Turtle Eggs From Sabah And Philippines Sold In Terengganu, Says Expert

Bernama 16 Apr 09;

SANDAKAN, April 16 (Bernama) -- Turtle eggs, believed to be from Sabah and the Philippines, are being sold at three main markets in Terengganu.

At the Pasar Payang, Simpang 3 and Batu 6 markets, the eggs belonging to the Green Turtle species, are sold for between RM23 and RM25 for a packet of 10.

These are the findings of turtle expert Dr Juanita Joseph who said that as there was no restriction in the sale of turtle eggs in Terengganu, it has inadvertently encouraged smugglers to sell the eggs at the markets.

A lecturer at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) Faculty of Maritime and Marine Science Studies, she told Bernama here Wednesday.

"The smuggling of turtle eggs into Terengganu began after several turtle landing areas in the state were turned into turtle sanctuaries in 2005, to protect the Leatherback turtles.

"If the sale of turtle eggs is not banned, it will lead to the extinction of turtles in Malaysia, and lead to more smuggling of turtle eggs."

She said there was no law to ban the sale of turtle eggs in Terengganu, except for the Leatherback turtle eggs.

Dr Juanita claimed the eggs were sent to the peninsula, either by courier or post.

A Bernama survey at several areas here found turtle eggs being sold near the Sandakan market at RM1.20 to RM1.70 each.

They are sold discreetly by traders, believed to be foreigners who claimed the eggs were from the Philippines.

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Illegal cod fishing in Arctic threatening fisheries: WWF

Yahoo News 16 Apr 08;

Illegal fishing of cod and pollock in the Arctic is a transnational crime that is putting the health of fisheries at risk, a report published Wednesday by conservation group WWF shows.

The illegal activity is also adding pressure on fish stocks that are already feeling the impact of climate change, said the report.

Some 70 percent of the world's white fish supply originates from the Arctic. Among these are the Russian Alaska pollock and Barents Sea cod which account for about a quarter of the world's white fish supply.

In 2005, over 100,000 tonnes of illegal cod valued at 225 million euros (350 million dollars) were caught in the Barents Sea.

Efforts to clamp down have resulted in the halving of such illegal landings of cod, but the poaching of Alaska pollock remains a problem, said the WWF.

Illegal Alaska pollock catch can reach a value of 45 million euros a year.

"Illegal fishing in the Arctic is a serious transnational crime crossing European, African, Asian and American borders," said Neil Hamilton, director of WWF International's Arctic Programme.

"Cheats are putting short-term profits ahead of the long-term survival of Arctic fisheries," he added.

The group said illegally caught pollock was typically carried to China for processing by a Russian vessel, the deal was usually handled by middlemen in South Korea, and the processed fish re-exported as fillets to the United States.

"With markets spread across the globe, the distribution of black market cod and pollock is a global problem," said the group.

It also warned that the impact of climate change on fish stocks is still unknown, but that the unknown levels of illegal fishing further complicates any attempt at forecasting the impact.

The group urged efforts to tackle the problem to be "directed to every step of the supply chain, including harvesting, transportation, storage distribution, processing and marketing".

"This requires international cooperation among governments, businesses, organisations and seafood consumers," it said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Apr 08

Join the Cyrene Blogging Carnival!
more about it on the leafmonkey blog

Dolphins at Sentosa: Universal Studios distances itself
on the wildfilms blog

Poll: which is your favourite Ubin restaurant?
on the pulau ubin stories blog

Spectacular sunrise on Cyrene
on the wonderful creations blog

Other coral relatives of Singapore
on the singapore celebrates our reefs blog

Storm’s Stork sighted at Panti Forest, Johor
on the bird ecology blog

Skinky goings on
on the budak blog

Teenage Skeptic Takes on Climate Scientists
on the npr website

Read more!

6 million pounds of trash on world's beaches

Group finds 6 million pounds of trash on world's beaches
H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Yahoo News 16 Apr 08;

The world's beaches and shores are anything but pristine. Volunteers scoured 33,000 miles of shoreline worldwide and found 6 million pounds of debris from cigarette butts and food wrappers to abandoned fishing lines and plastic bags that threaten seabirds and marine mammals.

A report by the Ocean Conservancy, to be released Wednesday, catalogues nearly 7.2 million items that were collected by volunteers on a single day last September as they combed beaches and rocky shorelines in 76 countries from Bahrain to Bangladesh and in 45 states from southern California to the rocky coast of Maine.

"This is a snapshot of one day, one moment in time, but it serves as a powerful reminder of our carelessness and how our disparate and random actions actually have a collective and global impact," Vikki Spruill, president of the Ocean Conservancy said in an interview.

The 378,000 volunteers on average collected 182 pounds of trash for every mile of shoreline, both ocean coastlines and beaches on inland lakes and streams, providing a "global snapshot of the ocean trash problem."

The most extensive cleanup was in the United States where 190,000 volunteers covered 10,110 miles — about a third of the worldwide total — and picked up 3.9 million pounds of debris on a single Saturday last September, according to the report.

That's 390 pounds of trash per mile, among the highest rates of any country, although the high number also reflects the large number of U.S. volunteers who took part, said Spruill. By comparison, volunteers in neighboring Canada collected 74 pounds per mile and those in Mexico, 157 pounds per mile, said the report. About 65 pounds of trash were collected per mile in China and 46 pounds per mile in New Zealand. Volunteers covered one mile in Bahrain and found 300 pounds of trash.

But Spruill said the volume of trash collected tells only part of the story. It's the items that are found that tells us about the behavior of people enjoying the beaches and coastlines of the world.

"It represents a general carelessness we have. ... We're the bad guys. Trash doesn't fall from the sky. It actually falls from our hands," said Spruill.

The debris ranges from the relatively harmless, although annoying and an eyesore, to items that annually result in the death of hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine mammals caught in abandoned fishing lines and netting.

A third of the items found came from smokers.

The volunteers collected and cataloged nearly 2.3 million cigarette butts, filters and cigar tips. And they found 587,827 bags; more than 1.7 million food wrappers, containers, lids, cups, plates and eating utensils; and nearly 1.2 million bottles and beverage cans.

Divers also scoured waters offshore, collecting about 160,000 pounds of debris from cigarette waste and food containers to more threatening items: abandoned fishing lines, plastic bags, rope, fishing nets and abandoned crab and lobster traps.

The International Coastal Cleanup also focused attention on the damage these items can do, said program sponsors.

The volunteers came across 81 birds, 63 fish, 49 invertebrates, 30 mammals and 11 reptiles and one amphibian that all had become entangled in various debris, most often discarded fishing line, rope or plastic bags, according to the report.

Among other items that entangle animals and birds were balloon ribbons and strings, building material, vehicle tires, wire, and beverage six-pack holders.

