UN experts battle fire ants, other invasive species

Madeline Chambers, Reuters 20 May 08;

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - To the unsuspecting observer, the red imported fire ant, less than one centimeter in length and reddish brown in color, looks as harmless as any other ant.

But the insect, native to South America, is responsible for billions of dollars of damage to crops and farming machinery, say U.N. experts meeting in Bonn in Germany until May 30 to discuss ways to protect the diversity of wildlife on earth.

These "invasive alien species" are one of the primary threats to biodiversity and the risks, especially to isolated ecosystems such as small islands, are likely to grow due to booming global trade, transport and tourism, the experts say.

Introduced to the southern United States in the early 20th century, the RIFA ants have stowed away in a range of imported goods and containers and are now found in Asian and Pacific countries, including China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia.

More aggressive than most other ants, the RIFAs give workers painful bites which turn into fluid-filled blisters, scare off animals which protect crops from insects and gnaw through wires on equipment causing between $500 million and several billion a year in the United States alone, say U.N. experts.

The Bonn biodiversity meeting is studying how to tackle creatures like the RIFA ants which are inadvertently moved from their natural habitat by global trade and then wreak havoc on the environment.

"The problem is enormous -- far bigger than people had previously thought," Sarah Simons, Executive Director of the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) told Reuters.

ECONOMIC COST

Other examples include cactus moths which destroy prickly pear cactuses. Scientists have warned the moths could wipe out cactus in Mexico where their pads are grown as crops for food.

In the Bahamas, invasions of lionfish are devouring other fish and tree snakes from Guam are threatening birds in Hawaii.

GISP's website cites a U.S. study which puts the global damage from invasive alien species at $1.5 trillion but Simons says more robust research is needed to convince people of the scale of the threat.

She advocates better quarantine arrangements as well as better insurance and liability mechanisms. Other measures can include tighter controls of air cargo or ships' ballast tanks.

U.N. experts say the Asia-Pacific region could offer lessons having curbed the spread of RIFAs by the monitoring of populations and installation of early warning systems.

"If we apply the precautionary approach, the spread of alien species can be limited," said Junko Shimura, the Convention's Programme Officer for Taxonomy and Invasive Alien species.

Preventing the international movement of potentially invasive living organisms and rapid detection at borders is cheaper than control and eradication which sometimes require environmentally damaging pesticides, she said.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Protesters fail to disrupt Australia kangaroo cull

Reuters 20 May 08;

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Protesters failed on Tuesday to stop the controversial cull of hundreds of kangaroos on a military base near the Australian capital, Canberra, which animal rights activists had branded as "barbaric".

Two protesters who broke through security and police lines in a bid to free kangaroos penned inside a screened enclosure reached the wrong animals, with vets tranquillizing and killing almost 400 kangaroos in a separate area, the military said.

"The actions of these protesters stressed a small number of kangaroos that had been capture-darted," said defense spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic.

Authorities said the 400 eastern grey kangaroos, which feature on Australia's coat of arms, threatened other endangered local species through overgrazing.

A total of 600 kangaroos lived on the 200-hectare (495-acre) military communications base on the outskirts of Canberra, and the military said they would all have starved had not 400 of them been darted and killed with barbiturates.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith denied the cull would damage Australia's overseas reputation as local newspapers carried cartoons of the coat of arms on the parliament peppered with bullet holes where the kangaroo usually sits.

"Culls have occurred in the past in Australia. They may well occur in the future, and the scientific and public policy assessment will stand and fall on its merits," Smith said.

Up to 4 million wild kangaroos are culled each year in Australia from a total population of 50 million to control population and prevent overbreeding.

Animal activists have written to former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his recently divorced wife Heather Mills asking them to fund a A$750,000 ($714,000) relocation of the animals ruled out by the government as too expensive.

"(Mills) said that she will donate all the money from her divorce proceedings to animal welfare groups," Animal Liberation NSW spokeswoman Angie Stephenson told local media.

In March McCartney appeared on a Web site set up by the British animal welfare group Viva! to condemn the cull and protect the kangaroos from "shameful massacre".

In 2004 there was an international outcry over the shooting of 900 kangaroos at a dam supplying water to Canberra. The animals were causing erosion problems through grazing.

($1=A$1.05)

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; editing by Roger Crabb)

Kangaroo cull will not damage Australia's reputation: FM
Yahoo News 20 May 08;

Australia's international image will not be damaged by a controversial cull of wild kangaroos on government land in the capital, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Tuesday.

Asked whether killing the hopping marsupials, which appear on the country's coat of arms, would harm Australia's reputation, Smith said: "No, I don't think it will."

The Department of Defence said it ordered the cull of about 400 eastern grey kangaroos, which began Monday, as a last option after the animals overcrowded the site in Canberra, threatening endangered flora and fauna.

The killing of the iconic creatures has been attacked by some animal rights groups who say Australia, which this summer led international criticism against Japan for its annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, should relocate them.

Smith said the kangaroo cull, which involves tranquilising the animals before euthanasing them with a lethal injection, would be judged on its merits.

"The relevant authorities here have an argument, a scientific and environmental and a sustainability argument, which will stand or fall on its own merits," he told reporters in Canberra.

Animal rights activists, who plan to ask former Beatle Paul McCartney to help save the lives the iconic animals by helping fund their removal to another area, have vowed to protest against the cull which could take five weeks.

Two protesters attempted to disrupt the process on Tuesday, entering the site and disturbing a small number of kangaroos which had been sedated as part of a fertility trial, a defence spokesman said.

"The actions of the protesters frightened and agitated the kangaroos," Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said.

The department called off the cull earlier this year after a public outcry, but last week said it had to call in contractors to kill the animals because the government had deemed a relocation plan too expensive.

The animal welfare group RSPCA said it was confident the killing of the national icon was humane and was the only option after a decade of neglect of the problem.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett also backed the cull, saying it was the correct action to take given the kangaroos were eating all available foliage in the area and placing other species at risk.

"A properly-administered humane cull, difficult as it is, is the right course of action," said Garrett, the former lead singer with protest rockers Midnight Oil.

Despite being the national animal, millions of kangaroos are slaughtered in the wild each year to control their numbers and much of the meat is used for pet food. Most Australians have also eaten kangaroo, recent research found.

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Frog march sparks new China quake alarm

Yahoo News 20 May 08;

Thousands of Chinese fled for cover in fear of an earthquake Tuesday, alarmed not only by warnings from seismologists but also by an unusual mass movement of frogs, state media said.

For the second time this month, residents observed a huge migration of frogs and toads, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Residents of Zunyi, a southern city that saw little damage in China's massive earthquake last week, noticed the amphibians' march on Monday, Xinhua said, quoting Vice Mayor Zeng Yongtao.

Thousands of residents camped out in fear overnight in downtown Zunyi, the news agency said.

"We don't know what else we can do," Zunyi resident Liu Yong was quoted as saying.

Their decision to move outdoors coincided with a warning from seismological authorities that there may be another big aftershock in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Tuesday following last week's massive tremor.

The May 12 earthquake -- which left more than 71,000 people dead, missing or buried in rubble -- also came after reports of unusual movement of toads.

Internet blogs showed footage of toads covering the streets of Mianyang in the days before the town in Sichuan province was ravaged by the earthquake.

Many people, at least in retrospect, took the toads as an omen of disaster.

Others, however, said that the toads had come to welcome the Beijing Olympic flame.

Local forestry officials had said the toads' movement was simply because it was mating season, although their explanations were attacked on China's lively Internet discussion boards.

Superstitious Chinese have looked for cosmic explanations for the earthquake, the country's deadliest natural disaster in three decades.

Many noted that the earthquake occurred exactly 88 days before the Beijing Olympics, which opens on August 8 -- 8/8/8 -- at 8:08 pm, in line with Chinese numerology which considers eight a lucky number.

Speculation was heightened on Sunday when China's seismological authority revised up the magnitude of the May 12 earthquake to 8.0 on the Richter scale.

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Environmental protection vital to reducing natural disaster impact: WWF

WWF website 20 May 08;

Bonn, May 20, 2008 – Environmental degradation is a key factor turning extreme weather events into natural disasters, a new WWF report has found.

Natural Security: Protected Areas and Hazard Mitigation (download PDF from WWF website), prepared with environmental research group Equilibrium, examines in detail the impacts of floods in Bangladesh (2000), Mozambique (2000 and 2001) and Europe (2006), heat waves and forest fires in Portugal (2003), an earthquake in Pakistan (2005) and the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) and Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005) in illustrating the natural disaster prevention and mitigation potential of environmental conservation.

“It is deforestation and floodplain development that most often links high rainfall to devastating floods and mudslides,” said Liza Higgins-Zogib of the WWF’s Protected Areas Initiative. “Extreme coastal events cause much more loss of life and damage when reefs are damaged, mangroves are removed, dune systems are developed and coastal forests are cleared.”

The World Bank estimates that more than 3.4 billion people, or more than half of the world’s population, are exposed to at least one natural hazard and according to the report, over the past 50 years the severity of impacts from natural disasters has increased, due in part to the loss of healthy ecosystems in the regions affected.

