Wanted: laws with bite for Malaysia's sea turtles

Tan Chang Li The Star 8 Jun 10;

Turtles will no longer swim in our seas and nest in our shores unless we do something – fast.

FOR the past 40 years or so, millions of ringgit have poured into efforts to protect our turtles. Sanctuaries have been set up, eggs bought over from collectors and incubated, hatchlings released into the sea, awareness campaigns held and research conducted.

With all the attention and funds lavished on turtles, you would think that they would be in good stead. But far from that, they are edging closer to the brink.

The leatherback is as good as locally extinct although the Fisheries Department refuses to state so. The Olive Ridley suffers the safe fate and is “effectively extinct”. It no longer nests in Terengganu and only remnant numbers land in Penang and islands off Johor – not enough to keep the population here going. Hawksbill and green turtles can still be seen but their numbers have plunged precipitously. Our freshwater and terrestrial turtles fare no better, being widely hunted.

Various threats that have long caused the decline of turtle species persist. The combination of egg consumption, destruction of feeding and nesting grounds, turtle-snaring fishing gear, pollution and illegal trapping by foreign fishing vessels is lethal for turtles.

The problem is, turtles are protected only under state legislations but these have proven to be weak and inadequate. Under the Federal Constitution, turtles are a state resource; this puts all matters pertaining to turtles under state purview. So currently, turtles are excluded from the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, while the Fisheries Act 1985 only protects turtles found beyond three nautical miles offshore.

For the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), turtles desperately need a holistic law that can plug loopholes in existing state legislations and, most importantly, ban the consumption of eggs. And this can only come in the form of Federal legislations.

“Only comprehensive Federal laws are able to provide adequate protection and save turtles from extinction,” says Preetha Sankar, WWF policy co-ordinator. The group has long urged for such a law and in April, reiterated its stand by submitting a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Meek state laws

With the exception of Perlis and Selangor, all states have enacted legislations and rules (under the Fisheries Act 1985) on turtles. However, these legislations lack consistency and fail to protect all species of marine and terrestrial turtles within each state.

“These legislations are not conservation-oriented,” says P. Gangaram, manager of WWF’s Peninsular Malaysia seas programme. “They do not ban egg consumption but focus on licensing egg collection. There is little emphasis on habitat protection and penalties for offences are minimal.”

And oddly enough, the rules in Johor, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan allow for the killing of turtles for a mere fee of RM100. Also, the state laws only apply within the state, which hinders enforcement effort. “This means that if you’re caught with leatherback eggs in KL (its sale has been banned in Terengganu since 1987), it is not an offence,” says Gangaram.

The absence of laws preventing the sale and consumption of turtle eggs (with the exception of the leatherback) sees them being openly sold in markets. In Terengganu, licensed collectors are supposed to sell all their eggs to the Fisheries Department for incubation but due to poor monitoring, some of the eggs end up in markets instead of hatcheries. This problem is compounded by the more lucrative price offered by market retailers – RM2.50 to RM3.50 per egg compared with the department’s RM2. Some 422,000 eggs were sold in Terengganu in 2007, according to WWF.

The licensing of egg collection does not promote conservation of turtles, according to legal expert Malik Imtiaz Sarwar whose views were sought by WWF. “Turtles are viewed as a resource rather than species in need of protection, as seen in the sale and consumption of eggs, rather than a ban,” he writes in his report to WWF.

He says the egg collection licensing fee of only RM5 encourages more people to apply for permits. Also, there are no restrictions on the number of eggs that can be collected.

“There are loopholes in the licensing framework. Opportunities for abuse are created by the absence of stringent requirements,” writes Malik.

At least 70% of all eggs laid annually have to be incubated for hatchling production if a healthy turtle population is to be maintained.

“As long as we eat the eggs, we’ll create an imbalance and cause the decline of the species. There will be no juveniles to grow into mothers,” says WWF executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma. “A ban on turtle egg sale will not jeopardise livelihoods. A study at Ma’ Daerah in Terengganu shows that only a fraction of the people benefit from selling turtle eggs.”

The eggs are said to be good for general health and asthmatics, but Sharma says claims of their aphrodisiac value are unproven.

Protecting turtle homes

Massive coastal development, including land reclamation, has robbed turtles of their nesting beaches and feeding habitats. There is little in state legislations on protecting turtle habitats, with only Terengganu, Malacca and Penang providing for the establishment of turtle sanctuaries. But even those don’t go far enough.

“Only one-third of the 70ha we wanted was protected at Ma’ Daerah in Terengganu. So only the hatchery and beach front are turtle protection zones but not the hills on either end of the nesting beach and the sea. If these hills are not protected, future development there can cause light pollution that can disturb nesting turtles and disorientate hatchlings, causing them to head landwards,” says WWF’s Gangaram.

And not all turtle sanctuaries and hatcheries are properly managed. “Is it a sanctuary if you have 100 visitors a day gawking at the turtles?” asks Gangaram.

And Malacca, despite having the largest population of hawksbill turtles in Peninsular Malaysia (200 to 300 nests a year), has not gazetted any of its four nesting beaches as turtle sanctuaries. They have, instead, been earmarked for development.

“Chalets are coming up at turtle nesting sites in Malacca such as Padang Kemunting, so you have people walking along the beach and this can disturb the turtles. The nesting beach has also narrowed over the years due to erosion caused by coastal development, shrinking from a width of 80m in the 1970s to 20m today,” says Sharma.

Fished out

When accidentally trapped in fishing nets and long lines, turtles drown as they cannot surface to breathe. They also fall victim to “ghost fishing” when they get caught in nets discarded at sea or lost in storms. To counter such threats, Federal laws that mandate the use of suitable fishing gear are needed.

While Malaysians fervently sponsor turtle preservation, they are unwittingly ensuring a constant supply of turtle meat and shells for foreign poachers.

Recent seizures of Vietnamese and Chinese vessels laden with hundreds of turtles in the South China Sea signal yet another threat to our turtles.

