When it comes to wild bees, most of us can only think of one species: the domestic honey bee. But in fact, there are around 560 types of wild bee in Germany alone. Apart from specialists, however, almost no-one knows that – and only a few people recognise these insects as bees. The individual species differ too much in appearance: They are distinguished by their shape, colour or patterning. In terms of size alone, wild bees can range from 1.3 mm to 3 cm in diameter.
Wild bees have an important role to play both in the natural world and in our cultivated landscapes – much more important than had previously been thought. This affects the reproduction of wild and cultivated plants in particular, which is based on pollination. However, it is not just our agricultural production that wild bees ensure. Many of their species live in close symbiosis with very specific plants. In this way, they secure the existence of many different wild plants and thus help maintain a healthy biodiversity. At the same time, however, they depend on their favourite food plants and nesting places. In particular, species that live alone are often dependent on a single plant species or genus.
Today, many of the species of wild bees in Germany are endangered or even threatened with extinction. The paving over of large surface areas and the increasing industrialisation of our agriculture are taking their toll on this fascinating group of insects too. The larger the cultivated areas and the more intensively they are farmed, the more the wild bees are threatened – but the more the agricultural yields depend on particular species. But by cutting down the habitats of these useful insects by the way we live, we are not only threatening their existence. At the same time, we are endangering one of the most important eco-systems, on which we ourselves depend to a considerable extent.
The fact that so many wild bees specialise in particular plant types and species could be their downfall. There is no room for many wild plant species in modern agriculture, which is based on mono-cultures. Wild bees cannot then simply change over to different plants for their food. The loss of these plants from our cultivated landscape means that the insects are disappearing too. For this reason, the levels of many species of wild bees have fallen dramatically in past decades. Some types have already disappeared from some regions or have completely died out. If the wild plants that they specifically need are no longer there, the death of the wild bees cannot even be halted where there are all sorts of flowering plants and plenty of ideal nesting places.
To combat this development, people must first become aware of the problem. In addition, new habitats must be created for the wild bees. An observation nesting box, also called a bee wall, guarantees both: It provides ideal nesting locations for the wild bees and allows people to get close to them. The bee wall consists of an enclosed, light-proof box with holes for the bees to enter on the front which lead into transparent Plexiglas tubes. The wild bees settle in these tubes. If the front of the case, with the tubes, is removed, what’s inside can be closely monitored and photographed. The bee wall is thus an excellent tool for observing the life of wild bees – especially for children.
Artenschutz in Franken® together with the Protestant-Lutheran Parish of Bad Tölz organised the construction of a bee wall in the Noah’s Ark children’s nursery in Bad Tölz, with the generous support of the BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION. The structure was assembled by authorised specialist companies. It meets all the public safety requirements in the children’s nursery area. The individual modules can be replaced – which means that the wild bee wall will also continue to operate for a long time. The wall is occupied mainly by masonry bees, which are not aggressive at all. This means that the children can safely approach the insects, watch them at work and learn about the interconnections in the eco-system through play. By making the next generation familiar with wild bees again, we will find effective ways to maintain the diversity of our insect life and thus also ensure our survival as people in the long term.
Bats are not flourishing in Germany. Of 25 native species, over 20 are on the red list of endangered mammals. The causes are multiple: intensive agriculture has created large swathes of single crops instead of the cheerful assortment found in landscapes under peasant cultivation. Furthermore, the increased use of pesticides has reduced the range and variety of prey animals. Wind farms present a special hazard if the planning does not take account of conservation aspects. Above all, bats are finding their refuge spaces dwindling, both in residential areas and open countryside. Modernizations are steadily eroding the habitat of these flying mammals. Renovation projects develop loft space and seal up niches, cavities and joints. Too often, mature timber and dead wood is removed from managed forest, depriving forest bats and other species of plentiful cover in hollow spaces.
This was already a known problem, and a series of wildlife conservation measures has meanwhile been launched, to secure habitat for bats in suitable buildings. Nevertheless, in most cases, this ignores the winter quarters which are equally important to their survival. Bats prefer to spend their hibernation in quiet spaces which are cool, but at the same time protected from frost. Caves, disused cellars, tunnels or bunkers are ideally suited for this, offering the bats plenty of spaces for resting, in the form of hollows, niches, cracks or ledges. Only a few decades ago, every village had numerous vaulted, root and rock cellars, for keeping foodstuffs cool. With the advent of the refrigerator, these cellars ceased to be important as cool storage. Many were then filled in or have collapsed and no longer offer suitable accommodation for bats.
The voluntary association for the conservation of species in Franconia, “Artenschutz in Franken®” (A.i.F.) has taken up the cause of preventing the collapse of such cellars and converting them appropriately. In the Steigerwald Forest, Franconia’s bat region, the association is making an important contribution to securing the regional bat populations. With the support of the BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIROMENTAL FOUNDATION, A.i.F. is to restore a selected rock cellar as suitable winter accommodation for bats in the long term. The association has been monitoring the cellar since 1996. To date, the presence of 31 bats has been confirmed there, including rare species such as the greater mouse-eared bat, the barbastelle and Bechstein’s bat. But since it was last used for storage, the space has not been maintained. Though in quite good structural condition, it is no longer fit for bats. The two doors are no longer in working order, frost-free hibernation is no longer assured, and bats have been avoiding the cellar. If this hibernation space can no longer be used, a bat habitat of confirmed value will be lost for posterity. A.i.F. wants to avoid that at all costs.
