Wildlife conservation is in many cases these days also a matter for private individuals etc – not just governments. I know many dedicated individuals who do their bit for conservation with little or no government help.
I tend to agree that the presence of a rarity on Christmas I (or wherever) does little directly to promote conservation – however the more birders visit such places (whether for rarities or the endemics or both) the more the local see that there is a value in preserving the eco system and the more likely they are to pressure for this to occur. This is not just an Aussie phenomenon of course – the local people (and government) need to see there is a value in “nature” (because people pay to come and see it and provide employment etc) and that perhaps this is a better way to go than chopping everything down.
On 13 January 2011 08:56, Julian B
> Greetings David > > > > I’d hate to fall out with a fellow birder on so trivial a matter but I > still > cannot see, or understand, the connection between the two [to me] separate > threads. > > > > Chasing after rarities, especially new records, is in the realms of > TWITCHING; wildlife conservation [be it birds, reptiles or a elongated > creepy-crawly] is a Government initiative. The two rarely coincide. > > > > Or are we to understand that if the likes of Mike Carter confirm the > presence of a Lesser-spotted Oompahloompah on the Cocos Keeling Islands the > Australian Government suddenly drops all other business in hand to assure > the wellbeing of the creature – [and I have a lot of admiration for both > Mike’s ability and willingness to drop everything at a moment’s notice and > shoot off to “find” or verify a rare sighting]? > > > > ===============================
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