Malaysia: RM60m to build viaducts for tiger crossings

Nicholas Cheng and Kanyakumari Damodaran New Straits Times 21 Feb 12;

These are in addition to earlier six similar wildlife-friendly projects costing RM110m

The 123km highway links Grik in Perak with Jeli in Kelantan, crossing the Main Range.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said although the cost was high, experience showed the idea worked and these viaducts would be built in Perak.

He said the viaducts would provide safe passage for animals as part of the ecological linkages at the Belum-Temenggor Priority Tiger Landscape and the Greater Taman Negara.

These projects are in addition to earlier approved projects worth RM110 million for creating six wildlife-friendly viaducts in Terengganu and Pahang.

Although several core tiger habitats had been designated as protected areas, as part of the effort to double the wild tiger population by 2020, Kurup said many tigers were found outside these areas.

Also, extensive land use created fragmented forests which led to fragmented tiger populations and conflict issues from encounters between tigers and humans.

The Central Forest Spine Master Plan intends to create a contiguous network of forests in the backbone of the peninsula.

"For Malaysia, the tiger is part of our national symbol and its conservation is important as it occupies the top position in the animal food chain and its conservation will mean a healthier bio-diversity," Kurup said when launching the Cross-Sectoral Executive Forum on Mainstreaming Tiger Habitats yesterday.

Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director-general Datuk Rasid Samsudin said the mainstreaming of tiger habitats into the national plans had already started showing promising results.

"Perhilitan now manages around 15,000ha of ecological corridors around the wildlife viaducts in Terengganu," he said.

During the forum, World Bank's programme director of Global Tiger Initiative Keshav Varma urged government agencies and the private sector to consider how their polices and programmes could affect wildlife.

He also praised the Malaysian government for balancing the use of natural resources with the protection of tigers and other wildlife. "If the Malaysian model is adopted, the future prospects for tigers and other species will improve markedly."

Tigers, which are the largest cats in the world, have already lost 95 per cent of their habitats throughout Asia. Their numbers have dwindled to around 7,000.

The four main tiger states are Pahang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu.

They cover 90 per cent of the tiger habitats, with an estimate showing there are 450 to 500 tigers, indicating that Malaysia has the largest known tiger population in Southeast Asia.

The 123km highway links Grik in Perak with Jeli in Kelantan, crossing the Main Range.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said although the cost was high, experience showed the idea worked and these viaducts would be built in Perak.

He said the viaducts would provide safe passage for animals as part of the ecological linkages at the Belum-Temenggor Priority Tiger Landscape and the Greater Taman Negara.

These projects are in addition to earlier approved projects worth RM110 million for creating six wildlife-friendly viaducts in Terengganu and Pahang.

Although several core tiger habitats had been designated as protected areas, as part of the effort to double the wild tiger population by 2020, Kurup said many tigers were found outside these areas.

Also, extensive land use created fragmented forests which led to fragmented tiger populations and conflict issues from encounters between tigers and humans.

The Central Forest Spine Master Plan intends to create a contiguous network of forests in the backbone of the peninsula.

"For Malaysia, the tiger is part of our national symbol and its conservation is important as it occupies the top position in the animal food chain and its conservation will mean a healthier bio-diversity," Kurup said when launching the Cross-Sectoral Executive Forum on Mainstreaming Tiger Habitats yesterday.

Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director-general Datuk Rasid Samsudin said the mainstreaming of tiger habitats into the national plans had already started showing promising results.

"Perhilitan now manages around 15,000ha of ecological corridors around the wildlife viaducts in Terengganu," he said.

During the forum, World Bank's programme director of Global Tiger Initiative Keshav Varma urged government agencies and the private sector to consider how their polices and programmes could affect wildlife.

He also praised the Malaysian government for balancing the use of natural resources with the protection of tigers and other wildlife. "If the Malaysian model is adopted, the future prospects for tigers and other species will improve markedly."

Tigers, which are the largest cats in the world, have already lost 95 per cent of their habitats throughout Asia. Their numbers have dwindled to around 7,000.

The four main tiger states are Pahang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu.

They cover 90 per cent of the tiger habitats, with an estimate showing there are 450 to 500 tigers, indicating that Malaysia has the largest known tiger population in Southeast Asia.

RM170mil for tiger corridor
Isabelle Lai The Star 21 Feb 12;

PETALING JAYA: The Government has allocated RM170mil to build wildlife-friendly viaducts that are vital in linking fragmented tiger populations and reducing conflict with humans, said Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.

He said these included viaducts along the East-West Highway in Perak costing RM60mil in addition to earlier approved projects in Terengganu and Pahang costing RM110mil.

The viaducts will allow safe passage across highways for wildlife, including tigers and elephants, between conservation corridors such as the Greater Taman Negara and Belum-Temengor Priority Tiger Landscape.

“This is an ambitious yet strong commitment from the Government to strive to double the wild tiger population by 2022,” he said in his speech before launching the Cross-Sectoral Executive Leadership Forum on Mainstreaming Tiger Habitats here yesterday.

Despite the high cost, Kurup said it was possible to build these viaducts through early intervention during the planning stage of infrastructure development.

He said Malaysia would continue to ensure tiger conservation efforts were part of mainstream state and district-level programmes through its Central Forest Spine master plan and National Tiger Conservation Action Plan.