To restore the rock cellar’s attraction as hibernation space for bats, special doors are to be made and fitted. These do not stop the air circulating and thus prevent the interior from cooling down, but they do exclude the threat of disturbance from humans and natural enemies. A bat inlet allows the mammals to fly in and out freely, while further gaps at the foot of the doors ensure that the rock cellar also offers valuable habitat to amphibians, insects and small mammals. Volunteer members of A.i.F. will remove impedimenta, whether relics of the cellar’s past use, or dumped there later. The cellar will also be equipped with refuge areas for the bats, under suitable climatic conditions. Documentation is available at the site to provide information on the project and ensure transparency. A QR code refers to the charity’s website, with more detailed presentations.
The waters off the Croatian coast are home to a surviving treasure of the Mediterranean: the last remaining dolphins living in the Adriatic Sea. These sea mammals frequent the coast and the nearby islands in all seasons, often staying within five kilometres of land. All the same, only a single species has survived on a sustained basis here, namely the bottlenose dolphin, best known from the TV series ‘Flipper’ and from the shows put on by numerous dolphinariums. In Croatian, this species is even called Dobri Dupin – ‘the good dolphin’.
At one time, thousands of dolphins thronged the waters of the Adriatic, when this sea was home to several species of this sea mammal. However, over time the population has shrunk dramatically, mainly as the result of overfishing, dubious fishing practices and water pollution. These days, the bottlenose dolphin population is estimated to number just 220, making it an endangered species. Any threat, whether from a natural or human source, could signify a quick end for the small surviving population of this species. About 50 percent of all dolphins die by human hand, either directly or indirectly. They die in fishing nets and through the illegal use of dynamite to catch fish or else die a miserable death as the result of swallowing bits of fishing net or plastic bags. Some dolphins have even been found with gunshot wounds.
Ever since the 1980s, Croatian scientists have been specialising in the field of sea mammals and also played a decisive role in the drafting of the 1995 Dolphin Conservation Act. However, they lacked the funds they needed for activities that went beyond purely laboratory work. This is why GRD, the German Society for Dolphin Conservation, set up a project in 1999 to save the last remaining Adriatic dolphins. As part of this project, this organisation has been working with a team of veterinary surgeons from the University of Zagreb headed by Prof. Hrvoje Gomercic. The project has given the animal conservationists access to much better technical equipment, including their first GRD patrol boat (in June 2000), which enables them to save whales and dolphins that have been stranded alive or that have got lost in the numerous bays and estuaries in the region.
The BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIROMENTAL FOUNDATION is supporting this project to save the last remaining Adriatic dolphins with a generous donation. The joint project enjoys the patronage of the Croatian Environmental Ministry. It complies with the rules laid down by the international whale conservation treaty known as the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS). Scientists carrying out fieldwork have set up conservation areas and have founded a dolphin conservation centre on Molat Island. They record and research the population of Adriatic dolphins and save injured and stranded sea mammals. In addition, they organise projects to educate fishermen, tourists and the general population.
One of the most famous endangered species is the giant panda. In the 1980s, only just under 1000 of these black and white bears were counted. Admittedly, the population has increased again since then, but there is no reason to sound the ‘all-clear’ signal by any means. The home of the giant panda, the Chinese mountain forests, has largely given way in recent years to settlements, highways and farmland. The remaining areas are too heavily fragmented and too far apart to provide suitable habitats for the bears. In addition, they often do not provide sufficient nutrition for the giant pandas, which have to eat around 20 to 30 kg of bamboo a day.
An even greater problem, however, is reproduction. A female panda is only ready to mate once every two years – and then only for two to three days. If there is no male in the vicinity during this period, there can be no offspring. The fragmentation of panda habitats is making it increasingly difficult for the males and females to find each other. But lack of offspring is not the only problem. In the time after the blossoming of the bamboo in particular, when the plants die off and do not start to sprout again for months, many of the pandas starve to death. The giant panda rarely falls victim to hunters now, because of the tough penalties imposed, but traps for other animals are taking their toll instead.
WWF China has been in existence since May 1980. Thanks to the work of the organisation and its untiring efforts, there are once again 1600 giant pandas living in the wild today. But this is not enough animals in any way to secure the survival of the population in the long term. It is therefore essential to link the bears’ habitats together, rather than simply preserving them. For this, WWF is establishing forest corridors and building wild animal bridges over roads. In cooperation with forest authorities and local communities, the conservation areas and nature reserves are to be extended. The area of protected mountain forest is thus set to grow to three million hectares by 2015 – which is roughly the area of Belgium. To monitor the panda population, WWF is training special gamekeepers. Modern technologies such as infrared cameras and GPS will also be used.
