Seagrasses found at Labrador
fact sheets on the Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides on the Labrador blog
Blog Action Day 2008: Migrants
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
New articles on Wild Asia
on sustainable travel, eco-issues and more on the wild asia website
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com 15 Oct 08;
Last week the IUCN changed the status of the Malayan and the Chinese pangolins from near-threatened to endangered. These notoriously shy and scaly mammals, resembling anteaters with armored plates, have become the victim of a booming illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia.
Malayan pangolin (otherwise known as Sunda pangolin) are caught by smugglers largely in Malaysia and Indonesia then shipped to the black market in China where they are eaten or used for traditional medicine. Chinese pangolins were once the primary target of smugglers, but the smugglers have recently switched to the Malayan pangolin.
This change occurred “simply because the Chinese pangolin populations are so low,” explains Norman Lim, one of the few biologists to have studied the Malayan pangolin.
“There seems to be a shift from the trade in Chinese pangolin parts to Malayan pangolins (through land and sea routes); being a species in neighboring countries, the Malayan species is a substitute for the Chinese species.” Lim studied the Malayan pangolin in Singapore, where the species is still relatively common.
According to the organization TRAFFIC, which monitors wildlife trade, there have been approximately two dozen incidents of pangolin confiscations or smuggler arrests in the past year, making pangolins the most commonly confiscated mammals in seizures of illegally traded animals in Southeast Asia.
According to the New Straits Times Press between 1998 and 2007, 30,000 pangolin specimens were confiscated by authorities in East Asia. No one knows how many pangolin specimens have actually been traded, but the number confiscated is certainly a small percentage of the total. Currently trading in pangolins is illegal in all nations, except Laos where Lim says the law remains “unclear”.
Just last month 16 pangolins were seized and eight men arrested for smuggling in the Johor state of Malaysia. In June 281 kilograms (618 lbs.) of pangolin scales were confiscated in the Yunnan province of China.
Pangolin scales are a popular herbal remedy in China, Vietnam, and Korea. The scales are believed to cure toxicosis, inflammation and rheumatic pain. They are also used to soothe aches and pains, and even as an aphrodisiac. Eating pangolin meat is believed to promote general health. In addition, some pangolins are stuffed and sold as a decoration.
One of the major difficulties facing pangolin conservation is the dearth in knowledge about the species. “Unfortunately, because of the lack of detailed studies, we are not sure what are the roles of pangolins in their natural habitats,” Lim told Mongabay.com, adding that “of course, the most likely one is that they have a huge impact on the population of the ants and termites, which may then in turn affect the rate of nutrients recycling, etc.”
In addition, there is very little information on pangolin populations; the IUCN has relied primarily on interviews with locals to determine the population of the species. They suspect that both the Malayan and the Chinese pangolin have declined by 50 percent in fifteen years.
Lim says that while “most nocturnal animals suffer the same fact of being understudied…the elusive habits of the pangolins make wildlife research especially difficult.”
If Asia’s pangolins are going to be protected effectively, more information is required according to Lim. “Until we can find out more about their birth rates, lifespan in the wild, rate of harvest, we can hardly make an educated guess about their long-term survival.”
There are eight species of pangolin worldwide, four in East Asia and four in Africa. According to the IUCN the East Asian pangolins are facing greater threats with two species (the Malayan and Chinese) classified as endangered and the remaining two as near-threatened. The outlook for African pangolins is better: two species are classified as least concern and two as near-threatened. However, the populations of all eight species are in decline.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post 15 Oct 08;
As with other regencies in the densely populated East Java, Tuban is experiencing the gradual obliteration of mangrove forests along its coastal areas because of uncontrolled logging, shore reclamation projects and the absence of strict spatial zoning regulation.
At least 105 hectares of mangrove forests have been damaged because of severe daily erosion, from Sugihwaras village in Jenu district to Sukolilo village in Bancar district. The recent collapse of a long dike, which protected the forest area, has contributed to the severe erosion.
Chairman of the coastal farmers association in Jenu, M. Ali Mansur, said recently the erosion had eaten away at mangrove forests planted in 2006 and 2007, sweeping thousands of trees away to sea.
Farmers and activists have both done much to repair the damage but the regency administration has contributed nothing to finance the mangrove centers to replant the barren coast.
Ali said the mangrove center had spent Rp 750 million since 2004 in its efforts to breed mangrove seedlings to regreen eight hectares of barren coastal areas in the region.
But their work over the past four years would count for nothing if no immediate action was taken to stop erosion, he warned.
Tuban administration spokesman Sukristiono said the administration would help replant the barren areas by making strict policies and regulations and providing financial assistance to help salvage the mangrove forest.
A total of 13,000 hectares of mangrove forests along the province's coastal areas has been damaged due to intensive land reclamation and illegal logging of mangrove trees.
Hundreds of houses and public buildings such as mosques, bridges, shopping centers, factories and bus terminals have been built on forest areas in Tuban.
The same is the case in 16 other regencies including Madura, Sidoarjo and Malang.
"If nothing is done about it, Java could sink," Ali said.
"Nobody will be able to do much if tidal waves like a tsunami occur anytime in the future."
Ali said both the government and the people should learn from the tsunami that devastated Aceh and Nias in 2004, which demonstrated the importance of planting coastal areas with mangroves to protect the people against such devastation.
Aceh authorities classified the land within 50 meters of the coastline as a protected zone and turned it into mangrove forest following the devastating tsunami that claimed more than 210,000 lives and destroyed thousands of houses and public buildings.
Head of the East Java environmental impact management office Hartoyo said his office had launched a campaign to raise public awareness of the issue and encourage locals to plant mangroves in coastal areas.
The absence of a strong spatial zone bylaw, however, threatened the sustainability of mangrove forests along the province's northern coastal areas, providing a loophole for businesses and local authorities to develop industrial, agricultural and housing areas there.
In Sidoarjo, the regency administration has issued a regulation to protect the vast mangrove forests located 400 meters along the coast. The regulation carries a maximum fine of Rp 5 million for felling mangrove trees in the regency.
A recent study conducted by Ecoton, an environmental NGO in the city, found there were 25 species of 12 families of mangrove vegetation that had four basic functions to supply nutrients to the surrounding waters, houses, rare birds and fish and to neutralize pollutant metals.
Almost 90 percent of fish off the coasts of Java and Bali contain mangrove fragments on their intestines, according to the study. Mangroves also prevent erosion and indirectly protect housing on coastal areas from high tidal waves including tsunamis.
Coordinator of the reforestation program in Jenu, Tuban, Mar'atul Muflihatin, praised the regency's reforestation program, which she said could be copied by other regencies and municipalities in the province in a joint force to salvage the deteriorating coastal forests.
She said her office was still campaigning for the reforestation program in order to nurture respect for mangroves among young people and encourage them to plant the trees in their own areas.
Ali said farmers in Jenu had planted more than 15,000 mangrove trees, in a project expected to form vast forests along 10 kilometers of coastline in the regency.
He said the local regency administration had yet to demonstrate a strong commitment to regreening the barren coastal areas and had issued numerous permits for development projects that could seriously threaten the regency's coastal environment.
Trisnadi Widioleksono, an environmental expert from Airlangga University, said the provincial government should take concrete action to salvage the vanishing mangrove forests in those regencies.
"The provincial and regency administrations should set spatial zoning for mangrove forests and make a strong coordinated effort to have the barren coastal areas replanted with mangrove trees," Trisnadi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
"Otherwise, people will have serious problems with erosion, disaster mitigation and fisheries in the future."
Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue-act theory
Emmnauelle Landais, Gulf News 15 Oct 08;
Dubai: Sammy was not rescued by the Atlantis hotel, Gulf News has learnt, after speaking to ex-Atlantis employees who say that plans to have a whale shark in the hotel's Ambassador aquarium were clear from the beginning.
According to several previous employees who spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity, there was never been any plan to release Sammy and the hunt to find a resident whale shark was relentless, with fishing boats heading out every night to find one.
The hotel said in a statement in September that due to the high sea temperature and salinity of the water where the whale shark was found, the decision was made to transport the whale shark to Atlantis for medical care and observation.
According to the resort, the animal is being monitored 24 hours a day to gather data on swim patterns, feeding and behaviours.
Open secret
An ex-employee from the Marine and Water Park department at Atlantis, who left the company this summer, said the hotel's plan to acquire a whale shark was known by all since the beginning.
"It was going to be part of the attraction. There was no mention of a release. We were always told it was coming," they said.
"When I joined the company the dolphins were already there but they were going fishing everyday to collect sharks and fish. They didn't catch many sharks though. A few bull sharks died from shock of being in a different environment," they said.
"They were looking everywhere for a whale shark. It has just become so annoying to read about this knowing they lied. It wasn't rescued."
Atlantis will not be outdone by the aquarium at Dubai Mall according to another employee. "There were certain things that I wasn't happy about...Obviously the whale shark was something on the cards from day one… Sol Kerzner had it on the plans forever - it was in all the pictures in the Preview Room at Nakheel," she said.
