wildsingapore news: Apr 9, 2008

HFMD cases up in Singapore, but only five hospitalised

Channel NewsAsia 9 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) says the number of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) cases has gone up.

The number of cases in the week ending 5 April rose by 27 per cent, from 702 cases the previous week to 892.

But out of this, only five needed to be hospitalised. None was warded for serious complications.

The MOH said the rise is part of the normal epidemic trend and is expected to continue in the next few weeks.

The total number of notified HFMD cases since January this year stands at 5,315. - CNA/ir

Warming trends rise in large ocean areas: study

Grant McCool, Reuters 9 Mar 08;

HANOI (Reuters) -Warming trends in a third of the world's large ocean regions are two to four times greater than previously reported averages, increasing the risk to marine life and fisheries, a U.N.-backed environmental study said.

Overfishing, coastal pollution and degradation of water quality were common in all 64 large marine ecosystems studied by scientists who contributed to the U.N. Environmental Program report presented at an international conference on oceans, coasts and islands in Vietnam this week.

"These marine ecosystems are under great stress and that stress is increasing because of climate change, by global warming," co-author Ken Sherman of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in an interview.

"We really need to have policy makers and donors recognize that we need to fund efforts to reduce the stress," Sherman said.

The report said that in 18 of the 64 regions, "the accelerated warming trends are 2-4 times greater than the average trends reported in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change".

The week-long 4th global conference on oceans, coasts and islands in Hanoi is a forum for developing countries trying to improve ocean governance and coastal management, especially in the light of climate change.

U.S. academic and conference co-chair Biliana Cicin-Sain said there had been widespread changes in management of national jurisdiction.

"But governance of the 64 percent of the ocean that lies beyond national jurisdiction remains largely sectoral based and fragmented, making it difficult to address the effects of uses."

RISK TO SUSTAINED TRADE

Scientists said the 800-page report focuses on the risk to the sustainability of the $12.6 trillion value of goods and services produced each year in the so-called large marine ecosystems.

The most rapid warming was recorded in the Baltic Sea at 1.35 degrees Celsius in the past 25 years.

Other areas under threat included the Yellow Sea, one of the most heavily over-fished and environmentally degraded seas in the world. Hundreds of millions people live along or near its shores in China and the Korean Peninsula and pollution from industry and farmland was a particular threat.

South Korean scientist Hyung Tack Huh said China, South Korea and North Korea were working together to work out and amend plans for managing the Yellow Sea coasts and environment.

The report recommended that 29 ocean areas adjacent to developing countries should also cap the yield of annual fishery catches as a precaution.

To help poorer nations better manage marine ecosystems, the Washington-based Global Environment Facility is funding projects worth $1.8 billion in 16 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Monique Barbut, chief executive officer of the GEF, said in an interview that oceans had been taken for granted in the global warming debate, including the Kyoto Protocol talks in Bali, Indonesia last year and the Convention on Biodiversity.

"The message that has to be brought into the Bali roadmap and the follow up to the climate change talks is how all the international waters are ecosystems which suffer from climate change and the risks they are putting to world security," Barbut said.

"Risks are increasing in terms of food security, immigration and diseases because of the non-protection of international waters."

About 190 nations agreed in Bali last year to launch two years of talks to work out a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, which binds only rich nations to greenhouse gas emission curbs till 2012.

Vietnam, which has a 3,200 km (2,000 miles) coastline and one of the fastest-expanding economies in the world after China, is the first country outside of Europe to host the conference at which 430 delegates from about 70 countries are attending.

(Editing by David Fogarty)

World's Largest Catfish Species Threatened by Dam

Stefan Lovgren, National Geographic News 8 Apr 08;

This is the sixth story in a continuing series on the Megafishes Project. Join National Geographic News on the trail with project leader Zeb Hogan as he tracks down the world's largest freshwater fishes.

In the swift currents of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia, fishers expertly navigate their longboats past rock outcroppings and fallen logs.

But soon these wild waters may be tamed. Plans for the construction of a large hydroelectric dam just across the border, at Khone Falls in Laos, would permanently alter one of the most pristine areas in Southeast Asia.

The dam is one of several being planned on the mostly untouched Mekong River, which meanders through six countries—China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

The future of the Mekong was a key issue when the prime ministers of those countries met for a regional summit earlier this week in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

The Don Sahong dam at Khone Falls, one of five dams that Laos is planning along the Mekong, will block the deepest channel on the section of the river that migratory fish pass through when the water level is at its lowest, conservationists say.

One of those migratory fish is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, which holds the record as the largest freshwater fish ever caught. The record catch, made in northern Thailand in 2005, tipped the scales at 646 pounds (293 kilograms).

"An impassable dam at the falls could cause the extinction of the Mekong giant catfish species," said Zeb Hogan, a fisheries biologist at the University of Nevada in Reno.

Hogan, who visited the Khone Falls area last week, heads the Megafishes Project, a three-year effort to document the 20-plus species of freshwater fish that measure at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight.

(The Megafishes Project is partly funded by the National Geographic Society, which operates National Geographic News.)

Spawning Ground

Fishers at Khone Falls had long known that the giant catfish traveled through their area.

But in 2007 Thai photographer Suthep Kritsanavarin for the first time photographed a giant catfish caught at Khone Falls.

Giant catfish were once plentiful throughout the Mekong River basin, but in the last century the population has declined 95 to 99 percent, according to Hogan.

The massive fish is not targeted by fishers, but it is sometimes caught as bycatch. In Cambodia, where the largest population of giant catfish is found, eight of the giant fish were caught last year.

Although fishing is the biggest immediate threat to the giant catfish in the Mekong, dams and habitat fragmentation could disrupt the animal's ability to reproduce, Hogan said.

"There is only one known spawning ground for Mekong giant catfish, and that spawning ground is in northern Thailand," he said.

"Until we know better, we have to assume that fish from Cambodia may migrate to Thailand to spawn."

The construction of the Don Sahong dam, which is slated for completion in 2010, would make that migration impossible, Hogan said.

Untouched

Advocates of the dams point to the enormous hydropower potential that the Mekong offers to an energy-hungry region. With oil prices at record levels, the projects have taken on added urgency, they say.

So far the Mekong runs almost uninterrupted; only China has dammed the river at two locations in Yunnan Province.

One of the dams that China is now building will be second in size only to the Yangtze River's Three Gorges Dam.

"China, as an upstream country, will never do anything that will harm the interests of downstream countries," He Yafei, China's assistant foreign minister, told reporters before last week's regional summit.

