wildsingapore news: Nov 6, 2008

Shell-Shocked Turtles Land In Lesser Numbers Due To Development

Bernama 6 Nov 08;

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Shell-shocked by development activities, fewer turtles are landing on sandy beaches to procreate nationwide.

What was once popular turtle landing spots in the quiet and peaceful ambience of the beaches is no more.

It has changed as a result of too much development (on the beaches), noted Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Junaidi Che Ayub.

"We have to reduce the (development) activities. The beaches must be conducive for simple turtle landing," he said in his speech at the National Turtle Symposium and the launch of the National Action Plan for Turtle Conservation and Management in Malaysia here today.

His speech text was read by department deputy director-general (operations), Suhaili Lee.

Junaidi said, other reasons for less turtle landing in the country included illegal turtle-catching activities by the irresponsible and turtles inadvertently getting caught in fishing nets.

Junaidi, however, said that the number of turtle landing in the country could be described as stable as it showed a little increase in the past three years, except for the Leatherback Turtle.

"The Leatherback used to lay their eggs here but they hardly return as they were either caught in international waters or at the mercy of turtle-catching syndicates," he added.

In 2006, no Leatherback Turtle landed in Malaysian beaches while in 2005, there was only landing recorded, said Junaidi.

He said this year, however, eight Leatherback Turtle landings were recorded.

Reiterating an action plan, Junaidi said it would involve aspects of turtle sanctuary, educational programmes and standardisation of turtle-related regulations.

Among the priority was to set up the Malaysia Sea Turtle Working Group which would evaluate the progress of the action plan in the next three years.

Meanwhile, Turtle Islands and Sabah Parks manager Fazrullah Rizally Abdul Razak, when met at the symposium, said the high demand for turtle eggs in Sabah led to rampant smuggling from a neighbouring country.

He said turtle hunting was popular among fishermen from China and Vietnam for sale as food, medication or ornament.

Hence, in a bid to conserve the turtles, he said the Sabah Fisheries Department was studying the effectiveness of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) which was installed on a fisherman's boat to prevent turtles from being caught in the net.

-- BERNAMA

Best of our wild blogs: 6 Nov 08

Straits Times features seahorses as medicine without mentioning environmental impact on the wild shores of singapore blog

Common Kingfisher handling fish
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Aren’t Bees Social Insects?
on the Garden Voices blog

Singapore to Become Water-Sufficient

Ben Bland, Asia Sentinel 6 Nov 08;

The island republic seeks to free itself from possible blackmail by Malaysia

When Singapore’s newest reservoir was opened this weekend, it was billed as the garden city’s latest leisure hub, designed to attract boaters and picnickers keen to escape the hectic pace of urban life.

But the Marina Reservoir, the 15th to be built in Singapore and the first to be located in the city center, has a much more important role to play. It is the latest advance in the city-state’s drive to wean itself away from imported water from Malaysia and its concomitant political entanglements. In the process, Singapore has emerged as an unlikely world leader in water conservation, reclamation and desalination.

Singapore still sources around half of its water from Malaysia and frequent disputes over the water supply have dogged relations between the two neighbors virtually since the two became independent countries. But after billions of dollars of investment into transforming its water supply, Singapore is getting ever closer to the day when it will become totally self-sufficient, finally kicking one of the most poisonous bilateral issues into the long grass.

With no proper rivers of its own and a land area too small to collect enough rain water, Singapore has been dependent on water brought across the Strait of Johor ever since it gained its independence from the British. But despite the two long-term supply deals signed in 1961 and 1962, once Singapore was unceremoniously booted out of the nascent Federation of Malaysia in 1965, the water issue began to drive a wedge between the two.

It wasn't long before Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first post-independence prime minister, was threatening to turn off the taps if Singapore pursued a foreign policy that was "prejudicial" to Malaysia's interests. Singapore's first post-independence leader and current Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, also said that he would have been prepared to send the troops in, if Malaysia had carried out an "act of madness" like cutting off the water.

As the imposing figures of Lee Kuan Yew and his long-time sparring partner, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, begun to fade – neither is there yet – the tensions over water have dissipated somewhat. However, with the first water agreement set to expire in 2011 and no replacement deal in sight, the Singaporean government has moved ahead at a fearsome pace with its push to reduce its dependence on imported water.

"Singapore seems to be doing quite well and I think it will be self-sufficient within the next five-10 years," explained Chan Ngai Weng, a geography professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia who specializes in water supply issues. "If Singapore is able to do this, then there will be no problem between the two countries. Malaysia will lose some money but there will not be any issue any more."

"I think it’s unlikely that there will be more problems between Malaysia and Singapore over water," added Kog Yue Choong, a Singaporean engineer and academic who has written on water security in Southeast Asia. "Many of the problems happened when Mahathir was in control but now the game has changed because the additional water sources Singapore has developed will reduce its vulnerability."

Singapore's Public Utilities Board has spearheaded the campaign, investing S$4.9bn (US$3.3 billion) over the last five years alone in its four-pronged approach: increasing the area used to catch and store rainwater, recycling sewage to produce 'NEWater', building new desalination plants and working to reduce water usage. In 2005, the government opened the biggest desalination plant in Asia, delivering 110,000 cubic meters of desalinated seawater a day, enough to meet 10 percent of the country’s national water demand.

The Marina Reservoir, which was first suggested by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew back in 1987, is a vital part of the plan. It will supply another 10 percent of Singapore's water needs and, together with two further reservoirs that are currently being built, it will expand the catchment area used to collect rainwater from half to two-thirds of the island’s land area.

