WWF Blame Pollution For Dolphin Deaths

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WWF – Pollution pushing Cambodia’s Irrawaddy dolphin to extinction

The WWF is reporting that pollution in South East Asia’s Mekong River has pushed the fresh water dolphins in Cambodia and Laos to the brink of extinction. The conservation report has been met with fierce denials from the Cambodian government and calls for the WWF to leave the area.

On the brink of extinction

The WWF say that there are as few as 64 to 76 Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong and blame the toxic levels of mercury, pesticides and other pollutants for the deaths of more than 50 calves that have died since 2003.

The conservation organisation that has been investigating the source of these environmental contaminants and examining how they entered the river, says they suspect the high levels of mercury are due to gold mining activities.

“These pollutants are widely distributed in the environment and so the source of this pollution may involve several countries through which the Mekong River flows,” said Verne Dove, WWF veterinary surgeon in a press statement.

Dove further added that the remaining Irrawaddy dolphins of the Mekong River are in urgent need of a health care programme to counteract the damage done to their immune systems.

Denial and accusations

In response to the WWF’s finding the Cambodian government has angrily disputed the agencies findings, accusing the report of being based upon flawed research methodology. Government officials responsible for the country’s Irrawaddy dolphins allege there to be “about 150-160” dolphins left in the Mekong.

“It’s big trouble — they (the WWF) should resign. They should leave Cambodia,” said Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia’s Commission to Conserve Mekong River Dolphins and Develop Eco-tourism.

“They published this without consulting me, and I’m the authority here,” he said, he also added that he did not believe the river contained the pollutants listed in the WWF’s report.

Another risk for the Irrawaddy dolphin highlighted in the WWF report is inbreeding resulting from such low population numbers. It is thought that this may have been a contributing factor to the weak immune systems of the young dead dolphins, all of which were under two weeks old.

“The Mekong River dolphins are isolated from other members of their species and they need our help,” said WWF Cambodia country director Seng Teak, adding the mammals “can show remarkable resilience” if their habitat is protected.

The dolphin and the river

The Mekong River flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, once home to thousands of Irrawaddy dolphins , the species was listed as critically endangered in 2004.

The dolphin inhabits a 190-kilometer stretch of water in Cambodia and Laos where it is considered to be a sacred animal. Despite this numbers have dramatically dropped due to the use of illegal fishing nets and Cambodia’s long civil conflict, under which dolphin blubber was used to lubricate machine parts and fuel lamps.

In recent years the Cambodian government has been promoting dolphin watching as a form of ecotourism in the region and cracked down on the use of illegal fishing nets. It hopes that these measures alongside establishing protecting areas will lead to an increase in their numbers over the next few years.

The Irrawaddy dolphin population of Cambodia is thought to be the largest surviving group of Irawaddy dolphins, the Mekong river being one of only five habitats in the world that supports the species. Resembling a porpoise more than salt water dolphins the species congregates in a only a small number of the Mekong’s deep water pools.

The largest inland fishery in the world the Mekong River produces 2.5 million tonnes of fish every year worth over 2 billion dollars. The river is also the provider of 80% of the animal protein for the 60 million people that live alongside its lower basin.

Life and the environment: Pollution of Daun Try River, Maung Russey District, Battambang Province

Video by Uon Chhin, Radio Free Asia

Cambodia threatens to suspend WWF after dolphin report

Jun 24, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian official Wednesday threatened to suspend the operations of an international wildlife group after it released a report claiming an endangered dolphin species was at risk of extinction due to pollution in the Mekong River.

Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conversation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco-Tourism Zone, said World Wildlife Foundation (WFF) investigators faced suspension unless they met with him to discuss their report.

The WFF report released last week said 88 dolphins had died since 2003 and researchers had found toxic levels of pesticides and environmental contaminants in their analysis of Irrawaddy dolphin calves.

'This report simply is not true,' Touch Seang Tana told a press conference. 'These findings were reported without consultation with me, so I sent a letter to the WFF to come and meet with me to clarify these points.'

He denied that dolphin deaths were caused by pollution and said the report put Cambodia's burgeoning eco-tourism sector at risk.

'A few deaths have been caused by dolphins becoming trapped in fishing nets in the Mekong River, but it was not due to pollution,' he said. 'I wrote to the WFF to clarify this and if they do not wish to meet with me to discuss this, then their operations in the area could be suspended.'

