New Marina South terminal: work to start for large cruise ships to base in Singapore

'Rhapsody of the Seas' debuts in Singapore
Channel NewsAsia 9 Dec 07;

The arrival of the 'Rhapsody' highlights the need for a newer and bigger terminal for the cruise industry to grow, and STB believes the proposed new Marina South terminal could start work next year.

SINGAPORE: A Western-based global cruise brand is making a grand foray into the Asian market.

One of America's and Europe's biggest cruise operators – Royal Caribbean International – made its Asia-Pacific debut with the arrival of 'Rhapsody of the Seas' in Singapore on Sunday, carrying some 2,000 tourists from Australia and New Zealand.

The ship is calling Singapore home for the next two months before calling on ports in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan and South Korea.

Rama Rebbapragada, Asia-Pacific Managing Director for Royal Caribbean Cruises, said: "We chose Singapore for two reasons – to be our homeport for the 'Rhapsody of the Seas' for our Asia programme which we offer in the Southeast region, and also as our corporate headquarters. Singapore has a lot to offer. Most nationalities like to come here and visit."

Last year, 850,000 passengers cruised through Singapore from destinations like Indonesia, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Europe.

The number of cruise passengers in Asia Pacific is also expected to grow by more than 40 percent from 1.07 million in 2005 to 1.5 million by 2010 and 2 million by 2015.

The arrival of 'Rhapsody', with its innovative onboard amenities and award-winning vacation programme which includes rock-climbing, is set to boost tourism in the region.

Lim Neo Chian, Deputy Chairman & CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said: "To us, it's our commitment to grow the Asia cruise business. So it's really a demonstrated commitment to Asia. We will work with them to get more cruise ships here to our part of the world and to provide more cruise options to our visitors in Singapore."

With a capacity of over 2,400 passengers and 78,000 tonnes, the 'Rhapsody' is the biggest ship to homeport in Asia.

And with 11 decks, it is also among the tallest.

In fact, the ship is so tall that it could not dock at the Singapore Cruise Centre at Harbourfront for fear of running into the cable cars.

Instead, it has to dock at the Pasir Panjang Terminal, which is some 15 minutes' coach ride away from the Harbourfront.

The arrival of the 'Rhapsody' highlights the need for a newer and bigger terminal for the cruise industry to grow, and STB believes the proposed new Marina South terminal could start work next year.

"In terms of facility, there are basically two issues right now – one is that the bigger ships have got some difficulties getting to the cruise centre; second is that because of the increasing demand in cruise business, the present Cruise Centre is getting a bit congested at times. So essentially we'll have to build new facilities. We've been looking at Marina South and we're working actively with all the different government agencies. We hope to be able to start work next year," said Mr Lim, who is optimistic the new Marina South cruise terminal will be ready in two to three years' time.

Even though 'Rhapsody of the Seas' moves on from Singapore after January, the Royal Caribbean is deploying another ship – 'Legend of the Sea' – to Singapore at the end of next year.

'Legend' is of a similar class as the 'Rhapsody', but it is shorter and should be able to dock at the Singapore Cruise Centre.- CNA/so

Work on second cruise terminal to start soon
It will fix problems of mega-liners having to call at container port
Lim Wei Chean, Straits Times 10 Dec 07;

IT HAS vital statistics that make mariners swoon.

But yesterday, Rhapsody of the Seas, the largest cruise liner based in Singapore, ended up among container ships.

It was unable to call at the Singapore Cruise Centre's HarbourFront terminal because its height, at more than 52m, is taller than the overhead cable car lines to Sentosa.

So the 2,435-passenger mega-liner, on its first voyage to Singapore, ended up at a berth at the Pasir Panjang Container Terminal some 5km away.

The welcome party had to move over too.

The container port has been used by cruise ships about 25 times this year due to berthing shortages or size restrictions at the cruise centre.

These issues need to be addressed soon if Singapore wants to maintain its position as a cruise hub, said industry players.

Meanwhile, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief Lim Neo Chian said construction is expected to begin on Singapore's second cruise terminal in Marina South by next year.

It should be completed 'within two to three years'.

He said: 'The plan (for the new terminal) is to accommodate the new generation of cruise ships now being built.'

These mega-liners are expected to carry more than 3,000 passengers.

Cruise operators here have been urging Singapore to build a second cruise terminal for some two years now.

Reasons they cite include overcrowding at the current terminal, as well as height and size limitations that prevent larger ships from docking at the cruise centre.

Rhapsody's arrival and the establishing of regional head offices for cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean - Rhapsody's owner - and Silversea Cruises were hailed as a coup for Singapore as it builds a reputation as the region's premier cruising centre.

The figures bear this out: Last year, there were 860,000 passenger arrivals, and this is expected to increase to 980,000 this year.

Newcomer Royal Caribbean is doing well. Asia- Pacific managing director Rama Rebbapragada said yesterday at the ship's welcome party that Rhapsody's six short cruises out of Singapore were sold out.

The squeeze at the cruise centre is, however, being felt by operators and passengers.

Star Cruises, the first cruise operator to base itself here, said that recently, occasional berthing shortfalls have forced its ships to call at the container port.

Passengers complained about inadequate immigration and baggage facilities.

Singapore Cruise Centre president Cheong Teow Cheng said that about 5 per cent of ship calls had to be made at the container port.

Silversea Cruises' Asia director Melvyn Yap said: 'Singapore wants to be a cruise hub, but what kind of impressions will tourists get if the first thing they see here is the container port?'

The pressure will increase when more mega-liners are built. For now, some of these leviathans cannot be deployed to the region as the infrastructure is lacking.

But that is set to change. Last month, Hong Kong announced the construction of a HK$3 billion (S$553 million) cruise terminal at the former airport site in Kai Tak.

STB's Mr Lim said: 'We are working at double time to get the (new) cruise terminal up as soon as possible.'

Singapore plans second cruise ship terminal
Channel NewsAsia 10 Dec 07;

SINGAPORE: Work on a second Singapore cruise ship terminal is likely to start next year, the chief of the city-state's tourism board said Monday.

Lim Neo Chian said on local radio that plans call for a second terminal to be built in the Marina South district, where Singapore's first casino complex is expected to open in 2009.

"We're fairly optimistic that we should be OK to start next year," Lim said.

