Best of our wild blogs: 26 Jul 16

Mass coral bleaching at Sentosa, Tanjung Rimau
wild shores of singapore

Butterfly Photography 101 Part 2 - Macro Photography and Magnification Devices
Butterflies of Singapore

Poll on Plastic Bag Charge – Volunteer signup to conduct interview
Zero Waste Singapore

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Nearly 10,000 dengue cases reported in Singapore this year

Channel NewsAsia 26 Jul 16;

SINGAPORE: Nearly 10,000 dengue cases have been reported in Singapore since the start of the year, with more than 200 new cases reported each week for the past five weeks, according to latest figures published on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) dengue website.

There were 266 dengue cases in the week ending Jul 23, up from the 223 cases reported in the previous week. Another 33 cases were reported between Jul 24 and 3pm on Jul 25.

A total of 9,912 cases have been reported this year. Six people have died of the disease so far, with the latest fatality a 72-year-old woman who lived in Simei. There were four dengue fatalities in the whole of 2015.

There are now 43 active dengue clusters in Singapore – down from 44 the previous week – including nine classified as high-risk. The biggest cluster is in the Telok Kurau and Dunbar Walk area, where 83 cases have been reported, including 11 in the past fortnight.

The area around Admiralty Drive and Sembawang Drive is the second-largest cluster, with 54 cases reported so far, including five in the past two weeks.The area around Jalan Ismail and Lorong Marican near Eunos has also been classified as high-risk, with 53 cases reported, including five in the past fortnight.

In an advisory on its dengue website, NEA called for vigilance from homeowners to prevent mosquito breeding amid the traditional peak season for dengue in Singapore. The majority of mosquito breeding habitats are still being found in homes, such as in domestic containers, flower pot plates and trays, it said.

The Ministry of Health and NEA have warned that the number of dengue cases in Singapore may exceed 30,000 this year, higher than the record of 22,170 reported in 2013.

- CNA/cy

Dengue cases this year cross 10,000 mark
Channel NewsAsia 2 Aug 16;

SINGAPORE: The number of dengue cases in Singapore has crossed the five-figure mark, with 10,137 cases reported since the start of the year, according to latest figures published on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) dengue website.

There were 224 dengue cases in the week ending Jul 30, down from the 266 cases reported in the previous week. Another 34 cases were reported between Jul 24 and 3pm on Jul 25.

Six people have died of the disease so far, with the latest fatality a 72-year-old woman who lived in Simei. There were four dengue fatalities in the whole of 2015.

There are now 51 active dengue clusters in Singapore – up from 43 the previous week – including nine classified as high-risk. The biggest cluster is in the Telok Kurau and Dunbar Walk area, where 96 cases have been reported, including 13 in the past fortnight.

The area around Admiralty Drive and Sembawang Drive is the second-largest cluster, with 61 cases reported so far, including seven in the past two weeks. The area around Jalan Ismail and Lorong Marican near Eunos has also been classified as high-risk, with 53 cases reported, including one in the past fortnight.

In an advisory on its dengue website, NEA called for vigilance from homeowners to prevent mosquito breeding amid the traditional peak season for dengue in Singapore. The majority of mosquito breeding habitats are still being found in homes, such as in domestic containers, flower pot plates and trays, it said.

The Ministry of Health and NEA have warned that the number of dengue cases in Singapore may exceed 30,000 this year, higher than the record of 22,170 reported in 2013.

- CNA/cy

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Malaysia: Law to protect sharks in the works

NICHOLAS CHENG The Star 26 Jul 16;

KUALA LUMPUR: Under Malaysian law, sharks can be consumed because they are considered “fish”.

That can soon change with a new legislation that is aimed at listing sharks as a protected animal.

Sharks, which come under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is listed as “fish” under the Fisheries Act.

What Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar wants to do is to remove sharks from the purview of the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry (MOA) and to recognise it as a protected species under a planned Protected Marine Species Act.

Following the circulation of gory images of alleged shark finning activities in Pulau Mabul, near Sipadan in Sabah, he said: “It’s rather unfortunate that our law defines sharks as fish. It’s not under me, it’s under the MOA.

“They are concerned about food, protein and consumption while at the same time they are also looking after the sharks.

“So, there is a bit of a conflict there,” he told reporters yesterday.

Dr Wan Junaidi said his ministry was drafting a Protected Marine Species Act, so that “anything under CITES will be placed under my ministry”.

“Let the fish for consumption be under the MOA and let the protected species in the sea and rivers be under my ministry,” he said.

Dr Wan Junaidi said negotiations with the MOA were in the initial stages, which may see an amendment to the Fisheries Act in order to make way for the proposed law.

However, he said the drafting of the Act itself was almost done.

“Now it is just the high-level negotiations and getting it to Cabinet and Parliament,” he said.

On the Pulau Mabul shark finning photographs, Dr Wan Junaidi said he could not verify the authenticity of the reports but environmentalists have already expressed outrage over the issue.

Malaysia, according to the World Wildlife Fund, is the ninth largest producer of shark products and the third largest importer of shark fins in the world.

