Best of our wild blogs: 24 Apr 09

Forces of nature during Earth Day
on the wonderful creation blog

Storm winds whip S'pore: Just look at the damage caused
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

You CAN make a difference for spiders at Sungei Buloh
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk tour: 26 Apr (Sun)
on the Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs blog

Great Hornbill manipulating a fig
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Envirofest Meeting, 23 Apr 2009
on the Envirofest Singapore blog and also (after a detour to look at mangrove plants at the Botanic Gardens) on the wild shores of singapore blog

What have you done for your blog friends lately?
on the Nature Blog Network blog

Read more!

Retain Sea Sand Ban: Indonesian Fisheries Ministry

Arti Ekawati, Janeman Latul & Teguh Prasetyo
Jakarta Globe 23 Apr 09;

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is strongly against lifting of ban on sea sand exports to Singapore, with a senior official arguing that sea sand mining had negative effects on the country.

“It would be better if we do not lift the ban,” Aji Sularso, the director general for sea resources at the ministry, said in an interview at his office.

In 2002, the Ministry of Trade allowed sand exports, with stringent conditions defining limits sets on exploitation areas. Aji supervised a team investigating sea sand mining control and supervision in 2002, which resulted in the ministry allowing partial sand quarrying at the time.

“However, the damage was greater than the benefits,” he said, adding that although selling sand could boost exports, it could also lead to an environmental disaster.

“We should not prioritize economic benefits over the ecological impact,” he said.

For example, in the outlying Nipah Island in the Riau region, the provincial administration has received considerable revenue from sand extraction. However, in order to maintain the integrity of Indonesia’s territorial borders, sand had to be transported from other islands to ensure Nipah did not sink into the sea.

Nipah is close to the Indonesian border with Singapore and Indonesia must maintain it as an island if it wants to ensure claims on its maritime borders. “It cost the state budget Rp 350 billion [$32.2 million] for Nipah’s reclamation, so did the sand exports really bring any benefit to us? I don’t think so,” he added.

Other government agencies have also opposed lifting the ban.

“The Foreign Affairs Ministry has expressed its objection, citing sovereignty reasons, while the Directorate General of Custom and Exercise also objected to the plan,” Aji said.

On Wednesday, the Trade Ministry said it was evaluating whether to continue a 2007 ban on the export of sea sand to Singapore. Irwandi Rajabasa, a representative of sea sand exporters welcomed the plan, saying that the government should carefully control mining activities if it was going to be effective.

But Toto Dirgantoro, vice chairman of the Indonesian Exporters Association, or GPEI, called on his members to stop importing sand, saying that it only widened Singapore’s territory at Indonesia ’s expense.

Read more!

Blue Plan to save Singapore's biodiversity-rich coral reefs ready

Conservationists urge Govt to step in to save what's left
Grace Chua, Straits Times 24 Apr 09;

THE most comprehensive proposal yet to save Singapore's coral reefs was released yesterday. It called for the Government to formally recognise the richness of reef habitats like Raffles Lighthouse and Cyrene Reef in the southern islands.

Over 60 per cent of coral reefs here have been lost to development, and the rest is under threat from climate change and pollution.

The remaining 5 to 10 sq km of reefs harbour more than 250 species of hard corals, 120 species of fish and 12 seagrass species - almost on a par with the rest of South-east Asia's hot spots for biodiversity.

The marine conservation Blue Plan, over a year in the making, was compiled by a team of academics, environmental organisations and civil society groups.

They intend to seek public feedback and release a final version in late May to the National Parks Board, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and other government agencies.

Mr Farid Hamid, chairman of the Blue Plan committee, said: 'These reefs are part of our national heritage, and we have a moral and ethical responsibility to pass that heritage on to generations to come.'

He added that the Blue Plan was a step towards protecting other marine habitats, such as mangroves and rocky shores.

The committee's main recommendations to the Government include conserving what remains of Singapore's natural coastline, conducting a biodiversity survey of reefs, and reviewing laws about reef-damaging practices, such as the use of drift nets, which can ensnare turtles and dolphins.

Mr Francis Lee, chairman of the International Year of the Reef Singapore campaign and who contributed to the Blue Plan, said: 'Protecting reefs is not a zero- sum game, and it need not be development against conservation.'

Marine areas here are home to a broad variety of species, with more found each year.

At least three new species of fish - including the 2.5cm-long broad-barred mangrove goby - have been discovered here since 2001, while boaters and divers spot dolphins and sea turtles regularly.

In addition, reefs play an important role in protecting coasts from the effects of sea-level rise due to global warming.

They could also be a tourist attraction or a source of drug discovery - last year, a researcher here found a compound in blue-green algae from Pulau Hantu that killed cancer cells.

Calls to save Singapore's reefs date back to the 1980s and 1990s, so the Blue Plan is one more in a long line of proposals.

In fact, the current Blue Plan builds on recommendations from a previous version, submitted to the Government's Feedback Unit in 2001.

Experienced marine biologist Chou Loke Ming, who contributed to the proposal, was optimistic that it would be implemented.

'Starting in the mid-90s, you saw sustainable development projects like (offshore landfill) Pulau Semakau. So attitudes have changed for the better, and we're no longer seeing the unnecessary destruction of coral reefs,' Professor Chou said.

Mr Lee added that public awareness and interest was another encouraging sign.

Each year, about 100,000 people go on guided reef walks or dives here, and about 3,500 are marine-conservation volunteers.

The Blue Plan was released at the opening of the Asia Dive Expo 2009 at the Marina at Keppel Bay yesterday.

It can be downloaded at the International Year of the Reef 2008 Singapore campaign's website at iyor08singapore.blogspot.com

Feedback can be sent to blueplan.singapore@gmail.com before May 14.

Save Singapore reefs
Grace Chua, Straits Times Breaking News 23 Apr 09;

THE most comprehensive proposal to save Singapore's coral reefs yet was released on Thursday, calling for the government to formally recognise the richness of reef habitats like Raffles Lighthouse and Cyrene Reef in the southern islands.

Over 60 per cent of coral reefs here have been lost to development, and the rest is under threat from climate change and pollution.

Yet the remaining 5 to 10 square km of reefs harbour more than 250 species of hard corals, 120 species of fish and 12 seagrass species - almost on par with the rest of South-east Asia's hotspots for biodiversity.

The marine-conservation Blue Plan, over a year in the making, was compiled by a team of academics, environment NGOs and civil society groups.

They intend to seek public feedback and release a final version in late May to the National Parks Board, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and other government agencies.

Mr Farid Hamid, the chairman of the Blue Plan committee, said: 'These reefs are part of our national heritage, and we have a moral and ethical responsibility to pass that heritage on to generations to come.'

He added that the Blue Plan was a step towards similar proposals for other marine habitats, such as mangroves and rocky shores.

The committee's main recommendations to the government include conserving what remains of Singapore's natural coastline, conducting a biodiversity survey of reefs, and reviewing laws about reef-damaging practices, such as the use of drift nets, which can ensnare turtles and dolphins.

Mr Francis Lee, chairman of the International Year of the Reef Singapore campaign and who contributed to the Blue Plan, said: 'Protecting reefs is not a zero-sum game, and it need not be development against conservation.'

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

Read more!

Tropical storm behind strongest winds to hit Singapore in 9 years

Tan Yew Guan, Channel NewsAsia 23 Apr 09;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) says a tropical storm is the reason for the strong winds which blew into Singapore Wednesday night.

A wind speed of up to 83 kilometres per hour was recorded -- the strongest in nearly nine years.

Among the damage caused - fallen trees and a broken construction crane.

Residents of private condominium Abelia woke up to find their Ardmore Park neighbourhood, near Shangri La Hotel, behind police lines.

A construction crane at a neighbouring building had snapped into two, with most of it dangling precariously from the 30th floor.

Police say a lifting kit connected to the crane was found along the road. No one was injured.

But the Manpower Ministry has stopped work at the site while it figures out how to safely recover the crane.

It is investigating the incident, which has also attracted the attention of other builders nearby.

Tan Heok Ngee Benjamin, Project Manager, C@nspecs Pte Ltd, said: "This crane is commonly used in a lot of construction sites. So if some problem happens here, we want to see if there is anything we can do to prevent this from happening."

Officials from the building company involved, Poh Lian Construction, were tight-lipped about the incident.

Like many others across the island, residents in the neighbourhood say they experienced unusually strong winds last night.

The winds also wreaked havoc elsewhere across Singapore last night.

