Lawton and his group were given about 10 acres of extremely salty and flat soil 400 meters below sea level. They designed a system to collect as much of the rainwater as possible into swales (”water-harvesting ditches on contour”), bordered the swales with mulch and, on the uphill side, nitrogen-fixing trees that helped to shade the water and prevent evaporation. Underneath the mulch, they put mini-irrigation systems. On the downhill side, they planted fruit trees — date palms, fig trees, pomegranate trees, guava trees, mulberry trees, and some citrus — mixed in with non-fruit trees and more mulch (very non-traditional agriculture).

via Turning Desert into a Garden/Food Forest : EcoWorldly.

On the Croatian islands of Cres, Krk, Plavnik and Prvić, protected Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) nest just above the sea on vertical cliffs. Tourists flock to the area in boats, and upon reaching the areas below the nests, they clap and shout in order to startle the birds into taking flight – hoping to photograph these majestic raptors.

Tragically, many of the birds are young and do not yet know how to fly. Once they are frightened from their nests, they fall into the water and drown.

read the rest: Tourists Responsible for Deaths of Protected Griffon Vultures in Croatia : EcoWorldly.

The new section will be opened as an exclusive private nature reserve where hunters would target animals like elephant and buffalo for contracted killing. “This cannot be disguised as anything but a green light for hunting in Kruger National Park, which makes no ecological, biological, ethical or economic sense,” said Jason Bell-Leask of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

via Kruger National Park’s Border To Be Moved So Hunters Can Kill : EcoWorldly.

Alarmed with the almost daily reporting of rapidly declining tiger numbers and the inaction that follows, school children and several civil society groups in the Indian capital city of New Delhi are coming together to demand the basic right of the tiger–a Right to Survival. And in that, ensuring the survival of the entire human race. The Rally that follows a tiger consultation will also be a shift from all that has been done to all that needs to be done. As an organizer of the rally, comments like these are both inspiring and thought provoking.

via Save Tiger, Save Humanity: A Much Called For Rally in New Delhi : EcoWorldly.