Best of our wild blogs: 17 Dec 10

This festive season, help the animals!
from wild shores of singapore

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Malaysia: Semenggoh Wildlife Centre orang utan population boom an unhealthy trend overcrowding

Rintos Mail The Star 17 Dec 10;

CONTINUED reduction in the interbirth interval (IBI) of semi-wild orang utans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, about 19km from Kuching may have an adverse effect on the well-being of the primates and the habitat in the area.

Executive park management Nor Emel Fardina Jaddil said reduction in the birth gap would cause overcrowding.

She said when there was overcrowding due to growing population, it would increase competition for home, food and mates.

“Competitions for food, home and mates may lead to a fight, especially among the male.

“There was a fight recently among the males over a female that led to the death of a young orang utan in the park,” she said when presenting her papers on “The Semi-Wild Orang Utans Interbirth Interval Trend in Semenggoh Wildlife Centre” during the 10th Hornbill Conference in Miri yesterday.

Nor Emel said the implication of reduction in birth interval would also lessen the mother’s nursing on the babies, which would have a negative effect on the psychological well-being of the offsprings.

She said besides that, it would also cause degradation of the foraging area, especially to the forest canopy.

Nor Emel said the environment of Semenggoh might play a significant role in reducing the IBI of the semi-wild orang utans in the area.

“In Semenggoh, the orang utans are released in a confined and small home, which makes mating more frequent compared to in the forest.

“Here, the chances of male and female meeting each other and mating are also made more easier through feeding,” she said.

To prevent shorter birth interval, she recommended that the management create more feeding area to reduce meetings and matings.

She also suggested that the management continuously monitor the breeding pattern of the orang utans in the area.

“We must look at this matter seriously to ensure continued survival of the sweethearts of Sarawak,” she said.

Nor Emel added that due to its relatively small size, the reserve was unable naturally to support the growing number of orang utans living there.

There are currently 27 orang utans in Semenggoh.

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GM rice: German giants Bayer, BASF team up

Yahoo News 16 Dec 10;

BERLIN (AFP) – German chemicals giants Bayer and BASF said Thursday they were teaming up to produce genetically modified rice seeds, technology than can boost yields but which is criticised by environmentalists.

The firms said they aim to develop and sell hybrid rice seeds with traits enabling yield advances of 10 percent or more over conventional hybrid seeds. The first products are expected to be launched by 2020.

Rice is the world's largest food crop, with half of the world's 6.8-billion population consuming at least one meal of it every day.

According the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), an additional 8-10 million tonnes of rice needs to be produced each year to feed people and keep prices for the cereal at an affordable level, BASF and Bayer said.

Today, global rice production is about 685 million tonnes.

For many, GM crops, by which scientists create new strains of plants that do not occur naturally by manipulating genes, are the answer to feeding the world's rapidly growing population.

But opponents say that these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread and interbreed with other plants, the consequences of which are unknown.

They also say that their use will increase the control of private companies over agriculture, with 10 corporations already controlling nearly 70 percent of the world seed market, according to pressure group Greenpeace.

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Eviction Fears in Lombok Over Conservatory

Fitri R. Jakarta Globe 16 Dec 10;

West Lombok. Around 700 people from five villages in West Lombok district rallied outside the West Nusa Tenggara governor’s office on Thursday to protest the administration’s plan to turn Sesaot forest into a conservation park.

Rusmayadi, the protest coordinator, said more than 6,000 families from the five villages located inside the 3,672-hectare forest stood to be evicted if the plan was enforced.

“We’ll be forced to leave this forest that we’ve managed and lived off for decades, to make way for animals,” he said.

“Where can we go when we’ve lived there so long?”

He accused the administration and the forestry agency of sidelining the interests of the forest dwellers.

The protest’s leader later held talks with administration spokesman M. Faizal.

In their defense, they cited a 2010 study by the central government that recommended that the forest remain under the stewardship of the villagers.

Sesaot forest has since 1986 been managed under a community forestry license, which allows the families to grow crops and do logging in limited quantities.

The provincial administration first raised the idea of granting the forest conservation status in 1999, but was roundly opposed by residents, who said it would cost them their livelihoods.

In 2009, the administration went ahead with its plan and officially decreed the forest a conservation park, effectively stripping the residents of their right to manage the forest. However, it has not yet enforced the decree.

Hartina, head of the provincial forestry agency, said his office would recommend that the conservation status for the forest remain in place, but that the residents be allowed to continue their subsistence farming and logging.

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Poachers Kill Rare Black Rhino In Tanzania: Minister

Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala PlanetArk 17 Dec 10;

Poachers have killed one of five critically endangered east African black rhinos that were relocated to their natural habitat in Tanzania's Serengeti park from South Africa in May.

