Best of our wild blogs: 25 Sep 17

Open for registration – Love MacRitchie Walk with NUS Toddycats! on 07 Oct 2017 (Sat)
Love our MacRitchie Forest

World Economic Forum – Young Scientists Science Communication Workshop
Mei Lin NEO

White-spotted Slug Snake (Pareas margaritophorus) @ Pasir Ris
Monday Morgue

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Malaysia: Flood situation in Kedah and Perlis to improve after high tide phenomenon ends

sharanpal singh randhawa The Star 24 Sep 17;

ALOR SETAR: Flood waters in Kedah and Perlis are expected to recede after the high tide phenomenon ends on Monday, said Civil Defence Force director-general Datuk Azmy Yahya.

He said that although the number of evacuees currently at relief centres in Kedah and Perlis was rising, flood waters in both states were already receding.

"They are, however, receding at a slow pace due to the high tide phenomenon. But we forecast that the flood situation will improve after the high tide phenomenon ends on Monday.

"The number of victims has been increasing due to the flow of flood water from upstream, passing through low-lying areas before flowing out to the sea," he told a press conference after his visit to the SK Titi Gajah relief centre, adding that some evacuees were those affected by the floods while others were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The SK Titi Gajah relief centre currently accommodates 228 victims from 67 families.

Azmy added that weather conditions over the past two days had improved.

"Some of the evacuation centres in both states have been closed. However, they will be made operational if the need arises.

"Our men are on standby around the clock and currently we have 400 men in Kedah and 300 in Perlis, with thousands more volunteers on standby," he said.

As of 8am Sunday, Perlis and Kedah recorded a total 4,443 victims from 1,325 families, placed at 37 relief centres.

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Malaysia: Stop order issued on all logging activities near Fraser's Hill

HIDIR REDUAN New Straits Times 24 Sep 17;

RAUB: The Pahang Forestry Department has issued a stop order on all logging activities near Fraser's Hill here.

In a statement issued today, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that the order, issued on Sept 8, covers the removal of logs and the construction of roads to logging sites.

He said the order was issued pursuant to opposition raised by the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil.

"The area that has become the point of (contention) by (Peka) is a logging area, measuring 106.78 hectares, (of) government land.

"The government land comprises mining lots within the Batu Talam Forest Reserve, which form part of Compartment 213 and 214. The height of the area is around 950 metres above sea level," he said.

Junaidi noted that the logging areas are just 15 kilometres from Fraser's Hill.

He said that two forest reserves near the holiday hotspot are the Batu Talam Forest Reserve (61,888 hectares) and the Tranum Forest Reserve (2,701 hectares).

"The Pahang Forestry Department licensed the area, with the Licence Number *CC-02-3-2017 (KP/K), effective July 15, 2017 until Jan 14, 2018.

"Initial checks by the Pahang Forestry Department on Sept 12, 2017 found that works that have been carried out in the area only involved construction of a road of around 1.7 kilometres in length.

"The contractor had also removed machinery from the area on Sept 13, 2017. Only broken machinery and vehicles were not removed from the area," he said.

On Sept 14, Shariffa had said that Peka opposes any logging activities at the base of Fraser's Hill, near Kampung Bukit Telaga, an Orang Asli village.

She expressed worry that the logging activities would jeopardise the environmental integrity of Fraser's Hill and surrounding areas.


Halt on logging activities near Fraser’s Hill
natasha joibi The Star 25 Sep 17;

PETALING JAYA: The Pahang Forestry Department has issued an order to halt logging activities near Fraser’s Hill, putting a stop to the construction of logging roads and removal of logs in the area.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the department issued the stop order on Sept 8 following protests against logging in the area by the Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka).

In a statement, Dr Wan Junaidi said the logging area that had become the point of contention by Peka measured some 106.78ha of government land.

The land, he said, constituted mining lots within the Batu Talam Forest Reserve, which made up parts of Compartment 213 and 214.

