Sharks, not humans, are most at risk in the ocean with millions killed each year, say experts

Daily Mail 16 Jan 09;

Three shark attacks in Australia in two days has sparked a 'Jaws' global media frenzy, but sharks are far more at risk in the ocean than humans, say marine experts.

Sharks were the top of the marine food chain and a powerful predator who reigned over the oceans, until man entered the water.

Commercial fishing and a desire for Asian shark fin soup sees up to 100 million sharks, even protected endangered species of sharks, slaughtered around the world each year, according to the Shark Research Institute (Australia).

Yet in contrast, sharks, apparently, do not like the taste of humans. Very few shark attacks involve the shark actually eating the human, unlike a land-based predator like a lion or tiger.

'Most of the incidents in the global shark attack file have nothing to do with predation,' the Institute said.

Unlike fat seals - the preferred meal of sharks like the Great White - humans are bony with not much fat. Sharks use various sensors to hunt their prey and a quick bite will tell it whether its found a good meal.

Usually when a shark bites a human it then swims off. Unfortunately for humans, sharks are big and we are small, so a large shark bite can mean death from rapid loss of blood.

'Sharks are opportunistic feeders. They hear us in the water, we sound like a thrashing fish or animal in the water, and they just react to that instinctively and go to take a bite,' marine analyst Greg Pickering said.

According to the latest figures by the International Shark Attack File, there was only one fatal shark attack in 2007.

It took place in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The mean number of deaths between 2000 and 2007 was 5 a year.

'You have more chance of being killed driving to the beach,' said John West from Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

In fact, the number of fatal attacks around the world has been falling during the 20th century, due to advances in beach safety, medical treatment and public awareness of shark habitats.

Half of the world's shark attacks occur in the United States, and one third of the world's attacks are in Florida waters.

In 2007, there were 50 shark attacks in U.S. waters, compared with 13 in Australia in the same year - none were fatal.

The big difference between Florida and Australia is that the later has much bigger sharks and therefore more fatal attacks. From 1990 to 2007, Australia had 19 fatal attacks, Florida 4.

The last fatal attack occurred in December 2008, when a Great White attacked a 51-year-old man while he was snorkelling off a beach south of Perth in Western Australia.

So, is it safe to go back in the water?
While more humans enter the ocean each year and for longer periods of time, the shark population is declining, theoretically reducing the chances of a shark-human encounter.

'As a result, short-term trends in the number of shark attacks, up or down, must be viewed with caution,' the file report said.

About two dozen shark species are considered potentially dangerous to humans because of their size and teeth. The Great White, Bull, Tiger and Hammerhead are among the most aggressive and responsible for most attacks in Australia.

The Great White can grow to 5.5 metres (15 feet) in length, weigh up to 1,000kg and has the biting power to lift a car. Australian scientists have recorded the bite power of a 3.2 metre (10 foot) shark as equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of pressure.

The aggressive looking Grey Nurse, with its piercing eyes, pointy nose and protruding teeth, is as timid as a cat and will only attack if provoked. But its fierce appearance has seen it hunted to the point where it is now endangered and colonies of Grey Nurse sharks off Sydney are protected.

There are 30 sharks, including the Great White, on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's threatened species list.

'Sharks need our help now and we cannot let our fear push them to the brink of extinction,' says Ben Birt, from Australia's Nature Conservation Council. The council has launched a 'Save Our Last Sharks' campaign.

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Nations demand climate plan from air, maritime industries

AFP 16 Jan 09;

TOKYO (AFP) — Representatives of 20 nations and the European Union called Friday on the air and maritime industries to act on global warming and address carbon emissions from the unregulated sector by year-end.

Transport ministers and envoys from the nations, including the Group of Eight major economies, held two days of talks in Tokyo as part of efforts to meet a goal of drafting a new climate change treaty by December.

In a joint statement, the nations said that while transport was "an important foundation of our society" it was responsible for "considerable emissions of carbon dioxide," affecting the climate and public health.

"Urgent actions are required to address these issues while ensuring sustainable development," the statement said.

They called on the International Maritime Organisation to "deliver a package of appropriate mechanisms for reducing emissions, preferably by the end of 2009."

The countries also said they would support the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to come up with technology, standards and market-based measures by the end of the year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The aviation industry group had agreed in 2007 to come up with ways to reduce the environmental impact of airplanes.

But ICAO chief Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, speaking afterwards to reporters, said he did not expect moves to slap a carbon tax on airlines to force them to curb emissions.

The transport industry has been badly hit by the global economic crisis, with fewer people taking to the air, shipping merchandise or buying new cars.

Antonio Tajani, the European commissioner for transport, said the Tokyo declaration was "a very important signal of our common strategy for sustainable development."