Yet despite the apparent easing of tensions between Malaysia and Singapore over recent years, Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s current prime minister and Lee Kuan Yew's son, hinted at the importance of continuing to reduce the country’s reliance on Malaysian imports at the opening ceremony of the reservoir last Friday.

"Through the concerted efforts and ingenuity of government agencies, and the full support and cooperation of the population, we have become more self-sufficient in water, and can become completely self-sufficient should we need to," he said. "We have also turned our vulnerability into a capability."

While disputes over water have done much to harm Singapore-Malaysia relations over the last 50 years, the silver lining for Singapore at least has been that the tensions have spurred the development of a world-leading water technology industry.

With industrialization, urbanization and climate change all threatening to put ever greater pressure on water supplies in Asia and around the world, Singapore has positioned itself to capitalize on the demand for technological solutions to the growing water shortages.

“More and more countries want to industrialize and the West is exporting pollutive industries to developing countries that don’t have the same capacity to deal with the problem,” noted Dr Kog. “Water supplies are increasingly being polluted and with global warning, it will be a big problem that may develop to an extent that it rivals the issue of oil.”

Australia, where farmers have been hit by severe droughts over recent years, is already looking at Singapore’s NEWater as a possible solution to its woes. More importantly, India and China, which have been developing at a lightning pace, are facing serious water crises in the coming years. The growing water shortages are a massive threat to China, where the World Bank estimates that more than half of the 660 cities are already facing supply issues, but a big opportunity for Singapore. Companies that honed their expertise in water technology while working on Singapore’s own water problems, such as Hyflux and Keppel, have expanded into China, where the World Bank has argued that billions of dollars more must be invested to head off a major water crisis.

But while Singapore has seemingly defused the potential for further disputes over water with Malaysia, it remains to be seen if relations between the two countries will continue to improve. Although the global financial storm ought to push these neighbors closer together, there is the very real danger that a deepening economic slowdown pushes both countries to take a more protectionist and antagonistic approach to each other.

Much will depend on the extent of the economic slowdown and the eventual outcome of Malaysia’s continuing political crisis. But, for the first time in many years, some Singaporeans and Malaysians are starting to believe that their bilateral problems could be water under the bridge.

Australia will be key LNG source for Singapore

Gencos should look at alternative fuels as oil prices increase
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 6 Nov 08;

AUSTRALIA, because of its geographical proximity, will be one of the key sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Singapore's power stations - although initially, it will be shipped here from elsewhere, a BG Group official said here yesterday.

Out of an initial 20-plus bidders, the London-listed group was appointed in April by Singapore's Energy Market Authority to be the republic's LNG aggregator or monopoly buyer.

The Australian LNG will come from Queensland, where BG in February entered a partnership with Queensland Gas Company (QGC) to build a world-scale LNG plant there, using QGC's coal seam gas as feedstock.

QGC's two LNG trains are expected to produce seven million-plus tonnes a year of LNG for export, including to Singapore, although this will not be available until 2013-2014, Dan Werner, BG Group's general manager for Singapore LNG, told BT.

The $1 billion Singapore LNG terminal being built on Jurong Island is scheduled to start operating in 2012, he said, which means that BG will source the Singapore-destined LNG from elsewhere in the interim.

'When we first bid to be Singapore's LNG aggregator, we told the Energy Market Authority that the LNG is likely to come from five possible locations. These are namely, Australia, Egypt, Trinidad & Tobago, Nigeria and equatorial New Guinea,' Mr Werner said on the sidelines of the Singapore Electricity Roundtable.

He earlier told the conference that BG, which is an integrated player with equity stakes in upstream LNG exploration to downstream LNG terminals, has the flexibility to move LNG supplies to anywhere in the world, depending on where the demand is and where it can get better prices.

For each one million tonnes LNG capacity, BG has to invest US$3 billion in the LNG value chain, Mr Werner said. 'This means that its investment for the Singapore project works out to over US$10 billion,' he said.

BG has a monopoly to initially supply between 800,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) and 1.2 million tpa of LNG to Singapore starting in 2012, with the imports building up to three million tpa by 2018.

The BG official assured that the LNG supplies, wherever it may come from, will be of consistent, good quality. 'The LNG, when intermingled with the piped natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia, will improve the overall quality of the gas supply here,' he said.

At the Electricity Roundtable, Tang Kin Fei, group president of Sembcorp Industries, said that with oil prices shooting up by about five times over the years, fuel costs - which previously accounted for 50 per cent of generating companies' variable costs - now accounts for as much as 85 per cent.

This means that gencos here have to urgently start looking at alternative fuels, the Sembcorp chief said, pointing to its UK experience where its Teeside plant can optimise use of coal, natural gas and fuel oil, depending on which gives it the best economies.

In Singapore, Sembcorp is studying using waste materials as fuel for a new investment on Jurong Island aimed at producing steam needed by the petrochemical plants there.

This is not unlike IUT Global's just-unveiled plan to build a small 3-4 MG bio-methanisation plant which will convert food waste into energy. Separately, Tuas Power has supplied 'embedded' tri-generation plants, producing electricity, steam and chilled water, to pharmaceutical plants here.

With volatile oil prices, Tan Soo Kiang, chairman of the Energy Market Company, said that he expects more such 'innovative generation' energy projects to enter the Singapore market next year.

