LEAD: Species in Mekong region rich and at risk, WWF warns

Dec 12, 2011, 4:43 GMT

Hanoi - The six-country Mekong River region is so biologically rich that an average of one new species is discovered there every other day, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Monday.

A snub-nosed, Elvis-coiffed monkey; a self-cloning, all-female lizard and five carnivorous plants are among the 208 new species discovered by scientists last year, the WWF said.

The conservation group called the region along South-East Asia's longest waterway as 'one of the last frontiers for new species discoveries on our planet' while also warning of its fragility and calling on Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China to protect their biodiversity.

'While the 2010 discoveries are new to science, many are already destined for the dinner table, struggling to survive in shrinking habitats and at risk of extinction,' said Stuart Chapman, the WWF's conservation director for the Mekong region.

Last year's newly discovered species were 145 plants, 28 reptiles, 25 fish, seven amphibians, two mammals and one bird.

Among them is a white-faced black monkey living in the forested mountains of Kachin State in northern Myanmar. Because its nose is upturned, it tucks its head between its knees when it rains, and locals say it is easy to find in the trees at such times because the rainwater that gets into its nose causes it to sneeze.

The all-female lizard that reproduces through cloning without the need for male lizards was discovered on the menu of a southern Vietnamese restaurant. The WWF warned that the species was at greater risk than others because it is all female and lacks genetic diversity.

Southern Vietnam is also the home of a psychedelic gecko with bright orange limbs, a yellow neck, a blue body and yellow stripes on its bright-orange sides. It was found on a single island in Rach Gia Bay.

Five species of carnivorous pitcher plants were also discovered across Thailand and Cambodia with some species capable of luring and consuming small rats, mice, lizards and even birds.

The WWF called on the region's governments to protect its rich biodiversity and recognize ensuring long-term stability as an investment. It urged the six leaders of the Greater Mekong Sub-region meeting next week in Myanmar to put the benefits of biodiversity and the costs of losing it at the centre of their decision making and regional cooperation.

The Myanmar summit is to endorse a new strategy to guide the next decade of economic cooperation among the six countries.

The WWF warned that the extinction of the Javan rhinoceros last year in Vietnam was an indicator of the decline of biodiversity in the region and said the Mekong's wildlife and its habitats are under pressure from rapid, unsustainable development and climate change.

'Mekong governments have to stop thinking about biodiversity protection as a cost and recognize it as an investment to ensure long-term stability,' Chapman said. 'It is ultimately this natural capital upon which the Greater Mekong's prosperity is built.'