Managing Sabah’s Rich Biodiversity Through SaBC

Jungles in Sabah are classified as tropical rainforests and host a diverse array of plant and animal species. Sabah government is strengthening the management, conservation, protection and regulations of its rich biological resources through the establishment of the Sabah Biodiversity Enactment (SBE) 2000.

SBE shall be the guiding framework for Sabah Biodiversity Council (SBC) and Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SaBC) as government strategies in enhancing the governance of the biodiversity in the State. SaBC’s core activities include development of holistic and prudent biodiversity management strategy and sustainable optimum utilization in Sabah.

According to SaBC director, Dr Abdul Fatah Amir:

SaBC will promote education and knowledge of the biodiversity in Sabah as well as traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing of the biological resources.

SaBC will also be promoting the identification of new natural and biotechnological products derived from biodiversity and biological resources of the state.

SaBC had developed a platform to integrate information on state biodiversity. The state-funded project will cost RM1.9 million. This database system is to provide an integrating platform to store, integrate, presort, retrieve, share, access, analyze, infer, discover and report many heterogeneous across diverse domain aspects and voluminous biodiversity collection data from different key agencies.

Through SaBC and UMS, Sabah has started a two-year (2013-2014) project to explore the state’s biodiversity for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical potential. SaBC is also collaborating with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) to establish the national Traditional Knowledge Digital Library to,

- protect the indigenous people’s traditional knowledge (TK) associated with biological resources in Malaysia.

- use the resource of MyIPO patent examiners as a referral point in carrying out advanced prior art search and examination on non-patentable literature that deals with TK.

Source: http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/67442

28,000 Rivers In China Have Disappeared

Last Thursday I blogged about 55% of the rivers and streams in U.S. were in poor conditions. Those rivers were tested with high level of mercury and bacteria, lower oxygen level due to increasing nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, etc. Now, China is also having water issue that more than half of its nation's rivers are missing.

All the while China claimed to have 50,000 rivers, with catchment area more than 100 square kilometers, across the nation. Recent survey showed that more than half of them have disappeared. 800,000 surveyors spent 3 years throughout the China to do the first ever national census of water. The official study said that only 22,909 rivers were left, as of the end of 2011.

Part of the reason causing the "loss" was that previous estimates were wrong. Due to limited technology in the past, the previous figures were estimated using incomplete topographical maps dating back to the 1950s. But that doesn't explain everything. Climate change, soil loss, and water loss are also to blame, according to Huang He, the deputy director of the group in charge of the census. Deforestation and inefficient agricultural irrigation techniques are no doubt also big contributors to the problem.

The study revealed that China had over 93,000 reservoirs, but warned it had a limited ability to regulate and control water resources due to their small water capacities.

China regularly battles deadly floods and downpours which affect millions each year. More than 66% of the population and 90% of all cities are located in regions threatened by floods.

Since 1949, China's water usage has increased more than fivefold due to its rapid economic development and growing population. The nation needs a serious rethink of how it protects its natural resources.

Mushrooms Could Be Used To Curb Greenhouse Gases

A new study called Roots and Associated Fungi Drive Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Boreal Forests has suggested that mushrooms might be a key to natural carbon sequestration. Mushrooms are capable of removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and safely storing it in forests – even after the trees die.

Northern hemisphere forests are a critical component of nature’s ability to remove carbon because they cover 11% of the Earth’s surface across Europe, Asia, and North America, and they contain 16% of all carbon sequestered worldwide. In the study, scientists examined how carbon sequestration occurs in northern boreal forests at 30 sites across Sweden. They theorized that Mycorrhizal fungi, a common type of root-based mushroom, is responsible for converting or sequestering a majority of all carbon pulled out of the atmosphere by trees in the northern hemisphere.

All the while we believe that most carbon pulled out of the air by trees winds up being stored in dead needles, leaves, and moss. But during the study, the scientists discovered between 47% - 70% of all sequestered carbon was being delivered to the tree roots as sugars and “eaten” by the Mycorrhizal fungi, which then expels waste residue into the soil.

Thus, a majority of carbon deposits are found at deeper levels in the soil instead of at or close to the forest floor. In addition, the researchers noted that many fungi act as decomposers and create a net release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere – but Mycorrhizal is a notable exception.

 

Mushrooms A Complete Climate Solution?

This new finding could change the way we look at forests as carbon sinks in a warming world, because if most carbon sequestration occurs in soil instead of decomposing as dead plant matter on the surface, the overall net impact of higher temperatures and invasive pests killing trees may be lower than anticipated.

By itself, Mycorrhizal would be strong evidence of the fungal ability to fight climate change, but to truly appreciate the mighty mushroom we’ve also got to consider the contributions of the ancient Agaricomycetes, or white rot fungus.

So as a whole, fungi have not only stopped coal formation but are now helping deal with mankind’s addiction to fossil fuels.

Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/04/04/mushrooms-could-be-key-to-safe-and-natural-carbon-sequestration/

55% of USA's Rivers & Streams Are in Poor Condition

Last month U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the results of the first comprehensive survey looking at the health of approximately 2,000 river and streams across U.S. done between 2008 and 2009. They found that only 21% of the rivers and streams were deemed to be in good health, 23% were in fair condition and remaining 55% were in poor condition.

According to the Office of Water Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner:

“The health of our Nation’s rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters depends on the vast network of streams where they begin, and this new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,”

“We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

Findings of the assessment include:

- Nitrogen and phosphorus, known as nutrient pollution, are at excessive levels. 27% of the nation’s rivers and streams have excessive levels of nitrogen, and 40% have high levels of phosphorus. High level of nitrogen and phosphorus will promote the growth of algae that harms water quality, food resources and habitats, and decreases the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive.

- Rivers and streams are at an increased risk due to decreased vegetation cover and increased human disturbance. These conditions can cause streams and rivers to be more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and pollution. Vegetation along rivers and streams slows the flow of rainwater so it does not erode stream banks, removes pollutants carried by rainwater and helps maintain water temperatures that support healthy streams for aquatic life. Approximately 24% of the rivers and streams monitored were rated poor due to the loss of healthy vegetative cover.

- 9% of rivers have high level of bacteria making it unsafe for swimming and other recreations.

- More than 13,000 miles of rivers have fish with mercury levels that may be unsafe for human consumption that may harm unborn baby or young child's nervous system.

Source: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/c967210c37cffb6885257b3a004cfaf6!OpenDocument