Pencinta Alam Newsletter of the Malaysian Nature Society
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PENCINTA ALAM NEWSLETTER OF THE MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY www.mns.my www.mns.my July 2019 Visit to the Turtle Centre in Padang Kemunting By Khor Hui Min ([email protected]) traditional houses dressed in beautiful colours and decorative carvings. We especially loved the kampung houses in Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. On Friday, I received a phone call that a friend had fallen sick – could I take The visit to the Turtle Conservation and Information Centre of Padang her place at the turtle sanctuary visit the next day? I said sure. I would Kemunting (Pusat Konservasi dan Penerangan Penyu Padang Kemunting), classify this as an unplanned trip, but it was fun and I got to learn new stuff. I started with an informative talk at 2.30pm by En. Hakim Chandramohan, officer am really blessed to be a part of it. at the centre. He spoke about the different types of marine turtles that came to So, my friend and I departed from Puchong on the sunny late morning the shores of Malaysia to lay their eggs. Then he shared about the function of of Saturday, 15 June 2019, en route to Melaka. Waze took us on the scenic the turtle centre in turtle conservation. route through small towns, past oil palm plantations, and villages with quaint After the talk ended, we were all brought to the turtle centre’s gallery in the next building, which was like a one-stop turtle information centre. Next, we went to the turtle pond, where En. Hakim explained how to clean the turtle shells safely and properly. The many children were hesitant at first, but after the water was drained from the pond, they enthusiastically went in to clean the turtle shells with sandpaper and even scrubbed the tiles at the bottom of the pond. Following a hearty dinner at Ismah Beach Resort just a few minutes’ walk down the road, we congregated outside the hatchery on the beach across the road from the turtle centre at sunset. It was time to release the turtle hatchlings. The children were particularly excited, and En. Hakim advised everybody to form a wide V-shape so that the hatchlings had ample space to make their way to the water. He emphasised that nobody should pick them En. Hakim giving a briefing on how to clean the turtle shells and pond up or touch them, because this is an important time for them to remember the beach, so that they can come back 20 years later to lay their eggs here. It is quite amazing that turtles can traverse oceans just to go back to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs in adulthood. The marine turtles that nest in Padang Kemunting are hawksbill turtles. Once upon a time, their beautiful shells were prized commodities because they were used to make jewellery and hair ornaments as well as other decorative items. Although the trade in Hawksbill turtles was outlawed in the late twentieth century, it is still a critically endangered species due to decades of overfishing and harvesting for its shell. The evening ended with a firefly cruise at Sungai Timun in Negeri Sembilan, not very far from Ismah Resort, where we were going to spend the night. The bright full moon lit up the nightscape, but also made the fireflies a little bit harder to see. However, we did see them, as synchronised blinking fairy lights on low Beremban mangrove trees. All in all, it was an educational and enlightening trip, especially suitable Volunteers scrubbing a hawksbill turtle's shell with sandpaper for the whole family. We enjoyed the company of fellow nature lovers and made new friends. Thanks to members of the MNS Negeri Sembilan/Melaka Branch for organising this interesting programme. To find out more about the branch and its activities, you can send an email to [email protected]. Vuthy speaking on turtle conservation 2 Turtle hatchlings clambering out from the pail onto the sand Sunset at Padang Kemunting, Melaka 3 MNS AGM 2019 CHANGE OF VENUE Please be informed that our Annual General Meeting (AGM) that was planned to be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on 14 September 2019 (Sat) will be rescheduled to take place in Kerteh, Terengganu due to unforeseen circumstances. Please find the details for the AGM 2019 as follows: Date: 14 September 2019 (Saturday) Time: 10.00 am Venue: ecoCare Centre, Kerteh, Terengganu Things you can experience this coming September during the AGM: Cherating, Kuantan - Sg Pandan Waterfall - See the fireflies - Snorkeling trip to Snake Island ecoCare Centre, Kerteh - Mangrove guided tour - Ma’Daerah Turtle Sanctuary - Bird watching For further enquiries, please contact Ms. Leong Wee Chin at 03-2287 9422 or email [email protected] Regards, Wee Chin Membership Unit Malaysian Nature Society