Examples of these impacts include a doubling of wave energy in the Seychelles as a result of reef destruction and sea level rise with a further doubling predicted over the next decade and evidence of greatly different levels of tsunami impact in neighbouring communities being related to the extent of reef protection and remaining mangrove coverage.

It also explores how the loss of upwards of 70 per cent of floodplains in the Danube and tributaries is contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of floods and how vegetation and land use changes change natural fire regimes and boost devastation levels from wildfires.

“While large-scale disasters cannot be entirely avoided, the report identifies specific ways we can mitigate the devastating impact of disasters through better ecosystem management, including the establishment of protected areas”, said Jonathan Randall, senior program officer for WWF’s Humanitarian Partnerships programme and co-author of Natural Security.

In one success story, the investment of US$1.1 million in mangrove replanting and other measures saves some Vietnamese communities an estimated US$7.3 million a year in sea dyke maintenance. During typhoon Wukong in 2000 the area remained relatively unharmed while neighbouring provinces suffered significant loss of life and property.

Similarly, the management of some 17% of Swiss forests mainly for their protective functions in reducing avalanches, landslides and flooding is calculated to provide protective services valued at an estimated US$2 to 3.5 billion per year.

WWF is urging governments to create suitable protected areas and to maintaining natural ecosystems, such as coastal mangroves, coral reefs, floodplains and forest, that may help buffer against natural hazards. It also calls on governments to maintain traditional cultural ecosystems that have an important role in mitigating extreme weather events, such as agroforestry systems, terraced crop-growing and fruit tree forests in arid lands.

In the many areas exposed to greater natural disaster risk through degraded ecosystems, WWF recommends that opportunities be provided for their active or passive restoration.

“We recognise that there have been many international agreements and declarations linking the preservation of ecosystem services with the mitigation of disasters, but note that in many cases it is only the permanent and well-managed setting aside of land and sea as protected areas which can provide the stability and protection so often called for,” said Randall.

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Flawed wildlife law

Tan Cheng Li, The Star 20 May 08;

Our wildlife law calls for saving wildlife but it has limited powers to do so.

TRAP a tiger and you will be arrested. Sell wine or plaster made from ground tiger bone and you can escape punishment, reason being, the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 (PWA) is silent on “derivatives” of protected species.

That is just one of many flaws prevalent in the PWA. Here’s another: contrary to popular belief, the elephant is not totally protected but listed as a “big game animal” in the Act – which means it can be hunted if one obtains a hunting permit from the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).

And another: not a single plant, fish or amphibian is protected by the Act. There’s more: some highly endangered species are getting scant protection, legal hurdles abound when prosecuting offenders, penalties are ridiculously low ... the list goes on – no wonder our wildlife is depleting.

Many species owe their survival to the PWA but this legislation has not kept up with the times in some instances. Today, with wildlife being pushed to the brink by habitat loss, poaching and flourishing commercial trade, the Act is in sore need of an overhaul.

“In dealing with sophisticated wildlife criminals and their syndicates, this 35-year-old law appears to be failing to achieve what it set out to do in the 1970s. It is outdated and there are many loopholes which unscrupulous criminals take advantage of, and at the expense of wildlife. We need the Act to be comprehensively reviewed, passed and implemented urgently,” says Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) executive director Dr Loh Chi Leong.

A review of the PWA dates back some 10 years and Natural Resources and Environment Ministry officials have said that a new Wildlife Protection and Conservation Bill is in the works. However, this document remains tightly under wraps. Wildlife protection groups, despite their vast knowledge and experience in wildlife management, are not privy to the Bill. Nevertheless, MNS, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society and Traffic South-East Asia have come together to highlight crucial elements missing in the PWA. They first submitted their recommendations to the Ministry three years ago and again, last month.

Punishment and derivatives

Low penalties – under the PWA and meted out by the courts – is a worry for the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Remember the case of the butchered tiger in Tumpat, Kelantan? The offender got off with only a RM7,000 fine in 2005 although the PWA allows a maximum of RM15,000. That same year in Bentong, Pahang, a man caught with five bear paws, 32kg of bear meat and bones, one trophy barking deer head, four skinned civets, part of a hornbill beak, three skinned doves and nine live blue-crowned hanging parrots, was fined only RM5,500. Also in 2005, a man caught with four leopard cats in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, and another with 294 pangolins in Perlis, were each fined RM3,000.

Traffic regional director Azrina Abdullah says light sentences will not deter poachers. ”The impact of illegal trade on the survival of species underscores the need for strong penalties which reflect the harm caused,” she says.

The NGOs want penalties to be raised, to have a minimum, be based on the number of seized animals or wildlife products, and to include mandatory prison sentences for offences related to totally protected animals.

Another fault in the PWA is its silence over “derivatives”. It only states that “parts (readily recognisable)” of totally protected species cannot be traded. This oversight has hindered Perhilitan from stopping the sale of folk medicine containing by-products of animals such as the tiger and Sumatran rhinoceros. And even when the product label states that parts or derivatives of a totally protected species form the ingredients, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to show that the product does contain that stuff.

To close these loopholes, Azrina says the word “derivatives” should go into the PWA, together with a “claims to contain clause” as seen in Sabah and Sarawak legislations and the newly passed International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2007. There must also be legal provision to shift the burden of proof to the offender.

Listing of species

The PWA may have extensive lists of “totally protected” and “protected” species but these cover only terrestrial and marine mammals, birds and 40 species of butterflies. Glaringly absent are plants, amphibians, insects, spiders, freshwater turtles and tortoises, and fish. The result is oddities such as this: the polar bear is protected whereas the highly traded arowana fish is not.

The omission of plants from the PWA (because they are not considered “wildlife”) means that all our flora have no protection unless they grow in protected areas such as wildlife reserves and parks. The lists of protected species need a review as some species in trouble are still not totally protected, for instance the Asian elephant, Irrawaddy dolphin and pilot whale. Freshwater turtles and tortoises are also getting a raw deal as they are under state control but not all states protect them.

Wildlife groups want all plants and amphibians added to the PWA, and the Asian elephant and sambar deer moved to the “totally protected” schedule. They say species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species should be added to the PWA.

Except for marine mammals like whales and dolphins, marine species are ignored in the PWA. There was a debate over who should be in charge of marine species, Perhilitan or the Fisheries Department, with the latter eventually staking claim despite concerns that its priority is to improve fish hauls rather than conserving them. The Fisheries Act 1985 had nothing on biodiversity protection until it was amended in 1999 and only then to include a handful of imperilled species such as the whale shark, giant clam and some marine turtles. Corals, other marine invertebrates, sharks and threatened reef fish such as the Napoleon wrasse and groupers remain unprotected.

The bigger picture

Listing animals for protection, however, serves little good if wild lands continue to shrink. Entire ecosystems and habitats, from lowland forests to wetlands, are now just as scarce as the wildlife they harbour and yet, the PWA does not oversee habitat protection and cannot stop conversion of wildlife refuges into plantations or settlements.

What is needed, says WWF policy co-ordinator Preetha Sankar, is legislation that is holistic in nature. To steer the PWA towards this direction, she says we need provisions that protect critical wildlife habitats, restore degraded habitats and provide for species recovery plans.

The public also deserves a bigger role in wildlife conservation. In Australia, the law allows the public to nominate species for protection. The PWA offers no such public involvement. To create an informed public which can help defend threatened wildlife, the NGOs propose an information register on these: all Perhilitan wildlife sanctuaries and their boundaries; regulations enacted under the PWA; issued licences and special permits and the quotas; prosecution cases; sites for licensed hunting and collection; and methods used to set hunting quotas and bag limits.

There is no denying that the PWA has helped safeguard Malaysian wildlife but in some areas, it is no longer current. One is hard-pressed to name a species that has rebounded thanks to the PWA.

It is time to fix the flaws with a new Bill that has bite, and soon, before more species tip over the edge.

# NGOs have collected over 6,000 signatures calling for urgent and thorough review of the PWA. To sign the petition, go to www.mns.org.my.

Tortured displays
The Star 20 May 08;

MINI zoos, bird parks, reptile farms, butterfly farms, snake farms and theme parks with wildlife displays are proliferating and here again, the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 (PWA) has failed to keep up.

When complaints over poorly run parks and animal cruelty surface, Perhilitan’s oft-cited excuse is that it has little clout over these places because the PWA is silent on them and so, does not license them or dictate how animals should be displayed.

A Perhilitan official has previously said that guidelines on management of facilities with animal, insect and bird displays exist but the document is not legally binding. It cannot be gazetted into an Order or Regulation – which would give it legal bite – because the PWA lacks provisions on zoos. The official also said that proving cruelty to wildlife – which carries a penalty of RM5,000 or five years’ imprisonment under the PWA – is difficult as the Act does not spell out what constitutes “cruelty”.

Such legal defects have led to the sad state of affairs in mini zoos and animal farms, where many have poor animal husbandry, keep animals in deplorable conditions and make them perform silly acts. Wildlife is also unsuitably displayed in shopping malls and public places.