The rhino was killed just seven months after its arrival in the Serengeti, despite being implanted with an electronic chip and protected by an elite ranger task force specially trained to guard the animals.

Rampant poaching in the Serengeti -- famed for its sweeping planes and Africa's most spectacular wildebeest migration -- in the 1960s and 70s saw the population of black rhinos in Tanzania plummet from over 1,000 to just 70, denting tourist arrivals.

"We received information on Sunday that one of the five rhinos that arrived from South Africa was missing after a special tracking gadget fitted on the animal went inactive," Ezekiel Maige, Tanzania's Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.

"The rhino's carcass was found in the Serengeti National Park on Tuesday, with the horn cut off. This was clearly the work of a group of poachers."

Rhinos are heavily poached for their horns, which are highly sought-after in parts of the Middle and Far East. It is believed in some cultures that powdered rhino horn has powerful medicinal properties, although this has never been proven.

The five rhinos flown to Tanzania are part of a larger group of 32 animals being reintroduced to Tanzania from a 50-strong herd. The rhinos were bred from seven animals that were relocated to South Africa in the early 1960s.

The remaining 27 rhinos are expected to be returned to their native country in stages over the next two years under the Serengeti Rhino Repatriation project.

The rhinos were flown from South Africa to Tanzania in a chartered Hercules C-130 cargo plane.

Conservation experts had hoped extra protection for the rhinos would also help other species in the park.

Organizers said the relocation was part of a new drive by African governments to protect the "big five" mammals -- lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalo -- that make up one of the continent's main tourist attractions.

"We have commissioned a serious manhunt to trace the whereabouts of the poachers behind this incident. We are using every means at our disposal," said Maige.

"We are also in talks with the Frankfurt Zoological Society to ensure closer monitoring and surveillance of the animals and the build-up of the necessary resources."

Both Tanzania and Kenya have suffered a spike in poaching, particularly of elephants and rhino, in the past few years. Kenya lost at least six rhinos last year, conservationists say.

(Editing by James Macharia and Elizabeth Fullerton)

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IAEA considers Indonesia ready to build nuclear power plant

Antara 16 Dec 10;

Vienna (ANTARA News) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers Indonesia as well as Jordan and Vietnam as countries ready to develop nuclear energy for power generation , an Indonesian diplomat said.

"The IAEA`s support is additional political motivation for Indonesia to build a nuclear power plant," Indonesian Ambassador to Austria I Gusti Agung Wesaka said here Wednesday.

Indonesia already meets all the preconditions to build a nuclear power plant except for public acceptance and a political decision, the ambassador said.

"Bangka Belitung won`t be able to make a move without a political decision from the central (government). Meanwhile, Vietnam has started by establishing cooperation to build a nuclear power plant with Russia," he said, referring to the results of an IAEA study titled "Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review 2009" which focused on the preparedness of developing counties to build nuclear power plants.

IAEA Director General Yukia Amano was very enthusiastic in describing Indonesia`s readiness to build a nuclear power plant and hoped to visit Jakarta in the near future.

Bangka Belitung Governor Eko Maulana Ali said his province was ready to support the implementation of a nuclear power project by providing a suitable location for it in the proovince, either in Bangka Selatan or Bangka Barat.

He said Bangka Belitung needed enough electricity to improve its people`s welfare.

"We hope that the government will also build an electricity transmission system connecting Java with Sumatra and Bangka Belitung so that a nuclear power plant in Bangka Belitung could contribute to power supply nationally," he said.

He called on the Bangka Belitung people to support the plan to build a nuclear power plant in the province.

The National Nuclear Power Agency (BATAN) has surveyed 70 locations across the country in its search for suitable nuclear power plant sites. It eventually shortlisted 14 locations, and from this number it had selected the best four which included Ujung Bumi (Jepara), Banten, and Bangka Belitung. (*)

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Dec 10

Mugimaki Flycatcher takes a caterpillar
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Chronicle of Mr & Mrs King - a surprise visit (Dec 16, 2010)
from Life's Indulgences

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HDB's shining success

Liang Kaixin Channel NewsAsia 14 Dec 10;

SINGAPORE : HDB flats throughout Singapore could be completely powered by sunlight in future.

With the first phase of HDB's largest solar power project finally complete, three neighbourhoods can now rely on the sun for 80 per cent of their electricity. And HDB hopes to improve that figure to 100 per cent.

Some HDB blocks in Bukit Panjang have each been installed with 30 to 35 kilowatt peak solar panels.

From September to November, similar panels were installed at Tampines and Marine Parade.

The effectiveness of these panels will be monitored over a year, where they power various common services like corridor lights and lifts.

Currently, most solar energy devices are used in colder regions like Germany and Japan.

