Elephant Conservation Vs Mass Tourism

The news below prompted me to write.....

It is true that tourists are not coming to Kuala Gandah as the Wildlife Protection Act 2010 was enforced. Elephants are not allowed to entertain tourists - so the law says. It is a strange law in Bolehland. Do you know that there is also a clause in the Wildlife Protection Act 2010 that says Government agencies can "bulldoze" salt licks for development? But salt licks are important for wildlife and especially elephants. Elephants are the flagship of the living ecosystem in jungle as they are able to dig up salt licks for other smaller animals. Its just hypocritical to have law that can destroy salt licks on one hand but on the other its a no-no! It is a noble gesture to prevent elephants from carrying tourists (as they said wildlife are best left in the wild) but then elephants can be playful and some are known to be highly intelligent.

 

The problem with dangerous elephants arises when the mahouts became stressful and started to torture the elephants. And that was the reason elephants trampled people. In another case, a friend  witnessed an elephant tour that saw two elephants attacking each other because the first elephant was fed with bananas while the second one which the tourist did not purchase for his elephant became angry. This jeolousy caused the elephants to fight although they didn't harm the tourists. It was a frightening experience for the two tourists riding on their backs. Also there are cases where mahouts used iron spikes to hit at their elephants so that the elephants can walk faster because there is a large crowd waiting for their turn to ride. After going many rounds, the elephants became tired but were forced to continue. That was the problem.

 

Community should be fed inorder for them to appreciate wildlife conservation. If laws are make to victimize rather than to find a win-win solution, then wildlife conservation might not work. Perhilitan should continue with the elephant rides but limit to certain hours. Well trained and tactful mahouts that are passionate with elephants are the solutions for elephant tourism. In the meantime, let see how this conservation issue could become another political issue.

You can't trust politicians - Bob Geldof

Today I read an interesting piece of news (news below). I would like to give an example of our natural environment, a salt lick. Meranto Salt Lick was destroyed by a Felda plantation. The Jeli-Gua Musang highway is less than 50 metres from the salt lick. Salt lick is an important component for the survival of wildlife. And the Laws of Malaysia, Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) of Chapter 4, Section 85 on Disturbing salt lick or its vicinity, clearly spell out the protection...BUT..upon reading further in that Section 85, I found some clauses that have no genuine interest of wildlife at all. If the offence by government then its ok to destroy salt lick. Bob Geldof is quite right!

 A local pointing to the destroyed Meranto Salt Lick

You can't trust politicians. It doesn't matter who makes a political speech. It's all lies - and it applies to any rock star who wants to make a political speech as well. - Bob Geldof

Laws of Malaysia, Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) of Chapter 4,

Section 85. Disturbing salt lick or its vicinity

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this section, any person who disturbs-

(a) any salt lick; or

(b) the land in the immediate vicinity of any salt lick, which land if disturbed would render the salt lick unattractive or unsafe to any wildlife,

commits an offence and shall, on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

(2) For the purposes of this section, "disturb" includes to remove or agitate any soil, mineral, water, tree, shrubs, undergrowth or other vegetation in or on the salt lick or in or on the land in the immediate vicinity of the salt lick.

(3) This section shall not apply to-

(a) the Federal Government; or

(b) any State Government,

acting, as the case may require, in pursuance of any rural development scheme, urban development scheme, forestry management scheme or industrial undertaking.

-------read news below------

Monday June 11, 2012

DPM: Malaysia to protect environment while pursuing development

Star

YEOSU (South Korea): Malaysia has assured that it would never sacrifice its natural environment, which is well-endowed with flora and fauna, in its eagerness to become a developed country.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Government had taken various measures to protect the national treasures, including introducing laws and policies on conservation of the environment and biodiversity.

"We have also required states in the country which have jurisdiction over land and flora and fauna to undertake housing and industrial development without harming the environment," he told Malaysian journalists after launching Malaysia Day and visiting the Malaysian Pavilion at the Expo 2012 Yeosu on Monday.

Also present were his wife, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, Malaysian Ambassador to South Korea Datuk Ramlan Ibrahim and Expo 2012 Yeosu Committee chairman Kang Dong-suk.

"The demand for development is always there, the demand for land utilisation in plantation areas is always there, but there must be a balance between development and conservation of the environment.

"This is the responsibility of not only the ministries and the Government but also the states," he said.

