Best of our wild blogs: 13 Sep 08

Labrador snippets
seaweed and seagrass found on our Nature Reserve on the labrador blog

Prof Leo Tan on Labrador and science for the masses
and more about him on the wild shores of singapore blog

ICCS Pandan mangroves cleanup: Registration and information
sign up if you want to help out on the News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore blog

Oriental whip snake having Olive-backed Sunbird for lunch
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Residents call it 'cemetery road'
on the Pulau Ubin Stories blog

Singapore's wild shores and the Biennale
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Giant clams eaten to extinction?
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Blogging for nature
on the Social Media and Environmental Education blog

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Prof Leo Tan on Bringing science to the masses

Understanding science will help people realise its impact on their lives
Leo W.H. Tan, Straits Times 13 Sep 08;

I TAUGHT biology when I began my scientific career, and I had a favourite living laboratory, a 300m stretch of seemingly barren beach called Labrador.

Every freshman in my class made a compulsory field visit.

Their typical first reaction was: 'Why did you bring us here? There is no marine life to observe.'

Using the 'learning science through inquiry' method, I'd take them on a journey of discovery about the wonders of nature and, three hours later, they would be asking if they could stay longer.

They had discovered the rocks were alive with algae, snails, barnacles, anemones, corals, crabs and a host of other creatures, and realised how rich the biodiversity was.

One striking impression they took away was not to make assumptions about anything until they tested out their hypotheses.

I would like to believe that first encounter had a stimulating influence on many generations of my students, including several now in key positions in academia and research, the school system and corporations.

Singapore prides itself on having a science and technology-based economy.

Everyone encounters science and technology in daily life.

I wonder though how many are actually aware of, and understand, the scientific content, principles or benefits that relate to their lives.

Only when people see how a light bulb is linked to power generation and climate change, or how losing a beach means the loss of biodiversity and bioactive products such as potential anti-cancer drugs from marine species, can they appreciate how science improves their economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being.

In a globalised, knowledge-based economy that is increasingly dependent on knowledge creation and innovation rather than merely on the goods and services of an industrial age, it is necessary to develop a science-literate society that is adaptable to change and able to make informed decisions.

This is where science communication can play a critical role.

Newtonian science was about scientific discovery and knowledge for its own sake, but after the deployment of atomic power as a weapon of destruction in the last world war, science must now be answerable to the public.

The public should exercise its right to be informed not only of the benefits of science but also about possible downsides and areas of concern.

There are so many interesting and contemporary issues to keep the public engaged - climate change and global warming; genetic engineering and stem cell research; health and disease; biodiversity and conservation; biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Unfortunately for many scientists, communicating their work to the layman does not come naturally, most notably because of their propensity to talk and write in jargon.

There is also a reticence to write or talk to the media, which undeniably is the major vehicle for stimulating public debate and shaping public opinion on scientific issues.

There are two other influential groups of professionals who need to communicate science - the teacher and the health professional.

The former has to engage students in thinking critically about how science works and why it matters to society. Students have to be excited about science as a possible career choice and not merely as a study option.

The latter has to communicate effectively on health and related issues and in a timely manner. The 2003 Sars outbreak, for example, demonstrated the vital importance of reaching out to the masses.

The National University of Singapore, in partnership with the Australian National University, is introducing a joint Master of Science degree programme in science communication.

The participation of the Science Centre Singapore in this programme, with its hands-on approach to learning, enhances the value of the degree. Both theory and practical aspects will be emphasised.

School teachers, in particular, will find this programme relevant as it helps them upgrade communication skills and scientific content knowledge, so they can engage students in creative ways as well as being confident of supervising them in project work.

In the 1980s, as director of the Singapore Science Centre, I had to seek funding to bring the famous Royal Institution of Great Britain's lecture and demonstration series to Singapore.

I was introduced to the head of a well-known chemical corporation, and he agreed without hesitation to sponsor the series. As an A-level student in London, he had attended a Royal Institution lecture given by a Nobel laureate in chemistry, Professor George Porter. He was so awed by the simplicity of the explanations that he decided to become a scientist. He went on to do a PhD in chemistry, joined the industry and rose to top management.

An effective science communicator had influenced his career.

Prof Porter was the director of the Royal Institution and a reputable researcher. He chose to communicate science not only to his peers but to the public too, and schoolchildren in particular.

As a result of the three-year sponsorship here, thousands of our students benefited from the lecture series.

The story does not end there.

A disciple of Prof Porter, Professor David Phillips, now an Emeritus Professor at Imperial College, London, had similarly influenced one of my students through his science communication lectures. That young man recently obtained his PhD from an Ivy League institution.

It is time this discipline took its rightful place in our society.

As for Labrador Beach, there is one clear benefit from introducing it to the students.

Some were instrumental in quietly proposing over three decades its conservation, and this became reality in 2001 when Labrador became a nature reserve.

Here was a tangible result of communicating science to my students.

They and other Singaporeans saw the value of keeping a living heritage that mattered to them.

The writer is president of the Singapore National Academy of Science and immediate past director of the National Institute of Education. He also chairs the advisory board for NUS-SCS Science Communication Programmes.

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Singapore: It's a jungle out there

It may be better known for its tower blocks and malls, but the city-state of Singapore also boasts rich wildlife and rainforest. Mark Rowe reports.

Mark Rowe, The Telegraph 12 Sep 08;

Breaking out from the cover of rainforest, we found ourselves exposed to the withering equatorial sun. But the heat was mitigated by the view from the bridge above the treetops. Giant hardwood trees punched up through the canopy, while a white-bellied eagle circled and bounced on the thermals. At my feet, a scorpion smaller than a fingernail nudged past - its mandibles raised in Lilliputian defiance.

Were you to guess which South-East Asian country I was exploring, you could suggest maybe seven wrong answers before arriving, correctly, at Singapore. We can all be forgiven for overlooking the wildlife merits of this city-state; after all, the tourist industry has historically pointed visitors towards Orchard Road rather than wild orchids.

The scorpion scuttled onwards on its epic journey across the 250-yard-long bridge that is the highlight of the 1.2-mile MacRitchie Tree Top Walk at the heart of Singapore’s Central Nature Reserve. Inevitably, perhaps, for such a corporate-driven city, the walk is sponsored by a major international banking group but, in environmental terms, Singapore is part of a tropical forest that once stretched from Thailand; through Malaysia and south to Indonesia.

