New frog species expected at Sg Ingei

A Harlequin tree frog caught by UBD postgraduate student volunteer Hanyrol Hanyzan Ahmadsah (pictured) during the second phase of the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey. Picture: BT File

UBAIDILLAH MASLI
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, August 20, 2011

ANY new finds of unrecorded species of frogs made during the on-going wildlife study of Sungai IngeiProtection Forest will be included into the national inventory of amphibians, members of the scientific team said yesterday.

Speaking over the phone while on a research trip in Labi yesterday, tropical ecologist Dr Ulmar Grafe said that although they have yet to make any "unusual" frog discoveries within the first leg of the two-yearSg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey, they anticipated such finds could be made in this final year of the study.

"The place is a mosaic of different kinds of habitats. As we go in more and more, maybe we will find more unusual species that we haven't got so far," Grafe said. "There might be several new species but we don't have any firm evidence for that yet."

The Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) lecturer said that the findings will be included into the national checklist of amphibians, which he said currently stands at some 83 species, about half of all amphibians found on Borneo.

"(From) all the species found on the third largest island in the world...in a small section just in Brunei, (we can find) maybe half of the species that we find in the (whole) island. That's significant (and) puts Brunei on the map, with respect to amphibians."

The majority of the species were documented in Belalong of Temburong District and in Teraja, also inBelait, said a UBD Masters student volunteer who has been assisting Grafe with the research on amphibians in Ingei.

Hanyrol Hanyzan Ahmadsah, a Masters in Biology by Research student, said that a "limited" number of species could be found in Ingei when compared to Belalong due to the former area's terrain. She said, in a separate interview yesterday, that Belalong had a hilly, steep terrain giving rise to a greater diversity of amphibian species whereas Ingei was flatter.

Nonetheless, she said Ingei could still yield a different set of species than that found elsewhere in Brunei, further backing the scientists' efforts to come up with enough scientific evidence to turn the 18,000-hectare protected forests of Sg Ingei into a wildlife sanctuary.

When asked if the frog team has made any interesting finds so far, Hanyrol said, "for me, everything is interesting".

She shared that she would search for frogs at night, assisted by two staff from the Museums Department, at a pond "the size of a house" located nearby the UBD-led project's basecamp, some seven hours upriver of the nearest village of Kg Melilas.

"Every night we go there, we find different species around the pond," she said.

Frogs are taken back to the camp as samples, where they are identified and kept to be later preserved in alcohol and added to the Ingei collection of amphibian samples.

"Sometimes species identification is not clear just by the morphology and genetics. Samples have to be taken and DNA has to be analysed (to confirm) the species," Grafe said.

The collection would help to signify Ingei's value as an area rich in biodiversity and will be "our contribution to the cause" of persuading authorities to further protect Ingei as a haven for wildlife.

The Standard Chartered Bank-funded Heart of Borneo project was carried out in stages, where the scientists camp out and do their study in Ingei for weeks at a time. The scientists are currently away from the project, but camera traps were left on suspected animal trails.The Brunei Times

WWF official lauds Sg Ingei survey

WWF Heart of Borneo Network Initiative Leader Adam Tomasek participating in a jungle trek near the Topi Camp along the Sungai Topi during the second phase of the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey. Picture: BT/Ubaidillah Masli

(Top) A Bornean leaf-nosed bat caught by Dr David Lane of UBD during the second phase of the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey. (Above) A Harlequin Flying Frog caught by UBD postgraduate student volunteer Hanyrol HanyzanAhmadsah during the second phase of the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey. Pictures: BT/Ubaidillah Masli

UBAIDILLAH MASLI
BELAIT

Thursday, August 4, 2011

WORLD Wildlife Fund for Nature's (WWF) top official to the tri-nation Heart of Borneo (HoB) conservation pact has lauded the ongoing scientific project to document animals living in the remote, untouched forests of Sungai Ingei in Belait district.

"What I think is quite unique about this, is that this is a project that is set up specifically to better understand the biodiversity in a protection forest, and use that information and the science behind it to ideally improve both the understanding of why this is such a special area but also inform the type of management decisions that could be made in the future," said Adam Tomasek.

WWF's HoB initiative leader was among the "VIPs" invited to tag along for a weekend trip to Sg Ingei starting July 8, to observe an expert team led by Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) biologists for the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey.

The study, which also involved specialists from around the region, has been looking at a host of animals, from large cats to exotic birds and some yet-to-be-confirmed species, found living in the 18,000 hectares of protected forest.

Speaking to The Brunei Times during the visit, Tomasek said he had been comparing the wildlife study to "what is or isn't going in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia (HoB member countries), under the same Heart of Borneo types of programmes".