Thailand commissions nuclear power plant study

Today Online 6 Nov 08;

BANGKOK — Thailand’s state electricity firm said yesterday it had signed a contract with a company to conduct a feasibility study for what would be the nation’s first nuclear power plant.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, or Egat, signed a US$4.97-million($7.35-million) contract with United States engineering firm Burns and Roe Asia for a 20-month study and will decide whether to press ahead with nuclear power in late 2010.

“The feasibility study will cover nuclear power plant safety, radioactive waste, location, environmental impact, personnel planning and development, as well as suitability for nuclear technology,” the statement said.

Egat said it was searching for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Currently, Thailand relies on natural gas for about two thirds of its electricity production. The rest comes mainly from coal and hydropower.

Thai government officials had previously said they could begin construction on a nuclear plant as early as 2014. AFP

Overseas road pricing systems going green

Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times 6 Nov 08;

ELECTRONIC Road Pricing (ERP) systems abroad will soon be able to do more than just charge drivers for contributing to congestion.

The Netherlands is looking to introduce tolls that bill motorists for the amount of pollution their vehicles spew into the environment.

It is a system that will encourage drivers to go for greener cars and help ease global warming, said Professor David Hensher at a major gathering of transport experts yesterday.

Under the Dutch ERP system, cars will be charged according to the distance they travel and the vehicle's fuel efficiency. Drivers of gas guzzlers will pay more than motorists with sub-compacts.

'The current system's not fair,' said Prof Hensher, who is from the University of Sydney in Australia. 'If you're driving a Mercedes-Benz with eight cylinders, you're paying no more per km then somebody driving a very fuel-efficient small car.'

He is one of several international speakers at the inaugural World Urban Transport Leaders Summit, organised by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Academy.

The Dutch ERP system is set to start in 2011 for lorries and will be phased in for cars from 2012 to 2016.

While that is a road Singapore does not plan to travel down just yet, officials said, the Republic is moving towards a satellite-based system that can track cars and charge them for the distance they travel.

The LTA is studying Global Positioning System technology for this.

Meanwhile, Prof Hensher yesterday advocated axing ERP charges for public buses. Operators in Singapore must pay the tolls. He said public buses should be exempt, especially when the authorities are trying to get more people onto public transport.

The LTA, responding to media queries on his suggestion, said public buses have to pay ERP because they occupy road space like other vehicles and contribute to congestion.

SBS Transit estimates that it paid $1.5 million in ERP charges in the first half of this year, while SMRT paid $1 million over the year which ended in March.

Bacteria to hold up walls, purify water?

Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 6 Nov 08;

IMAGINE a dam held together by bacteria. Or microbes turning a fetid lagoon into a source of crystal clear water.

Researchers discussed ideas like these yesterday during a gathering of industrialists, scientists and policymakers.

The four-day International Solid Waste Association World Congress 2008, which ends today, attracted about 1,000 participants from around the world.

While several concepts raised may seem torn from the pages of a science-fiction novel, some are close to becoming a reality.

Research is already under way at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on a process called biocementation, which uses bacteria to bind particles of sand together.

Under the right conditions - such as the presence of iron- based salts, acids and pressure - it already happens naturally. Scientists are looking for ways to whittle down the time it takes from years to just hours.

The bonds are so strong that they can hold up reservoir walls or prevent landslides, researcher Volodymyr Ivanov said.

Associate Professor Ivanov expects his work with an earth science expert, Associate Professor Chu Jian, also from the NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, to get started next year if funding comes through.

Meanwhile, the duo are also looking at turning bacteria that live in plant waste into water purifiers.

The microbes, which are harmless to people, can not only be combined with mineral salts to sweep away suspended particles but also clump together toxic algal blooms and other contaminants.

The bacteria-based cleaning system could be at least seven times cheaper than current methods which introduce artificial chemicals into the water, said Prof Ivanov.

He is now looking for funding from private and public organisations.

Experts also talked yesterday about other aspects of waste management.

Dr John Keung, chief executive officer of the Building and Construction Authority, said Singapore is committed to studying how new and recycled materials can be used in construction.

That includes funding for research that can contribute to better construction methods or those that will enhance the urban landscape.

The Government's commitments stem from a drive to reduce waste and come in the wake of rising construction costs, including price hikes for materials like sand.

Clean energy: Global tab may be $67 trillion

Straits Times 6 Nov 08;

Expert says sum is for infrastructure alone and doesn't include research

MORE investments in green technology must come - and soon - if the world is to have any chance of holding back drastic changes to the climate.

How much more?

Well, an average of US$2 trillion is currently being spent every year on research into clean, renewable energy that does not harm the environment.

But closer to US$45 trillion (S$67 trillion) will need to be spent over the next 40 years to set up infrastructure to produce this renewable energy - and this sum does not include funds needed for research.

The US$45 trillion figure, more than 300 times Singapore's gross domestic product, is the reckoning of Dr Dan Arvizu, director of the United States-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The money will pay for infrastructure to produce solar and wind power, both of which are environmentally friendly, renewable alternatives to burning fossil fuels to produce energy.

Extreme weather patterns, glacier melt and rising sea levels have been brought on by tonnes of carbon emissions. Such by-products of human activity stem chiefly from the burning of fossil fuels and fuel consumption by vehicle engines.

Dr Arvizu was speaking at the Singapore Energy Conference, held together with the inaugural Singapore International Energy Week.

The five-day event has attracted more than 2,500 delegates from over 50 countries.

Several economic reports - including Britain's Stern Review and an upcoming report by Australian economist Ross Garnaut - agree that as much as 20 per cent of global gross domestic product could be jeopardised if the world's environmental problems are left unchecked.

