Malaysia ranked near bottom of the class by environmental democracy watchdog

Source: Asia One

Published on 21st May, 2015 by Patrick Lee

 

PETALING JAYA – Malaysians has been ranked poorly in environmental democratic rights, coming in 69th of 70 countries surveyed worldwide.

Scoring an overall 0.58 out of three points on the US-based World Resources Institute’s Environmental Democracy Index, narrowly beating Haiti.

Lithuania scored highest worldwide, with an overall score of 2.42, followed by Latvia at 2.31 and Russia at 2.25. The global average score is 1.42.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia came out tops with a score of 1.8, followed by Thailand at 1.38 and the Philippines at 1.35.

There was no score given for Singapore and Brunei.

The index tracks a country’s progress in coming up with national laws to promote transparency, accountability and public engagement.

It measures how well these laws are in giving the public information, allowing public input in decision-making and the seeking in enforcement of environmental laws or compensation for damages.

Malaysia was given very poor mark marks in transparency and public engagement, with only a fair score where justice was concerned.

Borneo ‘a major deforestation front’

Source: The Star

Published on 4th May, 2015 by Patrick Lee

PETALING JAYA: Up to 22 million hectares of forest in Borneo are under threat of being felled by 2030, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned.

The combined area, covering forests in Malaysia and Indonesia, is nearly twice the size of Sarawak or the peninsular.

The WWF’s Saving Forests at Risk report describes it as “a major deforestation front”.

Although much of the deforestation is expected to be in Kalimantan, the report also roughly zoned three areas in Sabah and Sarawak.

According to the report, these areas were in danger of being logged or being converted into oil palm plantations.

Officials: Sumatran rhino is extinct in the wild in Sabah

Source: Mongabay

Published on 23rd April, 2015 by Jeremy Hance

Malaysian officials admit the Bornean rhino may only be represented by three surviving captive animals

Tam, here at Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah, may be the world’s last male Bornean rhino and one of the last Sumatran rhinos. Photo by: Jeremy Hance.

There are no Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in the Malaysian state of Sabah, confirmed Masidi Manjun, the Tourism, Culture and Envi­ronment Minister, over the weekend. In 2008, conservationists estimated there were around 50 rhinos in the state. Five years later, it dropped that estimate to just ten. Now, it’s admitted the awful truth: the wild rhino is very likely gone.

“We are facing the prospect of our Sumatran rhinos going extinct in our lifetime,” Manjun noted at an environment seminar.

Sabah’s rhino is a distinct subspecies of Sumatran rhino, known as the Bornean rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni), and it looks increasingly possible that the Bornean rhino may only be represented by three surviving individuals, all of which are held in fenced, natural conditions at the Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary (BRS) in Sabah. These include one male, Tam, and two females, Iman and Puntung.

“If numbers of baby Sumatran rhinos can quickly be boosted in the coming few years, there is still hope to save the species from extinction,” said John Payne, the Executive Director of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) and one of the world’s top experts on the species. “The only way now to achieve that is to use in vitro fertilization to produce the embryos and to have a few fertile females in well-managed fenced facilities, under excellent care, as the surrogate mothers.”

Urgent action needed to prevent the loss of Sambar in Peninsular Malaysia

Source: TRAFFIC

Published on 26th February, 2015

Conservationists are calling for the Sambar to become a Totally Protected species in Peninsular Malaysia © Chris R Shepherd / TRAFFIC

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 26th February 2015—An alliance of conservation organizations in Malaysia is calling upon the government to uplist the Sambar to a Totally Protected species in Peninsular Malaysia, following a study carried out by leading conservationists into the species’s status.

Sambar, the largest deer species in South-East Asia, is severely threatened due to constant poaching pressure, and loss of critical habitat due to development and deforestation. According to the study the “the process of extinction will be exacerbated for this species in Peninsular Malaysia.”

“Relentless poaching of Sambar has knock on effects for other species too, they are an integral part of the ecosystem,” said TRAFFIC’s Dr Chris R Shepherd, one of the study’s authors.

