Indonesia: Leopard trespasses local resident`s house in Sukabumi

Antara 18 May 18;

Sukabumi, W Java (ANTARA News) - A leopard (Panthera pardus) entered into a local resident`s house in Perbawati Village, Sukabumi District, West Java Province, and attacked the poultry.

"At first, I heard a noise from my chicken coop and thought that a stray dog may have entered. However, when I checked the space underneath my house, I found a leopard there," house owner Hendi noted here on Thursday.

Based on the information collected, a leopard trespassed into the settlement of the local residents in Perbawati Village, Sukabumi District, at around midnight local time.

Hendi then checked his house out of curiosity and concern that his cattle was being harassed by a stray dog. He was surprised to see several chicken feathers scattered across his yard.

He initially thought that a chicken was being devoured by a stray dog, but after checking under the house with a flashlight, he saw a leopard hiding.

"I ran into my house, as I am afraid that the leopard will attack me. Hence, I called my friend and neighbor at dawn. Two of my chickens were eaten by that leopard," he added.

The leopard allegedly trespassed into the settlement owing to hunger. Moreover, the settlement is quite close to a forest in the Great Hall of Mount Gede and the Pangrango National Park.

Assistance from the Center for Natural Resource Conservation of West Java is awaited to catch the leopard, as it is still hiding under the house and has evaded the trap.

Reported by Aditya A Rohman
(T.KR-TQA/INE)
(T.SYS/B/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Heru Purwanto

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Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn

Insects are vital to ecosystems but will lose almost half their habitat under current climate projections
Damian Carrington The Guardian 17 May 18;

Global warming is on track to cause a major wipeout of insects, compounding already severe losses, according to a new analysis.

Insects are vital to most ecosystems and a widespread collapse would cause extremely far-reaching disruption to life on Earth, the scientists warn. Their research shows that, even with all the carbon cuts already pledged by nations so far, climate change would make almost half of insect habitat unsuitable by the end of the century, with pollinators like bees particularly affected.

However, if climate change could be limited to a temperature rise of 1.5C - the very ambitious goal included in the global Paris agreement - the losses of insects are far lower.

The new research is the most comprehensive to date, analysing the impact of different levels of climate change on the ranges of 115,000 species. It found plants are also heavily affected but that mammals and birds, which can more easily migrate as climate changes, suffered less.

“We showed insects are the most sensitive group,” said Prof Rachel Warren, at the University of East Anglia, who led the new work. “They are important because ecosystems cannot function without insects. They play an absolutely critical role in the food chain.”

“The disruption to our ecosystems if we were to lose that high proportion of our insects would be extremely far-reaching and widespread,” she said. “People should be concerned - humans depend on ecosystems functioning.” Pollination, fertile soils, clean water and more all depend on healthy ecosystems, Warren said.

In October, scientists warned of “ecological Armageddon” after discovering that the number of flying insects had plunged by three-quarters in the past 25 years in Germany and very likely elsewhere.

“We know that many insects are in rapid decline due to factors such as habitat loss and intensive farming methods,” said Prof Dave Goulson, at the University of Sussex, UK, and not part of the new analysis. “This new study shows that, in the future, these declines would be hugely accelerated by the impacts of climate change, under realistic climate projections. When we add in all the other adverse factors affecting wildlife, all likely to increase as the human population grows, the future for biodiversity on planet Earth looks bleak.”

In the new analysis, published in the journal Science, the researchers gathered data on the geographic ranges and current climate conditions of 31,000 insect species, 8,000 birds, 1,700 mammals, 1,800 reptiles, 1,000 amphibians and 71,000 plants.

They then calculated how the ranges change when global warming means some regions can no longer support particular species. For the first time in this type of study, they included the 1.5C Paris target, as well as 2C, the longstanding international target, and 3.2C, which is the rise the world will experience by 2100 unless action is taken beyond that already pledged.

The researchers measured the results in two ways. First, they counted the number of species that lose more than half their range and this was 49% of insect species at 3.2C, falling to 18% at 2C and 6% at 1.5C. Second, they combined the losses for each species group into a type of average measure.

“If you are a typical insect, you would be likely to lose 43% of your range at 3.2C,” Warren said. “We also found that the three major groups of insects responsible for pollination are particularly sensitive to warming.”

