Best of our wild blogs: 17 Jan 09

“Race to Save the Environment” event
on the hantu blog and on the wild shores of singapore blog and teamseagrass blog

Ocean Conference at ADEX Singapore 3-4 Apr 09
on the Singapore Celebrates our Reefs! blog

Windy at Chek Jawa
on the wonderful creation blog with more about the wind

Mysterious bubbling sand at Changi
on the wonderful creation blog

Olive-backed Sunbird robbing hibiscus nectar
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Once Upon a Tree: Tides and Coastlines
an excerpt on the Pulau Hantu blog

Last waltz with a noisy pitta
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Training Session at Semakau
on the Urban Forest blog

New 'Product' on St John's Island
on the Psychedelic Nature blog

Halus ebook!
on the Aesthetic Voyager blog

Read more!

Sport fishing in Malaysia: still some way to go

Reflecting on 2008
Anthony Geoffrey, The Star 17 Jan 09;

Fishing as a sport in Malaysia still has some way to go, especially in terms of protecting fish species and numbers. When I look back on fishing in 2008, I am struck by both trepidation and awe as to what is happening in Malaysia and the region.

The trepidation stems primarily from concerns over our freshwater fisheries.

Tasik Chini was in the news again recently with the Pahang state government seeking Federal help to rehabilitate the lake and its surrounding area, and spruce up the accommodation and facilities.

Our other major freshwater angling destinations fare little better.

In Temenggor, Chenderoh (Perak) and Kenyir (Terengganu), fish stocks have declined so much that anglers feel lucky if they get a couple of fish a day — and then they tend to be juveniles. The cause of this situation is uncontrolled netting of the larger fish and the removal of millions of fry for the aquarium trade.

Species such as kelah (Red Mahseer), toman (giant snakehead), sebarau (Hampala barb), temoleh (Jullien Barb), belida (giant featherback) and kelisa (Malaysian bonytongue), also known as the arowana, are caught in the tens of thousands to feed the aquarium trade. This is a double-edged sword.

Fish large enough to breed are caught in nets and supplied to restaurants and aquariums, while fish that are not large enough to breed are caught before they have a chance to breed. Rules and regulations need to be introduced in each and every state — and enforced properly.

I agree that the Orang Asli should be allowed to catch their food but not be allowed to trade in live fish. The great majority of freshwater anglers release at least 95% of their catch and, therefore, do not have a negative impact on fish stocks.

Our rivers, according to my fishing buddies, are not faring much better. The introduction of the Tagal system in Sabah and Sarawak has helped save rivers, and the two Kelah sanctuaries in the country are also helping somewhat.

But going into a river and feeding Kelah with pellets is not the answer. A proper close season and proper enforcement are what’s required. In the lakes especially, there must be limited points from which boats can be launched.

Check every boat on return and fine people who exceed the catch limit. The message will soon get out if consistent enforcement and regular patrols are maintained.

The awe I feel is mainly because of the consistency of the fishing at Kuala Rompin, Pahang especially the number of sailfish and species in the Spratlys. And this is in spite of commercial fishing. This does not mean, however, that we should rest on our laurels.

The ikan bilis (anchovy) trawlers kill thousands of sailfish every year in the Kuala Rompin waters, and beam trawlers, even though illegal, are still common. Also common are trawlers fishing within restricted areas.

Again, there is a need for enforcement. I remember many years ago how I informed a group from Scandinavia that angling was not allowed within two nautical miles of marine parks, only for us to find nets spread across the narrow straits between Pulau Aur and Pulau Dayang — and there was a marine police boat parked close by, apparently oblivious of it all.

What does that convey to our overseas visitors?

We have mentioned many times to the relevant authorities, directly and through PeMM (Malaysian Angling Association), of the need to declare certain areas for recreational fishing only and others for commercial fishing. This needs to be done in consultation and with the likes of PeMM and the angling boat operators, and not just declared willy nilly.

Anglers spend big money, which goes directly to the people where recreational fishing exists — not to multinational beach resorts or city hotels. At least RM5mil a year goes into the Kuala Rompin economy from angling alone.

Our recreational fisheries, both freshwater and marine, must be protected and conserved. Enforcement must be maintained each and every day.

Angling is allowed in most national and marine parks in the world. However, commercial fishing is not. Vision 2020 is not just about industrialisation and development — nurturing what we have must also be part and parcel of what Vision 2020 is about.

Recreation and conservation must go hand in hand.

Tasik Chini

The problem with Lake Chini has been highlighted many times over the past decade. The dilapidated state of the accommodation, for example, has been the subject of articles and letters to the press on numerous occasions.

Why has nothing been done?

This was a place local tourists, as well as foreigners in the hundreds from cruise ships docking in Kuantan, used to visit on a regular basis. It provided revenue to the local populace through the hire of boats, the purchase of handicraft and food and drinks.

It is time to bring Chini back to its original state. By all means, clean it up, get rid of the dam, rebuild the accommodation and restaurant facilities and franchise them to someone who can run them properly. Above all, maintain the place properly.

Have staff conduct checks on a regular basis.

Chini was once a fantastic fishery as well as a top tourist destination. As Malaysia’s second largest natural body of water, the lake and its surroundings should be declared a state park.

Fishing in the lake should be strictly on a catch-and-release basis, with exception made only for the Orang Asli of the Jakun group (for their subsistence and not for trade in live fish).

All anglers should board a boat at only one place; all must be checked on returning. A daily or weekly fishing permit scheme must be introduced. Charges should be reasonable, say RM30 per angler per day.

The Pahang authorities have done a reasonably good job with Fraser’s Hill, why not Tasik Chini?

Lakes of Malaysia
The Star 17 Jan 09;

The National Lakes Information Database of Malaysia lists 90 lakes in Malaysia, both natural and man-made, with the objective of providing relevant information to support the sustainable management of all lakes in Malaysia.

This is a noble cause indeed.

Developed by the National Hydraulics Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim), the database (http://lakes.mcthosting.net) welcomes all those who have information on the country’s lakes to register as data contributors.

The database is both interesting and informative, encompassing also the river systems that feed the lakes. It is reasonably up-to-date (last edited June 2008), and details the uses of a lake (i.e. hydropower, flood mitigation, irrigation, etc). Also included is information on water quality, geographical regions and lake status.

You may, however, get a little confused as to the type of fish species included in the various classification by Trophic State Index. Seeing species like salmonoids, walleye and bass mentioned does make one wonder — that is, until you read what the indices really mean.

However, there are many lakes that are not included. One of the problems may be the definition of a lake. Neither this website nor the Oxford or Chambers dictionaries give a clear definition of what constitutes a “lake”.

A lake is defined as a substantial body of water and can be natural or man-made. A pond is referred to as a small body of water, usually man-made. But what exactly constitutes small and what qualifies as substantial is not clear-cut.

We have Kundang Lakes Golf Club, which has numerous bodies of water, with Tow Foo Pond at the edge of the golf course being the largest body of water. Is it large enough to be considered a lake? Close by is Tasik Biru, which is often referred to as a mining pond but considered by some to be a lake.

For the sake of argument, let’s say a lake is a body of water covering more than an area of 0.5ha. That would leave hundreds, if not thousands, of lakes in Malaysia, that have yet to be included in the database. How many are there in the Kinta Valley alone?

I would ask all anglers to check out this database and add to it where you can. With so many bodies of water, this country should be a freshwater angling paradise. A dozen or so medium-sized lakes, managed properly, could attract anglers from all over the world.

The redeeming feature of my freshwater fishing last year — apart from our own Tow Foo Pond, that is — was in Krabi, southern Thailand. Well-managed, practising catch-and-release, superbly maintained, it is the epitome of what freshwater angling is about.

If only something like that could be developed in an existing body of water in Malaysia — in the Kinta Valley, say, or somewhere, anywhere.

Read more!

Growing US Bird Populations Show Conservation Successes

Jeanna Bryner, livescience.com 16 Jan 09;

At a time when scientists are sounding ever more frequent alarms on the potential extinction of this creature or that, yesterday's collision with a flock of geese that put an airliner in the Hudson River is a reminder that some species are doing just fine.

Many birds have been faring well in the United States, even in urban environments (and in some cases especially in them), over the past few decades, say two bird experts and conservationists.

