ACRES has two full-time vacancies for Volunteer Coordinators
more details on the ACRES facebook group
Wildfacts updates: Singapore's rarer echinoderms
on the wild shores of singapore blog
Common Kingfishers in confrontation
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Asia Environmental News: 11 Nov 08
on AsiaIsGreen
Five nations under threat from climate change
on the Short Sharp Science blog
Windmill under the sea
The New Paper 11 Nov 08;
This week, Singapore hosted the International Energy Week where policy makers from all over the world met academics and industry players to talk about energy options and strategies for the future.
CHNG CHOON HIONG looks at tidal energy as it is used in the UK while TEH JEN LEE asks whether it could work here.
PICTURE a 37m-tall, 1,000-tonne windmill that is submerged under the sea and you get a good idea of what the SeaGen Tidal Energy generator is.
11 November 2008
PICTURE a 37m-tall, 1,000-tonne windmill that is submerged under the sea and you get a good idea of what the SeaGen Tidal Energy generator is.
Situated in Strangford Narrows, off the coast of Northen Ireland, the SeaGen is the world's first commercial-scale tidal energy turbine, harnessing the virtually inexhaustible energy carried by tidal currents.
Tidal currents are caused by the gravitational interaction between the earth and the moon arising from their relative motion.
As such, the tidal cycle is perfectly predictable, an advantage over power generated by wind and sunlight.
There are, however, some drawbacks in harnessing tidal power.
It has some prerequisites which limit its use to just a few regions in the world.
There are also worries such as the possible disruption of marine life and the ecosystem. However, the concerns about damaging the ecosystem are yet to be firmly established.
Costing more than £8.5 million ($20 million) in development, the SeaGen is commissioned for operation till 2013. During this time, it will generate 1,200kW of clean renewable power, enough to provide for the electrical needs of 1,000 UK households.
Can this work in Singapore?
USING current technology, Singapore cannot harness tidal energy because our mean tidal range of about 1.7m is too low.
The New Paper 11 Nov 08
USING current technology, Singapore cannot harness tidal energy because our mean tidal range of about 1.7m is too low.
Mean tidal range is the difference in height between mean low water and mean high water levels during spring tides, which occur during new moon and full moon, when there is greatest variation in tides.
The tidal range is low all around South-east Asia because of the configuration of the land - fairly straight coastlines which are surrounded by seas.
In contrast, there are beaches in some countries elsewhere with a tidal range of more than 10m.
For example, in the Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America, home to the world's highest tides, the tidal range has been measured in excess of 15m.
These high tides produce swift-flowing currents when the tide is coming in and going out.
In Singapore, because of the low tidal range, the tidal currents are not strong enough to generate electricity. It would be like trying to get power from water flowing through a monsoon drain.
Professor Teh Tiong Sa, visiting senior fellow at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, said: 'To have viable energy from tides, the higher the tidal range the better.
'For Singapore, it's too low to even think about it now, unless technology changes and things become more efficient.'
Straits Times Forum 11 Nov 08;
I READ with sadness last Saturday about the death of the sports diver, where causation could not be established ('Trainee diver's death remains a mystery'). The case reminds us of the deficiencies that occur in the sports diving industry.
The sports diving industry comprises dive operators and instructors and recreational divers, and the numbers are on the increase. The industry has been left to self-regulate but it has seemingly failed. There are no clear dive safety standards that dive operators must comply with, nor is there punishment for non-compliance. Safety standards are thus left to the dive operator. There are no figures of registered dive operators with any government authority, nor is it known how many deaths or injuries have occurred to divers. There is also no mechanism to investigate any dive fatality. All this stems fundamentally from a lack of regulatory ownership locally. In such a state, it is no wonder that dive operators have become a commodity where prices (and corners) are cut to attract higher numbers of recreational divers.
In contrast, sports diving is regulated by the Labour Department in Australia (equivalent to our Ministry of Manpower). There are dive standards to comply with, including a compulsory medical examination with registered diving physicians before anyone can dive with its dive operators. All injuries there are monitored and investigated.
One issue in this case is the lack of regulatory means to investigate incidents. An investigation carried out responsively is critical to obtain a true picture of the circumstances and identify negligent areas. The excuse that the incident occurred in foreign waters should be circumvented as the incident occurred under the watch of the dive operator. The other excuse commonly used is that the diver has signed an indemnity form that frees the dive operator from liability in the event of an incident. Dive operators must know that the safety of the trainee divers belongs to the dive operators; it cannot be that safety becomes the sole responsibility of the trainee divers.
