[Kabar-indonesia] Wealthy Hunters Threaten Sumatran Tigers [+Marine Protection; Canary Islands]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: WWF International: A major step forward for marine protection 
in Indonesia; and IHT: Canary Island ecology endangered  

Sumatran tigers under threat, official says 

BENGKULU, Bengkulu province, June 20 (Antara): Sumatran tigers and other 
rare animals are under increasing threat as illegal hunters continue to 
operate 
in Sumatra's forests, an official says.

Anthoni, a ranger at the Bengkulu Natural ResourcesConservation Agency 
(BKSDA), said Tuesday that most of those hunting Sumatran tigers were 
wealthy and came from other provinces.

Sumatran tigers, which now number less than 700, are under increasing threat 
from habitat destruction and trafficking syndicates that sell their bones and 
other body parts for traditional medicines, mostly in China and other Asian 
countries.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates the number of wild tigers in the 
world 
has fallen by 95 percent over the last century to between 5,000 and 7,000 
because 
of poaching, habitat destruction, loss of prey and conflicts with humans.

Anthoni said his office had seized a number of tiger skins and arrested five 
people on suspicion of hunting tigers, including Rabihil Kana, a former member 
of the North Bengkulu LegislativeCouncil. 

Last week, AP reported that the body parts of six endangered Sumatran tigers 
discovered at a warehouse near Thailand's main international airport were 
likely destined for China to be sold for traditional Chinese medicines.

Police discovered tiger skulls, fangs and other body parts stored in fruit 
boxes when they raided a cargo warehouse near Bangkok airport, a Thai police 
officer said.

Tiger parts are a favored ingredient for Chinese traditional medicines, 
notably those that are believed to increase sexual potency.

Police are searching for the people who shipped the tigers to Bangkok, and 
who could face a maximum penalty of four years in jail or a fine of 40,000 baht 
(US$1,045) for possessing the body parts of protected animals. 

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WWF International
June 19, 2006

A major step forward for marine protection in Indonesia
        
photo: The Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion is home to 450 species of
coral, as well as many other marine creatures, including the feather
star. WWF-Canon / Jürgen Freund

Berau, Indonesia – Following a growing trend to protect sensitive
marine ecosystems, Indonesia has announced plans to create a marine
protected area (MPA) over 1.2 million hectares off the eastern coast
of the Derawan Archipelago in the Sulawesi Sea.

The archipelago is an integral part of WWF's Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion, which contains some 450 species of coral and support one of
the world's largest varieties of reef fish, as well as commercial and
community fisheries. In recent years, however, overfishing and
destructive fishing methods, including the use of cyanide and
dynamite, have destroyed large sections of coral and depleted fish
populations.

"We are pleased to see the local government recognize the need to
protect and manage the region's marine resources of the region," said
Dr Lida Pet Soede, director of WWF-Indonesia's marine programme.

"Successful conservation of this region will benefit many stakeholders
as well as the marine ecosystem."

Community members of more than 25 coastal villages initiated the call
to protect their marine areas, following reports from local fishermen
that fish catches were decreasing and revenues were being lost due to
increased non-resident fishing operations.

WWF and The Nature Conservancy are currently working with the Berau
District and local communities in developing a zoning plan that will
include no-take zones, as well as traditional-use zones where only
small-scale traditional fishing will be allowed. Other zones will be
set up for tourism, fishing and other recreational activities.

"With the establishment of an MPA, regulations that protect the
interest of local fishermen can now be enacted," added Pet Soede. This
includes regulating fishing gears and fees based on catches."

The two conservation organizations are also helping to reduce the
threats caused by illegal and destructive fishing practices by
enhancing local government and community natural resource management,
improving law enforcement, and raising awareness about the importance
of protecting the marine ecosystem for the benefit of local
communities.

In recognition of the MPA declaration, WWF and The Nature Conservancy
presented the heads of Indonesia's Berau District with a "Leaders of a
Living Planet" award.

For further information:
Dr. Lida Pet Soede, Marine Programme Director
WWF-Indonesia

-----------------------------------

International Herald Tribune
June 20, 2006

Canary Island ecology endangered  

By Renwick McLean 

TÉNÉRIFE, Spain It rains little on this island. There are no natural rivers, 
and the air is full of the dry heat of the nearby Sahara.
 
But in a ravine on the island's northern tip, tree limbs drip with water and 
a tropical forest flourishes, sustained almost entirely by condensation from 
the low-lying clouds that are regularly pinned up against the mountainside.
 