"Birds are increasing and that's good," said Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in New York. "People have worked hard to do that kind of thing. Most people like it. We don't always hear enough about the fact that a lot of things are doing well."

McGowan notes that on an individual species basis, some bird numbers are going up and of course some are going down. Resident Canada geese, one of the species that is more likely to be involved in so-called bird strikes with aircraft, are particularly thriving, he said today, which is in part due to conservation efforts.

And the same has been seen with bald eagles. The number of breeding pairs in the lower 48 states increased from nearly 500 in 1963 to nearly 10,000 in 2006, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which attributes the comeback to the U.S. ban in 1972 of the pesticide DDT, along with the bird's protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Migrating vs. staying put

While most of the 11 subspecies of Canada geese migrate to the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions to nest, the resident Canada geese usually stick around in the lower 48 states.

The total number of resident Canada geese in the United States is about 3.2 million and has increased dramatically during the past several decades, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any golfer could tell you this, as some golf courses have become a favorite place for Canada geese and other water fowl. Even at a desert course, such as in the Phoenix metro area, manmade lakes help attract hundred of birds that, annoyingly for some who tire of their droppings, never leave.

"A lot of it is from our conservation efforts. We've put in a lot of effort into making things better for birds," McGowan told LiveScience. "And [Canada geese] are very good at dealing with urban situations. Birds are adapting to it, and people are helping them along the way, which again is a good thing."

Terry Liddick, a Fish and Wildlife Service flyway biologist, said over the past 10 years the resident Canada goose population has slightly increased, at least by a few percent.

Geese and other birds living in urban areas of course puts them potentially in the path of low-flying aircraft.

"Airports have all kinds of programs to try to alleviate bird hazards around runways," said Dale Oderman, associate professor of aviation technology at Purdue University in Indiana. "They try to make the habitat unfriendly for birds. So that's why you don't see lots of trees around airports, because trees are nesting places for birds." He added that at some airports, dogs are used to chase away birds or blank weapons are fired to scare birds away.

Comeback era

After the industrial revolution when vast swaths of trees east of the Mississippi were cut down, the environment saw an uptick as trees were planted, laws to protect birds such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act came online, and bird-conservation organizations such as the Audubon Society were established.

McGowan just finished co-authoring "The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State" (Cornell University Press, 2008), in which scientists compare bird populations from 20 years ago with their numbers now. About half of the bird species showed a change in numbers, and of those, more showed an increase rather than a decrease, he said.

Birds that are thriving in the New York area and in some cases elsewhere in the United States, he said, include resident Canada geese, eagles, peregrine falcons, Cooper's hawk, great blue herons, wood ducks and osprey.

Of course, not all birds are thriving. Since 1967, the average population of some of the most common North American birds has fallen, according to the Audubon Society. For instance, since 1967, the Northern Bobwhite population has decreased by 82 percent, while the robin-sized Evening Grosbeak has taken a 78 percent nosedive.

And following the introduction of the West Nile Virus in North America, several bird species, including the American robin and the Eastern bluebird, suffered significant declines, according to the Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center.

McGowan does note that for those soaring bird populations, more birds could mean more hazards to humans. But he thinks of yesterday's incident as a random event, not as a result of growing bird populations. The ditch landing reportedly was the result of birds striking the Airbus 320's two engines, although the details are still under investigation.

"There are some costs that come along with it," he said, referring to growing numbers.
"The populations are increasing for a bunch of birds, but that probably has nothing to do with this air strike. I don't want to speculate on what's going on before all the facts are in."

Birds have long been a known and common hazard for airplanes. In fact, the first such strike was reported by the Wright brothers. Nowadays, bird strikes are more common. From 1990 to 2007, 82,057 wildlife strikes with civil aircraft were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration, with nearly 98 percent due to birds. The number of such strikes annually has more than quadrupled from 1,759 in 1990 to a record 7,666 in 2007, according to the FAA.

McGowan added, "There are lots and lots of birds out there and they're a known hazard to aircraft; the government spends a lot of time trying to avoid them as best they can. This is a freak accident and it may never happen like this again. It's not like necessarily you can point to 'There are too many geese.' It's one of those rare fluke events."

Read more!

Sunderbans study links straying tigers with vanishing greens

Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, The Times of India 17 Jan 09;

KOLKATA: Why are incidents of man-tiger conflict on the rise in the Sunderbans? Rising sea levels, a diminishing prey base and the vanishing
Hetal (Phoenix paludosa) are the most likely reasons why tigers are straying into human habitat in the only mangrove habitat for the big cats.

A Botanical Survey of India (BSI) study finds that in the Sunderbans, Hetal is increasingly being replaced by Chhat Garan (Ceriops). "Sunderbans tigers love Hetal bushes, as they find them ideal not only for camouflaging, but also for their smell and thickness," said a BSI official.

Repeated incidents of tigers straying into villages in the Sunderbans led experts to hold a brainstorming meeting on Thursday. The meeting witnessed heated arguments on the methodology adopted in replenishing the prey base by releasing 100 deer in the Sunderbans. Experts suspect that all the deer released had died, as they were not acclimatized to the new terrain. "Ideally, deer should have been bred. Only the next generation of deer could have been released in the forest," said an expert.

The meeting, convened by chief wildlife warden S B Mondal, decided on conducting an in-depth month-long survey by an expert committee to decide on remedial measures to be adopted by the forest department.

"The expert committee will study the prey base by WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature) and change of habitat vegetation by BSI. We will again meet to discuss the recommendation for an effective implementation methodology," said Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) field director Subrata Mukherjee. The meeting was attended by senior officers of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), BSI, and faculty of the department of zoology and oceanography, Calcutta University.

"We will have an in-depth study on how the vegetation is undergoing rapid changes in the Sunderbans, one of the most biodiversity-sensitive zones in the world," said Dr H K Debnath, principal investigator of BSI's Lead Institute. "Tigers in the Sunderbans consider Hetal bushes their homes. If suddenly these bushes are not there, they might feel homeless. We need to study that. If necessary, we need to undertake plantation drive of certain species of mangroves to maintain biodiversity."

The oceanography experts will assess the impact of rising sea level. "The rising sea level might have badly affected tiger habitat. The tigers might be forced to leave the islands," said a forest department officer.

Read more!

Australian conservationists demand Queensland shark fishing ban

Brian Williams, www.news.com.au 15 Jan 09;

CONSERVATIONISTS have called for an end to shark fishing in Queensland - despite recent attacks on swimmers and surfers along Australia's eastern coast.

Four other species are being considered for protection because fishing has reduced numbers so severely.

In the last weeks sharks attacks have occurred at Fingal's Head, in northern NSW, Wollongong and Tasmania.

NSW Nature Conservation Council executive director Cate Faehrmann said yesterday that shark fin exports to Asia from Queensland had increased fourfold in the four years to 2004.

"Most of these were sourced from a fishery in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, of all places," Ms Faehrmann said.

"The Federal Environment Minister (Peter Garrett) is currently considering approving a proposal from the Queensland Government for this fishery to kill 600 tonnes of shark a year."

This could amount to about 70,000 sharks, posing a large risk to reef ecosystem health.

Shark-spotters claim the numbers of some species might have increased at least in NSW waters, although this is not reflected in the number of sharks caught in beach nets either in Queensland or NSW.

A Primary Industries Department spokesman said a cautionary approach was being taken under the new regulations which would see the catch reduced from about 950 tonnes to 600 tonnes annually.

"Shark fishing on the Queensland east coast has occurred for more than 30 years and there is no information to suggest that the extraction of shark has posed a risk to the health of the eco-system," he said.

"The major concern with catching sharks ... is that around 50 species are taken and current data means we are unaware of the exact proportions of each species."

The spokesman said the state was protecting vulnerable species such as saw fish, speartooth, grey nurse and great whites and would require fishers to record which species were caught.

Observers would ensure the correct species were logged and access to the fishery would be limited.

"We are seeking to reduce the number of shark-take licences from 1400 to fewer than 200," he said. After three years, the DPI would assess stock to set sustainable catch levels.

Read more!

Canada debates increased polar bear protection

Reuters 16 Jan 09;

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Scientists and native people in the Arctic want to protect Canada's polar bears despite disagreements over the health of the bear population, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said on Friday.