Malaysia was one of 13 countries that took part in the International Tiger Summit in 2010 in St Petersburg, Russia, to address the threat of tiger extinction and highlight the animals as the face of biodiversity.

Keshav Varma, the World Bank programme director for the Global Tiger Initiative, said the Malaysian Government had been “extremely forward-looking” in finding a balance between using its natural resources and protecting wildlife, including accommodating the needs of tigers and other species amid development.

“If the Malaysian model is adopted, the future prospects for tigers and other species could improve markedly,” he said.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute director Steven Montfort said tiger conservation could be achieved by working together with all parties involved.

Read more!

Malaysia: Search for elusive sun bear

New Straits Times 21 Feb 12;

JERANTUT: The state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has intensified efforts to catch a sun bear in Felda Gelanggi 2 near here as it could shed light on one of the animals found dead in the area last week.

State Perhilitan director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said not much information could be derived from the dead bear as its carcass was highly decomposed.

She said it was difficult to confirm the cause of death or sex of the dead bear.

"Earlier reports show that they are a pair but we have yet to catch the other animal although a trap has been set in the area."

The carcass of the sun bear was discovered by two Felda settlers in their oil palm smallholding in Felda Gelanggi 2 on Feb 13.

Baba Madon, 65, and Shaharuddin Shamsuddin, 40, had a week earlier chanced upon the pair of rare bears when harvesting oil palm fruits.

Baba said one of the bears had fallen into a ditch in the smallholding and it looked like it was pregnant.

He said the skinny bear managed to crawl out of the ditch before moving into the jungle.

Perhilitan said the population of the totally-protected species had been declining steadily.

Read more!

Malaysia: Paying to conserve the forest

Natalie Heng The Star 21 Feb 12;

Paying for ecosystem services – more people are up for it than you think, if the right conditions are put in place.

WOULD you pay to stop logging and poaching in the Belum-Temengor forest? That question was posed to 1,300 households in Kuala Lumpur and the suburbs and rural outskirts of Selangor, to determine the use value of the 300,000ha of forest reserves in upper Perak.

From the answers given, it appears that some Malaysians are a generous lot when it comes to shielding Belum-Temengor, one of the richest forested areas in the country – they are willing to pay a mean amount of RM4 to protect it against logging, and RM3 against poaching.

The survey was conducted as part of the Conservation Of Biological Diversity Through Improved Forest Planning Tools Project (CBioD Project) and implemented by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM).

Investigations into the recreational use and watershed values of Belum-Temengor were also conducted. All these studies are being used to develop tools for the economic valuation of goods and services.

To maintain accuracy, an immense amount of time and effort went into designing the survey, which was contracted out to PE Research. Participants were made to understand the costs and benefits of two scenarios: one where Belum-Temengor is protected from logging and poaching, and one where it is left as status quo (Belum-Temengor are forest reserves which are earmarked for logging, and the wild flora and fauna there are currently heavily poached).

They were informed on the benefits of logging the place such as potential employment and timber revenues for the state government and the costs (soil erosion, reduced water quality, potential flooding and species extinction).

The respondents had to consider how much they could actually afford to pay each month. Some are willing to fork out as much as RM15 to ensure that the forest remains intact.

However, 9% of the respondents do not want to pay anything. Using the mean amount people were willing to pay (RM4 against logging and RM3 against poaching), the aggregate amount added up to RM441,554,169 per year (based on the total of 1,736,200 households in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in 2009).

With state revenue from logging estimated at RM31,977,703 per year, and the cost of enforcement against logging and poaching at about RM11,766,000 per year, this means that there is ample funds for protecting the reserve. And even if only Kuala Lumpur and Selangor participated in the scheme, more than enough money would be generated to protect wildlife, reduce the risk of flooding and also safeguard water sources.

The survey specifically excluded Perak because it looked purely at passive values (no direct usage of the resources) and to avoid bias (Perakians might have a vested stake in the forest reserves, for example, as employees of logging companies or as operators of resorts there).

Lead CBioD international collaborator Jeffrey Vincent says funding limitations prevented extension of the study to other states. Nevertheless, looking at the data they analysed, he says an increased sample size will not make any statistical difference in terms of results.

Raising the money

To raise the money needed to protect Belum-Temengor, the survey offers an interesting suggestion: through charges to the monthly water bills of households and businesses.

This can work since there is a tangible link – the forest acts as a water catchment capable of providing emergency supplies to states like Selangor during times of water shortage. The money can be used to compensate the state government for the loss of timber revenue and to set up a forest management programme.

The survey results promise to be a useful tool for decision-making at policy level. It has been shown that conservation decisions can be improved if there is information on the total economic value of alternative management options.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) conservation advisory committee chair Tan Chin Tong says copies of the report will be distributed to the communities around Gerik in Perak, the nearest town to Belum-Temengor, to raise more awareness on the types of value the forest holds.

“Generally, when people think about the value of the forest, they tend to associate this with logging income,” he says.

He says MNS has regular meetings with the Perak Government and hopes to communicate the report findings at the next opportunity.

Likewise, CBioD project national project director Dr Shamsudin Ibrahim says FRIM will explore the possibility of presenting the findings to the Economic Planning Unit. “In principle, I think such a plan could work.”

Certain elements are crucial; these include an effective communication campaign to explain how the scheme will work and benefit people.

