Climate change could devastate Philippines: NASA scientist

AFP 12 Sep 08;

MANILA (AFP) — Climate change could have a devastating impact on the Philippines, leading to widespread destruction of the country's flora and fauna and flooding the capital Manila, a NASA scientist warned here Friday.

The continued melting of Arctic ice caps, brought on by climate change, could cause sea levels to rise by seven metres (23 feet), said National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) physicist Josefino Comiso.

He said the country's fish stocks would be depleted and many species of plant and animal life would die because of the change in ocean temperatures caused by climate change.

Comiso said the slow melting of the ice caps should be more than "just an item of curiosity" for Filipinos.

"The Philippines is a country that is among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change," Comiso said.

"Slight changes in ocean temperature will lead to coral bleaching which will impact on the coral reefs on which the country's fishes feed."

Fish species are already starting to disappear from Philippine waters as delicate coral reefs, some of the biggest in the world, are destroyed in the archipelago, according to the international marine watchdog group Reef Check.

In a report last year the group said coral reefs were already suffering from severe bleaching.

Only five percent of the world's reefs -- which shelter and provide food for a vast number of marine species -- are still in pristine condition, according to Reef Check.

Comiso said the melting of the polar ice caps meant the sun's rays were no longer being reflected, but instead going into the Arctic waters and warming them up.

"Currents from the Arctic waters travel around the world to all the other oceans, including the waters surrounding the Philippines.

"Such warming would encourage the growth of algae in the world's oceans, which would gravely affect the world's food chain," he said.

He also noted that rising temperatures could reach a point where "various living creatures" would start to die in large numbers.

"Such temperatures would vary from species to species," he said.

"But the deaths of these creatures would gravely affect the food supply chain."

Comiso, a senior research scientist at a NASA centre that monitors the effects of global warming, made the warning after attending a conference of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration.

He said he was working on a project, to be funded by the Manila government weather station, to monitor the effects of global warming in the Philippines.

The project, which will be based in a state university outside Manila, will coordinate its research with NASA.

Comiso was part of the United States Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore.

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Second Borneo rhino caught on camera

An image of a second wild Borneo rhino has been captured by scientists in Malaysia using a motion-triggered camera.

Only 25-50 Borneo rhinos, a subspecies of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino, are thought to exist. They are found in the interior Heart of Borneo forests of Sabah, Malaysia.

It was just two years ago that the first-ever still photo of a Borneo rhino was captured by WWF, who last year also produced a video using a camera trap showing a male rhino eating, walking to the camera and sniffing the equipment.

After comparing the body structure and size of the animal in the latest photo WWF-Malaysia have confirmed that this is a different rhino to the one previously photographed. The new photograph suggests a young female rhino.

Rhino monitoring and protection efforts are aimed at conserving and boosting the number of Sumatran rhinos in Sabah through prevention of poaching, securing habitat from further degradation and illegal encroachment.

“This encourages the rhinos to meet in a natural way,” said Laurentius Ambu, director of Sabah Wildlife Department. He added that experts are beginning to believe there is still hope to save the Borneo Sumatran Rhino from extinction.

Last month WWF officials, along with a team of rangers, veterinarians and experts from Sabah Wildlife Department rescued the Borneo rhino that was captured on video last year. It had been found injured and wandering in an oil palm plantation. The rescue operation, financially supported by Honda, took nearly two weeks and the animal was then transferred to a reserve.

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Best of our wild blogs: 12 Sep 08

Mandarin Duck sighted by a canal
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

More works on our shores
more reclamation near Cyrene Reefs and reclamation at Tuas and works on Sultan Shoals and sand mining at Changi on the wild shores of singapore blog

wild shores posters at Buloh
until 4 Oct, on the wild shores of singapore blog

Will Farmed Fish Feed the World?
on the Worldwatch Institute

Security beefed up for Melo melo on display
on a snail's eye view blog

Holothurian Video Friday!
on the Echinoblog

Read more!

Harvesting Giant Clams is an offence in Sabah

Daily Express 12 Sep 08;

Kota Kinabalu: Harvesting Giant Clams is a punishable offence under the Sabah Fishery Act, 1984, unless amendments have been made since and which the public may not be aware of.

Gaint Clams are also listed under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) which prohibits their import and export on condition.

Former head of the Fisheries Department's Resource Management Section, Alvin Wong, said it is an offence irrespective of whether the act was committed within or outside Sabah's marine parks.

He said this much is also stated clearly in the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulation 1999, of the State Agriculture Ministry's report on the various regulations, accessed on the Internet.

The act (harvesting Giant clams) has been equated to fish bombing whether committed inside or outside Sabah's marine parks. It reads:

"This regulation lists all the species of fish and mammals that are protected, and includes the dugong, whale, dolphin, whale shark and Giant Clams which are included in the list of endangered species in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

"It is an offence to fish for, harass, catch, kill, possess, sell, buy, export or transport any endangered species in this regulation. Any of the listed endangered fish caught unintentionally shall be released immediately or disposed of as directed by Fisheries Officer.'

The CITES' latest list on Tridacnidae can be verified at its website www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml.

Tridacnidae are a global family of bivalves which has eight species in total under two genera, namely Hippopus ( 2species) and Tridacna (6 species).

In other words, all eight species of Giant clams are on CITES' list, under Appendix 2, meaning trade of Giant clams is prohibited unless they are third generation animals raised in farms.

Only if any private enterprise in Sabah can propagate third generation Giant clams in farms, then they are not banned from trade.

But two of Sabah's seven wild species, including the biggest of them all - Tridacna gigas (which can measure up to 4.6ft long) have gone locally extinct, the other being Tridacna derasa, noted aquatic biologist Alvin Wong, now Director of Marine Ecology Research Centre (MERC), Gayana Eco-Research on Gaya Island.

The resort is one of few known to be propagating Giant Clams as part of their conservation efforts.

Based on the front page picture of shell carcasses published in Daily Express on Sept. 10, Wong identified them as members of Tridacna squamosa species, "which may well be the next species to go extinct in Sabah".

If this happens, it would be a blot on the reputation of Sabah as being part of the Indo-Pacific region which is rated as the "Centre of Global Marine Biodiversity in the World."

Wong was saddened to see such a pile of big Giant clams of the Tridacna squamosa species being slaughtered for just a meal or two on Timbun Mata Island, off Semporna.

"They are probably 12-inch specimens aged around 15 years or more," he said.

"That is big. We in MERC know that to develop to this size is long and difficult because we started spawning Giant Clams in April this year and they were just 1 cm long five months later."

"The ones depicted on your front page picture measure probably 12 inches long aged 15 or more years but are capable of a maximum of 18 inches," Wong said.

"It takes so long to become that big and then it's all gone in one day. What a shame," lamented Wong, whose former job involved issuing Import and Export permits for fish and fishery products in addition to issuance of Fishing Licence.

"As far as I know, the Department does not license anyone to collect Giant clams. Permits may be issued to applicants to collect clams, but it would always say 'except Giant clams'.

"So people who collect Giant clams are fishing without licence and that is an offence. I know because I have issued such licences myself," Wong recalled.

Pressed by spokeswoman for MREC Nilakrisna James if anyone can get a licence to harvest it, Wong replied: "No you can't. So when they collect Giant clams, they are unlicensed."

