Best of our wild blogs: 4 Jul 17

16 Jul (Sun): R.U.M. at Ubin Day
Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative

The Pasir Ris Pied Fantail Story
Singapore Bird Group

African Walking Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) being scavenged by Apple Snails (Pomacea sp.) @ Kallang Riverside Park
Monday Morgue

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Which is the world's most biodiverse city?

From Brazil to Mexico to South Africa, diverse and delicate ecosystems are somehow holding on in the face of rampant urbanisation
Feike De Jong The Guardian 3 Jul 17;

Never before have we lived in such an urban world. Asphalt and concrete extend themselves over the earth, water disappears undergroundand steel and glass sparkle under the sun. Urban expansion is one of the chief characteristics of the freshly minted Anthropocene era.

Yet hunters still leave the fringes of Mexico City to stalk game among the dormant volcanoes inside its southern limit. People are killed by leopards in the informal slums invading Sanjay Gandhi National Park within the megacity of Mumbai. Woodpeckers hammer the trees of Sao Paulo’s Ibirapuera urban park; badgers raise their young in hidden locations in London; and penguins walk the beaches of Cape Town. Diminishing ecosystems are somehow hold together under the pressure of urbanisation.

Humans have always been attracted to sites with a great natural variety of plants and animals. The most biodiverse cities encompass several biomes, combining ocean and dry land habitats, lakes and mountains, or forests and savannahs.

But to calculate which city is the world’s most biodiverse is complicated. Not all cities have the same area within their administrative limits, or the data necessary.

Two of the world’s largest megacities, Sao Paulo and Mexico City, are surprising candidates for the title. Sao Paulo perches between Brazil’s great Atlantic rainforest and the tropical savannah of the Cerrado – two highly rich biomes – allowing the megacity to surpass even the Amazon river port of Manaus in biodiversity, according to conservationist Denise Rambaldi.

“One lesson from the reintroduction of the Golden Lion Tamarin monkey in the Mata Atlantica is that it is much cheaper to preserve species in a particular area than to reintroduce them,” she says.

Mexico City, meanwhile, was founded on lakebeds where the deserts of the northern highlands encountered the wooded volcanoes of Mexico’s neo-volcanic axis. Even now, it still contains 2% of the world’s species within its city limits.

Singapore, in the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot – a term used for regions where great biodiversity is threatened by destruction –
is another interesting contender. Extending through Malaysia to Borneo and Bali, this high-density city, with its 392 species of birds, has made greening and biophilia an integral part of urban planning.

By law, in certain areas, developers are responsible for replacing the greenery they occupy for construction. The result is a city of rooftop gardens, interconnected parks and a biodiversity-spotting app allowing citizens to record sightings of plants and animals. Amazingly, Singapore has managed to increase both its population and its green spaces at the same time. Since its independence, the citystate sought to distinguish itself by being clean and green, and today it has a 40% vegetation cover, despite its high density.

By way of comparison, Greater London has an average tree cover of 19.5%; Los Angeles was recorded as having 13% in 2015 after a dramatic decline from 21% in 2008.

Several other biodiverse cities – Medellin in Colombia, Iquitos in Peru, Brunei, Kunming in China, and Mumbai – are contenders for a position in the top five.

In the index proposed by the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook, biodiversity itself is not the only indicator to consider. Some cities such as Singapore, as well as Curitiba, Barcelona and Melbourne, are notable precisely for their leadership in recognising and exploiting biodiversity as a policy-making tool and an integral part of urban wellbeing.

Indeed, a study from Denmark shows that people living more than one kilometre from a green area had higher odds of experiencing stress than people living within 300 meters. Increased stress impacts mental health, increases risks of heart attacks and diabetes – so it is not surprising that access to parks has been shown to increase home values from 5% to 7%.

The world’s most biodiverse countries – Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Peru, Australia, India, Ecuador and Venezuela – are tropical or semi-tropical, and rapidly urbanising. Nature can seem a lesser priority here, trumped by water supply, paving, housing, education, health and other issues. But Singapore, for example, has shown that biodiversity can be part of the solution to many of these problems; it can be an integral part of urban infrastructure which prevents flooding, mitigates extreme temperatures and filters pollution, as well as promoting tourism and better health.

