malaysia news from mongabay.com

Blue tarantula, walking cactus, and a worm from Hell: the top 10 new species of 2011

2012-05-23T17:03:00Z

A sneezing monkey, a blue tarantula, and an extinct walking cactus are just three of the remarkable new species listed in the annual Top Ten New Species put together by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. This year's list includes a wide-variety of life forms from fungi to flower and invertebrate to primate.

$90 million in corrupt logging money linked to Malaysian Chief Minister, UBS bank

2012-04-24T19:01:00Z

Documents under investigation show that around $90 million may have been laundered from logging companies in Sabah to UBS bank accounts linked to high-ranking Malaysian officials, according to the Sarawak Report. Critics of the government say the money is likely kickbacks from logging companies to government officials for the right to log in the state's declining rainforests. Such transactions are alleged to occur typically in the run up to elections.

Malaysia to restrict trade in big-eyed sugar gliders

2012-04-20T19:21:00Z

Malaysia will tighten controls on the trade in sugar gliders, a big-eyed gliding possum increasingly popular in the pet trade in Southeast Asia and the United States, according to the country's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

How a crippled rhino may save a species

2012-04-09T15:34:00Z

On December 18th, 2011, a female Sumatran rhino took a sudden plunge. Falling into a manmade pit trap, the rhino may have feared momentarily that her end had come, but vegetation cushioned her fall and the men that found her were keen on saving her, not killing her. Little did she know that conservationists had monitored her since 2006, and for her trappers this moment had been the culmination of years of planning and hope. A few days later she was being airlifted by helicopter to a new home. Puntung, as she has become called, was about to enter a new chapter in her life, one that hopefully will bring about a happy ending for her species.

Mining cancellation throws wrench into Sarawak dam-building spree

2012-03-27T20:01:00Z

The world's third largest mining company, Rio Tinto, and a local financial and construction firm, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), have cancelled plans for a $2 billion aluminum smelter to be constructed in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The cancellation calls into question Sarawak's plan to build a dozen massive dams—known as the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiative—that were proposed, in part, to provide power to the massive aluminum smelter. However, the mega-dam proposal has been heavily criticized for its impact on Sarawak's rivers, rainforest and indigenous people.

Picture of the day: tarsier rescued from palm oil plantation

2012-03-20T18:54:00Z

Earlier this month, biologists with Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, found and rescued a tarsier from a locally owned palm oil plantation. "For a day, we kept the animal in a cage at the field centre and fed him with insects", explained Alice Miles, a Cardiff University student leading a project on tarsier and slow loris ecology at DGFC.

"Where's my mama?": campaign targets cruel slow loris pet trade [warning: graphic photo]

2012-03-20T13:49:00Z

A new campaign by The Body Shop West Malaysia and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia attempts to raise awareness of the illegal slow loris pet trade. YouTube videos of "cute" pet slow lorises have raised demand for these endangered primates, but as the campaign highlights the pet trade is fueling slow loris deaths in the wild and cruel treatment, such as pulling out their teeth, to make them more desirable pets.

Malaysia drops the ball on wildlife trafficking, says group

2012-02-23T17:30:00Z

Malaysia failed to effectively assemble a case against convicted wildlife smuggler Anson Wong, leading to his early release from prison, says an anti-wildlife trafficking group.

'Snakes on a Plane' trafficker freed early from jail

2012-02-22T20:23:00Z

Notorious wildlife trafficker Anson Wong has been freed from prison after a court reduced his five-year term, reports Malaysian state media. Wong had served 17-and-a-half-months for illegally exporting nearly 100 reptiles from Malaysia.

What a Bornean elephant wants: more protected forests and wildlife corridors

2012-02-16T17:44:00Z

Forest fragmentation and destruction is imperiling the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), according to a new paper published in PLoS ONE. Using satellite collars to track the pachyderms for the first time in the Malaysian state of Sabah, scientists have found that the elephants are extremely sensitive to habitat fragmentation from palm oil plantations and logging.

Activists form network to fight Sarawak dam-building spree

2012-02-15T02:26:00Z

Last October indigenous groups, local people, and domestic NGOs formed the Save Sarawak's Rivers Network to fight the planned construction of a dozen dams in the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The coalition opposes the dam-building plans, known as the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiative, due to its impacts on indigenous and river communities, the destruction of pristine rainforest, and the degradation of the state's rivers.

Sumatran rhino pregnant: conservationists hope third time's the charm

2012-02-07T19:49:00Z

Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is in the eleventh month of her third pregnancy raising hopes for a successful birth of one of the world's most imperiled big mammals. Ratu suffered two prior miscarriages, but researchers believe the current pregnancy—which still has four to five months to go (for a total term of around 15-16 months)—could produce what Indonesian officials have long hoped for: a bundle of joy at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra. With only around 200 Sumatran rhinos surviving today in Indonesia and Bornean Malaysia, many conservationists see such breeding efforts as the last and best chance to save the Critically Endangered species from extinction.