“Sambar are the most important prey species for the highly threatened Malayan Tiger—saving Sambar is critical to saving Tigers.”

When is a forest not a forest? When it’s a plantation

Source: The Star

Published on 23rd February, 2015 by Julian Moll-Rocek

Ongoing work into tree cover differentiation will help resolve the main criticism against remote sensing-based forest-monitoring tools: the lack of distinction between natural forests and plantations.

How forests are defined can affect aerial monitoring of deforestation.

“We live in a world of constant beta,” explains James Anderson, communications officer for the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) forests programme. Nearly every week features are tweaked on the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform, an innovative mapping system that allows users to track changes in global forest extent, among other features. Constant innovation in technological capability as well as broad social engagement, allowing for more on-the-ground verification, keep GFW on the cutting edge of forest monitoring.

However, one fundamental thing remains elusive: what exactly is a forest? With forest definitions differing from country to country, and primary forests, secondary forests, and even tree plantations all perceived collectively as “tree cover” by satellite data, how does one accurately keep tabs on land changes? To confront this issue, GFW has implemented a number of new features in recent months. One of these allows the user to adjust the density of tree cover to suit their own definition of “forest”. Ranging from 10% to 75% canopy cover, this reflects the flexible definition put forth by the Kyoto Protocol, which required countries to define a national canopy cover between 10% and 30%.

However, the function is not without its caveats; namely, it can only be applied to forest extent and loss, but not to forest gains. As Dr Fred Stolle, manager of WRI’s Forest Landscape Objective explained, “a signal of a tree falling is very easily recognised, but, of course, regrowing from a seedling to a bigger seedling to a tree takes a couple years before you see it. How we deal with that, we don’t know yet.” In particular, the difficulty in using remote sensing techniques in classifying the re-growth of forests means serious challenges for monitoring forest restoration goals set by the United Nations.

We need to do more for clouded leopards in Malaysia

Source: The Star

Published on 22nd December, 2014 by LIM CHIA YING

Big cat: A male clouded leopard photographed by a camera trap in the Belum-Temengor forest, Perak. Little research has been done on this species. – WWF

New research aims to expand our knowledge on the clouded leopard.

THE clouded leopard is the third largest cat species in Peninsular Malaysia after the tiger and leopard, but has remain little-known.

To date, there has been no published literature on the ecology of this species in Peninsular Malaysia that will provide vital information in the assessment of its conservation status. Nevertheless, the animal has been listed as “vulnerable to extinction” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species. It is totally protected in our Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

Many Malaysians do not know that Malaysia is home to this beautiful cat, according to Christopher Wong, senior field biologist for WWF-Malaysia’s Species Conservation Programme.

Together with his colleague, Shariff Mohamad, he has published a scientific paper on the density and habitat use of mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) in Belum-Temengor forest in Perak.

“In Malaysia, we have two species, the mainland clouded leopard that is found in Peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) that only populates Sabah and Sarawak.

“While extensive studies have been carried out on clouded leopards in Sabah, our ecological knowledge of the peninsular species is still in its infancy. The density estimates that we have obtained in Belum-Temenggor is actually the first for this species in South-East Asia,” says Wong.

Global wild tiger population to be counted by 2016

Source: Rappler

Published on 16th September, 2014

Experts say that although the tiger population has remained stable over the last 4 years, a lack of accurate data is hindering effective policies

COUNTING TIGERS. A Siberian tiger snarls at a photographer for getting too much in its face during the presentation of two new Siberian tigers at Cabarceno Natural Reserve in Cabarceno, northern Spain, 21 July 2014. Pedro Puente Hoyos/EPA

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Thirteen countries with wild tiger populations agreed Tuesday, September 16, to take part in a global count to establish how many of the critically endangered animals are left and improve policies to protect them.

Experts say that although the tiger population has remained stable over the last 4 years, a lack of accurate data is hindering effective policies.