Critics also protest the “special permits” allowed by the PWA, which sanctions the holders to kill, take, trade, keep or breed totally protected species. The mushrooming of animal farms has led to many applications for special permits to keep highly endangered wildlife such as the orang utan, tapir, slow loris, white-handed gibbon and serow.

Critics say the special permits make a mockery of the law and further fuels wildlife trade. Also, there appears to be little scrutiny over how the animals were sourced, used or kept. Abuses of the special permits surfaced in 2005 after two parks, A’Formosa and Johor Zoo, which both have valid special permits for orang utans, were found to have smuggled in the primates.

On the hunt
The Star 20 May 08;

WITH its many clauses allowing hunting, keeping and dealing with wildlife, and taxidermy, the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 (PWA) appears skewed towards exploiting, rather than protecting, wildlife. This is probably rooted in the history of the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), which started out as the Game Department.

Animals classed as game species are: the elephant; sambar and barking deer; large and lesser mousedeer; wild and bearded pigs; common and Malay palm civets; banded, dusky and silvered leaf monkeys; Malayan and brush-tailed porcupines; and the Malayan and island flying foxes. Hunting is allowed only for one to three months for some species but year-long for others.

Astonishingly enough, Perhilitan is issuing more licenses to hunt, keep, deal, stuff, trade and trap protected species each year: 23,342 in 2003, 31,120 in 2005 and 33,733 in 2006. Thus, the numbers of animals bagged also grew (see Table.)

While hunting is a way to cull some species, wildlife scientists fear its effect on forest ecology. They also question how quotas for hunting licences and bag limits are set. In fact, bearded pigs have been hunted out of existence in Peninsular Malaysia.

Wildlife biologist Dr Kae Kawanashi says hunting game reduces food in the forest for larger mammals. She believes wild tiger populations have plunged due to dwindling prey which have been overhunted.

“Sambar deer are no longer abundant. The hunting permit allows the holder to bag just one deer but we don’t know if they really just kill one. We can better protect all large mammals if we can ban commercial hunting of prey such as deer.”

Dr Melvin Gumal, director of Wildlife Conservation Society (Malaysia programme), says rampant hunting of flying foxes will affect the health of forests as these mammals are important seed dispersers and pollinators.

He says as flying foxes breed very slowly and have only one young every one or two years, hunting has caused their populations to plunge.

“Their numbers are really down. Hunting of these mammals needs to be reconsidered.”

Putting an end to licensed hunting and keeping of wildlife, however, would be a tough call since licensing fees are a major source of revenue for Perhilitan, earning the department RM2.88mil in 2006.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 May 08

Offering Help to a Tree on Vesak Day
about brave efforts to save a mango tree on the flying fish friends blog

High on Sisters
tide not too low but still, a marvellous shore! on the wonderful creations blog and budak blog and wildfilms blog

Let's go to Cyrene: no takers?
more about upcoming opportunities on the leafmonkey blog

What happens when a river is dammed up?
on the wildfilms blog

RE-live! @ Atrium: Volunteers required!
message from the eco-singapore facebook group

King lunching on lizard
a swallowing feat on the bird ecology blog

Nesting of Black-naped Monarch
on the bird ecology blog

Fascinating forest stuff
on the budak blog March of the Barklice and Palps and Downs and Blue and Brown

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Stark warning as UN biodiversity conference opens in Germany

Yahoo News 19 May 08;

The Earth's natural resources must be shared more equally between rich and poor nations, Germany's environment minister said Monday at the start of a UN biodiversity conference.

Some 6,000 representatives from 191 countries are attending the 11-day conference on the UN's convention on biodiversity, which was first adopted at the Rio Earth summit in 1992.

"The industrialised countries must recognise the need to share natural resources with those with those who have safeguarded them," Sigmar Gabriel declared.

"It is a question of principle, a question of justice," he said. "The developing countries are right to speak of "biopiracy", when the industrialised world use their resources without authorisation and without paying a penny," he said.

Participants at the conference are hoping to establish a roadmap towards negotiating, by 2010, an "Access and Benefit Sharing" regulatory framework governing access to genetic resources and sharing the benefits from their use.

Gabriel said he expected "significant progress" on the issue. "We need a clear mandate for structuring the negotiations by 2010," he said.

The UN convention on biodiversity (CBD) was established at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, whilst the Bonn conference is the ninth meeting of its signatories.

"Sixteen years after the Rio Summit, life on earth is at a crucial crossroads", Gabriel told delegates.

"We're still on the wrong track, and if we continue like this, we can see that we will not meet our goals," he said.

Gabriel pointed to the fact that the current rate of extinction of species is between 100 and 1,000 times the natural rate of extinction.

One in four mammals, one bird in eight, one third of all amphibians and 70 percent of plants are under threat.

"The loss of diversity of life on earth will continue "as long as it is easier to make money from the destruction of nature than protect it," he said.

A new study, "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity", extracts of which were published on Monday by Der Spiegel magazine, suggests that each year the disappearance of animal and plant life costs six percent of annual global gross national product (GNP) -- two trillion euros (3.1 trillion dollars).

For poorer countries, the burden is particularly heavy, often because they receive none of the profits large multinationals make from developing new medicines and commercial products from the resources and knowledge of indigenous people.

Deforestation is also on the agenda: "Each year we lose the equivalent of the size of three Switzerlands in forests," Gabriel said.

Tropical forests are the most threatened, and also the home to 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, according to the CBD.

"Herculean task" to safeguard biodiversity: Germany
Madeline Chambers, Reuters 19 May 08;

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - The world faces a Herculean task to safeguard animal and plant life from climate change and pollution, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said at the opening of a U.N. biodiversity conference on Monday.

U.N. experts say human activities including greenhouse gas emissions mean the planet is facing the most serious spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. One species disappears roughly every 20 minutes, they say.

"In my view, climate change and the loss of biodiversity are the most alarming challenges on the global agenda," Gabriel said in a speech opening the conference, held once every two years.

He vowed to do all he could to reach accord, saying countries had to answer inconvenient questions and take action rather than produce "huge amounts of paper with little content".

"It will be a Herculean task to get the world community and each individual country on the right path to sustainability," Gabriel said, noting that extinction rates were 100 to 1,000 times higher than natural rates.

Some 5,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries met in Bonn for a two-week Convention on Biological Diversity conference at which they aim to agree on ways to slow rising extinction rates.

A U.N. summit in 2002 set a goal of slowing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 but experts say that goal is far off.

"The truth today is that we are still on the wrong track. If we follow this path we can foresee that we will fail to meet the target," said Gabriel.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature published a report saying one in eight of the world's birds are at risk of extinction as climate change puts birds under increasing pressure, according to data compiled by BirdLife International.

POLITICAL TOPIC

Biodiversity has jumped up the political agenda due partly to a recent surge in food prices, which has been linked to booming demand in fast-growing economies, including China, and the growing use of crops to provide fuel.

Experts say agricultural crops will suffer if wild stocks die out. Without a change in human consumption habits, feeding 9 billion people would be impossible, they warn.

"The world is watching this conference and we cannot fail," the Convention on Biological Diversity Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf told a news conference.

"Business as usual is no more an option if humanity is going to survive. Losing biodiversity is not just losing trees and species, it is an economic and security loss."

He and Gabriel pointed to a study which put the annual value of the world's protected areas at $5 trillion, in services such as food, timber or water purification, compared to $1.8 trillion in annual revenues for the automotive industry.

Gabriel told the delegates biodiversity affected the lives of the world's poorest people and if no action was taken, commercial fishing would have to end by 2050 -- a devastating scenario for millions of people who rely on fish protein.

Gabriel said a priority of the conference, which ends on May 30, was to agree on the framework for a 2010 deal on binding rules on access to genetic resources and sharing their benefits.

Developing countries want to ensure they get a share of the financial rewards from their natural resources which pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms are keen to tap.

"This summit is a unprecedented opportunity for governments to stop talking and start acting," said Greenpeace International campaigner, Martin Kaiser. (Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

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Jurong dogged by strays: Cat & dog lovers at odds

Feline fans say roaming dogs are a hazard to cats, while canine camp calls for compassion
Lim Heng Liang, Straits Times 20 May 08;

RESIDENTS from Lakeside to Jurong West are fighting like cats and dogs - over cats and dogs.

The neighbourhood is the turf of stray dogs that roam in packs of three to a dozen, usually at night.

Dog lovers do not mind them, but cat lovers are hoping that life can be less of a hazard for the neighbourhood felines.

Mrs Alice Koh, 57, a retiree who lives in Block 444 Jurong West Avenue 1, said more than 10 cats, both strays and pets, have been killed in the last three years.

'The first time we found a dead cat, we knew it was the work of the dogs because of the puncture marks on the body,' she said. 'If the dogs started attacking people, it'd be terrible.'

At least one resident claims to have been attacked.

Madam Heryati, 47, a baker, said she was with her cat and some neighbours near her Jurong West block last September when it happened.

The dogs did not back off until a neighbour swung a plank at them, she added.

Her children, too, have become afraid of the dogs.

