wildsingapore news

Protected zones will help to save Britain's marine wildlife

2009-11-08T07:54:00.000+08:00

Harmful fishing practices will be banned from UK coastal waters under new legislation to protect endangered species
Lisa Bachelor, The Observer The Guardian 8 Nov 09;

An exotic underwater world of seahorses, sharks and corals that surrounds the coast of Britain is to be given greater protection under new legislation coming into force this week.

The long-awaited Marine Act will allow conservation groups to map sites of nature preservation for the first time. Future legislation to be enforced in these marine conservation zones will see an end to damaging practices such as scallop dredging and trawler fishing.

Currently there is only one small piece of coastline in Britain that is heavily protected – the sea around Lundy Island, off Devon. As a result, species such as spiny sea-horses, found in Studland Bay in Dorset, and basking sharks, seen in Britain's coastal waters in the summer, have been under serious threat.

"This is a truly momentous event for our marine wildlife," said Joan Edwards, head of living seas for the Wildlife Trusts. "We have campaigned for many years for new laws to provide better protection of marine habitats and wildlife, as well as improved management of activities at sea. Numbers of basking sharks have dropped by more than 95% and corals, seahorses, whales, dolphins and seals have all been affected. The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, if effectively implemented, will provide the chance to conserve the thousands of species which inhabit UK waters."

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds hopes the act will also offer greater protection to Britain's seabirds, which are vulnerable to destructive fishing methods and marine pollution. "In recent years we have seen frightening declines in kittiwakes and other seabirds," said Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's director of conservation. "Climate change has been warming our seas and the food chain on which they rely is in danger of collapse. While this act can't stop climate change, it can help reduce other pressures on these vulnerable populations."

Part of the act's purpose is to safeguard Britain's vast network of brightly coloured, delicate corals. These include rarities such as the sunset cup coral, only found at a small number of isolated sites in the south-west of England and Wales. It is a slow-growing, long-lived species, making it particularly vulnerable. "Bottom trawling is like taking a plough along the sea bed," said Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at York University. "That is not conducive to sustaining healthy populations of fish."

The wildlife charity WWF has identified six "flagship species" that are under threat or in decline, which it believes will benefit from the act. These are the Atlantic salmon, whose numbers have been falling for 30 years; the pink sea fan, an exotic-looking horny coral; the harbour porpoise, usually seen in summer along the Welsh and Scottish coasts; sea-grass beds, a vital sea-horse habitat; deep-water coral reefs and horse mussel beds.

The establishment of the marine conservation zones will take place over the next two years, and the rules that govern each zone will be different, depending upon the needs of the species that are identified within them.

"If the Marine Act produces another feel-good exercise, it will have failed. My feeling is that it won't and that it will offer real protection to marine species," said Roberts.

Crab expert leads charge on climate: Prof Peter Ng and the Dodo

2009-11-07T09:40:00.000+08:00

Peter Ng's mission is to build bridges between specialists in diverse disciplines
Chang Ai-Lien, Straits Times 7 Nov 09;

PROFESSOR Peter Ng's idea of heaven is to don his rubber booties and wade knee-deep in muddy swamps, trawling through the muck for new crab species.

Former students fondly remember a host of different crustaceans he kept as pets, including a huge coconut crab so strong that it broke out of its wire cage and probably ended up in someone's cooking pot.
But these days, the internationally acknowledged crustacean expert is spending more time on dry land.

As a member of a new National University of Singapore (NUS) task force on environmental sustainability research, his first mission is to help build bridges between experts from diverse disciplines such as engineering, law, science and economics.

Only then is there any hope of dealing with complex environmental issues such as climate change, he says.

'We need all players on board to strike a balance. Each pillar is strong as a single discipline, but environmental issues are multi-faceted and we need a big picture approach,' says Prof Ng, 49, who is with the university's biological sciences department, 'so the biologists and environmental scientists can study the impact on nature and biodiversity, and the economists and lawyers can formulate policies that will strike a balance between sustainability and economic development.'

NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan announced last week that a research cluster on environmental sustainability had been formed to develop solutions for problems such as pollution, the fuel crunch and global warming.

NUS intends to take the lead regionally in tackling such issues. Even its upcoming NUS University Town campus in Kent Ridge is being planned 'green', with sustainability at the heart of its design.

But Prof Ng admits he is facing an uphill task in the imprecise field of climate change, where even experts cannot agree on how, or how badly, the planet will be hit by rising temperatures and sea levels.

'There are no short-cuts or simple solutions here. We can only try our best to manage our losses and stave off defeat. But we also cannot afford to lose this battle as it's the fate of humanity we are talking about here. It's the fate of our future generations,' he says.

The first challenge is to get researchers talking to each other.

'Getting scientists from different fields to work together is one of the most challenging things on the planet. Like me, if I had a choice, I'd focus on crabs...Why should I care what a policymaker thinks?'

So what prompted him to move beyond crabs to climate change?

'I believe that if you keep hurling crap at the environment, sooner or later it's going to throw something back. We all agree that there's a problem, and if we don't do something, there will be no more new crabs to discover in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or anywhere else,' he says.

He is leading the charge at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, which he heads.

The research facility was set up in 1998 to carry out research across marine disciplines, from studying water quality to the role of mangroves in the ecosystem and the impact of coastal development.

One promising project which has roped in experts from all fields aims to take the Garden City concept to the seas.

About 70 per cent of Singapore's shoreline is composed of hardened structures such as sea walls and breakwaters, he explains.

Pilot projects on Pulau Tekong and St John's Island are looking at how to attract marine life to such barren areas, by getting coral to take root, and sea life to congregate. So, marine engineers are working with biologists to design the best homes for coral, algae and sponges, in consultation with the National Development Ministry and urban planners.

Another project aims to showcase the rich animal and plant life in Singapore and the region to the public.

He is charged with moving the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research - a repository of the region's rich wildlife - from its cramped quarters at the university's science faculty to a spanking new building to be built on campus.

Fund-raising efforts to the tune of at least $30 million are under way, to create a full-blown natural history museum.

This will house over 300,000 preserved animal specimens, such as the highly endangered massive leathery turtle, which landed on the shores of Siglap beach in 1883, and the near-extinct cream-coloured giant squirrel, which was so common here 40 years ago that Prof Ng even had one as a pet.

The public will have free admission to the museum, which is expected to open in three years.

It will also showcase environmental research, such as how air and water quality is monitored, in a building which will itself boast green features, such as heat-reflecting glass panels and recycled materials.

'It helps to put a face to the environmental effort, and animals and plants are this face. If you show people a beautiful flower or crab, they feel for it,' says Prof Ng, who is married with three sons aged seven to 15.

'And if you save one species, you will hopefully save a host of other creatures as well.'

PRESSING NEED FOR ACTION

'I believe that if you keep hurling crap at the environment, sooner or later it's going to throw something back. We all agree that there's a problem, and if we don't do something, there will be no more new crabs to discover in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or anywhere else.'

Prof Ng

AN ICON OF EXTINCTION

'I love the dodo bird, it's the icon of extinction. Man wiped it out in less than 100 years, and there isn't a single preserved specimen left.

'We recreated our model at the museum based on bones, skeletons and literature on the bird. We named it Clarence, and it's the most accurate recreation around. Even the world's dodo experts agree.

'It shows that the creature was not the clumsy, stupid bird it has often been depicted as.

'We are living in a world that is losing 50 to 100 species every single day. Singapore has already lost about half its animal species in the last 200 years, we need to act fast to slow this trend.'

Prof Ng

Senegalese NGO plants 34 million mangroves

2009-11-07T09:22:00.000+08:00

AFP Google News 6 Nov 09;

DAKAR — A Senegalese environmental NGO announced on Friday that it had planted 34 million mangrove trees in three months in a project largely financed by French dairy giant Danone to offset its carbon footprint.

According to the environmental organisation Oceanium some 34 million mangrove seedlings were planted between August and November, 27 million in Senegal's southern Casamance region and 7 million in the Saloum river delta. Over 78,000 volunteers from 323 villages participated in the massive planting campaign.

"To my knowledge it is the first time ever that (over) 30 million trees have been planted in three months," Oceanium's president Haidar El Ali said.

Mangrove trees and shrubs form characteristic forests in saline coastal areas in the tropics and the subtropics.

In Senegal, the distinctive mangrove landscape is under threat and in the southern Casamance region the mangrove forests shrank to half their original size in the last 30 years.

The mangroves have an important place in Senegal's ecosystem. Without the mangrove forests the water becomes too salty to grow rice, a staple food for the Senegalese, fish die and the soil becomes exhausted.

French dairy giant Danone paid for the planting of the majority of the seedling, 30 million plants, Oceanium said.

"Danone wanted to compensate the carbon emission from its Evian business. They want to offset what they cannot reduce" in terms of carbon emissions, Jean Goepp of Oceanium told AFP.

He added that scientists are currently studying how much of the carbon emissions can be offset in the 5,000 hectares of mangrove seedlings planted due to Danone's 700,000-euro (one-million-dollar) investment.

ASEAN, Australia meet to curb fish poaching

2009-11-07T09:21:00.000+08:00

Erwida Maulia and Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post 6 Nov 09;

A number of countries concerned by fish poaching activities in the region kicked off a meeting Wednesday aimed at reducing the frequency of such practices.

Taking place on Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara for two days, the second coordination meeting of the Regional Plan of Action (RPoA) is expected to produce an agreement among country members to jointly reduce “illegal, unreported, and unregulated” fishing practices in the region.

The RPoA was set up in 2007, with members consisting of the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia. Indonesia has been appointed as the secretariat of the forum.

The two-day meeting in Lombok is being attended by delegates of all RPoA members excluding Malaysia. Also attending were delegates from East Timor and Papua New Guinea.

Director general for surveillance and control at Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Aji Sularso said the RPoA enabled the sharing of information between country members, on issues such as the new poaching-related regulations enacted in a country.

