What’s up with our weather? by Alan Rogers. Posted on July 20, 2014, Sunday

Empty boat slips protrude from the dock at the abandoned Echo Bay Marina on July 13 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada in the United States. The marina closed last year in part due to falling water levels. — AFP photo

WE all have a love-hate relationship with our weather. The British talk more about daily weather than any other nation simply because, as an island facing the ravages of Atlantic storms to the west and the huge Eurasian continent to the east, the weather changes almost daily.

George Mikes, a Hungarian refugee in the late 1950s and once a prominent newspaper reporter in the UK, wrote an interesting dialogue on how to demonstrate your ability in the English language … always have a good conversation about the weather!

I frequently ask myself whether I am a prophet of doom and gloom or simply a realist. In 2013 through to early this year, people worldwide have had their lives turned upside down by the sheer intensity of storms, flooding and drought.

At the end of March, strong northeasterly winds battered the coastal areas of Sabah with flash flooding in Beaufort, Keningau, and Tenom and these storms equalled the intensity of rainfall and water depth that was experienced in South West England in January, when three major cyclones hit the area in one week. Wind speeds reached 129 km per hour with gusts up to 145 km per hour. In one day 400 millimetres of rain fell equalling one third of the average monthly rainfall.

In late February, the UK Meteorological Office together with the National Environment Research Council’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology published a detailed report on ‘The Recent Storms and Floods in the UK’. The authors concluded that the disastrous events there were partly linked to the very high temperatures and rainfall inputs in Indonesia and Borneo and to the exceptionally cold weather in the USA.

A warming world has led to the intense daily and hourly rainfall inputs. With progressive and irreversible climatic change, sea levels are rising with greater coastal inundation by stormy seas and rivers are more frequently in flood. This report did imply that there was a possible link between climate change and the December to January storms in the UK, but stressed that further complex computer modelling was needed to prove a definite link.

Residents carry their belongings as Typhoon Rammasun (locally named Glenda) hits the town of Imus, Cavite southwest of Manila in the Philippines on July 16. Philippine authorities evacuated almost 150,000 people from their homes and shuttered financial markets, government offices, businesses and schools as the typhoon gathered strength. — Reuters photo

The world’s extreme weather patterns are linked to the meandering paths and positions of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and over North America before in a westerly direction it reaches Europe. A major change in the path of the Pacific jet stream was driven by increased rainfall over Indonesia and Borneo, associated with higher than normal temperatures. The intensity of the Atlantic cyclones affecting South and South West England was caused by the Polar jet stream taking a more southerly track than the norm for this time of year.

Japanese meteorologists have forecasted a further warming of the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean in an El Nino effect. In due course this could prompt further drought in Southeast Asia and Australia and flooding in South America where sea temperatures in the Eastern Pacific are warmer than usual.

The debate about the anthropogenic causes of global warming is again erupting and will continue to rumble for future decades. No one can dispute the fact that our oceans are absorbing 90 per cent of the heat added to our planet through climate change and that these oceans absorb almost 33 per cent of our carbon dioxide emissions from oil, gas, or coal fired power stations, industry and vehicle exhausts and diminishing forest cover worldwide. Vegetation is a natural absorber of CO2.

The global mean sea level rose at the rate of 3.2 millimetres per annum from 1993 to 2010. This is explained by the fact that as the sea warms, it expands together with the continued melting of the Arctic Ocean ice and the continental ice sheets of Antarctica shrinking in ice depth and shedding glaciers and melt-water into the sea. We will see more people who are currently living in coastal areas a metre or so above sea level and on island atolls in the Pacific Ocean seeking climate change refugee status over the next decade. The precedent was set last April. With increasing sea levels so will storm surges be more intense and damaging.

Global warming has a detrimental effect on health. Recently China recorded an average of 500,000 deaths per annum attributed to urban pollution. World economies are at risk. Florida, USA — a major supplier of oranges worldwide — is just recovering from a very severe winter of frosts and snow. Brazil produces 40 per cent of the world’s coffee but the coffee growing areas have been hit by a severe drought. Indonesia and Malaysia, accounting together for 80 per cent of the world’s palm oil production, were severely hit by the drought in January and February. Canada’s wheat farmers have suffered long lasting snow cover beyond the normal planting time and drought has hit the wheat farmers in Australia.

