From Malaysia

[Guest guest]

NEED FOR BIRD CONTROL MEASURES AT LANDFILLS, SAYS EXPERT - The Star 3.2.01.

 

The authorities have been urged to take concrete measures to keep crows, and

other potential " disease-harbouring " pest birds, away from landfill areas.

University Science Malaysia bird expert Mohd. Hifni said if the food source

for these birds were denied, then it could help to check the birds from

multiplying rapidly. He said " solid " bird control measures in landfill

areas had been overlooked in this country and the authorities should give

serious thought to it. Mohd Hifni said when nutrition source was limited,

the birds would not multiply as rapidly, adding that this would

significantly reduce the population. He said the birds could be kept away

by either the " scaring method " using propane gun which could be

automatically triggered off periodically to scare the birds away, or the use

of physical barriers such as netting the entire landfill area, or chemical

method to deter the birds from scavenging in the area.

 

He also advised the public not to let their neighbourhoods be turned into

pigeon roosting grounds. Penang Municipal Council's Public Health

Department senior health officer Dr. Goh Kok Yeong said that based on

observation, " we can see that the crow population has been tremendously

reduced following monthly crow shooting activities. We have also placed

bird traps in the landfill area " adding that they would continue to look

into ways and means to effectively control pests in landfills.

 

 

WETLANDS NOT SUITABLE FOR FOREST DWELLERS. THE STAR - 22.2.01.

The proposed wetlands as a new site for Zoo Negara is not very suitable for

forest dwelling animals which make up most of the zoo population, Malaysian

Nature Society president Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor said.

 

" A very high cost will be needed to remodel vast areas of the wetland

landscape to suit the animals' natural habitat, " he said.

 

Dr. Salleh said the wetlands lacked suitable natural vegetation and was

prone to floods. The transfer of the animals may prove stressful for them

and could result in fatal accidents in some cases. " We should learn from

our past experiences where safari parks were inappropriately located and

planned, resulting in animal deaths. "

 

Dr. Salleh said a zoo had to be viewed as a serious institution where

education, research and breeding were carried out. " It also acts as a

public relations agency to promote nature conservation and species

protection. Any relocation plans for Zoo Negara should be given careful

consideration and consultation with the relevant bodies, " he said.

 

 

GROWLING FOR HELP - THE STAR - 13.2.01.

 

A research on tigers in Taman Negara, Pahang is in dire need of funds. A

budget cut by a major funder of the University of Florida-Malaysia Tiger

project may cause a shut-down of the field operation in three months,

according to Kae Kawanishi, principal investigator of the project. This

will result in incomplete data and undermine the success of the project,

which looks into the ecology and population status of tigers in Taman

Negara, she says.

To continue the project, some RM37 000 is urgently needed and Kawanishi is

appealing to generous donors. She says no amount is too small and assures

that receipts will be issued for personal donations and major donors will be

furnished with financial projects.

 

Kawanishi says Taman Negara offers the best chance for longterm survival of

the Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) in Malaysia, " Although

the population status of the totally protected species remains uncertain

throughout its range, Malaysia may support the largest wild population, "

says Kawanishi. Estimates by the Wildlife and National Parks Department

place tiger numbers at around 500. Little is known of the tiger and how it

interacts with its habitat, particularly with regards to its prey. The

study hopes to sharpen the blurred details and give a better picture to

scientists.

 

Started in Nov 1998, the three year project uses the camera-trapping

technique to monitor wildlife. The study covers 40 000ha as Kawanishi

estimates that a female tiger will need a habitat range of at least 4 000ha

while a male tiger, 10 000ha. " During the past two years of fieldwork, I

have never encountered one tiger in Taman Negara. Without the camera traps,

it is impossible to collect data on the top predator from the rainforest, "

says Kawanishi

 

Kawanishi says tiger experts hope this project will generate the most

reliable estimate of tiger density in primary rainforests. The result, she

believes, will have major implications for tiger conservation in south and

South-East Asia as it will fill a major gap in one current understanding of

tiger biology.

 

PLEASE MAKE OUT CROSSED CHEQUES OR BANK DRAFTS TO KAE KAWANISHI. FOR

FURTHER ENQUIRIES EMAIL: Kae muru @tm.net.my

 

 

 

BEEF FROM BRAZIL AND THAILAND BANNED TOO - 15.2.01

 

The ban on beef and beef products, imposed on 15 European Union countries

and Switzerland since Jan 5, has been extended to Brazil and Thailand. Thai

authorities view the ban as a " publicity stunt. " They claim that the

country never exported beef to Malaysia. Thailand itself has banned beef

and beef products from 13 European countries where there are fears cattle

may be infected with mad cow disease.

 

Health Minister Datuk Chua said the temporary ban on beef imports from

Brazil was similar to a move made by the US, Canada and Mexico.