It is my strong opinion that there needs to be regulatory ownership on sports diving safety. We need a legal compulsion for dive operators to do risk assessments, and take effective control measures to ensure the safety of their trainees. We cannot wait for another life to be lost.
Dr Gregory Chan
Randeep Ramesh, guardian.co.uk 10 Nov 08;
The Maldives will begin to divert a portion of the country's billion-dollar annual tourist revenue into buying a new homeland - as an insurance policy against climate change that threatens to turn the 300,000 islanders into environmental refugees, the country's first democratically elected president has told the Guardian.
Mohamed Nasheed, who takes power officially tomorrow in the island's capital, Male, said the chain of 1,200 island and coral atolls dotted 500 miles from the tip of India is likely to disappear under the waves if the current pace of climate change continues to raise sea levels.
The UN forecasts that the seas are likely to rise by up to 59cm by 2100, due to global warming. Most parts of the Maldives are just 1.5m above water. The president said even a "small rise" in sea levels would inundate large parts of the archipelago.
"We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It's an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome. After all, the Israelis [began by buying] land in Palestine," said Nasheed, also known as Anni.
The president, a human rights activist who swept to power in elections last month after ousting Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the man who once imprisoned him, said he had already broached the idea with a number of countries and found them to be "receptive".
He said Sri Lanka and India were targets because they had similar cultures, cuisines and climates. Australia was also being considered because of the amount of unoccupied land available.
"We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades," he said.
Environmentalists say the issue raises the question of what rights citizens have if their homeland no longer exists. "It's an unprecedented wake-up call," said Tom Picken, head of international climate change at Friends of the Earth. "The Maldives is left to fend for itself. It is a victim of climate change caused by rich countries."
Nasheed said he intended to create a "sovereign wealth fund" from the dollars generated by "importing tourists", in the way that Arab states have done by "exporting oil". "Kuwait might invest in companies; we will invest in land."
The 41-year-old is a rising star in Asia, where he has been compared to Nelson Mandela. Before taking office the new president asked Maldivians to move forward without rancour or retribution - an astonishing call, given that Nasheed had gone to jail 23 times, been tortured and spent 18 months in solitary confinement.
"We have the latitude to remove anyone from government and prosecute them. But I have forgiven my jailers, the torturers. They were following orders ... I ask people to follow my example and leave Gayoom to grow old here," he said.
The Maldives is one of the few Muslim nations to make a relatively peaceful transition from autocracy to democracy. The Gayoom "sultanate" was an iron-fisted regime that ran the police, army and courts, and which banned rival parties.
Public flogging, banishment to island gulags and torture were routinely used to suppress dissent and the fledging pro-democracy movement. Gayoom was "elected" president six times in 30 years - but never faced an opponent. However, public pressure grew and last year he conceded that democracy was inevitable.
Upmarket tourism had become a prop for the dictatorial regime. Gayoom's Maldives became the richest country in South Asia, with average incomes reaching $4,600 a year. But the wealth created was skimmed off by cronies - leaving a yawning gap between rich and poor. Speedboats and yachts of local multimillionaires bob in the lagoon of the capital's harbour, while official figures show almost half of Maldivians earn less than a dollar a day.
Male is the world's most densely populated town: 100,000 people cram into two square kilometres. "We have unemployment at 20%. Heroin has become a serious social issue, with crime rising," Nasheed said, adding that the extra social spending he pledged would cost an immediate $243m. He said that without an emergency bailout from the international community, the future of the Maldives as a democracy would be in doubt.
To raise cash, his government will sell off state assets, reduce the cabinet and turn the presidential palace into the country's first university.
"It's desperate. We are a 100% Islamic country and democracy came from within. Do you want to lose that because we were denied the money to deal with the poverty created by the dictatorship?" he said.
• The highest land point in the Maldives is 2.4 metres above sea level, on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels could rise by 25-58cm by 2100
• The country comprises 1,192 islands grouped around 26 Indian Ocean atolls. Only 250 islands are inhabited. The population is 380,000
• The main income is from tourism, with 467,154 people visiting in 2006
Maldives saves for new homeland amid flooding fears
Channel NewsAsia 10 Nov 08;
LONDON: The Maldives' newly-elected president said in an interview Monday that his government will begin saving to buy a new homeland in case global warming causes the country to disappear into the sea.
Beloved by tourists for their white sandy beaches, palm trees and clear waters, the 1,192 coral islands that make up the Indian Ocean country risk devastation by rising sea levels caused by climate change.
Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, who won the Maldives' first democratic presidential election last month, told The Guardian his government will start putting aside part of its billion-dollar annual tourism income in case the worst happens.
"We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It's an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome," he told the newspaper.
He added: "We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades."
Nasheed said he had already broached the subject with a number of countries and found them to be "receptive". India and Sri Lanka are targets because they had similar cultures and climates, while vast Australia was also an option.
He told the newspaper he intended to create a "sovereign wealth fund" from the money generated by tourism, much like Arab states had with oil revenues. "Kuwait might invest in companies -- we will invest in land," he said.
Outgoing president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving leader, launched a book in April to highlight the threat to the Maldives posed by global warming.
He said at the time that they could only adapt to the problem by relocating citizens to safer islands. The alternative, building protective walls on the 193 inhabited islands, was too expensive.
- AFP/yt
Maldives to buy land for new home
Today Online 11 Nov 08;
MALE — The Maldives will begin to divert a portion of the country’s billion-dollar annual tourist revenue into buying a new homeland — as an insurance policy against climate change that threatens to turn the 300,000 islanders into environmental refugees, said the country’s first democratically elected President.
Mr Mohamed Nasheed, who takes power officially today in the island’s capital, Male, said the chain of 1,200 island and coral atolls dotted 805km from the tip of India is likely to disappear under the waves if the current pace of climate change continues to raise sea levels.
The United Nations forecasts that the seas are likely to rise by up to 59cm by 2100, due to global warming. Most parts of the Maldives are just 1.5m above water. The President said even a “small rise” in sea levels would inundate large parts of the archipelago.
“We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It’s an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome. After all, the Israelis (began by buying) land in Palestine,” said Mr Nasheed, also known as Anni.
The President said he had already broached the idea with a number of countries and found them to be “receptive”.
He said Sri Lanka and India were targets because they had similar cultures, cuisines and climates. Australia was also being considered because of the amount of unoccupied land available.
Environmentalists said the issue raises the question of what rights citizens have if their homeland no longer exists. “It’s an unprecedented wake-up call,” said Mr Tom Picken, head of international climate change at Friends of the Earth. “The Maldives is left to fend for itself. It is a victim of climate change caused by rich countries.”
Mr Nasheed said he intended to create a “sovereign wealth fund” from the dollars generated by “importing tourists”, in the way that Arab states have done by “exporting oil”. THE GUARDIAN
ScienceDaily 9 Nov 08;
Coral reef scientists and policy makers from the world’s most prominent coral reef nations are meeting in Australia this week to develop urgent action plans to rescue the world’s richest centre of marine biodiversity from gradual decline.
Human pressures on the Coral Triangle have raised grave concerns about the future of its fish, corals and other sea life, leading to a proposal by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for joint action by six governments, scientists, agencies and environmental non-government organisations of the region.
Marine scientists from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) at James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are assisting the largest reef conservation program ever undertaken, known as the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security.
The Coral Triangle (CT) spans Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands, and has over 200 million inhabitants, a third of whom depend on the sea for food security or livelihood.
Spread over 5.7 million square kilometres, the CT has the highest diversity of marine life of any area on Earth. It contains three quarters of the world’s known coral species, a third of the world’s coral reefs, more than 3,000 species of fish and the world’s richest mangrove forests. It generates $2.3 billion in sea products each year and is a major spawning ground for tuna and other valuable species.
These resources are under threat from a combination of over-fishing (including illegal fishing), coral bleaching and ocean acidification, pollution and sedimentation due to coastal development.
"Everyone recognises that coral reefs, and the economic and social benefits they generate, are at risk,” CoECRS Director Professor Terry Hughes said. “Fish, corals and climate change don’t respect national boundaries – so the need for region-wide action is paramount.
“This is a critical initiative by many countries, acting together for the first time, to sustain the livelihoods of millions of people,” he said. "In developing countries, millions of local people suffer real hardship when reefs and ocean habitats are degraded. There is a social and economic imperative to protect them."
According to AIMS Acting Research Director Frank Tirendi, “Better collaboration between Coral Triangle experts and Australian experts may well be a fundamental requirement to ensure the knowledge base is in place to prevent an environmental crisis to our north and ensure longer term regional fisheries and food security”.
The CTI is a partnership between the six Coral Triangle countries, other governments, aid agencies, donors, WWF, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Conservation International (CI).
The CTI has a current global commitment projected to be at least $US500 million and its plan of action includes:
* Developing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management across the Coral Triangle
* Building a network of Marine Protected Areas across the region
* Measures to help adaptation to climate change
* Measures to help protect threatened marine species.
From 10 to 14 November the ARC Centre of Excellence and AIMS will help present an international forum on Management and Conservation of the Coral Triangle in Townsville, hosted by Australia’s Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
Groups focus on Coral Triangle to preserve tuna
Dorian Merina, The Jakarta Post 11 Nov 08;
The region that produces nearly 90 percent of the world's tuna catch is under serious threat due to overfishing and deteriorating environmental factors, a group of government officials, business leaders and conservation groups said.
The area, known as the Coral Triangle, covers 5.7 million square kilometers and includes the territorial waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
It is home to a tremendous diversity of marine life, including 75 percent of the world's coral species, the foundation for the ocean's complex food chain.
Nearly half a billion people depend on the area for their livelihoods. In Indonesia alone, the coral reefs provide an estimated US$1.1 billion in annual economic benefits.
But the tuna industry, one of the primary indicators of the health of the ocean and a driving force in the fishing industry, has markedly diminished in the past few years.
In few other places is the decline more striking than in Jakarta.
"Back in 1994 this was the tuna capital of the world," said Blane Olson, president of Clearsmoke Technologies, a division of ANOVA, one of the primary importers of tuna to the North American and European markets. "Now it is just a shadow of what it was."
Just over a decade ago, Olson said boats brought in about 4,000 fish daily to the Jakarta port, which was the main source of tuna for his company.
"Nowadays, it is substantially less than that. The boats are having to travel much further to find fish, their trips are longer. The whole industry here is just in decline because of the lack of fish and also the fuel price," he said.
There are a number of reasons for the decline. A spike in demand for tuna in North American, Europe and Asia has put added pressure on the industry, leading some companies to overfish or harvest tuna before they are mature. Illegal fishing and illegal fishing methods also damage the ecosystem and can lead to loss of revenue.
Indonesia loses nearly $2 billion a year due to poor enforcement and unsettled territory markers, according to a World Wildlife Fund report.
Climate change may also play a factor. There are some indications that changing ocean temperatures have disrupted the migratory routes of tuna within the Coral Triangle.
In an effort to reverse the trend, a coalition of conservation groups, government officials and business leaders have come together to protect the region.
The coalition, sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and coordinated by the World Wildlife Fund and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, first met in Bali in Dec. 2007.
Organizers hope to develop a plan of sustainable management for the region that all six nations of the Coral Triangle can sign off on in May of 2009.
The most recent conference, held in Jakarta earlier this month, marks a new strategy for conservation, said Lida Pet Soede of the World Wildlife Fund. Efforts in the past have focused on preservation but failed to take into account the needs of the fishing industry.
"We were wondering if there are other ways, where markets can also become a part of the solution," Lida said. "We want to understand what kind of economic incentives we can use so that we can manage tuna a little bit better, so that we have a sustainable industry."
The particular needs of each country need to be taken into consideration, Lida said.
For example, Papua New Guinea has waters rich with tuna but does not consume the fish itself. As a result, Papua is more concerned with controlling the fishing rights of foreign companies within its waters. In contrast, countries such as Japan and the United States, both big consumers of tuna, are focused on ensuring a steady supply of tuna.
"Different countries have different economic targets," Lida said.
Indonesia, as does the Philippines, has an added challenge because it both produces and consumes tuna. Lida calls the situation here "more complex".
The plan for the Coral Triangle calls for improving technology for more efficient harvesting, educating consumers about the need for better practices and providing a supportive environment for businesses that use sustainable fishing techniques.
A key element of the plan is the recognition that countries such as Indonesia provide not only an important product, but also a valuable long-term role in the preservation of the marine environment. Leading up to the signing of the plan, participating nations will focus on making their case to the more developed, consumer countries.
The United States announced in October that it was pledging $40 million to be used in protection of the Coral Triangle.
In the meantime, business leaders are taking note.
"For us, the Coral Triangle -- because it is a spawning area for fish and also a main production area for the fish -- is extremely important for the longevity of our business," Blane Olson said. "So it's very important for us to be involved."
ANOVA has pledged not to use large scale trawling, nor to hunt with sonar or buy from fisherman who use purse seines (huge nets that capture an entire school of fish at once), according to the company's website.
In the end, what is needed is a balance between preservation and economics, Lida said.
"People are going to harvest, people need their livelihoods, there is a demand," she said of fishing tuna.
"But where can you find win-win solutions so you don't over harvest, so you don't break the basis for the economy? This is what is needed so that we all can continue to enjoy it and have a good life."
-- The writer is an intern with The Jakarta Post.
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 10 Nov 08;
They aren't monkeys and they don't really fly, but the story of flying lemurs just got twice as interesting. Genetic material has revealed that one species of the acrobatic primate is really three.
Photo by Norman Limmongabay.com 10 Nov 08;
Researchers have devised a scientific methodology for prioritizing conservation of limestone karsts, biologically-rich outcroppings found in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. The findings are significant because karsts — formed millions of years ago by sea life — are increasingly threatened by mining and other development.
Using data from 43 karsts across Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, authors led by Reuben Clements of WWF-Malaysia reported that larger karsts support greater numbers of endemic snails — a proxy for biological uniqueness among other species — making them a priority for protection.
"Larger areas tend to have greater habitat diversity, which enables them so support a higher number of unique species." said Clements, species conservation manager for WWF-Malaysia.
With a variety of habitats including sinkholes, caves, cliffs, and underground rivers, and separated from other outcroppings by lowland areas, karsts support high levels of endemism among insects, snails, fish, plants, bats and other small mammals. Animals that inhabit karsts provide humans with important services including pest control, pollination, and a sustainable source of income (swiftlet nests used for bird nest soup, a Chinese delicacy, are found in karst caves). But karsts are increasingly under threat, especially from mining for cement and marble. An earlier study by Clements showed that limestone quarrying is increasing in Southeast Asia by 5.7 percent a year — the highest rate in the world — to fuel the region's construction boom. The biodiversity of karsts — especially among animals that move to surrounding areas to feed — is also at risk from destruction of adjacent ecosystems, often by loggers or for agriculture.
Clements says the new study, which is published in the November issue of the journal Biological Conservation, will help set conservation priorities for karsts.
"The protection of karsts has been mainly ad hoc and they are usually spared from quarrying by virtue of being situated within state and national parks, or if they possess some form of aesthetic or cultural value," he said. "Taking Peninsular Malaysia for example, our results suggest that we should set aside larger karsts on both sides of the Titiwangsa mountain range for protection if we want to maximize the conservation of endemic species. Protecting karsts on one side of the mountain chain is not enough."
"With our findings, we hope that governments would reconsider issuing mining concessions for larger karsts as they tend to be more biologically important," Clements said.
Citation:
Reuben Clements, Peter K.L. Ng, Xi Xi Lu, Stephen Ambu, Menno Schilthuizen, Corey J.A. Bradshaw. Using biogeographical patterns of endemic land snails to improve conservation planning for limestone karsts. Biological Conservation 141 (2008) 2751-2764.
More than 25 per cent of sharks in the north-east Atlantic are at risk of extinction, a new study warns.
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 10 Nov 08;
Another 20 per cent have been put in the near-threatened category, according to research for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
And the figures may be an underestimate as there is insufficient data to assess more than a quarter – 27 per cent – of species.
The IUCN Shark Specialist Group (SSG) who drew up the report said it should serve as a dire warning that more needs to be done to protect sharks.
Most of the damage is inflicted by overfishing and by sharks caught as a by-product either in nets or on long-lines. But sharks are being increasingly targeted by commercial fishermen for their fins which can fetch as much as £400 per kilo on the Asian food market.
Because sharks are long-lived and slow to mature they are not prolific breeders which makes them even more vulnerable to over-exploitation.
Because of their position at the top of the food chain they have a critical role in maintaining the balance of ocean ecosystems.
The SSG study looked at the 116 species of shark, closely related rays and chimera (from two different species) in the north-east Atlantic.
It found that 26 per cent are threatened with extinction – much higher than the comparable global figure of 18 per cent.
Seven per cent are critically endangered, seven per cent are endangered and 22 per cent are vulnerable. A further 20 per cent are near threatened.
Two sharks most at risk – spiny dogfish and porbeagle – are the most sought after in Europe for their meat. Both are subject to EU fishing quotas that are well above the zero catch mark recommended by scientists with the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
The spiny dogfish often ends up on the menu bill as Rock Salmon or in fish and chips and the migratory porbeagle as swordfish. It is also much prized for its fins.
Claudine Gibson, lead author of the report, said: "From angel sharks to devil rays, north east Atlantic populations of these vulnerable species are in serious trouble, more so than in many other parts of the world.
"Most sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to over fishing because of their tendency to grow slowly, mature late and produce few young.
"Those at greatest risk in the north east Atlantic include heavily fished large sharks and rays, like porbeagle and common skate, as well as commercially valuable deep water sharks and spiny dogfish."
