This fence makes scents — how planting lemon and mint helps protect elephants in Nepal

Who doesn’t love the lively scent of mint? Or the bright, citrusy perfume of a lemon plucked fresh from the tree? Asian elephants, actually — and that’s a good thing.

Since the 1960s, elephants in Nepal have lost 80 per cent of their natural habitat to human development, meaning that the few remaining often find themselves wandering into farmland while looking for food. But these visits are very risky for elephants and humans alike: With huge appetites and bodies, elephants can easily destroy a hectare of cropland overnight, devastating livelihoods. They can also attack humans who get too close, and deaths — both of humans by elephants, and of elephants by humans in retaliation — have created an uneasy situation in many rural communities, leaving human-elephant conflict as the leading threat to Nepal’s wild elephants.

“There is a strong correlation between elephant habitat fragmentation and crop loss,” says Rinjan Shrestha, WWF-Canada’s leading expert on Asian species. “The answer is to connect and restore historical habitats for growing numbers of elephants.”?

Nature-based solution

But how do you reconnect fragmented habitat without further fragmenting farmers’ livelihoods? Find out more about what elephants don’t like to eat, and then plant more of it.

Biological fencing, or “biofencing” — making barriers out of natural, living things — is one way to guide Asian elephants through their natural habitat without tempting them into cropland. In Nepal, this involves planting quick-growing crops that are natural elephant deterrents — unpleasant for them to eat, but not harmful.

Dense-growing crops like lemon trees and mentha (a plant in the mint family) are especially effective because they’re easy to maintain and distinctively aromatic. Planted strategically, biofencing is an effective alternative to dangerous, labour-intensive and high-maintenance electrified fencing.

But there’s another benefit to biofences — they’re an additional income source for farmers and landowners, who can sell their crops during the off-season. In the Khata Corridor, a transborder “wildlife highway” between Nepal and India, WWF works directly with local farmers to cultivate mentha. Since 2002, more than 12 mentha distillation plants have been installed and over 300 households are farming their fences.

The strategy is part of a much larger elephant conservation initiative in Nepal’s ecologically diverse Terai Arc Landscape. In partnership with WWF, communities are working with government and researchers to monitor elephant numbers and behaviour using remote satellite technology, protecting existing habitat from being disturbed, compensating communities who have been affected by human-elephant conflict, and empowering locals in conservation initiatives.

“We are beginning to see a ray of hope in our attempts to save wild elephants in Nepal, thanks to the holistic conservation approach that is being adopted by the country,” says Shrestha.

“Now more than ever, we need to make concerted efforts to keep this momentum going. One promising way of doing this is to tackle one of the fundamental issues — the human-elephant conflict — head-on by ensuring the well-being of both local communities and wild elephants.”

Your support can help restore the habitats that will see their numbers grow.

Canada’s underwater noise laws: underused and not enough anyway

With several areas of Canada’s oceans already 100 times louder than they would be naturally, the current approach to addressing underwater noise pollution is clearly not working — and the clock is ticking for Canada to create a consequential and comprehensive national policy on ocean noise.

That’s the conclusion of our new report, Canada’s Ocean Noise Strategy: Legislation and Policy Analysis, commissioned by WWF-Canada and conducted by East Coast Environmental Law and West Coast Environmental Law. The analysis provides valuable insights on the shortcomings of existing legal tools and how these tools can be strengthened to ensure the federal government’s long-promised plan is effective for protecting marine ecosystems.

As ocean noise is not explicitly incorporated into existing marine conservation laws or regulations, our legal analysis reviewed federal Crown Law and policy on ocean management to identify any gaps or existing mechanisms as we begin to tackle this growing threat to marine life.

We found that the tools Canada can utilize or strengthen to protect underwater soundscapes — through designated marine protected areas and marine environmental quality (MEQ) guidelines, or under the Oceans Act, Fisheries Act, Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and the Species at Risk Act — are underutilized and lack clear targets and important features that would enable underwater noise reduction and management efforts to be legally binding, measurable and enforceable.