In all, 57 percent of the trash was related to shoreline recreational activities, 33 percent from smoking-related activities, 6.3 percent from fishing or waterway activities, 2 percent from dumping and less than 1 percent from medical and personal hygiene activities, said the report.

You CAN make a difference
Join International Coastal Cleanup Singapore! more details on their blog and website

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Singapore's first coral nursery

Underwater nursery
Singapore's first coral nursery welcomed new inhabitants yesterday.
Tania Tan, Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

Collected from reefs around the Southern Islands, some 10 species of coral were added.
The coral fragments - pieces that had naturally broken off from live coral - were collected by volunteer divers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and transplanted to specially designed 'tables' in the nursery at Pulau Semakau, near Sentosa.
There, the fragments are cleaned of algae and closely monitored until they grow into larger colonies.

Once deemed healthy, the corals will then be transplanted to other reefs around Singapore, where the hope is that they will continue growing and spawning more colonies.

Set up in July last year, the nursery is a joint pilot project between the Keppel Group, NUS and the National Environment Agency, aimed at saving Singapore's dwindling reefs.

The $500,000 project is expected to produce up to 600 coral fragments by next year, when it ends. If successful, it could be expanded into a long-term mission to save coral reefs here.

There are over 250 different species of coral in the reefs around Singapore, said Professor Chou Loke Ming of NUS' department of biological sciences.

Conservation efforts such as the joint project are crucial to the survival of Singapore's coral reefs, said Prof Chou.

Over the past century, some 60 per cent of Singapore's coral reefs have been lost to redevelopment, he said.

'If we do nothing, Singapore's reefs could be gone in the next 30 years.'

Singapore's first coral nursery blooms a year after it was started
Channel NewsAsia 15 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE: In what's hailed as a momentous occasion for conservationists in Singapore, experts will be transplanting some corals which were grown in a nursery to their new home.

The progress comes a year after the coral nursery was set up.

Fragments used to seed new corals are growing strong after they were cultivated in Singapore's first coral nursery, located off the waters of Semakau island, on Singapore's southern coast.

The nursery was set up to conserve and regenerate Singapore's dwindling coral numbers.

Professor Chou Loke Ming, Biological Science Department, National University of Singapore (NUS), said: "What we are trying to do is to slow down the decline and expand the areas where corals can regrow."

And their plan has worked. Experts said they aim to move the cultivated corals to their new home in six months’ time. This will revive sea beds that once thrived with corals.

Conservationists said coral reefs in Asia are being threatened. In Singapore's waters alone, coral reef mass has reduced by 60 per cent.

Karan Teo, and avid diver, said: "I've been diving around Asia and sometimes I see reefs that are ‘broken’. It's very sad for a diver because what we do is go down there to enjoy a marine life that is untarnished but when we see corals ruined, it's a sad thing."

So that’s why NUS, the National Parks Board and Keppel Group have joined hands in this US$300,000 project to revive the corals around Singapore's waters. - CNA/vm

FIRST CORAL NURSERY LAUNCHED IN SINGAPORE
A significant milestone in marine conservation efforts to provide coral resource on a long-term basis
Joint release between NParks, Keppel Group, NUS and NEA
NEA website 30 Jul 07

The National Parks Board (NParks) and its partners Keppel Group, National University of Singapore and National Environment Agency, launched the first coral nursery in Singapore at a site off Pulau Semakau today. This coral nursery will enable us to proactively enhance existing marine habitats by maximizing the survival of naturally occurring corals.

Officiating the launch of the coral nursery was Guest of Honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister of State for National Development. Speaking at the event, Ms Fu said, 'Marine conservation in Singapore has always posed a much greater challenge than land conservation. We are one of the busiest ports in the world, and we are constantly in search of space. Any effort in marine conservation will therefore have to reconcile with the reality of our busy maritime activities, and our need to reclaim land to create space. However, I believe we can find pragmatic and unique solutions.'Ms Fu also highlighted,Pulau Semakau is a good example of what we can do. Through careful management, we have allowed a rich marine ecological system to thrive side-by-side with a landfill. Now, we can also boast of having a coral nursery close to the landfill. This is indeed an achievement that we can be proud of.(Please check against delivery)

Mr Chan Soo Sen, Director (Chairman's Office) of Keppel Corporation, added, Keppel is proud to be the sponsorship partner for Singapore's first coral nursery by donating $250,000 over two years to support the marine conservation project. As the first private organisation to recognise the importance of a coral nursery in Singapore, we seek to play an active role in the partnership and contribute meaningfully to the project. Beyond funding, we are also committing our expertise, resources and volunteers to support this two-year project. Our Keppel volunteers are excited to learn more about marine life and do their part for this marine environmental initiative.

The sponsorship of the coral nursery will be Keppel's second major 'green' effort since June this year when Keppel supported NEA's third 'Bring Your Own Bag Day' by donating 100,000 reusable bags through FairPrice stores islandwide.

With NUS providing strong scientific input and NEA providing expertise in water quality management, the multiple agencies collaborated to create a very unique solution to balance urban development with marine conservation.

Development and industrialization have impacted coral reefs in Singapore over the years. Even though it has been reported that 60% of the local original reefs have been lost, Singapore still boast high biological diversity with almost 200 species of reef-forming hard corals. This accounts for about 25% of the global total species. This proactive marine conservation initiative seeks to sustain the marine biodiversity in Singapore as development here continues.

The coral nursery located underwater at a site off Pulau Semakau is a two-year project that aims to grow as many hard coral fragments as possible. Suitable candidate species for propagation of coral colonies will be grown to sufficient size and transplanted to coral reefs off the southern coast of Singapore to enhance the ecological health of these coral reef habitats. The suitable candidate species will be collected from existing reefs at Pulau Semakau and other reefs in Singapore. This first coral nursery makes use of 'corals of opportunity' that are coral fragments damaged by some impact. Unlike commercial nurseries that make use of fragments deliberately broken off from healthy colonies, no healthy colonies will be used here. Breaking fragments off from healthy colonies poses a risk to the donor colonies.

-- Ends --

About National Parks Board

The National Parks Board (NParks) is responsible for providing and enhancing greenery of the Garden City. Beyond green infrastructure, NParks is committed to enhance the quality of life through creating memorable recreational experiences and lifestyles.

NParks manages more than 300 parks, the park connector network and the lush roadside greenery in Singapore. Some of the parks managed include Singapore Botanic Gardens, Fort Canning Park, East Coast Park, Bishan Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Pulau Ubin Recreation Area. In addition, NParks manages nature reserves such as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

As Singapore's scientific authority on nature conservation, NParks monitors and coordinates measures to ensure the health of designated nature areas. NParks is also the lead agency in the efforts to continually upgrade the Landscape Industry in Singapore. It works closely with industry partners to promote good work practices and create a thriving, creative, innovative and professional industry that will support Singapore's aspirations of being a City in the Garden.