But officials in Vietnam, where the Mekong empties into the South China Sea, say water extraction for farm irrigation upstream has already caused ocean salt water to move inland, destroying rice fields.

Conservationists likewise warn that the new dams could harm fish stocks that millions of people throughout the Mekong depend on.

"Fisheries resources are essential to the population of the Mekong Basin," said Eric Baran of the nonprofit World Fish Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

"In Cambodia, for instance, the fish catch contributes 65 to 75 percent of the animal protein of households."

More than a thousand fish species live in the Mekong River system, a biodiversity second only to the Amazon in South America, Baran said.

In a report last year, the World Fish Center warned that the economic benefits of the U.S. $300-million Don Sahong dam may be outweighed by losses from local fisheries, whose production has been estimated at over U.S. $2 billion a year.

Deep Channel

At Khone Falls the Mekong River drops up to 100 feet (30 meters) from the Khorat plateau to the Mekong plain, forming a complex network of narrow channels, called hoo in Lao.

Scientists have found that the area supports at least 201 fish species, including several endemic or endangered species.

The area is also home to one of the few remaining concentrations of freshwater dolphins in the Mekong.

The dam will block Hoo Sahong, the deepest channel and the only one that migratory fish can pass through at the peak of the dry season, in April and May, when the Mekong is at its lowest.

Nongovernmental organizations in Cambodia called on their government this month to ask Laos for a construction moratorium on the Don Sahong dam to allow for more environmental assessments.

Hogan admits that dams provide a number of benefits, including flood control, water for irrigation, and electricity.

"But it is also important to consider the costs," he said, "especially in an area where a large part of the population is dependent on fish for food."

"From a migratory fish's perspective, there is nothing worse than a dam."

New campaign to save British honey bee

Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 8 Apr 08;

The Government has launched a new campaign to ensure the survival of the native British honey bee.

The farming minister, Lord Rooker, has already admitted that he fears the bee will be gone within 10 years.

Disease has already killed off wild bees from many parts of the country and there are fears that colonies maintained by an army of amateur keepers will suffer the same fate.

Angry beekeepers have accused the Government of not spending enough on research into the killer diseases.

They claim spending cuts have resulted in the loss of what were once world-class research establishments into bee health.

As a result colonies were now at risk of being overwhelmed by diseases and invasive species which have decimated bee colonies in the United States and parts of southern Europe.

The new consultation aimed at protecting bees was announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

It admitted honey bees face a growing number of threats from pests and diseases including varroa mite, parasitic brood mite and invasive species such as the Asian hornet which preys on honey bee colonies.

The new strategy focuses on more effective biosecurity and better husbandry by beekeepers but ministers have made clear no extra money is on offer.

The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) which has 11,000 members, said the new initiative was welcome but would fail unless it was underpinned by better funding.

Chairman Martin Smith said: " Wild bees can no longer survive because of the varroa mite. They might cling on for a year or so but they eventually succumb. I personally doubt whether the honey bee will disappear completely but we could end up with vastly reduced numbers.

"In Britain we are hobby beekeepers and should they stop caring and looking after them, the honey bee will disappear.

"Bees more than earn their keep through pollinating crops and it should not be beyond Defra to find a relatively small amount of money to spend on investigating what is happening to bees and to find ways of minimising losses.

"There is a budget for the National Bee Unit and for inspections but only about £200,000 is left for research. We had establishments that led the world on bee diseases but they were allowed to wither on the vine and now we need them more than ever."

The loss of the honey bee would be devastating for farmers because they pollinate fruit crops and are estimated to be worth £1bn per year to the economy.

The main threat is posed by the varroa infestation which arrived in Britain about 15 years ago. The number of bee colonies being lost to varroa have been steadily increasing since 2001 due to the mite developing resistance to available treatments.

Beekeepers in the US have also been hit hard by a mystery syndrome called colony collapse disease in which disoriented bees fly out of the hive and don't return. Beekeepers believe it will inevitably spread to Britain in time.

Announcing a four-month consultation on the new strategy Lord Rooker said: "Honey bees are facing serious threats from a growing number of pests and diseases.

"It is vital that we do all we can to respond effectively to these threats and to sustain honey bees and beekeeping for today and for future generations.

"The strategy provides direction and focus for Government, beekeepers and other stakeholders working together over the next decade on sustaining honey bees."

A Defra spokesman claimed that research into bee diseases was still being carried out in a project funded by the Chief Scientist called Biochip which aims to develop a diagnostic tool for detecting viruses from animals, plants, insects and bees.

Although the Rothamsted Research's Bee Unit had been closed there was still substantial knowledge in bee health available in the UK such as at Warwick University's Horticultural Research Institute and at the National Bee Unit (NBU).

On funding the spokesman said: "The emphasis is about identifying priorities for action within existing resources.

"If the consultation identifies clear pressing needs for additional resources this will need to be considered during the subsequent implementation phase against other priorities; this would need to include consideration of the most appropriate sourcing of any funding needed."

Support Acre's Anniversary Gala Dinner “Voices of the Wild”

ACRES will be celebrating our 7th anniversary with a grand gala dinner,.

Filling a unique niche in Singapore, ACRES is a local wildlife and environmental protection charity and Institution of Public Character. Founded in 2001, ACRES aims to foster compassion and respect for all animals and the environment.

In celebration of ACRES' 7th anniversary, join us in this black-tie event, “Voices of the Wild”, for an evening of fabulous food, wine and enthralling entertainment!

ACRES would like to appeal to all supporters of the cause to extend your support to this event. This only happens once a year and it would be a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the cause, meet like-minded people and help ACRES in our efforts towards wildlife protection. Please consider that every cent of your contribution will go a long way in making the world a better place for our animal friends!

For more information on ACRES, Voices of the Wild and exactly where the funds raised will be fully channeled to, please visit www.acres.org.sg or email leanora@acres.org.sg

Date: 23 May (Fri)
Time: 6.30pm till late
Venue: Orchid Country Club
Cost: Per seat: $150, per table of 10: $1350
*Price includes a 9-course dinner, free flow wine & beer, wacky show host, crazy games and a unique fashion show featuring Miss Singapore Universe 2007 and CLEO 2008 Bachelors! All contributions will receive a double tax exemption.

Japan to plant coral on disputed islets

Straits Times 9 Apr 08;

Tokyo hopes to cement its right to exploit large expanse of Pacific Ocean
TOKYO - JAPAN is mounting a US$7 million (S$9.7 million) coral transplanting operation in the Pacific aimed at bolstering its side of a territorial dispute with China - and cementing Tokyo's right to exploit a wide expanse of ocean.