“These foreign vessels are catching our turtle population. This is counter-productive to our conservation efforts. Once you capture a female turtle, all options are gone as you have ended her potential for breeding,” says Sharma.

With such a myriad of hazards facing turtles, he says a comprehensive Federal law is the only chance for the species’ survival.

“It will apply to the whole country and so is a better way to regulate than the current piecemeal approach.”

To pave the way for the Federal law, the Constitution needs to be amended to place turtles within Federal purview. There is precedent for this – water was shifted from state jurisdiction to Federal jurisdiction in 2005.

WWF group suggests the formation of a Cabinet-level ad hoc committee to study the matter. It also proposes that the Malaysian Law Reform Committee review all turtle legislations and give its recommendations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The group is not alone in its call for Federal overview of turtles. Its Egg=Life campaign last year gathered almost 100,000 supporters. One advocate is marine scientist Dr Nicolas Pilcher, executive director of Marine Research Foundation in Sabah.

“It is not too late to act,” he writes in his report backing the WWF call.

“Throughout the world there is evidence of turtle populations rebounding from the brink of localised extinction. Comprehensive conservation programmes coupled with committed and legally binding protection can and does make a difference.

“Piecemeal initiatives can only go so far, but a national approach will go the distance.”

Extinction threat
The Star 8 Jun 10;

EXPLOITED for decades, turtle populations in Malaysia have reached critical levels, according to turtle scientist Dr Chan Eng Heng who has studied the species for over 25 years.

The leatherback and Olive Ridley are effectively extinct, she writes in her report to World Wide Fund for Nature in support of a federal legislation for turtles.

She says for leatherbacks, the nesting density of over 10,000 in the 1950s in Terengganu has plummeted to near-zero in recent years. Olive Ridley nests used to average 500 in the mid-1980s in Terengganu but the species has disappeared since 2005.

Chan, who has helmed numerous turtle conservation projects and is now CEO of the Turtle Conservation Centre, also made several observations on what ails the management of turtle sanctuaries. In her report, she writes that Fisheries Department staff lack knowledge of the biological requirements of turtles and make management decisions that are contrary to conservation needs. Turtle conservation projects proposed by politicians, but which lack scientific basis and conservation value, were also carried out.

In Terengganu, 10 nesting beaches have been declared turtle sanctuaries where all the eggs are to be incubated. But there is no daily supervision and monitoring of workers. Many nesting beaches are still leased to locals for commercial egg collection. Chan says egg hatchability is compromised when the eggs are moved several hours after they have been laid or if they are damaged during transportation.

She also finds that sanctuary workers are not employed throughout the year. In Pulau Perhentian, the sanctuary only opens in May; by then, the eggs deposited earlier had been poached, causing substantial loss of eggs.

A lack of supervision sees villagers and chalet operators conducting harmful activities such as keeping hatchlings in captivity (to show tourists) instead of releasing them, and selling hatchlings to tourists. Some states keep hatchlings under poor conditions which will compromise their survival when eventually released. In some states, private entrepreneurs are allowed to operate hatcheries; some only want to earn tourist dollars and have no interest in turtle conservation.

Chan says it is crucial that the National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sea Turtles that was prepared by Fisheries Department in 2008, be implemented.

Non-marine turtles

Malaysia has 18 out of the 100 species of freshwater and terrestrial turtles native to Asia. Unlike marine turtles, the distribution and population status of freshwater and terrestrial turtles are virtually unknown. Conservation programmes exist – although wanting – for painted and river terrapins in some states. But the rest of the 16 species are sorely neglected.

Huge harvests for local use and export (mainly to China), and absence of protection and management measures render all species vulnerable to exploitation.

In one wildlife slaughterhouse near Segamat, Johor, Chan found hundreds of endangered freshwater and terrestrial turtles held in transit.

They included species such as the Asian brown turtle, South-East Asian striped giant softshell turtle, Asian giant softshell turtle, river terrapin, painted terrapin and Asiatic softshell turtle.

Painted terrapins occur in many river systems in Malaysia but in Terengganu, they nest predominantly in Rhu Kudung, Kuala Baru Utara and Kuala Baru Selatan. These turtles originate from the Setiu and Paka rivers. However, the 800 nests recorded in 1990 have dwindled to 245 in 2008, a decline of 70%.

At Sungai Setiu in Terengganu, the number of river terrapin eggs have dropped from 847 in 2004 when Chan initiated conservation work there, to 438 last year – a decline of 50% over five years. In Perak, declines have been dramatic – from 1,275 nests (each averaging 26 eggs) in 1993 to 36 last year, a decline of 97% in 17 years.

The Wildlife and National Parks Department conducts river terrapin conservation programmes in Perak, Kedah and Terengganu. Despite releasing many hatchlings in the last 30 years, none seem to have been recruited into the adult nesting population.

The reason: while the department is releasing terrapins upstream, poachers are actively collecting them downstream. – Extracted from The Enactment Of Comprehensive Federal Legislation For Turtles by Dr Chan Eng Heng.

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Rare Javan rhino found dead in Indonesia

Yahoo News 7 Jun 10;

JAKARTA (AFP) – The carcass of a critically endangered Javan rhino has been found in Indonesia, conservationists said Monday, bringing the world?s scarcest mammal one step closer to extinction.

The remains of the male rhino were found two weeks ago in Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, home to the species' last viable population of less than 50, experts said.

Rhino Foundation of Indonesia head Widodo Ramono said the animal could have died during the rainy season around February to March. Its horn was intact, meaning it probably was not killed by poachers, he said.

"There were no signs that it had been killed or poisoned. We suspect it could have died from an illness or, since it was partly submerged in water when it died, it could have drowned," he added.

The Javan rhino is distinguished from African rhinos by its small size, single horn and loose skin folds. Rhino horns are used in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine although most Asian countries have banned the trade.

Around 44 Javan rhinos are believed to live in Ujung Kulon, an oasis of wilderness on the western edge of one of the world's most densely populated islands.

Another four or so are found in Vietnam's Cat Loc reserve, where a rhino was killed by poachers last month.

