Best of our wild blogs: 26 Aug 10

Parasouls
from The annotated budak and talfryn.net

Fight fight fight!
from Psychedelic Nature

Tampines is at Caldecott Hill???
from Garden Voices

Release of captive bred Hawksbill turtle at Big Sister’s Island
from Raffles Museum News

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Model city Singapore shows symptoms of urban stress

Philip Lim (AFP) Google News 25 Aug 10

SINGAPORE — Flash floods along posh Orchard Road. Packed subway trains. Traffic gridlock in the morning and evening rush hours. Intensifying competition for public flats. What happened to squeaky-clean, smooth-flowing Singapore?

Widely acclaimed as one of the world's most "liveable" cities, Singapore is now experiencing urban growth woes as it moves to expand its population to 6.5 million in 20 years, up 30 percent from the current level of five million.

The target was first cited in 2007 as an optimal population size for long-term economic competitiveness, but strains are already beginning to show as more immigrants and guest workers jostle for space with the locals.

Not to mention an invasion of tourists, with arrivals surpassing the one million mark in a single month for the first time in July, thanks to two new massive casino resorts that opened a few months ago.

Singapore, one of the world's richest cities, has a land area of just 710 square kilometres (274 square miles) but until recent years, it had avoided the congested feeling of places like Hong Kong and Tokyo.

"It's crowded, very crowded," commuter Anthony Chua, a 47-year-old accountant, said after getting off a train near the banking district.

Despite increased train frequency during peak demand periods, Chua felt trains were more cramped than before.

"There's a certain level of frustration but I suppose we learn to accept it," he added.

The government was left red-faced in June and July after an unprecedented three flash floods inundated houses, drowned cars and damaged shops, with insurers estimating 23 million Singapore dollars (17 million US) in claims.

The Public Utilities Board attributed the freak floods to regional squalls and clogged drainage, but questions remained over whether Singapore was equipped to handle the side effects of rapid urbanization.

The city-state's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, shocked many when he said occasional floods were inevitable in constantly rain-drenched Singapore because it could not afford to convert roads into canals.

Insurance companies subsequently said premiums might be raised in flood-prone areas including the shopping belt around Orchard Road.

But the floods formed just part of Singaporeans' urban gripes.

Traffic has slowed amid an explosion in car ownership even though Singapore is one of the costliest places in the world to own a vehicle due to high taxes and quotas.

As of July, there were 936,311 vehicles plying the roads of Singapore, with cars accounting for 61.5 percent of the total, compared to 755,000 vehicles just five years ago.

The Land Transport Authority said daily journeys on private vehicles and public transport were expected to increase by 60 percent from the current 8.9 million to 14.3 million by 2020.

Demand for homes in Singapore's public housing blocks, where 80 percent of the population reside, is also straining supply.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said there was an "imbalance" in supply and demand in July, with many first-time flat-buyers such as newlywed couples unable to find affordable homes.

Resale prices of four- and five-room flats, the most popular among Singaporeans, ranged from 331,500 to 682,500 Singapore dollars (243,190 to 500,773 US) in the second quarter.

Foreigners who enjoy permanent residency and are eligible to purchase public housing totalled 533,000 in 2009, a 37.8 percent increase from 2005.

Singapore's total population numbered 4.99 million last year, a 17 percent increase from 2005, according to the latest government data.

Urban expert Seetharam Kallidaikurichi said Singaporeans should be prepared to pay more for public services if they expect the government to meet their expectations.

"It's like you live in a five-star hotel. What happens? You just check in, you get your bed ready, new linen given to you, you come down, breakfast is served for you... (but) you pay for it," said the professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority, the agency in charge of city planning, said it was devising new methods of maximising Singapore's land space.

They include utilising underground space, building new commercial hubs away from the city centre and doubling the train network.

"As Singapore is a small city-state with limited land resources, the scarcity of land has been and will continue to be a challenge we face," it said in reply to queries from AFP.

"The challenge of balancing growth with liveability is not an easy one, but we are confident that this can be done for Singapore." it said.

Kallidaikurichi said Singapore was still leagues ahead of many other cities in terms of living conditions, and particularly praised the emphasis on greening the dense landscape.