“Education is important, payment for ecosystem services is something new in our society,” says Shamsudin.

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Indonesia: Bleak Forecast for the Future of E. Kalimantan Orangutans

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang Jakarta Globe 20 Feb 12;

Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Orangutans in Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan face a bleak future unless urgent measures are taken to stop wildlife poaching and illegal logging in the ostensibly protected area, park officials warned on Monday.

Asep Sugiatna, the head of the national park, said the main threat to the orangutans there came from poachers who often killed the endangered apes while hunting deer.

He also said they were being killed off by workers at the various logging concessions and palm oil plantations operating on the peripheries of the park, who viewed the animals as pests.

“It’s these two problems that pose the greatest threat to the continued existence of the orangutans in the park,” Asep said.

Park officials estimate there are around 2,000 orangutans inhabiting Kutai National Park. However, Asep said his office only had 20 forest rangers to patrol the 198,600-hectare park.

“It’s nowhere near enough,” he said.

“Just 20 people to guard nearly 2,000 square kilometers of forest? That’s why we need to work with the local people. It helps in terms of monitoring and protecting the forest.”

The park straddles the districts of East Kutai and Kutai Kartanegara, where at least two palm oil companies have been accused of slaughtering dozens of orangutans and other primates deemed to be pests.

Earlier this month, authorities uncovered more grisly evidence of this kind of practice when they found an orangutan corpse in the East Kutai area of the park.

The body had two gunshot wounds to the head, while the arms had multiple slashes believed to have been caused by a machete.

Dr. Yaya Rayadin, an orangutan researcher at Mulawarman University in Samarinda, the provincial capital, said the recent spate of killings indicated a failure on the part of the authorities to enforce the protection of the species and the sanctity of the national park.

“The authorities are fearful of saving orangutans whose habitat overlaps with logging, mining and palm oil concessions,” he said. “If this keeps up, pretty soon the orangutan population here will diminish.”

Read more!

Indonesia: Again, tiger injured after being illegally trapped in Bengkulu

Antara 20 Feb 12;

Bengkulu, Sumatra (ANTARA News) - An injured sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) was rescued after it was found illegally trapped in Air Rami industrial forest, North Bengkulu, Sumatra Island.

This follows a similar incident that took place in Lebong District, Bengkulu last month.

It is understood that the tiger was trapped on February 12, only to be discovered on February 15, in the forest, around 180 km from Bengkulu City, Amon Zamora, the chairman of the Bengkulu Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) said, on Monday.

BKSDA officers evacuated the tiger after walking for three days to reach the location.

The tiger was given medical treatment and two of its toes had to be amputated by a team of vet surgeons.

The tiger is expected to be moved to Bengkulu City for further treatment.

In January, a sumatran tiger injured in a trap in Bengkulu and transferred to Bogor for treatment, died during surgery at the Safari Park Veterinary Hospital in Cisarua.

The endangered animal, which had sustained serious injuries after falling into the trap in the protected Gedang Hulu Lais forest, died while being treated in intensive care by a team of doctors.

Local residents, who had found the trapped animal, apparently tried to kill it with spears.

But the tiger survived the assault and was rescued and evacuated to Bengkulu city by BKSDA personnel and police.

(F001/INE)

Editor: Ade Marboen

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‘World Bank in Tiger Territory – No Greenwashing’

Marwaan Macan-Markar interviews Keshav Varma, director, Global Tiger Initiative
IPS News 20 Feb 12;

BANGKOK, Feb 20, 2012 (IPS) - When World Bank president Robert Zoellick steps down in June, the tiger will lose an ally who worked to prevent the decimation of Asia’s iconic animal by a voracious demand for its bones and parts in newly affluent China.

Under Zoellick’s watch, the Washington-based financial powerhouse launched the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) - focusing on an animal that roams 13 countries - as a symbol of its commitment to protect the planet’s biodiversity and thwart the illegal wildlife trade.

"There was a need for urgent, concentrated action to protect the tigers," says Keshav Varma, head of the GTI. "There was a decline both in the number of tigers and in their habitats." Launched in June 2008 the GTI provided a powerful platform to "bring the tiger range countries into the forefront of conservation."

These countries, with Russia at one end and Indonesia at the other, are home to 3,200 wild tigers. They are a fraction of the 100,000 striped, majestic beasts that existed in the early 20th century in the tiger range that includes India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan as also China, Burma, Cambodia,Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The Bank’s efforts have given these countries prominence in the efforts to save the tiger, Varma said, in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting here of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Q: The Bank has said that it sees the tiger as the face of biodiversity. Is this still the case four years after the GTI was launched?

A: Yes, because they are an iconic indicator of the pressure biodiversity is facing. Through the eyes of the tiger you come to know what is happening in remote areas. We have seen tiger habitats reduced to the borders of countries, or where development and urbanisation have completely destroyed or fragmented their habitat. So, if it were not for the tigers you would not know what is happening to the forests.

Q: What do you bring to the table that is new to helping the tiger range countries?

A: Six countries have been assured resources – 100 million dollars in concessional lending – by the Bank and GEF (Global Environmental Facility) with 65 million dollars in grants. We have also launched a multi-donor trust fund for another 30 million dollars. And we have created partnerships with the Smithsonian to train park rangers in modern management.

Q: Are you saying that park management was ignored till the Bank stepped in?