No one knows the exact numbers but the results of a survey of the rhino population in Ujung Kulon are expected by the end of the week, Ramono said.

"The survey's almost completed. We've placed 60 camera-traps around the park and we're now collating the data to verify the numbers," he said.

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Elephant-human conflicts in Indonesia and Malaysia

Elephants attack Indonesian villagers
Antara 7 Jun 10;

Bengkalis, Riau (ANTARA News) - A herd of wild elephants attacked Petani village, Mandau sub-district, Riau district of Bengkalis, damaging four houses over the weekend.

Several Petani villager told ANTARA here Monday that the elephants attacked their village on Saturday night and Sunday morning. One of the four houses was in serious damage.

These wild animals had also killed a local resident recently, they said.
The villagers, whose houses were damaged, took refuge to their relatives` houses and neighbors.

Budi, 40, one of the villagers whose house was damaged, said at least 25 families had taken refuge for security reasons.

"The elephants` anger has made us trauma. Some locals who take refuge leave their plantations behind," he said.

Dewi, another villager, urged local government to take concern actions to end the human-elephant conflict.

The conflict itself had not only caused the villagers to suffer material losses but had also threatened human life, the 34-year-old villager said.

"The conservation rangers have been trying to deal with these wild elephants but it is not easy to tame them. In fact, the elephants keep damaging our houses and farmings," she said.

In response to the ongoing conflict, Head of Petani Village Rianto said the related authorities were expected to provide the victims of elephants` anger with compensations.

"The expected compensations are paid for the villagers whose houses are damaged or those who get injured or die. We want the local government not to remain passive," he said.

The Workers of Riau province`s natural conservation agency (BBKSDA) had planned to send a team to help tame the wild elephants, Head of Riau Province`s BBKSDA, Hutomo, said.

"We are sending the team to Mandau sub-district," he said.

The attacks of wild elephants to Petani village had also occurred last March.

At that time, the animals destroyed three houses. While there were no fatalities, the wild elephants` attacks had caused local residents to panic and take refuge to safer places.

The wild elephants did not only destroy three houses but also damaged the villagers` crops.(*)

Elephant saved at Malaysian oil palm plantation
The Star 8 Jun 10;

KOTA KINABALU: A weak and dehydrated young female Borneo pygmy elephant was rescued in an oil palm plantation on Sabah’s east coast amidst renewed calls by a wildlife expert for the creation of forest corridors.

State Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said its personnel were alerted by Malaysian Palm Oil Board staff about the two-year-old elephant trapped in a moat within the Lahad Datu plantation.

He said the elephant appeared to have been left behind by its herd, likely from the Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary in the district.

The find of the pachyderm on Friday came barely two weeks after another six-month-old female elephant was rescued from Ladang Felcra/KTS, also in the Lahad Datu district.

Laurentius said both elephants were being transferred to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park about 15km from the city for observation.

He said the department personnel had also fitted a tracking collar on an adult female elephant in the Lower Kinabatangan region on the east coast.

This would enable wildlife experts to track the animal’s movements to enable them to better map out a forest corridor for the animals.

NGO Hutan Elephant Conser-vation scientific director Dr Marc Ancrenaz said forest corridors were urgently needed to link the isolated elephant population currently trapped in the lower Kinabatangan flood plains area.

“Due to increased human activity and extensive oil palm plantations, the herds in Kinabatangan are completely disconnected from the elephant population in the forest reserves of Segaliud, Tangkulap and Deramakot,” he said.

Wild elephant finally captured at Malaysian village
The Star 8 Jun 10;

BERA: A wild elephant that has been roaming around a palm oil plantation and destroying crops belonging to villagers in Felda Mayam and Felda Purun near here for several years was finally captured by the elephant unit of the Pahang Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).

The elephant, weighing some 25 tonnes, was captured at the Purun forest reserve in Felda Kerapai, near Felda Mayam.

According to the unit’s assistant chief Mohd Arzaimran Arifin, villagers had made numerous complaints to the department about four wild elephants roaming in these areas since last year.

He said the elephants had destroyed crops belonging to villagers and oil palm trees under the replanting scheme in the settlements.

“We captured one of the elephants last week and expect to catch the other three soon.

“However, so far the other three elephants have not come close to the village since and have not been sighted yet,” he said, adding that the captured elephant had been transferred to Taman Negara in Kenyir, Terengganu.

Mohd Arzaimran said the wild elephant was calmed by two “denak” (tamers) before the relocation process.

Meanwhile, Kampung Purun village headman Ahmad Abdul Latif said the wild elephants were active at night and the residents did not dare to go out to their plantations at night.

“In the mornings, we will find our crops of banana trees and oil palm trees destroyed.

“We feel even more frightened after a plantation worker was killed by a wild elephant a few years ago.”

He hopes that the remaining elephants will be caught soon and relocated for the safety of the villagers.

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Java ranks last in national environment survey

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 8 Jun 10;

Java, the world’s most-populated island, is in the worst environmental condition of any island in the country, due to its heavily polluted rivers and water supplies and virtual lack of forests, according to a ministry report.

The report gave Java an overall score of 54 out of 100, the worst of all of Indonesia’s islands, and well below the next lowest score of 59. Java’s river quality was given a 28 and its forest coverage a 39.

“It proves that old claims of high pollution in Java are correct. In terms of the overall island, Java ranks the worst on the environmental quality index,” Nursiwan Taqim, an official in charge of assessment at the Environment Ministry, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

In water quality, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan ranked the lowest with abysmal scores of 2.91 and 8.40.

However, the report ranked Jakarta’s rivers the most polluted in Java.

Jakarta received the lowest score for forest coverage with a 0.24. In comparison, Bali scored 100.

About 3 percent of the country’s population said river water was their main source of drinking water, and 58 percent said theirs was ground water. Only 16 percent of the country had access to pipe water, according to the report.

The government requires each province to have a minimum forest coverage of 30 percent.

The first-ever environmental index, slated to be launched this week as part of the World Environmental Day event, assessed quality of river water, air pollution and total forest coverage in 28 provinces between 2006 and 2009.