The report estimated that between 64 and 76 dolphins remained in the 160-kilometre stretch of the Mekong that runs through Laos and Cambodia.

It said 60 per cent of the 88 deaths had occurred in dolphin calves less than two weeks old.

Cambodia rejects report of Mekong River dolphins

Sunday, June 21, 2009
ZeeNews.com (India)

Phnom Penh, June 20: The Cambodian government has rejected as "a total lie" the report by an international conservation group that dolphins living in parts of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Laos are on the brink of extinction due to pollution.

The report by the World Wide Fund for Nature was aimed at attracting and convincing donors to inject more funds into the group, Chairman of Commission for Conservation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphin and eco-tourism Touch Seang Tana, told Kyodo News.

Inhabiting a 190-kilometer stretch of the river, the Irrawaddy dolphin population has suffered 88 deaths since 2003, of which 58 were calves under 2 weeks old, bringing the latest population to an estimated 64 to 76 members, the WWF said in its report.

WWF researchers found high toxic levels of pesticides such as DDT and environmental contaminants such as PCBs as well mercury after analysing 21 dead dolphins retrieved between 2004 and 2006, the group said.

According to Tana, the number of dolphins instead has increased to 160 from the 120 recorded in 2000.

"There are no such critical pollutants, otherwise, some 50,000 people living along the 200-km stretch of the river and who are using and drinking the water might have died before the dolphins," he said.

Mekong Dolphin in Danger

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 June 2009

Only between 64 and 74 Irrawady dolphins remain in the river between Cambodia and Laos, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature announced Wednesday.

Pollution from DDT, mercury and other toxins have led to a sharp decline in the rare species, with as many as 88 individuals dying since 2003, according to a recent report.

“These pollutants are widely distributed in the environment and so the source of this pollution may involve several countries through which the Mekong River flows”, said Verné Dove, report author and veterinarian with WWF Cambodia.

The organization is investigating the source of the contaminants, he said.

According to the international institution, high levels of mercury were found in some of the dead dolphins. Mercury, suspected to be from gold mining activities, directly affects the immune system, making the animals more susceptible to infectious disease.

WWF is working to conserve the species in Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Touch Sean Tana, secretary of state for the Council of Ministers and head of Cambodia's Commission to Conserve Mekong River Dolphins and Develop Ecotourism, denied the findings.

“Ninety-nine percent of the dolphins die because they are trapped in nets,” he said, denying that DDT and mercury were responsible.

“They want to cook their eggs, but they burn down our house,” he said of the WWF, adding that according to his estimates, 150 to 160 of the dolphins live in the Mekong between Cambodia and Laos.

Mekong dolphins on the brink of extinction

Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella Brevirostris) at Koh Kon Sat, Mekong River, Cambodia. The dolphins were photographed during the dolphin population research conducted by WWF Cambodia's Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project in November 2007.C Dave Dove /WWF Grea
Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella Brevirostris) at Koh Kon Sat, Mekong River, Cambodia. The dolphins were photographed during the dolphin population research conducted by WWF Cambodia's Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project in November 2007. C Dave Dove /WWF Greater Mekong.

18/06/2009
WildlifeExtra.com

Mekong River
WWF is working to conserve 600,000km2 of the world's most biologically diverse, economically viable and seriously threatened forests and rivers within the Greater Mekong, home and life source to over 300 million people in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin is regarded as a sacred animal by both Khmer and Lao people, and is an important source of income and jobs for communities involved in dolphin-watching ecotourism initiatives.

More than 60 million people in the lower Mekong basin depend on the river system for food, transport and economic activity. The Mekong River produces an estimated 2.5 million tons of fish per year, with a value of at least US$2 billion, making it the largest inland fisheries in the world. Eighty percent of the animal protein for Mekong inhabitants comes from the Mekong, with 70 percent of the commercial catch being long distance migrant species.

Mekong River dolphins on the verge of extinction
June 2009. Pollution in the Mekong River has pushed the local population of Irrawaddy dolphins to the brink of extinction, according to a new WWF report.

Less than 80 dolphins left
The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) population inhabits a 190 kilomtere stretch of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Lao PDR. Since 2003, the population has suffered 88 deaths of which more than 60 percent were calves under two weeks old. The latest population is estimated between 64 and 76 members.

Immune system depressed by pollutants
"Necropsy analysis identified a bacterial disease as the cause of the calf deaths. This disease would not be fatal unless the dolphin's immune systems were suppressed, as they were in these cases, by environmental contaminants," said Dr Verné Dove, report author and veterinarian with WWF Cambodia.

