Habitat loss and poaching threatens survival of Sun Bears

SANDAKAN: Habitat loss and poaching have led to a decline of up to 30 per cent of the Malayan sun bear population in the last three decades, according to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC).

In Borneo, this smallest of the world’s eight bear species is also seeing a drop in numbers following their illegal capture for the pet trade and when they are wrongly perceived as pests and gunned down, said BSBCC founder and chief executive officer Wong Siew Te.    

The Polar Bear, Brown Bear, American Black Bear, Spectacled Bear, Sloth Bear, Giant Panda and Asiatic Black Bear are other better known bear species.     

Found throughout mainland Asia, Sumatra in Indonesia and Borneo, the exact number of sun bears in the wild is unknown, making it even more pressing toreduce pressure on a species that is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, and at risk of becoming endangered unless circumstances threatening their survival improve.     

Sun bears are also classified as a totally protected species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, providing it the same status as the Orang Utan and the Sumatran Rhinoceros.

Wong said the sun bear was divided into two sub-species – the Helarctosmalayanus malayanus and the Helarctos malayanus euryspilus, with the latter, smaller bear found only in Borneo.  

    

“In other words, sun bears in Borneo are even smaller than the sun bears found in other parts of Malaysia and the region.

We hope to share with more locals how fortunate we are that such a unique bear is found here in Borneo, and right here in Sabah," he said in a statement.     

He said the shrinking forest cover made poaching and capturing of wild bear seasier due to increased contact with human settlements.      

“Our centre is now holding 28 rescued bears. Some were illegally kept as pets and others were trapped in the forest, and sent here.

   

“Bears here are trained to adapt to the forest within an enclosed area as some have never been in the wild, having been kept as pets from a young age. They are then evaluated to see if they can be released into the wild,” he said.  

The centre is located adjacent to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, here.     

"In Borneo, sun bears continue to face threat from habitat destruction and poaching. We need to protect the remaining forest cover if we are to secure the future of the sun bears and, at the same time, eliminate any poaching of these bears in the wild," Wong said.      

He said awareness activities would be stepped up once the centre was officially opened to the public, tentatively by early next year.

BERNAMA

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'Green Practice' Way For Better Future Life

By Rohana Mustaffa

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- For many, the arrival of the new year means making new resolutions, and Nadia is among those who have such resolutions.

At a recent dinner here, Nadia confided to her friends that she has achieved one of her new year resolutions.

"So fast? After all it is only February," one of her friends was heard exclaiming.

Nadia, a 45-year-old private sector employee, said that she has only two resolutions for 2012: reducing her home's electric consumption, which she considers astronomical, and giving priority to green practices.

She is adamant in trying to reduce the power consumption bill for her house, which is occupied by six people. The bill hits a hefty RM500 a month.

Nadia and her husband are away at work during the day while her children are in school. The only person home alone during the whole day is her housemaid.

Nadia has started to rummage through cyberspace to look on the internet for ways to reduce electricity consumption.

CUTTING DOWN ON POWER CONSUMPTION

From December in 2011 she ensured that dwellers in her home used fans instead of air conditioners.

If her family members feel the need to use the air conditioner, Nadia makes sure that the temperature is set at 23 degrees Celsius. She has installed sun blockers on the three air-conditioners in her house as, according to the internet, this helps reduce power consumption.

Nadia also makes it a point that her children switch off the light and fan every time they leave their room. They are also reminded to unplug any electrical equipment not in use.

Nadia's housemaid was told to frequently clean electrical appliances (particularly those with filters) and to ensure that the refrigerator is not overloaded with contents and that hot foods not be placed in the fridge.

When the maid is about to prepare meals, she has been told to take out all the items that she needs in one go and not to open and close the fridge door a number of times.

"Each time the fridge door is opened, about 30 per cent of the cold air will dissipate," said Nadia.

OLD HABITS

Nadia prohibits her housemaid from using the clothes dryer and instead must dry out the laundry under the sun.

She also ensures that all laptops and the television are switched off when not in use.

Nadia shed her old habit of asking the maid to iron the couple's garments every time they leave for office. Instead, the family's clothing is collected and ironed out by the maid at one go.

Sound fussy? But all of these strategies appear to have been effective in reducing Nadia's electricity bill.

When she received the electricity bill for January, the figure came as a pleasant surprise. She was elated, as one of her new year resolutions had been achieved, and she made this known to her friends at dinner.

NOTHING NEW

Nadia's ways of reducing power consumption are nothing new, as these have been recommended by experts and Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the national power utility entity.

