© Peter Halasz - Creative Commons. De honingbeer heeft zwaar te leiden onder ontbossing en illegale jacht.Een nieuw natuurreservaat in Borneo moet een toevluchtsoord worden voor de bedreigde honingbeer. Dat schrijft de Britse krantThe Guardian. Volgens Siew Te Wong, de bezieler van het reservaat, krijgt het lijden van de honingbeer te weinig aandacht.

Siew Te Wong, de bezieler van het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, heeft van de plaatselijke bevolking de bijnaam 'honingbeerman' gekregen. Het centrum opent op 16 januari de deuren. Volgens Wong is de honingbeer één van de 'vergeten beersoorten'.

De honingbeer heeft de voorbije decennia sterk geleden onder ontbossing en illegale jacht. "We moeten de mensen, op ieder niveau, het belang van het regenwoud aanleren", verklaart Wong aan The Guardian. "Onderwijs is fundamenteel omdat maar weinig mensen de honingbeer kennen. En als de mensen een diersoort niet kennen, schenken ze er ook geen aandacht aan."

Palmolie
Volgens het WWF is de toenemende globale vraag naar palmolie één van de hoofdredenen voor de ontbossing. Volgens Wong ligt de oorzaak bij de mensen zelf. De menselijke bevolkingsgroei veroorzaakt een eis naar meer grondstoffen, wat nefast is voor vele diersoorten.
​
Volgens Wong wordt er, ondanks het feit dat de beer al lang wettelijk beschermd wordt, nog altijd veel te weinig gedaan voor de bescherming van de diersoort. "Op het internet zijn heel gemakkelijk recepten voor stoofpot van berenpoot te vinden, kun je dat geloven? Het is gek, absoluut gek."

In Borneo moet een nieuw natuurreservaat het leefgebied worden voor de honingbeer. Deze beersoort wordt in haar voortbestaan bedreigd en volgens Siew te Wong de oprichter van het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre en beheerder van  het reservaat is er veel te weinig aandacht voor de diersoort. Hij noemt het zelfs één van de ‘vergeten’ beersoorten.


De honingbeer is een kleine donkerbruine tot zwarte beer met een gele tot witte vlek op zijn borst. Het dier heeft een gladde en korte vacht en komt alleen in de regenwouden van Zuidoost-Azië voor.  Ze danken hun naam aan het feit dat ze dol op honing zijn. Met hun sterke klauwen maken ze een bijennest open om er vervolgens de honing met hun lange tong uit op te likken. Naast honing eten ze vooral vruchten maar ook kleine dieren en eieren.[Bron]


De afgelopen decennia is de populatie honingberen enorm afgenomen als gevolg van ontbossing en illegale jacht. Volgens Wong is het heel belangrijk dat mensen zich gaan realiseren hoe belangrijk het regenwoud is.


“Onderwijs is fundamenteel omdat maar weinig mensen de honingbeer kennen. En als de mensen een diersoort niet kennen, schenken ze er ook geen aandacht aan”, aldus Wong.


Volgens het Wereld Natuur Fonds is de grote vraag naar palmolie één van de belangrijkste redenen van de ontbossing. Ook voor de bouw van sojaplantages voor veevoer worden enorme hoeveelheden regenwoud gekapt.
​

Op 16 januari opent het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre de deuren.

New Straits Times, 14th January 2014
 
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) hopes awareness on the protection of sun bears in Borneo will increase when a conservation centre dedicated to the mammal in Sandakan opens to the public on Thursday.

SWD director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu called on those who were keeping the protected species, especially its cubs as pets, to surrender them to the department or the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC).


Speaking during a press conference to announce the event, he said the centre housed 28 rescued bears since its inception in April 2008.


The centre would be officially opened in May and aims to educate the public about the threats to wildlife.


Sun bears are listed as an endangered species, the same as orang-utans and Sumatran rhinoceros. Killing or keeping a sun bear, even just having body parts like claws or gall bladders, could result in a punishment of up to five years' jail or a RM50,000 fine, or both.


The BSBCC, was established through a collaboration with SWD, Sabah Forestry Department and non-governmental organisation Land Empowerment Animals People. Aimed at promoting sun bear conservation through rehabilitation, education and research, it covers 2.5ha land, which includes 2ha of enclosed forest and key facilities, such as an observation platform, two bear houses and a visitor centre.


The centre founder, Wong Siew Te, a world known biologist and the first Malaysian to study sun bears, said it was difficult to estimate how many were left in the wild because of the lack of research.


