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More species are becoming extinct

  • Publication Date | March 2, 2016
  • Document Type | Media Statement
  • Programmes | Forests & Biodiversity
  • Issues | Wildlife
  • Tags | ASEAN, CITES, Endangered Species, Poaching, wildlife crime, wildlife smuggling, Wildlife Trade
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Almost every other day devastating wildlife news hog the headlines. From snaring, roadkills, elephant rampages, primates at risk, killing of sunbears, consumption of turtle eggs, sale of wildlife through social media and the list goes on endlessly.  

News of yet another species going extinct is the charismatic creature found in Sabah – the pangolins.  Heading the way of the dodo, the mammal is the world’s most trafficked animal, due to the threat it faces from consumers in Vietnam and China.  Hundreds of other species are in a precarious position because of consumers’ voracious and insatiable appetite for animal parts. Sun bears are hunted very, very heavily for their gall bladders and now seriously threatened.  International trade often drives dynamics that vacuum key species from ecosystems leaving behind devastated habitats bereft of life and livelihoods. 

In an ideal world, trade in endangered species could be controlled by reducing demand and by educating people in the consumer states.  But in the face of growing criticism concerning interference with cultural traditions and ignorance of poverty, certainly there would not be much time to save many of the species. 

In the demand reduction efforts, the focus is on controlling supply through national and international regulation in the face of growing involvement of sophisticated, well funded and increasingly armed criminal organisations in the illegal wildlife trade, along with the need for enforcement efforts to match this level of sophistication in order for it to be effective.  

The Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) is the one international legal framework specifically targeted at controlling trade in endangered species.  However the impression one had of CITES after weighing the arguments and outcomes is that it had more to do with protecting commercial interests than protecting wildlife.  As far as endangered wildlife species and international trade is concerned, it is apparent that CITES has been ineffective in controlling illegal trade. Unfortunately there has been no evaluation of CITES since it came into being.  Trade is allowed on a sustainable basis.  Can CITES honestly give examples of species that have been sustainably traded in the region? Are there any check and balance by CITES to ensure that species are not wiped out? 

Now wildlife is imperiled more than ever with the use of social media and online tools for sale and purchase of animals, birds and others.  Log onto any Internet sites and a whole charnel house of endangered and protected species hawked openly or under fictitious names in violation of the law and international agreements. So far only eBay is one of the few that makes a serious effort in the control of wildlife smuggling by deleting ads for illegal products – only the few it notices or hears about.  So far attempted controls are few and largely ineffective.  

The Asean Wildlife Enforcement Agency (ASEAN_WEN) was established on 1st December 2005.  Until today has there been any effective enforcement of legislation governing conservation, trade and sustainable use of wild fauna and flora?  What is the success rate at which species of flora and fauna are sustainably used?  Letters to them often draws a blank. 

Government and NGOs in the Asian region has to come up with new, innovative strategies of substantial scale to address demand by highlighting how global consumer culture connects all of us to the wildlife trade and organized crime.  We should not wait until every wildlife has faded into oblivion. 

Most importantly the regions must build an appetite for conservation not consumption by educating young people to build respect for life and appreciation of animals for what they are, not what use they are to us. 

S M Mohamed Idris

President

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Testimonials

Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah satu badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang telah sekian lama berjuang mempertahan kelestarian alam. Ia juga mendidik masyarakat tentang pentingnya kebersamaan dalam pemikiran dan tindakan agar alam ini dapat kita wariskan kepada generasi hadapan dalam keadaan yang elok dan terpelihara. Dalam pada itu juga SAM giat membantu golongan nelayan pantai dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak mereka sehinggalah tertubuhnya Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING). Nelayan pantai sepenuh masa ini dididik oleh SAM sehingga mereka mampu memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin nelayan yang meneruskan kesinambungan memperjuangkan hak-hak nelayan pantai lainnya. Sebagai contoh SAM telah berjaya menyedarkan masyarakat nelayan keperluan menjaga hutan paya bakau untuk kebaikan hasil tangkapan nelayan itu sendiri.
Jamaluddin Mohamad Bualik
Jamaluddin Mohamad BualikPersatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING)
During the 1980s, I used to read about the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) in the news. After retirement, some time in 2001, while lazing around, I read news about the construction of a carbon in leach plant using sodium cyanide to extract gold in Bukit Koman. My friends and I visited CAP and we were introduced to SAM and her legal team. We discussed the details of filing a case against the gold mining company and the department of environment with Ms Meenakshi Raman and her legal team. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between lawyers from SAM and many of us from Bukit Koman. We had many ups and downs in our struggle to shut down the gold mine that was causing a nuisance in our village. But, as a community we never gave up because SAM had our backs.
Hue Fui How
Hue Fui HowSecretary, Bukit Koman Ban Cyanide in Goldmining Action Committee (BCAC)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah sebuah NGO yang memperjuangkan nasib masyarakat luar bandar khasnya. SAM menerima aduan-aduan masyarakat dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi. SAM telah mewujudkan ramai aktivis-aktivis sosial dan alam sekitar. Pada era 1980 dan 90an SAM sangat dihormati oleh masyarakat dan agensi kerajaan. Apabila media sosial menguasai maklumat maka SAM pun terkesan dan masalah masyarakat terus disalurkan dengan pelbagai cara. SAM perlu mewujudkan aktivis-aktivis pelapis yang muda untuk terus membantu masyarakat. SAM juga perlu membuat perubahan supaya banyak turun kelapangan dan jangan mengharapkan laporan media sahaja. Tingkatkan prestasi sebagaimana pada zaman kegemilangan SAM di era 80-90an.
Che Ani Mt Zain
Che Ani Mt Zain
SAM taught me the importance of social activism and the role it plays in upholding the rights of people and the protection of the environment. In my experience, SAM has never hesitated to speak up in defence of people and their environment, and has gone the extra mile to champion their rights, by helping communities take their battles to the higher ups and even to the courts.
Jessica Binwani
Jessica BinwaniPublic/Private Interest Lawyer
Semenjak kami kenal SAM, banyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan yg kami dapat. Kami telah belajar cara membuat baja asli daripada SAM. Semenjak itu, bermulalah minat kami dalam aktiviti pertanian. Dengan memperolehi kemahiran dalam membuat baja asli dan penanaman lestari, kami juga telah dapat menambahkan pendapatan sampingan kami. Ini lebih baik daripada tanah kami terbiar dan tidak diusahakan. Terima kasih SAM kerana sudi memberi bantuan dan tunjuk ajar kepada Persatuan kami.
Chedo Anak Nyuwen
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My journey with SAM started when her community organisers took me to the meet the paddy farmers of Kedah, connecting my growing interest in environmental law with our people who struggle to work the land in the face of pollution, replacement of traditional seeds with commercial hybrids and their accompanying chemical package of fertilisers and weedicides. I then had the honour to work with SAM in the struggle for the rights of the native communities of Sarawak, in defence of their forests from massive logging and destructive mega-projects. In every issue that SAM takes up, she combines rigorous research with the realities and voices of the communities to advocate for policies and laws that care for people and nature. From the courts to the elected legislators to policy makers and implementers and to the United Nations, SAM walks side by side with the communities in Malaysia. How can I not be inspired by the vision and passion of the generations of women and men who coalesce to form SAM?
Chee Yoke Ling
Chee Yoke Lingstudent of SAM, Executive Director of Third World Network, SAM’s sister organisation

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki, 11400 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Marudi Office)
129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi, Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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