While development and logging has accounted for 97 per cent of the country’s original jungle, Singapore is thought to be one of just two cities (the other is Rio de Janeiro) that still boast primary rainforest - that is, rainforest undisturbed by man. For the past 150 years or so, the jungle has served as a water catchment buffer for four major reservoirs and covers 2,000 hectares.

My walk began at Venus Drive, 1½ miles - about a 45-minute walk - from the start of the tree-top walk. Here I met Sharon Chan, assistant director of the nature reserve. It was a surprise to discover that Singapore, whose government appears to have a default position of reclaiming land for new shopping centres, not only has a National Parks Board but that, rather then being run by urban planners, it is staffed by expert, extremely enthusiastic rangers and biologists.

“This area has not been disturbed or exploited, so this is the core area where most native birds return to,” explained Sharon. “This is their natural habitat and that is the big draw for me. But we have to get the public to come here, then they will want to protect it.”

We had walked for only a few minutes before the noise of Singapore’s rush-hour traffic was muffled by the dense canopy of strangling figs with their dangling aerial roots, tapioca trees, banana trees and nascent ginger and cinnamon plants. The spidery tendrils of vanilla orchids hung in the air too, their anchor in the surrounding trees impossible to trace, while the forest floor echoed with cicadas.

Another joy is that you will almost certainly have much of the catchment area to yourself, perhaps encountering the occasional expat sent jogging on doctor’s orders. Your companions tend to be of the avian kind; the most charismatic is the racket-tailed drongo, named for its long, forked tail “wires” that expand into circular shapes, and which you have an excellent chance of spotting, feasting on insects on tree trunks. Other birds include the beautiful, whistling bulbul, the black-naped oriole, the banded woodpecker whose call disconcertingly resembles that of a cat whose tail has been stepped on, and, more familiar to European eyes, kingfishers and bitterns.

Long-tailed macaque monkeys jabber on the lower branches, and are less aggressive than elsewhere in South-East Asia. Given Singapore’s predilection for imposing penalties for the slightest infringement, I wondered if the monkeys, too, had been served notice to behave. Instead, their docility is proof that Singapore’s policy of hitting miscreants with hugely disproportionate fines can pay dividends: 18 people have been nabbed for feeding the monkeys - a practice that encourages them to pester humans - and fined up to £1,500. Press reports of those convicted are pinned to a noticeboard at the park rangers’ HQ. It’s an idea that deserves to catch on.

The bridge that links two of MacRitchie’s modest hills is just part of the treet-op walk. Farther along, the path mainly comprises boardwalk, and I encountered many lizards, including the common flying dragon, with an eye-catching yellow skin flap under its throat, while a praying mantis sat on a decomposing leaf, quietly biding its time until its next dinner. I was too late to see the nocturnal pangolin, which roots around at dawn, but on this path you may also spot the flying lemur, a creature that, a little unexpectedly, neither flies nor is a lemur. Its proper name is the colugo but it happens to look like a lemur, and glides - in a mixture of hope and expectation of a soft landing - from one tree to another, using skin flaps between its limbs.

Though you are extremely unlikely to encounter them, there are some creatures whose attention is unwelcome, including the Malayan coral snake and the black spitting cobra, though these generally slither away long before you might spot them. To see animals against which you might come off a poor second in a face-to-face encounter, you could add the Singapore Night Safari to your experience. Part of Singapore Zoo - generally regarded as one of the world’s better zoos - this imaginative safari offers walking trails and tram rides, with subtle lighting, to see many animals that are most active at night.

The tram ride commentary can grate quickly, with guides sprinkling the experience with Walt Disneyesque emotions. Being informed that the lions liked to gather together to study their menu (“sadly there is no vegetarian option”) was my cue to hop off and explore on foot. Trails are extremely short, but seem longer in the dark, and the interpretation here is more educational. I headed for the mangrove trail where huge, yawning, fruit bats dangled impressively from branches. Even though it was 9.30pm, the humidity made walking an endurance event akin to wading through thick velvet curtains. Authentic? Absolutely not. Enjoyable? Yes.

Coupled with the genuine article earlier in the day, it made me appreciate that, while its neighbours continue to log their forests to exhaustion, Singapore at least acknowledges that jungles and wildlife have a value that cannot be priced in dollars alone.

* The treetop walk can be reached along a three-mile path from MacRitchie Reservoir Park, or a 1.5-mile walk from Venus Drive, off Upper Thomson Road. The best way to reach the park is by bus from the city centre, which takes about 45 minutes.
* For more information on Singapore’s nature reserves and the Singapore Zoo night safari, see www.nparks.gov.sg and www.nightsafari.com.sg .
* Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com) offers economy Heathrow-Singapore return tickets from £600 inclusive. From next Friday, two of the three daily flights will be on the A380 superjumbo.

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Prince Charles speaks out on threat to marine life from plastic

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 9 Sep 08;

The Prince of Wales has spoken of his deep concern for the threat posed to marine wildlife by Britain's "throwaway culture" that is dumping plastic bags and other litter at sea.

In a speech to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Marine Conservation Society, the Prince pledged his support for the new marine reserves being set up by the Scottish and UK governments and moves to prevent over fishing.

However he said litter continues to be a massive problem for ocean life. Rare creatures like the leatherback turtle, the alabatross and countless seabirds are killed by ingesting plastic bags and the Prince was shown the remnants of plastic found in the stomach of a dead leatherback turtle.

"It is an eyesore on the beaches, but at sea, largely out of sight and thus out of mind, the remnants of our throwaway society are causing incalculable suffering to turtles, whales and seabirds," he said.

The Prince praised the MSC for organising beach cleans and campaigning to reduce the amount of rubbish dumped in the sea.

"Albatrosses, those magnificent and magical birds, are being found dead with their stomachs almost full to bursting with plastic litter of all kinds - and that is when they haven't actually been drowned by long-line fishing hooks," he continued.

"Here, in Britain, our largest native breeding seabird, the gannet, is equally threatened - over 90 per cent of the nests at Grassholm Island contain plastic debris which entangles the feet, wings and sometimes the beak of the chicks.

"And our largest marine reptile, the magnificent leatherback turtle is particularly susceptible - their favourite food is jellyfish, which bears a striking similarity to a floating plastic bag - a bag that can block their gut and so they starve to death," he said.

"We simply cannot continue to treat the oceans in this way. How can we talk about sustainability and stewardship when we are allowing this to happen?"