Over the next year, scientists will plant more than 50,000 fast-growing Acropora coral fragments on Okinotorishima - two uninhabited rocky outcroppings about 1,700km south-west of Tokyo - project officials say.
The aim is to protect the islets, now circled by concrete seawalls, from further erosion and maintain Japan's claim that they are bona fide islands that can be used to map its exclusive economic zone in the Pacific.

In a sometimes heated dispute, China has challenged Japan's claim, arguing that the outcroppings are too small to be defined as islands under international law, meaning the waters around them are open to use by other nations.

'We hope the corals will grow larger and eventually preserve the islets and their environment,' said Ms Mayumi Tamura, of the Fisheries Agency.

'We see corals as an important marine resource, not as a mere tool of territorial claims.'

The project began in 2006 when officials took 37 coral colonies from the outcroppings and took them to the agency's preserve on Aka Island, near the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, for breeding.

Since then, scientists have grown about 50,000 coral fragments each about the size of a fingertip.

Officials took about a dozen of them to the islets last year as an experiment, and will take another 40,000 over a three-week period starting from April 22.

Ms Tamura said the agency plans to take 10,000 already spawned fragments with tens of thousands more still to be bred in another trip planned for January next year.

The agency has a budget of 770 million yen (S$10.4 million) for the three-year project.

Mr Koji Watanabe, a chief researcher at the government-funded Fisheries Infrastructure Development Centre, said small-scale relocations and transplants of corals has been conducted in Japan, but this would be the first involving so many fragments.

The Fisheries Agency has earmarked 227 million yen for the project for fiscal year 2008, which began on April 1.

It is not the first time Japan has pressed its claim to the islets.

Japan has fortified the islets with cement embankments against the encroaching waves, and uses them to delineate its economic zone so it can lay exclusive claim to the natural resources 200 nautical miles (370km) from its shores into the Pacific.

Japan has built a lighthouse just off the islets. Tokyo's nationalist governor Shintaro Ishihara, whose city has jurisdiction over the outcroppings, made a widely publicised visit there in 2005 to post a large metal address plaque on one of the rocks.

Mr Ishihara has also announced plans to conduct bonito fishing and scientific research in the area.

'So far, we have not heard any complaints (from China),' said Ms Tamura.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu said in Beijing yesterday that she had not heard of the project and had no comment.ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's likely to be a hazy year, Asean ministers warn

But are things all that gloomy?
Today Online 9 Apr 08;

KUALA LUMPUR — After being spared from the worst effects of the haze last year, Singapore and its neighbours are bracing themselves for the days when smoke will once again get into their eyes.

Last year, wetter weather conditions caused by the La Nina phenomenon — the abnormal cooling of sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean — as well as Indonesia's anti-pollution efforts had helped to suppress the region's perennial haze problem.

However, the effects of La Nina will wear off by the third quarter of this year, noted the region's environment ministers after their talks in Putrajaya yesterday.

"This could lead to drier periods and the possibility of escalating hotspot activities during the coming dry season," the ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand said in a joint statement after a meeting to discuss the haze measures.

Singapore's Minister of Environment and Water Resources Minister, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, told Channel NewsAsia: "If the dry season continues, we are in deep trouble."

Since 1997, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have complained about haze drifting from Indonesia, where annual fires are started as part of seasonal land-clearing.

Indonesia argues it lacks the money and technical expertise to prevent or control the fires.

In their joint statement, the ministers noted that Indonesia had made "significant progress" in implementing anti-haze measures.

For example, the number of illegal fires or hotspots had been reduced by 51 per cent last year — slightly exceeding the 50 per cent target set — in key provinces. Indonesia is confident that the number could be further reduced.

Its Environment Minister, Mr Rachmat Witoelar, said that efforts are under way to fight cross-border smoke by banning traditional slash-and-burn practices by farmers and plantations, and stiffer penalties for open burning.

Indonesia's government agencies and the private sector have also raised their budget for land and forest fire control this year to more than 800 billion rupiah.

"We are consolidating our efforts and working together with our neighbours.

"It is not easy because we have vast tracts of dry and combustible land. We are not trying to delude ourselves that we are going to wipe out all the haze," Mr Witoelar said.

While Indonesia's efforts to combat the problem have not gone unnoticed, it has yet to ratify the Asean Transboundary Haze Agreement.

On March 14, lawmakers refused to endorse a Bill that would have paved the way for Jakarta to ratify the pact, which would, among other things, compel Indonesia to adopt a zero-burning policy.

While concerns that some provinces are not ready to implement zero-burning policies have been cited as a reason for the delay, some observers also attribute it to the country's domestic politics. Indonesia is due to go to the polls next year.

"We have heard promises from their leaders, and we hope that they can keep it, and that politics do not get in the way," said Mr Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

On Indonesia's pledges to step up efforts to fight the haze, Mr Charles Chong, who chairs the Singapore Government Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, said: "Whether the haze returns will determine whether efforts have been successful or whether it's all hot air."

However, one Indonesian academic believes that the responsibility should not rest with his country alone.

"If you look at the plantations that are causing it, the propagators are often foreign investors," Dr Anies Baswedan, Rector of Paramadina University, told Today.

He suggested that foreign companies operating in Indonesia should be held liable by their home countries for any environmental damage in the areas they operate. This could be done by revoking the insurance coverage of companies guilty of such an offence.

"They (neighbouring countries) have to create a scheme that helps prevent haze and not put the blame on Indonesia, though Indonesia should also be held accountable too," he added. — AGENCIES, with additional reporting by Lin Yanqin and Nazry Bahrawi

Southeast Asian nations brace for haze, vow to step up efforts to tackle forest fires
Channel NewsAsia 8 Apr 08;

PUTRAJAYA : Southeast Asian countries are bracing for the return of choking haze as a drier season expected in the third quarter of this year may trigger an escalation of hotspots in Indonesia.

Environment ministers from the region met on Tuesday to discuss how to reduce haze pollution.

Speaking after the meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, environment ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand vowed to step up preventive and mitigation efforts to tackle land and forest fires.

A drier season in the third quarter is expected to set in as early as June this year.