The study did not assess the quantity of river water, which other reports have shown has declined steadily in all provinces over that period.

The report ranked the provinces of Maluku and Papua in overall first place with a score of 79, followed by provinces in Sulawesi with an average score of 75.

Nursiwan warned that each province faced serious problems, including poor quality of river water and lack of forest coverage.

“We recommend the provinces prioritize resolving river water pollution,” he said.

Surprisingly, the report gave every province a good mark for air quality, with each scoring 80 or above, including Jakarta.

The report concluded that the nation’s average score on the environmental index was 59.79, which was far more generous than a 2010 index score given by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University.

The Yale’s Environmental Performance Index ranked Indonesia 134 out of 163 countries with a score of 44.6, the second-lowest ASEAN country after Cambodia.

The highest rank in the region was given to Singapore with 69, followed by Malaysia and Philippines, which both scored 65.

The Yale index used 25 performance indicators tracked across ten policy categories covering both environmental health, public health and ecosystem vitality.

The indicators were designed to gauge governments’ commitments to environmental policies.

In 2008, Yale ranked Indonesia 102 out of 149 surveyed countries with a score of 66.2.

It said that forests had been almost completely wiped out in densely populated Java, and that Sumatra had lost 35 percent of its forests and Kalimantan 19 percent in the 1990s.

Deforestation is also threatening the Sumatran rhinoceros and the orangutan with extinction, it said.

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Indonesian President asks regional leaders to rehabilitate damaged mangroves

Antara 7 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged regional leaders to rehabilitate all damaged mangrove forests existing in their respective jurisdictions.

"I urge all regional leaders with wide mangrove forest areas, especially in Sumatra and Java islands, to make more serious efforts to rehabilitate damaged forests and conduct reforestation," the President said here Monday.

The President also hoped regional administrations would allocate sufficient funds to recruit the needed personnel to maintain mangroves forests such as forest rangers.

"Ask the business sector for assistance , and mobilize the local community to conduct forest rehabilitation efforts," he said.

Making a success of environmental preservation efforts was the moral responsibility of 21st century leaders and fulfilment of this obligation required a high sense of responsibility, leadership and common sense, he said.

Mangrove forests were an ecosystem that should be taken care of and preserved by the Indonesian people more seriously, the President said.

Indonesia now had at least eight million hectares of mangrove areas scattered throughout the archipelago but mostly located in Sumatra, Java and some other regions.

"They are very important ecosystems on beaches, If they are damaged, the life of fishes, birds and clear water supply will be disrupted. They also function as barriers against tsunami which can greatly affect life on land," he said.

The President affirmed his commitment to demanding that the nation and people preserve the environment for the sake of their present and future generations.

On the occasion, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Mohammad Gusti Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam as well as Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

Angke Kapuk Natural Park is one of the country`s natural conservation areas covered by 99.82 hectares of mangrove trees.

The area was designated as a tourism forest and will be used for mangrove reforestation or rehabilitation activities or other natural tourism activities.

Rubbish Angers Minister in Rehabbed Mangrove Park
Camelia Pasandaran & Arientha Primanita Jakarta Globe 8 Jun 10;

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for more work to be done on rehabilitating Indonesia’s decimated mangrove forests and cleaning up Jakarta’s coastline on Monday, while visiting a garbage-covered eco-tourism park.

Zulkifli was accompanying Yudhoyono and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on a tour of the mangrove reforestation project in the Angke Kapuk Tourist Park in North Jakarta.

The 99-hectare park is a pilot project for urban reforestation but is operated by a private company outside the control of the Jakarta administration.

The minister called for more replanting of mangroves along the Jakarta coast, but seemed particularly appalled by the state of the tourist park.

“Everything is here, mattresses, pillows and all kinds of rubbish. This is the biggest problem stopping rehabilitation from happening,” Zulkifli said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also took note of the litter-strewn park, and also said more needs to be done to clean up the coastline.

“The condition of the rivers around this area is good,” Yudhoyono said in recognition of recent efforts to dredge rivers in the north. “But there is still rubbish.”

Yudhoyono also called on regional leaders to pay greater attention to the destruction of mangrove forests throughout the country. The president said that Indonesia’s once ubiqutous mangrove forests are fading fast, with close to 70 percent of them being destroyed.

“Leaders, especially in Sumatra, Java and other regions that have thick mangrove forests need to seriously conduct rehabilitation and reforestation [programs],” Yudhoyono said.

Peni Susanti, who heads the Jakarta Environmental Agency, said the city has been replanting the mangroves since 2007 and has already planted about 175 hectares around the capital.

The target, Peni said, is to plant 340 hectares of mangroves by 2012, something officials say is already helping protect the coast from flooding.

Zulkifli said Jakarta should aspire to have a clean coastline that is a draw for visitors.

“Within five years we hope to plant 9 million mangrove trees,” Zulkifli said.

“We have planted trees here, as well as at Muara Angke Bay [North Jakarta] and Ancol and in other places. We have to try to rebuild the mangroves on Jakarta Bay, so it is like the old days. It is, however, going to be a hard thing to do.”

“But here our coastal areas are not much more than smelly slums. We need to redress these problems first,” Zulkili said.

But the minister, perhaps still smarting from the filthy welcome afforded him and the president, had a parting shot for the park, saying the planting initiative has been beset by shoddy management.

“It’s been six months since the planting got underway here and there has been minimal growth,” Zulkifli said.

“It is not easy, so we must conduct massive rehabilitation. Jakarta is the face of the republic. If the face is destroyed, how can we expect people to come here?”

The spread of fish farms has been blamed for most of the decline in Indonesia’s mangrove forests.

President: Do not throw garbage into rivers
Antara 7 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday called on the people not to litter rivers with garbage because it could destroy mangrove forests along the coast lines.

"Again, I ask the people not to throw garbage arbitrarily into rivers because it will destroy our mangrove forests at the sea shores," President Yudhoyono said when he inspected a mangrove forest area in the Muara Angke natural tourist park in North Jakarta.