Ng Bingrong, a senior executive engineer at HDB, said: "Unlike most overseas installations, Singapore's weather conditions are a bit different. We are hotter, wetter, and we have higher humidity. So these various climatic conditions can affect solar power generations. So these are some of the things we want to study, how we can acclimatise the system to perform better in our context."

The solar panels can last some 20 years.

Two years ago, the HDB successfully carried out smaller-scale experiments in Serangoon North and Sembawang - achieving some 40 per cent energy savings.

HDB said that by 2015, 30 precincts will have such solar panels installed under a S$31 million programme.

With more than 80 per cent of Singaporeans living in HDB estates, residents hope these solar panels can eventually reduce their electricity bill.

- CNA/ms

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New Sarawak marine national park proposal submitted

The Star 16 Dec 10;

KUALA LAWAS in Limbang is expected to be the next national park covering aquatic and marine areas in Sarawak.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) general manager Wilfred Landong said the area had been identified and the proposal to gazette it as a Totally Protected Area (TPA) had been submitted to the Controller’s Office for further action.

“We have proposed it to be gazetted as a TPA because of the diversity in marine life and it is a very important habitat for endangered species like dugongs, dolphins and turtles,” he told The Star during a break for the 10th Hornbill Workshop in Miri yesterday.

Other national parks covering aquatic and marine areas are Similajau (Bintulu), Miri-Sibuti, Loagan Bunut (Miri), Tanjung Datu, Talang Satang, Kuching Wetland (Kuching), Maludam (Sri Aman) and Rajang Mangroves (Sibu).

Landong said SFC and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) had also planned a long-term collaboration to monitor and conduct research on the marine biodiversity and habitats, particularly on seagrass, dugongs, turtles and fishery resources in the area.

Earlier, UMS marine mammal research unit head Dr Saifullah A Jaaman said Lawas, located in the southwest section of the Brunei Bay, had a unique and special marine ecosystem which consisted of mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reefs, estuaries, sandy mbeaches, mud flats and continental slopes.

He said the waters were known to support eight seagrass species from two families and a total of 60 species of marine fishes from 35 families.

“The green and hawksbill turtles and Irrawaddy dolphins are large marine species commonly seen in the area.

“Three aerial (2001, 2007, 2008) sighting surveys conducted for marine mammals found that a viable population of the vulnerable dugongs inhabited these waters,” he said during his presentation on Ecology and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity and Seagrass Habitat in the Waters of Lawas yesterday.

Saifullah said the survival of dugongs in Kuala Lawas depended on seagrass meadows, its main food.

He added that ground study conducted recently (2008-2009) confirmed the occurence of six species of seagrass in the inter-tidal and sub-tidal regions of the coastline, stretching from 30km between Kuala Bangkulit near the Sarawak-Sabah border and Awat-Awat, close to the Brunei border.

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Sarawak opens up two new sanctuaries for orang utan

New Straits Times 16 Dec 10;

MIRI: Another two locations in the state are now officially homes for the orang utan.

These are the Sebuyau and Sedilu peat swamp areas which were recently gazetted as sanctuaries for them. Studies show there are about 2,400 orang utans in the two areas.

Sarawak Forest Director Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the studies by forestry agencies spanned 20 years.

Sebuyau was gazetted a sanctuary in July and Sedilu earlier this month. Sebuyau covers a land mass of more than 20,000ha, while Sedilu has more than 5,000ha.

The two areas are an extension of the Sebuyau virgin forests.

With the two new additions, they are now six orang utan sanctuaries in the state.


Speaking after launching a hornbill workshop themed "Managing Ecosystems for Sustainability" here yesterday, he said the target was to make 1.2 million hectares of land and water totally protected areas (TPAs).

Sarawak now has 750,000ha of TPAs, of which 550,000ha are land-based.

"We are heading there and there are places that we have identified. We are now mediating with the local population on the gazettement proposals as some of the locals may not understand the concept.


"They must be educated on maintaining the sustainability of the forests.

"For example, fish bombing is the easiest way to harvest fish, but it is not sustainable for the ecosystem."

There are 34 TPAs in Sarawak, which are equivalent to 2,400km stretch of road and there are six million permanent forest estates for logging, oil palm and agriculture crops.

"We are making sure that the state's development is in tandem with the conservation efforts of the ecosystems."

The Sarawak Forestry Corporation is currently undertaking studies on the marine and aquatic wildlife in the state and more estuaries will be proposed as protected areas in the near future.

Virgin forests in Sri Aman gazetted
Rintos Mail The Star 15 Dec 10;

THE Sebuyau and Sedilu virgin forests in Sri Aman are the latest to be gazetted as a Natural Wildlife Sanctuary, making them a Totally Protected Area (TPA) in Sarawak.

The former was gazetted as TPA in July while the latter, this month.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) managing director Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the two were gazetted following recommendations during the Orang Utan International Con-vention in Kuching last year.