Guy Midgley, at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and not part of the research team, said the new work built on previous studies but is far more comprehensive. He said major impacts on wildlife would be expected given the potential scale of climate change: “Global average surface temperatures in the past two million years have rarely approached the levels projected over the next few decades.”

Warren said the new work had taken account of the ability of species to migrate, but had not been able to include the impact of lost interactions between species as ranges contract, or of the impacts of more extreme weather events on wildlife. As both of those would increase the losses of range, Warren said the estimates of losses made were likely to be underestimates.

Warren said that the world’s nations were aware that more action on climate change is needed: “The question is to what extent greater reductions can be made and on what timescale. That is a decision society has to make.”

Another study published in Science on Thursday found that one third of the world’s protected areas, which cover 15% of all land, are now highly degraded by intense human pressure including road building, grazing, and urbanisation.

Kendall Jones, at the University of Queensland, Australia, who led the work, said: “A well-run protected area network is essential in saving species. If we allow our protected area network to be degraded there is a no doubt biodiversity losses will be exacerbated.”

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A third of world's nature reserves severely degraded by human activity

New study’s author says failure to protect biodiversity in places identified for that purpose is ‘staggering’
Lisa Cox The Guardian 17 May 18;

A third of global protected areas such as national parks have been severely degraded by human activities in what researchers say is a stunning reality check of efforts by nations to stall biodiversity loss.

A University of Queensland-led study, published on Friday in the prestigious academic journal Science, analysed human activity across 50,000 protected areas worldwide.

Researchers found more than 90% of conservation sites, such as national parks and nature reserves, showed some signs of degradation from human activities including logging, mining, tourism and urbanisation and a third – or 6m square kilometres of protected land – had been severely modified.

The worst damage was found in highly populated parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, but researchers said there was significant degradation in all nations, including wealthy and less-populated countries such as Australia.

James Watson, the paper’s senior author and a conservation scientist at the University of Queensland, said the results were alarming and showed countries were failing to protect biodiversity even in places specifically identified for that purpose.

“What we found was massive amounts of high-level human infrastructure, for example mining activity, industrial logging activity, industrial agriculture, townships, roads and energy,” he said.

“These are the places that nations have said they are setting aside for nature’s needs not human needs.

“So for us to find such a significant amount of human infrastructure in places governments have set aside for safe-guarding biodiversity is staggering.”

He said there were some glaring examples in Australia, such as Barrow Island off the Western Australian coast, a nature reserve that is home to 13 mammal species and the Gorgon gas plant.

“Some of these species are found nowhere else on the planet and yet we allow significant human infrastructure to occur inside these boundaries,” Watson said.

“Australia should be setting the standard that other nations should look to and yet we are one of the worst behaved of the lot.”

Martin Taylor, conservation scientist at WWF Australia, said the Turnbull government’s proposal to downgrade high-level protections in sensitive marine parks, including critical waters around the Great Barrier Reef, was another example of industry being given precedence over conservation.

He said there was also a low level of public awareness of the extent to which a range of industries had been able to encroach on protected areas.

“The public just aren’t aware that these kinds of things are going on and we hope this paper builds awareness of it,” he said.

“The community expects a national park to be reserved for wildlife.”

In Australia alone, more than 1,800 plants, animals and ecological communities are known to be at risk of extinction.

Conservationists and scientists have described the situation confronting Australia’s vulnerable wildlife as a “national disgrace” and the systems that are supposed to protect it as broken.

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Best of our wild blogs: 17 May 18

13 June (Wed): FREE Public Talks on Seagrass!
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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wild shores of singapore

Endangered Species Day
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Singapore to create 'largest' artificial reef at Sisters' Island

Vanessa Lim Channel NewsAsia 17 May 18;

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s largest artificial reef habitat will be created at the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park by the end of this year, announced JTC and the National Parks Board (NParks) on Thursday (May 17).

The project will see between four to eight giant artificial reef structures being pre-fabricated off-site and sunk in the waters off Small Sister's Island, within the Sisters' Islands Marine Park. The number of structures will depend on the final design.

Each reef structure will be made from materials including concrete, steel and rocks recycled from other JTC projects.