While research in green technology is under way, scientists must find ways of generating renewable energy on a large scale - enough to power megacities with more than 10 million people.

At the moment, renewable energy is being produced only in megawatt units, but the planet needs to start thinking about generating it in gigawatts - each 1,000 times a megawatt - to scale back the dependence on fossil fuels.

In other words, 'we need to start setting the bar higher', said Dr Arvizu.

He praised Singapore's move to put $170 million into funding research on clean energy, such as solar power and fuel cell production.

Another speaker at the conference, Mr Kapil Sibal, India's Minister for Science and Technology, called on countries to work together to slow down climate change, but without sacrificing economic growth.

Painting a bleak scenario, he said: 'We need a different mindset to deal with the holocaust that is impending.'

Coral reef replanting success for Sumatra island hit by tsunami

Ian Wood, The Telegraph 5 Nov 08;

A one-man coral replanting project has proved remarkably successful in helping a coral reef devastated by the tsunami in 2004 to recover.

The idea is the brainchild of Pak Dodent, a resident of the island of Pulau Wey off the north coast of Sumatra.

The narrow channel between his small village of Ibioh and a nearby island was particularly badly hit by the tsunami.

"It was like a washing machine out there and all of the coral was broken," he told me.

"Afterwards I thought to myself what can I do to make the coral grow again and I started to experiment."

The best system he has found is to make concrete moulds using a bucket and then embed a plastic bottle or tube so that it sticks out of the top of the concrete.

Pak Dodent and the concrete moulds (top)
and the coral reefs that he has grown (bottom)

When these are set he drops them by boat onto the shallow sandy sea bed and leaves them there for a month before starting to transplant coral to them.

"This allows time for any chemicals present in the concrete to dissipate so that they don't affect the new coral growth," he said.

"It is just like gardening; I cut a little bit of coral from the healthy reef on the far side of the island and bring it to my new reef. I am careful to only take a little from here and there so that I don't affect the healthy eco system."

He then uses cable ties to attach the transplants to the plastic tubes so they are not dislodged by tides or currents.

We swam out to inspect his new reef and the results were quite stunning.

The areas that are now over 3 three years old are completely covered with coral and fishes with virtually no remaining sign of the concrete bases. He has already replanted in excess of 200 square meters of coral with over 26 different species.

Once planted his work is by no means over as red and green algae can build up on the young coral and destroy it. His answer is to dive down and gently clean the infected coral with a toothbrush.

"I monitor and clean it for one year, after that it is up to the fishes," he said.

His work has recently attracted the interest of Fauna and Flora International who have now given him a small grant to develop his project.

The organisation Reef Check carried out a survey of several coral reefs in Sumatra in 2005 to monitor the effects of the tsunami and earthquake. Their results found that the effects of these natural disasters were less destructive than the problem of over fishing.

"Very little was previously known about the health of the reefs in this area," said Dr Gregor Hodgson, Reef Check founder and executive director.

"This expedition points to the need for better management of coral reefs in this mega-biodiversity region. The wonderful thing about reefs is how quickly they can recover if we take care of them."

The future of these reefs depends on the local community and their attitudes to conservation. The tsunami was such a huge event in north Sumatra that many people have changed their view on the power of nature and there are more positive signs that the local people are changing their fishing habits.

There is now a net fishing ban on several reefs on Pulau Wey that is being observed. Pak Dodent summed it up perfectly by saying: "People always take from the ocean but if we carry on like that we will soon destroy it all."

Related link

Guardian of Aceh's corals Jakarta Post 4 Nov 08

Recipe for rescuing our reefs

Rod Salm, BBC News 5 Nov 08;

The colourful world supported by coral reefs is under threat as oceans absorb greater quantities of carbon dioxide, says Rod Salm. In this week's Green Room, he says we must accept that we are going to lose many of these valuable ecosystems, but adds that not all hope is lost.

I've been privileged to see many of the world's finest and least disturbed reefs.

Mine were the first human eyes to see many of the remotest reefs at a time when we really could describe them as pristine.

I would never have dreamed that they were at risk from people, far less than from something as remote then as climate change.

Today, despite the doom and gloom one reads so much about, one can still find reefs that are vibrant, thriving ecosystems.

But sadly, too, there are more and more that look like something from the dark side of the Moon.

These degraded reefs have been ravaged by destructive fishing, bad land use practices that smother them with silt, and pollutants that foster disease and overgrowth by seaweeds.

More alarmingly, there are large areas that are killed off and degraded by warming seas linked to climate change.

We've all read that global warming poses a tremendous threat to our planet, and that coral reefs will face an uphill battle to survive in warmer waters.

Yet the greatest threat to our oceans and to all of its wonders is little known, nearly impossible to see, and potentially devastating. This is not climate change, but does stem from the excess carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

Changing chemistry

The ocean absorbs about one-third of the CO2 entering the atmosphere - a natural process that for millennia has maintained the carbon balance of our planet.

In recent times we have upset this balance; global CO2 emissions are at an all-time high, and our oceans are absorbing more CO2 and at faster rates than ever before, causing a shift toward greater acidity.

This removes carbonate from the water; and carbonate is an essential building block for calcifying organisms, like corals, molluscs, sea urchins and many other important creatures that live on reefs or help to build them.

Too much carbonic acid lowers the natural pH balance of the oceans, causing acidification, which wreaks havoc on marine habitats and species.

