PNHS


Summary

NEW PNHS-web 

 

Publications
Wildlife Watch  

Snake book
 Geology book

Brunei Bird guide

Jungle trips book

Sightings lists

 

Themes

Invertebrates
Reptiles & Amphibians

Birds
Aquatic
Mammals
Plants & forestry
Geography & Travel

Brunei History

The Past 

Old Newsletters 

Themes & Assets

Handy addresses

Bookshops
Past events

 The Others
BNS Newsletters

BNS Website 

MNS (Miri) web


Authors:
Hans Dols 
 & Peter Engbers 

Back to: Panaga club on www
Back to: www.bsp.com.bn

PNHS HOME PAGE

The Panaga Natural History Society is a group of people interested in nature. Our goal is to promote interest in nature among the Panaga community and to help those who are interested in learning more about the natural environment, its flora (forests, wildflowers, gardening, etc.) and fauna (birds, marine life, insects, etc.), and "nature travel " in and around Brunei/Borneo. In addition, we support projects to increase nature awareness and nature conservation.     Show Brunei

Have a look at the 
NEW PNHS-web
under construction 

COMING SOON

The Seashore Life of the Brunei Heart of Borneo. 

release 

4 days  to go

 

Silver leaf monkey and young E8/25, photo Angelica_wulff

Upcoming events:   

Walks & Talks  

Thursday 13 November:

Niah Caves

Presentation by Hans Dols based on material from Roger Mcilroy

Come and hear about this world class historical and natural history site on our doorstep…

A visit is a must do ! followed by the classical film "Birds Nest Soup" from Tom Harrisson

At the Teratai, Panaga Club (upstairs)
7:30PM

New!  Tuesday 18 November:

Walk: Heart of Borneo Seashore

Guided by Roger McIlroy

Join Roger on a journey through the costal rainforest to the only remaining true Heart of Borneo Seashore in the whole 6000 km of Borneo Coastline.

And all that after a hard day work!

Meet at the Supasave Car Park

Departure 4:15 PM – return estimated 7:30 PM
Bring $6 for bridge tolls, sensible footwear, insect repellent and a bottle of water.

 
Postponed to February !

Common Freshwater Fishes of Kuala Belait & Seria areas

Was Thursday 30th October

Presentation by Etienne Loubens and Dr. Gérard Loubens (ORSTOM)

The presentation will be followed by an excursion to see the fish in the wild

Tuesday 4th November: The Natural History of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)  see: the invitation

 Presentation byDr. JoAnn Schuh, DVM, PhD, DACVP, DABT (Applied Veterinary Pathology PLLC, USA)
At the Teratai, Panaga Club (upstairs)
8PM

Slideshow on the Topic "Travel with Children ",  Date to be announced

RECENT NEWS: 

26_10_08 the pre ordered books from Mark Hessels have arrived . Please Check with Hans Dols DSM/21 (Tel 337 3052) to pick up your copy

26_10_08 in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah, Standard Chartered Bank presented a cheque worth B$ 700.000,- to WWF for the use on projects for the Heart of Borneo in Brunei. 

24_10_08 in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah  BSP/ Royal Dutch Shell  and HSBC presented cheques of B$500.000,- each  to the Ministry Of  Primary Resources for the establishment and running of the Heart of Borneo Centre in Brunei.. well done both of you.

 

Since Mark Hessels and Andrea Bloem are  leaving shortly Dr Jacqueline Henrot and Peter Engbers have volunteered to pick up as Chairlady and Secretary respectively. This is a reversal of their roles in the PNHS 10 Years ago.

Jacqueline and Peter a very heartfelt WELCOME BACK

Mark and Andrea Thanks for all the commitment to the PNHS and to Brunei's environment over  the last few years. 

Congratulations to Mark  Hessels on  his publication WINGING THE BORNEAN SKIES

Those of you who cannot attend the presentation but wish to get a copy of the book can place their order via any one of the alternatives listed below:

▪ Direct order via publisher website (www.nhpborneo.com)
▪ Panaga Natural History Society (pnhs.brunei@gmail.com)
▪ Belle’s bookshop in Miri, Sarawak (bellevue@tm.net.my)

A good review of marks Book can be found on Jan Shim's Blog    http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/winging-the-bornean-skies/

 

In case you plan to fly from or to Bandar Airport one of these months and you have a moment of time, just have a look at the two light panels hanging in the departure hall and arrival hall of the airport. Since last Wednesday the new panels welcome all visitors to Brunei and invite them to explore Brunei’s nature.
BSP sponsored these panels on the theme of the Heart Of Borneo. Bravo to mark Hessels for making most of the wonderful pictures and to Hans Dols and Mark for steering the project.

 

 

Bird watching in Sungai Seria wetlands

A sight to behold: (Top) A hornbill spotted in full flight and at rest (Middle) during a recent outing to the Seria Wetlands, jointly organised by the Brunei Nature Society and the Panaga Natural History Society. (Bottom) Andrea Bloem (grey shirt) briefing the participants about the migrant and resident waterbirds and other animals found in Sungai Seria Wetlands and Seria Lagoon. Pictures: Courtesy of Jan Shim
Andrea Bloem
Sunday, April 13, 2008
 
THE sighting of some yellow bitterns, white-breasted waterhens, an Estuarine crocodile and a long-tailed macaque was the prize for some 65 nature-enthusiasts grouped in the Brunei Nature Society during their last outing to Sungai Seria wetlands last Sunday afternoon.
Led by Dr Joe Charles from the Biology Department of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and Mark Hessels of the Panaga Natural History Society, the aim for the outing was to look for migrant and resident waterbirds and other animals attracted to the area.
Most of the outing's participants were UBD students, lecturers, as well as teachers from international schools. Four German biology researchers currently in the country also joined the event.
Sungai Seria Wetlands is one of Brunei's best places to see waterbirds, especially migratory birds, with some rare and unusual visitors.
At least six bird species that are globally threatened according to Birdlife International can be seen there: Oriental Darter, Chinese Egret, Lesser Adjutant, Malaysian Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and Asiatic Dowitcher.
Other animals sighted during the outing were little egret, intermediate egret, great egret and cattle egret, grey heron, little green heron, reef egret, Pacific golden plover, redshank and greenshank, wood and common sandpiper, grey-tailed tattler, collared and common kingfisher, yellow-bellied prinia, estuarine crocodile, fiddler crab, a variety of molluscs and stingray.
The wetlands including Sungai Seria and surrounding grasslands between Seria and Mumong are home to many resident species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Thousands of egrets and waders could be seen from October and by April, they leave for their breeding grounds in the northern temperate zone. The locals use the river and beach for enjoying nature, weekend picnics, and several spend long hours angling for fish.
In spite of the threatening rain and thunder, the participants were split into two groups to visit different parts of the river next to the bridge at Lorong 7.
Since the tide was low, most birds were seen feeding on the mudflats. In this part of the river, the mangrove fringe, though thin, is still in good condition and provides good protection against erosion and breeding places for the abundant fish and crabs.
Mudskippers make their little pools here to lay their eggs. Apart from a few gaps in the vegetation, this area is still quiet, resulting in many birds and other animals feeling comfortable to live and feed here. One of the very exciting views was of a small Estuarine Crocodile lyingrelaxed on the mudflats.
The second tour was to the Seria Lagoon created as a side activity of Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP). When a part of the river was isolated, it became a swamp with a variety of interesting wildlife.
Having enjoyed the view and the birds from the bird hide, the group moved over to the river mouth where BSP pipes cross the channel.
Here, the muddy sand is full of all kinds of small molluscs, crabs such as the colourful Fiddler crab and huge Horseshoe crab, small insects and worms. These are food for many birds and fish, and some are much appreciated by Bruneians.
Another exciting sight was a dark phase reef heron catching fish every now and then from the water's edge, while anglers about 20 metres away were waiting patiently for the fish to bite their baits.
Another rare animal common in Sungai Seria but not seen during the outing is the small-clawed otter; which often get killed by cars while crossing the road.
The tour ended at the egret roost by the river where all egrets from Anduki till Kuala Belait fly over to roost on the mangrove trees. In December, up to over 4000 birds can be seen on all the trees fringing the river.
"It was a magnificent sight with hundreds of egrets roosting on the mangrove trees with others flying in to roost," one participant said.  The Brunei Nature Society can be contacted at brunei—nature—society@hotmail.com.

The Brunei TImes

Hornbill nest abandoned as a result of human disturbance

04 January 2008

 Since approximately 7 December a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills was nesting at the bottom of a tree in F1. The female laid 4 eggs, her husband fed her well and they were determined to have a successful brood. Four eggs is quite a lot if normally only one or two chicks survive.

Since the female had enclosed herself in the cavity unfortunately she was encountered with lot of disturbance. Already in her first week people, ignorant on the breeding habits of hornbills, tried to open the entrance in a well meant effort to release the female. But as she was determined to continue she closed the entrance again.

On the 29th of December some passers by or maybe the grass cutters opened the entrance anew. Again she started repairing the plastered seal. And her faithful husband supported her by bringing her food every day.

However somehow she gave up Monday the 31st of December. When the male came to feed her, she decided to call it a day and left the nest leaving the eggs behind.

 The female must have been in great stress to leave her nest. Unlike what the people thought who tried to release her, the female is very safe as long as she stays inside her nest cavity. But once out she is very vulnerable because in order to fit into the small cavity she lost all her flight feathers. So the female could not fly leaving the nest at December 31st. She just hopped into cover where she will be very vulnerable to cats, dogs, monitor lizards and maybe even rats.

A thing that didn’t help the success of the nest was the fact that the nest site was chosen in a very public place. It was very easy to be located by people passing by.

Nest with the 4 eggs

 

 

 

 

21/12/07 Results of Dale Neill's  recent  Photography course can be found Panaga Photographic Society: Photosharing website Flickr   

16/08/07  The Hornbill nestbox project is in full swing. PNHS in cooperation with PPA (BSP) located four nest boxes for Oriental Pied Hornbills on different sites in Panaga Camp. Please have a look at the "Birds page" or here and the Borneo Bulletin article on nestbox placement ceremony at 49 Here 

14_06_07  Borneo Bulletin article  following the UBD Biodiversity conference 
 (link to both, BB and Brunei Times articles in word format)

'Big commitment' on Heart of Borneo link to 2007  Proposed Heart of Borneo Boundaries.pdf

By Azrol Azmi, James Kon & Sim YH                   Borneo Bulletin 14_06_2007

His Majesty's Government has decided to manage more than 60 per cent of the country as Heart of Borneo (HoB) territory. This ambitious plan means that HoB in Brunei will incorporate a mix of totally protected and sustainably managed forest, from the interior highlands, all the way to the coast, joined across the Sarawak border to Gunung Mulu and beyond.

"The Bali Declaration is just a beginning for all three countries. Changes are needed which require planning and investment. Whilst Brunei is a small country, making a big commitment to conservation shows a true leadership by example and the government wants the support of national and international parties which includes the scientific community and the work is just beginning."

This was the defining statement made during International Conference Biodiversity Crisis on Tropical Islands, an oral presentation by Mikaail Kavanagh who is a special advisor of WWF Heart of Borneo Programme and Hans Dols who is a geologist with Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd on the topic of "The Heart of Borneo: Implementation in Brunei Darussalam" which was organised by the Department of Biology, UBD yesterday.

The move will maintain a natural connectivity of various forest types - ranging from the highlands, through the diptero-carp communities and peat swamps to beach forest - that is fast becoming a great rarity throughout the tropical world.