An Atlantis staff member who left the company earlier this year said it was appalling the way the hotel was handling the situation which has touched so many Gulf News readers.
"I think it would be easier for the public if they just came out and said they planned to get a whale shark and keep it…as far as I know it was always intended for it to be in the tank. The company was always looking for the next big thing to get everybody talking about," she said. "It was common knowledge," she added. "They have the best facilities but they should say they will keep it."
No comment was available from Atlantis or Nakheel after repeated attempts by Gulf News on Tuesday.
Environmentalists in the UAE are still focussing on getting Sammy released and believe it is the best outcome for the fish that has been in captivity for 38 days.
Plant balances cost and green concerns
Straits Times 15 Oct 08;
WE REFER to the letter by Mr Eugene Tay, 'One step forward and two steps backward in our green efforts' (Oct 4).
There are a range of technologies being used and developed around the world to reduce the environmental impact of coal. Tuas Power is employing some of these technologies in its Multi-Utilities Complex (MUC). The MUC will use only low-sulphur and low-ash coal, which will substantially reduce the emissions of sulphur dioxide and the amount of waste generated. It will store the coal in coal silos, transport the coal using covered barges and conveyors and implement a waste-management plan which includes recycling ash into value-added products, such as materials for construction. In addition, by using efficient energy processes and biomass, the MUC will reduce its carbon emissions to a level that is equivalent to or better than the existing oil-fired plants in Singapore.
In approving the project, the Government has taken into consideration these measures by Tuas Power to ensure environmental sustainability. In particular, the National Environment Agency has assessed that the Tuas MUC meets existing environmental standards in terms of the emissions of air pollutants like sulphur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and mercury.
The Tuas MUC project offers a good balance between the need to ensure Singapore's cost competitiveness and maintain our environmental sustainability. The use of a biomass-coal mix and the attendant economies of scale from the MUC model enables Tuas Power to provide competitively priced utilities for our chemicals sector, which contributes significantly to growth and jobs in Singapore.
We assure Mr Tay that Singapore remains committed to do its part in global efforts to tackle climate change, and to improve the quality of our living environment.
Tan Quee Hong
Director, Pollution Control Department
National Environment Agency
Jenny Teo (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Energy Market Authority
Clean coal: Assurance by Tuas Power
Straits Times Forum 15 Oct 08;
WE THANK Mr Eugene Tay for his letter, 'One step forward and two steps backward in our green efforts', (Oct 4).
Tuas Power has been taking proactive steps to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in Singapore. Examples of such initiatives include our tri-generation and co-generation efforts, and the Tuas Power Green Programme, which encourages existing and new buildings in Singapore to optimise their energy efficiency.
This focus on energy efficiency has also guided us in the building of our new multi-utilities complex on Tembusu, which will consist of a Biomass Clean Coal (BMCC) co-generation plant and a desalination plant.
Modelled after similar plants in Japan and Europe, our BMCC plant will use low-ash, low-sulphur coal and biomass as fuel. This is part of our effort to keep the levels of sulphur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter emitted below the strict emission standards set by the National Environment Agency.
We would like to reassure Mr Tay that Tuas Power will continue to support Singapore's drive towards environmental sustainability, while helping Singapore remain an attractive business destination and a good home.
Tan Tee Huat
Vice-President
Human Capital Management/
Corporate Communications
Tuas Power
From AsiaIsGreen
I refer to the article, “Tuas Power to build $2b ‘clean’ plant” by Clarissa Oon (ST Sep 26).
Clean coal is an oxymoron as coal is associated with multiple environmental problems such as habitat destruction, acid rain and global warming. Burning coal produces higher levels of carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates and mercury.
With these environmental impacts in mind, Tuas Power and the National Environment Agency need to reassure the public and concerned environmentalists on the use of coal in the new plant.
Would the new plant meet the relevant air emissions and environmental regulations? Are carbon emissions per kilowatt hour higher for the new plant as compared to a natural gas-fired plant? Would the use of coal in the new plant lead to greater use of coal by other power generation companies?
This switch to using coal by Tuas Power seems to contradict the government’s efforts and plans on sustainable development. The new plant should not increase Singapore’s environmental impacts, especially our carbon emissions. If not, it would seem that we are moving one step forward and two steps backward on our green efforts.
Dr Kanwaljit Soin, Today Online 15 Oct 08;
THE effects of hyper-capitalism and a rampant free market appear to have brought the United States to its financial knees in recent days.
Yet, this is the same economic model that has for many years been touted for the rest of the world to adopt.
Perhaps, it is time to pause and reconsider.
The prevailing modern free market society is fixated with consumption. Its mantra is: More, Further, Quicker, Richer. Where will this lead us? And is such a philosophy sustainable?
The answer, I feel, may lie in the writings of the late economist Dr E F Schumacher. In 1973, he wrote a book called Small is Beautiful which includes a chapter entitled “Buddhist Economics”.
In his book, Dr Schumacher discusses the absurdity of societies pinning their hopes on achieving exponential economic growth, of measuring success solely in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and of ignoring the social and environmental “externalities” of contemporary consumerism.
He argued: “An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth and materialism does not fit into this world, because it contains within it no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.”
But do politicians and big business realise this? Was “greed is good” not the ethic of Wall Street? Did not the much-revered Deng Xiaoping issue an edict to his billion-odd country men and women that “to be rich is glorious”?
This pursuit of unfettered economic growth needs to be questioned on at least two counts; the availability of basic resources and the capacity of the environment to cope with the degree of interference implied.
We have to evolve a new lifestyle, with new methods of production and consumption. Buddhists believe that when consumption enhances true well-being, it is said to be successful consumption. However, the compulsive consumption that is encouraged by advertisers breeds inherent dissatisfaction.
The media often imbues the public with a predilection for indulgence; we are conditioned to become perfect consumers who have no higher purpose in life than to consume the products of modern industry.
The infinite growth of material consumption in a finite world is impossible.
Another issue that has to be addressed is the notion of the “free market”.
Markets today are neither free nor are they always efficient: They exacerbate wealth differentials and accelerate environmental degradation. Yet any activity that is deemed “uneconomic” is dismissed by politicians and big corporations. The market has, in my view, become the main if not the sole arbiter of social and economic benefits.
This has to be challenged. Many of us aspire to, or long for, a far more human-sized, human-centred, emotionally-mature way of living. Instead, it seems that values are determined by corporations and brands, not individuals and ideals.
Some of you may justifiably ask how a few of us can ever hope to change the overwhelming materialistic paradigm of development so that life becomes more meaningful for the human race. Well, we can make a start by becoming more aware ourselves and then creating understanding and advocating our cause. Our perception that our existence has gone somewhat awry will force us to find alternatives.
It may take a long time, but we have to take the first step in this difficult human enterprise. We should be encouraged by what anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
The writer is the president of thenon-profit organisation Women’s Initiative for Ageing Successfully and a former NMP.
Learn about lighthouse keeper's job and more at Maritime Week exhibition
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times 15 Oct 08;
IN HIS first month as a lighthouse keeper, Mr Gaharudin Abdul Ghani wanted to throw in the towel.
The job was boring and he felt lonely.
Holed up for a month at a stretch on a small island, he had only his fellow lighthouse keeper for company.
But that was 30 years ago.
Today, the 54-year-old says he has learnt to appreciate the little joys of being a lighthouse keeper.
'It's still lonely, but the job is very stable and peaceful. Plus you get to go fishing,' he told The Straits Times.
But yesterday morning, his tranquillity was disturbed when the media was allowed on Pulau Satumu for a rare peek into the workings of a lighthouse.
Mr Gaharudin takes care of the Raffles Lighthouse with fellow lighthouse keeper Utra Venkidasalam, 45.
The duo are among a band of eight keepers who take turns to work at four of the five lighthouses managed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). One lighthouse, on top of Laguna View condominium in Bedok, does not require keepers.
Their work will be put on public display this weekend at an exhibition on maritime history, organised by the MPA.
The show is part of the ongoing Singapore Maritime Week, which also features conferences and social events celebrating all things maritime.
The exhibition, the first of its kind here, runs from Friday to Sunday at VivoCity and the exhibits include models of lighthouses and a life-size buoy used to mark sunken wrecks.
Said MPA chief hydrographer Parry Oei: 'Normally Maritime Week is an in-house matter. This year we wanted to engage the public and share some of our rich history.'
The Raffles Lighthouse is very much a part of that rich history, having been built in 1855. It is the second oldest of the five lighthouses. Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca is four years older.
Raffles Lighthouse stands on the southernmost island of Singapore and it marks the point where ships coming out of Singapore Strait should start turning right into Malacca Strait.
The lighthouse building occupies about half the island and is divided into two main parts - a 29m light tower and the keepers' quarters.
The quarters, about the size of a four-room HDB flat, have two rooms, each with two beds.
Two keepers man each lighthouse for 10 days each time, before returning home for 10 days. While home, they get about a week's leave, with the remaining days spent at the MPA office doing paperwork.
This is their annual schedule, with no annual leave or public holidays off.
At the lighthouse, besides ensuring that the lights never go off, they also care for their abode. They clean it, polish the brass railings and trim the trees around it to ensure ships can see the lights always.