“Indonesia, for example, can inform other RPoA members that we now apply firm measures against poachers, and that we will shoot and drown their vessels if they’re found to poach in our water areas, so they can inform their fishermen,” Aji, the meeting co-chair, told reporters after opening the meeting.

While Indonesian fishermen have often been found poaching in Australian waters mainly because of a lack of information on boundaries, Indonesia is a victim of poaching by fishermen from China, the Philippines and Thailand, among other countries, he said.

“Indonesia is estimated to lose Rp 30 trillion [US$3.15 billion] per year to poaching,” Aji said.

“We have an average potential to catch 6.4 million tons of fish annually, but it has shrunk by 25 percent thanks to the illegal fishing.”

Aji said his office had caught at least 185 foreign ships for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters in 2007, saving some Rp 435 billion from possible state losses. There were 242 foreign ships caught in 2008, saving some Rp 650 million in losses.

“This year we have discovered more than 200 cases of illegal fishing already, excluding those handled by the police and navy,” he said.

“This means that our waters are still very prone to illegal fishing practices.”

Although only Indonesia and Australia will benefit from reduced poaching activities, other countries in the region also joined the RPoA because they share the responsibility of preventing their fishermen from poaching in their neighbors’ territories, said Aji.

“No countries would want their fishermen to poach in other countries’ areas.

“For example, we [Indonesia] feel embarrassed that some of our fishermen intrude into Australia’s waters, while we have fish in our own territory,” he said.

Head of the Australian delegation, Ian Thompson, said the RPoA had provided a “very good” mechanism for Australia to work closely with Indonesia and other countries in ASEAN to prevent irresponsible fishing practices.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’re making in legislation, in the sharing of information, and in helping each other build our capacity to address illegal fishing,” he said, referring to the aftermath of the 1st coordination meeting of the RPoA that took place in Manila last year.

Thompson said that while the first meeting was aimed at making country members understand the poaching-related problems of each country; the second meeting was expected to “reinforce the efforts everybody is making to reduce illegal fishing”.

“We also hope there will be sharing of more practical measures such as legislative responses to illegal fishing and opportunities for training or capacity building programs within each nation to address the problem,” he said.

Aji expressed hope the RPoA would become a permanent forum.

Concern over the fish bombing, cyanide and flotsam in Sabah

2009-11-07T09:20:00.000+08:00

Daily Express 6 Nov 09;

Kota Kinabalu: A renowned expedition leader has expressed concern over the scale of flotsam and the fact that some people use dynamite to fish and even cyanide in Sabah waters.

"We found during our journey a lot of ocean debris. We want people to realise that this is harmful for the environment. All these things cannot be changed in one day but you can change it through education and by getting them involved. They can change it if they have a reason in the future to change it.

"But we don't want to rush in and tell people how to live. We want to come and learn of these people that live along the coastline," said Mike Horn of Pangaea Expedition's Young Explorers Programme.

Mike, from South Africa, is currently in the State conducting one of several expeditions he has planned for the third stage of his four-year expedition programme.

"We've had the most welcoming reception, the most smiling faces that we've ever had from around the world and that goes to show that if people have a smile on their face they're still pretty much happy with the circumstances they're living in.

"But as the ocean debris is growing and growing and growing, it becomes a concern for me and the young explorers. That's why it's important for us to have a Malaysian that can take ownership. It must become the job of the youth, and that is to tell everyone that we have to all take care of the planet together," Mike told a media conference at Sutera Harbour, Thursday.

Also present were Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun and Sabah Tourism Board Chairman, Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin, among others.

The expedition takes Mike and his young explorers on a 35-metre yacht called Pangaea, which was named after the super continent that existed 250 million years ago, before it split into the parts we know today.

The expedition is trying to reunite the continents but only this time in the fight for nature.

Of crucial importance to the Pangaea Expedition's environmental goals is the participation of young adults.

Mike is arguably the most experienced explorer on the planet, and what he has seen so far points to a natural peril.

His aim is to pass down his experience of exploration and identify areas where people can focus to find solutions for a better world. Explore, learn, act will empower future generations to create sustainable solutions for nature and mankind.

This explains the objective of the Young Explorers Programme and what Mike wants is to have a representative from Malaysia to join the programme.

According to him, the Pangaea now is like a floating United Nations where the nine young explorers and crew represent South Africa, New Zealand, South Korea, Brazil, United States, Russia, Poland, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

"We would be privileged to have a Malaysian youngster aboard on one of our future projects, so that he or she could come back and make a major contribution to conservation in Malaysia, and around the world," said Mike.

The Mike Horn Pangaea Expedition is a remarkable modern-day adventure over land and sea, which will visit all the continents as well as the North and South Poles.

Joining Mike on board in different locations is a select group of "Young Explorers" who conduct practical environmental projects wherever they go.

The expedition, which started in October 2008 at the Antarctic Peninsula, is now in Sabah where Mike and nine young individuals from all over the world are exploring the marine biodiversity and islands of Malaysian Borneo.

"Malaysian Borneo has infinite natural beauty. We are delighted to see that so much is being protected and we want to help with that so that our children see it in the same way we are now.

"We've received wonderful support from the Sabah Tourism Ministry who are helping us celebrate this beautiful region," said Mike.

Australia: Antarctic fish nets kept secret

2009-11-07T09:18:00.000+08:00

Andrew Darby, The Age 7 Nov 09;

THE Federal Government has pulled plans to publicise the discovery of massive illegal fishing nets in the Antarctic, with the ship that found them, Oceanic Viking, now under a different spotlight.

Bottom-set gill nets are posing a new fisheries threat in Australian regional waters, where the ''curtains of death'' are being laid by foreign fishers on the deep-sea floor. Nets totalling 130 kilometres were found in April on Banzare Bank in the Southern Ocean by Oceanic Viking on fisheries patrol, sources told The Age yesterday.

The nets' use is outlawed by the 25-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, but rich pickings of Patagonian toothfish are leading illegal fishers to set them anyway.

Plans by the Australian Government to publicise the find to coincide with the commission's meeting in Hobart this week were put on hold with Oceanic Viking detained with Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Indonesia, and the Federal Opposition asking why it is not doing its fisheries job instead.

When Oceanic Viking found the nets, the converted cable-laying ship did not have the gear to pull them up. Instead, it called on a nearby licensed fishing vessel owned by the Perth-based Austral Fisheries, which recovered 29 tonnes of toothfish, a bycatch of skates, and about 10 kilometres of net. The rest was ripped up and sunk.

Glenn Sant, global marine program leader for the wildlife monitoring network, TRAFFIC, said the nets were devastating for the environment. He described the nets as ''invisible curtains of death'' for everything that swims into them.

Science is in on climate change sea-level rise: 1.7mm

2009-11-07T09:10:00.000+08:00

Drew Warne-Smith and James Madden, The Australian 7 Nov 09;

SEA levels on Australia's eastern seaboard are rising at less than a third of the rate that the NSW government is predicting as it overhauls the state's planning laws and bans thousands of landowners from developing coastal sites.

The Rees government this week warned that coastal waters would rise 40cm on 1990 levels by 2050, with potentially disastrous effects.

Even yesterday Kevin Rudd warned in a speech to the Lowy Institute that 700,000 homes and businesses, valued at up to $150 billion, were at risk from the surging tide.

However, if current sea-level rises continue, it would not be until about 2200 - another 191 years - before the east coast experienced the kind of increases that have been flagged.

According to the most recent report by the Bureau of Meteorology's National Tidal Centre, issued in June, there has been an average yearly increase of 1.9mm in the combined net rate of relative sea level at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, since the station was installed in 1991.

This is consistent with historical analysis showing that, throughout the 20th century, there was a modest rise in global sea levels of about 20cm, or 1.7mm per year on average.

By comparison, the NSW government's projections - based on global modelling by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well as CSIRO regional analysis - equate to a future rise of about 6.6mm a year. Such a projection has caused widespread concern for landowners and developers, derision from "climate sceptics" within the scientific community and even some head-scratching from Wollongong locals such as Kevin Court, 80.

"I have swum at this beach every day for the past 50 years, and nothing much changes here," Mr Court said yesterday as he emerged from the surf at Wollongong's North Beach, just a short paddle from the Port Kembla gauging station.

"All this talk about rising sea levels - most of us old-timers haven't seen any change and we've been coming down here for decades.

"A few years ago part of the bank at the back of the beach was eroded. But you look at it now, and all the grass has grown back over it. The water hasn't washed back there for years.

"And that's nature. It's up and down, it comes and goes in cycles - nothing dramatic."

The complex task of tracking sea levels is being performed by the Australian Baseline Sea Level Monitoring Project, which is co-ordinated by the National Tidal Centre.

Body: The project operates 16 gauging stations around the country, with the eastern seaboard monitored by stations at Port Kembla, as well as Rosslyn Bay and Cape Ferguson, in Queensland.

Bob Carter, a geologist and environmental scientist with James Cook University in Queensland, said he was "baffled" as to why states and local councils would develop policy based primarily on global averages and not the records of local tidal gauges.

In the past year, the Port Kembla gauge has recorded a sea-level rise of just 0.1mm

"When you design a house in Sydney, do you entrust the architect and builder to do the heating and air-conditioning based on global average temperature? Of course not," Professor Carter said.

He added that even if seas were rising as much as 3.3mm a year - the CSIRO's current global estimate - they would remain within the bounds of natural and normal variation. "There have been lots of times in our history when sea levels rose as much or more than now," Professor Carter said. "There is nothing unusual in the current situation."

Meteorologist Bill Kininmonth, former head of the National Climate Centre, is another to express concern about the way future sea-level rises have been modelled. Mr Kininmonth believes only a thin layer of the ocean is actually warming - about 200m - making it unlikely the oceans are expanding to any great degree.

He said there was little compelling evidence that the polar caps were melting and causing sea levels to rise.

