Chocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve

Chocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve (Spanish: "Reserva Natural El Chocoyero-El Brujo") is located in the municipality of Ticuantepe in the Managua department of Nicaragua. Chocoyero-El Brujo is one of 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, and at just this tropical forest is one of the smallest in size. Chocoyero-El Brujo was declared a natural reserve in 1993 is managed by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA).
Flora and fauna.
Chocoyero-El Brujo is abundant in water, it is home to two waterfalls, El Brujo and Chocoyero, named after the parakeets that make the walls of the cliff their home. The abundance of water keeps this natural reserve green with flourishing wildlife. Chocoyero-El Brujo is a main supplier of water to Managua, it supplies 20% of the city's water consumption and about twenty million gallons of water each and every day.
The large amount of biodiversity is obvious, with bird species estimated at 113 species, some of which include toucans, hummingbirds, and green Pacific parakeets ("Aratinga strenua") known as "chocoyos" nationwide. In the reserve, there are 29 species of mammals and 21 types of reptiles and amphibians. Among mammals and amphibians some species regularly spotted include tigrillos, agoutis, and deer. Also common are two types of monkeys, the howler and the smaller white-face monkeys.
Also present are 154 species of plants and 217 species of vertebrates.
Tourism.
Chocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve is regarded as an important tourist attraction. Each year an estimated 10,000 people visit the reserve. The reserve includes various activities for visitors such as bird watching, bicycling, overnight camping, guided tours, and an "EnviroCamp".


Elizabeth Thacher Kent

Elizabeth Thacher Kent (September 22, 1868 – August 14, 1952) was an environmentalist and women's rights activist. Together with her husband, U.S. Congressman William Kent, she helped create the Muir Woods National Monument by donating land to the government. She was the president of her local chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and served on the national council of the National Woman's Party. In addition, she authored an autobiography as well as a biography of her husband's life and career.
Personal life.
Elizabeth Thacher Kent was the daughter of Yale College professor Thomas Anthony Thacher and Elizabeth Baldwin (Sherman) Thacher. She married William Kent on February 26, 1890 and moved to Kentfield, California. Together they had seven children. Her sons include Sherman Kent (Yale professor) and Roger Kent (US politician). Her daughter was the prominent artist Adaline Kent. Her favorite recreational activities were motoring and bridge.
She was the great-granddaughter of American founding father Roger Sherman and his second wife Rebecca Minot Prescott, her grandfather was Roger Sherman, Jr. Her brother Sherman Day Thacher founded The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. She was a first cousin and close friend of Elizabeth Selden Rogers, chair of the Advisory Council of the National Woman's Party and its Legislative Chairman for the State of New York.
Biography.
Elizabeth T. Kent and her husband were active in local politics and conservation. When the coastal redwood forest in Marin were being cut down, Elizabeth and William purchased 611 acres of land and donated 295 acres to the federal government, which later became Muir Woods National Monument. Elizabeth T. Kent and John Muir were good friends, corresponding about nature and conservation.
In 1911, the Kent family moved to Washington D.C. after Mr. Kent was elected to serve his first term in Congress. Elizabeth was an active advocate of women’s rights, and was instrumental in helping women’s right to vote. She was a featured speaker at the 1913 and 1914 conventions of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and then became the leader of their Congressional Committee. She helped form the Congressional Union (later renamed the Women’s Party), which picketed the White House in support of suffrage. In the 1930s she became involved with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and in 1937 became president of the Marin County chapter. In DC, she lobbied members of Congress and testified before congressional committees twice. She is one of the few Marin County women to be elected posthumously to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame. She participated in the meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945.


Narew National Park

Narew National Park () is a National Park in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, created in 1996.
The park is a section of the Narew River. It is a swampy valley with moraine hills typical of a braided river. Depending on the season and the level of the water table, several riparian area ecosystems are available including swamps, tussocks with surrounding black alder () and white willow () forested areas. The total area of the Park is , of which only is state-owned, the balance being privately held.
The park covers the Upper Narew Valley, a swampy area between the towns of Suraz and Rzedziany. Around 90% of Park's area are either swamps or waters with the Narew as the main river, which splits in the area into many river beds, but also numerous smaller rivers, such as Liza, Szeroka Struga, Awissa, Kurówka, Kowalówka, Turośnianka and Czaplinianka.
The Park's landscape is predominantly made up by many varieties of marshes, reed beds, and there are also meadows and forests. The Narew Valley is a haven for birds - there are 179 species of them, including those unique for the area. Mammals are represented by around 40 species, among them some elk and otter as well as numerous beavers - around 260 of them. The Park's waters are full of fish - 22 species - as well as amphibians. The Park is a wetland site protected under the Ramsar convention.
Cultural attractions of the Park are mostly represented by buildings such as numerous traditional village huts, ancient crosses by the roads and windmills. One of the Park's attractions is a private archaeological museum, owned by Władysław Litwinczuk. The Park also includes an antique manor house at Kurowo.
The Park has its headquarters in the village of Kurowo. Its buffer zone includes a less strictly protected area called Narew Landscape Park.


Swati Thiyagarajan

Swati Thiyagarajan is an Indian conservationist, documentary filmmaker and environmental journalist, based in Cape Town, South Africa and New Delhi, India. She is a core team member of the Sea Change Project in South Africa and environmental editor at the Indian television news network of NDTV. Thiyagarajan is the recipient of the Carl Zeiss Award, Earth Heroes Award and two Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards. Her work as the environmental editor at NDTV has been internationally acclaimed and she has been described as the doyenne of environmental journalism in India.
Early life.
Swati Thiyagarajan grew up in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and is the daughter of Kannan Thiyagarajan, a student of Sishya School, Chennai & Rishi Valley School, the latter of which was founded and mentored by the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. In her testimony, she states that her father was influenced by Krishnamurti which led him to become passionate about nature and wildlife. She also states that her father introduced her to his best friend Siddharth Butch who was an ornithologist and photographer. Butch mentored her and initiated her in nature while on a beach in Chennai when she was a child. She learned to identify species of birds at the park of Theosophical Society Adyar, visited the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust where she held a snake for the first time, and visited the Guindy National Park to witness a tiger in the wild. Thiyagarajan was also the granddaughter of the classical Carnatic musician M. S. Subbulakshmi.
Career.
In 1997, Thiyagarajan joined the television news network NDTV as a journalist. She states that she proposed the idea of a series on wildlife, environment, and conservation issues to the network in 2000; her idea was accepted and she was assigned an all-woman team consisting of a co-anchor, a cameraperson, and an editor. She was the script writer, director, and presenter of the show, which featured half-hour documentaries on wildlife and conservation issues in locations around India and Africa, airing at prime time on NDTV. The series, titled "Born Wild", was broadcast by the network for 15 years. It is ostensibly the only documentary series on conservation that ran for more than 10 years on an Indian television news network.
In 2012, Thiyagarajan directed the documentary film "The Animal Communicator", which investigated the claims of interspecies communication by the conservationist Anna Breytenbach while examining her works.
In 2017, Thiyagarajan authored the book "Born Wild" which was based on her experiences on the field as a reporter and filmmaker. The book, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, is divided into chapters about various species and features an interview with the natural historian David Attenborough.
Thiyagarajan was the production manager for the Netflix film "My Octopus Teacher", which featured her husband as the human subject and his diving experiences with octopuses in the kelp forest of False Bay, off the western shore of South Africa. The film won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Feature, the Wildscreen Award presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature and was the winning nomination at the Jackson Wild Festival for 2020.
Thiyagarajan has also become a core team member of the Sea Change Project, a conservation effort founded by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck.
Personal life.
Thiyagarajan married the South African wildlife documentary filmmaker Craig Foster, who has a son from a previous marriage.