Environmental groups want Canada to increase protection of the bears from climate change and hunting, but many Inuit who depend on the animals for income say the bear population is in better shape than scientists realize.

"There is a real desire to knit the Inuit traditional knowledge ... together with the scientific knowledge," Prentice said following a "polar bear roundtable" in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with representatives of various groups.

The Canadian government considers polar bears a species of special concern, but environmentalists say the classification should be changed to declare the animals as threatened or endangered so they can be better protected.

Canada is home to about two thirds of the world's 25,000 polar bears.

The United States last year said it was listing polar bears as a threatened species.

While the Inuit have traditionally hunted bears, their value now is as a key source of income for residents who serve as guides for visiting sports hunters.

A portion of the bear population that Canada shares with Greenland face the biggest problems, so authorities in both areas will have to work together to address the issue, Prentice said.

While the bears had become a symbol of the impact of global warming, Prentice said, Canada could not address that problem alone. "Climate change is important, but climate change is a global issue," he said.

A 2007 report by the U.S. Geological Survey said two thirds of the world's polar bear population could be gone by 2050 if predictions of melting sea ice because of global warming hold true.

The Winnipeg meeting was just part of the Canada's review process, so a decision on whether to reclassify the bears was not going to happen until 2010, Prentice said.

(Reporting Allan Dowd, Editing by Philip Barbara)

Read more!

11 Eleventh-Hour Bush Environmental Rule Changes

Pamela Ferdinand, National Geographic News 16 Jan 09;

In its final months the Bush Administration has issued a slew of last minute environmental rule changes, many of which have already gone into effect and could be hard to reverse.

National Geographic News asked representatives from four leading environmental organizations to judge 11 of these "midnight regulations"—some final, some not, some withdrawn—and to grade each development, from A to F, in terms of its potential long-term impact on the environment.

THE PANEL

Jon Devine: senior defense attorney with the Ntional Resources Defense Council's water program

Jim DiPeso: policy director for Republicans for Environmental Protection, a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying group

Trip van Noppen: President of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm

Bob Irvin: senior vice president for conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife, a wildlife conservation organization

John Walke: clean air project director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental action group


THE CHANGES

1. Power Plants Encouraged Near Parks—RESCINDED

Conservationists were delighted when the Bush Administration withdrew a proposed rule that would have made it easier for industrial facilities—including coal-fired plants—to be built or expanded near national parks and wilderness areas.

"It's a welcome relief," said Defenders of Wildlife's Irvin. "They should never have proposed it in the first place, and dropping it was the best thing they could have done."

The administration also withdrew a proposed rule that would have weakened air pollution controls for coal-fired plants. The rule would have linked control responsibilities to a plant's hourly pollution rate and not taken into account how long or often a plant operated, allowing increased pollution levels to escape control, critics said.

Status: withdrawn

Grades
• Irvin: B-
• DiPeso: F (for the initial ruling)
• Van Noppen: A (for "not going through with that")
• Walke: B ("for abandoning it")


2. Mountaintop Mining Waste Allowed in Waterways

For 25 years regulations have prohibited surface coal mining—or "mountaintop removal"—within 100 feet (31 meters) of flowing streams and rivers if the waste would harm water quality or flow.

(Related: "Mountaintop Mining Raises Debate in Coal Country" [January 13, 2006].)

The U.S. Department of the Interior recently repealed the rule, replacing it with a new one that says disturbance of waterways should "generally be avoided unless it is not reasonably possible to do so."

Critics say the rule conflicts with the government's responsibilities under the Clean Water Act. They also argue that it is now easier for the federal government to issue permits for mountaintop-removal mining—but harder for citizens and states to challenge those mines on grounds that they are harming waterways.

The governors of Kentucky and Tennessee, two of the main mountaintop-mining states, opposed the waiver.

"When the governors of those two states say it's a bad idea, it's a bad idea," Irvin said. "Mountaintop removal is literally changing the landscape of Appalachia to the detriment not only of the water and wildlife, but the people who depend on those resources and that land for their survival."

Earthjustice's Van Noppen agreed: "Our waterways should not be used for waste disposal."

Status: in effect as of January 12

Grades
• Irvin: F
• DiPeso: F
• Van Noppen: F
• Walke: F

3. Three New Marine Monuments Designated

It's not a rule, per se, but the Bush Administration's eleventh-hour designation of three areas of the Pacific Ocean as marine national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act—the largest marine conservation effort in history—was praised by conservationists (see photos).

Some critics have derided the effort as a transparent attempt to burnish Bush's environmental legacy. Concerns also have been raised about the scope of protections. Recreational fishing, tourism, and scientific research with a federal permit could still occur inside the three areas under the new law, and U.S. military activities will not be restricted.

Even so, "this is a monumental achievement, and I've got to give the administration all the credit for it," said DiPeso, of Republicans for Environmental Protection.

Irvin agreed.

"This is the lone bright spot in an otherwise dark environmental record of George W. Bush," he said. "He has done for the oceans what he should have done for the rest of the environment, which is to use his authority as President to protect areas for the benefit of future generations."

Status: designated

Grades
• Irvin: A
• DiPeso: A+
• Van Noppen: B


4. Two Million Acres Opened to Oil Shale Development

Reversing a long-standing moratorium, new rules have opened 2 million acres (810,000 hectares) of public land to research and development for a commercial oil shale program in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. Oil extraction from shale requires heating the rocks, which results in a crude-oil substitute.

While development is years away, the Bush Administration says the new program could yield as many as 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

Environmentalists, however, argue that oil shale development and extraction contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, degrades wildlife habitats, and relies on enormous water use in arid regions—all at a time when the nation should be reducing its dependence on fossil fuels (interactive: how the greenhouse effect works).

Shale oil is "much dirtier than regular oil and hugely expensive and hugely environmentally destructive," Van Noppen said. "We should take those investments—the billions of dollars that would go into oil shale—and devote that money to developing renewables and other conservation strategies."

Status: in effect as of January 17

Grades
• Irvin: F
• DiPeso: C-
• Van Noppen: D

5. Factory-Farm Pollution Controls Diminished

Two new rules weaken environmental oversight over large livestock feedlots where animals live in confined quarters.

Bush Administration officials say the new rules provide strong national standards. Environmentalists say the rules create significant loopholes by which farms can evade pollution controls.

One rule, which took effect on December 22, leaves it up to farms to determine whether they discharge, or will discharge, animal waste into waterways—and therefore whether to apply for waste-disposal permits.

The change increases the public's exposure to harmful bacteria and other pathogens contained in the waste, environmentalists say. The waste is also a significant source of greenhouse gases, they say. And fertilizer and manure runoff, in particular, contributes to low-oxygen "dead zones," which can kill aquatic species and shut down fisheries.

"This is a rule that needs to be completely taken back to the drawing board," said Jon Devine, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program.

The EPA also will no longer require the farms to report on air pollution from animal waste, as long as the pollution is below a certain 24-hour threshold. Exposure to factory-farm air pollution can cause respiratory illness, lung inflammation, and increased vulnerability to asthma, according to Earthjustice, which filed suit Thursday against the EPA challenging the exemption.

Status: water rule in effect as of December 22; air rule takes effect January 20

Grades
•Devine: D+
• DiPeso: D
• Van Noppen: D


6. Scientific Review Now Optional for Development in Sensitive Habitats

In a move criticized as last-ditch effort to undermine the Endangered Species Act, the Bush Administration has eliminated the requirement for independent scientific reviews before construction or drilling can occur in an endangered species' habitat.

The Interior Department says the rules offer needed clarity to the consultation process and that they allow scientists to focus on reviewing only the most important projects.

Federal agencies are still required to use the best scientific and commercial data to prevent harm, and scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service may still voluntarily participate in informal consultations, the department says.

But federal pojects can proceed without that consultation if teh agency in charge of the project determines it poses no potential harm.

The new rule is "not good governance, it's not good accountability," DiPeso said. "We have an Endangered Species Act for a reason. We have checks and balances built into it for a reason."

Allowing federal agencies to evaluate the potential impacts of their own projects is doubly problematic, Van Noppen said.