Computer models also tended to underestimate the way evaporation regulated temperature, thereby exaggerating future temperature predictions, Mr Kininmonth added. "There's little reason to think the little bit of extra heat generated by greenhouse gases will make a dramatic difference," he said.

However, the consensus view of the scientific community remains that sea-levels are rising at an accelerated rate because of human activity that has warmed Earth.

The CSIRO's John Church, considered one of the world's leading authorities on sea-level rise, told The Weekend Australian yesterday he remained convinced waters along the eastern seaboard were rising in line with global averages. He noted that the BOM's gauge results for Port Kembla as published here did not include the effect of barometric pressure, which, if included, would lift the sea-level increase to 3.1mm, not much less than agreed global estimates.

The Australian continent was also rising slightly - about 0.3-0.4mm a year around Sydney - which had partially offset increases in sea levels, he said. And an analysis of records from a gauge at Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour - not incorporated in the National Tidal Centre report - also revealed that, after 1950, periods of extreme sea-level rises occurred three times as frequently as in the first half of that century.

"There is a clear acceleration in the rate of sea-level rise," Dr Church said. "In the last 20 years, it's almost twice the global average for the 20th century."

Dr Church said the NSW coast was likely to experience sea-level rises greater than global estimates due to changes in the wind stress patterns in the Pacific Ocean, which will strengthen the East Australian Current. And if polar ice caps were indeed melting at a significant rate - which is not yet established - Australia could witness even bigger swells still.

Dr Church challenged Mr Kininmonth's assertion that only a thin surface layer of the ocean was warming, saying recent studies provided evidence of deep ocean warming although it couldn't be quantified as yet.

A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water said NSW had selected the upper end of the IPCC modelling predictions because both emissions and measured global sea-level rise were now at or above the upper IPCC estimates.

Trash-eating Turtles Dying in Record Numbers: Earthwatch Presents First-Ever Award to Further Research

2009-11-06T08:00:00.001+08:00

PRWEB 5 Nov 09;

Preliminary studies led by Dr. Kathy Townsend from The University of Queensland indicate that more than 35% of the sea turtles she has studied in Australia died from eating trash.

Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, MA (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 5, 2009 -- Preliminary studies led by Dr. Kathy Townsend from The University of Queensland indicate that more than 35% of the sea turtles she has studied in Australia died from eating trash.

“Marine rubbish is having a significant impact on marine life,” Townsend said. “These impacts include ingestion of plastic debris and entanglement in crab pots, synthetic ropes and lines or drift nets, all of which can lead to death of turtles, sea birds and marine mammals.”

This first-ever fellowship—presented recently by Earthwatch at its office in Australia—will provide Townsend with $205,000 in funding to continue her research over the next three years. The fellowship is supported by the US-based Goldring Family Foundation.

Townsend will use the award to continue to expand the study area, raise awareness of the problem, and investigate why turtles eat the trash in the first place—and she’s garnering the help of Earthwatch volunteers to gather the data.

“Turtles in Trouble” is a new kind of research project for Earthwatch where up to eight volunteers become “scientists for a day,” spending a full day with Townsend learning about marine debris ingestion by turtles found around North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Queensland. More than 100 turtles (green turtles, hawksbills, and loggerheads) have washed ashore in this local area since 2005, Townsend said—but she’s sure there were plenty of others that weren’t reported.

In addition to performing turtle “necropsies” (autopsies for animals) and quantifying the amount of debris found on the local beaches, Townsend also takes volunteers out in a boat to release any turtles that have been rehabilitated.

The Goldring Emerging Marine Scientist Fellowship, presented by Earthwatch, supports promising early-career researchers and professionals who are committed to the creation of a sustainable environment through science, public education, and collaborative partnerships.

“Marine debris—including balloons, plastic ties and bags, milk bottle tops and more—is choking the life out of sea turtles all over the world, not just in Australia,” said Ed Wilson, CEO and president of Earthwatch in Metro Boston. “Support from the Goldring Fellowship will enable Kathy and an arsenal of Earthwatch volunteers to collect the data needed much quicker than was possible before—greatly expanding the reach and impact of this critical research.”

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51132618634&ref=ts

East Timor wants compensation from Australia for oil spill fallout

2009-11-06T07:58:00.000+08:00

ABC News 5 NOv 09;

East Timor wants compensation from the Australian Government for any environmental damage caused by an oil leak from a rig in the Timor Sea.

The Montara oil rig, which is 250 kilometres from East Timor's coastline, was expelling 400 barrels of oil a day for two months until the leak was stopped earlier this week.

East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta says the spill is the responsibility of the Australian Government and the Thai company that owns the platform.

Dr Ramos-Horta is calling for Australian environmental groups to help assess if the spill has caused any damage to East Timor's maritime area and says he will seek compensation for any negative effects to his country's environment.

ABC Radio's PM program has seen statements provided by several Indonesian fishermen who say their livelihoods have been seriously affected by oil.

They have spoken of a slick appearing at their fishing grounds and some of them have had no catch as a result. Some have had to borrow money to get by.

The Australian Government says only small patches of "weathered oil" have gone into Indonesia's economic zone, and that was about 100 kilometres from Roti.

Today Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett would not comment directly today on reports of impacts in Indonesian waters.

But he did say more work had started to determine the effects of the spill.

"As soon as we receive the results from that work we will make them publicly available, as we did with the work done originally at my insistence," he said.

"I have always said that this is a very serious matter and we have treated it seriously.

"We will make sure that every amount of relevant information in respect of environmental impacts is made available. If we think there's a necessity for more information and for more work to be done, we will get it done."

The confirmed death toll of birds affected by the spill is now at 19 but Mr Garrett would not speculate on whether he thought the seemingly low death toll would increase by much.

"I hope of course ... that there's minimal impact. So I'm not going to start speculating on whether there'll be increases and what kind of increases there may or may not be," he said.

"We will make sure that we will continue to do the work that we undertook in the first instance as a consequence of this event."

Spill inquiry

Today the Federal Government appointed a former senior public servant - former Environment Department secretary David Borthwick - to head a commission of inquiry into the oil spill.

The company behind the rig, PTTEP Australasia, says it welcomes the opportunity for the facts to be placed on the public record.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says Mr Borthwick will have the power and the authority of a royal commission.

"This inquiry's about getting to the bottom of the cause of the incident and the manner in which it was handled," he said.

"It's clearly now our responsibility to work with industry to assess the cause or causes of the incident and also make any necessary changes to the regulatory environment in Australia to try and avoid similar incidents in the future."

But Greens Senator Rachel Siewert is concerned Mr Borthwick does not have any judicial or investigative experience.

She says the Government must guarantee the inquiry will be conducted in public.

"Under the terms of reference and the process set up, it could be entirely done behind closed doors," she said.

"We don't think that's adequate so we're seeking an absolute commitment that there will be a public inquiry."

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says that is up to the commissioner.

"As to whether the commissioner determines to have public hearings or not in relation to the oil spill inquiry is a matter for him," he said.

"My expectation would be that he would give pretty open thought to the opportunity for public inquiry participation, but it's a matter for the commissioner."

Opposition Environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the inquiry should also examine a separate gas leak in the oil spill region.

"It's inexplicable that the Government has excluded the seven-week cover up of the East Puffin gas leak," he said.

"This was a gas leak which was 50 kilometres from the West Atlas oil rig leak and yet we heard nothing for seven weeks."

Mr Borthwick is due to hand down his findings by April.

Coral Reefs Inspire Rare Consensus -- Just Save Them

2009-11-06T07:56:00.000+08:00

ScienceDaily 5 Nov 09;

One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation -- their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.

That core belief is often strong enough that if it means people have to be kept out, so be it.

The analysis, done in Hawaii by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Hawaii, found that most people visiting the state's coral reef ecosystems care deeply about these areas and very much enjoy visiting them, but will generally endorse whatever amount of management is needed to protect them.

"It was really quite astonishing, almost shocking how much people wanted this resource protected for its own sake," said Mark Needham, an assistant professor of forest ecosystems and society at OSU. "We fish and hunt wildlife for food or sport, we cut trees for timber. In most natural resource issues, we find conflicts over management for economic value versus environmental preservation or protection, but we really didn't see that here.

"Our surveys found overwhelmingly that people visiting coral reef areas did not think that human use and access were the most important issues when it came to these areas," he said. "And if anything was to have a deleterious effect on reef ecosystems, they would want it stopped."

That attitude was also of interest, Needham said, because in Hawaii coral reef ecosystems are a major draw for the tourism industry -- seven million people a year who spend more than $11 billion, in part, to enjoy the glistening waters, multi-colored corals, and myriad tropical fish. They are a destination for everyone from snorkelers and scuba divers to tourists in glass-bottom boats and toddlers wading knee-deep, all who come to see the incredible diversity of marine life. More than 80 percent of Hawaii's visitors recreate in the state's coastal and marine areas, and a majority go snorkeling or diving.

Past research has been done in many places around the world to analyze physical damage or other pressures placed on coral reefs, which in some cases has resulted in steps to reduce human use or educate visitors on reef protection. But until now, resource managers had no real barometer on just how much public support there was for such measures, especially among hobbyists and tourists who use this resource.

These recent surveys obtained attitudes and opinions from more than 3,500 residents and tourists visiting seven coral reef sites in the Hawaiian Islands, including state marine protected areas, fisheries management areas, and a county beach park. The surveys also measured attitudes about overuse and crowding, and opinions about management needs.

Opinions about coral reefs varied, Needham said, but were mostly just variations on how much protection might be needed, with some people feeling more extreme than others. Virtually no one wanted expanded use of coral reefs to the extent it might degrade them for enjoyment by future generations, and many were willing to endorse any level of protection needed, even if it meant banning human use. These views toward coral reefs reflected peoples' core personal values and are unlikely to change much, scientists said.

The studies showed that acceptance of potential future management strategies would be driven largely by perceived health of coral reefs and changes to these ecosystems.