Standing at 10m, the equivalent of a three-storey terrace house, the structures will occupy the entire water column from sub-surface to the seafloor, sitting on the seabed. To avoid disturbing the underwater environment, no piling or major works will be carried out, said NParks and JTC.

Mostly bare with a sandy substrate, the area where the structures will be placed was chosen in consultation with relevant government agencies, experts, as well as members of the Friends of the Marine Park Community.

Expected to contribute some 500 sq m of additional reef area to the Marine Park, the project will also help to support existing habitat enhancement and reef restoration efforts to conserve marine biodiversity.

Finding solutions to conserve marine reefs is important, given rising temperatures which will lead to more coral bleaching.

"If we can find strategies now, we can hedge against future climate change challenges," said Dr Karenne Tun, director of the coastal and marine branch at NParks' National Biodiversity Centre.

Professor Chou Loke Ming, a coral expert from the National University of Singapore (NUS), stressed that exploring ways to restore and sustain coral habitats is paramount.

"Size for size, Singapore has one of the largest variety of marine species in the world. However, development and the fast-changing climate remain constant threats to our marine ecosystem," said Prof Chou.

Currently, more than 250 species of hard coral are found in Singapore's waters, which accounts for about one-third of the world's hard coral species.

Beyond enhancing reefs and expanding habitat restoration efforts, the project will also provide opportunities for various research initiatives to be implemented and serve as test beds for new technologies to study coral reef resilience.

Going forward, JTC says it hopes to work with NParks to double the artificial reef areas created at Sisters' Islands, bring it to 1,000 sq m by 2030.

Source: CNA/zl(hm)


Undersea housing for marine life to create Singapore's largest artificial reef
Noel Low Straits Times 17 May 18;

SINGAPORE - "Terrace houses" for coral and marine life will soon have pride of place in the waters off the Southern Islands, in an ambitious effort to create the nation's largest artificial reef.

The National Parks Board (NParks) and JTC Corporation are working on the project at the Sisters' Islands Marine Park, which will see 10m high structures placed in the waters by the end of the year. They will be made from concrete and recycled rocks from JTC's other projects.

The idea is to transform what is now bare seabed into a thriving marine ecosystem by giving corals a place to take root, which will in turn attract fish and other sea life.

Singapore is home to more than 250 species of hard corals, about one-third of the worldwide diversity. Singapore reefs have also responded more resiliently against recent bleaching events, compared to other parts of the world.

NParks Director for Coastal and Marine at the National Biodiversity Centre, Dr Karenne Tun, said the location of the artificial reef is ideal for a "source reef" due to the geography and current flow.

"It's spawn will reach other areas and feed the other reefs in Singapore."

Noted JTC's deputy director for Engineering and Operations John Kiong: "It's akin to a three-storey terrace house lowered into the sea." To avoid environmental impact, the structures, which will be off Pulau Subar Darat (Small Sisters island) will behave anchor pins to hold them in place without the need for piling. The structures also require no maintenance.

While previous research projects used artificial structures to renew parts of existing reefs, this is the first time an entire reef will be created. It will have a total surface area of 500sqm, and pave the way for future projects.

Coral reef scientist Professor Chou Loke Ming, who is the project consultant, said he expects to see "coral recruits" - or tiny coral colonies, forming just six months after the structures are installed. This could be even faster if coral fragments are transplanted from other reefs.

Nparks also has a nursery where corals are bred, which can then be introduced to the artificial reef. It hopes to introduce rarer species and increase the variety of corals at the reef.

JTC said the project is part of its commitment to responsible development. Its engineering expertise also comes in handy with the building of the reef structures.

The project was also designed with input from the public, such as Friends of the Marine Park Community.

Prof Chou said that he was excited by the size and scaleability of the project.

Stressing the the importance of sustaining marine biodiversity in the face of rapid urbanisation and climate change pointing out that 60 per cent of Singapore's natural reef area has already been lost due to development.

He added that sedimentation has also compressed the coral growth zone. Corals previously grew at water depths in excess of 12m, but are now restricted to around depths of 8m because sunlight, which the corals need to survive, does not penetrate deeper.