Banksia brownii

Banksia brownii, commonly known as feather-leaved banksia or Brown's banksia, is a species of shrub that grows in southwest Western Australia. An attractive plant with fine feathery leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres (7 ft) high, but can also occur as a small tree or a low spreading shrub. First collected in 1829 and published the following year, it is placed in "Banksia" subgenus "Banksia", section "Oncostylis", series "Spicigerae". There are two genetically distinct forms.
"Banksia brownii" occurs naturally only in two population clusters between Albany and the Stirling Range in southwest Western Australia. In the Stirling Range it occurs among heath on rocky mountain slopes; further south it occurs among jarrah woodland in shallow nutrient-poor sand. It has been evaluated as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); all major populations care threatened by "Phytophthora cinnamomi" dieback, a disease to which the species is highly susceptible. Other threats include loss of habitat, commercial exploitation and changes to the fire regime. Highly valued by Australia's horticultural and cut flower industries, "B. brownii" is widely cultivated in areas not exposed to dieback. It prefers a sheltered position in soil with good drainage, and must be provided with some moisture over summer.
Description.
"Banksia brownii" usually grows as an upright bush between one and three metres (3–10 ft) high, but it can also grow as an openly branched small tree to six metres (20 ft) in sheltered gullies, or as a low, spreading shrub in exposed locations such as the peaks of the Stirling Range. The bark is a grey-brown colour, smooth and thin, with lenticels. The leaves are long and thin, from three to ten centimetres (1–5 in) long, and five to ten millimetres (– in) wide. Dark green and hairless above but with a hairy white underside, they are easily recognised by their feather-like appearance, caused by the fact that they are finely divided almost back to the midrib, into as many as 70 thin tapered lobes.
Flowers occur in typical "Banksia" "flower spikes", inflorescences made up of hundreds of pairs of flowers densely packed in a spiral around a woody axis. "B. brownii"'s flower spike is a metallic red-brown colour, roughly cylindrical, 6 to 19 centimetres (2–7½ in) high and eight to ten centimetres (3–4 in) wide. Each flower consists of a tubular perianth made up of four united tepals, and one long wiry style. Perianths are cream at the base and grey-brown at the end. Styles are rusty red-brown with a cream tip, and downwardly hooked rather than straight. The style end is initially trapped inside the upper perianth parts, but breaks free at anthesis.
Flower spikes are held erect and are typically terminal on a branch; often other branchlets grow up and around a spike from below. The fruiting structure is a stout woody "cone", around five centimetres (2 inches) in diameter, with a hairy appearance caused by the persistence of old withered flower parts. A "cone" may be embedded with up to 60 follicles, although usually there are very few or even none at all. Unusually for "Banksia", each follicle contains just one seed. This is shiny black, oval in shape, about 20 millimetres (¾ in) long, with a brown papery wing.
Taxonomy.
"Banksia brownii" was first collected near King George Sound in 1829 by William Baxter, who named it in honour of botanist Robert Brown. A formal description was published by Brown in his 1830 "Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae"; thus the full botanic name of the species is "Banksia brownii" Baxter ex R.Br. Under Brown's taxonomic arrangement, "B. brownii" was placed in subgenus "Banksia verae", the "true banksias", because its inflorescence is a typical "Banksia" flower spike. "Banksia verae" was renamed "Eubanksia" by Stephan Endlicher in 1847.
Carl Meissner demoted "Eubanksia" to sectional rank in his 1856 classification, and divided it into four series, with "B. brownii" placed in series "Dryandroideae". When George Bentham published his 1870 arrangement in "Flora Australiensis", he discarded Meissner's series, placing all the species with hooked styles together in a section that he named "Oncostylis". This arrangement would stand for over a century.
In 1891, Otto Kuntze, in his "Revisio Generum Plantarum", rejected the generic name "Banksia" L.f., on the grounds that the name "Banksia" had previously been published in 1776 as "Banksia" J.R.Forst & G.Forst, referring to the genus now known as "Pimelea". Kuntze proposed "Sirmuellera" as an alternative, referring to this species as "Sirmuellera brownii". This application of the principle of priority was largely ignored by Kuntze's contemporaries, and "Banksia" L.f. was formally conserved and "Sirmuellera" rejected in 1940.
Alex George published a new taxonomic arrangement of "Banksia" in his landmark 1981 monograph "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Endlicher's "Eubanksia" became "B." subg. "Banksia", and was divided into three sections, one of which was "Oncostylis". "Oncostylis" was further divided into four series, with "B. brownii" placed in series "Spicigerae" because its inflorescences are cylindrical.
In 1996, Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges published a new arrangement for the genus, after cladistic analyses yielded a cladogram significantly different from George's arrangement. Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement retained "B. brownii" in series "Spicigerae", placing it in "B." subser. "Occidentales" along with "B. occidentalis" (red swamp banksia), "B. seminuda" (river banksia), "B. verticillata" (granite banksia) and "B. littoralis" (swamp banksia). This arrangement stood until 1999, when George effectively reverted to his 1981 arrangement in his monograph for the "Flora of Australia" series.
Under George's taxonomic arrangement of "Banksia", "B. brownii"'s taxonomic placement may be summarised as follows:
The closest relative to "B. brownii" is held to be "B. occidentalis", which differs in having smaller, deep red flowers and narrow, sparsely serrate leaves.
Since 1998, Austin Mast has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data for the subtribe Banksiinae, which comprises "Banksia" and "Dryandra". With respect to "B. brownii", Mast's results are somewhat at odds with those of both George and Thiele and Ladiges, finding it to be more closely related to "B. nutans" (nodding banksia) and "B. quercifolia" (oak-leaved banksia) than to many of the "Spicigerae". Overall, the inferred phylogeny is very greatly different from George's arrangement, and provides compelling evidence for the paraphyly of "Banksia" with respect to "Dryandra". Early in 2007, Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement of "Banksia" by transferring "Dryandra" into it, and publishing "B." subg. "Spathulatae" for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledons. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of "Dryandra" was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then "B. brownii" is placed in "B." subg. "Spathulatae".
Three genetically distinct forms of "B. brownii" are recognised: the better known forms are a "mountain form" with a shrubby habit, short thin hard leaves, and a squat inflorescence; and a "Millbrook Road form", with a tree habit and longer, wider, soft leaves. Some horticulturists also recognise an intermediate form. Recent genetic testing has confirmed the existence of three distinct forms, but currently these have no taxonomic status.
Distribution and habitat.
"Banksia brownii" occurs between Albany (35°S) and the Stirling Range (34°24'S) in the southwest of Western Australia, at the juncture of the Esperance Plains, Warren and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions. This is the taxonomically richest area for "Banksia", with 19 species, of which six are endemic, including "B. brownii" itself. It is cool and wet, with temperatures between four and 30 °C (39–86 °F) and rainfall of around 800 millimetres (31 in). The species occurs there in two distinct population clusters: southern populations occur among low woodland of "Eucalyptus marginata" (jarrah) in shallow, nutrient-poor white or grey sand over laterite; Stirling Range populations occur at altitudes of between 500 and 1100 metres (1640–3960 ft), among heath on rocky mountain slopes and tops, and in shale in gullies.
There are 27 known populations within this region, but only nine of these populations contain more than 10 individual plants, and only five populations have more than 100. Ten populations are now presumed extinct. The total number of plants is estimated at around 1000.
Ecology.
Coastal plants begin to flower at around five years from seed, but plants in the Stirling Range take much longer to mature. In one Stirling Range population, only 15% of plants had flowered after eight years. Flowering time is highly variable, but in general it occurs between March and August, with a peak around June. More flowers open during the day than at night.
As with other "Banksia" species, "B. brownii" is a heavy producer of nectar, and serves as a food source for a range of nectariferous birds, mammals and insects. Honeyeaters such as "Phylidonyris novaehollandiae" (New Holland honeyeater), "Acanthorhynchus superciliosus" (western spinebill) and "Anthochaera carunculata" (red wattlebird) are frequent visitors that often carry heavy pollen loads, making them important pollinators. Nocturnal mammals such as "Rattus fuscipes" (bush rat) and "Tarsipes rostratus" (honey possum) also carry heavy pollen loads, but the foraging behaviour of bush rats suggests that these may transfer pollen only over very short distances. Invertebrate visitors include the introduced "Apis mellifera" (western honeybee), native bees, flies and ants; bees appear to be effective pollinators, but ants and flies forage only at the base of flowers and do not come in contact with plant pollen.
The species is partly self-compatible, as some seed is set when pollinators are excluded. Selection against self-pollinated seed has been observed, but the species has nonetheless been shown to have one of the lowest outcrossing rates of any "Banksia". This is probably caused by the small population sizes, which increase the probability of self-fertilisation, and may discourage visits by pollinators.
It has a low rate of fruiting, with less than 1% of flowers developing into follicles, and more than half of the inflorescences failing to form any follicles at all. Seed survival rates are similarly low. Department of Environment and Conservation. More than half of a plant's seed crop may be lost to the larvae of moths and weevils, which burrow into the cobs to eat the seeds and pupate in the follicles; and further seed losses are caused by granivorous birds such as cockatoos, which break off the cobs to eat both the seeds and the insect larvae.
A small proportion of follicles open and release their seed spontaneously, but most remain closed until stimulated to open by bushfire. Bushfire kills the maternal plant, which has neither thick bark nor lignotubers, but the subsequent shedding of seed allows the population to regenerate. Seed predation continues after its release: in one study, "B. brownii" seeds were placed on the ground in both burnt and unburnt sides; almost all were eaten by parrots within four weeks.
Conservation.
Threats to "B. brownii" include loss of habitat due to land clearing, commercial exploitation, disease, and changes to the fire regime. The fragmentation of populations is also of concern, as it causes the genetic diversity of the species to decline, potentially reducing vigour. Climate change is also of concern: depending on the severity of change, the range of this species is predicted to contract by 30% to 50% by 2080.
Microsatellite markers for assessing population genetic structure were developed for "B. brownii" in 2009. A subsequent study by these authors, published in 2015, estimated that "B. brownii" has lost between 35–40% of its historical genetic diversity due to "P. cinnamomi" dieback.
"B. brownii" has been assessed as having a very high risk of extinction. It is estimated that without protective measures in place, it would be extinct within a decade; and that extinction would be "not only a tragedy in itself but may have unforeseen, and potentially disastrous, consequences for the functioning of the vegetation communities of which feather-leaved banksia is an integral part." The species has been formally assessed for the IUCN Red List as "Critically Endangered (CR)"; populations are projected to decline by more than 80% within the next three generations. It is listed as "Endangered" under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and "Rare" under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. These acts provide legislative protection against a range of potential threats, including commercial harvesting of flowers and land clearing. Further statutory protection is afforded by the fact that populations occur within the Eastern Stirling Range Montane Heath and Thicket threatened ecological community, which is listed as "Endangered" under the EPBC Act, and the Montane Mallee Thicket of the Stirling Range threatened ecology community, which has been assessed as "Endangered" by the Western Australian government; and by the presence of northern population within the Stirling Range National Park.
A five-year interim management plan was put in place by the Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation in October 2005. Actions under that plan include regular monitoring of populations, management of the threats of fire and "P. cinnamomi", and the cold storage of seed. This was followed by a national recovery plan. A translocation project was begun in 2008. This has met with some success as one of three original sites established appears to have a viable reproducing population.
Disease.
The main threat to "B. brownii" is dieback caused by the introduced plant pathogen "P. cinnamomi", a soil-borne water mould that causes root rot. Studies of the effect of "P. cinnamomi" on "B. brownii" have found it to be "highly susceptible" to dieback, with specimens "frequently and consistently killed in the wild". As of 2007, all major populations of "B. brownii", and all but one minor population, are suffering from dieback. Moreover, all populations are in an area vulnerable to dieback, so even the uninfected population is considered under threat. According to Western Australian botanist Byron Lamont, "the demise of this species in the wild appears imminent."
A number of protective measures have been implemented, including site access restrictions, the collection and cold-storage of seed, and the treatment of plants with phosphite. Phosphite boosts the resistance of both infected and uninfected plants, and also acts as a direct fungicide. Aerial spraying of phosphite boosts plant survival and slows the spread of infection, but must be carefully managed as studies have shown that foliar spraying of phosphite adversely affects root and shoot growth. Direct injection of phosphite into the stem of each tree appears to lack this disadvantage, but is costly to administer and restricted to known plants.
Other diseases to which "B. brownii" is vulnerable include the parasitic fungus "Armillaria luteobubalina" and the aerial canker fungus "Zythiostroma".
Fire regime.
Because "B. brownii" releases its seed in response to bushfire, it is important that fires occur at intervals that allow the plants to generate plenty of viable seed. The optimum fire interval is around 18 years. If fire occurs too frequently, plants are burned before reaching maturity or before they have produced sufficient seed to ensure regeneration of the population. This may cause populations to decline, or even local extinction. Too-infrequent fire also causes population decline, as more plants die of natural attrition without releasing their seed, resulting in seed wastage.
"Ex situ" conservation measures.
Because of the difficulty of conserving "B. brownii" in its present disease-exposed locations, it is an especially suitable candidate for "ex situ" conservation measures, such as the cold-storage of seed, and the translocation of plants to disease-free locations. Seed of "B. brownii" has been collected by Western Australia's Threatened Flora Seed Centre, and placed in cold-storage both in Perth and at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. This includes seed collected from populations that have since become extinct. In 2008, some of this seed was germinated, and seedlings were planted at a location near Albany. Genetic analysis of the seedlings revealed some genetic diversity that was not present in any extant population. The conservation of these seeds had thus preserved some of the species' genetic diversity that would otherwise have been lost through population extinction, providing a powerful example of the importance of seed banking to conservation efforts. A seed orchard was planted in 2007, and by 2010 this had yielded over 400 disease-free, healthy plants, some of which had grown more than three times the rate of those in the wild. A 2007 seedling flowered for the first time at Wakehurst Place in February 2011.
Cultivation.
With large metallic red inflorescences and attractive feathery leaves that are perhaps the softest of all "Banksia" species, "B. brownii" is highly valued by Australia's horticultural and cut flower industries. Seeds and plants are readily available in Australian nurseries, and it is widely cultivated in areas not exposed to dieback. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 20 to 50 days to germinate. The plant prefers a sheltered position in soil with good drainage, and must be provided with moisture over summer. It grows quickly, but takes several years to flower. Once established, it is frost-tolerant and tolerates light pruning not below the green foliage. The flowers are attractive in late bud, but lose their colour as soon as they open. Because they are usually surrounded by branchlets, they may be partly hidden by foliage.
The main obstacle to cultivation is the species' extreme sensitivity to dieback, which is widespread in suburban gardens. However, the species has been successfully grafted onto a rootstock of "B. integrifolia" (coast banksia), which renders it hardy on a range of soils.
External links.


Nam Phouy National Biodiversity Conservation Area

Nam Poui National Biodiversity Conservation Area is a protected area in the Sayaboury Province of the Lao P.D.R. It is named after Nam Poui village, also known as "Muang Pieng" and is one of the 21 National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCA) established by the Lao government. The NBCA is located in the forested mountains of the Luang Prabang Range and shares a border with Thailand and three other national parks. It is part of the Luang Prabang rain forest ecoregion.
Nam Poui NBCA is home to 50 - 60 Asian elephants, the largest wild population left in Laos. The reservoir area of the lower Nam Poun river is partly within the Nam Poui NBCA border.
The area, covering nearly 2000 square kilometers is currently patrolled by 12 persons. With such little support trying to maintain conservation efforts is difficult. It is because of this that the elephant and wildlife monitoring in Nam Poui NBCA needs to be strengthened.


Hopea celebica

Hopea celebica is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to Indonesia.


Gordon Waterman Chaplin

Gordon Chaplin (born 1945) is an American writer and conservationist.
Early life and education.
Chaplin was born in Philadelphia and graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He holds a degree in English literature from Boston University and an MA in American history from Stanford University, where he also attended the Stegner seminar in creative writing.
Chaplin grew up in Nassau, Bahamas, where his father, Charles C. G. Chaplin, worked as an ichthyologist and co-authored the taxonomic textbook "Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters" (Livingston Press 1968:, University of Texas Press 1992).
Career.
Chaplin's first book, "Joyride" (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1982), is a novel stemming from his experiences in Southeast Asia both as a reporter in Newsweek's Saigon bureau and as an editor on the "Bangkok World" in Thailand. Its teenaged American protagonists, attending high school in Bangkok where their parents are based, embark on a motorcycle trip to Saigon, hoping to glimpse the war first-hand. The novel was optioned by film director Paul Mazursky, and Chaplin wrote the screenplay for MGM Studios.
After fifteen years as a journalist, the last period of which he spent as a staff writer for the "Washington Post Magazine", Chaplin moved to Todos los Santos, Baja California Sur where he worked as a trip leader, divemaster and publicist for Baja Expeditions. There he became involved as a fundraiser and project consultant with the foundation Niparaja, a non-profit group seeking to preserve the marine and coastal areas of the Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Baja.
Next, he took to the sea himself in the "Lord Jim", a 36-foot Dutch-built motorsailor, with his partner Susan Atkinson. His travel-essay book, "The Fever Coast Log: At Sea in Central America" (Simon & Schuster, 1991) is an account of their voyage down the coast of Central America from Belize to Panama in the final days of the Sandinista regime and its American-backed opponents, the Contras.
His memoir, "Dark Wind:: A Survivor’s Tale of Love and Loss (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1999)" details the tragedy of their next voyage, which ended with Susan’s death in a typhoon in the Marshall Islands, halfway across the Pacific.
In addition to his journalism, he has contributed articles to "Audubon Magazine", "Men’s Journal", "Esquire", and other publications.
In 2004 Chaplin was invited by a group of scientists from his father’s old institution, The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, to participate in a 50-year retrospective study of the coral reef environment he’d frequented as a child, using his father's work as a baseline. His article "Return to the Reefs," and his subsequent book "Full Fathom Five: Ocean Warming and a Father’s Legacy" (Skyhorse Publishing, 2013) are accounts of this effort. As a research associate at the Academy, he is a co-author of two resulting scientific studies, "Assessing 50-year changes in Bahamian Reef Fish Assemblages: Evidence for Community Response to Recent Disturbances?" and "Detection of Shifts in coral reef fish assemblages structures over 50 years at reefs of New Providence Island, the Bahamas, highlights the value of the Academy of Natural Sciences collections in a changing world". In 2009 he established the Chaplin Fellowship at the Academy of Natural Sciences, occupied by Dr. Katriina Ilves.
Chaplin's most recent book is another novel, Paraíso (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016) set in Todos los Santos, about a gringo brother and sister who whose long estrangement ends in a spectacular rescue.
Personal life.
Chaplin lives in New York City and Hebron, New York, with his wife Sarah Teale and daughter Rosie. In Hebron they run a grass-fed beef operation, Rosie’s Beef, and are putting together a farmers co-operative for marketing farm to table production. Chaplin has two daughters from a previous marriage, Diana and Julia.


Agra Bear Rescue Facility

The Agra Bear Rescue Facility is a Sloth bear rescue facility dedicated to rehabilitating previously enslaved 'dancing bears'. Established in 1999 by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and others, the facility is located in an eight-hectare site inside the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary(also known as Keetham Lake), 17km west of Agra. It is one of the four facilities in India operated by Wildlife SOS for this purpose, and helped in the eradication of the ‘dancing bear’ practice in India. It currently houses over 170 sloth bears as well as other wildlife. Agra Bear Rescue Facility also does advanced research, disease management and provides specialised veterinary care as well as geriatric care for sloth bears. The facility is available for tours by small groups of people.
History and Overview.
The sloth bear ("Melurus ursinus") is a medium-sized omnivorous species of bear found in the Indian subcontinent, predominantly India, with a small population in Nepal and Bhutan, and a sub-species in Sri Lanka. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list.
For over 400 years, the Sloth Bear had been a target for human exploitation. A nomadic tribe known as the Kalandars began keeping ‘dancing’ sloth bears which entertained Mughal emperors. Over the centuries, the ‘dancing’ bear trade transitioned to become cheap roadside entertainment for villagers and tourists who paid to watch the bears.
The practice of enslaving bears for use as 'dancing' bears has been illegal in India under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.However this rule was not well enforced, and as a result hundreds of bears remained enslaved. The bears were poached from the forests as cubs, their mothers often killed, and sold in illegal markets to Kalandars, who have used the dancing bears as a source of income for centuries. With no anaesthesia, a metal rod would be inserted through their muzzle so that a rope or nose ring can be attached and they spent much of their lives in pain chained to a stake or in a cage. Their canine teeth were crudely knocked out, and the bears were beaten into submission to teach them to perform.
In 1996, Wildlife SOS's research indicated that there were more than 1200 ‘dancing’ bears scattered throughout India. In collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, International Animal Rescue, One Voice, Free The Bears, and others, Wildlife SOS established the Agra Bear Rescue Facility to rehabilitate bears.
Bear rehabilitation process.
On arrival to the facility, the rescued bears undergo a 90-day quarantine to prevent spread of any infectious disease to any other bear. Other immediate procedures include a complete health checkup where bears are treated for any diseases, wounds and parasites. The bear receives vaccination for many diseases like Rabies, Leptospirosis and infectious canine hepatitis. Once the quarantine period ends, the bears are encouraged to go into large socialisation enclosures with other bears where the behaviour and personality of each bear is monitored by Wildlife SOS staff.
After this process, the bear is matched to a group based on its personality, and then moved to a larger free-range area. The facility has full-time wildlife veterinary doctors and bear keepers. The bear hospital features a laboratory, along with X-ray, Ultrasound, Dental suite, Operation theatre and other equipments. The facility also includes a special cub weaning area which is dedicated to foster rescued baby bears.
Because the bears have been captive most of their lives, its unlikely they can ever be released into the wild, but the goal of Wildlife SOS is to eradicate the practice of dancing bears which has been illegal in India since 1972 but still enslaves bears, and thus stop the poaching of cubs. An important part of this is finding an alternative source of income for the Kalandar tribespeople and educating them about the cruelty of their former profession. A number of young Kalandar men are even employed at the facility helping care for the bears.
Tours.
The facility is available for tours, with a payment of entry fee to the Forest Department in order to access the facility, when last checked.


Dionysades

The Dionysades (, also Γιανυσάδες - "Gianysades") is a small group of islands off Sitia on the northeast coast of Crete. The group includes the islands Gianysada, Dragonada, Paximada, and Paximadaki. Administratively this group comes within the Sitia municipality in Lasithi.
This island group is part of an environmentally protected area with many rare plants and animals including the falcon, "Falco eleonorae", which finds sanctuary there.
These islands were once a place of worship of the ancient Greek god Dionysus. Archaeologists have found artefacts, from ancient and early Christian eras, indicating that the islands may have been inhabited in the past.


Jeju Island

Jeju Island (; ) is the largest island in South Korea, located in the Jeju Province (Jeju Special Self-Governing Province). The island covers an area of 1833.2 km2, which is 1.83 percent of the total area of South Korea. In 2020, the resident registration population is about 670,000, the largest among the islands in South Korea.
The island lies in the Korea Strait, below the Korean Peninsula, south of the South Jeolla Province. Jeju is the only self-governing province in South Korea, meaning that the province is run by local inhabitants instead of politicians from the mainland.
Jeju Island has an oval shape of 73 km east–west and 31 km north–south, with a gentle slope around Mt. Halla in the center. It is 181 kilometers wide and 258 kilometers long. The northern end of Jeju Island is Kimnyeong Beach, the southern end is Songak Mountain, the western end is Suwolbong, and the eastern end is Seongsan Ilchulbong. It is in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, Sea of Japan border South Korea's economic and political as well as in military also an important position.
The island was "formed by the eruption of an underwater volcano approximately 2 million years ago." It contains a natural world heritage site, the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. Jeju Island belongs to the temperate climate, and it has a moderate climate; even in winter, the temperature rarely falls below . Jeju is a popular holiday destination and a sizable portion of the economy relies on tourism and economic activity from its civil/naval base.
Names.
Historically, the island has been called by many different names including:
Before the Japanese annexation in 1910, the island was usually known as Quelpart to Europeans; during the occupation it was known by the Japanese name Saishū. The name "Quelpart" is attested in Dutch no later than 1648 and may have denoted the first Dutch ship to spot the island, the "quelpaert de Brack" around 1642, or rather some visual similarity of the island from some angle to this class of ships (a small dispatch vessel).
The first European explorers to sight the island, the Portuguese, called it "Ilha de Ladrones" (island of beggars).
The name "Fungma island" appeared in the "Atlas of China" of M. Martini who arrived in China as a missionary in 1655.
Symbol Mark.
Jeju's handwriting color was matched to Jeju's basalt color. This implies that Jeju's traditions should be preserved and developed. Green also symbolizes the natural environment of Mt. Halla and Jeju, blue symbolizes the sea of Jeju, and orange symbolizes the hopeful future and value of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.
History.
The earliest known polity on the island was the kingdom of Tamna.
After Mongol invasions of Korea, the Mongol Empire established a base on Jeju Island and converted part of the island to a grazing area for the Mongol cavalry stationed there.
In the beginning of the 15th century, Jeju Island was subjected to the highly centralized rule of the Joseon dynasty. A travel ban was implemented for almost 200 years and many uprisings by Jeju Island residents were suppressed.
Jeju uprising.
From 3 April 1948 to May 1949, the South Korean government conducted an anticommunist campaign to suppress an attempted uprising on the island. The main cause for the rebellion was the election scheduled for 10 May 1948, designed by the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) to create a new government for all of Korea. The elections were only planned for the south of the country, the half of the peninsula under UNTCOK control. Fearing that the elections would further reinforce division, guerrilla fighters of the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) reacted violently, attacking local police and rightist youth groups stationed on Jeju Island.
In 2008, bodies of victims of a massacre were discovered in a mass grave near Jeju International Airport.
Refugees on Jeju Island.
In 2018, 500 refugees fleeing the civil war in Yemen came to Jeju Island, causing unease among the residents of Jeju Island.
Planned Kim Jong-Un visit.
On 11 November 2018, it was announced that preparations were being made for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to visit Jeju during his upcoming visit to South Korea. Kim would be transported to Jeju via helicopter. The announcement came in after 200 tonnes of tangerines harvested in Jeju were flown to North Korea as a sign of appreciation for nearly 2 tonnes of North Korean mushrooms Kim gave to South Korea as a gift, following the September 2018 inter-Korean summit.
Archaeology.
In November 2020, South Korean archeologists announced the discovery of a 900-year-old lost slipway off the coast of Sinchangli. Researchers also discovered bright objects, coins and ceramics belong to the Northern Song Dynasty.
Geography.
Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Hallasan: a volcano high and the highest mountain in South Korea. The island measures approximately across, east to west, and from north to south.
The island formed by volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, during the Cenozoic era. The island consists chiefly of basalt and lava.
An area covering about 12% () of Jejudo is known as "Gotjawal Forest". This area remained uncultivated until the 21st century, as its base of 'a'a lava made it difficult to develop for agriculture. Because this forest remained pristine for so long, it has a unique ecology.
The forest is the main source of groundwater and thus the main water source for the half million people of the island, because rainwater penetrates directly into the aquifer through the cracks of the 'a'a lava under the forest. Gotjawal forest is considered an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention by some researchers because it is the habitat of unique species of plants and is the main source of water for the residents, although to date it has not been declared a Ramsar site.
Climate.
Jeju has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa" in the Koeppen climate classification). Four distinct seasons are experienced on Jeju; winters are cool with moderate rainfall, while summers are hot and humid with very high rainfall.
In January 2016, a cold wave affected the region. Snow and frigid weather forced the cancellation of 1,200 flights on Jejudo, stranding approximately 90,300 passengers.
Economy.
Tourism is an important component of the local economy. The island is sometimes called "South Korea’s Hawaii". Tourists from China do not require a visa to visit Jeju, unlike the rest of South Korea, and in the 2010s have started visiting on specialised package tours to acquire a South Korean driver's license; the test is similar to that in China, but can be completed in less time and is easier, application and test forms are available in many languages, and a South Korean license, unlike a Chinese license, makes the holder eligible for an International Drivers License.
Tourism.
In 1962, the South Korean government established the Korean National Tourism Corporation (KNTC) to monitor and regulate internal and external tourism, and it was later renamed the Korean National Tourism Organization (KNTO). While Korea lacks abundant natural resources, tourism is an entity that generates income nationwide for South Korea. In Jeju-do province, specifically, tourism has proven to be beneficial and has been a growing contributor to the economy. Jeju Island, often compared to Hawaii, “is the winter destination for Asian tourist seeking warm weather and beautiful beaches.”
The island is home to 660,000 people, but hosts 15,000,000 visitors per year. English is not widely spoken in Jeju, and as a matter of fact, “the local dialect is different enough from Korean that it is recognized as a distinct language.” “Until recently, Chinese travelers accounted for 80% of foreign travelers;” however, due to the installation of THAAD (The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system in Korea, Chinese travel has dwindled drastically. “THAAD is supposed to shield against North Korean missiles” however China views it as a security threat. Though in the past year [2017] tourism has declined sharply, visits to Jeju continue to be a vacation destination for Asia. There are no visa requirements for visitors staying up to 90 days and future plans to build a second international airport have been discussed. Due to the decline of visitors caused by China's travel ban to Korea due to the concern of THAAD, talks and discussions continue to be held regarding a second airport to service over 45 million people with an anticipated completion by 2035. The current Jeju International Airport is crowded, as it services “30 million, which is 4 million more than it was designed to handle.” The current desire of the existing Jeju International Airport includes wanting to add more direct flights, nonstop to major cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei.
While the economy booms with foreign travel, residents suffer negative repercussions of Jeju tourism. “Most commercial facilities are owned by foreigners and major companies.” In addition to increasing tourism, issues such as beach pollution, traffic, and overconsumption of underground water present a problem.
Residents and tourists alike love the nature of the Island. It has three UNESCO World Heritage sites, is “packed with museums and theme parks and also has horses, mountains, lava tube caves, and waterfalls with clear blue ocean lapping its beaches.” The Haenyeo (Jeju female divers) harvest oysters, abalone, clams, seaweed and other marine life, and their history is showcased at the island's Haenyeo museum.
Due to extensive tourism, the pollution of beaches has become a serious problem. The local government of Jeju aspires to be carbon-free by 2030. “Nearly half of all-electric cars in South Korea are registered in Jeju,” and the island takes pride in its small piece of paradise.
In addition to the aspirations of an additional airport and the expansion of tourism on the island, Jeju is home to a small technological hub. In 2005, the Jeju Science Park was created, a complex for technology companies and organizations. Since its implementation, it has attracted 117 IT and biotech companies and is home to the Daum Kakao Corporation headquarters.
Jeju, one of the most popular surfing spots in Korea, is also the birthplace of Korean surfing. Some famous beaches are Weoljung Beach and Jungmun Beach. The latter is home to the first surfing club in Korea, established in 1995.
Jeju Island has small islands where visitors can visit by boat, and the most famous of them are Udo, Gapado, and Marado. Udo is famous for its peanut ice cream and boat tours.
Utilities.
The island's power grid is connected to mainland plants by the HVDC Haenam–Cheju, and electricity is also provided by generators located on the island. As of 2001, there were four power plants on Jeju, with more under planning and construction. The most notable of these are the gas-fired generators of Jeju Thermal Power Plant, located in Jeju City. The present-day generators of this plant were constructed from 1982 onwards, replacing earlier structures that dated from 1968. As elsewhere in Korea, the power supply is overseen by the Korea Electric Power Corporation, or KEPCO.
In February 2012, the governor of the state of Hawaii (USA), Neil Abercrombie, and the director of the Electricity Market and Smart Grid Division at the Korea Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Choi Kyu-Chong, signed a letter of intent to share information about Smart Grid technology. The Jeju Smart Grid was initially installed in 6,000 homes in Gujwa-eup and is being expanded. South Korea is using the pilot program of the Smart Grid on Jejudo as the testing ground in order to implement a nationwide Smart Grid by 2030.
Transportation.
The island is served by Jeju International Airport in Jeju City. The Seoul – Jeju City air route is by a significant margin the world's busiest, with around 13,400,000 passengers flown between the two cities in 2017. Other cities that have flights to Jeju are Daegu, Busan, Gunsan and Gwangju.
Jeju is also accessible from Busan by ferry. The travel time is between 3 and 12 hours.
The island has a public bus system, but there are no railways on the island.
A rail tunnel to the island, linking it to the Korea Train Express network has been proposed but is currently on hold due to cost concerns and local opposition in Jeju, who are aware of an eventual loss of their indigenous traits.
Cheju/Jeju Naval Base.
In 1993 the Republic of Korea (ROK) began planning a naval base on Jeju Island. Construction started in Gangjeong village in 2007, with planned completion by 2011. The base was designed to be a mixed military-commercial port similar to those in Sydney and Hawaii, that could accommodate 20 warships and 3 submarines, as well as 2 civilian cruise ships displacing up to 150,000 tons. Its official name is the "Jeju Civilian-Military Complex Port". Jeju residents, environmentalists, and opposition parties opposed the construction claiming that environmental hazards will damage the “Island of Peace” designated as such by the government. The protests caused delays in the construction. The base was completed in 2016.
Health.
In 2002, scarlet fever was reported to be in Korean children in the Jeju Province. Scientists have been doing research on the matter by creating an age-period-cohort (APC) analysis to back up their relevant hypotheses regarding this emerging outbreak. The Korean National Health Insurance Service analyzed this data from the nationwide insurance claims. Their calculations of the crude incidence rate (CIR) and applying the intrinsic estimator (IE) for age and calendar groups revealed that a total of 2,345 cases of children had the fever that was one of the top illnesses. It also led to the discovery that children aged 0–2 were most common with the fever and that it was mostly boys than girls that carried it. The CIR decreased with age between 2002 and 2016 and the age period effect decreased in all observed years. The IE coefficients validating a cohort effect went from negative to positive in 2009. To this day, none can explain how these children of the Jeju Providence had scarlet fever, but results suggest that it might be explained through the cohort effect. Further descriptive epidemiological studies are needed to test children that are born after 2009, whether they have the fever or not.
Studies show that Jeju Province is recorded as the region showing the highest incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in South Korea. Just like the scarlet fever, the goal of this study was to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of SFTS patients in Jeju Province. The data that was collected on this situation were obtained by the Integrated Diseases and Health Control System of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCIS). 55 residents of Jeju were selected to test the criteria at KCDCIS and confirm the cases of SFTS with a residence listed in Jeju Province at the time of diagnosis, between July 16, 2014 and November 30, 2018. Results show that of the 55 confirmed cases of SFTS, the case fatality rate was 10.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 22.2). The most common symptoms of the SFTS were severe fever, myalgia, and diarrhea. There have been fatality rates of 83.6% (95% Cl, 71.2 to 92.2), 45.5% (95% Cl, 32.0 to 59.5), and 40.0% (95% CI, 27.0 to 54.1). This particular study from 2014 to 2018, has been proven to have a lower case fatality rate and a lower incidence of severe fever, myalgia, and confusion than that of the cases nationwide of 2013–2015.


Titankayuq

Titankayuq (Quechua "titanka" Puya raimondii, "-yuq" a suffix to indicate ownership, "the one with titanka", other spellings "Titancayoc, Titancayocc, Titankayoc, Titankayocc, Tutanccayoc") is one of the most important habitats in Peru for the "Puya raimondii". The woods of "Puya raimondii" are located in the Ayacucho Region, Vilcas Huamán Province, Vischongo District, at elevations between and .
Titankayuq was declared an Area of Regional Conservation by Supreme Decrete of December 23, 2010.


List of national parks of Sweden

National parks of Sweden are managed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) () and owned by the state. The goal of the national park service is to create a system of protected areas that represent all the distinct natural regions of the country. In 1909, Sweden became the first country in Europe to establish such parks when nine were opened following the Riksdag passing of a law on national parks that year. This was followed by the establishment of seven parks between 1918 and 1962 and thirteen between 1982 and 2009, with the latest being Åsnen National Park in 2018. there are 30 national parks in Sweden, comprising a total area of .
According to the EPA, Swedish national parks must represent unique landscape types and be effectively protected and used for research, recreation, and tourism without damaging nature. Mountain terrain dominates approximatively 90% of the parks' combined area. The reason for this is the extensive mountain areas taken up by the large northern parks—Sarek National Park and Padjelanta National Park each cover approximately . Many of the northern parks are part of the Laponian area, one of Sweden's UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to its preserved natural landscape and habitat for the native reindeer-herding Sami people. The southernmost parks—Söderåsen National Park, Dalby Söderskog National Park and Stenshuvud National Park—are covered with broadleaf forest and together cover approximately . Fulufjället National Park is part of PAN Parks, a network founded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to provide better long-term conservation and tourism management of European national parks.
Future national parks.
In 2008, after investigations and interviews with the participating counties, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency laid down a plan to establish 13 new national parks in the near future. According to the plan, seven of the parks will be established between 2009 and 2013, the first being Kosterhavet National Park which was inaugurated in September 2009. It is currently unknown when the six remaining parks will be established.


Hammeren

Hammeren (also Hammerknuden; meaning, "hammerhead-shaped crag of granite") is a protected area and promontory in Denmark on the northernmost point of Bornholm island. It projects into Sæne Bugt bay in the Baltic Sea. The area includes Hammersø, the largest lake on the island and the only tarn in Denmark, and a hill, in height, named Stejlebjerg (or Stieleberg). It is steep to the southwest but slopes gradually to the northeast, and is separated from the rest of the land by a valley.
Geography.
Bornholm has varied natural features, such as Almindingen, Jons Kapel, Paradisbakkerne, Rytterknægten, and Dueodde. Hammeren has cliffs towering from the Baltic Sea and a rift valley separating it from the surroundings. It covers a rocky area of granite formations (considered one of the best examples of the kind) extending over and including a number of caves. The area, which was once covered with heather and bracken, was laid bare by heavy grazing.
Hammeren features a large lake, Hammersø, the largest on the island, and a deep pond, Opalsø, surrounded by the rocky slopes of a former granite quarry. Separated by a rift valley, the area is composed of about 50% rocks, 25% forest and 25% cultivated land. All of Hammeren is now a protected nature reserve. There are a number of walking trails connecting Sandvig and Hammershus Slo. The path along the northern rocky face leads to Hammeren Fyr, a lighthouse located at the northern tip, before proceeding along the coastal path towards the south east to the harbour, Hammeren Havn.
Landmarks.
The thirteenth-century castle of Hammershus, Northern Europe's largest medieval fortification, is located just to the south. There are several quarries in the vicinity. Trails lead from nearby Hammerhus to a nature area named Slotslyngen.
In addition to Dueodde Lighthouse, Denmark's tallest, there are several others on the island, such as Hammeren Lighthouse, inactive since 1990. On a clear day, views extend to the Swedish coast.
Close to the coast, to the south of the Hammeren Lighthouse, the ruins of Salomons Kapel (Solomon's Chapel) can be seen. Thought to have been built by the Archbishop of Lund in the beginning of the fourteenth century, it was named after St Solomon, a Dominican friar. It was built of brick and hewn boulders in two stages: first the small rectangular church and later the porch area to the south. Remains of the altar and of brick benches along the walls can be seen. The chapel was constructed in connection with Bornholm's herring trade with the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries.


Buiratau National Park

Buiratau National Park (, "Buırataý ulttyq parki") or Buyratau National Nature Park was created in 2011 to preserve a unique transitional zone between dry steppe and semi-arid forest ecosystems of the Central Uplands of Kazakhstan. The park straddles the border of Ereymentau District of Akmola Region (60,815 ha), and Osakarov District of Karaganda Region (28,154 ha), and is about 60 km east of the capital city of Astana.
Topography.
The area is dry steppe in the north, with more forest in the hills to the south and stands of alder and birch along the streams. The relief is low ridges and hills of the Erementau Mountains, with inter-mountain plains. There are many closed basins with very shallow (less than 1 meter) salt lakes; fresh groundwater can be found at depths of 1 – 17 meters.
The park was formed by combining the original core reserve with the former Belodymov Zooligical Park and the former Ereimentaou Nature Reserve.
Climate.
The climate is "Cold Semi-Arid Climate (Koeppen Classification BSk: warm, dry summers with cold winters. 280 mm of precipitation per year (maximum in summer). Average temperature ranges from in January to in July.
Plants and animals.
In addition to the relic forests, common plants of the area include scrub Siberian pea-tree (Caragana arborescens) and feather grass (Stipa). Scientists have recorded over 450 species of vascular plants in the park, representing 20% of the species of the Central Kazakak Uplands.
The area is also known for Yereimantau Wild Sheep, supporting approximately 200 individuals. 45 species of mammals have been recorded in the area, and 227 species of birds.
Tourism.
There are four tourist routes in the park; individual and group tours are offered in the summer. A small admission fee is charged at the entrance.


