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New plant, animal species discovered
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Bangkok Post. 16 December 2008.
More than one thousand new plant and animal species have been
discovered in the Greater Mekong region over the past 10 years,
affirming the region's immense biodiversity.
A total of 319 new species were found in Vietnam from 1997-2007, with
292 in China and 267 in Thailand, according to a WWF report released
yesterday.
Laos reported finding 181, Burma 96 and Cambodia 44 new species.
In a 10-year period, naturalists found 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 frogs,
88 spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, four birds, four
turtles, two salamanders and one toad.
Thousands of new invertebrate species were also discovered during this
period.
Among the 1,068 species newly identified by the WWF were the world's
largest huntsman spider, with a leg span of 30 centimetres, and the
startlingly hot pink coloured cyanide-producing dragon millipede.
"A few places in the world have a large scale of diversity like Congo
and Borneo.
"But due to our latest survey, we have to include the Greater Mekong
into the list," said Stuart Chapman, communication director of the
WWF's Greater Mekong Programme.
When it comes to river basins, the Mekong is second to the Amazon in
terms of biodiversity, he added.
Although most species were discovered in the largely unexplored
jungles and wetlands, some were found in the most surprising places.
For example, the Laotian rock rat, thought to have been extinct for
the past 11 million years, was first encountered by scientists in a
local food market, while the Siamese Peninsula pit viper was found
slithering through the rafters of a restaurant in Khao Yai National
Park, said Mr Chapman.
Chavalit Vidthayanond, the WWF's senior freshwater specialist, said
the Mekong river is home to more than 700 aquatic species, of which
279 are new species, such as the akysis catfish and the Lake Songkhla
stingray.
However, the river's biodiversity is under risk from dam construction,
he said.
"The dam construction will be harmful to the Mekong's biodiversity,"
he said.
Mr Chavalit called on governments of the Mekong countries to pay more
attention to preservation of the ecological system in the region.
China has already built three large dams in the upper Mekong - the
Manwan, Dachaoshan and Jinghong - which were completed in June. The
fourth dam, the Xiaowan, is still under construction and expected to
come into operation in 2012. China has also blasted Mekong islets,
which are breeding and nursing grounds for aquatic animals, to improve
navigation up and down the river.
Mr Chapman urged all related bodies and governments to maintain a
balance between economic development and biological system
conservation.
"Biodiversity translates into food, medicine and even cultural
connection. That is the reason we have to work hard for decades to
protect it," he added. |
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