Sabah Fisheries Department's legal position is actually in tandem with a "global concern" of imminent extinction facing Giant clams, Wong said.

"This is a credit to them, it reflects their support for CITES of which Malaysia is a signatory," he said.

"Giant clams are also listed under IUCN Red list, meaning its status is classified 'Vulnerable.'

"So this is a concern shared by everyone else," Wong said, besides being an asset for diving tourism.

Zero Parks enforcement?
Daily Express 10 Sep 08;

Large Giant clams facing extinction are being caught and eaten by seaweed workers inside the Tun Sakaran Dandai Marine Park, Daily Express can reveal.Their activities come as a surprise because only a year ago, a Darwin Initiative community project in the marine park said there were essentially no more Giant clams left except one or two belonging to a private owner.

This begs the question of whether the Parks personnel keep an eye on activities in the area. For if there are even at least daily patrols, such activities would not take place.

Tourists making a special trip to see scenic Pulau Timbun Mata on Aug. 20 said they were shocked to see shells of tens of big giant clams left to sun on a catwalk leading to a workers' quarters.

Their size indicates they were about 40-50 years old when caught. Clams about 50 yrs are known to grow up to four feet.

Timbun Mata, 26km long and 10km wide at its widest, constitutes part of the Tun Sakaran Dandai marine park that forms part and parcel of the famed centre of global marine biodiversity.

A group of seaweed investors who initially broke into the area claiming to be green with backing from Japanese partners had since brought in a few hundred workers who are destroying the corals and picking up the giant clams to eat, claimed a Semporna resident.

"It is damaging because they use ropes to hang the seaweed and every rope must be fixed to an anchor on the seabed including corals," the witness alleged.

"In that process, the workers are collecting whatever they can find on the reefs - giant clams, grouper, sea cucumbers," he claimed.

"That's not the only problem. Planting seaweed over a reef will impede photosynthesis which corals depend on for their health and survival," he pointed out.

A potentially alarming part of the saga is that the ravaging process may expand up to 10,000 acres if the project completes its course.

"In the first place, we don't understand why a marine park should open a huge area for cultivation of seaweed. It seems that those paid to protect Sabah's marine biodiversity areÉ well, not protecting anything!" the local resident who requested anonymity fumed.

Giant clams deserve vigilant protection first and foremost because they help maintain high sea water quality by absorbing nitrates, ammonia and other organics that are harmful to sensitive reef inhabitants even in very low concentration.

They are filter feeders, meaning they shift planktonic debris from the water for food, which therefore improves the overall water quality.

Beside, few if any reef species match the wide range of vibrant colours from electric hues to blue and violet found in the mantles of a total of eight species of Giant clams in the world.

The spectacular colours on the mantle come from the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae which is literally the Gaint clam's powerhouse which generates its own energy by photosynthesis, in addition to filter feeding!

Giant clams are the world's largest bivalve mollusk.

True Giant clam, Tridacna gigas, for instance, are known to reach 1.4m (4.6ft) in length, weigh up to 260 kg and live over 100 years!

As an integral part of the reef serving as nurseries for a host of fish, invertebrates, shrimps while sedentary organisms like sponges, corals, algae find Giant clam shells perfect substrates for attachment.

Meanwhile, the history of Timbun Mata suggest it was inhabited before records kept. Several villages go back at least several hundred years, such as Mantandak to the west, Lakai Lakaito the north, Dap Dap to the northeast, Kubar to the east, followed by illegal settlements.

Timbun Mata was classified a "Forest reserve" as early as 1930 but planting of teak went as far back to 1880.

However, like most if not all forest reserves in Sabah, illegal loggers had made inroads into Timbun Matawith impunity and reduced in considerably because of deficiency in protection.

Depletion of both forests and marine life is set to get worse as seaweed farm owners, besides allowing their workers to take sea products, had also been cutting trees from the reserve forests to construct their facilities, the Semporna resident alleged.

Being 26km long and 10km wide makes it the largest island on the south side of Darvel Bay. It is mountainous and was densely wooded before 2000.

In terms of beauty, geological drama and name, it has something that smacks of Mt Kinabalu.

Located right at the centre of the island is a conical shaped extinct volcanic which by no surprise is also Timbum Mata's highest peak - Mt. Tanabalu which soars 620m!

For geological buffs, Mt Tanabalu stands as a vivid reminder of Semporna and Darvel Bay's violent volcanic past about 5 million years ago, the same explosive process that e created the towering volcanic rims of Bodgaya (Sleeping Old Man) 15km off Semporna town.

A secondary peak named Mt Sedungal at the east end rises to 489m.

The south side of Timbun Mata is separated from the mainland by a shallow channel known as Trusan Sigalog.

Read more!

Think Singapore is safe from quakes?

Distance may not guarantee safety, going by past cases
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 12 Sep 08;

THE ceiling lamps sway, the window frames shudder and soon, occupants have evacuated and gathered on the ground floor.

It is a scene that has been unfolding with greater frequency here these days, and seismologist Michael Spranger has an explanation for it.

Between Dec 25, 2004 and March 31 this year, Sumatra accounted for 23 per cent of all quakes measuring 6.9 or stronger on the Richter scale. In the last 30 years or so, the region accounted for only 2 per cent of quakes worldwide.

Dr Spranger is an earthquake risk researcher at Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers.

Like others in the business, Munich Re is calling on its clients, chiefly general insurers, to reassess their exposure to quake claims - in Singapore.

Reinsurers have been doing so since the frequency and intensity of tremors in Sumatra - a large Indonesian island just south of Singapore - spiked after 2004. In December that year, a 9.3 undersea quake off Sumatra spawned killer waves which claimed over 230,000 lives and caused billions in damage across half the world.Dr Spranger also pointed out that cities sited away from tremor-prone zones are not necessarily immune to the devastating effects of earthquakes.

He cited the case of Mexico City. 'In 1985, a quake occurred off the Mexican coast. About 300km away in Mexico City, buildings collapsed, and there were 10,000 fatalities.

'Between the coast and Mexico City, you didn't feel the earthquake.'

In Singapore's case, the Republic is vulnerable to certain shockwaves that can travel long distances, he said.

'Only the long waves arrive and they affect mostly high-rise buildings and especially those built on reclaimed land.

'In that respect, the risk has changed because Singapore has a lot more high-rise buildings on reclaimed land now.'

He said that these 'long waves' or low-frequency waves could 'amplify when they reach soft ground'.

Mexico City, he pointed out, is also partly built on reclaimed land.

But Singapore is unlikely to face the same level of damage that Mexico City did as it has a different make-up of base rock and soil and is farther away from quake zones.

'There would probably be many small, non-structural damages on a lot of buildings,' he said.

'You'll have windows falling down, ceilings falling down, computers destroyed, elevators having to be replaced... and maybe some structural damage, but that would be the exception.'

But that does not mean the financial impact would not be sizeable. Industry sources said an accumulation of small property damage can result in a substantial loss to one or more insurers.

That does not include business and economic disruption, personal injury and fatalities.

Mr Emil Bergundthal, executive committee member of the Singapore Reinsurance Association, said: 'Earthquakes have become a growing concern...of late. How reinsurers react to this development is pretty much up to the individual company.'