"In our eagerness to become a developed country, Malaysia will not sacrifice the environmental treasure we have," he said.

He said the Government was committed to ensuring that at least 50% of the country remained environmentally green as agreed upon at the Rio Earth Summit 1992.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said it was also important to educate the young to enable them realise the importance of protecting the environment.

"We know that there is lack of proper conservation of the environment in some places in Malaysia and this has to be attended to not only by the ministry and the Government but also society," he said.

Commenting on the country's participation in the three-month expo, which will end on Aug 12, he said it helped Malaysia to display its rich biodiversity and culture and the Government's efforts to protect the environment. - Bernama

Pagar Makan Padi

I have seen with my own eyes during an expedition into the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve. The army personnels shoot to kill anything with refective eyes at night. In that incident, the eyes of the poor deer was smashed. Blood ozing like hell. The custodians were supposed to keep the forest intact but theirs were that of "Pagar makan padi"....

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When silence is not golden

Monday, 14 March 2011
By Azrina Abdullah, The Sun

THE end of February did not end well for Malaysia’s conservation efforts. Two non-governmental organisations filed police reports over a photo taken of four soldiers holding a majestic hornbill by the wings, with its throat slit. The picture was posted on Facebook with inappropriate captions along the lines of "sedap oooooo" (delicious oooooo). Hornbills are protected in Peninsular Malaysia under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

This news relates to a study conducted by myself and two co-authors, Or Oi Ching and Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil, and published by Universiti Malaya. The study assessed the extent of wildlife trade by orang asli living in the Belum-Temengor Complex in Perak, a gazetted protected area. Orang asli communities living within the 50km radius of the complex were interviewed in 2010 to document their traditional hunting activities and issues affecting their dependency on the surrounding forests.

The survey revealed a not so surprising dependency of orang asli on the forest as an important source of livelihood which remained high despite the degradation of surrounding forests. However, and more importantly, the problem of encroachment, particularly by armed encroachers (both local and foreign), has increased over the past decade. This has affected the livelihood and safety of orang asli communities living in the complex.

The respondents identified parties who they believe are responsible for the overexploitation of forest resources, and nearly 30% stated that outsiders (mainly Cambodians and Thais), Malays from surrounding villages and soldiers are the main perpetrators. Therefore, it is not surprising that 42% of the respondents do not report any suspicious activities to the authorities because they believe that action will not be taken particularly as the enforcement authorities themselves are believed to be involved in poaching activities.

If the recent allegations against the soldiers are confirmed, this finding is something which the government should take seriously. The Defence Ministry has so far kept silent over the police reports and this is sending the wrong message to public about the government’s commitment to conservation. A message needs to be sent that such acts are not to be tolerated. It is a more serious crime when wildlife is killed illegally by those who have responsibility for protecting them and have taken advantage of their position.

As with any other country, Malaysia has inadequate resources allocated for effective wildlife enforcement. It is not a unique problem. But if enforcement officers cannot be trusted, then I despair about the state of our environment. The wildlife in Belum-Temengor will not have much hope of survival if this situation continues. Instead, what is happening in Belum is, on one hand enforcement officers allegedly exploiting precious resources illegally and on the other (based on media reports), parties that are more interested in saving wildlife that are not indigenous to the area. Both situations do not make efforts to save the native wildlife living in the 130-million-year-old forest complex any easier. Where has all the common sense gone?

Azrina Abdullah is conducting research on the links between indigenous groups and wildlife trade. She was regional director of Traffic, an NGO which monitors the global wildlife trade.

Free Birding Trip in Peru

Ecotourism needs the support of the local communities. And this is one project that I find quite an idea. No, I am not taking part to join the free trip. I just love this man's idea of promoting ecotourism for the conservation of nature.
Read more about it below:-

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It is no joke! You can actually get a birding trip in Peru for FREE. The idea is to promote community birding tourism initiatives and by giving away some free trips (14 trips in total still available) it will hopefully bring the sufficient PR to the area so that both the sustainability of the give-away and the future as birding destination is secured.

The Manu itinerary is supporting the communities in the threatened (by oil exploit, mining and logging) Amarakaeri Communal reserve. The itinerary goes down the Alto Madre de Dios and Madre de Dios rivers to the Macaw lick and Giant Otter Cocha at Blanquillo, just like any other birding/nature tour circuit in the area. Four different community lodges are used instead of more well known lodges.