The world market prices for oranges, coffee, palm oil, wheat and cattle feed are forecast to hit record highs this year with inevitably increasing consumer costs in shops. Rising sea levels and the inevitable penetration of salt water inland have affected the yields of rice farmers in the delta lands of Bangladesh and the market gardeners in coastal California.

Whilst we may proudly see ourselves with national identities, we are part of the global economy and a world whose ecosystems are on the verge of reaching atrophy. Climate change is indeed severe, invasive and irreversible but all nations and every one of us need to seek ways of slowing it down and putting it into a state of remission.

As I write, I have ascertained that UK Met Office researchers have broken new ground in developing a computer model simulating longer term predictions of winter weather conditions there. This breakthrough will have a major impact on the economy.

Power suppliers will be able to anticipate energy needs; hospitals better prepared to treat winter illnesses and accidents; retailers will be able to better stock their shelves with appropriate food; and insurance companies will be able to reliably anticipate potential storm damage and flooding areas. Perhaps the methodology in constructing this model may be released to all nations on our planet so that local seasonal adaptations may be programmed into a not dissimilar computer model. We all live in hope.

For further reading see thesundaypost (March 30, 2014): ‘El Nino havoc possible this year’ by Rintos Mail; ‘Palm oil threatened by worst drought for Asian crop’ [Bloomberg Report]; and ‘How to be an Alien’ by George Mikes (1946 Penguin Readers).

Related articles can also be found at www.metoffice.gov.uk.

A man makes his way through a flooded area in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province on July 15. — AFP photo

The Malaysian Nature Society

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/07/20/whats-up-with-our-weather/#ixzz3855AaDxi

Saving rare wildlife from extinction by Irene C, reporters@theborneopost.com

Fadzillawati (left) showing rhino footprints to an American journalist (centre) during her stint in Sabah.

She is fighting for the welfare of animals, especially the rhinocerous, because she says ‘they do not have a voice to speak out for their rights.’

IT’s not the choice job for youths who aspire to make a name for themselves overnight but for Fadzillawati Zahrah Hamdan, the satisfaction of knowing how her sweat and tears can save a single animal from extinction — like the rhinocerous — is worth all the effort.

While the 33-year-old loves Nature, wildlife and the environment, she never imagined her calling would be fighting for the welfare of animals which “do not have a voice to speak out for their rights.”

The care for animals may be in her blood — or nurtured — because as a student, she spent her school holidays helping out at national parks and nature reserves.

Moreover, her late father worked at the Forest Department, and her stepfather worked there as well — and now at the Sarawak Forestry Corporation.

Fadzillawati started out in 2005 at Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Sabah, tracking rhinos in the wild.

Why conservation? Well, it’s certainly not for money – in fact, she doesn’t really know why she chose this path. But she pointed out that the experience she gained from the job could not be bought with money.

Simply priceless, she enthused.

At WWF-Malaysia Sarawak office.

“The best was when I woke up in the morning and an elephant greeted me at my doorstep. It was a fantastic start to my day.”

Fadzillawati said seeing the pachyderm made “the whole world seem marvellous,” especially when her base camp at the Reserve was a building with neither water nor electricity.

Even her bed was hand-made by the staff and the thin mattress was also donated.

The salary back then was very low — only RM300 to RM700 a month without bonus. What made the workers stay on was their love of animals.

Even now, there is still a big shortage for conservationists.

The work at the Reserve is no stroll in the park. A typical work day involves lugging between 15kg and 20kg of tools and supplies plus walking some 10km.

There are also risks as the workers not only can be attacked by wild animals but also shot by poachers.

Though Fadzillawati has never seen a rhino during her stint at the Reserve, just discovering its few footprints made her heart race as this meant there was a chance of encountering one.

A few months later, oil palm plantation workers reported the sighting of a rhino in the area and she rushed with a few others to the plantation.

They stayed at the staff quarters and the next morning, she was delighted to see not a handful but hundreds of rhino footprints along the logging road – in fact, so many that it was hard to determine how many animals were there or in which direction they went.

“During our stay, we didn’t see any rhinos but a few months later, the staff managed to video-tape one.

“I was moved to tears — it was a touching moment for me. Although I have never seen one with my own eyes, the video proves there are still rhinocerouses in the wild and this gives me strength to continue conserving the natural habitat so that these precious animals can survive.”