He said some bigger ships have difficulty getting to the current terminal located across from Sentosa island. The facility has two berths for international cruise liners.

Because of increasing demand, the existing facility is also "a little bit congested at times," Lim added.

He did not give a cost for the new facility but said "typical developmental issues" still need to be resolved.

"Once the key issues are settled we will work at double time to get the cruise terminal up as soon as possible," he said.

Singapore has launched a series of projects to boost its tourism appeal. Among them are two casino developments, and a Formula One road race to be held next year. - AFP/ac

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Thousands march against REDD

Luh De Suryani, Jakarta Post 9 Dec 07;

More than 2,000 members of local and international civil society organizations gathered at Bajra Sandhi park in Puputan Renon, Denpasar, on Saturday morning to protest against the proposed carbon trade scheme known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation).

"REDD no, climate justice yes," shouted Nyoman Sri Widhiyanti, director of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), as she lead the march.

Nyoman said the carbon trading scheme would only benefit developed countries and large-scale corporations.

"This is an unjust scheme for indigenous communities in developing countries," she said.

"Stop talking about business, think and talk about the fate of the local people," said a representative from the Indonesian Alliance for Indigenous Communities (AMAN).

The Saturday gathering involved AMAN members, as well as farmers, craftsmen and fishermen, and members from traditional communities, an international farmer's network, the Korean youth forum, Greenpeace, Via La Campasina and many others.

The group marched from the Bajra Sandhi Monument in Renon, Denpasar, for almost an hour to reach the Bali Provincial Legislative Council building.

Hildebrando Velez G, a speaker from Via La Campesina, said climate justice was a more important issue than climate change.

"The Latin American countries and other developing countries in the world must wake up ... and fight against capitalism, which endangers people's rights," Velez said.

Chalid Muhammad, executive director of Walhi, said talks, discussions and negotiations at the current UN conference on climate change in Nusa Dua had so far only focused on trade issues rather than climate justice.

Taufiqurohman, a 72-year-old farmer from Bandung, took part in the activity.

"I lost 26 family members in the landslide at Leuwigajah dump site in Bandung, West Java, which claimed 153 lives," he said.

The Bandung administration and other provincial administrations in Indonesia have failed to successfully manage garbage disposal.

"They don't care about people living adjacent to dump sites," he said.

Taufiqurohman and others questioned the ability of the Indonesian government to handle the delicate and complicate carbon trade scheme.

"How can Indonesia deal with such a difficult thing?" argued Chalid, adding the garbage issue alone was a never-ending problem for many cities in Indonesia.

Kartini, a lecturer from Udayana University, criticized the Indonesian government's agriculture policy, which she said affected farmers, and more importantly, the environment.

"The government has long been pushing farmers to use chemicals to boost their harvests," she said.

As a result, she said, the once fertile farming lands in many parts of Indonesia are now saturated with heavily toxic substances that can adversely affect people's health and the ecosystem.

The gathering involved numerous public figures such as actress-turned-activist Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, presenter Tantowi Yahya, singer Franky Sahilatua and other celebrities.

"This is the right moment for Balinese people and other people around the country to voice their opinions," Widhiyanti said.

Chalid added the aim of the gathering was to put strong public pressure on all leaders and policy makers at the UN conference.

Read more!

Climate Change Will Significantly Increase Impending Bird Extinctions

ScienceDaily 7 Dec 07;

"Giving up the fight against global warming would be the true disaster"

Where do you go when you've reached the top of a mountain and you can't go back down?

It's a question increasingly relevant to plants and animals, as their habitats slowly shift to higher elevations, driven by rising temperatures worldwide. The answer, unfortunately, is you can't go anywhere. Habitats shrink to the vanishing point, and species go extinct.

That scenario is likely to be played out repeatedly and at an accelerating rate as the world continues to warm, Stanford researchers say.

By 2100, climate change could cause up to 30 percent of land-bird species to go extinct worldwide, if the worst-case scenario comes to pass. Land birds constitute the vast majority of all bird species.

"Of the land-bird species predicted to go extinct, 79 percent of them are not currently considered threatened with extinction, but many will be if we cannot stop climate change," said Cagan Sekercioglu, a senior research scientist at Stanford and the lead author of a paper detailing the research.

The study is one of the first analyses of extinction rates to incorporate the most recent climate change scenarios set forth earlier this year in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the Nobel Peace Price with Al Gore.

The researchers modeled changes to the elevational limits of the ranges of more than 8,400 species of land birds using 60 scenarios. The scenarios consisted of various combinations of surface warming projections from the 2007 IPCC report, habitat loss estimates from the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (an evaluation of the planet's ecosystems by 1,360 experts around the world), and several possibilities of shifts in elevational range limits.

The worst-case scenario of 6.4 degrees Celsius surface warming combined with extensive habitat loss produced the estimate of 30 percent of land bird species going extinct by 2100. Increasing habitat loss exacerbates the effects of climate change because organisms seeking more suitable conditions will be less likely to find intact habitats. Even with an intermediate 2.8 C warming, 400 to 550 land-bird extinctions are expected.

"Vegetational shift is the key issue here," Sekercioglu said. "Birds will follow the shift in habitat."

All plants have certain temperature and precipitation requirements they need to flourish. As lowlands become too warm for some species, higher slopes that were formerly too cool become better suited to their needs, and the distributions of plants slowly move upward. That shifting of populations renders bird species vulnerable to a host of complications.

Topography itself is a major issue. Each bird species is only found between specific elevations, limits based mainly on the temperatures at which it can survive and the presence of the plants, insects and other animals on which it feeds. Temperature decreases as one goes up a mountain, so as the lowlands become warmer, plant and animal communities need to move higher in order to remain in their required microclimates. Most bird species live in the tropics, mostly in lowland environments. In many of these areas, there may be no significantly higher slopes to which they can retreat. But even the presence of hills or mountains does not guarantee the survival of a species.

As one moves upslope, the extent of the area encompassed by a given elevational range almost always decreases. It's a matter of simple geometry. The circumference of a mountain is typically smaller near the summit than at its base, so a range of, say, a hundred vertical meters occupies a far smaller band of area near the top than it does down at the base.

And once the summit of a mountain becomes too hot for a species or its preferred vegetation type, the habitable area is reduced to nothing.

"It's like an escalator to extinction. As a species is forced upwards and its elevational range narrows, the species moves closer to extinction," Sekercioglu said.

In some instances, species can expand their ranges, which the authors also considered in their models. If warming is limited and a species adapts, only the upper limit of a species' elevational range might rise. As warming continues, however, the lower bound is likely to rise, as well.

Additional threats include interactions between the rising temperatures and other environmental factors. For example, as Hawaiian mountains get warmer, mosquitoes carrying avian malaria, to which most native bird species have no immunity, are moving upslope, invading the last refuges of birds already on the brink of extinction. In Costa Rica, toucans normally confined to lower elevations are colonizing mountain forests, where they compete with resident species for food and nesting holes, and prey on the eggs and nestlings of other bird species.

In addition, plant species that currently share a habitat may not all react the same way to temperature and moisture changes. Some species may be forced upslope while others are able to linger behind, tearing apart plant and animal communities even if all the species survive. Differences in soil composition can further disrupt plant communities. If soils at higher elevations are inhospitable to some plant species, those species will be wedged between a fixed upper bound and a rising lower bound until they are squeezed out of existence.

Until now, highland species have been less threatened by habitat loss and hunting, simply because most people live in flat lowlands instead of the steeper highlands. Compared to lowland birds, however, highland species are not only more sensitive to temperature changes, but their populations also are more isolated from each other, as mountains effectively constitute habitat islands surrounded by a sea of hotter lowlands.

The study also has shown that sedentary birds, which comprise over 80 percent of all bird species, are much more likely to go extinct from climate change than are migratory birds. That suggests that many sedentary mountain species currently thought to be safe are actually jeopardized by global warming. All in all, climate change is likely to be especially hard on the hundreds of bird species endemic to tropical mountains.

But in part because of the remoteness of the mountains and in part due to a lack funding for ornithological studies in most tropical countries, there are few data on these birds' responses to climate change. Crucial remote sensing data are also becoming less available, as government satellites like Landsat age and as image distribution moves increasingly to the relatively expensive private sector.

"To effectively monitor the rate of change as warming progresses, especially in the species-rich tropics, we need a lot more data on birds' distributions and on the speed and extent of birds' elevational shifts in response to climate change," Sekercioglu said.

Perhaps the most worrisome finding is that each additional degree of warming will have increasingly devastating effects. The authors estimate that an increase of 1 C from present temperatures will trigger roughly 100 bird extinctions. But if the global average temperature were to rise 5 C, from that point on an additional degree of warming, to 6 C, would be expected to cause 300 to 500 more bird extinctions.

"This emphasizes the importance of any measure that reduces surface warming, even if we cannot stop it altogether," Sekercioglu said. "Even a reduction of 1 degree can make a huge difference."

"Giving up the fight against global warming would be the true disaster," he added.

The research paper is scheduled to be published online in the first week in December in Conservation Biology.

Stephen Schneider, the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, a senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute and a major contributor to the IPCC reports, also was a co-author, along with John Fay and Scott Loarie of Duke University.

The research was funded by the Christensen Fund, the Koret Foundation, the Edward S. Moore Family Foundation and the Winslow Foundation.

Adapted from materials provided by Stanford University.

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Leak stopped but South Korea oil spill fight goes on

Yahoo News 9 Dec 07;

Thousands of troops and volunteers struggled Sunday to clear a thick layer of pungent crude oil off South Korea's stricken southwest coast after the country's worst ever oil spill.

The crew of the 147,000-tonne Hebei Spirit have finally stopped it leaking, officials said, pumping the remaining oil out of the last of three containers holed by a barge in a collision Friday.

But with over 10,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the Yellow Sea and now polluting a long stretch of coastline, most of the damage has been done.

A state of disaster has been declared in the region where beaches and farms dependent on the sea have been badly affected around Taean, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of Seoul.

More than 6,600 people, backed by 90 boats and six planes, fought to remove oil drifting at sea or washing onto beaches.

Booms were set up to contain the oil, and skimmers were working to collect and remove slicks from the water surface, the Taean coast guard said.

On the beaches, police, troops and volunteers carried buckets of sludge to huge rubber pools from which they scooped black, oil-mixed sand into sacks.

Three of five oil containers on the Hong Kong-registered tanker were holed in the collision, coast guard officials said.

Two had been emptied by Saturday, and the third was pumped dry overnight.

"The crew on the tanker was able to pump crude oil in the third damaged container into an undamaged one overnight," a coast guard official in Taean told AFP.

"The tanker has stopped leaking since early Sunday," he said, adding "they are still mopping up oil, but it's not work to be done in a few days."

Lee Bong-Gil, who heads the Korea Coast Guard's maritime pollution bureau, told Yonhap news agency: "The large size of the spill has made the containment difficult, but there will be no significant expansion of the oil considering the tide, wind and their speeds."

Local county officials Sunday reported that the oil slick washing onto the beaches in Taean was already 17 kilometres long and 10 metres wide.

"The sea farms there are badly affected by the oil spill. No one knows how many years it will take for them to recover from the damage," Park Tae-Soon, a a county official in Taean, told AFP.

He said that while there was no official damage report available yet, there were 445 sea farms in the area for oyster, abalone, clam and other seafood.

Residents near the beaches of Euihangri and Mallipo also reported pungent oil smells.

The tanker was berthed five miles off Mallipo, near waters designated as a national park, when it was struck by the barge.

The barge floated free and slammed into the port side, tearing three holes in the tanker's hull, when a wire linking it to a tug broke in rough seas.

This stretch of coastline is one of Asia's largest wetland areas, providing important habitat for migrating birds.

The Hebei Spirit had been due to sail into the port of Daesan to discharge its cargo when it was holed.

Thousands clean up spilled oil in South Korea
Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press Yahoo News 9 Dec 07;

Thousands of people mobilized by South Korea's Coast Guard used shovels and buckets Sunday to clean up a disastrous oil spill polluting a swathe of the country's scenic and environmentally rich western coast.

About 100 ships, including Coast Guard, navy and private fishing boats, were also to help contain and clean up South Korea's worst spill, said Coast Guard official Kim Young-hwan.

At total of 7,500 police, military, civil servants and volunteers struggled to remove the oil, some battling headaches, dizziness and nausea.

The oil started hitting beaches Saturday, a day after a Hong Kong-registered supertanker was slammed by a South Korean-owned barge that came unmoored from its tugboat in rough seas about seven miles off Mallipo, one of South Korea's best-known beaches. The area also includes a national maritime park.

On Saturday, tides of dark sea water crashed ashore at Mallipo beach, while the odor reached areas a half-mile away.

Kim Sun-seon, who works for an ocean clean-up business on South Korea's southeast coast, wore rubber gloves and a mask to cope with the strong smell.

"We don't know when we can finish this work," she said. "We have been shoveling oil since yesterday but the waves just keep bringing more oil. I feel dizzy."

Nearly 2.8 million gallons of crude gushed into the ocean, more than twice as much as in South Korea's worst previous spill in 1995.

Thick, smelly waves of crude washed ashore, turning seagulls black and threatening fish farms along an 11-mile stretch of coast, defying efforts to contain it by dropping oil fences into the ocean and using chemicals to break it up. Mats were placed on the beach to absorb the oil.

The Coast Guard said the last of three leaks in the tanker had been plugged Sunday morning.

Mallipo, an important stopover for migrating birds including snipe, mallards and great crested grebes, also has an abundant fishing industry.

Choi Kyung-hwan, a 58-year-old fisherman, came to the beach Sunday to help, but despaired for the area where he has lived for 30 years.

"Mallipo is finished," he said.

Choi, wearing a thick winter coat, said the strong odor of oil had sickened his wife.

"But I came here because I have to do something," he said. "I don't know when we can finish. But we have to continue."

Cho Yoo-soon, who runs a raw fish restaurant at Mallipo beach, 95 miles southwest of Seoul, said the situation was overwhelming. She said restaurants in the area were closing, and she could not pump fresh sea water into her tanks.

"Without fresh sea water, the fish will start going bad after a week," she said. "We can't even walk around here because the entire beach is covered with oil."

The affected areas include 181 maritime farms that produce abalone, brown seaweed, laver, littleneck clams and sea cucumbers, said Lee Seung-yop, an official with the Taean county government, which includes the beach. Aquatic farmers in the area number about 4,000, he said.

"A lot of damage is feared to these farms, although we don't have an estimate yet," Lee said Saturday.

Local raw fish restaurants such as Lee Ok-hwa's were suffering.

"I haven't had any customers since news of the oil spill Friday," said Lee, who had previously served 200 tourists and others a day.

"I don't know how to make a living," she said. "I don't know how to pay the rent. I believe this situation will last for at least one year."

The central government has designated the oil spill a "disaster," which makes it easier for regional governments to mobilize personnel, equipment and material to cope with the situation. But it stopped short of declaring the region a "disaster area," which would make residents eligible for government financial aid.

Last year, more than 20 million tourists visited the area, home to 63,800 people.

The Coast Guard said it was unclear how many days the clean-up would take.

The accident occurred Friday morning when a barge carrying a crane en route from a construction site lost control after a wire linking it to the tugboat was cut due to high winds, waves and currents. The vessel then slammed into the Hebei Spirit tanker. Neither ship was in danger of sinking and there were no casualties.

The tanker had been at anchor and carrying about 260,000 tons — about 1.8 million barrels — of crude oil to be loaded into boats from a nearby port.

The size of the leak reported by the authorities would be about one-fourth that of the 260,000 barrels, or 11 million gallons, spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez in 1989.

The spill was also smaller than one in Pakistan in 2003 when a Greek-registered ship ran aground near Karachi, leaking some 8.2 million gallons of crude that polluted the city's main beaches.

Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim and Jae-soon Chang in Seoul contributed to this report.

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Young leaders initiate regional network on climate issue

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post 9 Dec 07;

"I have always said I would wait until I graduate, and then I would try to make a difference. But now I've become frustrated with my own inaction. So I tried to think of what I possible skills I might have that I could use to make changes," said Larissa Brown of Australia. "I realized that I was an expert in being a frustrated young person who passionately wanted to make a better world, but didn't know how."

The Asian Young Leaders Climate Forum (AYLCF) in Bogor ended Friday with the 35 participants from 14 countries producing an action plan and a shared, strong commitment toward building a network in the Asia-Pacific to address climate change issues.

Their commitment is set out in a communique, to be presented during a session of the ongoing United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, scheduled for Tuesday.

The communique is the result of a five-day workshop facilitated by the British Council, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).

The workshop, which ran from Dec. 5-8 in Bogor, was attended by representatives from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Although it is an "Asian forum" due to the importance of the issue, among the participants also were young people from Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom.

"They share a strong commitment to work together for climate security. They have a lot of ideas, but what brings them together is the idea to work together to make changes in the region," said Christopher Palmer, assistant director for learning and creativity at the British Council.

"Through this forum, these young people have told us what to do and what we can do to help," Palmer added.

He emphasized that the communique would be a starting point for Asia-Pacific youths to become involved in promoting awareness on climate issues. The British Council has pledged financial support for youth and climate programs in the region for the three-year project.

The young leaders of the AYLCF will implement their strategic action plan in their respective countries, with the support of the British Council.

Apart from discussions held indoors, the participants also had an opportunity to look at the diversity of the tropical forest surrounding the CIFOR campus. They also planted trees on a roadside in Dermaga, Bogor, as part of the week-long forum.

"The only way to effectively mitigate the risks of climate change is to act together now," said Ibnu Najib, an Indonesian participant.

Aside from promoting common understanding on climate change and global warming, the forum also created an important step towards establishing a strong regional network.

During the forum, it was revealed that participants generally wanted to do something to help the planet survive climate change, but many of them did not know how.

"I have always said I would wait until I graduate, and then I would try to make a difference. But now I've become frustrated with my own inaction. So I tried to think of what I possible skills I might have that I could use to make changes," said Larissa Brown of Australia. "I realized that I was an expert in being a frustrated young person who passionately wanted to make a better world, but didn't know how."

Carrying the theme Tomorrow Together Now, the AYLCF provides a platform for young leaders to show the world that they are not merely concerned about climate security, but also are ready to take an active role in dealing with the global issue.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Dec 07

A Passion for Birds
For more than 17 years, while most birdwatchers were simply watching birds, she was quietly documenting them. About the latest book on birds on the bird ecology blog

A Day with the Garden Angels
a child's view of the Botanic Gardens on the flying fish friends blog

Chek Jawa shores
more life returns on the tidechaser blog

Singapore's Sun-loving Pansies
gorgeous creatures on the butterflies of singapore blog

Daily Green Actions: 8 Dec
ill but still green on the leafmonkey blog

Read more!

Singapore Government efforts to tackle climate change advancing with at least two key initiatives

Channel NewsAsia 8 Dec 07;

Economic growth is important to provide jobs and the government is working towards finding a balance between economic growth and concerns about the environment.

SINGAPORE: At least two major government efforts are going on to combat climate change.

Data is being collected from the biggest energy-consuming sectors like industry and transport, while a study is going on to evaluate how climate change will effect Singapore.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim touched on these efforts at a forum with young people.

Just how much energy do industries in Singapore consume?

The Minister said that the answer is still work in progress as it is the first time multi government agencies are coming together to look into this.

He said: "We are compiling this data so we can understand overall what is Singapore's energy intensity and energy efficiency levels."

And rather than a direct carbon emissions cut, he said Singapore has set a target to reduce its carbon intensity - that is carbon dioxide emissions per GDP dollar - by 25 percent by 2012 compared to its 1990 levels.

The Minister said the government is also studying the latest UN report to see how climate change would affect Singapore.

Rising temperatures and sea levels are of particular concern, among others.

Also of concern are public health issues like how rising temperatures would affect the spread of dengue and the breeding of mosquitoes.

A forum participant said the government's performance on the environment is getting better.

But he said that the government takes the view that economic growth comes first.

The Minister replied that economic growth is important to provide jobs and the government is working towards finding a balance between economic growth and concerns about the environment. - CNA/ir

Read more!

Article on dogs in public areas: Pet owners bite back

Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times 9 Dec 07;

LAST week's Sunday Times article 'Has Singapore gone to the dogs?' elicited a strong response from dog owners and other members of the public.

As of yesterday, there were more than 300 comments on The Straits Times website's discussion board, with debate continuing on several other forums. There were also several letters to the Straits Times Forum page.

The Sunday Times report featured dog owners who unleash their dogs at the beach and allow them to sit on chairs in coffee shops and restaurants.

Both actions are illegal unless the space is otherwise designated. Last year, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority fined 150 owners for not leashing their dogs in public.

The National Environment Agency has also fined five pet owners for taking their dogs into food outlets this year.

Most notably, dog owners stepped up to defend their furry friends.

Some of them felt that present rules were too harsh and called for laws that would allow dogs to have more freedom in densely populated Singapore.

Mr Rohan Langley, 35, a project manager, strongly advocated the designation of a proper dog beach that would allow dogs to strengthen their hips and muscles through swimming.

Student Melody Tay, 21, called for more dog runs to be built as current spaces are inaccessible and inconvenient to pet owners.

Ms Tay pointed out that dogs at cafes were no more unhygienic than stray cats and birds skulking around alfresco eateries.

Some readers, however, felt the laws were not without merit.

Said a 65-year-old retiree who wanted to be known only as Mr Phua: 'At the end of the day, human beings are the priority. The laws are in place for a reason and people should not violate them.'

Retiree Heng Teck Seng, 53, also urged the authorities to continue to enforce rules and regulations. He added that dog owners must be mindful of the religious and health issues in pet ownership.

Ultimately, most readers put the onus on owners to be more disciplined in handling their dogs.

Said student Ida Ng, 23: 'Dogs can still be kept at bay when they're not on a leash as long as they are properly trained. Owners are at fault if their dogs create a nuisance.'

The editor-in-chief of Pets Magazine, Mr Grayson Cheng, said that while pet laws should be revised to cater to the needs of today's pet owners, ill-trained animals could also cause danger or disturbance under more tolerant rules.

The executive officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Ms Deirdre Moss, emphasised the need for owners to comply with the law.

'When a dog is badly behaved, it is usually a reflection of the owners failing to provide adequate training. Keeping to the rules and having a well-behaved dog promotes goodwill and kindness to animals,' she said.

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Global climate game of Villains & Victims

Arti Mulchand, Straits Times 9 Dec 07;

Developing countries praised for trying; developed nations under fire for 'obstructing'

BALI - THE ongoing climate talks in Bali have turned into a game of villains and victims.

On the one side are developing countries, many of whom came to the table with some idea of what they are willing to do to save the planet.

One of them, China, was patted on the back for a 'clear national climate change strategy', which will kick in 'whether there is an international agreement or not', said United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer.

On the other side are the developed nations, who stress the need for developing countries to have binding carbon dioxide emission targets while continuing to pump it into the atmosphere at record rates themselves. They include Australia, Canada and Japan.

Worst of all is the world's biggest offender, the United States. Yesterday, it said it will reject demands to commit to internationally binding cuts in global warming gases but will come up with its own plan by mid-2008.

'We're not ready to do that here,' said Harlan Watson, the chief US climate negotiator. 'We're working on that, what our domestic contribution would be, and again we expect that sometime before the end of the Major Economies process.'

That process of US-led talks was inaugurated in September by President George W. Bush. He invited 16 other 'major emitter' nations, including the European Union, Japan, China and India, to Washington to discuss a future programme of cutbacks in carbon dioxide and other emissions blamed for global warming. Environmentalists accuse the Bush administration of using those parallel talks to subvert the long-running UN negotiations and the spirit of the binding Kyoto Protocol, which requires 36 industrial nations to make relatively modest cuts in 'greenhouse' gases.

Mr de Boer yesterday had sharp words for the US and other developed nations.

'I think it's reasonable for industrialised countries that caused the problem in the first place to take targets to reduce their emissions,' he told reporters.

Carbon dioxide is the key greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

Australia's position has drawn particular wrath too, especially since it has been so inconsistent. The applause drawn by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the start of the meetings when he ratified the Kyoto Protocol has turned into a stony silence, most recently after comments by Trade Minister Simon Creane.

'Australia's task is at the appropriate time to commit to targets but it's also to try and secure binding commitments from developing countries,' he said at a trade ministers' meeting during the summit.

He said binding targets were off the table for Australia, until a report commissioned by Mr Rudd's climate change economic specialist is out by next year.

A bit of advice to the nation came yesterday from the Climate Action Network (CAN). Memo to Australia: Google 'Climate Change' - the scathing headline of its newsletter screamed.

