First, add some
Ibis Rice
That’s right: buying rice really can help Critically
Endangered ibises. In Cambodia, the Western Siem
Pang Wildlife Sanctuary shelters 25% of the world’s
Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea and 50% of its White-
shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni. But how best to
protect this area from logging, hunting and encroaching
farmland? The answer is simple: if local people have
better food security with the rice they grow, they will
not need to resort to these measures. And so BirdLife’s
Cambodia Programme and WCS brought the already
highly successful IBIS Rice scheme to this prime
new location.
IBIS Rice works by offering farmers a premium price
for their rice. In return, farmers agree to respect the
wildlife sanctuary’s laws. “I am happy to be a member
of IBIS Rice,” said Mr Thun Kork, a villager of Khes Svay,
Stung Treng Province. “IBIS Rice encourages me and
other villagers to protect endangered wildlife... it helps
improve our local livelihoods.”
ibisrice.com
jul-sep 2018 • birdlife
S T E P
O N E
S T E P
t w o
Prepare a side
of grassland-
friendly beef
Eating less meat (es
pecially beef) helps
against
climate change, bu
t if you do, it shou
ld be as
environmentally-
sensitive (and loc
al) as possible. Th
image of horse-m
e
ounted ranchers
galloping across th
Pampas is deeply
e
ingrained in South
America’s cultural
identity. But the inc
redibly species-ri
ch grasslands that
unite Paraguay, Ur
uguay, Brazil and
Argentina are being
worn away. The ca
ttle that once roam
ed the plains are
now confined to
indoor feedlots, an
d pastures replac
by intensively grow
ed
n arable crops. Th
e Southern Cone
Grassland Alliance
aims to change th
is. BirdLife Partners
across the region
have united to su
pport organic,
sustainable beef ran
ching that preserv
es native grassland
and the wildlife it
hosts. Its packaging
bears the emblem
of the Saffron-cow
led Blackbird Xant
hopsar flavus, on
of 12 globally threa
e
tened species that
benefit from the
initiative.
alianzadelpastiz
al.org
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