'When they see a dog, they'll try to find something to throw at it to make it run away,' she said.

But those in the pro-dog camp say this is exactly what could be provoking the canines.

Ms Leona Lee, a 38-year-old manager who lives in Bukit Timah but has been helping a friend feed strays in the Jurong area for a year, said the dogs are actually afraid of people and are in hiding most of the time.

'They come out only when they recognise those who feed them,' she said, urging people to show them 'some compassion'.

Another resident, who wanted to be known only as Madam Fauzih, is also unconvinced that the dogs are a problem.

She has been feeding them a mix of rice, sausages and eggs late at night for the last four years.

Her philosophy: Dogs with full stomachs do not make trouble for cats or humans.

Her 'reward'': Nasty text messages from neighbours who want her to stop operating her midnight snack bar for canines.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it has impounded two dogs from the area after residents complained in March.

Jurong residents are not the only ones griping about stray dogs, many of which have been dumped by their former owners. Bishan, Bukit Batok, Jalan Bahar, Tuas, Yishun and Woodlands also have this problem, AVA spokesman Goh Shi Yong said.

The AVA impounded 2,065 dogs islandwide in the last year and 397 in the last two months alone. Only five were claimed while the rest were put down.

Last year, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) received 3,002 dogs and put down 2,122.

But its executive officer, MsDeirdre Moss, said culling would not solve the problem. The real solution, she said, is to sterilise the animals to stop more dogs being born.

To this end, the SPCA gives out vouchers which the public can use to get strays sterilised at participating veterinary clinics, she said.

But Mr Ricky Yeo, who heads Action For Singapore Dogs, pointed out that neutering makes dogs more passive, so these are the ones more likely to be rounded up by the AVA, leaving the unsterilised ones out there - still multiplying.

The real solution is to teach people to be responsible pet owners because abandonment is the root of the problem, said the AVA's Mr Goh.

'Education is key to arresting the pet abandonment and stray animal problem in the long term,' he said.

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7 abused cats dead: $10k reward for info

Attacks in Pasir Ris
Aw Cheng Wei, Straits Times 20 May 08;

SEVEN vicious attacks on cats in Pasir Ris have prompted animal lovers to offer a $10,000 reward for information, and start patrols around the neighbourhood.

This sum of money has been pledged by SOS Animals, the Cat Welfare Society, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and an unnamed family in Aljunied.

The first attack was discovered on May 2, in Block 253 Pasir Ris Street 21. Two cats found dead there were believed to have been dunked in thinner.

A third cat found there, also dunked but barely alive, had to be put down.

The second discovery was at Pasir Ris Town Park on May 12. Residents found three cats dying of stab wounds. A fourth cat was dead, with a fractured jaw.

'We hope the public can be alert and help us keep a lookout for any suspicious characters,' said Ms Sandy Lim, founder of SOS Animals.

'Although we will do our best to patrol the neighbourhood, vicious acts like these can happen at any time,' she added.

SOS Animals began patrolling the Pasir Ris area last Friday. It will do so for about six nights a week, Ms Lim said.

But not many residents seemed to be aware of the attacks. Of the 50 Pasir Ris residents The Straits Times spoke to, 37 were clueless.

'We have a lot of cats in this area. At night, we can hear them and it can get quite loud,' Mr Cliff Ang, a Block 253 resident said.

Commenting on the $10,000 reward for information on the cat abuser or abusers, Ms Deirdre Moss, executive officer of SPCA, said: 'While there have been several calls, there is nothing concrete yet.'

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Tremors reported in several areas following Sumatra quake

Channel NewsAsia 20 May 08;

SINGAPORE : Residents in several areas in Singapore said they felt tremors at about 10.40pm on Monday.

The MediaCorp News hotline received calls from those staying in Lavender, Punggol and Teck Whye Lane.

The callers said the tremors lasted for about 10 seconds.

Some thought they were feeling giddy, while others felt the vibrations by observing how the keys on the wall shook or the movement of the water level in the fish tank.

The tremors could have been caused by an earthquake which hit Indonesia's Sumatra island at that time. - CNA/ms

Quake in Sumatra, tremors felt in Singapore
Today Online 20 May 08;

JAKARTA — A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake shook the western coast of Indonesia's North Sumatra province last night, according to a report by AFP quoting the meteorology office here said.

The quake struck at a depth of 10km in a mountainous area 35km north-east of Padang Sidempuan. It was so strong that residents of the town rushed out buildings in panic. There were, however, no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Tremors from the earthquake were felt as far away as Singapore. The MediaCorp News Hotline received calls about them from people living in the Punggol, Teck Whye and Lavender Street areas.

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The radiant face of Singapore: our urban skyline

Business Times 20 May 08;

From the Republic's early days, the buildings that define its skyline reflect a nation that is increasingly vibrant, writes JOEL CHUA

IF a country had a face, it would be the skyline of its city. Like a portrait on a sky-blue canvas, it is the profile of a nation - as visually unique as the individuals who inhabit it. And, like a face, it reflects the character and spirit of its people too.

The economic success story of Singapore is not just recorded in the history books, but literally etched in stone. Well, concrete anyway. Soaring office towers decked out in glass and steel gleam proudly, shoulder-to-shoulder, scraping the sky above the Central Business District (CBD).

But despite the rush to build on increasingly limited and expensive land, Singapore hasn't become as suffocating a concrete jungle as many other developed cities. For all the human activity that is part and parcel of a bustling cosmopolitan city, Singapore's business district is surprisingly well-ordered and efficient.

The brain behind the city's pleasant face is the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Since the mid-1970s it has been tasked with striking a balance between designing an aesthetically distinctive yet land-efficient cityscape. Beyond figuring out how to make the most of limited land, it also sees 'the need for the CBD to be attractive and distinctive'. Indeed, the number of postcards that promote Singapore's photogenic skyline to the world bear testament to the efficacy of URA's work over the years.

What is also notable is how young - compared with other developed cities - Singapore's cityscape is.

A significant early development that contributed to the definition of its skyline came about a couple of decades ago in 1986 with the completion of OUB Centre at Raffles Place. The tower, which has 63 floors and is 280 metres high, was the tallest building outside the United States at the time of its opening.

Today, 22 years later, it still stands as an icon, sharing the title of Singapore's tallest building with two other structures - UOB Plaza One and Republic Plaza, the former having been completed in 1992 and the latter three years later. Together they comprise a triumvirate of titans that stand as towering witnesses to the economic growth of the nation.

But bigger plans are afoot for an island with ambitions bigger than its land mass. Reclamation has been actively pursued to meet the infrastructural demands of a burgeoning economy for decades. Between 1960 and 1990, 51.5 sq km of land was reclaimed, accounting for almost 10 per cent of Singapore's total land area at the time. By 2030, it is estimated that another 100 sq km will have been added.

The swathe of land that houses the buildings in the Marina Bay area is, in fact, reclaimed. Comprising 3.6 sq km of prime real estate, it is the focal point of existing and future developments that will cement Singapore's status as a financial and business hub. Set picturesquely by the waterfront, the area is set to evolve into what URA terms a 'Garden City by the Bay'.

It is envisioned as a round-the-clock microcosm of cosmopolitan living, with a vibrant lifestyle and leisure component that will complement its business environment.

One way URA hopes to infuse more vibrancy in the area is to designate certain zones 'white sites', which means developers can mix commercial, retail and residential components within a single project.

But while many of these new buildings will have a premium view of the bay area and encompass a mix of lifestyle and business facilities, they will not soar as high as the other buildings in the vicinity. This is another deliberate feature - planners do not want to obstruct the view of earlier developments.

Graduating arrangement

In fact, a glance at a picture of Singapore's existing skyline reveals that very trend. The result is a dynamic yet uncluttered and h+armoniously graduating arrangement of heights that do not have to vie for the best view.

One significant development now being built that will acquire some height and prominence in the cityscape is The Sail @ Marina Bay, a luxury condominium which, at 70 stories tall, will be among the 10 tallest residential buildings in the world when it is completed next year. Comprising two distinctively sail-shape towers that are bound to become iconic fixtures of the future skyline, it will provide 1,100 apartments with a splendid view of the bay area.

Another upcoming marquee project is the Marina Bay Financial Centre, a $2 billion complex of residential and commercial buildings that will peak at 55 stories. When it is eventually up, it is expected to add a considerable 150,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, effectively doubling what is currently available in Singapore. The first phase is expected to be ready by 2010.

In fact, when the entire Marina Bay area is fully developed and integrated with the existing financial district, it will be twice the size of London's famous Canary Wharf financial district and will provide a combined total of 2.82 million sq m of office space, equalling what is available in Hong Kong's main business centre.

The most prominent - and anticipated - of these new developments will, no doubt, be the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort that is set to open for business next year. It will be a ground-breaking project in many ways.

A drive across Benjamin Sheares Bridge, which overlooks the expansive site, reveals an orchestra of cranes and a flurry of construction work - an impressive sign of the scale of things to come.