Canada and Japan have repeatedly made calls for large developing countries who are polluters to cut emissions, but have also remained under fire as 'roadblocks' in the attempt to create a Bali Roadmap. Accusations from environmental campaigners that they are trying to derail the climate talks altogether have come hard and fast.

In fact, they have consistently been winners of the 'Fossil of the Day' awards handed out by CAN daily to the most unconstructive players at the table. Yesterday too, Canada swept the dubious honours, winning all three 'Fossil' awards.

As the two sides attempt to reach agreement on a variety of issues, Mr de Boer's advice to ministers as they come to the negotiating table this week is: 'Remember the very clear message from the scientists and remember that your voters expect you to answer to that... The world is waiting, what is your answer?'

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Plants are Hort at this park

Tay Suan Chiang, Straits Times 9 Dec 07;

There will be more than 8,000 shrubs in its Car Park Garden - one of 20 themed areas - alone

DRIVE in and even those with not-so-green fingers will know that they are in a green oasis called HortPark. This 23ha 'superpark' off Alexandra Road will have a carpark that is unabashedly called Car Park Garden.

It is no idle boast, though, for when it is completed in April, it will have more than 220 trees and 8,000 shrubs sprinkled among the lots.

But you don't have to wait till then to show up at this park. Half the size of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, it boasts 20 themed gardens and a horticultural mart among other features.

Since Friday, it has played host to GardenTech, a biennial carnival with 100 exhibitors manning booths showcasing the latest in plants, landscaping, water features and garden furniture.

Some 50,000 to 80,000 visitors are expected to turn up at the event which will go on till Tuesday.

You can still visit HortPark after GardenTech ends.

Developed at a cost of $13 million, it is touted as the first gardening and lifestyle hub in South-east Asia that brings together gardening, educational, research and retail activities under one roof.

About 12ha of the place is open to the public. The rest serves as the working nursery for the National Parks Board (NParks) which owns HortPark.

This nursery, which has been around since the 1970s, provides the plants, shrubs and trees for various public parks as well as Singapore's roads.

Free guided tours will be conducted for visitors.

Its 20 themed gardens include the Silver Garden where a variety of silver plants are grown, and the Golden Garden where the plants are yellow or gold.

Make time, too, for the Recycling Garden, where trash such as water bottles, unwanted tyres and even hats are turned into containers for gardening.

GardenTech is on at HortPark, 33 Hyderabad Road, till Tuesday from 10am to 9pm daily. Admission is free.

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Small snake, big commotion in Yishun

Hedy Khoo, The Electric New Paper 9 Dec 07;

THE teenager was studying on the upper floor of her parents' second-storey maisonette in Yishun, when she saw something green slithering past her window.

Said Tharsini Rajandran, 14: 'At first I thought it was a plant, but it turned out to be the tail of a green snake.'

It was climbing up a water pipe outside the window of her study room yesterday.

'I quickly closed the windows to prevent it from getting in,' said the girl. She then called her mother at work.

Mrs Shila Raj, 39, said: 'I immediately called my neighbour on the same floor, to check on my daughter.'

She applied for urgent leave and rushed home.

Her neighbour, Mrs Pamela Coasby, a housewife in her late 40s, said: 'When Shila called me, I thought it was probably something else.

'How can a snake come to a HDB area? But just in case, I closed all my windows,' she said with a laugh.

'Luckily I did, because there really was a green snake outside their window. It was frightening, especially when it lifted its head and I saw its fangs,' she added.

She alerted the town council and a three-man crew soon arrived to capture the unwanted visitor.

One man leaned out of the window and used a 3m pole with a metal hook to try to catch the snake, which had remained at the same spot for over two hours.

But the snake wriggled its way down the pipe and slid inside a sports shoe in a shoe rack, to the screams from onlooking neighbours.

Finally, one of the men pinned the snake under the metal hook, and the pest control company manager,

Mr Zaid Danil Bin Mahmood, 29, stepped on its head and put it into a white bag.

Mr Zaid recognised it as a grass snake, which is venomous.

Although its bite is not fatal, it can cause bad reaction in its victims.

'The grass snake is common around Singapore. This was a teenage snake, only a few months old,' he said with a chuckle.

This was the second grass snake he had caught in Yishun this year, he said, adding that it will be released in to the wild.

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Asian nations warn of coral 'mass extinction'

Sebastien Blanc Yahoo News 8 Dec 07;

Asian delegates at UN climate change talks have renewed calls to protect the region's huge stock of coral reefs, partly blaming global warming for their alarming decline.

Six Southeast Asian and Pacific nations have launched a joint initiative to save the 'coral triangle' which contains more than half the world's reefs, considered building blocks for marine life.

"I regret to say that marine resources of our countries and our regions are threatened by climate change, destructive fishing and pollution," said Freddy Numberi, Indonesia's Minister of Maritime Affairs.

The countries aim to establish a network of protected marine zones, to decrease wear and tear on the reefs caused by the fishing industry and to promote eco-tourism.

More than 600 species of coral -- 76 percent of those known -- and more than 3,000 species of plants and fish live in the waters encompassing the Philippines, East Timor, part of Indonesia and Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

"The coral triangle is the place for corals in the world, it's the global centre, it's the Amazon of the seas," said J.E.N. Veron, former chief scientist with the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

However experts say the greatest threat is from rising sea temperatures blamed on global warming.

"We are precipitating a mass extinction of absolutely everything," Veron said. "Corals are the first really big ecosystem to be wiped out by climate change."

Hotter seas bleach and weaken the algae that give the underwater sea life its vibrant colour, and make it more susceptible to a mystery disease killing off the reefs.

The coral bleaching and die-off have been chronicled by scientists around the world in recent years, though some researchers differ over whether there is a direct link with global warming.

Lida Pet Soede, head of the WWF's coral programme, said the results are not in doubt with corals whitening, then dying and finally falling apart.

"The effects are there and it is quite dramatic," she said.

The breakdown of coral reefs, known as a key foundation for sea life, will have a large impact.

"The fish need structures to hide, to eat and to reproduce," Soede said.

Marine resources in the coral triangle provide a living for 120 million people. One-third of the world's tuna catches come from the area.

Delegates from nearly 190 nations are gathered in Indonesia's Bali island for a December 3-14 summit tasked with laying the groundwork for a new treaty to tackle global warming beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's first phase expires.