"Litter, facilities, and crowding were not as important as coral reef conditions in influencing support or opposition to management actions such as limiting human use and increasing public information," Needham said. "This is surprising because in many parks and protected areas on land, social issues such as crowding and litter heavily influence attitudes toward management.

"In a marine context," he added, "it appears that environmental conditions may be more important."

More education and interpretation was commonly sought to help address issues of concern, such as people damaging corals by standing on them, the report found. The studies were supported by the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources. Some results of this work have been accepted for publication in professional journals.

This research should be considered good news for managers seeking support for their marine protection and conservation efforts, Needham said.

However, further studies are needed in other states and countries and with other segments of the public, he said, including some that have a much stronger orientation toward managed use instead of recreation or environmental protection. Needham is now working with Brian Szuster, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Hawaii, to examine this topic in other areas of Hawaii and in other countries.

Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University.

Caribbean, Gulf spared widespread coral damage

2009-11-06T07:54:00.000+08:00

David Mcfadden, Associated Press Yahoo News 6 Nov 09;

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Lower-than-feared sea temperatures this summer gave a break to fragile coral reefs across the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico that were damaged in recent years, scientists said Thursday.

Unusually warm water in recent years has caused the animals that make up coral to expel the colorful algae they live with, creating a bleached color. If the problem persists, the coral itself dies — killing the environment where many fish and other marine organisms live.

"We dodged a bullet this year. The good news is that temperatures didn't get quite warm enough for there to be a large-scale bleaching problem," said C. Mark Eakin, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch network. He was among scientists gathered in Puerto Rico's capital for a meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

The worst coral bleaching in the region's recorded history occurred in 2005, when hot seas caused bleaching of as much as 90 percent of corals in the eastern Caribbean, with more than half of that dying.

In July, the Coral Reef Watch network warned that high temperatures this year might lead to severe coral problems because sea surface temperatures in parts of the Caribbean were unusually hot.

Eakin said the threat had passed for 2009, since temperatures are now cooling, but the problem could return.

"We're seeing little signs of coral recovery in the Caribbean, where the damage has been like a ratchet wrench clicking down and staying there," Eakin said. "Temperatures could be severe enough next year."

Reef-building coral is a fragile organism, a tiny polyp-like animal that builds a calcium-carbonate shell around itself and survives in a symbiotic relationship with types of algae — each providing sustenance to the other. Even a 1-degree Celsius (1.7-degree Fahrenheit) rise in normal maximum sea temperatures can disrupt that relationship.

Bleaching can occur when sea temperatures rise just a few degrees above average in the warmest summer months. Bleaching that lasts more than a week can kill the organisms, since they rely on the algae for sustenance.

Some coral bleaching was recorded this year in the Cayman Islands, according to Eakin and scientists in the British Caribbean dependency.

Croy McCoy, a senior researcher with the islands' Department of Environment, told The Associated Press that officials are still calculating the damage to local reefs.

___

On the Net:

NOAA's Coral Reef Watch home page: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html

Bluefin tuna on edge of extinction, environmentalists warn

2009-11-06T07:50:00.000+08:00

Yahoo News 6 Nov 09;

WASHINGTON (AFP) – An international fisheries group set up to protect Atlantic tuna has done the opposite and driven one species of the fish, the bluefin, to the edge of extinction, environmentalists said Thursday.

On the eve of a 10-day meeting in Brazil of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), environmentalists accused the group of ignoring the advice of its own scientists and setting fishing quotas for bluefin tuna that have drastically depleted stocks.

"ICCAT has continually disregarded countless opportunities to do the right thing and secure the Atlantic bluefin tuna," Susan Lieberman, director of international policy at the Washington-based Pew Environment Group, told reporters.

Marine biologist Carl Safina, president of the Blue Ocean Institute, which studies how human behavior impacts the ocean, called ICCAT "the poster child for not only failure... but cynicism and a real unwillingness to get serious, be professional and listen to what the science has to say.

"The world's first fisheries management agency formed out of concern for this one species never followed their own science, never lived up to their mandate to manage for a sustainable yield," Safina said.

ICCAT was set up in the late 1960s to conserve "tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas," according to its website.

Lieberman said ICCAT has for decades set quotas above what its own scientists have recommended for bluefin tuna.

Those quotas are systematically exceeded by industrial fleets, which over-fish the species.

Combined with illegal fishing, this has caused the population to decline by more than 85 percent in the eastern Atlantic and by more than 90 percent in the western Atlantic.

"The bluefin tuna will not be with us and certainly will be extinct if governments don't do the right thing... and unless ICCAT says, 'Enough is enough, it's time for a zero quota; we're going to put the brakes on this fishery,'" Lieberman said.

"If we had any terrestrial species that had declined this much, this quickly, we would have said we have to shut this down, we have to let them recover," Lieberman told AFP.

The environmentalists also called for stricter regulation of the trade in sharks, which are often caught up as "by-catch" in commercial tuna-fishing operations and are also being targeted directly by fishing fleets for their fins and meat.

Around 100 million sharks are caught in commercial and sports fishing every year, and several species have declined by more than 80 percent in the past decade alone, according the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

"ICCAT needs to set science-based sustainable catch limits on the number of sharks that can be killed and prohibit the retention of exceptionally vulnerable sharks species such as the big-eyed thresher," Lieberman said.

The environmentalists want the bluefin tuna to be included on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list of animals and plants most threatened with extinction, and for some species of shark to be included on a CITES list which regulates trade.

"We want their trade regulated so they don't go the way of the bluefin," Lieberman told AFP.

Bluefin tuna is popular in upscale sushi restaurants around the world, particularly Japan, while shark-fin soup is a delicacy and status symbol in some Asian countries. Shark meat is also gaining popularity in Europe.

Forty-eight countries in every region of the world -- ranging from Algeria, Barbados, China and France, to Ivory Coast, Japan, the United States and Venezuela -- are contracting parties to ICCAT.

Sungai Pulai and Sungei Buloh part of Iskandar work group

2009-11-05T08:18:00.001+08:00

New work group to study joint economic project in Iskandar Malaysia
Channel NewsAsia 4 Nov 09;

A study has been commissioned to assess the feasibility of nature sites for joint tourism development, which can potentially increase tourism flows between Iskandar Malaysia and Singapore.

The study sites are Sungai Pulai, Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup - collectively known as the Ramsar sites in Iskandar Malaysia - and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore.

SINGAPORE : A new work group has been formed to study the joint development of an iconic economic project in Iskandar Malaysia.

This is a follow-up to the discussions between the prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore in May this year.

They mooted the idea of a bilateral project in Iskandar Malaysia as a showcase of the commitment of both countries to build a strong, productive and enduring relationship.

The set-up of the work group was announced after the fifth working meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia on Wednesday.

A joint statement said the committee also reviewed the progress made so far by the Joint Work Groups on Immigration, Transportation, Tourism, and Environment.

A study has been commissioned to assess the feasibility of nature sites for joint tourism development, which can potentially increase tourism flows between Iskandar Malaysia and Singapore.

The study sites are Sungai Pulai, Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup - collectively known as the Ramsar sites in Iskandar Malaysia - and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore.

On the immigration front, the pilot of the Malaysian Automated Clearance System that gives frequent travellers to Iskandar Malaysia access to "fast track" lanes was extended to all frequent travellers to Malaysia in September.

Both sides also agreed to double the cross-border bus services by January 2010.

The joint ministerial committee will meet again in the first half of 2010 to review the progress of the joint work groups. - CNA /ls

Singapore-KL work group for Iskandar project
Teo Cheng Wee, Straits Times 5 Nov 09;

SINGAPORE and Malaysia formed a work group yesterday to study the joint development of an iconic economic project in Iskandar.

Working together on an iconic project in the Johor economic zone was one of the key issues discussed when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Singapore in May.

The bilateral project was mooted as a showcase of the commitment of both countries to build a strong, productive and enduring relationship, the two countries' Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Iskandar Malaysia said yesterday.

At the meeting in May, Mr Lee had suggested a mixed-use township development, while Datuk Seri Najib was keen on a wellness centre that could provide spas and other services.

But what the project will eventually be has not been finalised.

Yesterday's meeting at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore was the fifth for the JMC. It was formed in 2007 with the aim of facilitating cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore on the Iskandar project.

The meeting was jointly chaired by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan and Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

The committee also includes Johor chief minister Ghani Othman and Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim. The JMC also reviewed the progress made by four sub-groups on immigration, transportation, tourism and the environment.

A study has been commissioned to assess the feasibility of jointly developing nature sites as tourism spots.

On the immigration front, the pilot test of the Malaysian Automated Clearance System - which gives frequent travellers to Iskandar Malaysia access to 'fast track' lanes - was extended to all frequent travellers to Malaysia in September.

Both countries also agreed to double cross-border bus services by next January. The JMC will meet again in the first half of next year.

Australian oil spill recovery plan could take 7 years

2009-11-05T08:00:00.001+08:00

Yahoo News 4 Nov 09;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Monitoring the clean-up of a huge oil spill in pristine Australian waters could take as long as seven years, an official said Wednesday as environmentalists urged a wide-ranging inquiry into the disaster.

As many as 28,000 barrels of oil have gushed into the Timor Sea off Western Australia's northern coast in the 10 weeks since the West Atlas oil rig began leaking, raising concerns of an environmental disaster.

Attempts to plug the hole were delayed by the need to bring equipment from Singapore, the difficulty of the operation some 2.6 kilometres (1.6 miles) below the seabed and a fierce inferno fuelled by the leak which erupted Sunday.

The rig's operator PTTEP Australasia said the clean-up would be carried out quickly after the oil and gas leak and the fire were shut down on Tuesday.

"I suspect a couple of months is what we are sort of anticipating," the company's Jose Martins said of the operation.

"The environmental plan really could take up to seven years."

Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, who has called for an inquiry into the incident, welcomed the news that the fire on the rig and the Montara wellhead platform had been extinguished.