On the occasion the president said environmental pollution would cause floods , various kinds of disease which would in the long run compel the government to spend a lot of funds on people`s health programs.

The head of state said it was better at the earlier stage to use the funds to save the environment, including mangrove forests, in an effort to save the people from the threat of natural disasters in the future.

"Some parts of the rivers are clean enough but most of them are still littered with garbage," the president said.

During his visit to the Muara Angke park, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

The Angke Kapuk natural tourist park is a 99.82-hectare natural conservation area covered by mangrove forests.

The area has been declared a tourist forest area for mangrove reforestation and rehabilitation and natural tourist activities.

Up to the end of April 2006, some 40 ha of the area had been rehabilitated and reforested with mangrove trees.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the occasion that his office has been cooperating with the Jakarta City Administration for five years to plant at least 9 million mangrove trees in the area.

"We have planted mangrove trees several times here, at Teluk Angke, at Ancol resort, and even at other locations in an effort to make Jakarta green," the forestry minister said.

According to him, mangrove-tree-planting activity should be intensified because environmental damage along the coast of Jakarta Bay had reached an alarming level.

President plants mangrove trees at Angke Tourist Park
Antara 7 May 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday morning inspected a mangrove forest area in the Muara Angke natural tourist park in North Jakarta , and planted a number of mangrove trees on the occasion.

During his visit to the Muara Angke park, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

The Angke Kapuk natural tourist park is a 99.82-hectare natural conservation area covered by mangrove forests.

The area has been declared a tourist forest area for mangrove reforestation and rehabilitation and natural tourist activities.

Up to the end of April 2006, some 40 ha of the area had been rehabilitated and reforested with mangrove trees.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the occasion that his office has been cooperating with the Jakarta City Administration for five years to plant at least 9 million mangrove trees in the area.

"We have planted mangrove trees several times here, at Teluk Angke, at Ancol resort, and even at other locations in an effort to make Jakarta green," the forestry minister said.

According to him, mangrove-tree-planting activity should be intensified because environmental damage along the coast of Jakarta Bay had reached an alarming level.

"Our greatest enemy is garbage. Like a supermarket, anything can be found along Ancol beach and the coast of Jakarta Bay. On the beach of Ancol and along the coast of Jakarta Bay we can see garbage of any kind, ranging from pillows, mattresses, shoes, sandals, plastic goods, anything," the minister said.

Therefore, he added that mangrove tree planting activity to green Ancol Beach and Jakarta Bay should be made by all parties : government institutions, private institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the people at large.

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Malaysia's National Policy On Climate Change To Be Launched This Year

Bernama 7 Jun 10;

PETALING JAYA, June 7 (Bernama) -- Taking another step to combat greenhouse emissions, Malaysia will launch its National Policy on Climate Change this year, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said Monday.

He said a blueprint comprising five principles, 10 strategic thrusts and 43 key actions was focused on mitigation, adaptation measures and capacity building.

"As the issue of climate change is cross-sectoral in nature, a number of ministries, including the natural resources and environment ministry, will be directly involved in implementing strategies and programmes aimed at tackling the issue.

"The implementation of the climate change policy will drive efforts to reduce emissions and contribute to the larger agenda of resolving the issue of climate change," he said at the opening of a climate change seminar here.

Douglas noted that Malaysia had already begun its roadmap to reduce emissions as pledged by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to cut emissions by 50 per cent from 2005 levels, at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

-- BERNAMA

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Bar-coding biodiversity

Stuart Pimm NatGeo Newswatch 7 Jun 10;

Braga, Portugal--We don't have names for perhaps 90 percent of all the species on Earth--and even when we do have names for them, we can't readily identify many of them. In some cases we may encounter only fragments of specimens, making it even more challenging to identify them. A small piece of DNA, however, is enough to provide a "bar code" that is unique to every species.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. "And how many species are there?" We don't have an answer!

Science has names for about 1.5 million species, but that's only a small fraction of the total. We know almost all birds and mammals, and most flowering plants. Scientists and amateurs alike express considerable passion for these species.

For insects, fungi, nematode worms, and the like, not only are most species unknown, but very few scientists know how to identify them. And what we don't know may hurt us economically--many insects are pests, so we should know who they are. Getting the right parasitic wasp to control that pest may be essential.

In any case, while I can identify a cod or a tilapia with a fish book--that's only true when I see the whole fish, not a fillet in the supermarket. I won't eat any fish that isn't sustainably harvested. Am I getting the right fish with my chips?

Well, every species has unique DNA--but that's a lot of information to read. Just a small piece of it would do, something that could be easily extracted. That's the idea behind bar-coding species.

Since I care about how many species there should be, where they are, and what we do to them, I gladly accepted the chance to talk to an international conference on bar coding in Portugal this week. (It also gave me the chance to visit the birthplace, in Oporto, of Prince Henry the Navigator, who invented modern exploration. I'll blog about that another time.)

Why bar codes for species?

"The idea behind taxonomic bar codes came from the ones familiar on the products we buy," David Shindel told me.

David is the executive secretary for the Consortium for the Barcode of Life at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It coordinates the various international activities and different projects.

"Paul Hebert, a Canadian geneticist, was at a supermarket checkout, and wondered how many products were in the store, given they could all be diagnosed by a scanner that's using a 12-digit code. The typical supermarket has about 30,000 'species'--that is products."

"The mathematics of combinations means that a few hundred base pairs of the familiar A,T,C, and G that go into DNA's genetic code would be enough to uniquely identify the 20 million or perhaps 200 million species that might be out there."

Once a species has been bar-coded and the sequence put into an online database, one can check a piece of species--say a fish filet--to see if it's really what it's supposed to be.

Something smelly about fish

That's what Bob Hanner, a professor at the University of Guelph has been doing.

"With more than 200 fish biologists around the world, we've bar-coded over 50,000 specimens and developed a reference library of over 8,000 species," Hanner said.

"With my graduate students and high school students in the USA and Canada, we began to collect fish fillets from the markets and bar-coded them. What was shocking was that one in four was mislabeled. This is a systemic problem, it happens with many different species.

