wildsingapore news: Sep 10, 2008

Best of our wild blogs: 10 Sep 08

Help needed to identify the sea monster
drop by to share your suggestions on the Midnight Monkey Monitor blog

Ghosts in the shell
an elusive crustie on the annotated budak blog

Rare nudis
on the pulau hantu blog

Ant eater
a tiny one on the annotated budak blog

Rufous-bellied Eagle taking a Pink-necked Green Pigeon
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Oriental Pied Hornbill sighted at Mt Emily
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

More news report on Ubin Cycling Fatality
on the Pulau Ubin Stories blog

More works off our shores
Another oil rig off Pulau Semakau and update on massive dredging off Cyrene Reefs on the wild shores of singapore blog

Nature guides and uncooperative visitors
what's the worst that could happen? on the wild shores of singapore blog

Searching the NParks website
some work arounds on the habitatnews blog

A Silver Bullet or just ‘Greenwash’?
discussing carbon capture on the Reuters Environment blog

Resurrecting the Planet's Extinct Species
Can It Be Done? on the Daily Galaxy blog

Do those mosquito zappy things really work?
on the Bug Girl's Blog shared by Marcus Ng

Plans for eco-park on Semakau landfill

It may be a test bed for energy studies and a place for 'green' recreation
Ang Yiying, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;
FROM the ashes of Semakau landfill, a new eco-park will rise.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is seeking ideas for its brainwave to turn Singapore's first offshore landfill into a test bed for renewable energy technologies and a place for 'green' recreational and educational activities.

Eventually, Pulau Semakau will be self-sustaining, meeting all its own water and energy needs, according to a document posted on the Government Electronic Business website.
An NEA spokesman said it was 'premature' to reveal further information as the agency is still evaluating tenders for consultancy services to the concept plan.

The area proposed for development would be about 90ha of the 350ha Pulau Semakau.

Created by connecting two small islands, Pulau Semakau started operating as a landfill in 1999 and contains ash transported there from Singapore's incineration plants. It is clean and scenic, and has been open to the public for recreational activities since 2005.

Energy researchers welcome its use as a test platform not always possible - especially for the private sector - on limited and expensive land in Singapore.

Being near the sea, one possible use would be the creation of biofuels by cultivating marine algae as seed stock, suggested Mr David Liang, vice-president of technology and commercialisation at the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering.

Another renewable energy source which could be researched and developed on the island is solar energy, said Dr Jiang Fan, manager of the Technology Centre for Clean Energy at Singapore Polytechnic.

Building and testing systems for solar energy can take up a chunk of space.

For example, a new 46.8 kilowatt- peak solar photovoltaic system that the polytechnic is planning to install will consist of 12 different types of photovoltaic modules and will take up 480 sq m.

Zero-emission vehicles, like electrical cars and fuel-cell cars, could also be tested in the eco-park where charging stations based on renewable energy sources can be set up at lower cost.

Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw welcomed the idea of turning a landfill into a productive showcase for the environment.

Mr Shaw said: 'I think it will be a gem for Singapore to show not just its commitment to being clean and green but also to provide education facilities for new generations.'

But he added that monitoring and adequate measures would need to be continued to minimise risk of leakages from the landfill site.

Dr Ho Hua Chew, who chairs the Nature Society of Singapore's conservation committee, also noted that the plan 'must include ways and means to protect or enhance the habitat of the natural biodiversity'.

Pulau Semakau is home to rare tape seagrass, which grows along its shores, and replanted mangroves. It is also a favoured spot for birdwatching. The proposal states that care should be taken to minimise impact on the existing eco-system.

Based on the schedule in the document, the final masterplan for the development is likely to be rolled out by the end of next year.

Related links

More about Pulau Semakau and current activities there on the wildsingapore website.

Photos of Pulau Semakau's living shores on wildsingapore flickr.

Singapore PM calls for US leadership on climate

He expects the next leader to take a different stance on environment
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong expects that the next United States president will be friendlier towards the environment than the current administration in power.

Both nominees, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, he told business leaders at a conference, would take positions that were different from President George W. Bush, whose administration has resisted calls for binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

His take on future US environmental policy came as he suggested that Washington take the lead on climate change.

But he said there was a moral argument, not an economic one, for why it needed to do so.

The US generates the most emissions per capita. And together with other developed nations, it contributed significantly to the state of the environment today.

'Now everybody has to be part of the solution,' he said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference last night.

'But I think America has to move first. And that's something which the next president will have to look at very seriously... I think both McCain and Obama will take positions different from Bush.'

Mr Lee acknowledged that the climate change problem was a tricky one for leaders. It is a long-term issue, yet societies were not set up to deal with problems 'that have 100-year time spans'.

And secondly, solutions were neither cheap nor painless. 'The question is, what do you do with a problem with a long timeframe...but whose remedies also take 30 or 100 years to get moving, and to trade that off against the well-being and livelihoods of people in poverty and who need development and incomes and better lives today?'

He said even European governments, which are the most serious about environmental issues, did not have electorates that would support such measures.

'You have to be prepared to consider nuclear. You have to change your lifestyles, you have to drive a lot less, you will be a lot poorer. It is not a matter of 1 or 2 per cent of GDP, it is a very fundamental change in the way whole societies are structured,' he explained.

The question on the environment was among 14 he fielded before dinner at Sentosa Cove. These included issues ranging from the situations in Iran and Georgia, to inflation and the state of the global economy.

All but two of them came from the dialogue's moderator, publishing tycoon Steve Forbes, who began by asking what Mr Lee wished for in the next US president.

Mr Lee cited four things: support for free trade, a good relationship with China, involvement with the rest of Asia, and a 'consistency of purpose' in the fight against terrorism.

On how the US could be more engaged with the rest of Asia, one example he cited was how the US is regarded by some Muslim countries because of its actions in the Middle-East.

'They see you in the Middle East as not having an even-handed approach, particularly on the Israel-Palestinian issue... The perception is strong. And if you can get that issue off the boil and be seen to be more detached and more equal towards both parties, I think it will be a great help to you in this region and elsewhere.'

Woman dies after falling from bike

She was not wearing helmet when she was flung going down a winding slope
Sujin Thomas, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

THE death of a woman who was flung off her bicycle on Pulau Ubin has highlighted Singaporeans' tendency to skip wearing safety helmets while cycling.

The owner of Yen Fa Bicycle Rental on the island, who gave his name as Mr Sit, said when Mr Tiew Sin Keng, 44, turned up with his family of six on Sunday to rent four bicycles, including two tandem bikes, 'they didn't ask to rent helmets and I didn't offer them either'.

Each helmet costs $2 to rent for an entire day. Despite this low cost, only two in every 100 of his customers ask to rent them along with the bicycles.

Mr Sit, who has 50 bicycles and 10 helmets for rent, said: 'They don't like to wear helmets because they say that they are uncomfortable.'

Mr Tiew confirmed that the shop did not ask whether his family wanted to rent helmets.

His wife, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, was on one of the tandem bicycles with their daughter aged 15. They were then going down a winding slope along Jalan Wat Siam, which has an unmarked hump at its foot.

The family's lead rider, Madam Lee's mother, made it down the slope and over the hump safely at low speed.

But Madam Lee and her daughter, who were next, shot down the incline.

Mr Tiew said the hump might have stopped the bike suddenly and flung them off, or that his wife might have braked too hard, throwing her and their daughter off.

Madam Lee died at Changi General Hospital 11 hours later. Their daughter escaped with bruises.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck, himself an avid cyclist and triathlete, said cyclists should wear helmets for safety - even when riding short distances.

He said a helmet saved him from serious injury two years ago when he was riding in a tight convoy with five others along Upper Thomson Road. His front wheel clipped the rear wheel of another bicycle and he fell, but 'I was fine because I was wearing a helmet'.

He said a friend who fell the same way was also unscathed but his helmet took the impact and cracked.

Depending on the brand, helmets cost upwards of $100 each.

That stretch of road where Madam Lee died is a known accident spot. Other bicycle rental businesses on the island said four accidents happen there every month.

A Land Transport Authority spokesman said that, aside from the usual warning signs like 'Slow' or 'Bend Ahead', additional signs saying 'Caution Steep Slope' have been put up along Jalan Wat Siam.

The president of the Singapore Amateur Cycling Association Victor Yew said that when going down slopes, cyclists should brake gently on their rear wheels.

'If you slam on the front-wheel brakes only, the momentum will cause the bike to flip over,' he said.

For Mr Tiew, tips like these are moot.

He said he would insist that his three children wear protective gear when cycling, but with the memory of how his wife has died, he added: 'I don't think I will cycle ever again.'

Tragedy on Ubin
MUM OF THREE FALLS OFF BIKE AND DIES ON FAMILY OUTING
Grieving dad, daughter say they'll never cycle again
Chong Shin Yen, The New Paper 10 Sep 08;

A FAMILY outing to Pulau Ubin on Sunday will be Mr Tiew Sin Keng's last.

The 44-year-old technician has also sworn never to ride a bicycle again. He said it will bring back memories that are too painful.

Mr Tiew's wife, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, died after she was flung off her bicycle at Pulau Ubin.

The housewife was on a tandem bicycle with her teenage daughter when she lost control of the bike while going down a steep slope.

Mr Tiew could only watch, helpless and horrified, as the tragedy unfolded before him on Sunday afternoon.

Madam Lee hit her head and lost consciousness. She was rushed to hospital, but died 11 hours later.

Mr Tiew, 44, who was riding behind them at the time, said the accident had happened in a flash.

He said: 'I heard my wife screaming. Before I could do anything, I saw my wife and daughter flying off the bicycle and landing in the middle of the road.'

Mr Tiew quickly got off his bicycle and went to help his 15-year-old daughter, who was crying in pain.

By the time he went over to his wife, she was unconscious.

'Her eyes were closed but her hands were trembling. I kept calling out to her but she didn't respond,' said Mr Tiew.

'When I tried to carry her, I saw that she was bleeding profusely from the back of her head.

'She was also bleeding from her nose and her breathing was weak.'

He called the police for help.

Madam Lee was ferried back to the mainland and taken to Changi General Hospital in an ambulance that was waiting at Changi Jetty.

He added: 'None of us knew how to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her. By the time she was in the ambulance, she had stopped breathing,' said Mr Tiew.

Paramedics managed to revive Madam Lee, but she died in hospital just after midnight yesterday.

The cause of death were a fractured skull and brain contusion.

Their daughter suffered bruises on her right arm and received outpatient treatment.

Mr Tiew said the family - including his three children and mother-in-law - had taken a bumboat to Pulau Ubin at about 11am on Sunday for a cycling trip.

It was the second time the family had gone cycling in Pulau Ubin.

Mr Tiew said his mother-in-law, who is in her 60s, was cycling at the front of the group.

His wife and daughter were next.

Mr Tiew was behind them on another tandem bicycle with his 9-year-old son.

His 12-year-old son was riding behind them.

They had cycled for more than an hour and were on their way back to the bicycle rental kiosk when the accident happened.

Steep slope

Mr Tiew said they were navigating a steep slope along Jalan Wat Siam when Madam Lee lost control.

Speaking to The New Paper at his wife's wake at Jurong West yesterday, Mr Tiew said: 'She was going downhill very fast and, from her scream, she sounded very scared.

'Maybe there was a hump at the bottom of the slope or maybe she applied the brakes too suddenly, causing both of them to be flung off.'

Mr Tiew blames himself for the accident.

It had been his idea for the family to go cycling, because his mother-in-law was visiting from Malacca.

'My wife had wanted to go to Plaza Singapura to shop and buy some DVDs for her mother,' he said.

'But I thought it would be fun if the family went cycling instead. I told my wife we could go to Plaza Singapura after that.'

In tears, he added: 'If only I had listened to her. I really regret suggesting that we go cycling.'

The couple had been married for 16years. Madam Lee, a Singapore permanent resident, was originally from Malacca.

Mr Tiew said their daughter was distraught over Madam Lee's death.

At the wake, the Secondary 3 student sobbed quietly as she knelt next to her mother's coffin, burning paper offerings.

Mr Tiew said the teenager, who had been very close to her mother, has been crying a lot and keeping to herself since the accident.

'She told me that she's still afraid (at seeing how Madam Lee died) and will never ride a bicycle again,' said Mr Tiew.

'She is still traumatised by the accident and it will be hard for her to forget.

'And like my daughter, I don't think I will ever visit the island again. I won't ride a bicycle again either.'

Mr Tiew recalled having read newspaper reports about accidents at the same steep slope. (See report above.)

He said: 'The slope was right after a sharp bend and there wasn't enough time for cyclists who are unfamiliar with the road to react.

'I hope the authorities will put up more warning signs to alert cyclists to prevent further accidents.

'It would also help if there were better medical facilities on the island for such emergencies.'

Related links

Fatal cycling accidents on Ubin spots to be cautious of, on the pulau ubin stories blog.

Shipyard blast sends worker flying into sea

Jermyn Chow, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

A MASSIVE explosion rocked a barge in a Pandan Road shipyard yesterday, ripping off part of the vessel and sending a worker hurtling into the sea.

The blast, which happened at about 2.45pm, threw an Indian national off the deck of the Orion 1505, though his co-workers said he was able to swim ashore.

He was hospitalised with cuts on his back and head. He is in a stable condition, said a Ministry of Manpower spokesman.

The worker was carrying out hotworks onboard the 46m-long vessel, which was supposed to have departed for Batam yesterday, said the shipyard's marine operations executive, Mr Muhd Hilmi.

It is believed that sparks from welding might have ignited flammable vapours.

There were four other workers, including a safety supervisor, working onboard at the time of the explosion. They were not hurt, though one of the two cranes onboard the vessel was damaged and part of its stern was blown off.

The Indian national works for a subcontractor for home-grown marine services provider Gems Marine - a subsidiary of construction firm Koon Holdings, said Mr Hilmi.

A Ministry of Manpower spokesman said investigations are ongoing but in the meantime, the ministry has stopped all work in the Pandan Road premises.