"Many other cities including the big cities in the US and others, they have ended up as concrete jungles because they put so much roads and buildings and so on that they forgot about real life in terms of living," he said.

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Feels like the year-end wet season? You're right

Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 26 Aug 10;

RAINFALL in Singapore over the last few months is closer to the volumes seen in the monsoon season at the end of the year. And the wet weather is set to continue.

The total monthly rainfall for June was 240.5mm and it was 298.5mm for last month - figures which are almost double the long-term average rainfall for these two months, which are typically the country's driest after February. This month's figures are already at 146.5mm, currently below the average of 151.9mm, but there are still six days till the end of the month.

The average rainfall recorded in the traditional wet months of November and December is 262.4mm and 329.5mm respectively.

The huge deluge of rainwater in the last two months also resulted in three major reports of flooding, affecting areas such as Orchard Road, Bukit Timah, Newton Circus and Telok Kurau.

From June to Tuesday, 34 heavy-rain warnings have been issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

This tops the total number of warnings issued during June, July and August in the last three years with 19 issued in 2007, 13 in 2008 and 20 last year.

There is a silver lining, however, to the deluge - haze has not darkened Singapore's horizons as the weather has been too wet for forest burn-offs in Sumatra.

The haze has been an almost yearly problem in the past years, with the air quality index sometimes hitting the unhealthy range.

In the last three months, the PSI - a measure of air quality - has only slipped above the good range three times.

Experts here point to La Nina for the damper conditions. The weather pattern brings unusually cold ocean temperatures in the eastern Equatorial Pacific and increases in vertical air currents in this region, resulting in more clouds and therefore more rain.

A spokesman for the NEA's Meteorological Services Division said: 'From June to August, Singapore has experienced above average rainfall and the trend is likely to continue till September. La Nina will enhance the intensity of the afternoon thunderstorms and Sumatra squalls seen during the south-west monsoon and inter-monsoon months,' he added.

The unexpected heavy rainfall here is being mirrored in other countries in Asia, such as Pakistan where the jetstream - a cold wind travelling from west to east - is exacerbating the monsoon season there, causing the worst floods in 80 years.

Closer to home, Indonesia's weather experts say the country is experiencing extreme weather causing torrential rain and floods in Jakarta in what is usually the dry season. It is the same story in Malaysia, where the gloomy forecast of heavy rain, lightning and thunderstorms is predicted up to early next year.

La Nina conditions are expected to continue until early next year and NEA predicts next month will have a higher than average rainfall but will not be as wet as previous months.

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Carbon trading could start to gain traction in Asia: experts

Chris Howells Channel NewsAsia 25 Aug 10;

SINGAPORE : Industry watchers say Asia's renewable energy market will be worth some US$50-55 billion over the next 5 to 10 years.

And emission trading in the region could start to gain traction as policy makers focus on developing a definitive agreement to fight climate change.

The awareness around climate change and emissions reduction is building up. And experts say Asia holds a huge potential for the development of renewable energy projects.

Figures from the United Nations showed that as of July this year, there were 2,300 clean development projects globally, up 35 per cent on-year. Three quarters of the projects were in Asia.

Observers say this presents a huge potential for the development of a carbon credits market in the region.

A carbon credit is a value that has been assigned to a reduction or offset of greenhouse gas emissions. And they can be traded to help countries meet their emissions reduction targets.

Developed countries can buy credits to meet flexible reduction targets, while Asian countries can sell them to meet more aggressive reduction time frames.

Henry Derwent, president & CEO, International Emissions Trading Association, said: "We've seen total volumes of trading doubling from year to year, give or take a glitch from the global recession, which seems to be moving. I think we'll see that sort of growth pattern repeated in the future."

Observers also say that the strong demand for clean energy projects is unlikely to be affected by the outcome of the upcoming climate talks in Cancun, which are not expected to come up with a post-Kyoto commitment.

The Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012, is an agreement aimed at fighting global warming.

As investor interest starts to gain traction, this could also create new trading hubs in Asia.

Edwin Khew, chairman, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, said: "If you look at the fact that 80 to 85 per cent of the world's carbon credit type projects actually hail from this region in Asia, then I think it makes good sense for Singapore, based in the middle of this region... (to) be a de facto carbon trading or emissions trading centre."

