Posted on 22 September
2009 - Greater Mekong - A bird eating fanged
frog, a gecko that looks like it’s from
another planet and a bird which would rather
walk than fly, are among the 163 new species
discovered in the Greater Mekong region
last year that are now at risk of extinction
due to climate change, says a new report
launched by WWF ahead of UN climate talks
in Bangkok.
During 2008 alone, scientists
identified these rare and unique species
within the jungles and rivers of the Greater
Mekong, including a bird eating fanged frog
that lies in streams waiting for prey, one
of only four new species of musk shrew to
be described in recent times, and a leopard
gecko whose “other world” appearance – orange
eyes, spindly limbs and technicolour skin
– inspired the report’s title Close Encounters.
Such is the immense
biodiversity of this region that some discoveries
such as the tiger-striped pitviper were
made by accident.
“We were engrossed in
trying to catch a new species of gecko when
my son pointed out that my hand was on a
rock mere inches away from the head of a
pitviper! We caught the snake and the gecko
and they both proved to be new species,”
said Dr Lee Grismer of La Sierra University
in California.
Close Encounters spotlights
species newly identified by science including
100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians,
2 mammals and a bird, all discovered in
2008 within the Greater Mekong region of
Southeast Asia that spans Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the south-western
Chinese province of Yunnan.
The reluctant flyer,
Nonggang babbler, was observed walking longer
distances than flying. It would only use
its wings when frightened.
“After millennia in
hiding these species are now finally in
the spotlight, and there are clearly more
waiting to be discovered,” said Stuart Chapman,
Director of the WWF Greater Mekong Programme.
But no sooner are these
new species discovered than their survival
is threatened by the devastating impacts
of climate change, the report warns.
Recent studies show
the climate of the Greater Mekong region
is already changing. Models suggest continued
warming, increased variability and more
frequent and damaging extreme climate events.
Rising seas and saltwater
intrusion will cause major coastal impacts
especially in the Mekong River delta, which
is one of the three most vulnerable deltas
on Earth, according to the most recent International
Panel on Climate Change report.
“Some species will be
able to adapt to climate change, many will
not, potentially resulting in massive extinctions,”
said Chapman.
“Rare, endangered and
endemic species like those newly discovered
are especially vulnerable because climate
change will further shrink their already
restricted habitats,” he said.
Often these newly discovered
species are highly dependent on a limited
number of species for their survival. If
they respond to climate change in a way
that disrupts this closely evolved relationship
it puts them at greater risk of extinction.
Over the next two weeks,
government delegates will meet in Bangkok,
Thailand, for the next round of UN climate
change talks in the lead up to the Copenhagen
Climate Summit this December, where the
world is scheduled to agree on a new global
climate treaty.
“The treasures of nature
are in trouble if governments fail to agree
a fair, ambitious and binding treaty that
will prevent runaway climate change,” said
Kathrin Gutmann, Head of Policy and Advocacy
at the WWF Global Climate Initiative.
“Protecting endangered
species and vulnerable communities in the
Greater Mekong and elsewhere around the
world depends on fast progress at the UN
talks in Bangkok - a hugely important conference
that can lay the groundwork for success
at the Copenhagen Climate Summit this December.”