A: It was something where attention was not being paid before. The parks have to be managed according to modern, scientific systems. There has to be a management of information. This is a weak link in this whole area. And what has also prevailed is that people in these countries are better trained in forestry than wildlife management.

Park ecology is not being monitored properly. We have taken initial steps by training 300 people in tiger range countries.

Q: That may boost the Bank’s commitment as a conservationist, but your critics in civil society see this foray into a new territory as ‘greenwashing,’ since the Bank’s funds to build roads, dams and large infrastructure projects have caused untold environmental damage?

A: No, no, it is not greenwashing. We are conscious of the environment and environment sustainability is an important issue for the Bank. This is not new. It has been bank territory before. We have lent 20 billion dollars for biodiversity projects and some of these were directed towards conservation of wildlife.

Since launching the GTI, it has affected the way we do business within the Bank. There is much awareness on how we plan infrastructure projects. For instance, there is a rural road programme in India, and they are coming to the GTI and are coordinating their work to ensure that the roads do not adversely impact habitat.

There is a filter in terms of environmental impact analysis, where you are taking a much closer look at how our programmes do not impact the environment. We also conduct evaluations based on that; definitely, there is a greater amount of consciousness in the Bank. So the GTI has become a bit of a catalyst in terms of reassuring better awareness.

Q: Since Asia is the testing ground for the GTI, China does come into the picture, given the large number of tiger farms it has. Conservationists estimate that nearly 5,000 tigers have been bred in captivity to feed the trade in tiger products. Is the Bank calling for such farms to be closed?

A: Our position is that tiger farms help the market commercialisation of tiger parts. The Bank is prepared to offer assistance to countries to phase them out. In the interim, they need to be better regulated and better managed. There are definitely a lot of tiger farms and tiger parts are commercially produced in the region. China is not the only place.

Q: Is your concern about tiger farms shared by the tiger range countries?

A: Some countries are concerned that tiger farms are getting out of control and may ask GTI for assistance. They are aware about the surge in demand for tiger parts due to the emergence of a richer class in Asia and the illegal trade being more aggressive and better organised.

Read more!

New Species of Bat Discovered in Vietnam

ScienceDaily 20 Feb 12;

A distinctive echolocation frequency led to the discovery of a new species of bat within the genus Hipposideros. Although this bat is similar to the species Hipposideros armiger, differences in acoustics, size, and DNA between these bats led to the identification of the new species. This new member of the bat community, which has been found in two locations in Vietnam, has been given the scientific name Hipposideros griffini.

The current article of the Journal of Mammalogy reports on findings from a survey of bats in Vietnam over a span of three years. Eleven of 308 bats of the Hipposideros genus that were captured and handled for study displayed differing characteristics from all known taxa of Hipposideros and represent a new species.

Captured bats were measured for features such as forearm length, ear height, nose-leaf width, tooth row length, and body mass. Tissue samples were taken for genetic analysis. Recordings were made inside a flight tent, in front of caves, and under forest canopies, identifying calls of bats when they left their roosts and when they were foraging. Researchers used software for bat call analysis that can display color sonograms and measure frequencies.

The H. griffini bat has a smaller overall body size than its close cousin, H. armiger, and variations in the skull and teeth. Differences also appeared in the mitochondrial DNA collected from these bats. The echolocation frequencies of the new species range from 76.6 to 79.2 kHz, which is higher than frequencies of several H. armiger subspecies, which range from 64.7 to 71.4 kHz. Additional evidence shows that these two species are occupying the same geographical region yet have retained their separate identities.

H. griffini is named after the late Professor Donald Redfield Griffin of Rockefeller University in New York. Griffin was a leader in and essential contributor to bat echolocation research, which was key to identifying H. griffini as a new species. The proposed common name for this bat is "Griffin's leaf-nosed bat."

The new species was found at Cat Ba Island in Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam and in Chu Mom Ray National Park, situated on the mainland more than 600 miles (1,000 km) to the south. H. griffini joins about 70 other species within the genus Hipposideros.

Journal Reference:

Vu Dinh Thong, Sebastien J. Puechmaille, Annette Denzinger, Christian Dietz, Gabor Csorba, Paul J. J. Bates, Emma C. Teeling, Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler. A new species of Hipposideros (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) from Vietnam. Journal of Mammalogy, 2012; 93 (1): 1 DOI: 10.1644/11-MAMM-A-073.1

Strange New Leaf-Nosed Bat Found in Vietnam
Nose projections may help species catch prey.
Christine Dell'Amore National Geographic News 24 Feb 12;

A new species of bat whose face bristles with leaf-like protrusions has been discovered in Vietnam, a new study says.

When scientists first spotted Griffin's leaf-nosed bat in Chu Mom Ray National Park in 2008, the animal was almost mistaken for a known species, the great leaf-nosed bat, said Vu Dinh Thong, of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi.

Still, Vu Dinh and his team, thinking there was a chance the bat might in fact be new to science, used nets to catch some of the docile animals.

"While captured, some similar body-sized bats, i.e. [the] great leaf-nosed bat, reacts very angrily," he said by email. "But Griffin's leaf-nosed bat seems quite gentle."

The team did, however, have to contend with some vexing creatures—the "unbelievably high" number of leeches that take over Chu Mom Ray during rainy season, he said.

"It seems the leeches tried their best to capture us while we were trapping bats," Vu Dinh said.