But challenges still remain in Asia, due to lack of market appetite for carbon trading. With 30 emissions trading companies already in Singapore, observers however say there is a good base for the market when it eventually picks up.

- CNA/al

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Frog discovered in Borneo is one of world's tiniest

Tiny, New, Pea-Sized Frog Is Old World's Smallest
ScienceDaily 25 Aug 10;

The smallest frog in the Old World (Asia, Africa and Europe) and one of the world's tiniest was discovered inside and around pitcher plants in the heath forests of the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. The pea-sized amphibian is a species of microhylid, which, as the name suggests, is composed of miniature frogs under 15 millimeters.


The discovery, published in the taxonomy journal Zootaxa, was made by Drs. Indraneil Das and Alexander Haas of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum of Hamburg, respectively, with support from the Volkswagen Foundation. Dr. Das is also leading one of the scientific teams that is searching for the world's lost amphibians, a campaign organized by Conservation International and IUCN's Amphibians Specialist Group.

"I saw some specimens in museum collections that are over 100 years old. Scientists presumably thought they were juveniles of other species, but it turns out they are adults of this newly-discovered micro species," said Dr. Das.

The mini frogs (Microhyla nepenthicola) were found on the edge of a road leading to the summit of the Gunung Serapi mountain, which lies within Kubah National Park. The new species was named after the plant on which it depends to live, the Nepenthes ampullaria, one of many species of pitcher plants in Borneo, which has a globular pitcher and grows in damp, shady forests. The frogs deposit their eggs on the sides of the pitcher, and tadpoles grow in the liquid accumulated inside the plant.

Adult males of the new species range between 10.6 and 12.8 mm -- about the size of a pea. Because they are so tiny, finding them proved to be a challenge. The frogs were tracked by their call, and then made to jump onto a piece of white cloth to be examined closer. The singing normally starts at dusk, with males gathering within and around the pitcher plants. They call in a series of harsh rasping notes that last for a few minutes with brief intervals of silence. This "amphibian symphony" goes on from sundown until peaking in the early hours of the evening.

Amphibians are the most threatened group of animals, with a third of them in danger of extinction. They provide important services to humans such as controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops and helping to maintain healthy freshwater systems. Teams of scientists from Conservation International and IUCN's Amphibian Specialist Group around the world have recently launched an unprecedented search in the hope of rediscovering 100 species of "lost" amphibians -- animals considered potentially extinct but that may be holding on in a few remote places.

The search, which is taking place in 20 countries on five continents, will help scientists to understand the recent amphibian extinction crisis. Dr. Das is leading a team of scientists who will search for the Sambas Stream Toad (Ansonia latidisca) in Indonesia and Malaysia in September. The toad was last seen in the 1950s. It is believed that increased sedimentation in streams after logging may have contributed to the decline of its population.

"Amphibians are quite sensitive to changes in their surroundings, so we hope the discovery of these miniature frogs will help us to understand what changes in the global environment are having an impact on these fascinating animals," said Conservation International's Dr. Robin Moore, who has organized the search on behalf of IUCN's Amphibian Specialist Group.

To follow the search for the lost amphibians visit: www.conservation.org/lostfrogs .

World's smallest frog find
New Straits Times 26 Aug 10;

KUALA LUMPUR: The world's smallest frog, which is tinier than a five-sen coin, chirps like a cricket and breeds in the carnivorous pitcher plant, has been found in the jungles of Sarawak.

The frog, Microhyla nepenthicola, measuring between 1cm and 1.28cm, was so minute that scientists had developed an unusual way of trapping it by using cloth nappies.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak herpetologist Dr Indraneil Das and Hamburg University's Dr Alexander Haas said they were walking back to their chalets after a long day out in the forest of Kubah National Park when the chirping of the frogs filled the evening air.

"Looking down, we could not see much. Only after lying down completely, then only we could see the tiniest frog imaginable," Indraneil said yesterday. It took two-and-a-half hours to catch the first of several specimens.

Collection was always a challenge until the team improvised by placing a cloth nappy next to the miniature pitcher plant, Nepenthes ampullaria. "Shaking" the plant vigorously, they would then wait until the frogs jumped out.

Indraneil and Haas' findings were formally published last week in the taxonomic journal, Zootaxa.