"I think it is a great example of setting up a research project, not just for research in itself, but to look at how you can apply the findings of that research to improve government policy, local community awareness, national awareness, and in other ways, use it to inform the other two countries of Indonesia and Malaysia the type of work the government of Brunei is supporting under the Heart of Borneo."

Tomasek said bridging the communication gaps between the scientists and the policymakers was an aspect that was incorporated in the design phase of the wildlife study, while also noting that "outreach" with government officials was carried out from the project's outset.

Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj YahyaBegawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar has been the most senior official to have joined the arduous expedition, which is supported by basic temporary facilities such as a makeshift basecamp made of local wood and toilets dug into the ground. Including the recent excursion, the minister has observed and participated in the faunal survey at least three times.

"By having Pehin Yahya join the trip, they're (the scientists are) specifically looking at trying to bridge that gap between field research and what it could mean to policy- or decision-making," Tomasek said.

"Bringing the two together helps both sides better understand each other's point of view."

The WWF leader, who is based in Jakarta, also saw British High Commissioner to Brunei Rob Fenn'sparticipation in the recent visit as well as Singaporean High Commissioner Joseph Koh's participation in another visit to Ingei in March 2011 as a form of international recognition of the HoB work being carried out in Brunei.

"When I compare this to Indonesia, it's extremely difficult to get ambassadors to go out to these far off project sites, let alone have them sit on a boat like we did for seven hours upriver. One, it shows a level of commitment and interest," he said.

"But I think it also shows the significance of projects like this means something to the country as a whole and that there is a high level of recognition that the variety of work that's falling under the umbrella of the HoB in Brunei is very well known and recognised by high commissioners from different countries."

Tomasek said such foreign interest could lead to greater regional cooperation, suggesting possible tie-ups between foreign missions assigned here and their sister offices in Indonesia.

"Trying to make those linkages and be able to have the discussions in the different countries, sort of connect the dots, between the different countries is important for the region itself.

"Whether or not that leads to greater or more direct contributions to this kind of work from those countries, that's always a matter of bilateral assistance, priorities and things like that," he said.

"Often times, what you need is a really solid grounding, something that is globally significant but is also something very relevant in a place. I think that these kinds of projects provide that."

The Brunei Times

Preserving Sg Ingei forests worth more to Bruneians than they know

WWF special adviser to the Heart of Borneo Dato' Dr Mikaail Kavanagh (L) helps other Melilas locals pushing the temuai blocked by sand banks and logs along the Sg Ingei at low water level during the second phase of the Sg Ingei Faunal Biodiversity Survey recently. Picture: BT file

UBAIDILLAH MASLI
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

PRESERVING the rich forests of Sungai Ingei holds more interest for the people than they are aware of, as it is a foothold for hydrological management, currency in the international carbon trade market and atransboundary security buffer, said the special adviser to the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature's (WWF) Special Adviser to HoB Dato' Dr Mikaail Kavanagh recently spoke of the economic advantages in keeping the 18,000 hectares of Sg Ingei's pristine forests.

"This area is the upper most reaches of the Belait (River). Without it, if you strip the forests from here,Belait District will become very sedimented and much more prone to floods and droughts, much more uneven flow, even than we have now," he told The Brunei Times. He also said that the area was part of the source of raw water that the BLNG plant in Lumut needed for its daily operations.

"If the water stops flowing out of the Heart of Borneo, in the quantity and quality that they need, they stop producing LNG (liquefied natural gas) within 24- 36 hours," Kavanagh said.

Similarly in 2008, the former Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources spoke of the importance of managing the waterways and the conservation of the rainforests.

"The natural gas that Brunei LNG exports cannot be produced without the water from our forests," DatoPaduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abd Wahab said.

Kavanagh also touched on the role of forests such as Ingei in trapping global warming contributor carbon in carbon sinks or stores, and thus its potential in carbon trading.

"Under the rules of the voluntary market, if Brunei increases the protection of forests that might otherwise be logged, then they can sell carbon credits on the voluntary market. That's a possibility, (getting) paid money for sequestrating (sic) or storing carbon."

Dismissing criticism surrounding the current functionality of carbon trading, Kavanagh said, "Yes it does work to some extent in that when people do the right thing, they get the financial reward for it".

"I'm no expert on what will happen in the long term, but one thing we can all say without a shadow of doubt is that (environmental issues) is probably one of the highest global agendas now," he said.

Brunei enjoyed "far better" air quality than the rest of the populated areas on Borneo island because of the Sultanate's forests.

The WWF conservationist pointed out that forests on other parts of the island were being "destroyed", and this is made evident in incidences such as haze, which affects all the countries regardless of national boundaries.

"This is something where we need to cooperate with our neighbours. That's what makes the HoBimportant because this area will be much less secure if the forests just over the border are utterly denuded," he said.

The Brunei Times