"We have to build a type of economic growth that does not put at risk health or the environment," Tajani told AFP.

Transport accounts for some 23 percent of carbon emissions blamed for global warming, more than any other sector other than electricity generation and indoor heating, according to the International Energy Agency.

Nations have been imposing stricter standards on automobile emissions. But the Kyoto Protocol makes no demands of the airline and shipping industries due to their international nature.

A conference in December in Copenhagen is set to approve a new climate treaty for the period after 2012, when Kyoto's obligations on emission cuts expire.

The Tokyo conference included ministers or officials from the Group of Eight and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with Australia, India and South Korea. China was invited but did not come, while ASEAN member Malaysia took part as an observer as a senior official could not attend.

Japan's transport minister, Kazuyoshi Kaneko, said it was "regrettable" that China did not take part but said its absence "did not prevent a fruitful discussion."

Asked why China did not attend, Kaneko said Beijing "had wanted for there to be more consideration for developing countries."

China, which by some estimates has surpassed the United States as the world's top polluter, last week unveiled a major bailout for its troubled aviation industry.

Transport Can Help Propel World To Greener Future
Risa Maeda, PlanetArk 16 Jan 09;

TOKYO - Shipping, airlines and road transport need to clean up their emissions and help drive governments toward policies to fight global warming, a top U.N. official said on Thursday.

The transport sector accounts for more than 20 percent of mankind's carbon dioxide emissions, and further growth is likely given rising demand for cars, goods and travel in developing countries.

Transport will also be a key part of a broader U.N. climate pact about 190 nations will try to agree on at the end of the year during talks on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

"There can be no doubt that the transport sector will come under intense pressure and needs to dramatically change direction," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told a global transport ministerial gathering in Tokyo on Thursday.

"Transport industries should no longer find themselves in the position of beggars for billions of taxpayer's dollars. Instead, they need to come back into pole position of drivers of economic growth, through the production of smart and efficient cars, trains, ships and planes," he said in a speech.

"The transport sector is at a juncture," he said, adding the key question was how the industry could influence regulators to back greener policies "rather than digging itself deeper into a hole" as airlines, shippers and car makers battled shrinking revenue because of the global financial crisis.

Transport ministers from 21 major countries are holding a three-day meeting in Tokyo until Friday. They account to about 70 percent of CO2 emissions of the global transport sector, according to Japan's transport ministry.

China, believed to be now the world's top greenhouse gas polluter, pulled out at the last minute, insisting rich nations lead the charge in emissions cuts, a Japanese transport ministry official told reporters.

BROAD MESSAGE

De Boer said he expected only a broad political message to come out of the talks on how the transport sector was tackling climate change.

"It's early in the debate for a number of countries to commit to a statement," he told Reuters earlier.

Airlines contribute about two percent of global CO2 emissions by mankind and are expected to keep rising because of growing demand for air travel, despite aircraft becoming more efficient.

Shipping's share of global emissions is about 3 percent, equivalent to total industrial emissions from Germany, but the industry is trying to trim fuel use through better hull designs, cleaner fuels and simple measures such as installing more efficient lighting onboard.

In addition, separate meetings under a U.N. body aiming to report to the climate meeting at year's end in Copenhagen will look into greater fuel efficiency and emissions trading for shipping.

De Boer said countries attending the gathering were already taking actions to limit transport emissions, not only to address climate change, but also costs, public health and energy security.

"I'm struck by the fact this meeting of transport ministers universally recognizes their sector needs to be a part of the solution to climate change not a part of the problem of climate change," he said.

(Editing by David Fogarty)

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Jan 09

Greediness Explained ...
on the colourful clouds blog

WWF Singapore looking for Singapore Sustainable Seafood Campaign consultant to develop the Fish Guide for consumers in Singapore on the Singapore Celebrates our Reefs! blog

Languishing Labrador
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Little Tern taking a bath
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Six-armed sea star @ Chek Jawa
on the Nature Spies blog

Comments on: The horrifying fate of tigers decapitated by poachers
on the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation blog

Call for 'citizen scientists' in a Great Barrier Reef health check-up
on the wild shores of singapore blog

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Philippines asked to return dolphins to the Solomon Islands

Solomon Star 16 Jan 09;

INTERNATIONAL animal activities are urging the Philippine Government to return dolphins exported to them back to the Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Ltd sent seven dolphins there last month. Another 11 left yesterday. These were sent there to be trained before they are re-exported to Singapore for entertainment purposes.

Twelve marine and conservation organisations around the world have written to the Philippines Government asking them to return the dolphins.

In a letter obtain by the Solomon Star, addressed to Edwyn B. Alesna, Chairman Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources/CITES in the Philippines, the group offered options or pursue legal action.

