Researchers Celebrate First Live Encounter With Sumatran Rhino in Borneo for 40+ Years

Researchers announced the first live encounter with a Sumatran rhino in Borneo for more than 40 years. But the human pressures that have pushed this species to the brink of extinction are still very much in play.

An excited World Wildlife Fund (WWF) team released details of how the female rhino was safely captured in East Kalimantan (part of Indonesian Borneo) last month and has now been transported to a more protected region.

Over the last few years, evidence from camera traps and footprints has indicated that these rhinos still survived in Borneo’s forests, but this is the first known encounter with a live animal since the early 1970s.

The rather inaccurately-named Sumatran rhino was once found across large swathes of southern and south-east Asia, but in modern times has survived only in Malaysia and Indonesia. Just last year, it was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia and now Indonesia is the rhino’s last refuge.

The discovery of one more rhino is fantastic, but in reality this news does little to secure the future of the species as a whole. These rhinos are still perilously close to extinction, surviving in tiny, scattered populations which are exquisitely vulnerable to any kind of threat, of which there are many.

A significant problem is the destruction of the rhinos’ rainforest habitat, largely due to the ongoing expansion of the palm oil and pulpwood industries.

In fact, some of the East Kalimantan rhinos have been detected in an area containing oil palm plantations, as well as a coal mine and “production forest” (which are areas in which selected trees are logged, damaging and degrading the forest or opening them up to plantations).

Taking away the trees robs the rhinos of their natural food sources and according to WWF they’re often forced to venture into logged areas to feed on new plant growth or crops. This makes them more vulnerable to the most direct and imminent threat: poaching.

Rhino horn—even the relatively small ones possessed by Sumatran rhinos—fetch huge prices and rhinos are valuable targets even though trade is illegal.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Researchers Celebrate First Live Encounter With Sumatran Rhino in Borneo for 40+ Years

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Yuichiro Tokuda Ralyzzdig coming to Borneo Jazz

KUCHING: Yuichiro Tokuda Ralyzzdig, an award winning Japanese modern jazz band, will be coming to this year’s Borneo Jazz Festival.

The band received an award as the ‘New Face of the Year in Art and Culture’ from the Chiba-City Government in 2008, the first time ever for a jazz artiste.

It was a ‘Finalist’ and received an ‘Honorable Mention Award’ in International Songwriting Competition 2010, 2012 and 2013 Jazz category.

Every year, according to a publicity release yesterday, the band performs at Japan’s most prestigious Jazz Festival ‘Yokohama Jazz Promenade’ and also at many festivals all over the world.

The band formed shortly after founder Yuichiro Tokuda returned to Japan from studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2008 and soon after, they released an album which was acclaimed ‘the cutting edge of the present progressive form of jazz’ in Jazz Life magazine.

Besides Yuichiro Tokuda Ralyzzdig, the seven confirmed bands were the Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion from Germany/Cuba, Raw Earth from Singapore, Manou Gallo Groove Orchestra from Belgium/Ivory Coast and O Sister! from Spain.

Also joining in the fun will be Funkatorie from Malaysia, API from Malaysia/India and The Rad Trads from New York, USA.

Tickets are available at pre-sale prices with adult passes selling at RM80 for a one-day pass and RM140 for a two-day pass.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Yuichiro Tokuda Ralyzzdig coming to Borneo Jazz

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Miri, Brunei to jointly promote tourism

LIMBANG: Sarawak and Brunei are to jointly promote tourism products in northern Sarawak including the Heart of Borneo Project, as Limbang is strategically located in the cluster of the Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Sarawak Tourism and Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg said currently Sarawak has three tourism proposals to collaborate with Royal Brunei which has direct connection with Hong Kong and Singapore to bring in more tourists including to northern Sarawak.

“In addition, we need to identify whether Limbang, Brunei and Sabah had common strategies in promoting proposals to set up Borneo Airpass for air connectivity between Sabah, Brunei and Northern Sarawak,” he said yesterday when met by the media at the pre-launch of the Sejiwa Senada (SJSN) Programme at Limbang Sports Complex.

Also present were his assistant minister who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Deputy State Secretary Datuk Misnu Taha, Bukit Kota and Batu Danau State Assemblymen Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail and Paulus Palu Gumbang, Limbang Resident Datuk Maria Hasman and his deputy Selamat Jati Yanjah.

Abang Johari added that some RM40 million had been allocated under the 11th Malaysia Plan for developing infrastructure in Limbang including the Ranggau Valley project, second bridge across Limbang River and Limbang Esplanade.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Miri, Brunei to jointly promote tourism

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From the South to Southeast Asia - Kuching

 

Like most of you reading this, I had no prior knowledge of Kuching.