Mini Frog, Among Smallest in the World, Discovered
LiveScience.com Yahoo News 25 Aug 10;

One of the tiniest frogs in the world, and the smallest ever seen outside of North and South America, has been discovered in the forests of the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.

The pea-sized amphibians (Microhyla nepenthicola) were found near a mountain in Kubah National Park.

"I saw some specimens in museum collections that are over 100 years old. Scientists presumably thought they were juveniles of other species, but it turns out they are adults of this newly discovered micro species," said Indraneil Das of the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, who, along with Alexander Haas of the Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum of Hamburg, Germany, discovered the tiny creatures.

The mini frog was named after the plant on which it depends for survival, the Nepenthes ampullaria, one of many species of pitcher plants in Borneo. These plants have a pitcher-shaped, open cavity and grow in damp, shady forests. The frogs deposit their eggs on the sides of the pitcher, and tadpoles grow in the liquid accumulated inside the plant.

Adult males of the newly discovered frog species are just shy of a half inch (10.6 to 12.8 millimeters) long - about the size of a pea. Because they are so tiny, finding them proved to be a challenge.

The frogs were tracked by their call, and then made to jump onto a piece of white cloth to be examined closer. Their singing normally starts at dusk, with males gathering within and around the pitcher plants. They call in a series of harsh rasping notes that last for a few minutes with brief intervals of silence. This "amphibian symphony" goes on from sundown until peaking in the early hours of the evening.

Amphibians are the most threatened group of animals in the world, with a third of them in danger of extinction. They provide important services to humans, such as controlling the populations of insects that spread disease and damage crops, and helping to maintain healthy freshwater systems.

"Amphibians are quite sensitive to changes in their surroundings, so we hope the discovery of these miniature frogs will help us to understand what changes in the global environment are having an impact on these fascinating animals," said Conservation International's Robin Moore.

Conservation International has launched a worldwide search for so-called "lost amphibians," species that have not been seen in several years that could possibly be extinct.

The discovery of the frog is detailed in the journal Zootaxa.

Asia's smallest frog found in Borneo
(AFP) Google News 26 Aug 10;

KUALA LUMPUR — Asia's tiniest frog, a creature the size of a pea, has been discovered in a national park in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island, researchers said Thursday.

Herpetologist Indraneil Das said he and Hamburg University colleague Alexander Haas discovered the orange-and-red frog when returning from a field trip at the Kubah National Park in 2004.

They finally announced their discovery after taxonomic journal Zootaxa published their findings.

"We heard the calls of this frog and we knew the calls of all frogs in the area and this was different," Das told AFP.

"At first we couldn't see it but eventually we found it and I had to trap the frog in one of my baby son's clean white diapers in order to really see what it looked like, it was so tiny."

The frog measures just 3.0 millimetres when it metamorphoses from a tadpole, and grows to about 9.0 to 11.0 millimetres as an adult. It belongs to the Microhylid family of frogs, which are all under 15.0 millimetres in length.

"The frog is as small as the South American species (of miniature frogs) and is definitely the tiniest in Asia, Africa and Europe," Das said.

It was named Microhyla nepenthicola after the Nepenthes ampullaria, a miniature pitcher plant in which it lives.

Das said the plant lives off decomposing organic matter that collects within it and the frog uses this as a habitat, laying its eggs in the pitcher. When the tadpoles hatch, they live in the gathered liquid until they mature.

"This just shows how much more there is left to discover in the jungles of Borneo, it's just the tip of the iceberg," said the scientist, head of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Sarawak and neighbouring Sabah states make up Malaysia's half of Borneo island, which is shared with Indonesia.

Das said he will be leading a team into the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia next month to search for a supposedly extinct toad last seen in 1922, as part of a global project to rediscover 100 species of "lost" amphibians.

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Coral bleaching "happening throughout" Indonesian archipelago

Archipelago’s Coral at Mercy of Warming Oceans, Experts Say
Fidelis E Satriastanti Jakarta Post 25 Aug 10;

Jakarta. Coral bleaching, which was found to have occurred at an alarming rate in waters off Aceh, is happening throughout the archipelago, an environmentalist group says.

“Almost all parts of Indonesia are seeing coral bleaching as a result of sea water movements in September 2009 that raised the temperature of the sea surface,” said Anton Wijonarno, marine program monitoring coordinator at WWF Indonesia.