Just imagine all the colour and vibrancy of coral reefs fading away into fuzzy, crumbling greys and browns, and you're left with a coral graveyard that could become the norm if we don't address the threats to our oceans.

We need to find ways to convince people to take action, but that is a major challenge.

Given the difficulties that many coral reef managers around the world have in controlling such pressing direct threats as destructive fishing, overfishing and pollution, they are understandably hesitant about taking on an issue that they feel is beyond their ability and mandate to tackle.

Climate change is often seen as too daunting and too global for them to address, and too abstract for them to communicate.

Fortunately, in some respects, the sudden and startling onset of mass coral bleaching linked to warming seas has changed that a little.

We have developed and are applying some straightforward, practical actions to design marine protected networks and zone the individual sites to protect areas that are naturally resistant to bleaching

These areas are key, as they provide larvae that are transported to more vulnerable reefs where they settle and enhance recovery.

The high visibility of coral bleaching makes this relatively easy to see and study, but ocean acidification is difficult to detect by sight alone.

It is creeping, progressive, and insidious - likened by some scientists to osteoporosis of the reef - a weakening of the reef structure that makes corals more vulnerable to breakage from waves and human use.

We simply do not know yet whether we have reached or surpassed the point of no return for some coral species.

If current emission trends continue, we could see a doubling of atmospheric CO2 in as little as 50 years.

This would lead to an unprecedented acidification of our oceans that coral reefs would be unlikely to survive, a scenario that should spur us into action to try and find solutions.

A significant lowering of ocean pH would mean potentially massive coral loss. That would lead to the death of countless marine species as well as the devastation of economies dependent on ocean health and productivity.

'Meeting of minds'

It would also mean the end of an era for coral reef and scuba diving aficionados around the world.

But, more importantly, it would remove the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people around the globe who depend on reefs for food, income, coastal protection and stability.

Current estimates predict that we could lose all coral reefs by the end of the century - or, in the worst case scenario, possibly decades sooner, if we don't take action now to prevent ocean acidification.

We have to maintain hope and optimism and keep trying to find solutions.

The Nature Conservancy recently convened leading climate change experts, top marine scientists, and prominent coral reef managers from around the globe for a "meeting of the minds" session to chart a course of action for addressing ocean acidification.

The key findings and recommendations from this gathering were compiled into the Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management.

The most logical, long-term solution to ocean acidification impacts is to stabilise atmospheric CO2 by reducing emissions around the globe.

Yet the Honolulu Declaration also outlines tangible steps that can be taken now to increase the survival of coral reefs in an acidifying ocean, while also working to limit CO2 emissions.

For example, we need to identify and protect reefs that are less vulnerable to ocean acidification, either because of good flushing by oceanic water or biogeochemical processes that alter the water chemistry, making it more alkaline and better able to buffer acidification.

We can achieve this protection by designating additional "marine protected areas" and revising marine zoning plans.

We also need to integrate the management of these areas with reform of land uses that generate organic wastes and effluents that contribute to acidification.

At the local level, we may need to restrict access to more fragile coral communities or limit it to designated trails, much as we do with trails through sensitive environments on land.

We should consider designating "sacrificial" reefs or parts of reefs for diver training and heavy visitor use.

Another intriguing option is the prospect of farming local corals that prove more resistant to acidification, and "planting" them in place of those that weaken and break apart.

The consequences of inaction are too depressing to contemplate.

Global leaders, reef managers, and citizens around the globe should give all the support they can to the Honolulu Declaration to ensure the survival of the beauty and benefits of our marine treasure trove for future generations.

Dr Rod Salm is director of The Nature Conservancy's Tropical Marine Conservation Program in the Asia-Pacific region

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

Lemmings In Norway Hit By Global Warming – Study

Alister Doyle, PlanetArk 6 Nov 08;

OSLO - Lemming numbers are dwindling in Norway because of climate change, ending a historic cycle of population booms and busts that inspired a myth of mass suicides by the rodents, scientists said on Wednesday.

Fewer lemmings -- small brown, black or yellowish mammals -- in the mountains of south Norway meant predators such as the Arctic fox were forced to eat other prey including grouse and ptarmigan birds.

"The lemming population is falling and the peaks are disappearing," said Nils Stenseth of Oslo University, one of the authors of the report published in the journal Nature and written with colleagues in Norway and France.

He told Reuters it was the first study to link lemming numbers and disruptions to snowfall caused by global warming. The study of lemmings since 1970 showed the last population boom was in 1994, ending a pattern of spikes every 3-5 years.

Female lemmings can have litters of up to 12 young three times a year and the population can rocket if they are able to live sheltered from predators in early spring in gaps between powdery snow and the ground where they eat moss and other plants.

But warmer temperatures in recent years meant snow was wetter, often turning hard and icy. That made it more difficult for rodents to hide and reach food.

"A relatively small effect on one particular species is having a broad effect on the system," Stenseth said. In years with a lemming population boom, predators such as Arctic foxes or snowy owls used to get a valuable boost.

SNOWPLOUGHS

"Now when the lemming peak is gone...they will prey on other species such as ptarmigan and grouse," he said.

Tim Coulson of Imperial College, London, wrote in Nature in a commentary on the study that lemmings were so common in north Norway in 1970 that "snowploughs were used to clear the vast numbers of squashed animals from roads".

But population surges quickly led to food shortages and mass migrations. "On occasion, desperate to find food, they jump into water and start swimming. This behaviour led to the myth that lemmings commit suicide," he wrote.

Lemmings are, however, still abundant. "We are a long way from it being a threatened species," Stenseth said. Temperatures in late winter and early spring in southeastern Norway in recent decades were the highest since records began in 1756.

