Issue #1/10 (Free distribution) • April 2010

INSIDE: Special feature on the Ramsar sites of Johor and its burung botak

TRIVIA : Which state has the highest number of Ramsar sites in Malaysia?

Find out on Page 4!continue to pg. 2

Another Crocker Range park facility opens for tourists, researchersSource: adapted from Daily Express http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=19

A visitor centre-cum-research sub-station that is set to become the frontliner in the conservation of the vast Crocker Range Park was recently opened in Kampung Mahua, about 80km from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. �e Mahua Visitor Centre, located 500m from the Mahua Waterfall, is the second building constructed under the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation (BBEC) project and is financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Besides catering to visitors, the centre can also be utilised by researchers intending to explore the park. Crocker Range Park, covering 139,919ha or about twice the size of Singapore, is one of the wettest areas in Sabah and is also home to primary tropical rainforest nearest to the state capital.

It lies within the districts of Tambunan, Keningau, Tenom, Beaufort, Papar, Penampang, Tuaran and Ranau and is located between 100m and 2,050m above sea level with most of the area covered with rainforest. Meanwhile, JICA's advisory chief, Takahisa Kusano, said the agency was committed to helping in the conservation of the area, which is considered a megadiversity site closest to Japan.

JICA launched a visitor and research sub-station in Inobong, Penampang in January 2009 and is planning another three.

megaryncha) and Mangrove Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis rufigastra), are also included in the IUCN Red List of �reatened Species. �e site plays a significant role in shoreline stabilisation and severe flood prevention in the adjacent 38 villages.

Tanjung Piai Ramsar site no.1289.

A state park. �e site consists of coastal mangroves and intertidal mudflats located at the southernmost tip of continental (mainland) Asia, especially important for protection from sea-water intrusion and coastal erosion. Tanjung Piai supports species such as the Long-tailed Macaque and the Smooth Otter, and birds such as the Mangrove Pitta, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and Mangrove Whistler (Pachycephala grisola). �e globally vulnerable Lesser Adjutant may be observed in the vicinity of the site. It offers fantastic sunsets and stunning views of the busy Strait of Malacca where about 65,000 ships pass by yearly.

For more information on Ramsar, please log on to the website of www.ramsar.org

LEPTOPTILUS JAVANICUS BURUNG BOTAK

�e Lesser Adjutant, also known as Burung botak, is a unique bird which inhabits the fringes of mangrove forests. �is big bird which is near extinction belongs to the stork family Ciconiidae. In Johor, the population of the Lesser Adjutant seems to concen-trate on the Tanjung Piai Ramsar Site and Pulau Kukup Ramsar Site, Benut in Pontian, Parit Jawa in Muar and Batu Pahat.

�e Lesser Adjutant is typically 110-120cm tall, weighing about 5kg and has a 210cm wingspan. Its upper body and wings are black in color, but the belly and undertail are white. �e head and neck are bare. �e bill is long and thick. It is a scavenger which feeds off carrion and offal. �e Lesser Adjutant prefers to nest in compact colonies on large, widely branched trees with thin foliage cover such as the Alstonia spp. (Pulai trees) and nearby food sources. �is bird is totally protected under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 which provides that anyone who hunts, catches and breeds the species can be fined up to RM5,000.

YEAR of the Tiger: �e time is now

�irteen countries have taken proactive steps to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, to put a stop to poaching and to inhibit the construction of road and bridges that encroach into tiger habitats. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, �ailand, Vietnam and Russia have committed to conserve tigers in the wild at Hua Hin, �ailand, during a ministerial meeting organized by �ailand and the Global Tiger Initiative, a coalition formed in 2008 by the World Bank, the Smithsonian Institute and nearly 40 conservation groups.

�e declaration will now be considered for approval by heads of state of the 13 countries in September at the Tiger Summit in Vladivostok, Russia.Malaysia’s delegation at Hua Hin was led by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup. �is global effort to conserve and double wild tigers is in line with Malaysia’s National Tiger Action Plan which was recently endorsed by the National Biodiversity-Biotechnology Council, chaired by our Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. �e Malaysian government has pledged to double the number of wild tigers to 1,000 by the year 2020, in a secured, well-connected swathe of forest that runs through the centre of Peninsular Malaysia, referred to as the Central Forest Spine.