Furnished like a home away from home, it has a radio, fridge, washing machine and even a plasma TV set.
'We get TV channels from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The only thing we don't get is live EPL football matches because there is no cable TV,' joked MrUtra, a Manchester United fan.
Meet the lighthouse keepers
Ooi Boon Keong, Today Online 15 Oct 08;
HE KNEW little at the time about what a lighthouse keeper did, but Mr Gaharudin A Gani followed a friend’s recommendation and applied for the job.
Thirty years on, the 54-year-old is one of the veterans among the eight active lighthouse keepers in Singapore.
The group — the oldest is 65 and the youngest is 42 — mans four of the five lighthouses under the charge of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Besides ensuring the lighthouse beacons are in tip-top order, Mr Gani upkeeps the grounds and reports to the operational staff at MPA.
For 10 days at a stretch, Mr Gani remains offshore and shares these duties with a fellow keeper — the only person he will have for company in that duration. They then return to mainland Singapore for a 10-day break before the cycle begins again.
The job calls for an independent person, with a tolerance for solitude, and yet able to work in tandem with others.
Mr Utra Vengkidasalan, 45, who has been on board for 10 years, told Today: “We do miss our families, and it can get a bit boring, but the work is (made more) enjoyable because we cooperate and look out for each other.
“I’ll look out for my buddy. We share the food and dishes; we take turns cooking. If I forgot to take rice, my buddy will provide me. Next time, I’ll give him back (his share). One day if I forgot to take my shirt, he’ll lend me his. We need to cooperate.”
Singapore’s four offshore lighthouses are Raffles on Pulau Satumu, Sultan Shoal in the western anchorage of Singapore, Horsburgh on Pedra Branca and Pulau Pisang on the island of the same name in Malaysia.
The Pulau Pisang Lighthouse is the only one not to stand on Singapore land, after the colonial government inherited the responsibility of running the structure from the government of the Straits Settlement.
Meanwhile, Bedok Lighthouse is located on mainland Singapore.
Despite being a maritime nation, MPA chief hydrographer Parry Oei thinks there is little interest in the island’s maritime history. The authority hopes to change that with Singapore Maritime Week, which runs from Oct 10 to 19, and a lighthouse exhibition.
“This being the first time we’re engaging the public, we’re showcasing what we do and lighthouses are one of them,” said Mr Oei. “I think that’s the important thing — to preserve our heritage. Hopefully, that will encourage people to join the maritime community.”
Mr Vengkidasalan hopes more people will get to learn about his role. He said: “Most people don’t know what a lighthouse keeper is and what a lighthouse looks like. When I mention Raffles Lighthouse, they’ll always think Raffles Hotel.”
The job has provided fond memories for him and Mr Gani, who said of Raffles Lighthouse: “There is no pollution. I will surely miss this place when I retire.”
“From Lighthouses to ElectronicCharts: An Exhibition” will be heldat VivoCity, Central Court A, fromFriday to Sunday, 10am to 9.30pm
Singapore-operated lighthouses stay relevant, ensure navigational safety
May Wong, Channel NewsAsia 14 Oct 08
SINGAPORE: In spite of technological advances, lighthouses are still crucial in ensuring navigational safety, said Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority.
The agency operates five lighthouses such as the Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca and Raffles Lighthouse on Pulau Satumu.
Raffles Lighthouse lies 15 kilometres southwest of Singapore on a restricted island, a 45-minute boat ride from Marina Pier.
Singapore has been operating it since 1855, making it the second oldest lighthouse after Horsburgh on Pedra Branca.
And it is people like 54-year-old Gaharudin Abdul Ghani who keep it going. He has been working as a lighthouse keeper for 30 years.
He said: "You give me work on the main island, I don't want because I like this place. It is very quiet here and I can go fishing."
And while it may not be apparent, the job has its stresses.
Another lighthouse keeper, Utra Vengkidasalan, said: "We have to watch all the time if the light is active or not. If the light is not activated, we have to call our port operations to inform them the light is not working so they will broadcast to all the vessels."
A miniature model of Raffles Lighthouse will be on show from Oct 17 to 19 at the first maritime exhibition for the public at Vivocity in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week. Visitors can also see older maritime equipment.
Parry Oei, chief hydrographer, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said: "Most of the lighthouses are actually offshore, so accessibility is a problem.
"So with this exhibition, the public will be able to see some of the everyday life, past as well as present and see the technological changes in the lighthouse technology.
"Hopefully, (the exhibition) will encourage the next generation to carry on our long history of maritime heritage." - CNA/vm
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 15 Oct 08;
FOUR projects developed here worth up to $235 million could soon be approved by the global body charged with ruling on greenhouse-cutting projects that may be traded on major carbon markets.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, who gave this estimate, announced that the Singapore projects were set to get the green light from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
He was speaking at a global climate change and sustainability conference yesterday.
The projects could cut annual carbon emissions here by about 533 kilotonnes a year, said the National Environment Agency's (NEA) website.
One firm, Bee Joo Industries is set to qualify for a project which converts plant waste into compost and generates power from the heat.
IUT Global, which recycles food waste as compost and an energy source while minimising greenhouse gases, could also see approvals by year-end.
Two other projects are being reviewed by the NEA, which determines if a project is ready to be considered by the UN. They are Power Seraya, for switching from fuel oil to natural gas, and Kim Hock Corp, which recycles scrap metal.
The green business community here is concerned that the global financial turmoil may divert attention from long-term environmental goals.
Nominated MP and managing director of IUT Global Edwin Khew said: 'There used to be an article every day in the newspapers on renewable energy but there hasn't been even one in the last 10.'
However, Mr Iswaran told The Straits Times that environmental businesses could have even better long-term prospects than some others.
'Alternative energy is in its early stages and the industry will be able to take note of the market situation and calibrate accordingly,' he said.
He added that government regulations to encourage clean technology companies to be based here have also ensured long-term measures help make such businesses sustainable in Singapore.
An analyst at the climate change conference yesterday, Mr William Byun, senior vice-president at Sindicatum Carbon Capital, said the carbon market was very volatile but still safer than other markets.
The carbon market was in its early growth phase, largely driven by regulatory requirements, he said. This includes the commitments by developed countries to cut carbon emissions.
'There would be insulation from the rest of the financial markets because countries still have targets to meet in the long term,' he said.
Certified emission cuts on the secondary market set for delivery in December were trading last night at ¥19.05 (S$38) on the European Climate Exchange.
The global carbon market grew to about ¥47 billion last year, more than double in 2006, according to a World Bank report in May this year.
Green push on track despite economic downturn: Iswaran
Jamie Lee, Business Times 15 Oct 08;
SINGAPORE'S push into the renewable energy sector is unlikely to be derailed by the economic downturn, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said yesterday.
'You have got to distinguish between fundamental, long-term policies, projects and programmes, as opposed to what we are seeing - gyrations in the market in the short term,' Mr Iswaran told reporters on the sidelines of a climate change conference.
'Some short-term market volatility might affect some of the momentum in the near term among the private companies because they are trying to sort out some of their more core businesses,' he said.
'But in the medium to long term, these are areas where there is tremendous potential. And I think the initiatives, whether it is in the public sector or private sector, will continue, because it makes economic sense and will ultimately strengthen competitiveness.'
Mr Iswaran said that several Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are in the pipeline in Singapore. There are now four pending projects, with carbon credits potentially worth $235 million.
A senior executive at Sindicatum Carbon Capital, a London-based company that invests in carbon projects, told yesterday's conference that the financial market crisis could throw up merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in the renewable energy sector.
A fall in market valuations of green energy companies has made their assets attractive compared with assets up for sale in the financial markets, said Sindicatum senior vice- president William Byun.
'Instead of greenfield investments, maybe there will be more M&A opportunities, which will be more interesting in the short term, or a hybrid between the two,' he said.
'It may be easier to just buy an existing company or plant than to build a green field. Prices have gone down so much that there are more bargains out there,' he told reporters later.
Funding is likely to emerge when the tight credit market unwinds, he said. 'There has been a significant destruction of wealth, for sure. But at the same time, there is still a lot of liquidity out there which has been stuck in the system.'
'I get the feeling things that are very asset-heavy, especially power plants, renewable plants, will be the first thing that you would want to finance, as opposed to purely financial instruments,' he said, adding that finance might not necessarily come from Asia, which is said to be in a stronger financial position.
The whole carbon market has been shielded from the financial crisis because it remains a niche area, he noted.
'A lot of what I see in the news are like watching some kind of a horror movie. But it doesn't affect (me) directly. It's on the screen.'
MPA Maritime Roundtable
Business Times 15 Oct 08;
Specialists from various segments of the shipping industry give their take on the subject and suggest how to tackle the issue
OVERVIEW
THE issue of shipping and the environment is one that tends to polarise opinions. Singapore does its part as a responsible flag state through access to and enforcement of international regulations such as MARPOL in particular (with emphasis on Annex VI in relation to climate change) as well as adopting good practices at port/terminals and pushing research and development in clean technologies.
