spirit of their great twelfth-century predecessor."
Abbesses.
From 1603 the abbesses held the title of "Abbess of Rupertsberg and Eibingen".
Since the re-establishment of the community in 1904:
Heritage.
The abbey is a Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site. The church has been used for concerts of the Rheingau Musik Festival, such as a "BachTrompetenGala" with organist Edgar Krapp and a concert with the New York Polyphony in 2014. The sculptor Karlheinz Oswald made in 1998 a life-size bronze statue called Hildegard of Bingen, with one copy in the Bingen museum, another in the garden in front of the abbey church.


Gilf Kebir National Park

Gilf Kebir National Park (GKNP) () is a national park located in the remote and hyper-arid New Valley Governorate, Egypt. Established in 2007, it has a surface area of 48533 km2, equal of about 5% of Egypt's territory. GKNP is delimited to the west by Libya and to the south by Sudan. At present there are no human settlements or facilities inside the GKNP.
Ecosystems and cultural values.
The park consists of three different ecosystems: the southern ranges of the Great Sand Sea including the Silica glass area, the proper Gilf Kebir plateau and the Egyptian portion of the Gabal El Uweinat massif.
The Great Sand Sea is a large complex of sand dunes extending from the Siwa oasis in the north to the Gilf Kebir in the south. Its south western part is covered by the Silica Glass area, which is scattered with fragments of pure glass, formed about 30 million years ago due to the explosion of a meteorite or comet.
The Gilf Kebir is a plateau, furrowed by immense north trending wadis. The area was settled by a population already at the beginning of the Neolithic area some 9000 years ago during the African humid period, leaving splendid rock paintings and engravings of uncertain age in the wadi Hamra and in the caves of Beasts, Swimmers, Archers and Magharet el Kantara on its southern foothills.
The Gebel Uweinat, situated about 150 km south of the Gilf Kebir and most of which lies in Sudanese and Libyan territories, is another massif import for its abundant rock art.
Recent past is represented by the remains of the Long Range Desert Group WWII-camps such as trucks and an airfield at the "Eight Bells" spot.
Flora and fauna.
The GKNP contains an important desert adapted flora (trees: Acacia raddiana, shrubs: Zilla spinosa, Fagonia thebaica) and fauna (Barbary Sheep).


Op Luang National Park

Op Luang National Park () is a national park in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. It is home to a scenic river canyon, waterfalls, and caves.
Geography.
Op Luang National Park is about south of Chiang Mai in Chom Thong, Mae Chaem and Hot Districts. The park's area is . It is contiguous with Doi Inthanon National Park. Like Doi Inthanon Park, Op Luang is in the Thanon Thong Chai Range.
History.
Prehistoric paintings and other artefacts have been found in Op Luang National Park. The Doi Pha Chang area has a cliff painting of an elephant. Near Op Luang Canyon there are more rock paintings, as well as ancient jewelry and tools. Carbon-dating has indicated these relics to be about 28,000 years old.
The park was a forest park from 1966 to 1991. In 1991 Op Luang became Thailand's 68th National Park.
Attractions.
The park's main attraction is Op Luang Canyon, carved out by the Mae Chaem River. The canyon is steep-sided and about long.
Waterfalls include Mae Bua Kham, about high; Mae Chon, about wide and the year-round Mae Tia about high. Thep Thanom is a hot spring in the west of the park.
Tham Tong is a granite and limestone cave leading to long tunnels. Tham Tu Pu cave features stalagmites and stalactites.
Flora and fauna.
The park features forest types including mixed deciduous, deciduous dipterocarp and evergreen. Tree species include "takian", "Dipterocarpus alatus", "Xylia xylocarpa", teak, "Pterocarpus macrocarpus", "Toona ciliata" and "Lagerstroemia speciosa" as well as various bamboos, palms and ferns.
Animal species include tiger, sambar deer, Asiatic black bear, civet, pangolin, macaque, Siamese hare, serow, langur, mongoose, tree monitor, northern treeshrew, barking deer and wild boar.
Avian life includes vernal hanging parrot, scarlet minivet, white-rumped shama, spotted dove, coucal, hill myna, Siamese fireback, red junglefowl, shikra, falconet, bulbul, woodpecker, pheasant and partridge.


Friends of the Mt. Holyoke Range

The Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range is a land conservation non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the land, ecosystem, and history of the Mount Holyoke Range in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It has been successful in assisting with the conservation of several key parcels of land as well as the renovation of the Summit House on Mount Holyoke. The Friends works in close collaboration with the Kestrel Land Trust and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Friends also sponsors summer concerts and the Seven Sisters Road Race.