"Fortunately, we won."

New Bat Still a Mystery

The team recorded the captured bats' sonar frequencies and took tissue samples from a few specimens.

The results revealed that the bat issues calls at a different frequency from the great leaf-nosed bat, which hinted that the newfound specimen is a new species. Genetic results confirmed the species—named Hipposideros griffini—is genetically distinct, according to the study, published recently in the Journal of Mammalogy.

So far, "absolutely little is known" about H. griffini, Vu Dinh said. Like all leaf-nosed bats, the newfound mammal has strange, leaf-like projections on its nose that may aid in echolocation—sending out sound waves and listening for echoes bouncing off objects, including prey.

(See "'Whispering' Bat Evolved to Trick Prey.")

The bat was also found in only two national parks, though further research may uncover more habitats for the creature, Vu Dinh said.

"This finding also suggested that Vietnam would be home to a highly diverse bat fauna, and that some species living within the country are not discovered."

Read more!

Myanmar: Rare monkey facing extinction

Ei Ei Toe Lwin Myanmar Times Volume 31, No. 615 February 20 - 26, 2012

A RECENTLY discovered species of monkey is threatened with extinction and conservation programs should be expanded as soon as possible, environmental researchers said last week.

A program to survey the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey population has been launched in Kachin State, along with an education campaign to reduce hunting and wildlife trafficking. However, experts say more needs to be done to protect the species, which is so rare that researchers have never seen a live individual.

“We are conducting an education program to conserve the snub-nosed monkey and assess its population status. We estimate there are about 330,” said U Ngwe Lwin, project manager of the Myanmar Primate Conservation Program.

He said wildlife trafficking and logging were a major threat not only to the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey but also other endangered species in northern Myanmar.

“There has been an increase in hunting and illegal wildlife trafficking to the Chinese market. The skull of a monkey costs US$10 or $20 in the [Chinese] market. Today, it is also easier for hunters to sell these pieces because logging companies build roads to transport logs to the Chinese border,” he said.

“It is difficult for our team to conduct conservation activities in this area on its own. We need to increase cooperation with other organisations.”

The project will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, local authorities and communities.

The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was discovered in March 2010 when a joint team comprising members of the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF) photographed an individual using camera traps placed in the high, forested mountains of Kachin State.

“We got information about this monkey in 2009 when conducting the [environmental impact assessment] for the Myitsone hydropower project but we could not do a survey because we didn’t have the time or expertise,” BANCA chairman Dr Htin Hla said. “So when we arrived back in Yangon we discussed the survey with the FFI and it was launched in March 2010 as a part of the Myanmar Primate Conservation Program.”

“I was extremely excited to finally see a photo of this rare and endangered snub-nosed monkey in the wild. We need to quickly protect this species from extinction as there are many threats, such as hunting and habitat loss, related to its close proximity to the China border,” he said.

“We have to take practical action as soon as possible. If not, we will lose a priceless species.”

A study of the new species of snub-nosed monkey appeared in the October issue of the American Journal of Primatology. According to the survey, the species has black fur, prominent lips and wide upturned nostrils that fill with water when it rains, causing the monkeys to sneeze. It differs from other snub-nosed monkey species found in Vietnam and China and has not been found outside Kachin State.

Mr Frank Monberg, Asia director for program development at FFI, said in a statement released on January 10 that the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was critically endangered and very rare.

“The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was described by science in 2010 from a trophy collected from a local hunter. As yet no scientist has seen a live individual,” Mr Monberg said.

On February 29, the FFI and ministry will jointly hold a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw to draft a conservation action plan for the snub-nosed monkey in Myanmar.

U Ye Htut, deputy director of the ministry’s Forest Department, said that stopping wildlife trafficking was essential for safeguarding the species’ future.

“We are ready to cooperate with the conservation team to conserve the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey. It is difficult for our ministry to control wildlife trafficking on its own. We do not have enough staff and face transportation difficulties. Additionally, we can’t open checkpoints at the border [with China] in these areas,” he said. “So at this workshop we plan to invite international organisations and experts and hope to get technical and financial assistance.”

There are fives species of snub-nosed monkey, with three found in China and one in Vietnam.

“We will invite snub-nosed monkey conservation experts from China and Vietnam to share their experience with us,” said U Ngwe Lwin.

Read more!

Australia To Assess Development Pressure On Barrier Reef

PlanetArk 20 Feb 12;

Australia will carry out a comprehensive assessment of development pressure on the Great Barrier Reef to help preserve the world's largest coral reef system, ministers said Saturday.

The assessment will take into account how development along Australia's northeast coast is affecting the reef, Environment Minister Tony Burke said in a joint statement with the Queensland state government.

In 2010, part of the reef was damaged when a Chinese-owned coal ship, the Shen Neng 1, ran aground on it.

The assessment would be the largest of its type ever conducted in Australia and would examine planning applications for rapidly developing Queensland, they said.

The state is an important exporter of commodities as well as a major tourist destination. The reef is one of its main tourist attractions and is visible from space.

"Rather than always dealing with one application at a time this allows an assessment of the region as a whole," Burke said in the statement. "That gives us an opportunity to take into account the cumulative impacts and any indirect impacts such as increased shipping movement."

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said it was a chance to take a long-term view of how best to manage the reef.