The third of the MPA Maritime Roundtable series gathers expert viewpoints on efforts to address the problem as well as some commercial/market-based solutions. The Business Times spoke to a panel of specialists involved in various segments of the industry to get their take on this important issue.
Vincent Wee: What are the environmental challenges confronting shipping?
S S Teo: The challenges facing us are dealing with emissions like NOx and SOx and greenhouse gases. Shipping - although still the most efficient means of transport - has been an easy target to blame for causing the emissions. We all have to care about the environment if we want to develop together. Also, whether the refining industry is able to cope with the latest requirements. We all need to work together and the regulatory bodies need to be practical in seeing what is feasible to be implemented. The industry also needs to improve our image more. Crew shortages are also an issue that needs to be addressed as the increase in world trade will inevitably lead to more ships and the need for crew to run them.
Tan Puay Hin: It is important for shipping to remain an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient mode of transport. The challenge is to identify and adopt realistic, pragmatic and workable solutions that improve the environment without impeding trade and commerce. Some of the measures introduced for the port industry seek to control emissions and minimise pollution, enhance energy-efficiency, and use greener fuel alternatives.
Isabella Loh: The issues that confront the shipping industry are not much different from those confronted by all other transport industries. Shell finds it helpful to describe this issue in terms of three 'hard truths'. The first is that global energy demand - for every use, including transport - is accelerating. The second is that resources are becoming more difficult to access and develop. Innovation will be important to keep energy supply matching demand. Government initiatives such as the EU short-sea and 'motorways of the sea' proposals are good examples of such action.
This is because, on a per ton, per mile basis, shipping is usually the most environmentally friendly mode of transport. New thinking is also urgently needed to deal with the third 'hard truth' - the need to contain the carbon dioxide impact of energy production and use. Clearly, there is much to be done, as it is generally agreed that we need to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere if we want to avoid climate change impacts beyond those we are already seeing. Currently, only around 30 per cent of marine fuel is used to power the vessel, the rest is dissipated as heat. Much can be done to halve the use of energy.
Tay Joo Hwa: Ballast water management, reduction of shipboard emission of particulate matter; green house gases and SOx, ocean dumping and oil spills.
Tim Wilkins: It would be fair to say that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping is today's big focus, but the industry is continuing with a fine balance in handling a raft of environmental issues, some well known, others not so well known. Ship operators today have to determine how best to balance the requirements of, say, ballast water exchange with that of improving energy efficiency on board. This balance is a tough task and one which the regulators seem to be slow in understanding.
Vincent: What is shipping already doing to address environmental challenges, including climate change?
Mr Teo: For example, we are moving to burning low sulphur-content fuels and adhering to sulphur emissions control areas. Also, in terms of ballast water regulations where we cannot pump out in the port. We are also working with engine makers to see if there are new technologies available to reduce sulphur emissions.
Mr Tan: A global challenge requires a global solution. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as global regulator of the shipping industry remains an important platform to address environmental challenges. In recent years, the IMO and its member states have taken steps to safeguard the environment. The concerted efforts have focused on tackling air pollution, among other areas. For example, the provisions contained in Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention for Pollution from Seas play a significant role. They set limits on sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts and prohibit emissions of ozone-depleting substances.
Ms Loh: The shipping industry, together with governments, regulators, interest groups and industry bodies, has taken a proactive approach to address environmental challenges. The International Maritime Organisation's Marine Environment Protection Committee agreed to provide a clear way forward on the issue of sulphur emissions with its MEPC 57 agreement due for formal adoption this month. Essentially, they prescribe phased reductions in the permitted sulphur content of marine fuel used in SOx Emission Control Areas, or SECAs. They also specify phased reductions in the global cap on sulphur content in marine fuel used outside SECAs. Through recent initiatives like this in the International Maritime Organisation, the industry has embarked on a way forward where emissions related to SOx, NOx and particulate matter will all be dealt with by means of technology and regulations.
Prof Tay: Mostly through the efforts of IMO, shipowners could be more pro-active and educate the public.
Mr Wilkins: Tanker shipping has always been a leading sector when it comes to adapting and resolving environmental challenges. The industry's efforts can be seen on three levels: within individual companies it is clear that increasing resources are being allocated to assessing and improving energy efficiency on board tankers. Intertanko members are working collectively on a best practice document which will see an approved list of recommended measures for implementation by the Intertanko membership aimed at reducing emissions and improving efficiency on board tankers. This will be developed alongside a detailed guidance document which will present the measures listed in a manner which facilitates their implementation; the industry associations are working to assist the IMO in its endeavours to formulate and agree upon a design and operational index for ships. In addition, the industry associations at the IMO have committed to the development of a model Ship Efficiency Management Plan (SEMP) which the IMO member states wish to see as a mandatory element in relation to the IMO's work on greenhouse gases.
Vincent: Are shipping's environmental efforts and credentials widely known? Why? Why not?
Mr Teo: We need to let people know how important shipping is to world trade. Shipowners have a purpose to serve world trade which could not have grown without shipping. We also need to engage people from outside the industry to help them understand what we are doing. For example, we can arrange visits to ships to see how modern they really are.
Mr Tan: I believe there is room to engage the public at a broader level to publicise shipping's environmental credentials. Achievements made on this front can be further highlighted at public forums and through mass publications.
Ms Loh: It is fair to say that these efforts to proactively find solutions to the environmental challenges that the industry faces are known largely only to specific interest groups, regulators and within the shipping industry. This is not surprising as the industry has tended to work through the IMO, a specialised agency of the United Nations.
Prof Tay: Not widely known because most laymen are not aware of the issues relating to the shipping industry, perhaps due to the lack of public education.
Mr Wilkins: Shipping is a largely unnoticed industry in the first place. To increase awareness of the industry is a challenge in its own right. To then understand the more detailed elements of the industry in relation to its environmental performance and challenges is even more difficult. Intertanko is committed to the enhancement of the tanker industry's image and feels it is important to engage on a more broader level in terms of the environment.
Vincent: What more can shipping do in terms of addressing environmental concerns and generating greater awareness of its environmental credentials?
Mr Teo: We have to see how we can improve construction of ships, better educate our officers and crew and do proper risk management so that we try to prevent accidents as much as possible and when they happen, try to ensure no loss of life and minimise the impact on the environment.
Mr Tan: Carbon emissions and fuel efficiency are linked. Going forward, measures such as ship design, that is, improvements to hull and propeller designs, and engine technology, use of alternative fuels and a system for ships to evaluate their performance with regard to GHG emissions could be further explored and developed. The move by IMO to develop a regime that addresses the emission of greenhouse gases from ships is a positive step.
Ms Loh: The shipping industry has done very well so far in proactively addressing environmental concerns and issues. Once the emission standards proposed by the MEPC are ratified, perhaps shipowners and operators can begin to actively engage their customers in sharing information about the activities they are undertaking to address environmental concerns.
Prof Tay: More publicity on the efforts and dutiful accounts of its contribution and reduction efforts.
Mr Wilkins: There are two elements of importance: Enhanced awareness of the industry in schools and colleges. It is then essential to ensure that the shipping industry is ready to assist in sharing its knowledge; maintaining a commitment to the environment. The industry needs to continue moving with the times and the changing understanding of the world's oceans and atmosphere.
Vincent: How has PSA contributed towards addressing the environmental challenge? Are there other measures in the pipeline?
Mr Tan: With long-term sustainability in mind, PSA has adopted a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, to inculcate a mindset for energy conservation among all staff, energy-efficient awareness campaigns and messages are disseminated. Secondly, for buildings and infrastructure, we conduct regular audits to identify areas for energy conservation and tap natural lighting for our port infrastructure. Thirdly, on port equipment, our recent purchases of rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) have electronic-controlled injection engines, and power converters that have better fuel efficiency. For our prime movers, they are either Euro III or Euro IV compliant. At the national level, PSA works closely with the MPA, and the National Environment Agency to explore more green initiatives for the port industry.
Vincent: How is the industry responding to greater calls for cleaner marine fuels in response to concerns about global warming and increased greenhouse gas emissions?
Ms Loh: Aside from low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), we have conducted tests using GTL gasoil as a replacement for marine gasoil in a Caterpillar marine auxiliary engine during 2007. In conjunction with TESO, a ferry operator on the Wadden Sea, has been running on pure GTL produced by our plant in Malaysia. Tests have shown that GTL gasoil results in significantly reduced emissions with benefits in NOx, SOx and particulate matters. Additionally, as GTL products are biodegradable and have improved eco-toxicity performance they are far better suited for use in environmentally sensitive areas. Gas-to-liquids is one example of using energy sources more intelligently. Shell is also discussing with OEMs on engine technology to find more sustainable solutions for the industry.
Vincent: How might technology be harnessed by the shipping community to address the environmental challenges?
Prof Tay: Through reduction of GHG, PM and SOx emissions, better ballast water management technologies, better satellite tracking and monitoring of ships' activities on open sea.
Vincent: What are the particular environmental issues that the tanker operators face?