Mountains to Sound Greenway

The Mountains to Sound Greenway is a 1.5 million-acre landscape situated in the Pacific Northwest. On March 12, 2019, it was designated a National Heritage Area, to be managed by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, as part of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. In 1998 it was designated a National Scenic Byway.
Framed by the urban areas of Seattle and Ellensburg, the Mountains to Sound Greenway is woven together by the historic transportation corridors and an extensive network of trails that link the public to the landscape. The Greenway is shaped by watershed boundaries: the Yakima to the east, the Cedar to the south, Snoqualmie and Lake Washington to the north, and Puget Sound to the west.
The Greenway as it is today was first envisioned in 1990, when a group of citizens hiked from the Cascade Crest alongside Interstate 90, through the forest all the way. The Seattle region was on the verge of a significant economic boom, and unchecked sprawl threatened much of the region. In 1991, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust was founded to work toward a shared vision of keeping some of these natural lands within a connected, multi-purpose Greenway between Seattle and Central Washington.


Ventana Wilderness Alliance

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance, founded in 1998, is a group dedicated to preserving and protecting public lands along California's Big Sur coast. Its mission is to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness qualities and biodiversity of the public lands within California's Northern Santa Lucia Mountains and Big Sur region.
Lawsuits.
At their founding, they conducted an inventory of public lands within the Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District. Their goal was to assess the suitability of land in the region for inclusion in federal wilderness. Their findings persuaded US Congressman Sam Farr to sponsor the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act. On December 19, 2002, the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 added to the existing wilderness bringing it to a total of .
Following its initial organization, it focused on retiring inappropriate grazing allotments, mitigating abandoned mine sites, and cleaning up clandestine cannabis grow sites.
The Alliance sued the Monterey Ranger District and the U.S. Forest Service, challenging their decision to permit grazing on public land within the wilderness. The Wilderness Act prohibits commercial enterprises on public land designated as wilderness, but permits grazing when the usage predates establishment of the wilderness. In this case grazing had occurred for over 115 years when the land was privately owned. There was a temporary cessation during which the Forest Service conducted an environmental assessment. The court ruled that the temporary cessation during the transition from private to public land was not sufficient to end the grazing usage and did not discontinue the use. The grazing had been "established" for purposes of the Wilderness Act, and the Alliance lost the suit and an appeal on February 26, 2009.
Service projects.
Wilderness rangers.
, over 80% of the Monterey Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest is protected by the Ventana Wilderness and Silver Peak areas. The Alliance strives to encourage government management of the wilderness lands. There were five full-time Monterey District rangers in the late 1970s, and due to severe budget restrictions and staffing shortages, there are none. The Monterey Ranger District relies almost entirely on volunteers to maintain trails, clean up trash, and teach visitors to responsibly enjoy the wilderness.
Trail crew.
The Alliance recruits individuals to join its Trail Crew program and to act as voluntary Wilderness Rangers who patrol the backcountry. The Alliance began the volunteer Wilderness Ranger program in 2011. It matched about $60,000 in funding it received as a grant from the National Forest Foundation to train volunteers and give them tools, supplies, and travel stipends. The Forest Service provides uniforms, training facilities, and radios. The rangers educate back-country visitors in Leave No Trace principles and to clean up camps, especially at high-use areas like Sykes Hot Springs. Sykes Camp was heavily impacted by overuse for many years, but has been closed since the Soberanes Fire in June 2017 severely damaged the Pine Ridge Trail. Winter storms the following winter reportedly wiped out the man-made impoundments at the spring as well. The Alliance also conducts a Youth in Wilderness program to encourage the younger generation to enjoy the wilderness and take an active role to protect it.
Among the projects the Alliance has funded was reconstructing trails in the Silver Peak Wilderness and in the Tassajara area. They also funded reconstruction of the South Fork Trail on the south fork of the Big Sur River. That trail had become impassible from lack of maintenance. The hired a crew from American Conservation Experience who restored of trail, removing 72 trees across the trail in the process. Volunteers completed the rest of the trail work, re-establishing a trail the traversed the wilderness from east to west. They hired a crew from AmeriCorps NCCC to repair on the popular Kirk Creek Trail, which connects Highway 1 to Vicente Flat camp.
Film festival.
The Alliance sponsors the Wild and Scenic Film Festival held each year in Santa Cruz.


Loder Cup

The Loder Cup is a New Zealand conservation award.
It was donated by Gerald Loder, 1st Baron Wakehurst in 1926 to "encourage and honour New Zealanders who work to investigate, promote, retain and cherish our indigenous flora". The Minister of Conservation awards the Loder Cup to a person or group of people who best represent the objectives of the Cup.
Recipients.
The Loder Cup has been awarded to the following individuals and groups: