In the Tripa peat swamps, companies are operating seven large concessions of between 3,000 and 13,000 hectares. They are converting the remaining forests on peatlands into oil palm plantations. The concessions cover more than 75 percent of Tripa’s total area of 62,000 hectares. While almost certainly hosting as many as 1,000 orangutans or more in the early 1990s, when still covered in pristine peat swamp forest, there are thought to be less than ...

The mining industry is a potential threat to Sumatran orangutan habitat in a number of important areas, both directly by its own activities and indirectly by road access. It includes a major gold mine near the town of Batang and iron ore mining in the Alas valley, and planned development of coal mining in the hill forests inland of the Tripa swamps.

Forests that support Sumatran orangutans also harbour high numbers of other animal and plant species, including some of the most emblematic megafauna species in the world, the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).

The Bukit Barisan mountain range that runs down the full length of Sumatra reach altitudes of over 3,000 meters above sea level (m asl), with the highest peaks being Gunung Kerinci in West Sumatra (3,800 m asl) and Gunung Leuser (3,404 m asl) in Aceh. Sumatran orangutan habitat is primarily in lowland areas. The highest densities are found below 500 m asl, but individuals can still be encountered on occasion as high as 2,000 m asl.

The Red Knot is a migratory shorebird that travels up to 20,000 km twice a year from its breeding grounds on the high Arctic tundra to its southern non-breeding sites. Along with having one of the longest total migrations of any bird, some populations also fly as much as 8,000–9,000 km between stopover sites in a single flight. As a shellfish-eating specialist avoiding pathogen-rich freshwater habitats, the Red Knot relies on the few large ti...

Acknowledging ecological networks and how their disruption may have an impact populations of migratory species is essential for the survival of these species and for fostering international collaboration. This is an overview of migratory routes for selected marine animals.

The grasslands of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in southern South America represent important habitat to numerous migratory and resident bird species. These birds play vital roles in the ecosystem by dispersing seeds and controlling insect populations. Some species, such as the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis), migrate some 20,000 km from their breeding grounds along the Arctic coast to their non-breeding rang...

Red Knots set off in April with large fat reserves (fuel) from the airport “West Coast National Park” (the Langebaan Lagoon tidal flats in South Africa) to fly 7,000–8,000 km until they reach the tidal flats of Guinea Bissau, the airport “Banc d’Arguin National Park” in Mauritania or another appropriate refuelling site. They recover the resources they lost and intensively feed for three weeks on protein-rich shellfish allowing them to almost do...

A spatial configuration of an Ecological Network, showing how various resources are connected in the landscape

The Leatherback Turtle is a long-distance migratory sea turtle, travelling between tropical breeding grounds and multiple pelagic and coastal foraging regions located in temperate and tropical waters. There are effectively two breeding stocks in the Pacific: a western Pacific stock that nests in Indonesia (Papua Barat), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu; and an eastern Pacific stock that nests in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Nicar...

The Saiga Antelope is a migratory herbivore of the steppes and deserts of Central Asia and Russia, capable of travelling hundreds of kilometres north to south on its annual migrations. Saigas have been hunted since prehistoric times and today poaching remains the primary threat to this critically endangered species. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Saiga populations crashed by more than 95% within a decade. While a number of Saiga po...

Parties and non-parties to the Convention of Migratory Species. Severe gaps exist in the north and east and are urgently needed for protecting the ecological networks and migrations of many endangered species

The East Asian-Australasian flyway for migratory birds

The tiny Nathusius’ Pipistrelle, weighing only 6–10 grams, travels almost 2000 km from its breeding grounds in north-eastern Europe to its main hibernation areas in south-west Europe. Populations in Russia are thought to winter in the eastern Caucasus and the Volga Delta. Recently, the breeding range of Nathusius’ Pipistrelle has expanded towards the west and the south. New nursery colonies have been found in Ireland, the Netherlands, France, and...

Acknowledging ecological networks and how their disrup-tion may have an impact populations of migratory species is essential for the survival of these species and for fostering international collaboration. This is an overview of selected migratory routes for birds.

Humpback annual migrations between feeding grounds in polar waters to mating and calving grounds in tropical waters are amongst the longest of any mammal. Following heavy exploitation during much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Humpback Whales have been legally protected from commercial whaling since 1966, except for aboriginal and subsistence take, and in most areas their populations are showing signs of recovery. However, there is little evid...

Acknowledging ecological networks and how their disruption may have an impact populations of migratory species is essential for the survival of these species and for fostering international collaboration. This is an overview of selected migratory ranges for ungulates.

Critical importance is the under-representation of women in policy and decision-making institutions, in dialogue on adaptation to climate change, in the governance of natural resources and in other important livelihood dimensions. Numerous position papers on climate change recognise and argue the importance of integrating gender issues and increasing women’s participation in climate change negotiations and processes (IUCN – The International Uni...