Biodiversity Issues

SBV3023 ISSUES IN BIOLOGY

AND ENVIRONMENT
GROUP MEMBERS

NURAINI SAFI LEENA SITI NUR

SAHIRA MUNIANDY FATMA
4 PROMINENT ISSUES

1. Extinction of biodiversity
2. Roles of individuals
3. Roles of government agencies
4. Role of NGOs
 EXTINCTION OF BIODIVERSITY
● Biodiversity is a term that refers to the number of genes,
species, individual organisms within a given species, and
biological communities within a defined geographic area,
ranging from the smallest ecosystem to the global biosphere.

● Biodiversity loss, also called loss of biodiversity, a decrease in

biodiversity within a species, an ecosystem, a given
geographic area, or Earth as a whole.

Reference: John P, R. Biodiversity loss. (2019). Encyclopædia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss.
 LEVEL OF BIODIVERSITY
Genetic diversity is the variety of genes within a species. Each species is
made up of individuals that have their own particular genetic
composition. This means a species may have different populations, each
having different genetic compositions. To conserve genetic diversity,
different populations of a species must be conserved.

Species diversity is the variety of species within a habitat or a region.

Some habitats, such as rainforests and coral reefs, have many species.
Others, such as salt flats or a polluted stream, have fewer.

Ecosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems in a given place. An

ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment
interacting together. An ecosystem can cover a large area, such as a whole
forest, or a small area, such as a pond.
Reference:
Costello, M. J. (2015). Biodiversity: The Known,
Unknown, and Rates of Extinction. Current
Biology, 25(9), R368–R371.
 Causes of Extinction Biodiversity
● Habitat loss and fragmentation
● Invasive species
● Over-exploitation
● Co-extinction
 Habitat loss
● Habitat destruction is the process by which a natural habitat
becomes incapable of supporting its native species

● The IUCN Red List now includes 77,340 assessed species, of which
22,784 are threatened with extinction. The loss and degradation of
habitat are identified as the main threat to 85% of all species
described on the IUCN Red List

● Deforestation, illegal logging, over-exploiting

https://www.iucn.org/content/conservation-successes-overshadowed-more-species-decline
s-iucn-red-list-update

Symes, W. S., Edwards, D. P., Miettinen, J., Rheindt, F. E., & Carrasco, L. R. (2018). Combined
impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely
underestimated. Nature communications, 9(1), 1-9.
Habitat loss
 Habitat loss on birds
Listed as a “totally protected” and “near-threatened”
species by the IUCN, the Chestnut-bellied Malkoha is a bird
species that is known for its long tail, grey head, and
light-colored bill. These birds face a declining population
due to peat fires and forest degradation. Thankfully, they
can soar freely in the Cove parklands which is the past
specifically reserves for the birds.

The chestnut-bellied malkoha is a species of cuckoo in the

family Cuculidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, References:
1.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/e
Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural nvironment/2019/06/partner-content-if
-a-species-falls-and-no-one-sees/
habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, 2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut
-bellied_malkoha
subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or
tropical swampland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
 Alien Invasive Species

● The introduction of non-native species into an ecosystem

can threaten endemic wildlife

● Species such as cats (Felis catus), rats (Rattus rattus),

mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), and stoats (Mustela
erminea) threaten biodiversity through predation,
competition, disease transmission, and facilitation with
other invasive species
 Alien Invasive Species
● For example, predation by
feral cats and red foxes
(Vulpes vulpes) has led to the
decline or extinction of two
thirds of Australia’s digging
mammal species over the
past 200 years

● Preventing red foxes:

shooting, poisoning, fencing
 Over-exploiting
● Over-exploitation-which is the harvesting of game
animals, fish, or other organism beyond the capacity for
surviving populations to replace their losses- results in
some species being depleted to very low numbers and
others being driven to extinction
● Overhunting, overfishing, overharvesting
● Killing numerous of species for profit
● Overexploitation is a main driver of biodiversity loss
globally
● Due to human population, the demand increases
 Over-exploiting

● Hunting is now a major cause of biotic population declines across the

tropics, and, in hunted forests, has caused declines of 58% and 83% in
bird and mammal populations, respectively.
● Illegal hunting of wildlife for internationally traded products, pets and
as a food resource are directly responsible for the declines of
emblematic species, such as elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, and Bali
starling.
● At its most extreme, overhunting can result in the extinction of
large-bodied animals in otherwise healthy intact habitat, driving
changes in forest composition.
 Over-exploiting

● For example, Steller's sea cow, a giant sirenian discovered

in 1741 and extinct by 1768

● Overharvesting for food, but it has also been proposed

that its extinction resulted from a sea urchin population
explosion triggered by local sea otter populations that
eliminated the shallow-water kelps on which sea cows
fed.

Turvey, S. ., & Risley, C. . (2006). Modelling

the extinction of Steller’s sea cow. Biology
Letters, 2(1), 94–97.
 Over-exploiting

● Sea cows were massively and wastefully overexploited,

being hunted at over seven times the sustainable limit,
and the initial Bering Island sea cow population must have
been higher than suggested by previous researchers to
allow the species to survive even until 1768

Turvey, S. ., & Risley, C. . (2006). Modelling

the extinction of Steller’s sea cow. Biology
Letters, 2(1), 94–97.
Over-exploiting

Turvey, S. ., & Risley, C. . (2006). Modelling

the extinction of Steller’s sea cow. Biology
Letters, 2(1), 94–97.
KUALA TERENGGANU
The country’s fish stock is in danger of being depleted
owing to over-exploitation and poaching.

Studies on 7,800 marine species around the world’s

ecosystems by global marine experts concluded that nearly
90% of global fish stocks were either fully fished or
overfished.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Munir Mohd

Nawi said Malaysian fishermen caught nearly one million
tonnes of seafood annually, with about 40,000 tonnes kept
as frozen reserves.

Against illegal fishing, foreign vessels used to destroy the

marine life like corals, by using trawler nets.
The beautiful corals in the pristine waters of Teluk Dalam Kecil, Pulau Redang, off
Terengganu's coast may soon be gone if we don't try to conserve biodiversity.
According to WWF's The Living Planet Report, species population sizes have declined
by 60% between 1970 and 2019.
The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria
are intended to be an easily and widely
understood system for classifying species at
high risk of global extinction. It divides
species into nine categories:

Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least

Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable,
Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct
in the Wild and Extinct.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_M
alaysia
Extinct (EX) – No known living individuals

Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a

naturalized population outside its historic range

Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild

Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild

Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future

Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk; does not qualify for a higher risk category.
Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Data deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of
extinction

Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammal
s_of_Malaysia
Not Evaluated (NE)
This category are not in the spectrum, because IUCN
indicate species that have not been reviewed enough to
assign to a category.

Data Deficient (DD)

Bornean smooth-tailed treeshrew, D. melanura
White-faced surili, P. frontata
Timor rat, Rattus timorensis
Antarctic minke whale, Balaenoptera bonaerensis

Least Concern (LC)

Northern treeshrew, T. belangeri
Sunda flying lemur, G. variegatus
Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine, A. macrourus
Striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba
Near Threatened (NT)
Robinson's banded langur, P. robinsoni
Dayak fruit bat, Dyacopterus spadiceus
Asian golden cat, C. temminckii
Banded palm civet, H. derbyanus

Vulnerable (VU)
Dugong, D. dugon
Horsfield's tarsier, C. bancanus
Coppery pipistrelle, Arielulus cuprosus

Endangered (EN)
Asian elephant, E. maximus
Sunda slow loris, N. coucang
Siamang, S. syndactylus
Critically Endangered (CR)
Convex horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus convexus
Malayan roundleaf bat, Hipposideros nequam
Sunda pangolin, M. javanica
Indochinese leopard, P. p. delacouri

Extinct in the Wild (EW)

Socorro isopod, Thermosphaeroma thermophilum
Cachorrito de charco palmal, Cyprinodon longidorsalis
Spix's macaw, Cyanopsitta spixii

Extinct (EX)
Sumatran rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Javan rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus
Mexican dace, Evarra bustamantei
Golden toad, Incilius periglenes
Dodo, Raphus cucullatus
Quangga, Equus quagga quagga
 Co-extinction

● The loss of a species is expected to result in the loss of other

species that depend on it.

● Just one parasite species is listed in the IUCN Red List as

endangered because of the rarity of its host, the pygmy
hog-sucking louse (Haematopinus oliveri), known only from
the world’s smallest (and rarest) pig (Whiteman & Parker
2005).

Dunn, R. R., Harris, N. C., Colwell, R. K., Koh, L.

P., & Sodhi, N. S. (2009). The sixth mass
coextinction: are most endangered species parasites
and mutualists? Proceedings of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences, 276(1670), 3037–
 Roles of individuals
References: Richard T,C. et.al. (2020).
Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic
on biodiversity conservation. Biological
- Reduce human activities (deforestation) Conservation, 246, 1-5.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.1
- Carry out environmental and health researches 08571
(R&D-MARDI, universities, Government
agencies, and research institutes )
- Train and educate people on conservations while
maintaining health of planet (courses &
education)
- Recreate habitats for native species; native
amphibians
(Bufo Toad, Rhinella marina- quarantine checks,
awareness and response)
Roles of government
1. Monitor the health of endangered species
Malaysia total land 33 and ecosystems
million hectares - out of 19.5 2. Stop illegal trafficking and poaching of wild
million, 14.3 hectares are animals.
announced as Permanent 3. Conservation of biodiversity (National parks,
Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves, State Parks,
Reserve Forest (PRF) or Wildlife Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuaries)
Forest Reserves Sabah and 4. Sustainable use of biodiversity by using
Sarawak and managed natural resources and the Earth can renew
under Forestry Department them. (ex: petroleum, wood, tin,
of each state. rubber,water)
5. Campaign to save the biodiversity by reduce
pollution and saving the forest from
deforestation and illegal logging.
 SUSTAINABLE USE
OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
https://www.researchgate.net/figu
re/Sustainable-development-and
-natural-resources-interdepende
nces-and-connections_fig2_260
388363

POACHING OF WILD
ANIMALS
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/
887941da8d114694818685c2f4aed027
LIVE ANIMAL ILLEGAL
MARKET
http://www.stewardshipreport.com/guardians
-of-rescue-seeks-public-support-to-help-sh
ut-down-chinas-live-animal-trade-market/
ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN GUNUNG MULU NATIONAL
KUALA GANDAH, PAHANG PARK, SARAWAK

https://www.kualalumpurcitytour.com/ma https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredra
laysia/kuala-gandah-elephant-sanctuary- nahan/2020/05/31/best-national-par
day-tour ks-in-malaysia/#7c1cc9f565dd
PENANG HILL AS BIOSPHERE RESERVES

https://habitatfoundation.org.my/our-programmes/cons
ervation/the-proposed-penang-hill-biosphere-reserve/
 Roles of NGOs
- Raise fund from the private sources

Reference: Biological Conservation Journal

- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) helps

the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing
environment and development challenges by supporting scientific
research, managing field projects all over the world. They also are
involved in bringing governments, NGOs, the United Nation,
international conventions and companies together to develop
policy, laws and best practice.

Reference: The Roles of International NGOs in the Conservation of Bio-Diversity of Wetlands Journal
 Roles of NGOs
-Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Malaysian Nature Society or Persatuan
Pencinta Alam Malaysia (in Malay) . MNS today is involved in a wide range of
environmental activities and campaign. The mission of the society is to place
upon itself the responsibility to promote the study, appreciation,
conservation and protection of Malaysia’s natural heritage.

-Birds Korea has taken the lead in producing an excellent report of the
impact on bird life of the four Rivers Restoration Project. The report sets out
exactly how the works are likely to damage habitat for birds (and other
wetland species), this include many rare and endangered species, and makes
a demand for the project to be stopped, or that mitigation is built in to the
scheme to protect wetland species.

Reference: The Roles of International NGOs in the Conservation of BioDiversity of Wetlands Journal
 Roles of NGOs
-Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Sabah
Environmental Protection Association (SEPA), Sabah
Society (SS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Malaysia, were represented on the management
committee of the Kota Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary, a
wetland area, together with local residents’
associations and a number of government agencies.
 Roles of NGOs

-MNS runs programs for Nature Clubs for schools

throughout Malaysia. Approximately, 300 schools
participate in their programs currently. In addition,
MNS also runs education programs at Rimba Ilmu of
the Universiti Malaya and at the Forest Research
Institute of Malaysia (FRIM).

Reference: The Roles of International NGOs in the Conservation of Bio-Diversity of

Wetlands Journal
 Ethics, acts or policy related to
government to prevent extinction
of biodiversity.
1. Biosafety Act 2007

2. National Forestry Act 1982

3. Malaysian Forestry Research And Development Board 1984

4. National Parks Act 1980

1. Biosafety Act 2007
Is an act to establish the National Biosafety Board; to regulate the
release, importation, exportation and contained use of living
modified organisms, and the release of products of such organisms,
with the objectives of protecting human, plant and animal health,
the environment and biological diversity, and where there are
threats of irreversible damage.

https://www.ummc.edu.my/files/ethic/MCHRS/8%20Genetic%20Research/Act%20678%20Biosafety%20Act.
pdf

2. National Forestry Act 1982

An Act to provide for the administration, management and
conservation of forests and forestry development within the States
of Malaysia and for connected purposes.
http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20313.pdf
3. Malaysian Forestry Research And Development
Board 1984

An Act to establish the Malaysian Forestry Research and

Development Board, for the administration of a fund for the
purpose of financing research and to provide for matters
connected.
http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20319%20-%20Malaysia
n%20Forestry%20Research%20and%20Development%20Board%20Act%201985.pdf

4. National Parks Act 1980

An Act to provide for the establishment and control of
National Parks and for matters connected.
http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20226%20-%20Natio
nal%20Parks%20Act%201980.pdf
 Implication of Covid-19 on
Biodiversity Issues.

In response to COVID-19, some countries especially Malaysia are

introducing regulatory measures that promote the conservation,
sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity.
Also there are negative impacts towards the biodiversity due to
pandemic Covid-19.
 ANIMAL ADOPTION
Due to pandemic Covid-19, the visitors to the
national zoo have been decreased due to the
Movement Control Order. Therefore, the zoo
management held an adoption program that
were open to the public.With the MCO in place,
the zoo gets almost nothing and although the
people working there can find a way to survive, it
may not be the same for the animals residing
there.

From;
https://www.zoonegaramalaysia.my/
adopt.html
The public can help by adopting one of the
animals by maintaining its annual food,
enrichment and veterinary care. They will
get a certificate of adoption stating the
selected animal and you will be
acknowledged in Zoo Negara’s annual
report along with the amount of the
sponsorship.

From;
https://hype.my/2020/186027/mco-animals-zoo-negara-d
onations/
 Virtual Tourism/Eco-tourism
Virtual tourism were held to kept the interest of the visitors towards zoo
due to pandemic Covid-19 that affected the visitors and the animals inside.
Zoo Taiping and Night Safari has embarked on a virtual tour programme to
get visitors ready to return to the zoo when the movement control order
(MCO) is lifted. The virtual tour featuring some of the endangered species
including orang utan.

From;
https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2020/
05/28/zoo-taiping-and-night-safari-offers
-virtual-tour-in-preparation-for-opening/1
870223
 NEGATIVE IMPACTS
How is COVID-19 affecting nature

A growing body of research, including research by Conservation

International scientists, points to a direct link between the destruction of
nature and disease outbreaks — spotlighting the role of protecting and
restoring nature in preventing future pandemics.

1. People who have lost their employment in cities are

returning to their rural homes, further increasing the
pressure on natural resources while also increasing
the risk of COVID-19 transmission to rural areas.

2. Increased deforestation in Asia, Africa and Latin

America. Illegal miners and loggers are encroaching
on indigenous territories, which could expose remote
indigenous communities to the virus.
3. Areas that are economically dependent on tourism face
reduced resources as tourism has come to a halt, resulting
in a rise in bushmeat (wild meat) consumption in Africa.

4. Illegal mining for gold and precious stones in Latin

America and Africa is on the rise, as prices spike and
protected areas are left unguarded.