"We were lucky last year because the La Nina effect (brought) a lot more rain, so that helped. We can't expect the same help this year, according to the forecast (of a drier season), which means mitigating efforts will need to step up. If the dry season continues, we are in deep trouble," said Singapore's Minister of Environment and Water Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

The acrid smog in 2005 and 2006 was blamed on Indonesia as farmers and plantations there lit fire to clear land. On top of posing a health hazard, the choking haze caused billions of dollars in economic losses as tourists shunned the region.

In 2005, Malaysia declared a state of emergency as air quality reached dangerous level, forcing schools to close while airports and shipping lanes were disrupted.

Although the number of hotspots in Indonesia was slashed by more than half last year, ministers warned that there is no room for complacency. They hope Jakarta will keep up with its good work in curbing illegal burning.

This year, Indonesia has budgeted 800 billion rupiah (S$120.6 million, US$87 million) on land and forest fire control and promised to do more. But its minister admits there are limitations.

"We are prepared for the worst, hoping for the best. It's not easy because we have vast track of dry and combustible land such as peat land and so on, we are not going to delude ourselves that we are going to wipe out the haze. There'll always be some burning," said Indonesian Environment Minister Rahmat Witoelar.

Other difficulties involve litigation as bigger culprits such as plantation companies were let off after the authorities failed to charge them in court for illegal burning, due to a lack of evidence.

Nevertheless, Jakarta has set lofty targets to reduce the number of hotspots by half next year.

Singapore's environment minister said he hopes Jakarta will ratify the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Agreement soon.

Singapore has allocated one million dollars in capacity building, socialisation workshop and development of fire danger rating system in Indonesia's Jambi province, while Kuala Lumpur will assist in developing an early warning system, peatland management and zero burning techniques.

The ministers next meet on June 26 in Singapore. - CNA /ls

Indonesia confident of curbing fires as haze season looms
Channel NewsAsia 8 Apr 08;

KUALA LUMPUR - Indonesia said Tuesday it was confident of reducing the number of illegal fires or "hotspots" this year, as the region braces for the annual dry-season haze crisis.

Indonesia's environment minister Rachmat Witoelar said hotspots had been reduced by 51 percent in 2007 in key provinces and this pace of improvement should continue.

"We are consolidating our efforts and working together with our neighbours," he said after talks with his counterparts.

"We have significantly reduced the number of hotspots in both Kalimantan and Sumatra since last year, and we hope to maintain this trend in 2008 with cooperation from our neighbours."

Ministers and officials from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand held half-day talks on measures to fight the haze phenomenon, which chokes the region each year, hampering travel and causing health problems.

They said in a statement that the La Nina weather system was expected to ease this year, "leading to drier periods and the possibility of escalating hotspot activities," so urgent action was required.

"We will be prepared for the worst but hope for the best," Witoelar said, while noting that Indonesia's vast tracts of dry and combustible peatland would make fighting forest fires difficult.

"We are not trying to delude ourselves that we are going to wipe out all the haze... but we are focusing on preventing transboundary haze in our national action plan," he said.

Witoelar said stiff penalties of up to 10 billion rupiah (1.1 million dollars) and 10-year jail terms will be meted out to major plantation owners who defy the law against open burning.

Farmers have also been educated and received incentives to clear land using alternatives to traditional slash-and-burn methods.

Indonesia has yet to ratify a regional treaty charted in 2002 on preventing the haze, but officials said it was in the process of doing so.

Indonesia and the Philippines are the only members of the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc who have not ratified the deal, which would compel Indonesia to create a strict zero-burning policy.

The haze hit its worst level in 1997-98, costing the region an estimated nine billion dollars by disrupting air travel, tourism and other business activities as smoke enveloped the region.

The five nations again meet on the issue on June 26 in Singapore.

- AFP /ls

LRT, 'green' buildings for Tianjin Eco-city project

Today Online 9 Apr 08;

IT iS meant to be a model of economic sustainability and green living — and yesterday, the draft masterplan for the Tianjin Eco-city, a project by Singapore and China, was endorsed.

The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Joint Working Committee met for the second time yesterday in Singapore.

Incorporating the best ideas from both countries, the masterplan proposes that existing wetlands and rivers on the site be preserved and provides for a generous amount of greenery.

The eco-city will be compact, with key facilities, services and workplaces located close to residential areas, so as to minimise travelling by residents.

An efficient and affordable public transport network is called for, with an LRT line as the main mode of transport, which will be supplemented by a good bus network.

There will also be extensive cycling paths, as well as footpaths for pedestrians.

All buildings will conform to green building standards to ensure efficient energy use. Clean and renewable energy will also be promoted.

The eco-city will include residential, mixed, commercial and institutional uses, as well as a business park development.

The masterplan was jointly developed by the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, and the Singapore planning team led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Further refinements will be made when the Tianjin Government releases the masterplan for public consultation in mid-April, before it is submitted to Chinese authorities for approval.

Meanwhile, work has commenced on the detailed plans for the 3-sq km start-up area.

The detailed plans will be reviewed at the next meeting in Tianjin in late May.

Singapore, China approve eco-city plans
Business Times 9 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE and China have endorsed the draft masterplan for the proposed eco-city project in Tianjin.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a statement that the go-ahead was given at the second meeting of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Joint Working Committee held yesterday.

The meeting was co-chaired by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, and China's Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Rural-Urban Construction, Qiu Baoxing.

The proposed master plan, which will guide the land use and development of the eco-city site, was jointly developed by the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, and the Singapore planning team led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

It incorporates the best ideas from both Singapore and China and reflects the common vision of an eco-city that is environmentally friendly and economically sustainable.

The plan also allows for a variety of land uses, including residential, mixed, commercial and institutional uses, and business park development.

An efficient and affordable public transport network has also been worked into the master plan with a key feature being a light rapid transit (LRT) line running through the eco-city.

All buildings in the eco-city will conform to green building standards to ensure efficient energy use.

The use of clean and renewable energy in the eco-city will also be promoted.

The draft master plan will be further refined when the Tianjin government releases it for public consultation later this month, after which it will be submitted for approval by the Chinese authorities.

The next joint working committee meeting will be held in Tianjin in late May.

Food crisis: Bad luck and bad policies

Paul Krugman, Straits Times 9 Apr 08;

THESE days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there's another world crisis under way - and it's hurting a lot more people.

I'm talking about the food crisis. Over the past few years the prices of wheat, corn, rice and other basic foodstuffs have doubled or tripled, with much of the increase taking place just in the last few months. High food prices dismay even relatively well-off Americans - but they're truly devastating in poor countries, where food often accounts for more than half a family's spending.