The world’s most biodiverse urban area, in raw numbers and with an understanding for its value, could be Cape Town, according to Thomas Elmqvist, editor of Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities and leader of the United Nation’s City and Biodiversity Outlook Project.

The Western Cape, where Cape Town is located, contains 50% of all mammal species in South Africa. Baboons, ostriches and zebras, live in Table Mountain National Park, while whales, seals and otters swim off its shores. The stability of Cape Town’s climate on the southern tip of Africa has enabled it to become home to approximately 3,000 species of plants, 361 species of birds and 83 species of mammals.

It is a sad reality that this biodiversity is under threat: as its human population has increased by more than 30% since 2011, 318 types of plants, 22 types of birds and 24 types of animals are in danger of extinction. But Cape Town is taking a variety of measures to protect and preserve this incredible natural asset.

One species endemic to South Africa, however, is not likely to be at risk any time soon, adorning balconies throughout the world as it does. Next time you see a geranium in bloom, think of the world’s most biodiverse city, fighting against the tide.

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Malaysia: Saving the coral reefs off Melaka

The Star 3 Jul 17;

CORAL reefs are sparsely found along the Straits of Malacca. Known areas with coral reef ecosystems are Pulau Payar Marine Park, Pulau Langkawi Archipelago and Pulau Perak in Kedah, Pulau Sembilan and Pulau Jarak in Perak, and Tanjung Tuan also known as Cape Rachado which has a shared border between Negri Sembilan and Melaka.

Coral reefs are generally poorly-developed in the Straits of Malacca because of the highly turbid water which is widely attributed to coastal development. High levels of suspended materials combined with relatively strong tidal currents result in poor penetration by sunlight into the coastal waters.

Therefore, reefs are only found in shallow waters less than 10m deep. This is especially true in coastal waters off Melaka where the Straits becomes narrower, and it is also one of the busiest maritime highways in the world. Coral species diversity in this area is low with only 41 species recorded, of which dominant species are from the Porites, Gonestreia and Gonospora genera. Patches of seagrass and seaweeds are also found in this area.

There is no regular coral reef health monitoring at Tanjung Tuan although the area has been gazetted as a Fisheries Prohibited Area since 1994 under the Fisheries Act 1985 by the Department of Fisheries.

In 1987-1988, live coral cover estimates were between 27% and 60%. However, a study in 2004 showed that the average live coral cover near Tanjung Tuan had declined to 16.8%.

Despite the low species diversity and coverage, a study in 2000 estimated that coral reefs in the Straits of Malacca and Straits of Singapore would generate an annual value of US$563mil for their economic potential and ecosystem services.

The main threats to the coral reef at Tanjung Tuan are driven by the rapid tourism development along the coast. Threats to the reefs also include increased sedimentation from land clearing activities, increased disposal of sewage (pic) and domestic waste, and pressures on the reef by tourists to the site.

Fishing is allowed in this area for fishermen with valid permits issued by the director-general of the Fisheries Department. Long-term risks which the area faces are the collapse of the tourism industry due to lack of aesthetic value, collapse of the fishing industry due to permanent damage of coral reef ecosystems as well as human health hazards from the direct sewerage discharge into the waters.

Another species affected by the destruction of coral reefs is the hawksbill turtle. Coastal beaches and islands in Melaka are also important hawksbill turtle nesting beaches in Malaysia. This is the largest nesting population in peninsular Malaysia and is second only to Sabah’s Turtle Islands.

Hawksbill turtles have been categorised as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The main diet of these turtles is sponges which are found in the coral reef ecosystem. They spend most of their life in coral reefs and return to beaches only for nesting. Therefore, it has become even more important to protect reefs adjacent to their nesting beaches to prevent further decline of this species.

Hawksbill turtles are found to nest in Pulau Upeh, Kem Terendak, Padang Kemunting and the Tanjung Dahan-Tanjung Serai stretch. The fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity reported that there is an average of 389 hawksbill turtle nests annually, which is mainly recorded from Melaka.