That Singapore may not be entirely safe from regional earthquakes is a proposition that has been raised before.

Researchers at the Nanyang Techological University (NTU) in a 1990s study concluded that the risk here was higher than expected; and that the building codes did not reflect this risk.

Professor T. C. Pan, dean of NTU's College of Engineering, and director of the Protective Technology Research Centre, said as much in a Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America in 1996.

Among 27 incidents recorded between 1833 and 1995 which caused ground motions in Singapore, 'six cannot be attributed' to any documented earthquake anywhere.

Some of the unexplained shaking was quite strong. 'For example, the tremor of Dec 28, 1948 lasted around 30 seconds and set a whole bungalow in distinct motion,' Prof Pan wrote.

If that tremor had been caused by a major earthquake far away from Singapore, then why was it not picked up by earthquake monitors in the region?

But if it had been caused by a weak earthquake close to Singapore, then it is time to review the assumption that earthquake hazard is not an issue for the Republic, Prof Pan noted.

Professor Kerry Sieh, founding director of NTU's six-month-old Earth Observatory, said Sumatra will be hit by 'the next big one...in the next 30 days or 30 years'.

'We have a geological record that goes back 1,000 years. It shows the region being hit by major quakes every 200-300 years,' he said. 'The last cluster of powerful quakes happened about 200 years ago. We're entering a new cluster.'

He noted that the major quakes which hit Sumatra last September and the subsequent tremors are part of a process leading to the 'next big one', which he said could be a quake as powerful as 8.8 on the Richter scale.

Quakes measuring 8 to 8.9 are classified as 'great' earthquakes, and can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometres away. On average, only one is recorded each year, out of tens of thousands of quakes big and small worldwide.

There are three potential areas in Sumatra where it could take place. Experts are most concerned about the one just north of Padang. At just over 400km from Singapore, a big quake there would be felt strongly here.

Besides Mexico City, Dr Spranger cited other examples of historically 'safe' cities hit by quakes.

One was the 1989 quake in Newcastle, Australia. Measuring 'only 5.5', it claimed at least 12 lives, injured 160 and cost the city financial losses of A$4 billion (S$4.6 billion) - of which A$1 billion were insured losses.

It was Australia's first fatal quake.

'That was the wake-up call for Sydney, and for Australia in general,' Dr Spranger said.

Another prime example was the quake in China's Sichuan province in May. Nearly 70,000 people died, 18,000 went missing, 375,000 were injured and about five million were left homeless.

Dr Spranger said this part of Sichuan had never been considered high-risk, compared to cities near other fault lines.

'This area that was affected is on the same class of expected shaking as Hong Kong, and probably Singapore,' he said.

A catastrophe expert with another major reinsurer, who did not wish to be named, said that more needs to be done before the level of risk facing Singapore can be ascertained.

'The difficulty we face is that there is only one quake-forecasting model applicable to Singapore, and it is very old. The last update of it was in the mid-1990s,' the expert said. 'But even if we had a relevant and updated model, we don't fully understand the science. Results from models can vary greatly.

'What is certain is that our buildings are not designed to withstand earthquakes. It is time everybody takes a good look at this.'

Singapore studies possible impact of quakes
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 12 Sep 08;

TWO new studies are under way to determine just how vulnerable Singapore is to earthquakes, despite long-held views that the island is immune to the devastating effects of nearby tremors.

More frequent and intense seismic activity in the region recently has sparked the studies.

Their results could affect building codes here, which currently do not require structures to be built to withstand quakes.

News of the studies here comes as two strong earthquakes rattled Japan and Indonesia yesterday morning.

The more powerful of the two, with a magnitude of 7.0, hit off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the country's meteorological agency said.

North-eastern Indonesia was hit by a 6.6-magnitude quake that struck beneath the Molucca Sea, reported the US Geological Survey.

There were no reports of casualties or damage in both incidents.

Neither had any impact here too, unlike recent quakes in Sumatra which have resulted in some high-rise buildings swaying.

The Nanyang Technological University is involved in the two studies being undertaken here to find out if the effects felt in the Republic are likely to be more severe in future.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is planning to part-fund one study on the possible impact that natural catastrophes would have on Singapore's financial sector, with earthquakes high on the agenda.

The second study, commissioned by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA), is part of its 'review of building codes and regulations after several major earthquakes in the region', said its spokesman Jeanna Das.

The 'earthquake vulnerability' study, which will be completed in one to two years, will also 'analyse how various buildings react during tremors'.

That the BCA has commissioned such a study is significant as it has always maintained that buildings here are safe from the effects of quakes in Sumatra because Singapore is far away from fault lines. It had added that Singapore had high standards governing construction.

The two nearest fault lines in Sumatra are 400km and 700km away, so the seismic waves would have weakened considerably by the time they reach Singapore.

But the frequency and intensity of recent seismic activity on the Indonesian island is worrying experts, who had previously believed that tremors were enough to make buildings sway, and no more.

In February alone, US scientists recorded nearly 20 ruptures along the fault line off Sumatra that spawned the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Between Dec 25, 2004 and March 31 this year, Sumatra accounted for 23 per cent of all quakes measuring 6.9 or stronger on the Richter scale. In the last 30 years or so, the region accounted for only 2 per cent of quakes worldwide.

Already reinsurers, known for being well ahead of the curve when it comes to spotting new risks, have raised the alarm.

Munich Re and Swiss Re - the industry's two biggest players - have begun advising insurance companies to see if premiums need to reflect the potential risks of quake-related claims.

Mr Peter Zimmerli, Swiss Re's vice-president (property & specialty), said: 'For earthquake exposure, we have worked to create awareness that there are such exposures in Singapore and therefore, the need to quantify and price such exposures into the premiums.'

Mr Kua Ka Hin, chief executive of Munich Re's Singapore branch, concurred: 'Earthquake is not a non-issue anymore in Singapore. It is an issue of concern.'

For now, however, general insurers continue to provide property owners earthquake coverage free of charge as no one in the industry wants to be the first to do otherwise.

'In a competitive market, charging could mean a loss of business,' a General Insurance Association spokesman said.

Mr Kua said charging is not the only way. Insurers could also mitigate their exposure by transferring the risk to other insurers or reinsurers, transforming or structuring the risk to the capital market by using catastrophe bonds, restructuring of policies, pooling of similar type of risks of participating insurance companies, or simply minimising or curtailing coverage.

Over at the National University of Singapore's nine-month-old Centre for Hazards Research, Prof C. G. Goh is examining how tremors will affect not just high-rise buildings but underground structures here as well, such as MRT tunnels. He told The Straits Times: 'One should bear in mind that a big earthquake is a low-probability but high-consequence event.'

He added that based on the risk that the authorities are prepared to take, cost-effective and yet safe designs can be adopted to account 'for possible earthquake load'.

'It is not uncommon for building codes to be revised, if necessary, based on better understanding through years of research and also from actual events,' he said.

Read more!

ACRES Rescue centre dumped with $1m problem

Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 12 Sep 08;

IT WAS to be a sanctuary for the animals rescued from the wildlife trade, but even as part of the centre opened officially today, more than half the completed Wildlife Rescue Centre remains closed and unusable as the land is contaminated.