There have already been food riots around the world. Food-supplying countries, from Ukraine to Argentina, have been limiting exports in an attempt to protect domestic consumers, leading to angry protests from farmers - and making things even worse in countries that need to import food.

How did this happen? The answer is a combination of long-term trends, bad luck - and bad policy.

Let's start with the things that aren't anyone's fault.

First, there's the march of the meat-eating Chinese - that is, the growing number of people in emerging economies who are, for the first time, rich enough to start eating like Westerners. Since it takes about 700 calories' worth of animal feed to produce a 100-calorie piece of beef, this change in diet increases the overall demand for grains.

Second, there's the price of oil. Modern farming is highly energy-intensive: a lot of BTUs go into producing fertiliser, running tractors and, not least, transporting farm products to consumers. With oil persistently above US$100 (S$138) per barrel, energy costs have become a major factor driving up agricultural costs.

High oil prices also have a lot to do with the growth of China and other emerging economies. Directly and indirectly, these rising economic powers are competing with the rest of us for scarce resources, including oil and farmland, driving up prices for raw materials of all sorts.

Third, there has been a run of bad weather in key growing areas. In particular, Australia, normally the world's second-largest wheat exporter, has been suffering from an epic drought.

OK, I said that these factors behind the food crisis aren't anyone's fault, but that's not quite true. The rise of China and other emerging economies is the main force driving oil prices, but the invasion of Iraq has also reduced oil supplies below what they would have been otherwise.

And bad weather, especially the Australian drought, is probably related to climate change. So politicians and governments that have stood in the way of action on greenhouse gases bear some responsibility for food shortages.

Where the effects of bad policy are clearest, however, is in the rise of demon ethanol and other biofuels.

The subsidised conversion of crops into fuel was supposed to promote energy independence and help limit global warming. But this promise was, as Time magazine bluntly put it, a 'scam'.

This is especially true of corn ethanol. Even on optimistic estimates, producing a gallon of ethanol from corn uses most of the energy the gallon contains. But it turns out that even seemingly 'good' biofuel policies, like Brazil's use of ethanol from sugar cane, accelerate the pace of climate change by promoting deforestation.

And meanwhile, land used to grow biofuel feedstock is land not available to grow food, so subsidies to biofuels are a major factor in the food crisis. You might put it this way: People are starving in Africa so that US politicians can court votes in farm states.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, all the remaining presidential contenders are terrible on this issue.

One more thing: One reason the food crisis has gotten so severe, so fast, is that major players in the grain market grew complacent.

Governments and private grain dealers used to hold large inventories in normal times, just in case a bad harvest created a sudden shortage. Over the years, however, these precautionary inventories were allowed to shrink, mainly because everyone came to believe that countries suffering crop failures could always import the food they needed.

This left the world food balance highly vulnerable to a crisis affecting many countries at once - in much the same way that the marketing of complex financial securities, which was supposed to diversify away risk, left world financial markets highly vulnerable to a systemwide shock.

What should be done? The most immediate need is more aid to people in distress. The UN's World Food Programme put out a desperate appeal for more funds.

We also need a pushback against biofuels, which turn out to have been a terrible mistake.

But it's not clear how much can be done. Cheap food, like cheap oil, may be a thing of the past.

NEW YORK TIMES

Rising food prices not a temporary trend: Zoellick

World food stocks at a level bordering on an emergency
Business Times 9 Apr 08;

(WASHINGTON) Rising food prices are not a temporary phenomenon but are likely to persist for several years, World Bank president Robert Zoellick says.

He says strong demand, change in diet and the use of biofuels as an alternative source of energy have reduced world food stocks to a level bordering on an emergency.

Speaking to reporters on Monday before the bank's spring meeting in the coming weekend, Mr Zoellick said the 185-member World Bank would work with other organisations to deal with the crisis by seeking ways to help farmers, especially in Africa, to increase productivity and improve access to food through schools or workplaces.

'This is not a this-year phenomenon,' he said, referring to the price spike. 'I think it is going to continue for some time.' Mr Zoellick said bank forecasters looking at food prices have concluded that a serious risk exists of a significant increase in poverty, which for some countries will reverse gains made over the past five to 10 years.

'A recent assessment in Indonesia shows that over three-quarters of the poor are net rice buyers, and an increase in the relative rice price by 10 per cent would result in an additional two million poor people - about one per cent of the population,' he said.

Mr Zoellick said in some developing countries the new face of hunger and malnutrition can be found in urban areas, where food is available but people cannot afford it.

In a speech last week, Mr Zoellick called for a 'New Deal for Global Food Policy' that would aim to boost agricultural productivity in poor nations. He said the bank would lend almost twice as much money for agriculture in Africa - from US$450 million to US$850 million.

He also would like to see major government-owned sovereign wealth funds of Asia and the Middle East join with the bank and invest in Africa.

Mr Zoellick said the bank could help African countries set up an institutional and regulatory systems that would make investors comfortable with putting their money to work in these nations.

Rice, the staple food for half the world, climbed to a record for a fourth day as the Philippines, the biggest importer, announced plans to buy one million tonnes. Rice gained 2.4 per cent to US$21.50 per 100 pounds in Chicago, double the price a year ago.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo announced two rice tenders yesterday and pledged to crack down on hoarding.

'We're in for a tough time,' Roland Jansen, chief executive officer of Pfaffikon, Switzerland-based Mother Earth Investments, said. Unless prices decline, 'you will have huge problems of daily nutrition for half the planet.' Mother Earth holds about 4 per cent of its US$100 million funds in the grain. -- AP, Bloomberg

'Food prices likely to persist'
Serious risk of poverty as food costs rise
Today Online 9 Apr 08;

AS rice futures climbed to their highest ever for a fourth day, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said high food prices are likely to persist for several years yet.

More immediately, say observers echoing an earlier World Bank warning, this could feed the potential for unrest as well as the threat to governments in poorer Asian countries.

Mr Zoellick said yesterday, strong demand, change in diet and the use of biofuels as an alternative source of energy have reduced world food stocks to a level bordering on an emergency.

On the price spike, he added: "This is not a this-year phenomenon. I think it is going to continue for some time."

He said bank forecasters looking at food prices have concluded that a serious risk exists of a significant increase in poverty, which for some countries will reverse gains made over the past five to 10 years.

In Indonesia, for instance, recent assessment shows "an increase in the relative rice price by 10 per cent would result in an additional 2 million poor people, about one percent of the population", he said.

Across Asia, governments face strikes, protests and hoarding in response to the spiralling costs that threatens to hurt them at the polls, observers say.