"Every sample of "red snapper" was, in fact, tilapia--a fish that can be readily farmed. That's market fraud--and nobody likes to be ripped off.

"There are more insidious problems. Sometimes endangered fish are passed off as sustainably harvested fish."

Hundreds of new species

On a happier note, I also spoke to Sophie Vanmaele of the Museum of Natural History, Paris. Her Master's work was on a family of small marine snails called Triphorids.

They are small--typically only a few millimetres long (1/4 inch)--very diverse and very poorly known. As such, they help make the case that the diversity of the oceans may be a lot greater than usually accepted--which is what the Census of Marine Life is trying to determine.

Sophie analyzed 20,000 individuals, containing about 500 live specimens. The rest were just the shells. "Of the 20,000 specimens they correspond to 257 morphospecies, of which only one or two are known--and probably all the rest are new species," she told me.

Morphospecies are simply individuals that look different, based on their morphologies.

Of the 500 specimens, she grouped them into 73 morphospecies. She had analyzed about half of them using bar codes. Morphospecies are uncertain--they could just be different forms of the same species. Sophie's work was showing that, from the genetic bar codes, they were all different species.

"There are many other places across the Pacific, where there is at least this much diversity, perhaps more," she said.

What's in a name?

Linneaus invented the standard two-part name for species some 250 years ago. That name gives access to all the information about the species--it's metadata, as the bar-coding crowd insist on calling it. But in my closing remarks, I made this suggestion:

"Perhaps it's time for a better tag--the bar code, perhaps compressed by that computer program than makes tiny URLs out of much longer ones. Traditional taxonomists will take a very long time to name Sophie's Triphorid snails. Why bother, when the bar code works and its so much easier to obtain."

In response, I only expect those taxonomists to create a Facebook page of "a million taxonomists who want to burn Stuart Pimm at the stake." But you read it here first: As these techniques become ever cheaper and faster, the compressed bar code may eventually become the name of choice.

"Mqyzx7a" may lack the elegance of "Lophorina superba," but for one of the hundreds of thousands of as yet unnamed nematodes, who would care?

Professor Stuart L. Pimm is a conservation biologist at Duke University, North Carolina. A former member of the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, Pimm is the author of dozens of books and research papers, including the book "The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth."

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Authoritative platform on biodiversity and ecosystems to be established

IUCN media release 7 Jun 10;

IUCN and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) have today announced their support for the establishment of an overarching platform to provide independent policy‐relevant information on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

“IUCN supports the creation of the proposed Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), to increase dialogue between science and policy,” says Neville Ash, Head of IUCN’s Ecosystems Management Programme. “IPBES will assess the wealth of information already available on biodiversity, ecosystems and human well-being and will encourage the generation of further research in areas where it is needed.”

In order to fully meet its objectives and answer the needs of all users and managers of natural resources, it is vital that IPBES considers all relevant sciences – environmental, social and economic - and involves governments, expert organizations, civil society and all other actors.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has demonstrated the importance and value of an interface between science and decision-making, in the field of climate change. IPBES needs to receive equally significant political and financial support so that it can do the same for biodiversity,” adds Neville Ash.

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will serve as an authoritative platform to assess current knowledge, identify gaps and encourage further research. The group will also deliver methods and tools for use by decision makers and practitioners, including the private sector.

A joint IUCN-WBCSD statement was presented to the third Intergovernmental and Multi‐Stakeholder Meeting on IPBES gathered in Korea from 7 to 11 June 2010. The statement invites all stakeholders to cooperate toward effective solutions to maintaining, sustainably using and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services.

It calls for a strong involvement of business in the design and implementation of IPBES. Companies themselves being information providers, they generate knowledge and good practices around the sustainable use of biodiversity. They are also decision makers and play an important role in the conservation, use and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. By bringing complementary perspectives to those from governments, business can help identify and prioritize the most relevant information gaps to be addressed by IPBES.

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Biodiversity Media Alliance links journalists with the web of life

IUCN media release 4 Jun 10;

Journalists worldwide now have a vital new resource to help their reporting on the world’s biodiversity, what its decline means for humanity, and how it can be tackled.

The Biodiversity Media Alliance’s online network is building bridges between journalists and the sources of information they need to tell this story well.

More than 500 biodiversity experts have already joined the network ahead of its official launch today, World Environment Day (5 June). They include scientists, policymakers, non-governmental organisation staff and indigenous people from some the most biodiverse parts of our planet.

The Biodiversity Media Alliance is a new partnership between the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Internews and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which aims to boost the quantity and quality of media coverage of biodiversity around the world.

The new online network will enable journalists and biodiversity experts to interact and share their news and views about biodiversity issues.

“This is a critical period for biodiversity, with crucial international treaty talks taking place later in the year and new reports emphasizing the importance and challenge of protecting the web of life around us,” says James Fahn, Director of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. “But even in this, the International Year of Biodiversity, coverage of these issues in the mainstream media has been scarce. We hope that this new online resource will help to change that.”

Mike Shanahan of IIED adds: “Our health, security and prosperity all depend on nature’s riches but these riches are disappearing fast. As a species we bite the hand that feeds us when we forget that we are part of the web of life and allow our life-support systems — such as forests and coral reefs — to decline so fast. Journalists have a key role to play in reporting this situation because it affects the future of everyone on the planet.”

Keith A. Wheeler, Chair of the Commission on Education and Communication of IUCN highlights: "Today's challenges are moving towards more sustainable financial and energy systems, food security and international security - all these challenges ultimately depend on the services nature offers. Managing knowledge between conservationists and journalists plays a key role in communicating the urgency for change, showing change is possible, providing examples that can be followed and creating new alliances. IUCN supports the new initiative of the Biodiversity Media Alliance".