Yesterday's blast came nearly two months after safety officials urged shipyards to call an unprecedented 'time-out' from work to review safety procedures.

Eleven shipyard workers have died and 286 others were hurt in the first half of this year. Last year, only three shipyard workers died on the job from January to June. Safety officials are still carrying out spot checks on the 89 shipyards here.

Since mid-June, some 120 inspections have been done.

Singapore public trust in charities rebounds

But more needs to be done to encourage volunteerism
Alicia Wong, Today Online 10 Sep 08;

PUBLIC confidence in charities has increased this year, despite the high-profile scandals at the Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre, according to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s (NVPC’s) latest survey.

The Individual Giving Survey 2008,involving 1,894 interviews between April to May, showed that 40 per cent of respondents had “above-moderate to complete confidence” in charities, up from 28 per cent in 2006, when the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) fiasco sank public confidence.

Government moves to ensure greater transparency in the accounting and governing procedures in the charity sector have helped bolster public trust, said NVPC’s board member Peter Ong. He noted that “many of the Institutions of Public Character also went out pro-actively to seek board members with greater standing in society”.

Mr Ong said that the financial irregularities at Ren Ci might have kept the level of trust below the 50 per cent mark. But steps taken by the authorities to improve governance following the arrest and prosecution of the hospital’s chief executive Ming Yi had restored some of that lost confidence, he added.

The NVPC hopes to achieve its 70-per-cent target in public confidence in the next two years, Mr Ong said.

The NVPC’s survey also found that donations as well as the level of volunteerism have increased. The NKF received $25 million in donations last year, according to unaudited figures, and its volunteer programme launched last year attracted 257 regular and 56 ad hoc helpers.

But, Mr Ong said that more programmes are needed to encourage volunteerism.

One challenge is that Singapore is “very cosmopolitan and not very homogenous,” he said, comparing the Republic to Nordic cities, where “people help one another because they look very similar to one another.”

According to assistant professor Joonmo Son from the National University of Singapore, while people may be more altruistic in a homogenous environment, “it is also true that diversity among people does not really prevent volunteering or donating behaviour, as we can see from the United States, another cosmopolitan society.”

Prof Son suggested promoting volunteerism and charity within each ethnic group in Singapore as a first step.

“If you do not volunteer within your own ethnic group, it is hard to expect you to take your time and money for people dissimilar from you,” he said.

And from there, volunteerism and givingcan be spread to the wider community beyond one’s ethnic group, he said.

Charities should also be more open to taking on ad hoc volunteers, said NVPCdirector Kevin Lee. Just as non-profitorganisations accept donations in various amounts, they should also accept people who just want to give some of their free time, rather than stipulating a minimum number of volunteer hours, he said.

But this is not as straightforward as it sounds. Ms Low Mui Lang, the executive director of Peacehaven Nursing Home, which gets help from many ad hoc volunteers, said: “It’s easy to let them participate in programmes we plan, but if we want to do something more significant, it’s more difficult.”

While Mr Ong suggested letting such volunteers help in the areas they excel in, such as administration, Ms Low said administration is done during weekdays.

“It’s hard to get ad hoc volunteers” on weekdays, she said.

But for the founder and chairman of Heartware Network, Mr Raymond Huang, ad hoc volunteers are an invaluable “base” to groom team leaders. “We won’t demand 40 hours of service from them,” he said. “But if you can win them for four hours, you can perhaps win them for 40 hours.”

More Singaporeans donate to charities as public confidence increases
Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia 9 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE: A recent survey by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) has shown that more Singaporeans are donating to charities and taking part in ad-hoc volunteerism.

Public confidence in charities plummeted in 2006 after the National Kidney Foundation charity scandal, which saw its former CEO jailed for using a false invoice to deceive the organisation. But the situation has since improved, according to the survey.

40 per cent of some 1,900 respondents expressed "above moderate" to "complete confidence" in charities, compared to 28 per cent two years ago.

Kevin Lee, director, Sector Development, NVPC, said: "It is partly because of what the charities themselves have been doing to account to their donors and be transparent. It is also part of what the regulators have been doing, in particular the Commissioner of Charities and the Charities Unit."

Donation amounts have also risen from US$240 million in 2006 to US$670 million this year, with 53 per cent going to religious organisations and 11 per cent to foreign causes such as disaster relief.

However, the charity scandal has had lasting impact on some Singaporeans as donor participation rate is currently at 91 per cent – up 2 percentage points from 2006, but still below 2004's 97 per cent.

More Singaporeans donate money to charities, compared to people in the UK and the US. But when it comes to giving time, Singaporeans are less generous.

About 16 per cent of Singaporeans volunteer their time, compared to 60 per cent in the UK. In fact, total volunteer hours have fallen from 49 million in 2006 to 45 million this year.

Those in the charity sector said this is not a cause for concern as volunteer participation rates are at an eight-year high.

Peter Ong, board member, NVPC, said: "We see a trend where most Singaporean residents are moving towards what we call ad-hoc volunteerism."

Ad-hoc volunteerism could be as simple as spending a weekend afternoon with the needy. But NVPC hopes such experiences will plant the seeds for a more lasting and meaningful engagement.

Charities regain public confidence
Survey of 1,900 shows that Singaporeans are now donating, volunteering more
Theresa Tan, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

PUBLIC confidence in charities has rebounded three years after the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal shook the faith of many Singaporeans, a new survey suggests.

Forty per cent of respondents in a National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) poll had 'above moderate to complete confidence' in charities, compared to 28 per cent in a similar survey in 2006.

Only 10 per cent of the close to 1,900 people polled this time round had 'below moderate to no confidence' in charities, down from 20 per cent in 2006. The survey, released yesterday, was done in April and May.

Moves by the Government to regulate the charity sector have shored up public confidence in non-profit groups, said charity leaders.

Those measures include the creation of a full-time Commissioner of Charities position, which was given greater powers to take action against errant charities, among other things.

New guidelines were introduced detailing how well-run charities should be managed and new rules were put in place to get charities to disclose more information to the public.

A drive by the NKF to show the public that it has put its house in order may have also boosted faith in charities, said the NVPC's director of sector development, Mr Kevin Lee.

Increased public confidence coupled with a robust economy pushed the average amount each donor gave to $300, up from $125 in the 2006 survey, said the NVPC.

The NVPC estimates that some $958 million was donated by individuals here, almost triple the $341 million in 2006.

About half of the donations in the current study went to religious causes, and 11 per cent to overseas causes, like disaster relief.

Mr Lee said the Sichuan earthquake and the cyclone that ravaged Myanmar in May are likely to have boosted donations.

Singapore Red Cross secretary-general Christopher Chua said widespread images of suffering have a way of 'tugging at heartstrings' and opening wallets.The Red Cross has raised over $30 million to help the quake and cyclone victims in Sichuan and Myanmar.

Besides giving money, more people here are also volunteering.

In the current study, 16.9 per cent of the population has volunteered at least once in the past year, up from 15.5 per cent in the 2006 study.

The study also found that almost all those who volunteered their time to charity also gave money, and current volunteers donated four times more money than those who do not volunteer.

Sales manager Irene Teo, 27, is a regular donor to the Breast Cancer Foundation. She said she has confidence in charities as the authorities are working to 'make sure the NKF saga does not happen again'.

She added: 'The poor will really suffer if everyone stops donating.'

Singaporeans donating more to charity: survey
Noor Aisha, Business Times 10 Sep 08;

SINGAPOREANS have regained confidence in local charities and are donating notably more compared with 2006, according to the findings of a survey released yesterday. However, more can be done to improve our volunteerism levels.

The Individual Giving Survey 2008, conducted by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), cited some 40 per cent of respondents as having confidence in charities, up from 28 per cent in the survey in 2006, which saw controversies among some charities, including the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

The rate of volunteerism, however, remains low at 16.9 per cent, up 1.4 per cent from 2006.

This lags far behind other countries such as the US and UK, where volunteerism is carried out actively. The age group with the highest incidence of volunteers according to the survey was between 15 and 24.

Total monetary donation by individuals rose substantially from $341 million in 2006 to $958 million in 2008. Of this, $103 million was for use outside Singapore, including the Sichuan earthquake. The bulk of the remaining $855 million went to religious organisations and social service.

The total number of volunteerism hours declined from 49 million hours in 2006 to 45 million hours in 2008.

Silent Streams? Escalating Endangerment For North American Freshwater Fish

ScienceDaily 9 Sep 08;

Nearly 40 percent of fish species in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now in jeopardy, according to the most detailed evaluation of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years.

The 700 fishes now listed represent a staggering 92 percent increase over the 364 listed as "imperiled" in the previous 1989 study published by the American Fisheries Society. Researchers classified each of the 700 fishes listed as either vulnerable (230), threatened (190), or endangered (280). In addition, 61 fishes are presumed extinct.

The new report, published in Fisheries, was conducted by a U.S. Geological Survey-led team of scientists from the United States, Canada and Mexico, who examined the status of continental freshwater and diadromous (those that migrate between rivers and oceans) fish.

"Freshwater fish have continued to decline since the late 1970s, with the primary causes being habitat loss, dwindling range and introduction of non-native species," said Mark Myers, director of the USGS. "In addition, climate change may further affect these fish."

Most Vulnerable Groups

The groups of fish most at risk are the highly valuable salmon and trout of the Pacific Coast and western mountain regions; minnows, suckers and catfishes throughout the continent; darters in the Southeastern United States; and pupfish, livebearers, and goodeids, a large, native fish family in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.

Nearly half of the carp and minnow family and the Percidae (family of darters, perches and their relatives) are in jeopardy. Fish families important for sport or commercial fisheries also had many populations at risk. More than 60 percent of the salmon and trout had at least one population or subspecies in trouble, while 22 percent of sunfishes — which includes the well-known species such as black bass, bluegill and rock bass — were listed. Even one of the most popular game species in the United States, striped bass, has populations on the list.

Regions with the Most Troubled Fish

Regions with especially notable numbers of troubled fish include the Southeastern United States, the mid-Pacific coast, the lower Rio Grande and basins in Mexico that do not drain to the sea.

Hotspots of regional biodiversity and greatest levels of endangerment are the Tennessee (58 fishes), Mobile (57), and the southeastern Atlantic Slope river systems (34). The Pacific central valley, western Great Basin, Rio Grande and rivers of central Mexico also have high diversity and numbers of fish in peril, according to the report. Many of the troubled fish are restricted to only a single drainage. "Human populations have greatly expanded in many of these watersheds, compounding negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems," noted Howard Jelks, a USGS researcher and the senior author of the paper.

Degree of Trouble

Of fish on the 1989 imperiled list, 89 percent are either still listed with the same conservation status or have become even more at risk. Only 11 percent improved in status or were delisted. The authors emphasized that improved public awareness and proactive management strategies are needed to protect and recover these aquatic treasures.

"Fish are not the only aquatic organisms undergoing precipitous declines," said USGS researcher Noel Burkhead, a lead author on the report and the chair of the AFS Endangered Species Committee. "Freshwater crayfishes, snails and mussels are exhibiting similar or even greater levels of decline and extinction."

The authors noted that the list was based on the best biological information available. "We believe this report will provide national and international resource managers, scientists and the conservation community with reliable information to establish conservation, management and recovery priorities," said Stephen Walsh, another lead author and USGS researcher.

This is the third compilation of imperiled, freshwater and diadromous fishes of North America prepared by the American Fisheries Society's Endangered Species Committee.

Additional information is available at http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/afs/

Freshwater fish in N. America in peril, study says
Seth Borenstein, Associate Press Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

About four out of 10 freshwater fish species in North America are in peril, according to a major study by U.S., Canadian and Mexican scientists.

And the number of subspecies of fish populations in trouble has nearly doubled since 1989, the new report says.

One biologist called it "silent extinctions" because few people notice the dramatic dwindling of certain populations deep in American lakes, rivers and streams. And while they are unaware, people are the chief cause of the problem by polluting and damming freshwater habitats, experts said.

In the first massive study of freshwater fish on the continent in 19 years, an international team of dozens of scientists looked not just at species, but at subspecies — physically distinct populations restricted to certain geographic areas. The decline is even more notable among these smaller groups.

The scientists found that 700 smaller but individual fish populations are vulnerable, threatened, or endangered. That's up from 364 subspecies nearly two decades ago.

And 457 entire species are in trouble or already extinct, the study found. Another 86 species are OK as a whole, but have subspecies in trouble.

The study, led by U.S. Geological Survey researchers, is published in the current issue of the journal Fisheries. Researchers looked at thousands of distinct populations of fish that either live in lakes, streams and rivers or those that live in saltwater but which migrate to freshwater at times, such as salmon that return to spawn.

Some vulnerable fish are staples of recreational fishing and the dinner plate. Striped bass that live in the Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Fundy and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence are new to the imperiled list. So are snail bullhead, flat bullhead and spotted bullhead catfish. Sockeye, Chinook, coho, chum and Atlantic salmon populations are also called threatened or endangered in the study. More than two dozen trout populations are considered in trouble.

About 6 percent of fish populations that were in peril in 1989, including the Bonneville cutthroat trout, have made a comeback, said lead author Howard Jelks of the U.S. Geological Survey. But one-third of the fish that were in trouble in 1989 are worse off now, said the Gainesville, Fla., biologist.

The study includes far more species and populations than those that are on the official U.S. government endangered species list.

Jelks said the number of species in trouble was close to double what he expected and that means people should be "considerably worried."

The biggest cause, Jelks said, is degraded freshwater habitat, both in quality and quantity of water for fish to live in. Invasive species crowding out native fish is also to blame, he said.

Fish "live in a freshwater habitat that's pretty much under assault by people," said Duke University marine biologist Larry Crowder, who wasn't part of the study. "Things are tanking all around us. When does it have to be bad enough to get people's attention?"

Many of the species in trouble or already extinct are small minnows and darters whose absence is little noticed, but they play a vital role in the food chain.

Hardest hit is Mexico where nearly half the fish species are in trouble. One in three species in the United States are in peril — up from about one in five in 1989. About 10 percent of Canadian species dwindled. In the United States, the most vulnerable populations are in the Southeast, not counting Florida.

In the U.S., 263 fish species are in trouble or are already extinct, and nearly 500 have no problems.

The number of fish species and subspecies in North America that went extinct rose from 40 to 61 since 1989.

Anthony Ricciardi, a McGill University biologist who was not part of the research, found that about 10 years ago freshwater extinctions were happening at a faster pace than on land or in the sea. And yet few people notice, he said.

"A lot of silent extinctions are happening," Ricciardi said. "What we're doing is widespread, it's pervasive and it's rapid."

On the Net:

The article in the journal Fisheries: http://www.fisheries.org/afs/docs/fisheries/fisheries_3308.pdf

An interactive map by the U.S. Geological Survey that shows status of fish populations in 80 different regions of North America: http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/development/map_object.html

Australian scientists call for world's largest marine park in coral sea

University of Queensland 10 Sep 08;

Townsville: Australia's most eminent tropical marine scientists today strongly backed calls by the Pew Environment Group and partners to secure world-class, no-take marine reserves at key locations around the world.

They called for the Coral Sea, an immense area to the east of tropical Australia, to be made the world's largest marine protected area.

The researchers said that the whole Coral Sea should become a no-fishing area, to protect its immense environmental and heritage values from the escalating threats of overfishing and climate change.

"There is overwhelming evidence the world's marine ecosystems have been seriously degraded by overfishing, pollution and global warming. These trends call for urgent, practical solutions," said Professor Terry Hughes, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.

"Eleven percent of land habitats have been designated as parks to conserve their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide to people. In contrast, less than 0.1 per cent of the world's oceans are fully protected."

The Coral Sea provides critical habitats for many species, including critically endangered Hawksbill and endangered Green turtles, 25 species of whales and dolphins; and 27 species of sea bird, said Professor Hugh Possingham, Director of the Ecology Centre, The University of Queensland.

"At least 13 species of seabird breed on Coral Sea islands, including regionally important populations of the Red-footed Booby, Lesser frigate bird and Greater frigate bird. The Coral Sea is one of the few places remaining on earth where large pelagic fishes (tuna, billfish and sharks) have not yet been severely depleted," he said.

The researchers said that fishing pressure in the Coral Sea had grown rapidly in the past 20 years, and catches were already in decline relative to the fishing effort put in.

There was also an unsustainable bycatch of turtles, sharks and birds in pelagic fisheries. The rapid decline of large sharks due to illegal finning was also a major concern worldwide.

"Fishing activities in the Coral Sea contribute to significant declines of sharks, turtles and seabirds on the adjoining Great Barrier Reef," said Professor John Pandolfi of The University of Queensland.

"A single large no-take zone is the best approach for protecting these pelagic and migratory species because they cannot be protected inside small reserves.

"The rich coral fauna of the Coral Sea has already been damaged by coral bleaching, which is set to increase in frequency and scale due to global warming," said Profesor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Director of the Centre for Marine Studies at The University of Queensland.

"Reefs in the Coral Sea are small and relatively isolated from each other, making them more reliant on large-scale dispersal of larvae than the highly interconnected Great Barrier Reef.

"A single large no-take area (encompassing Australia's Coral Sea jurisdiction) would ensure that the scale of management appropriately matches the biological scale of important ecosystem processes such as dispersal and migration."

The Coral Sea is one of only a handful of places in the world, where a very large oceanic no-take park could be created, monitored and supported by the overwhelming majority of citizens in a single national jurisdiction, Professor Hughes said.

The researchers pointed out that the Coral Sea has acted as a vital reservoir for reef biodiversity during past periods of rapid change in climate and sea level. It is relatively free from the land-based pollution that affects parts of the Great Barrier Reef, and currently has much lower levels of fishing.

"The creation of the Coral Sea No-Take Area will ensure that this region remains globally significant for the protection to tropical marine biota," they said.

A very large no-take park immediately adjacent to the GBRMP and its network of highly protected areas would become by far the world's largest protected ocean ecosystem.

It would:

• Make an unparalleled contribution to global marine conservation by setting a new benchmark for large-scale protection;
• Enhance the World Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef by reducing human impacts in the adjoining Coral Sea;
• Enhance Australia's reputation as a world leader in the stewardship of marine biodiversity; and
• Foster the growth of sustainable tourism industries.

Whale shark in Atlantis hotel aquarium to be released

Emmanuelle Landais,Gulf News 9 Sep 08;

Dubai: A whale shark rescued off the coast of Jebel Ali and placed in the Palm Jumeirah Atlantis hotel aquarium will eventually be tagged and released, Gulf News has learnt.

Atlantis announced the capture of the juvenile whale shark recently which was found in shallow waters, fatigued and disorientated. The 4 metre long whale shark has been placed in the 11 million litre Ambassador Lagoon - one of the biggest aquariums in the world.

According to Ibrahim Al Zu'bi, environmental advisor with the Emirates Diving Association, the whale shark will offer great opportunities for learning and awareness but should not be kept in the aquarium long term.

"It should be released as soon as possible. Atlantis have plans to tag it and let it go. Stone structures and ornaments were removed from the aquarium to give it some space. It is a good thing that we have experts now that can handle situations like this," he said.

Al Zu'bi added that previously the Emirates Environment Association (EDA) received many calls about whale sharks that get disorientated and find their way to the Arabian Gulf. "Not much is known about whale sharks by the way so this will raise awareness for the fish. It is protected by CITES (Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species) so the hotel should inform them of the whale shark," he said.

Due to the high sea temperature and salinity of the water where the whale shark was found, the decision was made to transport the whale shark to Atlantis, The Palm for medical care and observation. A custom-made transport unit with a highly advanced marine life transport system was used to ensure the safety and well-being of the animal.

Since the arrival of the whale shark, the animal has been monitored 24 hours a day, including gathering extensive data apparently on swim patterns, feeding and behaviours. The Fish Husbandry team is in constant contact with experts in the whale shark community sharing data and behaviours. The health and well-being of all marine life is the number one priority at Atlantis, the hotel said in a statement.

Alan Leibman, President and Managing Director of Atlantis said, "The whale shark is an animal about which little is known and we hope that we can add to the research and data that is available. Aquariums and marine habitats have been the key to education about our oceans and the animals that live in them. Education, conservation and research go hand in hand to benefit all marine life."

It is unknown how long Atlantis plan to keep the whale shark for.

Australian military may have brought toads to Timor: report

Yahoo News 9 Sep 08;

The Australian military may have deployed more than just soldiers in East Timor -- reports said Tuesday it could also have inadvertently introduced the pesky cane toad to the fledgling nation.

The toad, which carries a poisonous sac of venom on the back of its head toxic enough to kill snakes and crocodiles in minutes, is regarded as a noxious pest Down Under because it wreaks havoc on the environment.

Local media reported that the warty amphibian could have been making its way to East Timor hidden in Australian Defence Force vehicles and equipment since the force first intervened in East Timor in 1999.