Conservation organisation Traffic reported that more than 231 tonnes of sharks were caught in Malaysia between 2002 and 2011, accounting for 2.9% of the total globally-reported shark catch.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation reported that between 2004 and 2011, the domestic consumption of shark fins by Malaysians jumped an average of 54% each year.

Images of de-finned sharks and shark products being sold openly in Sabah have triggered calls by environmentalists and even Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun to impose a ban on the activity.

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Malaysia: Wild jumbo placed in forest reserve

The Star 26 Jul 16;

GERIK: A wild male elephant, aged more than 30 years, was relocated to the Royal Belum Forest Reserve after it was captured by the Perak Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department.

The elephant named Awang Perah was relocated last Wednesday after it was sedated and brought out of Kampung Perah here with the help of two female decoy elephants from the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre in Temerloh.

Under the guidance of decoy elephants Kala and Rambai, the wild elephant was taken out of the village area on a special lorry yesterday.

The operation led by the centre’s Elephant Unit chief Nasharuddin Othman involved 25 personnel from the Perak Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department and the centre.

Nasharuddin said villagers reported seeing the wild elephant near the Perah highway stopover area.

“The elephant was responsible for destroying crops such as banana trees in Kampung Perah for several months,” he said. — Bernama

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Malaysia: Close watch on weevil infestations on palm trees

The Star 26 Jul 16;

KOTA TINGGI: The Johor Agriculture Department is currently monitoring red palm weevil (RPW) infestations on palm trees, especially date palm, said its director Ahmad Kamil Mohd Yunus.

He said at the moment the department was controlling the situation with the use of RPW pesticides to ensure the infestations were under control and not threatening crops.

“Together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), we are also monitoring the red palm weevils in oil palm plantations,” he said after launching an agricultural support services programme at Kampung Temenin Baru, Kota Tinggi here recently.

He said under the Plant Quarantine Act 1976, the date palm trees were not allowed to be imported or brought in as they were linked to the entry of harmful pests, which will not only affect date palms but also coconut and oil palm trees.

“If convicted, the guilty party can be subject to a fine of RM10,000 and will also bear all costs to control and destroy the pests,” he said.

“Right now, if we detect the presence of the pest on any plantations, a notice will be issued to the farmers to destroy the trees,” he said in response to the attacks on date palm plantations in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu.

On the service programme, he said the practice of going to the ground was a direct and great way to learn about problems faced by farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs and subsequently in resolving them.

A total of 57 Johor agricultural officers took part in the programme to give advice to farmers on growing of durian and duku trees, kelulut honey production as well as on nursery management. – Bernama

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Indonesia: Police drop fire cases in W. Kalimantan

Jakarta Post 25 Jul 16;

West Kalimantan Police will not prosecute a company and three individuals allegedly involved in four cases of land and forest fires in 2015, citing a lack of evidence.

Local police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW confirmed recently the legal process involving the four cases had been terminated.

“Following a preliminary investigation we came to the conclusion that there is not sufficient evidence to build those cases,” Suhadi said.

In total, 35 cases of land and forest fires occurred last year, four of which allegedly involved companies and the remaining 31 involved individuals. Suhadi did not reveal the identity of the companies and the individuals.

Meanwhile, West Kalimantan has been free from haze as of July because of a lower number of hotspots compared to last year. In the January to July 2016 period, authorities detected 43 hotspots, which were far fewer than the 378 hotspots found in the same period last year.

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Indonesia: Way Kambas National Park Declared 36th Asean Heritage Park

Ratri M. Siniwi Jakarta Globe 25 Jul 16;

Jakarta. The Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province, southern Sumatra, was officially declared the 36th Asean Heritage Park on Monday (25/07).

The national park – which serves as a home for endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran elephant and Sumatran tiger – was selected as a conservation area during the last previous Asean Heritage Park hearing.

"The inauguration of [Way Kambas National Park] as an Asean Heritage Park is the highest honor for [the park], emphasizing its importance as a conservation area," Lampung acting provincial secretary Sutono told Republika online news outlet on Monday.

According to Sutono, the Way Kambas National Park is the only conservation area in the world where the Sumatran rhino is bred semi-naturally in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary.

"In May, the international conservation world received the good news of the birth of two-horned Sumatran rhinos at the Sumatran rhino sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park," Sutono told state news agency Antara. He added that the birth was evidence of the park's success in managing the breeding of endangered rhinos.

The Way Kambas National Park is the fourth Asean Heritage Park in Indonesia.

Two of the other national parks are also in Sumatra. They are the Mount Leuser National Park and the Kerinci Seblat National Park. The fourth is the Lorentz National Park in Papua.

Sutono believes declaring the conservation area an Asean Heritage Park – a title only given to selected protected areas with high biodiversity and unique ecosystems in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region – is a form of commitment along with the Asean Heritage Park committee to continue preserving the flora and fauna in the area.

The fifth Asean Heritage Park committee hearing is held in Bandar Lampung and all 10 Asean members are invited to discuss biodiversity and conservation matters in the region.

According to Republika, Indonesia has listed Jakarta's Thousand Islands and Southeast Sulawesi's Wakatobi as this year's nominees for the Asean Heritage Park listing.

Launched in 2009, the triennial meeting is organized by the Asean Center for Biodiversity, whose committee members discuss, evaluate and nominate conservation areas in South East Asia.

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