The area, called Cruz del Carmen, is only one example of the unusual 
evolutionary habitats on Spain's Canary Islands that fascinated Charles Darwin about 
200 years ago, and that today reveal a new species or subspecies to scientists 
an average of once every six days.
 
But the unique plant and animal life here is being steadily overtaken by an 
invasion of foreign species, which have been entering the islands in increasing 
numbers since border checkpoints within the European Union were abolished 
under the Schengen agreement a decade ago, according to government officials and 
scientists here.
 
"There is very potent legislation controlling what enters into Europe," José 
Luis Martín Esquivel, an adviser to the regional government on environmental 
issues, said in an interview. "But there are very weak controls on what crosses 
the borders within Europe."
 
Government officials on these islands, which are about 115 kilometers, or 70 
miles, off Morocco's southwestern coast, say that an invasive species enters 
their borders at the rate of once every 17 days, and that one turns into a 
plague capable of altering native habitats and seriously threatening native 
species an average of once every six months.
 
"With the Schengen agreement, more and more plagues are coming in," Domingo 
Berriel, the director of the regional government's environmental protection 
agency, said in an interview. "We need the power to control our borders more 
closely, or it could be true disaster."
 
Berriel said his main concern was that the invasive species may seriously 
endanger the islands' huge population of endemic species, which exist naturally 
nowhere else on earth.
 
Over all, about 4,000 endemic species have been recorded on the Canary 
Islands, compared with about 100 for all of Britain, according to the regional 
government. But the true number is expected to be considerably larger, because 
dozens of new species are found every year.
 
The natural wonders of these islands have drawn researchers for centuries. 
Darwin dreamed of a visit in the 1830s. His "Canary scheme," as he called it, 
was far enough along that he began studying Spanish, immersed himself in 
scientific writings on the islands, and prepared to reserve a ticket on a ship that 
would soon be heading here.
 
But months before he was to come, he was appointed to a position on the 
Beagle and went to the Galápagos Islands instead.
 
"People here like to say that if he had come, he would have developed his 
theory of evolution here," said Agustín Aguiar Clavijo, a zoologist with the 
regional government.
 
The richness of the islands' biodiversity is most evident in Cruz del Carmen, 
which has the most endemic species per square kilometer in Europe, according 
to a study by the regional government.
 
Although Cruz del Carmen is home to a tropical forest, the temperatures here 
are often chilly and sunlight is often blurred by dense fog, leading the plant 
and animal life down a unique evolutionary course.
 
A random handful of soil here can easily contain four or five endemic species 
of insects, Aguiar said. "This is our great jewel," he said. "This is a 
marvel of evolutionary marvels."
 
Elizabeth Ojeda Land, a botanist with the regional government, said the area 
had so far escaped significant damage from invasive species. "It is a miracle 
that a zone like this has been preserved, with all the tourists that come to 
the islands and the population density we have," she said.
 
But other areas have been less lucky. The regional government estimates that 
invasive species have already cut the percentage of endemic plant species on 
the islands in half in the past 50 years, from one of every two plants to one 
of every four.
 
Among the most notorious invasive species here is the Barbary ground 
squirrel, which has decimated plants on the island of Fuerteventura, and the highly 
aggressive Argentine ant, whose fast-growing colonies have expelled native ants 
and other insects from their natural habitats.
 
The most recent threat comes from a beetle called the picudo rojo, which has 
been ravaging many of the islands' signature Canary palm trees for the past 
several months. The beetle appears to have spread from nonnative palm trees that 
were recently brought into the islands.
 
But perhaps the biggest problem for endemic plants like the Canary palm is 
not invasive insects or animals but the threat of hybridization from close 
contact with nonnative species that are brought to the islands.
 
The dual threat from hybridization and invasive pests has meant that plants 
fill most of the spots on the Canary Islands' most endangered species list.
 
The regional government says about 20 endemic species are currently 
endangered. Several have fewer than 100 specimens left in the wild, and some have fewer 
than two dozen.
 
Ojeda, the botanist, said she was working to preserve a plant species that 
had only three surviving specimens.
 
Many other species with relatively large numbers of specimens are also at 
risk because all of them live within a single confined area, often less than a 
square mile. If the habitat within that area is significantly altered, the 
species are likely to become extinct, the government says.
 
Berriel, the director of the regional government's environmental protection 
agency, said the best way to manage the threat to local habitats was to give 
the regional government the authority to set up customs checkpoints at its 
borders.
 
"If we don't act soon, the consequences for our endemic species could be 
grave," he said. 
 
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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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