Visit Organic Bouquet, the world’s first online organic florist, from our website and Lubee will receive a 10% donation for each order of organic flowers purchased.
Back to Conservation Programs
Lubee has supported researchers and conservationists across SE Asia in their efforts to conserve fruit bats in the region for many years – with particular focus on penisular Malaysia. Countries falling within SE Asia form a recognized center of high fruit bat biodiversity and bat populations are under great threat from habitat loss and hunting pressure. Many species preferentially live and forage in lowland coastal forest. The original founders of Lubee’s captive population of Pteropus vampyrus and Pteropus hypomelanus, are from Sumatra and islands off the coast of Java. The response of large fruit bats to such catastrophic disasters is likely to be favorable, because they are able to fly. However, the hunting pressure on these bats will likely rise.
Andamon and Nicobars The devastation of this group of islands was catastrophic. To read more about the tsunami on the islands: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4140823.stm
Bandana’s Auls conservation work aimed to focus on the issue of hunting as a conservation problem, and also the wider exploration of the ecological needs of the endemic Nicobar flying fox (Pteropus faunulus). The endemic Nicobar flying fox is severely threatened due to regular hunting by the local indigenous people communities. These people are currently exempted from the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The increasing exposure to the outside world and introduction of modern weapons like air guns has further aggravated the situation, resulting in the decline of bat populations over its narrow geographical range. We suspect that the species might have already gone through a bottleneck being isolated on islands and being hunted. Bandana’s survey team were unable to locate this species in the Car Nicobar Island, and recorded no more than 10 individuals on a handful of islands during an eight month survey. The present conservation work was designed to set up a community based conservation initiative in collaboration with the Nicobar Youth Association (NYA) that will emphasize the indigenous people’s participation in the conservation of this threatened species by initiating education and awareness about the species near roost sites and in areas with maximum hunting pressure. The Supreme Court of India has just dropped its ban on logging in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for 6 months, because lumber will be needed for the reconstruction efforts, reminding us that the balance between nature human needs is inextricably linked and needs close monitoring.
Lubee currently has many requests from students and researchers in SE Asia to support their bat conservation work in this key region, and we would like to give as much support to these as possible. Projects and partners we wish to support include: a Masters study of fruit bat diversity and distribution in West Sumatra (Santi Nurul Kamilah, West Sumatra, Indonesia – also alive and safe), SE Asia bat workshop in 2006, designed to establish a network of bat biologists to promote the study and conservation of bats in SE Asia (Dr Tigga Kingston of Boston University and Prof Khim Mya Mya of University of Mandalay), continued support of conservation groups and bat studies in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands should (Bandana Aul) support of students in Burma to study Pteropus giganteus (Tigga Kingston), a post- doctoral study of the critically endangered fruit bat Latidens salimalii in the Western Ghats of India (Dr Vanitharani Juliet).
Wildlife and natural resources are inextricably linked to quality of life. If you would like to support Lubee’s efforts to support work by local students, researchers and conservation NGO’s in SE Asia at this time, you can make a donation by check to:
Lubee SE Asia Conservation Projects Fund 1309 NW 192nd Avenue Gainesville Fl 32609.
Or, please do consider a contribution to humanitarian groups via www.usafreedomcorps.org
Back to Top
