A two-month old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed-tiger toys in the luggage of a woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday.
The 31-year old Thai national was scheduled to board a Mahan Air flight destined for Iran when she had trouble checking in her oversized bag. Airports of Thailand (AOT) staff suspected something amiss when they scanned the bag and x-ray images showed an item resembling a real cat.
Officers from the Livestock Development Department and the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department were then called in to open the bag for inspection and discovered the tranquilized cub.Investigations are underway to determine if the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, where it came from and the suspect’s intended final destination.
The cub is being cared for at the Rescue Center of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. DNA samples will be sent to the tiger enclosure at Khaopratab Wildlife Rescue Center in Ratchaburi Province, to determine which subspecies the cub belongs to, which will help determine its origin.
Tiger populations in Thailand and throughout Asia are critically threatened by poaching and trade to meet the international demand for tiger parts, products and, as illustrated in this case, live tigers.
Tigers are categorized as Endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) and listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibiting international commercial trade. Both captive and wild caught tigers fall under the same regulations.
The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, sponsored by the US Agency for International Development recently held a training course on Wildlife Trade Regulation at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Many of the agencies who were involved in the case had attended that course and work in close co-operation under Thailand’s own Wildlife Enforcement Network.We applaud all the agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt, said Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia’s Deputy Regional Director.
TRAFFIC is glad to see these training programmes pay off in seizures, arrests and continued vigilance at the airport especially by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.However, Shepherd also cautioned that this case demonstrated a real need for constant monitoring and tougher penalties.
If people are trying to smuggle live Tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand.
Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that.
Source:http://www.traffic.org/home/2010/8/26/live-tiger-found-in-check-in-baggage.html
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The milk of forest kindness
In a novel way of showing benevolence, a community forest in Nawalparasi district has constructed houses for its poor consumers.
Sundari Community Forest of Amarapuri built houses to 12 families who are its consumers living in an abject poverty. Office bearers of the community forest said the houses have been built for the poor families in recognition to their contribution for forest preservation.
The forest committee handed over the houses to the families amid a function on Thursday. All the 12 houses have been constructed through the income of the forest.
Badri Prasad Sapkota, chairman of the forest user group, said the community forest has been spending 35 percent of its total income to alleviate poverty. The committee spent Rs. 65,000 to build a house.
The decision of the community forest not only made the beneficiaries happy but has encouraged them further to conserve forest. “I had never hoped that the forest committee would help us in a big way. This has greatly inspired us to dedicate our lives in forest preservation,” said Dambar Kumari, who is one among the 12 recipients.
Source:http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/08/27/national/the-milk-of-forest-kindness/321226/
Sundari Community Forest of Amarapuri built houses to 12 families who are its consumers living in an abject poverty. Office bearers of the community forest said the houses have been built for the poor families in recognition to their contribution for forest preservation.
The forest committee handed over the houses to the families amid a function on Thursday. All the 12 houses have been constructed through the income of the forest.
Badri Prasad Sapkota, chairman of the forest user group, said the community forest has been spending 35 percent of its total income to alleviate poverty. The committee spent Rs. 65,000 to build a house.
The decision of the community forest not only made the beneficiaries happy but has encouraged them further to conserve forest. “I had never hoped that the forest committee would help us in a big way. This has greatly inspired us to dedicate our lives in forest preservation,” said Dambar Kumari, who is one among the 12 recipients.
Source:http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/08/27/national/the-milk-of-forest-kindness/321226/
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Himalayan countries discuss roadmap to adapt to climate change
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on August 18 started a three-day high-level technical consultative meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal.Called ‘Sacred Himalayas for Water, Livelihoods, and Bio-cultural Heritage’, the expected outcome of the meeting will create a roadmap leading to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas in Bhutan 2011’.
Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Nepal, congratulated the Bhutan government for taking the initiative to develop a regional framework and national adaptation plans to fight climate change and to reduce the vulnerability of local populations living in the region.
He commended the role of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), of which he is a board member, in providing technical backstopping to the summit.
Agriculture Minister Dr Pema Gyamtsho said that countries should work together in developing medium- and long-term strategies as citizens of the eastern Himalayas.
“We share a common geography, common problems, and a common destiny and need to take collective action to tackle the problems posed by changing climate.” He emphasised.
Dr Madhav Karki, Acting Director General of ICIMOD, highlighted the potentials of the HKH region, also known as the ‘Third Pole’ or the ‘Water Towers of Asia’ as a major water source for close to 1.3 billion people.
He suggested four key messages for building a climate-resilient region and long-term adaption including livelihood diversification, disaster preparedness, climate risk assessment for infrastructure development, and improved management of natural resources. He also stressed the urgent need to share scientific knowledge to address the ‘knowledge gaps’ that currently exist in the region.
Nawang Norbu, one of the participants from Bhutan, presented the rationale for the proposed Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas, Bhutan 2011, and its links to the process, and the rationale for focusing on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayan region.
Source: http://bit.ly/cWYJeS
Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Nepal, congratulated the Bhutan government for taking the initiative to develop a regional framework and national adaptation plans to fight climate change and to reduce the vulnerability of local populations living in the region.
He commended the role of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), of which he is a board member, in providing technical backstopping to the summit.
Agriculture Minister Dr Pema Gyamtsho said that countries should work together in developing medium- and long-term strategies as citizens of the eastern Himalayas.
“We share a common geography, common problems, and a common destiny and need to take collective action to tackle the problems posed by changing climate.” He emphasised.
Dr Madhav Karki, Acting Director General of ICIMOD, highlighted the potentials of the HKH region, also known as the ‘Third Pole’ or the ‘Water Towers of Asia’ as a major water source for close to 1.3 billion people.
He suggested four key messages for building a climate-resilient region and long-term adaption including livelihood diversification, disaster preparedness, climate risk assessment for infrastructure development, and improved management of natural resources. He also stressed the urgent need to share scientific knowledge to address the ‘knowledge gaps’ that currently exist in the region.
Nawang Norbu, one of the participants from Bhutan, presented the rationale for the proposed Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas, Bhutan 2011, and its links to the process, and the rationale for focusing on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayan region.
Source: http://bit.ly/cWYJeS
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