From;https://www.conservation.org/stories/
impact-of-covid-19-on-nature
 5. Increased incidents of illegal poaching and
human-elephant conflicts in India

As millions of jobs have been lost through the Covid-19 crisis, in some areas
consist of wildlife habitat are left without any conservation from government.

Human-elephant conflict and illegal poaching have occured in this southern

area of West Bengal.

There is now concern that similar incidents could increase,further impacting

the species that are already listed as endangered.
Even in India’s lockdown, human-wildlife conflicts persisted, increasing in
towns that became unusually quiet.

Asian elephants were more regularly exploring human spaces in the Jhargram
Forest Division, West Bengal, in search of food and in the case of solitary tusker
elephants, to expand their territories, resulting in potentially fatal consequences.

From;
https://ptes.org/press-release-impact-of-covid-19-on-
wildlife-conservation/
 REFERENCES
1. John P, R. Biodiversity loss. (2019). Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss.

2. Costello, M. J. (2015). Biodiversity: The Known, Unknown, and Rates of Extinction.

Current Biology, 25(9), R368–R371.

3. Symes, W. S., Edwards, D. P., Miettinen, J., Rheindt, F. E., & Carrasco, L. R. (2018).
Combined impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely
underestimated. Nature communications, 9(1), 1-9.
https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2019/05/491174/impact-habitat-loss-animals
4. Doherty, T. S., Glen, A. S., Nimmo, D. G., Ritchie, E. G., & Dickman, C. R. (2016). Invasive
predators and global biodiversity loss. Proceedings of the National Invasive Species.
Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/invasive-species

5. Souza, A. C. de, & Prevedello, J. A. (2020). The importance of protected areas for
overexploited plants: Evidence from a biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation, 243,
108482. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108482
6. Symes, W. S., Edwards, D. P., Miettinen, J., Rheindt, F. E., & Carrasco, L. R. (2018). Combined
impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity are severely
underestimated. Nature communications, 9(1), 1-9.

7. Turvey, S. ., & Risley, C. . (2006). Modelling the extinction of Steller’s sea cow. Biology
Letters, 2(1), 94–97.

8. Dunn, R. R., Harris, N. C., Colwell, R. K., Koh, L. P., & Sodhi, N. S. (2009). The sixth mass
coextinction: are most endangered species parasites and mutualists? Proceedings of the Royal
Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1670), 3037–

9. Richard T,C. et.al. (2020). Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on biodiversity

conservation. Biological Conservation, 246, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108571

10. Animal Poaching. Retrieved from

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/887941da8d114694818685c2f4aed027

11. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Sustainable-development-and-natural-resources-inter
dependences-and-connections_fig2_260388363
12. Live Animal Illegal Market. Retrieved from
http://www.stewardshipreport.com/guardians-of-rescue-seeks-public-support-to-help-shu
t-down-chinas-live-animal-trade-market/

13. Elephant Sanctuary in Kuala Gandah, Pahang. Retrieved from

https://www.kualalumpurcitytour.com/malaysia/kuala-gandah-elephant-sanctuary-day-tou
r

14. Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredranahan/2020/05/31/best-national-parks-in-malaysia/#7
c1cc9f565dd

15. Penang Hills as Biosphere Reserves. Retrieved from

https://habitatfoundation.org.my/our-programmes/conservation/the-proposed-penang-hill
-biosphere-reserve/

16. Biosafety Acts. Retrieved from

https://www.ummc.edu.my/files/ethic/MCHRS/8%20Genetic%20Research/Act%20678%20Bi
osafety%20Act.pdf
17. National Forestry Act 1982. Retrieved from
http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20313.pdf

18. Malaysian Forestry Research And Development Board 1984. Retrieved from
http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20319%20-%20
Malaysian%20Forestry%20Research%20and%20Development%20Board%20Act%201985.pdf

19. Zoo Taiping and Night Safari. Retrieved from

https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2020/05/28/zoo-taiping-and-night-safari-offers-vir
tual-tour-in-preparation-for-opening/1870223

20. Impact of Covid-19 on Nature. Retrieved from

https://www.conservation.org/stories/impact-of-covid-19-on-nature

21. Impact of Covid-19 on Wildlife Conservation. Retrived on

https://ptes.org/press-release-impact-of-covid-19-on-wildlife-conservation/