"They aren't the agencies with the biological expertise," he said. "And they have a huge institutional impetus to go ahead with the project."

Status: in effect as of January 15

Grades
• Irvin: F
• DiPeso: D-
• Van Noppen: F


7. Hazardous Waste Reclassified as Nonhazardous

A new rule exempts about 1.5 million tons of hazardous waste from strict oversight of its storage, transport, and disposal.

Critics are concerned, and not only about the reclassification. They say that the facilities chosen to manage the waste have poor track records. The rule, critic say, benefits chemical plants, oil refineries, incinerators, and other industrial facilities that previously had to pay to have their hazardous waste materials safely disposed of.

"The reason given is that the materials are supposedly recycled and should not be considered waste. But the truth is that highly toxic and carcinogenic waste strongly regulated for years has been magically transformed into nonhazardous waste," said John Walke, clean air project director and senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. "It's absolutely outrageous and inexcusable."

Status: in effect as of January 20

Grades
• DiPeso: D
• Van Noppen: D
• Walke: F

8. Fishing Businesses to Regulate Themselves—RESCINDED

Under a proposed rule, regional advisory groups dominated by recreational and commercial fishing interests would have been given jurisdiction over reviewing environmental impacts of federal ocean-management decisions. In addition, the public comment period for such reviews would have been reduced from 45 to 14 days.

"Do you want the regional boards that have commercial fishing interests passing judgment on regulations that affect how they do their business? Probably not," DiPeso said. "You want to have those checks and balances."

Status: withdrawn

Grades
• DiPeso: C- (middling score because proposal, while bad, was less significant than other issues and because rescinding was a good move)
• Van Noppen: A (for the withdrawal)

9. Plants Can Increase Pollution Output More Easily

The EPA finalized a rule that will make it easier for factories and power plants, among other industrial facilities, to expand or modify operations without applying for new pollution permits.

Government officials argue it doesnt make sense to combine emission counts from sources that do not have a substantial technical or economic relationships. But conservationists say the new rule will subject fewer facilities to pollution controls because they are less likely to trigger the threshold of emissions that requires cleanup.

"It's a classic loophole," Walke said. "It's only harmful and will never be helpful in cleaning up the air."

A related rule, which is in effect as of December 10, allows industries not listed under the Clean Air Act, including petroleum refineries and paper mills, to ignore "fugitive" emissions—through equipment leaks or evaporation—as part of emissions totals when making major changes to a facility.

Status: in effect as of January 12

Grades
• Irvin: C+
• Walke: C


10. Mining Public Lands Made Easier

A new rule strips the U.S. Congress of its "emergency" power to force the Secretary of the Interior to temporarily prohibit mining, oil, and gas development on sensitive federal lands.

Congress last used the power in June 2008 to halt uranium mining on a million acres (404,700 hectares) near the Grand Canyon. That decision was overturned when the new rule took effect in December after an unusually brief 15-day public-comment period.

Bureau of Land Management officials say conventional provisions are adequate to protect natural resource. Environmental groups are suing, saying it is illegal to take Congress out of the picture.

"Final authority has to rest with Congress, the elected representatives of the American people," DiPeso said. "These are public lands."

Status: in effect as of January 5

Grade
• DiPeso: F

11. Oil and Gas Leases Auctioned Off at Last Minute

In December the Bureau of Land Management held an auction for oil and gas company leases on public land in Utah near national parks and monuments.

The BLM says it is required by law to conduct lease sales on at least a quarterly basis. And the agency notes it is also offering parcels for development of geothermal energy, a renewable resource. Environmentalists are challenging the leases, saying they are illegal and that environmental impacts have not been adequately studied. Opposition from the National Park Service resulted in the deferral of leases on 23 parcels and portions of three others.

"These are areas that are magnificent landscapes," Van Noppen said, though the BLM says that the developments will not negatively impact views at popular sites.

Van Noppen adds, "It's just one last example of the Bush Administration doing whatever it can to help its friends in the oil and gas industry, regardless of the cost on the resources of our national parks."

Status: The BLM dropped more than half of the 359,000 acres (145,000 hectares) first proposed for leases. The auction was disrupted last month by an environmental activist who bid up parcels of land with no intention of paying. An investigation is underway; no leases have been awarded.

Grades
• DiPeso: F
• Irvin: F
• Van Noppen: D

ALL EYES ON OBAMA

Conservationist critics say Bush's midnight flurry reflects the priorities of an administration that has consistently placed industry interests over environmental protections and public health.

"It's business as usual [for the Bush Administration]. And in this day and age, we can't afford that any more," Republican conservationist DiPeso said.

Defenders of Wildlife's Irvin agreed. "What this reflects is a shameful record of the most anti-environment administration in the history of the United States," he said.

It's unclear which of the last minute changes President-elect Obama might try to overturn, if any—or when—but earlier this week Lisa P. Jackson, nominated to head the EPA, listed the administration's environmental priorities: curbing global warming, reducing air pollution, cleaning up hazardous waste, regulating toxic chemicals, and protecting water quality, according to news reports.

The president-elect also said during his campaign that he would seek to require the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act and overturn the Bush administration's endangered species rulings, among other measures.

If already in effect, the last minute rules can be overturned in a number of ways—none of them fast—including the following:

• through the establishment of a new counter-rule by the Obama Administration, which can take months or even years
• by court order (several lawsuits are pending)
• by Congress invoking the Congressional Review Act, which has been done only once, to reject Clinton midnight regulations on workplace ergonomics

If, however, a rule was not finalized by December 19, it can be immediately suspended and eventually modified or withdrawn by the new administration, according to Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst with OMB Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit government watchdog group.

"The problem," Madia said, "is that even if you undo these in months or a year or two, there is going to be environmental damage in the interim."

Read more!

Rising sea levels threaten US East Coast

Jasmin Melvin, Reuters 16 Jan 09;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sea levels on the United States' mid-Atlantic coast are rising faster than the global average because of global warming, threatening the future of coastal communities, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday.

Coastal waters from New York to North Carolina have crept up by an average of 2.4 to 4.4 millimeters (0.09 to 0.17 inches) a year, compared with an average global increase of 1.7 millimeters (0.07 inches) a year, the EPA said in a report.

As a result, sea levels along the East Coast rose about a foot over the past century, the EPA's report, commissioned by the Climate Change Science Program, said.

The EPA focused on the mid-Atlantic region because it "will likely see the greatest impacts due to rising waters, coastal storms, and a high concentration of population along the coastline," the agency said.

Higher sea levels threaten to erode beaches and drastically change the habitats of species in the area, often at a pace too fast for species to adapt and survive, the EPA said.

Communities in the area are at greater risk of flooding as a "higher sea level provides an elevated base for storm surges to build upon and diminishes the rate at which low-lying areas drain," the report found.

Floods will probably cause more damage in the future as higher sea levels gradually erode and wash away dunes, beaches and wetlands that serve as a protective barrier. Consequently, homes and businesses would be closer to the water's edge.

Rising sea levels have implications beyond the mid-Atlantic region, the report said.

Ports challenged by rising waters could slow the transport of goods across the country, and disappearing beaches could hurt resorts and affect tourism revenue, the EPA said, damaging an already fragile U.S. economy.

"Movement to the coast and development continues, despite the growing vulnerability to coastal hazards," the EPA said.

Scientists have said the rate sea levels are rising has accelerated. By the end of the century, global sea levels could be seven to 23 inches higher, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted.

Federal, state and local governments should step in now to prepare for the rising seas, said the EPA along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey, who contributed to the report.

Governments should protect residents through policies that preserve public beaches and coastal ecosystems and encourage retrofits of buildings to make them higher, the agencies said.

Engineering rules for coastal areas used today are based on current sea levels and will not suffice in the future, the report said.

Flood insurance rates also could be tweaked to accommodate risk from rising sea levels, the report said.

(Reporting by Jasmin Melvin; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Study Warns of Threat to Coasts From Rising Sea Levels
Cornelia Dean, The New York Times 16 Jan 09;

Sea level rise fueled by global warming threatens the barrier islands and coastal wetlands of the Middle Atlantic States, a federal report warned on Friday.

The report, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey and other agencies, is one of a series examining the potential effects of a rising sea level on the nation’s coasts.