Fadzillawati spent one whole year looking for rhinos and she and her co-workers even started to joke that the animal was a myth because they had never found one.

“So you could imagine the satisfaction I felt after watching the video,” she said.

Protecting rhinos does not only mean keeping them safe from the traps set by poachers but also conserving their habitats so that they can thrive, re-populate and be around for generations to come.

Like most school leavers, Fadzillawati took the traditional path of getting into universities before discovering her love for conservation and the environment.

Learning theories about conservation in the classroom is one thing, what happens in practice on the field is quite another.

“The wild can turn up things quite unlike what you find in textbooks. Practical experience is more important,” she said.

The following year, Fadzillawati was offered a position with WWF-Malaysia as programme officer for Totally Protected Areas. It was the perfect opportunity for her to move further afield in her vocation.

During a trip to Santubong National Park.

Without proper job designation, her conservation efforts had been a drop in the bucket but attached to WWF-Malaysia, she could work in many areas with the help of the Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) management, staff and stakeholders, and make a bigger difference immediately.

“In Sarawak, I lead the WWF-Malaysia Protected Areas programme by co-ordinating a network of conservation organisations and other related stakeholders in the implementation of the programme.

“I have been leading and coordinating the assessment of 29 TPAs in Sarawak, covering an area of 700,727 hectares, using Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) developed by WWF and the World Bank.

“Protected Areas is key to the governance and management of representative ecosystems, therefore ensuring that the health of forests and ecosystems in important areas is increased for the benefit of humankind and Nature,” she explained.

As one of the main contributors to the WWF-Malaysia Sarawak programme, Fadzillawati identifies priority conservation areas (PCAs) which contribute to identification of habitat connectivity.

For the national level of Protected Areas, she contributes to the development of Malaysia National Protected Areas Masterlist.

She is also directly involved in a few of WWF international networks based on the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiatives:

• Trilateral initiatives between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
• Sarawak focal person for Protected Areas De-gazettement, Downsizing and Downgrading (PADDD) project with WWF-US.
• Focal person for WWF-Malaysia in reviewing Management Effectiveness Tracking Tools (METT) with WWF-International (Alexander Belukurov).
• High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) Toolkit, one of WWF internal reviewers, and WWF-Traffic Wildlife Crime Strategy.
• One of the reviewers coordinating inputs from WWF-Malaysia  to WWF Network Species Programme and Traffic in reviewing their strategies to combat wildlife crime.

Her job scope involves leading, co-ordinating, and ensuring the implementation conservation strategies and action plans as well as monitoring and evaluating programmes and projects pertaining to Protected Areas in Sarawak and contributing to the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative area.

She is also the focal person on matters related to Protected Areas in Sarawak and also suppoprts Protected Areas National Team in fundraising and capacity-building programmes for work relevant to WWF-Malaysia’s thematic and landscape programmes and projects.

Before holding her current position, she was the WWF-Malaysia Heart of Borneo Species officer from 2008 to 2010.

She was directly involved in WWF structure of Heart of Borneo Initiatives, especially on wildlife issues, working closely with her counterparts in Indonesia and Brunei for a strategic approach and implementation of the initiatives on the ground.

She also advises on WWF directions on the ground, supporting the network initiative in delivery of the programme and overseeing internal WWF programmes or projects related to or contributing to HoB.

She also played an active part in ensuring effective engagement and involvement of various stakeholders, and monitoring issues on HoB as well as outside the HoB boundary in the case of Sarawak.

Fadzillawati is the longest serving WWF employee in the Sarawak team.

Fadzillawati (right) having a meal in the jungle while tracking rhinos in Sabah with an NGO.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/07/20/saving-rare-wildlife-from-extinction/#ixzz3854owN22

Protecting Santubong’s clouded leopards by Joanna Yap

The decapitated head and body of a clouded leopard being sold at Kapit. Protecting Santubong’s endangered clouded leopards can help to educate the public about the importance of ensuring its survival so that they will know that it is not all right to hunt, kill, trap, sell or eat the animal. — Photos courtesy of Anthony Sebastian

WHEN reports of a sighting of three Sunda clouded leopards on Mount Santubong surfaced in April this year, the news was greeted with a mixture of excitement and anxiety – for good reason.

