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Climate change maybe blamed for declining of dolphin’s reproduction

Friday, 02 April 2010 08:09 DAP-NEWS

PHNOM PENH, April 2 (DAP) - Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Commission for Mekong Dolphins Conservation, said on Friday that the warmer temperature this year could be blamed for the slow reproduction of dolphin calves.

The shorter fishes and the gill nets in the Mekong River also contributed to the decrease in the reproduction of the rare species lived the country’s North-eastern provinces of Steung Treng and Kratie, where more than 20,000 foreign tourists turned up per year to see the species can swim faster than speedboat.

“We have two dolphins died this year as result of change of biological pattern because of the climate change. This concerns us greatly,” said Seang Tana.

“The climate change it may have affected the reproduction of dolphin,” he said.

“This year we have noticed that there are few calves born not as many as before—two or three years ago.

“This year the delivery has declined. Usually we have 12 to 16 new babies born per year before but for last year we have only 9,” Seang Tana said.

“We suspect the climate is to be blamed for the declining of the dolphin’s reproduction,”

“The water is drying up. The level of water is lower than last year about one meter.”

Although the government launch campaign since 2006 to stop using gill nets in the Mekong, still an estimated 20 percent of the local fishermen have continued to use gill nets to catch fish, such the fishing also netted dolphins by accident.

“When there are less gill nets the dolphins can move everywhere freely. They do not fell scare or disturbance in the river.”

By using the gill net to catch fishes in the River can be translated as death for dolphin.

“They can use other fishing gears, but not gill nets.”

“Still they keep continue to use gill nets in the area of the dolphin’s habitats because of poverty, people need fishes for eating.”

“So it is very difficult to stop 100 percent the use of gill nets.”

An estimated 35 percent of the country’s total population 14 million live below the poverty line making less than U.S. dollar per day.

Seang Tana said gill nets killed about 16 dolphins a year before the country’s Commission for Mekong Dolphins Conservation began work in 2006 when the species remained about 90 dolphins.

He said the number of dolphins get killed by gill net declined from about 16 per year average goes down to about 2 or 3 dolphins only.

The freshwater dolphin reaches a length of up to 2.8 meters on maturity, weighs 150 to 200 kilo and can live longer than 50 years.

Its gestation period is eleven months. The species—which only reproduces once every two years, not reaching sexual maturity until it is at least seven years old—can swim up to 42 kilometres per hour.

The whole population of dolphins are believed to have remained from between 150 to 160, he said.

But researchers who study the rare dolphin have expressed deep skepticism that such a dramatic turnaround could have occurred.

He also said the deforestation on the Mekong bank also contributed to lower level of the River.

“The level of tributaries are shallow or drying up because there are less roots of forest to keep water.”

“Almost all the tributaries of the Mekong River are drying up. Some tributaries have no water flows at all into Mekong this year because of the too much deforestation. That concerns us greatly.”

The government took a tougher action to crack down the illegal loggings, a move aimed to protect its remained forest from being periled after years of deforestations during the country’s conflict as well as the uncontrolled logging businesses in the early 1990s.

“We are now appreciated with the government’s effort to stop the illegal logging operation.”

Still another worry in the past might return.

“Once the illegal logging is stopped, villagers have no other way to make living but they return to catch more fishes in the River. That would contribute to hurt dolphin’s reproduction.”

“That will put more burdens to our commission’s works,” he said.

Also, dolphin could be suffered by the likely more dams to be built on the upper Mekong in Lao, Thailand and China, he warned.

“We need cooperation from among the whole Mekong sub-region countries... we need to get data from China and from other Mekong countries and sit down and talk together to see how much impacts would be on the Mekong dolphin.”

“For long term we worry about the hydro-power dams, too,” he warned.

There are about 300 Mekong dolphins including in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and India.

Last June, the Conservation group the World Wildlife for Nature (WWF) said that toxic waste in the Mekong River was a factor pushing an endangered dolphin species to extinction.

The WWF then estimated there were less than 80 left in a stretch of water between Cambodia and Laos.

The group also said that the high levels of mercury and other pollutants had caused the deaths of 88 Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins since 2003, over 60 percent of them calves under two weeks old.

Bacterial disease killed many of the calves, said WWF.

"This disease would not be fatal unless the dolphin's immune systems were suppressed, as they were in these cases, by environmental contaminants," said Verne Dove, a veterinarian with WWF Cambodia, in a statement.

"Pollution in the Mekong River has pushed the local population of Irrawaddy dolphins to the brink of extinction," the conservation group said, estimating the number left in the 190 km (118 mile) stretch of the Mekong at between 64 and 76.

The WWF said limited genetic diversity due to inbreeding was another factor in the deaths of the Mekong dolphins, which were isolated from other members of the species.

Seang Tana said more cooperation from international experts and assistance are needed to improve the conservation of Mekong dolphin.

Cambodian Commission for Mekong Dolphins Conservation is now working closely with WWF on the project for conservation of dolphin.

“We have a lot of discussion of dolphin population, now we agreed in principle that we give this job to WWF to do counting the dolphin.”

“They (WWF) are very good in taking photograph,” he said.