For more information, please visit www.nparks.gov.sg

About Keppel Group

The Keppel Group engages in the three key businesses of Offshore & Marine, Property and Infrastructure to broaden its earnings base, deliver sustainable growth and create maximum value for shareholders.

As it continues to grow its key businesses into global entities, Keppel remains committed to the preservation and enhancement of the environment. From creating quality living and working spaces by integrating environmentally viable management in our property projects, providing technology solutions to address a wide spectrum of environmental issues, to the introduction of cleaner diesel across SPC's network of service stations in Singapore, Keppel views the protection of the environment integral to our continued pursuit of growth.

About National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a multi-campus university of global standing, with distinctive strengths in education and research and an entrepreneurial dimension. Its diverse and cosmopolitan community of 23,500 undergraduate and 9,000 graduate students from 88 countries contribute to a rich learning and living environment across three campuses ' its principal 150-hectare Kent Ridge campus, Bukit Timah campus and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore in Outram.

NUS offers a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. There are 14 faculties offering courses from architecture to medicine to music. A special feature of NUS education is the global dimension of its courses in partnership with some of the world's best institutions. NUS also enjoys a close teaching-research association with 14 national-level, 16 university-level and 80 faculty-based research institutes and centres. Research activities are strategic and robust, and a no walls' collaborative culture forms the bedrock of NUS research-intensive vibrancy. A spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation promotes creative enterprise university-wide. This is aided by a venture support eco-system that helps students, staff and alumni nurture the development of start-ups into regional and global companies.

NUS plays an active role in international academic networks such as the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) and Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). It is ranked amongst the best universities in the world, and is well-regarded for disciplines such as Technology, Biomedicine and the Social Sciences.

About National Environment Agency

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. It champions a clean and green environment and partners the People, Public, and Private sectors in caring for the environment as a way of life. NEA seeks to protect Singapore's air, land and water resources today to ensure sustainable development and quality living for present and future generations. More information about NEA is available at http://www.nea.gov.sg


Related articles

full articles on wildsingapore

Coral nursery off Semakau
Broken fragments to be re-grown close to dumping grounds
Nazry Bahrawi Today Online 31 Jul 07

Coral nursery for garbage island
By Shobana Kesava Straits Times 31 Jul 07

Job vacancies at the coral nursery
NParks website 27 Jul 07

Singapore unveils first coral nursery to conserve underwater habitat
Channel NewsAsia 30 Jul 07

Read more!

HFMD epidemic may be the worst in Singapore since 2000

Over 1,000 kids fell ill last week, 13 warded; virulent EV71 virus behind 16% of cases
Salma Khalik & Sujin Thomas, Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE may be facing its most serious hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreak since an epidemic killed seven children eight years ago.

More than 1,000 children fell ill last week - the highest number of weekly infections since the 2000-2001 period.

Of the 13 who needed hospitalisation, one girl was seriously ill, with inflammation of the brain.

Diagnosed with HFMD on April 3, her condition worsened and she had to be hospitalised a week later.

Dr Chong Chia Yin, head of infectious diseases at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), said the seven-year-old's condition has since improved. She is now recovering in a general ward.

HFMD is endemic in Singapore, with children catching the virus almost daily. Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat and a red rash, usually on the limbs and in the mouth, which gives the illness its name.

It is spread through bodily fluids, which is why it can be passed quickly among young children who share toys they may have put into their mouths.

In children, it is usually a mild disease that lasts about a week, but it can be more serious in adults.

The disease can be caused by several types of viruses, with the most dangerous being the Enterovirus 71 or EV71.

The Health Ministry said yesterday that although EV71 is picked up 'only sporadically' in normal times, it was behind 16 per cent of this year's infections.

While many of those infected with EV71 have the usual mild symptoms, it does sometimes trigger severe illness. Doctors do not know why this is so.

The ministry spokesman said it is a 'public health concern' when EV71 is circulating at a time of a large increase in HFMD cases.

The EV71 virus becomes dominant roughly every three years. It was the strain in play in the 2000 and 2003 epidemics.

Schools, kindergartens and childcare centres have all been on the alert since last month, when the number of infections began to climb. One childcare centre closed voluntarily on April 7 and 8 as a precaution against spreading the bug.

The number of infections has been above the 600-a-week mark - indicating an epidemic - for the past four weeks.

So far this year, 6,315 people have caught the disease.

One recent victim now on the mend is Demetrius Low, four, who was diagnosed at KKH on Monday night. He was not admitted, however, and has been resting at home.

He had spent the evening at his minder's house after class at The Montessori Playroom, a kindergarten in Hougang Central, earlier that day. When he saw red spots on his palms at about 9.30pm, he called his mother Euphemia Goh, who took him to hospital.

The product marketing executive said she had told her son about the symptoms to look out for, 'so he knew something was not right'.

A spokesman for The Montessori Playroom, which has about 40 children aged between two and six, said Demetrius was its first case in the current epidemic.

1,000 HFMD cases last week in Singapore
Girl recovering from encephalitis, cause still unknown
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 16 Apr 08;

A seven-year-old girl admitted into hospital with encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, is being tested to determine if her condition resulted from the highly-contagious Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Diagnosed with HFMD by a general practitioner on April 3, the girl was admitted to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) six days later for encephalitis, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced yesterday.

According to a KKH spokes-person, her condition has improved and she is recovering in a general ward at the hospital.

The number of HFMD cases hit 1,000 last week, reaching epidemic levels not seen since 2001. Seven children died in the 2000-2001 HFMD outbreak, which led to the closure of childcare centres and nurseries in October 2000.

An epidemic is declared when more than 500 cases are recorded in a week — a threshold Singapore crossed about four weeks ago. A total of 6,315 HFMD cases have been reported so far this year.

The MOH has detected a rise in the incidence of the deadly enterovirus-71 (EV71) strain of HFMD that caused at least four of the seven deaths in 2000-2001. EV71 can cause complications such as encephalitis and myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle.

Mortality rates for encephalitis are high, doctors told Today.

"About one-third of patients die, one-third suffer brain damage and one-third recover," said Dr Ang Poon Liat of Thomson Medical Centre's Paediatric Clinic.

Symptoms of encephalitis include fever, severe headaches, drowsiness, fits, as well as HFMD symptoms such as mouth ulcers and rashes on the palms and buttocks, he said.

What could account for the recent spike in HFMD cases?

Doctors said it could be a number of factors, such as more children attending enrichment centres at a younger age, a possible mutation of the EV71 strain, as well as its interplay with the flu virus.

"A lot of kids are going to school much earlier. Kids over a year old are being put in infant care," said paediatrician Ang Ai Tin. "And viruses have an incubation period where the kid is ill but no one knows about it. Meanwhile, the virus would spread within a group of children."