Very little is known about the clouded leopard in comparison with other big cats such as the lion and tiger as research on the species has been scant.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, in 2007, it  was estimated there were fewer than 10,000 clouded leopards in total effective population size, with real numbers suspected to be much lower.

The overall population of the clouded leopard is on a declining trend due to deforestation and illegal hunting, leading to a categorisation of Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List – meaning it is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Up until recently, it was classically considered as a single species until it was discovered there were, in fact, two species – Neofelis nebulosa which dwells on mainland South East Asia and Neofelis diardi, also known as the Sunda or Sundaland clouded leopard, which is endemic to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Thus, it is nothing short of astonishing that Borneo’s top cat has been living incognito almost literally at our doorstep all this time, undetected by the hundreds of people who trek up and down Mt Santubong every year.

Moreover, the rare sighting of the highly endangered species underlines the fact that for all of our perceived familiarity with our beloved Mt Santunbong, it seems there is still much which remains to be discovered about the richness of its biodiversity and wildlife, a mere 45 minutes’ drive from the state capital.

Tropical heath forest or the kerangas forest which can be found at Santubong is mostly endemic to Borneo. Unfortunately, it is fast disappearing from other parts of Sarawak due to agriculture and deforestation activities.

National treasure

Familiarity often causes people to take things for granted, and unfortunately, this has been mostly the case for what most of us think we know about Santubong.

In fact, the Santubong peninsula is a treasure trove of natural and historical heritage and a priceless national treasure, Malaysian Nature Society Kuching Branch (MNSKB) chairman Anthony Sebastian told thesundaypost.

“For example, Santubong was thought to have no hornbills but it is now known to have four species living there. Generally speaking, there’s no reason why all eight species of hornbills in state cannot live there,” he said.

On the significance of Santubong, Anthony immediately zeroed in on the forests as the “highest value of Santubong.”

“First, there is the coastal mixed dipterocarp forest where the land or mountain comes at a steep angle straight down to the sea, as opposed to the rest of 90 per cent Sarawak where there is usually a flat stretch of sand or land between the mountain and the sea.

“This only exists on Santubong and Tanjung Datu. There used to be a small patch in Lambir, Miri, but it has been completely destroyed.

“As it grows right next to the sea, the forests have evolved over thousands of years to be more tolerant to saltwater and other aspects of the environment there like the dry and strong winds.

“There are also a whole lot of very unique and even endemic species to be found in these forests. This is one of Santubong’s highest values,” he said, adding that the forests were one of the most beautiful to experience.

The MNSKB chairman also highlighted the strategic importance of Santubong’s location right next to the biggest urban centre in the state.

“Its value and economics just shoot up because there’s so many things you can do with it, not just in terms of biodiversity conservation. It’s also about giving researchers and people the opportunities to see these forests.

“It’s about developing the forests with beautiful trails and picnic spots and more while preserving the forest. It has much higher economic value to us to be used because of its nearby location,” he said.

Another type of forest found in Santubong is the tropical heath forest or kerangas, which is also ecologically unique.

It is a forest type found mainly in the northwestern corner of Borneo, including most of Sarawak, a little in Riau in Indonesia and a small patch in the south eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia.

“Sarawak should be proud because we have most of the kerangas forest. The biggest stretch of kerangas forest was from Lundu all the way to Serapi in the area known as Sampadi. I say was because much of it is now oil palm plantation,” Anthony noted wryly.

Anthony Sebastian

Threat to heritage

The recent sighting of the clouded leopard at Mt Santubong has helped cast a welcomed public spotlight on Santubong, long marked for tourism development.

“Having a population of endangered clouded leopards living so close by also presents a priceless opportunity to educate the public about the importance of ensuring their survival so that they will know it’s not all right to hunt, kill, trap, sell or eat the animal,” Anthony pointed out.

At the same time, it has also raised concerns on the management and conservation of the Santubong peninsula as well as their impact on the future well-being of the many unique species which call it home.

The 1,410 ha Santubong National Park (SNP), gazetted in 2007, is the third smallest of the 25 national parks in the state, of which most is occupied by Mt Santubong.

Surrounding lowlands, sustaining the forests which host most of its prey base such as deer, wild pigs, monkeys, porcupines and other small mammals, lie outside the park’s boundaries and are subjected to the threat of deforestation for agriculture and development purposes.

