DiogoVerissimo.com

Recall of the wild

Diogo — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:15:42 +0000

The last issue of the Indian Magazine Down to Earth features me (and a great minds of conservation) talking about de-extinction!

Its a nice piece that brings together a lot of different views on the topic and presents several past and present case-studies. If you are unsure where you stand on this topix this is a nice starting point. Get the online article here

I fucking love biodiversity

Diogo — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:05:38 +0000

Following on from the formidable success of the Facebook page “I fucking love science” I thought how powerful something similar could be to raise awareness of the incredible biodiversity living alongside us in our Planet. And thus was born “I fucking love biodiversity”. While we are still very much in the beginning the about 120 likes we gathered in about 2 days is encouraging. I hope to get a lot more people involved in this and make this a real mass awareness tool for biodiversity conservation.

Check out the page here: http://is.gd/create.php

Fieldwork: Flagships of Brazil

Diogo — Fri, 31 May 2013 09:06:01 +0000

Some of my PhD fieldwork has been recently featured in a online interview by James Borrell (jamesborrell.com). In it I give some details on what I have been up to and some tips on carrying out fieldwork in this part of the globe.

Read it all here!

Many thanks to James for the opportunity!

Conservation outreach and the Spix’s macaw

Diogo — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:37:15 +0000

The “Projeto Ararinha na Natureza” led by SAVE Brasil, launched the first annual report of the conservation outreach activities it is undertaking with the aim of preparing a future reintroduction of the iconic Spix’s Macaw. The species is currently ”extinct in the wild” although a number of institutions have been collaboration to return this species to its natural habitat. It has been a great pleasure to have been involved in the evaluation strategy of the project and I look forward for the next year

You can find the report here (in Portuguese). More details below:

The Spix’s Macaw is one of the most endangered animals on the planet due to the historical destruction of its habitat (Caatinga) and intense capture for illegal trade. Its population has been drastically reduced and the last known specimen disappeared in 2000, leaving only the animals kept in captivity. Therefore, the species has become a global symbol of the importance of biodiversity preservation. The only hope for the return of the Spix’s Macaw to the wild rests on an increase in the number of animals in captivity and protection of its original habitat.

In order to achieve these goals, the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Spix’s Macaw was created with the participation of various executing and supporting agencies, including the holders (Al-Wabra Wildlife Preservation; ACTP – Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots; Nest and Lymington Foundation), and the coordinator Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). The Spix’s Macaw in the Wild project supports the implementation of the Action Plan. It is executed by ICMBio and the nonprofit civil society organizations SAVE Brasil and Funbio – the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (via Fauna Brazil Portfolio), with the sponsorship of Vale, and now brings together other institutions involved in the species conservation and currently symbolizes the Action Plan.

To learn more, access the project profile on Facebook: (facebook.com/ararinhananatureza).

First record of the speckled forest-pitviper for the state of Acre, Brazil

Diogo — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:59:20 +0000

In another natural history short note me and a few colleagues document the finding of an adult specimen of Bothrops taeniatus Wagler, 1824 in the Municipality of Assis Brasil, in the Rio Acre Ecological Station, Acre, Brazil. This is the first record of this species for the state of Acre, extending the species distribution globally by approximately 164 Km west.

Find the full article here

Environmental education in São Tomé

Diogo — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:58:54 +0000

Last November I went out to work on a Environmental Education project lead with Ricardo Lima, in the small island country of São Tomé and Príncipe in West Africa. We visited hundreds of people in rural communities and dozens of classrooms across the country in an experience that undoubtedly made us realise how important these activities are and how they should be kept up (and improved on) in the future. Read all about our findings in the final report which has just been published. Get it here!

First record of the Bicoloured-spined Porcupine for Brazil

Diogo — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:40:14 +0000

A few days ago I co-author a short note that presents the first record of the Bicoloured-spined Porcupine for Brazil. Its not often that a mammal of this size is first recorded for a country, even one as large and biodiverse as Brazil! Checkout the short note here.

Is biotechnology the answer to extinction? No.

Diogo — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:16:15 +0000

In the latest issue of Nature, I co-author a reply to S. Kumar’s article: “Extinction need not be forever“, published also in Nature about a month ago. In this reply we highlight how behavioural and ecological factors, which are not necessarily captured by genetic material, are essential not only to define a species identity but also to ensure its survival in its natural habitat. Read it here - includes a second reply to the same article.

Wildlife trade in Asia: start with the consumer

Diogo — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:54:16 +0000

In a recent Editorial I co-authored for the Asian Journal of Conservation Biology we touch on the issue of wildlife trade in Asia and discuss how the consumer must be the central part of our strategies to manage this trade that threatens many species worldwide . Read it here.

Social Marketing visits Lisbon

Diogo — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:13:36 +0000

Last week I attended the first ever European Social Marketing Conference, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal. Social marketing can be broadly defined as “the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioural goals for a social good”.

The meeting gathered more than 100 delegates from around 25 countries to discuss the application of social marketing in the European context. Although largely dominated by the health sector I did my best to represent the environmental sector through my presentation “Branding Biodiversity: What environmental conservation can learn from social marketing”. This meeting also saw the launch of theEuropean Social Marketing Association (ESMA), which began shaping itself about a year ago and of which I am a proud founding member. All in all the conference was a great opportunity to learn about what is being done in Europe in terms of social marketing and build networks with some leading academics and practitioners. Plus the food was great.