 

As for Thailand, he said the Government had learnt that livestock there had

been fed with meat and bones imported from the European Union. Malaysian

authorities had recalled 3 700kg of beef products worth RM55 000 from the

local market.

 

 

FOREIGN CONFIRMATION BEFORE BEEF BAN IS LIFTED - THE STAR 22.2.01

 

Malaysia will seek international assistance to ascertain whether Thai beef

is safe for consumption before any decision to lift the import ban is

considered.

Agriculture Minister Datuk Effendi Norwawi said the public should not be

alarmed by reports in the media as there was still no proven scientific link

between the deadly mad cow disease and cattle imported from Thailand.

He said a ban on Thai beef would be base on international protocol suggested

by bodies like World Organisation of Animal Health. " There is no

scientific proof to show that BSE or mad cow disease exists in Thailand, " he

said after meeting the Agriculture Minister of Victoria, Australia, Keith

Hamilton.

A temporary ban was imposed on imported beef, beef products and cattle from

Thailand and Brazil on Feb 14.

 

VIETNAM'S WILDLIFE THREATENED BY DEMAND FOR WILDLIFE DISHES.-THE STAR

-25.2.01.

 

Vietnam's biological diversity suffered during the years of war and today it

is further threatened by a predilection for wildlife dishes. The two major

wildlife markets are the capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the south,

where numerous restaurants offer special dishes made from varieties of

wildlife meat, from tortoises to pangolins, porcupines and cobras. In

Hanoi a small bowl of turtle soup can cost 120 000 Vietnamese dong (US$8.6)

and a local otter can fetch 800 000 Vietnamese dong (US$57). Vendors near

the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh city offer foreign tourists live

wild pets - pelicans, rare birds, turtles and monkeys.

Now an army of poachers supplies the underground market with fox, deer, wild

boar, porcupine and sometimes, bears and tigers. At this speed there will

not be much wildlife left in Vietnam.

The trend of eating snakes has caused the snake number to fall dramatically

leading to rampage of rodents, devastating more than 700 000 hectares of

crops in 1999, triple the area in l996. The rat population has been pushed

up by the illegal traffic of cats and birds of prey out of Vietnam. Hong

Kong attracts lots of wildlife smugglers because prizes are much higher

there.

The wildlife trade has become more difficult to control because forest

rangers are poorly equipped and funded, officials at the Hanoi Forestry

Department said. The threat to ecology became so alarming that the

Vietnamese government issued Decree 359 banning the traffic trade and

slaughter of wild animals. But poor enforcement means the decree has had

little effect in places like Le Mat, where nearly 1 000 households engage in

the snake trade.

Bears too are raised and kept in captivity for their bile where after three

or four extractions, the bear usually dies or is killed by the owner when he

believes the bile is no longer of any good.

Animal smuggling has a big impact on Vietnam's biological diversity. Listed

in Vietnam's Red Book Of Animals in danger of extinction are the Rhinoceros

Sondaicus, Tibetan bear, Malaya bear, tiger, panther, yellow mountainous

tortoise, copperhead, red face monkey, yellow face monkey and long tail

monkey.

 

 

NATURAL ASSET FALLS TO FOREIGN CASH - THE STAR - 25.2.01.

 

The Thai Royal Forestry Department (RFD) has just given permission to a

French TV crew to film a Survivor style show on Koh Rok, one of the most

beautiful islands in Krabi's Koh Lan Ta Marine National Park. This is a

repetition of the abuse of conservation philosophy, following the

controversial excavations of Maya Beach on Phi Phi Marine National Park for

the filming of The Beach two years ago.

 

By law and the philosophy of national park management, no activities that

threaten the ecosystem, especially fragile ones, are allowed. That is why

the TV production team could not shoot the game in their own country. The

shooting of the game show on Koh Rok might bring some financial benefit to

the country and help to promote tourism, but it makes a mockery of

conservation efforts and the legal system, and sets a bad example that

commercialism can over-ride any other issue in Thailand. The RFD refuses to

learn from its mistakes after allowing the shooting of The Beach which

bulldozed the beach to suit its needs.

For just Bt 1 million, the production company can have the exclusive rights

to a wonderful island in a national park for 45 days. It is perpetuating

the belief that money can buy the dignity and legal systems of developing

countries such as Thailand. The company has given the RFD Bt5 million as a

deposit for environmental damage. Once again the RFD has demonstrated that

it is not a worthy custodian of national parks. When the TV people leave,

the RFD will have a bit of cash in its pocket, but Thai will have to bear

the stigma of a country in which anything can be bought. The RFD still has

not learned that there is no value in trading off the environment for money.

The agency's internal decay is a reflection of how Thailand is being held

hostage by naïve bureaucrats and leaders with no conservation vision.

 

 

 

 

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