While clouded leopards are highly arboreal and probably at ease living on steep mountain sides, based on the little known about the creature and its habits, Anthony suspects they come down to the lowlands to hunt and breed.

Another factor to consider is that because of deforestation, the forests of Santubong peninsula are fragmented and isolated, meaning that without decisive and concerted intervention, the clouded leopard and other resident wild species will be essentially hemmed into an ever-shrinking patch of forest.

Based on anecdotal evidence and reports by visitors, even the existing national park has not been able to escape the threat of illegal logging and hunting, with perpetrators choosing to exploit the lesser visited eastern side of Mt Santubong for their illegal activities, usually entering the park undetected via sea.

Add to this, a number of large-scale development projects already underway or in the pipeline for the Santubong peninsula (including the proposed Mt Santubong cable car project), and it doesn’t take much to see the very real and present threats to its rich biodiversity unless steps are taken now to effectively plan for and manage land use and natural resources in the area.

This is also where the environmental and scientific community can step up to work closer together with state agencies and administrative departments (and vice versa) to formulate and implement strategies to protect the wildlife and environment as well as ensure decisions and policies, affecting the Santubong peninsula’s development, will not adversely affect the forests and the seas.

Mt Santubong and its surrounding forests are rich in biodiversity and unique wildlife, including a number of species endemic to Borneo.

Park expansion?

Anthony also suspects the three individuals sighted recently were probably a breeding pair and a juvenile as clouded leopards are normally solitary animals except during mating and breeding season.

It is also likely there may be more of them around but this is difficult to determine for sure without further studies as these predators are self-regulating (meaning their populations and breeding patterns adjust to suit external factors such as availability of food sources and home range).

However, he cautioned these are at best “educated guesses” and that more studies and research needed to be carried out to thoroughly study and evaluate the current status of the clouded leopards of Mt Santubong as well as measures to be taken to ensure their continued and permanent survival.

Going forward, more comprehensive and effective forest management and conservation are a must for the peninsula to ensure the clouded leopard and other iconic species such as the hornbills and Irrawady dolphins can survive and thrive.

“By itself, it (the leopard) has no value. It’s part of the forest. It requires the forest to live. Without the forest, there is no cat. The forests are the highest value of Santubong. With the forest, you have cats, hornbills and so on.

“With the forests, you have the prey base and food sources which they need to survive. When the forests degrade, the top predators are the first to go,” he explained.

Anthony also cautioned any measures to conserve and protect the unique forests of Santubong peninsula should include the sea, further strengthening the argument that the present boundaries of SNP should be extended.

“It should not be just land-based as Santubong has an integral connection with the surrounding seas. Everything about it is influenced by the sea. If you truly want to protect Santubong as an entity, you have to include the sea,” he said.

As for the clouded leopard, Anthony sees in it all the makings to be the state’s next great icon.

“It’s got everything you need to attract people’s attention. It looks beautiful and sexy — plus a ferocious snarl – all the mysterious romance of a beautiful endangered species we still know so little about.

“There’s just something about it which speaks to people,” he mused out loud.

On June 25, the MNSKB signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) to organise the second edition of ts highly successful Santubong Nature Festival (SNF) on Nov 8-9 this year.

This is the first time MNSKB is teaming up with a state agency to organise the SNF.

“This is such a unique opportunity for us and DBKU to showcase what Santubong has to offer. Think about it, how many city councils can legitimately say they have a mountain in their backyard? We look forward to working together with them to bring an even better SNF to the public this year to raise public awareness about Santutubong so that they can appreciate how wonderful and beautiful it is,” Anthony said.

To find out more about MNSKB or how you or your organization can participate in the SNF, email mns.santubong@gmail.com or visit http://mnskuching.blogspot.com and http://santubongnaturefestival.blogspot.com.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/07/06/protecting-santubongs-clouded-leopards/#ixzz378mOkTeR

What goes around, comes around!

y Alan Rogers. Posted on July 6, 2014, Sunday

The Paris skyline is obscured by severe fog in March. — File photo

THIS adage applies to our planet in terms of human transmitted diseases and our atmospheric and oceanic circulations. The land surfaces of the continents modify patterns of water movement and air circulation to a greater or lesser extent. The very fact that our weather patterns are becoming extremely eccentric, with extremes more likely, cannot be refuted.