The Influenza A virus could also be working "hand in glove" with the HFMD virus, "strengthening each other and having a greater impact on children", said Thomson Medical's Dr Ang.

The MOH is working with the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Education to monitor the situation as it steps up hygiene measures and checks. It has asked doctors to be more vigilant in spotting children with the symptoms.

"HFMD is a well-known adversary. It is seasonal and most doctors will be watching out for it," said general practitioner Chong Yeh Woei.

Parents should also ensure that their sick children avoid crowded places, including schools and childcare centres, until they recover, advised the MOH.

HFMD cases up 12% last week
Channel NewsAsia 15 Apr 08;

SINGAPORE : The number of children who came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) jumped 12% last week ending April 12 to hit 1,000 cases. This brings the total number of HFMD cases reported to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to 6,315.

There were 892 cases in the previous week.

13 kids or 1.3% of the infected children had to be hospitalised last week, mainly because they were not eating well.

MOH said there is a higher circulation of the Enterovirus 71 (EV71) virus. So far, 16% of the samples tested positive for EV71 this year.

MOH added that HFMD is endemic in Singapore and there will be seasonal outbreaks. The continued rise in reported cases is expected as part of the epidemic uptrend.

MOH said increased public awareness is another reason why more cases are reported now.

HFMD tends to be a self-limiting childhood disease. To minimise the risk of HFMD, MOH said it is crucial for children to adopt good hygiene practices.

Parents should consult a doctor early if their child has a fever, mouth ulcers and rashes on the palms, soles or buttocks. Children with HFMD should also stay at home until all the blisters have dried up.

During this period, contact with other children should be avoided until the child recovers. The child should not be brought to any public or crowded places.

At home, proper hygiene should also be practised so as to prevent other family members from getting infected. - CNA /ls

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World sea levels to rise 1.5m by 2100: scientists

Karin Strohecker, Reuters 15 Apr 08;

VIENNA (Reuters) - Melting glaciers, disappearing ice sheets and warming water could lift sea levels by as much as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) by the end of this century, displacing tens of millions of people, new research showed on Tuesday.

Presented at a European Geosciences Union conference, the research forecasts a rise in sea levels three times higher than that predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last year.

The U.N. climate panel shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Svetlana Jevrejeva of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Britain said the estimate was based on a new model allowing accurate reconstruction of sea levels over the past 2,000 years.

"For the past 2,000 years, the sea level was very stable," she told journalists on the margins of the Vienna meeting.

But the pace at which sea levels are rising is accelerating, and they will be 0.8-1.5 meters higher by next century, researchers including Jevrejeva said in a statement.

Sea levels rose 2 cm in the 18th century, 6 cm in the 19th century and 19 cm last century, she said, adding: "It seems that rapid rise in the 20th century is from melting ice sheets".

Scientists fiercely debate how much sea levels will rise, with the IPCC predicting increases of between 18 cm and 59 cm.

"The IPCC numbers are underestimates," said Simon Holgate, also of the Proudman Laboratory.

The researchers said the IPCC had not accounted for ice dynamics -- the more rapid movement of ice sheets due to melt water which could markedly speed up their disappearance and boost sea levels.

But this effect is set to generate around one-third of the future rise in sea levels, according to Steve Nerem from the University of Colorado in the United States.

"There is a lot of evidence out there that we will see around one meter in 2100," said Nerem, adding the rise would not be uniform around the globe, and that more research was needed to determine the effects on single regions.

Scientists might debate the levels, but they agree on who will be hardest hit -- developing nations in Africa and Asia who lack the infrastructural means to build up flood defenses. They include countries like Bangladesh, almost of all of whose land surface is a within a meter of the current sea level.

"If (the sea level) rises by one meter, 72 million Chinese people will be displaced, and 10 percent of the Vietnamese population," said Jevrejeva.

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Forecast for big sea level rise
Richard Black, BBC News 15 Apr 08;

Sea levels could rise by up to one-and-a-half metres by the end of this century, according to a new scientific analysis.

This is substantially more than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast in last year's landmark assessment of climate science.

Sea level rise of this magnitude would have major impacts on low-lying countries such as Bangladesh.

The findings were presented at a major science conference in Vienna.

The research group is not the first to suggest that the IPCC's forecast of an average rise in global sea levels of 28-43cm by 2100 is too conservative.

The IPCC was unable to include the contribution from "accelerated" melting of polar ice sheets as water temperatures warm because the processes involved were not yet understood.

Melt water

The new analysis comes from a UK/Finnish team which has built a computer model linking temperatures to sea levels for the last two millennia.

"For the past 2,000 years, the [global average] sea level was very stable, it only varied by about 20cm," said Svetlana Jevrejeva from the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL), near Liverpool, UK.

"But by the end of the century, we predict it will rise by between 0.8m and 1.5m.

"The rapid rise in the coming years is associated with the rapid melting of ice sheets."

The model, she told reporters here at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual meeting, is able to mimic accurately sea levels reliably observed by tide gauges over the last 300 years.

There is little concrete evidence on sea levels for the thousands of years before that, explained POL's Simon Holgate, who was not involved in the new study.

"There is some limited archaeological evidence [based on] the sill heights of fish enclosures that the Romans used, that's probably the strongest evidence that there hasn't been any significant change in sea level over the last 2,000 years."

Against that, he said, the currently observed rise of about three mm per year is significant, and many scientists working in the field expect to see an acceleration.

Last year, German researcher Stefan Rahmstorf used different methodology but reached a similar conclusion to Dr Jevrejeva's group, projecting a sea level rise of between 0.5m and 1.4m by 2100.

Space-eye view

The latest satellite data indicates that the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass, though the much bigger East Antarctic sheet may be gaining mass.

A full melting of Greenland and West Antarctica would raise sea levels by many metres; but the process, if it happened, would take centuries.

"We know what's happening today from satellite data, but trying to predict what that means in the future is very difficult science," noted Steve Nerem from the University of Colorado, whose own research concerns global sea levels.

"There's a lot of evidence out there that we're going to see at least a metre of sea level rise by 2100," he said.

"We're seeing big changes in Greenland, we're seeing big changes in West Antarctica, so we're expecting this to show up in the sea level data as an increase in the rate we've been observing."

However, a rise of even a metre could have major implications for low-lying countries - especially, noted Dr Holgate, those whose economies are not geared up to build sophisticated sea defence systems.

"Eighty to 90% of Bangladesh is within a metre or so of sea level," he said, "so if you live in the Ganges delta you're in a lot of trouble; and that's an awful lot of people."

Dr Jevrejeva's projections have been submitted for publication in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Climate change scientists 'underestimating impact on sea levels'
The Telegraph 16 Apr 08;

Sea levels could rise much more dramatically than previously thought affecting millions of people, scientists have warned.

The rise could be as much as 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) by the end of the century which would have devastating consequences for low-lying countries.

The findings - from a UK/Finnish team presented at a Geosciences conference in Vienna - are far higher than climate scientists have previously predicted.

Svetlana Jevrejeva of the UK’s Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory said the estimate was based on a new model which allowed for accurate reconstruction of sea levels over the past 2,000 years.

She said the sea level had been stable throughout two millennia but the pace at which they were rising was now accelerating.

Sea levels had risen by two cms (three-quarters of an inch) in the 18th century, six cms (2.3 inches) in the 19th century and by 19 cms (7.4 inches) in the last century.

She said: “It seems that rapid rise in the 20th century is from melting ice sheets”.

The predictions are substantially higher than estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which has talked of a 28-43cm (11-17 inches) rise by 2100.

The IPCC did not take into account the melting of the polar ice sheets because the processes were not fully understood.

The researchers said the IPCC had not allowed for ice dynamics - the more rapid movement of ice sheets due to melt water which could markedly speed up their disappearance and boost sea levels.

According to Steve Nerem from the University of Colorado in the United States, who is also involved in sea level research, this effect is set to generate around one-third of the future rise in sea levels.

“There is a lot of evidence out there that we will see around one metre in 2100,” he said although the rise would be different around the world.

“We’re seeing big changes in Greenland, we’re seeing big changes in West Antarctica, so we’re expecting this to show up in the sea level data as an increase in the rate we’ve been observing.”

Worst hit would be nations, particularly in Africa, who do not have adequate flood defences and countries such as Bangladesh most of whose land is within one metre of current sea levels.

Dr Jevrejeva added: “If the sea level rises by one metre, 72m Chinese people will be displaced, as well as 10 percent of the Vietnamese population.”

Her projections have been submitted for publication in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read more!

Gibraltar to kill "molesting" monkeys

Dominique Searle, Yahoo News 15 Apr 08;

A pack of at least 25 of Gibraltar's famous monkeys are being killed because they are threatening human health in one of The Rock's popular tourism areas, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Two of the monkeys -- a national symbol for the British colony at the foot of Spain -- have already been given a lethal injection, said Gibraltar's Tourist Minister Ernest Britto who issued the license for their culling.

"The decision was not taken lightly," he said. "It is a last resort."

Gibraltar's residents have long lived alongside the monkeys or macaques, but Britto said the behavior of one pack had got out-of-hand in Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay, two popular tourist areas on The Rock.

"Children are frightened, people cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing, apes can bite and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis," said Britto.

Last month, Britto told Gibraltar's parliament that once the cull of 25 macaques is completed the overall monkey population would be set at around 200.

The cull will take time since the monkeys must be lured into cages and then sedated before killing, he said.

Gibraltar has been running a birth control problem to control the monkey population for about six years but the programme is taking time to work.

Franco Ostuni, general manager of the Caleta Hotel, said guests rooms have been vandalized by monkeys scrounging for extra food.

"What has to stop is the damage that apes are doing to Gibraltar, private properties and individuals without anyone taking responsibility for it," he said.

However, the International Primate Protection League said it was considering calling on tourists to boycott Gibraltar if the local government did not stop the cull.

"It is clear that the Government of Gibraltar is still not managing their population of macaques in a responsible manner, despite the fact that they undoubtedly boost the nation's economy as arguably their most popular tourist attraction," said Helen Thirlway, head of IPPL in the UK.

Gibraltar to cull Barbary apes that terrorise tourists
Fiona Govan, The Telegraph 16 Apr 08;

Gibraltar's iconic monkeys are facing a cull after terrorising tourists on the British colony.

A pack of 25 of the Barbary macaques have “run riot” on a beach, have broken into hotel rooms and have been caught scavenging in bins in the town centre.

The threat of attacks on humans and the possibility of the spread of disease has forced authorities to approve the cull “as a last resort”.

Ernest Britto, Gibraltar’s tourist minister, defended the plans for the cull, saying: “Children are frightened. People cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing. “Apes can bite, and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis.”

Vets are to track down the tearaways and put them down by lethal injection. Two have already been killed.

The Gibraltar population of the Barbary macaque – a monkey commonly referred to as the Barbary ape because of its stubby tail – numbers more than 200.

They attract hundreds of tourists every day to the areas around Apes Den and the Siege Tunnels at the top of the Rock.

Francis Cantos, the spokesman for the Government of Gibraltar, insisted: “This is being done as a last resort.

“The apes we are targeting are part of a breakaway group that are going into town and making a nuisance as well as posing health hazards.

“They’ve been spotted going through rubbish, vandalising property and stealing from people. They ran riot at the beach at Catalan Bay.”

The cull has the backing of many locals including staff at Gibraltar’s Caleta Hotel, where guests’ rooms were vandalised recently by apes looking for food.

However, the decision to destroy the rogue pack has been condemned by animal protection groups.

Helen Thirlway, the conservation and welfare director for the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) in the UK, said the monkeys were the colony’s most popular tourist attraction and the “needless slaughter has to stop”.

British soldiers are thought to have introduced the apes, natives of north Africa, into Gibraltar in the mid-18th century to use for shooting practice.

Local folklore has it that the colony would cease to be British if the monkeys were to leave.

Winston Churchill took it seriously enough to ship extra monkey from north Africa to Gibraltar during the Second World War.

Gibraltar To Cull Some Of Its Monkeys
Dominique Searle, PlanetArk 16 Apr 08;

GIBRALTAR - A pack of at least 25 of Gibraltar's famous monkeys are being culled because they are a nuisance and a threat to health in some of the Rock's tourist areas.


Two of the monkeys, a national symbol for the British colony at the foot of Spain, have already been given lethal injections, Gibraltar Tourist Minister Ernest Britto said on Tuesday.

He said the decision had been "a last resort".

Gibraltar's residents have long lived alongside the macaque monkeys, but Britto said the behaviour of one pack had got out of hand in the tourist areas of Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay:

"Children are frightened. People cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing. Apes can bite, and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis."

Last month, he told Gibraltar's parliament that, once the cull of 25 macaques was completed, the overall monkey population would be set at around 200.

Gibraltar has been running a birth control programme to control the monkey population for about six years but it is taking time to work.

Franco Ostuni, general manager of the Caleta Hotel, said guests rooms had been vandalised by monkeys scrounging for food.

"What has to stop is the damage that apes are doing to Gibraltar -- private properties and individuals -- without anyone taking responsibility for it," he said.

However, the International Primate Protection League said it was considering calling on tourists to boycott Gibraltar if it did not stop the cull.

(Reporting by Dominique Searle; writing by Sarah Morris; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Rights groups going ape over Gibraltar's licence to cull
Yahoo News 16 Apr 08;

Animal rights groups have expressed outrage over a plan by Gibraltar's government to cull its famous Barbary Apes, which are posing a hazard as they roam the town in search of food.