The Prince's comments came as Sainsbury's announced moves to limit the use of carrier bags.

From next month, shoppers will no longer be able to help themselves to the store's dintinctive orange bags. Instead they will be kep under the counter and only given out on demand.

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The biggest threats to regional security

Esther Ng, Today Online 13 Sep 08;

CLIMATE change and increasing socio-economic divide.

These are the biggest threats to security in South-east Asia today — more so than competition for scarce resources or an increased military spending, four security experts told Weekend Today.

For example, a two-degree rise in global temperature is enough to affect the economies and livelihood of people in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and to some extent Malaysia, said Dr Desmond Ball, a professor in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.

He was among the experts who spoke at a panel discussion on sustainable security organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and Oxford Regional Group on Friday

“Most of the large urban areas are along coastal lines. Any increase in sea-level would affect the population and what you’ll get is a large-scale continental people movement,” he said.

“Jakarta and Bangkok are particularly vulnerable — they have been experiencing heavy rainfall or flash floods over the last two years.”

“Extreme weather conditions affect businesses, for instance, a hotel may decide not to set up operations there or it may have to re-locate,” added Dr Ball.

For island states like Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Kiribati, the highest point of some of their islands is only 10m above sea level.

Moreover, increased salinity from rising sea levels has destroyed arable lands along the coast. As a result, many of these islanders are now heading towards the shores of Australia and New Zealand.

While South-east Asia has yet to experience a flow of “environmental refugees” said Dr Ball, the difference between Australia and South-east Asian countries, is that “Australia can accommodate an inward movement of its population” — even though this will be a momentous strain on its scarce water resources — but not so for South-east Asian countries.

The solution?

More active citizenry, said the panel which included Mr Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, chairman of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia and Mr Ma Zhengang, president of the China Institute of International Studies and Professor Simon Tay, SIIA’s chairman.

Mr Jawhar said: “The environment is one area, I think, where active citizenry is most effective — as has been the case with Malaysia. It’s important to make your voices heard and to get that message to the political elite.

“Climate change is everyone’s problem — so join an NGO or start something even if civil society in your country is not very strong. ”

Indeed, according to Prof Tay, dialogue and co-operation has been key to solving the recent haze problem among Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

This is made possible not only through inter-government talks, but also through efforts from non-government organisations, such as the World Wildlife Fund, Indonesia’s Centre for Strategic and International St udies and SIIA.

These include putting pressure on big commercial plantations to use machinery instead of resorting to slash and burn.

If that fails, NGOs will report these companies to the authorities or, in some cases, file a lawsuit against these companies.

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A cycle of change: cycling as serious transport in Singapore

Suggestions to makecycling a serious form of transport in Singapore
Today Online 13 Sep 08;
blogged@theonlinecitizen.com

CYCLING as a form of transportation hasn’t had a very good start getting integrated within the national consciousness.

While there has been a definite improvement in the situation, initiatives such as cycling on footpaths in Tampines has had much bad press, and while the bus and train operators have made several concessions towards cyclists, the time restrictions (only from 9.30am onwards), as well as the kind of bicycles allowed (only folding bicycles) really nullify much of the potential that such an initiative possesses.

Integration of cycling culture into public system

What if we could integrate a cycling culture into our public transport system?

We already have an extensive park-connector network that extends from the suburbs almost all the way to the city.

Perhaps more can be done instead of simply leaving them as peaceful, well-lit paths. There are two great obstacles to cycling as a mode of transportation to work or school in Singapore.

Firstly, the lack of safe places to store bicycles. Secondly, shower facilities, because our climate makes any physical exertion inconceivable to the average person who goes to work in the city. This is where the park connectors can be leveraged.

If manned shower facilities and bicycle storage places can be set up at strategic points around the park connector network (for instance: Near places with bus stops or train stations), it solves both problems as well as offers the potential to take a load off the public transport system.

Picture this: A commuter could cycle from home, along the park connector to a hub where he could freshen up and store his bicycle; then, it’s a simple, short hop on a bus or train to reach the workplace. Coming home would be similar. This would certainly make the journey from City Hall to say, Bedok, much more bearable if cyclists could get off at Kallang or onwards.

These facilities need not be set only at where the park connectors are. They should also be built at all bus interchanges and MRT stations to extend the reach of the network and offer more convenience to cyclists.

Where no parks have gone before

To relieve the load on buses and trains, laws can be passed that make it legal for cyclists to use bus lanes, and to enforce upon bus drivers the need to share the lane.

Now that our roads have more bus lanes and they’re empty, except for the buses, the time is right to allow cyclists to utilise these lanes for a safer and faster journey.

A little courtesy and education will go a long way in helping bus drivers and cyclists share the bus lanes harmoniously.

To counter the problem of a stream of cyclists holding up buses at the bus bay, a ramp can be build before and after the bus stop, with a designated cycling lane on the pavement to preserve the movement of both motorised and pedal-powered vehicles.

Modifying our buses

In addition, we should have a drive towards integrating our buses with actual bicycle racks on the outside and do away with the timing and bicycle size constraints.

All the technology is already there, it’s just that the companies are under no pressure to provide this service because there is no profit to be made.

In this respect, we can only expect to see changes if the mindset of the bus and train companies look away from their bottomlines and actually think of providing a service to the commuters.

Effects

If done right, the cumulative effect can result in the opening of a new, nationwide transport network using our existing infrastructure, and has the potential to alleviate much of the crunch that commuters are feeling on the buses and trains, and even if no real competition springs up and fares continue to increase, declining ridership might just force public transport companies to treat us more reasonably.

It has the added benefit of being environmentally-friendly and healthy, too.

Generally, any progress in this area would be more value for money than spending $16 million building the16 Electronic Road Pricing gantries along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway.

People from London to Sydney are already cycling to work daily, some making 10km trips or longer, and they don’t even have park connectors.

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22 new cases of chikungunya fever reported in Singapore

Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia 12 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE : The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday that 22 new cases of chikungunya fever have been reported. This brings the total number of cases to 200 as of Thursday.

MOH said half of the 22 new cases were imported and the victims had a history of travel to Malaysia.

Among the other 11 local cases, two belonged to a new cluster at Seletar Farmway. MOH said two retirees in their 60s developed symptoms on September 6, and one of them was subsequently hospitalised.

Seven new cases were also found in existing clusters like Kranji Way, Sungei Kadut and Mandai Estate.

The two remaining cases were reported at Crawford Lane and Mei Ling Street.