But a one-sided ban on poaching and illegal logging is of very little use. The WWF’s Giant Panda Project also integrates local people and their economic needs. The aim is to secure the livelihood of the indigenous population through alternative sources of income. This can be done, for example, if they sell local wild fruits or keep bees. In addition, WWF is doing its best to expand eco-tourism. The thought behind this: As soon as nature becomes economically valuable to the population, people will recognise the need to protect it, care for it and maintain it.
The BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIROMENTAL FOUNDATION supports the WWF Giant Panda Project.
The Borneo dwarf elephant, a small in stature subspecies of the Asiatic elephant, lives in the Malaysian federal state of Sabah and in the north of the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Timur. Its population, which has the lowland forests of Borneo as its habitat, is estimated by the WWF at around 1,200 animals at present. According to scientific studies, the species evidently does not originate from Borneo; these elephants are probably the descendants of a few Java elephants which came into the country in the 17th century as a gift. In Java itself, the elephant became extinct over several hundred years ago.
However, the situation of the dwarf elephant is everything but promising on Borneo: Due to fragmentation and destruction of their habitat the species is highly endangered. The production of wood, rubber and palm oil has led for decades to the deforestation of increasingly larger areas of the lowland forests. As their habitat is becoming smaller and more fragmented, the elephants are moving more frequently on to fields and plantations where they damage or destroy the crops. As a result, the landowners feel threatened and defend themselves, which often has a fatal outcome for the animals.
The BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIROMENTAL FOUNDATION supports the project “Heart of Borneo” of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) with a donation. With this project, the WWF is supporting the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei to preserve around 220,000 square kilometres of equatorial rain forest. Not only dwarf elephants live here, but also hundreds of other endangered plant and animal species, including the Borneo orang-utan and the Sumatra rhinoceros. To protect the elephants, it is necessary to preserve extensive forest areas. To achieve this, forests which are vital for elephants must be placed under protection and preserved from conversion into agricultural land. Forestry is only to be operated in a sustainable manner there.
To study the migration routes of the elephants and their preferred habitats, the WWF has fitted the animals with transmitters. Based on the data gained from this and its evaluation, the organisation is fighting for the preservation of extensive contiguous wooded areas. At the same time, the WWF is taking part in patrols and measures to defuse conflicts between man and elephant. There is hope in this connection as a few elephants have after all managed to produce a population of over 1,000 individuals within three centuries.
The region of Primorye lies in Russia’s far south east. It is dominated by the Sichote-Alin mountain range which extends right up to the southernmost part of the Chabarowsk region. The river Bikin flows through this mountain range, right up to its mouth in the Ussuri which also forms the border to China. More than 80 per cent of this area is covered by virgin forest which has an immense biodiversity. More than 400 tree species grow here including those of the Arctic Taiga forest, various deciduous trees as well as Aralia shrubs and plants which are usually found in tropical and moderate climate zones. Besides rare bird species, many of which are considered endangered, the forest of the Bikin region is also the habitat of the moose, Asian black bear, long-tailed goral, Siberian musk deer as well as the majestic Amur tiger.
This unique habitat is, however, endangered. On the one hand, poachers are threatening the Amur tiger population. Wealthy Russians, in particular, consider the tiger’s fur a valuable item of prestige. On the other hand, Russian timber factory owners are doing everything they can to get logging rights in the dense forests – even in areas which have long been designated conservation areas. Wide-scale tree felling is, however, threatening not only the flora and fauna but also the habitat of the Udege, the indigenous people who still live here traditionally in unison with nature. In the warm months they collect herbs, seeds, fruits and other plants from the forest and, in the winter, they live off hunting, fishing and setting traps.
With a donation, the BOSSELER & ABEKING ENVIROMENTAL FOUNDATION is making a contribution to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) project to help preserve the habitat of the Amur tiger in all its diversity. In the Bikin region, the WWF and the Udege people are together fighting against the timber industry and its greed. For already some time now there has been a protected area at the headwater of the Bikin. In 2009 the WWF leased, together with the local Udege people, ca. 4,600 square kilometres forest area at the middle reaches of the river; this lease has a duration of 49 years. In cooperation with the police here, rigorous action is taken against poachers. WWF employees support locals in being even more sustainable in their lifestyles. Farmers, for example, are shown how to create natural forest fire barriers by planting fire resistant trees around their fields to help prevent disastrous forest fires.
However, the mixed deciduous forests of the Bikin region deserve protection not only because they form a habitat for the Amur tiger and many other local animals and plants. The virgin forest also contains a huge amount of biomass and, with this, carbon and therefore plays a significant role in climate protection. Sales of emission certificates help finance the project. The Udege gain further income from selling forest products especially the seeds of the Korean pine. These are so big that they are usually described as nuts and have a high protein and vitamin content and are an important source of nutrition in the region. Despite this income, the preservation of the Bikin protected area is only possible with the aid of donations. The good news, however, is that the sustainable management of the Bikin forest is bearing fruit. The poaching has also been reduced and, with the last tiger population count, a small increase was even noted.