The government of the tiny British territory off Spain's southern coast plans to cull 25 of the simians, whose population has exploded to around 200.

The mischievous primates climb over cars and pull out antennas, open rubbish bags and rifle through handbags left unattended in the popular tourist destination.

Officially, the management of the apes is the responsibility of the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS), on contract from the government. But the society said it has not approved the cull.

"Our policy is that culling can be a population management solution but only in extreme cases when there is no other more suitable option," GONHS general secretary Dr. John Cortes said on Tuesday.

"We would only ever recommend a cull after very careful assessment of the situation from a veterinary and a genetic point of view."

However, Environment Minister Ernest Britto said a licence has been issued for the cull and two of the apes have already been given lethal injections.

Helen Thirlway, the head of Britain's International Primate Protection League, said the government was failing to manage the apes "in a responsible manner."

"There have been many advances and pilot studies in recent years on different methods of controlling free-roaming monkeys," she was quoted as saying in the local media Wednesday.

"We are more than happy to work with the government of Gibraltar and with GONHS to help them develop more efficient, alternative solutions, but this needless slaughter has to stop."

According to legend, if the apes disappear, Britain will lose control of Gibraltar.

When wartime British prime minister Winston Churchill heard their population was low, British consuls in North Africa -- from where the apes originally came -- were tasked with sending new young simians to the Rock.

At one time, the apes were looked after by the British army stationed in Gibraltar, which selected a place up the Rock where they were fed daily to keep them from loitering downtown.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, but has retained a constitutional claim should Britain renounce sovereignty.

The vast majority of the 30,000 people want to retain their links with Britain.

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Food waste costs the UK £8bn a year

Liz MacKean, BBC Newsnight 15 Apr 08;

We are a nation that's being force-fed a diet of healthy food messages, but it turns out we have a guilty secret.

Huge amounts of uneaten food are going straight into the household bin. And an awful lot of that is the fruit and veg we're all supposed to be eating more of.

New figures from the government waste agency WRAP lay it bare for the first time.

Householders chuck out 6.7m tonnes of unwanted food every year at a cost to us of £8bn. That's the equivalent of chucking out one bag of food for every three that we buy.

Around 40% of that is fresh fruit and veg - nearly 4.5m apples, and more than 5m potatoes and 1.5m bananas.

Scale of waste

Tomatoes get the bin treatment too - we throw away nearly three million of them.

WRAP's Director of Organics, Dr Richard Swannell, says people are generally unaware of the scale of the waste.

He says, "We don't store food properly and so it goes out of date and we throw it away because it has gone off, or we cook too much and it gets thrown away at the end of a meal, so we don't get the portion control right.

"I think the key thing is that we are not aware we are doing it and we have got ourselves in the habit of treating food like this."

Landfill

The mountain of food that gets wasted dwarfs that great public enemy, the plastic bag.

The recent blitz of publicity to get us to stop using so many even saw the Prime Minister writing about the need for us to cut back.

But take a trip to one of Britain's 250 landfill sites and you see why the wasted food is coming to be seen as such a problem for the environment.

When it rots it produces methane, a greenhouse gas more than twenty times more damaging than CO2.

Peter Jones from one of the country's biggest waste companies, Biffa, says, "Most people think that throwing away food is beneficial to the planet, it rots, it biodegrades, what's the problem? Landfill is the problem.

"We have got 60m people consuming about 30m tonnes of food a year and it has been calculated that each tonne of that food consumption is absorbing as much as 20 tonnes of the planet's resources."

Ludlow trial

The other issue is the sheer amount of energy that goes into food just for it to be wasted. It's reckoned about twenty tonnes of energy is used up for every one tonne of food that is produced.

A trial in the Shropshire town of Ludlow is offering an alternative to our bin-bag culture. Householders have been issued with a separate bin, along with biodegradable bags.

They're asked to keep their food waste separate from the general rubbish. It's collected every week and brought to the town's anaerobic digester - a sort of Robocop of food waste - designed to turn the scourge of rotting food into a force for environmental good.

It all gets shredded and liquefied. It then goes through a process of fermentation and pasteurisation before being turned into fertiliser for local farms.

At every stage of the process, methane gas is collected and used to power the plant, and the vehicles that ferry the waste here.

In the Nicholas household in Ludlow, nursery assistant Kim has taken part in the food waste trials for more than a year.

Her children Natasha, Payton, and Joshua are equally enthusiastic and help to make sure that all the food scraps go into the green bags at their home.

"I'm cooking less", says Kim Hughes, as her children stoically eat their way through their vegetables.

Incineration

Environmental campaigners want to see more investment in plants like this. As rising landfill taxes start to bite, there will be greater financial incentives to do so.

But Friends of the Earth are preparing to fight plans to build new incinerators.

Despite the large capital cost and the probability of drawn out planning disputes, campaigners fear councils are being tempted by the large amounts of residual waste that incineration can dispose of and the potential of getting funding from private finance initiatives.

Dr Michael Warhurst of Friends of the Earth says, "It is very clear that the best thing to do from a climate point of view and trying to be as efficient as possible with the world's scare resources is to make sure we are recycling as much as possible and preventing waste, but what tends to happen with landfill taxes is that people go from one not very good solution, landfill, to another not very good solution, incineration."

Awareness

The best way to reduce the rubbish mountain is to be less wasteful about what we're throwing out.

The government's waste strategy last year prioritises minimisation. This is where the trial in Ludlow has had an effect.

You certainly see it in the Nicholas household. Kim says as soon as she started putting the food waste in a separate bag she realised how much the family were wasting - now she monitors their portion sizes and reduces them.

This is the sort of awareness WRAP hopes to shock us into with its new research: a more mindful approach to waste begins at home.

Read more!

The rice doctor

Specialist helps lay the ground for better and more resilient strains to feed world

Alastair McIndoe, Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

LOS BANOS (PHILIPPINES) - FOR the world's leading rice research institute, solving Asia's grain production woes - and avoiding future crises - is a far from barren hope.

On a 200ha estate outside the Philippine university town of Los Banos, experimental rice varieties grown by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to boost yields and make them withstand harsh climatic conditions sprout in meticulously tended paddy fields.

Soon, some of these varieties may be in the frontline of a global effort to squeeze more rice out of less farm land; other strains will have a much further development horizon.

Soaring rice prices and falling stockpiles in Asia have propelled the IRRI, which helped spur Asia's 1960s green revolution, firmly into the limelight.

'We saw all this coming years ago,' said Dr Achim Dobermann, its head of research.

During bountiful times, the IRRI's ground-breaking research was often overlooked by the media, and its work buried in specialist journals. But now, with concerns over food security reaching a fever pitch, the German-born scientist, a world authority in his field, is being courted for interviews.