Simplicio Barbosa, of Dili-based humanitarian organisation Care International, said the toads arrived along with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET).

"(There are) so many toads in East Timor, they are brought by the INTERFET," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding that the animals were killing lots of chickens.

"We don't know how to get them away, how to kill them."

Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said he would investigate if the toads, which spread widely throughout Australia's north since their introduction in the 1930s, could have breached the military's quarantine controls.

"I have not had an opportunity to seek a briefing from the Chief of the Defence Force but I will certainly do so," he told reporters in the northern city of Darwin, which suffers its own cane toad problem.

Darwin's Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer said it was likely the toads stowed away on military vehicles leaving the city, the departure point for many Australian troops heading to East Timor, and ended up in Dili.

"Cane toads are fantastic hitchhikers; they love crawling up under machinery and stuff to refuge during the day," he told the ABC.

"Also, they get into loads of freight and stuff, they've turned up all over Australia in that mode, so it's quite likely."

The cane toad is extremely unpopular in Australia and some residents of toad-infested areas have taken to killing them by driving their cars over them or smashing them with golf clubs and cricket bats.

All attempts to fight the spread of the toads so far have failed and the animals, which are explosive breeders, have spread into the wetlands of world heritage Kakadu National Park.

Australia Troops Bring Toad Pest to East Timor - NGO
PlanetArk 10 Sep 08;

CANBERRA - Australia's military was accused on Tuesday of opening the gates to an invasion force of cane toad pests when it led international peacekeepers into East Timor to end a pro-Indonesia militia slaughter there in 1999.

Australian soldiers arriving in Dili inadvertently brought with them a number of the toxic toads, which have overrun vast swathes of Australia's tropical north in the past 70 years, a senior aid worker in the fledgling nation said.

"So many toads in East Timor. We don't know how to get them away, how to kill them," Simplicio Barbosa of aid agency Care International told Australian radio.

Scientists introduced cane toads to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 in a failed bid to control sugar cane beetle. Native to Central America, the ugly warty amphibians can grow as big as dinner plates and weigh up to 2.6 kg (5.8 lb). Poison glands in their skin make them toxic to predators, including crocodiles.

The 3,000 toads originally released into the Australian wild have multiplied to more than 200 million today, covering close to a quarter of the country, including the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

Barbosa said cane toads had hitched a lift to East Timor hidden in trucks and equipment used by the Australian-led International Force for East Timor, which landed in September 1999 with the backing of the United Nations Security Council.

Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said on Tuesday he would investigate the accusations, but promised his military had "strict quarantine controls".

East Timor, which only gained full independence in 2002, has struggled to get back on its feet after the army fractured along regional lines in 2006, triggering violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes. (Reporting by Rob Taylor; editing by Roger Crabb)

Morocco "Goat Plague" Poses Regional Threat - FAO

PlanetArk 10 Sep 08;

ROME - Millions of sheep and goats in Morocco could be killed by a virus which poses a risk to other north African and European countries but not humans, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday.

Morocco's first ever outbreak of "peste des petits ruminants", also known as PPR or "goat plague", shows the virus has crossed the natural barrier of the Sahara Desert which had previously kept north Africa free of the disease, FAO said.

The Muslim festival of Ramadan could accelerate the spread of the virus which passes from animal to animal and is 80 percent fatal to livestock in acute cases, the Rome-based agency said.

The virus causes fever, sores and lesions, laboured breathing and diarrhoea in infected animals. It poses no threat to human health.

"The economic impact might not be as great as in the case of rinderpest in cattle, but the social impact would be greater, considering the role played by small ruminants in the social life of the affected communities," said Joseph Domenech, the FAO's chief veterinary officer.

Morocco has an estimated 17 million sheep and 5 million goats which play an important economic role for millions of families, said the FAO, which is working with authorities in north Africa and southern Europe to try to stop the virus spreading.

Restricting animal movements, quarantining affected farms and vaccinating high risk areas are the main ways to combat the spread of the disease, the FAO said.

(Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; editing by Christopher Johnson)

Russia's Lake Baikal Threatened by Zinc Mine

Olga Petrova, PlanetArk 10 Sep 08;

LAKE BAIKAL, Russia - Green trees sway on the hilly Russian horizon, rainbows pierce Lake Baikal's grey waters and waves pound a pathless shore.

The stark beauty of the world's deepest and oldest lake is under threat, ecologists say, because it lies downstream from a rich source of zinc.

The proximity has opened up a debate in this resource-rich nation, pitting industrialists and job-hungry officials in Siberia against ecologists and government agencies in Moscow.

Experts say the Kholodninskoye deposit, which sits in a watershed flowing straight into Baikal, is the planet's third largest lead and zinc field.

Zinc is used in the production of galvanised steel, the automobile industry, household batteries, vitamin supplements, fireworks and as a compound in some cosmetics.

MBC Resources, a subsidiary of Russia's privately owned Metropol group, has a licence to develop Kholodninskoye, which has an estimated 13.3 million tonnes of zinc and 2 million tonnes of lead. It has drafted a plan to develop the field and other metals in the region at an estimated cost of US$4 billion.

But ecologists in Buryatia region in Siberia, where Baikal lies, say development would despoil the biggest freshwater mass on earth -- already threatened by tourism and other industries.

"For us right now, this is problem number one," said Sergey Shapkhayev, director of the Buryat/Baikal Land Use Programme in Ulan Ude.

"The geo-hydrological structure there is very complex, lots of underground springs, subsoil water at different temperatures that would increase tailings volumes into the lake," he said.

Tailings are unrecoverable mining waste discharged as slurry.

In July, Russia's Natural Resources Ministry proposed a ban on developing half of the Kholodninskoye deposit, saying mining would damage the lake, considered a national ecological reserve.

The government of Buryatia, which borders some 60 percent of the lake, hopes development will bring investment and jobs to the region, and has strongly opposed the proposed ban.

RICH RESOURCE

At its deepest, Baikal is 1,637 metres and it is some 25 million years old. It holds about one fifth of the world's freshwater and is around 9,200 km (5,717 miles) east of Moscow.

The shoreline runs along an ancient rift valley for about 2,100 km (1,305 miles), roughly the distance from Moscow to Duesseldorf, Germany.

Buryatia authorities are keen to promote Baikal, which is home to some of the world's rarest types of fish and plants, as a tourist destination. But it also wants mining development.

Buryatia President Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, appointed in 2007 by then President Vladimir Putin, served as a crew member on a highly publicised but ultimately unsuccessful submarine dive in July, aimed at reaching the bottom of Baikal.

The dive was financed by Mikhail Slipenchuk, Metropol's general director. He says not developing the zinc and lead deposits would constitute a missed opportunity for Russia, already flush with cash from an energy and commodities boom.

"This is 20 percent of Russia's (zinc) reserves. If we cross it off the list, Russia will be the poorer for it," he said.

However, zinc prices have been sliding on weak demand and global oversupply, with some analysts predicting little relief into 2010.

The metal is one of the worst performers in the metals complex this year. In August, it dropped to its lowest level since November 2005 and is now trading around US$1,745 a tonne, down almost 25 percent this year.

Zinc stocks at the London Metal Exchange have jumped 80 percent this year to 160,000 tonnes, and a Reuters survey of analysts showed an expected surplus of about 281,250 tonnes this year, growing to 328,758 tonnes in 2009.

The industry has seen mine closures and output cuts as energy, labour and equipment costs rise -- raising questions about the ultimate profitability of the Kholodninskoye project.

Undeterred, MBC recently signed a memorandum with Rusinvestpartner, a joint venture of state conglomerate Russian Technologies and metals-to-oil firm Renova, under which Rusinvestpartner said it intended to buy stakes in projects to develop Kholodninskoye and another lead and zinc deposit nearby.

Even if the ban on development does not proceed, there is clean-up work to be done before any mining gets underway.

SOVIET LEGACY

Buryatia's Natural Resource Ministry said in July that MBC would have to spend 2 billion roubles (US$85 million) on cleanup of tailings plumes caused by Soviet-era prospecting.

Slipenchuk says the company will fund the clean-up but wants this to be written into the licensing agreement.

He said Soviet test shafts sent tailings-laced underground water into the nearby Kholodnaya river which feeds Baikal.

"Either we spend several hundred million dollars setting the Kholodninskoye deposit aside as a nature reserve, or we tighten regulations in the licensing agreement to make the holder responsible for these deficiencies," Slipenchuk said.

Baikal is such a powerful symbol of ecological purity for Russians that in 2006, Putin ordered a giant oil pipeline to be routed away from the lake, citing great risk to the environment.

But in spite of this, ecologist Shapkhayev said unregulated logging and careless tourism construction were already causing damage, that would only be intensified by mining.

"Russian ministries think, mistakenly, that up to 2 million tourists will come here, and that they need to build five-star hotels, mountain ski resorts ... and they dole out a large share of federal money for building the infrastructure," he said.

Shapkhayev said only around 20,000 tourists -- half from abroad -- come to Baikal annually. Construction firms pop up seasonally to build poorly constructed lodgings with federal money, then disappear without paying their workers.

"Until we come to terms with corruption, those kinds of problems will happen more and more often," he said. (Writing by Chris Baldwin, editing by Jon Boyle and Clar Ni Chonghaile)

UK: People recycle more at home than at work

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 9 Sep 08;

People are recycling more at home than at work despite the huge amount of waste generated by the office, a survey has found.

Britain has made great progress in increasing the amount of waste that goes to recycling in recent years, with almost a fifth of rubbish recycled - although the country still lags behind the rest of Europe.

However, in a survey of officer workers Today Paper Round, London's largest specialist office recycling company, found people are more keen to recycle at home than at work.

The survey of 100 officer workers in London found 58 per cent think they generate more recyclable waste at home and feel it is more important to recycle there.

Home is where most people start recycling and family and friends are the main influence on recycling behaviour rather than colleagues at work.

But with paper, cds, cups, cardboard, plastic and even computers able to be recycled it is estimated workers actually generate double the amount of waste at work than at home, according to Envirowise.

Bill Swan, director of Paper Round said: "Government and businesses need to make it easier for office workers to recycle.

"We are missing an opportunity to fulfil the real reasons why we recycle if we do not practice it at work as well as we do at home, which is to reduce our carbon footprint and to save natural resources."

UK farmers fear harvest could be the worst since 1968

Valerie Elliott, The Times 9 Sep 08;

Britain is facing its worst harvest for at least 40 years as 30 per cent of the country’s grain lies in waterlogged or sodden ground. Hilary Benn, the Rural Affairs Secretary, is expected to give the go-ahead today for farmers to salvage what is left of their crops by using heavy machinery on wet fields.

European Union rules ban farmers from using combine harvesters on wet land to protect soil quality. Those who flout the ban can be prosecuted. The exemption is expected to last for about three weeks.

The poor harvest is unlikely to lead to a rise in the price of bread, cakes, biscuits and flour, however. Gordon Polson, director of the Federation of Bakers, said that although much of the milling wheat was of a poor quality it could still be used for bread and flour.

He said: “The poorer wheat means it has less protein, but manufacturers can add gluten to ensure the proper quality for making bread. We are not happy and we may still have to import some milling wheat, but no one is talking about price rises for bread.”

The harvest has been most badly affected in the North East, especially Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Co Durham, where the heavy rainfall and flooding have meant that on many farms less than 50 per cent of the wheat has been harvested.

Farmers stand to lose as much as £30,000 each because much of the grain in the soil is suitable only for animal feed. The price of this lower-quality grain has dropped from £120 to £100 a tonne in a month; best milling wheat is valued at £140 to £150 a tonne.

There is also concern about next year’s harvest. Unless farmers clear this year’s crop within the next two weeks many will be unable to prepare the ground and plant new seed.

About 200 acres of wheat are waterlogged at Tom Neill’s farm at Mindrum, Northumberland, near the Scottish Border. He said: “I am 64 and this is the worst harvest I’ve experienced in my 50 years of farming. I am not certain even if we get permission to use our machinery on wet fields whether I will be able to salvage half of my crop. Unless we get a dry spell it will be too late. It’s very depressing and I could lose as much as £20,000 or £30,000.”

Industry experts are revising their estimates for the total wheat yield. Early forecasts were that it would be as much as 16.5 million tonnes, but this could be cut by 10 per cent.

Guy Gagen, chief arable adviser at the National Farmers’ Union, said: “This is the most difficult harvest for at least 40 years. Farmers say it compares to 1968, which was very similar, with heavy rain throughout the summer. We just need a break in the weather. If we get that for five to seven days farmers can recover.”

Simon Ingle, a wheat trader at Grainfarmers, which buys 20 per cent of home-grown wheat, said: “We are still hoping yield will be up, but this harvest is the worst I have known since 1982. Many crops will be lost and the price of this lower-quality wheat may continue to fall.”

Mr Ingle added that Britain was the country worst affected in Europe and that most European countries completed their harvests last month.

Unchecked biofuels could lead to food shortages: UN expert

Yahoo News 9 Sep 08;

Major investments in agrofuel development should be put on hold unless they met stringent criteria, a UN expert said in a report Tuesday, warning that pushing ahead could lead to food shortages.

Efforts should be made to reach an international consensus on biofuels and agrofuel development to avoid skewed development in producer countries, said Oliver de Schutter, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

"The conclusion that emerges... is that the current path in the development of agrofuels for transport is not sustainable, and that if such development goes unchecked, further violations of the right to food will result," he said in the report published on Tuesday.

Before an international consensus was formed on the issue, any major new investment in agrofuel development should be allowed only if assessments were "positive in terms of its implications, both at the domestic and international levels," he added.

The development of biofuels has accelerated as major fuel-consuming countries such as the United States promoted the use of the fuel as a greener alternative to fossil fuels.

Higher oil prices have meanwhile encouraged consumers to embrace biofuels.

In recent months, however, biofuels have come under fire for taking up arable land that could be used to grow food -- thereby contributing to a shortage in produce and, in turn, higher food prices.