"I think we are all relieved that what could have been a very dangerous situation hasn't seen any loss of life," the minister told state radio.

Environmentalists said stopping the flow was the first step in cleaning up the spill some 250 kilometres offshore, but called for any inquiry into the leak and fire to have wide-ranging powers.

"This is a major spill," WWF Australia's Ghislaine Llewellyn told AFP. "This is up in the top three in Australian history."

Llewellyn said the spill of oil and condensate combined with the dispersant used to control the slick had created a toxic cocktail which would have a long-term impact on the area's pristine tropical marine life.

Authorities said they were investigating whether oil from the rig could have washed up on Australia's northern coast.

The Australian embassy in Jakarta has dismissed reports that oil from the leak had come close to Indonesian coastal waters as "highly unlikely".

NTT urges Australia to plug Timor Sea oil spill
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post 4 Nov 09;

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Frans Leburaya has urged the Australian government to take immediate measures to plug an oil leak polluting the Timor Sea.

Leburaya said Tuesday in the provincial capital Kupang that the local environmental agency had sent the government results of lab tests proving the leak, from an offshore oil rig in the Montara field, had polluted local waters.

"The observation team is continuing to monitor the impact of the pollution and will report periodically," Leburaya said.

He added marine life reportedly affected by the oil included dolphins and whales.

"If the crude oil sinks to the bottom of the sea, deep-sea fishes will also be at risk," he said, adding he had sent a letter to the foreign, environment and transportation ministers to discuss the issue with the Australian government.

At a press conference the same day, West Timor Care Foundation director Ferdi Tanoni lauded the Australian government's plan to form an independent commission to investigate the oil rig explosion.

"The proposal to establish an independent commission was expressed by Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson on November 30 in Canberra," he said.

He urged the independent commission to involve Indonesia and East Timor in its job, saying both countries were at the highest risk from the pollution.

"The investigation should be carried out together so as not to give an impression of being partial," Tanoni said, adding the Indonesian government should be more proactive in dealing with the issue.

Besides the spill, he went on, the offshore oil rig operated by West Atlas, owned by Thai company PTTEP, had also caught fire.

Australian authorities are currently attempting to plug the leak and put out the fire.

At a press conference Tuesday in Jakarta, the Australian Embassy said the federal government had focused on minimizing the impact of the oil spill and would continue to provide the latest information to Indonesian authorities.

Embassy public affairs official Angky Septiana said the oil leak began on Aug. 21, spilling light crude oil into the Timor Sea.

The embassy had immediately reported the incident to Indonesian authorities as soon as satellite images showed large patches of crude oil entering the Indonesian exclusive economic zone, he added.

"On Oct. 28, Australian Minister of Environment, Heritage and Arts Peter Garrett held talks with his Indonesian counterpart Gusti Muhammad Hatta on the oil spill from the Montara oil field," Septiana said.

The biggest section of the oil spill is found in Australian waters, within the Montara oil field.

A large-scale cleanup process is currently underway, using methods from dissolving the crude oil, to containment and restoration using booms and skimmers.

Australia launches inquiry into major oil spill
AFP Google News 5 Nov 09;

SYDNEY — Australia launched an inquiry on Thursday into a major oil spill off its coast which has been described as one of the country's worst environmental disasters.

Retired senior civil servant David Borthwick was appointed to probe the leak, which gushed from a damaged oil well in the Timor Sea for some 10 weeks and then burst into flames before finally being contained on Tuesday.

"I simply say that we aspire to learn from this incident and take any necessary steps to stop similar incidents occurring in the future," Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said.

The inquiry will have the power to call witnesses, take sworn evidence and force companies to hand over documents, and will make recommendations aimed at stopping future accidents.

The rig's Thai-based operator, PTTEP Australasia, has warned the site off northern Australia may need environmental monitoring for up to seven years.

Up to 28,000 barrels of oil poured into the sea after the West Atlas rig began leaking on August 21, prompting several attempts to cap it by boring a relief well and pumping in heavy mud.

Environmental groups have criticised the government's handling of the spill, saying it threatened bird and marine life off Western Australia's north coast.

Resource-rich Australia is enjoying strong energy exports, notably its fast-expanding liquefied natural gas sector fuelled by booming Asian demand.

Calm Before The Spawn: Climate Change And Coral Spawning

2009-11-05T07:34:00.000+08:00

ScienceDaily 4 Nov 09;

What's the point of setting up marine reserves to protect coral reefs from pollution, ship groundings and overfishing if climate change could cause far more damage? A study published this week in London in Proceedings of the Royal Society B provides the answer.

For decades researchers have known that corals synchronize their release of eggs and sperm into the water but were unsure of how and why. Robert van Woesik, a biologist at the Florida Institute of Technology, explains why corals spawn for just a few nights in some places but elsewhere string out their love life over many months.

The study shows that corals spawn when regional wind fields are light. When it is calm the eggs and sperm have the chance to unite before they are dispersed. Corals off the coast of Kenya have months of light winds so they can reproduce for much of the year. On the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, calm weather is short-lived and the coral reproductive season is brief.

The results of the study are critically important for effective reef conservation.

According to van Woesik: "Coral reproduction is a very local event. This means local conservation efforts will maximize reproductive success and give reef systems a chance to adapt to global climate change."

Taiwan coral reefs need 100 years to recover: scientists

2009-11-04T07:52:00.000+08:00

Yahoo News 3 Nov 09;

TAIPEI (AFP) – Coral reefs off Taiwan will need up to 100 years to recover from Typhoon Morakot, which lashed the island in early August killing more than 600 people, a scientist said Tuesday.

Latest research shows the reefs, near volcanic Orchid Island southeast of Taiwan, have sustained even worse damage than initially feared, according to Academia Sinica, a Taipei-based scientific institution.

"Some of the shallow-water coral reefs look as if they've been crushed by road rollers," said Chen Chaolun, a researcher at the institution. "They will need up to 100 years to recover."

The live coral coverage near Orchid Island has tumbled from 68 percent to less than 18 percent, he said.

The reefs, popular with diving enthusiasts, were damaged by driftwood thrust into the sea by the typhoon and mudflows crashing into the ocean from coastal areas.

Chen warned that his 100-year estimate is based on the assumption that overfishing, pollution and aggressive development in coastal areas is stopped.

Typhoon Morakot unleashed a record three metres (10 feet) of rain, triggering widespread flooding and massive deadly landslides.

Lanyu coral reefs will take 100 years to recover
Central News Agency, Taiwan News 3 Nov 09;

It may take at least a century for the coral reefs in waters surrounding the outlying island of Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, to recover from the damage wrought by Typhoon Morakot, a researcher said yesterday.

"Morakot not only wreaked havoc on land in Taiwan but also on the corals on the seabed, " said Chen Chao-lun, an associate research fellow at the Biodiversity Center of Academia Sinica, Taiwan's most prestigious academic institution.

"The seabed off Lanyu is littered with coral wreckage in the wakeof the storm, " Chen said, adding that the coral looks like it has been "shredded by a fruit slicer."

An avid amateur diver, Chen joined 55 other volunteers enlisted by two local environmental protection organizations to check the state of the coral reefs at 16 sites off the coasts of Taiwan proper and its outlying islands, between May and September.

"The live coral coverage in Lanyu waters used to exceed 50 percent, but the latest survey conducted after Typhoon Morakot showed that it has declined to 18 percent, " Chen said. "This is a steep drop from the 69 percent recorded in 2004."

In what seemed to be a demonstration of the power of nature, Chen said, the storm uprooted from the seabed a six-meter-high coral that weighed nearly two tons and flung it across over a 10-meter-wide road onto the roof of the Lanyu Farmers Association, where it left a large hole.

In addition to natural disasters, overfishing is also a major threat to the survival of coral reefs in Lanyu waters, according to Chen. A number of reef fish and shell species, including groupers, parrotfish and wrasse fish, have been almost depleted, he noted.

Overfishing has disrupted the marine food chain, a phenomenon that has made the Lanyu coral reef environment even more vulnerable to natural disasters, he added.

"A coral reef is like a community. When its fish and other living organisms are all poached or stolen, it becomes like a community without protection and may collapse easily because it is so fragile," Chen explained.

According to Chen's estimate, it will take at least 100 years for the Lanyu coral reefs to regain full health and beauty, but only if overfishing and excessive and abusive development of coastal regions are halted.

The volunteers recruited by the Taiwan Environmental Information Association and the Taiwan Marine Environmental Education Association also surveyed the health of coral reefs at 15 other locations, including waters off Taiwan's northeastern coast and Taitung's Shanyuan beach as well as the outlying islands of Siaoliuciou, Green Island and Penghu's Dongyuping.

Chen, who has been studying and conserving Taiwan's coral reef ecosystems for more than 20 years, said he was pained by the post-Morakot situation.

"The Waters off Shanyuan were filled with large pieces of driftwood that relentlessly battered the coral reefs, while silt and mud from the Bainan Stream flowed into the sea day and night, exacerbating the situation," Chen said.

The latest survey has found that live coral coverage at 12 of the 15 sites under study has fallen to below 25 percent, Chen said. "The Siaoliuciou situation is even worse, " Chen said. Overfishing, pollution and tourism have brought about irreversible.

Orissa bans fishing for seven months to protect rare Olive Ridely turtles

2009-11-04T07:50:00.000+08:00

Nageshwar Patnaik, The Economic Times 2 Nov 09;

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa government on Sunday imposed a seven-month-long ban on fishing activity along the entire 20 km stretch of Dhamra-Barunei
mouth within Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in the wake of aribada [mass nesting] of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles.

This move will affect around 25,000 traditional marine fishermen in coastal Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, who eke out their living by fishing only.

The ban is in accordance with Sections 2, 7 and 4 of Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982 and provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division, Divisional Forest Officer, Prasanna Kumar Behera said.