Dr Dobermann sat down with The Straits Times last week to discuss the rice crisis from the viewpoint of the research world.

'Because of urbanisation and farmers converting to other crops, it will be very difficult to expand rice-growing areas in some Asian countries,' he said.

'So, the most important intervention is to raise yields.'

In the 90-minute drive to the IRRI from the Philippine capital, Manila, it is not hard to see why: Housing developments, shopping malls and factories are spread out across prime rice-farming land.

The IRRI wants to make rice land more productive and the grain more resilient with new strains whose seeds could then be produced on a massive scale.

The IRRI, which has 10 regional offices, also works with the authorities to improve crop management techniques.

Asia's paddy fields produce on average of four tonnes of rice a hectare, though there are sizeable differences across the region.

China's irrigated rice fields produce just over six tonnes a hectare, while land in drought- prone India, where crops depend heavily on seasonal rains, produces only half that amount.

The IRRI believes the region's yields could be raised by one to two tonnes a hectare through better seeds and more efficient farming.

'We are convinced that this is do-able - and it still does not come close to what we consider to be the yield potential of rice,' said Dr Dobermann, who joined the IRRI in 1992.

'But just one to two tonnes extra would be enough to keep pace with world rice demand - and it could be achieved in the short term.'

Back in the 1970s, global rice production suffered a similar supply squeeze, and governments and the international donor community reacted swiftly by investing and lending heavily to the agriculture sector.

'Maybe it was too successful, and a level of complacency set in,' said Dr Dobermann.

According to World Bank data, public spending on farming in agriculture-based countries as a share of total public spending fell to 4 per cent in 2004, down from 6.9 per cent in 1980.

Dr Dobermann picked up a chart from his desk and ran his finger along a rising trendline for global rice production over the past 40 years.

'The problem is pretty clear,' he said, jabbing a finger at a sharp drop in production in 2002. Since then, the chart showed, production had remained well below the trendline.

It is not a conclusion he draws just from charts. As a soil scientist, he is in the field as often as in the research lab.

After graduating from Leipzig University in then communist East Germany in 1987, he spent two years doing field research in Russian rice fields.

He ended up in the IRRI, he said, because of German reunification. 'IRRI's director-general at the time was a West German, Dr Klaus Lampe, and he wanted to make a personal contribution to the unification process by helping a young East German scientist come to the Philippines to develop a career.'

Grain that can survive floods
Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

RICE that is flood-tolerant and will overcome one of agriculture's oldest challenges is being tested for production in the Philippines, Bangladesh and several other countries.

A gene - Sub1A - which enables rice to survive even when completely submerged in water for more than two weeks was identified by researchers at the International Rice Research Institute and the University of California in 2006.

This is not a new rice variety, but a so-called characteristic - in this case flood-tolerance - that could be transferred to any type of rice.

The discovery stands to transform the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers in flood-prone areas.

Getting the highest yield possible from the land
Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

# What is the focus of the International Rice Research Institute's (IRRI) research and development strategies for helping raise global rice production?

A: The first is raising the yield potential by developing plant types utilising light, water and nutrients more efficiently. The second is anything we can do on breeding and crop management to close the existing yield gap. In other words: How can we get those extra one to two tonnes out of a hectare of rice land?

# What progress is being made in breeding higher-yielding rice?

A: Since the release of the first-generation rice varieties in the green revolution, everything has been better in terms of resistance to drought, soil stresses and insects - but not higher-yield potential.

It has been very difficult. We want to revitalise research on this, but there has not been enough investment. The latest research suggests that yields could be raised by 10 to 15 per cent.

But it will take time, and these new varieties are not going to be in farmers' fields for another 15 years - and this won't help the current crisis.

# So, what then are the short-term remedies?

A: For irrigated land, the primary intervention should be on the so-called extension side: Bringing new technologies to farmers, better fertilisers and higher-quality seeds, and improved land-preparation techniques.

In some countries, 10 to 20 per cent of rice is lost after harvests through poor storage and drying. Improving these areas will hopefully have quick impact.

# What have been the most encouraging areas on the breeding side?

Tremendous progress has been made on understanding the genetic control of specific traits. For example, identifying the gene that allows rice to survive even if it is completely submerged in water.

This is a problem affecting one million hectares in Asia a year. The other climate-proof genes we are working on are drought, salinity - which affects Asia's rain-fed lowland areas - and heat. We are focusing on this quite a bit now.

# When will these be ready for farmers to use?

They are at various stages of development. Some will make it into mega-varieties, which are grown on millions of hectares, within three to five years; and it will take five to 10 years for others.

# What is the IRRI's stand on genetically modified rice?

A: From a scientific point of view, we do look at selected trans-genetic events. But the emphasis is on non-GMO (genetically modified organism). Acceptance is much greater, and new molecular technologies allow us to do this. It is not necessary to have a GMO solution for all traits. The gene for submergence-proof rice is being moved through conventional breeding for it to become a mega variety.

# As the IRRI sees it, how are governments across the region handling the rice crisis?

They are trying to buffer the panic and avoid major social disturbances by controlling rice prices - and it is costing them a lot of money.

Many governments are taking more aggressive measures by increasing spending on agriculture, such as India and the Philippines. But if these are one-time measures, they won't have a lasting impact - and that is what worries us.

# Rice, of course, is not a staple food for Germans. Has it now become one for you?

A: Heck, yes, every day since moving to the Philippines.

Rice specialist
Straits Times 16 Apr 08;

# 1961: Born in Jena, in the former East Germany.

# 1987: Completed a master's in tropical-subtropical agriculture at the University of Leipzig, Germany.

# 1989: Conducted research on rice fields in southern Russia.

# 1991: Completed a doctorate on soil science at the University of Leipzig.

# 1992-2000: Soil nutrient specialist with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines.

# 2002-2007: Professor, soil science and nutrient management, University of Nebraska, United States.

# 2008: IRRI head of research.

Read more!

EU environment chief raises new biofuels condition

Paul Taylor, Reuters 15 Apr 08;

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's environment chief raised new conditions on Tuesday for the use of biofuels in road transport, saying social concerns such as food prices and food security must be taken into account.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas did not explicitly question the EU's target of producing 10 percent of road transport fuel from crops and biomass by 2020, but he made clear that goal must be subservient to strict conditions.

Asked by Reuters whether the EU should reconsider the target in the light of soaring world food prices and fears that farm land in developing countries is being diverted to produce biofuels, Dimas said:

"The EU heads of state agreed to have a 10 percent biofuel target subject to compliance with sustainability criteria and the promotion of second generation biofuels.

"The issue of sustainability criteria is of crucial importance," he said in a written reply to a question.

The next generation of biofuels is expected to come largely from domestic and agricultural waste rather than food crops such as maize, sugar cane and palm oil.

Environmentalists have stepped up campaigning against biofuels, arguing they are already diverting production away from food and animal feed, and contributing to sharp rises in the price of cereals and milk products.