The National Environment Agency continues to conduct checks in those areas to eradicate mosquito breeding sites.

MOH has advised people who develop symptoms of chikungunya - which include fever, joint pain and rashes - to consult their doctors immediately. - CNA/ms

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Singapore Garden Festival wins 6 awards at international convention

May Wong, Channel NewsAsia 12 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE : The Singapore Garden Festival has won six awards at the 53rd International Festivals and Events Association Convention & Expo in Boise, Idaho, USA.

Out of over 1,400 entrants, the Singapore Garden Festival obtained a Silver award in the Grand Pinnacle category. This category is the Grand Champion prize in the awards competition.

Some of the other awards given to the Singapore Garden Festival were Gold for both the Best Ad Series and the Best Street Banner categories.

The Singapore Garden Festival was up against other renowned festivals like the Rose Parade, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and The Hague Festivals.

The International Festivals & Events Association recognises outstanding examples of quality and creativity in the promotional programmes and materials produced by festivals and events from around the world.

The National Parks Board's chief executive officer, Ng Lang, said: "This is an outstanding win for a first-time entrant to the Awards competition. We are competing against major league players like the Rose Parade, Philadelphia Flower Show and Kentucky Derby Festival.

"This win will truly inspire us to come back with an even better festival when the 2010 show returns." - CNA/ms

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Crows at Orchard carpark

Crows strike again
Cars at the carpark opposite Cineleisure Orchard get hit with bird poo by crows
Frankie Chee, Straits Times 13 Sep 08;

Car owners parking their precious set of wheels at Singapore's premier shopping destination hardly expect that they will have to visit a carwash on the way home to blast off bird poo.

Yet that is the prospect faced by those who use the open-air carpark opposite Cineleisure Orchard just off Orchard Road, at the start of Grange Road.

The prime spot in the heart of the upmarket retail district has attracted not just shoppers, but also a flock of crows that roosts in the tree tops at the carpark.

The bothersome birds shower the cars parked below with droppings.

Fed-up motorist Roy Chng, 49, a corporate planner, says: 'It's very unsightly to see bird droppings all over the car, and it's not easy to clean, especially the next day when they have hardened. It's also unhealthy.'

When Life! visited the carpark on Tuesday evening, the ground was littered with dried droppings.

Among the 50 or so cars parked there, only a handful were spared. Some of them were so heavily hit that they looked like a machine gun had splattered them.

Transport company owner Wong Kwong Wai, 51, said as he wiped the unsightly specks off his mini-bus: 'Ten out of 10 cars will get it, and I always end up with more than 10 spots all over my vehicle.'

Looking up at the black birds chattering among the trees, he added: 'I think I'm going to drive off now. If I continue to park here, sure kena (get hit) again.'

Considering how damaging bird poo can be to car paintwork, that might be a wise thing for Mr Wong to do.

According to car paintwork specialists, the birds' business can seep into the paint and damage a car beyond repair.

'Some bird droppings can be so acidic they can eat through the top layer of the polish and the paintcoat and can't be removed,' said Mr Tan Thiam Yong, 36, owner of Groomworks Services, a car paint protection and detailing centre.

It could cost anywhere from about $15 for a polishing to hundreds of dollars to respray the damaged spot.

The crows at the troubled carpark seem to have moved there only earlier this year.

They are believed to have 'migrated' from a nearby carpark in front of the Somerset MRT station exit, after being disturbed when developments to turn the area into a shopping mall began.

'Previously, we had observed crows and mynahs roosting in the trees in front of the Somerset MRT exit. With the recent construction activities they have moved away, presumably to roosting sites on other trees in the vicinity,' says a spokesman for the National Environment Agency (NEA).

It was hard to tell how many crows have set up home at the carpark during Life!'s visit, but their cawing was deafening and endless.

Helpless car owners are also cawing - in complaint, that is.

A Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spokesman said: 'We have received feedback, and have been pruning the trees in the carpark regularly to minimise the roosting of birds.

'We also carry out regular washing of the carpark to clear the droppings.'

The spokesman added that the URA, which manages the carpark, does not encounter similar situations at its other carparks.

NEA is also doing its part to deal with the feathered fiends.

It says: '(The carpark) is one of the locations covered under NEA's crow culling programme which entails the culling of crows at their foraging, nesting and roosting sites'.

More than 200,000 crows have been culled islandwide since 2002, it said. The present estimated crow population is slightly more than 10,000.

Experts are puzzled why the birds have chosen to flock to the strategic spot in the middle of town.

The NEA says: 'The choice of crow roosts depends on a variety of factors such as availability of shelter from the weather, the type of trees and their height.'

What is certain is that the birds leave their mark wherever they choose to roost.

'Every day, I see motorists cleaning their cars. Even pedestrians like me have been hit, too,' says Mr Sabli Nauti, 24, who works as a cleaner at Orchard Building and goes to the carpark for a break every day.

As if to prove him right, the 30-minute visit by Life! resulted in a bird-bombed car and a 15-minute cleaning job.

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Trying not to live off the sea turtle's back: situation in Bali

Mark Forbes, Sydney Morning Herald 6 Sep 08;

For years the inhabitants of Turtle Island rode on the back of their home's namesake, those primordial creatures that gracefully traversed the surrounding oceans and lumbered up their beaches to lay eggs.

Living a kilometre off Bali's coast, these struggling fishermen supplemented their diet with turtle meat. In the early 1990s they were lured by tourism's riches with an offer that could not be refused from President Suharto's infamous son, Tommy, to transform Serangan (Turtle) Island into a five-star resort.

With Suharto's fall and the Asian economic crisis the plan collapsed, but not before the construction of a causeway to the mainland, reclamation of beaches and the clearing of almost all vegetation.

Left behind were a desolate moonscape, destroyed fishing grounds and little income except for a handful of rickety cafes feeding surfers who visit when trade winds and tides whip up large swells off the island's reef.

Locals turned to catching turtles in increasing numbers, transforming the island into the centre of Indonesia's poaching trade. In 1999, 30,000 turtles were shipped off the island before new laws protected the endangered species.

But trade continued, despite a rapidly declining turtle population, and prompted a concerted campaign by conservation groups led by WWF.

The Turtle Conservation and Education Centre was established to educate and offer incentives to protect the animals. Eggs are collected and hatched, and baby turtles are released into the ocean, for a $5 fee, by tourists and environmentalists.