Photos of the day: satellite tagging a 12-foot saltwater crocodile

2012-02-06T15:59:00Z

Researchers in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo have successfully satellite-tagged a 3.6 meter (11.8 feet) saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in an effort to study human-wildlife conflict with the world's largest reptile. As massive, powerful reptiles they are quite capable of injuring and killing adult humans.

Forgotten species: the wild jungle cattle called banteng

2012-01-31T18:36:00Z

The word "cattle," for most of us, is the antithesis of exotic; it's familiar like a family member one's happy enough to ignore, but doesn't really mind having around. Think for a moment of the names: cattle, cow, bovine...likely they make many of us think more of the animals' byproducts than the creatures themselves—i.e. milk, butter, ice cream or steak—as if they were an automated food factory and not living beings. But if we expand our minds a bit further, "cattle" may bring up thoughts of cowboys, Texas, herds pounding the dust, or merely grazing dully in the pasture. But none of these titles, no matter how far we pursue them, conjure up images of steamy tropical rainforest or gravely imperiled species. A cow may be beautiful in its own domesticated sort-of-way, but there is nothing wild in it, nothing enchanting. However like most generalizations, this idea of cattle falls to pieces when one encounters, whether in literature or life, the banteng.

Palm oil does not meet U.S. renewable fuels standard, rules EPA

2012-01-27T21:52:00Z

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled on Friday that palm oil-based biofuels will not meet the renewable fuels standard due to carbon emissions associated with deforestation.

Logging of primary rainforests not ecologically sustainable, argue scientists

2012-01-25T21:49:00Z

Tropical countries may face a risk of 'peak timber' as continued logging of rainforests exceeds the capacity of forests to regenerate timber stocks and substantially increases the risk of outright clearing for agricultural and industrial plantations, argues a trio of scientists writing in the journal Biological Conservation. The implications for climate, biodiversity, and local economies are substantial.

'Christmas miracle' for endangered rhinos

2011-12-24T16:13:00Z

Conservationists and wildlife officials in the Malaysian state of Sabah airlifted a young female Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world's most endangered animals — to an area of forest where she would encounter a potential partner, reports the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance. Sumatran Rhinoceros populations are so low, some individuals live in areas where they have no hope of ever finding another rhino.

The other side of the Penan story: threatened tribe embraces tourism, reforestation

2011-12-19T21:44:00Z

News about the Penan people is usually bleak. Once nomadic hunter-gatherers of the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo, the indigenous Penan have suffered decades of widespread destruction of their forests and an erosion of their traditional culture. Logging companies, plantation developments, massive dams, and an ambivalent government have all played a role in decimating the Penan, who have from time-to-time stood up to loggers through blockades, but have not been successful in securing recognition of legal rights to their traditional lands. Yet even as the Penan people struggle against the destruction of their homelands, they are not standing still. Several Penan villages have recently begun a large-scale reforestation program, a community tourism venture, and proclaimed their a portion of their lands a "Peace Park."

Environmental groups to Japan: stop importing illegally logged timber

2011-12-16T02:44:00Z

A coalition of environmental NGOs have called upon Japan to adopt stronger measures to block illicit timber imports, alleging that Japanese companies are buying illegally logged wood from Samling Global, a Malaysian logging company.

NGOs call for arrest of Malaysian leader for corruption, money laundering

2011-12-12T22:25:00Z

A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs are calling for the arrest of Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and 14 family members for alleged abused of power, corruption, and money laundering, reports the Bruno Manser Fund, a group that has signed the letter urging action.

Wildlife official: palm oil plantations behind decline in proboscis monkeys

2011-12-05T17:42:00Z

The practice of palm oil plantations planting along rivers is leading to a decline in proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo, says the director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, Laurentius Ambu. Proboscis monkeys, known for their bulbous noses and remarkable agility, depend on riverine forests and mangroves for survival, but habitat destruction has pushed the species to be classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List.

Sarawak ruler has acquired billions in 'illicit' assets, alleges investigation

2011-12-04T23:45:00Z

The leader of the Malaysian state of Sarawak has acquired billions of dollars' worth of "illicit" assets, alleges a new investigation by the Bruno Manser Fund, which reveals holdings in over 400 companies across two dozen countries.

Royal Society offers free special issue on rainforest conservation

2011-12-01T22:11:00Z

For one month the Royal Society is offering a special theme issue of its Philosophical Transaction B journal on rainforest conservation for free. Entitled 'The future of Southeast Asian rainforests in a changing landscape and climate', the issue looks largely at studies conducted in Malaysian Borneo's Danum Valley. The issue includes a wide-range of studies, including comparing biodiversity in protected forests versus palm oil plantations, seed dispersal in fragmented forests, and in-depth looks at the chemistry of rainforests.

Cargill should do more to end use of problematic palm oil, says RAN

2011-11-24T16:30:00Z

As part of our coverage of the 9th Annual Roundtable Meeting on Sustainable Palm Oil currently underway in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, mongabay.com is interviewing participants and attendees. In the following interview, mongabay.com speaks with the delegation from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an advocacy group which has been critical of some Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members for what is sees as ongoing social and environmental problems.

Animal picture of the day: tracking the world's smallest elephant

2011-11-15T18:52:00Z

Researchers have fitted three Bornean elephants with satellite collars to track them across the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo. The effort means currently five elephants are being tracked. The tracking is a part of a collaborative effort by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), the NGO HUTAN, and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

Malaysia to spend $7.7M to defend palm oil from criticism

2011-11-09T19:15:00Z

The Malaysian government will spend 24 million ringgit ($7.7 million) in 2011 and 2012 to counter criticism over the social and environmental impact of palm oil, reports ANTARA.

Malaysia must take action to avoid extinction of its last rhinos

2011-11-05T21:11:00Z

Malaysia must take immediate action to prevent the extinction of the handful of rhinos that survive on the island of Borneo, says a coalition of environmental groups.

Malaysian sustainable timber certification fails Dutch standards

2011-10-23T15:09:00Z

An independent panel in the Netherlands has found that the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) falls short of Dutch standards for sustainable forestry. The final decision comes after a series of judgements and appeals with the latest panel concluding that MTCS still allows natural forest to be destroyed for monoculture plantation and that the scheme ignores the rights of indigenous people.

After protracted campaign, Girl Scouts pledges to cut out some palm oil

2011-10-02T18:43:00Z

Girl Scouts USA has announced that it will lessen palm oil in its ubiquitous cookies by using alternatives when possible and cutting overall usage. The organization also committed to purchasing GreenPalm certificates for all of its palm oil in order to financially support more environmentally sustainable palm oil, even if the palm oil in the cookies is not.

Animal picture of the day: world's tiniest rhino for World Rhino Day

2011-09-22T17:38:00Z

The Sumatran rhino is the world's smallest species of rhino, but the Bornean rhino—a subspecies of the Sumatra—is even tinier.

Logged rainforests are a cheap conservation option

2011-09-14T01:24:00Z

With old-growth forests fast diminishing and land prices surging across Southeast Asia due to rising returns from timber and agricultural commodities, opportunities to save some of the region's rarest species seem to be dwindling. But a new paper, published in the journal Conservation Letters, highlights an often overlooked opportunity for conservation: selectively logged forests.

Deutsche Bank faces money-laundering investigation over dealings with Malaysian chief minister

2011-09-12T21:43:00Z

Banking giant Deutsche Bank is under investigation by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for its dealings with the family of Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, reports the Bruno Manser Fund, a group that campaigns on behalf of forest people in Borneo.

Malaysian court blocks rainforest tribes' fight against mega-dam in Borneo

2011-09-09T20:07:00Z

Indigenous tribes in Borneo suffered a stinging defeat Thursday after Sarawak's highest court ruled against them in 12-year-long legal battle. Tribal groups had challenged the Malaysian state government for seizing indigenous lands in order to build a massive hydroelectric power plant, dubbed the Bakun dam, but the three-person top court found unanimously against the tribes.

Another major elephant ivory bust in Malaysia

2011-09-09T18:03:00Z

Customs authorities in Malaysia seized two containers full of 695 elephant tusks in the country’s largest port, reports TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Busted: 1,835 elephant tusks confiscated in two seizures connected by Malaysia

2011-08-31T15:58:00Z

Two massive seizures in the last week—one in Zanzibar and the other in Hong Kong—have confiscated nearly two thousand ivory tusks as elephant poaching continues to rise. Both seizures have connections to Malaysia, highlighting the growing role of a new intermediate player in the illegal ivory trade.

Wikileaks: US warned of severe corruption in Malaysia's Sarawak state

2011-08-30T23:24:00Z

U.S. government sources characterize the ruler of Malaysia's Sarawak as 'highly corrupt' and plagued with conflicts of interest, according to secret cables released today by Wikileaks.

FBI questioned over ties with corrupt official

2011-08-25T17:48:00Z

Activists are questioning the FBI over the agency's rental of office space in a building owned by the family of a controversial Malaysian official.

Malaysian government to launch RSPO rival for palm oil certification

2011-08-02T23:55:00Z

The Malaysian government is developing its own certification system for palm oil production, potentially creating another rival to the certification system run by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), reports Malaysia's Business Times.