For more information, visit the website or contact:

* James Fahn, Executive Director of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, jfahn@internews.org, +1-202-772-5738
* Mike Shanahan, Press Officer, International Institute for Environment and Development, mike.shanahan@iied.org, +44 207 3882117
* Alison Coleman, Regional Communications Officer, IUCN Regional Office for Pan-Europe, alison.coleman@iucn.org, +32 2 739 0321
* Katalin Czippán, Regional Chair for the Commission on Education and Communication of IUCN, czippank@vnet.hu, + 36 30 2507857

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Decision time for whale conservation

Cristian Maquieira BBC Green Room 7 Jun 10;

Member governments of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) should seriously consider proposals to end two decades of deadlock, says IWC chairman Cristian Maquieira. By giving some ground, he argues, anti-whaling nations might secure a better deal for conservation.

In the acceptance speech I gave a year ago when I was elected to chair the International Whaling Commission (IWC), I reminded IWC commissioners that they represented not only their governments but also the hopes and aspirations of their respective populations regarding whale conservation.

I also pointed out that the international community watches what the IWC does and how it protects whales.

As chairman, I took on the challenge of trying to bring the 88 member governments together around a common vision, to bring an end to two decades of whaling effectively outside international control.

I anticipated in my speech that the task was enormous and the outcome by no means evident or certain; but I also believed the challenge was worth pursuing in case it could usher in a situation that most parties would find more acceptable than the current stand-off.

The intervening year has seen many formal and informal sessions of a group of IWC member governments representing the various regional interests at play (including pro- and anti-whaling countries).

Seven weeks ago, IWC vice-chair Anthony Liverpool and I jointly issued a paper to help frame what could be an IWC consensus decision.

Two weeks before the decisive final sessions of the IWC's annual meeting start in Agadir, Morocco, the outcome continues to be uncertain; and yet for whales, for whalers and for everyone interested in the issue, a great deal is at stake.

Starting point

The most essential ingredients of the potential compromise that the vice-chair and I presented seven weeks ago are these:

* all whaling to be brought under IWC control for a 10-year period, with countries agreeing not to go hunting unilaterally under provisions such as "scientific whaling" and to abide by quotas set by the IWC
* quotas to be set considerably lower than current levels
* establishment of a comprehensive set of control measures, such as observers on ships, and DNA registers of harvested whales and market sampling to detect and deter illegal whaling
* whaling only permitted by the three countries already doing it (Iceland, Japan and Norway)
* subsistence hunting by indigenous peoples unaffected

The vice-chair and I described our paper as "a starting point for further discussions and negotiations rather than a firm proposal."

We warned that, naturally, "there is a tendency for governments of all persuasions to take a position that 'we' have given up more than 'them'".

We encouraged governments to examine our proposal against the status quo that has dominated the IWC in the last two decades.

In this status quo, despite the existence of an international moratorium on commercial whaling, three countries catch whales outside of IWC control and will presumably continue to do so unless we find a common way forward in Agadir.

We asked everyone to try and avoid evaluating our proposal against their own strongly-held principles.

What we are seeking by bringing all whaling under the control of the IWC is to reduce significantly the number of whales killed and to promote whale conservation, especially of the most endangered species and including support for whale sanctuaries.

Package deal

Whaling countries say they would be conceding a lot if they relinquished what they consider to be their rights under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling - to catch whales for scientific purposes (Japan) or under objection or reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling that was adopted in 1982 (Iceland and Norway).

On the other side, countries described as "anti-whaling" fear to be seen as caving in on hard-fought conservation measures, especially the commercial whaling moratorium and the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

A crucial ingredient of the "package" is the actual quotas to which the three countries would agree to adhere.

We inserted example numbers in our submission.

Like some of the other ingredients, they have aroused strong passions in different quarters: but as we said at the time, they are just examples, and are up for negotiation along with every other aspect of the package.

It is always difficult to say whether a glass is half full or half empty; but what is clear is that for a solution to be found, no country must come out with a feeling of humiliation, and the future of whale conservation globally must be guaranteed.

No one can win everything, and no one can lose everything.

So far, all the IWC member governments that have commented have spoken against what we're proposing, regardless of whether they want to catch whales or whether they want to reinforce whale protection.

That was expected - we never said it was our first choice either.

It is now time, however, for governments to speak together about what they are ready to achieve collectively.

Bold step

I am aware that it would be a very bold step for countries with strongly held views in favour of whale protection to consider that the three remaining whaling countries might be allowed to continue some form of hunting under the aegis of the IWC.

I am also aware that it would be an equally bold step for the three whaling countries to relinquish what they see as their existing right to go whaling and set their own quotas.

The lively discussion that has ensued since the vice-chair and I issued our proposal is exactly what we wanted and what we expected.

In the 21st Century, international policy cannot be well-informed and effective without public accountability and the engagement of civil society.

That's what I meant when in my acceptance speech last year I referred to the public's hopes and aspirations.

Those aspirations and hopes differ markedly depending on what side of the fence one sits.

But if any of the different stakeholders feel we have not given them a fair hearing, we are bound for failure.

There are now less than three weeks left before 25 June, the last day of the IWC meeting.

My hope is that by that time, member governments will have listened to each other, and to civil society, and they will be in a position to adopt a decision that shows openness and wisdom - and helps ensure the conservation of whales across the oceans for this generation and those to come.

Cristian Maquieira is chairman of the International Whaling Commission and Chilean Ambassador to Paraguay

The views expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author, and do not represent those of any IWC member government

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

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Paper industry tests genetically altered trees

Mitch Stacy, Associated Press Yahoo News 7 Jun 10;

TAMPA, Fla. – The commercial paper industry's plans to plant forests of genetically altered eucalyptus trees in seven Southern states have generated more cries from critics worried that such a large introduction of a bioengineered nonnative plant could throw natural ecosystems out of whack.

ArborGen, a biotechnology venture affiliated with three large paper companies, got U.S. Department of Agriculture approval last month for field trials involving as many as 250,000 trees planted at 29 sites during the next few years. Much smaller lots of the genetically altered trees have been growing in some of the states for years.

Australian eucalyptus trees grow faster than native hardwoods and produce high-quality pulp perfect for paper production, but thus far, they have been able to thrive only in very warm climates. South Carolina-based ArborGen genetically altered the trees to withstand freezing temperatures, and the idea with the test forests is to see how far north they can now be grown.