Watching for weeks on end torrential, almost tropical, rainstorms pouring down on my Somerset home in the United Kingdom during the autumn and winter months last year and early this year, with huge pools of water engulfing roads with road bridges awash through rising river levels and vast swathes of my county inundated with flood water, I seriously questioned climate change sceptics!

With unseasonal drought in Peninsular Malaysia, California, and South Pakistan with consequent water shortages, severe snow storms in North East Canada and on the United States Atlantic seaboard, the worst flooding in parts of Brazil for 40 years with other areas there bone dry, it seemed as though people worldwide shouted in unison: “We have never experienced such extreme weather as this!”

Severe smog in Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Shanghai and more recently London, with the Chinese government declaring its edict to drastically reduce the air pollutant index there by 2020 firmly points the finger of our changing climate in mankind’s direction.

Atlases worldwide are totally out of date in their portrayals of world climatic belts and associated diagrams of monthly rainfalls and average temperatures in various locations. Such maps and information were produced in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries by climatologists such as Koeppen, Thornthwaite, and Kellogg.

Returning to Somerset, the extensive flooding of two rivers on the flat lands of the Somerset Levels saw 6,000 displaced people and farmers’ pasture land under three metres of water for nearly two months. Interestingly the name Somerset has two possible derivations both leading to the same conclusion. The Viking invaders in the eighth and ninth centuries called this area ‘the land of the summer sites’ and the later Anglo-Saxons referred to it as ‘the land of the settlers by sea-lakes’. History in 2014 has certainly repeated itself with a vengeance on these rivers’ flood plains.

Snowstorms cause havoc in the eastern United States in February. — File photo

On Feb 12, 2014, I took notes on the weather observed over a 12-hour period in my garden. Snow, bright sunshine, heavy rain, a hail storm, further rain, followed by a period of absolutely blue cloudless skies and a night frost came in rapid succession. Temperatures ranged from 6 degrees Celsius to minus 2  degrees Celsius with winds gusting to 97 km per hour rattling my roof tiles.

There, in South West England, a series of temperate cyclones swept across the land, severely battering and eroding the coastline. The following day saw hurricane force gusts of over 100 km per hour and 70 millimetres of rainfall. That night in the Western Approaches to the English Channel, the highest ever waves were recorded offshore from my birth place in Cornwall at 21.4 metres in height, destroying a section of Penzance’s Promenade and a beautiful seawater swimming pool.

With the mildest winter temperatures and the wettest autumn and winter on record over 250 years of meteorological recordings in the United Kingdom, why was the weather so extreme? Florida experienced frosts and snow while the northern most US state of Alaska recorded its highest ever winter temperatures with the subsequent melting of permafrost and flooding. Indonesia and Borneo experienced a prolonged period of unseasonal torrential rainfall in roasting temperatures. What, we ask ourselves is the norm for our climates?

Meteorologists authoritatively inform us that the vagaries in world weather patterns are due the ever more frequent oscillations of the sub tropical and polar Jet Streams. These sinuous, rising and dipping tubes of high velocity winds at 7 to 16km above us steer cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons at lower levels in our atmosphere exerting upward and downward forces. We cannot detach our atmosphere and stratosphere from the movements of ocean currents which again redistribute our planet’s heat. Heat and cold are transferred from below to above and vice versa as part of the Earth’s natural system in the redistribution of thermal energy.

The progressive warming of our planet was the outright conclusion of the meeting of the Intergovernmental Climate Change Panel at its Yokahama Convention last March. Strong terms such as, severe, intensive and irreversible are used in its report. The facts are before us through satellite evidence and fieldwork. The Arctic Ocean’s ice is breaking up and the loss of sea ice has increased the area of open water. Sea ice has an Albedo number of 0.8 (it reflects 80 per cent of solar radiation back into the atmosphere): sea water has an Albedo number of 0.2 (80 per cent of radiation is absorbed) leading to further ice melt.

The permafrost (tundra) area of the Arctic Circle was once known as ‘the land of the little sticks’ with its harsh climate negating plant growth. Oxford University botanists have witnessed alder and willow shrubs grow into two-metre high trees in the last 30 years. Our oceans are becoming more acidic as melting ice and snow releases absorbed carbon dioxide into the sea thus destroying coral reefs, algae and changing the migration routes of fish.