The other itinerary is located in th Central Peru combining two itineraries Carpish and Satipo road into one concentrating on the highlights of both areas. It is the idea that it sometime during 2010 will be possible to do the trip without camping, as the communities are investing in lodging oportunities for birders. We'd like to support these efforts by sending many groups immediately.

Giving a way free trips like this, to people able to spread the word of these areas, should benefit both hopefully very fast, so that the communities don't get bored with eco-tourism and conservation before we start.

It is all explained in my regular blog.

http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/do-you-want-to-go-on-a-birding-trip-in-peru-for-free/

or this short link. http://bit.ly/8s830C

Just follow the instructions.

Another Rhino Conservation Centre?

In 2003, the whole rhino conservation centre in Peninsular Malaysia was wiped out when all 5 rare Sumatran rhinos were found death. In Bolehland, animals are seen as toys to play. There are no diligent effort to preserve and protect our natural heritage. If there is, it is for tourism purposes or the available large funding.

Read another story about another coming conservation centre....and maybe in a few years, this rhino conservation centre could be wiped out as well. History strangely will continue to repeat itself...

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NST Online
2008/08/30
Male rhino 'in his prime' delight
By : Jaswinder Kaur

A rare sighting of a Sumatran rhinoceros in the wild.

WILDLIFE experts in Sabah were caught off guard on Aug 5 when a Sumatran rhinoceros ventured out of its forest habitat and made its way into an oil palm estate.

Sabah Wildlife Department veterinarians and rangers, with field officers from SOS Rhino Borneo and WWF-Malaysia in tow, rushed to the estate to see an adult male in his prime roaming one corner of the plantation. It seemed like an answer to their prayers.

The animal's sudden appearance comes at a time when conservationists are pooling resources to start a captive breeding programme to boost Sabah's dwindling rhino population, estimated at 30 in number.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said the state Rhino Task Force, which was set up after the Fourth Sumatran Rhino Conservation Workshop a year ago, was the government's way of showing its commitment to saving the species.

He said the "rescue" and translocation of the adult male to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve was timely as the state government was working on the breeding programme.

"We must do everything we can to prevent the remaining Sumatran rhino population from becoming extinct. It is a huge undertaking financially but we must do this."

Sabah is raising the RM20 million needed to set up the fully-fenced 1,000 hectare Bornean Sumatran Rhino sanctuary at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, its last chance to save the sub-species.

This is in line with the 18-year Sabah Development Corridor blueprint, which stresses growth and development alongside conservation of the state's diverse flora and fauna.

But a semi-captive breeding programme is not the only solution. Rhinoceroses, like other endangered species, need large forest areas to survive in, and conservationists are pushing for an improved network of protected areas.

A study by WWF-Malaysia has shown that the handful of rhinos in the Danum Valley feed on more than 72 plant species, including ginger, ginseng and tongkat ali, which are not found in oil palm estates at its fringes.

The Sumatran rhinoceros may be the smallest of all the rhino species, but an adult rhino consumes up to 50kg of leaves, twigs, bark, fruit and vines, and is also fond of salt licks.

While 21.8 per cent of Sabah's land mass is protected based on World Conservation Union guidelines, more than double the 10 per cent recommendation of the international body, the focus in coming years is to reconnect pockets of forests at areas once harvested for timber and now taken over mainly by cash crops.

Past land use policies were guided by the need to generate economic growth through oil palm, the nation's golden crop, resulting in about 15 per cent of the state being planted with oil palm.

But, with input and, perhaps, some pressure from the scientific community, the government maintained protected areas and even gazetted 26,000ha of the Kinabatangan floodplain as a wildlife sanctuary three years ago.

A number of non-governmental organisations are convincing international donors to fund programmes to replant trees at degraded zones and at river banks. This is to ensure that wildlife are not trapped in tiny jungles that may not be able to sustain them in the long run because of lack of food and in-breeding.

The Sabah Wildlife Department and NGOs are also reaching out to villagers and plantation owners to educate them on the importance of protecting habitats that rhinos and other wildlife depend on.

Some communities are today conducting their own conservation programmes, which they have tied in with eco-tourism.

A small number of plantation companies have started doing their own reforestation work but to make a difference, a long term commitment and large amounts of money are essential ingredients.

