Best of our wild blogs: 17 Dec 10

This festive season, help the animals!
from wild shores of singapore

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Malaysia: Semenggoh Wildlife Centre orang utan population boom an unhealthy trend overcrowding

Rintos Mail The Star 17 Dec 10;

CONTINUED reduction in the interbirth interval (IBI) of semi-wild orang utans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, about 19km from Kuching may have an adverse effect on the well-being of the primates and the habitat in the area.

Executive park management Nor Emel Fardina Jaddil said reduction in the birth gap would cause overcrowding.

She said when there was overcrowding due to growing population, it would increase competition for home, food and mates.

“Competitions for food, home and mates may lead to a fight, especially among the male.

“There was a fight recently among the males over a female that led to the death of a young orang utan in the park,” she said when presenting her papers on “The Semi-Wild Orang Utans Interbirth Interval Trend in Semenggoh Wildlife Centre” during the 10th Hornbill Conference in Miri yesterday.

Nor Emel said the implication of reduction in birth interval would also lessen the mother’s nursing on the babies, which would have a negative effect on the psychological well-being of the offsprings.

She said besides that, it would also cause degradation of the foraging area, especially to the forest canopy.

Nor Emel said the environment of Semenggoh might play a significant role in reducing the IBI of the semi-wild orang utans in the area.

“In Semenggoh, the orang utans are released in a confined and small home, which makes mating more frequent compared to in the forest.

“Here, the chances of male and female meeting each other and mating are also made more easier through feeding,” she said.

To prevent shorter birth interval, she recommended that the management create more feeding area to reduce meetings and matings.

She also suggested that the management continuously monitor the breeding pattern of the orang utans in the area.

“We must look at this matter seriously to ensure continued survival of the sweethearts of Sarawak,” she said.

Nor Emel added that due to its relatively small size, the reserve was unable naturally to support the growing number of orang utans living there.

There are currently 27 orang utans in Semenggoh.

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GM rice: German giants Bayer, BASF team up

Yahoo News 16 Dec 10;

BERLIN (AFP) – German chemicals giants Bayer and BASF said Thursday they were teaming up to produce genetically modified rice seeds, technology than can boost yields but which is criticised by environmentalists.

The firms said they aim to develop and sell hybrid rice seeds with traits enabling yield advances of 10 percent or more over conventional hybrid seeds. The first products are expected to be launched by 2020.

Rice is the world's largest food crop, with half of the world's 6.8-billion population consuming at least one meal of it every day.

According the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), an additional 8-10 million tonnes of rice needs to be produced each year to feed people and keep prices for the cereal at an affordable level, BASF and Bayer said.

Today, global rice production is about 685 million tonnes.

For many, GM crops, by which scientists create new strains of plants that do not occur naturally by manipulating genes, are the answer to feeding the world's rapidly growing population.

But opponents say that these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread and interbreed with other plants, the consequences of which are unknown.

They also say that their use will increase the control of private companies over agriculture, with 10 corporations already controlling nearly 70 percent of the world seed market, according to pressure group Greenpeace.

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Eviction Fears in Lombok Over Conservatory

Fitri R. Jakarta Globe 16 Dec 10;

West Lombok. Around 700 people from five villages in West Lombok district rallied outside the West Nusa Tenggara governor’s office on Thursday to protest the administration’s plan to turn Sesaot forest into a conservation park.

Rusmayadi, the protest coordinator, said more than 6,000 families from the five villages located inside the 3,672-hectare forest stood to be evicted if the plan was enforced.

“We’ll be forced to leave this forest that we’ve managed and lived off for decades, to make way for animals,” he said.

“Where can we go when we’ve lived there so long?”

He accused the administration and the forestry agency of sidelining the interests of the forest dwellers.

The protest’s leader later held talks with administration spokesman M. Faizal.

In their defense, they cited a 2010 study by the central government that recommended that the forest remain under the stewardship of the villagers.

Sesaot forest has since 1986 been managed under a community forestry license, which allows the families to grow crops and do logging in limited quantities.

The provincial administration first raised the idea of granting the forest conservation status in 1999, but was roundly opposed by residents, who said it would cost them their livelihoods.

In 2009, the administration went ahead with its plan and officially decreed the forest a conservation park, effectively stripping the residents of their right to manage the forest. However, it has not yet enforced the decree.