Its one-of-a-kind Sky Park - a two-acre stretch of landscaped gardens that will be perched atop and bridge its three 50-storey hotel towers - will offer breathtaking views of the entire city. When completed, it will offer six million sq ft of retail and entertainment space, 3,000 hotel rooms and a plethora of lifestyle and leisure activities.

While it may not be the tallest upcoming structure, it will undoubtedly be deemed the crown jewel on the eventual skyline. Certainly, at an estimated cost of more than $5 billion, it is likely to be one of the most expensive projects of its kind in the world.

With Singapore's expanding skyline gradually taking form, the fact that each new storey of every eventual building represents a business opportunity is not lost on the different businesses involved in the building industry.

A significant portion of the investment pouring into the city will go to them, as developers continue dreaming up more impressive edifices to meet those increasing demands.

In fact, the total amount generated by the construction and building industry here is expected to hit a whopping $55 billion by 2011.

Last year, the industry grew by almost 10 per cent and awarded $19 billion of contracts.

International building centre

While its position as a financial and leisure hub continues to solidify, Singapore is also becoming a centre for the international building and construction industry.

With such an array of opportunities available and its reputation for business efficiency, almost everyone in the industry's supply chain is finding some reason to do business here. They are either directly involved in the local industry or use it as a regional hub to reach out to larger markets in the region.

A good example is the upcoming BEX Asia 2008 exhibition, when building material and equipment suppliers from around the world showcase their latest products and technologies in Singapore. The event, from May 21-23 at Suntec Singapore, is expected to attract prominent industry players, both local and international.

And so, as developers build bigger and taller, they will continue to redefine Singapore's skyline in the process. From the smattering of grey monoliths that sprouted up in the early days of the economic boom to the myriad glistening peaks and pinnacles that scrape our skies today - and those that will join them in the future - the skyline represents the face of a nation which, as it matures, begins to look increasingly radiant.

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Stench from Singapore River affecting business

Robertson Quay restaurants raise a stink
Stench from river affecting business, they claim
Jinny Koh, Today Online 20 May 08;

YOU are dining al fresco by the river, tourists at the next table are taking in the tropical night scene, a gentle breeze blows — and suddenly, there is a smell from the river.

It is pungent and will not go away; and the night is ruined.

This has been the scene along the Singapore River recently, in particular at Robertson Quay.

The river's brackish waters may have needed more cleaning up, but for the past year, the offending smell was akin to a fly in the soup for food and beverage outlets at the quay. Until three months ago.

Businesses at the quay say the stink has been wafting in daily, instead of once every few days.

"It's becoming horrendous, especially after it rains," said waitress Henrietta Martinez, 19, from the Brussel Sprouts restaurant. "Some customers ask to be moved to a table inside the restaurant."

Said Brassiere Wolf senior captain Julie Zainudin, 27: "Nowadays, after the rain, the river turns brown. It is very unsightly."

In February, Robertson Quay's management notified the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of the smell.

The agency in charge of Singapore's waterways investigated and found the stench occurred when water levels were low, exposing years of deposits and sediment accumulated along the riverbank.

"Robertson Quay is upstream and located at the bend of the river. There tends to be more deposits collecting there," PUB catchment and waterways director Tan Nguan Sen told Today.

Downstream, the sediments are more diluted. Tenants at Clarke Quay say they can detect a smell, but it's not very pungent, and customers rarely gripe about it. At Boat Quay, tenants say the pong is nearly non-existent.

A PUB contractor has carried out works to remove the deposits and sediment at the heavily-silted areas and is monitoring the situation closely. Still, there is a lingering smell; a second round of dredging starts this week, to be completed by the month's end.

The PUB has also tried to maintain a high water level whenever possible to avoid exposure of the sediment bed for prolonged periods of time.

The 15 or so Robertson Quay pubs and restaurants located along the river, the hardest-hit, could potentially play a part to improve the situation if they work with Waterways Watch, a non-governmental organisation that seeks to keep Singapore's waterways clean and free from pollution through patrols and public education.

It runs a programme called Friends of the Marina Association, in which participants contribute $120 a year as a form of financial support as well as display the organisation's pamphlets and posters at their premises.

But response has been dismal, said Waterways Watch chairman Eugene Heng, 59. "We visited them, sent letters to them, but they were not interested," he said.

There are only four Friends of the Marina despite efforts to reach out to about 200 businesses. Only one, Japanese restaurant Sangokushi Ryoriya, is on Robertson Quay.

Red House Seafood Restaurant manager Peter Chang, 58, told Today the fee should be borne by the quay's strata management. "We pay them a monthly maintenance fee (of close to $10,000), so, this should come under them," he said.

For residents living along that stretch, the smell seems less of a bother. River Place is one of three condominiums located along the river and resident Maria Eugenia, 46, said she only catches a whiff of it occasionally, when she is on her way home or out.

"But I don't smell it every day, so, it's not that much of a problem for me," she said.

Related links
Waterways Watch Society whose mission are to formulate and implement an on-going action plan to assist in keeping the waterways of Singapore clean and free of pollution; To initiate and organize on-going activities aimed at educating the public on the importance of keeping the waterways clean.

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New Fullerton Heritage zone has luxury retail and dining outlets

Waterfront cluster with high-end appeal
New Fullerton Heritage zone has luxury retail and dining outlets to draw the well-heeled
Michelle Tay, Straits Times 20 May 08;

RAFFLES Place may be best known as the arena where high-flying bankers and corporate executives slog away for handsome salaries. But a small patch of it is set to become a luxury retail haven where they can spend their hard-earned cash on art, jewellery and fine dining.

The waterfront strip around the historic Collyer Quay is being transformed into a playground for well-heeled locals and tourists, as developers of the Fullerton Heritage zone seek to lure these big spenders away from Orchard Road.

Features range from a luxury retail cluster in The Fullerton Hotel to a classy Chinese restaurant and bar in Clifford Pier by Hong Kong's trendy Aqua restaurant group.

The overriding strategy is clearly to pull in the well-to-do who might normally shop and dine in and around Orchard Road, the country's main shopping belt.

The Fullerton Heritage's general manager, Ms Sulian Tan-Wijaya, said the waterfront destination will 'create a new luxury retail cluster that currently does not exist in the Raffles Place area'.

Its expected clientele will include business and leisure travellers, executives from the Central Business District (CBD) and new Marina Bay Financial Centre, casino patrons and residents from upcoming condominiums nearby like The Sail and Marina Bay Residences.

The retail element will be concentrated at The Fullerton Hotel, where under-utilised conference rooms have been converted into more than 5,000 sq ft of space for five shops.

The retailers include London-based Singapore fashion designer Ashley Isham; jewellers Mouawad, Vois and Raffles Jeweller; and

a high-end Chinese and Asian contemporary art gallery called I Preciation.

I Preciation has been operating since 2003, while the remaining four will open by July - in time to cash in on the Formula One Grand Prix that is expected to draw 240,000 spectators in September.

Ms Tan-Wijaya is confident that the outlets will enjoy 'a steady stream of business' despite the hefty price tags, as 80 per cent of The Fullerton Hotel's guests are corporate clients.

Brisk sales at I Preciation, where art works go for anything between $10,000 and $4 million, back up her view.

The majority of its clients are executives, high-net worth individuals and keen collectors who work in the CBD, said Mr C.T. Lim, one of the gallery's two owners.

Raffles Jeweller director Margaret Lau said she was lured to The Fullerton Hotel from Orchard Road, where she has been operating for the last 15 years.

She said the hotel's rent is not lower than that in Orchard Road, but she looks forward to 'the prospect of opening up the business to an international corporate clientele'.

She is also confident that her regular clients will make the trip to this newly designated 'destination shopping' zone to buy her bling.

The Fullerton Heritage refers to a string of buildings and land opposite Marina Bay owned by Hong Kong-based Sino Land, the sister company of Singapore property giant Far East Organization.

They include existing buildings One Fullerton, The Fullerton Hotel, The Fullerton Waterboat House, Clifford Pier and Customs House.

Sino Land, which is controlled by the family of property magnate Ng Teng Fong, won the tender for the Collyer Quay corridor in December 2006 with a bid of $165.8 million.

Its ambitious plan to revamp the existing buildings while preserving the area's distinctive architecture is part of larger plans to rejuvenate the Marina Bay area by 2010.

It is also building a luxury boutique hotel called The Fullerton Bay Hotel, which will have 98 rooms with water views, on the site.

Appetites will be catered for with One Fullerton set for an August relaunch with four new eateries.

And Aqua, famed in Hong Kong for its ultra-stylish harbourfront restaurant in Kowloon, will unveil its plans for its 'Chinese fine-dining' restaurant in Clifford Pier later this year.

'We see The Fullerton Heritage as helping to enhance Singapore's position as a leading tourist, business and lifestyle destination,' said Ms Tan-Wijaya.

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Malaysia in for hazy skies and dry weather

Straits Times 20 May 08;

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S annual problem of dry weather and hazy skies seems to be here again.

A check with the Malaysian Meteorological Services Department revealed 207 hotspots in Sumatra on Sunday, though it was a drop from Saturday's 372 hotspots.

Peninsular Malaysia had four hotspots, while Borneo had 52.

