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• On 17 July, at the request of IUCN NGO Members in the
Philippines and BirdLife International, the Director General
wrote to the Chairman of the Palawan Council for
Sustainable Development concerning the impacts of the
proposed Rasa Island Power Plant on the Critically
Endangered Philippines Cockatoo. This letter was effective
and it was agreed to move the power plant away from the
flight path of the cockatoos.
• On 21 August, at the request of the SSC Anoline Lizard,
Iguana and Sustainable Use and Livelihood Specialist
Groups, Simon Stuart and the Director General wrote to the
Ministro de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales in the
Dominican Republic concerning the destruction of natural
habitat in the Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve, home
to the Critically Endangered Ricord’s Rock Iguana, a
remarkable new Anolis lizard (recently discovered) and
several other important species. This letter was effective.
The habitat destruction was stopped and measures are
being taken to strengthen the protection of the Loma Charco
Azul Biological Reserve.
• On 26 September, at the request of the SSC Anteater, Sloth
and Armadillo Specialist Group and the IUCN National
Committee in Panama, Simon Stuart and the Director
General wrote to the Administrador General of the Autoridad
Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) in Panama concerning the
conservation of the Critically Endangered Pygmy Sloth.
• Also on 26 September, at the request of IUCN Members in
the Mediterranean and the SSC Shark Specialist Group,
Simon Stuart and the Director General wrote to the Ministre
de l’Equipement et de l’Environnement and the Ministre de
l’Agriculture in Tunisia concerning the conservation of the
Endangered Great White Shark on its breeding grounds in
Tunisian waters.
• On 16 October, at the request of the emerging SSC Cave
Invertebrates Specialist Group, Simon Stuart and the
Director General wrote to the Chief Minister of the State of
Perak, Malaysia, and to the Chairman and CEO of Lafarge to
express strong concerns of plans to quarry the remaining
part of Gunung Kanthan, Malaysia, the only known site for
the Critically Endangered Kanthan Cave Trapdoor Spider. A
holding response has been received from Lafarge.
• On 18 November, at the request of local civil society
organizations, Simon Stuart, the WCPA Chair for Europe,
and the IUCN Regional Director for Southeast Europe
wrote to the Prime Minister and Minister of Environment of
the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzogovina)
concerning plans to establish micro-hydropower in Sutjeska
National Park.
Several more interventions are currently underway, or in
preparation, including on: bats and wind turbines in Europe;
the European Mink; the proposed Don Sahong Hydropower
Project on the Mekong in Laos; and the draft Aceh Spatial
Plan in Sumatra, Indonesia. The SSC Vulture Specialist Group
and the IUCN Eastern and Southern African Regional Office
(ESARO) prepared a joint statement on vulture poisoning in
Africa for promotion among the various regional ministerial fora
in Africa. This is now being expanded into a broader statement
on the impacts of poisons on wildlife in Africa.
Meanwhile, several SSC Specialist Groups have been involved
in important intergovernmental meetings. Justin Cooke from
the Cetacean SG represented IUCN once again at the annual
meeting of the Scientific Committee of the International
Whaling Commission in Korea on 3–15 June 2013. The Chair
of the South American Camelid SG, Gabriela Lichtenstein,
attended the 30th Technical Meeting of the Convention for the
Conservation and Management of Vicuña in Ecuador in
October 2013. On 3–6 December 2013, Dag Vongraven (Chair
of the Polar Bear SG) and Dena Cator from the GSP attended
the Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the
International Agreement on Polar Bears in Moscow. In each of
these meetings the SSC Specialist Groups played a critical
role in advising the governments on scientific and technical
issues relating to the conservation and management of
these species.
Critically Endangered Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia). © Global Environment Facility
24 IUCN species Annual Report 2013