Said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: "There will be unrest and the poorer countries will experience that much more than rich countries such as Malaysia and Singapore."

Poverty-stricken Bangladesh and the Philippines have been particularly hard hit. "Soaring food prices have become a serious threat for the survival of the present caretaker government," said Ban-gladeshi political scientist Ataur Rahman.

The Philippines, one of the world's biggest importers of rice, yesterday announced plans to buy 1 million tonnes to guarantee supplies. Last week, the government deployed troops to deliver grain to poor areas of Manila. It also ordered police to arrest rice hoarders.

In Indonesia, higher fuel costs mean a rise in the price of kerosene which is widely used by the poor for cooking. The late president Suharto was forced to step down a decade ago amid civil unrest, after he raised fuel prices during an economic crisis.

Facing an election next year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sworn off further cuts to fuel subsidies but analysts say, most Indonesians are being squeezed anyway by escalating costs of essentials.

The government has responded by distributing subsidised cooking oil and promising rice handouts, but the rice distribution would not reach enough needy people, said Hendri Saparini, an economist with an Indonesian think-tank.

"If in three months, there is no action from the government, I really worry there is going to be social unrest," she said.

In China, inflation threatens to lead to social unrest, as it did ahead of 1989 democracy protests that the military crushed, said analysts. The price of China's staple meat, pork, has risen by more than 60 per cent year-on-year.

In Vietnam, where consumer prices rose more than 16 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, strikes are becoming more frequent — last week more than 15,000 workers at a Vietnamese shoe factory went on a two-day strike.

In last month's elections, Malaysia's ruling coalition ceded five states to the opposition, which campaigned heavily on high inflation.

Dr Ooi said the political danger from rising prices depends on several factors including the extent of income disparities in a country. "What is decisive is whether or not the population feels that the government is competent and uncorrupted," she said. — AGENCIES

Rice at double last year's average price

Importers say supplies are not at risk, but consumers can expect to pay more soon
Nicholas Fang, Straits Times 9 Apr 08;

THE fast-rising global price of rice shot up to yet another record high yesterday and is now nearly double the average price last year.

But local importers say there is no need for Singaporeans to hoard the grain since the main supplier here, Thailand, is expected to continue exporting significant quantities of rice.

However, the local importers expect the impact of the latest rise to flow through to supermarket shelves.

But Mr Jimmy Soh, managing director of rice importer Chye Choon Foods, said there was no need for consumers to buy more rice than they need.

'I don't think that there is a need to panic or hoard rice at the moment. We get most of our supplies from Thailand, and they will continue to export rice as it is one of their main exports, so rice will not run out.'

As others have pointed out, hoarding creates an artificial demand which will only serve to drive up prices even further.

Also, rice does not keep indefinitely. Weevils start appearing within two to three months.

Yesterday, a global benchmark rice price hit a high of US$21.50 (S$30) per 100lbs (45kg) in the United States before closing at US$21.465, up 2.2 per cent on the day. This is nearly double the average price of US$11.12 last year, Bloomberg data showed.

Globally, dramatic rises in prices of rice and other foodstuffs, such as coffee and sugar, have prompted grim warnings.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick told reporters on Monday that global food stocks had fallen to a level that was bordering on an emergency, Associated Press reported.

He said this was due to strong food demand, dietary changes and the use of biofuels as an alternative energy source. Some biofuels such as palm oil are also foodstuffs.

'This is not a this-year phenomenon. I think it's going to continue for some time,' he said.

World Bank forecasters believe there is a serious risk of a poverty surge which could reverse gains made over the past five or 10 years in some countries.

The rice price surge comes amid global fears of rice shortages, and as the Philippines announced plans to buy one million tonnes to ensure adequate supplies. The Philippines is the world's No. 1 rice importer.

Rice prices are up about 19 per cent in the past month as major producers such as China, Egypt, Vietnam and India curbed exports to stem inflation and guard stockpiles.

Higher food prices are likely to persist for most of this year, said Standard Chartered in a recent report.

Rice prices soar
Philippines plan to buy 1m tonnes amid warning to hoarders
Today Online 9 Apr 08;

The price of rice climbed to a record high for a fourth day as the Philippines, its biggest importer, announced plans to buy 1 million tonnes and some of the world's largest exporters cut sales to ensure they can feed their own people.

Rice, the staple food for half the world, gained 2.4 per cent to US$21.50 per 100 pounds in Chicago, more than double the price a year ago.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo vowed yesterday to crack down on hoarding and said she would jail anyone found guilty of "stealing rice from the people".

"The need to avert social tensions from high food prices" has made "food sufficiency even more urgent", said Standard Chartered commodities analyst Abah Ofon.

China, Egypt, Vietnam and India, representing more than a third of global rice shipments, curtailed sales this year to protect domestic stockpiles.

The World Bank in Washington said 33 nations from Mexico to Yemen may face "social unrest" after food and energy costs rose for six straight years.

The Philippines is tightening controls over domestic sales and boosting overseas purchases to curb price rises and avoid the kind of unrest experienced by some African countries. The government plans to buy more rice this month and next month.

The South-east Asian nation may raise imports of milled rice by as much as 42 per cent to 2.7 million tonnes this year from 1.9 million tonnes last year to discourage speculation by local traders, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said recently.

Rising food prices are fuelling global inflation. Wholesale costs in India rose 7 per cent in the week ended March 22, the fastest in more than three years. — Bloomberg

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Apr 08

Pulau Hantu: “Ecological study of the impact of effluents on divers” what's going to happen to Hantu? on the hantu blog and wildfilms blog, also discussed on the fins online forum

Singapore's shores: another major area of conservation
extract of Prof Peter Ng's comments in the Business Times on the wildfilms blog

Volunteers needed to promote marine life protection
details on the singapore celebrates our reefs blog

Bear truth
an appeal on the flying fish friends blog

Dredging and dam construction at Punggol
on the wildfilms blog

Video of Tanjong Rimau, Sentosa
uploaded on flickr videos on the leafmonkey blog

Volunteers needed to promote Marine life protection!

This year is the "International Year of the Reef" and Singapore is celebrating it!

Volunteers are needed to help the World Wildlife Fund in promoting conservation message during this year's Asian Dive Expo 18-20 April. Coordinating this effort is Eco-Singapore.

You will be manning the WWF Booth to promote the importance of coral life especially in the "Coral Triangle" which is just off the shores of Singapore.

Training will be conducted on the 17th April by WWF visiting expert on the Reefs.

