Whales are having to migrate further afield due to shrinking Antarctic foraging zones which contain less food, according to analysis on the impacts of climate change by the WWF.

Migratory whales may need to travel an extra 500 kilometres south to hunt out their crucial foraging zone. Species most affected will include the Blue Whale and the Humpback, which are only just back from the brink of extinction.

Both species build up their food reserves which help them survive throughout the year. As foraging zones move southward and reduce in overall area, sea ice is also expected to reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas. With the level of global warming predicted over the next 40 years, winter sea-ice coverage of the Southern Ocean will be declining by up to 30 per cent in some crucial areas.

With the 80 nation International Whaling Commission meeting in Chile, now is the time for the I.W.C to take the opportunity to look at ways to increase the resilience of whale populations. The WWF will be recommending the protection of critical habitats and for limiting non-climate stresses to whale populations such as overfishing and pollution.

> > click here to make a donation to the WWF

> > click here to find out more about the work of the WWF

World Vision’s relief teams are still hard at work to help the homeless after the destruction caused by cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (formally Burma). Teams of World Vision relief workers are distributed emergency food, mosquito nets, water purification tablets and blankets to the quarter of a million people who have been affected by the cyclone.

Crucial to the survival of the Myanmar people is a constant supply of clean water as most wells have now become contaminated. Children are in great danger of catching cholera and many other diseases. Many villages’ water supplies have become infected, but with the help of the distribution of World Visions water purification tablets, over 88,000 lives have already been saved.

More than 40 per cent of the one million people displaced by the cyclone were children, many of whom lost their parents to the tragedy. World Vision has set up 44 Child Friendly Spaces throughout the affected areas to help with the struggle to cope with the children’s physical needs along with their general well being. These areas provide a safe environment for children to play, eat, and space to recover from the events that have blighted the lives of the people of Mynmar.

> > click here to make a donation to World Vision

> > click here to find out more about the work of World Vision

Thousands of people attended Amnesty International UK’s demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London to mark the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

Amnesty recreated the iconic ‘tank man’ image from Tiananmen Square, with survivor Shao Jiang standing in front of a real, full-sized tank outside Amnesty’s headquarters. Over 10,000 people across the UK signed a petition which was sent to the Chinese authorities on behalf of those whose children were killed by Chinese troops who opened fire on the peaceful protesters in Beijing on 4 June 1989.

The Tiananmen Square incident killed hundreds of people, with dozens of protesters still languishing in prisons after unfair trials. Many more activists have been arrested for questioning since the Chinese government’s actions in 1989.

Demonstrators laid thousands of red roses outside the Chinese embassy in a sign of solidarity for the mothers of those killed who are not allowed to mourn their child’s death publicly for fear of reprisals from the Chinese authorities. Along with the roses, a minute’s silence was held as demonstrators held aloft red roses in mourning for not just the fallen victims of Tiananmen Square, but also for those killed in the recent Sichuan earthquake.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“We appealed to the Chinese government to support the Tiananmen victims’ families’ simple demand   - the freedom to publicly mourn the deaths of their children without harassment and a full investigation into the events of June 1989. The Chinese authorities still deny their people the right to peacefully protest 19 years on from the Tiananmen Square crackdown. It’s never been more important for people here in the UK to stand up for human rights in China.”

Tiananmen Square survivor Shao Jiang said:

“Back in 1989 in Beijing I helped organise the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. I was arrested and held in prison for 18 months, followed by years of harassment and further detention. But I was still one of the lucky ones. Many of the participants were killed. I am here to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown and to support the demands of the Tiananmen families”’

Amnesty International Australia are also getting involved with a campaign to make China’s broken promise to improve human rights become a reality for its people.

> > click here to make a donation to Amnesty International UK

> > click here to make a donation to Amnesty International Australia

The WWF have given praise to police who prosecuted a man found trading in large amounts of illegal ivory. Mr. Michael Elliott, 57 of Gravesend, Kent was found guilty today at Southwark Crown Court and given a two year suspended sentence, plus ordered to pay £1480 in costs.