Mr Wilkins: Environmental issues today are primarily cross-sectoral issues; invasive species, whale avoidance and, of course, greenhouse gas emissions are challenges which all sectors of shipping need to address. The tanker industry and Intertanko are still striving for zero pollution and one key aspect of this is zero oil pollution. This, of course, cannot be achieved without the commitment from the shore side, namely, the provision of adequate port reception facilities for annex I and II cargo residues.
PARTICIPANTS
in the Roundtable
Moderator:
Vincent Wee, correspondent, The Business Times
Panelists:
# SS Teo, president, Singapore Shipping Association
# Tan Puay Hin, chief operating officer, PSA Singapore Terminals
# Isabella Loh, chief executive/vice-president, Global Shell Marine Products, and chairman, Singapore Environment Council
# Prof Tay Joo Hwa, head, Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
# Tim Wilkins, regional manager, Intertanko Asia-Pacific
Heeding siren calls for CSR
Business Times 15 Oct 08;
Shipowners face an uphill but essential task of promoting sustainable practices, reports VINCENT WEE
IN Asia, where corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes are often seen as costs rather than benefits, getting shipping companies to embrace the idea of sustainable practices is always going to be a challenge, even more so as the economic climate takes a turn for the worse.
But the attitude towards CSR has changed a lot over the past 10 years, noted NOL corporate affairs vice-president Dave Goodwin. 'I think it's surprising just how active Asian companies are and have become over this decade,' he said. 'I feel that there is a strength of conviction in Asia now that's impressive and equal to what you see in the West.'
But even before talking about CSR, perhaps the more fundamental issue that needs to be addressed is whether it is possible to get people to care about shipping in the first place. 'Are we to some extent deceiving ourselves that we can ever get the general public to care that much about shipping?' asked BW Shipping managing director Andreas Sohmen-Pao.
Mr Sohmen-Pao was sharing his views along with other key shipping industry executives at the Seatrade Sustainability Seminar yesterday. Comparing shipping to the fibre-optic cable infrastructure that forms the backbone of the Internet, he said that shipping is not as obvious a factor in people's lives as aeroplanes or cars which they regularly experience at a personal level.
With this being the case, often the only time shipping comes into the public eye is when something bad happens. There is a need to persuade the shipping community that there are benefits to being seen and being more open and transparent than they have been in the past, said Hong Kong Shipowners' Association president Arthur Bowring.
Prescriptive regulations are not the answer as they only tend to lead to loopholes, said Mr Bowring. And to expect shipowners to take part in voluntary schemes there must be a reason for them to want to comply, he added. What it will ultimately boil down to, however, is what Mr Bowring calls the 'WIIFing factor' - in other words, 'What's in it for me?'. Whether it's to retain customers or to look better to the public, all voluntary schemes must have a reason for people to want to comply.
This drive could come from customers or from managing directors of companies who call for compliance with sustainable practices. 'The great incentive really comes from our customers; we deal with the Walmarts, Nikes and Ikeas of this world and they won't put up with it,' said Maersk Asia-Pacific chief executive officer Jesper Praestensgaard.
Apart from customers' demands, self-motivating change is also a very powerful force, said Mr Sohmen-Pao. But ultimately it cannot be at the cost of profitability, he emphasised. 'Enlightenment is nice as long as you are not being driven out of business by competitors because they are not doing the same as you and have a lower cost base or higher income because of that,' Mr Sohmen-Pao quipped. Sustainability and cost need not be in contradiction and, in fact, can lead to savings for shipowners.
Giving the example of some of the fuel-saving measures mentioned by National Iranian Tanker Company managing director Mohammad Souri earlier in his keynote speech, Mr Sohmen-Pao said: 'Sustainability which brings economic benefit is much more lasting than hoping that people are going to do things just out of goodwill.'
With worsening conditions also arises the issue of the strength of owners' commitment to the initiatives they've espoused when times were better, cautioned Mr Bowring. 'Do we have the commitment in our industry to do what we said we would do for crew, for stakeholders, for the environment in a market that might well be cash-flow orientated rather than profit orientated?' he asked.
Ultimately, however, they might not have much of a choice. Among the push factors is the need to attract talented young people who are looking for meaningful jobs and they do not want to be associated with companies that have unsustainable and unethical practices, noted Mr Praestensgaard.
PlanetArk 15 Oct 08;
BARCELONA, Spain - An influential global network of governments, scientists and conservationists called on Tuesday for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and said financial turmoil must not sideline work to safeguard animals and plants.
"The clear message coming out of this meeting is that biodiversity underpins the well-being of human societies and their economies," said Julia Marton-Lefevre, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in a statement at the end of a 10-day IUCN congress in Barcelona.
The IUCN calls itself the world's oldest and largest environmental network. Almost 8,000 delegates attended the Barcelona talks.
"We're showing how saving nature must be an integral part of the solution for any world crisis," Marton-Lefevre said.
Delegates made a non-binding plea to governments to cut emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide by between 50 and 85 percent by 2050 and to limit global warming to less than 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
More than 190 governments are due to agree a new UN climate treaty by the end of 2009, meant to help avert rising sea levels, heatwaves, species extinctions, droughts and floods.
The IUCN called for guidelines and improved standards for biofuels projects. Biofuels help cut carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels but land cleared to grow biofuel crops can wreck habitats for animals and other plants.
"Participants underlined ... that the cost of biodiversity losses are not only greater than those of the current financial problems, but in many cases, they are irreparable," the IUCN statement said.
The IUCN also called for a ban on fishing of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna, a highly prized species threatened with extinction, and for the creation of a sanctuary for the fish around Spain's Balearic islands.
The Congress elected India's Ashok Khosla as president, to succeed South African Valli Moosa, and agreed a 2009-12 programme for conservation work. Pledges of cash during the congress totalled more than US$100 million.
The financial crisis at least affords us an opportunity to now rethink our catastrophic ecological trajectory
George Monbiot, The Guardian 14 Oct 08;
This is nothing. Well, nothing by comparison to what's coming. The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.
As we goggle at the fluttering financial figures, a different set of numbers passes us by. On Friday, Pavan Sukhdev, the Deutsche Bank economist leading a European study on ecosystems, reported that we are losing natural capital worth between $2 trillion and $5 trillion every year as a result of deforestation alone. The losses incurred so far by the financial sector amount to between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. Sukhdev arrived at his figure by estimating the value of the services - such as locking up carbon and providing fresh water - that forests perform, and calculating the cost of either replacing them or living without them. The credit crunch is petty when compared to the nature crunch.
The two crises have the same cause. In both cases, those who exploit the resource have demanded impossible rates of return and invoked debts that can never be repaid. In both cases we denied the likely consequences. I used to believe that collective denial was peculiar to climate change. Now I know that it's the first response to every impending dislocation.
Gordon Brown, for instance, was as much in denial about financial realities as any toxic debt trader. In June last year, during his Mansion House speech, he boasted that 40% of the world's foreign equities are now traded here. The financial sector's success had come about, he said, partly because the government had taken "a risk-based regulatory approach". In the same hall three years before, he pledged that "in budget after budget I want us to do even more to encourage the risk takers". Can anyone, surveying this mess, now doubt the value of the precautionary principle?
Ecology and economy are both derived from the Greek word oikos - a house or dwelling. Our survival depends on the rational management of this home: the space in which life can be sustained. The rules are the same in both cases. If you extract resources at a rate beyond the level of replenishment, your stock will collapse. That's another noun which reminds us of the connection. The Oxford English Dictionary gives 69 definitions of "stock". When it means a fund or store, the word evokes the trunk - or stock - of a tree, "from which the gains are an outgrowth". Collapse occurs when you prune the tree so heavily that it dies. Ecology is the stock from which all wealth grows.
The two crises feed each other. As a result of Iceland's financial collapse, it is now contemplating joining the European Union, which means surrendering its fishing grounds to the common fisheries policy. Already the prime minister, Geir Haarde, has suggested that his countrymen concentrate on exploiting the ocean. The economic disaster will cause an ecological disaster.
Normally it's the other way around. In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond shows how ecological crisis is often the prelude to social catatrosphe. The obvious example is Easter Island, where society disintegrated soon after the population reached its highest historical numbers, the last trees were cut down and the construction of stone monuments peaked. The island chiefs had competed to erect ever bigger statues. These required wood and rope (made from bark) for transport, and extra food for the labourers. As the trees and soils on which the islanders depended disappeared, the population crashed and the survivors turned to cannibalism. Diamond wonders what the Easter islander who cut down the last palm tree might have thought. "Like modern loggers, did he shout 'Jobs, not trees!'? Or: 'Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we'll find a substitute for wood.'? Or: 'We don't have proof that there aren't palms somewhere else on Easter ... your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering'?".
Ecological collapse, Diamond shows, is as likely to be the result of economic success as of economic failure. The Maya of Central America, for instance, were among the most advanced and successful people of their time. But a combination of population growth, extravagant construction projects and poor land management wiped out between 90% and 99% of the population. The Mayan collapse was accelerated by "the competition among kings and nobles that led to a chronic emphasis on war and erecting monuments rather than on solving underlying problems". (Does any of this sound familiar?) Again, the largest monuments were erected just before the ecosystem crashed. Again, this extravagance was partly responsible for the collapse: trees were used for making plaster with which to decorate their temples. The plaster became thicker and thicker as the kings sought to outdo each other's conspicuous consumption.