Researchers found toxic levels of pesticides such as DDT and environmental contaminants such as PCBs during analysis of the dead dolphin calves. These pollutants may also pose a health risk to human populations living along the Mekong that consume the same fish and water as the dolphins.

"These pollutants are widely distributed in the environment and so the source of this pollution may involve several countries through which the Mekong River flows. WWF Cambodia is currently investigating the source of the environmental contaminants," said Dr Dove.

High levels of Mercury
High levels of mercury were also found in some of the dead dolphins. Mercury, suspected to be from gold mining activities, directly affects the immune system making the animals more susceptible to infectious disease.

"A trans-boundary preventative health programme is urgently needed to manage the disease affected animals in order to reduce the number of deaths each year," said Seng Teak, Country Director of WWF Cambodia.

Inbreeding
Limited genetic diversity due to inbreeding was another factor in the dolphin deaths.

"The Mekong River dolphins are isolated from other members of their species and they need our help. Science has shown that if the habitat of cetaceans is protected then populations can show remarkable resilience," said Mr Teak.

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.

Mekong river dolphin near extinct: WWF

Thursday, June 18, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Pollution in southeast Asia's Mekong River has pushed freshwater dolphins in Cambodia and Laos to the brink of extinction, an international conservation group said.

The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) said only 64 to 76 Irrawaddy dolphins remain in the Mekong after toxic levels of pesticides, mercury and other pollutants were found in more than 50 calves who have died since 2003.

"These pollutants are widely distributed in the environment and so the source of this pollution may involve several countries through which the Mekong River flows," said WWF veterinary surgeon Verne Dove in a press statement.

The organisation said it was investigating how environmental contaminants got into the Mekong, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.

The WWF added that Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodia and Laos urgently needed a health programme to counter the effects of pollution on their immune systems.

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin, which inhabits a 190 kilometre (118 mile) stretch in Cambodia and Laos, has been listed as critically endangered since 2004, the WWF said.

Keeping watch over the 'megafishes'

Zeb Hogan getting to grips with a giant catfish in the Tonlé Sap River in Cambodia.

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- They might not be as cute as pandas but the threats facing the world's giant freshwater fish need to be taken just as seriously -- in fact more so, according to Dr. Zeb Hogan.

Hogan, an ecologist, photographer and an associate professor at the University of Nevada, heads up the Megafishes Project, a four-year collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The project, Hogan says is the world's first attempt to identify and document the world's remaining giant freshwater fish.

Why? So that they get a chance of gaining protection from the threat of extinction -- before it's too late.

Hogan says the decline in populations of the world's biggest freshwater fishes is offering the world an early environmental warning call. CNN asks him why.

CNN: Why should we care about these "megafishes" specifically?

Hogan: The Mekong River has 60 million people who depend on protein from fish. About a third of all giant fish species occur in the Mekong. But these large fish now are so rare that people aren't catching enough of them so that they significantly contribute to people's diets anymore. They used to -- but they don't anymore. When the big fish are gone, or when they become very rare, that's a warning sign that, OK, we need to start managing our fisheries a little bit better because we have lost the big fish so next is going to be the medium fish and the small fish and then we are all really in trouble.

CNN: Is this happening anywhere already?

Hogan: We started to see this in Cambodia last year because the big fish are already gone, but the catch of small fish was really low last year and the price increased by 1,000 percent. Small fish are now the staple food for Cambodian people and their main staple food has increased in price by 1,000 percent. You can imagine the impact that has on people. So we can ignore these big fish but eventually it will be to our own peril.

CNN: What are the main threats facing these freshwater giants?

Hogan: The biggest threats are pollution, dams and overexploitation. Dams are a big one. Overfishing is a threat but it rarely leads to the complete extinction of a fish species, so you need something else. A dam can lead to [their] complete extinction. The Mekong Giant Catfish spawns in northern Thailand and if someone builds a dam in the middle of the Mekong and those fish cannot move up to their spawning grounds that affects every single fish.

I think a great example of that is if you compare the Mekong River with the Yangtze River. The Mekong River, these large fish are very rare but they are still there and the Mekong has not been dammed. The Yangtze has been dammed and of the two largest fish species, one may be extinct already and the other one is endangered.

The shocking thing in my mind is that people don't even know they are gone until someone goes out and looks for these things. And we don't have a lot of people looking for these animals.

