Rajah Brooke butterflies site destroyed

Popular butterfly habitat destroyed
The Star 6 Jan 10;

IPOH: Workers who removed the historical Gopeng pipeline for scrap metal have destroyed the largest site for Rajah Brooke butterflies in Ulu Geroh, a major tourist attraction.

All that remains of the salt lick, where the butterflies used to congregate in the thousands to sip water rich in minerals, is now just muddy ground.

Friends of Ecotourism and Nature Conservation (Semai) chairman Ahha Bah Udal claimed that workers removing the pipeline on Dec 24 “literally bulldozed” their way through the salt lick next to the Ulu Geroh access road.

“The ground is flattened and there is mud everywhere.

“Until now, the workers have not bothered to take away the pipes, which they left by the side of the road,” said Ahha.

Semai, a collective effort by the orang asli village to promote ecotourism and their lifestyle, has 19 villagers acting as guides to take about 1,500 to 2,000 tourists annually into the jungles to view the Rajah Brooke butterflies and Rafflesia flower as well as to trek up Cameron Highlands.

Ahha said due to the destruction of the site, which had been gazetted by the state Wildlife and National Parks Department as a protected area, it was no longer possible to see the butterflies.

“The butterflies have flown away. They can’t be seen on the ground anymore,” he said.

Ahha said the villagers were now considering legal action against the contractor responsible.

“Although the contractor has permission to remove the pipeline, they should have informed that they were going to carry out the removal works and we could have advised them on which areas to avoid.

“Now, everything is destroyed and it is impossible to create another site. You cannot recreate nature,” Ahha said.

The century-old Gopeng pipeline, which was once used to transport water from the hills to tin mines below, is being removed and sold as scrap metal.

It was left behind after mining operations in Gopeng ceased in 1985.

Butterflies are back but proper clean-up needed
Chan Li Leen, The Star 12 Jan 10;

IPOH: The Perak Wildlife and Natio-nal Parks Department (Perhilitan) and Ulu Geroh orang asli are not satisfied with the clean-up at the Rajah Brooke Birdwing sanctuary.

Perhilitan director Shabrina Shariff said the clean-up was not up to expectation, though there were some positive changes.

Last week, she issued a clean-up order to the contractor blamed for destroying a salt lick while removing the Gopeng pipe.

“The contractor has kept his word to remove the heavy machinery and cut pipes from the site,” she said.“But the place is still muddy and it is quite an eyesore, actually.

“There are still stones embedded in the mud. But it is better than before and the butterflies are slowly returning,” she said after visiting the site yesterday.

Shabrina said the contractor would be instructed to carry out further clean-ups.

Since Dec 24, workers have been removing the century-old pipe for scrap metal using excavators and other heavy machinery, and leaving the pipes on an access road where the salt lick is situated.

The salt lick, where the butterflies used to congregate in the thousands to sip water rich in minerals, eventually turned into muddy ground.

Friends of Ecotourism and Nature Conservation (Semai) chairman Ahha Bah Udal, who with others in his village, depend on ecotourism to supplement their incomes, wants further clean-up of the site to be carried out. “The site has not been cleaned properly,” he said.

Clean-up work at butterfly sanctuary halted
The Star 13 Jan 10;

IPOH: The clean-up work at the Rajah Brooke Birdwing butterfly sanctuary in Ulu Geroh in Gopeng has been temporarily stalled pending a report from the Forestry Department.

Friends of Ecotourism and Nature Conservation chairman Ahha Bah Udal said several officers from the department had advised that the clean-up work be halted to avoid more damage to the salt lick site.

He said the officers checked the area yesterday.

“If the clean-up is not done properly and the salt lick is damaged, the butterflies may not come back,” he said, adding that the salt lick remained muddy.

Ahha said they would seek advice from the Malaysian Nature Society on what should be done to have the Rajah Brooke Birdwing return to the site.

“If the situation still remained unchanged, we might go to the Tourism Department or the Orang Asli Affairs Department for help,” he said.

The salt lick, where the butterflies gather to sip water rich in minerals, has turned into a muddy ground due to work to remove a century-old pipeline for scrap metal that started on Dec 24.