Sonja Fordham, Policy Director for Shark Alliance, a coalition of conservation and scientific groups, said she had no doubt that some fishing nations were deliberately targeting sharks because of their value despite claiming they were being caught only as a by product.
She said only four species – basking shark, great white shark, dogfish and porbeagle have legal protection under EU law while only the UK and Sweden provided full protection for certain shark and ray species. Apart from some agreements between the EU and Norway there are no international catch limits on north east Atlantic sharks.
But with several important fishing related conferences over the next few months there is a great opportunity to improve the protection status of sharks.
"Never before have European countries had more reason or opportunity to safeguard the beleaguered shark and ray species of the northeast Atlantic," she said.
"Country officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels. Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extinction of these remarkable ocean animals."
The report recommends:
*Improving scientific data on shark species to determine their true conservation status.
*Scientific advice on catch limits should be heeded.
*Minimising catches through better technology and more selectivity.
*An end to finning by ensuring sharks caught legally are landed with their fins intact.
Some other threatened species:
Angel sharks and common skate: Classed as critically endangered. ICES has called for an end to the fishing of common skate and for angel sharks to be given the highest possible protection.
Gulper shark: Critically endangered. One of se veral deep water species sought for its rich liver oil that is used in cosmetics. ICES has recommended a zero catch limit for deep water species.
Sawfish: Two types are listed as critically endangered but may already be extinct.
Guitarfish: Two species are classified as endangered. They are rays whose fins are highly prized for use in shark fin soup. There are no European limits on catches of guitarfish.
Basking shark: Officially described as endangered in the north east Atlantic. The world's second largest fish is now protected in EU waters but remains vulnerable because of the value of its huge liver and fins.
Bigeye thresher: Listed as vulnerable and at the greatest risk of over fishing by open ocean long line fisheries.
Tope: Data deficient but England and Wales have brought in precautionary bans on targeted fishing.
Blue shark: The dominant species taken in longline fisheries considered near threatened. No subject to any EU or international catch limit.
Quarter of Atlantic sharks and rays face extinction
New figures show 26% of all sharks, rays and related species in the north-east Atlantic are threatened with extinction
Jessica Aldred and Ian Sample, guardian.co.uk 10 Nov 08;
More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction from overfishing, conservationists warned today.
A "red list" report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 26% of all sharks, rays and related species in the regional waters are threatened with extinction. Seven per cent are classed as critically endangered, while a fifth are regarded as "near-threatened".
The total number of at-risk species may well be higher because scientists lack of sufficient information to assess the populations of more than a quarter (27%) of them, the report adds. Many are slow-breeding fish that are especially vulnerable to fisheries.
Two species of shark that are highly prized for their meat, the spiny dogfish (rock salmon) and porbeagle, are critically endangered. They are among the few species that are subject to EU fishing restrictions, although these quotas are well above the zero-catch levels proposed by scientists at the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices).
Angel sharks and common skates are also critically endangered in the north-east Atlantic, prompting Ices scientists to call for greater restrictions on fisheries that target them or land them as bycatch. The basking shark, the world's second largest fish, was listed as vulnerable.
Sonja Fordham, policy director at the Shark Alliance, and co-author of the report said: "The north Atlantic is one of the most overfished regions in the world and yet only four species of sharks and rays are protected. This is a clear consequence of overfishing, whether these species are targeted or taken as bycatch."
Another species listed as critically endangered is the deep-water gulper shark, sought for its rich liver oil, which is used by the cosmetics industry. In 2005, Ices urged the EU to effectively ban deepwater shark fishing, but current quotas allow more than 800 tonnes to be taken next year.
The percentage of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic region classified as threatened is higher than the figure for species globally (18%), the IUCN found. It said the decline in numbers was due to the activity of fishing nations such as Spain, Portugal, France and Britain.
"North-east Atlantic populations of these vulnerable species are in serious trouble, more so than in many other parts of the world," said Claudine Gibson, former programme officer for the IUCN's shark specialist group and lead author of the report.
"Most sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing because of their tendency to grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young. Those at greatest risk of extinction in the northeast Atlantic include heavily fished large sharks and rays like porbeagle and common skate, as well as commercially valuable deepwater sharks and spiny dogfish."
Marine conservationists urged EU fisheries ministers, who are due to agree fishing quotas in December, to impose tighter restrictions in line with scientific advice.
"Country officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels. Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extincction of these remarkable ocean animals," said Fordham.
Julian Siddle, BBC Radio 10 Nov 08;
Scientists in the remote Bale mountains of southern Ethiopia are in a race against time to save the world's rarest wolf.
Rabies passed from domestic dogs is threatening to kill up to two-thirds of all Ethiopian wolves.
Scientists from the UK and Ethiopia are currently vaccinating wolf packs to prevent the spread of the disease.
The population has dwindled to as few as 500, as a result of human encroachment into their habitat.
Vaccination campaign
Dr Claudio Sillero of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Unit (WildCRU) says vaccinations are the only hope of maintaining the Ethiopian wolf population.
"If left unchecked, rabies is likely to kill over two-thirds of all wolves in Bale's Web Valley, and spread further, with wolves dying horrible deaths and numbers dwindling to perilously low levels," he added.
The plan is to vaccinate whole families or packs, typically a group with six adults. When these packs come into contact with unvaccinated wolves or dogs they will not catch the disease.
The WildCRU team and the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Authority say so far they have been very successful, catching and treating more than 40 wolves.
The wolves are not injured in the trapping process, some even return to the traps once vaccinated in search of food.
Mating season
Dr Sillero says the wolves' behaviour at this time of year makes them particularly vulnerable to catching diseases from other animals.
"Right now we are in the middle of the mating season. Family groups erode; females and males mate outside the packs, some females are even courted by feral dogs. This leads to increased transmission of the disease."
The Bale mountains in southern Ethiopia form the most extensive high mountain plateau in Africa.
As well as being home to Ethiopian wolves, the plateau now also has an estimated population of 40,000 dogs. Brought in by shepherds to round up sheep, these dogs have become a reservoir for rabies.
About 10,000 of these dogs are vaccinated against rabies every year but this has not prevented transmission.
Wolf 'king'
Outbreaks of the disease seem to occur in cycles. The researchers say they noticed the disease as far back as 1989 and previously ran a vaccination campaign in 2003.
"It's a powerful example of the importance of the science and practice of wildlife conservation combined in the effort to deliver practical solutions," explains Professor David Macdonald, director of WildCRU.
Dr Claudio Sillero sees the wolf's survival as key to the continuation of the whole highland ecosystem. As a top carnivore, it is responsible for controlling the population of smaller grazing herbivores, especially rodents.
"The wolves reign there; I like to think of them as the guardians of the high mountains of Africa," he says.
The vaccination campaign is due to continue until at least mid November.
The planet is experiencing some of the most dramatic climate changes in mankind's history, according to a new study.
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 10 Nov 08;
Arctic Ocean circulation patterns. Red arrows indicate inflow of Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean. White arrows indicate surface flows of polar water. Yellow and orange arrows indicate inflow of Pacific water into the Arctic Ocean. Photo: CORNELL UNIVERISTY
Warming in the Arctic is leading to 'regime change' in North Atlantic ecosystems, the research claims.
Scientists from Cornell University looked at the effects fresh water – produced from melting ice in the Canadian Archipelago and Fram Strait - is having on ocean currents and marine life.
They say that while there have been many changes in the earth's climate over the past 65m years, changes in recent decades have been the most significant for 5,000 years.
"The rate of warming we are seeing is unprecedented in human history," said oceanographer Prof Charles Greene who led the study published in the journal Ecology.
The study looked at the climate record to gain a better understanding of melting Arctic ice sheets and glaciers and the impact on the North Atlantic. They found there had been periods of rapid cooling in the past when temperatures had dropped by as much as 10ºC in only a few years but they found nothing to match the current rate of warming.
The huge amounts – or 'pulses' – of fresh water melt over the past 10 years had led to clearly identifiable shifts in the distribution of plankton.
Microscopic algae previously found in the Pacific Ocean was now occurring in the North Atlantic for the first time in 800,000 years while a number of species of North Atlantic plankton were now being found much further south.
Both were indications that there had been a major change in the circulation patterns in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
The increase in fresh water had extended the growing seasons of phytoplankton and microscopic drifting animals which were fundamental to the food chain of the Atlantic continental shelf.
"Such climate-driven changes can alter the structure of shelf ecosystems from the bottom of the food chain upwards," said Prof Greene.
While the collapse of cod populations had been blamed on overfishing it was also due in part to Arctic glacial melt adding more fresh and colder water to the ocean which had stifled cod reproduction and had hampered their recovery.
And in a knock-on effect less predatory cod and colder water had benefited shrimp and snow crab populations.
"As climate changes, there are going to be winners and losers, both in terms of biological species and different groups of people," added Prof Greene.
The study said the earth's climate system was changing so rapidly that it was difficult to predict future ecological changes but it was unlikely the deep North Atlantic will be heavily affected by the pulses of cold water this century.
