This illustration entitled 'Finding the Balance' depicts the current state of the world as Swee sees it. A world where the balance between modernisation and nature is shifting. Our aspiration to better develop our countries comes with a price to pay in the balance...with demolition of rainforests, pollution of oceans and rivers, the extinction of animals and plants. All for a better world...or is it?
As an artist and designer, Swee is hoping to make a difference with her brush through Pagoda Kingdom by painting the world in hope to save the world...one brush stroke at a time.We can all help save this planet we call home when we all do our part to care...we can restore the balance...one day at a time.
Let's start now.
SUN BEARS
The sun bear is one of the smallest bears in the world. They are also known as the Honey bear as they have very long tongues at 20 – 25cm which help them extract honey from bee hives. The name Sun Bear comes from the pale horseshoe shape on their chests, which is said to resemble the setting or rising sun. No two markings are the same.
Pagoda Kingdom loves the Sun Bear and wants to help with the Sun Bear plight. They are currently classified as 'vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List of threatened species which means that they are at high risk of extinction.
Sun bears face three main threats:
(The below facts comes from the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC).)
Habitat loss - Like many species, deforestation and degradation of habitat has dramatically decreased their numbers. The main causes in Borneo are plantation development, unsustainable or illegal logging and human-caused fires. In Sumatra and Borneo, large-scale conversion of forest to oil palm or other cash crops is proceeding at a rate of 1,000s of km² per year (Holmes 2002).
Commercial hunting - Sun bears are primarily hunted for their gall bladders (for use in Chinese folk medicine) and bear paws (as an expensive delicacy). In China and Vietnam, bile is milked from bears while they are still alive. Bears are routinely restocked as they do not live long. Killing sun bears is illegal in all of their native counties but is largely uncontrolled.
Pet trade - Sun bears are the smallest bear in the world. As such, their cubs are considered incredibly cute and there is a high demand for them as pets. The mother is killed, and the orphaned cub is removed from the wild and commonly kept in small cages with inadequate care.
Follow us on this page #pagodacares to see what we are doing as a brand to help contribute to the Sun Bears through the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC).
For more information on the Sun Bears, you can click on the the below link:
BORNEO PYGMY ELEPHANT
If ever you should meet a Borneo Pygmy Elephant, you would immediately fall in love with this gentle peaceful species of elephants. The pygmy elephant is the smallest subspecies of elephants in the world...Standing less than 8.2 feet tall, they have round bellies, enormous ears and long tails.
However, as with the Sun Bears, the Pygmy Elephants require our care and love. They are currently listed as an endangered species with their primary threat being the loss of their habitat. As their forests become fragmented due to human encroachment, populations are no longer able to travel along their traditional migration routes, and subpopulations are no longer able to breed to maintain genetic diversity. Pygmy elephants lose their forest homes as the ever expanding human population builds roadways and infrastructure and converts their habitat for agriculture, palm oil plantations and logging. These displaced elephants, whose food sources have been depleted, are then killed in ensuing conflicts when they trample or feed on villager’s crops. Elephants also risk becoming injured by illegal snares set out for smaller animals, and in Sabah’s Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, an estimated 20 percent of elephants have been wounded by these traps.
Pagoda Kingdom cares too for the Pygmy Elephants.
Follow us on this page #pagodacares to see what we are doing as a brand to help contribute to the elephants. We hope that through our art and our products we will help raise awareness and funds to give back to this gentle animal.
Further reading can be found on the below link:
http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/elephant/