Getting more young Malaysians interested in studying the rhinos and other wildlife is another aspect that has to be looked into, a concerned foreign researcher who has been working in Sabah for many years said at a recent conference.

Perhaps, this is something which should be addressed by Universiti Malaysia Sabah, which has an established Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation and a recently- opened institute for primate studies.

The state-led Sabah Environmental Action Network, which covers environmental education in schools is another avenue of nurturing a pool of local experts in wildlife matters.

It has been a long and difficult journey, but Sabah is taking the right path in protecting rhinos, orang utans and elephants which, in turn, is expected to lead to better conservation of its remaining rich tropical forests.

The next step is for Sabah to sustain efforts to ensure that its unique wildlife is not consigned to history, only to be read in books or watched on video compact discs.

Kelantan still notorious for wildlife smuggling

After trailing for SIX hours, a smuggler could easily jump off and ROW a boat across a river and escape! This can only happen in Bolehland!!! Read the story below.

From The Star
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Kelantan still notorious for wildlife smuggling
By IAN MCINTYRE

KOTA BARU: Kelantan continues to be a hotspot for wildlife trafficking despite various efforts to smash syndicates smuggling out protected and exotic species.

The conclusion was reached after an anti-smuggling unit recently thwarted an attempt to smuggle out the carcass of a two-year-old female black panther at the border township of Rantau Panjang, 50km from here.

Wildlife enforcement officials accompanied by the anti-smuggling team trailed a suspected smuggler for six hours last Thursday near the township before intercepting his car at about 5pm.

The suspect abandoned his car, jumped into a boat and rowed through Sungai Golok to reach the Thai side.

A state Wildlife and National Parks Department spokesman confirmed that the panther, worth an estimated RM16,000, was the work of a syndicate and investigations were underway to nab the culprits.

The carcass is currently stored at the department’s office as part of the investigation and it is believed that the protected species was killed in a Kuala Krai forest.

According to Traffic South East Asia (Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network) senior programming officer Chris Shepherd, the porous boundary conditions are ideal grounds for organised smuggling of wildlife, notably leopards, tigers, pangolins and freshwater turtles.

Malaysia as a member of Asean, is increasingly under threat from transboundary smuggling and the resulting effect is dwindling numbers of protected species and exotic animals, Shepherd said.

“The entire region is facing increasing pressure from wildlife smuggling. Enforcement authorities are struggling to keep abreast of the tactics of organised wildlife smugglers.
“What has been detected is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Kelantan is a traditional smugglers den and it is also a top transit route used by wildlife smugglers to send across shipments to Thailand and China where the black panther is destined for the cooking pot.

To make matters worse, Malaysians are increasingly fond of exotic animal meat.
Despite the presence of wildlife conservationist groups such as World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia) and various campaigns here, the state continues to be notorious for wildlife smuggling.

Are Seashells Your Souvenirs?

Did you see the program “Kembara Khatulistiwa” at RTM 1 at 6.05pm on 17^th July 2007? Interesting travel program on a home stay at Bagan Datoh, Perak. The program showed about the beach at Sungai Tiang. A vast beach and the many colorful seashells found there. I was shocked to see the hostess collecting them as souvenirs and mentioning it as to encourage viewers to collect them!

If you have been to Koh Adang, (Satun, Thailand) you would have seen a huge colony of happy hermit crabs canvassing on the beach at night. It was an interesting learning experience for some of us to watch the hermit crabs changing shells, from the smaller to a bigger “home”. (I regretted not taking pictures to prove it). That was a sanctuary for hermit crabs. They were so advance in conservation and at least 10 years ahead as compared with our Bolehland. We are only good for showing off to the world for sending people to space, climbing Everest and conquering the poles!

The shells of hermit crabs are actually temporary homes. Each hermit crab shifted when it gets bigger as its “home” could not accommodate its size anymore. It just find another new shell and shifted to a bigger one.

What happen when there is no shell to shift?

The pictures below showed the consequences when human started to collect seashells as souvenirs.

Conclusion:

Would you want your house to be collected by some giants as souvenir? Perhaps you have to shift to a big drum or even the rubbish dump as a new home! Would you?

Pictures sourced from:

http://www.calacademy.org/science_now/images/hermitcrab2.jpg
http://www.caymanwildlife.org/images/pressimages/w-HermitCrabinPVC.jpg