Lighthouse Point Park

Lighthouse Point Park is a park in the city of New Haven, Connecticut that is operated as a New Haven city park. The 82-acre park is located at the eastern point of New Haven Harbor in the East Shore neighborhood, and affords a view of Downtown New Haven.
The park features the deactivated Five Mile Point Light, which is open for tours on special events, and the Lighthouse Point Carousel, which is operated seasonally. The 1911 carousel includes 69 horses, a camel (one of only three in the world), and two chariots. Park amenities include a sand beach area with a bath house, rest rooms and life guard, a boat launch, two pavilions, splash play area, playground, summer concession stand, fishing pier, picnic tables, grills and nature trails. In season, admission is free for New Haven residents, and non-residents and out-of-state residents pay a fee per vehicle.
Lighthouse Point Park abuts the Morris Creek Nature Preserve, a 20-acre salt marsh that is partly owned by the New Haven Land Trust.
The park is located on the Atlantic flyway, a major migration route for butterflies, hawks, and many other bird species, which makes it a popular site for bird watching. Events include the annual fall "Migration Festival at Lighthouse Point Park", bird watching walks, hawk displays, butterfly observations, and an annual hawk count.


De Maasduinen National Park

De Maasduinen National Park "(duinen = dunes)" is a national park in the Dutch province of Limburg, founded in 1996 and covering approximately 4500 ha. The landscape consists of forests and heathlands on a sandy plateau along the river Meuse close to the German border.
The estate 'de Hamert' is the heart of the park. Until 1998 the national park was called 'De Hamert' after this estate. The present name is derived from the parabolic dunes which date from the last glaciation.
Landscape and history.
The present characteristics of the park are strongly influenced by an intense interplay of wind, water and humans through the course of time, resulting in a unique pattern of drifting sand ridges or parabolic dunes. At present drifting sand is rare due to the forestry programs of the state at the beginning of the 20th century. Besides heathlands and forests, there are several fens in the park. A part of the area was used for sand and gravel extraction in the 1980s.
Flora and fauna.
In the park quite a lot of reptiles and amphibians species occur such as "Coronella austriaca", "Epidalea calamita", "Pelobates fuscus", "Lacerta agilis", "Anguis fragilis", and "Zootoca vivipara". Some typical birds for the park are "Grus grus", "Caprimulgus europaeus", "Falco subbuteo", "Circus aeruginosus", "Dryocopus martius" and "Alcedo atthis". Several marten species can be found in the park, such as the beaver ("Castor fiber"), as well as several bat species such as "Pipistrellus pipistrellus" and "Plecotus auritus". There are at least 26 species of dragonflies and 33 species of butterflies.
Among the flora we find several oak species, birch, pine, alder and beech and the very rare marsh gentian ("Gentiana pneumonanthe") and bog myrtle ("Myrica gale").
Management.
Responsible for the management of the park are the municipality of Bergen, the provincial private nature conservation organisation Stichting het Limburgs Landschap, Staatsbosbeheer and some particular land owners.
One of the aims of the management is to connect the national park with other nature reserves. Other aims are to prevent forest growth in the heathlands (for this, sheep are used) and to stimulate natural rejuvenation of the forests (for this, Galloways and goat are used).


Sierra del Rosario

Sierra del Rosario is a mountain range in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, western Cuba. It is located in the eastern part of the Guaniguanico range and, along with the Sierra de los Órganos, is part of it.
Geography.
The range lies in the north-western part of the province of Pinar del Río and in the eastern part of Artemisa's one; between the municipalities of La Palma, Los Palacios, Consolación del Sur, Bahía Honda, Candelaria and San Cristóbal.
It was established as a Biosphere Reserve and an IUCN Managed Resource Protected Area on February 15, 1984, being the first one in Cuba to be classified as such. It protects a total area of , of tropical forests with evergreen and semi-deciduous environments.
Conservation.
Over 800 species of plants are hosted in the mesic forest that covers the mountains, with 35% being endemic. Fauna includes five species of bats, numerous birds (notably the Bee hummingbird), as well as the Yellow-Striped Pygmy Eleuth ("Eleutherodactylus limbatus"), various frogs as the "Eleutherodactylus zeus" and one of the smallest ones in the world, and various lizards such as the "Anolis luteogulartis".


National preserve

There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves. They are established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extractive activities such as hunting and mining may be permitted, provided their natural values are preserved. The activities permitted in each national preserve vary depending on the enabling legislation of the unit. All national preserves are managed by the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the National Park System.
Eleven national preserves are co-managed with national parks or national monuments; because hunting is forbidden in those units, preserves provide a similar level of protection from development but allow hunting and in some cases grazing. Nine of those are counted as separate official units, while New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve are each single units. The remaining ten are stand-alone units. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve has a preserve site that is managed like one, but is not distinguished as a national preserve in the authorizing legislation and is not listed here. The Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve is a unique designation that is dissimiliar to national preserves.
National preserves are located in eleven states; Alaska is home to ten of them, including the largest, Noatak National Preserve. Their total area is , 86% of which is in Alaska.
All national preserves permit hunting in accordance with local regulations. A national preserve differs from a national reserve as management of reserves can be delegated to the state in which they reside.
History.
The first national preserves were Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, both established in 1974. The Big Cypress Swamp, adjacent to Everglades National Park and originally intended to be included in it, was at risk of destruction by a proposed airport. Opposition by conservationists and studies showing its role in water protection led to its cancellation after one runway was built, and President Richard Nixon proposed the area's preservation as Big Cypress National Fresh Water Reserve to protect the local water supply. Congressional deliberation resulted in a new designation of a national preserve that bought out private landowners to conserve "the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral and faunaI, and recreational values of the Big Cypress Watershed." The Big Thicket, a large area of swamps and forests, was originally proposed to be preserved as a state park or national park, but these were opposed by timber firms who wanted to retain their logging lands. A 1967 survey by the National Park Service proposed establishing nine units representative of the variety of plant life in the region, but because the thicket was already fragmented by roads and logging, it would not qualify as a national park. National monument was also deemed a suboptimal designation, and compromise on the boundary and management provisions eventually led to its establishment as a national preserve. The bills creating both preserves were signed on the same day by President Gerald Ford and contained similar wording limiting construction, agriculture, and mineral extraction to that still assuring the area's "natural and ecological integrity in perpetuity," while permitting hunting.
Following President Jimmy Carter's 1978 establishment of 17 national monuments in Alaska, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 redesignated four as national preserves and six as national parks or monuments paired with a preserve. These had been recommended during the legislative process as early as 1974 to resolve the issue of sport hunting at Lake Clark after it was used for Big Thicket and Big Cypress. While this was not the primary factor in the naming of the original national preserves, it presented a compromise to protect scenic lands and allow hunting in the National Park System without breaking precedent in parks and monuments that forbid it. The national preserves are managed in the same way as national parks, except that regulated hunting, fishing, and trapping for sport and subsistence are permitted, though the NPS can close areas to such practices as needed. Although hunting was also allowed at most national recreation areas, this was a major change in NPS wildlife management with a fifth of its land now open to it.
Four new units were established from 1988 to 1996, two of which are partnerships with local governments and landowners. The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve includes sites owned by Florida State Parks, the city of Jacksonville, and private landowners. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is so designated to accommodate a public-private partnership reducing federal land ownership, and it is almost entirely owned by The Nature Conservancy.
Valles Caldera National Preserve was originally established in 2000 to be operated by an independent trust, but its management was transferred to the National Park Service in 2015.
The most recently established national preserves were all expansions or redesignations of existing NPS sites. Great Sand Dunes National Monument was redesignated a national park, and the mountainous wilderness area transferred to it from the U.S. Forest Service became the preserve. Oregon Caves National Monument gained its preserve lands from Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest, increasing the unit's size ninefold. Ten percent of New River Gorge National River was redesignated a national park where hunting was disallowed, and the remainder became New River Gorge National Preserve with little change. President Bill Clinton expanded Craters of the Moon National Monument in 2000 using the Antiquities Act, and most of the expanded area was redesignated a national preserve two years later to permit hunting.
List of national preserves.
Preserves paired with a national park or monument do not have visitation separately recorded.


Conservancy areas of Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, there are 25 specially protected areas, including 10 nature reserves and 11 national parks. These environmental institutions owned by the state.


