Tag Archives: conservation

Talk Less, Listen More

WORDS can punch harder than a fist. Or two. When I was an active researcher, statistics guided my writing. Now, as a journalist, I still collect evidence, but I walk with extra respect and caution.

Five years into this (financially pitiful) career, I’ve learned one thing: A good journalist talks less and listens more. So I do just that. The other way round is bad.

A talk given 23 July at the International Congress for Conservation Biology, Kuala Lumpur, reminded me of the above.

(Photo: Nadine Ruppert presents findings of her SPO Movement survey. Credit: YH Law)

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Where Might Oil Palm Go Next?

[ICCB 2019] In Southeast Asia, oil palm expansion threatens biodiversity and the work of conservationists. Knowing where oil palm might go next then, helps inform conservation, says Molly Hennekam, an applied ecologist at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

(Photo: A composite map of Southeast Asia showing Key Biodiversity Areas and areas of potential oil palm expansion. “Suitability” here refers only to ecological factors like climate and soil. Credit: Hennekam, Sarira, Koh)

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In the Murky Waters of Brunei Bay, Turtles Feed

[ICCB 2019] There were two key facts that turtle expert Juanita Joseph of the Borneo Marine Research Institute wished she had known about the murky waters of Brunei Bay. The first was that hundreds of green turtles fed in the bay; the second was that crocodiles swam in the same water.

Today, the turtles keep drawing Joseph back to the bay, and the crocodiles keep her out of the water — unless necessary.

(Photo: To catch turtles in Brunei Bay, Juanita Joseph used nets called ‘kabat’ to trap turtles at the mouth of estuaries. Joseph learned the method from local fishermen. Credit: Juanita Joseph)

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Illegal Export of Blue-legged Tarantula Highlights Biopiracy Woes

She has electric-blue legs and a creamy toffee body. She’s a spider and she has just been named. But the dubious means by which specimens like her end up in scientists’ hands is cause for alarm, as featured in Science by YH Law, with reporting by Erik Stokstad.

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