Seang Tana also called Japanese scientists along with contribution to assist his project which began since 2006.

“They (Japan) can come and work and collaborate with WWF too. We work together as researchers, we are not discriminated one another.”

“We should sit down and discuss what we should do and who is doing what, so that to set a new regulations on how to improve and sustainable dolphin conservation”.

Seang Tana said he received Japanese delegation that showed their interests in helping Cambodia to sustainable development of the Mekong dolphin.

“We have a fruitful discussion, the Japanese delegation understand what we are doing of conserving the dolphin... and the real effort of the government who pays much attention of conserving the dolphin for eco-tourism.”

He said an estimated 1,000 lived in Asia, including in India, Myanmar and Thailand.

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin is listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The WWF researchers warned that pollutants found in the Mekong water could affect the health of millions of humans who rely on resources from the river.

The Mekong produces an estimated 2.5 million tons of fish per year, with a value of at least US$2 billion, making it the world's largest inland fishery, the WWF has said.

Cambodia Shrugs Off U.S. Halts Shipments of Military Trucks

Friday, 02 April 2010 07:13 DAP-NEWS/ Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, April 2 – Cambodia shrugged off the U.S. suspended shipments of 200 military trucks in retaliation to the Cambodia’s deportation of the 20 Chinese asylum seekers last year.

Koy Kong, spokesman for Cambodian ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that Cambodia has her full sovereignty to implement its policy in deporting the illegal 20 Chinese Uighur asylum seekers back to China in December last year.

“It is the rights of U.S. government to either donate or suspend such assistance. Cambodia is implementing its own policy and laws within the frameworks of full sovereignty,” said Koy Kong.

“That means U.S. can implement their policy, we can implement ours,” he said.

Foreign media quoted State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States informed Cambodia last month that it was suspending the shipment of 200 military trucks and trailers as a consequence of Cambodia's December decision on the Uighurs.

The Chinese Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim group native, lived in the country's far western region of Xinjiang, where ethnic rioting and clashed with the local authorities there in last July in which more than 90 people were killed.

Chinese Vice-President Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who visited Cambodia in December last year, was pleased with Cambodia-China cooperation in all fields thanks the Cambodian “One China Policy” cemented the two Asian nations’ relations as result of diplomatic legacy of the former King Norodom Sihanouk who inked the diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1958.

China, who is the Cambodian biggest donor, has been leading in the foreign direct investment in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation as well.

Last December China approved US $1.2 billion in grant aid and loans for Cambodia to develop infrastructures.

The total value of Chinese investment was $US 930 million in 2009 from $US 4.4 billion in 2008, according to the state-run investment agency of Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

First Mekong Prime Ministers Meeting To Address Regional Water Issues

Friday, 02 April 2010 04:38 DAP-NEWS/ Soy Sophea

Phnom Penh- Prime Ministers of Lower Mekong countries are set to meet in Hua Hin this weekend to discuss a range of issues relating to cross border water management, according a regional MRC.

This is the first time in the 15 year history of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), that the Prime Ministers of its Member Countries; Cambodia; Lao PDR; Thailand and Viet Nam; have met to discuss the trans-boundary management of the Mekong Basin. The summit will take place on the anniversary of the signing of the 1995 Mekong Agreement, which established the MRC in its current form.

“This is politically an important event for the region,” said Jeremy Bird, CEO of the MRC. “The countries of the Mekong are meeting to re-affirm political commitment to the sustainable use of water resources in the basin . There is a strong consensus that the river supports a range of livelihoods and some of the challenges, such as climate change; the planned construction of mainstream dams; may have a negative impact that require action.”

The conference and summit come at a time of renewed interest in Mekong River management throughout the region. A series of proposed hydropower dams on the mainstream Mekong; drought leading to water shortages and record low water levels on the Mekong in northern Lao PDR and Thailand; as well as the threat posed by climate change are expected to dominate proceedings.

Dialogue Partner China has sent a large delegation that will be conducting meetings with both the MRC and individual Member Countries throughout the week says the MRC. China has requested a special session with the Thai delegation to discuss the current low water levels, which some in the media have said are the result of Chinese dams upstream, as well as the problem of regional smoke haze.

The MRC has said in earlier statements that there is no evidence to back up the claim that Chinese dams are to blame for the low water levels, reiterating that current water shortages, caused by unusually low rainfall and an early end to last year’s wet season could be a taste of things to come in the basin if climate change predictions become a reality.

Engagement between China and MRC Member Countries has been stepped up recently with China agreeing to increase the amount of hydro-meteorological data it shares on the upstream Mekong, which the MRC says will allow for more accurate flood and drought forecasting.

As well as strengthening climate change commitments, the summit is expected to result in a declaration as it wraps up on 5 April that commits the four Member Countries to intensify efforts to protect people at risk from flooding; encourage river navigation and trade; improve basin water quality; and evaluate the opportunities and challenges of proposed hydropower schemes says the MRC.

“Sharing the many benefits of the Mekong is an opportunity for countries of the basin to cooperate, strengthen ties, and speak with a unified voice on conserving and protecting trans-boundary resources. That is one thing that all countries of the region agree on,” he said.