IN THE NEWS

Whales and Dolphins

The latest estimation of whale populations in sanctuaries are as below: Minke...............................700,000 Pygmy blue...........................2,000 Right.....................................1,000 Fin........................................4,000 Sei........................................4,000 Humpback..........................12,000 Blue.........................................450 Total.................................723,450 South China Morning Post(SCMP) 24/16/96.

The International Whaling Commission again rejected Japan's latest request for a special annual quota of 50 minke whales for traditions whale hunters in 4 Japanese fishing ports. China Daily. 29/6/96. 14 pilot whales died at Dunsborough, Western Australia. A pod of about 300 long-finned pilot whales was herded to sea after 200 became beached near the town. HK Standard. 26/8/96.

 

China

The macaque reserve at Taihang Shan, Henan Province has 19 groups of over 2,000 Rhesus macaques. This is the northern most macaque populations in China. Ta Kung Pao. 27/7/96. Hunting wild animals is prohibited for the next 5 years in Jilin Province, Northeast China. The new, regulation forbids hunting any terrestrial animals including mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. This aims to restore the ecological balance. China Daily 4/5/96. Offshore fishing will be banned from l July to 31 August in the northern part of the East China sea and the southern part of the Yellow sea, covering Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai. The ban is said to be an effective way to protect China’s fish resources, especially the hairtail. SCMP. 28/6/96. Yunnan Provincial People's Congress has passed a new law covering the protection of rare wild animals such as Asian elephants, Indo-China tigers and white cheek gibbons in its Xishuangbanna prefecture. The new law includes a special fund to compensate local people who suffer damage or injury caused by these animals. Penalties for hunting/killing these species are also increased. China Daily. 29/7/96. The State Council of PRC announced a new wild plant protection law which is effective from 1/1/97. The new law stipulates that no foreigners are allowed to collect and purchase state protected wild plant species in China. Those foreigners who would like to study state protected species must apply to the local plant protection bodies. The maximum penalty for breaking this law is 50,000 RMB. Sing Tao Daily. 16/10/96.

China has started a nation-wide comprehensive survey of wild animal populations. The survey intends to determine the distribution of wild animals and learn more about their habitats so as to better guarantee their growth and survival. The survey will involve 141 species of birds, 70 species of mammals and 44 species of reptiles in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country. China Daily. 4/10/96. Guangdong Province Huidong Marine Turtle Nature Reserve recently released the first batch of 1200 juvenile sea turtles into the sea. Jiefang Daily. 14/10/96. A 10,000 square metre bear nursery was recently set up in Panyu, Guangdong and is now home to 8 black bear, a class II state protected species. China Daily. 23/12/96. Shenzhen Mayor reiterated the importance of protecting the Futian National Nature Reserve after a survey done by the Ministry of Forestry. Shenxing Times. 24/5/96. A virgin spruce forest was recently discovered in Fengning County, Hebei Province. The forest is 1,600 m above sea level and covers more than 660 ha. The spruce trees average 200 years in age. There are more than 180 varieties of medicinal plants. Wild boars, foxes and hares can also be found. Shanghai Star Post 27/8/96. According to Ministry of Forestry's latest estimate, there are about 1000 wild panda in China. 200 more than the last estimate. They are in 20 groups spread in 34 counties in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces. Ming Pan. 16/9/96.

Wildlife Trade

Birds

Explorer and author Tim Severin said his 3-month expedition through the Maluku Islands to North Sulawesi, Indonesia found large and significant populations of the standard wing bird of paradise despite continued poaching. HK Standard. 13/6/96.

More than 80 black-necked cranes have been counted in Gahai wetland, a bird protection zone in Luqu County, Gansu Province. The black-necked crane is one of the most endangered of the 15 species of cranes that currently exist. China Daily. 9/8/96.

A British bird protection society aided a protection project of Yellow-throated Laughing-thrush Garrulax galbanus, one of the most endangered species in the world. The 25cm long bird is found only in the broad-leaf forest in Wuyuan, Jiangxi and Simao, Yunnan Province. Shanghai Star Post. 27/9/96.