The rise in sea level is accelerating, the report said, because warmer water occupies more space and because of runoff from melting inland glaciers and ice sheets. The Middle Atlantic States are particularly vulnerable because the rates of rise are “moderately high” there, the region is subject to storms, it is densely populated and much of its infrastructure is in low-lying areas.

The report, which is available at climatescience.gov, says that in the 20th century, rates of erosion in the region varied from 2.4 millimeters to 4.4 millimeters a year, or about a foot over 100 years. In the future, the report said, “it is virtually certain” that coastal headlands, spits and barrier islands will erode faster than they have in the past.

If sea level rises at a rate of seven millimeters a year or about two feet per century, “it is likely that some barrier islands in this region will cross a threshold,” and begin to break up, the report said. The islands forming the Outer Banks of North Carolina are particularly threatened.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations climate effort, estimated in its most recent report that sea level might rise by about as much as two feet by 2100. Many experts regard the estimate as optimistic.

Even a modest acceleration of sea level rise will have a negative effect on the region’s coastal wetlands, the report says, adding, “It is likely that most wetlands will not survive” a two-foot rise.

In natural environments, wetlands survive rises in sea level by shifting inland to higher ground. But in the Middle Atlantic States, the report notes, valuable infrastructure like buildings and roads stands in their way.

The report said public officials should consider the vulnerability of coastal areas and take action when necessary, for example, by limiting development in vulnerable areas. But it noted that there was great uncertainty about the timing and extent of the effects of sea level rise and that the region had conducted “only a limited number of analyses and resulting statewide policy revisions” to address the issue.

Read more!

More than 80 pct of China's coastal waters polluted: report

Yahoo News 17 Jan 09;

BEIJING (AFP) – Raw sewage and pollution from agricultural run-off polluted 83 percent of China's coastal waters in 2008, according to state media.

China's coastal waters last year witnessed 68 red tides, or algae blooms, which feed off nutrients found in excess pollution and sap water of oxygen, killing off large amounts of sea life, Xinhua news agency said.

The State Oceanic Administration was cited as saying the algae blooms covered 13,700 square kilometres (5,500 square miles), an increase of more than 2,100 square kilometres over 2007, the report said.

While some experts said the red tides were a result of climate change and heavy rain, environmentalists believe they were largely due to sewage and agricultural pollutant run-off, it said.

In August last year, one algae bloom caused havoc for the sailing competition of the Olympic Games when it engulfed waters surrounding the sailing venue in eastern China's Qingdao city.

Up to 10,000 soldiers and volunteers were enlisted to clean up more than one million tonnes of the foul-smelling algae as they raced to clear the waters ahead of the competition, Xinhua said.

Read more!

Nepal turns back on hydropower

Navin Singh Khadka, BBC Nepali Service 16 Jan 09;

Just when switching over to clean energy to fight climate change has become a global mantra, water-rich Nepal appears to be heading in the opposite direction, changing from renewable to dirty energy.

To deal with crippling power cuts that last two thirds of a day, the government has declared a national power crisis, and announced a plan to install a series of generators of up to 200 megawatts (MW).

They will run on diesel, a fossil fuel that emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Officials at the Water Resources Ministry, responsible for power supplies, said there were talks about importing the generation plants from China, which reportedly had many of them spare after hosting last year's Olympics.

"The government may consider other options of suppliers as well," said Anup Upadhyay, the ministry's joint secretary.

"What is important is we will have to get thermal plants to immediately address the load shedding, it's a compulsion."

Quick fix

Having been hit hard by the power cuts, the private manufacturing sector is also stressing the need for businesses to install their own electricity generators.

Most of these will again be equipment run on diesel.

Some factories already have diesel powered generators, with a total installed capacity of about 15MW, and the government wants them to install even more.

"With such increase and additional new plants in private factories, we may be able to add about 30MW to the national grid," Mr Upadhyay suggested.

Traditionally, Nepal is not known for generating electricity using fossil fuels.

With more than 6,000 rivers and rivulets gushing down the Himalayan foothills, snaking through the country's rugged topography, have the potential to power tens of thousands of megawatts.

To date, only a small percentage of the potential hydro-electricity generation capacity has been tapped, providing electricity to less than 40% of Nepal's population.

However, the nation - until now - has stuck to hydropower over the years, maintaining a clean energy track record.

In 2007, it won the prestigious Ashden Award for replacing diesel powered mills with water-powered ones.

Two years earlier, it won another Ashden Award for a scheme that used cow dung to generate electricity.

The bio-gas project had even been able to sell surplus carbon credits to the World Bank under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the UN's Kyoto Protocol.

Although the Nepalese have the biggest electricity bills in the region, the government continued to promote hydropower.

But all that is changing now, as demand for electricity quickly outstrips supply.

The huge costs of developing hydropower, coupled with political wrangles and alleged mismanagement, has made matters worse.

Low water levels in rivers during the dry season has also meant that generation capacities of hydro-plants have halved.

Warning signs

It is not the first time that Nepal has experienced electricity shortages, but this year's 16-hour outages each day have been painfully long.

And it appears as if there is no respite in sight.

The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority and international aid agencies has been projecting for a number of years that demand was set to outstrip supply. So why was nothing done?

There appears to be a host of reasons, ranging from local, to national and international circumstances.

Major large hydroelectric project partnerships with India, agreed years ago, have never moved off the drawing board.

And the medium to small-scale projects that Nepal planned to construct itself either failed to happen or were severely delayed by the 10-year Maoist insurgency that left more than 13,000 people dead.

During the insurgency, the Maoists were repeatedly accused of disrupting the construction works.

Today's government, which the Maoists now lead, says the present problems are the result of not doing anything in the past.

Declaring the national power crisis recently, it brought out a work plan consisting of emergency, short and long-term measures.

Installation of the diesel-powered plants was considered to be part of the emergency work plan.

But energy experts say this approach is wrong, especially for a nation with access to so much potential hydropower.

"The decision by the government to bring in 200MW of diesel generation is indeed a step backwards," says Biksh Pandey, a director of Winrock International, a clean energy specialist organisation.

"While the world is moving from dirty to clean energy, Nepal would be going in the other direction."

Criticism from a number of areas led to speculation that the government might change its mind on the diesel decision.

But Water Resources Minister Bishnu Poudel did not give the impression of someone about to change their mind.

"After the last announcement of the measures to deal with load shedding, we have not made any new decision," he told the BBC.

This suggests that the government is sticking to its plans; one of which is to switch from renewable energy sources to a growing dependence on fossil fuels.

Read more!

Tibetan glacial shrink to cut water supply by 2050

Timothy Gardner, Reuters 16 Jan 09;

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 2 billion people in Asia, from coastal city dwellers to yak-herding nomads, will begin suffering water shortages in coming decades as global warming shrinks glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, experts said.

The plateau has more than 45,000 glaciers that build up during the snowy season and then drain to the major rivers in Asia, including the Yangtze, Yellow, Brahmanputra and Mekong.

Temperatures in the plateau, which some scientists call the "Third Pole" for its massive glacial ice sheets, are rising twice as fast as other parts of the world, said Lonnie Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University, who has collected ice cores from glaciers around the world for decades.

As glaciers melt at faster rates from the higher temperatures, a false sense of security about water supplies has developed across Asia, Thompson said on Friday.

If melting continues at current levels, two-thirds of the plateau's glaciers will likely be gone by 2050, he said at a meeting on climate change at the Asia Society in Manhattan.

Well before then, a threshold will have been hit in which people who depend on the water will start to start to see supplies dwindle.

"The scary thing is that a lot of structures, cities and lifestyles that have been developed in the region over the last 100 years were based on an abundance of water," Thompson said,

Nearly 2 billion people in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan would be hit by water shortages as the rivers slow, Geoff Dabelko, director of the environment and security program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, said by telephone.

Nomads in the Himalayas are at risk as deserts have already encroached on grasslands for yaks, on which they depend for most of their food, said Michael Zhao, a filmmaker who has worked in the region.

Shortages could also hit coastal cities in eastern China that would be affected by rising seas from the melt.

At worst, the shortages could lead to new wars in the region over scarce resources, Robert Barnett, a professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University, said at the meeting.