Interested volunteers please drop an email to: volunteer@eco-singapore.org

Job vacancies at NParks Pulau Ubin

There are three new positions to fill at Pulau Ubin:

Senior Conservation Officer
Senior Outreach Officer
Outreach Officer

Check out the details at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/job_opportunities.asp

SENIOR CONSERVATION OFFICER

We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual who enjoys working in the outdoors and with people. You will be responsible for developing and implementing nature conservation and park management strategies. You will be key in the planning, conducting and overseeing of conservation, field research and park development and maintenance programmes.

SENIOR OUTREACH OFFICER (CONSERVATION)

We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual who enjoys working in the outdoors and with people. You will be responsible for developing and strategizing the implementation of outreach and publicity programs to schools, communities and organizations to raise the awareness of our natural heritage. You will be key in the planning, conducting and overseeing the production of education materials and workshops.

OUTREACH OFFICER (CONSERVATION)

You will be responsible for developing and implementing outreach programs including conducting guided walks, talks, re-forestation programs and writing for newsletters, interpretive signs, brochures and electronic medium, with the aim of raising the awareness of our natural heritage among the schools, communities and organizations. You will also be administrating our volunteer program and for recruiting and training volunteers, organizing activities to sustain their interests and to co-ordinate their efforts with the work of the conservation officers.

NEW Publication: Elements, a magazine of the Singapore Environment Council

The latest issue of Elements, a magazine of the Singapore Environment Council is now online.

Articles include:

The Green Angle
Cover Story: Profiles of the Green Advocates
find out more about SEC personalities!

Greening Business
Steelcase Eco-Profile; Asian Geographic; Solar-driven Air-conditioners

Green News
Sharkwater & The 11th Hour; JBCG; SEC’s New Office; Year of the Frog;
Greening the Office

Green Action
Treehugger.com; Youth Portal Habitat; Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore)

Green Living
Eco-cosmetics

Friends of the Earth
Interview with J. Henry Fair

How about building a Disney Sea here?

Letter by Yam Yeow Sin, ST Forum Online, 09 Apr 08

OUR land may be too limited to build large-scale Disney playgrounds like the ones in Florida, Paris, Anaheim, Tokyo or Hong Kong but what about a Disney Sea?

We are a small island. With the sea front and the consistent tropical weather that we have, I am sure Disney Sea is a possibility that a local developer and the Walt Disney Company can look into. We already have the Singapore Flyer, and the F1 will take place in October. In addition, the two integrated resorts will be ready in 2010 and 2011 respectively. So why not a Disney theme park on our island?

Don't be too quick to endorse GM foods

Letter by Richard Seah Siew Sai, ST Forum, 9 Apr 08

IN HIS letter, 'All food here, including GM food, safe to eat: AVA'' (March 25), Mr Goh Shih Yong of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) declared that 'the international consensus is that GM food is safe for consumption'.

Where is this 'consensus'?

A search for 'GM foods' on the Internet will find reports, complete with scientific references, detailing the dangers and potential dangers of genetically modified foods.

You will also find pleas by scientists and other concerned persons calling on governments to stop the use of GM foods.

Most Europeans countries, significant sections of the American public and a good number of scientists all over the world are not in favour of GM foods.

Let's not be too quick to endorse these strange new foods.

Instead, let us learn from the experience of trans fats which, more than 30 years ago, was deemed by 'international consensus' to be not only safe but also healthy.

Today, trans fats have been found to be extremely harmful. But the damage has already been done.

Millions of people have developed degenerative diseases and died from eating margarine and other artificial foods containing high levels of trans fats. And trans fats have become so deeply entrenched in the food chain that it has become extremely troublesome and costly to remove.

The other question is whether consumers have a right to know what they are eating.

Consumers should be encouraged to read food labels, rather than be presented with a situation where food labels offer no pertinent information.

Show us...

ST Forum, 09 Apr 08

'People want to be able to choose what they eat and know the level of safety of their food.'

MR GABRIEL MOREAU DE BALASY, who disagrees with the AVA's view that concern over possible increases in food prices due to labelling is the right reason to deny consumers the right to know what they are eating

Tell us...
ST Forum, 09 Apr 08

'Without labelling, consumers will never know.'

MR MICHAEL ENG, responding to the AVA's letter 'All food here, including GM Food, safe to eat: AVA' (March 25). He says that although mandatory labelling of genetically-modified (GM) food is currently not an international practice, the AVA can be more proactive in labelling GM foods and educate or tell the public what they are consuming.

As rice stocks swell, concerns grow over space and consumer reaction

By Alicia Wong, TODAY, 09 Apr 08

SINGAPORE: Even as rice importers are encouraged to import more, the problem lies in the high costs and lack of storage space, not the supply availability — so say importers who met with International Enterprise (IE) Singapore on Tuesday.

At the one-hour meeting involving more than 30 suppliers, the latter raised concerns such as whether consumers would buy rice if prices continued to spiral upwards.

Managing director of Chye Choon Foods Jimmy Soh told TODAY: "With the prices moving so aggressively, importers may revise prices up by another 10 to 20 per cent".

This means Singaporeans could see another hike in retail prices in the next two to three weeks, but Mr Soh was not certain they would pay.

At the meeting, traders were asked if they could absorb the increased costs — but traders hoped the government could subsidise these, according to See Hoy Chan's operations manager E K Lim. He said IE Singapore told them the feedback would be passed on to the government.

With Singapore's three rice warehouses nearly 90 per cent full, Mr Lim said supply shortage is not a worry for consumers here. "Even if I bring in more rice, how am I going to store it?" he asked, pointing out the costs of renting additional storage space.

This concern was one of the issues raised at the meeting, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), which heads IE Singapore.

The MTI said, to media queries, that the meeting was held "in response to requests from importers for the government to consider allowing them to import rice over and above their usual monthly imports".

This refers to the agreement traders have with MTI to bring in a fixed amount of rice monthly.

"Issues such as the availability of existing financial schemes for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and assistance in securing warehouse space were among the issues discussed," the MTI added.

But, Mr Lim felt that upping imports now was not the best solution for consumers — with stocks taking up to four months to clear, consumers may end up paying higher prices for their rice later even if global costs drop by then, he said. - TODAY/ra

Dry season expected in Singapore in third quarter

Channelnewsasia 8 Apr 08

SINGAPORE : The third quarter of this year could be a dry season which could lead to haze resulting from hotspots in Indonesia.