A study by WWF Malaysia, Fisheries Department and Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in 2008 tracked the migration pattern of hawksbill turtles using satellite telemetry technology. The study found that hawksbill turtles from Melaka migrated to the Riau Islands Archipelago. It will not be surprising if the turtles that migrated to Indonesian waters do not come back to Malaysian waters as their source of food continues to decline in Melaka.

It is still possible to halt coral reef habitat decline in this area. Steps such as diverting sewerage water away from the coastal areas, adopting a proper garbage disposal system and proper management of tourists’ nocturnal activities especially during turtle nesting seasons should be considered.

Coastal development needs to be well planned and properly managed to ensure sustainability of coral reefs. Initiatives such as reducing use of plastics and prohibiting waste disposal into the sea would prevent ingestion of marine debris by marine organisms. These conservation measures are very crucial and need immediate attention. Further delay in taking action would cause irreversible damage to our precious coral reefs and eventually population decline of our marine resources which depend on the reefs to survive.

In 2016, during the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, this area was deemed to meet the criteria of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) for its importance as hawksbill turtle nesting and foraging as well as one of the last frontiers of coastal coral reefs in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

The Marine Park Department of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry did propose to gazette and manage the area as a marine park in 2014 but to date, the proposal has yet to receive any support or acceptance. The department will continue to pursue this objective as it would allow proper management of this area to ensure sustainability of our natural treasures. It is our utmost hope that Tanjung Tuan and turtle nesting beaches in Melaka receive the protection status it truly deserves.

DATUK SERI DR HAJI WAN JUNAIDI TUANKU JAAFAR
Minister, Natural Resources and Environment Ministry

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Malaysia: NGO aims for effective conservation of sharks by 2030

MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 3 Jul 17;

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Shark Protection Association (SSPA) has come out with three key strategies focusing on the effective conservation of the species by 2030.

SSPA chairman Aderick Chong said the initiative was necessary as sharks and rays in Sabah's waters are not legally protected and shark landings have increased significantly over the last three decades.

"SSPA members are pooling their expertise to implement the three key strategic activities and the overall goal over the next year is to strengthen the conservation of sharks and rays in Malaysia," he said.

To achieve this, the SSPA will work with relevant government departments to increase the level of legal protection for sharks and rays at various levels and promoting their long-term protection at the national level.

"Law and policy reform will be supported by research, which will include new studies on the market value of these species and whether these landings are from targeted fisheries or by catch.

"Research will also look at the market value for shark and ray related eco-tourism," Chong said.

"Under the awareness focus, the association would organise campaigns that support law and policy reform by engaging targeted audiences – ranging from policy makers to students and fishing communities – about the biological and financial importance of sharks and rays," he said in a statement Monday.

As its strategic activities start to produce results, Chong said that SSPA plans to hold a gathering of decision makers in March next year to agree to a "Vision 2030" and establish a roadmap to ensure the sustainability of sharks and rays in Sabah's waters and beyond.

SSPA comprises Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), Malaysian Nature Society (Sabah branch), Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Scuba Junkie SEAS, Shark Stewards, Scubazoo, Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRACC) and WWF-Malaysia.

Chong said there was a need for greater transparency by Malaysia in the monitoring of the shark and ray trade, following a recent report that point to Malaysia being an active player in the Southeast Asia region for both shark fin and meat trading.

The Shark and Ray Trade in Singapore report published in May 2017 cites Malaysia as a major trading partner to the island nation.

Malaysia was reported to rank fifth (2005-2007) and sixth (2012-2-14) in a list of destinations for Singapore's shark fin exports by trade quantity.

Malaysia also served as a source of Singapore's shark fin imports.


A ray of hope for sharks
The Star 4 Jul 17;

KOTA KINABALU: Shark protection advocacy groups in Sabah have targeted to meet by March next year to draw up an effective conservation plan for sharks and rays.

Sabah Shark Protection Associa­tion (SSPA) chairman Aderick Chong said decision makers will gather to deliberate on “Vision 2030” next year to establish a roadmap to ensure the sustainability of these marine animals in Sabah’s waters and beyond.