Dr Tun added that active intervention is needed to sustain marine biodiversity. Giving one example, she said that that researchers found a specimen from the rare coral species, Stylophora pistillata, in 2006, and monitored its growth in the wild. Unfortunately, the coral died in 2010.

"It showed us that we needed to step in", Dr Tun said.

Nparks has managed to breed six offspring of another rare coral species, Gardineroseris planulata, in the nursery.

The announcement coincides with the start of NPark's Biodiversity week. Members of the public are invited to the Festival Of Biodiversity on 2 and 3 June, at the open space between Tampines MRT and Tampines mall. A prototype of the artificial reef will be on display.

Sisters’ Islands Marine Park to get Singapore’s biggest artificial reef by the year end
CHEN LIN Today Online 17 May 18;

SINGAPORE — Sisters' Island Marine Park will be home to the Republic's largest artificial reef by the end of this year.

The project is jointly launched by JTC and the National Parks Board (NParks) to support Singapore's Year of Climate Action 2018 on Thursday (May 17). It will see the marine park get an additional 500 sq m of reef area to support existing habitat enhancement and reef restoration efforts to conserve marine biodiversity.


The red-boxed area is where the first artificial reef structures will be placed. Source: JTC.


The artificial reef, covering an area slightly bigger than a basketball court, will be formed by pre-fabricated concrete structures about 10m tall that will be sunk in the waters of the park.

Occupying the entire water column from sub-surface to the seafloor, the structures, which are the size of three-storey terrace houses, are designed to provide numerous and unique habitat niches for a wide variety of marine life.

Recycled rocks will also be attached to their surfaces to increase surface complexity and promote the growth of coral, which will in turn attract fish and other sea life.

The artificial reefs are also designed to be self-sustaining, requiring minimal or no maintenance.

It is hoped that the seafloor, which is currently mostly bare with sandy substrate, can turn into a thriving marine ecosystem.

The structures, which would sit on the seabed without piling or major works, are conceptualised to minimise impact to the existing marine environment.

The project's proposed site was chosen in consultation with relevant government agencies, academic experts and members of the Friends of the Marine Park community.

JTC, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, is contributing its engineering expertise to support NPark's work in marine reef conservation.

And JTC and NParks' aim is to double the artificial reef areas created at Sisters' Islands to 1,000 sq m by 2030.

They hope the artificial reef would also provide opportunities for various research initiatives to be implemented as well as serve as test beds for new technologies to study coral reef resilience.

For example, they could be a platform for transplanting corals that have been grown in the nursery, and some of these may include locally rare species, such as Gardineroseris planulata.

While the public can access dive trails at the marine park during designated dive windows, NParks said there are no plans to include the artificial reef into the trails, as they need areas that are managed and monitored, for the healthy growth of corals.

Coral at the marine park have been bleaching due to climate change, and can only be accessed only during designated dive windows to protect the reefs.

Addressing concerns that artificial reefs may cause pollution to seawater and their ineffectiveness in increasing biodiversity, Mr John Kiong, deputy director of JTC's Engineering and Operations Group, said the main material used, concrete, has been shown to support marine biodiversity.

Furthermore, coral reef scientist Chou Loke Ming from the National University of Singapore said that while it is true that artificial reefs can attract fishes from other coral reefs initially, after a few years, the fishes will redistribute and establish their own populations on various reefs.

"So (the presence of artificial reef) does not lower the population on the natural reefs," Professor Chou added.

Such active intervention is needed to sustain marine biodiversity, said Dr Karenne Tun, director (coastal and marine) at NParks' National Biodiversity Centre.

Citing an example of how researchers discovered a rare species of coral not seen in local waters for a very long time in 2006, despite active monitoring, it bleached and died in 2010.

"That was when we realised it is not just about monitoring, it is about active intervention," Dr Tun said.

The project is launched in conjunction with NPark's Biodiversity Week. For more information on the series of events, visit www.nparks.gov.sg/biodiversityweek.

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Indonesia: Greenpeace to cut ties with APP after allegations of deforestation

AUDREY TAN The New Paper 17 May 18;

International environmental group Greenpeace is cutting ties with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) over allegations that it is still linked to the destruction of forests for pulpwood.