What can we do personally to eliminate our carbon footprints on our planet in our attempts to reduce the severity and frequency of catastrophic storms and the gradual depletion of wildlife through the gradual warming of our atmosphere? There is no one simple answer for political decisions of all nations are needed to sign the Kyoto Protocol of 1988.

At a purely personal level, I recently exchanged my 2,000cc estate car for a more fuel efficient car of 1,500cc. To my surprise my annual government road tax fell from RM900 to RM100. My carbon emissions have fallen and I am also RM800 financially richer each year and my conscience is even richer!

For more read thesundaypost: March 23, 2014 MNS column ‘Earth Hour’ by Mary Margaret or go to the Malaysia Meteorological Department website at www.met.gov.my.

Meanwhile, a Guided Geology Walk at Santubong will be held on Saturday from 8.45am to 11am starting from the official entrance to Santubong National Park. For details go to http://mnskuching.blogspot.com.

A surfer walks on a boardwalk being lashed by waves during a severe storm in Melbourne last month. — File photo

The Malaysian Nature Society

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/07/06/what-goes-around-comes-around-3/#ixzz378lsyfN0

Population genetics and their forensic applications of the reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus ssp.) and the Burmese Python ( Python bivittatus ssp.) involved in the commercial skin trade in Southeast Asia

Good afternoon,

On behalf of IBEC Director, we would like to invite you to attend IBEC's
Lunch Hour Talk as follows:

Date : 14 July 2014 (Monday)
Time : 12.00pm
Place : TR4, Level G, FSTS/IBEC Building, UNIMAS

Title: Population genetics and their forensic applications of the
reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus ssp.) and the Burmese Python (
Python bivittatus ssp.) involved in the commercial skin trade in Southeast
Asia

Speaker: Dr. Mark Auliya is a postdoctorate researcher at the Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig, Germany. Main focus is
conservation-oriented research on reptiles, involving trade issues. Member
in numerous IUCN reptile specialist groups, Red List Authority of the IUCN
Boa & Python Specialist Group. Working on the reticulated python since
1996.

Abstract:

The two largest Asian giant snakes (Malayopython reticulatus , Python
bivittatus) are traded commercially since about 1930. Between 2002 and
2012, the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam exported more than
3.8 million skins of reticulated pythons; 75% were documented as wild
captures; only Vietnam documented the export of captive-breds (25%). This
intense commercialization obviously has left its marks, thus today the
sustainability of this trade highly questioned in the international
community.
The fashion industry is aware of their responsibilities and today support
projects to trace the origin of skins within the supply chain and thus to
reduce the illegal trade to ensure a sustainable trade. As part of this
pioneer study, genetic variation of populations of both study species will
be examined, initially prioritizing populations in the major harvest
regions, i.e. West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Java, next to populations
east of the Wallace Line, including the Philippines. Results will ideally
feed into improved control mechanisms and certification of export documents
to uncover illegal trade activities (e.g. skins meant for export with
incorrectly declared origin). In addition to population genetics, the
analysis of stable isotopes [C, N] is used to distinguish wild captures
from captive bred specimens. An improved control and enforcement of the
international trade in python skins can significantly restrict the illegal
trade and thus also ensure the sustainable conservation of genetic
resources.

regards
=======================================================
Chaplin Anak Iba
Assistant Administration Officer

Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation
Level G, FSTS Building
University Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan
Sarawak, Malaysia.

Tel No: 082-583502
Fax No: 082-583505

An Afternoon in Santubong Talk

Greetings from Malaysian Nature Society. 

Please be reminded that the talk "An Afternoon in Santubong Talk" will be held:
Subject: Archaeology of Santubong by JMS 
Biodiversity of Santubong by SFC
Dolphin of Santubong by Cindy
Date: 16 July 2014 (Wednesday)
Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm
Venue: Kota Santosa Public Library

Should you need further information, please do not hesitate contacting me.

Regards,
Sinyin 0149903335
SNF2014 Secretary
mns.santubong@gmail.com

Kota Sentosa Public Library
Library
Batu 7 (Jalan Liu Shan Bang), 93250 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia