Orang utans debut at the Singapore Flyer to raise conservation awareness

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: It was monkey business at the Singapore Flyer on Thursday when two orang utans were lifted 165 metres into the air. This was part of a green effort by the flyer and the Singapore Zoo to highlight the dwindling numbers of the primates in the wild.

12-year-old Chomel and three-year-old Merlin took some time getting used to the mechanical capsule of the Singapore Flyer. Half way through the 30-minute ride, they got a panoramic view of the city jungle.

Fanni Lai, Group CEO, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: “As we go up to the top of the flyer, we all can see that at a 160-metre height. So it is important when we do city development, to ensure we continue to conserve and protect our natural habitat."

Steven Yeo, General Manager, Singapore Flyer, said: "When we met with Fanni and talked about it, she was telling us about the need for conservation and the support of the orang utans and we thought it was a good idea to support that message."

Chomel is being groomed to be the zoo's next ‘green’ ambassador but she has big shoes to fill. She is the fifth granddaughter of the zoo's renowned ape, Ah Meng, which died earlier this year.

There are now only 7,500 such Sumatran orang utans left in the wild and their numbers are dwindling due to the massive destruction of forests in Sumatra and Borneo.

The Singapore Zoo has pledged over US$20,000 to build housing facilities for the displaced animals.

Other conservation efforts include breeding 34 orang utans, some of which have been sent to wildlife preserves overseas. - CNA/vm

Orang utans fly the primate cause
Straits Times 13 Jun 08;

TWO orang utans from the Singapore Zoo had a free ride on the Singapore Flyer yesterday as part of a drive to raise awareness of the plight of these primates.

Sumatran orang utan Chomel, the 12-year-old fifth granddaughter of former zoo icon Ah Meng which died in February, and Merlin, a four-year-old Bornean orang utan, took the first spin of the wheel yesterday.

Accompanied by their handlers, the two orang utans kept gazing out of the capsule at the sights of Singapore's Central Business District throughout the 30-minute tour.

Back on land, the animals were a hit with those who had come for a ride on the Flyer, many stopping to take photographs with them.

Both the Sumatran and Bornean orang utans live in rainforests and are threatened by habitat destruction, forest fires and poaching for the illegal pet trade.

It is estimated that there are 55,000 Bornean orang utans, and only 7,500 Sumatran orang utans, left in the wild. This makes the Sumatran species critically endangered.

To highlight the plight of orang utans, Singapore Flyer and the Singapore Zoo will hold wildlife conservation-themed events for children every weekend from 2pm to 4pm from tomorrow to June 30.

STEPHANIE SONG

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 12 Jun 08

Happy Birthday Naked Hermit Crabs!
a celebration on the shores of sentosa on the adventures with the naked hermit crabs blog

Are nudibranchs suitable for aquariums?
find out about feeding issues and slug time-bombs on the lazy lizard tales blog

Striped-throated Bulbul
on the bird ecology blog

Asian Glossy Starling: Juvenile sex
on the bird ecology blog

Read more!

Ban balloon releases, says marine charity

The Independent 11 Jun 08;

Mass balloon releases can be lethal to animals and should be banned, a marine conservation charity said today.

Balloon releases have long been popular with charities or to remember people who have died or gone missing.

But the Marine Conservation Agency (MCA) says dolphins, whales, seabirds and turtles have died from balloons and wants a national ban on such mass releases.

It says the number of balloons found on UK beaches has more than tripled in the last 12 years, from 3.4 balloons per kilometre to 11.5 balloons per kilometre.

Launching its Don't Let Go campaign, MCA spokesman Gill Bell said: "Marine wildlife is suffering from a range of threats and most people do not give a thought to what happens to their balloons after they are released.

"MCS has evidence of the potentially lethal effects of balloons on animals. Marine animals suffer from a range of threats - please don't let your balloon release be the cause of any more deaths.

"A balloon release is not a cause for celebration, but a possible death sentence for an animal.

"While most balloons used in releases are made of latex rubber, which will eventually biodegrade, many animals may eat the balloons, or become entangled in a balloon's ribbon."

The MCA says mass balloon releases have already been banned by authorities around the world, including some UK bodies.

It gives examples such as a juvenile green turtle washed up at Knott End-on-Sea beach near Blackpool in December 2001, which starved to death after a balloon blocked its gut.

Read more!

Pets: the right message is vital

Kids need to be given advice on the care of pets:
Letter from Ng Wai Leng, Today Online 12 Jun 08;

TEEN’S Cook Book:, a programme that aired on Saturday morning over MediaCorp Channel 8, revolved around a group of children and their pets.

In view of the increasing cases of pet abandonment and animal abuse, some scenes in the show would have given impressionable children the wrong mindset about owning a pet:

•Children threatening their parents if hamsters are not purchased for them.
•Making hamsters race against each other.
•Not knowing what to feed a dog, and then feeding it with chocolate from the fridge — chocolate is toxic to dogs.
•Using a rolled-up newspaper to hit a dog when it peed in a “wrong place”.
•Keeping and breeding hamsters to give away to friends.

The media is powerful, and is an effective and fast way to reach out to a large audience. A programme like this is only good if it can also at the same time educate children on the responsibilities of pet ownership.

It would have been beneficial if at the end of the programme, advice gathered from pet behaviourists, animal shelters and welfare groups had been given, so that children are able to learn about the right and proper ways to care and tend for a pet.

Parents about to buy or better still, adopt a pet for their children, will also benefit from such information.

Highlighted acts used as examples
Today Online 12 Jun 08;
Letter from Ho Soo Fung
Vice-President
Network Programming and Promotions(Chinese broadcast)
MediaCorp TV

WE THANK Ng Wai Leng for the feedback on the programme Teen’s Cook Book. We fully agree with the writer that children should be taught to be responsible pet owners, and that was what the programme set out to do.

Teen’s Cook Book is a dramatised info-ed programme, with social and cultural lessons taught either through straightforward scenarios or negative examples where the children learn from their mistakes.

The said episode’s theme was on responsible pet ownership, and it had utilised negative examples to portray irresponsible behaviour.

So while the episode’s dramatisation portrayed the points raised by the writer, the episode was concluded with the children facing the sad consequences of their irresponsible behaviour, and drives home the lessons that children must make responsible decisions when it comes to pet ownership.

Read more!

Young environmentalists recognised for efforts to protect nature

Channel NewsAsia 11 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: Five young environmentalists have been recognised for their efforts to protect the nature, but they are not the only Singapore youths who take the green message to the heartlands and beyond.

More than 500 youths are taking part in the first Green Torch Relay to promote Singapore's first Youth EnvirOlympics on Saturday.

The three-day torch relay travels 240 kilometres across Singapore, passing by Sentosa, the Merlion and Pulau Ubin.

Relay participant Lin Peisen from Raffles Junior College said: "We will be taking boats, MRT, buses and all sorts of public transport....we want to convey the message to the public to encourage them to take public transport so that we can cut down on carbon emissions."

Other young Singaporeans have been further afield to help the environment.

Last year's winners of the HSBC/NYAA Youth Environmental Awards – which recognise their outstanding contribution to the environment - got wet and dirty researching climate change in the rainforests in North Queensland, Australia.

Three of this year's five winners will help EarthWatch scientists survey butterflies in the protected Tam Dao National Park in Vietnam.

One of this year's winners, Regina Oon, said: "Hopefully I'll be able to come back to Singapore to contribute towards the climate change project that's currently led by National Parks and sponsored by HSBC to better study the biodiversity in Singapore itself."

More than 30 people have received the Youth Environmental Awards since 1998. - CNA/ac

Young eco-warriors with a passion
He Zongying, Straits Times 13 Jun 08;

SHE may be a greenie, but 23-year-old Regina Oon's passion for the environment is not shared by her family, which has meant having to work doubly hard to suss out sponsorships for overseas research and volunteering trips.

But she does not let that stop her.

From the time she entered university at the age of 18, the recent economics graduate from Singapore Management University has been approaching companies such as HSBC and organisations like Earthwatch for support. This has helped her land numerous opportunities, including helping rural villages in Yunnan province in China to replace firewood with more sustainable biogas.

Closer to home, she volunteers with the Singapore Zoo. She helped to set up its In Danger station, educating people about the Asiatic Black Bear.

That passion was rewarded on Wednesday, when she was one of three young people who won this year's HSBC/National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Council's Youth Environmental Award.

The decade-old award honours youth contributions to environmental causes annually.

Along with the other two winners - Singapore Polytechnic student Victor Lee Hong Zhi, 18, and National University of Singapore student Ong Wei Tao, 22, and last year's winner - Ms Goh Hong Yi, 18 - she will leave on Monday for Vietnam's Tam Dao National Park to research the conservation of butterflies in the area as part of the Earthwatch Study Trip.

They will be working with scientists and mentors to study the relation of changes in the butterfly population to the loss or disturbance of forest ecosystems.

Speaking at the ceremony, NYAA council chairman Leo Tan said it was encouraging to see several young Singaporeans landing these awards every year.

'This shows we have youth who really care for the environment and this bodes well for the future,' he added.

Read more!

Four companies honoured at second Singapore Green Summit

Channel NewsAsia 11 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: Four companies were recognised on Wednesday at the second Singapore Green Summit for their eco-friendly practices. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan also urged companies to put in place more energy efficient practices.

The Grand Hyatt is one of the awarded companies.

The 37-year-old hotel undertook a range of initiatives - recycling water for its laundry service, installing motion activated lights in store rooms, and installing solar films in guest rooms to reduce radiated heat.

For the hotel, going green makes a business case as well.

"Grand Hyatt Singapore invested S$3.5 million into a new efficient cooling system that delivers annual saving in utility costs of over S$1.2 million at 2001 utility prices. This works out to a payback of less than three years as oil prices have risen further since then," said Mr Mah.

Come June next year, the hotel will roll out what it calls a "tri-generation plant" to produce electricity, heat and cooling more efficiently.

The plant will be developed at S$3.8 million and will be introduced to other Hyatt hotels in other countries.

Ivan Leong, director of engineering at Grand Hyatt Singapore, said: "Whatever heat that is previously exhausted into the atmosphere, we capture it and turn it into useful energy. We are expecting to save - using the current oil price - in the region of about S$800,000 per annum and the carbon footprint reduction (is) about 2500 per tonne, about equivalent of taking out 200 cars off the road for a year."

Property developer CapitaLand also clinched an award for its green building features, which included rainwater harvesting systems, solar lighting and tree conservation programmes.

Environmental sustainability has been on the international agenda in recent years and many countries, including Singapore, are trying to raise awareness on the impact of climate change.

The other two companies awarded are Marc-Plan Pte Ltd and Microwave Packaging (S) Pte Ltd. - CNA/ac

Eco-friendly food box wins inventor a green award
His firm is one of 4 honoured for green practices, innovations
Liaw Wy-Cin, Straits Times 12 Jun 08;

TEN years ago, Mr Leonard Lau came up with a design for paper takeaway containers that could hold everything from fried chicken to prawn noodle soup.

He hoped his invention would one day replace the non-biodegradable plastic and foam containers that most eateries use.

But it took the 51-year-old three years to produce the invention, in part because he had to build a machine that could churn out the packages.

His hard work paid off last night at the Shangri-La Hotel, where his innovation was one of four winners at an awards ceremony for eco-friendly companies.

Billed by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) - the organiser of the event - as the 'Oscars' for such companies, the awards serve as motivation for corporations to go green.

The private sector is a key player in Singapore's national conservation effort, said Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan at the event last night.

This year's awards ceremony, called the Singapore Green Summit, honoured companies for their management practices and green innovations. There was also a category for small and medium-size enterprises.

Mr Lau, managing director of Microwave Packaging, won in the category for green innovations.

He said he was happy to create an eco-friendly alternative.

'Most of the containers we have been using to hold takeaway food are made of foam or plastic, which are not biodegradable.'

Mr Lau used waterproof paper commonly used in milk cartons and packet drinks to make his now-patented containers. One reason he won, said the non-profit SEC, was the mass appeal of the containers.

The other winners were property developer CapitaLand and the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which won in the category that looked at management practices.

The winner for the new category targeting small and medium-size businesses was ship interior design and refurbishment company Marc-Plan.

Size is not an issue
SMEs often overlook efforts to go eco-friendly, a costly decision in time to come
Lin Yanqin, Today Online 12 Jun 08;

FOR one marine outfittings company, it was nothing out of the ordinary: To help keep business costs down, its staff were encouraged to use energy efficiently and cut the use of paper to minimise waste.

So, it came as a surprise to :Marc-Plan, a 14-year-old Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), when it learnt that it had won the inaugural Efficiently Developing Growing Enterprise (EDGE) Awards, which aims to recognise SMEs that invest in becoming more energy-efficient.

:“I thought we were doing very simple things,” said Ms Judy Then, Marc-Plan’s Human Resource and Administrative executive.

For instance, :to reduce the “reams” of delivery order forms, invoices and documents passing between the office and its warehouse each day, the company invested $20,000 into going paperless. All incoming faxes are stored in its IT server, to be electronically disseminated.

SMEs typically overlook such green solutions and practices in the early years of starting a business, when growing the business is the priority. As of March, only five out of the 98 companies which took up the National Environment Agency’s energy efficiency improvement assistance scheme are SMEs.

Said Ms Then: “We did not have the manpower for someone to oversee such things in previous years. It can be hard for a small company to dedicate resources when you are concerned with profits.”

But by emphasising the cost savings that could be achieved, the company’s board gave the thumbs-up to implementing eco-friendly practices.

The company does not use the most environmentally-friendly materials in its ship fittings as the quality is sometimes inferior, but it seeks to make its own internal practices as green as possible.

“When we print things out for ourselves, there’s no need to use top-grade paper,” said Ms Then. A ream of thinner 70gram paper costs $1 less than a ream of regular 80gram paper, she added.

:Old office furniture is also refurbished for re-use at its offshore factory, and staff are encouraged to switch off computers and lights when not in use.

The energy cost savings, said Ms Then, were offset by the company’s staff expansion, but “if we did not make the effort to save electricity, the costs would be even higher as we hire more people”.

Indeed, as National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said in his speech yesterday: at the Singapore Green Summit: “Businesses with foresight to invest early in energy efficiency will emerge as competitive and resilient in a future where energy prices are expected to stay high.”

He called on industry and businesses to support the Government in making Singapore a “sustainable city” attractive to live in, by taking the initative to improve their environmental performance.

Also feted last night at the awards :— organised by the Singapore Environment Council and Dun & Bradstreet Singapore — were CapitaLand and Grand Hyatt hotel, which won the Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards’ Top Achiever and Merit prize respectively.

Microwave Packaging (S) won the SEC-Senoko Power Green Innovation Awards for eco-friendly packaging.

CapitaLand, Grand Hyatt win green awards
Chew Xiang, Business Times 12 Jun 08;

CAPITALAND won the Singapore Environmental Achievement Award while Grand Hyatt took home a merit prize at the second Singapore Green Summit yesterday.

The Summit, said to be the 'Oscars for the environment', is organised by the Singapore Environment Council. The award recognises overall environmental and social responsibilities in an organisation and is the most prestigious green gong in Singapore.

This year saw a new category which recognises SMEs that have gone green.

Richard Hale, a board director at CapitaLand, said that it was not enough for companies to be 'an acceptably pale, commercial green'. He said that his company's winning of the award validated its efforts, including its comprehensive green strategy, energy saving efforts and outreach programmes.

John Beveridge, manager of the Grand Hyatt Singapore, said that the award 'will act as a motivator to help us focus on making even more of a positive impact on the environment'. The hotel was lauded for a $3.5 million efficient cooling system and its efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Marc-Plan, an offshore and shipbuilding company, got the inaugural Efficiently Developing Growing Enterprise (Edge) award. The offshore and shipbuilding company was praised for its waste-cutting and energy efficiency strategies.

The SEC-Senoko Power Green Innovation Awards was won by Microwave Packaging, which designs food containers. Senoko Power was the main sponsor of the event.

The second Singapore Green Summit was meant to bring all environmental awards under one roof. But differences over timing and a re-alignment of its corporate objectives meant that last year's partner, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, went it alone this year and presented its part of the awards on environmental and social reporting at a conference last week.

The guest of honour at yesterday's ceremony was Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan.

Green is gold for earth-friendly firms
Straits Times 13 Jun 08;

The humble paper food container won a top environmental award on Wednesday. Microwave Packaging, the company that developed the eco-friendly replacement for plastic and styrofoam takeaway containers, was one of four firms honoured at the Singapore Green Summit.

Here are the three others.

Hotel recycles materials

Singapore Environmental Achievement Award

What award is for:

Excellence in environmental management practices

Top achiever: Property developer CapitaLand

What it did:

# Used a tracking system to assess the environmental performance of 150 properties worldwide. The system examined aspects such as energy and water use, waste generation and carbon dioxide emissions

# To cut down on energy and water use, the company made it compulsory for all its properties to have eco-friendly features. They include systems that collect rainwater, solar-powered lighting and carbon monoxide monitors

# Installed waterless urinals

# Preserved and relocated trees on its properties

# Educated children on environmental conservation with outdoor activities

Property developer collects rainwater, preserves trees

Singapore Environmental Achievement Award

What award is for:

Excellence in environmental management practices

Merit winner: Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore

What it did:

# Overhauled its air-conditioning and ventilation systems to make them more efficient

# Installed automated taps in common restrooms to save water

# Recycled materials like used print cartridges, newspapers and boxes

# Recycled water used for laundry

# Recovered condensation from air-conditioning systems

# Installed solar films, which help keep guest rooms cool

# Used motion-activated lights

Ship interior-design firm turns off its air-cons at 6pm

Inaugural Efficiently Developing Growing Enterprise (Edge) Award

What award is for:

It recognises small- and medium-size businesses that invest in energy efficiency and environmentally friendly technology

Winner: Ship interior-design and refurbishment company Marc-Plan

What it did:

# Incoming faxes are stored on the company's server and circulated through e-mail, saving paper and ink

# Old office furniture is refurbished and used at the firm's offshore factory

# Employees are encouraged to turn off their PCs at the end of the day

# Office air-conditioning units are switched off at 6pm

Read more!

Refuse-derived fuels for energy at Jurong Island

$50m waste fuel plant to be ready in Oct
Business Times 12 Jun 08;

WITH oil prices rocketing towards US$140 a barrel last week and natural gas prices rising in tandem, Sembcorp Industries appears close to finalising plans to use refuse-derived fuels to produce cheaper electricity and steam for the petrochemical industries on Jurong Island.

A first S$50 million plant in Tuas to process and sort municipal waste collected by the utilities/environment group into dry waste fuel will be ready this October, Tang Kin Fei, its president and CEO said on Tuesday.

Following that, 'Sembcorp expects to make an investment decision by this year-end for a cogeneration plant burning such refuse-derived fuels', he said.

'In dollar terms, the investment for this should run into three-digits,' he added, implying hundreds of millions of dollars.

Furthermore, it will also need to scale up its refuse-derived fuel processing capacity for this, Mr Tang said, adding that it will need to replicate its S$50 million pilot plant which can process less than one-third of the total waste it collects here.

'It can process only about 680 tonnes per day, while we collect a total of 2,200 tonnes of municipal waste daily,' he said, implying that more investment for the front-end waste processing is also needed.

Mr Tang disclosed this during a lunch meeting with BT on Tuesday where he elaborated on Sembcorp's plans to build another cogen plant to supply mainly steam to new petrochemical plants at the Tembusu sector of Jurong Island. This is in addition to its existing 815-megawatt cogen plant in Sakra which is 100 per cent gas-firing.

But as natural gas, which Sembcorp sources from Indonesia's Natuna, is pegged to rising high sulphur fuel oil prices, Sembcorp intends to use more alternative fuels in the long term, he had told BT earlier in April.

Industry sources earlier said that piped Indonesian natural gas prices here had risen by about 30 per cent in the first six months from around US$12.80 per million British thermal unit in January to US$16.40 by June.

'Sembcorp's plan is to carve out a niche for itself and prepare for this future (alternative fuels) environment,' Mr Tang said.

The group has already chalked up considerable experience on using sustainable fuels in the UK, with its operations there also earning it carbon credits.

Last September, it started up a S$193 million wood-fuelled biomass power station at Wilton International, making it the first such large-scale industrial power plant in the UK to be fuelled entirely by renewable wood.

The station there uses 300,000 tonnes of sustainable wood a year - including recycled timber, chips from sawmills, and dedicated willow crops grown nearby - to generate 30 MW of electricity, or enough to power 30,000 households.

Its earlier Wilton power plant, apart from coal, gas and fuel oil, can also burn tallow - the solid fat from cattle and sheep - as fuel.

Read more!

Philippine town turns garbage into gold

Channel NewsAsia 11 Jun 08;

RIZAL, Philippines : Disposing of trash is a problem for many governments worldwide, but one town in the Philippines has found a way to turn garbage into gold.

Three years ago, the dumpsite at the municipality of Teresa, Rizal was heaped with a mountain of garbage. Now, the town is more known for having the country's first ever Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility.

"After assuming office, I noted the problem of garbage. There were heaps of trash everywhere. There were also flies everywhere and I was afraid that diseases might spread, so I thought of a way to rehabilitate our dumpsite," said Rodel Dela Cruz, Mayor of Teresa, Rizal.

Under their zero waste programme, all the garbage are converted into different products.

Biodegradable wastes like fruit and vegetable peelings are dumped in a compost pit. These are then mixed with farm manure and turned into organic fertiliser.

Non-biodegradable wastes like plastics are crushed in a pulveriser, then mixed into a wet mound of cement and sand, to use as additives for hollow blocks and concrete blocks.

The recycled hollow blocks have become popular with businesses and the municipality is having a hard time keeping up with the orders. A piece of a recycled hollow block costs about US$0.20, which is 5 cents cheaper than the ones sold commercially in hardware stores.

Though officials admit that plastics are not the best adhesives for holding construction materials together, their recycled hollow blocks are still useful and economical for other structures.

"Our recycled hollow blocks are lighter than the commercial hollow blocks. Though they have passed the bureau of product standards, we recommend that only low-rise buildings like bungalows use this. It is also good for fencing, the canals and pathways," said the mayor.

Another product is charcoal made from scratch and shredded papers.

"This is a good alternative since LPG is so expensive now. Since we cannot cut trees to serve as wood for cooking so we can just use paper," the mayor said.

In the past three years, the volume of trash coming from households for the whole municipality has decreased from seven tonnes to three tonnes.

The Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility has also contributed to increasing the municipality's annual income to about US$900,000, up from US$750,000 last year.

The National Solid Waste Management Commission hopes to replicate the experience of this community to the whole country by 2010. But the lack of funding is hampering this goal.

The municipality of Teresa was able to fully close their dumpsite and build their Waste Management Facility in a year, through an US$8.2 million grant from the World Bank.

"The problem of solid waste in the Philippines is one of the critical problems we are facing today. We are building on the capacities of the local government units, including our field offices, in order for them to assist and mentor in the setting up of the solid waste management system. The key is to reduce waste or reuse and recycle our waste," said Emelita Aguinaldo, Deputy Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

Currently, more than 1,000 dumpsites still exist in the country and only 25 percent of local government units have established facilities that will collect and segregate waste materials. - CNA /ls

Read more!

Responsible investments gaining favour in Singapore

Siew Li Sen, Business Times 12 Jun 08;

FOR the rich who want to feel good and make money at the same time, BNP Paribas Private Bank has come up with possible solutions.

It is possible to combine responsible investments with philanthropic actions, said Michel Longhini, chief executive of BNP Paribas Private Bank, Asia.

'And the financial returns (of responsible investments) need not be lower than those in the same asset class,' said Mr Longhini yesterday.

Asian clients are gradually showing interest in responsible investments, he said.

Responsible investments seek a financial return while taking into account other criteria in the assessment and selection of assets with the aim of serving a social or environmental cause.

BNP Paribas Private Bank, realising that there is such a demand from clients, has stepped up its services in these areas.

Since last year, it has a team of specialists dedicated to responsible investments, said Mr Longhini.

It has identified a range of products spanning several asset classes for those wanting responsible investments.

One is investments which help to reduce poverty by supporting the development of microfinance institutions in developing countries.

Another is investments in small companies that develop environmental products and services and help fight climate change by financing wind farm construction.

Mr Longhini cited an example where it helped a client combine philanthropic actions with responsible investments.

The client who was interested in the development of microcredit was put in touch with a microfinance institution active in West Africa, in meetings arranged by the bank. A trip was organised and resulted in a philanthropic action centred on an irrigation project.

To complement the donor's action, the bank also advised the client to invest in a microcredit fund which is part of its responsible investments offer.

The bank is also setting up Foundation De L'Orangerie for clients who want to donate money in a structured way, but in amounts not large enough to set up their own foundation.

The foundation, which basically pools money from donors, will be ready by the third quarter of this year, said Mr Longhini.

Donations are between US$500,000 and US$5 million, he said. The private bank also launched an Award for Philanthrophy, and in its inaugural presentation held last month, selected two philanthropists - Mo Ibrahim and Amina Laraki-Slaoui.

Dr Mo Ibrahim has been promoting good governance in sub-Saharan Africa via the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Ms Amina Laraki-Slaoui set up the Noor centre for disabled persons, which she established in Morocco after suffering a serious accident.

Read more!

Tigers Spill Out of One Indian Sanctuary

Krittivas Mukherjee, PlanetArk 12 Jun 08;

NEW DELHI - Tigers are doing so well in one of India's top reserves that authorities have agreed to expand its boundary to give them a bigger area to roam, a rare piece of good news for a country struggling to save its big cat.

Better conservation efforts have led to a crowding of tigers at the Jim Corbett reserve, and the animals have begun straying into buffer zones from core areas, officials said.

The 1,300-square km (500-square mile) reserve at the Himalayan foothills now has 164 tigers, up almost 20 percent over the past five years. Other animal numbers are also up at the reserve.

"Tigers are a highly territorial animal and the young will move away from where they were born and carve out their own space," said Rajesh Gopal of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

"If we cannot increase the carrying capacity of a reserve, which is easier said than done, there will be internal conflict and mutual killing of tigers."

To avoid this, the authorities have decided to expand Jim Corbett's buffer zone by 30 square km initially.

But Gopal said the challenge was to ensure the safety of spillover tigers that tend to get killed by poachers and villagers.

The success at Jim Corbett is a rare silver lining in an otherwise grim fight in India to save tigers from poachers and habitat destruction.

Poorly armed and badly paid guards, mismanagement and corruption undermine the protection of tigers in India. There are thought to be just 1,411 left in India, according to a new survey that cut numbers by half since 2002 census.

The decline is even more alarming considering India had about 40,000 tigers a century ago. Conservationists say it is unlikely the dwindling population will ever recover, but the government is not giving up just yet.

In January, India said it would spend an estimated US$150 million to save its tigers over the next five years, using some of the money to shift villages and tribal communities out of tiger habitats.

Experts say wildlife planning needs to be much better. For instance, experts say around 300,000 of India's poorest people living in its 28 tiger reserves need to be shifted out because many of them help poachers kill tigers and cut down forests.

Globally tigers are also in trouble. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in the United States on Monday that the worldwide number was less than 4,000 from over 100,000 a century ago.

He was speaking in relation to a new global initiative by the World Bank to save tigers from extinction. (Editing by Jerry Norton)

Read more!

US moves to plug loophole for slaughter of whales

P. Parameswaran, Yahoo News 11 Jun 08;

The United States has called for a review of international law to regulate the killing of whales for scientific research in an apparent bid to plug a loophole exploited by Japan, which is accused of slaughtering the creatures.

The change, which could include a protocol on scientific whaling, has however drawn criticism from conservation groups which say it would legitimize a fundamentally illegal activity.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC), which is in charge of conservation of the mammals, has imposed the moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 but environmentalists argue that Japan has been exploiting a legal loophole allowing whaling for scientific research.

Japan kills about 1,000 whales a year under its scientific program and then sells the meat.

"In order to prohibit scientific whaling through legal means, a change to the ICRW (the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling) would be necessary," said William Hogarth, the US Commissioner to the IWC, which is scheduled to hold annual talks in Santiago, Chile from June 23-27.

Alternatively, Hogarth said "relevant countries would need to enter into a separate binding international side agreement with regard to scientific whaling."

The ICRW was signed in 1946 as a direct result of decades of overharvesting of the great whale species of the world. Its primary purpose is the conservation and management of the gentle creatures.

Hogarth did not elaborate on the US proposal in his speech at a congressional hearing ahead of the talks of the 79-member IWC, which is split between pro- and anti-commercial whaling countries.

But Patrick Ramage, the global whale program director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said concerns had reportedly been expressed by other anti-whaling nations at the IWC that the United States might settle for a sort of code of conduct for scientific whale hunting.

"In our judgment, we would say that is putting lipstick on a pig," he told AFP. "That is trying to brand legitimacy to a fundamentally illegal and inappropriate activity and should be immediately rejected by any country serious about conserving whales in the 21st century."

"We have heard discussion at the previous IWC meeting of US support for a protocol on scientific whaling and that in our judgement will be bowing to unreasonable demands from countries still killing whales," said Ramage, who also testified at the one-day hearing.

A provision in the ICRW allows member countries unilaterally to grant special permits to "kill, take, and treat" whales for the purpose of scientific research.

Although Iceland, Japan and Norway have used this provision at different times since the commercial whaling moratorium took effect in 1986, Japan is currently the only member country conducting lethal scientific research.

The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, among leaders of the conservation lobby, question the necessity of the lethal research and object to the commercial sale of the meat derived from such activity.

There is also reportedly an effort to persuade Japan to either withdraw from or reduce its scientific whaling in the North and South Pacific in return for some sort of compromise.

Possible compromises include getting Japan to agree to hunt only in its own coastal waters, an extension of whale sanctuaries or a management regime that confines whaling to some places when deemed scientifically sustainable.

"From our perspective, a compromise or negotiated solution is exactly the wrong direction to move in at this stage," Ramage said.

"Japan, Norway and Iceland -- the only three countries that want to continue whaling -- should be encouraged and gently led to embrace the emerging reality of the 21st century, which is we can make more money watching these whales than from killing them," he said.

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Swedish tycoon defends interest in Amazon

Yahoo News 11 Jun 08;

Johan Eliasch, a London-based Swedish tycoon who is in legal hot water with Brazil over logging on land he owns in the Amazon forest, on Wednesday defended his environmental credentials in a statement published by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

In the article, Eliasch, the 46-year-old boss of the Head sports company and an environmental advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, did not address a 275-million-dollar fine Brazil has levied against one of his companies for allegedly illegally cutting down 230,000 trees and lacking certification for Amazon land it owns.

A source close to him in London told AFP on Saturday that the allegations are false and related to decisions made by the company, Gethal, before Eliasch bought it in 2005.

Instead, Eliasch concentrated on another charge Brazilian authorities have reportedly made against him for allegedly telling businessmen in 2006 and 2007 that "'only' 50 billion dollars would be needed to acquire all the forest."

"I never said that!" Eliasch wrote in his newspaper comment published in Portuguese.

He asserted that what he said was that "the amount spent by insurance companies to compensate the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- around 75 billion dollars -- was greater than the hypothetical value of the Amazon forest."

Eliasch, who is worth an estimated 790 million dollars and is co-founder of a British-based environmental organization called Cool Earth, wrote that he agreed with Brazilian government's handling of Amazon forest preservation.

"The Brazilian Amazon forest belongs to Brazil," he wrote, echoing a statement by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been angered by foreign criticism suggesting the Amazon was too important to mankind to be left to his government to protect.

Eliasch backed a Brazilian proposal that it be paid by other countries because of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the vast Amazon forest, sometimes described as the "lungs of the Earth."

"The rest of the world has to be prepared to compensate those nations with tropical forests so this heritage can be protected," he wrote.

He also supported a push from within the Brazilian government to boost sustainable development in the Amazon, so those living in the region can benefit from the economic boom taking place in the rest of Brazil.

But Eliasch, whose vast holdings in the Amazon have raised concerns in Brazil, also defended his interests, saying his aims were preservation-oriented.

"The protection of the forest is a community model, and as a citizen of the international community, I need to assume my responsibility in this context," he wrote.

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City-Size Tract of Amazon Forest Cleared in April

Sabrina Valle, National Geographic News 10 Jun 08;

In just a month, an area nearly the size of New York City was cleared in the Amazon rain forest—an "alarming" and "worse-than-imagined" development, the Brazilian government said in a statement.

At least 433 square miles (1,123 square kilometers) were deforested in Brazil in April 2008.

That's eight times more than the 55 square miles (145 square kilometers) destroyed the month before, according to data released last week by the Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE), which monitors the Amazon.

The results suggest that the deforestation rate has accelerated, INPE said.
Between August 2006 and August 2007, 1,920 square miles (4,974 square kilometers) were destroyed. From August 2007 to April 2008, this rate climbed to 2,250 square miles (5,850 square kilometers).

"The situation is very alarming. With the data we have, we can be sure that there is a clear increase in deforestation in the Amazon," said INPE's director, Gilberto Camara.

"The process of deforestation is more intense than we imagined."

Detection Systems

The numbers are based on satellite data from Deter, a system that uses low-resolution images to capture frequent snapshots of the region.

Deter, which has offered monthly reports since 2004, does not measure the total extent of deforestation, but instead indicates trends and alerts authorities as to where threats exist.

Deforestation rates are shown by another system, Prodes, which is based on high-resolution images from the dry season and detects twice as much information as Deter.

Prodes is only released once a year, and the next batch of information is due in December.

Although satellites could detect more destruction in April due to low cloud cover, the increase in deforestation was much bigger than the gain in visibility.

INPE has calculated that over the past 20 years, an area equivalent to a soccer field is deforested in the Brazilian Amazon every ten seconds.

A total of 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers) has already been cut down, more than half of this since 1988, when the group began monitoring the forest.

In its pristine state, the Brazilian Amazon once stretched for 1.5 million square miles (4 million square kilometers).

Clearing for Soy

Three reasons exist for the current increase, experts say.

Brazil has been experiencing high commodity prices, a long dry spell, plus 2008 is an election year, when some local governments slow down on measures to stop deforestation.

In April, 70 percent of the damage occurred in Mato Grosso state. The state's governor, Blairo Maggi, is one of the world's largest soybean producers.

Maggi has told local media that soybean production could help to relieve the world food crisis.

But soy is just part of the problem, said Greenpeace Brazil director Marcelo Furtado.

"It is an integrated cycle. First they cut down the wood [to sell], then they graze cattle and then plant crops," Furtado said.

Political Debate

The data also comes amid some political turmoil in Brazil's environment leadership.

In May Environment Minister Marina Silva reportedly resigned her post in frustration. She had been having difficulties in furthering the government's environmental initiatives, news reports said.

New Environment Minister Carlos Minc said at a news briefing that there's no relief in sight for Brazil's forests.

"It is much worse than it seems. The critical months for logging [traditionally June, July, and August] haven't arrived yet," Minc said.

"We don't want to cry over the cut-down jungle," he said. "We will act—time is short."

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On biofuels, we have to make a moral choice

Ruth Davis, The Guardian 11 Jun 08;

It is almost 20 years since we should have started doing something about climate change. Instead, humanity has spent that time creating a monumental work of denial and procrastination. We have employed cod science, elaborated blame strategies, and generally messed around. Now, we are approaching the cliff edge.

Against this backdrop, the EU's package of climate and energy measures, agreed in principle last year, was a welcome sign we are at last moving from words to action. Even if the level of ambition is still inadequate, some parts of the plan have real bite - including a 20% target for renewable energy use, which could be the biggest move we have ever made towards a low-carbon economy.

But we are too often at the mercy of quack doctors peddling ineffective medicines with grim side effects. One element of the EU package - the aggressive promotion of liquid biofuel use in cars - falls squarely into this category.

Using plant materials to supply our energy needs is, in theory, a perfectly sensible idea - if it can be done in ways that maximise energy efficiency and minimise waste across existing production cycles - and we should be working out how to do this as quickly as we can.

But requiring 10% of the EU's transport fuel to come from biofuels in the next decade will not help. It will increase demand for conventional crops, push up food prices, and drive production into forests and grasslands, destroying precious wildlife and releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere.

Supporters of the 10% target claim it can be met through productivity increases and the use of "idle land". I recommend a browse round the EU website, where documents written by the very same people proclaim the benefits of the policy for European farmers, in higher commodity prices. Only since realising the embarrassing impacts of such a tactic on the poor have its architects fallen back on promises of technical advance.

Arguing that the target could be met through productivity increases is very different from ensuring it will be. The latter would require stringent regulation of the global agricultural commodities market - an implausible project that would be opposed with vigour, by the EU's trade commissioner and the World Trade Organisation.

Rather than crossing our fingers and hoping that the current policy is not a disaster, we should scrap it and get on with designing policies that promote the efficient use of bioenergy as part of a wider strategy, built around the cheapest, safest and most sustainable options for reducing emissions.

Those options do exist. It is technically feasible to build cars that emit about 80 grammes of CO2 per km - half that of the average family saloon. Why, then, are European policies on vehicle efficiency so lacking in ambition? The answer is: they are designed to protect the interests of the car industry, rather than protect the world's poor or its biodiversity.

Behind all the arguments about biofuels, there is a moral choice. High food prices punish the less well off. Smaller cars with more efficient engines and lower fuel costs, coupled with a move away from policies that increase food prices, are, on the other hand, truly socially progressive. How we go forward from here, will depend largely on Gordon Brown, because without the UK's intervention there is no chance that Europe will step away from the 10% target.

This week is the last chance Europe has to rethink its policy. So, Mr Brown, are you going to go to demand more efficient cars, or will you rubber stamp an EU policy that will force consumers to burn the world's food supplies and forests in their petrol tanks?

· Ruth Davis is head of climate change policy at the RSPB

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Algenol Trains Algae to Turn Carbon Into Ethanol

Timothy Gardner, PlanetArk 12 Jun 08;

NEW YORK - Private US company Algenol plans to make ethanol from a primordial green soup that won't raise food costs compared to other biofuel feedstocks like corn and sugar cane.

The company has signed an US$850 million deal with a Mexican company BioFields to grow algae, one of the planet's first life forms, that has been trained to convert water, sunlight, and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into motor fuel.

Paul Woods, Algenol's chief executive, said he's known the technology for decades but that today's record oil prices and rising alarm about global warming make it time to produce the fuel.

"It really is a one-two combination that no other company can deliver," Woods told Reuters in an interview this week.

Several algae companies are trying to enter the biofuels business by drying and pressing the organisms to make vegetable oil that can be processed into biodiesel.

Woods said Algenol will use a process he invented in the 1980s to coax individual algal cells to secrete ethanol. That way, the fuel can be taken directly from the vats where the algae is grown while the organism lives on, using far less energy than drying and pressing the organisms for their oil.