This was one of the largest seizures of ivory made to in the UK by the Wildlife Crime Unit. Their findings not only uncovered 24 whole ivory tusks, but also dozens of hand carved items made from elephant, hippo and sperm whale ivory.

Hippo, sperm whale and African Elephant are all listed as vulnerable, and Asian elephants are listed currently listed as endangered. It is now believed that just 470,000 to 690,000 African elephants survive today in the wild, whilst only 25,600 to 33,000 Asian elephants remain.

All of these species are protected from uncontrolled international trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The C.I.T.E.S. is an international agreement signed by 173 countries to ban the commercial trade in endangered species. Operation Charm was launched by the Met Police in 1995 and is the only current police initiative against the illegal ivory trade in the UK.

Elephant tusks can be carved into ornaments and jewellery, as can whale bones and hippo’s teeth. Whilst a small proportion of ivory is taken from animals that have naturally died, the demand for ivory often leads to elephants being poached. With an international ban in place on the trade of ivory since 1990, corruption and a lack of enforcement on the ivory markets in Africa and Asia fuel the illegal trade.

The WWF’s UK trade officer Heather Sohl said -
“We praise the successful prosecution of a man trying to break a law put in place to protect endangered species across the globe. On the face of it the sentence does appear lenient. Strict penalties are available and should be used to discourage future criminality of this nature. This case demonstrates the need for UK police forces to have officers dedicated to combating wildlife crime. By working in partnership with them we will bring an end to this illegal trade before it brings an end to some of the world’s most important species.”

Over 30,000 ivory items have been seized by the Wildlife Crime Unit in the last decade, with the group also serving as a model enforcement agency for officials in China, India and other countries who have problems with wildlife trafficking.

> > click here to make a donation to the WWF

> > click here to find out more about the work of the WWF

Poverty charity group Water Aid are looking to make 2008 the International Year for Sanitation.

Water Aid’s mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

The End Water Poverty campaign has been targeting the G8 to agree a global action plan for sanitation and water since 2007, but they plan to build even more pressure in the lead-up to the summit in July.
Sanitation and safe water should be seen as basic human rights. Everyone in the world should have access to these services, yet without them thousands of people will continue to die each day.

Please take a few minutes of your time to sign the End Water Poverty Petition. More signatures are needed to make this year’s G8 host -Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda- sit up and takes notice.

This petition has already been signed by nearly 750,000 people, so why not join the growing demand for safer water and sanitation for the entire world.

Environmental charities WWF and Greenpeace have once again called for greater urgency to the closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing.

The conservation groups have obtained evidence that reveals two Italian spotter planes are illegally being used to give aerial assistance to industrial fleets fishing in the central Mediterranean. Aerial spotting is completely banned by international law, as it gives a huge advantage to fleets who’s catches are far exceeding the capacity recommended by scientists.

This damning evidence of illegal plane activity in the Mediterranean adds to the WWF argument that this stretch of ocean is now out of control and must be closed. Marine reserves must be established to protect these breeding areas of Bluefin Tuna to halt the species steady decline into extinction.

Greenpeace and WWF are once again calling on the European Commission to step in and help in the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna. In April false Bolivian and Libyan flags by were flown by illegal tuna vessels involved in the Bluefin Tuna fishery in the same area of the Mediterranean.

If we want fish for tomorrow, we need to create marine reserves today to avoid any further damage to the Bluefin Tuna stock, which is in a critical situation according to the international scientific community.

> > click here to find out more about the work of the WWF

> > click here to find out more about the work of Greenpeace

 This is a featured blog for the Birmingham-based health charity Sport 4 Life, who have just launched an innovative scheme to help promote a healthy lifestyle – the smoothie bike!