Staff member Wayan Sukara, a WWF field worker who was born to a turtle-trading family, now nurtures the animals he used to eat. "It tastes like pig meat," he recalls.

Most locals had learnt to protect turtles, Sukara said, but turtle satay could still be bought in the village.

On weekends, tourists can buy turtle meat at roadside stalls. "We speak to them [the sellers]," he said. "Sometimes we don't know about the meat. Is it pure turtle, or mixed, or do they just say it's turtle?

"We can't stop all the turtle trading in Bali without law enforcement … some people behind the activity are hard people with big money."

But the turtle centre was gradually teaching conservation values and the turtle releases helped fund jobs, Sukara said.

When the Herald visited, we joined WWF in releasing 100, two-month-old hatchlings.

The next day a marine expert, Windia Adnyana, told us many would not survive. "Ideally turtles should be released when they hatch. They have a 'swimming frenzy' to escape from predators," he said. "Yesterday was a feast for fish."

WWF's Lida Soede conceded a trade-off between the environmental and educational values of the centre and such releases, but he said the collaboration with locals had led to a drastic reduction in turtle trading.

Realising that thousands of turtles were dying in the waters around Bali each year, snared by nets and tuna long lines, the WWF began providing turtle-friendly circle hooks to replace conventional ones.

It seems to be working. Four years back not a single turtle nest could be found on the isolated beach where we released the hatchlings. This year there were six.

Talking to roadside vendors on the trip back, one woman said angrily that no turtle meat was sold on Serangan, but down the road we were told of three places to get it.

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Of Supertoy and social engineering

Infrastructure – and not fancy hybrid rice varieties – is the answer to improving rice production
Khudori, Today Online 13 Sep 08;

THE Supertoy project has caused such a fiasco in the presidential palace, as well as among the Indonesian people. A similar fiasco broke out four months ago, too, thanks to the ambitious Blue Energy project, which was purported to change water into alternative fuel.

A factory was built in Cikeas, Bogor, near where President Yudhoyono resides. A grand plan was then designed. This great invention was to be officially announced by the President himself during the 100th anniversary of the national awakening on May 20. Yet, the waiting continued, and still the water-fuel had not materialised. What had really happened? There’s no need to discuss it further, because it’s just too embarrassing. I mean, how is it possible to easily turn water into fuel?

One thing is for sure: Mr Djoko Suprapto, the “inventor” of Blue Energy, is now a suspect for fraud.

But the whole Blue Energy debacle was barely over when the Supertoy debacle emerged. Here was another dream, a new super-variety of rice. Inventor Tuyung Supriyadi claimed that Supertoy was the result from cross-breeding the Rojolele and the Pandan Wangi grains and has super ability.

He said Supertoy could be harvested three times a year without any need to plant new seeds, with a total harvest of 15 tonnes of hulled rice per hectare. But that claim was bogus. Around 500 of Purworejo farmers demanded 22.6 billion rupiah ($3.4 million) in compensation from PT Sarana Harapan Indopangan, Supertoy’s investor, because of the failed harvest. The President’s name was once again in the spotlight.

He was seen to have promoted both those projects. In the Supertoy project, the President even joined in the celebration of the first harvest in Grabag village, Sukoharjo, his wife’s home village.

There are similarities between the two projects: First, Blue Energy and Supertoy were endorsed by companies owned by the same person, Heru Lelono, one of the President’s special staff. Supertoy was endorsed by Sarana Harapan Indopangan, while Blue Energy was promoted by Sarana Harapan Indohidro, both of which come under the flag of Sarana Harapan Indogrup (SHI). Heru Lelono is the executive commissioner of SHI.

Second, the President had paid special attention to both projects, even though official research institutions such as The National Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), or the research division at the Agriculture Department had never conducted any scientific assessments.

Third, both of the projects are failures. In the world of science, failures are normal. There is always a long process of trial-and-error which needs to be continually performed by competent, certified institutions. Only once trials are successful can the experiment be good enough to publicise. In Supertoy’ case, the trial-and-error process had only reached the third filial; normally, a new variety would only be considered super after 7-8 filials. The project had taken a shortcut of procedures.

Super rice and its hybrids

The role of private companies, or anybody involved in engineering new varieties of “super rice” must be appreciated. In agriculture, when attempts to extend the land cease, super rice seeds are the way to increase production. Without a new variety of super rice, increased inputs would not give significant gains in production. That is why Thailand, China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam are seriously conducting research in order to find new variants of super rice.

Those countries are focusing on producing hybrid rice. China is far more advanced: developing super-hybrid rice with a yield of 11.4–12.6 tonnes per hectare. Hybrid rice was first developed in China in 1976. Now, there are more than 15 million hectares of hybrid rice farmland in the country. India followed in 1994. India has planted 1.2 millions hectares of farmland with it, and aims to have 10 million hectares of it by 2010.

The adoption of hybrid rice in India was quickly spread out because the government was working hand-in-hand with universities. The Philippines targeted that its hybrid rice reach 600,000 hectares in 2010. Vietnam is now working on shrinking the number of farmland to 4 million hectares. They are pushing the research on hybrid rice to become the second rice exporter in the world. Indonesia refuses to be left behind.

The development of hybrid rice was initiated in 1985 by the Food Crops Research Centre in Bogor and the first planting began in 2001. Currently, 31 varieties of rice hybrid have been released in Indonesia. Six of those variants — namely, Maro, Rokan, Hipa 3, Hipa 4, Hipa 5 Ceva and Hipa 6 Jete — were produced by the government’s research institutions and the rest were produced by private seed companies, though their contributions are not significant. The experiment with hybrid rice in Sumatra only resulted in 4-5 tonnes of dry, hulled rice per hectare, which is equal to the result from a regular variety.

In Java, the average productivity is6.6 tonnes of hulled rice per hectare, similar to the production of the regular variety in optimal conditions. Even then, the rice does not taste as good and is more sensitive to vermin and bacterial leaf infections.

Research is not the only answer

Even though it has been produced en masse, the hybrid rice contribution in china is only 10 per cent of total production. The rice production capacity of both hybrid and non-hybrid rice in China can reach 6.19 tonnes of hulled rice per hectare, with Japan at 6.31 tonnes, Korea at 6.47 tonnes, Indonesia at 4.54 tonnes and Thailand at 2.63 tonnes, because 97 per cent of the farmlands have proper irrigation.