Here are some of the reasons why people fail to prevent ecological collapse. Their resources appear at first to be inexhaustible; a long-term trend of depletion is concealed by short-term fluctuations; small numbers of powerful people advance their interests by damaging those of everyone else; short-term profits trump long-term survival. The same, in all cases, can be said of the collapse of financial systems. Is this how human beings are destined to behave? If we cannot act until stocks - of either kind - start sliding towards oblivion, we're knackered.
But one of the benefits of modernity is our ability to spot trends and predict results. If fish in a depleted ecosystem grow by 5% a year and the catch expands by 10% a year, the fishery will collapse. If the global economy keeps growing at 3% a year (or 1,700% a century), it too will hit the wall.
Iam not going to suggest, as some scoundrel who shares a name with me did on these pages last year, that we should welcome a recession. But the financial crisis provides us with an opportunity to rethink this trajectory; an opportunity that is not available during periods of economic success. Governments restructuring their economies should read Herman Daly's book Steady-State Economics.
As usual I haven't left enough space to discuss this, so the details will have to wait for another column. Or you can read the summary published by the Sustainable Development Commission (all references are on my website). But what Daly suggests is that nations which are already rich should replace growth - "more of the same stuff" - with development - "the same amount of better stuff". A steady-state economy has a constant stock of capital that is maintained by a rate of throughput no higher than the ecosystem can absorb. The use of resources is capped and the right to exploit them is auctioned. Poverty is addressed through the redistribution of wealth. The banks can lend only as much money as they possess.
Alternatively, we can persist in the magical thinking whose results have just come crashing home. The financial crisis shows what happens when we try to make the facts fit our desires. Now we must learn to live in the real world.
Richard Black, BBC News 14 Oct 08;
Almost three years ago, I sat in a hotel conference room in Washington DC and heard that it would cost nearly half a billion dollars to save the world's amphibians.
Cheaper than the Iraq invasion, tiny compared to the Wall Street crunch - but a lot of money nevertheless.
Here at the World Conservation Congress are many of the scientists who were present that sunny Washington morning and released their prescription for salvation, the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan.
So three years on, it is time to ask: how are you doing?
First, the money; did it show up?
"It's hard to say, because there have been a lot of other initiatives as well such as Amphibian Ark, which has a lot of facilities," says Claude Gascon, co-chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Amphibian Specialist Group and a senior scientist with Conservation International (CI).
"But from our perspective we've probably had about $10m which has gone directly into tip-of-the-iceberg sites that have been very important for conserving the last of a species."
On firm ground
So this is how last-ditch conservation efforts can work for amphibians.
You go to a region where there is a strong chance that certain species will wink out of existence, and you get your hands on a piece of land where they still live.
In Colombia, a link with two other groups, the American Bird Conservancy and ProAves, enabled the purchase of a 1,100-hectare site. Then, money went in for rangers and a bit of infrastructure and training.
For an initial investment measured in tens of thousands of dollars, the last remnants of a few species can be saved.
In Sri Lanka, the charity struck luck when the government bought patches of forest on an old tea plantation. Any conservation deal has a much higher chance of success when the government and the local community are on board.
Mike Hoffman, another scientist with joint IUCN and CI accreditation, highlights the value of meetings that have brought together expertise from the global and local levels.
"In some of the sessions we've arranged, there's a difference of 50 years between the oldest and youngest people in the group," he says.
"And you can just imagine the information they release, whether the frogs are in a protected area, whether they adapt well or are totally dependent on a pristine forest biome, whether they've been undergoing rapid decline."
Out of the wild
By the time the Amphibian Conservation Summit convened in Washington, the Global Amphibian Assessment had already shown the parlous state of the creatures: one-third were on the threatened species list and 165 species were already believed to be extinct.
An estimated 500 species, it was estimated, could not be conserved in the wild. The only solution was to take them out of their habitat, put them somewhere safe, and wait until conditions returned to something like normal on their home patch.
This is where Amphibian Ark comes to the fore. A joint initiative between IUCN and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Waza), it numbers many zoos and other institutions that are prepared to give shelter to the endangered animals.
It is not as simple as it might sound. Habitat, moisture, temperature, humidity and prey have to be maintained; water has to be kept free of disease.
It is far from an ideal solution. Recent research demonstrates that some animals lose their robustness and resilience in a captive breeding environment as natural selection stops winnowing, and the range of environmental conditions is constrained.
But with species such as the Wyoming toad (Anaxyrus baxteri), whose natural waters are infested with the lethal fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, it is at present the only option.
The Atlanta Zoo has even built a portable captive breeding kit facility that can be shipped and used on site.
Golden gone
The chytrid fungus is probably the most serious acute threat to amphibians. In some places, it has basically clear-cut species in a matter of a few years.
It can be cured in captivity; the antibiotic chloramphenicol is one agent that does the trick, and seems to give amphibians some residual protection afterwards. But treating entire water systems in the wild is another matter.
Only discovered a decade ago, chytridiomycosis is still a poorly understood enemy.
"In some patches, we're finding individuals that have survived, whereas with others like the golden toad it does seem to be all over," says Russ Mittermeier, CI's president.
"It seems like salamanders are more resistant, and why should that be? So we still have a long way to go."
The discovery that some species, apparently devastated by chytridiomycosis, have just about hung on is giving some hope.
The Atelopus genus of Central and South America - for whom the Red List reads like a stuck record playing the phrase "Critically Endangered" over and over again - is a case in point.
Are these individuals immune - as some entire species appear to be - or just lucky? Can they rebuild a population?
Human condition
This World Conservation Congress saw the release of another Red List. So how did amphibians fare this time around?
"In the intervening four years, we've had 366 species added to the Red List," says Mike Hoffman, who recently helped co-ordinate Threatened Amphibians of the World, the vast, glossy, information-packed book that CI has just brought out.
"And that's primarily new species just discovered, or ones where the taxonomy has been re-arranged."
This is partly what makes the amphibian world such an exciting one at the moment. Just as species are vanishing, others are appearing to science for the very first time.
"There are now about 6,200 species - that's 10% more than we had five years ago, and that's probably between 50% and 75% of what there is, because a lot of places remain to be explored," says Claude Gascon.
"In Papua, New Guinea and Madagascar, for example, there are probably as many species waiting to be discovered as we know of now."
Making things more complex is the fact that even if chytridiomycosis can be beaten, or if amphibians can evolve their way out of its clutches, myriad other threats are set to persist and grow.
Climate change will raise temperatures and dry wetlands. Other diseases, and pollutants, will spread with increasing human migration.
Hunting continues; above all, so does the relentless spread of the human footprint, turning forests into fields, lakes into building plots and ridges into roads.
Keeping alive all the species we know about, let alone the ones we have yet to discover, is a daunting task, even given the resources that have been mobilised since the launch of the amphibian rescue plan three years ago.
But, says Claude Gascon, we have to try.
"I would argue that the story of amphibians is the story of humans. If we don't get amphibians sorted, the next batch to go extinct may be primates."
WWF 15 Oct 08;
Naypyidaw, Myanmar: Skin and bones, canines and claws from almost 1,200 wild cats were observed in Myanmar’s wildlife markets during 12 surveys undertaken by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
They included parts of at least 107 tigers and all eight cat species native to Myanmar, formerly Burma. Irregular surveys over the last 15 years have recorded a total of 1,320 wild cat parts, representing a minimum of 1,158 individual animals.
“Although almost 1,200 cats were recorded, this can only be the tip of the iceberg,” said Chris Shepherd, Programme Co-ordinator for TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia office.
“The cat parts were openly displayed for sale and the dealers quite frank about the illegality of the trade, which suggests a serious lack of law enforcement.”
People from neighbouring countries are the main buyers of these parts, as reflected by the locations of the markets - three of the four markets surveyed were located on international borders with China and Thailand. Prices were quoted in Thai or Chinese currency, or even US dollars.
“The sale of endangered cat parts, including Tigers of which only about 4,000 remain, is an appalling and brazen violation of the law in Myanmar and should not be tolerated,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme.
“Most of these species have very low population numbers and will not be able to withstand the amount of poaching that is feeding this trade.”
National legislation in Myanmar is imprecise as to how many cat species are totally protected, but at least five are. Native cats comprise Tiger, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Marbled Cat, Asiatic Golden Cat, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat and Jungle Cat.
Five of them are listed in Appendix I of CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which bans international trade. Myanmar has been a signatory to CITES since 1997.
“Myanmar has an amazing wealth and variety of wildlife. However, immediate action to close down these markets and prosecute those engaged in the trade of protected wildlife is essential,” said Shepherd, adding that national legislation needed to be tightened and better cross-border co-operation with neighbouring countries, particularly Thailand and China was needed.
Myanmar is a member of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), a partnership that seeks to end illegal cross-border wildlife trade in the region.