“We were just preparing for the opening (around September this year) when we noticed foul smelling and blackish water in the drains,” Mr Louis Ng, founder and executive director of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) told Today.

Investigations revealed that the water was toxic — due to the tonnes of woodchips and petrochemicals allegedly dumped by Acres’ builder, A.*.A Contractor, on the site.

The backfill — used to level the steep slope of the original site — had decomposed, mixed into the soil and contaminated the groundwater.

It’s a huge blow to the animal welfare group that had spent a better part of two years raising funds to build the sprawling 2-hectare rescue centre.

Fronted by an education centre, volunteer and staff areas, the pride of the rescue centre was to be the 10 or so animal enclosures for turtles, tortoises, primates and other wildlife seized from illegal traders.

A.*.A had claimed that the woodchips had been “accidentally” dumped, said Mr Ng, but a further soil test revealed that the illegal backfill went as deep as 12m in some areas.

Today understands that the National Environment Agency is prosecuting A.*.A for illegal dumping.

Under the Environmental Protection and Management Act, the penalties for discharging toxic substances or hazardous substances into inland waters are a fine of up to $100,000 and a jail term of up to 12 months.

Acres has also initiated a case against A.*.A as the contractor has not removed the woodchips — estimated to cost at least $1 million — and stalling the progress torehabilitate the site.

According to the writ filed by Acres, the contractor had also demanded that the society pay the remaining construction costs of about $150,000, even though the site had not been finished as stipulated under the contract.

Last year, after extended delays by A.*.A, Acres made it sign an agreement to finish works and submit the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) by the end of August last year — three months after the original date of completion.

Acres ceased all payments when the contractor did not fulfil its part of the deal, but by then, $500,000 had been paid,according to the writ.

In a way, Mr Ng said, the delay turned out to be a blessing.

“If not, we would have moved in and after we got the TOP, the contractor could have completely washed his hands of us. We would have been left to deal with this on our own.”

As of this month, thedelays have cost Acres more than $10,000 in rent alone, not including the construction fees paid. Acres hopes to reclaim these losses in its civil suit.

Said Mr Ng: “These aredonations and interest-free loans from our donors and it’s only right to seek redress for the loss of these funds.”

Despite the huge blow , he remains optimistic.

“If it were easy, someone else would have done it by now,” he said. With a partial-TOP for the front portion of the rescue centre, which has not been contaminated, Acres can still conduct workshops and educational sessions forrevenue. “Our work will still go on,” said Mr Ng.

Acres is now appealing to other construction companies to help in the excavation and rebuilding works, reported Channel NewsAsia.

It hopes to open the Reco-very and Rehabilitation Centre soon, following further talks with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

The opening of the Animal Sanctuary, which needs to be torn down, is delayed for at least another six months.

Wildlife centre cries foul over rot and stink
Acres files writ against contractor for allegedly causing land, building woes
Shobana Kesava & April Chong, Straits Times 12 Sep 08;

A PINK wooden pig with wings beams down on visitors to the wildlife rescue centre belonging to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) in Sungei Tengah.

But the non-profit group has little to smile about.

Its 2ha premises was to have opened in April last year with an education centre, office and living quarters for staff and for the endangered animals smuggled into Singapore and rescued by the society.

But Acres is now mired in problems allegedly caused by its building contractor's work methods.

The heavy rain from September last year brought with it the reek of rotten eggs, and the groundwater pouring into the drains in the area turned black.

Mr Kenny Yap, the boss of Qian Hu fish farm next door, said: 'Our place is open to the public, and the smell has affected our visitors.'

Acres executive director Louis Ng said the fouling of the air and water has been traced to woodchips - lorry loads of it that were poured into a 100m stretch on Acres' land to level it. The stuff is 12m deep in some spots.

Those woodchips are now rotting.

Pollution problems aside, Acres is now dealing with having to demolish the new animal enclosures because of questions over the stability of the land.

The land will have to be excavated and levelled once again.

After 20 months of wrangling with A.N.A. Contractor, Acres this week accepted the handover of only a few buildings on the site, including the education centre and staff quarters.

On Wednesday evening, Acres issued a writ to claim damages from A.N.A. and its director, Mr Tan Boon Kwee.

Contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Tan declined comment, and said his lawyers would handle the matter.

Next door, where Qian Hu is excavating to create new fish ponds, work has stopped near its boundary with Acres' land because of fears over the stability of the soil. The land slopes downward into Qian Hu's premises, so 'we are worried landslides might harm people on our side. There's no buffer', said Mr Yap.

He added that there had been night activities on Acres' land, and no one knew what was being dumped there.

Associate Professor Chiew Sing Ping of the Nanyang Technological University, a civil and environmental engineering expert, said that woodchip decomposition would likely cause the land to sink.

'I have never heard of woodchips being used as backfill,' he said.

Meanwhile, the National Environment Agency has taken A.N.A. Contractor to task for polluting the area's water courses - the drains leading to the Kranji Reservoir - with what it called 'highly organic discharge'.

A court judgment is pending.

Mr Ng said he now pays $1,000 a month for waste collectors to redirect the stinking groundwater into a holding tank.

He is also not waiting for A.N.A. to remove the woodchips and has called for tenders from other builders.

Although the animal enclosures will not be ready for a while, Acres will push ahead with its public education programmes this month. The centre will have a partial opening today.

Mr Ng, undaunted by his problems, is holding fast to his dream of opening the wildlife rescue centre. He said: 'Donors have already entrusted Acres with $500,000 for this work, and we will work tirelessly to rectify the problems that have arisen.

'It would be easy to give up but what good would that do? This pig will fly.'

ACRES takes legal action against wildlife centre contractor
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia 11 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE: Work has halted at Singapore's first Wildlife Rescue Centre. Managed by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), the centre is now embroiled in an environmental pollution lawsuit.

At the heart of the case is the contractor engaged to construct the wildlife centre. It is alleged that A.N.A Contractor Pte Ltd had dumped woodchips onto the site, leading to the discharge of wastewater into the watercourse linked to Kranji Reservoir.

The discharge originates from a site located at Jalan Lekar – in the North-Western part of Singapore – that is meant to house rescued wildlife.

In its writ of summons to A.N.A Contractor and its director, Mr Tan Boon Kwee, who was the clerk of works for the rescue centre project, ACRES alleged that the toxic discharge is the result of A.N.A burying woodchips on the site.

Subsequent tests by environmental consultants, using boreholes dug up to 13 metres underground, showed that contaminants in the ground water included petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds.

ACRES will be claiming damages and losses as a result of the actions of A.N.A Contractor and its director.

In a statement to Channel NewsAsia, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said its officers found that the discharge contained high organic content. Its investigation also revealed that ACRES' contractor had used woodchips for the earth works at the site.

NEA has initiated prosecution against A.N.A Contractor, under the Environmental Protection and Management Act, for causing discharge of water with high organic content.

Under the Act, the penalties for discharging toxic substances or hazardous substances into inland waters are a fine of up to S$100,000 and a jail term of up to 12 months. NEA said the prosecution action is still pending the court's judgement.