Japan and South Korea have the same level of productivity. The productivity in Thailand is low because most of the farmland there is not yet irrigated properly. Thailand could have been the biggest rice exporter in the world, because it has a large farming land per population. Thailand’s land per capita measures 2,600 sq m, compared to China (1,000 sq m), America (7,000 sq m), and Indonesia (350 sq m). In Indonesia, there are 11 million hectares of farmland about less than half are technically irrigated.

In Indonesia, there are 20 million hectares of potential farming land in total, and only 8 million hectares are used. From the 20 million hectares, only 12 per cent is really fertile land, 47 per cent mildly fertile, while the other 41 per cent have low fertility. The farmers, especially those in Java, are reluctant to plant hybrid rice because this variant of rice has complicated requirements: there should be enough sun, water and fertiliser, ideal pH balance and strict pest control. And the price of the seed is 6 to 8 times more expensive than other premium varieties.

Small farmers who may own, for example, a quarter of a hectare of land will surely have to think twice to plant hybrid rice. Looking at all those problems, it thus becomes clear how to cope with food crises and increase the prosperity of the farmers in Indonesia: The country is more in need of a social re-engineering than a technological one. No matter how sophisticated the technology is, if the farmland is small, rice production will be small as well.

No matter how super the new variety of rice is, if the irrigation system is broken and the availability of water is not good, then the result of the harvest will not be good. Various research into finding a new variety of rice must be performed intensively, yet at the same time, agricultural reform, irrigation system construction and village infrastructure must be created immediately. For, without all that, any technological engineering would always hit a wall.

The writer is an agricultural and socio-economic analyst.

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Greenland seeks whaling breakaway

Richard Black, BBC News website 12 Sep 08;

Greenland is attempting to remove its whale hunt from the jurisdiction of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), BBC News has learned.

Its whalers are angry that the IWC has twice declined to permit the addition of humpback whales to its annual quota.

The move could eventually make Greenland the only state outside the commission to hunt the "great whales".

The news comes on the eve of a Florida meeting aimed at finding compromise within the fractured IWC.

The meeting is the latest stage in a "peace process" which began more than a year ago.

But documents sent in by governments' delegations - seen by BBC News - suggest fundamental divisions remain.

Divided rule

Greenland's Inuit communities catch minke, fin and bowhead whales under regulations permitting hunting where there is a "nutritional and cultural need".

At the 2007 and 2008 IWC meetings, Greenland - represented by Denmark, its former colonial ruler - requested adding an annual quota of 10 humpback whales.

The requests were turned down owing to concerns that Greenland had not demonstrated a real need for the meat, and that its existing hunting was too commercial in character.

Now, a letter has gone from the fisheries ministry of the territory's home-rule administration, based in Nuuk, to Denmark's foreign ministry, asking that Greenland withdraw from the IWC.

It is not clear whether Greenland is asking for Denmark to leave the organisation, or to stop representing it, or to re-draw the areas of responsibility of the Copenhagen and Nuuk administrations to make whaling a completely home-rule issue.

Danish officials declined to elaborate, and Greenlandic fisheries officials did not respond to requests for clarification.

The issue is expected to take several months to resolve.

Separate lives

A withdrawal by Greenland would have serious implications, because outside the IWC, its hunts would be able to expand without international oversight.

But there is resentment in several Arctic countries over what is seen as the imposition of "western cultural values" on communities that take most of their food from the sea.

Some ask the question, too, of why whaling is regulated globally when fisheries are managed through regional bodies.

The establishment of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (Nammco) in 1992 by Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands is an indication that some northern countries are looking for a different way to manage what they regard as their marine resources.

In its annual meeting earlier this month, Nammco concluded that Greenlanders should have an annual quota of no more than 10 humpbacks.

For the moment, Greenland is adhering to the IWC ruling rather than Nammco's recommendation; but given its latest move, that cannot be guaranteed to endure.

The establishment of a similar body to Nammco for the North Pacific is one of the options mooted by Japanese officials if the IWC becomes, in their view, beyond redemption.

Bridging the gap

With a view to healing the fissures within the IWC, chairman William Hogarth embarked more than a year ago on talks to explore whether some meeting of minds was possible.

Some anti-whaling activists decry the process because it could open the door to a limited lifting of the 1986 moratorium on commercial hunting.

But others believe it is the only viable way to reduce the annual global kill, which - if quotas are fulfilled - stands at more than 2,000.

A working group of 28 countries - not including the UK - will now meet in Florida, Dr Hogarth's home patch, to debate the issues that divide the organisation.

Thirteen countries have sent in statements of position, or comments, on the 33 issues that were agreed at the IWC plenary as needing attention.

Japan, as it has done regularly, says its traditional whaling communities should be permitted annual quotas.

It envisages that such whaling would have a large element of international oversight, and that the number of whales caught would be deducted from the annual scientific hunt in coastal waters.

But it makes no mention of its annual Antarctic catch, the major bone of contention for anti-whaling nations.

Some anti-whaling countries indicate a willingness to compromise on fundamental issues.

Argentina, for example, says that "issues such as scientific whaling and (Japanese) small-scale coastal whaling should be re-examined in the light of a spirit of commitment and within the framework of a dialogue which will allow us to leave aside the winner/loser rationale which has lately prevailed at IWC".

But other anti-whaling countries, such as the Netherlands, are adamant that the commercial whaling moratorium should stay; that scientific hunting, which is presently in the gift of individual governments. must be brought under IWC control; and that no countries beyond Iceland, Japan and Norway should be permitted to start whaling.

South Korea, meanwhile, appears to suggest that it might ask for a quota if the moratorium were to be lifted, saying that some of its communities have a whaling culture dating back thousands of years, and that "the ever-lasting whaling moratorium is destined to give rise to continuing socio-economic hardships to the communities concerned."

And Norway has weighed in to the Greenlandic humpback issue, saying that the IWC's refusal of a quota showed "an appallingly patronising attitude vis-a-vis the needs of indigenous communities".

Dr Hogarth's aim is to have a package of measures agreed before the next IWC plenary in mid-2009. The indications are that much hard bargaining lies ahead if his wish is to be fulfilled.

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Contraceptive jabs to curb wild boar

Michael McCarthy, The Independent 13 Sep 08;

Contraceptive vaccines may be used to control the number of wild boar in the English countryside. The animals, which until recently had been extinct in Britain for at least 400 years, have been steadily rising in number in three main locations after a series of escapes from farms, and there is increasing concern that they may damage crops, spread disease and attack other animals – or even people. A big male can weight 400lb and has razor-sharp tusks.