Taman Negara - Nature at its Best By Dr Pola Singh (Kuala Lumpur) I recently returned from an enjoyable trip to Taman Negara, the largest natural park and easily one of the natural ‘jewels’ our country has to offer. I would like to raise the awareness of Malaysians, especially nature lovers, hikers and jungle trekkers, to what the park has to offer. The best part, Taman Negara is just at our doorstep — there is no need to travel overseas to experience it. Taman Negara is 3½ hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur. Good and reasonable accommodation is available. There is so much to do at Taman Negara depending on your preference. If you want to enjoy a nice boat ride along Sungai Tembeling under the canopy of huge trees, take a trip to Lata Berkoh. I’ve never had such a beautiful nature ride. Swim in the freshest of water flowing from the top of Gunung Tahan. If you are adventurous, then get drenched as you take a boat trip through the rapids along Sungai Tembeling. For hikers, one of the popular trails is Bukit Teresek (344m). Along the trail, enjoy the magnificent rainforest canopy, and flora and fauna. Enjoy the freshest water at Lata Berkoh 5 For those who can’t get enough of the nature, they may climb Gunung Tahan. At 2,187m, it is the highest peak in Peninsular Malaysia. One will be amazed by the variety of flora and fauna (water monitor lizard, river otter, Kelah fish, to name a few) and nocturnal insects when you take a guided tour in the jungle at night. Bird-watching enthusiasts will have a field day too. As a 70-year-old, I had the time of my life immersing myself in nature and enjoying its beauty. It was nature at its best. I urge Malaysians to visit Taman Negara at least once in their lifetime and, if possible, bring along the kids. We can play our part in helping to boost Sungai Tahan domestic tourism. 6 GREEN LIVING LEAVING ON A JET PLANE? BETTER THINK TWICE! By Wong Ee Lynn ([email protected] / [email protected]) Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is one of the growing • Not all the environmental impact of air travel comes from the act of number of Swedes who avoids air travel because of the aviation flying, as airports themselves have high carbon footprints. All the industry’s effect on climate change. The social media hashtags surrounding infrastructure -- terminals, runways, ground #flygskam (flight shame) and #stayontheground encourage transportation, maintenance facilities, and shopping centres – uses travellers to think about the environmental impact and carbon significant amounts of land, water, energy, and resources. footprint of air travel and to opt for alternatives to flying. How has the aviation industry responded? Instead of flying, Greta Thunberg spent 65 hours on a train to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to speak at the World Economic • The largest contribution to emissions reduction in aviation comes Forum’s annual meeting. The train journey emitted only 44 kg of through technology. The Air Transport Action Group estimates that CO2 carbon, compared to 262 kg if she had travelled by plane. emissions per seat kilometre have halved since 1990, and each new generation of aircraft improves fuel efficiency by roughly 15%. Current Although the flygskam movement has yet to have a significant aircraft models consume an average of 3 litres of fuel per 100 km per impact in Malaysia, where being able to travel abroad is a status seat. According to a 2017 report by the International Council on Clean symbol among the rising middle class, in environmentally- Transport, Norwegian is the most fuel efficient airline on transatlantic conscious Sweden it has resulted in a drop in air travel of 8% in flights. just one year. • The aviation industry is developing more sustainable fuels that are Some facts about air travel: capable of reducing the industry’s existing carbon footprint by 80%. However, the problem of high price and limited supply remains. The • On a measure of CO2 emitted per km travelled, air travel is aviation industry maintains that they need the support of governments the most polluting means of transportation with 285 grams to build up and promote sustainable fuels, new technology, and more of CO2 per passenger / km. efficient operations. • Globally, the aviation industry is responsible for roughly 2%- What can we do, as responsible earth citizens? 3% of CO2 emissions, but that is rising quickly as more people fly more often. • Support campaigns and initiatives and make air travel more sustainable and equitable. A relatively small percentage of the population is flying • Air travel worldwide is growing at more than 6% a year, much more than the rest, and taxes and levies can be imposed on these outpacing the reduction in per passenger carbon emissions frequent flyers.