"It is up to us to protect this extraordinary place for generations to come," he said.

Queensland state environment minister Vicky Darling said the assessment would "ensure development is well-planned and systems are in place to protect the area's World Heritage values."

The assessment will be discussed next month with a delegation from U.N. body UNESCO, she said.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

Assessment Could Streamline Great Barrier Reef Coastal Development
Environment News Service 20 Feb 12;

CANBERRA, Australia, February 20, 2012 (ENS) - The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the core of the world's largest reef, will be assessed to ensure future development along Queensland's coast is sustainable and the reef's unique natural values are protected, the Australian and Queensland governments said Saturday.

The two governments have signed a new agreement with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority that all three parties say will be the most comprehensive and complex strategic assessment ever carried out in Australia.

The assessment is being conducted at the request of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which designated the 34.8 million hectare (134,633 square mile) World Heritage Site in 1981.

On the northeast coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area contains a huge diversity of species, including 1,500 species of fish, about 360 species of hard coral, 5,000 species of mollusc and more than 175 bird species. It is an important breeding area for humpback and other whale species.

The site includes feeding grounds for the endangered dugong and nesting grounds of world significance for two endangered species of marine turtle, the green and the loggerhead, as well as habitat for four other imperiled species of marine turtle.

At least four port developments, either being planned or now underway, could put the reef at risk. One plan is to take coal-seam gas from Queensland's more than 4,000 wells to Curtis Island, off Gladstone in the World Heritage Area for processing and export. To serve giant LNG tankers and expand its coal loading capacity, Gladstone Ports Corporation is now engaged in the largest dredging operation ever attempted inshore of the Great Barrier Reef. Dredging spoil will be dumped at sea within one kilometer (.6 mile) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

One of the world's largest coal ports, Hay Point, near Mackay, is slated for a massive port expansion with dredging and dumping that could harm the reef. Port Alma, at the mouth of the Fitzroy River near Great Keppel Island, wants to expand. And Bathurst Bay, north of Cooktown, could host a new coal loading facility in the reef's pristine northern area.

The World Heritage Committee fears these expansions will mean more shipping through the reef, increasing the likelihood of groundings and oil spills.

During the strategic assessment, state and federal environmental planning issues will be covered in a single process that provides a big-picture study under a national environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The outcome of the assessment will be a streamlining of development approvals say Commonwealth and state officials. Once a development program has been endorsed under the EPBC Act, individual projects will not need any further approval under national environmental law if done in accordance with the approved program.

"Rather than always dealing with one application at a time, this allows an assessment of the region as a whole," said Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke.

"That gives us an opportunity to take into account the cumulative impacts and any indirect impacts such as increased shipping movement," said Burke. "In short, it is a better way to protect one of the world's greatest treasures, and I'm glad it's started."

Queensland Environment Minister Vicky Darling welcomed the agreement, saying the assessment would benefit the environment and local communities and would also benefit industry through streamlining of government review processes.

"This strategic assessment enables us to work hand-in-hand with the Commonwealth Government to ensure development is well-planned and systems are in place to protect the area's World Heritage values," Darling said.

The present Queensland government headed by Premier Anna Bligh "has a record of safeguarding Queensland's spectacular coastline and environment," said Darling. "I expect the assessment will confirm the effectiveness of the range of existing protections this government has already put in place."

Premier Bligh Thursday released a study that shows the state government's reef protection program is having a positive effect on the reef. Tabling the Reef Protection Package Impact Statement 2012 in Parliament, the premier said said her government had recognized the scientific consensus that over-fertilization, over-grazing and pesticide runoff were harming the reef.

In 2009, the Bligh Government passed the Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Act, which aimed to reduce pesticide and fertilizer pollution of Reef waters by 50 percent by 2013 and sediment pollution by 20 percent by 2020.

"Farmers and industry deserve credit for their efforts not to exceed the optimum application rate for nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. On this basis our initiatives have permanently reduced the main pollutant of nitrogen runoff from cane farms by 14 percent," said Bligh.

Environment Minister Darling said, "In the last three decades, we have worked tirelessly and delivered landmark reforms to protect the biodiversity of this spectacular part of the world through major initiatives such Wild Rivers legislation, Queensland Coastal Plan, Great Barrier Reef regulations and expanded green zones in marine parks."

"The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's favorite playgrounds, is a $5 billion asset for our economy and supports more than 60,000 jobs for Queensland," said Darling. "We have a record of protecting its unique biodiversity and we are going to ensure it stays that way for future generations."

"The assessment will also help answer any questions the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has and we will be discussing the assessment further with the delegation visiting in early March," she said.

GBRMPA Chairman Russell Reichelt said the strategic assessment is an opportunity to take a long-term view of managing the Great Barrier Reef.

"The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world and it has rich diversity," Dr. Reichelt said. "It is up to us to protect this extraordinary place for generations to come."

"Considerable management effort has gone into building the resilience of the Reef, which means it is in a far better position to withstand threats to its health," said Reichelt. "We welcome the opportunity to work closely with Queensland on a sustainable plan for managing impacts from both onshore and offshore activities."

An alliance of national and Queensland environmental groups urged that the assessment cover, "the cumulative and synergistic impacts of development projects" such as minings, resorts, aquaculture, urban areas and ports, state development areas, and especially shipping and commercial tourism.