Some 20 recommendations were put forward by experts for the conservation of the orang utans’ natural habitats during the conference.

Len said the Sebuyau Wildlife Sanctuary covered an area of about 20 hectares while the Sedilu Wildlife Sanctuary, which is contiguous to the former, covered an area of 5,230 hectares.

“Works at the two sites as well as sightings of orang utans will be done after this,” he reporters after the launching of the 10th Hornbill Workshop in Miri yesterday.

Other gazetted Natural Wildlife Sanctuaries in Sarawak are Lanjak-Entimau and Batang Ai, both in Sri Aman.

Len said the estimated number of orang utans in Sarawak, including those at the Matang Rehabilitation Centre and Semenggok Wildlife Centre, was 2,500.

He said the state government was targeting to gazette one milion hectares of forest reserve and land as TPAs.

He said currently 750,000 hectares had been gazetted.

“Actually we have identified 450,000 hectares of land and forest to be gazetted as TPAs.

“If everything goes smoothly, we can even exceed our target of one million hectares hopefully in three years’ time,” he added.

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Belgium to help fund Indonesian elephant conservation center

Antara 15 Dec 10;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - The Belgian government will provide 200,000 euros in assistance for the construction of a Sumatran elephant conservation center in the Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN), Riau Province, a local official has said.

"Belgium will provide 200 thousand euros for the elephant conservation center in TNTN," director of the Forest Investigation and Protection of the Forestry Ministry, Rafles Panjaitan, said here Wednesday.

He said the foreign funding program was expected to be started in January 2011 and the funds would be channeled to Indonesia through a Belgian donor agency.
The funds would be disbursed in stages. As much as 50,000 euros would be disbursed next year.

The elephant conservation center in TNTN would replace one located in Minas, Siak district, because the location in Minas was considered no longer suitable as forest areas there had been changed into oil palm plantations and oil mining sites.

"The location in Minas is no longer suitable for the elephant conservation center because there are oil pipelines and oil palm plantations around the area," Rafles said.
He said that dozens of tame elephants in Minas will be moved to TNTN in anticipation of unexpected things between the elephants and the people around TNTN.

Tesso Nilo National Park is the largest habitat of the Sumatran elephant (Elephant maximus sumatranus) remaining in Riau and inhabited by about 100 wild elephants.

Elephant Sanctuary Set For Riau National Park
Jakarta Globe 19 Dec 10;

Pekanbaru. Officials at the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau announced on Sunday they would set up a 40-hectare conservation area within the park for Sumatran elephants.

Hayani Suprahman, head of the park, said work on the conservation area would begin before the end of the year, centered in Lubuk Kembang Bungo village in Pelalawan district.

He said the site was chosen because it was close to an existing elephant training center run by the environmental group WWF and several private organizations.

Elephants from that center are used to drive off marauding herds of wild elephants that encroach into farms and villages.

Hayani said the conservation project would be funded through a 200,000 euro ($260,000) grant from Belgium’s Paradiso Park.

Raffles Panjaitan, director of forest protection at the Ministry of Forestry, said on Friday that Taman Safari wildlife park near Bogor would also benefit from the tie-up with Paradiso Park.

He said the grant was part of a deal to loan two elephants to the Belgian park in 2009.

“In addition to the 200,000 euro grant for the elephant conservation area in Tesso Nilo, Paradiso Park officials have also agreed to lend three giraffes to Taman Safari,” he said.

There are an estimated 80 Sumatran elephants in Tesso Nilo, which at almost 40,000 square kilometers is one of the largest national parks in Sumatra.

According to the WWF, 3,350 Sumatran elephants remain in the wild, most under threat from habitat loss, which forces them to encroach on farmlands and often leads to them being killed.


Antara

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GM mosquito release only in 'safe' areas

New Straits Times 16 Dec 10;

KUALA LUMPUR: Genetically modified or "sterile" mosquitoes will be released only in uninhabited areas to ascertain their effectiveness in eradicating the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

In giving this assurance, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said researchers were still in the experimental stage and would use the sterile mosquitoes in the laboratory and uninhabited areas.

"We will not release the sterile mosquitoes in inhabited areas until we have completed our trials and informed the public of the findings," he said at a press conference yesterday, adding that similar experiments were also being conducted in Brazil, Vietnam and India.


"We will closely monitor the situation in these countries and the outcome of their experiments."

Liow said dengue was a major concern in Malaysia with the alarming rise in the death toll.

In 2007, there were 98 deaths followed by 112 deaths in 2008, 88 deaths last year and 132 between January and Dec 4 this year.


"We are burdened with having to fight this menace continuously. We hope to reduce the number of cases with the strategic action plan put in place.

"But to seriously fight the problem, we need public cooperation."

He said this was because the breeding of Aedes was most prevalent in urban areas and, in most cases, the people were responsible for this.

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