As many as 212 marine fishermen were arrested and 84 sea-worthy trawlers and vessels were seized during ban clamped last year as vessels defied the OMFRA provisions and indulged in fishing along the prohibited water zones.

In view of drop in marine fish catch and subsequent loss of avocation, the fishermen have been demanding for temporary permits for fishing activity on once-a-week basis for their sustenance. In fact, the state government had announced Rs 2,700 a month for full time fishermen and Rs 1,350 for part time fishermen, but it was never implemented causing anguish among the traditional fishermen

Though last year the government had assured to provide temporary permits, it cid not keep its words pushing the marine fishermen to pecuniary, said a spokesman of the local traditional marine fishermen association.

According to the marine fishermen of these areas, the conservation
of endangered Riddley is of paramount importance but it should not be at the cost of livelihood of thousands of fishermen, who cause no harm to these species.

Most traditional fishermen fish in the 5 km stretch with their indigenous kani or net which do not harm turtles. But breeding turtles get killed by the trawlers, which use mono-filament nets that lead to entangling of the turtles.

The prohibition in past years has resulted in a drastic drop in marine fish production and economy regulated by fishing sector. Ancillary sectors like ice-factories, net making units, etc in areas like Dhamra, Jamboo, Kharinasi, Ramnagar, Sandhakuda, Ambiki, Erasama and Paradipgada have been closed down.

Skilled boat-makers from these areas are slowly heading to Digha and Vishakhapatnam due to bleak business.

Fishing ban breather for turtles
The Telegraph India 3 Nov 09;

Environmentalists protest death of Olive Ridley turtles in Gahirmatha last year

Cuttack, Nov. 3: The state government has banned fishing in and around Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary to protect the Olive Ridley sea turtles, which migrate to the Orissa coast every winter.

Sources said the forest department had imposed the ban from November 1 in view of the mating and nesting season of the endangered sea turtles. The restriction will continue till May 31, 2010.

Gahirmatha beach, which forms the eastern boundary of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, some 90km from here, supports the largest known nesting beach of Olive Ridley sea turtles in the world. Nearly half-a-million Olive Ridleys nest every year at Gahirmatha. Besides, the coastal waters off Gahirmatha are a major mating area for the turtles before nesting.

The ban is being enforced under the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982, and the Orissa Marine Fishing Rules, 1983.

The divisional forest officer of Rajnagar mangrove forest (wildlife) division, P.K. Behera, said fishing had been banned around 20km of the Gahirmatha seashore.

Steps were also underway to set up onshore and offshore camps to keep a watch on illegal entry of trawlers to the sanctuary area during the seven-month ban period, he said.

The forest officials plan to step up night-patrolling with the help of coast guard personnel and marine police after the Olive Ridleys are sighted.

“We have sought help from coast guard, marine police and Defence Research Development Organisation personnel to step up surveillance in and around Gahirmatha coast during nesting,” Behera said.

The DRDO personnel are expected to initiate steps to mask defence-lighting system at the nearby Wheeler Island during mass nesting to prevent the turtles getting disoriented on the beach.

Kudos to Botak Jones for eco-friendly initiative

2009-11-03T08:14:00.000+08:00

Straits Times Forum 3 Nov 09;

I WOULD like to praise the Botak Jones chain of food outlets for its initiative to save wild fish stocks by using fish from sustainable fisheries in its dishes.

As many may not be aware of the current situation of fish stocks globally, the abundance of fish is declining, due to overfishing, and many fish species have become endangered or vulnerable to extinction. One example is the blue-fin tuna. Declining fish stocks will also mean we cannot consume fish in the near future as the human population grows further.

Botak Jones' latest dish, char-grilled mahi mahi (dolphin fish), caught my attention during my visit last Thursday night. Its promotional menu for mahi mahi stated that this fish comes from a sustainable fishery. Curious, I approached the staff to ask the source of other fish on the menu, such as fish & chips and Alaskan pollock.

I was impressed with their replies. They understood what I was asking when I mentioned 'sustainable fishery' and could tell me the types and sources of fish species they used and how the fish were caught.

I must say, Botak Jones is one of the few eateries that is aware of current fish issues and makes an effort to serve fish from sustainable harvest. It has also trained its staff well in knowledge of fish.

Although Botak Jones is just a neighbourhood eatery, we should appreciate it as ecologically conscious, compared to other big seafood restaurants whose staff do not even know what fish they are serving. It is such a shame that some are still serving blue-fin tuna.

Wong Yee Man (Ms)

Move to restore Selangor mangrove forests

2009-11-03T07:56:00.000+08:00

Story and photos by SALINA KHALID, The Star 3 Nov 09;

YEARS ago, the whole of the Pulau Indah coastal area off Klang, was covered with mangrove trees. Now, only about 20% of the trees remain.

“This island used to be covered with 2,000ha to 3,000ha of mangrove forest but now only a small portion of it is left.

“Part of the area, which used to be a forest reserve had been degazetted a few years ago, allowing development but at the cost of these mangroves.

“Even areas that were not supposed to be affected suffered damage,” said Global Environment Centre (GEC) director Faizal Parish.

The trees were chopped to make way for development which also involved land clearing to provide access to the site.

Water flow into the mangrove forest was also interrupted due to the creation of an access road and this contributed to the damage.

“Some of the areas are recovering naturally, in others, the damage is still visible,” added Faizal.

In efforts to restore the mangroves, GEC together with the Selangor Forestry Department have started replanting activities in the area.

The first activity was launched on Saturday with about 1,500 bakau kurap (Rhizophora mucronata) saplings planted in the eastern tip of the island.

About 300 people, including the local community and students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Ampuan Jemaah, Sekolah Menengah Datuk Hamzah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pandamaran Jaya and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Raja Zarina, took part in the exercise.

In addition to creating awareness on the importance of preserving the mangroves and its eco-system, the programme also hoped to instil a sense of ownership among the participants.

Despite the early morning drizzle, the participants got into the mudflats for the tree-planting.

“We want them to know how difficult it is to plant this tree and as such should not be chopped down easily.

“It is a living thing and they have to realise that there is a possibility that it might not survive,” said Faizal.

He hoped that the participants, especially the students, would come back to visit the trees that they had planted and help ensure their survival.

Faizal said they had chosen the site after finding it suitable for restoration.

He said although the area was damaged due to the nearby development, it had high potential for restoration.

“The water flow has improved and this will help the trees to survive. In some areas, we can see new trees, indicating that the area is recovering naturally.

“So these sapplings that we are planting will complement those that are growing naturally,” he said.

However, Faizal said it would take between three and four years for the restoration efforts to show results.

Mangroves are tropical trees and shrubs growing on sheltered coastlines, mudflats and riverbanks. They cover some 14 million hectares worldwide and are concentrated within 25 degrees North and South of the Equator.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, in 2007, about one third of the world’s mangroves were found in Asia (39%) followed by Africa (21%) and North and Central America (15%).

Mangrove forests in Selangor are found mainly along the coastline of the Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Klang, Kuala Langat and Sepang.

Almost 72% of mangrove forest reserves in Selangor are located in the Klang district. They are the Kapar mangrove forest, Klang mangroves, Teluk Gedong and Jugra Blok 1.

In Selangor, mangroves cover 18,088ha with 5,612ha of it in the islands off Klang and 2,365ha in Pulau Ketam.

Both Pulau Tengah and Pulau Che Mat Zin each have about 1,400ha of mangrove forest.

The Klang islands (a group of islands) are mangrove islands in the estuary of the Sg Kelang with mudflats and sandflats. Klang islands are of national importance because these are excellent examples of an estuarine mangrove mudflat system.

The islands are also the most important site for migratory shorebirds and fish-breeding ground which support coastal fishery activities.

Recently, the Selangor government announced that they will no longer be issuing permits for logging on government land, effective from next year.

This also covers logging activities for all inland and the mangrove forests in the state.

“As the most developed and highly populated state, mangroves in Selangor have faced tremendous pressure from land development and pollution.

“It is estimated that from 1980 to 1998, almost 47% of the original mangrove forest reserve in Selangor has been lost to aquaculture, housing and industrial development,” said Faizal.

Despite the salinity and water levels that can change daily, mangroves, adapt well to cope in this environment and thrive.

With roots clustered together to form a natural barrier to break the strong waves from hitting the shore, these mangroves also house various species of marine life, making them a haven for both fishermen and shore birds.

Destroying the mangrove forests will significantly reduce these marine life such as prawns and mud- crabs and would affect the livelihood of mangrove fishermen.

Mangroves have one of the most unique reproductive strategies in the plant world. It disperses its cigar-shaped propagules (seed) via water.

All the sapplings for the replanting programme came from the Forestry Department’s own nursery in Klang.

The department’s deputy director for silviculture and forest protection, Samsu Anuar Nawi, said the mangrove sapplings were kept at the nursery for about four months before being planted.

He said the bakau kurap (Rhizophora mucronata) was chosen for the programme because these have a higher market value and are commonly used for construction and to make charcoal.

The species is used for piling at construction sites.

“We are concentrating on government land due to the damage done from the development surrounding the mangrove areas.

“Previously we carried out several activities in Sabak Bernam and this is the first time we are carrying it out in Pulau Indah,” he said.

The replanting programme is part of efforts to restore the rich bio-diversity of the forests to provide an ecosystem for fish, crabs, birds and other creatures and plants.

Studies have also shown that the mangroves could protect coastal areas from rising tides, storms and natural erosion.

The trees have a high storage capacity for carbon, which helps to regulate the quantity of carbon dioxide in the environment.

They function like carbon factories by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting them into organic material.

The organic materials are then absorbed into trees, mudflats and nearby waterways, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases.

Harvesting mangroves is allowed in the country, with the logging permit issued by the relevant state Forestry Department.

According to the Malaysian Nature Society, only 1.8% of Malaysia’s land is covered in mangroves, with over 50% of these mangroves lost between 1950 and 1985.