The HoB initiative is a conservation and sustainable development programme aimed at conserving the last large expanse of contiguous forests on Borneo. The HoB area covers 240,000 sq kms of rainforest that straddles the transboundary highlands of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia, and reaches out through the foothills into the adjacent lowlands where there is ecological connectivity.
On February 12, 2007, an historic declaration to conserve the HoB was officially signed by ministers of the three Bornean governments.
An implementation plan will be produced by each government to fast track progress towards specific goals such as the establishment of new protected areas, restoration of damaged forests, expansion of nature based tourism, development of sustainable resource management plans and institutional capacity building.
These three national plans will then be merged to create a tri-country programme that will guide the collaborative effort and help to generate the financial and technical assistance that will be needed for implementation.
With the support of the Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources is leading the development of a national HoB project implementation framework (PIF) that will form the basis or a road map for realising the vision of HoB in Brunei. The PIF would be drawn up for a period of approximately five months - beginning June 2007 until November 2007 - to plan the overall national approach for Brunei.
Formulating the PIF will involve desk research, field checks and consultations with stakeholders to ensure that the framework will be accurate, effective and in line with national aspirations. The objective of the PIF is to finalise the boundaries, address targets and outputs, programmes and activities, roles and responsibilities as well as funding and institutional responsibilities, to ensure the PIF is in line with the national aspirations through consultation with stakeholders, government, academia, industries, NGOs and others and lastly capacity building in which efforts will be made for the forestry department to spearhead the initiative. 
The capacity building activities will include training workshops and travel to other parts of Borneo.

04/06/2007  Like a challenge! Klias to Tenom across the crocker
Just came back from a weekend at the beach near Klias in Sabah. There is now a brand new highway going to Tenom across the Crocker range. The turnoff is 5-10 km past the Sarawak - Sabah immigration. There is a roundabout where you turn right. It is signposted to Tenom. The new link is 60 km long and comes out onto the Tenom - Tomani highway just south of Tenom. Make sure your brakes and 1st gear are working as there are some very steep grades (14%). This makes for a quick way to get to Tenom. The main attraction there is the beautiful agricultural research station's botanical gardens. It also provides access to SW Sabah and an alternative route to get to Mt. Kinabalu. I also seen a sign pointing to Long Pasia home stay which seems to be an interesting destination if you could find it.
Happy Driving
Denis Bouclin

23/03/2007 Some food for thought  from our international correspondent Jan -Beck in Switzerland.
I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that Brunei has the second-highest per-head energy use in the world (next to Dubai, I believe) - although there's very little industry, and not so much distance to drive. Although it's peanuts on a global scale due to the low population, it might be worth rising some awareness on that in Brunei.
Jan

06/03/2007 Heart of Borneo progress. exiting times lay ahead

Mark Hessels and Hans Dols represented the PNHS at the  Brunei Global Issues conference and at the  Environment Roundtable discussion forum. 
The ISB Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) V, was a Model United Nations  style conference that brings together secondary school students from around the region and the local community to discuss major global concerns in a mock United Nations simulation. 
The Roundtable discussion brought up Brunei environmental issues in context of environmental protection and Developmental /  Industrial needs
Brunei Darussalam has been urged to combine the rainforest along its southern borders, especially in Ulu Temburong, with that of neighbouring countries to create a large enough and ideal area for the preservation of the varied forest types.
The proposal was just one of the interesting ideas put forward by Dr David Edwards who was among a panel of guest speakers consisting of prominent environmental experts and scientists at the forum for the International School Brunei, Borneo Global Issues Conference V 2007 (ISB BGIC V) held at the International Conference Centre.
Joining Dr Edwards as guest speakers for the enlightening discussions were Professor David Bellamy, Mrs Habiba Hassan Sultan al-Mar'ashi, Mr Simon Christopher, Drs Hans Dols, Noble Peace Prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai, Mr John Saville, Dato' Dr Mikaail Kavanagh and Dr Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz. Allen Lai, CEO of Asia Inc Forum, was the moderator for forum.
For those interested some excerpts of Borneo Bulletin and Brunei Times articles on the recent Brunei Global Issues conference and the Environment Roundtable discussions please follow these links: BB0703,   BB0603,  BB0503  BB0403  and  BB0303. 

12/02/2007/  Signing of the Heart of Borneo declaration in Bali  >57% of Brunei to be in HoB area

01/2007  3m Crocodile sighted in Sungei Seria Behind the Hospital and behind the training centre (fishermen beware) 
Attached a flyer on something spectacular going on at our own door steps in the mean time.......<<Nesting season.ppt>>