Western Shield

Western Shield, managed by Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife, is a nature conservation program safeguarding Western Australia's animals and protecting them from extinction. The program was set up in 1996 and as of 2009 was the largest and most successful wildlife conservation program ever undertaken in Australia.
Conservation practices.
Between the 1920s and 1950s scientists synthetically developed a poison called sodium fluoroacetate (commonly called 1080 poison) for use in biological warfare. Subsequently, it has been found that sodium fluoroacetate occurs naturally in many plants of the south-west coast of Western Australia and many of the native mammalian herbivore fauna in that region have evolved with a natural tolerance to the poison. The plants in the genus "Gastrolobium", are commonly called "poison peas", and farmers often suffer livestock fatalities due to wandering animals that encounter and graze on the deadly plants.
During the late 1980s, a conservation program named "Fox Glove", was implemented to control the population of foxes by lacing dried meat baits and sausages with 1080 poison. Fox Glove was very effective in allowing native species' population to increase. This was due to the local eradication of introduced predators, namely foxes and feral cats, although the control of feral cats was much less effective by this means as the cats favor live prey. Poison coated oats and carrots were occasionally used to control herbivorous invasive species, including rabbits and rats.
Since 1996 when Western Shield was initiated, a Beechcraft Baron flies 55,000 km every three months to drop the 770,000 1080 poison baits. They cover an area greater than half the size of Tasmania as they deliver bait into most national parks, nature reserves and state forests of the south-west of Western Australia.
Biological resurgence.
The Fox Glove program primarily targeted foxes, but the baiting method proved effective for other predators as well. As a result, native species' population increased dramatically. For example, when baiting began in 1993 for medium-sized predators such as woylies in the jarrah forest of Kingston Block near Manjimup. As a result, native mammals increased sevenfold over the next five years. As the native populations increased, additional measures such as reintroduction and translocation of native species helped as well. The reintroduced animals were from breeding programs or were taken from high, self-sustaining populations elsewhere in the southwest. Western Shield has carried out many translocation activities to other P&W managed lands, privately owned conservation sanctuaries of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, other states' conservation lands and to islands.
Species reintroduced.
Since 1996, over 80 translocations have taken place within Western Australia, with over 20 species (15 mammal species, three bird species, and a few reptile species) involved. The translocations have not only occurred in the south-west forests, but also the Monte Bello Islands, the Pilbara, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, islands off of Adelaide, the outback of New South Wales, and the central deserts.
Gilbert's potoroo, chuditch, dibbler, numbat, bilby, quenda, marl, woylie, mala, tammar wallaby, western ringtail possum, Shark Bay mouse, boodie, banded hare-wallaby, common brushtail possum
Noisy scrub-bird, western bristlebird, malleefowl
Lancelin Island skink, western swamp tortoise
Species taken off the endangered species list.
Western Shield has been so successful that three native mammal species have been taken off the list of Western Australia's list of threatened fauna – through the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. The species taken off "Schedule 1 – fauna that is rare or is likely to become extinct" were the quenda ("Isoodon obesulus"), the tammar wallaby ("Macropus eugenii") and the woylie ("Bettongia penicillata"). The woylie was also taken off the list of Australia's threatened fauna – through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, it was demoted from the "endangered" category and is not even on the list any longer, as it is not deemed "in danger of extinction". The woylie was also taken off the IUCN Red List of the world's threatened fauna as "endangered" and downgraded to "lower risk / conservation dependent". Western Shield's success in having the woylie de-listed as "endangered" on the state, national, and international levels is a first for any species in the world to be taken off either the state, national, or international level of "threatened species" due to successful wildlife conservation efforts.
Recent declines in native species.
The success story of the Western Shield program has been tarnished by more recent developments. The woylie has been added back to WA's list of threatened fauna due to the sharp declines since 2002, with some places having as much as a 95% decrease (including that locality near the Upper Warren in Manjimup, where the original sevenfold increase occurred). The woylies' population across all of Australia has declined, especially the P&W managed lands of the south-west forests. Wild populations that were replenished through translocations in South Australia have also mysteriously declined. In fact, quite a few other species of the southwest forests have also declined and with no definite answers, despite many studies being undertaken, including through Parks and Wildlife’s new initiative, "Saving our Species". Possible explanations include: disease, global warming, ground water losses, introduced predators building up a resistance to the poison in the baits, a natural population fluctuation, or an increase in predation by native enemies such as carpet pythons and chuditches, which are surviving well. A search for the cause is under way.
Gilbert's potoroos' significant recovery.
Western Shield has saved many species from extinction. One is the Gilbert's potoroo, which was "lost" for over 100 years and rediscovered in 1994 in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, near Albany. At the time of rediscovery the population consisted of probably less than 30 individuals. Western Shield's Gilbert's potoroo subdivision, led by Dr. Tony Friend, now has a self-sustaining mainland wild population, a breeding center "back up" stock with a cross fostering program for long-nosed potoroos, and an island home for breeding animals on Bald Island. Although still below 40 animals, the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo is in safe hands and seems to be on the road to recovery.
Effectiveness.
Although the early success of Western Shield has dimmed due to the decrease in some populations of native species in the latter 2000s, the program is still at the forefront in the conservation of Australian native species. This program continues to conduct population studies while developing new tools for biodiversity protection and restoration. Future frontiers for Western Shield include: efforts in the desert regions, the creation of an effective feral cat bait, and biological invasive species control. All of these measures are aimed at reducing the number of endangered species and returning WA to the bio-diverse haven it was prior to European settlement.


Sai Yok National Park

Sai Yok National Park () is a national park in Sai Yok district, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The park, home to mountains, waterfalls and caves, is part of the Western Forest Complex protected area.
Geography.
Sai Yok National Park is in the Tenasserim Hills mountain chain, northwest of Kanchanaburi town. The park's area is . The Khwae Noi river ("River Kwai") runs through the park. The park's highest peak is Khao Khwae at . The western boundary of the park adjoins Myanmar.
Climate.
Temperatures in the park area have a wide annual range from to . The driest time of the year here is from December to February, while the rainiest time is from May to October.
History.
Within the park are remains of a bridge on the Burma Railway and of a camp used by Japanese troops during World War II.
In 1978, the Russian roulette scenes of the film "The Deer Hunter" were filmed in the park. On 27 October 1980, Sai Yok became Thailand's 11th national park.
Attractions.
The park's major attractions are its waterfalls, including Sai Yok Yai waterfall which flows into the Khwae Noi river. Sai Yok Yai Lek waterfall lies south of Sai Yok Yai along the Khwae Noi.
The park also contains numerous caves, the largest of which is Tham Lawa with a length of . This cave complex consists of five large caverns, each containing large stalactites and stalagmites. Another cave system, Tham Daowadueng, is long and was discovered in 1972. Tham Daowadung consists of eight chambers of stalactites and stalagmites.
Flora and fauna.
Sai Yok's forest is primarily teak forest. During the Japanese occupation of Thailand, teak trees were felled for use as railway sleepers on the Burma Railway. The teak forest was replanted in 1954.
Animal species include elephants, tiger, barking deer, sambar deer, wild pig, gibbon, Malayan porcupine, slow loris and serow. A species of crab—the Rachinee crab, coloured red, white and blue—was discovered in the park in 1983.
Sai Yok is home to Kitti's hog-nosed bat, a rare bat species considered to be the world's smallest mammal (weighing around 2 grams). The bat was first spotted in 1973 and is found only in some limestone caves of the park (including Tham Kang Kao) and surrounding areas in Kanchanaburi Province and nearby Myanmar.