In order to combat the illegal trade in wild cat parts in Myanmar, and to work towards the conservation of wildlife, TRAFFIC recommended improving and enforcing national laws and closing markets actively selling protected wildlife.
Myanmar should also work to reduce illegal international trade of wild cats and other protected wildlife, and should be encouraged to work closely with Thailand, China and other relevant countries as international co-operation is essential to enforce effectively CITES and to put an end to the illegal international trade.
Authorities in airports and other points of international entry and exit should be more vigilant to prevent parts and derivatives of protected wildlife from being carried across Myanmar’s borders.
Myanmar should also ensure that staff based at these checkpoints are sufficiently trained in CITES implementation, enforcement and species/parts of species identification.
Regular and systematic monitoring of the markets in Myanmar should continue to be carried out by non-government organizations to assist the authorities in their enforcement efforts as well as to detect changing trends and dynamics in the trade.
And Myanmar, as a party to CITES, should revise existing laws or enact completely new CITES implementing legislation and enforce all CITES-enabling legislation.
Brisk trade in tiger parts in Myanmar, says WWF
Yahoo News 14 Oct 08;
Skins, claws and bones from at least 1,158 tigers and other protected big cats have been spotted in open markets in Myanmar during surveys conducted over the last 18 years, according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.
More than half came from five species banned from international trade, among them four species listed at threatened with extinction.
The tally included more than 100 tigers, whose numbers in the wild have dwindled to a few thousand worldwide, according to conservation experts.
"This can only be the tip of the iceberg," said Chris Shepherd, who coordinated the investigation carried out by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network supported by WWF.
"The cats were openly displayed for sale and the dealers quite frank about the illegality of the trade, which suggests a serious lack of law enforcement," he said in a statement.
Three of four markets monitored in a dozen surveys -- the most recent in late 2006 -- are located on borders with China and Thailand, with prices quoted in Chinese yuan, Thai baht and US dollars.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is plagued with corruption, and was ranked in September as one of the world's two most corrupt nations by watchdog group Transparency International.
Yangon is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and thus is legally bound by its provisions.
"The sale of endangered cat parts ... is an appalling and brazen violation of the law in Myanmar and should not be tolerated," said Susan Lieberman, director of the WWF's wildlife programme.
"Most of these species have very low population numbers and will not be able to withstand the amount of poaching that is feeding this trade."
Parts of rare mammals -- especially the penis and bones -- are used in traditional Chinese medicine to enhance sexual potency or health.
Four of the big cats whose parts were for sale figure on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List as threatened with extinction: the tiger, the clouded leopard, the marbled cat and the Asiatic golden cat.
Along with a fifth, the leopard, they are all banned from international trade by CITES.
While most of the specimens from these five species were found in surveys during the 1990s, more than 120 turned up after 2000, showing that the illegal trade is still going strong, the report concluded.
PlanetArk 15 Oct 08;
ROME - An influential global network of governments, scientists and conservationists has called for a ban on fishing for the Mediterranean bluefin tuna, a highly prized species which is threatened with extinction.
Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) passed a resolution which urges a total ban on fishing the species and for the creation of a sanctuary for bluefin tuna around Spain's Balearic islands.
Although non-binding, the motion passed late on Monday will strengthen the hand of parties seeking tough new rules on tuna fishing at a meeting next month of the global body which overseas the industry, the Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna.
"Common sense is now promising to bring an end to the real shame in the international system of fisheries management," said Sergi Tudela of WWF (formerly the World Wild Fund for Nature) who welcomed the result of the vote at a IUCN congress in Barcelona.
"The message that we need to close the fishery now or have few fish and no fishery into the future is now coming from scientists, from consumers, from communities and from countries," Tudela said.
Bluefin tuna are known for their huge size, power and speed, with maximum weights recorded in excess of 600 kg (1,300 lb). Since last year, market prices for the delicacy have tripled: in Japan a single fish can cost up to US$100,000.
The fish are prized as a delicacy, especially in sushi and sashimi dishes where cuts are often known as toro or maguro.
The European Unions shortened this year's hunting season to try to protect the species but WWF says many tuna are fished illegally, bypassing hunting and quota rules. (Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Closure call for tuna 'disgrace'
Richard Black, BBC News 14 Oct 08;
Major tuna-fishing nations have backed calls for temporary closure of the Mediterranean tuna fishery, branded a "disgrace" by a recent expert report.
The World Conservation Congress passed a motion calling for closure of the bluefin fishery until scientifically sound recovery plans are in place.
Catches are estimated to be about four times higher than scientists recommend.
Spain, which has the biggest quota for Mediterranean tuna, and Japan, the biggest consumer, voted in favour.
The organisation responsible for managing the fishery, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat), was pilloried in a recent independent report which it had been obliged to commission.
Experts from Australia, Japan and Canada noted that the body's performance was "widely regarded as an international disgrace", and that the international community in whose interests Iccat operates "deserves better performance than it has received to date".
The report put the blame firmly on the shoulders of Iccat's member nations which, it said, did not stamp down on illegal fishing, did not provide accurate catch data, and failed to implement proper monitoring arrangements for its fleets.
It concluded there were far too many boats chasing too few fish.
The report recommended an interim ban on fishing in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, a measure that the US has previously backed.
Falling stock
In 2006, Iccat scientists recommended catches be limited to about 15,000 tonnes per year.
But the government appointees that make the decisions chose to allow quotas twice as big, and it is estimated that a further 20,000 tonnes are landed illegally each year.
As a result, the number of fish has fallen to about one-third of its level in the 1970s.
Spain's support for its own fleet has been viewed as one of the principal reasons why catches have not been brought down to sustainable levels.
But here in Barcelona, the Spanish delegation announced that "with satisfaction and responsibility, Spain has participated in building up consensus to get a compromise that will allow us to reverse the critical situation in the bluefin tuna population in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean."
The motion they backed calls for Iccat to shorten the fishing season especially during the spawning months of May and June, establish protection zones around spawning sites and suspend fishing completely until member nations have begun to reduce the size of their fleets.
'Turning point'
"We hope it's the end of the degradation of the management of the bluefin tuna fishery," said Sergi Tudela, head of the fisheries programme with environment group WWF.
"Today, it's a turning point - for the first time, important countries like Spain and Japan have supported bold and explicit action to avoid collapse of the stock, and we hope the spirit of this meeting will be continued next month in the crucial Iccat meeting in Marrakesh."
That meeting could decide on a closure, or on other conservation measures.
Japan's demand for bluefin for the lucrative sashimi business is widely cited as the trade's main driver.
But it appears that Japan will back calls for a moratorium.
Fisheries agency official Hideki Moronuki told BBC News: "Urgent and effective action has to be taken for the conservation and sustainable use of this particular species.
"We believe that with this particular motion we can do something for the conservation of bluefin tuna, so that in future it can become a sustainable fishery."
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 14 Oct 08;
Plans to pay developing nations millions of pounds every year not to cut down forests will fuel corruption and human rights abuses, according to environmental organisations.
The controversial Eliasch Review was presented to the Prime Minister as a way of using free market economics to slow climate change.
The report suggested a 'forest emissions trading system', where credits are given to rainforest nations for limiting CO2 through protecting existing forests and planting more trees.
These credits can then be sold to developed nations that need to offset the amount of carbon they are producing.
By 2030 the market will be generating enough money to ensure the world's rainforests are protected.
However in the intervening years the world community will have to find up to $19 billion (£11 billion) annually to pay the rainforest nations, most of which are in the developing world, to protect their forests.
There was immediate concern about the money going into the hands of corrupt governments or logging companies and leading to human rights abuses as indigenous people are driven off now valuable land.
In the long run it is feared the forest credits will provide richer nations with a "get out jail free" card so that they can go on producing carbon emissions by buying offsets from developing nations.
The author of the report Johan Eliasch, a former Tory donor who runs the sports business Head, is a controversial figure in the environmental world.
Earlier this year one of his companies was fined for illegally cutting down Amazon rainforest.
Although the report was welcomed by the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, that could use the new credits to help meet impending targets, it was criticised in the development sector for being a kind of "green colonialism" by paying poorer nations to tackle climate change.
However, for all the difficultly and expense involved in paying for deforestation, Mr Eliasch said the investment would be worth the cost.
"With climate change we are living on borrowed time. If we do not address these issues today it is going to be much more expensive later on and that is why we need to take action now," he said.
Deforestation currently accounts for a fifth of the world's carbon emissions.
"Saving forests is critical for tackling climate change," explained Mr Eliash. "Without action on deforestation, avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will be next to impossible, and could lead to additonal climate of $1 trillion (£600 million) a year by 2100," he said.
"Including the forest sector in a new global deal could reduce the costs of tackling climate change by up to 50 per cent and therefore achieve deeper cuts in emissions, as well as reducing poverty in some of the world's poorest areas and protecting biodiversity."
The report called for the world to halve deforestation by 2020 and make the forest sector carbon neutral by 2030 by balancing emissions with new forest growth.
To do this the world must put a value on the rainforests by including the forest sector in the carbon market.