A two-year government study reported earlier this year that wild boar did not present a national threat and there was no need for a national campaign of eradication – but it did recognise that local communities and landowners might want to deal with animals in their area.

As part of continuing research into how to tackle them, scientists have been giving contraceptive injections to female wild boar in the feral population in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and then radio-tracking them to see if the contraceptives have any unwanted side effects – such as making them more aggressive.

The contraceptives are known to be effective – it is the side effects that are the subject of the tests. The experiment, which has been going on for two years, has just been extended for a further three, and if it is successful, could be extended to other wild or feral animals, said a spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The obvious candidate would be the grey squirrel, the American import that has driven the native red squirrel out of most of England, but Defra said it was too early to talk about which other species might be considered.

The Forest of Dean boar population is the second largest, consisting of about 100 animals. It has hit the headlines more than once with encounters between boars and people. In January this year, a boar was shot in the playground of Ruardean primary school, after it turned on a forest ranger, while in nearby Cinderford, in 2004, a boar thought to have escaped from an abattoir charged through a supermarket and knocked down an old woman before fleeing into the countryside.

The largest boar population, on the Kent/Sussex border and is thought to number more than 200 animals. It appears to have started when fences of several boar farms were blown down during the great storm in October 1987. The smallest is centred on Powerstock Common in west Dorset, and is thought to consist of fewer than 50 individuals.

However, all the populations are steadily expanding and, after the Government report earlier this year, Rob Guest, from the Forestry Commission, said he thought culling was an option that would have to be considered. "I think what is clear – because of the potential for the population to explode – there is going to have to be some sort of management," he said.

The current experiment is being carried out by researchers from the Central Science Laboratories who catch boar sows humanely in big cage traps that have been baited. They are recaptured from time to time for blood tests. The injections could prevent the sows from having up to 15 piglets at a time.

"It is important there are effective and humane methods available to resolve conflicts between wildlife and humans," Defra said, "Fertility control is one such method, and currently between six and 12 wild boar are being radio-tracked as part of a study to test the effectiveness of immuno-contraceptive vaccines on wild animals.

"Whilst it is preferable for the wild boar being tracked not to be shot, if these individual boar are causing damage on private land, landowners can control them. All we ask is that if a wild boar involved in the study is shot, the landowner returns the radio collar to the Central Science Laboratory."

Animal action

*Birth control for wild animals, especially invasive non-native species that harm their new environments, is definitely on the agenda. The Forestry Commission is in the middle of a three-year trial to see if contraception can be made to work with grey squirrels. One of the challenges for researchers is to come up with a bait that squirrels will to eat immediately, rather than squirrel away for later, as is their habit.

In Australia, syringes on poles have been used to inoculate koalas with contraceptives without them even leaving their trees. In 2004 authorities in Australia's capital, Canberra, used contraceptives hidden in grass to limit the number of kangaroos in the city.

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Nevada game wardens seize illegal African frogs

Scott Sonner, Associated Press Yahoo News 11 Sep 08;

Authorities who seized scores of illegal African clawed frogs from Nevada residents say they have traced the creatures — banned because of their potential for ecological damage — to a company that sells tadpoles over the Internet.

It turns out the tadpoles from Florida-based Grow-a-Frog — which markets them as an educational tool — are illegal in Nevada and at least 10 other U.S. states, authorities said.

Agents seized 119 of the frogs from three Reno homes last month and publicized the raids to get the word out they're illegal. Inundated with calls, they recovered another 68 this week in seven Nevada counties.

Florida-based Grow-a-Frog called the shipments to Nevada a mistake and agreed to pay a $3,600 fine and stop sending the unwelcome guests, said Capt. Cameron Waithman, the Nevada Department of Wildlife warden who led the months-long investigation.

Banned as an illegal invasive species, the creatures live mostly in the water and grow as large as bullfrogs. They can destroy ecosystems if they escape by voraciously eating native fish, Waithman said.

"I know a whole lot more about frogs now than I did a month ago," said Waithman, who more typically investigates poaching of elk and antelope.

Nevadans who knowingly possess Africa clawed frogs are subject to six months in jail and a $500 fine, but Waithman said most owners didn't know what they had. Some expressed genuine concern about the environmental threat, while others "just said, 'I'm not going to jail for these frogs.'"

"This was never about writing tickets to people who were shipped these frogs," said Rob Buonamici, the department's chief game warden. "This investigation came together very quickly and the public has been onboard since day one."

At least 10 other states outlaw the African clawed frogs without a special permit — Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.

Company officials cooperated in the investigation, officials said.

"It's not just an ordinary frog!" says Grow-a-Frog's Web site. "Perfect for class projects, science fairs, and anyone who appreciates the wonder of nature. Grows arms and legs, then MORPHS into a little baby froglet." It doesn't specify what type of frog is involved, something Waithman said he hoped would change.

Grow-a-Frog officials did not respond to e-mails Wednesday and Thursday from The Associated Press seeking comment. A woman who answered the company's order line Thursday evening told a reporter no one was available to comment and to call back on Friday. She declined to give her name.

NDOW spokesman Edwin Lyngar said that the president of the company, Paul Rudnick, said he was aware that the frogs are illegal in Nevada and that a mistake was made.

"He was very apologetic and very cooperative," Lyngar told AP.

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Indonesian govt "gives up" on stopping mud volcano

Reuters 12 Sep 08;

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's vice president said on Friday the government had given up all hope of halting a mud volcano in East Java which has displaced thousands of people, hurt businesses, and destroyed the local environment.

The disastrous mud volcano, which started erupting in May 2006 near Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya, has proved a huge problem for the government.

The hot, noxious mud has displaced more than 50,000 people, submerged homes, factories and schools and is now flowing at a rate of more than 100,000 cubic meters a day. Various attempts to halt the flow have all failed.

"The government has given up in terms of efforts to stop the mudflow, but will never give up when it comes to taking care of the people," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters.

"There have always been people that said stopping the mudflow is not an easy task," he said, adding the government had spent "trillions of rupiah every year" trying to solve the problem.

Some scientists have said that energy firm PT Lapindo Brantas' drilling for a gas exploration well set off the mud volcano, but Lapindo has denied it is to blame, saying the mud disaster was triggered by tectonic activity.

Lapindo is linked to the Bakrie Group, controlled by the family of Chief Social Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, who was recently ranked by a local business magazine as Indonesia's richest man.