RELATED ARTICLE

Scientists trying to save Coral Triangle
Charles J. Hanley, Associated Press, Yahoo News 7 Dec 07;

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Amazon forest still faces threats old and new

Michael Astor, Associated Press Writer Yahoo News 8 Dec 07;

In the 1980s, scientists sounded the alarm: The Amazon was burning and would be gone by the end of the century.

Two decades later, the dire predictions have not come to pass. Around 80 percent of the world's largest remaining tropical wilderness is still standing — a vast carpet of green crisscrossed by the Amazon river and its 1,100 tributaries.

But scientists warn that the destruction only has slowed, and a Connecticut-sized chunk disappears every year for ranching, farming, and logging.

The reasons for the rain forest's survival have more to do with economics and a political change of fortune than because of the worldwide environmental campaign to save the Amazon.

In the 1980s, Brazil was under a military dictatorship with ambitious plans to develop Brazil's portion of the rain forest — 1.6 million square miles. Had the country not suffered in a massive debt crisis in the late 80s, "everything would be gone by now," says Philip Fearnside, an American scientist at the Brazilian government's National Institute for Amazon Research.

But that's no reason for complacency, he warns. While the rate of deforestation has dropped dramatically over the past few years, it remains alarmingly high and new threats loom, among them corporate farms armed with the latest agricultural technology to grow soy, raise cattle and plant crops for biofuels.

"Total investment in the region over the last 500 years is equal to what is projected for the next 10," said Joao Meirelles, director of the Peabriu Institute, who estimates private and public sector investments over the next decade will top $50 billion.

The plight of the Amazon, highlighted by celebrities such as pop star Sting, is closely linked to climate change, because every year, burning rain forest releases millions of tons of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

The Amazon is an important absorber of carbon dioxide, and the smaller it gets, the greater the risks to the climate, the World Wide Fund for Nature warned in a report released last week at the U.N. conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia.

"The importance of the Amazon forest for the globe's climate cannot be underplayed," said Daniel Nepstad, the Amazon-based scientist with the Woods Hole Research Center who wrote the report.

The warnings come as Brazilians are dusting off plans to pave long neglected jungle roads, threatening to open vast swaths of pristine rain forest to development of commodities such as soybeans, sugar cane and iron ore that underpin the Brazilian economy. Scientists say each paved road typically brings with it 30 miles of destruction on each side, and draws influxes of poor settlers in a region where 45 percent of the population lives on $2 a day.

There are also ambitious plans for a series of huge hydroelectric dams to feed the appetite of Brazil's 184 million people for electricity. The dams would flood tens of thousands of acres of forest, submerging and killing millions of trees that would emit greenhouse gases as they decompose.

Money vs. ecology represents a huge challenge for Marina Silva, Brazil's environment minister. Brazil is heading into an election year for congress, some governors and mayors, and the world's appetite for commodities is growing, after a slump that had led to a reduction in rain forest destruction.

"Right now is our trial by fire," Silva says. To defend the Amazon, "we are mobilizing all our resources."

To balance development and environmental concerns, Brazil since 2000 has required landowners to leave 80 percent of their forested areas standing. Enforcement has been stepped up, and 40 percent of the forest now lies in protected areas, up from 11 percent in 1991.

But protecting the rain forest means influencing the behavior of 20 million people, in groups that are difficult to regulate, in an area larger than Western Europe.

The battle often turns violent. In 1988, a rubber tapper and foe of logging named Chico Mendes was shot to death and became an international icon of the environmental movement. In 2005 Dorothy Stang, an American nun and rain forest defender, was killed in land dispute, suggesting to many that little had changed since Mendes' death.

About 90 percent of all logging in the region is carried out illegally, and national parks, forest reserves and Indian reservations are full of squatters. Some 300,000 Indians live mostly on reservations deep in the jungle.

The Amazon also lures throngs of old-fashioned fortune seekers following the latest rumor of a new gold or diamond find.

The roads are lined with sawmills and igloo-like charcoal furnaces. The thick, valuable trunks of tropical trees like mahogany and bulletwood are sent floating down rivers or piled high on trucks.

As commodity prices recover, recent figures show rates of deforestation in some Amazon states more than doubled between June and September compared with the same period a year earlier. Fires this year were among the worst ever, sometimes setting forest canopies ablaze — a rarity in the humid rain forest.

Many environmentalists maintain that the government isn't trying hard enough to enforce protection laws. Silva vigorously denies this, pointing out that over the past three years Ibama, the federal environment agency, has levied $1.7 billion in fines and arrested 665 people for environmental crimes, including some 120 of its own agents suspected of corruption.

Silva has proposed new programs such as auctioning off forestry concessions to companies that agree to eco-friendly logging practices, and creating an international fund where rich nations would subsidize Brazil's environmental services to keep the forests standing.

But even programs that safely take advantage of the rain forest's unique environment are problematic, and bedeviled by conspiracy theories widely believed by the public and even some officials.

These suggest that the conservation movement is cover for plots by the United States and other industrial giants to steal the Amazon from Brazil and gain control of its water, oil, medicinal herbs and minerals.

Serious scientists have been thrown in jail, accused of trying to steal the genetic heritage of Brazil's flora and fauna. Top military commanders openly discuss borrowing tactics from the Viet Cong to repel the purported American invasion.

Critics say, however, the government lacks a broader plan for the region. It needs to find a way for Brazil to profit from the rain forest without destroying it, says Charles Roland Clement, a senior researcher at the government's National Institute for Amazon Research.

"We have the biggest forest in the world and it's supposed to be the green gold of the future," he said, "but its biodiversity contributes to less than 1 percent to the Gross Domestic Product."

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Developing world must be able to lift emissions: Nobel winner

Tripti Lahiri Yahoo News 8 Dec 07;

Developing nations must be allowed to boost carbon emissions to lift millions out of poverty, says the head of the Nobel prize-winning climate change panel slated to formally get the award on Monday.

"If you have the case of India, a half a billion people who do not even have electricity, what mitigation (of carbon emissions) can you carry out?" said Rajendra K. Pachauri, who shared the prize with former US vice-president Al Gore

The scientist, who will accept on behalf of the panel, and Gore will receive the 10-million-Swedish-kronor (1.5-million-dollar, 1.1-million-euro) prize from Ole Mjoes, head of the five-member Nobel committee, on Monday.

"How can you deny them (poor Indians) electricity in the future?" Pachauri said in an interview with AFP just before embarking on his trip.