A spokesman said on Sunday that Malaysians could expect dry weather over the next few days.

'With the current south-west monsoon, it is quite normal to have dry weather,' he said.

'This weather pattern is generally expected to last until September, especially in the peninsula and Sarawak.'

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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Tasmanian devil to get endangered species listing

Yahoo News 19 May 08;

Australia's Tasmanian devil will be listed as an endangered species this week as a result of a deadly and disfiguring cancer outbreak, the state government said Monday.

The disease, a fast-growing head tumour which spreads over the marsupial's face and mouth and prevents it from eating, often killing it within months, has cut the island's devil population in the wild by as much as 60 percent.

A spokeswoman for Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said the small, black-haired animal would be listed as an endangered species by state officials on Wednesday.

The minister told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the animal would be upgraded from a vulnerable to an endangered species so that the "appropriate resources and effort" can be poured into protecting it.

The government has also backed a plan to build an "insurance population" of healthy Tasmanian devils at wildlife reserves, zoos and other protected areas.

"If required, these animals could be utilised to help re-establish Tasmanian devil numbers in the wild," Llewellyn said.

The facial tumour is extremely unusual in that it is a contagious cancer, spread from devil to devil by biting.

The devil is the world's largest marsupial carnivore and now only lives in Australia's southern island state.

Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.

Australia's Tasmanian devil declared endangered
Yahoo News 21 May 08;

Australia's Tasmanian devil was listed as endangered on Wednesday due to a contagious and deadly cancer which threatens to wipe out the carnivorous marsupial.

The disease, a fast-growing tumour which spreads over the marsupial's face and mouth and prevents it from eating, often killing it within months, is thought to have reduced its numbers by some 60 percent.

Tasmania had previously listed the black-haired animal with vice-like jaws as vulnerable, and state Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said the upgrading highlighted the severity of the disease.

"The disease we are fighting is one of the few cancers in the world known to be directly transmissible," Llewellyn said.

"In many ways it is defying what is commonly known about disease, in that it is not petering out in areas where it has been for a long time.

"This upgrading really reminds us of what we are up against in our efforts to ensure the ongoing survival of the species in the wild."

The facial tumours are spread through biting and since the disease was first observed in 1996, there has been a 64 percent decline in sightings of the devil across Tasmania.

In the island state's northeast, where the tumours were first seen, the number of sightings fell by 95 percent over the decade to 2005.

The state upgrade will place pressure on the federal government to hike its assessment and will qualify the animal for greater conservation funding.

The Australian and Tasmanian governments have already given their support to a programme to create healthy populations of devils not yet exposed to the disfiguring disease in quarantined locations.

"We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian devil for Tasmanians and the world," Llewellyn said in a statement.

"We are developing and implementing an insurance strategy which has established captive populations around the country, (and) implementing wild management trials to attempt to secure wild populations."

The devil is the world's largest marsupial carnivore and now only lives in Australia's southern island state.

Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.

Tasmanian Devil listed as endangered
Yahoo News 21 May 08;

HOBART, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's Tasmanian Devil, its population decimated by a facial cancer, was listed as an endangered species on Wednesday by the Tasmanian state government.

The deadly and disfiguring facial cancer, which often kills within months, has cut the island state's wild devil population by as much as 60 percent. The Tasmanian Devil faces extinction in 10 to 20 years due to the facial cancer.

"We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian Devil for Tasmanians and the world," Tasmanian Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said in a statement announcing the change in status from vulnerable to endangered.

The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial about the size of a small muscular dog. It has black fur, gives off a skunk-like odour when stressed, and earns its devil name for its ferocious temperament and disturbing call.

The facial cancer is genetically identical in every animal and originated from a single contagious cell line and spread throughout the population by biting during fights for food and mates.

"We are developing and implementing an insurance strategy which has established captive populations around the country, implementing wild management trials to attempt to secure wild populations," said Llewellyn.

Llewellyn said he was encouraged by the fact that some devils from western Tasmania had developed antibodies to facial tumor.

"While it is still very early days, discoveries such as this provide hope that the disease may be managed in the longer term and that devils with genetic diversity will survive it," he said.

(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Tasmanian Devils Named Endangered Species
Dave Hansford, National Geographic News 21 May 08;

The Tasmanian devil, a feisty marsupial that lives only in the Australian island state of Tasmania, was deemed an endangered species this week by the state's government.

The government had previously classified the creature as vulnerable. But its more critical status comes in response to a fatal epidemic of devil facial tumor disease, which has wiped out large numbers of the animal.

Devil numbers are difficult to estimate, but state government figures suggest the animals may have plummeted from around 150,000 in the mid-1990s to between 20,000 and 50,000 by the end of 2006.

"The change in the devil's status reflects the real possibility that this iconic species could face extinction in the wild within 20 years," Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said in a statement.

Unusual Cancer

The devils' disease is one of just two known cancers able to spread like a contagious disease, and is transmitted when one devil bites another.

Large tumors form on the faces and necks of the animals, making it impossible for them to eat. Many of the afflicted animals subsequently die of starvation.

Sightings of devils have dropped by 64 percent in the past decade, according to Warwick Brennan, spokesperson for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, a joint effort of the state government and the University of Tasmania.

"It's a stark warning about how suddenly and dramatically things can change," he said.

The disease has now spread across more than 60 percent of the state, and in the northeast—where it was first detected in 1996—there have been no signs of recovery, he added.

"Usually a disease will peter out in time, but we're just not seeing that."

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New exhibition at Science Centre showcases climate change

Channel NewsAsia 19 May 08;

SINGAPORE : Visitors can now explore the latest on climate change at the Science Centre's new exhibition.

The Climate Change exhibition, set to be a permanent fixture at the centre till 2013, showcases both local and foreign items from renowned scientific institutes.

Among the exhibits - a "Flower Lamp" from the Interactive Institute of Sweden, which only blooms when you use less electricity, as well as a research station which allows visitors to experience life at the Polar Regions.

The exhibition is opened from Tuesdays to Sundays and costs S$6 for adults and S$3 for children. - CNA /ls

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Climate change raising extinction risk among birds: study

Yahoo News 19 May 08;

Climate change has emerged as a major factor behind the growing risk of extinction facing birds, the world's leading conservation agency warned on Monday.

"Long-term drought and sudden extreme weather are putting additional stress on the pockets of habitat that many threatened species depend on," the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a report issued on the sidelines of a global biodiversity convention.

"This, coupled with extensive and expanding habitat destruction, has led to an increase in the rate of extinction on continents and away from islands, where most historical extinction has occurred."

The Swiss-based organisation issued an update of its "Red List," the highly respected catalogue of species at threat.

Of the 1,226 birds on the list, 190 are "critically endangered," the highest category of threat.

Eight additional species have entered this category compared to the last list. These each face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, and include the Tristan albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) of the South Atlantic and the Floreana mockingbird (Nesomimus trifasciatus) of the Galapagos islands.

In all, 24 species have moved into a higher level of threat as a result of shrinking population or declining habitat. Just two species have seen their prospects improved.

Those seen at greater threat include widespread continental species such as the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) and Dartford warbler (Sylvia undata), both previously in the "least concern" category but now regarded as "near threatened."

"Species are being hit by the double whammy of habitat loss and climate change," said Stuart Butchart, research coordinator with BirdLife, an alliance of conservation organisations, which helped compile the list.

"As populations become fragmented the effect of climate change can have an even greater impact, leading to an increased risk of local extinctions."

The IUCN highlighted the threat to three species:

-- The Mallee emuwren (Stipiturus mallee), a native of South Australia, where the last significant population comprises just 100 birds confined to 100 square kilometres (38 square miles). "Its habitat is now so fragmented that a single bushfire could be catastrophic," the IUCN warned;

-- The New Britain Goshawk (Accipiter princes), a bird of prey in Papua New Guinea, whose habitat has been ravaged by palm-oil plantations;

-- The spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus), which migrates between northeastern Russia and Southeast Asia. Its tidal-flat habitat has been badly eroded and its tundra breeding grounds are threatened by climate change.

The rare pieces of good news offered by the IUCN were attributed to two successful conservation programmes.

The first involved the Marquesan Imperial-pigeon (Ducula galeata), whose signature call is a "deep bellow waah-waah, like the mooing of a cow," according to BirdLife.

The species, which is a native of French Polynesia, is doing well under a translocation programme which has shifted breeding pairs to a new home.

The other is the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii). Individuals have been moved out of New Zealand's South Island to new territories and are slowly reproducing.

"This goes to show not only that conservation action works but that it is vital if we are to prevent the extinction of these and other species," Butchart said.

Some 6,000 representatives from 191 countries are attending the 11-day conference on the UN's convention on biodiversity, which was first adopted at the Rio Earth summit in 1992.

Climate change hitting bird species, shows study
Madeline Chambers, Reuters 19 May 08;

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - One in eight of the world's birds are at risk of extinction as climate change puts birds under great pressure, a leading conservation group warned on Monday.

The population of rare birds such as the Floreana mockingbird of the Galapagos Islands or the spoon-billed sandpiper, which breeds in northeastern Russia and winters in south Asia, has declined sharply and they could go extinct, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report.