It added that although woodchips do not contain any toxic chemical or hydrocarbon, it can discharge water with high organic content when it decays. But like any decayed or dried wood, when the decay is complete, the woodchips will no longer give rise to any discharge of high organic content waste water.

As for the hydrocarbons found present in the ground water by environmental consultant ENVIRONcorp, NEA said it is not unusual for hydrocarbons to be present in trace levels in the soil.

The agency added that it is monitoring the site and there has been no such further discharge into the watercourse.

Louis Ng, executive director, ACRES, said: "It's been a long and tiring journey for us and we look forward to ACRES Wildlife Rescue Centre becoming a landmark facility for the protection of animals. But at the same time, we will work tirelessly to rectify all these problems that have arisen.

"These setbacks have not dampened our spirit, our passion and determination to make a difference, and we will learn from this setback. We'll move forward, we'll stay positive and we'll definitely become stronger."

ACRES is now appealing to other construction companies to help in the excavation and rebuilding works. Notwithstanding the delay, it said it would open the front portion of the centre, which includes the Volunteer House, Education Centre and Administrative Building, on Friday.

The Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre will open soon, following further talks with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. The opening of the Animal Sanctuary, which needs to be torn down, is delayed for at least another six months.

To date, the work of ACRES has led to the rescue of more than 200 wild animals. ACRES has also conducted more than 280 roadshows and talks in Singapore to create awareness on animal protection issues.- CNA/so

More about Acres on their website

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PUB wins international award for Deep Tunnel Sewerage System

Greta Georges, Channel NewsAsia 12 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE: PUB's Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) was crowned the global winner in the Planning Projects category at the International Water Association Project Innovation Awards on Wednesday.

PUB said this is the third time DTSS – which allows every drop of water to be collected, treated and purified into NEWater – is recognised as an innovative engineering showcase.

In 2005, it won the Institution of Engineers Singapore's Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award and the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.

The S$3.65 billion DTSS comprises a 48-kilometre tunnel that spans from Kranji to Changi, where a centralised used water treatment plant is sited. It is slated for completion by the end of this year.

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Common pipeline network for gas consumers

Restructured gas market will facilitate entry of more retailers
Yang Huiwen, Straits Times 11 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE will have a restructured gas market from Monday as part of ongoing moves to liberalise the country's electricity sector.

The business of gas transportation will be split from the importing and retail aspects, said the Energy Market Authority (EMA) yesterday.

This means that all industrial and commercial consumers will share one common pipeline network to get natural gas, regardless of whom they buy from.

This is because all natural gas, whether piped from Malaysia and Indonesia or shipped via liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers from further afield, will now be channelled into a common distribution set-up.

This network will be owned and managed by PowerGas, the only licensed gas transporter here. It will transport the fuel to more than 120 end-users, from power generators to factories in Tuas and on Jurong Island. A set of rules - the Gas Network Code - will govern the activities of gas transportation.

The one-pipeline-for-all system means that more retailers can enter the gas market, introducing more competition, without having to build their own transportation infrastructure. The changes will impact only the industrial and commercial users of gas.

'With greater competition in the gas and electricity sectors, benefits of competition will flow through to consumers in terms of competitive prices and more choices of electricity and gas retailers,' said EMA in a statement yesterday.

The changes will have no real impact on household users as they are served by a wholly separate system known as the town gas network.

Restructuring the gas market will also help liberalise the electricity industry. Natural gas is cheaper and more efficient than oil and so forms a major component in generating electricity.

About 80 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated from natural gas, compared with just 44 per cent in 2002. The contrast with 1990 is even more striking. Then Singapore was wholly dependent on oil for generating electricity.

As part of the restructuring, SembCorp Gas, which has diversified interests from import and retail businesses to gas transportation, will exit the gas transportation sector by transferring its transmission and distribution pipeline assets to PowerGas. This will also be done on Monday.

PowerGas will interconnect the two pipeline networks. It is expected to come up with a proposal sometime next year with the integration expected to be completed by the end of that year.

SembGas will recognise a one-off gain of about $25 million over the assets transfer to PowerGas for this financial year, said parent SembCorp Industries in a statement to the Singapore Exchange. However, there will be a 'negative impact of approximately $3.6 million per annum to SembGas after tax profits for the subsequent years until 2023', it added.

Gas market opens its doors with some rumbles
SembGas users fear higher transport charges; customers to gain in long term
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 12 Sep 08;

(SINGAPORE) Singapore's gas market will be liberalised from this coming Monday, the Energy Market Authority announced yesterday, saying that this is expected to lead to more competitively-priced gas here over the longer term.

In the immediate term however, BT understands that some SembCorp Gas customers are complaining that they will now have to pay more as a result of higher gas transportation tariffs. This follows SembGas' transfer of its onshore pipeline assets to PowerGas under the market liberalisation which gives the latter a monopoly on inland gas transportation.

EMA said that the gas market opening will support the earlier liberalisation of the electricity market here by providing a competitive source of natural gas for electricity generation - especially with 80 per cent of electricity here currently being generated using gas.

'With greater competition in the gas and electricity sectors, benefits of competition will flow through to customers in terms of competitive prices and more choices of electricity/gas retailers,' it added.

In the immediate term, the gas market opening means that some of the big gas consumers, including generating companies (gencos), can also trade excess gas which they don't need - for instance, when they shut plants for maintenance - by injecting it back into the pipeline network.

PowerSeraya, for instance, plans exactly that, and is investing $50 million in an interchanger, which when ready in 2010, will enable it to take in Malaysian, Asamera and Natuna gas currently coming to the genco through three separate pipelines and to return the gas from one pipeline to another to trade.

Currently four players import natural gas via pipeline. They are Senoko Power and Keppel Gas which import Malaysian gas, and Gas Supply Pte Ltd (Asamera) and SembGas (Natuna) which are importers of Indonesian gas.

But because Singapore now wants to supplement diminishing supplies from its neighbours, it is building a $1 billion LNG terminal. And to provide an economic case for this, it has given UK's BG Group a monopoly to buy up to three million tonnes per annum of LNG by 2018, or whichever comes earlier, which means that the entry of new gas importers can only come after that.

Separately, SembGas announced yesterday that with gas market liberalisation, it has had to exit the gas transportation business and will receive about $90 million compensation from PowerGas for transferring gas over its pipeline assets.

Additionally, it will receive compensation of $35 million from the government, and a remission of any tax payable on the compensation it receives.

As a result of this, SembGas said it will recognise a one-off gain of about $25 million for financial year 2008. 'It is estimated that there will be a negative impact of about $3.6 million per annum to SembGas' after-tax profits for subsequent years until 2023.'

Some SembGas customers have meanwhile complained that because of the company exiting gas transportation, they now have to incur higher gas transportation tariffs which have gone up to 87 cents per million BTU from 51.5 cents previously, with this resulting in higher gas usage costs.

This is believed to have resulted from the way SembGas - which imports, retails and transports gas - structured its gas supply contracts. The company is understood to be in discussions with its customers.

SembGas has about a two-third share of the 120-130 'medium-pressure gas users' comprising smaller industrial users here, with GSPL accounting for the remainder.

The main gas consumers, of about 6-8 'high-pressure gas users' comprise mainly gencos and big petrochemical companies which have their own power plants.

