"Emocionante e engajado, tendo como fio condutor o respeito pelo planeta e pelo ser humano, assim entendo o trabalho artístico de Birgitte Tümmler - impossível não amar seu romantismo e sua extrema força.
Ao retratar suas vivencias, Birgitte nos leva a um passeio magico pelo nosso habitat, pelo nosso povo, e ai me arrisco a disser que nosso povo é todo o planeta.
Com a mesma paleta, outro fio condutor em seu trabalho, Bir. nos leva de tribos indígenas a viagens de bicicleta pela França, porém sempre com extrema gentileza e zelo pelo meio ambiente.
Apreciar uma tela de Birgitte é um convite a reflexão e a um retorno a nossa inocência, as vezes perdida no tempo...
Como já disse no inicio deste pequeno texto, para mim, uma palavra define seu trabalho árduo e singelo: Emocionante !!!!"
Joao Evangelista de Souza
Artista Plastico
Escritor
Documentarista
"Horsehoe Bat in a Romanian Cave"
Ballpoint pen on paper - 30 x 30 cm
october 2016
Made for a campaign pro bat conservation in Transilvania - Romania through
ABUN (Artist and Biologists Unite for Nature)
Protecting the horseshoe bats of Romania :
Financed by the Conservation Leadership Programme, with the in-kind contribution of the Romanian Bat Protection Association.
Background:
Bats (Chiroptera) have key roles in our ecosystems. They control the size of harmful insect populations by consuming them in large quantities, and they also pollinate several hundred plant species in the tropics. Also, by merely being present or absent, bats offer key information about the health of our ecosystems.Four out of five horseshoe bat species present in Romania have viable and large populations in the South-Western part of the country, but all are threatened with roost loss and habitat fragmentation. The fifth horseshoe bat species, Méhely's horseshoe bat has a single known population in Romania, in the South-Eastern part of the country, with a population of only 150 adult bats, having also low genetic diversity and being isolated from other colonies. According to IUCN, horseshoe bat populations are in decline at the global level. In addition, all bat species from Romania are facing persecution based on ignorance, misinformation and lack of information.
Project goal and objectives:
The overall goal of the project was the improvement of the conservation status of horseshoe bat populations in Southern Romania. To reach this goal we had to establishing key elements of successful conservation work: (1) up-to-date scientific data; (2) positive attitude of the public; (3) engaged stakeholders and decision makers. Key partners in our efforts were the custodians of protected areas in Southern Romania, biology teachers at local schools, and members of caver clubs.
Results:
Our project lead to a significant increase of scientific knowledge regarding the five Romanian horseshoe bats, to an increase of public awareness and positive attitude regarding bats in general, as well as to better management decision in the future by protected area administrative bodies.
Key results of the project were: (1) Constant presence of Méhely’s horseshoe bat was demonstrated in South-Western Romania; (2) The largest horseshoe bat colony in Europe, with more than 7.400 bats, was discovered in South-Western Romania; (3) The largest, currently known building dwelling colony of the greater horseshoe bat from Romania was discovered in South-Western Romania; (4) Protected area administrators received management recommendations for horseshoe bats; (5) The public’s attention and positive feed-back was gained through awareness articles, social page and printed information; (6) Teenagers from Southern Romania greatly improved their knowledge about bats.
In the future:
We plan on maintaining communication with local stakeholders, so we can continue our work in case of bat colony discoveries, or sites that require urgent protection. With protected area managers being aware of our project, they can now ask for our assistance in bat related management issues. The Facebook page of the project will continue to function and to grow, by supplying interesting news about the local and global bat fauna. We will publish short awareness raising articles and hold presentations about bats in schools or other venues. Project team members will continue to gather data about horseshoe bat populations in Romania, with the involvement of cavers and protected area staff.
Facebook page of the project (mainly in Romanian and Hungarian):
Article about key results at Fauna & Flora International:
Project page at Conservation Leadership Programme:
