Environmental Issues

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LAHAD DATU: WWF-Malaysia captured another Borneo pygmy elephant in Ulu Segama-Malua on Tuesday after having tracked the path of the mammal for two days.

The captured elephant, a female believed to be few months pregnant, was fitted with a collar that can send GPS signals to WWF daily via satellite, enabling researchers to keep track of its movements.

After the disastrous 2004 Boxing Day Asian tsunami that wiped out 300,000 in a blink of an eye, is Sabah at risk of any similar disaster in the future?

As Sabah is lapped by three different seas, French geophysicist and seismologist Jean-Paul Boeldieu thinks the potential risk may apply differently to the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea.

For the second time in 72 hours, marine turtles have been seized from Chinese fishing boats in Sabah’s waters carrying a cargo of 220 Green and Hawksbill turtles on 28 March 2007. The first boat was apprehended on 26 March with 72 marine turtles of the same two species and six people were arrested.

WWF-Malaysia and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia applaud the success of the Sabah Marine Police and encourage them and other enforcement agencies to continue these efforts. Chris R. Shepherd, the Senior Programme Officer with TRAFFIC Southeast Asia says, “We urge the authorities to prosecute these poachers to the full extent of the law. If there is no deterrent, killing of these endangered species will continue”.

Do you know that El Nino drought that happened in 1997-1998 in Sabah gave a very big impact on the vegetation of Mount Kinabalu? I came across this news from New Sabah Times, mentioning about the possibility of the drought recur again in the next future.

According to the officials, during the 1998 El Nino event only 31 milimeters (1.25 inches) of rain were recorded at Park HQ between January and April, in comparison to around 850 milimeters (33 inches) during normal year. El Nino events affected the mountain in 1973, 1983, 1992 and 1998.

Just remember to wear your life jacket when you go on a tourist boat to any island in Sabah. You don’t want to end up dead while spending your holiday here. It’s what hapenned in Sandakan, Sabah, when a tourist boat capsized in Padas River mouth on the 9th of January.

BTW, it’s not the same Padas River where you go for white water rafting.

Read the full story here

I came across this article about new animal and plant species that they found in Borneo. Wildlife experts says they have discovered at least 52 new species of animals and plants between July 2005 and September 2006 on th island of Borneo.

Newly discovered Borneo tree frog (Rhacophorus gadingensis).
© Alexander Haas

See it for yourself. Thank you Ganesh from Singapore with all these pics. I really appreciate your effort. The photos was taken just less than a week ago.

The abandoned projects just above Layang-layang Hut.

See all the damage? Looks like a rubbish dump to me.

Caused by one of the seven human deadly sins – GREED.

This is the Mesilau Route -Summit Trail junction. I was really sad when I saw this.

This article was adapted from the local newspaper The Borneo Post, Thursday, June 22, 2006.

At last, the Chief Minister of Sabah has come out with a very late but good decision: ‘Mount Kinabalu project off’, it was on the first page headline of local newspaper, The Borneo Post. The area for RM9 million restaurant-resthouse project in World Heritage Site is totally scrapped. The Chief Minister said such development in the gazetted as a World Heritage Site, or any ecologically sensitive locations is strongly dissallowed.He said that it is an important area and the state government would dissallow any type of development which could destroy the environment there.