"The impacts of potential development must be overlayed on existing reef health and the likely impacts of climate change to determine what is ecologically sustainable and permissible in a World Heritage Area," said the Queensland Network of Community Environmental and Conservation Organisations. The alliance of 18 groups issued their statement on the assessment in December in advance of the next Queensland election, to be held on March 24.

"The strategic assessment must be run as an open and transparent process, in the form of a Public Commission of Inquiry," the groups say. They want to ensure that no new projects will be approved "until the strategic assessment has been completed and the World Heritage Committee's concerns have been resolved to their satisfaction."

The groups say the strategic assessment must include the full length of the reef coastline and the full area of reef catchments. They want the assessment to take into account: Port Plans, Water Resource Plans, Coastal Management Plans, Regional Plans, Local Area Plans, State Marine Parks management plans, GBRMPA Management Plans, State Planning Policies and the State Infrastructure Plan.

The environmental groups say the Queensland government should introduce World Heritage Legislation that meets Queensland's 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement obligations by enshrining the protection and management sections of the World Heritage Convention Operational Guidelines in Queensland law, including the requirement that all World Heritage Areas have their own management plans.

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Australia: Squeezed Into Smaller Spaces, Koalas Now Face Deadly Disease

The koala, one of Australia’s most treasured creatures, is in trouble.
Karen Barrow New York Times 20 Feb 12;

Faced with habitat loss, climate change and bacterial disease, koalas are being pushed into smaller and smaller regions of the country. In Queensland, the vast state in Australia’s northeastern corner, surveys suggest that from 2001 to 2008, their numbers dropped as much as 45 percent in urban areas and 15 percent in bushland.

And while climate change and habitat loss are affecting many other uniquely Australian animals, too — from birds and frogs to marsupials like wombats, wallabies and bandicoots — it is a bacterial infection that is worrying many scientists about the fate of the koala.

“Disease is a somewhat silent killer and has the very real potential to finish koala populations in Queensland,” said Dr. Amber Gillett, a veterinarian at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah, Queensland.

The killer is chlamydia, a class of bacteria far better known for causing venereal disease in humans than for devastating koala populations. Recent surveys in Queensland show that chlamydia has caused symptoms in up to 50 percent of the state’s wild koalas, with probably even more infected but not showing symptoms.

The bacteria — transmitted during birth, through mating and possibly through fighting — come in two different strains, neither the same as the human form. The first, Chlamydia pecorum, is causing a vast majority of health problems in Queensland’s koalas; the second, C. pneumoniae, is less common.

Unlike C. pecorum, the pneumoniae strain can jump to other species, but so far there is no evidence that it has spread from koalas to humans or vice versa.

Chlamydia causes a host of symptoms in koalas, including eye infections, which can lead to blindness, making it difficult for them to find scarce eucalyptus leaves, their primary food source. The bacteria can also lead to respiratory infections, along with cysts that can make female koalas infertile.

The epidemic has been particularly severe in Queensland, where nearly all koalas are infected with koala retrovirus, said Dr. Gillett. This retrovirus is an H.I.V.-like infection that suppresses the koala’s immune system and interferes with its ability to fight off chlamydia.

“In southern koala populations, where koala retrovirus is much less prevalent, normal immune functions tend to result in fewer cases of chlamydia,” Dr. Gillett said.

Treating chlamydia in wild koalas is a challenge, she said. The disease is so devastating that only a small percentage of the animals can be treated successfully and returned to the wild. And infected females often become infertile — a condition that cannot be reversed, so future population growth is affected as well.

There is no treatment available for koala retrovirus, but researchers are working to test a vaccine that would help prevent further spread of chlamydia infection in Queensland’s koalas.

A study published in 2010 in The American Journal of Reproductive Immunology found that this vaccine is both safe and effective in healthy female koalas. Further work is being done to test it in koalas that are already infected.

Peter Timms, a professor of microbiology at the Queensland University of Technology who is leading the effort to test the chlamydia vaccine in koalas, is hopeful that there will be another trial this year to test the vaccine in captive male koalas, followed by wild koalas. If all goes well, plans can be set in motion to distribute the vaccine more widely.

“It’s going to be impossible to vaccinate all wild koalas,” he said.

In Australia, there is no national plan to save the koala; it is up to each region to establish management plans for its koala population. Therefore, once the vaccine is shown to be completely safe and effective, Dr. Timms suggests targeting specific, threatened populations where capturing and releasing koalas would be practical, like those bordered on all sides by housing developments and roads.

Dr. Timms is also working on a single-dose form of the vaccine to make it more feasible to vaccinate wild koalas.

Another possibility would be to make vaccine distribution a routine part of treatment for the thousands of koalas brought into care centers every year after they are injured by cars or dogs, Dr. Timms said.

While it is a combination of problems that are affecting the wild koala population, many experts believe this vaccine would be an important step in helping koalas survive longer. It may buy enough time to give researchers a chance to solve some of the other problems facing Australia’s koalas.

“In situations where you combine habitat pressure, domestic dog attacks and car hits with severe chlamydial disease, the outcome for koalas is devastating,” Dr. Gillett said.

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Rio+20 Summit And ASEAN: Towards A Green Economy

Paul P.S. Teng Eurasia Review 20 Feb 12;

Rio de Janeiro will host the third Earth Summit, or “Rio+20″, in June this year – 20 years after the first Earth Summit in 1992. At Rio+20 all governments will be asked to re-dedicate themselves to the goal of a “green economy”. How will ASEAN respond to this significant event and its challenges?