Our recommendations include a range of options for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Parks Canada to collaborate on and prioritize effective noise management measures, such as:

• setting regional and subregional noise standards;?
• imposing area-based noise reduction targets on coastal and offshore projects;?
• requiring that noise be addressed in environmental impact assessments; and?
• regulating noise thresholds, areas to avoid and mitigation measures like ship speed restrictions and quiet technologies.

Still, these measures must be seen only as stopgaps until all the important components can be incorporated into the more comprehensive Ocean Noise Strategy, the national approach being developed and debated.?

“As noise levels in our oceans continue to increase, the current piecemeal approach isn’t enough to protect whales and other marine life,” says Hussein Alidina, WWF-Canada’s lead specialist for ocean conservation.

“The tools we have right now, even if used to their full potential, provide a temporary fix — and what we need is a long-term solution.”

The protective properties of salt marshes and seagrass meadows

From the rugged, rocky shorelines and fjords of Newfoundland and Labrador to the glass sponge reefs of B.C., Canada’s coasts are replete with natural wonders. But between land and sea are two often-overlooked habitats: salt marshes and seagrass meadows, beautiful and complex ecosystems providing invaluable benefits to wildlife, nature and people.?

Marianne Fish, WWF-Canada’s senior specialist of coastal ecosystems, dives into these coastal wetlands to tell us more.

First off, what are salt marshes and seagrass meadows?

Salt marshes are a type of wetland regularly flooded and drained by the tides. Salt marsh plants, like rushes, grasses and sedges, have adapted to the ebb and flow of coastal conditions, including large fluctuations in water, salt content, temperature and oxygen levels.?

Seagrasses are aquatic flowering plants that can form extensive meadows in the brackish and salty coastal waters of calm, shallow inlets, bays and estuaries. These meadows grow very fast and are the main source of food for many species. In Canada, the main species of seagrass is eelgrass.?

Why are they important coastal ecosystems?

Coastal wetlands provide feeding and breeding grounds for many fish, shellfish, migratory birds and other wildlife.

But they’re valuable in many other ways.?

As climate change progresses, coastal wetlands are especially important for mitigating some of the worst effects. Salt marshes and seagrass meadows are exceptionally good at taking up atmospheric carbon and storing it for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Because of this ability, coastal wetlands are known as “blue carbon” ecosystems.?

The dense vegetation of salt marshes and seagrass meadows also protects coasts by stabilizing sediment and reducing wave energy, which prevents shoreline erosion and protects nearby coastal communities from flooding.?

They’re also effective water filters. Runoff from hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt and rooftops is a leading cause of water pollution, and agricultural practices add extra nutrients, pesticides and silt to local waterways. The marshes and meadows trap sediment and absorb excess nutrients, improving the water quality in estuaries, bays and nearshore waters.

And what about for coastal communities??

Salt marshes and eelgrass meadows provide direct benefits to people who live alongside them, from food sources to flood protection to recreational activities. Many coastal Indigenous Peoples have deep connections to coastal wetlands. Protecting and restoring them therefore not only conserves biodiversity and reduces climate impacts but also maintains cultural heritage and fosters community well-being.

What species do we find there?

Salt marshes and eelgrass meadows are home to many marine and terrestrial species and are essential fish habitat. Many species, like salmon, seek food and protection in these habitats during their vulnerable early stages of life. Other animals spend their entire lives within these habitats. For example, the entire global range of the endangered Maritime ringlet butterfly is restricted to the salt marshes surrounding the Baie des Chaleurs, between Quebec and New Brunswick.

What can we do for these ecosystems right now?

As pressures from coastal development, pollution, invasive species and climate change continue to escalate, it is vital that we recognize the critical role of coastal wetlands and make concerted efforts to protect and restore them. Through efforts to safeguard healthy, functional coastal blue carbon ecosystems, we aim to secure a sustainable future for generations to come.

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