Cyprus Water Woes, Conservation Refugees, Saving Kenya’s Lions

This week: Cyprus’s water resources have been overused, and now the country is facing a severe water shortage. Worldwide efforts to conserve forests and wildlife have displaced native peoples from their ancestral landscapes. Kenya is considering a controversial proposal to conserve its dwindling lion population. Scientists have figured out how the chytrid fungus kills frogs. The largest orb-weaving spider has been discovered. And could too much light lead to depression?

Cyprus’s Water Woes: Water was once plentiful in this Mediterranean island country, but recent development efforts have exhausted those resources. Now a new study suggests Cyprus faces the risk of becoming more desert-like in the coming years.
Report: By The World’s Aaron Schachter in Cyprus.
Links:
Cyprus country profile from the BBC.
Mediterranean Water Shortage.
The uncertainties around desalination.
Transcript of this story

Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:

• How chytrid fungus kills frogs: Amphibian species around the world are declining. More than 160 of some 6000 known species are now thought to be extinct, and roughly 30% of remaining species are considered threatened. Among the many things killing these creatures is a mysterious fungal disease. It is infecting frogs the world over, and scientists have finally figured out what makes it so deadly.
  The study.
  Overview of amphibian decline with a video.
  More on amphibian conservation from Amphibian Ark.
• Giant Spider: Scientists have found the largest known web-spinning spider. The females of this species, Nephila komaci, are gigantic – about the size of a human palm. Males look like miniatures in comparison. The webs they weave can be up to a meter in diameter. The spider is a rare species that lives in Madagascar and South Africa.
  The study.
  BBC story.
  Spider tapestry exhibit.
  Video: See the spider silk tapestry in this video from the American Museum of Natural History.
  
• Light and Depression: Too much light can lead to depression — at least in mice. That’s the conclusion of new data presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago.
  The study.
  More about light pollution.

Conservation Refugees: More than 12% of land worldwide is currently protected by conservation laws, but those laws have displaced many people who historically lived on those lands.  The resulting dislocation has harmed cultures, spurred conflict, and in some cases undermined conservation.
Guest: Mark Dowie
Mark Dowie’s book, Conservation Refugees:The Hundred-Year Conflict between Global Conservation and Native Peoples
Dissociating People from Nature
More on the Batwa people.
Transcript of this interview.

Saving Kenya’s Lions: Tourists flock to the East African nation of Kenya to see its wildlife, especially lions, but the country’s lion population is dwindling. Some conservationists say it’s time to try a new and controversial strategy: save lions by allowing them to be hunted.
Report: By The World’s Andrea Crossan in Kenya.
More on the lion conservation organization Living with Lions.
Transcript of this story.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have a great story to tell. Find out more about them and their music here.

Tags: conservation, Cyprus, depression, Kenya, Lions, Madagascar, Refugees, South Africa, Spider