Forestry Department statistics show that Peninsular Malaysia had 85,000ha of mangrove swamp forest in 2003, down from 86,497ha in 2002.

The Selangor Forestry Department statistics show that last year, 18,088ha of the coastal area in the state was covered with mangrove forest.

Under Section 15 of the National Forestry Act, 1984 (Amendment 1993) those who conduct illegal logging can be fined up to a maximum of RM500,000 and mandatory imprisonment of one to 20 years.

Meanwhile, those who are caught having this wood without the documentation can be fined up to RM50,000.

Huge Oil Spill Off Australia Reaches Indonesia, Affecting Fishermen

2009-11-03T07:54:00.000+08:00

AFP, Jakarta Globe 2 Nov 09;

A massive oil spill off northwest Australia has hit Indonesia, killing fish and destroying livelihoods in poor villages along the Timor Sea, a non-governmental group said Monday.

About 7,000 fishermen in East Nusa Tenggara province have been affected by the spill from the Thai-operated West Atlas rig, which has dumped thousands of barrels of oil into the Timor Sea since August 21, the group said.

“After the leak started the fishermen’s income dropped 40 percent but since last week it’s been 80 percent lower,” said Ferdi Tanoni of the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia.

“Before this incident, they were able to catch about 100 red snapper a night. But now it’s extremely difficult to even get 20 fish.”
The PTTEP Australasia-operated rig caught fire Sunday during an attempt to stop the leak, engulfing the deck and well-head platform some 250 kilometers off the Australian coast.

Environmental group WWF has said the spill is “one of Australia’s biggest environmental disasters”.

It says more than 400,000 liters of oil have been spilt, generating a slick spanning 10,000-25,000 square kilometers that threatens animals including dolphins and sea turtles.

Agence France Presse

Australia: No Oil From Burning Rig Reached Indonesia
Jakarta Globe 2 Nov 09;

The Australian Embassy in Indonesia on Monday said it was “highly unlikely that any Montara oil would have come close to Indonesian coastal waters.”

“Oil has a unique fingerprint, so it is relatively easy to verify whether or not the oil found in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) was from the Montara spill,” the embassy said in a press release.

The statement was issued in response to reports that the leaking oil rig was affecting Indonesia’s marine environment. The Montara oil well, which is operated by Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Australasia, is located about 250 kilometers off the north coast of Western Australia.

A spokeswoman for the company on Sunday said specialists had succeeded in the first stage of plugging the well, which has been spilling at least 400 barrels of oil each day into the ocean since Aug. 21, creating an oil slick that covers an area estimated to be at least 6,000 square kilometers.

But before the leak could actually be stopped, a fire broke out, she said.

The World Wildlife Fund has said the slick has already drifted hundreds of kilometers toward East Nusa Tenggara.

The WWF has called the spill “one of Australia’s biggest environmental disasters,” one that threatens marine animals, including dolphins and sea turtles.

Last week, the regional environmental management agency in East Nusa Tenggara said water samples taken on Oct. 10 tested positive for oil suspected to have come from the Montara oil field.

Local officials and environmental groups have also said that fishermen from Rote and Kupang districts in the province had discovered hundreds of dead fish in Indonesian waters, and that residents in villages on small islands off the coast of West Timor were suffering skin problems and acute diarrhea after eating contaminated fish.

The Australian Embassy, in its release, said it was aware of these reports, but said: “Australia has undertaken toxicity tests on fish collected in the vicinity of the oil spill in Australian waters, and results showed no oil contamination. The type and amount of oil observed in Indonesia’s [Exclusive Economic Zone] is considered to pose no significant threat to the marine environment.”

It added that it would conduct further tests.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier said that the government would send a letter to Canberra about the situation.

But when contacted by the Jakarta Globe on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the government was still verifying the facts and a national team would be assembled to investigate the case.

The Australian Embassy, however, said in its release that the Australian government had been coordinating with Indonesia.

“Indonesian officials visited Darwin from 30 September to 2 October to observe first-hand Australia’s comprehensive response to the Montara wellhead oil and gas leak. These officials also undertook an overflight of the area,” it said.

It added that discussions were ongoing with Indonesia about a possible visit by a team of Australian officials and company representatives to Jakarta in early November.

The embassy also said the Australian government was focused on limiting the effects of the oil spill on the environment.

“A major clean-up exercise is occurring applying dispersants and conducting containment and recovery operations using booms and skimmers,” it said.

JG, AFP

Burning Oil Rig May Collapse
Jakarta Globe 2 Nov 09;

Sydney. An oil rig leaking into the Timor Sea and engulfed in a massive blaze is at risk of total collapse, the rig operator acknowledged Monday, as government officials frustrated by failure to plug the leak promised an investigation.
Officials with rig operator PTTEP Australasia were planning to pump more heavy mud into a leaking well casing on Tuesday in the hopes of removing the source of fuel from the fire, which broke out on the West Atlas rig and Montara wellhead platform on Sunday.

The blaze started when workers were pouring mud into a hole that has been leaking an estimated 400 barrels of oil a day since Aug. 21. The company says it does not know what sparked the blaze.

"The fire is out of control," PTTEP Australasia chief financial officer Jose Martins told reporters in Perth on Monday.

A portion of the rig has already collapsed onto the wellhead platform, and there is a "large risk" the West Atlas rig could collapse into the sea, Martins said.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said Monday that once the spill is contained he would launch an official inquiry.

"Our requirement is to assess the cause of the accident and any lessons to be learnt, and that could lead to a change in the regulatory environment," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Ferguson later told reporters in Melbourne that if PTTEP was "found to have been at fault with respect to any of their responsibilities, then any potential action will be appropriately considered at the time."

On Monday, the company said it was mixing 4,000 barrels of heavy mud to pour down the well on Tuesday morning.

The oil slick from the rig, about 150 miles (250 kilometers) off Australia's northwest coast, now stretches across thousands of miles (kilometers) of remote ocean. Indonesia said last week that thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near its coastline.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday he was "deeply disturbed" at the latest turn of events on the rig, signaling the government's rising frustration that fixing the spill is taking so long.

"Do I think this is acceptable? No, I don't," Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network. "Are we angry with this company? Yes we are. Are we trying to do everything we can to get this under control? You betcha."

AP

Australian oil rig will burn until leak capped
Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 09;

SYDNEY: A massive oil rig fire burning out of control off Australia's northwest coast cannot be stopped until a well that has been leaking for 10 weeks is capped, officials warned Monday.

The West Atlas rig caught fire Sunday during the latest attempt to stop the leak, which has dumped thousands of barrels of oil into the Timor Sea since August 21.

Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the rig's Thai-based operators PTTEP Australasia would make another attempt Monday to stop the spill by filling the well with heavy mud.

"Therefore removing the source of gas which is fuelling the fire," he said.

PTTEP said stopping the leak was the only way to extinguish the blaze engulfing the deck and well-head platform some 250 kilometres (155 miles) off the coast.

"The measures which we have been able to take so far can only mitigate the fire, they will not stop the fire," the company's chief financial officer Jose Martins said.

"The best way to stop the fire is to complete the well-kill and stop the flow of oil and gas at the surface of the H1 well, cutting off the fuel source for the fire."

Ferguson said the accident, the first major incident in the past 25 years of offshore drilling, had "clearly had an impact on the standing of the oil and gas industry in Australia".

"And I simply say that once the well is filled, the platform is made safe, I will conduct a full and independent enquiry to actually assess the cause of the incident and the manner in which it has been handled over the last 10 weeks," he said.

Environmental groups have criticised the government's handling of the spill, saying it is threatening bird and marine life off Western Australia's resource-rich northern coast.

PTTEP said the company was focusing on the safety of its staff, bringing the fire under control and plugging the leak.

"Presently there are many unanswered questions, including what caused the fire," Martins told reporters in Perth on Sunday.

- AFP/yb

South Sumatra`s mangrove forests in critical conditions :official

2009-11-03T07:52:00.000+08:00

Antara 2 Nov 09;

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Mangrove forests in South Sumatra are in critical conditions due to the conversion of coastal areas into shrimp and fish farms by local residents, a provincial maritime official said.

To stop a further deterioration of the mangrove forests, the South Sumatra marine resources and fisheries office was planning to plant 125,000 mangrove seedlings along the coasts of Musibanyuasin and Ogan Komering Hilir districts, the office`s head, Lukman Nur Hakim, said here on Monday.

A small team consisting local residents would later be formed to continuously watch over the newly planted mangrove seedlings, he said.

But Lukman admitted the 125,000 mangrove seedlings would not be enough to restore the degraded mangrove forests to their original conditions. Therefore, his office was also planning to do the mangrove replanting along South Sumatra province`s coasts every year and thus gradually increase the number of new mangrove trees.

Lukman said mangroves played an important role in preserving the existence of marine biota and preventing soil abrasion. Mangroves could also help clean the air and reduce the effects of global warming.

In order to maintain the marine environment, Lukman added, his office was continuously monitoring the existence of coral reefs along coastal areas in Musibanyuasin and Ogan Komering Hilir districts.

Five spots in the two districts had also been designated as places to cultivate new coral reefs, Lukman said.

According to the official NACA (an inter-governmental organisation promoting rural development through sustainable aquaculture) website www.enaca.org, close to half of mangrove coverage occurs in five countries, i.e. Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria and Mexico with the largest mangrove area in Southeast Asia located in Indonesia.

In general, the mangroves of Southeast Asia were the best developed and most diverse in terms of plants and animals. Fifty two out of the 268 plant species that have been recorded from these mangrove areas are true mangrove species or those that are found only in mangrove habitats while the others are mangrove associated species that are also encountered in non-mangrove habitats.

Eighteen species of mangrove plants are endemic to the south east Asian region and eight out of them are true mangroves.

Current member of NACA are Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. (*)

Harsh effects of overfishing: Malaysian statement

2009-11-03T07:44:00.000+08:00

Nik Naizi Husin, The Star 3 Nov 09;

KUANTAN: A total of 25 species of fish, including seven species of knifetooth sawfish, have been listed as endangered marine life by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Also on the list are 18 species of freshwater fish, including arowana, temoleh and kelah.