Algenol plans to make 100 million gallons of ethanol, about the average annual capacity of one traditional US distillery, in Mexico's Sonoran Desert by the end of the 2009. By the end of 2012, it plans to increase that to 1 billion gallons -- more than 10 percent of current ethanol capacity in the United States, the world's top ethanol producer.

In addition to the US$850 million BioFields deal, the company has also received about US$70 million in funding from investors.


ALGAL LIBRARY

Algenol operates the world's largest algae library in Baltimore, Maryland to study the organism that can grow in salt or fresh water, and expanding the technique to locations beyond Mexico. The company is targeting to build algae-to-ethanol farms on coasts in the United States.

One US climate expert was cautiously optimistic about Algenol. "It has a lot of promise," said John Steelman, a program manager at nonprofit group the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We do not know if it's a great thing yet."

How well the system would work, what kinds and volumes of nutrients would be needed and how much water would be required are unknowns, Steelman said. And gaining market share from politically-established players in the US Midwest and Big Oil could be difficult, he said.

But the company has already made inroads into the petroleum system. BioFields has signed an agreement to sell the fuel to the Mexican government, probably through the state oil monopoly Pemex.

And algae's carbon-absorbing potential could be an advantage. Each 100 million gallons of ethanol from algae will absorb about 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the company said. That gives Woods confidence that algae-to-ethanol is better emissions reduction technique than capturing the gas at power plants and socking it away underground. As a former natural gas company executive, he said he does not put faith in storing any gas underground permanently.

Another advantage of ethanol from algae, NRDC's Steelman said, is its sheer productivity compared to agricultural crops. Algenol estimates it can make 6,000 gallons of ethanol from an acre of land.

At that rate, Steelman said, if all US ethanol was made from algae it would only use 3 percent of the land that corn needs to make the fuel. "It's a huge advantage," he said. (Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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Britain should not build Severn Barrage says report

Jeremy Lovell, Reuters 11 Jun 08;

LONDON (Reuters) - A proposed giant tidal barrage across the Severn estuary in western England to generate clean electricity does not make economic sense and should not go ahead, a study said on Thursday.

The study said the 15 billion pounds it is estimated that the 10-mile barrage would cost would be far better spent on existing and already proven low carbon energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar and combined heat and power.

"Even using the most conservative estimates of costs, the barrage is one of the most expensive options for clean energy there is," said Matthew Bell, author of the Frontier Economics report for a group of non-governmental organizations.

Underscoring its negative message, the report said it had reached its conclusion without taking into account the local environmental impact of the barrage on one of the country's most sensitive ecological areas.

The report, for 10 NGOs including the Worldwide fund for nature (WWF), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the National Trust, said justification for the barrage should stem from it being the least cost option.

This, it said, on a range of likely scenarios, was simply not the case.

"The extent of the analysis, the in-built conservatism in the estimates used and the range of sensitivity analysis undertaken suggests that considerable new evidence would be needed to make a large barrage in the Severn estuary an attractive option," the report concluded.

The British government, searching around for ways to meet its own and European Union targets on cutting climate changing carbon emissions and boosting renewable energy, announced last September a feasibility study into the barrage.

It said such a scheme could supply up to five percent of the country's electricity.

That could be crucial given that under the EU goal of getting 20 percent of the 27-nation bloc's energy from renewable sources by 2020, Britain's target is likely to be 15 percent.

This in turn translates into the country having to get up to 40 percent of its electricity from renewables within 12 years against barely four percent now -- most of which is from wind.

But environmental groups slammed the barrage idea as being ecologically ruinous and a vast misuse of funds for what is still a technology in its infancy.

"This report concludes quite clearly that Government support for a hugely costly Severn barrage is not justified," said David Nussbaum, head of WWF-UK. "There are far better opportunities for renewable energy."

"Financial support for an expensive, inflexible and highly damaging technology like the proposed Severn barrage would not be a good use of taxpayers' money."

But the government is on the horns of a dilemma, needing to meet not only its EU goals and its own target of cutting carbon emissions by at least 60 percent by 2050 but needing to secure energy supplies as North Sea gas dwindles.

It is also facing having to retire or severely restrict about one-third of its electricity generation capacity over the next 15 years due to EU carbon emission restrictions and as ageing nuclear power plants reach the end of their lives.

(Editing by William Hardy)

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Rich nations fail to take lead at climate talk: U.N.

Alister Doyle, Reuters 11 Jun 08;

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - Industrialized nations are failing to lead enough at U.N. climate talks in Bonn even as developing states are showing interest in a new global warming treaty, the U.N.'s top climate official said on Wednesday.

Yvo de Boer also predicted that U.S. climate policy would be more ambitious under either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, the two main candidates to succeed President George W. Bush from January 2009.

"We're not at the moment seeing the leadership from industrialized countries which I think is essential," de Boer told Reuters at June 2-13 climate talks, part of a marathon meant to end with a new world climate treaty by the end of 2009.

"But we are seeing a huge willingness on the part of developing countries to engage" in working out a new pact in return for aid and technology, he said. De Boer is head of the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.

Among examples, he said Mexico favored a new financial mechanism funded by both rich and poor to slow climate change while South Africa had outlined ways to cut its emissions by 50 percent. India plans this month to issue a new climate strategy.

Industrialized nations are meant to take the lead by targeting deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beyond the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto binds 37 Industrialized nations to cut emissions by an average 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

Developing nations, outside Kyoto along with the United States which views the pact as flawed and too costly, have agreed at least to slow the rise of their emissions as part of the new pact to be agreed in Copenhagen in 2009.

But they say they will need new technologies, such as solar or wind power, and cash partly to help them adapt to impacts of climate change such as more droughts, more powerful storms, crop failures or rising sea levels.

OIL, FOOD

De Boer said soaring oil prices were maintaining interest in renewable energy and curbing use of fossil fuels despite worries about extra costs of fighting climate change amid high food prices and an economic slowdown in some nations.

"In many sectors of the economy it only increases the interest to look at production costs," he said.

De Boer said developed nations should focus more on targeting 2020 curbs on emissions of greenhouse gases than on longer-term goals such as halving global emissions by 2050 which is under consideration for a Group of Eight summit next month.

"I kneel in front of my bed every night and hope that we're going to get a 2020 commitment by the G8 countries but I don't think my prayers are being heard at the moment," he said.

He said that 2050 goals were less relevant to investors who want to know rules, for instance, for investing in coal-fired power plants or wind farms as soon as possible.

Japan, which will host the G8 summit, announced a goal of cutting its emissions by 60-80 percent by 2050 on Monday.

And Bush said on Tuesday that a global climate agreement was possible during his presidency. The U.S. is sponsoring talks among major emitters, aiming to agree cuts this year that would feed into the U.N. pact by the end of 2009.