The government has ordered Lapindo to pay 3.8 trillion rupiah, or about $400 million, in compensation to the victims and to cover the damage.

($1 = 9,435 rupiah)

(Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Sara Webb and Paul Tait)

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AP Enterprise: Drugs affect more drinking water in the US

Martha Mendoza, Associated Press Yahoo News 12 Sep 08;

Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala. Results are pending in three others.

The test results, added to data from communities and water utilities that bowed to pressure to disclose earlier test results, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drug-contaminated drinking water supplies.

The overwhelming majority of U.S. cities have not tested drinking water while eight cities — including Boston, Phoenix and Seattle — were relieved that tests showed no detections.

"We didn't think we'd find anything because our water comes from a pristine source, but after the AP stories we wanted to make sure and reassure our customers," said Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report.

Chicago, for example, found a cholesterol medication and a nicotine derivative. Many cities found the anti-convulsant carbamazepine. Officials in one of those communities, Colorado Springs, say they detected five pharmaceuticals in all, including a tranquilizer and a hormone.

"This is obviously an emerging issue and after the AP stories came out we felt it was the responsible thing for us to do, as a utility, to find out where we stand. We believe that at these levels, based on current science, that the water is completely safe for our customers," said Colorado Springs spokesman Steve Berry. "We don't want to create unnecessary alarm, but at the same time we have a responsibility as a municipal utility to communicate with our customers and let them know."

Fargo's water director, Bruce Grubb, said the concentrations of three drugs detected there were so incredibly minute — parts per trillion — that he sent them to the local health officer to figure out how to interpret the information for the community.

"We plan to put this into some kind of context other than just scientific nomenclature, so folks can get some level of understanding about what it means," said Grubb.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks are still unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

And while the new survey expands the known extent of the problem, the overwhelming majority of U.S. communities have yet to test, including the single largest water provider in the country, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

In April, New York City council members insisted during an emergency hearing that their drinking water be tested. But DEP officials subsequently declared that "the testing of finished tap water is not warranted at this time."

___

The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate (at) ap.org

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Loggers still a threat to Amazon Indians

Reuters 12 Sep 08;

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Isolated native Indians in the Amazon forest of Brazil and Peru remain threatened by advancing loggers despite growing international attention to their plight, a senior Brazilian official said on Thursday.

"Pressure from Peruvian loggers continues, it's a concern," Marcio Meira, head of the government's Indian affairs agency, Funai, told the foreign press association in Brasilia.

Brazil's Acre state along the border with Peru is one of the world's last refuges for such groups, but increasing activity by wildcat miners and loggers puts them at risk.

Dramatic pictures of pigment-covered Indians from the region threatening the photographer's aircraft with bows and arrows were carried in May by media worldwide.

The Peruvian ambassador to Brazil subsequently told Meira his government was concerned about the issue and preparing measures, without detailing what these were.

Brazil has 26 confirmed native Indian tribes that live with little or no contact with the outside world. There are unconfirmed reports of an additional 35 such groups.

Many of them live in the forest like their forefathers did centuries ago, hunting and gathering.

More than three months after the photographs sparked an international media frenzy, Funai officials continue to witness logging activity in the region. "There is evidence. We see timber floating down the river which originates in Peru," said Meira.

Survival International, a group that campaigns for tribal peoples' rights, said last week that the Peruvian government had not lived up to its promise of publishing an investigation into accusations of illegal logging.

"The Peruvian government must not be allowed to bury this issue, or to turn their backs on the uncontacted tribes," said Survival's director, Stephen Corry.

The issue will be discussed at an international conference on native Indians in Georgetown, Guyana, later this month, Meira said.

Advancing loggers also threaten isolated tribes in Brazil's northern Mato Gross state and along the upper Xingu river in Para state, Meira said.

(Reporting by Raymond Colitt, editing by Ross Colvin)

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Antarctic winter ice gets bigger; Arctic shrinks

Alister Doyle, Reuters 12 Sep 08;

OSLO (Reuters) - The amount of sea ice around Antarctica has grown in recent Septembers in what could be an unusual side-effect of global warming, experts said on Friday.

In the southern hemisphere winter, when emperor penguins huddle together against the biting cold, ice on the sea around Antarctica has been increasing since the late 1970s, perhaps because climate change means shifts in winds, sea currents or snowfall.

At the other end of the planet, Arctic sea ice is now close to matching a September 2007 record low at the tail end of the northern summer in a threat to the hunting lifestyles of indigenous peoples and creatures such as polar bears.

"The Antarctic wintertime ice extent increased...at a rate of 0.6 percent per decade" from 1979-2006, said Donald Cavalieri, a senior research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

At 19 million sq kms (7.34 million sq mile), it is still slightly below records from the early 1970s of 20 million, he said. The average year-round ice extent has risen too.

Some climate skeptics point to the differing trends at the poles as a sign that worries about climate change are exaggerated. However, experts say they can explain the development.

"What's happening is not unexpected...Climate modelers predicted a long time ago that the Arctic would warm fastest and the Antarctic would be stable for a long time," said Ted Maksym, a sea ice specialist at the British Antarctic Survey.

The U.N. Climate Panel says it is at least 90 percent sure that people are stoking global warming -- mainly by burning fossil fuels. But it says each region will react differently.

A key difference is that Arctic ice floats on an ocean and is warmed by shifting currents and winds from the south. By contrast, Antarctica is an isolated continent bigger than the United States that creates its own deep freeze.

"The air temperature in Antarctica has increased very little compared to the Arctic," said Ola Johannessen, director of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Norway. "The reason is you have a huge ocean surrounding the land."

Cavalieri said some computer models indicate a reduction in the amount of heat coming up from the ocean around Antarctica as one possible explanation for growing ice.

Another theory was that warmer air absorbs more moisture and means more snow and rainfall, he said. That could mean more fresh water at the sea surface around Antarctica -- fresh water freezes at a higher temperature than salt water.

"There has been a strengthening of the winds that circumnavigate the Antarctic," said Maksym. That might be linked to a thinning of the ozone layer high above the continent, blamed in turn on human use of chemicals used in refrigerants.

In some places, stronger winds might blow ice out to sea to areas where ice would not naturally form.

Maksym predicted that global warming would eventually warm the southern oceans, and shrink the sea ice around Antarctica. "A lot of the modelers are predicting the turning point to be right about this time," he said.

(Editing by Keith Weir)

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