Posted on 15 July 2010
Gland, Switzerland - 12 governments have
sent a letter to the Russian government
asking them to encourage its oil and gas
giant Rosneft to postpone
a seismic survey that is scheduled to take
place near Sakhalin Island in the Russian
Far East at a time when the critically endangered
western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
migrates to the area to feed.
The western gray whale
has a population of only 130 individuals,
with around 30 breeding females. Yet Rosneft
plans to conduct a major seismic survey
– blasts of acoustic noise used to detect
oil and gas deposits under the ocean floor
– in July just as the whales are arriving
at their main feeding area.
"The western gray
whale population is already so severely
depleted that conducting harmful seismic
testing in their main feeding area and disturbing
mothers and calves as they nurse and teach
their young to feed could be the nail in
the coffin for this species," said
Wendy Elliott, Manager, Species Programme,
WWF International.
"We are encouraged
that governments have spoken out in support
of this species and hope that Rosneft will
postpone the seismic testing until 2011,
when it would be possible to conduct the
survey before the whales have arrived in
their feeding ground."
In the letter the governments
of Australia, Austria, Belgium, France,
Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Monaco,
New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United
States state that:
"We note the planned
seismic survey scheduled for July 2010 off
Sakhalin Island this year, coinciding with
the critical period in the Western Gray
Whales feeding season, and we welcome consideration
of its postponement in line with the advice
from the International Whaling Commission’s
(IWC) Scientific Committee and the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP)."
But Rosneft still plans
to go ahead, and there is currently no evidence
that it would undertake necessary measures
to minimise the survey’s impact.
Scientific bodies express
"extreme concern"
This area around Sakhalin
Island is particularly important for the
whales, as scientists believe it is where
mother whales teach their calves to feed
just before they become independent. The
seismic survey is expected to significantly
disturb feeding and nursing gray whales.
If the seismic survey
is postponed until next year then it is
feasible for Rosneft to conduct their survey
early in the season, before the whales have
arrived in their feeding ground.
Postponing the survey
for a year would also enable Rosneft to
develop the precautionary monitoring and
mitigation measures that are so essential
to minimize the impact of the survey on
the critically endangered whales.
Just last month, at
their annual meeting, the IWC Scientific
Committee stated that they were “extremely
concerned about the potential impact of
this survey on western gray whales” and
the Committee “strongly recommends that
Rosneft postpone their survey until at least
June 2011.”
Continue to seek a solution
WWF and its conservation
partners have been instrumental in strengthening
protection for the western gray whale, working
with the IUCN convened Western Gray Whale
Advisory Panel, a group of eminent cetacean
experts which advises companies how to mitigate
the impact of their operations on the whales.
WWF and partners are
also urging the Russian government to establish
a sanctuary off Sakhalin Island in the western
gray whales’ feeding habitat.
+ More
Police detain members
of illegal tiger trading syndicate on Sumatra
island, Indonesia
Posted on 21 July 2010
On Saturday, June 17, 2010 a police unit
detained two people involved in an illegal
trading syndicate focused on the Sumatran
tiger in Pekanbaru, Riau Province of Sumatra,
Indonesia.
Yoga Rusdiansyah (26)
and Hidayat Saldi (45) are under investigation
after Yoga was caught in possession of six
decapitated tiger heads, five tiger pelts
and seven kilograms of tiger bones. The
tiger body parts were set to be exported
to Malaysia.
According to Sapta Marpaung
from the Pekanbaru Police Department, Yoga
has become the main suspect after being
caught in possession of the evidence, while
Hidayat’s role is still under further investigation.
The tiger body parts were sent from the
Northern Sumatran city of Medan. Yoga was
to hand over the package to a middleman
for cleaning of the parts and shipping to
Malaysia. The whereabouts of the middleman
are currently unknown.
Yoga confessed to trading
in tiger parts for the past three years,
with up to five packages shipped every month.
The body parts were sent through land and
sea transportation. Trisnu Danisworo, head
of Nature Conservation Agency Riau, said
that due to the vast and hard to patrol
border areas between Indonesia and Malaysia,
body parts are often sent this way, as they
are harder to track than being sent by air.
According to Osmantri,
Tiger Protection Unit and Wildlife Traffic
Monitoring Coordinator, the body parts might
be from Medan, as it is well known as a
shelter for illegal wildlife traffic.
It is estimated that
there were 192 Sumatran tigers in Riau in
2007. According to Syamsidar, Communications
Manager for WWF-Indonesia’s Riau office,
46 tigers were killed in the region between
1998 and 2009.
“If it is proven that
the tiger carcasses obtained by the police
originated from Riau, then, sadly, we must
add them to the current numbers. The tiger
is protected by law in Indonesia, and the
Government, business sector, communities
– basically everyone – should bear the responsibility
to protect this species and its habitat.”
Chairul Saleh, Species
and Conservation Expert from WWF-Indonesia,
said that the investigation should not stop
there.
“This case should be
taken to the court, but it is not enough
if we only detain the courier. The investigation
must unravel these illegal wildlife trafficking
syndicates and ensure the culprits receive
heavy sentences.”
If proven guilty, the
suspect can receive a sentence of up to
five years in prison and a fine of 100 million
rupiah (35,400 US dollars) based on Indonesia’s
Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems
law.
Dealing with the illegal
trade of tigers
The illegal trade in
tigers and tiger parts is currently one
of the focal issues of the 13 countries
that still have wild tiger populations in
this Year of the Tiger on the Chinese calendar.
A groundbreaking Declaration
on Tiger Conservation drafted by all 13
countries last week in Bali, Indonesia,
proposed concrete steps the governments
can take in order to reduce this trade.
The Declaration is due to be signed by the
countries at a global tiger conservation
summit held in St. Petersburg, Russia in
September this year.