"I think it's moving as fast as you can realistically expect," de Boer said of the Bonn talks, adding that challenges remained daunting for a deal by the end of 2009.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

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Food supply shortages: not just poor countries affected

Empty threat
The Guardian 11 Jun 08;

Beware ... it isn't only poor countries that will be seriously affected if we don't rapidly address the growing problem of food supply shortages. Analysts Hardin Tibbs and Kate Bailey set out the global challenges

The rising global population means not just more mouths to feed, but more sophisticated tastes to satisfy as developing countries grow wealthier. And as demand for food increases around the world, supply capacity is struggling to keep up with these changing requirements - with potentially dire consequences for every nation.

At the three-day summit hosted by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome last week, world leaders discussed the rising food prices. Without direct and effective action, the poor of the world face great suffering. In the last 12 months alone, according to the FAO, 100 million have joined the world's hungry, and 22 countries remain particularly vulnerable to chronic hunger. But in developed countries, too, the availability and cost of food will begin to carry a political, economic and social significance not seen for generations.

To help understand the implications of change for the EU and UK, Chatham House, home of the independent international affairs thinktank the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has developed four scenarios that explain possible future pictures of global food supply. These have been used to help representatives of the UK's wheat and dairy supply networks to focus on the challenges they face and the choices they may have to make:

1. "Just a blip"

Higher prices trigger a major investment in production capacity. In broadly the same timescale of two to three years, good weather allows global yields to recover. Food input costs decline as geopolitical conditions improve and the oil price drops, undercutting biofuel production. Food prices drop back, though they remain volatile because of continuing speculative investment.

This scenario demonstrates the extent to which all the main price-determining factors would have to play out favourably if food prices are to fall back to more familiar levels. As a possibility, it is considered by many in the UK food supply industry to be too complacent. There is a widely-held view that, even if some easing back in commodity prices is seen, something more akin to structural change is occurring in global food production and supply.

2. Food inflation

Global demand for food continues to grow and persistently outpaces production growth, albeit by a narrow margin. Investments in production technology ensure that global food production capacity is not overwhelmed, but the proportion of personal income spent on food ends its long-run downward trend.

The economic logic of this scenario is currently a topic of debate among investors. The world economy appears to be heading for a recession, and normally, under these conditions, commodity prices would be falling in expectation of reduced economic activity. Yet they remain high. Sustained food inflation will create a number of challenges on the domestic front and all sectors will find it difficult to access the capital investment necessary to meet raised productivity targets.

3. Into a new era

Climate change worsens and global oil supply contracts keep food supply input costs high. Per capita production falls steadily. A dramatic shift in food production and manufacturing in general becomes unavoidable; the new emphasis is on "regenerative", rather than "extractive", practices.

This scenario will require the development of new supply concepts, policies and structures, with the drive for technological innovation and the need for significant levels of agricultural investment seen as converging concerns. Whether sufficiently high yields can be achieved through an alternative production paradigm is certainly controversial, particularly as the whole concept entails change to existing models of food production and delivery. But many observers maintain that numerous pockets of innovation are already pushing in this direction.

The new, radical circumstances prevailing will require industry to develop different competitive models - ones that derive market edge from their compliance with environmental and ethical standards. Government will need to decide whether it is to be the driver or facilitator of the new supply system's development. Potentially important areas of policy making include waste and the promotion of better resource management, the expansion of agricultural and food system capacity, and investment in science and technology.

4. Food in crisis

Exacerbated by crop and/or animal diseases, serious food shortages develop. This causes universal public shock and growing political panic. The struggle, even in the developed world, is to keep people fed. With prices skyrocketing, the crisis response creates an untested set of supply arrangements. Issues such as choice and values-based purchasing assume a second order priority.

The success or failure of businesses will depend critically on their ability to secure supplies and the strength of their trading partnerships. Governments will face a series of difficult decisions on when and how far to intervene. In more strategic policy terms, there may be implications for the UK's trade and international relationships. Conflicts of interest between national and EU priorities may become a particular focus of attention.

These four global scenarios reveal significant points of debate and questions for all stakeholders across the EU/UK food supply system. The expected impacts of the circumstances presented provide a stark warning that "business as usual" models could fail or, at best, be poor preparation for the coming period. The ability to secure raw materials and the effective utilisation of resources suggest that consideration may need to be given to the current division of responsibilities between the EU and UK in a number of areas affecting food supply.

At the same time, exciting opportunities could be created for the UK to develop new competitive strengths. The initiatives that will deliver them are likely to be built around a framework that encourages innovation, waste reduction, partnership-led approaches and the acceptance of possible changes in consumption patterns. Increased investment in scientific and technological research and development, and the question of how such efforts should be funded and focused, will be critical.

Long-term planning needs to start now. A first step would be the establishment of a consortium bringing together government, supply network interests, and a range of groups, such as media, NGOs and universities. The partnership would need to undertake a proactive review of current arrangements, developing and delivering a fresh, concept-based demand and supply strategy for food.

Continuing to focus on the UK's wheat and dairy industries, Chatham House's food research is now studying in more detail the options available to the EU and the UK government. By exploring alternative futures, we are looking to encourage the better planning of food systems and to avoid short-term responses that threaten to exacerbate rather than resolve current pressures in the system.

· Hardin Tibbs, an independent strategy consultant and associate fellow at Oxford University's Said Business School, advises the Chatham House food supply project on futures research and strategy development. Kate Bailey, a senior research associate within the Food Process Innovation Unit at Cardiff Business School, leads the Chatham House food supply project's research team. More information on the four global scenarios at chathamhouse.org.uk/food

Summit pledges

The biggest UN food summit in the past decade ended in Rome last week with 181 governments pledging to address the causes and effects of soaring global food prices, which have seen the cost of most foods doubling in under three years, riots in many countries, and food export restrictions imposed by some of the biggest producers.

While nearly $3bn (pounds 1.5bn) has now been pledged by governments and banks, it is unclear if any of the money is additional to existing aid budgets.

One of the biggest donors to the World Food Programme, the UN body that distributes food aid to more than 80 countries, was Saudi Arabia, which gave $500m. Writing in the online magazine openDemocracy at the end of the conference, Simon Maxwell, director of the Overseas Development Institute in London, said: "When the price of oil goes up by, say, $30 per barrel, Saudi Arabia is gifted nearly $300m a day in extra revenue, so the gift to WFP represents the windfall profit from one weekend."

The final declaration from the talks also encouraged rich and poor countries to continue efforts to liberalise international trade in agriculture by reducing trade barriers and market distorting policies. Talks have been stalled for months, with neither Europe nor the US wanting to reduce subsidies.

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