TWENTY YEARS after the first Earth Summit in 1992 – officially called the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) – preparations are underway to convene the third such meeting in the same city where it all began, Rio de Janeiro. The high-powered conference on 20-22 June 2012, which follows the second summit in Johannesburg in 2002, is also referred to as the Rio+20, because it is 20 years after the first Earth Summit in the Brazilian city. Hoping to attract most of the world’s heads of state and government, Rio+20 will focus on the “green economy” and on creating an “Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development”.
ASEAN

ASEAN

Rio+20 is crucial for ASEAN and East Asia. The proposals to be adopted will affect current development approaches and policies in ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus 3 countries covering China, Japan and South Korea. Regional preparatory meetings have been taking place as part of the build-up to Rio+20. At the national level, ASEAN delegates to Rio+20 need to become more familiar with the complex, inter-related issues so that the region’s viewpoints are adequately reflected in the deliberations at Rio de Janeiro.
Rio+20 and ASEAN

The World Resources Institute (WRI), an international environmental think-tank based in Washington D.C., has argued that for too long, nations have used a dominant economic growth model based on increasing GDP above all else. While this has improved incomes and reduced poverty for hundreds of millions of people, it has also been accompanied by significant and potentially irreversible social, environmental and economic costs. In the ASEAN region, pockets of poverty persist among the 600 million people while significant environmental degradation has occurred to coastal waters, coastal ecosystems and rainforests as a result of disruptions to the ecosystem.

WRI has also noted that the gap between the rich and poor has risen in more than two-thirds of countries worldwide, including ASEAN member states. The question that begs to be asked in policy circles is whether this GDP-fostered development model will generate the benefits to address all three pillars of sustainable development, economic, environmental and social. While the number of millionaires has multiplied in the ASEAN Plus 3 region, there has also emerged a disadvantaged lower socio-economic class that can trigger social instability. Civil disturbances caused by food insecurity and unsustainable farming practices has occurred in recent years. There is a deeper appreciation today that the Earth is reaching its limits in the use of water, land and other natural resources.

The environmental and social costs of current economic growth models are becoming more and more apparent. Economic growth on its own is not enough if it leads to poverty and environmental degradation. ASEAN can avoid the pitfalls of a development model solely focused on economic growth. Rio+20 advocates sustainable development based on a “green economy” – one that simultaneously promotes sustainability and economic growth. To forge a global consensus on this goal, a raw draft of a future common position – the “zero” document – has been released for all stakeholders to fill in their preferred lines of action. As ASEAN participates in Rio+20, what positions will its representatives take on the many priority issues proposed for adoption in the “zero” document?
Reinforcing a movement towards a “Green Economy”

Several countries in the ASEAN Plus 3 region have demonstrated leadership in addressing some of the issues to be tabled at Rio+20. There are new sources of growth that are environmentally sustainable. One example is clean energy. South Korea has adopted a national green growth strategy which accounts for two per cent of its GDP to invest in green sectors such as renewable energy and clean technology. China invests more than any other country in renewable energy. Its total installed wind capacity grew 64 percent in 2010, driven by a national policy that sees clean energy as a major market in the near future, and one in which China wants to be a leader.

Singapore’s “City in a Garden” approach to urbanisation exemplifies a small, resource-limited city-state striving to balance the three pillars of sustainable development with proper land-use planning; promotion of green corridors and mass transport; and measures to limit vehicle usage and rationalise water use. Singapore is also part of a global consortium to address urban food security matters. A scorecard of ASEAN nations however, shows varying progress in implementing the targets from the first Earth Summit of 1992, among which are sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and food security.
How to do more

The Rio+20 Summit will be asking all nations to re-dedicate themselves to a greener form of sustainable development. It will call for the strengthening of regional and sub-regional mechanisms to promote sustainable development. It will also propose the formation of national sustainable development councils in countries where there are none to improve coordination and cross-sectoral synergies. However, most developing economies, including ASEAN’s, are concerned that the process of transiting to a green economy may come at a cost – it will hinder economic growth and efforts to reduce poverty, because short-term disruptions are likely.

Rio+20 will be urging the international community to increase its support for developing countries and to develop new financing instruments for building green economies. Transitioning to a green economy will require a fundamental shift in thinking and acting on growth and development; production of goods and services; and consumer habits. Ultimately, today’s policies must take into account a longer-term planning horizon because sustainability requires time to achieve, and the courage to start.

Paul Teng is a Senior Fellow (Food Security) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Centre for Non Traditional Security (NTS) Studies and Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. He was a resource expert at the Asian Regional Workshop on Sustainable Agriculture, Biotechnology and Biosafety, held on 10-12 January, Bangkok, to prepare for Rio+20.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Feb 12

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [6 - 19 Feb 2012]
from Green Business Times

Back to blogging! = Giant clam spawning on TMSI, SJI
from Psychedelic Nature

large-tailed nightjar @ bukit brown - Feb2012
from sgbeachbum and olive-winged bulbul

A Quiet Morning @ USR
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Checking up on special plants at Pulau Semakau
from wild shores of singapore and teamseagrass

Asiatic Lesser Yellow Bat
from Monday Morgue

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