The Fifth Estate documentary: “Silence of the Labs”
This Friday, January 10th at 9 p.m. EST CBC investigative show The Fifth Estate will be airing an interesting documentary titled “Silence of the Labs”. The show deals with the dire situation of public science in Canada, and how current policies of the Canadian Government toward science and scientific research impacts all Canadians. The federal government has cut funding or closed hundreds of research institutes and programs, especially focusing on the programs dealing with the environmental and climate change issues. More than 2,000 federal scientists and researchers have been fired over the...
Read MoreVideo: Natura 2000 – Pride of Croatia
I would like to share a short, 2 minute video made by a group of nature photographers from Croatia: Goran Safarek, Ante Zuljevic, Drasko Holcer and Italian videographer Claudia Amico. The video is called “Natura 2000 – Pride of Croatia”. I met Goran on my last trip to Croatia in October. He is an excellent photographer and an extremely dedicated conservationist. Here is a short background to the video that Goran sent me. As a result of entering the European Union in 2013, Croatia became part of the Natura 2000 network. This is the largest ecological network of protected areas in the...
Read MoreBirdWatch Canada cover and article about the PFRA pastures
A few months ago Saskatchewan author Laura Stewart wrote an article about the plight of PFRA community pastures which was published in the Briarpatch magazine. A few of my images were selected to illustrate the story. Laura recently wrote a cover story for the fall issue of BirdWatch Canada magazine titled “Prairie Grasslands in Peril?” The magazine publishes feature articles about the world of birds. Laura Stewart eloquently discusses the threats to grassland birds through recent changes in the type of use and management of prairie grasslands, including changes to and...
Read MoreA tribute to rivers in our lives – 2013 World Rivers Day
This post is a tribute to world rivers, in anticipation of the World Rivers Day on September 29th, 2013. Communities in Canada and around the world are planning events to acknowledge the contribution of river systems to human well-being, raise awareness of the importance of river conservation and to encourage positive river stewardship. The World Rivers Day in celebrated annually throughout the world, and it is estimated that several million people in 60 countries will help mark this special occasion. The Saskatchewan Eco Network and several local community and environmental organizations...
Read MoreA step in the right direction: endangered Greater Sage Grouse to be protected by an emergency order
After many months of inaction and a few lost court cases, (see also news item about a court order requiring the government to designate critical habitat under the Species at Risk Act), the federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced today that an emergency order to protect an endangered species Greater Sage Grouse will be issued in the coming months. The order will impose restrictions on development and industrial activities to protect the Sage Grouse and its habitat on provincial and federal Crown lands in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The proposed restrictions will not affect...
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Dr. Branimir Gjetvaj is a biologist and internationally published environmental photographer specializing in western Canadian landscapes. He leads photography workshops and photo tours, and gives public presentations on photography, natural history and conservation biology topics.