S’pore to propose tougher international regulation for trade of 2 native songbirds

SINGAPORE - While Singapore’s forests provide refuge for up to about a third of the world’s straw-headed bulbuls, the globally critically endangered species prized for its singing has increasingly been driven to the brink of extinction.

The songbird is one of two native species for which the National Parks Board will propose stronger international protection at the upcoming Cites conference of parties in Panama, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said in a Facebook post on Friday.

Cites stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Representatives from Singapore, along with those from Malaysia and the United States, will recommend that the straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) be listed under Cites as a species threatened with extinction. Plants and animals in this category – Appendix I – can be traded only in exceptional circumstances.

Currently, the straw-headed bulbul is listed under Appendix II, which covers wildlife that are strictly controlled to ensure their survival.

Singapore and Malaysia will also propose that the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) – which is not protected under the convention – be listed under Appendix II.

While the white-rumped shama has thrived on Pulau Ubin and in nature parks in mainland Singapore, they are highly trafficked worldwide. More than 32,000 such birds have been seized from illegal trade since 2009.

“This could mean further protection for the two songbird species, which have been heavily traded as pets and for singing contests that are popular in South-east Asia,” said Mr Lee.

At the meeting that will run from Nov 14 to 25, parties will propose to remove or include additional species under the convention’s rules. If views differ, the proposal will be put to a vote. It will be adopted if at least two-thirds of the attendees vote for it.

The two proposals for greater protection come on the back of the latest update to the bird list for the third edition of the Singapore Red Data Book – the island’s guide to the national conservation status of species here – in September.

It records that 24 bird species are now less threatened than last assessed in 2008, and another five have been deemed as of greater conservation concern.

Among the 24 is the white-rumped shama, whose status has been downgraded from locally critically endangered to endangered.

Mr Tan Gim Cheong, chairman of the bird group at Nature Society (Singapore), said: “The down-listing of the white-rumped shama is good news, and we can hear the beautiful song of this species in the wild more often.

“Two factors that contribute to this are the preservation of existing habitat and the reduction of poaching activities. This augurs well not only for the shama, but also for all bird species that are popular in the songbird trade.”