The area is located some 950m above sea level.

According to Dr Wan Junaidi, the department had licensed the area with Licence Number *CC-02-3-2017 (KP/K), effective July 15 until Jan 14 next year.

“Initial checks by the department on Sept 12 found that work being carried out so far in the area only involved the construction of a 1.7km road.

“Contractors removed machinery from the site on Sept 14. Only damaged machines and vehicles were not taken out,” he said.

Dr Wan Junaidi said the logging site was located some 15km away from Fraser Hill’s recreational area. He added that there were two forest reserves near Fraser’s Hill, namely the Batu Talam Forest Reserve and the Tranum Forest Reserve.

Two weeks ago, Peka had called for a stop to all logging activities in the forests of Fraser’s Hill, a major water catchment area and the source of two major river systems – Sg Pahang and Sg Selangor.

Peka president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said recently that Fraser’s Hill was a sensitive area as the soil eroded easily and any deforestation there would have an immediate environmental impact, especially on its role as a water catchment area.

She called on the government to permanently end all logging and deforestation activities around Fraser’s Hill and to gazette it and the surrounding forests as a heritage site.

The Pahang Forestry Depart­ment had confirmed that a permit had been given for the logging.


Outrage over logging in Fraser's Hill
TASNIM LOKMAN New Straits Times 26 Sep 17;

KUALA LUMPUR: FRASER’S Hill will suffer the same fate as Cameron Highlands if the authorities continue with their lackadaisical attitude in preserving the lush forests and its sensitive eco-system.

Environmentalists, residents and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said it was mind-boggling that the Pahang Forestry Department had issued a temporary stop order only on logging at the hill months after such activity was detected.

Outraged Netizens also questioned how logging was allowed on or near the hill, which had been gazetted as a primary forest reserve and water catchment area.

Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said the clearing of huge tracts of forest land at Kampung Bukit Telaga, near the foot of Fraser’s Hill, had shocked residents and environmental groups.

She said land clearing, which had been going on for the past two months, was detected only on Aug 21 when a man was killed by a huge rock that fell on him at the project site.

The victim, Seow Ah Kiat, 63, was visiting the site with his son when a landslide occurred and the boulder fell on him. His son escaped unharmed.

Shariffa said environmentalists and NGOs were then alerted to what was happening at the hill.

“We have lost Cameron Highlands due to rampant deforestation and agriculture, but Fraser’s Hill has retained its beauty and serenity until now. There is also a thriving bio-diversity at the hill, with lots of bird species spotted.

“We should not destroy the hill. It is important to keep Fraser’s Hill as a natural heritage,” she told the New Straits Times.

It was reported that the Pahang Forestry Department had issued a stop order on all logging activities near the hill.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had reportedly said that the order, issued on Sept 8, covered the removal of logs and construction of roads to logging sites.

He said the order was issued pursuant to objections by Peka to logging in the area that measured 106.78 hectares. Wan Junaidi said the plot was state government land with mining lots within the Batu Talam Forest Reserve, which was about 15km from Fraser’s Hill.

He also said the Pahang Forestry Department had issued a licence for the plot effective July 15 to Jan 14 next year.

Wan Junaidi said works carried out in the area involved constructing a 1.7km road.

He said the contractor had removed all machinery from the area on Sept 13, and only broken ones were left behind.

Shariffa said her group’s campaign against the development of Fraser’s Hill would not stop, adding that Peka would continue to monitor the site to ensure that no land-clearing activities were carried out.

“We will keep putting pressure on those involved until we get an assurance that they will completely stop any development on Fraser’s Hill.”

Shariffa said Peka had also lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. An MACC spokesman confirmed receiving the report and said the graftbusters were looking into it.

Heartbreaking to see Mother Nature's beauty destroyed for money
TASNIM LOKMAN New Straits Times 26 Sep 17;

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a long winding road up as the New Straits Times team headed to Fraser’s Hill in search of a piece of land said to have been massively cleared for the lucrative logging and mining industry.