“We respectfully request your immediate action to:

1. seize and confiscate the seven dolphins already in the Philippines and, at the expense of the importer, prepare to return them to the Solomon Islands;
2. deny the issuance of any import permit for the additional eleven dolphins; and
3. immediately notify the Solomon Islands government that you will not allow the import of any additional dolphins from there until and unless it complies with Article IV of CITES and with the relevant requirements contained in Philippine law.

They said the import and export of wildlife and wildlife products is clear violations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the associated laws of the Philippines.

“On behalf of the undersigned organisations, we are seeking your immediate assistance to prevent ongoing violations of these laws. In addition, we understand that an additional 11 dolphins are scheduled to be exported from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines at any moment and that this shipment, if allowed to proceed, would also violate CITES and Philippine law,” the letter said.

Earth Island Institute Director based in the United States Mark Berman told Solomon Star yesterday’s the export is further atrocity against the dolphin populations of the Solomon Islands.

The 11 dolphins is going to Philippines and then to Sentosa Resort, Singapore.

“We will continue to fight for the freedom of dolphins and an end to this cruel trade,” Mr Berman said.

“At nearly 100,000 USD per dolphin, you can see that only certain individuals line their pockets with cash. The citizens of the Solomon Islands see none of this profit, and the dolphins belong to no one. “They are migratory and just happen to be in SI waters when they are taken prisoner,” he said.

He adds: “I would like to congratulate the Western Province for allowing dolphins in their waters to swim free from human abuse. This continues to allow Noro base and Soltai to be dolphin safe for their tuna products”.

Mr Berman said the Solomon Islands Government should know that the short term money from dolphin catch and export will in time dry up as the international community of environmental organisations works to end the markets for dolphin captures and exports.

By EDNAL PALMER

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Nature Society (Singapore) adopts Kranji marshlands

Marsh ado about wildlife
Nature Society of Singapore adopts Kranji marshlands, to launch tours on Jan 31
Esther Ng, Today Online 16 Jan 09;

FIRST it was Chek Jawa, then Pulau Semakau — now soon, another strip of nature little known to Singaporeans, the Kranji Bund Marshes, will be made more accessible to the public.

The Nature Society of Singapore (NSS) adopted the Kranji Reservoir and the surrounding marshes in November, under the PUB’s waterways adoption programme.

The wetlands are the island’s last remaining chunk of freshwater marshes, and are home to threatened bird species. Measuring 90 hectares, the Kranji marshes have fallen victim to neglect, urbanisation and poachers over the years.

Now, the NSS hopes to get Singaporeans to treasure the area’s rich biodiversity, and is launching its first tour for the public on Jan 31. The three-hour tour will be held every last Saturday of the month, and will involve a 4-kilometre trek.

The society will conduct a survey of the plant and wildlife in the marshlands. It also plans to rehabilitate an overgrown pond located at the end of Neo Tiew Lane 2.

Said the chairman of the conservation committee, Dr Ho Hua Chew: “The pond is clogged with aquatic vegetation. It’s conducive for some birds, like the Purple Swamphen, but not others.

“By removing some of the vegetation and opening up the water surface, we hope to attract the pond’s original inhabitants — the Lesser Whistling Duck and the Common Moorhen — and other species of birds and dragonflies to forage or visit here.”

Much of the wildlife has been threatened by poaching, which seems to have increased in recent years. “We’ve encountered illegal angling. We’ve found monitor lizards, terrapins, the Baya Weavers caught in traps and nets. We try to educate these poachers when we meet them,” said Dr Ho.

As there are not enough perching areas for birds, the NSS is considering placing a platform in the middle of the pond or on the shore of the reservoir. Once this is done, the public can expect to see Ospreys, Kingfishers and Perns on these perches.

The management of a nature reserve marks a first in the NSS’ 54-year history. “As a non-profit organisation, we are constrained by resources and our focus has been mainly on ... conservation studies,” said Dr Ho. “However, the PUB has given us this opportunity to go ‘hands-on’ for the conservation of biodiversity and we’ve secured some funding from Bloomberg to help us carry out this project.”

The PUB’s adoption programme, which aims to transform our waterways and reservoirs into community and recreational spaces, enjoys wide patronage. Senoko Power, Dunman High School and Waterways Watch Society are some groups that organise clean-ups and educational programmes.

To sign up for the Kranji Bund Marshes tour, email contact@nss.org.sg.

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Freedom for Sammy the whale shark in Dubai remains elusive

Anupa Kurian, Gulf News 15 Jan 09;

Dubai: Over 140 days and counting for Sammy, the whale shark, who remains captive in a giant aquarium at the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah.

Celebrities came, fireworks lit up the sky, and swirls of red carpet welcomed the glitterati as the hotel held one of the most expensive opening parties last November.

But there seems to be no reprieve for the juvenile whale shark who spends its hours in silent confinement.

When it was first captured, there was news of it being tagged and eventually released.

Francois Nel/Gulf News: Sammy in his tank at Atlantis. Whale sharks are an endangered species. They are filter-feeders that swim with their mouths wide open, eating plankton.

In a September 10, 2008, report published by Gulf News, Alan Leibman, President and Managing Director of Atlantis, was quoted: "The whale shark is an animal about which little is known and we hope that we can add to the research and data that is available.

"Aquariums and marine habitats have been the key to education about our oceans and the animals that live in them. Education, conservation and research go hand in hand to benefit all marine life."

Fair enough, but when was the endangered animal that usually covers thousands of kilometres in a single journey to be returned to its natural habitat? As the days wore on, silence from Atlantis increased.

Gulf News's 'Save Sammy' campaign brought its plight to the fore. She may be housed in one of the world's largest aquariums but it is still a confined space for a creature that would grow to about 38 feet in length.

Readers reacted, voiced their displeasure at the continued captivity, stuck on Sammy badges and demanded its release, but to no avail.

Then there was a positive turn. In a Gulf News report published last October 19, Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, told the newspaper: "Having this whale shark is very educational for ... children and for all ... people. This is a very rare animal and they [Atlantis] are keeping it in the main aquarium for everyone to see. They will release it."

A breakthrough

He said the UAE is a signatory to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the whale shark would be released. However, he did not say when.

In yet another report, Dr Saif Al Ghais, head of the Environmental and Industrial Authority, urged fishermen to leave whale sharks alone as they are harmless.

International organisations joined in, people from across the globe wrote to Gulf News and the hotel. Letters poured in. The silence was deafening.

Readers created songs online, mothers wrote bedtime stories featuring Sammy, and the whale shark became a symbol of silent suffering that the defenceless are often habituated to.

On December 18, the newspaper approached the public relations company for Atlantis, d-pr, again asking when Sammy was going to be free. The silence was broken, but all the public relations company for the hotel said, after repeated emails, was, "There are no updates".

Silence

As the holiday season bore down upon us, Gulf News decided to give them a further extension to release a statement about the whale shark. A final reminder was sent on January 5, 2009. Silence. This clearly shows that the management of Atlantis has no respect for the Press and no sense of accountability towards the residents of the country or the community it is based in.

Trevor Wheeler, Middle East programmes director for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) responded. He told Gulf News: "The WSPA is disappointed to learn that Sammy the whale shark is being held in captivity.

"The continued incarceration of this creature has been condemned worldwide by all leading international animal welfare organisations as well as specialised whale and dolphin societies around the world."

WSPA the world's largest federation of animal welfare groups made up of 1,000 organisations representing 157 countries. WSPA has consultative status with the United Nations and the Council of Europe and works in conjunction with the World Health Organisation.

Wheeler said: "Despite reassurances from Atlantis many months ago that they were preparing to release Sammy...she remains captive."

This is echoed by other animal rights bodies.

Azzedine Downes, vice- president for International Operations of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said: "I think that Gulf News's campaign to save Sammy has been great, because it lets a hotel that relies on the public know that the public is against keeping the whale shark in captivity.

"We have heard from our supporters around the world, particularly from India, the UK, Germany, and the US. They want Sammy released."

The law of nature

Downes explains why the extending internment of the animal violates natural law.

He said: "IFAW believes that wild animals belong in the wild. To take a breeding female out of a wild population under threat is irresponsible. The hotel should be more concerned with the safety of the population, as it is doubtful Sammy was in danger in the first place!" IFAW is the largest animal welfare organisation in the world with over two million supporters.

Downes added: "It is not illegal for them to keep the shark as it was traded internationally." But that does not make its imprisonment acceptable.

Freedom, they sing, is when there is nothing left to lose. We hope that is not the fate that awaits this gentle giant of the sea.

"The WSPA urges the continued protest by all of the groups and individuals who have made their feelings known about this issue...until they [Atlantis] keep their promise to release Sammy," added Wheeler.

Gulf News concludes its 'Save Sammy' cause in the hope our readers and other organisations will not let the whale shark be forgotten.

The continued incarceration of this creature has been condemned worldwide by all leading international animal welfare organisations as well as specialised whale and dolphin societies around the world."
Trevor Wheeler

Middle East programmes director, for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)

I think that Gulf News's campaign to save Sammy has been great, because it lets a hotel that relies on the public know that the public is against keeping the whale shark in captivity. We have heard from our supporters around the world, particularly from India, UK, Germany and the US. They want Sammy released."
Azzedine Downes

Vice-president for International Operations of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

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Second Sentosa bridge on track for completion this year

Straits Times 16 Jan 09;

Construction of the second bridge linking Singapore to the resort-island of Sentosa is on schedule and set to be completed by the third quarter of this year.
Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS), which is picking up the tab for the construction of the $80 million, 710m-long bridge, gave an update on its progress yesterday. When completed, the bridge will service traffic heading into Sentosa while the existing Causeway Bridge will cater to outbound traffic and pedestrians.

RWS expects 15million people to visit Sentosa annually once the integrated resort there opens by March next year.

ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

New bridge linking mainland Singapore to Sentosa to open later this year
Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia 15 Jan 09;

SINGAPORE: A new bridge linking mainland Singapore to Resorts World at Sentosa is expected to open later this year.

Resorts World said it should receive traffic ahead of its grand opening.

The 710-metre bridge is expected to serve some 15 million visitors a year once the resort is fully operational.

After completion, the traffic flow to Sentosa will be realigned. The three lanes are capable of handling some 6,000 vehicles per hour.

But the infrastructure also has a dual purpose. Under the bridge, it carries utility pipes for power, telecommunications lines and fresh water.

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Floods Hit Jakarta's Last Mangroves

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta Globe 15 Jan 09;

Recent flooding in Jakarta is posing a threat to one of only two remaining mangrove forests in the city, a wildlife official said on Thursday.

The Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve in North Jakarta, only 25 hectares in size, has been partially swamped by an overflowing Ciliwung River, turning its usually brackish wetlands a shade fresher than is ideal for the estuary species.

“That’s why you see all the trash and plastic bags lying around,” said reserve employee Wawan, pointing at plastic bags tangled in mangrove limbs.

Normally the wetland and the river are two separate, adjacent bodies of water, but they merged after two days of heavy rain this week.

Overflow from the city’s largest river has also brought harmful solid and liquid waste to gather around mangrove roots, said Hendra Michael Aquan of environmental group Fauna and Flora International, making it “hard for the mangroves to breathe.”

Apart from the flooding, the river’s polluted waters regularly frustrate efforts to expand the forest’s area. “All the mangroves we try to plant die within the first few weeks because of the pollution,” Hendra said.

Established in 1998, the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve houses the largest collection of mangroves in Jakarta. It is also home to several species of birds and the long-tail monkey not found in natural habitats elsewhere.

Mangroves act as a natural barrier against surging waves, offering a buffer zone to rising sea levels and protecting surrounding areas from floods by absorbing and retaining river water. According to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, the city’s mangrove forests have fallen in total area from 1,400 hectares to just 45 hectares in the last 20 years, a loss that means 6.6 million cubic meters of water in Jakarta rivers are left unabsorbed.

Despite its importance, the smallest reserve in Indonesia is relatively unknown. With a humble gateway barely marking its entrance, few area residents ever visit.

“That’s OK,” said Erik, a reserve employee. “We don’t necessarily want visitors to flock here. It’s a sanctuary, not a zoo.”

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Indonesia Rebuffs Japanese Whaling Ship Amid Widespread Outcry Over Annual Hunt

Febriamy Hutapea, Jakarta Globe 15 Jan 09;

A Japanese whaling vessel was forced to leave Indonesian waters on Thursday after the government rejected its request to dock at the state-owned PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya, East Java Province, an official said on Thursday.

“We asked the Japanese whaling ship to go and it has left. We don’t want to support any illegal fishing,” said Sumarto Suharno, head of the East Java Natural Resources Conservation Office, or KSDA.

The Yushin Maru 2 whaling vessel had been off the coast of Surabaya for six days while waiting for Indonesian approval to dock so it could repair a propeller damaged during a whale hunt in the Southern Ocean.

The Japanese Consulate General in Surabaya sent a letter to state-owned shipbuilding company

PT PAL Surabaya on Wednesday guaranteeing that the vessel, whose movements have been closely monitored by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society over the past few months, would not engage in any “illegal activity.”

The Yushin Maru 2, a registered Japanese harpoon whaling ship, was thrust into the spotlight in January 2008 when two activists with the conservation society boarded the vessel without permission to deliver a letter protesting whaling activities in the Southern Ocean. The activists were detained on board the ship for two days.

Sumarto said the Japanese consulate told Indonesian authorities that the vessel was engaged in scientific research and that it would not engage in any illegal activities.

“We didn’t know the truth until we got information from local and international environmental groups about the activities of the Yushin Maru 2,” Sumarto said.

He said that the Western Australia government had also e-mailed him to confirm that the Japanese whaling vessel had been denied entry by Australian ports for refueling and repairs.

“The Australian government asked Indonesia to take similar moves,” Sumarto said.

Neither the Japanese Consulate General in Surabaya nor the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta could be reached for comment on Thursday.