The test sites will cover a total of about 300 acres in Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana.

While genetically engineered crops such as corn and soybeans have become common, ArborGen's experiment marks the first large planting of designer trees in the United States. The company says plantations of hearty, faster-growing eucalyptus could produce more timber in a smaller area and allow conservation of natural forests.

But critics say that despite the USDA's assurance that the trees pose no environmental threat, not enough is known about their effect on natural surroundings.

"We have many reservations about it," said Neil J. Carman, a biologist who serves on the Sierra Club's genetic engineering committee. "We don't think the scientific evidence is in yet that says this is a good idea."

Anne Petermann, executive director of the activist group Global Justice Ecology Project, said eucalyptus trees are invasive, require vast amounts of water that could reduce groundwater levels, and increase the wildfire risk because they are so flammable.

"This is quite a dangerous tree to be mass planting," Petermann said.

But ArborGen CEO Barbara Wells said eucalyptus trees have not proven invasive in dozens of tropical countries where they are widely grown on plantations. Also, ArborGen genetically modified the trees to limit their ability to disperse seed and spread.

Although the new field trials will significantly increase the number of genetically engineered trees being grown, Wells called it "very confined research."

"The total is 300 acres, but when you're doing tree research, that really is very small acreage," she said, noting that about 20,000 acres of genetically unaltered eucalyptus trees are already grown in central and southern Florida for production of wood chips and mulch. The new test forests will show whether the genetically altered trees can thrive farther north in Florida, where freezing temperatures can occur in the winter.

Donald Rockwood, a professor emeritus in the University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation, has worked for about 30 years on developing eucalyptus trees that thrive in Florida. He uses traditional breeding techniques, not genetic modification.

The genetically unaltered trees growing in controlled plantations in Florida have not proven invasive, are relatively efficient users of water and are no more flammable than other hardwoods, said Rockwood, who was hired by ArborGen to do a report on eucalyptus trees' invasiveness because of his experience working with them at the university.

Still, Rockwood said, introduction of any genetically altered species poses risks. For example, the gene that makes the trees resistant to cold could be transferred to surrounding plants, allowing them to spread farther north than nature intended.

"It certainly needs to be done carefully, it needs to be regulated and there needs to be a period of well-defined observations," Rockwood said.

The ArborGen trees will be planted in seven counties throughout Florida, four counties each in South Carolina and Texas, two each in Alabama and Mississippi and single counties in Georgia and Louisiana. Rockwood said they can grow about 25 feet per year and be ready to harvest in less than three years.

ArborGen is a joint venture of International Paper, MeadWestvaco and Rubicon Ltd.

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Follow the money: Wealth, population are key drivers of invasive species

Oregon State University EurekAlert 7 Jun 10;

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study of biological invasions in Europe found they were linked not so much to changes in climate or land cover, but to two dominant factors – more money and more people.

Wealth and population density, along with an increase in international trade and commerce, were the forces most strongly associated with invasive species that can disrupt ecosystems and cause severe ecological or agricultural damage, scientists said.

An international group of 26 researchers reported the new findings this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a professional journal.

Dealing with these issues will be "pivotal for policy makers and future management," the researchers said, although no easy or inexpensive solutions exist, and many nations have been reluctant to take steps that might interfere with economic growth.

"Invasive species are a continuing and extensive ecological crisis, and we're finding that human population and accumulated wealth are important drivers of this problem," said Susan Shirley, a research assistant in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, and co-author on this study.

"Regional patterns of species invasions are complex, and there is still unexplained variation, likely due to local scale differences in several of the ecological factors," Shirley said. "But invasive species are in large part an international trade issue, and this is an important problem we have not yet come to grips with. Next to population density, the closest correlation is to long-standing wealth, not more recent increases in income or economic activity."

Human activities often related to trade, travel and transport, particularly in the past 50 years, have caused a surge in the number of introduced species, ranging from plants to fungi, insects, fish, birds, reptiles and mammals. Some are innocuous, but many displace native species and cause a range of ecosystem disruption. As a crossroads of international travel and trade, with both a high population and high income, Europe has experienced many invasive species.

The study concluded that other possible factors, such as climate, geography or land cover, were less significant than population density and wealth capital, and that those secondary causes may have been overestimated in the past.

The mechanisms of species invasion are often associated with international trade. Invasive species can hitch-hike on imported products, be brought to new regions as pets, be associated with contaminated food, or even introduced on purpose, as in the case of some ornamental plants or new crops.

In another recent study, Shirley and her colleagues researched bird introductions in Europe, and the findings supported this premise. Trade with Eastern Europe was severely disrupted for decades during the Cold War. By the end of that long period of international tension and restricted trade, Western Europe had experienced an increase in invasive bird species, but numbers in Eastern Europe actually declined.

In the new study, researchers were able to predict the number of alien species in Europe to a reasonably high degree simply by defining the level of wealth and the number of people.

"The overwhelming effect of human factors, wealth and demography, found for several taxonomic groups translates to human activities responsible for enhancing biological invasions," researchers wrote in the study.

Solving this problem will not be easy, the study suggested.

Identifying the specific mechanisms of invasion is critical. Monitoring may need to be improved. Legislation to restrict or regulate certain imports will likely be needed, in addition to charging fees or tariffs that would help deal with invasive species when they occur. But the World Trade Organization and other international agreements "have no effective mechanisms" to address this concern, the authors said. And aside from good intentions, restrictions could be costly.

A major challenge, Shirley said, will be to understand the specific economic factors leading to introductions so they can be effectively addressed while minimizing negative impacts on international trade. These factors are likely to differ among species. For example, minimizing releases of vertebrate species might require additional regulation of the pet trade, while a focus on transport infrastructures such as roads may help control introductions of alien invertebrates.

"Nations do not have a good track record in forsaking future economic prosperity for environmental benefits," the study concluded. "Only if the true determinants are identified will it be possible to predict and manage alien species invasions adequately without adverse effects on other economic sectors."

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