IUCN is the world’s largest global environmental network. The Switzerland-based union has more than 1,000 government and non-governmental organisations as members, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Junaidi Che Ayub said the threat of extinction was due to overfishing and pressure from other human activities.

He said the turtles, for example, were being exploited by people and consequently, its numbers had dwindled drastically in the last few decades.

He said this in his speech at Pahang Fisheries Department’s awareness programme recently to highlight endangered species.

“The turtles have economic value and have been exploited in various ways. Its eggs are sold, its meat is treated as exotic food and its shells are used for decoration.”

Junaidi reiterated that efforts to conserve and protect endangered species would fail without all parties involved — fishermen, local communities, NGOs and the public — working together.

“There should be a smart partnership between the Fisheries Department and other parties concerned to protect the surviving animals,” he added.

Meanwhile, state Fisheries Department director Mohamad Mat Saman said his department was focused on nine high-impact aquaculture projects under the 2010 Budget.

He said they included lobster and freshwater fish-breeding in Pekan and Rompin districts.

“The department had been allocated RM99mil so far,” he added.

Snows of Kilimanjaro could vanish in 20 years: study

2009-11-03T07:32:00.000+08:00

Yahoo News 2 Nov 09;

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, are shrinking rapidly and could vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming, a US study published Monday said.

The ice sheet that capped Kilimanjaro in 1912 was 85 percent smaller by 2007, and since 2000 the existing ice sheet has shrunk by 26 percent, the paleoclimatologists said.

The findings point to the rise in global temperatures as the most likely cause of the ice loss. Changes in cloudiness and precipitation may have also played a smaller, less important role, especially in recent decades, they added.

"This is the first time researchers have calculated the volume of ice lost from the mountain's ice fields," said study co-author Lonnie Thompson, professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University,

"If you look at the percentage of volume lost since 2000 versus the percentage of area lost as the ice fields shrink, the numbers are very close," he said in the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

While the yearly loss of the mountain glaciers is most apparent from the retreat of their margins, Thompson said an equally troubling effect is the thinning of the ice fields from the surface.

The summits of both the Northern and Southern Ice Fields atop Kilimanjaro have thinned by 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) and 5.1 meters (16.7 feet) respectively. The smaller Furtwangler Glacier, which was melting and water-saturated in 2000 when it was drilled, has thinned as much as 50 percent between 2000 and 2009, the study said.

"It has lost half of its thickness," Thompson said. "In the future, there will be a year when Furtwangler is present and by the next year, it will have disappeared. The whole thing will be gone."

The scientists said they found no evidence of sustained melting anywhere else in the ice core samples they extracted, which date back 11,700 years.

They said their findings show that current climate conditions over Mount Kilimanjaro are unique over the last 11 millennia.

Snow cap disappearing from Mount Kilimanjaro
Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Yahoo News 3 Nov 09;

WASHINGTON – The snows of Kilimanjaro may soon be gone. The African mountain's white peak — made famous by writer Ernest Hemingway — is rapidly melting, researchers report.

Some 85 percent of the ice that made up the mountaintop glaciers in 1912 was gone by 2007, researchers led by paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And more than a quarter of the ice present in 2000 was gone by 2007.

If current conditions continue "the ice fields atop Kilimanjaro will not endure," the researchers said.

The Kilimanjaro glaciers are both shrinking, as the ice at their edges melts, and thinning, the researchers found.

Similar changes are being reported at Mount Kenya and the Rwenzori Mountains in Africa and at glaciers in South America and the Himalayas.

"The fact that so many glaciers throughout the tropics and subtropics are showing similar responses suggests an underlying common cause," Thompson said in a statement. "The increase of Earth's near surface temperatures, coupled with even greater increases in the mid- to upper-tropical troposphere, as documented in recent decades, would at least partially explain" the observations.

Changes in cloudiness and snowfall may also be involved, though they appear less important, according to the study.

On Kilimanjaro, the researchers said, the northern ice field thinned by 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) and the southern ice field by 16.7 feet (5.1 meters) between 2000 and 2007.

Researchers compared the current area covered by the glaciers with maps of the glaciers based on photographs taken in 1912 and 1953 and satellite images from 1976 and 1989.

The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

___

On the Net:

PNAS: http://www.pnas.org

Kilimanjaro's ice may disappear by 2033
Katrina Manson, Reuters 2 Nov 09;

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The ice on Africa's highest mountain could vanish in 13 to 24 years, a fate also awaiting the continent's other glaciers, a study said Monday.

U.S.-based researchers Lonnie Thompson and colleagues said glaciers on Kilimanjaro, Tanzania's snow-capped volcano which attracts 40,000 visitors a year, could disappear.

"There is a strong likelihood that the ice fields will disappear within a decade or two if current conditions persist," said the study, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

The research blames warmer temperatures due to climate change and drier, less cloudy conditions than in the past.

"The climatological conditions currently driving the loss of Kilimanjaro's ice fields are clearly unique within an 11,700-year perspective," said the study, adding that the mountain lost 26 percent of its ice cover between 2000 and 2007.

At 5,896 meters high, Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the east African country's top tourism draws, offering tourists a taste of the tropical and the glacial within a five-day climb.

It brings in an estimated $50 million a year. Tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner in the poor country, earning $1.22 billion in 2008.

"The loss of the ice fields will have a negative impact on tourism in tropical east Africa," said Thompson in an email to Reuters.

Home to elephant, leopard and buffalo, as well as expansive views of the Rift Valley, the mountain known as "the roof of Africa" was first scaled by a European, Hans Meyer, 120 years ago. While its Kibo peak rises above the clouds, it can be reached with little more than a walking stick and some puff.

"The loss of the glaciers is an indicator of climate change under way in this region which impacts not only the glaciers on the summit but the weather patterns that bring rainfall to the lower slopes," said Thompson.

(Editing by David Clarke)

Climate worries to send Nepal cabinet to Everest base

2009-11-03T07:30:00.000+08:00

Gopal Sharma, Reuters 2 Nov 09;

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's cabinet plans to meet at the base camp of Mount Everest this month to highlight the impact of global warming on the Himalayas ahead of next month's U.N. negotiations on climate change, a minister said on Monday.

The base camp is located about 5,300 meters (17,400 feet) up the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) mountain and is the point from where climbers to the Everest summit begin their ascent.

"The cabinet meeting is meant to draw the attention to the adverse impact of climate change to the Himalayas including Sagarmatha," Forest Minister Deepak Bohara told Reuters, using the Nepali name of the mountain.

The Maldives held the world's first underwater cabinet meeting last month, in a symbolic cry for help over rising sea levels that threaten the Indian Ocean archipelago's existence.

Bohara said Nepal would also send some of its renowned Everest climbers to Copenhagen next month to highlight the problems of glacier melting, erratic rains and unprecedented forest fires.

Negotiations for a new global accord to fight global warming are scheduled to conclude at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in the Danish capital in December.

Bohara also appealed to Everest climbers from around the world to gather in their climbing gear in Copenhagen on International Mountain Day on December 11 to draw the attention of the delegates to the risks of climate change in the Himalayas.

Experts say mountainous Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 tallest peaks, including Mount Everest, is vulnerable to climate change despite being responsible for only 0.025 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, among the world's lowest.

Thousands of glaciers in the Himalayas that are the source of water for 10 major Asian rivers, whose basins are home to a sixth of humanity, could go dry in the next five decades because of the global warming, they say.

Global temperatures rose by an average of 0.74 degrees Celsius over the past 100 years, according to the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It says the warming in the Himalayas has been much greater than the global average.

"We want to put across our point to the world that the Himalayas are melting and draw the attention of the international community through the rally to save them," Bohara told reporters.

Mount Everest has been climbed by more than 3,600 people since it was first scaled by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.

(Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Alex Richardson)

Activists Slam Business Focus at Coral Summit

2009-11-02T07:52:00.000+08:00

Arti Ekawati, Jakarta Globe 1 Nov 09;

The member countries of the Coral Triangle Initiative will hold their next summit in Manila, the Philippines, on January 18-21. The summit plans, however, have drawn protests from non-governmental organizations, which claim the CTI is too business-orientated, and not focused on protecting coral reefs and coastal dwellers from the impacts of global warming.

The six member CTI last came together at the Manado Summit in May to express their concern about the need to protect coral reefs from the impact of global warming. The CTI is also aimed at heightening the awareness of coastal residents about rising sea levels and the need to protect coral reefs to support local livelihoods.

The member nations of the CTI are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.

According to the Web site of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the next summit will be jointly organized by the Philippine government and the WWF, and will focus on business opportunities for key sectors operating in the Coral Triangle region.

The summit is also planning to discuss how to provide financial support and investment for “green” and “sustainable” businesses, and is expected to be attended by business leaders as well as policy makers.

“By inviting sectors that rely on a healthy marine environment in the Coral Triangle, as well as the tourism, communications and investment sectors, this business summit will contribute to the pursuit of sustainable business development and investment,” Manuel Gerochi, the undersecretary at the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources, was quoted as saying on the WWF Web site.

However, Riza Damanik, secretary general of the Fisheries Justice Coalition (Kiara), expressed his disappointment at the focus of the summit, saying it was just another way of continuing the commercialization of the oceans.

“The Coral Triangle Business Summit will only accommodate the interests of investment and commercialization in the CTI area, which is almost 80 percent located within Indonesian territory,” Riza said on Friday in Jakarta.

The commercialization process, he continued, threatened the interests of traditional fishermen and communities, and would do nothing to help them respond to climate change.

“Local people will no longer have independence in managing their own areas,” he said, despite the fact that they had proven themselves capable of doing so in a sustainable fashion.

Riza urged the government to review its commitment to the CTI and its intentions in commercializing the Coral Triangle region.