Meanwhile, about a dozen people organized a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday to demand that the whaling vessel immediately leave Indonesian waters.

Demonstrators carried posters declaring “No whale-killing vessel at Surabaya harbor!” and “Japan, go home!”

The protesters called on the public to boycott Japanese products if the ship was allowed to dock at the Surabaya port for repairs.

“We oppose the Japanese whaling fleet entering Indonesia,” said Pramudya Harzani of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network. “This vessel should be turned away.”

At least l2 countries and international environmental groups have condemned the Japanese whaling fleet, saying that its annual hunt is “illegal.”

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Indonesia to allow trawling despite overfishing fears

Yahoo News 15 Jan 09;

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesia will allow trawling in selected areas for the first time in 30 years despite concerns about overfishing, an official said Thursday.

Trawling, in which boats tow long nets that scoop up everything in their path, would be permitted this year off four areas of Borneo island's east Kalimantan province, maritime ministry official Bambang Sutejo said.

He dismissed concerns about overfishing but acknowledged that illegal trawling was already rampant in the area.

"There will not be overfishing this time as we're only allowing small boats to trawl, and it's not allowed in other parts of Indonesia," he said, adding that legalising trawling would help fight illegal trawlers.

Chalid Muhammad of the independent Green Institute said trawling had a destructive impact on the maritime environment and would exacerbate overfishing in Indonesia.

"The total amount of fish caught is getting smaller each day while their imports are getting bigger," he said.

He said the move would embarrass Indonesia as it prepares to host the World Ocean Conference, an international gathering of policymakers and scientists, in May.

"If the government allows this, Indonesia will have a weak standing during the World Ocean Conference as sustainable management of marine resources will be discussed," Muhammad said.

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Vietnam's war hero Giap urges halt to bauxite mining plans

Yahoo News 15 Jan 09;

HANOI (AFP) – Vietnam's famed war hero General Vo Nguyen Giap has urged the communist government to reconsider plans for a major mining project, warning it would harm the environment and lives of ethnic minorities.

Giap, in an open letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung published Wednesday by the online news site VietnamNet, called for a temporary halt to a major bauxite mining project in the Central Highlands region.

"I would like to propose to the prime minister to stop the implementation of bauxite exploitation" until its ecological impact is seriously studied by international experts, wrote the 97-year-old retired general.

Giap still carries much moral authority in Vietnam for leading the defeats of both the French colonial forces and the Americans as the military chief and close confidant of late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

Dung in a November directive approved the exploitation, processing and use of bauxite ore, from which aluminium is made, state media reported.

The state-run Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has started building an aluminium factory and is preparing for major mining operations in the Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces.

Vinacomin is targeting yearly aluminium production of 4.8 to 6.6 million tonnes (tons) by 2015, state media has reported.

The plan has met with protests from scientists and local residents of the mountainous coffee-growing region, who fear the open-cut mining will destroy vast forest and crop areas and create mountains of toxic sludge.

Giap pointed to concerns of scientists and activists about "the serious risk to the natural and social environment posed by bauxite exploitation projects" and added, "However, these projects have still been implemented."

The general wrote that in the early 1980s he had overseen a study on whether to mine for bauxite in the region, and that Soviet experts had advised against the project because of the "risk of serious ecological damage."

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EU's pesticides ban raises issues

James Melik, BBC World Service 15 Jan 09;

The European parliament's vote to ban the use of some pesticides has annoyed some farmers who say it will harm production and force prices up, though environmentalists insist it will improve the health of producers and consumers.

Supporters of pesticides say that they are fast-acting, they work against a specific pest, they are easy to obtain and apply, and they may increase crop production by reducing crop losses.

Opponents say that they may damage the environment, harm people who use them and kill non-target species, and they can drift from their original point of application.

Caroline Boin of the Campaign for Fighting Diseases says, in an interview with BBC World Business News, that the benefits of pesticides had not been taken into account when the EU made its decision.

"One thing which has been overlooked is the damage this could pose to fight against vector-borne diseases such as malaria," she says.

"There is little motivation for the industry to produce products just to fight malaria, which kills over one million people a year.

"We fear that supplies will go down and prices will rise and it will also reduce incentives for research and development in the future.

"Public health insecticides represent only 1% of the pesticide market and manufacturers are very dependent on the sales of pesticides in the agricultural market."

Controversial alternatives

Her view is mirrored by Dr Colin Ruscoe, chairman of the British Crop Production Council, who says pesticides used to fight malaria are in effect spin-offs from agricultural products.

The EU ruling will ban specific active ingredients, rather than their formulation.

However, there are many examples where a product in isolation is extremely dangerous, yet safe when used appropriately, he says.

