TSS KK Talk: Sunda Pangolins – The Plight of our scaly friends

TSS KK Talk: Sunda Pangolins – The Plight of Our Scaly Friends Speaker: Elisa Panjang from Danau Girang Field Centre Date: 22 November 2019, Friday Time: 8:00 pm Venue: The Secretariat, Sabah Society, Damai Plaza The Sunda pangolin is one of eight extant species of pangolin and is native to mainland, and western island Southeast Asia. The species is listed as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species on the basis of past, ongoing and future population reductions, the Sunda pangolin is primarily, and directly, threatened by overexploitation for international use. This involves the trafficking of high numbers of live and dead individuals and body parts such as meat and scales. Over the past two decades, it has been the species of pangolin most frequently seized in illegal trade, and much of the trafficking by volume is destined for China and Vietnam. The meat is eaten as a luxury dish in high-end urban restaurants in both countries and the scales are used as an ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Vietnamese Medicine. Indirect threats include habitat loss and degradation, which open up previously inaccessible areas to poaching, and inadequate conservation action. All of these threats are negatively affecting the viability of wild Sunda pangolin populations. The speaker would like to invite particularly government agencies, learning institutions, NGOs, community groups, donor organizations, and individuals who want to make a difference for pangolins. Elisa Panjang profile: PhD Researcher (Cardiff University) Pangolin Conservation Officer (Danau Girang Field Centre) Sunda Pangolin Taskforce (IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group)