The UN Climate Panel projects that temperatures will keep rising, bringing more droughts, floods and heatwaves. Man-made emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, are the main cause, it says.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Illegal fishing threatens manta ray tourism in the Philippines

Illegal fishing threatens Manta Ray Bowl in Masbate
EA Delgado, Philippines Information Agency 4 Nov 08;

Masbate City (4 November) -- Professional divers are pressing for government actions to put a stop to illegal fishing in the towns of San Jacinto and Monreal in the province of Masbate which can be made world's famous by manta ray that have made their waters a dwelling and feeding ground.

The divers warned that unless illegal fishing was stopped, the manta ray would leave the area and could nip the bright prospects for a tourism industry that could help the adjoining towns survive the difficulties.

San Jacinto and Monreal have been noticed by divers from other countries because of the presence of manta ray in their municipal waters.

Concerned residents of Ticao Island said commercial fishing vessel locally known as "pangulong" and "palupad" as well as blast fishermen continue to operate in San Jacinto and Monreal despite of efforts to stop them.

Blast fishing involves the use of explosives to kill or stun fish so that they could easily be scooped into a boat.

"Palupad" or baby trawl fishing, on the other hand, entails scrapping the bottom of the sea with finely-honed nets to catch fish, including the babies.

The "pangulong" has a fleet of three vessels, with massive lighting and fine mesh of nets, and a carrier. It sometimes uses a sonar boat to conceal its location while looking for a fishing spot.

There are about 15 fleets operating in Monreal and San Jacinto allegedly with protection from ranking authorities in the region.

All three practices deplete the supply of fish and damage coral reefs that serve as home to manta ray and other sea creatures.

In other fishing nets, vigilantes could be responsible for the on-and-off-and-on-again attack on fishing boats on the water off Barangay Canlibas in the municipality of Batuan that have already wrecked more than a dozen of vessels.

Known residents of Batuan and the adjoining towns of San Fernando and San Jacinto expressed this theory even as the unit of PNP Maritime Group was still investigating the incidents.

The fishing boats that were destroyed in the attacks belonged to the residents of Dimasalang.

Residents of Batuan said the talk of the town was that some marginalized fishermen in Ticao have armed themselves purposely to execute all fishermen who encroach on the waters off the island.

They said the fishermen were quite desperate in view of the apparent failure of law enforcement agencies to protect their only source of living. "They are forced by circumstances to put the law into their hands," said one in Minasbate.

The fishermen's catch was fast dwindling that they reportedly decided to kill any fishermen from other municipalities who encroach on the waters of Ticao Island. (PIA Masbate) [top]

Mauritania Bans Most Fish Exports To Feed Locals

Vincent Fertey, PlanetArk 6 Nov 08;

NOUAKCHOTT - Mauritania banned most fish exports this week to try to meet domestic needs, angering local fisherman and those workers laid off by fish factories.

Mauritania, an arid country at the western end of the Sahara which boasts rich fisheries off its Atlantic coast, was among the countries worst hit by a surge in food prices earlier this year as it depends heavily on imports of staple foods like rice.

"This ban is intended to redirect output to prioritise the needs of Mauritanians, who have a right to eat their own fish," Fisheries Minister Hassena Ould Ely told Reuters after the ban took effect.

But the export ban on three popular fish, imposed from Monday by the fisheries minister installed after an August military coup, flies in the face of advice from some economists that curbs on exports risk disrupting vital food industries.

The ban covers sea bream and two species of grouper known locally as thiof and merou, which together account for around 80 percent of fish exported from Mauritania by local operators.

"I cannot accept that Mauritanian fish is cheaper abroad than in Mauritania. This measure will lower the price of fish on the local market by rebalancing supply and demand," Ely said.

The ban does not affect ships operating offshore under a deal with the European Union which nets the Mauritanian government 86 million euros (US$110 million) a year.

But with the vast majority of fish landed in Mauritania heading for export, fishermen have been reluctant to head out to sea and fish factories in the capital Nouakchott have been forced to shut down this week.

"The minister is naive to think that by stopping the export of certain varieties, all fish will end up on the local market. On the contrary, we think exports support the whole industry," said Lemine Ould Katari, who has had to suspend operations at his fish factory in Nouakchott.

Of 100,000 tonnes of fish a year landed in Mauritania, all but 30,000 tonnes are exported, according to a World Bank study.

The fisheries sector employs around 39,000 people -- or 4 percent of the active workforce in Mauritania -- most of them in land-based jobs such as the fish processing factories.

"At this pace we'll be closed down within a week," said Mohamed Ali, a fish exporter. "I employ 50 people but I've had to let them go. I just can't pay them.

(Writing by Alistair Thomson; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Sweden convicts nine for poaching more than 100 tonnes of cod

Yahoo News 6 Nov 08;

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Nine fishermen were found guilty in a Swedish court Wednesday of illegally fishing more than 100 tonnes of cod in the Scandinavian country's largest ever poaching case.

"The crime involves incorrect book-keeping of catches in the spring of 2005 in the Kattegat strait," the Varberg district court in southwestern Sweden said in a statement.

The fishermen were all sentenced to pay fines of between 3,740 and 70,000 kronor (375-7,016 euros, 486-9,096 dollars), and one of them, who was also found guilty of other crimes, was sentenced to five months in prison.

In all, 16 fishermen had stood charged of pulling in 109 tonnes of cod and passing it off as unquotaed pollack in what appeared to be a ploy to circumvent strict EU quotas limiting cod fishing.

