Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Monday, January 26, 2015

Time to fight the timber thieves

A file picture of police personnel checking illegal logs seized during a raid on a sawmill in Bintawa, Kuching
A file picture of police personnel checking illegal logs seized during a raid on a sawmill in Bintawa, Kuching
 
SARAWAK’S forests are not only home to some of the state’s rural communities, but also home to several endangered animals such the orangutan, Borneo pygmy elephant, proboscis monkey and rhinoceros, all of which are at risk due to rampant logging.
As environmental activist Mutang Urud writes in the forward of book Money Logging: “Our ancestral land has been desecrated, our history erased, the very memory of our origins lost.”
He continues: “Close to 90% of Sarawak’s ancient forest is now gone. Only 11% of the primary growth remains. How did it disappear?”
It’s a sad reality that while some people are selfishly using Sarawak’s timber as a means of lining their pockets, few are giving the environment a second thought.
Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) Kuching chairman Anthony Sebastian claims to have witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by illegal logging.
According to him, the Samunsam wildlife sanctuary is one example of a place that has been “completely decimated” by illegal loggers over the past 10 years.
“The entire sanctuary is gone, all that’s left are its borders. That should not be happening,” he says.
Even though Samunsam wildlife sanctuary is still listed as a sanctuary on paper, in reality Sebastian says that it is a destroyed forest, with most of its key assets (like Sarawak’s most viable, and studied, population of proboscis monkeys) lost.​
Santubong national park is another area that’s been hit by illegal logging.
“We have some pictures of illegal loggers in the area taken by some MNS members, as recently as November last year,” Sebastian says.
Illegal logging can have dire consequences to our environment, wildlife, culture and economy.
Sebastian says, however, that even though some of our “most vital areas” have been logged, our forests will eventually regenerate in around 60 years.
“But our forests will never be the same. We have already lost so many species and we will lose more,” he says.
He continues: “An ecological functioning forest provides food, water, medicines for not only for the indigenous people but also the whole state.”
Our forests also act as a buffer against rainfall.
“Everyone knows when you clear forests, water flows faster which can results in flash floods with the increasing rainfall,” said Sebastian.
But despite all these, illegal logging is still takes place.
In the 2014 Environmental Performance Index, Malaysia scored 1.68 out of a hundred and ranked 129 out of 137 countries for the change in forest cover. 
The score factors in areas of forest loss (including deforestation), reforestation (forest restoration or replanting), and afforestation (conversion of bare or cultivated land into forest).
Malaysia is one of the countries that has experienced great forest loss, and that is a worrying fact.
I sincerely hope that the Government takes aggressive action against illegal logging so that we do not lose any more of our trees and wildlife.
Yes, we have laws to punish illegal loggers. But that’s not enough. Enforcement needs to be stepped up and timber thieves need to be prosecuted without prejudice.
Something must be done before it is too late.
>  The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own

Monday, November 24, 2014

Dolphin-watch tour on 23 November Trip leader Cindy Peter,Pictures acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project

Lesser adjutant stork is feeding at the mangroves. acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project
A right dorsal fin shot of an Irrawaddy dolphin taken at Santubong river mouth. This particular individual was also seen on 8 November 2014 during the dolphin-watch tour in conjunction with Santubong Nature Festival. acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project
An Irrawaddy dolphin observed in the estuary of Santubong River with Satang Kecil Island in the background. acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project
Another right dorsal fin shot of an Irrawaddy dolphin. This individual has a "clean" dorsal - no distinctive marks or scars. acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project
A group photo with the boat captain from Permai Rainforest Resort, Mr Mohd Napiah. acknowledge Sarawak Dolphin Project

Saturday, November 22, 2014

The Survivor race @ SNF 2014

Tough Multi-disciplinary outdoor sports race that requires:-
All you need is Determination, A high level of fitness, Ability to swim in the open sea & No fear of heights.
The various race stages includes: (1) 5km Kayaking, (2) 7km Trail Run, (3) 50-100m Swim, (4) 20 Metre Climb & (5) 1km Technical Mountain Bike descent

Preparation before race 


Group pose before race 
5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

5km Kayaking - Survivor Race 

Birdwatching Tower - 20 Metre Climb 

Birdwatching Tower - 20 Metre Climb 

Birdwatching Tower - 20 Metre Climb 

Birdwatching Tower - 20 Metre Climb 
The final lap - The Survivor Race 

Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race
Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race 

Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race 
 Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race 
Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race  caption

Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race 

Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race 

Mountain Bike - The Survivor Race: 1st team to arrive - Eco Adventure (Hardy Suntol & Mohamed Anwar) 