“The roadmap will focus on law and policy reform, research and awareness,” Chong said in a statement.

He said SSPA members were pooling their expertise as shark landings had increased significantly in the last three decades.

Chong said SSPA would work with relevant government departments to increase the level of legal protection for sharks and rays, while promoting their long-term protection at the national level.

“Law and policy reform will be supported by research, which will include new studies on the market value of these species and whether these landings are from targeted fisheries or by catch,” he said.

SSPA comprises Land Empower­ment Animals People, Ma­­lay­sian Nature Society (Sabah branch), Marine Conservation Society, Scuba Junkie SEAS, Shark Stewards, Scubazoo, Tropical Research and Conservation Centre and WWF-Malaysia.

Chong said a recent report by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC and WWF indicated Malaysia was an active player in the South-East Asia region for shark fin and meat trading.

Malaysia also served as a source of Singapore’s shark fin imports, he claimed.

The report, he said, stated that demand for shark and ray products in Singapore was being met by either unsustainable or entirely unknown sources due to current lack of genuine “sustainable shark and ray fisheries systems”, or adequate traceable systems with appropriate trade data recording.

“SSPA believes that the situation is similar in Malaysia at a time when high demand for shark fin continues to be the main driver of unsustainable fishing of sharks globally,” he added.


SSPA calls for laws to protect sharks, stingrays in Sabah waters
The Sabah Shark Protection Association (SSPA) chairman Aderick Chong said over the last three decades, an increasing number of sharks and stingrays had been caught in Sabah as they were not legally protected. AFP
AVILA GERALDINE New Straits Times 3 Jul 17;

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Shark Protection Association (SSPA) will implement key strategies to ensure the survival of sharks and stingrays in the country, particularly Sabah.

The advocacy group said it will work with relevant governmental departments to strengthen laws to protect various marine species from going extinct.

SSPA chairman Aderick Chong said over the last three decades, an increasing number of sharks and stingrays had been caught in Sabah as they were not legally protected.

He said in response, the group has recently launched an initiative to focus on law and policy reform that will be supported by research.

“This will include new studies on the market value of these species and whether these landings are from targeted fisheries or by catch. Research will also look at the market value for shark and ray-related eco-tourism.

“Our focus on awareness will see us rolling out impactful campaigns that support law and policy reform by engaging audiences about the biological and financial importance for sharks and rays,” he said.

Their target audiences, he said, ranges from policy makers to students and fishing communities.

He said SSPA plans to hold a gathering of decision makers in March 2018 to establish a roadmap to ensure the sustainability of sharks and stingrays in the state’s waters and beyond.

He said Malaysia needed to be transparent in monitoring the trade of shark and stingrays, following a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund and Traffic that the country was an “active player” in the illegal trade.

According to Traffic’s report on Singapore’s shark trade in May 2017, Chong said Malaysia is one of the major trasding partners to Singapore and was ranked fifth (from 2005 to 2007) and sixth (from 2012 to 2014) in the list of destinations for the nation’s shark fin exports by trade quantity.

“The report states the demand for shark and ray products in Singapore is being met by either unsustainable or entirely unknown sources due to current lack of genuine sustainable shark and ray fisheries systems, or adequate traceable systems with appropriate trade data recording.

“SSPA believes that the situation is similar in Malaysia at a time when high demand for shark fin continues to be the main driver of unsustainable fishing of sharks globally,” added Chong.

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Indonesia: Another rare sun bear dies at Balikpapan center

N. Abdi The Jakarta Post 3 Jul 17;

A male sun bear named Bennie was found dead at the Balikpapan Environmental and Educational Tourism Area (KWPLH), also known as the Sun Bear Center, in East Kalimantan on Friday.

"Bennie suffered from acute hepatic failure," Balikpapan Environmental Agency [BLH) head Suryanto said.

The death of Bennie has left the KWPLH with only five sun bears. It previously had seven. A female bear named Idot died in 2014 from intestinal bleeding.