Tierra del Fuego National Park

Tierra del Fuego National Park () is a national park on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego, within Tierra del Fuego Province in the ecoregion of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest. Established on 15 October 1960 under the Law 15.554 and expanded in 1966, it was the first shoreline national park to be established in Argentina.
The park has dramatic scenery, with waterfalls, forests, mountains and glaciers. Its include parts of the Fagnano and Roca lakes. The Senda Costera (Coastal Path), connecting Ensenada Bay to Lapataia Bay on Lago Roca, is a popular hiking trail within the park. Forests of Antarctic beech, lenga beech and coihue in the lower elevations of the park are home to many animal species. There are 20 species of terrestrial mammals, including the guanaco, Andean fox, North American beaver, European rabbit and muskrat. Among the 90 species of birds are the kelp goose, torrent duck, austral parakeet, Andean condor, blackish oystercatcher, and Magellanic oystercatcher.
The southernmost national park in Argentina, it is listed as an IUCN category II park. The park stretches north from the Beagle Channel along the Chilean border. Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, is from the park. The park can be reached by car or by train. The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway is located within the park, as is the "El Parque" station of the End of the World Train.
Geography.
The park forms the southern portion of the subantarctic forest and is known for its biological richness.
Flora.
The subantarctic forest vegetation is dominated by tree species of coihue, nires and lenga (a tree or shrub native to the Andes and also known as lenga beech) apart from a profusion of massbed. The flora that characterizes the "Andino-Patagonico" forests, the lenga, is well distributed over the mountain slopes above sea level to a height of . Above elevation, the flora consists of altoandina with small little bushes, plants "en cojin" and grasses.
IUCN has reported forests of southern beech species of "Nothofagus pumilio", "N. antarctica" and "N. betuloides". Other species include "Berberis buxifolia", "Embothrium coccineum", winter's bark "Drimys winteri", and Crowberry, "Empetrum rubrum" and mosses. Magellan coihue ("coihue de Magallanes") is found in the wettest parts of the Beagle channel coast of the park. Lenga is found in the Pipo River Valley and some parts of southern mountain slopes and may be thickly set and reach great heights. Chinese lantern, hemiparasite and "Pande Indian" or "Llao Llao", which are fungus parasites, are found over the branches of the trees. Cinnamon is also reported in many small forest areas of the park. Peat bogs extensively found in the park. These are made up of sphagnum moss and aquatic grasses in damp valleys where low temperatures and slow moving acidic waters prevent decomposition.
The flower varieties found are calafate, chaura and michay, which are orange coloured. Flag tree, strawberry devil and little ferns, yellow orchids and luzuriagas are seen in the understory of forest cover. Black bush, caulking, grill and "Embothrium cocci" with red tubular flowers are typically seen in the Beagle Channel coast and the western part of Lapataia Bay. Also found is the chocolate scented "Nassauvia".
Fauna.
Settlers from Europe and North America introduced many species of animals into the area, such as the European rabbit, North American beaver, muskrat and gray fox, which rapidly proliferated and caused significant damage to the environment.
Avifauna includes three types of cauquenes (sheldgeese) namely, "cauquen comun" (upland goose or Magellan goose), "cauquen real" (ashy-headed goose) and caranca (kelp goose
), found in open places and beaches. Other birds include Patagonian woodpeckers, notably the spectacular Magellanic woodpecker, "maca común", "common maca", heron, "pato creston" (crested duck), "duck overo", corn duck, eagle, "southern carancho", "chimango". Condors are seen flying on the peaks and valleys of Tierra del Fuego. It is also home the austral parakeet, "Enicognathus ferrugineus", a species of parrot.
Aquafauna consists of scallop, moon snail, spiral tooth, few crustaceans like crabs and fishes such as sardines, Falkland sprat, Fueguina, merluza and "Robalo de cola", jellyfish concentrations, steamer ducks and cormorants. Guanaco "Lama guanicoe" and South American sea lions are reported in the park.
Sea birds reported include petrels and albatrosses. Other notable fauna reported are several species of penguins, the South Andean deer or "Huemul" "Hippocamelus bisulcus", and the southern river otter "Lutra provocax."
Features.
Tierra del Fuego National Park contains mountains, lakes and rivers, and valleys. It is bounded on the west by the Chilean border, on the north by Lago Fagnano, and on the south by the Beagle Channel, which forms the shoreline. It encompasses an area of and represents two ecoregions: the Altos Andes and the Patagonian Forest. While the former ecoregion is made up of hill ranges and slopes, the latter has high and jagged mountains, glacier valleys and semi-deciduous forests. The landscape of the park is the result of glacial erosion, which has created bays and beaches against a backdrop of rugged mountains and valleys.
The park is located to the west of the city of Ushuaia, on National Road 3. Ushuaia provides the main approach to the park through the highway or through the Southern Fuegian Railway.
Beagle Channel.
The Beagle Channel or strait in Tierra del Fuego National Park is named after the British ship HMS "Beagle", which sailed with the naturalist Charles Darwin aboard in 1833–34. The channel separates islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, in extreme southern South America. It separates Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from the islands of Nueva, Picton, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry, Stewart, and other smaller islands to the south. It is oriented in an east-west direction, runs for a length of . Its width varies from . The biggest settlement on the channel is Ushuaia in Argentina followed by Puerto Williams in Chile, two of the southernmost settlements in the world. Ancient middens where Yaghan tribes lived are seen on the beaches around the Beagle Channel.
Lago Fagnano.
Lago Fagnano (named after the Salesian monk José Fagnano), also known as Cami Lake, the southernmost lake of its size outside Antarctica, is the largest lake in Tierra del Fuego and flows southward along the eastern slope of the Andean Cordillera of Patagonia into the Magellan Strait through the Azopardo River. It is hemmed in the active tectonic plate (linked to the Magallanes-Fagnano fault) boundary between the South American and Scotia plates. Its East-West orientation in the southern part of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego encompasses the national territories of Argentina and Chile; only a small part of the lake lies in Chile. Its evolution is attributed to constant glaciation during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene era. The lake has a total drainage area of with basin elevation ranging from at the lake level to about .
The lake water spreads over an area of about , with an average width of (maximum width is over a length of long and the maximum recorded depth is , with an average depth reported as . Its water volume is .
Climate.
The park experiences a temperate climate with frequent rain, fog and strong winds. Westerly winds over the sea maintain a uniform climate in the park. The average annual rainfall is . Peak rainfall (snowfall at higher elevations) occurs from March through May; there is no dry season. Average temperatures are about in winter and in the summer. At Ushuaia, the recorded mean annual temperature reported is with maximum monthly mean of and minimum of .
History.
Etymology.
The first Europeans who came to explore the southern tip of South America saw the campfires of the native inhabitants of the area (the Yaghan people, also called Yámana). The Spanish explorers hence named the area "Tierra del Fuego", meaning "land of fire" in Spanish.
Pre-Columbian.
Humans inhabited Tierra del Fuego as far back as 10,000 years ago. The Yaghan people, living in the harsh environment, survived on the natural resources of the sea. They lived on its beaches and made voyages into the sea in canoes made of lenga beech, hunted sea lions and collected shellfish. They lived in huts made of tree branches and trunks and clothed themselves with leather made from sea lion pelts. They smeared their body with the fat and grease of these animals to waterproof their skins.
The southern group of the Selk’nam, the Yaghan people (also known as Yámana), occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island.
Post-Columbian.
Wasti H. Stirling, an Anglican missionary, settled here in 1870 and started to convert Yaghan tribes, the natives, the original residents of the Beagle Channel.
During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia, following rumors of large gold fields, which proved to be false.
Trouble for the Yaghan people began in 1880, when European missionaries entered the area. European settlers brought diseases such as measles, causing a rapid and nearly complete extinction of the Yaghan people. The Yaghan tribe was reduced in number from about 3,000 people in 1880 to less than 100 by the 1990s. Many of them were killed by European settlers' "shoot exercises" and deliberate poisoning to exploit the sea lions, the staple of the Yaghan diet. Following the death of 84-year-old Emelinda Acuña (1921 – 12 October 2005), only one native speaker remains, Cristina Calderón of Villa Ukika on Navarino Island, Chile. What can be seen of the Yaghan people and their settlements today are mainly relics in the form of piles of mussel shells overgrown with grass near the seashore. Some antiquarian links with the tribals can also be seen in the "End of the World Museum" in Ushuaia.
The Boundary Treaty of 1881 was an attempted resolution of the territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile, and stipulated that the boundary between the two countries would run south from "Cape Espiritu Santo, on the northern shore of Tierre del Fuego till it touches the Beagle Channel". This division meant that Argentina would be entitled to the eastern portion while Chile would have the western part of the Tierre del Fuego. However, the Treaty did not clarify on the terminus of the Beagle channel, which created many territorial and collateral issues such as navigation rights. This resulted in a dispute between the two countries, particularly on the small islands (Picton, Lennox and Nueva) up to Cape horn. The dispute, which started in 1840, almost resulted in war between the two countries in 1978. However, with the intervention of the Vatican the issue was resolved. The Pope ruled on the dispute, a ratification ensued and a treaty was signed on 2 May 1985. Under this treaty, Chile retained control of all the disputed islands and Argentina was entitled to the navigational rights and maintained their limited presence on these islands.
After an Argentine naval base was established in 1884, the island was divided between Argentina and Chile.
Argentinian President Roca established a penal colony in 1902, on nearby Staten Island, which resulted in its development. Prisoners were the main work force and were employed to construct the city and exploit the forests of the now Tierra del Fuego National Park. The train lines were also built by the prisoners, covering an area of , which started from the Maipú Monte Susana camp and ran through the park. The city is now an important tourist center as the departure point not only for the park but also for voyages to Antarctica.
Following the establishment of a prison in Ushuaia, in late 1909 and early 1910 the railway line called the Southern Fuegian Railway or the End of the World train was established as a narrow gauge steam railway, replacing an old wood track railway drawn by bullocks. The steam engine driven railway was built over a length of along the Maipu Avenue on the water front, followed the eastern slope of Mount Susana and branched through the middle of the Pipo River valley into the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The line made with Decauville tracks of gauge, connected the prison camp with the forestry camp. The primary purpose of the railway was as a freight line to serve the prison of Ushuaia, and hence was known as the "Prison train," and was used specifically to transport prisoners to the camps and transport the logged timber from forests. The prison was closed in 1947, and the railway was finally closed in 1952, following the reduction in forest resources and an earthquake that damaged the tracks.
Tourism.
There are several attractions within the park including: Beagle Channel, the Pipo River cascade, the Lago Fagnano, Lago Roca, the Ensanada Bay, the Lapataia Bay, the End of the World Train, and the Laguna Negra.
End of the World train.
In 1994, 40 years after it had been closed as a Prison train, the train was revived, refurbished with modern amenities, used as a heritage train, and claimed to be the southernmost functioning railway in the world. A new 2-6-2T steam locomotive (Camila, brought from England in 1995), another made in Argentina and three diesel locomotives serve on the line. The park can now be reached from the outskirts of Ushuaia from the Fin del Mundo station ( west of Ushuaia) by the heritage railway line and runs over , covering the distance in about 50 minutes.


Hostynnyi Dvir (Kyiv)

Hostynnyi Dvir (, , "Gostiny dvor") is a trade complex (hosting court) built in Kyiv, Ukraine (at the time part of the Russian Empire) back in 1809 by Luigi Rusca.
The complex replaced its older predecessor that was built in 1760s by Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi. After the great 1811 fire it was reconstructed under the supervision of Andrey Melensky.
The interpretation of name in two languages is different due to semantics of both. Literally in the Russian language the word means a goods court, while in the Ukrainian language - a welcome court. The complex was built as part of many complexes that were built in cities of the Russian Empire.
Located at the Kontraktova Ploshcha (Contract Square), in the historical neighborhood of Podil, the building is the central piece of the Kontraktova Ploshcha architectural ensemble, many buildings of which are also included in the Historical-Architectural Preserve "Ancient Kyiv".


Katonga Wildlife Reserve

The Katonga Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife reserve in western Uganda, along the banks of the Katonga River. The reserve was established in 1998 and has approximately . Many of the species of plants and animals in the reserve are unique to its wetland environment.
Katonga River.
The reserve is named after the Katonga River, which primarily flows from the swamps southwest of Lake Wamala towards Lake Victoria in the east, with lesser periodic flows from those same swamps to Lake George in the west.
Location.
The reserve is located in the Ibanda and Kamwenge Districts in western Uganda. In Kamwenge, it borders with the Biguli subcounty and part of the Mpara subcounty in Kyenjojo District. The reserve is approximately , by road, west of Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The coordinates of the wildlife reserve are 00 02N, 30 25E.
Vegetation.
The vegetation of the reserve is mixed savannah with acacia scrubland or woodlands. A large portion of the reserve is either permanent or seasonal wetlands. There are also pockets of riverine and tropical forest.
Wildlife.
There are over forty animal species and over 150 bird species within the reserve. The wildlife species within the reserve include:
The reserve is best explored on foot or by river canoe. The Uganda Wildlife Authority maintains a camping site with guides and a restaurant within the reserve.