“The peak was in February and March, which were also Indonesia’s hottest months.”

Bleaching refers to the whitening of coral due to heat driving out the algae living within the coral tissues.

International scientists recently declared that large swathes of coral off of Aceh had died after a surge in temperatures across the Andaman Sea from the northern tip of Sumatra to Thailand and Burma.

Experts say the bleaching phenomenon in Aceh is one of the most rapid and severe coral mortality events ever recorded.

Anton said the same problem is threatening other areas in various parts of the country, such as the Karimun Jawa islands in the Java Sea, Bali, Berau in East Kalimantan, Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara and the Wakatobi islands in Sulawesi.

“The hardest hit [among these other areas] is Wakatobi, where around 35 percent of corals have turned white,” he said.

Suharsono, director of the center for oceanography research at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the whitening of corals did not immediately spell death.

“For some sensitive corals, especially branched ones such as pocillopora or seriatopora, they’ll die sooner if it gets too hot, but those without branches are more resistant,” he said.

Anton added two other factors that influenced the ability of bleached corals to recover. “The two options [death or recovery] depend on sea water conditions and the health of the coral reefs.”

Suharsono said the latest data indicated that only 6 percent of corals throughout the archipelago were in very excellent condition, 20 percent were categorized as excellent, 40 percent medium and 30 percent bad.

“If corals are in good shape, then they will quickly recover. But those in bad condition will mostly be knocked down.”

Andrew Baird, of James Cook University’s ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, previously told Reuters that reefs in Indonesia normally take five to 10 years to recover from localized bleaching.

Anton blamed climate change for the phenomenon, but the scientific community is still divided on what causes sea temperatures to rise.

Suharsono said rising water temperatures and the resulting coral bleaching was a natural phenomenon that was also seen in the 1990s.

“The worst happened in Indonesia back in 1993 when 90 percent of our corals died, and in 1998 when as much as 60 percent of the corals died.”

He added that the warming of the oceans was part of a larger natural cycle and that the solution lay in the environment itself. “Nature cannot be predicted, so if water is heated by nature then it can only be cooled down by nature,” he said.

Regardless of the cause, Anton said it was necessary for people whose livelihoods depended on healthy corals, such as fishermen and tour guides, to start adapting to the situation by finding other sources of income while waiting for the delicate underwater ecosystems to recover.

He cited traditional fishermen in East Nusa Tenggara who have been adjusting to the bleaching by taking up farming. “Bleaching adaptation [strategies] would depend on the location. We need to anticipate the time it would take for corals to recover to determine the strategy,” he said.

“If recovery will take a long time, then people would feel the impact as bleaching would affect the corals’ ability to function as a home for marine life.”

The bigger problem is what to do with corals that don’t recover. Syamsul Maarif, secretary general at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said humans could do little if the corals were already dead.

“We could try to re-plant the corals, however we have no records of how successful this will be,” Syamsul said.

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WWF to help Indonesia designate, manage new marine conservation areas

Antara 26 Aug 10;

Padang (ANTARA News) - The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is to help the Indonesian government establish 700,000 hectares of new marine conservation areas that will kept well managed, a fisheries official said.

"The target is part of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) and WWF to improve the sustainable management of fishery resources," Soen`an H. Poernomo, head of the KKP`s data, statistics, and information division, said in a press release on Wednesday.

Soen`an quoted KKP Secretary General M. Syamsul Maarif as saying WWF was also encouraging reform in the fisheries sector by initiating sustainable fisheries projects, especially for tuna, grouper, snapper, and shrimp cultivation.

For the fishery production sector, WWF would provide guidance on best fishery management practices with the final goal of obtaining an ecological certificate from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

"The cooperation between the two institutions is intended to manage marine and fisheries resources inside and outside the conservation areas in sustainable and responsible ways and to strengthen KKP`s efforts in implementing its policy on food security and food sustainability in fishery products," he said.

The cooperation would cover efforts to boost environmentally friendly and responsible fishery practices by developing best management practices, fishery policy research, and education and campaigns regarding conservation of endangered marine ecosystems and marine wildlife.

