More countries sign pact to protect dugong

DJ Yap Philippine Daily Inquirer 23 Feb 13;

MANILA, Philippines – Four more nations have signed an international pact to protect the dugong, a mysterious marine mammal that used to be a constant presence on coastlines around the world, including the Philippines, but whose numbers are now in decline.

Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan joined 21 other signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range, or “Dugong MOU,” a United Nations conservation agency said.

On February 19-20, the Philippines played host to the Second Signatory State Meeting for the Dugong MOU, which took effect in 2007 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS).

Dugongs and manatees are also known as sea cows.

According to a press release from the UNEP/CMS, the meeting attracted government officials and experts who discussed the status of the dugong and shared information on related conservation efforts worldwide.

The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of threatened species classifies the dugong as vulnerable, suggesting it might be extinct or declining in a third of its range, and of unknown status in half of its range.

The range of the dugong spans at least 48 countries and an estimated 140,000 kilometers of coastline, according to the IUCN.

It is not clear how many dugongs remain in the Philippines, but in 2011 an officer of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines said there could be fewer than 500 individuals.

In the meeting in Manila, leading authorities on marine mammals, in particular professor Helene Marsh from James Cook University of Australia and Dr. John Reynolds from Mote Marine Laboratory in the United States gave presentations highlighting the challenges facing dugong and sea grass conservationists.

The marine mammals, they said, are affected by a range of human-related threats such as capture in net fishing gear and habitat degradation. In addition, extreme weather patterns such as severe storm events destroy critical sea grass beds on which dugongs depend, the experts said.

But UNEP/CMS said there were encouraging signs for supporters of dugong conservation, noting that 10 new countries had signed the MOU since the first meeting of the signatories in 2010.

“The plight for survival of the charismatic dugong has captured people’s imagination on an international scale…. The governments of the 26 nations attending are demonstrating their commitment to take positive action,” it said in the press release.

“A number of coastal communities that have been approached to participate in conservation projects have shown their willingness to make adjustments in an effort to live in harmony with dugongs,” it added.

PH Hosting Dugong Preservation Summit
Chito A. Chavez Manila Bulletin 15 Feb 13;

MANILA, Philippines --- Wildlife conservation representative from 21 countries will participate in a two-day conference hosted by the country to discuss the plight of the Sea Cows, known locally as the dugong, on Feb. 19 and 20.

Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the agency is primarily mandated to manage and conserve the sea cow and its habitat.

He said the representatives would meet in Taguig City during the Second Signatory States Meeting (SS2) of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs, to review initiatives and projects to conserve the dugong.

The first Signatory State meeting was held in Abu Dhabi in October 2010.

“This is indeed a golden opportunity for us to host an international meeting that will focus its discussions on one species that is highly vulnerable to extinction. The MOU guarantees that all these countries that are within the range of the dugong voluntary cooperate with each other to conserve the dugong and its habitats,” he said.

The Philippines was one of the first 11 signatories to the MOU, which was enforced on October 31, 2007.

Paje said the MOU was designed to facilitate all actions within and across nations to conserve dugong populations and their habitats, which cut across the waters of the Indian Ocean, East Asia, the western Pacific Ocean, and their adjacent seas.

The meeting will be an opportunity for the signatory states to review the progress of implementation of respective plans implementing the MOU, as well as to discuss future policies and directions.