The announcement puts an end to about five years of collaboration between them. Greenpeace had advised APP on the implementation of the latter's forest conservation policies.

"Greenpeace International has put these allegations to APP/Sinar Mas. The group failed to provide a credible response or take meaningful action.

"As a result, Greenpeace has ended all further engagement with APP/Sinar Mas," Greenpeace said yesterday.

Sinar Mas Group is the parent company of APP, Indonesia's largest pulp and paper company, which was linked to the severe haze in South-east Asia in 2015.

Following the crisis, APP beefed up its fire-suppression strategies and reaffirmed its commitment to the zero-deforestation pledge it made in 2013.

But an analysis of satellite imagery and company deeds showed that almost 8,000ha of forest and peatland had been cleared in two concessions owned by pulpwood company Muara Sungai Landak and a Sinar Mas mining company, Golden Energy and Resources, said Greenpeace.

Both concessions were linked to APP and the Sinar Mas Group, a claim which APP has disputed.

The latest allegations follow an Associated Press report last December that implied APP had covered up links to suppliers that practise deforestation or illegal slash-and-burn methods. APP rubbished the report when it was published.

Yesterday, an APP spokesman said an unnamed independent auditor had in 2014 concluded that Muara Sungai Landak had no relationship with APP.

"However, as a result of the allegation made in the Associated Press report, we conducted an investigation and found that three of (the company's) shareholders, and not two as stated in... Greenpeace's statement, had relationships with APP."

Two were former employees, and one was an employee who had not declared his shareholdings and position within Muara Sungai Landak.

"The employee was terminated with immediate effect," said the APP spokesman.

He said he was unable to speak on behalf of Golden Energy and Resources, as it "operates independently from us and does not supply wood to APP".

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 May 18

Indonesia enlists plantation companies to ensure haze-free Asian Games
mongabay.com

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PUB investigating report of dead fishes spotted in Sungei Tampines, says no impact on drinking water quality

Ng Huiwen 15 May 18;

SINGAPORE - National water agency PUB is investigating a report of dead fishes spotted in Sungei Tampines on Monday afternoon (May 14).

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, PUB said that the dead fishes have been removed after they were seen in the river between Pasir Ris Drive 1 and Pasir Ris Drive 3 at 2.20pm.

Sungei Tampines flows through parts of Tampines and Pasir Ris before draining into the sea.

"Online water quality sensors and in-situ water quality readings show water quality is within the normal range," PUB said in the post.

There is no impact on the quality of drinking water, it added.

"PUB has not observed any visible signs of pollution on the site that may be the cause of fish kill," it said, adding that it will investigate further.

In 2015, a 1.1km stretch along Sungei Tampines was outfitted with new decks and a community plaza to bring people closer to the river.

The project was part of a move by PUB to rejuvenate Singapore's drains, canals and reservoirs.

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Living City: A sight to behold at low tide

Straits Times 15 May 18;

Cyrene Reef reveals its rich marine life only during low tide, each time for about one to 1½ hours.

It is made up of three submerged reef flats and measures about 1km long and 300m wide in total.

The natural wonder is found in the sea near Jurong Island, Bukom Island and Pasir Panjang Terminal.

“The amazing thing about Cyrene Reef is that it exists in the middle of an industrial triangle, yet it is full of life,” said marine enthusiast Ria Tan.

The 62-year-old, who has been exploring the shores of Singapore for more than 10 years, said the reef has one of the best seagrass meadows in Singapore and you can see sea stars bigger than your face.

The Straits Times followed Ms Tan and a group of International Year of The Reef 2018 interns on a recent outing to the reef.

See them explore the marine life in the first episode of Living City season two. The video series focuses on Singapore’s little-known spaces and communities.

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Indonesia: Wildfires may cause long-term health problems for endangered orangutans

Rutgers University Phys.org 15 May 18;

Orangutans, already critically endangered due to habitat loss from logging and large-scale farming, may face another threat in the form of smoke from natural and human-caused fires, a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study finds. The study appears in the journal Scientific Reports.

In 2015, Wendy Erb, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers, was studying male orangutans in the forests of Indonesian Borneo when fires started. She and her colleagues at the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station continued working until they had to stop and help fight the blazes, which occur annually, often due to smallholder farmers and plantations clearing forests to plant crops.