"And if you have to supply them power it will have to come from coal for a substantial quantity," said Pachauri, the first developing country head of the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

India and China must put pressure on developed countries to take the "first" and "meaningful steps" to cut emissions of greenhouse gases emission rapidly, said Pachauri.

So far, the world's largest carbon emitter, the United States, has refused to accept binding reductions.

Canada has also said that developing countries like China and India must undertake mandatory emissions cuts along with developed countries.

"If we are emitting only one-twentieth of what North America is emitting (per capita) then you really can't make a comparison," said Pachauri, voicing support for looking at emissions-per-person during the Bali negotiations.

Evidence of the planet's warming was now "unequivocal" and the effects on the climate system could be "abrupt or irreversible," the influential UN panel said in its fourth and final report issued last month.

Past climate discussions have concluded that developed countries that have industrialised through the massive consumption of coal and oil bear the larger responsibility for curbing climate change.

China is the world's second-largest emitter in absolute terms while India is in fourth place, but with their billion-plus populations their emissions-per-person are low compared to rich countries, though growing fast.

Pachauri called on the nations at Bali to come out with a clear roadmap for tackling climate change before the summit ends on December 13.

If one is not in place, "it will be a lost opportunity," Pachauri said.

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World climate change protests kick off

Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Yahoo News 9 Dec 07;

Skiers, fire-eaters and an ice sculptor joined in worldwide demonstrations Saturday to draw attention to climate change and push their governments to take stronger action to fight global warming.

From costume parades in the Philippines to a cyclist's protest in London, marches were held in more than 50 cities around the world to coincide with the two-week U.N. Climate Change Conference, which runs through Friday in Bali, Indonesia.

Hundreds of people rallied in the Philippine capital, Manila, wearing miniature windmills atop hats, or framing their faces in cardboard cutouts of the sun.

"We are trying to send a message that we are going to have to use renewable energy sometime, because the environment, we need to really preserve it," high school student Samantha Gonzales said. "We have to act now."

In Taipei, Taiwan, about 1,500 people marched through the streets holding banners and placards saying "No to carbon dioxide." Hundreds marched outside the conference center in Bali. At a Climate Rescue Carnival held in a park in Auckland, New Zealand, more than 350 people lay on the grass to spell out "Climate SOS."

At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, ice sculpture artist Christian Funk carved a polar bear out of 15 tons of ice as a memorial to climate protection.

Christmas markets throughout Germany were switching off the lights for five minutes, and British cyclists pedaled into Parliament Square in London. In Helsinki, Finland, about 50 demonstrators ground their skis across the asphalt along the main shopping street, calling for decision makers to give them their snowy winters back.

Fire-eaters blew billowing clouds of flames at a rally in Athens, Greece.

In London, demonstrators braved the cold, rainy December weather to descend on Parliament Square, wielding signs marked: "There is no Planet B." Bikers circled the square earlier in the morning to protest the city's traffic and its effect on global warming, organizers said.

The London protest has singled out one particular target — President Bush — calling his administration the biggest obstacle to progress at the Bali talks. Organizers plan to underline the point by ending the protest in front of the U.S. Embassy.

"Bush has been forced to change his language on climate, but continues to be the major obstacle to progress," said Britain's Campaign against Climate Change. "We will not just stand by and allow Bush — or anyone else — to wreck the global effort to save billions of lives from climate catastrophe."

Washington has found itself increasingly isolated at the climate talks. The U.S. position that technology and private investment — not mandatory emissions cuts — will save the planet has drawn criticism.

But Americans too planned protests Saturday. In Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. activists prepared to ski wearing their bathing suits.

Temperatures were hovering above freezing there, unusually warm for this time of year, said Ritchie Musick, a board member with the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. Normally, temperatures are solidly below zero during this time of year in Alaska's interior.

"Temperatures are getting warmer up here, where you can put your bathing suit on to go skiing, even for a short time," she said.

Global protests to mark Bali climate conference
Yahoo News 9 Dec 07;

Demonstrators took to the streets across the globe Saturday to press world leaders to act over climate change, in coordinated protests marking the ongoing UN environment conference in Bali.

Demonstrations were reported in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Germany, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and the Indonesian island of Bali itself among other places.

Organisers said more than 10,000 people rallied in London, though police put the figure at 2,000.

They marched through the rainy capital, eventually gathering outside the US embassy.

"We feel that dealing with this threat should be the number one priority of the British government, a priority for all areas of policy," said a letter handed in to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office.

Jonathan Essex, of the Campaign Against Climate Change, which organised the march, said: "If the next generation say to us, 'Daddy, what did you do about climate change?', the answer we should give is that we stopped it.

"Any other answer is unacceptable."

In Germany some 10,000 gathered, again according to organizers, before a symbolic blackout, with people urged to switch off lights for five minutes from 1900 GMT in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

The blackout was planned to plunge historic monuments into darkness, including the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Cologne Cathedral. Some 5,000 people joined the rally in the German capital, while protests were also held in Munich, Nuremberg, Freiburg and Saarbruecken.

"It is a strong signal of a new movement to protect the climate," said Dirk Jansen of the German green group BUND.

In Bali, about 500 activists carrying effigies and banners marched, with protestors coming from as far as Europe, South Korea and Bangladesh to lobby the United Nations climate talks.

"Stop Climate Chaos", "Rich countries must pay" and "Bush: Killer of the planet", read banners carried by demonstrators the main town of Denpasar.

Nearby in Bali's resort enclave of Nusa Dua, delegates from some 188 nations were trying to lay out a framework for a new deal on tackling global warming when the current agreement expires in 2012.

Elsewhere about 1,000 protestors were reported in Istanbul urging the Turkish government to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and renounce plans to build nuclear power plans, recently approved by parliament.

In Athens more than 1,000 protestors gathered in the main Syntagma Square, while demonstrations were also organised in the northern city of Salonika and other towns.

In Madrid only about 50 protestors gathered in the city centre, carrying banners including "Change of lifestyle, not climate".

In Moscow the event was less successful: police in the Russian capital prevented about 10 protestors on bicycles from gathering, saying their demonstration was not authorised, the Ria Novosti news agency reported.

According to a police estimate, about 3,000 people participated in a march in Brussels against climate change organised by Coalition Climat, a movement made up of about 70 associations.

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