Hartina, head of the provincial forestry agency, said his office would recommend that the conservation status for the forest remain in place, but that the residents be allowed to continue their subsistence farming and logging.

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Poachers Kill Rare Black Rhino In Tanzania: Minister

Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala PlanetArk 17 Dec 10;

Poachers have killed one of five critically endangered east African black rhinos that were relocated to their natural habitat in Tanzania's Serengeti park from South Africa in May.

The rhino was killed just seven months after its arrival in the Serengeti, despite being implanted with an electronic chip and protected by an elite ranger task force specially trained to guard the animals.

Rampant poaching in the Serengeti -- famed for its sweeping planes and Africa's most spectacular wildebeest migration -- in the 1960s and 70s saw the population of black rhinos in Tanzania plummet from over 1,000 to just 70, denting tourist arrivals.

"We received information on Sunday that one of the five rhinos that arrived from South Africa was missing after a special tracking gadget fitted on the animal went inactive," Ezekiel Maige, Tanzania's Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.

"The rhino's carcass was found in the Serengeti National Park on Tuesday, with the horn cut off. This was clearly the work of a group of poachers."

Rhinos are heavily poached for their horns, which are highly sought-after in parts of the Middle and Far East. It is believed in some cultures that powdered rhino horn has powerful medicinal properties, although this has never been proven.

The five rhinos flown to Tanzania are part of a larger group of 32 animals being reintroduced to Tanzania from a 50-strong herd. The rhinos were bred from seven animals that were relocated to South Africa in the early 1960s.

The remaining 27 rhinos are expected to be returned to their native country in stages over the next two years under the Serengeti Rhino Repatriation project.

The rhinos were flown from South Africa to Tanzania in a chartered Hercules C-130 cargo plane.

Conservation experts had hoped extra protection for the rhinos would also help other species in the park.

Organizers said the relocation was part of a new drive by African governments to protect the "big five" mammals -- lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalo -- that make up one of the continent's main tourist attractions.

"We have commissioned a serious manhunt to trace the whereabouts of the poachers behind this incident. We are using every means at our disposal," said Maige.

"We are also in talks with the Frankfurt Zoological Society to ensure closer monitoring and surveillance of the animals and the build-up of the necessary resources."

Both Tanzania and Kenya have suffered a spike in poaching, particularly of elephants and rhino, in the past few years. Kenya lost at least six rhinos last year, conservationists say.

(Editing by James Macharia and Elizabeth Fullerton)

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IAEA considers Indonesia ready to build nuclear power plant

Antara 16 Dec 10;

Vienna (ANTARA News) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers Indonesia as well as Jordan and Vietnam as countries ready to develop nuclear energy for power generation , an Indonesian diplomat said.

"The IAEA`s support is additional political motivation for Indonesia to build a nuclear power plant," Indonesian Ambassador to Austria I Gusti Agung Wesaka said here Wednesday.

Indonesia already meets all the preconditions to build a nuclear power plant except for public acceptance and a political decision, the ambassador said.

"Bangka Belitung won`t be able to make a move without a political decision from the central (government). Meanwhile, Vietnam has started by establishing cooperation to build a nuclear power plant with Russia," he said, referring to the results of an IAEA study titled "Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review 2009" which focused on the preparedness of developing counties to build nuclear power plants.

IAEA Director General Yukia Amano was very enthusiastic in describing Indonesia`s readiness to build a nuclear power plant and hoped to visit Jakarta in the near future.

Bangka Belitung Governor Eko Maulana Ali said his province was ready to support the implementation of a nuclear power project by providing a suitable location for it in the proovince, either in Bangka Selatan or Bangka Barat.

He said Bangka Belitung needed enough electricity to improve its people`s welfare.

"We hope that the government will also build an electricity transmission system connecting Java with Sumatra and Bangka Belitung so that a nuclear power plant in Bangka Belitung could contribute to power supply nationally," he said.

He called on the Bangka Belitung people to support the plan to build a nuclear power plant in the province.

The National Nuclear Power Agency (BATAN) has surveyed 70 locations across the country in its search for suitable nuclear power plant sites. It eventually shortlisted 14 locations, and from this number it had selected the best four which included Ujung Bumi (Jepara), Banten, and Bangka Belitung. (*)

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