Bennie and Idot both died at the age of 20.

The remainders are a female bear named Anna, three male sun bears named Batik, Bedu and Harris and a cub named Pedro.

Balikpapan KWPLH director Nunuk Kasiyanto said the bears lived as they would in the wild in a 1.3-hectare enclosure.

"All the bears came from the Kalimantan Natural Resource Conservation Agency [BKSDA], which seized the bears from citizens," Nunuk said.

When he was taken to the KWPLH, Bennie had no nails or canine teeth as the owner had removed them, he said.

The government has declared sun bears a vulnerable species. They have long been victims of deforestation and illegal hunting. (yon/ary)

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Indonesia: Flawed captive breeding plan facilitates wildlife laundering

TRAFFIC 3 Jul 17;

Jakarta, Indonesia, 3rd July 2017—A new study has questioned the validity of Indonesia’s plan that allowed breeders to produce over four million animals in captivity for trade in 2016.

The Captive Breeding Production Plan (CBPP) establishes quotas for the species and number of mammals, reptiles and amphibians that can be bred by licenced commercial breeding farms in the country.

For 2016, the Plan applied to 13 captive breeding facilities, 129 mammal, reptile and amphibian species with a total of 4,273,029 animals to be produced through captive breeding.

However, a critical scrutiny of the Plan published today in Conservation Biology finds major flaws that permit the laundering of wild-caught animals into legal trade through falsely claiming they have been captive-bred.

Among the flaws highlighted in Biological parameters used in setting captive breeding quota for Indonesia’s breeding facilities, is the exaggerated inflation of the breeding capabilities of many animals—for one frog species the Plan sets a quota 67 times higher than the animal would have been able to produce naturally.

Researchers even found that quotas had been set for 11 species where no breeding stock was present in any of the country’s registered breeding facilities, nor did some quotas take into account how difficult it was to breed certain species in captivity.

In the case of 38 species, the Plan allowed for the production of more animals than the authorities’ own calculations said was possible, the study reported.

“Until these shortcomings have been fixed, Indonesian mammals, reptiles and amphibians declared as captive-bred cannot be assumed to be so, as they may have been sourced from the wild,” the study’s authors conclude.
Researchers compared the biological parameters used in the CBPP against information gathered from over 200 published sources. Comparison was also made against information in a database on species life histories and species experts for all 129 species including how often species bred, and clutch or litter sizes.

The study found that Indonesia’s captive breeding quotas for 21 mammal species, 38 reptile species and two amphibian species were unrealistically high. For these mammals, quotas were set up to nine times higher than would be realistically possible, up to five times higher for the reptiles and up to 67 times higher for the amphibians.

For example, according to the Plan, the Red-eyed Crocodile Skink Tribolonotus gracilis can produce five to 12 eggs, twice a year, but published information reports only a maximum of six eggs a year.

“It is essential for countries to have such plans to regulate commercial captive breeding, but they must have a sound scientific basis and use accurate calculations,” said Serene Chng, co-author and Programme Officer for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

“The plan’s numbers are far higher than breeding facilities can realistically produce. The resulting gaps can easily be exploited by unscrupulous traders to launder wild-sourced animals through breeding facilities. This undermines legitimate breeders and increases pressure on wildlife already threatened by poaching and illegal trade,” Chng added.

At least 75 of the species in the Plan are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which allows captive breeding of some species for international trade.

CITES has recognized the misdeclaration of wild species as captive bred as a problem and has put in place a regulatory mechanism to flag cases of suspected captive breeding fraud. The mechanism is expected to be used for the first time in its Animals Committee meeting later this month.

“The questions raised by this analysis should be a real concern for countries importing wildlife labelled as captive bred from Indonesia and for the credibility of commercial captive breeding as a whole,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Senior Programme Manager for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

The study recommends the Indonesian Government adjust the Plan to include all relevant factors influencing breeding success and for projections to be biologically realistic. Quotas for species for which no breeding stock is available need to be withdrawn. Regular, unannounced inspections and audits of breeding facilities also should be conducted to ensure that reported numbers match up in reality.

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