A few weeks into the fire season, Erb noticed a difference in the sound of the males' "long call," which scientists believe is used to attract females and warn other males. "I thought they sounded raggedy, a little like humans who smoke a lot," she said.

Erb decided to find out if the smoke the orangutans inhaled during the fires had affected their health. Humans who inhale smoke suffer ill effects, but she knew of no studies on the possible effects on orangutans.

Erb studied four "flanged" males, who weigh about 200 pounds and have large cheek pads. She awoke each day before dawn to collect their urine in a bag at the end of a stick she held below them. Analyzing their behavior and urine, the scientists discovered the big males traveled less, rested more and consumed more calories. They also produced more ketone bodies, molecules made by the liver from fatty acids during periods of low food intake, which was unexpected because the apes were eating more, not less. Why were they burning fat?

The only new element in the orangutans' lives was the three months of fire and smoke. The forests' natural surface consists of peat, which is flammable, allowing the fires to burn underground for weeks. The fires were worse in 2015 because of a strong El Niño effect, which brought with it a severe drought.

Soil analyses suggest that wildfires have occurred in Borneo for millennia, but have become increasingly frequent and intense in recent decades due to deforestation and draining of peatlands. In 2015, Indonesia experienced the most severe fire activity and smoke pollution on record since the disastrous wildfires during the 1997 El Niño droughts burned some 24,000 square kilometers of peatlands (12 percent of the total peat area). Peatland fires destroy forest habitats, release greenhouse gases and produce hazardous particulate matter, the leading cause of worldwide pollution-related mortality. Two independent studies estimated that the 2015 haze caused somewhere between 12,000 and 100,000 premature human deaths, but there has been very little research into the effects on wildlife populations inhabiting these burning habitats.

The unexpected loss of nearly 100,000 Bornean orangutans from intact forests in Kalimantan between 1999 and 2015 indicates that habitat loss alone is not driving this critically endangered species' declines. Increasingly frequent exposure to toxic smoke could have severe consequences for orangutans, other animals and people, and this research highlights the urgent need to understand the long-term and indirect impacts of Indonesia's peatland fires, beyond the immediate loss of forests and their inhabitants.

Anthropology professor Erin Vogel, co-author of the study and the Tuanan Research Station's co-director, said the next step is to analyze data from female and juvenile orangutans to see how the fires affected their health.

"We'll look at different indicators of inflammation in the urine," she said. "We'll look for cytokines, proteins that are part of the immune response, and cortisol, a hormone associated with stress. It's possible these males are burning fat because their energy is going to repairing tissue."

More information: W. M. Erb et al, Wildfire smoke impacts activity and energetics of wild Bornean orangutans, Scientific Reports (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25847-1

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Indonesia: Riau Ecosystem Restoration Program Sees Return of Rare Fauna on Riau's Kampar Peninsula

Suksmajati Kumara Jakarta Globe 14 May 18;

Jakarta. It has been five years since pulp and paper giant APRIL Group started its ecosystem restoration program in Indonesia’s Riau province and, according to the program’s 2017 annual report, it has resulted in the return of wildlife, an improvement in community welfare and reduced forest fires.

APRIL Group has invested significant resources in its ecosystem restoration program that is aimed at protecting, restoring, as well as conserving, ecologically important peatland forest within Indonesia’s Riau Province.

Located on Sumatra’s eastern coastline, the RER program has a license to restore an ecosystem across 150,000 hectares of peatland forest, with 130,000 hectares located on the Kampar Peninsula and an additional 20,000 ha located on nearby Padang Island. The total peatland restoration area is about twice the size of Singapore.

The restoration program was started in 2013 and involves five concessions operated by a number of companies, Gemilang Cipta Nusantara, Sinar Mutiara Nusantara, The Best One Unitimber and Global Alam Nusantara, all operating under 60-year ecosystem restoration licenses granted by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The program is part of APRIL Group’s pledge to conserve one hectare of natural forest for every hectare of fibre plantation. To date, APRIL has met 83 percent of its goal with more than 400,000 hectares of natural forest protected and conserved. In 2015, APRIL dedicated $100 million to support and secure the long-term conservation and restoration program.