"Deforestation will continue as long as cutting down and burning trees is more economic than preserving them. Access to finance from carbon markets and other funding initiatives will be essential for supporting forest nations to meet this challenge," continued Mr Eliasch.
Between now and 2012 it will cost the world $4 billion (£2,000 million) to develop the new forest emissions trading system. This will include setting individual targets for rainforest nations, introducing new technology to measure emissions and helping rainforest nations to establish the mechanisms to measure and monitor rainforest emissions.
By 2020 it is expected the market will generate $7 billion (£4,000 million) towards protecting the forests. A further $11 - $19 billion (£6-11,000 million) will have to be found from the global community to pay rainforest nations to halt deforestation.
However by 2030 the market should be self sustaining as the money generated from trading the forest credits will be enough to pay to stop deforestation.
The report will be key in deciding a way forward for the world to reduce greenhouse emissions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next year to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
But it was widely rejected by environmental groups.
Andy Tait, head of biodiversity at Greenpeace, said introducing forest credits to the existing carbon markets would drive down the price of carbon credits so that it is cheaper to pollute and allow developed nations to offsett CO2 emissions rather than investing in renewables and reducing pollution to meet targets.
"If Gordon Brown accepts these proposals he will give a green light to companies to use forest protection abroad as a cheap alternative to making the dramatic cuts in the industrial and energy sectors that we need here in the UK.
"We must do both, and allowing forests to become a get out of jail free card for the big polluters would be extremely bad news for the fight against climate change."
Tom Picken of Friends of the Earth said allowing rich countries and businesses to 'offset' their carbon dioxide emissions by buying up huge tracts of forest is "riddled with problems and will do little to tackle climate change".
Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK, warned the plan could horribly backfire by creating the illusion of carbon savings whilst fuelling corruption in forests nations who do not have the means to protect their forests, and often do not know who legally owns the trees.
"Trading off our own emissions against hoped-for reductions in deforestation could be a catastrophic lose-lose strategy," he added.
Pay-to-protect forest plan gets cautious welcome
Environmentalists warn the global fund would give rich nations a cheaper alternative to cutting their own greenhouse emissions and put at risk the human rights of a billion people who depend on forests for their livelihoods
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk 14 Oct 08;
A proposal for a giant global fund to pay the owners of the world's forests not to cut them down has received a guarded welcome from environmental groups. They warn of the risks of giving rich nations a cheaper alternative to cutting their own greenhouse gas emissions and to the human rights of the tens of millions of people who live in or who depend on forests for their livelihoods.
The independent report, revealed by the Guardian, was written for the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and states that an international carbon market could prevent the deforestation that is a major contributor to climate change and inject much needed funds into poor countries.
The report calls for an international agreement to halve the carbon dioxide released through deforestation by 2020. It acknowledges this will be costly but estimates such action could be worth $3.7tr (£2.1tr) to the world's nations in net benefits over the long term. If nothing is done to slow rampant deforestation, the report states, the resulting climate change will cause impacts costing governments nearly $1tr a year by 2100.
The report was written by Johan Eliasch, a businessman appointed by Brown to be his special adviser on forests. Deforestation is responsible for at least 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing it is seen as one of the quickest and cheapest ways of cutting emissions.
The report recommends that forests be included in the emerging global carbon market. By giving standing trees a carbon value, it says, "the cost of halving global carbon emissions could be reduced by up to 50% in 2030".
The Eliasch review acknowledges it could take at least five years before the global carbon market is operating and that not all countries would currently agree to such a system.
It notes that countries that would benefit from international payments to protect their forests should be required to comply with international agreements that require them to respect human rights and to protect the environment.
The countries that might benefit are some of the most politically volatile, and – in many cases – corrupt in the world. It says that in the short term the international community should pay up to $4bn to 40 forest countries to help them reach acceptable standards of governance.
Environmentalists welcomed the report as a sign of deforestation being taken seriously by governments, and agree the issue must be tackled, but urge caution over how it is done. "Sufficient and long-term funding is needed to act as an incentive to protect forests," said Emily Brickell, climate and forests officer for WWF-UK.
But protecting the needs of people was also paramount, she said: "More than one billion of the world's poorest people rely on forests for their livelihoods, so any measures to reduce emissions from deforestation must ensure that local communities enjoy continued access to, and benefits from, forest resources."
Andy Tait, Greenpeace's head of biodiversity, expressed concern over the effect the plan would have on emissions in rich nations. "If Gordon Brown accepts these proposals he will give a green light to companies to use forest protection abroad as a cheap alternative to making the dramatic cuts in the industrial and energy sectors that we need here in the UK. Allowing forests to become a get-out-of-jail-free card for the big polluters would be extremely bad news in the fight against climate change."
The reliability of the carbon market is also a key factor, said Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK: "There is a serious danger of placing excessive hope in what might be very unreliable and speculative forest protection carbon credits.
"Avoided deforestation carbon credits might well turn out to be sub-prime, as weak tropical country governments fail to deliver actual reductions in deforestation, or as forests increasingly become susceptible to fire and disease because of the warming effects of climate change itself. Trading off our own emissions against hoped-for reductions in deforestation could be a catastrophic lose-lose strategy."
According to Friends of the Earth's international climate campaigner Tom Picken, the plan does not address the deeper causes of deforestation: "Financial packages are needed – but we must also address the underlying causes, such as biofuels, excessive meat consumption and industrial logging."
Under the proposed scheme countries would be rewarded with carbon credits, which could be exchanged for cash on the global market, for not cutting down forests and for reforesting previously logged areas. While the international community would monitor forest loss via satellite, it would be left to national governments to decide how money earned would be distributed and what measures would be needed to prevent illegal logging.
The review says countries could tackle deforestation in different ways. The most controversial would be to pay logging companies not to fell trees, or subsistence farmers not to clear land. In addition, countries could greatly increase their policing of forests or could tax heavily anyone who clears forest.
But it accepts that halting deforestation will be difficult. "Such delegation [of responsibility] will involve significant costs ... which may be very challenging for many forest nations in the short term. Demonstration activities to test these approaches will be needed." It accepts there are significant human rights and land-ownership risks.
"Risks include increased state and outside expert control over forests, support for anti-people conservation and land speculation", says the report.
Rich Countries Must Pay for Rainforests - UK Report
Gerard Wynn, PlanetArk 15 Oct 08;
LONDON - Rich countries should pay tropical nations billions of dollars a year to save their forests, using donor money and global carbon markets to foot the bill, said a UK-commissioned report on Tuesday.
In the longer-term, by 2030, developing countries should also start paying to help create "carbon neutral" global forests through binding targets to slow deforestation and plant trees.
Clearing and burning forests for timber and farms creates about a fifth of the greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, but growing urgency to tackle the problem is dividing opinion on how to fight the problem.
Tuesday's report drew criticism from some carbon traders and green groups, saying it down-played costs and skirted real world issues of corruption and land disputes.
The report, "Climate Change: Financing Global Forests", firmly pinned hopes on the notion of carbon trading, where rich countries pay poor ones to cut carbon emissions, so that they can carry on polluting as normal.
"Deforestation will continue as long as cutting down and burning trees is more economic than preserving them," said Johan Eliasch, author of the report and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's special representative on deforestation.
The report estimated that finance from carbon markets could curb deforestation rates by 75 percent by 2030, and urged inclusion of forests in a new global climate pact slated for agreement under UN-led talks by the end of next year.
But carbon markets would still leave a funding gap of US$11-19 billion by 2020, said the report, to be met by donors currently struggling against a worldwide banking crisis.
Extra pressures now on tropical forests include clearances to plant vegetable oils for biodiesel, and more cattle ranches to satisfy a richer world's increasingly meat-hungry diet.
Carbon markets use a carrot approach, allowing developing countries to earn carbon offsets for chopping fewer trees than in the past, and then selling these offsets to rich countries as a cheaper option to domestic greenhouse gas emissions curbs.
COSTLY
Some critics said that the report's cost estimate of US$33 billion a year to halve deforestation by 2030 was too small.
Offsets would have to compensate farmers for not planting valuable crops such as palm oil.
That implied high prices, which made one expert doubt the report's claim that forestry offsets could halve costs for rich nations to fight climate change.
"Over the next decade, forest carbon credits could conceivably cut mitigation costs by 13 percent," said Eric Bettelheim, chairman of a private company Sustainable Forestry Management, citing an estimate by Environmental Defense.
In addition, the report excluded the cost of planting new trees to replace the shortfall in timber supply.
"It's an enormous, industrial-scale undertaking, trees take time to grow and planting trees and maintaining them is expensive," added Bettelheim, estimating the total cost to halve deforestation rates at US$50-100 billion.
The Eliasch report skirted the problem of corruption and illegal logging, said Simon Counsell, executive director at the green group the Rainforest Foundation.
The report recommended that rich country donors spend US$4 billion over five years for research, to fund local bodies, and resolve local land disputes.
"It really fails to appreciate just how serious and long-term these problems of corruption and governance actually are," said Counsell, adding they would take 10 years to address.
"In DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) there's fewer than 10 people in the forestry department managing an area of forest twice the size of France. That's the reality on the ground."
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