Even though Nadia has not adopted all the recommendations, what she has done is related to green practices.

Before this episode, Nadia and her family were not used to promptly switching off any electrical appliances not in use and this was a factor that led to the rise of power consumption.

Every ready mode in appliances (the green and red neon lights on the computer and television screen) contributes to power wastage, as do computer screen savers.

According to studies, most computers consume double the power when the screen lights up. Not using screen-savers, or making the screen blank, will save electricity.

At the recent 1 Green 1 Community carnival, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui called on the public to turn the green lifestyle into a culture by adapting green technology practices in their daily routine.

"Among the simple practices that you can do at home and school is not to waste power and electricity, as well as use water and electricity wisely," he was reported to have said by the media.

The minister said practicing environmental-friendly green practices is a smart way not only to limit the discharge of toxic materials into human surroundings but also help to conserve the environment -- apart from saving the power.

Small and simple practices such as recycling, wise use of electrical appliances and saving consumption of water and electricity can change a person's life for the better.

GREEN PRACTICE

Green practices utilise green technology to reduce power consumption and boost the economic development of a country.

Every user contributes to green-gas emissions with their daily activities, such as the utilisation of cars, power and chemicals.

Nadia utilises only the sun's rays to dry her laundry, but many countries are now resorting to the sun as one of the sources of renewable energy.

Solar towers with hundreds of solar panels that absorb the sun's energy have been erected.

This energy can be used to heat water to form steam and, if accumulated in vast amounts, the steam can move turbines and generators to produce electricity.

After Nadia's success in reducing her home's power consumption, she is trying to practice other simple green methods and utilises green technology products that are power-efficient.

(Malaysian Standards point that a product shows its power efficiency rating in a scale of one to five stars. Buyers can evaluate this on the power standard label when buying a certain product).

Among the green practices that can be done by individuals like Nadia are recycling, reducing the amount of garbage disposed, giving priority to environmentally friendly products, using public transport more frequently and prudent use of treated water.

At a recent forum on green technology, several non-government organisations (NGOs) said the government is serious in encouraging the use of green technology through measures such drafting the green technology policy, setting up a ministry specifically for this technology and developing green technology.

However, they expressed reservations about whether the society really knows what green technology is.

GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Green technology refers to development and product application, appliances and the system to conserve the natural environment and surroundings, to minimise human activities detrimental towards the environment.

Green technology is environmentally friendly. Low-carbon technology reduces emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that can contribute to climate changes.

This technology deal s with environmental issues such as pollution, depletion of natural energy resources and global warming.

A panel member at the forum said innovations such as the solar tower can be promoted among the public.

"The bicycle is seen as one of the best examples where the existing green technology is retained and encouraged to help people conserve the the natural environment," said the panel member, adding that the important issue is awareness of giving priority to quality of life, avoiding wastage, reducing energy consumption and conserving the environment.

After educating the society on the 3R campaign - Reuse, Reduce and Recycle - it will be wise to encourage people to adopt green practices. as this is the way to have innovations in green technology for a better future.

-- BERNAMA

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Special team to check forest destruction in Malaysia

A special team will be set up by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry with the respective state governments to look into the destruction of forests and hill slopes in the country.

Its Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said there was rampant and careless destruction (involving virgin forests and land clearing) in the Cameron Highlands, and other areas including Sabah and Sarawak.

An English daily report has highlighted rampant land clearing in the Cameron Highlands, which began less than a month ago.

According to the report, this included the felling of 40ha of virgin forests, with the bulk of the ravaging at Pos Terisu spanning at least four valleys and hills flattened for farmers to plant vegetables.

Palanivel said the destuction need to be stopped immediately because many people's lives are affected due to the damage to hill slopes such as water quality deterioration.

Therefore, the ministry has arranged several plans to save forests and hill slopes from destruction, he added.

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UMS to conduct an underwater census of turtle population

 

An underwater census of resident sea turtle population will be conducted at Mabul by the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in conjunction with the World Turtle Day 2013 from May 22-24.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, the institute will bring in local and international volunteers to catch, photograph, measure and tag the resident turtles found in the waters of the world famed island off Semporna.

The objective of this event is to create public awareness, while enhancing education, research and conservation of the sea turtle population in the waters of Mabul.

The event will serve as a follow-up project to a recently concluded study conducted by the institute and this will also be the culmination of the prelude to Mabul World Turtle Day held in March where researchers and volunteers successfully caught and tagged 21 turtles.

The head of a BMRI research team studying the Mabul turtle population, senior lecturer Dr Pushpa Palaniappan said they had been working with several partners to carry out the programme, namely Uncle Chang’s Resort, 1Borneo Ballroom Sdn Bhd and The Borneo Connections Sdn Bhd.