I knew that I was booking a flight to Borneo, but nothing really beyond that.

Well… I guess I heard ahead of time that its name means “Cat City,” but that has to be a bad sign for a dog person traveling there, right?

I went to Kuching with no expectations and had yet another incredible trip to yet another Southeast Asian country.

The only downside was the excessive number of cat statues.

Those I could have done without.

Kuching was different than most other places I’ve traveled this semester, as it’s not a major city.

The city is walkable, not too crowded, and full of kind people and delicious food–a pretty great combination.

I especially loved the area along the waterfront near our hostel.

It was so peaceful, and lots of the buildings had an artistic touch added to them.

Aiming for a relaxed weekend, we spent the majority of our first day hiking in Bako National Park… and acquiring sunburns.

Somehow it’s easy to forget how close we are to the Equator here, and I’m sure my skin absolutely hates me for it.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: From the South to Southeast Asia - Kuching

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What will climate change mean for Borneo’s carnivorous pitcher-plants?

• Pitcher-plants of the genus Nepenthes are tropical carnivorous plants that trap and digest insects.
• Some of Borneo's pitcher plants inhabit a broad altitudinal range in its mountainous forests, while others are limited to a narrow band.
• Models indicate that one of these narrow-band species will go extinct by 2050 if current warming trends continue.

Nepenthes, or tropical pitcher plants, are a genus of carnivorous plants well known for their intricate and beautiful pitcher-shaped leaves that trap and digest insects. The genus is comprised of approximately 150 species, most of which are endemic to the Old World Tropics.

The greatest diversity of Nepenthes are found in Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines. Plants within the Nepenthes genus grow within a broad altitude range from sea level to 3,400 meters (11,100 feet). But some species are restricted to narrower ranges, and may face extinction in a warming world.

At 140 million years old, the Borneo rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world. Approximately 15,000 species of flowering plants and 3,000 tree species comingle and compete for space in this dense plant community.

The Borneo rainforest is also home to various indigenous peoples, a treasure trove of medicinal plants, and a rich collection of carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants can be found throughout Borneo but one especially accessible area to visit tropical pitcher plants is in Bako National Park.

Bako National Park is the oldest National Park in the Sarawak region of Malaysian Borneo. The park is close enough to the city of Sarawak to visit in one day. Once in the park, hikers can explore the intertidal zone of the South China Sea and trek into steep regions of montane forest in the same day. Wildlife is abundant.

One particular trail, the Lintang Trail, leads hikers along mangrove boardwalks near the Park headquarters and up a steep sandstone escarpment. Hikers eventually reach a plateau area that is part keranga, or dry heath forest, and part bare sandstone rock. It doesn’t take a well-trained botanist to spot abundant tropical pitcher plants while hiking around the Lintang trail. 

Nepenthes are everywhere along the trail and appear quite healthy. Multiple Nepenthes species thrive in Bako National Park, but one species, Raffles’ pitcher-plant (N. rafflesiana), is particularly well represented along this trail.

Raffles’ pitcher-plants grow happily in various microenvironments: peat swamp forests, heath forests, cliffsides and keranga forest. Furthermore, this species lives within a broad altitude range, and is found at sea level all the way up to 1,500 meters (5,000 feet).

Thanks in part to its flexible altitude range, this Nepenthes species enjoys healthy population numbers and is currently listed as a Least Concern species on the IUCN list of endangered species.

Now, let’s compare this scenario with another tropical pitcher plant living in Borneo, the large-leaved pitcher-plant, (Nepenthes macrophylla). Unlike Raffle’s pitcher plant, this species can tolerate only a narrow range in altitude, growing exclusively on mossy ridges along Mount Trusmadi between 2,000 and 2,600 meters (6,500 and 8,200 feet) (Clarke, 1997.) Mount Trusmadi is located in Sabah, the eastern region of Borneo.

The peak of Mount Trusmadi sits at 2642 meters (8667 feet), so the narrow altitude range of the large-leaved pitcher-plant extends almost up to the summit. Due in part to this restrictive geographic range, the population of this Nepenthes species is in a precarious situation, and is currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN list.

Okay, so what are the most probable fates of these two different Nepenthes species in the next 100 years as the world warms? Would populations of large-leaved and Raffles’ pitcher-plants be impacted by the predicted rise in global temperatures?

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: What will climate change mean for Borneo’s carnivorous pitcher-plants?

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