{"id":38093,"date":"2017-11-27T00:59:56","date_gmt":"2017-11-26T13:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=38093"},"modified":"2019-04-16T13:31:07","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:31:07","slug":"the-climate-journey-of-kermit-the-growling-grass-frog-from-craigieburn-to-cop23-with-takvera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/the-climate-journey-of-kermit-the-growling-grass-frog-from-craigieburn-to-cop23-with-takvera\/","title":{"rendered":"The #climate journey of Kermit the Growling Grass Frog from Craigieburn to #COP23 with @takvera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kermit the Growling Grass Frog on centre stage at the Fossil of the Day awards on Day 2 at COP23<\/p><\/div>\nPart travelogue, part storytelling about the UN climate conference COP23 in Bonn, Germany, this article was originally published at Sustainable Fawkner<\/a> blog by Nofibs reporter John Englart.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kermit, the Growling Grass Frog couldn’t resist the opportunity of hitching a ride in my bag to Bonn, Germany and COP23. What frog doesn’t want to see the world beyond their own wetlands? Especially when their species is declining and climate change may be an important factor determining future species survival? <\/p>\n

Kermit was centre stage at the Fossil of the Day awards<\/a> on Day 2 of the conference, when Australia received it’s first Fossil of the Day award for the Adani coal mine.<\/p>\n

The 23rd meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – to give it it’s full title – was held from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, under the presidency of the government of Fiji, the first time that a small island nation has served in this role.<\/p>\n

I was attending the conference along with Andrea Bunting as members of Climate Action Moreland, part of the Climate Action Network Australia, a node of the global Climate Action Network, an environmental NGO (also called an ENGO).<\/p>\n

The Growling Grass frog (Litoria raniformis) is categorised as endangered by the IUCN redlist<\/a>, listed as vulnerable under the Federal EPBC Act<\/a>, listed as threatened under Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Victoria) as of June 2017, and listed as Endangered (Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria: 2013 list). <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Growling Grass frogs have disappeared from most of their former range across Victoria. The species persists in isolated populations in the greater Melbourne area, including along Merri Creek, in the south-west of Victoria and a few sites in central Victoria and Gippsland.<\/p>\n

Habitat loss and degradation from land changes and introduced predators associated with European colonisation are probably the main factors associated with the species reduction in range. Spread of fungal diseases and Climate Change will add to pressure on this frog species. Management of micro habitats along watercourses such as Merri Creek may prove vital for this species survival.<\/p>\n

Kermit was not very happy to read before the journey about the insectageddon reported in recent research<\/a> that there has been a 75 percent decline in flying insect biomass over the last quarter century from nature reserves in Germany. Read George Monbiot’s take on Insectageddon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sit back and enjoy our travel highlights to Cologne and Bonn in Germany and the COP23 conference, and our return home.<\/p>\n

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On route to Bonn and COP23<\/p>\n

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Two @camoreland<\/a> activists In transit at Doha on way to Bonn #COP23<\/a> UN #Climatechange<\/a> conference with Kermit the Growling Grass frog pic.twitter.com\/TYXyc8CSpv<\/a><\/p>\n

— John Englart EAM (@takvera) November 1, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n