Deforestation pushes Enriquillo’s crocodiles to the brink of extinction

DOMINICAN TODAY

Santo Domingo.- The Environment Ministry (Semarena) aims to study Enriquillo Lake’s crocodiles to determine their current population and the possibilities of surviving the almost total loss of their habitat, which experts blame on the deforestation and encroaching desertification.

Protected Areas vice minister Eleuterio Martinez the lake’s rising waters buried the croc’s reproduction areas along its shoreline. He said the recent floods have left the crocodiles with only the nesting areas in Cabrito island’s beaches, where 30 hatchings were recently found.

The official noted that when the eggs hatch the mothers ferry their young on their backs to the fresh water springs at the shore, but because of the longer crossing, many fall off and die. “We’re monitoring that species. This Thursday technicians will render a detailed report on the situation and what’s happening there.”

He said crocodiles need special surroundings and sand to nest, and Cabrito island, whose area has been reduced by half, is the only place left to reproduce.

During Enriquillo’s normal volume, of around 40 meters below sea level, the islets La Playita and Arenita are also used by the females to lay eggs, but the recent rise has placed them underwater.

“The lake has grown enormously, because from 205 square kilometers it now has almost 400 square kilometers,” he said, adding that the numbers of the crocodiles, on the endangered species list, isn’t known.

TIGER BONES FOUND

VIETNAMNET

VietNamNet Bridge – Two men were arrested Thursday for transporting a dead endangered tiger from a central province to Hanoi, according to police in the capital. 

Hoang Van Su, 36, and taxi driver Nguyen Trung Phong, 32, were found driving with a 60-kilogram frozen tiger and 11 kilograms of tiger bones in the trunk of Phong’s cab.

Dr. Pham Trong Anh, a tiger expert from the Hanoi-based Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, said the tiger was a baby of about 4-5 months old. He said the bones belonged to at least two different tigers.

Police said Su had hired Phong to carry the tiger and bones from the central province of Thanh Hoa to a buyer in Hanoi. The frozen tiger’s cause of death has yet to be made available.

One kilogram of fresh tiger meat costs more than VND20 million (US$1,123) a kilogram while bone sells for around VND15 million ($842), according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.

An official from the Environmental Police Department, who wished to remain anonymous, said the case showed the possibility of larger-scale illegal tiger trafficking in the country.

Police said they were following up on the case. Tigers are on Vietnam’s endangered species list and it is illegal to hunt the large cats in the country.

In Vietnam, tigers are only found along the Truong Son Mountain Range in the central region. Experts estimate the country has less than 200 tigers left, as scores have been wiped out to make traditional medicine.

Locals in poverty-stricken Truong Son areas often resort to tiger hunting as the animals’ skin, teeth, meat and bones fetch high prices in major cities.

VietNamNet/Thanh Nien 

Brantas River at risk of drying up as deforestation takes its toll

ACHMAD FAISAL – JAKARTA POST

The condition of the Brantas River in East Java is under serious threat of drying up, officials warn, with 54 of its 111 watershed areas damaged or destroyed, mostly due to deforestation.

East Java Governor Soekarwo recently called on all concerned parties, including state-owned water operator Jasa Tirta and state-owned forestry company Perhutani, to reforest the damaged areas, protect the current water sources and create new ones.

He also proposed that both state enterprises set aside their dividends to purchase 100 hectares of highlands in Sumber Brantas village, Bumiaji district, Batu municipality, for reforestation.

“We’re ready to help pay for the lease of a plane to spread acacia seedlings over the area to accelerate the reforestation drive,” Soekarwo said.

He added the provincial administration was committed to protecting the water sources of the Brantas River, which is heavily depended on by people living in the 14 regencies and municipalities through which the river flows.

Data from the East Java Environmental Agency shows much of the river’s watersheds are in critical condition; 925 hectares of these affected areas are located in forests, and 1,899 hectares are outside forests.

The damaged areas, as a result of illegal logging, have caused half the number of water sources feeding into the river to dry up.

Of the remaining water sources, only a few still flow, but at depths of only 20 centimeters, from the usual 1.2 meters.

Soekarwo said the extent of deforested areas had severely silted up the Sutami reservoir in Karangkates, and would affect irrigation and clean water supplies.

“We can’t dredge the reservoir before reforesting the areas,” he said.

Several agencies, the governor went on, had taken steps to deal with the threat. The East Java Public Works Office has repaired the irrigation networks and pumps, while the provincial administration is educating farmers on water management for more efficient farming.

The agriculture office has set aside Rp 650 million (US$62,500) to provide 25 kilograms of rice seedlings per hectare to each farmer facing the threat of crop failure.

An estimated 60 percent of East Java’s population live in areas that form part of the Brantas River basin. The river flows from Batu city, through Malang city, then the regencies of Malang, Blitar, Tulungagung and Trenggalek, Kediri city, Sidoarjo and Gresik regencies, before finally reaching the sea in Surabaya.

The municipal tap water operator in Surabaya gets 95 percent of its raw water supply from the Brantas River.

Ecological Research and Wetland Conservation Agency (Ecoton) director Prigi Arisandi warns the disappearing water sources in the upstream areas of the Brantas River are not just caused by rampant logging, but also large-scale exploitation by bottled water companies in several upstream areas, such as Batu, Trawas in Mojokerto, and Pandaan in Pasuruan.

“The government has no issued any regulations for this industry,” he said.

“As a result, what they pay to government is not commensurate with what they take from nature.

“They only pay Rp 10,000 for 6,000 liters of water, a cut of which is still demanded by village and district officials.”

Prigi agreed with Soekarwo’s proposal that the private sector should set aside part of its profits, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, to purchase land in upstream areas that could be conserved and reforested