Dams to contain the melted water can help in certain cases, but are generally a poor solution because they often face opposition from local residents and people in countries and regions downstream from the structures, Thompson said.

A global agreement to cut greenhouse gases emitted by smokestacks and tailpipes as well as the burning of forests could eventually help slow the melting, the experts said.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Read more!

Depressed Carbon Prices To Have Ripple Effects

Michael Szabo, PlanetArk 16 Jan 09;

LONDON - Tumbling prices for emissions permits may have knock-on effects on the world's $120 billion carbon market, including a slowing of U.N. offset supplies and a shake out in green project developers.

Carbon offsets traded under the Kyoto Protocol and used by European industry to meet carbon caps, representing a $32 billion market last year, have not escaped the global economic downturn, more than halving 2-year highs hit last summer.

That came on the back of weak energy prices, increased selling of credits by cash-strapped firms and an anticipated drop in emissions from muted European industrial production.

U.N.-approved offsets called Certified Emissions Reductions for December delivery were trading at 11.95 euros ($15.71) on Thursday.

Low CER prices are deterring new investment in clean energy projects, cutting the number of developers chasing deals in the number one market China.

"I'd say there's half the number of players now than there was a year ago. Banks have cut back considerably and developers aren't been pushing as hard," said a small Chinese project developer, requesting anonymity.

"The number of buyers competing in the primary CER market has fallen quite considerably from a year ago, meaning there's less upward pressure on CER prices."

Under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), companies can invest in a primary market of projects in developing countries, and receive CERs to sell to industry in a secondary market in the North -- cashing in on the price spread.

The lull in CER prices is expected to last up to two years and may significantly alter the developer landscape.

James Graham, commercial strategy director at project developers Camco International, argues that a drop in CER prices will have less effect on established developers because primary market CERs (pCERs) are still priced higher than when they started out.

"In mature markets, pCERs have been contracting at above 10 euros for the last 12 months ... and a shake out of the latecomer (developers) is possible," he told Reuters.

WIPE OUT

As only a few developers report average pCER contract prices, it is difficult to predict who might be wiped out.

"The drop in CER prices is hurting us, but we'll definitely survive," said Lars Alm, CFO at smaller, Sweden-based developers Tricorona. "I think there is going to be some consolidation in the market."

CERs are expected to range from 18-21 euros to 2012, so developers are delaying selling at these levels.

"Present market conditions don't reflect the full value of delivered CERs, so while people may be interested in buying at this point, there is less interest from sellers," Graham said.

Although limiting revenues during a global recession may sound like a bad idea, equity analysts say the three largest publicly-traded developers, Camco, EcoSecurities and Trading Emissions, are well positioned to weather a prolonged downturn in CER prices.

"They're in an extremely strong position due to their cash holdings and the fact that none of them has any debt," said Agustin Hochschild of Mirabaud Securities, citing low contracted pCER prices of between 7.50-8.50 euros and hefty cash holdings ranging from 25 million to 85 million euros each.

CHINA

China raised its imposed pCER price floor to above 8 euros last year, which some say is also hindering investment by keeping margins tight in the world's largest pCER market.

China dominates the CDM, accounting for over half of the nearly 3 billion CERs expected by 2012, U.N. data shows.

Developers are hoping the government will take notice of the depressed market and ease minimum prices.

"If the government shifted it back down to 6 euros, it would help things a lot by providing more breathing space ... projects are suffocating at these levels," said the Chinese developer.

But others are skeptical that the government will be quick to relieve pressure. "It would take a sustained period of depressed prices to see a revision of the pCER floor price in China," said Graham.

(Editing by Gerard Wynn and James Jukwey)

Read more!

Light pollution forms 'eco-traps'

Mark Kinver, BBC News 16 Jan 09;

An international team of researchers has found another form of light pollution that could have an adverse effect on wildlife.

The scientists showed that as well as direct light sources, polarised light also triggered potentially dangerous changes in many species' behaviour.

They added that road surfaces and glass buildings were among the main sources of this form of light pollution.

The findings appear in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Co-author Bruce Robertson, an ecologist from Michigan State University, US, said polarised light from structures within the built environment overwhelmed natural cues that controlled animal behaviour.

"Environmental cues, such as the intensity of light, that animals use to make decisions occur at different levels of severity in the natural world," he said.

"When cues become unnaturally intense, animals can respond unnaturally strongly to them."

As a result, the false cues could create an "ecological trap" for species attracted by the light.

Double vision

Dr Robertson said that water was the primary source of horizontal polarised light in the natural world, and that many animals - including birds, insects and reptiles - had highly developed polarisation vision.

This particular form of light played a key role in the animals' lifecycle, such as finding breeding and feeding sites, he added.

A well documented example is the way that baby sea turtles rely on the direction of starlight and moonlight reflected off the water's surface in order to help them find the ocean when they emerged from their nests.

Yet, there are examples of turtles in urbanised areas heading towards the brighter buildings and street lamps.

Dr Robertson said that expanding urban areas meant that there were more structures and surfaces to confuse wildlife.

"Any kind of shiny, black object - oil, solar cells, asphalt - causes problems," he explained. "The closer they are to wetlands, the bigger the problem."

"Light from the sun is vibrating in all possible directions, but after bouncing off smooth flat surfaces, like water, it only vibrates in the horizontal direction; it has become polarised.

"This is why polarised sunglasses make it easier for us to see on a bright day - they remove only the horizontally polarised light that reflects off water and roads," he told BBC News.

Flying light

The team of US and Hungarian researchers said that more than 300 species of insects were known to use polarised light as the primary source for navigation.

"This is used to search for suitable water bodies to act as feeding/breeding habitats," they wrote.

"Because of their strong signature, artificial polarising surfaces - asphalt, gravestones, cars, plastic sheeting and glass windows - are commonly mistaken for bodies of water."

The team added that "polarised light pollution" (PLP) differed from traditional forms of light pollution, called ecological light pollution (ELP) because it occured at any time during the day.

"Because ELP results from the incidence of visible light at times and places where it does not occur naturally, ELP is predominantly a night-time phenomenon.

"In contrast, PLP can occur during both light and dark cycles in terrestrial environments."

The study also suggested that PLP could also disrupt entire food webs if predators followed their prey into the urban "ecological trap", or if a generation of prey species was wiped out without reproducing.

It added that PLP also had an impact on marine life: "When scattered light passed through the transparent body of small aquatic prey animals, its polarisation signature was altered, increasing the visual contrast.

"Plankton feeders are adept at detecting zooplankton in the water column that would otherwise be transparent."

But this hunting technique, it explained, caused problems for the feeders when they encountered marine litter.

"Underwater plastic garbage is another source of PLP, and may prompt aquatic organisms into consuming inappropriate and dangerous items.

"Turtles commonly ingest plastic, particularly transparent plastic bags, which have a polarisation signature similar to that of prey items they commonly target."

Despite the growing human impact on certain communities of animals, the researchers suggested that the worst examples of PLP could be reduced.

They recommended the use of alternative building materials or employing methods to mitigate the problem, such as adding white curtains to dark windows or adding white markings on road surfaces.

Dr Robertson said the team's findings could offer conservationists an alternative way to deal with problematic species, such as insects destroying trees.

"You may be able to create massive polarised light traps to crash bark beetle populations," he suggested.

Read more!

Paint cities white to tackle global warming, scientist says

Roads and buildings should be painted white in order to tackle global warming, according to a scientist.

Jon Swaine, The Telegraph 16 Jan 09;

Hashem Akbari believes that whitening 100 of the world's largest cities could wipe out the effect of the expected increase in emissions over the next decade.

White buildings and surfaces reflect far more sunlight than dark ones. Reflected sunlight does not contribute to the greenhouse effect, unlike the heat energy emitted by dark surfaces heated by the sun.

Dr Akbari, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, also argues that if built-up areas were made white, less heat would accumulate within them, allowing residents and workers to reduce their use of air-conditioning units, which use a large amount of power.

Dr Akbari has calculated that making 100 of the largest cities white would increase the amount of sunlight reflected by Earth by 0.03 per cent. He believes it would cancel out the warming caused by 44billion tonnes of carbon emissions.

He told The Guardian: "Roofs are going to have to be changed one by one and to make that effort at a very local level, we need to have an organisation in place to make it happen."