The court however found Wednesday that they had not surpassed the permitted quota for 2005, and decided to drop charges against seven fishermen who had not been captains on their ships at the time.

The court also dropped the case against a purchaser of fish who had been accused of facilitating the scam, which according to the charges allowed the fishermen to rake in an additional 1.8 million kronor (183,000 euros, 240,000 dollars).

The case is serious, according to the Swedish Board of Fisheries, since the illegal fishing puts further pressure on dwindling cod stocks in the Kattegat strait.

Species protection group tusked over ivory sales

Yahoo News 5 Nov 08;

NAIROBI (AFP) – Leading conservationist Richard Leakey on Wednesday lambasted an endangered species protection group for sanctioning one-off sales of ivory stockpiles in several African countries.

In a statement issued by his WildlifeDirect conservation organisation, Leakey argued that such sales would only encourage illegal trade and poaching.

"I believe that auctioning the ivory stockpiles would cause poaching to increase particularly in the central, eastern and western African elephant range states where poaching is not yet properly controlled," he said.

Then director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Leakey was behind the widely publicised 1989 event in which former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi set alight 12 tonnes of elephant tusks in a symbolic protest against the ivory trade.

Under the supervision of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a number of legal ivory auctions are being organised in what the organisation claims will help some countries fund conservation efforts.

Auctions have already been held on October 28 in Namibia, in Botswana on October 31 and on Monday in Zimbabwe, while a final sale is scheduled in South Africa on Thursday.

"I am skeptical and wonder if there is a way of knowing whether these funds will actually help conservation," Leakey said.

"Although CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers says that southern African states have everything under control, it cannot be true for Zimbabwe," he said, citing reports of the country's wildlife being decimated.

"As the hammer falls for the last time in South Africa on Thursday, we cannot in any way say that this is a victory for conservation. It is indeed a great disservice to conservation."

Leakey also said that China had become the main destination for ivory and pointed out that the authorities had admitted to losing track of 120 tonnes of ivory from the government's stockpiles in the past 12 years.

Starving and penniless, Ethiopian farmers rue biofuel choice

Aaron Maasho, Yahoo News 5 Nov 08;

SODO, Ethiopia (AFP) – With a slight reeling in his gait, Ashenafi Chote ventures into his small plot of land and shakes his head, his eyes full of regret: "I made a mistake".

For the last 10 years, his plot in southern Ethiopia had kept his family of four alive by supplying enough food to eat and even surplus to sell, in a region often ravaged by drought and food shortages.

But since swapping from a subsistence to a biofuel crop several months ago, his once treasured source of income has dried up and, worse still, he and his family are now dependent on relief from aid agencies.

"I used to get four quintals (100 kilograms, 220 pounds) of maize from my land from every harvest and earn more than 2,400 birr (240 dollars). But now, I have lost my precious source," the 25-year-old father of two said.

"I shouldn't have accepted their offer," he added.

In the sprawling farmlands surrounding Wolaytta district, 350 kilometres (215 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, the thorny foliage of castor bean stalks is slowly replacing the swaying maize fields most locals depended on.

As impoverished and landlocked Ethiopia was choked by high oil prices, the government allocated more than 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) for biofuel crops development as part of a national strategy enacted last year.

Its development was, and still is, highly encouraged, with foreign companies given incentives and a relatively easy process to start up production ventures.

The Horn of Africa nation's vast land expanse of more than a million square kilometres (386,000 square miles), of which only 18 percent has been cultivated, is attracting an increasing amount of foreign suitors involved in the industry.

"It is considered a very important area to develop. The balance of payment (spent on petrol) is very high and we want to decrease this burden by encouraging private investment," Melis Teka, deputy head of energy regulation and biofuel development at the ministry of mines, told AFP.

"There is no possibility that arable farmland will be allocated for its purpose," he insisted.

But in Wolaytta, where nearly half of the two-million population do not have enough to eat, several thousand farmers like Ashenafi are complaining that they have been duped into growing biofuel crops on fertile land at the expense of maize, cassava and sweet potato, the region's staples.

Farmers say Global Energy Ethiopia, an American-Israeli subsidiary which initially acquired 2,700 hectares to grow castor beans -- a toxic plant whose seed provides castor oil, lured them with false claims of continuous harvests and financial incentives.

"Experts who told us we could have up to three harvests a year and they would pay 500 birr (50 dollars) in labour costs," 45-year-old Borja Abusha, a father of eight, said.

"But it has now been six months without a harvest and they haven't respected their promise to cover costs. We are left with nothing."

Borja said even if he changes his mind, he will have to wait for several months to reap yields from food harvests.

The rising demand for biofuels in Western countries with dwindling oil resources and a new environmental conscience has been blamed as a key factor in the food crisis that sparked riots this year in several poor nations.

Over 9,500 farmers are now growing the crop in Wolaytta, of which a significant amount are using very arable plots.

"It is unbelievable. Castor plots have so rapidly expanded that they are even depriving us of space for graveyards," environmentalist Gebremedhine Birega said.

Yanai Man, CEO of Global Energy, disputed such allegations, however.

"We don't even allow farmers to grow the beans on more than a third of their land. So we are not lowering food production," he said in a phone interview.

Man said the company had so far invested nearly two million dollars for its projects in the region, and planned to provide education and medical services to impoverished locals as well as take steps to protect the environment.

However he admitted that none of the farmers had received payments, saying it was due to a delay in receiving bank loans his company applied for.

