The rich biodiversity of the East Asia and Pacific Region needs to be effectively protected and nurtured, as the region continues to grow in economic strength, and in wealth and living standards, according to the new World Bank publication “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Langur,” released at the World Conservation Congress (WCC), which is taking place in Bangkok from Nov. 17 to Nov. 25, the Thai News Service (Thailand, 11/22) reports.
The report is the latest World Bank analysis of the major biodiversity challenges facing the Asia region including forest loss and habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade, and lack of awareness.
The report notes that Asia’s biodiversity has been under threat by two “explosions:” population and growth.
As the region’s population grew rapidly in the 20th century, coupled with decades of strong economic growth, agricultural expansion converted forests and grasslands into cultivated land; deforestation and forest fires reduced the forest area, and have made remaining forests more fragmented and degraded; pollution, over-fishing and draining of wetlands irrevocably altered the freshwater and marine landscapes; and unsustainable resource use coupled with illegal demand for wildlife products have emptied the forests and seas of their riches.
Tony Whitten, Senior Biodiversity Specialist at the World Bank, noted that “as a result of this and other factors, the region has lost 95 percent of its primary forests; individual countries have lost 70-90 percent of their original wilderness; and deforestation continues to accelerate the seemingly inexorable fragmentation and loss of terrestrial and aquatic habitats.”
Whitten added that,” Such degradation is putting at risk resource-dependent economies and local livelihoods, and is exacerbating local poverty and intensifying regional and cross-border conflicts.”
Against this backdrop, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Langur” examines the World Bank’s biodiversity portfolio in East Asia and the Pacific since 1999, which has focused on conserving wildlife and wilderness in protected areas, mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in the production landscape, and using biodiversity conservation as a tool to alleviate poverty at the rural frontier.
It also shows how the World Bank is working with a wide range of partners – governments, local and international NGOs, the private sector – and even faith communities from all the region’s major religions. Total Bank lending for biodiversity conservation in the region amounts to $450 million since 1988. Another $200 million has been leveraged in co-financing. The scale of this investment shows the World Bank’s ongoing commitment to biodiversity conservation, which is a significant part of its sustainable development agenda.
The Age (Australia, 11/22) reports that the World Conservation Union (IUCN) last week released its annual Red List of endangered species at its conference in Bangkok. The list added five species to the “extinct” category and then listed 200 more as “possibly extinct.”
Species are Critically endangered
A further 3000 were “critically endangered” and almost 16,000 were listed as “threatened.” The scientists warned that extinctions were happening at up to 1000 times the natural rate and compared the rate of extinction to the five mass extinctions that have already occurred over the life of the planet, one of which included the end of the dinosaurs. The biggest threat comes from ecological changes such as global warming and pollution, caused by human activity.
Agence France Presse (11/19) also reports that the IUCN said that more than 58 percent of the world’s coral reefs are endangered because of pollution, the over-harvesting of reef fish and other human factors. While many governments in South Asia had improved laws targeting reef protection, a lack of economic alternatives for local communities would continue to drive reef degradation, the IUCN cautioned.
“As long as poverty, population growth and lack of alternative livelihoods keep people dependent on already depleted reef resources, the coral reefs of South Asia will continue to degrade,” Jerker Tamelander, the union’s South Asia marine coordinator, said.
The Nation (Thailand, 11/19) meanwhile writes that for the past decade, IUCN and one of its members, the Wildlife Conservation Society, have been working with the Laotian government to manage the 3,200-square-kilometre Nakai-Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area. Both expressed their support for Laos’ plan to build the dam to generate revenue that could help conserve the remaining forests.
The plan to build a dam and donate revenue to the environment has drawn controversy in past decades, as the proposed dam would flood 450 square kilometers in the heart of the conservation area.
The IUCN body’s failure to oppose the dam drew criticism from a Laotian environmentalist who said that by not opposing the destruction of this ecologically critical forest, they risked becoming irrelevant. The Laotian government has been pursuing a loan guarantee and other concessions from the World Bank for the $1.3-billion project. The Bank is expected to make a decision in the next few months.
The Nation (Thailand, 11/21) finally reports in a separate piece that Laos and Vietnam Saturday signed a deal to halt border trade |in wildlife used as exotic food and for medicinal properties, at a morning session of the IUCN World Conservation Congress |in Bangkok. The agreement inked at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre is aimed at stemming the decline of wildlife and plant populations and protecting the ecosystems of Southeast Asia.
The World Bank, which helped forge the agreement, thinks the agreement should help staunch the trade of endangered animals and plants. “The plan will help enforce laws that are already in place in the two countries,” said Tony Whitten, the World Bank’s Senior Biodiversity Specialist for East Asia and Pacific Region. “The plan is aimed at building awareness at the local level as well as among border guards.”