CNN: Why do you think that's the case?

Hogan: I think there are two big reasons. One reason is because fish are thought of as food. Conservation organizations, they rely on the public, you know, there has to be public interest in the species they are trying to conserve or they can't get the money and they can't get people interested in what they are trying to do. And so people I think just have a hard time about thinking of [these kinds of] fish as a biodiversity issue. Fish are viewed as a food security issue.

The second reason is these fish occur in an extremely large, deep, muddy, river and you will never see them unless you can dedicate your life to trying to find them! Like the Mekong Giant Catfish, there is maybe 10 caught a year, and there are probably only 1,000 people that have ever seen one. You can see birds in your backyard, you can go see a panda bear, even if it's only on TV, there are animals out there that people can appreciate, that they can sympathize with, and they can relate to. And people have a harder time seeing and sympathizing with and relating to a fish, I think.

CNN: How many "megafishes" that you looking for would qualify for the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List?

Hogan: There are potentially species out there that we don't know about, but from the species I do know about there are about two dozen species that qualify as megafishes. To qualify for the project the fish has to be over 2 meters or more than a 100 kilograms (220 pounds). And my estimate is about 70 percent will qualify as threatened with extinction.

CNN: How easy is it to get these fish protected?

Hogan: The first step is gathering the information that you need to list the species according to the criteria of IUCN. And there are a number of criteria so if you have that information about the fish you can list it. Once the species is listed then the chance that someone will take action to protect it increases. It is very rare that someone will protect a species that is not listed. So one species of particular concern to me is this Dog Eating Catfish -- because it is not listed, nobody is doing anything to protect it and it is one of these species that could go extinct. So the point of the project right now is to gather this data which is needed for the listing.

You can find out more about the Megafishes Project at: www.megafishes.org

Cambodia, Thailand military standoff causes water pollution around Preah Vihear Temple

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand around the Preah Vihear Temple has caused water pollution there, posing a hazard to monks and civilians living in the area, local newspaper the Cambodia Daily said Friday.

Pheng Nayim, a doctor at the Institute Pasteur du Cambodge in Phnom Penh, told the newspaper that she had tested water that allegedly came from three locations on the mountain and had concluded that the pollution levels were dangerously high.

"The water had an increased level of arsenic and was also polluted by the extra human waste as a result of more military and other people in the area," Pheng Nayim was quoted as saying.

If the monks or the people living there use this water, it could cause them to get illnesses such as typhoid and dysentery, she added.

The Preah Vihear temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

The area has become the focal point of a military standoff between Thai and Cambodian troops in recent weeks after the flare-up of a long-dormant territorial dispute.

Environment Department fines factory for dumping colorant into the sea

The sea turned red from the illegal colorant dumping by the Lin's Textile factory and caused commotion among Sihanoukville dwellers (Photo: Ta Som, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Sunday, June 10, 2007
Koh Santepheap newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Sihanoukville – The Environment Department issued a warning to the management of the Lin’s Textile Co. Ltd which owns a fabric tinting factory located in Sangkat No. 1, Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, to immediately stop all its activities for the time being. The department also fined the factory an amount of 10 million riels (~$2,500) for dumping liquid waste into the sea and damaging the environment along the coastal line, as well as affecting the livelihood of people living along the seashore. The warning was sent in a department letter dated 01 June 2007.

In the letter, the Environment Department claimed that, based on investigation on the spot by the department experts, on 15 May 2007, the Lin’s Textile factory, dumped liquid waste from its fabric color tinting operations without prior cleanup, into public areas. The factory action led to a sea pollution with the red colorant waste dump. Based on this situation, the department notes that the factory action is illegal and opposite to the department order for the cleanup of liquid waste, and that such cleanup must be performed after each color tinting operation.

In its letter to the Lin’s Textile factory, the department stressed that, in order to prevent the pollution of the environment, and to protect the people’s health, the department has decided to take the following actions against the illegal activities perpetrated by the factory:

• The factory is fined by an amount of 10 million riels (~$2,500) for dumping waste colorant without prior cleanup.
• The factory must stop its color tinting activities immediately, starting from the day it receives the department notice. The factory can resume its activities again only after it receives an authorization letter from the Cambodian Development Council (CDC), from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and from the Environment Ministry. The department also stated that it will take legal actions against the factory if its management does not follow the department order.