Mai Po

Siu Lung Development Company decided to reapply to the Town Planning Board for a low-rise residential development at Wo Sang Wai, Mai Po. The development will comprise 38 houses and an ecological park. Apple Daily. 30/9/96.

Henderson Land's victory at the Privy Council for a residential development at Nam Sang Wai, Mai Po in December 1996 will become a show case for developers who are seeking development opportunities at Deep Bay wetland. Apple Daily. 21/1/97.

After the Privy Council's approval to Hendersen Land's development at Nam Sang Wai, New World Development re-submitted its development proposal at Lin Barn Tsuen, Mai Po to the Town Planning Board. A few other development proposals within Deep Bay Buffer Zones are lined up for Town Planning Board's review in due course. HK Economic Journal. 20/12/96.

Tigers

The Sumatran tiger in Indonesia will be extinct in 50 years if no further actions are taken to protect them, warned a WWF official in Indonesia. Wen Wei Pao. 23/11/96. London-based Environmental Investigation Agency's latest report said that tiger poaching is still severe in India. They predicted that the 2500 tigers remaining in India will disappear in 5 years if nothing is done to curb poaching. Apple Daily. 24/10/96.

The reserve wardens of Mang Shan Nature Reserve, Yizhang County, south Hunan, saw a small South China Tiger crossing a road inside the reserve one night. It weighed about 25 kg. Reserve staff found tiger foot prints near a stream in the next day. This was the first sighting of South China Tiger in Mang Shan in the last 30 years. Shenxing Times 29/10/96.

India rejected Taiwan's offer of 130 rare Bengal tigers which were either those smuggled into Taiwan to be sold as pets or their offspring. India worried that these privately owned tigers no longer feared humans and could stray from the jungle and harm villagers. HK Standard. 20/9/96.

Hong Kong

Agriculture and Fisheries Department is seeking funds from the central government for a feasibility study for 3 more marine parks in Hong Kong. They include south Lamma, south Lantau and Port Shelter. HK Standard. 16/9/96.

Town Planning Board recently released the Tai Po Ting Kok Development Permission Area Plan which zones the west of Shuen Wan as conservation area and 2 plots of agricultural land east of Wong Yue Tang as Green Belt. Sing Pao. 21/12/96.

Feeding monkeys in part of Kowloon Hill, particularly the entrance to Kam Shan Country Park will soon become an offence. The maximum penalty is $5,000. SCMP. 15/9/96.

Legislative Council rejected a 3 billion application for a dredging project in Ramblers Channel because the dredged mud would be dumped at east Sha Chau. The Council members worried that the project might affect Chinese White Dolphin and no EIA had been conducted for this project. HK Economic Times. 20/7/96.

Others

The newly discovered mammal in Vietnam/Laos, the Vu Quang Ox, is threatened by logging. A logging boom is creeping towards the rainy Annamite mountains between Vietnam and Laos where most Vu Quang Ox are believed to live. SCMP. 19/8/96. World Bank supported the Vietnamese government to set up a Javan Rhino sanctuary in a primitive forest 100 km east of Ho Chi Min city. About 10 are believed to survive in the wild in Vietnam, 7 to 9 were seen in the primitive forest. Wen Wei Pao.1/6/96.

200 elephants were poached and tusks removed at a marsh in Congo. New Evening Post. 5/9/96. The findings of the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals surprised even its publishers: 1/4 of the 4,600 known mammal species are listed as critically endangered; over 100 species of marine fish added to the endangered list; of the 70,000 known mollusc species, only 2,094 have been assessed but 920 of those are threatened. HK Standard. 26/11/96.

One of Asia's last remaining cypress forests is being destroyed at an alarming rate by military logging companies to make way for the 615 megawatt Nam Thamn II Dam at the Nukai Plateau in central Laos. SCMP. 26/5/96. The Director General for Forest Inventory and Land Use disclosed in a meeting of forestry officials in Medan, North Sumatra that Indonesia's forest area is shrinking by 810,000 ha a year. He said that Indonesia now has 113.8 million ha forest. SCMP. 30/5/96.

Cuttings courtesy of WWFHK. Taken from newspaper in the period May 96 to December 96. Readers are invited to comment or eleborate on any of the above items. (Compiled by Billy Hau)

P.42-44

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