The pledge came at a global conference in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka where over 140 people have converged for 3 days to discuss actions to save the tiger.

“We really need science-based data on the number of tigers,” said John Seidensticker of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington.

Current data on numbers in the wild was mostly “guesstimates,” he said.

Malaysia’s orang utan under threat

Source: Asia One

Published on 15th September, 2014 by Stephanie Lee

The orangutan are forced to move to higher areas when food becomes scarce in lowland forests.

KOTA KINABALU- Climate change is causing a rise in temperature and the gradual destruction of plants, which are food sources to the orangutan, said Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu.

“When food becomes scarce, the orangutan will move to higher areas,” he said, adding that this would make it harder for them as forests were becoming more isolated and fragmented due to development.

Dr Laurentius said Sabah was home to 80 per cent of the Malaysian orangutan population, making the department custodians of the large majority of the nation’s orangutan.

“Therefore, we have to find ways to ensure the survival of the orangutan,” he said, in a study co-authored by Dr Benoit Goosens of the Danau Girang Field Centre, a research and training facility managed by Cardiff University and Sabah Wildlife Department.

Dr Benoit said although lowland forests were the favoured orangutan habitat, higher locations in the western side of Sabah would be more favourable to these species.

“Researches show that they (the lowland forests) will be less and less productive as the plant biodiversity changes and their suitability to sustain the orangutan decreases,” he said.

Bloom is of a new species of plant discovered on Gunung Kanthan

Source: Asia One News

Published on 12th September, 2014 by Patrick Lee

Fragrant: The flower of the new tree species found at the Gua Kanthan mouth on the hill’s Area D.

 

PETALING JAYA – A new species of plant, Meiogyne kanthanensis, with citrus-smelling flowers was discovered on a limestone hill in Perak last year

Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (Frim) plant taxonomist Dr Ruth Kiew who made the discovery on Gunung Kanthan, said the plant was so rare that only three trees of its kind were seen.

An international scientific journal published in New Zealand known as Phytotaxa reported that the plant’s flower had an interesting smell.

“The flower…(has) a fruity aroma, a complex scent reminiscent of pomelo, citrus, lychee, plum and lemon grass,” it said.

The report was co-authored by Dr Kiew, Frim Forest Biodiversity director Dr Saw Leng Guan, and Frim research officers Joanne Tan and Ummul Nazrah Abdul Rahman.

It also mentioned the discovery of two other new species – Gymnostachyum kanthanense and Vatica kanthanensis – both also found on the hill.

Tan said in an interview that scientists had not noticed the plant there before, and that its flower was only visible during certain times of the year.

“We try to be there nearly every month, but might miss some of the flowering seasons,” she said.

Addressing palm oil concerns

Source: The Star

Published on 8th September, 2014 by LIM CHIA YING

Palm progress: Malaysia is at the forefront of sustainable palm oil production, said Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor. – File pic

A conference reveals that Malaysia is constantly seeking to improve the sustainability of its palm oil industry.

It is the world’s most consumed and used vegetable oil, yet it has come under more intense scrutiny and has been criticised more than any other type of oils and fats. What is it about palm oil that draws such flak?

At the 4th International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference held recently in Kota Kinabalu, participants and speakers attempted to sort through the sometimes emotional reactions this agricultural product elicits with an exchange of differences and misgivings, shared perspectives and clarifications.

In his opening address at the conference, Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said that Malaysia is at the forefront of sustainable palm oil production.

Malaysia has attempted to address repeated criticisms – particularly from international NGOs – about everything from environmental degradation to labour issues in the palm oil industry by rallying local growers to comply with international standards such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil and International Sustainability & Carbon Certification.

This is on top of local regulation imposed by many Malaysian laws, such as those for housing, pesticide use, and waste management.

“We are constantly seeking to increase our sustainability performance and good agricultural practices, and improve the industry.

“In fact, palm oil is the first and the only vegetable oil with a globalised sustainability certification, and our players are proactive in meeting requirements laid out in the standards.