He argued that while the move would not address the cause of climate change - rising carbon emissions - it would delay its effects.

"We can give the atmosphere time to breathe," he said. "I just don't see a downside to this idea. It benefits everybody and you don't have to have hard negotiations to make it happen."

Read more!

Abalone broth taken off shelves after complaints

Straits Times 17 Jan 09;

A POPULAR brand of abalone broth has been pulled off shelves in Singapore after customers complained that it smelled foul.
The importer of the New Moon brand broth said it recalled the product yesterday even though internal tests revealed the mixture was free of contaminants. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is currently investigating.

Following complaints that the broth smelled 'unpleasant', the importer, Goh Joo Hin, conducted checks and found that two cans out of 120 had the problem.

It informed the AVA and decided to pull the product from its shelves.

Mr Wayne Goh, the company's chief operating officer, said a production glitch could have prevented the cans from being sealed properly, causing the broth to go bad.

One batch, or 14.8 tonnes of the product, imported in October last year, was affected.

The 400g can of concentrated broth from Thailand is popular during Chinese New Year, when 60 per cent of its yearly imports are sold.

Available for $4.50 at all major supermarkets here, it is commonly used for stir-frying and in steamboat dinners.

No other New Moon product has been affected.

New Moon, which is well known for its seafood products, was introduced to Singapore in 1998 and has since become one of the most popular brands here.

Customers can get a full refund when they return the cans to the Goh Joo Hin customer service centre at Shaw Tower.

New Moon premium abalone broth recalled
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia 16 Jan 09;

SINGAPORE: The importer of New Moon Brand Premium Abalone Broth Concentrated (400g can) is recalling the product off Singapore shelves.

The company, Goh Joo Hin, is doing that as a precautionary measure following feedback that the product has a bad smell after the can is opened.

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) says it is investigating the cause of the problem.

It advises consumers who have bought the product not to consume it.

The abalone broth concentrate is a product of Thailand.

Read more!

Wholesale price of rice on the rise

If costs climb further, consumers may have to pay more at the shops
Jessica Lim, Straits Times 17 Jan 09;

THE new year has brought with it higher wholesale prices for rice, wheat and soya bean, which have been climbing steadily for the last several weeks.

While rising prices for middlemen have not yet translated into mark-ups on supermarket shelves, some importers say that could soon change.

Faced with uncertain harvests and fluctuating currencies, some warn that the cost of importing rice could rise further.

'We have been paying more for rice for months now and if this continues we might have to increase prices again soon. When we do, supermarket prices will go up too,' said Mr Jimmy Soh, managing director of Chye Choon Foods.

The price of Thai fragrant rice, which importers say accounts for about 70 per cent of the market here, started inching up in November last year. A tonne of the staple now costs US$888 (S$1,320), 12 per cent more than two months ago.

The increase has been driven by a strengthening Thai baht against the US dollar, higher demand during the run-up to Chinese New Year and the Thai government's practice of buying grain from local farmers at above-market rates.

However, some experts expect prices to fall in the coming weeks.Thai Rice Exporters Association president Chookiat Ophaswongse expects wholesale prices to 'come down a little' - about US$50 a tonne - after Chinese New Year.

Still, some supermarkets are looking to keep a lid on prices as shoppers contend with a slowing economy.

NTUC FairPrice chairman Ng Ser Miang said the rise in wholesale prices is not yet enough to trigger a price increase in stores. He said FairPrice would try to defer any hikes as long as possible.

'We have a stockpile that will help us defer price adjustments,' he said. 'I think we can definitely ride out these recent increases.'

Meanwhile, prices of soya bean and wheat are inching upwards. Soya beans are now US$9.80 per bushel, up from an average of US$8.49 last month, though still well below their peak of US$16.50 per bushel last July.

Wheat has jumped about 30 per cent since last month to US$4.40 per bushel, though it remains far from a peak of US$12.30 last February.

The reason behind these increases, said Rabobank International general manager Goh Chong Theng, is a supply crunch after floods destroyed harvests the mid-western United States.

'Things will be unpredictable until the next harvest in March. If that harvest is bad, then consumers will be certain to feel it,' he said.

Importers are not looking forward to the day when they have to raise prices.

'We are scared. Prices are rising and we don't know how business will be next year. It has already fallen 5 per cent in the past four months,' said Mr Thomas Pek, owner of Tai Hua Foods, which makes soya sauce. 'A price increase is the last resort because it drives away customers.'

In the meantime, consumers are keeping their fingers crossed.

'I really hope this doesn't mean more expensive food products again,' said Madam Clara Lee, 48, a mother of three. 'People are getting pay cuts; how can they pay more for essentials at the same time?'

Read more!

Uncommon strong winds in Singapore

Sufian Suderman, Today 16 Jan 09;

SINGAPORE: One person said it has become so difficult to play tennis, while another is putting off plans to go on a picnic. Singapore Polytechnic has even decided, for safety reasons, to take down two banners after one was blown away.

Some feathers have certainly been ruffled by the winds in Singapore this week. In a country where the average wind speed is around 15 to 20 kilometres per hour, it has reached the time of the year when that figure goes up to 30 to 40 kmh.

Yesterday and on Wednesday, when this newspaper checked the National Environment Agency's website, which lists a range of forecasts such as fair, cloudy and rain, there was only one outlook for all five districts and 45 town areas - windy.

And while strong winds are not uncommon when there are thunderstorms, it has been "generally fair" with rainfall "below average across the whole island", noted the NEA on its website.

That has been good news for event coordinator Michelle Ting, 19, who told TODAY: "I think it's awesome. I don't mind going out more even though it's sunny, as it's not so hot." Others, though, who prefer the sunnier side of Singapore have lamented that it's as cold outdoors as it is in their offices.

Temperatures have dropped to lows of 24 degrees Celsius and will stay that way, according to the NEA's latest three-day outlook.

In its fortnightly outlook, which it posted yesterday, the NEA said: "Moderate North-east Monsoon conditions should continue to prevail with Singapore experiencing occasionally windy conditions."

During this period, showers with thunder in the afternoon can be expected on four to five days, while stronger north-east winds may bring moderate to occasionally heavy rain on two to three days.

The agency told TODAY that between December to March, stronger winds over the South China Sea and parts of the region are caused when "occasional surges of cold air" head this way from northern China.

"The impact of the high pressure system is windy conditions across the island as we have been having the past couple of days," said the NEA.

In Thailand, the cold snap has been severe and news reports on Wednesday said temperatures have fallen to 2 degrees Celsius in the north, killing five people and prompting the authorities to declare an emergency zone across half the country.

In Singapore, some say they are falling ill. "As it is sometimes hot and sometimes cold, I had a sore throat and my daughter had high fever," said housewife Maimunah A Hamid, 56.

But for the most part, the weather has been a light-hearted topic of discussion. Operations assistant Haslinda Md Yasin, 33, said she is pleased that the wind is drying her laundry faster than usual.

Marketing executive Jasmine Yuan, meanwhile, told TODAY: "The winds are crazy. We were walking for a bit outdoors and our hair is being messed up... Until the winds improve, I'll not do my hair." - TODAY/fa

Read more!

New Species hotspot in remote Cambodian Mekong

WWF 15 Jan 09

Cantor’s Giant softshell turtle, thought to be extinct in Cambodia since 2003 has been rediscovered in a section of the Mekong River almost untouched by humans.

The discovery was one of a raft of species new to the region, 24 in all, and a previously unknown “corpse plant” notable for emitting an odour of decaying flesh.

The study area is home to a near-pristine region of tall riverine forests, waterways and island archipaelagos, and is described by scientists as including one of the last suitable freshwater habitat for the critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin.

The findings are the result of a series of surveys jointly conducted by WWF Cambodia, the Fisheries Administration (FiA) and Forestry Administration (FA) of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in 2006/7.

The most exciting area surveyed was a 55 kilometre stretch of river located in north-eastern Cambodia, referred to as the “Central Section”, which is a sanctuary for many vulnerable fauna populations, 36 of which are listed as threatened under the IUCN Red List.