"These achievements illustrate our model where RER is complemented by production forestry, which provides the financial resources to fund restoration, as well as the protection provided by an actively managed ring of fiber plantations” said Bey Soo Khiang, chairman of the RER advisory board.

A map showing the Riau Ecosystem Restoration Program areas on the east coast of Sumatra Island. (Photo courtesy of the APRIL Group) A map showing the Riau Ecosystem Restoration Program areas on the east coast of Sumatra Island. (Photo courtesy of the APRIL Group)
Another highlight of the report is the first identification of the Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis) in the restoration area, becoming the 300th species of bird known to be present in the area.

Camera traps were essential tools in discovering species in the Kampar Peninsula and Padang Island concessions. In a period between March and October of last year, the restoration effort installed 84 cameras, capturing 6,310 snapshots that identified 52 species of animals in the region.

The wildlife monitoring team from RER also identified the Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor). Surveys completed by FFI previously have only managed one sighting of the elusive animal.

The restoration effort placed personnel at each of the main access rivers into the restoration area, and continually encouraged the local community to use alternatives to slash-and-burn land clearing methods. Results indicated that no hotspots were detected inside the RER area in 2017 and, for the third consecutive year, no fires were recorded.

Hydrological and forest restoration demonstrated steady progress in 2017. RER produced over 39,000 seedlings in its nurseries which contain over 70 different tree species, utilising over 1,900 seedlings on 12.5 ha of degraded land for planting and assisted natural regeneration.

“We have made good progress in 2017, while at the same time understanding that we need to maintain momentum into 2018 and beyond,” said Bey Soo Khiang.

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Thailand: No access to Maya Bay from front of Phi Phi after rehab, protection work kicks off in earnest in June

The Nation 15 May 18;

Access to Maya Bay from the front of Phi Phi island will become permanently unattainable following the upcoming four-month closure of the area to make way for a long-term rehabilitation of the environmentally degraded bay, which has suffered due to the overcrowding of tourists.

The bay, located in Had Nopparat Tara- Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, was made famous following the 2000 Hollywood film “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but it has been degraded by the excessive number of tourists – at around 4,000 each day.

Following a recommendation by marine experts, the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department decided in late March to make the bay off limits from June 1 to September 30.

The closure is seen as an entry point for new tourism management that would also set a new standard for another 26 Thai marine parks that also bear a similar burden.

“Like I said, we focus more on the health of our ecosystem, not income. If we manage to do this, we can do it elsewhere – the more environmental friendly management,” said Thanya Netithammakul, director-general of the department.

According to the department’s National Parks Office director, Songtham Suksawang, the rehabilitation process as well as the new management approach will be based on academic knowledge.

The department has begun exploring the present extent of the damage to coral reefs in front of the bay. Various techniques to replant the reefs will be introduced once the bay is closed, including coral-reef propagation, he said.

Access to the bay, Songtham added, would shift to the back of the island, where a new aluminium and quality plastic-based pier and bridge would be introduced as a new access to the bay to reduce ecological impacts from tourists.

Their number and transport boats will also be limited to half of the present figures, while an e-ticketing system will be introduced to help handle tourist demand.

“It’s also sort of distributing tourists to other less-crowded spots to help handle pressure from them,” said Songtham, echoing the government’s toursim policy.

Thailand still relies heavily on tourism, and according to Thon Thamrongnawasawat – a member of the national strategy committee on sustainable growth – it is one of the prime sectors highlighted in the 20-year national strategy to help drive the country’s gross domestic product.

Tourism currently comprises about 20 per cent of GDP, with annual revenue estimated at around Bt3.3 trillion.

This year’s foreign tourists are expected to reach 40 million, with more than 70 per cent tending to visit the country’s popular marine locations, Thon pointed out.

This has caused several popular marine spots to become crowded with foreign tourists, and their carrying capacity having become extensively compromised, he added.

Thon said he was glad to see the initiative at Maya and it would be a turning point for reform on marine resources management.

“It’s sort of you are telling the world that you are going to do this, and it is loud and clear this time. It’s also a critical point for the reform of our marine resources management,” said Thon, a marine ecologist who is also a member on the National Natural Resources and Environment Reform Committee.

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