Experts voice concern over existence of Ulluk
Saturday, 12 January 2008
National and International experts voiced concern over the existence of Hoolock Gibbon, locally known as Ulluk in Bangladesh and other habitats in different countries of the world including China, Japan, Vietnam, India and Myanmar, reports UNB.
The experts said Bangladesh, as one of most threatened areas, must formulate an environment-friendly forestation policy to save Ulluk and other rare species from extinction.
The number of Ulluk population in Bangladesh, living in Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet, came down from 3,000 to 300 in the last 20 years.
"Hoolock Gibbons' existence is very much threatened in Bangladesh and many other countries by the human and natural disturbances. Forests had been destroyed due to flooding, soil erosion and deforestation and thus had pushed the lives of hoolock gibbons towards serious threat," Dr David J Chivers of Department of Anatomy of University of Cambridge told a seminar at the National Press Club in the city Friday.
Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) and Wildlife Rescue Centre (WRC) in collaboration with Channel-i as the media partner jointly arranged the seminar on "Hoolock Gibbon Conservation in Bangladesh" with WTB vice-chairman Dr Harunur Rashid in the chair.
University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Prof Nazrul Islam was the chief guest at the seminar attended, among others, by Wildlife Society of Bangladesh (WSB) president Prof Kazi Zaker Husain, WTB trustee Enam Ul Haque and Channel-i representative Shahidul Alam Sachchu. WTB chairman Prof Anwarul Islam moderated the seminar.
Prof Zaker Husain said Hoolock mainly depends on trees, but in Bangladesh different species of trees on which the gibbons and many other animals were habituated to live have been destroyed through mono-culture forestation.
The governments had been saying that they were conducting huge forestation programmes across the country, but at least 70 per cent of these trees are imported from foreign countries, which don't suit the weather and environment here, he said.
Prof Zaker said mono-culture forestation could never be a substitute to national forest as the species of Ulluk-like animals have been evolving on these trees for thousands of years. "Ignoring the natural science, we are planting those trees, which are not suitable for our country's species of wild lives."
He said: "If the government, and environment and wildlife lovers really want to save these species, we must formulate an environment-friendly forestation policy very soon for the country's ecological and environmental balances."
UGC chairman Prof Nazrul Islam said not only Ulluk, but the entire Bangladesh is endangered environmentally due to impacts of climate changes and many human-created disasters.
Dr Mofizul Kabir of department of Zoology of Jahangirnagar University, Makiko Uchikoshi, Dr Hiroki Koda and Prof Hirohisa Hirai of Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University in Japan, and Dr Elliot Haimoff of Global Science USA made separate presentations on various aspects of Hoolock Gibbons' lives.
The experts said Bangladesh, as one of most threatened areas, must formulate an environment-friendly forestation policy to save Ulluk and other rare species from extinction.
The number of Ulluk population in Bangladesh, living in Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet, came down from 3,000 to 300 in the last 20 years.
"Hoolock Gibbons' existence is very much threatened in Bangladesh and many other countries by the human and natural disturbances. Forests had been destroyed due to flooding, soil erosion and deforestation and thus had pushed the lives of hoolock gibbons towards serious threat," Dr David J Chivers of Department of Anatomy of University of Cambridge told a seminar at the National Press Club in the city Friday.
Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) and Wildlife Rescue Centre (WRC) in collaboration with Channel-i as the media partner jointly arranged the seminar on "Hoolock Gibbon Conservation in Bangladesh" with WTB vice-chairman Dr Harunur Rashid in the chair.
University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Prof Nazrul Islam was the chief guest at the seminar attended, among others, by Wildlife Society of Bangladesh (WSB) president Prof Kazi Zaker Husain, WTB trustee Enam Ul Haque and Channel-i representative Shahidul Alam Sachchu. WTB chairman Prof Anwarul Islam moderated the seminar.
Prof Zaker Husain said Hoolock mainly depends on trees, but in Bangladesh different species of trees on which the gibbons and many other animals were habituated to live have been destroyed through mono-culture forestation.
The governments had been saying that they were conducting huge forestation programmes across the country, but at least 70 per cent of these trees are imported from foreign countries, which don't suit the weather and environment here, he said.
Prof Zaker said mono-culture forestation could never be a substitute to national forest as the species of Ulluk-like animals have been evolving on these trees for thousands of years. "Ignoring the natural science, we are planting those trees, which are not suitable for our country's species of wild lives."
He said: "If the government, and environment and wildlife lovers really want to save these species, we must formulate an environment-friendly forestation policy very soon for the country's ecological and environmental balances."
UGC chairman Prof Nazrul Islam said not only Ulluk, but the entire Bangladesh is endangered environmentally due to impacts of climate changes and many human-created disasters.
Dr Mofizul Kabir of department of Zoology of Jahangirnagar University, Makiko Uchikoshi, Dr Hiroki Koda and Prof Hirohisa Hirai of Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University in Japan, and Dr Elliot Haimoff of Global Science USA made separate presentations on various aspects of Hoolock Gibbons' lives.