The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre has forecast that the prevailing La Nina is expected to gradually weaken and return to neutral conditions by that time.

This was on the agenda at the 4th meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Tuesday. The committee recognised the urgency of tackling land and forest fires that result in haze pollution, and also preventing and mitigating such events.

In fact, Indonesia's efforts last year reduced the number of hotspots by half, in both Sumatra and Kalimantan, compared to the year before. Wetter weather conditions also helped.

Indonesia wants to reduce its number of hotspots further. Under its National Action Plan on Climate Change, Indonesia has targeted to reduce the number of hotspots by 50% in 2009, 75% in 2012 and 95% in 2025, using 2006 as a baseline.

Central and local government agencies, as well as the private sector will also spend more money - to the tune of 800 billion rupiah (S$120.6 million) - on land and forest fire control this year.

The ministers are scheduled to meet again on 26 June 2008 in Singapore. - CNA /ls

Haze could worsen this year: ASEAN ministers
Jalil Hamid, Reuters 8 Apr 08;

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - Smog from forest fires, which costs Southeast Asian economies billions in lost tourist dollars, could worsen as changing weather patterns cause an unusually dry spell, the region's environment ministers warned on Tuesday.

The effects of the La Nina weather phenomenon are expected to wear off in the third quarter of 2008, which could result in arid conditions, the ministers said, quoting a forecast from the ASEAN Meteorological Centre.

"This could lead to drier periods and the possibility of escalating hot-spot activities during the coming dry season," environment ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei said in a statement.

La Nina refers to an abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, while its counterpart El Nino refers to a warming of surface temperatures.

Since 1997, peat and forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra and Borneo islands have triggered a choking haze which billows across the region, affecting Singapore, Malaysia and parts of Thailand.

The ASEAN ministers had gathered in the Malaysian administrative capital to discuss the haze, which usually occurs around mid-year as farmers and timber and plantation firms in the region openly burn plots of land ahead of the planting season.

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines.

"We have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar told reporters.

"We are not going to delude ourselves that we are going to wipe out all the haze. There will be some burning, some haze."

Near-annual bouts of haze have made many people ill across a wide area of Southeast Asia, cost local economies billions of dollars and badly hit the tourism and airline sectors.

Singapore appealed to tourists not to avoid the region during the period as has happened in the past.

Southeast Asia is a magnet for big-spending visitors from the Middle East in July and August, as they seek to escape the scorching summer back home.

"Please come and visit the region," Singapore Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said.

(Writing by Liau Y-Sing; Editing by Valerie Lee)

S'pore's first farm resort in Lim Chu Kang to offer villas

By Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia, 8 Apr 08

SINGAPORE: Lim Chu Kang looks all set for a change if the Singapore Land Authority’s plans for the first agri-tainment resort work out.

Developers of the agri-tainment farm resort hope to offer visitors a more unconventional experience when it opens its doors in August 2008.

Visitors will be able to find out how crops like corn and coffee are grown and may even get the chance to harvest their own vegetables.

In addition, the five-hectare site, which is equal to the size of six football fields, will have 21 villas and a nearby spa. And the villas will be going for up to S$200 a night.

HLH Agri International is paying S$880,000 for a 20-year lease which it admits is 'cheap'.

It plans to sub-lease 21 plots to entrepreneurs and will charge 10 per cent of their total earnings in management fees.

Dr Tan Siang Hee, CEO of HLH Agri International, said: "We're going to create the opportunity for people to have a storefront. They can be planting from somewhere else and bringing in the product. Or in another sense, they could be planting within the 700 square metres that we give them as a demonstration port."

HLH has refused to disclose other financial details.

Each operator will be given a two-year operating permit that will be renewable subject to the overall performance of the operator.

Interested operators will be able to operate rent-free and will only have to pay a minimum management fee.

Operators will need to submit a business plan specifying crop type.

Other nearby farm owners that Channel NewsAsia spoke with said they don't feel threatened by the new resort farm and expect it to help renew interest in the industry.

Developers are aiming to draw 500,000 local and foreign visitors a year with plans to increase that number to 650,000 by 2012. - CNA/vm

Farm resort in Singapore? It will be a reality soon
Emilyn Yap
Business Times 9 Apr 08;

GREENERY is all around and there is nary a tall building in sight. Gone is the buzz of heavy day-time traffic. Have a short rest in your air-conditioned villa, and take in the stretches of gardens and fruit trees that come into view. But there is no need to linger for too long, as there is much outside to indulge you in - a wellness spa, a farm produce market and even a corn plantation tour.

This may sound like a farm stay overseas, but rustic escapes like this will soon be possible in Singapore. Come September, what is hailed by the HLH Group as the country's first agri-tainment getaway D'Kranji Farm Resort will be ready to welcome its first visitors.

The five-hectare Lim Chu Kang resort, already 60 per cent complete, will house 21 villas, 21 farming plots and retail kiosks, a wellness spa, seafood restaurant, beer garden, as well as a research and development (R&D) centre for corn plantations.

D'Kranji is a $10 million project undertaken by mainboard-listed HLH Group, the former PDC Corp which in 2006 adopted its present name to reflect its shift from electronics business to agricultural business.

Its three core areas now are agricultural plantation, agri-business and property development.

The foray into agri-tainment is a reflection of HLH's restructuring efforts since 2006. The group, a commercial corn producer in Asia, is involved in the whole value chain of corn plantation, corn processing as well as the merchandising of agricultural products.

The resort is an offshoot of HLH's efforts to develop its corn plantation business. According to CEO Tan Siang Hee at the media briefing yesterday, HLH began with the idea of setting up an R&D centre in Singapore to test different varieties of corn before growing them on a larger scale. Noting that people may be interested in visiting corn plantations, the concept then developed into the one we see today.

The resort also offers entrepreneurship opportunities by providing rental-free agri-retail kiosks to those interested in farming. Kiosk operators will receive a two-year operating permit, renewable subject to overall performance, and will pay a monthly management fee to HLH in return.

The resort aims to attract 500,000 visitors a year. HLH is in talks with eight tour group operators, and also has plans to work with community centres to bring visitors to the site.

Landscaping company Nyee Phoe Group also has plans to launch kampung-style chalets in Lim Chu Kang.

On the potential competition, Mr Tan said that the key was about 'how we are going to strategise, how we are going to make our uniqueness stand out, and how we differentiate our products'. With similar players in the area, there would also be potential for Lim Chu Kang to develop as a lifestyle hub.

Shares of HLH closed trading unchanged at three cents yesterday.

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