The bike is being used as a fun educational tool for children and young people about the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Simply power the pedals to make the blender spin, so whilst you’re cycle away you’re also making yourself a delicious, healthy drink.

Along with planned Sport4Life tours throughout the UK schools, the bike is also available to hire for corporate and community events. Ricky Jolley from the Witton Community Fun Day said

“The bike was so much fun at our event, it really got people interested and active, there was a real buzz around it…and the smoothies were delicious”

For more information on the Sport4Life smoothie bike please call James on 0121 233 4793, or email james@sport4life.org.uk

Co-operative Bank have launched a new charity credit card which will donate money to the homeless charity - Shelter.

The bank will donate £20 to the charity when first issued, and then a further 25p for every £100 spent. This money will then be put towards projects to benefit the homeless and people with housing problems, with Shelter expecting up to 2,000 people to apply for their credit card.

The Co-operative’s Shelter Bank card is the latest addition to the charity credit card family, alongside the WWF, RSPCA and the Bono organised American Express Red. All of these cards offer an initial one-off donation, with a proportion of the cash then spent on the card put back into the charity. It’s an excellent way for both banks and consumers to give something back and help a number of good causes in the process.

Another great way to help raise funds is to buy a plot of land at the virtual Shelter Build a City website. There you can pick your own bespoke vitrual property and advertise your business, or even buy one for a present for someone. This is a great place to advertise your business, whilst making a donation to help out people with homeless people and those with serious housing difficulties.

> > click here to sign up for the Shelter credit card today

> > click here to view some of the other charity credit cards available

With Father’s Day fast approaching, why not give your Dad something really special this year by choosing from the World Vision Charity Gift selection?

Instead of purchasing the regulation socks and hankies, World Vision has over 70 charity gifts to choose from. By spending £11 you could buy him a much needed football for a team in Malawi (probably a better standard than anything we’ve seen in Euro2008 so far!). Other great gifts include buying fish for a farm in Sri Lanka, or a bike to help health workers travel around Zambia.
 

Alongside these great gift ideas World Vision have also created 240 unique cards to choose from, and you can even design your own. Simply drop your personal picture onto the front of the card and write your own unique message.

By choosing your gift through World Vision, you are donating funds towards people who are a lot less fortunate than oursleves. So not only will you be purchasing a unique Father’s Day present, but you will also be helping other people to help themselves in some of the poorest countries on the planet.

> > click here to find out more about World Vision

> > click here to view the top charity gift providers

As part of Oxfam Australia’s Mid Year Appeal, they are highlighting the plight of the stone quarry workers in West India, who are one of the most disadvantaged groups in the world today.

The workers are made up of mostly women who have to work for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, in unbearable heat. Without portable water to drink, food to eat or a proper house to live in, migrant labourers working at the stone quarries have been severely let down. Not only are they paid as little as $1 a day, they are also exposed to serious amounts of dust concentration. This causes large amounts of respiratory problems and lung impairments for the workers who smash rocks all day in these appalling conditions. Radiological testing has shown that a massive 32.5 percent of all quarry workers are suffering from some form of possibly fatal respiratory problem

Lakshimbai Arjun Jadhav was only 12 years old when she started working in the quarry. She became married at 14 and now has 4 children of her own. Her husband can no longer provide for his family after being blinded by flying stone chips in the quarry. Lakshimbai now has to be a mother, a carer, AND a worker all in one day, just to help her family survive -

“I have worked in the mines every day, even when I was pregnant and on the day I went into labour. If I don’t go to work then I cannot feed my children, so I keep on breaking stones.”

Thanks to the sterling work of Oxfam Australia, the downtrodden quarry workers now have access to clean electricity, insurance, and most importantly clean drinking water This type of change does not happen overnight, but with your help it is possible to improve the lives of even the most disadvantaged people. These quarry workers want their children to have a better life, and with your support we can help make that dream become reality.

> > click here to donate to Oxfam Australia’s mid year appeal