Dr Ruscoe points out that Botox is one of the most potent neuro-toxins, and yet, in the right doses, people willingly use it for cosmetic purposes.

Likewise, in a cup of coffee there are 200 known carcinogens, but a healthy liver is able to cope with them.

"If farmers are forced to stop using certain products, crop yields would halve," he insists.

"There would be such huge losses in the yields of potatoes, carrots, peas and parsnips that it would become uneconomical to farm them."

Although no company is prepared to say so publicly, it is unlikely that they will have a budget for researching and developing public health products, according to Dr Ruscoe.

"They will want to focus on markets where they can make a profit," Dr Ruscoe says, "and that includes moving into genetically modified foods."

Medical setback

Banning certain pesticides might be a good idea in Europe, but it might not be so beneficial for people in Africa.

According to the World Health Organisation, about 40% of the world's population, mostly those living in the poorest countries, are at risk of malaria.

Of these 2.5 billion people at risk, more than 500 million become severely ill with malaria every year and more than one million die from the effects of the disease.

It is an especially serious problem in Africa, where 20% of childhood deaths are caused by the effects of the disease and where a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds.

It is impossible to calculate the economic costs to countries affected, but figures released by the Roll Back Malaria partnership show that more than $1.5bn was spent on implementing anti-malarial programmes throughout Africa in 2007.

A discussion on this subject was broadcast on World Business News dated 13 Jan 09

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Japan eyes restarting controversial 'dream nuclear reactor'

Harumi Ozawa, Yahoo News 14 Jan 09;

TSURUGA, Japan (AFP) – Japan, an economic giant with almost no natural energy resources, is eyeing restarting its "dream nuclear reactor" this year after a raft of safety scares closed the plant for more than 13 years.

The state-run Japan Atomic Energy Agency is putting the final touches to Monju, the nation's only fast-breeder reactor.

It has repeatedly postponed the relaunch as problems keep coming up and it struggles to convince many residents of Tsuruga, 350 kilometres (220 miles) west of Tokyo, of the plant's safety.

"Monju is far from being in a condition that would make local residents feel safe to run it again," said Miwako Ogiso, leader of a group opposed to the gigantic plant.

Fast-breeder reactors, or FBRs, have often been billed as "dream reactors" because they produce more fuel than they consume, producing plutonium by burning the waste left by more conventional light-water reactors.

Major world economies rushed to develop fast-breeders over the past five decades, following the United States, which generated the world's first nuclear energy with an FBR constructed in 1946.

But a series of problems, along with fears over the proliferation of plutonium, which can be converted to produce nuclear weapons, led all Western nations to withdraw from FBR projects.

France is closing its last fast-breeder reactor -- the Phenix -- this year and in 2005 asked to join the Monju project in Japan, which is the only nation without nuclear weapons that still has an FBR programme.

Besides Japan, Russia and India are the only nations that operate fast-breeder reactors, with China planning to start later this year.

Theoretically, fast-breeders would be ideal for resource-poor Japan, which imports virtually all of its oil from the politically unstable Middle East.

Despite being the only nation ever attacked by atom bombs, Japan has embraced nuclear power.

It relies on its 55 light-water nuclear reactors to produce about one-third of its energy needs. Japan would be able to generate power sustainably at Monju by recycling the used nuclear fuel from the light-water reactors.

But the path has not been easy.

In 1995, less than two years after Monju had started generating power, dozens of fire alarms went off as a room filled with thick white smoke.

The Monju operator later discovered that a special thermometer had broken, leaking high-temperature metallic sodium that reacted violently with oxygen.

While there was no danger of a radiation leak, local residents were angered by the secrecy of the operator, which covered up key data and even altered video footage.

"In order to regain confidence from local residents and restart the plant, we had to turn the secretive policy around to a more transparent one, which is the biggest change brought after the accident," said Monju's director general Kazuo Mukai.

But more problems have emerged as the behemoth plant prepares to restart. The operator recently found a corrosion hole on a ventilation duct, which would have leaked radioactive emissions directly into the outside air.

"Since operations have been suspended for such a long time, the maintenance of the facility has been neglected, which is inexcusable," Mukai admitted.

The agency had hoped to restart the plant in February, but it now is looking to autumn or later.

Local residents are far from assured.

"It is completely wrong that they are trying to resume operations at the plant just after quickly fixing the bad parts," Ogiso said. "You never know which part might have gone bad after the plant was closed for 13 years."

Ogiso said her group opposed building any more nuclear plants in Fukui prefecture, where 13 out of the nation's 55 reactors are concentrated, with two more on the way.

Japan also suffers frequent earthquakes. The world's biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, northwest of Tokyo, was shut down by a strong tremor in July 2007, although no one was hurt.

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Shiny leafed crops could help reduce global warming, claims study

Global temperatures could be reduced if the right crops are grown to reflect the Sun's heat back into the atmosphere, scientists claim.

Richard alleyne, The Telegraph 15 Jan 09;

By carefully selecting which varieties of food crops to cultivate, much of Europe and North America could be cooled by up to one degree celsius during the summer growing season, claim researchers.

This is equivalent to an annual global cooling of over 0.1C, almost 20% of the total global temperature increase since the Industrial Revolution.

The growing of crops already produces a cooling of the climate because they reflect more sunlight back into space, compared with natural vegetation.

Different varieties of the same crop vary significantly in their solar reflectivity, known as albedo, so selecting varieties, which could bred or genetically modified, that are more reflective will enhance this cooling effect.

Since arable agriculture is a global industry, such cooling could be extensive.

Reporting in Current Biology, Dr Andy Ridgwell and colleagues at the University of Bristol argue that we should select crop varieties in order to exert a control on the climate, in the same way that we currently cultivate specific varieties to maximize and fine-tune food production.

Dr Ridgwell said: "We have evaluated the effect of our approach in a global climate model. By choosing from among current crop varieties, our best estimate for how much reflectivity might be increased leads us to predict that summer-time temperatures could be reduced by more than 1C throughout much of central North America and mid-latitude Eurasia.

"Ultimately, further regional cooling of the climate could be made through selective breeding or genetic modification to optimise crop plant albedo."

The team emphasised that unlike growing biofuels, such a plan could be achieved without disrupting food production, either in terms of yield or the types of crops grown.

Could new varieties of wheat and barley save the planet from climate change?
Food scientists claim planet could be cooled by up to 2°C simply by planting crops specially bred to reflect more sunlight

Alok Jha, guardian.co.uk 15 Jan 09;

Food crops could be used to keep the Earth's temperatures down and slow global warming, say scientists. By growing plants that can reflect more of the sun's radiation back into space, parts of Europe and North America could be cooled by 1°C in the summer, the equivalent of stopping billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere over the next century.

Growing agricultural plants such as maize or barley already cools the climate because they reflect more sunlight back into space than natural vegetation. Different varieties of the same plant can vary in how much light they reflect, a property called albedo, so selecting for higher-albedo crops would enhance the cooling effect from agriculture.

Using the same climate models as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Andy Ridgewell led a team of scientists at the University of Bristol to calculate how different varieties of crops would affect global temperatures. "It would be an optimistic scenario that, farming everywhere, people were happy to plant a slightly different variety of crop."

The results, published today in the journal Current Biology, showed that, in the most optimistic scenario with all the world's crops replaced by the most reflective varieties, the world would cool by an average of 0.1C, equivalent to almost a fifth of the warming since the Industrial Revolution.

Over the next century, selecting more reflective crops could have a cooling effect equivalent to preventing 195bn tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Ridgewell says that farmers should seriously consider selecting crop varieties based on their climate effects, in the same way that specific varieties are fine-tuned to optimise crop yield. "The same crops are grown in the same location – all we're talking about is planting a variety of wheat or maize that you already grow, a variety that has slightly increased reflectivity," he said,

"We're very mindful of the biofuel minefield and particularly the way food supply and poverty in large regions of the world is – you could not displace any food production. We're not even talking about changing from wheat to maize or rice to something else."

To encourage them to grow these reflective crops, farmers could be rewarded with carbon credits. Ridgewell calculated that, with current carbon prices, farmers could earn 23 euros per hectare for the CO2 they prevent from reaching the air.

He added that temperatures could fall even further with careful breeding of crops. "We see no reason why, in the future, 2°C might not be achievable but it might require a lot of selective breeding or genetic modification to get that impact." This means selecting plants that have waxier leaves or leaves arranged to reflect more sunlight.

Keith Allott, head of environment group WWF-UK's climate change programme, said: "Like it or not, we are already committed to significant levels of warming because of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. Ideas such as this might have some value in helping to reduce some of the local impacts, but need to be evaluated extremely carefully to make sure there are no other adverse impacts on the local or regional environment. But we shouldn't kid ourselves – the only way to make sure that we keep global warming below very dangerous levels is to secure a very rapid reduction in carbon emissions by moving to clean energy and stopping deforestation."

Ridgewell said that, unlike other proposed geo-engineering schemes to cool the planet, such as dumping iron in the oceans or sending mirrors into space to reflect away sunlight, altering the crops grown by farmers was much simpler. "These would require whole new infrastructures at a cost of trillions of dollars," he said. "We came up with [the crops] idea thinking agriculture is already global-scale and coordinated, to some extent. In a way, you could just go with that and subvert the existing infrastructure to come up with a climate benefit."

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