"The cooperation will last four years and be evaluated annually. Every project under the cooperation will be implemented based on a special legal accord and must be compatible with technical needs," he added

Soen`an said KKP had adopted the vision of making Indonesia the biggest fish producing country in the world by 2015.

WWF with its capacity as a nature conservation institution would also help the government through joint research programs and n training of its personnel in public campaign management and implementing plans.

The marine and fishery sector contribute 3.12 percent of Indonesia`s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 or up from 2.75 percent in 2008.

Indonesia`s income from fishery product exports reached 2.4 billion US dollars in 2009 and its fisheries provide jobs for 6.43 million people in 2008.

In recent years, cultivated fish production had grown more significantly than catch fish production.

Cultivated fisheries are considered strategic because they will be KKP`s mainstay in maintaining the availability of affordable protein.(*)

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Wildlife protection improving in Sarawak

Philip Hii The Star 26 Aug 10;

GREATER awareness on conservation and protection of wildlife has resulted in fewer animals being hunted for food.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) general manager for protected areas and biodiversity conservation Wilfred Landong said that SFC’s conservation programme had been effective in the state’s vast rural areas.

“We have developed a team of honorary wildlife rangers to assist us in enforcing the law and raising awareness on the importance of protecting and conserving our wildlife,” Landong told reporters after receiving 19 protected animals and eight totally-protected animals from Lai Lee Siew.

Lai, who has caught more than 2,000 snakes and hundreds of other wild animals upon public request, is nicknamed as Snake King of Sibu.

He keeps the caught animals in his house before releasing them into the wild.

Landong said there were more than 800 honorary wildlife rangers who worked closely with SFC in the conservation programme.

Some wildlife offences were reported to SFC by the honorary rangers, he added.

“The rangers have a multiplying effect as they educate people on wildlife protection and conservation in their respective communities,” he explained.

He said that Lai would be named as an honorary wildlife ranger because of his noble intention to save and protect wildlife.

“We will work closely with Lai in Sibu. He has special skills in catching snakes and other wild animals,” Landong said.

In the simple ceremony at Bukit Lima Forest Park near here, Lai handed over eight terrapins, two estuarine crocodiles, two reticulated pythons, five spitting cobras, two king cobras, four long-tailed macaques and four pig-tailed macaques to SFC.

The animals will be rehabilitated at the Matang Wildlife Centre for three to six months before being released.

Landong reminded the public that it was an offence to keep protected and totally-protected wildlife.

He said, under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, the maximum penalty for offenders was three years’ jail with a fine of RM50,000, or both.

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Wild porcupines in Vietnam under threat due to illegal hunting

University of East Anglia EurkeAlert 25 Aug 10;

Wild porcupine might be a tasty treat in countries around the world, but populations of the spiky rodent are coming under threat in Vietnam due to illegal hunting
Research from the University of East Anglia, published in Biological Conservation, has shown that the consumption of the Southeast Asian porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) as a speciality food is having a devastating effect on wild populations.

Overhunting has been cited as the porcupine's greatest threat, and the 1990s saw a reported population decline of at least 20 per cent.

While commercial farming of porcupines has become more popular, and is actively encouraged by Southeast Asian governments, illegal hunting still goes on.

Led by Emma Brooks, a team of researchers carried out an evidence-based case study to quantify the impact of commercial farming on the local wild population in Son La province in northwest Vietnam.

They found that commercial porcupine farming is driving hunting, and is thought to be, at least in part, responsible for the decline of wild porcupines in the region. Under current management, farming could potentially destroy local, even relatively common and fast-breeding species like porcupines.

They interviewed 67 porcupine farmers as well as restaurant owners in the region, which lies within the Hoang Lien Mountains.

They found that the farming industry was booming, with half having set up their farm in the last three years (2005-2008). During this time the cost of juvenile founder stock doubled. And due to the high prices paid for meat, the sale of just two pairs far exceeds Vietnam's gross national income (US$890).

But the high price of farmed porcupines has encouraged hunting of wild populations – with wild meat being sold to restaurants at around half the price of farmed animals.

Only half of the farmers interviewed were registered. Further admissions included illegally using wild porcupines as founder stock, laundering wild animals to sell across the country, capturing wild porcupines and registering them as births, and replacing sick and injured animals with those from the wild.