However, the study concluded: "Continued exposure to such freshwater forcing, however, could disrupt global ocean circulation during the next century and lead to very abrupt changes in climate, similar to those that occurred at the onset of the last ice age."
Prof Greene added: "If the Earth's deep ocean circulation were to be shut down, many of the atmospheric, glacial and oceanic processes that have been stable in recent times would change, and the change would likely be abrupt."
WWF website 10 Nov 08;
Iqaluit, Canada: Canada's youngest territory is facing an international backlash following its decision to leave unchanged the number of polar bears it allows to be killed in part of the Baffin Bay region each year.
Nunavut, which came into being in 1999, has bowed to pressure from the local Inuit hunters and agreed to maintain the annual allowable harvest quota of 105 polar bears. The Baffin Bay sub-population straddles Canada and adjacent areas of Greenland. The number of polar bears has dropped from an estimated 2,100 in 1997 to about 1,500 today due to high levels of hunting by Inuit in both countries.
The hunting quota was set at 105 in 2004, based on the relatively large population numbers from the late 1990s. The harvesting in Nunavut was also based on an assumption that the number of bears killed in neighbouring Greenland was as low as 18 a year, but subsequent research has shown the actual figure to be about 10 times higher.
"You can't pretend to be looking after polar bears by carrying on with the same level of harvest that has led to a 30 per cent decline in the population, it is just totally unacceptable,” Peter J. Ewins, director of species conservation for WWF-Canada, told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper.
WWF is calling for a joint management plan between Greenland, Nunavut and the federal Canadian government that would allow populations to recover and then be managed on a sustainable level.
For many environmentalists, polar bears have become a symbol of global warming because the ice habitat that they depend on is melting due to climate change.
Environmentalists have warned that the hunting decision may lead to international boycotts against Nunavut, and to concerns that the government, which relies heavily on advice from Inuit hunters, is ignoring the scientific research showing a precipitous plunge in the number of bears.
Yahoo News 10 Nov 08;
JAKARTA (AFP) – Environmental group Greenpeace said Monday it had stopped several palm oil shipments from leaving Indonesia and called for an end to forests and peatlands being destroyed to make way for plantations.
The ships were about to leave from Dumai, Indonesia's main oil export port, to Europe.
"Greenpeace activists painted the words 'Forest Crime' and 'Climate Crime' on the hull of three palm oil tankers and a barge full of rainforest timber," Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Campaigner Bustar Maitar told AFP.
"The government and businesses should stop the rapid conversion of forests and peatlands into palm oil plantation in order to combat climate change," Maitar said.
A Greenpeace activist was also chained onto the anchor chain of a ship carrying palm oil owned by the Wilmar group to stop it leaving for the Netherlands.
"Deforestation will continue without strong commitment," Maitar said, adding that meeting demand for palm oil was possible without further deforestation.
Greenpeace said massive tracts of tropical forests in the easternmost Papua region were being converted for oil palm plantation.
The group has also exposed ongoing forest destruction for timber in Papua and discovered fresh forest clearances in the peatland forests of Riau.
The rapid conversion of forests and peatlands for palm oil and pulp plantations is a major driver of deforestation in the country.
Forest destruction has made Indonesia the world's third biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind the United States and China.
Greenpeace Says Blocks Palm Oil Ships In Indonesia
PlanetArk 11 Nov 08;
JAKARTA - Greenpeace has blocked three tankers due to transport crude palm oil to China and Europe from leaving an Indonesian port in a bid to highlight deforestation caused by the cash crop, the environmental group said on Monday.
The rapidly expanding palm oil industry in Southeast Asia has come under attack by green groups for destroying rainforests and wildlife, as well the emission of greenhouse gases.
The blocked ships included Gran Couve, owned by the world's largest listed palm oil firm Wilmar International Ltd, which had been loading 27,000 tonnes of crude palm oil bound for Rotterdam, said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Forest Campaigner.
The other two ships blocked at the port of Dumai in Sumatra were Smooth Sea, owned by PT Musim Mas, and Victory Prima, owned by Sarana Tempa Perkasa, he said.
Greenpeace has used the tactic of seeking to block palm oil tankers previously in Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, in a bid to protest environmental concerns.
Maitar said by telephone that Greenpeace was using three rubber boats for the protest and said an activist was climbing onto the anchor of the ship Gran Couve to try and stop it departing.
Port administration officials in Dumai contacted by Reuters could not immediately confirm whether the ships were blocked.
(Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Ed Davies)
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