SembGas hands over pipes
Move will help competition, says Singapore’s energy authority
Esther Fung, Today Online 12 Sep 08;

IF YOU use gas for cooking, you won’t notice anything new, but there is a big change happening in the gas supply business that is expected to benefit Singapore’s entire energy supply operation — electricity included. As part of the Government’s plan of opening up the gas market to competition, Sembcorp Gas is to transfer its pipelines to a licensed operator, PowerGas, on Sept 15.

SembGas, a 70-per-cent owned indirect subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries, will book a one-off gain of $25 million for this year. However, it estimates that there will be a negative impact of $3.6 million per year to SembGas profits until 2023.

With the pipeline in separate hands, the gas market can be opened up to competition. As gas is used to generate electricity, that market will be helped, too, said the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

Currently, SembGas imports natural gas from neighbouring countries, transports the gas through its own pipes and sells the energy to industrial consumers. But from Monday, the business of delivering the gas will be separated from the gas import and retailing business.

All imported natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia, or liquefied natural gas from elsewhere, will be transported to industrial consumers through a single owner-operator pipeline network. The owner-operator PowerGas will be regulated by the EMA.

With only one operator controlling the transport network, industrial consumers will be able to freely choose from different gas suppliers.

Open competition between gas importers and retailers, whose gas supplies generate 80 per cent of the electricity here, should help keep prices down. Today, about 75 per cent of Singapore’s electricity demand is open to retail competition.

Besides SembGas, another player called Gas Supply is also competing to supply natural gas to power generation companies (gencos), petrochemical plants on Jurong Island and about 120 industrial and manufacturing firms at Tuas.

Household users will not be affected directly by the new gas market. About 80 per cent of natural gas is used by the generators and 20 per cent for industrial use, including the production of the “town gas” piped to people’s homes.

The EMA drew up a Gas Network Code after consultation with industry players. To ensure that there is no commercial conflict of interest, PowerGas, the owner-operator of the pipeline network, will not be allowed to supply the natural gas.

The code includes regulating the tariffs that all gas importers and retailers will pay for use of the pipes. PowerGas has yet to make the rates public.

Today understands that SembGas is still in discussions with its customers as to tariffs under the new gas market. Some of its customers include gencos and other smaller industrial players.

For its exit from the gas transport business, SembGas will receive from PowerGas the book value of the assets with a 40-year depreciation period — estimated at $90 million — plus a separate tax-free compensation of $35 million from the Government.

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Australian researchers discover elusive frog

Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

A tiny frog species thought by many experts to be extinct has been rediscovered alive and well in a remote area of Australia's tropical north, researchers said Thursday.

The 1.5 inch-long Armoured Mistfrog had not been seen since 1991, and many experts assumed it had been wiped out by a devastating fungus that struck northern Queensland state.

But two months ago, a doctoral student at James Cook University in Townsville conducting research on another frog species in Queensland stumbled across what appeared to be several Armoured Mistfrogs in a creek, said professor Ross Alford, head of a research team on threatened frogs at the university.
Conrad Hoskin, a researcher at The Australian National University in Canberra who has been studying the evolutionary biology of north Queensland frogs for the past 10 years, conducted DNA tests on tissue samples from the frogs and determined they were the elusive Armoured Mistfrog.

Alford's group got the results on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency also confirmed Hoskin's findings.

"A lot of us were starting to believe it had gone extinct, so to discover it now is amazing," Hoskin said. "It means some of the other species that are missing could potentially just be hidden away along some of the streams up there."

Craig Franklin, a zoology professor at The University of Queensland who studies frogs, said the Mistfrog's rediscovery was exciting.

"It's very significant," Franklin said. "We've lost so many frog species in Australia ... Hopefully it's a population that's making a comeback."

The light brown frogs, with dark brown spots, congregate in areas with fast-flowing water. So far, between 30 and 40 have been found.

The chytrid fungus was blamed for decimating frog populations worldwide, including seven species in Queensland's tropics between the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Armoured Mistfrogs had been classified as critically endangered rather than extinct, but most researchers believed they had died out from the disease, Alford said.

Most of the Armoured Mistfrogs that Alford's group has found are infected with the fungus, but the disease does not appear to be making them sick, he said.

Alford and his team plan to study the creatures to try and determine how they managed to coexist with the fungus, in a bid to aid future conservation and management of vulnerable frogs.

On the Net:

James Cook University: http://www.jcu.edu.au/

The Australian National University: http://www.anu.edu.au/index.php


World's 'rarest tree frog' found
Rebecca Morelle, BBC News 11 Sep 08;

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Discovery of the world's rarest tree frog is caught on camera

An extremely rare female frog has been spotted for the first time in 20 years.

The tiny tree frog, Isthmohyla rivularis , was seen in Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.

This species was thought to have become extinct two decades ago, but last year a University of Manchester researcher caught a glimpse of a male.

However, the discovery of the female and more males suggests this species is breeding and has been able to survive where many other frogs have not.

Andrew Gray, a herpetologist from Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester, said: "This has been the highlight of the whole of my career.

"Now that we know that both sexes exist in the wild, we should intensify efforts to understand their ecology and further their conservation."

The BBC has been following the team from the University of Manchester and Chester Zoo that is working on amphibian conservation programmes

The BBC video of the frog is the first-known footage of this species.

The 2.5cm-long female, which was released after the discovery, was brown with metallic green speckles and was packed full of eggs.

A difficult task

Finding female frogs is extremely difficult; males make a distinctive call but females are silent for most of the time.

And tracking down this particular species in a great expanse of rainforest was even more difficult - the team had few clues about where the frogs might be, and the search could only take place at night.

The team trekked deep into the forest to a spot close to where the male Isthmohyla rivularis was spotted last year.

The researchers first discovered another male from its soft insect-like call.

The conservationists then trained their torches on the undergrowth, and eventually Luis Obando, head of park maintenance at Monteverde's Tropical Science Center, found the tiny female, which was sitting on a leaf.

Mr Gray told the BBC: "It is hard to describe just how unlikely it was to have discovered a female of this particular species.

"The only time you ever come across a female is by chance - and it is only once in a blue moon that they come down to lay their eggs. You really have to be in the right place at the right time.

"You could come out here every night for a year and not see a thing.

"I really think that this time we have had luck on our side."

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Rare male frog filmed

The discovery of both sexes of this species has given the researchers hope that this population may be surviving against the odds.

Mr Gray explained: "Last year, when we saw the male, we had no idea whether this was one of the last few remaining male specimens of this species.

"But now we have found the female, there is hope that the species may recover.

"It still seems that these critically endangered creatures are on the very brink of extinction - and although we have been intensively searching the streams all through the night, it appears that the density of the population is precarious."

The researchers swabbed the frogs before they were released to see if they are carrying the chytrid fungus - a disease thought to have killed of many other species in this area.

They also used a spectrometer to look at the properties of the frogs' skin to try to find out why this species has survived where others have not.

"It is imperative for the future conservation of Costa Rican amphibians that collaborative efforts harness the skills of biologists, researchers, educators and committed individuals, if we are to save these rare species," Mr Gray added.

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Experts call for halt to bluefin tuna fishing in Mediterranean

Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

The continued overfishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean is a "disgrace" and all fishing of the species in the region must be suspended immediately, a panel said Thursday.