“Unlike many other mainstream sections of the Mekong in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam, this particular part of the river remains relatively untouched by human activities,” said Richard Zanre, WWF Freshwater Program Manager. This region, he added, used to be one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge and was off-limits to local and foreign agencies until as late as 1998.

However, the “Central Section” is rapidly shrinking. Cambodia’s new era of peace is leading to migration of communities to areas previously off-limits due to security concerns.

Unregulated hunting, fishing and logging are the greatest threats to the area as the number of settlers to the region has increased rapidly in the previous decade. Local communities are already reporting that catches of fish, turtles, large mammals and lizards are already declining.

Future threats may arise from further infrastructural development of the region, such as dam and road construction. Two dams have been proposed in the study area, just outside the Central Section, and would massively disrupt the delicately balanced ecosystems in the area.

Like many developing countries, Cambodia must balance the needs of a growing population with conservation. Fortunately, the government is sympathetic to these concerns;

“The Royal Government of Cambodia recognises the importance of maintaining the Mekong’s resources for biodiversity, national food security and development, and reflect this need in the targets of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of 2002 and Cambodia’s Millennium Development Goals,” said Seng Teak, WWF Country Director.

“Documenting Mekong’s biodiversity and natural resources is a critical first step is to preserving them.”

Having worked with the government closely on these surveys, WWF Cambodia has sought to get the “Central Section” designated as a special management site, ensuring that the region’s plant and animal life are integrated into the governments national biodiversity strategy and afforded adequate protection.

WWF would like to see all lands in the central section divided into two zones – one a protective zone, and the other a multiple use zone that would help to support livelihoods of local communities.

Coming so shortly after the discovery of over one thousand new species in the Mekong River basin from 1997 to 2007, this study has proved the value of protecting the region, while also serving as an important contribution to the mapping of Cambodia’s biological diversity, key to the formulating of effective management programs in the area.

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Kaimana designated as marine conservation area

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post 16 Jan 09;

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi dedicated Kaimana regency, West Papua, as a Provincial Marine Conservation Area (KKLD) on Dec. 11, in line with Regency Bylaw No. 4/2008.

The 597,747-hectare conservation area stretches four nautical miles from the outer-most coastline during the lowest tide, meaning it encompasses the entire marine territory of Kaimana regency.

According to Kaimana Regent Hasan Achmad, designating Kaimana a KKLD was done to preserving the area from environmental damage and to maintain its fish reserves.

"The sea is a source of livelihood for Kaimana communities, who are mostly fishermen, so it has to be preserved and developed in accordance with eco-friendly programs," he said.

Given its KKLD status, Hasan said a local bylaw would be issued to determine territorial zones.

will be a nucleus area where fishing will be banned completely, a production zone reserved for traditional fishermen and a larger zone where trawlers are not allowed to operate," Hasan said.

The KKLD, added Hasan, was also aimed at improving people's welfare, as fishermen will now be able to sell their catch to investors involved in the Kaimana fishery sector.

Kaimana's status as a KKLD was endorsed by eight native tribes. They agreed to declaring Kaimana a conservation area and handed management of the area over to the Kaimana regency administration in a ceremony held on Namatota Island, in the Triton Bay area, on April 14.

"We have handed over the sea territory to the government to designate it as a conservation area so it can be protected and preserved. Many foreign trawlers have been poaching in the area thus far and as traditional communities we have limited means to prevent them. So we hope our area can remain protected and managed carefully," Yonathan Ojanggai, chief of the Mairasi tribe said.

The regency administration has forged a cooperation deal with Conservation International, which will assist in conducting research, determining boundaries and provide training to communities on ways to preserve the environment and process marine resources in a sustainable manner.

To oversee the vast area, Minister Numberi has promised to provide speedboats for sea patrols.

Numberi expressed his gratitude to the Kaimana traditional communities for allowing their customary area to be managed by the government.

"This is a very positive matter and the only one in Indonesia in which traditional tribes have handed over their sea area to the government for supervision," Numberi said.

There is an unwritten law among native tribes in Kaimana which has been observed through the generations called sasi, or punishment. Sasi prohibits entering the sea area within a particular period and when breached, punishment can be fatal. The punishment is not meted out directly by the ruler, or kumisi, but by nature.

"Breaching the sasi means death, such as by drowning," Yonathan said.

The most common form of sasi is sasi teripang (sea cucumber) and sasi lola (clam), which are not to be caught when sasi is imposed.

The guardian of the sea during the implementation of sasi is the ruler's wife or tribal chief, who stands on the beach holding a spear overseeing the sea. Violating sasi is the considered the same as tearing the clothes off the ruler's wife or tribal chief and is thus punishable to death.

The changing times and increasing openness among the Kaimana people, as well as the increasing number of trawlers poaching within the area, are behind the communities' descision to hand over supervision and development of the area. Although sasi is still implemented, trying to manage the area with this method is no longer effective.

"Each day, large fishing boats enter Kaimana Sea. They come so close to people's settlements. What will we get if large trawlers fish all the way up to the shore?" local fisherman Muhammad Imran said.

Imran hopes that, given Kaimana's status as a KKLD, fishing boats will only operate in the open sea and will not affect the livelihood of traditional fishermen or damage the marine environment.

Based on a 2006 study conducted by Conservation International, Kaimana is home to the largest fish biomass in Southeast Asia, around 228 tons per square kilometer. It is home to 959 species of coral fish, 471 species of coral and 28 kinds of crustaceans.

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Mangrove forests disappearing quickly in Java, Indonesia

Nana Rukmana & Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post 16 Jan 09;

Hundreds of hectares of mangrove forests on the north coast of Cirebon regency, West Java, are damaged due to illegal logging over the past five years.

Similar damage was reported on the south coast of Cilacap regency, Central Java.

The damage in Cirebon is due to illegal logging by low-income local residents. Mangroves in Cilacap have been cut down for conversion into charcoal by local industries.

A third front against mangrove forests was opened recently when, amid a kerosene shortage, low-income residents took to cutting down the trees for firewood.

"One hundred hectares have been damaged in the past five years," said Yoyon Suharyono, coordinator of the Labor and Environment Foundation.

"The worst damage has occurred on Losari beach, which has had 50 hectares affected. The rest is on Gebang, Mundu and Kapetakan beaches."

Yoyon said the illegal deforestation of mangrove forests had been increasing since the government raised fuel prices in 2005.

"As poor people could not buy kerosene, they turned to the mangroves, which are quite a good source of firewood," he said. am concerned that the kerosene scarcity in Cirebon will result in further damage to the mangrove forests on the north coast."

The price of kerosene has shot up to between Rp 4,500 and Rp 5,000 per liter compared to the suggested retail price of Rp 2,950 per liter.higher kerosene price will further damage the mangrove forests," Yoyon said.

"The damage to the mangroves in Cirebon began in the 1980s when there was a shrimp farming boom. Many people cut down the mangrove forests to make way for shrimp ponds."

Illegal logging in Cilacap is also growing at an alarming rate.

Forest rangers of state forest firm Perhutani's Cilacap office and the Segara Anakan Conservation Center in a recent crack down on illegal deforestation in Segara Anakan found hundreds of hectares of damaged mangrove.

The wood is then sold to local charcoal producers. The rangers seized a truck-load of charcoal during the raid.

Cilacap Perhutani deputy head Herman Firmansyah told the media that ascertaining the extent of the damage was difficult as some of the mangroves were difficult to reach, citing one mangrove forest that was two hours away by speed boat. forests in Cilacap, which in total span around 13,000 hectares, are overseen by a number of relevant agencies, but rangers have so far faced difficulties in tracing the looters," Herman said last week.

He said the mangroves were valuable and protected assets as well as fish breeding grounds.will not tolerate the thefts," he added.

Chief of rangers at the Cilacap chapter of the Natural Resources Conservation Center, Dedy Supriyanto, said it was difficult to track down the culprits as many of them were backed by local security forces.

"We have been observing them for a long time and have found strong indications that they are backed by corrupt security personnel. We are very concerned about this matter," Supriyanto told The Jakarta Post.

He said the number of timber thefts in the Mount Selok forest resort area in Cilacap had grown at an alarming rate since 1999, adding that 120 hectares of teak trees were cut down per year on average.

"No less than 5,000 hectares of forest in Nusakambangan have been damaged," he said.

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