Besides from enthusiastic volunteers who have signed up for the programme, the event would also be opened to resort guests in Mabul to allow them to get hands-on experiences on sea turtle research.

BMRI director Professor Dr Saleem Mustafa in calling for support for the project, said research on sea turtle was important as it would help the community better understand how to conserve the endangered species effectively.

He told that consumption of turtle eggs has remained among the major factor, threatening the survival of the species in Sabah, along with pollution and harmful fishing methods.

The event will be officiated by Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming.

The institute is hopping to make the celebration of the World Turtle Day in Mabul an annual event recognized by the State Government not just for its conservation significance but also as a platform for promoting eco-tourism.

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Experts: Malaysia and Indonesia should team up to breed rhinos

Precious addition: Twelve-year-old Ratu and her newborn calf Andalu resting at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in the Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra. It is only the fourth known case of a Sumatran rhino being born in captivity in 100 years. Photo: NST

Wildlife researchers are pushing for a more cohesive effort between Malaysia and Indonesia to conserve the critically endangered Sumatran rhino.

With fewer than 100 animals left in Sumatra and Borneo, scientists are proposing that the population be managed as a single conservation unit.

The Sumatran rhino is found in Sumatra and possibly Kalimantan in Indonesia and Sabah in Malaysia.

“Although habitat loss and poaching are reasons for the decline, the reproductive isolation of the mammals, which are too sparsely scattered even within protected areas, is the main threat to the survival of the species,” said wildlife research NGO Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) executive director Dr Junaidi Payne.

He is the co-author of a paper published this week in the scientific journal Oryx, in which researchers demonstrate the necessity to consider the remaining populations of Sumatran rhinoceros in Sumatra and Borneo as a single conservation unit.

The paper was the outcome of a joint study by BORA, the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens, the paper's lead author, said the genetic differences are minimal and do not justify keeping the Sumatran and Bornean populations as separate management units.

A study of the Javan rhinoceros showed low genetic diversity in that population and there was a critical need for population expansion for the species to survive, Dr Goosens added.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said state authorities are working with researchers.

“We understand the need to exchange gametes between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Actions to initiate genome resource banking and artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation are under way in Sabah and elsewhere,” said Dr Laurentius.

He said it is considering sending Tam, a captive male rhinoceros, to Cincinnati Zoo in the United States to breed with a mature female.

Source: NST

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River Keper Unit to Help Protect Wildlife

A river keeper unit has been set up to assist in protecting elephants and other wildlife at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. 

State wildlife director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said: “Wildlife enforcement is the most important mission of my department but unfortunately, we do not have the resources to cover the whole state.”

He however said initiatives such as the river keeper unit initiated by the department’s partners – Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and HUTAN – for conservation in the Kinabatangan would greatly assist in monitoring wildlife and threats to wildlife along the river and within the sanctuary.

The River Keeper Unit is jointly set up by the wildlife Department, DGFC and HUTAN and funded by Elephant Family and the Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association (KiTA).

Hailing from the local community, Mohd Syafendy Yajit and Sudirman Sawang are well suited for the job as both have years of experience working with HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation programme.

“They have a lot of field experience, especially on elephants. Both of them are also honorary wildlife wardens,” said Dr Marc Ancrenaz, HUTAN’s scientific director.

The unit will conduct day and night patrols to monitor and prevent illegal activities such as encroachment in riparian reserves, illegal logging and hunting along the 260 km of river within the LKWS, from Lokan to Abai villages,” said Dr Marc Ancrenaz, HUTAN’s scientific director.

The River Keeper Unit, he said, would be based at DGFC and its other function is to monitor tourism activities along the Kinabatangan River.

“They will stop boats from going too close to the elephants or tourists disembarking on land.

“Although tourism can boost economic development, ill-managed activities can also be a nuisance to elephants and their habitat.

“And, with this in mind, one of the major roles of the River Keeper Unit will be to investigate elephant responses to tourism activities along the Kinabatangan and to come up with wildlife watching guidelines that will be provided to the different tour operators,” said Dr Benoit Goossens, director of DGFC.

KiTA member Alexaander Yee said they are delighted to be a part of this initiative to secure a haven for wildlife in Kinabatangan.

“We are all aware that our tourism activities depend on effective wildlife enforcement and protection and we are prepared to extend financial assistance to the River Keeper Unit,” he said.

KiTA consists of nine tour operators operating in the Kinabatangan area.

Source: New Sabah Times

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