Category: News Page 1 of 5

by Teresa Teo Guttensohn

Today is World Sea Turtle Day (16 June 2020). As we celebrate Sea Turtles, we remember the magical and fortuitous event which took place at East Coast beach of Singapore just weeks ago on World Turtle Day (23 May 2020). A critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) came ashore to nest!

Nesting in Broad Daylight

To the amazement of the few out exercising at East Coast Park beach during the COVID-19 lockdown, this Hawksbill Sea Turtle dug into the sand and laid her eggs in broad daylight before safely heading back to sea.

The closed beaches, off-limits to humans for their own good, meant more space, peace and quiet for our native wildlife to do their thing.

Flying Foxes Galore

Not long after, another rare phenomenon took place serendipitously on World Environment Day (5 June 2020) – a large colony of about three hundred Flying Foxes (Pteropus sp.) flew into the rainforest of our Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Biggest Bats

With faces that resemble foxes and with a wingspan of about one metre, they are among the biggest bats in the world.

Mega-bats Under Threat

Flying Foxes are found in parts of Asia, Africa, Australia and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They can fly long distances to forage for food. In Singapore, resident colonies of the native Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) have long been extirpated. Many species of Flying Foxes are threatened by hunting, habitat loss and deforestation.

Time to Turn the Tide for Nature

As we witness more of such phenomenon, and with one million species believed to be facing extinction, will our children and our children’s children be able to see nature’s wonders as we now still have the privilege to enjoy?

If we all act decisively now, there is still time to turn the tide for Nature and ourselves!

“The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable, all come from nature. Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message: To care for ourselves, we must care for nature.

It is time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices. It’s time to build back better for People and Planet. This World Environment Day, it’s Time for Nature.”

THE UNITED Nations

Turtle Hatchery

To help save Singapore’s population of sea turtles, a protected turtle hatchery located in Sisters’ Islands Marine Park was launched in September 2018.

What can you do? To contribute to turtle conservation,  volunteer with the ‘Biodiversity Beach Patrol’ by NParks to patrol beaches at night during the nesting season.

A glimmer of hope for the pangolin as authorities in mainland China make a momentous decision

China has delisted pangolin scales from an official list of ingredients used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), raising the level of protection of the critically endangered mammal.

The news – first reported in the China Health Times in Mandarin – was later picked up by the state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN), and Global Times, a hawkish tabloid known for nationalistic commentaries.

Reports indicated that the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia aims to curb use of pangolin scales, with authorities threatening imprisonment of up to 10 years for the hunting, killing and smuggling of the animals.

Apart from the use of its keratin scales for traditional folk treatments, pangolin meat is also consumed as a delicacy by a burgeoning Chinese middle class.

There are eight species of pangolins and all are under threat due to large-scale illegal hunting across Asia and Africa.

At least a million have been killed and sold over the past decade and half, according to CITES. The massive bloodbath was documented in a National Geographic report.

Conservationists have been fighting for decades to protect the scaly mammal, and momentum has also been building within China – activists there recently released a lone pangolin seized from poachers back into the wild, vowing that more would be done.

Chinese authorities have now moved to grant Class 1 Protections to three species, which include the Chinese pangolin (Manis
pentadactyla), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).

“This is a good start … but this is not good enough. We will release a lot more soon.”

Dr Zhou Jinfeng, secretary-general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Fund

Global wildlife regulator Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – of which China is a party – has banned international commercial trade of pangolin in a bid to protect the animal.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the native Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), as critically endangered.

Pangolins were a suspected host for COVID-19 (also known as SARS-CoV-2), wrote scientists Lam, et al. (2020) in a report published in the “Nature” journal.

Their research — fast-tracked into publication in March to aid epidemiological research and the search for a vaccine or cure — identified cousins of COVID-19 or “SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China”.

The researchers conclude: “pangolins should be considered as possible hosts in the emergence of novel coronaviruses and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission“.

STOP PRESS

Learn more about the illegal wildlife trade and how it impacts the precious, delicate ecosystems in our world:

Shepherd, C. (2020). Monitor and the Wildlife Trade. The Green Gazette. Retrieved from: http://www.thegreengazette.ca/monitor-and-the-wildlife-trade/

Alberts, E. C. (2020) Banned: No more pangolin scales in traditional medicine, China declares. Mongabay. 
Retrieved from: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/banned-no-more-pangolin-scales-in-traditional-medicine-china-declares/

Standaert, M. (2020). China raises protection for pangolins by removing scales from medicine list. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/09/china-protect-pangolins-removing-scales-medicine-list-aoe

by Teresa Teo Guttensohn

Today, 20 May is World Bee Day. Small, hardworking and often forgotten in urbanised Singapore, we forget that our well-being depends upon the existence of bees.

The humble bee and other pollinators like butterflies, birds and nectar bats are under threat from human activities and are on an alarming decline worldwide.

The decline of bees affects us all and it is critical to halt the loss of pollinators and biodiversity. To do so, we must protect the last of our wilderness areas and ecosystems.

“Pollination is fundamental for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.”

United Nations

How you can help to protect our wild bees:

1. Flowers for bees – plant different native plants which flower at different times of the year.
2. Go natural – avoid chemical pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in your gardens. Use environmentally friendlier methods and sprays. Protect wild bee habitats, colonies and hives where possible.
3. Protect and conserve forests and other natural ecosystems which are crucial habitats and food sources of bees.
4. Raise and share awareness on the importance of bees.