In his report on food security, which was to be presented to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday, de Schutter pointed out that a major problem was that the demand for agrofuels was "potentially almost infinite."

"Whereas increased demand for crops for food or in order to feed livestock reaches a natural limit... once crops are turned into bioethanol or biodiesel, the level of demand can be such that a very large proportion of crops can be used for that purpose, without a risk of saturation of markets before long," he wrote.

Therefore, it was important to monitor the impact on those who did not farm such crops, he added.

In July, the head of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization Jacques Diouf said in a visit to Cuba that the production of biofuels was depriving the world of around 100 million tons of cereals that could go to feed the hungry.

US$100 Bln Could Yield 2 Mln US 'Green' Jobs - Report

Deborah Zabarenko, PlanetArk 10 Sep 08;

WASHINGTON - A US$100 billion US government investment over two years could create 2 million "green" jobs in such industrial sectors as steel and construction, environmental and labor groups said on Tuesday.

"From the point of view of the steelworkers union, the view is quite simple, that a energy efficient green economy creates jobs and it can create jobs in America," said Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers.

He said the US move toward wind power has already prompted the reopening of two struggling steel mills, now making steel plate for use in new windmills.

Beyond that, the retrofitting of old, energy-inefficient buildings would create jobs for steelworkers, glassmakers and those who manufacture heating and cooling systems, Gerard said in a telephone briefing.

Gerard and others cited a report commissioned by the Center for American Progress think tank, assessing the benefits of the US$100 billion investment plan.

John Podesta, president of the think tank and a former Clinton administration official, said US$50 billion of the investment would be tax credits to help private businesses and homeowners pay to make their buildings more energy efficient; US$46 billion would be in the form of direct government spending on retrofitting buildings, expanding mass transit and freight rail, making "smart" electrical grids and new investment in renewable energy; and US$4 billion in federal loan guarantees.

To put the amount in perspective, Podesta said the April 2008 stimulus program cost US$168 billion.

Many of the new jobs would be in construction, where some 800,000 jobs have been lost in the last two years, according to Robert Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

A report prepared by the institute and the think tank said this kind of rapid public and private investment would jump-start a US economy with less emissions of carbon dioxide, a climate-warming greenhouse gas.

Pollin said the plan would create four times more jobs per dollar spent than spending the equivalent amount of money within the oil industry, and 20 percent more jobs than increasing spending on household consumption -- the main target of the April 2008 stimulus package.

The green jobs plan would spur employment because it spends more on jobs and less on machines and supplies, Pollin said. As an example, he contrasted the cost of retrofitting a building to make it more energy efficient to the cost of moving oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States.

Also supporting the plan are Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, the union group Blue Green Alliance, the poverty-fighting Green for All organization, the New Jersey Work Environment Council and Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO labor group.

(Editing by Eric Beech)

Climate inaction 'costing lives'

BBC News 9 Sep 08;

Failure to take urgent action to curb climate change is effectively violating the human rights of people in the poorest nations, an aid charity warns.

A report by Oxfam International says emissions, primarily from developed countries, are exacerbating flooding, droughts and extreme weather events.

As a result, harvests are failing and people are losing their homes and access to water, the authors observe.

They say human rights need to be at the heart of global climate policies.

Oxfam will be submitting its report, called Climate Wrongs and Human Rights, to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Righting wrongs

"Climate change was first seen as a scientific problem, then an economic one," explained report author Kate Raworth. "Now it is becoming a matter of international justice.

The global impacts of climate change meant that nations had to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions, Ms Raworth said.

"Litigation is seldom the best way to solve a dispute.

"That is why we need a strong UN deal in 2009 to cut emissions and support adaption," she added, referring to next year's key UN climate summit where a future global climate strategy is expected to be agreed.

"However, vulnerable countries do need options to protect themselves. Rich country polluters have been fully aware of their culpability for many years."

In its report, Oxfam International said that ensuring basic human rights was essential to lift people out of poverty and injustice.

"Our staff and local partners work with communities in more than 100 countries, and are increasingly witnessing the devastating effects of more frequent and severe climatic events on poor people's prospects for development," it observed.

It highlighted a number of "hot spots" where current climate policies were failing, including: rich nations' failure to cut emissions; funding for adaption initiatives being "woefully under-resourced"; and industrialised countries failing to help poor nations switch to low-carbon technologies.

Twin-track strategy

In April 2007, a working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), consisting of hundreds of environmental experts, published a report warning that people living in poverty would be the worst affected by climate change.

Key findings of the report included:

* 75-250 million people across Africa could face water shortages by 2020
* Crop yields could increase by 20% in East and Southeast Asia, but decrease by up to 30% in Central and South Asia
* Agriculture fed by rainfall could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020
* 20-30% of all plant and animal species would be at increased risk of extinction if temperatures rose between 1.5-2.5C
* Glaciers and snow cover are expected to decline, reducing water availability in countries supplied by melt water

Oxfam has called for a twin approach of mitigation and adaption to ensure human rights formed a central pillar of climate policies.

To reduce emissions, it said nations had to implement national and international targets to minimise the risk of global average temperatures exceeding 2C (3.6F).

And to help least developed nations build resilience to unavoidable impacts, Oxfam said the international community had to target adaptation measures on maintaining people's access to water, shelter and healthcare.

Human Rights Must be at Heart of Climate Deal - Oxfam
Jeremy Lovell, PlanetArk 10 Sep 08;

LONDON - Respect and legal responsibility for human rights must be at the heart of any new deal to tackle climate change, aid group Oxfam said on Tuesday noting that rich nations had to bear the greatest share of the cost.

Oxfam said in a report "Climate Wrongs and Human Rights" the world's richest nations had caused most of the problem due to burning fossil fuels for power and transport while it was the world's poorest people who were bearing most of the brunt.

"Climate change was first seen as a scientific problem, then an economic one. Now it is becoming a matter of international justice," report author Kate Raworth said.

"Human rights principles give an alternative to the view that everything -- from carbon to malnutrition -- can be priced, compared and traded," she said. "These principles must be put at the heart of a global deal to tackle global climate change."

Far from the tentative goal of cutting global carbon emissions in half by 2050 a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012 has to set a target of 80 percent, Oxfam said.

It said rich countries had to take the lead and foot the bill for curbing carbon emissions and for helping the poorer nations adapt to the climate change that was already inevitable.

Yet it said those same countries were dragging their feet in negotiations on a new deal which is supposed to be agreed in Copenhagen at the end of next year, giving countries three years to ratify it in order to avoid hiatus after Kyoto ends.

"They are using spurious economic arguments to do as little as possible when in fact morality, science and human rights demand much more from them," Raworth said.

Scientists predict that global average temperatures will rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century due to carbon emissions, bringing floods, famines and more violent storms and putting millions of lives at risk.

There is a broad agreement that efforts must be made to limit the temperature rise to 2 degrees. But some scientists now believe that a 4 degree rise is much more likely, bringing with it catastrophic change and species wipe-out.

On Wednesday Britain and Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries which is already facing major climate change problems like flooding, will sign an accord opening the way for direct transfer of money to help with adaptation costs. (Editing by Alison Williams)

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