The 2008 "Red List for Birds" report, published on the first day of a May 19-30 U.N. conference about biodiversity in the German city of Bonn, said 1,226 species of bird were now threatened.

The annual report, closely watched among conservationists, added eight of the world's 10,000 bird species to the Critically Endangered category, the greatest level of threat.

"The latest update of the IUCN Red List shows that birds are under enormous pressure from climate change," said Jane Smart, head of the IUCN Species Programme. The IUCN groups governments, conservation groups and scientists.

Long-term drought and sudden extreme weather are putting additional stress on habitats that threatened species depend on, said the report, noting that extinction rates were rising on continents, rather than on islands where, historically, most extinctions have occurred.

Of the 26 species that moved category due to changes in their population size, rate of decline or range size, 24 were moved up to a higher level of threat.

CURLEW, WARBLER

They included the Eurasian curlew and Dartford warbler, which lives in Europe and north-west Africa. Both were previously in the "Least Threatened" category.

"We urge governments to take the information contained in (the report) seriously and do their level best to protect the world's birds," said Smart. The U.N. Climate Panel says that burning of fossil fuels is stoking global warming.

The report showed that Brazil and Indonesia had the highest number of threatened bird species with 141 and 133 respectively.

The group picked out several other species, including the Mallee emuwren in Australia which has suffered from years of drought and is seeing its population shrink sharply.

Its habitat has become so fragmented that a single bushfire could be catastrophic, said the report.

In the Galapagos Islands, the population of the Floreana mockingbird has fallen to fewer than 60 from an estimated 150 in 1996 and is now on the Critically Endangered list because the species is vulnerable to extreme weather.

The report also pointed to some species that had fared better as a result of conservation efforts, including the Marquesan Imperial-pigeon and the little spotted kiwi.

Around 4,000 delegates at the U.N. meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity will discuss ways to safeguard the range of species and try to slow the rate of extinctions among plants and animals.

(Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

Climate 'accelerating bird loss'
Mark Kinver, BBC News 19 May 08;

Climate change is "significantly amplifying" the threats facing the world's bird populations, a global assessment has concluded.

The 2008 Bird Red List warns that long-term droughts and extreme weather puts additional stress on key habitats.

The assessment lists 1,226 species as threatened with extinction - one-in-eight of all bird species.

The list, reviewed every four years, is compiled by conservation charity BirdLife International.

"It is very hard to precisely attribute particular changes in specific species to climate change," said Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's global research and indicators co-ordinator.

"But there is now a whole suite of species that are clearly becoming threatened by extreme weather events and droughts."

In the revised Red List, eight species have been added to the "critically endangered" category.

One of these was the Floreana mockingbird ( Nesomimus trifasciatus ), which is confined to two islets in the Galapagos Islands.

From an estimated maximum of 150 in the mid-1960s, the population has fallen to fewer than 60.

Conservationists listed the mockingbird as Critically Endangered because it experienced a high rate of adult mortality during dry years that have been linked to La Nina events.

Dry years have become more frequent in recent years, and have been blamed as the main driver of the current decline.

"Another threat for small island species, such as the Floreana mockingbird, is the threat from invasive species, in particular mammals and plants," Dr Butchart told BBC News.

"They are having a devastating effect on habitats. For example, goats and donkeys on Floreana are changing the ecological structure.

"Eliminating or controlling invasive species is a very tractable conservation action that can help these birds hang on in the face of these additional pressures from climate change.

"The key actions that are needed to prevent a species like this from going extinct are the very broad-scale climate-change mitigation measures - such as reducing our carbon emissions, limiting the global average temperature rise to no more than 2C (3.6F), and changing society's values and lifestyles."

Dr Butchart said another example of a species being affected by shifts in the climate was the akekee ( Loxops caeruleirostris ), a Hawaiian honey-creeper.

"Not only is it being negatively impacted by prolonged heavy rain causing nesting failures, but they are extremely threatened by introduced diseases, which are carried by invasive mosquitoes.

"The mosquitoes have been restricted to lower altitudes, so the birds do best at heights above which the mosquitoes can go and pass on avian malaria.

"But because of climate change, the temperature zones are shifting. It is getting warmer at higher altitudes, so the mosquitoes can now move higher.

"This is eliminating the mosquito-free zone that the birds used to occupy."

As a result, Dr Butchart explained, this bird was also being uplisted to the status of Critically Endangered.

Despite the latest assessment showing a continuing downward trend in the world's bird populations, he said that conservationists were still optimistic that many species could be saved.

"It is undoubtedly true that we are facing an unprecedented conservation crisis but we do have conservation success stories that give us hope that not all threatened species are doomed.

"We have the solutions but what we need are the resources and political will."

BirdLife International has recently launched its Preventing Extinctions Programme, which targets the 190 species listed as Critically Endangered.

Its goal is to find a "species champion" for each bird, who will fund the on-the-ground conservation work of "species guardians".

"Success stories provide us with the great hope that this can be achieved, provided that we act soon enough."

One bird that has been downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered in the latest assessment is the Marquesan imperial-pigeon ( Ducula galeata ).

The main threat facing the bird came from rats, an invasive species.

In order to protect the population of the slow-breeding birds, conservationists moved 10 adults to a neighbouring rat-free island between 2000 and 2003.

The new community of pigeons is now established on the island, and conservationists are hopeful that the population will reach 50 by 2010.

"This has greatly reduced the extinction risk because the bird is now spread over a couple of islands," observed Dr Butchart.

"This goes to show not only that conservation works but that it is vital if we are to prevent the extinction of these and other species."

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Giant carnivorous mice threaten world's greatest seabird colony

John Vidal, The Guardian 19 Jan 08;

Whalers who visited remote Gough Island in the South Atlantic 150 years ago described a prelapsarian world where millions of birds lived without predators and where a man could barely walk because he would trip over their nests. Today the British-owned island, described as the most important seabird colony in the world, still hosts 22 breeding bird species and is a world heritage site.

But Gough is the stage for one of nature's greatest horror shows. One of those whaling boats, probably from Britain, carried a few house mice stowaways who jumped ship on Gough. Now there are 700,000 or more of them on the island, which is the size of Guernsey.

What is horrifying ornithgologists is that the humble house mouse which landed on Gough has somehow evolved to two or even three times the size of an ordinary British house mice, and instead of being a vegetarian, eating insects and seeds, has adapted itself to become a carnivore, eating albatross, petrel and shearwater chicks alive in their nests. They are now believed to be the largest mice found anywhere in the world.

Those who have witnessed the phenomenon say that the supersized mice attack at night either on their own or in groups, gnawing through the nests and into the baby birds' bodies. Their parents, who have never experienced predators, are unable defend their offspring from the rodents' furtive attacks.

Yesterday, Birdlife International, a global alliance of conservation groups, recognised that the mutant mice, who are without predators themselves, are now completely out of control and are threatening to make extinct several of the world's rarest bird species.

The organisation, which runs the Red List of endangered bird species, raised both the Tristan albatross, of which only a few remain in the world, and the Gough bunting, a small finch found nowhere else in the world, on to the list of the world's most critically endangered species, the highest category of threat. Five other bird species on the island are also said to be threatened.

"Things are getting worse on Gough. In the presence of house mice, the albatross and bunting have no chance of survival. The only hope for these threatened birds is the complete eradication of mice", said Dr Geoff Hilton, an RSPB scientist who has been researching conservation problems in UK overseas territories.

"The world's greatest seabird island is being eaten alive, as the mice are likely to be affecting the fortunes of many seabirds on the island. Without help, Gough Island will be likely to lose the majority of seabirds," said Hilton.

Studies suggest that about 60% of all Gough's bird chicks die in their nests, probably because of predation by the mice. "It is a catastrophe. The albatross chicks weigh up to 10kgs. Ironically, they evolved on Gough because it had no mammal predators - that is why they are so vulnerable. The mice weigh just 35g; it is like a tabby cat attacking a hippopotamus", said Hilton.

Yesterday, the RSPB proposed hiring helicopters to drop thousands of tonnes of rodent poison on the island. "A government-funded feasibility study done with New Zealand, which has eradicated rats from many islands, shows it is possible. They mice would take the poison and just go to their nests and die. We think it could be done fairly easily and would cost about £2.6m", said a spokeswoman.

"The study shows there is a glimmer of light showing that we might be able to fix this problem. The UK government has supported us in discovering the problem, in conducting the feasibility study, and now in finalising our plan for the mouse eradication. The big question is whether the UK will take its international commitments seriously and do what the governments of New Zealand and Australia have done, and provide the big money needed to actually do the mouse eradication. If they don't, we won't be able to give two critically threatened species the lifeline they need"

Britain has long been criticised for not maintaining the ecology of its overseas territories which are mainly made up of groups of islands like Pitcairn, Tristan da Cunha, and the Falklands. Of the world's 190 most endangered birds, 32 are now officially British responsibility.