So far, the authorities in the region are giving companies the benefit of the doubt, assessing potential benefits if they ever come.

But experts are urging farmers not to use the crops.

"We are campaigning for farmers who have planted castor seeds to uproot. It's not acceptable to undertake such practices in food insecure areas," Gebremedhine said.

A small number have already been convinced.

"I asked myself about the long-term benefits and then decided not to grow castor. I would rather not dare to risk losing food to eat for myself and my family," said Abraham Tona.

Growing slums 'face water crisis'

BBC News 4 Nov 08;

Rapid urbanisation in developing nations threatens to trigger a water and sanitation crisis in quickly expanding slums, a report has warned.

Charity WaterAid said chronic water shortages in many of the world's slums were being exacerbated by the arrival of millions of people each week.

Populations in developing nations are set to triple over the next 30 years.

The authors called on the international community to take urgent action to tackle the problem.

"Sanitation and water are integral to urban development and yet there is no coherent commitment by governments and donors to address this crisis," said Timeyin Uwejamomere, the report's author.

"It needs to be given the highest priority and recognition that water and sanitation brings massive health, education and economic benefits."

Turning the tide

WaterAid estimates that 5,000 children around the world die each day as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.

It also says that 0.8 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, while a further 2.5 billion live in conditions lacking adequate sanitation.

"Without the aid system responding to the challenges of rapid urbanisation, the struggle against poverty is not going to be well-targeted," Mr Uwejamomere warned.

The report - Turning Slums Around - has been presented at the UN World Urban Forum, which is being held in Nanjing, China.

The gathering, the fourth of its kind, is held once every two years and brings together experts from all over the globe to discuss the challenges facing a rapidly urbanising world.

Swelling slums

According to UN estimates, more than half of the world's population now live in urban areas and many cities in developing countries, especially African nations, are struggling to cope with the influx.

In its latest assessment, the UN-Habitat agency calculated that urban areas in these regions have grown by an average of three million people each week for the past 20 years.

The WaterAid report said that these statistics meant that it was critical for city planners to give water and sanitation services a much higher priority.

It called on national governments and urban authorities to put the issue at the centre of all urban reform strategies.

"Aid spending in the water and sanitation sector is not going to the poorest regions or countries," it stated.

"Since the mid-1990s, aid spending going to health and education has doubled; yet over the same period, the share of aid going to water and sanitation has contracted.

"Even within the aid spending that is reaching housing and urban development, it is estimated that only 1% of the budget gets to slums."

The report also quoted UN data that showed that every dollar invested in sanitation offered an equivalent return of nine dollars.

"There is no single development intervention that brings greater public health returns… to national economies in increased productivity and a reduced burden of healthcare."

The report warned delegates at the UN conference, which continues until 6 November, that the "creation of harmonious and liveable cities" was not possible with the issue being put at the heart of urban reform policies.

UK recycling waste piles up as prices collapse

Lewis Smith, The Times 5 Nov 08;

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish collected from household recycling bins may have to be stored in warehouses and former military bases to save them from being dumped after a collapse in prices.

Collection companies and councils are running out of space to store paper, plastic bottles and steel cans because prices are so low that the materials cannot be shifted. Collections of mixed plastics, mixed paper and steel reached record levels in the summer but the “bottom fell out of the market” and they are now worthless.

The plunge in prices was caused by a sudden fall in demand for recycled materials, especially from China, as manufacturers reduced their output in line with the global economc downturn.

Local authorities and collection companies are so concerned about the mountains of paper, plastic bottles and cans that they are having to store that they have called for storage regulations to be eased.

Officials from the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are considering changing the regulations on the storage of recycled waste and are expected to issue new guidelines next week. They have been urged to relax the rules limiting the quantity of waste that can be stored and to allow it to be kept in secure warehouses or abandoned military bases and former airfields.

Steve Eminton, of letsrecycle.com, said: “Warehouses around Britain could start to be filled with waste paper, metal and plastic bottles. There's nowhere for these materials to go at the moment. It's rapidly becoming a very serious problem.”

He said that mountains of plastic bottles, paper and steel cans were likely to build up by the end of the year and that the problem would be exacerbated by the Christmas festivities, when a surge of packaging materials and drinks containers would fill recycling bins.

The speed at which prices collapsed has taken the recycling industry and local authorities by surprise and has been made worse because recycling rates are at record levels.

Jane Kennedy, the Environment Minister, will announce this morning that more than 90 per cent of local authorities are meeting or exceeding their household recycling targets. East Lindsey District Council has the highest recycling rate, with 58.4 per cent of all household rubbish, and 18 other authorities exceeded 50 per cent.

Stuart Foster, of Recoup, which advises on plastic recycling, said that mixed plastics had slumped from about £200 a tonne to the point of worthlessness in only four weeks. He was confident, however, that the low value would be temporary as at least three mixed-plastic facilities will open next year, reducing the nation's dependence on Chinese demand.

Mr Foster urged officials to be flexible on the regulations and said that with sensible management the plastic, paper and steel could be stored safely until prices rise. “We think there's light at the end of the tunnel but it's going to take some work,” he said.

Staff at Waste Resources Action Programme (Wrap) and the Local Government Association have begun investigating the extent of the problem.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “The credit crunch has caused prices to fall in the materials and market and clearly this potentially has implications for councils.”

Steve Creed, of Wrap, said: “We think the current extremely low prices are likely to be temporary. Recovered materials are still a valuable resource. They have undergone similar price volatility in the past.”

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