Almost 50-tons of fishes killed, poisoned dead fishes are sold to the market for human consumption

Chrang Chomres 2 sangkat chief talking to the fish farmers (Photo: Ratanak, Koh Santepheap)

50-ton of fishes died from the pollution. The dead fishes were sold to the market for human consumption rather than destroyed (Photo: Ratanak, Koh Santepheap)

One possible source of the fish death: polluted water dumped into the river (Photo: Ratanak, Koh Santepheap)

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Almost 50-ton of fishes killed

Koh Santepheap newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Pollutants dumping into the river caused the death of farm-raised fishes in the Tonle Sap

Phnom Penh city: Farm-raised fishes in the Tonle Sap river near Chrang Chomres 2, Khan Russei Keo, were poisoned and almost 50-ton of them died during the night of 14 May, the fishes are still dying as of now. Fish farmers blamed the death of the fishes on the dumping of pollutants into the river by the SKD winery company located in Kilometer 6.

With the increasing number of dead fishes, the fish farmers have dragged the fish pens from the western bank of the river to the middle of the river and to the eastern bank of the river to try to save the fishes. According to officials from the Sangkat Chrang Chomres, fishes in 17 pens have died at midnight on 14 May, this amounts to 47-ton of fishes. Fish farmers accused the SKD winery of dumping polluted water into the river. Un Chan, a 55-year-old group chief in Village No. 5, Sangkat Chrang Chomres 2, Khan Russei Keo, and who is also one of the fish farmers, said that fishes in 3 of his pens died, this amounts to a loss of 13-ton of fishes, the dead fishes were taken to sell at the market while some others are frozen to later sale. Un Chan added that it was not only his fishes which died, fishes in other pens died also from the polluted water dumped into the river by the SKD winery. The polluted water flows to the north and reached the fish pens, causing the death.

At the source of the incident, the death of the fishes brought rage among the fish farmers and they had to drag the fish pens to the middle of the river and along the eastern shore in the middle of the night. Not only the farm-raised fishes died, but the wild fishes also died and local villagers came in large number to collect the dead fishes. Following the event, the Chrang Chomres 2 Sangkat chief and the police chief visited the fish farmers and they were asking for the source of the polluted water. During that morning, the authority found the source of the foamy polluted water which flowed out of the SKD factory. The polluted liquid smelled alcohol, is hot and also contains potato residues. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether this is the source of the pollution which causes the death of the fishes. Only environmental officials could make this determination.

Reports indicated that along the Mekong and the Tonle Sap rivers, numerous factories are dumping pollutants into the rivers, these cause a serious pollution to the environment.

Son Chhay requests a review for the planned hydroelectric power plant in Kratie

06 May 2007
By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A SRP Member of Parliament requested the government to perform an in-depth review of the impact on the livelihood of people, as well as the water pollution stemming from the plan to build a hydroelectric power plant on the Mekong river, in Kratie Province.

Along with his request, Son Chhay said that the Cambodian authority should also review the background of this Chinese company which was involved with creating problems in the past, both in China and in Cambodia.

Son Chhay said: “It is a concern because there are experiences about the action taken by the Chinese on the Mekong River in southern China where critics raised the issue of impact on the environment and water pollution, as well as a number of other issues that are of concerns to Cambodia. Furthermore, we had past experience with the Chinese during the plan to build a hydroelectric power plant in Kirirom. The Chinese planned to have Cambodia finance the project, and Cambodia had to borrow the money, the Chinese would build the plant but used old and second grade equipments. They charged high prices, and the amount of electricity produced is small. Therefore, I and some experts believe that there should be a price bidding [for this plant], and there should be studies performed first by a number of experts before giving the project to any company.”

According to an official from the Ministry of Mining and Energy, as well as from the Kratie provincial authority, the Chinese company is currently performing a study for the feasibility of building a hydroelectric power plant at 2 locations on the Mekong river, in Sambo district, Kratie province. The plant is planned to have a capacity of 400 MW.

Kham Phoeun, the Kratie provincial governor, said that since the 1970s, there were 3 studies performed, and that there was even a company from Switzerland which was also involved in the plan to build a hydroelectric plant in Kratie.

Kham Phoeun said that the development will affect the environment, but the production of electricity in the country will help reduce the cost of electricity and will attract factory investors into Cambodia, thereby helping raise the living condition of the population.

Currently, in Cambodia, electricity is available in large cities only, and the price of electricity in Cambodia varies from one area to another: from 600 to 4,000 riels (~$0.15 to $1) per kWh.