The discovery that the mice had supersized themselves and adapted their diets was made by Richard Cuthbert, a professional ornithologist who spent a year on the island in 2001 and only stumbled on the phenomenon as he was leaving the island. "It sounds incredulous, implausible that a mouse could attack a chick, but these chicks are really big spherical balls of fat covered in down, and because they are so fat and big they cannot defend themselves", he said later.

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Animated map brings global climate crisis to life

Jeremy Lovell, Reuters 19 May 08;

LONDON (Reuters) - A new animated map of the earth from space illustrates the potential impact of climate change over the next century and can be viewed on your computer.

The project, Climate Change in Our World, is the result of cooperation between web search engine Google, Britain's environment ministry and the country's Met Office.

Based on Google Earth which uses NASA satellite images, viewers can run a time lapse series to watch the earth warm under medium case scenarios up to 2100 either from a planetary perspective or zeroing in on countries and even cities.

"This project shows people the reality of climate change using estimates of both the change in the average temperature where they live, and the impact it will have on people's lives all over the world," said environment secretary Hilary Benn.

"By helping people to understand what climate change means for them and for the world we can mobilize the commitment we need to avoid the worst effects by taking action now."

Leaders of the major world economies tentatively agreed last year that carbon emissions should be cut by half by 2050 from 1990 levels. But there is now a stand-off between rich and poor nations over who should make the first move.

The Google map shows the world heating as the years advance, with some of the greatest temperature increases at the ice-bound poles where vast areas turn red indicating rises well into double digits.

The map also offers specific information on local impacts and actions people can and in some cases already are taking.

Scientists say global average temperatures will rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century due to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport, causing floods and famines and threatening millions of lives.

But within this global average there will be vast local and regional variations.

"Climate change is arguably one of the biggest issues facing the world today," said Met Office chief John Hirst.

"Merging the Met Office's unparalleled climate science expertise with the exciting technology of Google Earth is a great way of bringing the impacts of a warming world to life."

See the new animated map.

(Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; editing by Keith Weir)

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Iceland resumes whaling, ministry says

Reuters 19 May 08;

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's government said on Monday it would allow 40 minke whales to be hunted, ending a temporary halt to a practice which has angered conservationists.

A ministry official told Reuters that Einar Guoffinsson, minister of fisheries, had issued the order. The head of a local whaling association confirmed that fishermen on three whaling boats were preparing to go to sea from Tuesday.

But Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir distanced herself and other members of Iceland's coalition government who belong to the centre-left Social Democrats from the decision.

"The minister of fisheries has constitutional competence for issuing such regulations and does not have to consult the government as such," she said in a statement.

"As minister for foreign affairs, I believe this is sacrificing long term interests for short term gains, despite the quota being smaller than in previous years."

Before 2006, Iceland had banned commercial whaling for 20 years. It ended the ban that year, issuing quotas that ran through August 2007. When those quotas ran out, the government decided not to issue new ones until there was evidence of demand for whale meat.

"We hope that we will finish the 40-whale quota in the beginning of July if the market responds well to the meat, as we believe it will," said Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, head of a minke whaling association. He said last year 45 minke whales had been fished and the meat was sold locally.

Jonsson said whaling was important to the Icelandic fishing community, which had been hit by quota cuts for cod and capelin.

"There are around 50,000 whales in the waters surrounding Iceland now and I don't believe that the fishing of 40 will make any difference for the stock," he said.

But the decision is almost certain to anger conservationists, who applauded Iceland's whaling halt last year. Many have said that the whale-watching industry is equally, if not more, lucrative than hunting the animals.

Jonsson said the whalers would work to ensure that their hunts would not interfere with whale-watching.

"I would say that 95 percent of the whale fishing is much further away from shore then the whale-watching boats ever go, but we will make it a point to always let them know when we will be going out to fish and try not to fish at hours when they will be whale-watching," he said.

(Reporting by Kristin Arna Bragadottir; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Go-ahead for Iceland's whale hunt
Richard Black, BBC News 19 May 08;

Iceland's commercial whale hunt is set to begin, after the government granted a small minke quota on Monday.

Whalers had been seeking a quota of about 100, but ministers settled on 40, which they say is commercially viable.

The decision came after weeks of delay, reportedly because of disagreements within government.

Environmental groups said the decision would further damage the Icelandic economy which is already badly affected by the international debt crisis.

The decision was expected a month ago, and whalers had been asking for a swift decision so they could begin hunting.

Finally, the govenment gave the go-ahead on Monday morning, and whalers said they would launch as soon as possible.

"It all depends on the weather, but if the weather is good then we hunt tomorrow (Tuesday) morning," said Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, head of the minke whaling association.

Market forces

The government insists its decision is commercial, based on the market for minke meat within Iceland.

"We issued... a minke quota which limits the catch to 40 animals, and that's similar to the amount that was caught last year," said Iceland's whaling commissioner Stefan Asmundsson.

There is no quota for fin whales, another target of Icelandic vessels.

Mr Jonsson confirmed that meat from last year's minke catch had been sold. But he told BBC News his members hoped eventually for a larger annual quota - nearer to the 100 they had requested this year.

"We caught 45 whales last year and sold it all, so if we can sell all the meat from 40 animals this time I believe we can get more quota, but we'll see how it goes."

Financial factors

This will be the third hunting season since Iceland resumed its commercial programme in 2006.

Its annual catch is much smaller than those of Norway and Japan, but its hunt is nevertheless controversial, partly because it had ceased operations and partly because in some peoples' eyes the policy conflicts with the image Iceland often portrays as an unspoiled, ecologically conscious "green" nation.

"We strongly urge the Icelandic government to rethink this decision," said Robbie Marsland of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).



"The resumption of commercial whaling could prove to be extremely damaging to the already fragile Icelandic economy and its international reputation."

The economy is already struggling owing to large borrowing by its three major banks. Inflation is runing above 11%, and interest rates are up to 15%.

Mr Marsland suggested that the growing industry of whale-watching could be an important asset to Iceland in this difficult period.

"We encourage the government to act now to protect this multi-million-pound industry and its wider economic interests."

The delay in announcing the minke quota has strengthened rumours that some government departments, notably the foreign ministry, shared some of Ifaw's views.

But the decision remains in the gift of the fisheries ministry, which believes there is no ecological reason to cancel a hunt for 40 minkes when the population in the north Atlantic is believed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to number about 174,000.

"There can be no question that this is a sustainable activity," said Mr Asmundsson.

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Development Crucial To Saving The Brazilian Amazon

PlanetArk 19 May 08;

SAO PAULO - The best way to preserve the Amazon rain forest is to develop the region and bring viable economic alternatives to the millions of people who live there, a Brazilian cabinet member said on Friday.

Roberto Mangabeira Unger, a former Harvard law professor picked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to coordinate an Amazon sustainable development plan, also said Brazil would not be lectured to by foreign countries about conservation.

"We are taken aback by those who scold us, who warn us, since we see countries around the world that are talking from a high chair after having devastated their own forests," Unger, minister for strategic affairs, said in an interview.

"The Amazon is not just a collection of trees. It is also, and above all, a group of people," he added, noting that the vast region is home to 27 million people out of Brazil's total population of 185 million.

"If these people lack economic opportunities, the practical result will be disorganized economic activity, and disorganized economic activity will lead relentlessly to deforestation. The only way to preserve the Amazon is to develop it."

Unger was thrown into an unwanted spotlight this week when Marina Silva, a former rubber tapper who was hailed globally as a champion of the green movement, resigned her post as environment minister after losing a slew of battles in her efforts to protect the Amazon.

According to aides, the last straw came last week when Lula overlooked Silva and instead chose Unger to oversee the implementation of a government initiative to develop the Amazon in a sustainable way.


CALLED LULA GOVERNMENT 'MOST CORRUPT'

Unger, who three years ago denounced the Lula administration as the "most corrupt in Brazil's history," defended the president's decision to put him in charge of the Amazon initiative.

"The people who think it's natural for development of the Amazon to be undertaken by an environment ministry just don't understand that the Amazon is more than a forest," he said.

"An environment ministry lacks the instruments to deal with all the many problems of transport, energy, education, and of industry that are required to formulate and to implement a comprehensive development program."

Unger, who was born in Brazil but has lived most of his life in the United States, has long been politically active in Latin America. He is best known for his efforts to push for an alternative to neoliberalism, the label often given to the view that free-market economics and development go hand-in-hand.

But he is a newcomer to the environmental debate in Brazil, raising doubts about whether he is the right person to oversee the Amazon plan.

Jorge Viana, a Lula ally and former governor of the Amazon state of Acre, said in a radio interview on Thursday: "I respect Professor Mangabeira Unger, he's a Harvard professor, the professor of the professors. But when it comes to the Amazon, I think he's a student."

Silva's successor in the Environment Ministry, Carlos Minc, has suggested that Viana might be better equipped for the job.

Unfazed, Unger is already moving forward with the plan and is about to embark on a tour of the Amazon to hammer out development strategies with state governors.

"The Amazon is the frontier, not just of geography but of the imagination. It is our great national laboratory," he said. "It is the space in which we can best rethink and reorganize the whole country, and define this new model of development."

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)


Story by Todd Benson

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