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Protect Farmers’ best friend for pest control

  • Publication Date | November 4, 2016
  • Document Type | Media Statement
  • Programmes | Pollution & Extractives
  • Issues | Animal Welfare, Biodiversity
  • Tags | farmers, frogs, Penang, pest control
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Mr Idris emphasising that farmers' best friend should be protected | SAM
Mr Idris emphasising that farmers' best friend should be protected | SAM

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) calls for the protection of frog habitat and a halt in eating of this useful amphibian, all for sensible reasons that we often choose to ignore in pursuit of the so-called economic development.

We desperately need them to control the insect population. Frogs feed on pests such as grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and flies.  Largely insectivorous, each frog can eat more than its weight (about 200 grams) each day and this can be translated into a significant amount of insects.

Tadpoles feed on algae and plants thereby keeping waterways clean while some species do feed on mosquito larvae.  Studies have shown that tadpoles do feed on the eggs of aedes mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes, in fact, kill the most number of humans – 725,000 fatalities per year – with the diseases that they carry and transmit. In Malaysia, there were almost 20,000 dengue fever cases in 2015 alone.

It must also be noted that aedes mosquitoes, better known to transmit viruses that cause dengue and zika, are also responsible for yellow fever, West Nile fever, chikungunya, eastern equine encephalitis, and other lesser known diseases.  In 2012 there were 4,725 reported malaria cases caused by anopheles mosquitoes in Malaysia.

To control these diseases, we have to protect the frogs.  In Malaysia there are two types of paddy frogs, Rana Cancrivora and the R. Limnocharis, and they are responsible in feeding on the many insect species that live in the paddy field ecosystem. The paddy crop serves as the insects’ food source and frogs help to eradicate insect pests in rice paddies.  Frogs in the field could reduce populations of stemborers, planthoppers and prevent rice sheath blight indirectly by reducing insects that transmit disease pathogens. Thus, in reality frogs are farmers’ best friends.

Moreover, frogs are part of the food web, being hunted and fed upon by other predators such as birds, bats and snakes.

The importance of frogs should not be overlooked as about 10 per cent of Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine resulted from research using frogs. It was also reported that a group of Russian researchers found more than 76 antimicrobial peptides on the skin of the European Common Brown Frog. These peptides are potential candidates in preventing pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains.

Frog population in Malaysia is already endangered by the rampant clearing of jungle for cultivation and also by pollution. Being amphibians, toxic chemicals from the environment – both on land and in water – are easily absorbed through their thin permeable skin. The pollution of waterways has either killed them or may cause grotesque mutation by chemicals such as endocrine disruptors.

It is ironical that farmers appeared to prefer spraying their fields with expensive toxic chemicals rather than making use of frogs as an efficient pest control.  Herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers remain as frogs’ biggest threat.

Instead of protecting them to keep pests under control, frogs were caught and sold at markets such as Air Itam and Batu Lanchang markets.  Pulau Tikus and Mt. Erskine markets have ceased selling frogs since the sellers either deal directly with the restaurants or that frogs are hard to come by these days.

The Rana Cancrivora is in great demand by local restaurants. At the markets there is an irregular supply of frogs and they are readily snapped up by housewives whenever available.  However, it is not known whether the voracious appetite for frogs has depleted the frog population in Malaysia as there has been no survey into their numbers.

SAM also wonders if the frogs sold in the market are exposed to chemical pollutants, particularly endocrine disruptors that can trigger cancerous tumours, birth defects, and other developmental disorders.

There is a serious concern lately by scientists and biologists worldwide who noted the mysterious disappearance of frogs and toads.  Professor Mike Tyler in Australia warned that the world’s amphibian population is heading towards extinction which is an indication of grave environmental damage, heralding a potential disaster for humanity.  Scientists reported that whole amphibian populations have disappeared or declined from many countries (the United States, India, Japan  and Australia), even in protected reserves.

Thus, in view of frogs’ important role in our ecological system, SAM urges the government to completely ban the capturing, selling, and killing of frogs. 

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?
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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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