A newly-published report from an independent panel reviewing the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) said countries are not respecting the fishing regulations they agreed to.

"The panel recommends that all fishing for East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna be immediately suspended" until countries involved in those fisheries "agree to fully abide by the rules and recommendations of ICCAT and international fisheries law," said the report.

ICCAT is responsible for bluefin tuna, Mediterranean swordfish, and albacore tuna fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.

The independent panel called the management of bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean "an international disgrace," adding that those countries involved "have failed to conserve bluefin tuna."

The European Union, North African countries, Turkey, Japan and the United States are the principle members of ICCAT involved in the fishing of bluefin tuna, a species highly prized for use in popular Japanese dishes, sushi and sashimi.

Experts say too many of the large fish -- which can weigh up to 900 kilos (nearly 2,000 pounds) -- are ending up on the platters of restaurants around the globe.

Today more than 50,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna are caught every year in the Mediterreanean. To prevent stocks from collapsing, that figure should be limited to 15,000 tonnes in the short term, according to ICCAT.

The three authors of the report -- Glenn Hurry from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Moritaka Hayashi from Waseda University in Japan, and Jean-Jacques Maguire, an international fisheries scientist from Canada -- were commissioned to evaluate ICCAT's performance.

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Walruses threatened by climate change

Walruses: The friendly, fun-loving, musically talented creatures are under threat from climate change
Jamie Merrill, The Independent 11 Sep 08;

With its bearded face and thick blubber, the walrus isn't the prettiest mammal in the ocean – that distinction is more likely to go to a sleek seal pup or a playful dolphin.

But looks aren't everything, and scientists who work closely with walruses say that they have winning personalities, a great sense of fun and are musical to boot. Now, though, these majestic creatures could be at risk from the effects of climate change.

Divided between the larger and more numerous Pacific walrus and the smaller and rarer Atlantic walrus, the world's walrus population is found at Arctic latitudes across Alaska, Canada, Greenland and western Russia. Here, walruses spend much of their time on and around ice floes, feeding on molluscs. But as temperatures at the North Pole rise, this pack ice is shifting north over deeper waters where the walruses struggle to reach their food.

It seems that anyone who works with walruses soon falls under their spell. Dr Ronald J. Schusterman of the University of California, who has studied them for many years, says that they are all too easy to fall in love with. "The first time I encountered one, I said to myself, 'Wow, these animals are really something else.'" Dr Colleen Reichmuth of the Long Marine Laboratory agrees. "As soon as I started working with walruses, I was really struck by how intriguing they are. They are such social and communicative animals."

Walruses spend about one-third of their time on ice or land, before heading out to sea in search of food. Out of water, they are nearly always found in groups or herds which can reach up to 2,000 in number. They use their tusks, which can grow to 80cm in length, to heave themselves out of the water on to the slippery ice – hence the family name, odobenidae, which in Latin means "those who walk with teeth". "They are very gregarious and social animals who like to hang out together and flop on one another," Dr Schusterman says. "They are very tactile and really like to touch just about anything. When we work with them in captivity, that can be a little intimidating at first, but they really are pussycats."

The bonds between herd members are very strong, and there is anecdotal evidence from Inuits that walruses are extremely nurturing creatures. Older animals have been known to try to protect wounded group members from hunters. "This is really unusual among species with a lower degree of social development. We might expect to see that sort of behaviour in elephants, killer whales or lions, but we don't understand yet why that sort of behaviour might be apparent in walruses," explains Dr Reichmuth.

"We know very little about their reproductive behaviour, but we do know that males have these incredible underwater songs that they produce during breeding season," she says. Using underwater microphones in the walruses' high Arctic habitats, scientists have been able to listen to them use their flesh, muscular lips, tongues, muzzles and noses to sing by striking their flippers against their chests to hit a balloon-like pouch in their trachea to create "songs" with clicks, rasps and bell-like tones, which can be heard up to 16 kilometres away. "Their song is spectacular. Some people call it the bell or gong because it can sounds like a ship's bell. If you had to apply human labels, you might say that walruses are both socially and musically talented," says Dr Schusterman.

But the future is far from rosy for these musical beasts, as the threat of global warming looms over their icy habitat. The most disturbing signs of climate change surfaced in 2004, when a team of climate-change researchers cruising through the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska, saw walrus calves swimming alone in deep water, far from either ice or land. Crying loudly, they had, it seemed, been separated or abandoned by their mothers as the sea ice retreated north to deeper water. Summer ice cover has been declining since 1980 and last September shrunk to just 1.65 million square miles – almost 40 per cent less than the average since 1979, when satellite records began. This lack of sea ice is causing walruses "to look further afield for places to 'haul out' – pull themselves on to the ice – and this means we are getting more crowding in areas which can have more interference from humans, trampling and frightening, leading to more deaths," Dr Schusterman says. As walruses come ashore earlier, they congregate in extremely large herds, as big as 40,000 in one location last year, and as many as 4,000 are thought to have been killed in stampedes in Arctic Russia.

Professor Georgina Mace, the director of the Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London and an expert in extinction risk assessment, says that "climate change is causing substantial environmental change for the walrus because of the melting of the sea ice. This is occurring very rapidly and there is concern for all species, including the walrus, that are dependent on the special environments the ice floes form annually." In the 1980s, the walrus population was estimated to be 250,000, but that has dropped to 190,000. "The fear is that a further decrease could occur very rapidly and affect the walrus the same way it has affected other ice-dwelling species, like the polar bear," says Dr Schusterman. Professor Mace laments that: "Change is occurring very rapidly, so rapidly that we could see the total loss of the walruses', and many other arctic mammals', habitat, and a resulting decline in their population."

In February, American scientists called for the Pacific walrus to be added to the list of species considered threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, but the news is not all doom and gloom for the beleaguered walrus. There may be some cause for optimism, according to Erik Born, a biologist at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. "There is a theory that looks at the evolutionary history of the walrus and its adaptation and behaviour. I think that it shows the Atlantic walrus will adapt to its changing environment with no great trouble," he says. "They are able to haul out on to land and are physically adapted to use an inflatable pouch to keep them buoyant so will be able to cope." We can only hope that should global temperatures rise, walruses prove to be as adaptable as they are loveable.

On thin ice: arctic animals endangered by climate change

Beluga whale

Notable for its white skin and melon-shaped head, the beluga whale gathers in river estuaries, where it can be affected by human pollution. Poisoning of the St Lawrence river in Canada resulted in numerous incidents of whales with cancer – in fact, carcasses of belugas were so contaminated, they had to be treated as toxic waste.

Polar bear

The polar bear has become a potent image of climate change, and a recent study has shown that the bears are becoming thinner, with lower reproductive rates. It's thought that because Arctic ice is melting two weeks earlier each July than it was 20 years ago, the bears do not have enough time to pack on the fat to get through the winter.

Wolverine

The wolverine has had little contact with man, though its fur has long caused it to be at risk from hunters. In 2008, the US Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the wolverine was "not eligible for protection", despite a decline in wolverine populations, possibly caused by loss of habitat.

Arctic fox

Relentlessly hunted for its white fur and meat, the Arctic fox is reliant on large predators, such as the threatened polar bear, to leave carcasses. It is considered to be one of the most threatened mammals in the European Union.