Lead author Emma Brooks said: "Four farms which were willing to talk openly, reported trading almost 1000 wild porcupines each year, predominantly to other farms as founder stock. With the increase in demand for founder stock, the incentives to continue the illegal trade are considerable."

Because the research comes from anecdotal evidence, it is feared these reports of illegally procuring and trading wild animals could be just the tip of the ice berg.

"We suspected at least two further farms of laundering animals, but because it is illegal, it is more likely that farm owners would hide this information. Figures reported should be considered a conservative estimate of the true scale of the illegal trade of porcupines through farms.

"There is opportunity for illegal traders to make extra profit from wild sales with continued demand and favour for the wild porcupines from restaurant owners due to lower price and consumers preference.

"Wild meat in Vietnam supplies a luxury urban market and as such commands a high value. It is likely that these species will continue to be hunted from the wild as long as populations do not diminish so much as to become unprofitable to the hunters."

"However well the farms are managed, as long as there is consumer demand for porcupine products, without serious disincentives for hunters, hunting of the wild populations will continue.

"Monitoring and enforcement of these farms and the restaurants is inadequate and needs to be addressed to ensure the protection of wild porcupine populations.

"While commercial farming of the porcupine is having a detrimental effect, it is still quite a common species. It would be very valuable to research the implications for more threatened species that are also commercially farmed." she added.

###

The study was carried out by Emma Brooks and Dr Diana Bell, from the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation at the University of East Anglia, with Scott Roberton of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Vietnam.

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New CITES conservation tool to track trade in wild animals and plants

UNEP 25 Aug 10;

Cambridge (UK), 25 August 2010 - What do the Amazon peccaries, the African hippos and the North American bobcats have in common? According to a new web-based, research tool of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), they are among the top ten mammal species being sustainably traded around the world for their skins.

The Trade Data Dashboards, that were launched to mark the 35th anniversary of CITES, are a new, interactive way of viewing the wildlife trade data submitted by the governments of the 175 member countries of CITES.

Users accessing the dashboards can learn with a few brisk key strokes that reptile skins, specifically crocodile skins, are legally traded at a high volume and that Colombia is one of the major exporters of spectacled caiman, the reptile most frequently traded for its skin.

Whereas Interpol has a database to track criminals involved in illegal wildlife trade activities, the CITES dashboard displays data on internationally-regulated species that are legally traded under CITES for purposes such as food, personal care, housing, clothing and scientific/medical research.

There are two types of dashboards, available through the CITES website (www.cites.org). The Global dashboard displays global trade trends (e.g. global trade in live reptiles and the top ten countries importing live mammals), whereas the National dashboard shows information by country.

Just like the dashboard of your car, the CITES trade data dashboard is designed to organize and present information in a way that is easy to read. Users can view data in several different ways, including by:

* Taxonomic group (e.g. mammal, bird, reptiles, etc.)

* Type of specimen (e.g. skins or live);

* Source (e.g. wild, captive-bred, etc.);

* Year range (in five year intervals);

* Top species in trade over time; and

* Top importing and exporting countries.

Users can consult the dashboards to determine which species are traded, and in what volumes, both globally and by particular countries.

The trade data dashboards, which have been developed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) under a contract with the CITES Secretariat, will be a useful tool for monitoring the worldwide trade in wild fauna and flora as more and more terrestrial and aquatic species are used, and sometimes over-used, for human activities.

Mr. John Scanlon, Secretary General of CITES said:" The CITES Trade Dashboards make the trade datasets easier to use and accessible by a wider audience. They offer policy makers an additional tool for identifying patterns of trade in listed species and related issues that may require special attention."

Jon Hutton, Director of UNEP-WCMC said: "This tool complements others such as the recently launched Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), which provides general information on biodiversity and natural habitats worldwide. However, the database is composed exclusively of CITES-listed species in international trade, and thereby helps its users to identify which animals and plants may be in need of review and subsequent action."

More than 10 million trade transactions in animal and plant species have been reported to CITES since the Convention was established. The CITES trade data dashboards have transformed the ability of anyone to understand current trade levels and trends in trade. Indeed, by giving key decision makers ready access to important trade information helping policy-makers make the best possible decisions for ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of species whose trade is regulated by CITES.