How fruit defines Borneo

2011-08-01T15:57:00Z

Among conservationists and biologists, the mega-island of Borneo is a sort of Mecca. Its rich plant and animal biodiversity, as well as high degree of endemism (unique species found nowhere else) make it a naturalist's dream. There is one aspect of this biological richness which applies to the wellbeing and happiness of all of Borneo’s residents, human and animal, in a very direct way: fruit. From wild forest berries to juicy cultivated rambutans, fruit permeates the ecology, landscape and culture of Borneo. On the island there are over 70 wild fruit trees species and around 45 cultivated species that are consumed by people (1). Science has certainly not yet documented all the fruit consumed by wildlife, but we know that the total must be over 500 species.

Australian 'green' buildings used illegally logged wood from rainforests allege activists

2011-07-27T18:38:00Z

A 'green' building development being built by Frasers Property Australia in Sydney has been accused of using illegally-sourced plywood from Malaysian state of Sarawak in Borneo, according to a new Greenpeace report. The wood in question comes from a subsidiary of Samling, a company that has been connected to illegal logging and abusing the rights of indigenous groups in the past. After the revelations came to light, Frasers Property Australia said they would conduct an audit of the wood which was provided to them by Australian Wood Panels (AWP).

WWF partnering with companies that destroy rainforests, threaten endangered species

2011-07-25T00:06:00Z

Arguably the globe's most well-known conservation organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been facilitating illegal logging, vast deforestation, and human rights abuses by pairing up with notorious logging companies in a flagging effort to convert them to greener practices, alleges a new report by Global Witness. Through its program, the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), WWF—known as World Wildlife Fund in the US and Canada—has become entangled with some dubious companies, including one that is imperiling orangutans in Borneo and another which has been accused of human rights abuses in the Congo rainforest. Even with such infractions, these companies are still able to tout connections to WWF and use its popular panda logo. The Global Witness report, entitled Pandering to the Loggers, calls for WWF to make large-scale changes in order to save the credibility of its corporate program.

Pictures: Researchers to track proboscis monkey in Borneo by satellite

2011-07-24T14:57:00Z

Researchers with the Sabah Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Center in Malaysia have become the first to fit a proboscis monkey with a satellite tag.

Animal picture of the day: radio collaring a slow loris

2011-07-17T22:28:00Z

Researchers in the Malaysian state of Sabah recently radio-collared a Bornean slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis) in order to study the little known species. A small, but big-eyed, primates slow loris spend the days sleeping and the night tracking prey, such as insects and lizards, with its large flashlight-like eyes.

First ever picture of long lost rainbow toad

2011-07-13T23:01:00Z

Scientists are elated after the surprise rediscovery of a wildly-colored frog not seen for 87 years and never before photographed—until now. The Bornean rainbow toad, also known as the Sambas Stream toad (Ansonia latidisca) was rediscovered on Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sarawak by local scientists inspired by a 2010 search for the world's missing amphibians by Conservation International (CI). Leading up to its search CI released the World's Top 10 Most Wanted Lost Frogs (out of a hundred being searched for): the Bornean rainbow toad was listed as number 10.

Plantation fires in Indonesia trigger haze-related health warnings in Malaysia

2011-07-13T17:35:00Z

Smoke from plantation fires in Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra are casting a pall over cities in Malaysia, triggering health warnings from officials, reports The Straits Times.

Sarawak reiterates goal to convert 1 million ha of forest to oil palm plantations

2011-07-06T23:21:00Z

Despite rising criticism over deforestation and human rights abuses, Sarawak is maintaining its target of 2 million hectares of oil palm plantations by 2020, reports Malaysian state press.

Australia's Senate passes palm oil labeling bill

2011-06-27T21:58:00Z

Just days after being rejected by the the Senate Community Affairs Committee, Australia's Senate passed the Amended Truth in Labeling - Palm Oil Bill.

Green tigers: new research shows protecting forests will deliver new economic boom for Southeast Asia

2011-06-27T17:10:00Z

A raft of new studies show that protecting Southeast Asia's forests could provide an enormous economic lift for Southeast Asia. Indeed, the studies suggest, forest conservation, sustainable forestry, and agricultural improvements, along with investments in clean energy, could spur the rise of regional "Green Tiger" economies whose development levels surpass even those achieved during the boom years of the 1990's. The studies provide a striking rebuttal to palm oil and timber industries' claims that deforestation is necessary for the region's growth.

FSC mulls controversial motion to certify plantations responsible for recent deforestation

2011-06-24T19:08:00Z

Members of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), meeting in Malaysia this week for its General Assembly, will consider various changes to the organization, including a vote on a controversial motion that would open the door—slightly at first—to sustainable-certification of companies that have been involved in recent forest destruction for pulp and paper plantations. Known as Motion 18, the change is especially focusing on forestry in places where recent deforestation has been rampant, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.