We were informed by the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil that it was 12km in the direction of Raub from The Gap.

After a few minutes, there it was — huge piles of orange soil covering the side of the road.

If you were not observant, there was a chance you would have missed it as it was hidden in a corner, blocked by trees.

A huge log blocked the entrance, acting as a barricade. As the NST team crossed over it, we discovered a knee-deep makeshift drain.

Traces of soil could be seen covering a one-lane road below — the only path into Kampung Bukit Telaga, which was home to nine Orang Asli families.

It was a 300m hike up the main logging site, where lush greenery had been turned into an “orange desert”, which had been recently showered with rain, turning it into a muddy wasteland.

Logs left by contractors were stacked at various corners of the clearing, waiting to be picked up and sold, while a half-finished camp of chopped tree branches stood at the side of the hill overlooking the path below.

Emotions overwhelmed me as I saw Mother Nature’s beauty destroyed.

Questions burst into my mind: “How could they have the heart to do this? How far does this land clearing go and does it go further and deeper into the forest? If they continue with this, will Fraser’s Hill become the next Cameron Highlands?”

As fate would have it, the NST team bumped into geologist Dr Azhar Hussin and his team of researchers at the logging and soon-to-be mining site.

The retired Universiti Malaya professor said he and three others came to Fraser’s Hill to see the site for themselves after photographs and videos were shared by Peka on social media.

There was no proper drainage system in the area, he said, and it could cause problems to those living in the area both in the long term and near future.

Upon inspecting the site’s entrance, his team decided to walk down to Kampung Bukit Telaga to see the condition of the village. The roads were covered in mud.

“Looking uphill, we can see it came from here (the logging site). When we came here, a log was blocking the entrance and after it, we saw a drain.

“The drain has chanelled the mud downwards to the road and over time, it will be covered with earth. This will cut off any means of communication and travel. The whole village may not be buried by mud, but the road to it will definitely be.

“The other impact is on the main road. If they do not clear the soil at the entrance, more mud will flow down, especially during the rainy season. It will wash onto the road, making it narrower,” he said, adding that mudslides could occur frequently.

Azhar expressed concern over the unbridled clearing of forests that could lead to severe erosion across the entire hill, subsequently causing mud floods at low-lying areas and Orang Asli settlements.

“If they continue with no proper drainage and no proper method… I can see they are really cutting into the soil deeply, leaving a lot of vertical slopes... if you notice a lot of big trees are on the slopes and those will fall over time.

“Remember, Frasers Hill is also a water catchment area and this goes down to the rivers. Over time, if you do not control it, the drainage basin will be affected,” he said.

A specialist in sedimentology and marine geology, Azhar said if the Pahang government decides to continue with the land clearing activities, it should be well monitored to avoid further destruction to the environment.

He urged the authorities to review the site and “re-manage” it better as well to look at the licence given out, whether it was really necessary to overdevelop the area.

“If you see up there at the logging site… they have flattened everything, big and small trees are all gone.

“It has only been two months or so and it can be seen as very destructive. This road goes a long way down and we do not know if any similar locations are of similar fate.

“This area is almost near the top of the hill and if a licence can be given here, I'm sure licence for those in the lower slope areas will be easier to hand out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NST team bumped into two exhausted Orang Asli sisters — Mariani and Pretty — on the main road as they were returning from their farm.

Mariani said the clearing activities started two months back and had only recently stopped, last week.

She said a few representatives had come to Kampung Bukit Telaga and met with the Tok Batin, to talk about their future plans about the land next to the village.

The Tok Batin did not agree to it, she claimed.

However, Mariani said she could not tell the NST team anything else as she was not present nor was she briefed about what transpired in the meeting.

“We hope they stop and do not continue,” she said, as the siblings rode off on their motorcycle.

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