Dimas said the EU's sustainability criteria "must address both environmental and social concerns in order to be able to help us protect the environment and respect social justice".

The European Commission did not include social impacts in the criteria it proposed in January, which mostly concerned protecting rainforests and ensuring that biofuels achieve a real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

"CATASTROPHE"

A Commission source said Dimas and Development Commissioner Louis Michel had argued unsuccessfully at the time for social criteria to be added, but were rebuffed by Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

However, the dramatic rise in food prices, coupled with food riots in several developing countries and public controversy about the impact of existing biofuels production have reignited the debate within the Commission, the source said.

Michel told the Belgian Senate on Tuesday that "I have long said that the fashion for biofuels could be a catastrophe especially in countries which are not self-sufficient in food", according to the Belga news agency.

Faced with strong public pressure, EU governments appointed a panel last month to define acceptable sustainability criteria for biofuels, which is due to report to ambassadors on May 7.

Scientists from the European Environment Agency last week urged the 27-nation bloc to drop the 10 percent biofuels target.

A Slovenian EU presidency official said the working group was not empowered to reconsider the target, but it was looking at how the criteria could be refined to limit social damage.

The working group is also exploring how to measure and calculate savings in carbon dioxide emissions from biofuels.

Dimas said once the conditions had been agreed, "such criteria then need to be rigorously applied".

The Commission said on Monday the EU had sufficient unused farm land to produce biofuels without reducing its own food output. However, EU experts say at most 6 percent of the EU target can be met from domestic production and at least 4 percent will have to be imported, notably from Brazil, the world's biggest ethanol producer.

(editing by Nigel Hunt)

Read more!

Global food system 'must change'

BBC News 15 Apr 08;

The global agriculture system will have to change radically if the world is to avoid future environmental and social problems, a report has warned.

The study, commissioned by the UN and World Bank, concluded that while recent advances had increased food production, the benefits were spread unevenly.

It said that 850 million people were still not getting enough food to eat.

The authors added that food prices would remain volatile as a result of rising populations and biofuel growth.

The findings were published by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), an intergovernmental body that involved more than 400 scientists and 30 governments.

"We tried to assess the implications of agricultural knowledge, science and technology both past, present and future on a series of very critical issues," explained IAASTD director Robert Watson.

"These issues are hunger and poverty; rural livelihoods; nutrition and human health.

"The key point is how do we address these issues in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable?"

'Need for reform'

Speaking at the launch of the final report in London, Professor Watson said advances over the past 50 years had seen total food production grow faster than the human population had increased.

"The price of food, in real terms, has also gone down. Even today, many food commodities are comparable to the early 1990s; so what's the problem?

"Well, we still have over 800 million people going to bed hungry every night. There have been some successes but if we look at it on a region-by-region basis, there have been uneven results."

He added that the study identified other consequences: "We have lost some of our environmental sustainability.

"There have been adverse effects in some parts of the world on soils, water, biodiversity; our agricultural systems have contributed to human-induced climate change and, in turn, human-induced climate change threatens agricultural productivity."

IAASTD co-chairman Dr Hans Herren said "contentious political and economic stances" were affecting attempts to address some of the imbalances.

"Specifically, this refers to the many OECD member countries who are deeply opposed to any changes in trade regimes or subsidy systems," he stated.

"Without reforms, many poorer countries will have a very hard time."

Food for thought

The authors projected that the global demand for food was set to double in the next 25-50 years, primarily in developing nations.

As a result, they said that it was necessary for the agricultural sector to grow, but in a way that did not result in social hardship or environmental degradation.

As well as looking at the global picture, the IAASTD also examined the situation in different regions:

* Central/West Asia and North Africa: unique agricultural biodiversity is beginning to disappear. Likely to suffer the consequences of limited water supplies and climate change
* East/South Asia and the Pacific: development in the region is increasing pollution levels. Climate change is likely to trigger large-scale migration
* Latin America and the Caribbean: increased yield from agriculture has not led to a significant decrease in poverty. Food imports have created dependence and disruption to local production
* Sub-Saharan Africa: agriculture accounts for about 32% of the region's GDP, yet 80% of arable land is experiencing water scarcity
* North America and Europe: private sector funding has affected the direction of agricultural research and has increased the influence of transnational companies

The study found that access to food was taken for granted in many nations, and farmers and farm workers were poorly rewarded for acting as stewards of almost one-third of the Earth's land.

It recommended a fundamental rethink of agricultural knowledge, science and technology, in order to achieve a sustainable global food system.

The experts said that efforts should focus on the needs of small-scale farmers in diverse ecosystems, and areas with the greatest needs.

Measures would include giving farmers better access to knowledge, technology and credit. It would also require investment to bring the necessary information and infrastructure to rural areas.

'Valuing services'

Professor Watson outlined some of the challenges facing the sector over the coming 50 years: "We need to enhance rural livelihoods where most of the poor live on one or two dollars a day.

"We also need to stimulate economic growth because half of the countries in Africa have a significant percentage of their GDP in the agricultural sector.

"At the same time, we need to meet food safety standards and make sure that we do not have pesticide residues, unacceptable levels of hormones or heavy metals.

"All of this must be done in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner."

He warned that agriculture could no longer be approached as a single issue.

"We need to consider the environmental issues of biodiversity and water; the economic issues of marketing and trade, and the social concerns of gender and culture.

"How do we pay farmers to not only produce food, but to value the environmental services?

"Agriculture is far more than just production of food, and that is what we have to recognise."

Free food trade threatens environment, poor: report
Reuters 15 Apr 08;

LONDON (Reuters) - Food trade liberalization in developing countries can hurt attempts to alleviate poverty and damage the environment, according to a report from a United Nations and World Bank sponsored group issued on Tuesday.

"Opening national markets to international competition can offer economic benefits but can lead to long term negative effects on poverty alleviation, food security and the environment without basic national institutions and infrastructure being place," the report said.

Sixty governments, including Brazil, China, France and India, have approved the report. The U.S., Australia and Canada are due to submit reservations later this week while Britain have not yet officially responded.

Governments are deeply concerned at the impact of rising food prices and the effect they are having on the world's poor. There have been food-related riots in Haiti as well as protests in Cameroon, Niger and Burkina Faso in Africa, and in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Top finance and development officials from around the world called this week for urgent steps to stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest would spread unless the cost of basic staples was contained.

Tuesday's report, from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), said increases in intensive, export-orientated agriculture had serious social and environmental implications including exportation of soil nutrients and water and exploitative labor conditions.

The IAASTD, whose co-sponsors include the World Bank, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, said the benefits of increases in agricultural production were also unfairly distributed with the current system often increasing the gap between rich and poor.

(Reporting by Nigel Hunt; editing by Chris Johnson)

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