The Survivor Race Finish 
The winners of the Survivor race 2014 Eco Adventure (Hardy Suntol & Mohamed Anwar) 

Photo session @ finish line


he winners of the Survivor race 2014
Bicycle Rack

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Discovering the wonders of stargazing Focus By Patricia Hului @pattbpseeds

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN WOWED THE cinematic world recently with his stupendous movie ‘Interstellar’.
Besides the film’s brilliant, mind-boggling plot, Nolan pulled our focus skywards to the celestial objects out there like the stars, galaxies and planets.
For those of us with more modest aspirations, a couple of groups here – Sultan Iskandar Planetarium (PSI) and Sarawak Astronomical Society (SAS) – shared their interest with the public by giving a talk at the second Santubong Nature Festival (SNF) on Nov 8 at Permai Rainforest Resort.
PSI and SAS joined together to give a talk on astronomy to some 30 participants. Due to the cloudy weather, however, none of the hopeful stargazers who attended the talk that night were able to see a single constellation in the sky that night.
But by using Stellarium, a free open source software that depicts the sky in 3D, simulate what can be seen with the naked eye, binoculars or telescope, SAS exco member Rambli Ahmad was able to explain the basics of how to look and spot constellations with the naked eye.

FASCINATING: Rambli explaining to the audience about constellations using Stellarium.
FASCINATING: Rambli pointing out star constellation with Stellarium.

Rambli started by telling the audience the legend of Perseus from Greek mythology.
Perseus, the son of Zeus and mortal Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, was known for heroic acts by beheading the Gorgon Medusa and saving Andromeda from a sea monster.
He later married Andromeda, who is the daughter of Cassiopeia.
Rambli fascinated the audience with these mythological stories because Perseus, Andromeda and Cassiopeia were all constellations that the participants were supposed to see that night.
“If you look into the sky, you can see these stories,” he pointed out.
The reason why astronomy fascinated him, Rambli explained, was that “from astronomy alone, we can learn about chemistry such as what the sun is made of, physics when looking into the planet’s rotation and, of course, mythology.”
The constellation Perseus consists of 19 stars, depicting Perseus the hero.
To the west of Perseus is Andromeda, one of the largest constellations.
Within this Andromeda constellation, one should be able to spot a fuzzy-looking object.

STELLARIUM: Besides showing realistic sky in 3D, what we see with the naked eye, binoculars or telescope, the software Stellarium also can show depiction of the constellations in the sky. Here it is a screenshot of the software showing Cassiopeia is as a woman on chair and Perseus the hero.
STELLARIUM: Besides depicting a realistic sky in 3D, what we see with the naked eye, binoculars or telescope, as well as the constellations in the sky. Here is a screenshot of the software with the constellation art depicting Cassiopeia  as a woman on chair and Perseus returning with Medusa’s head.

“That is the Andromeda galaxy, the only galaxy we can see with the naked eye,” Rambli stated.
To the north of Perseus, one can spot Cassiopeia, one of the easily recognised constellations.
It looks like an ‘M’ – or a ‘W’, depending on where you are – and is formed by five bright stars. The constellation is meant to be Cassiopeia, Queen of Aethiopian, sitting in a chair.
One of the stories behind this particular constellation is that Cassiopeia, claiming to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs, was punished by Poseidon, the God of Sea, condemned to sit on her throne and forced to wheel around the North Celestial Pole,  spending half of her time trying not to fall off.
But how do we know which constellation is where?
Rambli showed two charts that depicted the northern and southern constellations.
With these constellation charts, stargazers will be able to know which constellations will be visible and where they will be depending on the day or time.
These constellations charts are available online for free.

DILIGENT: Some of the participants cutting their own constellation charts with materials provided by PSI.
DILIGENT: Some of the participants cutting their own constellation charts with materials provided by PSI.


Besides the charts, he said that Google Sky Map, available on iOS and Android, is also very practical for stargazing.
When it comes to stargazing and spotting the constellations, the first thing to do is locate north and south. After that,try to find the constellations by comparing the chart and the night sky.
“You need to use your imagination and connect the star in lines to be able to spot the constellations,” Rambli reminded.
Thanks to Rambli, all amateur astronomers who attended the talk knew what they needed were a chart (or a smartphone app), a clear sky and a little imagination.
Are you interested in astronomy? Visit Sultan Iskandar Planetarium’s official website http://www.planetarium-sarawak.org/psi2/ to learn more about stargazing here in Kuching.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Kiddies corner and Guided walk:little explorers Rainforest discovery

Lets color some turtles at SNF2014
I love turtles
Young conservationists....Colouring time at WWF Booth at Santubong Nature Festival.


Kids were very exited seeing this pit viper