Continue part 2

Malaysian Parks Newsletter is a publication by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) in collaboration with

WWF-Malaysia; Comments and suggestions on the newsletter are welcome. Please email haslin@nre.gov.my

Working with the local community to protect the Taman Negara Tiger Corridor, Sungai Yu, PahangBy Loretta Ann Shepherd and Kae KawanishiMYCAT Secretariat’s Office

�e Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP) reached out to 800 villagers living near Taman Negara, close to Sungai Yu in the Kuala Lipis district, Pahang between the 11th and 14th of September 2009.

Sg. Yu is the last critical linkage between the Greater Taman Negara (15,000 km2) and Main Range (20,000

km2) forest landscapes. �e vital connectivity of the Central Forest Spine (CFS) is under threat, primarily due to the expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations along the Federal Highway 8 immediately to the west of the park which has created a forest bottleneck over the past 15 years.

�e ecological integrity of the CFS is threatened by forest fragmentation and poaching. To achieve the National Tiger Action Plan target of having 1,000 wild tigers by the year 2020, protecting the tiger and its prey and securing habitats and dispersal corridors are most urgent.

To this end, MYCAT works with local communities, land development agencies, road planners, state governments, plantation owners, and wildlife and forest authorities to secure the CFS. MYCAT supports DWNP’s efforts by conducting outreach programmes in critical areas such as this Taman Negara tiger corridor.

�e programme involved stalls in night markets with confiscated tiger parts, deer trophies, snares and awareness materials. �e outreach team made visits to homes and restaurants, spreading the messages by distributing reusable shopping bags and refrigerator magnets emblazoned with MYCAT’s Wildlife Crime Hotline 019 356 4194.

�e programme was held just before Aidilfitri, as this is usually when wild deer are targeted by local poachers. Further, to allow depleting deer populations to recover, DWNP imposed a hunting ban starting 2009. �e team highlighted the hotline, monetary reward DWNP provides in exchange for quality information on poaching the ban and the grave status of wild deer.

As a result, several reports were received, enabling action by DWNP. In 2010, the Year of the Tiger, MYCAT hopes to return for reinforcement and to raise awareness among schoolchildren.

About MYCAT Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) is the joint programme of the Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society - Malaysia Programme and WWF-Malaysia, supported by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia for joint implementation of the National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia. - For more information visit www.malayantiger.net

22 April

Nama Acara : Majlis Pelancaran Kempen Menanam 26 Juta PokokLokasi : Presint 5, Putrajaya.Penganjur : Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar

Tujuan kempen: (i) Bagi memupuk semangat cintakan kehijauan pokok-pokok yang berperanan penting dalam memberikan keselesaan dan kesejahteraan kehidupan seharian kepada masyarakat. (ii) Untuk meningkatkan kesedaran dan penghargaan kepada alam sekitar. Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila hubungi Cik Rahmah binti Ashari daripada Bhgn. Konservasi dan Alam Sekitar, NRE di (+6) 03-8886 1723 atau emel rahmah@nre.gov.my

This newsletter is also available for free in electronic copy at following web address: http://www.frim.gov.my/CHM/Publications2.html

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The lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilus javanicus).

09 – 11 June

Name of event : International Workshop on Human-Crocodile Conflict (HCC) Venue of Event : Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort Hotel, Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia Organisers : IUCN-Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG), Sabah Wildlife Department and University of Malaysia Sabah (UMS)

�emed “Crocodile Conservation �rough Sustainable Use”, this workshop will be addressing issues on conservation and management of Crocodylus porosus in Pan Borneo Region. In addition, to enhance learning experiences from international participants in achieving conservation and management of Crocodylus porosus at local, regional and global levels. Further than that, this workshop is expected to develop an integrated and practical approach to crocodile management that incorporates better solutions to Human-Crocodile Conflict problems in the Pan Borneo Region.

For more details, please contact Ms. Nur’ain Acheh of Sabah Wildlife Department at (088) 215353 or e-mail jhlsabah@tm.net.my

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The Malaysian delegation to the Hua Hin ministerial meeting on tigers was led by Tan Sri Joseph Kurup (sitting, centre) - NRE

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