Narwhal whale

The rarely seen narwhal whale, distinguished by a 3m unicorn-like tusk, was found in a 2008 study to be the most potentially vulnerable of all Arctic marine animals thanks to the effects of climate change.

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South Africa okays sorghum trials to improve nutrition in Africa: official

Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

The South African government Thursday approved trials on genetically-modified sorghum in a bid to improve nutrition in Africa, an official statement said.

The official nod to undertake the greenhouse trials on sorghum was given to South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), one of the key scientific agencies in an international research project to enhance the nutritional values of sorghum, the CSIR text said.

Sorghum is an African crop and staple food of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

While it is one of the few crops that grow well in arid parts, it is lacking in most essential nutrients and it has poor protein digestibility, the statement said.

Scientific evidence shows that deficiencies in essential micronutrients -- such as iron, zinc, Vitamin A and others -- can cause impaired immune systems, blindness, low birth weight, impaired neuropsychological development and growth stunting, it said.

Malnutrition is a major cause of the rise in the many non-communicable diseases, especially in Africa.

The Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) project -- which involves seven African and two US organisations -- seeks to develop a more nutritious and easily digestible sorghum that contains increased levels of essential amino acids, especially lysine, increased levels of Vitamins A and E, and more available iron and zinc.

The CSIR Biosciences executive director, Gatsha Mazithulela, said the project approval "is in the best interest of scientific inquiry and provides a basis for making a difference to the neediest people of our continent."

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Natural Cures Pack Dangerous Chemicals

Christopher Wanjek, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

Ayurveda, a healing tradition from India, is as old as the hills. And apparently ayurvedic medicine available through the Internet contains as many toxic metals as the hills, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A team from Boston University found that more than 20 percent of nearly 200 samples of various ayurvedic cures contained dangerous amounts of lead, arsenic and mercury. Sometimes the presence of metals was a result of sloppy manufacturing; other times the metals were added deliberately as part of the cure.

The authors - who are advocates of alternative medicine and include an ayurvedic practitioner as well as a lead poisoning expert from India - said they hope their report can help separate wheat from chaff, that is, the useful elements from the ayurvedic tradition from the real whacky stuff.

Problems with ayurveda

India is proud of its ayurvedic tradition, which dates back over 7,000 years and likely predates Traditional Chinese Medicine. By 1000 BCE, when Europeans were still living in mud and beating each other with clubs, Indian doctors used the principles of ayurveda to drain fluids, sew wounds, remove kidney stones and even perform cosmetic surgery.

For the most part, the ayurvedic tradition - which incorporates yoga, meditation and diet - makes for a healthy lifestyle.

But the safety and efficacy of some ayurvedic cures are questionable, because often they incorporate chants and are based on astrology, personality traits, pulse readings, a supposed imbalance of three bodily humors (called vata, pitta and kapha, like China's yin and yang) and other discredited beliefs. Your herbal cure for, say, a bad cough might be different from the next person's as a result of your birthday and Mars being aligned with Jupiter.

Among these odd elements of ayurveda, the JAMA report targets a practice called rasa shastra, which uses mercury and other metals as curatives. Nearly half of the rasa shastra remedies tested had dangers levels of metals; several were 10,000 times over the U.S. safety limit.

Regardless whether you are a Leo or a Capricorn, that's not healthy. So the authors called into question the entire practice of rasa shastra.

India strikes back

Some folks in India didn't take the JAMA report lightly. The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a press release last week that stated:

"It needs to be emphasized that as per the directions issued by Department of AYUSH, herbo-metallic compounds are not being officially exported because of heavy metal concerns and only purely herbal Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha medicines are being exported from India with effect from 1st January 2006 after certification of heavy metals below the permissible limit by the manufacturing unit."

Read between the line, and this implies (a) herbo-metallic compounds still exist in India as part of the ayurvedic tradition; (b) herbo-metallic compounds are being unofficially exported; and (c) and herbo-metallic compounds used to be exported until European and American researchers exposed the practice.

The lead author on JAMA report, Robert Saper, was in fact one of the pesky researchers in 2004 who revealed the fact that more than 20 percent of imported ayurvedic cures in Boston's South Asian grocery stories had illegal levels of toxic metals.

Know your source

Ayurveda has gained popularity in the United States with promoters such as Deepak Chopra, who charges thousands of dollars for seminars about how ayurveda can improve your golf game. The tradition has become somewhat elitist in the United States, with ayurvedic spas, soaps, candles and other luxury items.

Many likely don't know nor want to know about the idiosyncrasies of ayurveda. (We haven't addressed the use of cow urine and dung.) Ayurveda, after all, has much going for it.

But when experimenting with traditional medicines, particularly when you are outside of that culture, it's prudent to understand what you are getting into. The Boston University team is one group of alternative medicine advocates who want to legitimize useful ancient therapies not because they are ancient but because they work.

Read more!

To slow global warming, install white roofs

Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times 10 Sep 08;

Such roofs and reflective pavement in the world's 100 largest cities would have a massive cooling effect, according to data released at California's annual Climate Change Research Conference.

Builders have known for decades that white roofs reflect the sun's rays and lower the cost of air conditioning. But now scientists say they have quantified a new benefit: slowing global warming.

If the 100 biggest cities in the world installed white roofs and changed their pavement to more reflective materials -- say, concrete instead of asphalt-based material -- the global cooling effect would be massive, according to data released Tuesday at California's annual Climate Change Research Conference in Sacramento.

Since 2005, the Golden State has required that flat commercial structures have white roofs. Next year, new and retrofitted residential and commercial buildings, with both flat and sloped roofs, will have to install heat-reflecting roofing, as part of an energy-efficient building code.

But the state has yet to pass any rules to encourage cooler pavement on its roads, which are largely coated with heat-absorbing asphalt, a cheap byproduct of oil refining.

According to Hashem Akbari, a physicist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a 1,000-square-foot roof -- the average size on an American home -- offsets 10 metric tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere if dark-colored shingles or coatings are replaced with white material.

Globally, roofs account for 25% of the surface of most cities, and pavement accounts for about 35%. If all were switched to reflective material in 100 major urban areas, it would offset 44 metric gigatons of greenhouse gases, which have been trapping heat in the atmosphere and altering the climate on a potentially dangerous scale.

That is more than all the countries on Earth emit in a single year. And, with global climate negotiators focused on limiting a rapid increase in emissions, installing cool roofs and pavements would offset more than 10 years of emissions growth, even without slashing industrial pollution.

Akbari's paper, "Global Cooling: Increasing Worldwide Urban Albedos to Offset CO2," to be published in the journal Climatic Change, was written with his colleague Surabi Menon and UC Berkeley physicist Arthur Rosenfeld, a member of the California Energy Commission. All three have been associated with the laboratory's Heat Island Group, which has published extensive research on how roofs and pavement raise urban temperatures.

Akbari and Rosenfeld said they will mount an effort to persuade the United Nations to organize major cities to alter their roofing and pavement.

"I call it win-win-win," Akbari said. "First, a cooler environment not only saves energy but improves comfort. Second, cooling a city by a few degrees dramatically reduces smog. And the third win is offsetting global warming."

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