Found throughout Southeast Asia, sun bears are the smallest of the world's eight bear species. Habitat loss and poaching for body parts for use in traditional medicine are among key threats that led to a 30 per cent drop in population in the last three decades.

The opening of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok, Malyasia this week brings hope to this forgotten species and excitement to a group of University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) students who are heading to Borneo next month to help promote the Centre.


Sun bears battle deforestation, exploitation, and illegal poaching. These threats have caused wild populations to plummet 30 per cent in the past 30 years and earn a “vulnerable” status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
One man has devoted his life to changing the tide. Siew Te Wong established the BSBCC in 2008 in Sabah, Malaysia directly next door to the popular Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary.


His goal is to rehabilitate and releases sun bears back into their native habitat.
From meagre beginnings, the centre now houses up to 52 bears. Until recently, all work has taken place behind closed doors but a new visitor information centre opens its doors this week.
“I could not have fulfilled this dream without the help of many dedicated people,” Wong says.


Part of that team come from the Sunshine Coast. USC tutor Sarah Pye visited Borneo with her family last year. A chance meeting with Siew Te Wong set off a chain of events which has led to USC partnering with the centre in signage designs, promotional activities and conservation efforts.


Ms Pye and her public relations team are celebrating the centre’s opening, with a free documentary screening of “Big Dream, Little Bears” which follows Wong’s journey. Created by Sydney filmmakers Wild Hoop Productions, it follows Wong’s amazing commitment.


“This film is a must see for anyone contemplating a visit to Borneo,” Ms Pye says.
“Wong’s story is reminiscent of Jane Goodall’s work with gorillas, and the documentary is very inspirational.”


The free film screening will be held at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital on Thursday 30 January. Doors open at 5.30pm. Spaces are limited and reservations are essential. Email spye@usc.edu.au to reserve your place.
free documentary screening of “Big Dream, Little Bears”
Thursday 30 January
Doors open at 5.30pm
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital
reservations are essential

Text by Katie King, LEAP Project Manager

​Friday July 17th, 2009 saw the ground breaking for the long anticipated Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), which will be adjacent to the famous Sepilok Orangutan Centre, 14 miles outside of Sandakan, Sabah. The event marked the commencement of construction of the first phase of BSBCC, which aims to provide rehabilitation and care for captive Sun Bears, and will be the first of its kind in Sabah.

July 17, 2009 20:17 PM
Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre To Be Built In Sepilok
By: Ramjit

SANDAKAN, July 17 (Bernama) - A Borneo sun bear conservation centre will be set up in Sepilok here in an effort to prevent the endangered animal from becoming extinct.

It will be next to the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok, and the ground-breaking ceremony for the project was officiated by state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, here, Friday.

Director of the sun bear conservation centre, Cynthia Ong, said the centre, to be built in three phases, would have facilities including a home that could accommodate 43 sun bears, a visitors' area, a gallery for exhibits and a natural walkway.

She said two hectares of the centre were located in the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve area, hence allowing the bears to live in a natural environment.
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GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY on Friday, 17th July, 2009 at 9:00 am

Press Release 

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) ground-breaking ceremony on 17th July 2009, at BSBCC Phase I site adjacent to Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan represents the beginning of construction of this three-phased project. The project is a partnership between the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah Forestry Department and the NGO LEAP. The Guest of Honour for the event is YB Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, and the programme will include the ceremony at the site of the new bear house and forested enclosures as well as a chance to view some of the Sun Bears currently at the Centre. This ground-breaking signifies the start of Phase I of construction of the Centre and marks a significant step in the establishment of a new home for captive Sun Bears in Sabah, where they will have daily access to the forest and an enriched environment, as well as improved, custom built night quarters. Phase I, which is expected to be completed in six months from the date of ground-breaking, involves the construction of a new bear house with capacity for 27 bears (each individual cages) and an adjacent one-hectare forest enclosure within the Kabili-Sepilok Virgin Jungle Reserve. Please see Phase I site plan for layout. The finished centre will have capacity for43 bears, two-hectare forest enclosures, a visitor centre, an observation gallery and a nature trail. Please see Phase I, II & III site plan for layout. The larger vision is for the bears to be in an environment which will prepare suitable ones for eventual release into appropriate wild habitat.RM1.3 million was raised at the Bear Necessities fundraising dinner in Kota Kinabalu in November last year, with RM650,000 from the private sector and a government match of one-to-one. These funds will go directly to the funding of Phase I. Efforts are now underway to raise funds for both Phase II (RM600,000) and Phase III (RM900,000), and the hope is that these phases will follow up on the completion of Phase I.