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EU warns Iceland, Faroes over 'mackerel war'

Yahoo News 25 Aug 10;

BRUSSELS (AFP) – Iceland and the Faroe Islands are overfishing mackerel way above a level deemed safe for the survival of the fish, the European Union's executive arm said Wednesday.

Iceland's fishing policies, notably its refusal to share its cod fishing waters, has been identified as a thorny issue to resolve with the EU in the North Atlantic island's bid to join the 27-nation club.

Oliver Drewes, the European Commission's spokesman for maritime affairs, said the dispute over mackerel would be discussed with Iceland and the Faroe Islands at a technical meeting in September.

"They are overfishing more than which is justifiable on the basis of scientific evidence," Drewes said at a news briefing.

"So in fact they are taking more out than which is good to maintain this fish in the future and that is the concern we have on the more fundamental basis," he said.

Iceland has unilaterally decided to raise its mackerel quota to 130,000 tonnes this year compared to the usual 2,000 tonnes.

The Faroe Islands, an autonomous Danish province located between Britain and Iceland, has set a quota of 85,000 tonnes, three times higher than the quota in force between 1999 and 2009 in a deal with the EU and Norway.

The Faroe Islands' fishing minister, Jacob Vestergaard, rejected accusations of overfishing.

"We are not overfishing and the species -- mackerel -- isn't threatened at all. The fish is abundant in our waters," he told AFP by telephone from the archipeligo's capital Torshavn.

Vestergaard said the quota was appropriate given the number of mackerel in their waters, estimates which were based on scientific studies.

The moves by Iceland the Faroe Islands and have angered Scottish and Norwegian fishermen.

A Scottish member of the European parliament, Struan Stevenson, called on Monday for an EU-wide blockade of Icelandic and Faroese ships and goods over what has been described as a "mackerel war".

"Iceland and the Faroes are acting just like their Viking ancestors, only this time it's our mackerel they're plundering," Stevenson said.

"So far they have obstinately refused to bring their quotas back down to sensible levels, so I believe the EU must apply maximum pressure to bring them back to the table," he said.

The international environmental group WWF has warned that the unilateral quotas set by Iceland and the Faroes could mean a "death sentence" for the fish.

EU overfishing charges 'preposterous': Iceland
Yahoo News 26 Aug 10;

REYKJAVIK (AFP) – Iceland's fisheries minister slammed as "preposterous" Thursday European Union allegations that it was overfishing mackerel and a threat of sanctions.

"We are fishing mackerel that comes up to the coast in great quantity," Jon Bjarnason said after an EU complaint Wednesday that Iceland and the Faroe Islands fished more than was justifiable on the basis of scientific evidence.

And, "according to international laws, we as a coastal country may fish in our jurisdiction so it is absolutely preposterous of the EU or its member countries to make such threats," the minister told Radio Saga.

Iceland's fishing policies, notably its refusal to share its cod fishing waters, have become a thorny issue in the country's bid to join the 27-nation European Union.

The Nordic island nation has unilaterally decided to raise its mackerel quota to 130,000 tonnes this year compared to the usual 2,000 tonnes agreed upon in an accord with the EU, the Faroe Islands and Norway in 1999.

The Faroe Islands, an autonomous Danish province located between Britain and Iceland, has meanwhile set a quota this year of 85,000 tonnes, three times higher than the quota in force for the past decade.

Bjarnason said Iceland and the Faroe Islands did not accept the way the EU and Norway proposed divvying up the quotas but was willing to try to reach a new accord.

"Personally, I put great emphasis on reaching an agreement, but our interests must be recognised and respected," he said.

"The mackerel is after all moving northwards due to rising sea temperatures," the minister said, justifying the dramatic increase in mackerel catches this year off Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

"We have a right to fish from that stock, but of course we want to reach an agreement, like we have done in regard to other (fish) stocks that move between jurisdictions," Bjarnason said.

"But we will do that on our own terms," he added.

Scottish and Norwegian fishermen are particularly angered by what has been described as a "mackerel war".

A Scottish member of the European parliament, Struan Stevenson, called on Monday for an EU-wide blockade of Icelandic and Faroese ships and goods.

The international environmental group WWF has also warned that the unilateral quotas set by Iceland and the Faroes could mean a "death sentence" for the fish.

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