The NEA says the strong winds were caused by a Sumatra squall, named as such because the storm usually develops overnight in Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca, before sweeping into Singapore between midnight and daybreak.

NEA says such storms usually occur between April and September.

For the rest of the month, we can expect another one or two Sumatra squalls, but they are unlikely to be as severe as the one on Wednesday night.- CNA/yt

Gusty winds and rain wreak havoc
Trees felled by 83kmh squall cause damage to cars and property
Amresh Gunasingham & Alessa Pang, Straits Times 24 Apr 09;

STRONG gusty winds accompanied by rain wreaked havoc on many parts of Singapore on Wednesday night.

The police received more than 400 calls about traffic obstructions and other damage to cars and property caused by fallen trees.

Officers from the National Parks Board (NParks) worked through the night to remove the debris from roads and other places.

The strong winds were caused by an unusually intense Sumatra squall, said the Meteorological Services Division of the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday - that is, a line of blustery thunderstorms that develop over Sumatra and the Malacca Strait at this time of year and which move in over the west coast of Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.

But the top wind speed recorded on Wednesday night - 83kmh in western Singapore - was four times the average experienced in the Republic on any given day.

On average, wind speeds of 33kmh to 54kmh were recorded on various parts of the island between 11pm and 12.30am.

Rainfall was light over many areas, with the highest level of 7mm recorded in Sembawang.

The sudden storm caught many on the roads by surprise.

Estate officer Bernard Ng, 35, was driving home along Yio Chu Kang Road when it struck.

'It felt like a mini-typhoon,' he said. 'I saw many trees fall along the way.'

Up in his sixth-storey flat in Bishan, Mr Mohamed Seraj, a 23-year-old full-time national serviceman, watched as leaves and plastic bags were carried in from the ground floor by the wind.

The Sumatra squall can strike up to three times a month during the south-west monsoon season between March and November. But it is generally more common towards September, so Wednesday's storm was a little early, said Associate Professor Matthias Roth of the geography department at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

In total, 27 fallen trees and 150 branches were removed from various locations on Wednesday night, said NParks director of streetscape Simon Longman.

'Our officers worked through the night,' he said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force also received calls for help when two members of the public on Balestier Road and Toa Payoh Lorong8 were injured by fallen trees. The injuries were minor and neither had to be hospitalised.

Across the island, people took stock of the damage wrought by the brief storm.

Ms Fen Chong, 25, an administrative coordinator, saw a large tree branch fall across two cars near her home in St George's Road, shattering the windscreens.

According to the NEA, one or two Sumatra squalls can be expected over the next week. But they are not likely to be as severe as this one.

Professor Lim Hock, founding director of Temasek Laboratories at NUS said Sumatra squalls usually hit Singapore in the early hours of the morning, bringing with them strong gusts of wind, heavy showers and thunderstorms.

For updated weather forecasts for the next 12 hours, visit the NEA website at http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1093

Wild wind wreaks havoc
Sumatran squall tears up trees around the island, NEA expects one ortwo more this month
Esther Ng and Neo Chai Chin Today Online 24 Apr 09;

THE calls began flooding in a little after 11pm on Wednesday — of trees being uprooted or their branches snapped and strewn on roads, roadwork barriers being dislodged and even a construction crane that was left dangling atop an unfinished building.

The culprit responsible for this widespread damage: One feisty Sumatran squall.

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), these thunderstorms usually occur between April and September.

For 90 minutes from 11pm on Wednesday to early Thursday, mean wind speeds ranging from 33kmh to54 kmh were recorded across the island. The highest wind speed logged was83 kmh in the west — the strongest in nearly nine years.

All in all, the police received more than 400 calls because of the gale, and the National Parks Board cleared 27 fallen trees and about 150 fallen branches.

One or two such Sumatran squalls are expected for the rest of the month, but they are unlikely to be as strong as the one that lashed the island two nights ago, the NEA said.

Yesterday, motorists on the PanIsland Expressway near Ardmore Road found themselves stuck in a massive traffic jam during the morning rush-hour.

A crane on top of an uncompleted condominium near Ardmore Park had snapped and a part of the boom was left twisting in the wind. Dangling ominously by the side of the building, it looked like it could crash to the ground at any moment and the roads around the area had to be cordoned off.

The Ministry of Manpower, which oversees workplace safety, could not confirm if it was the wind that caused the crane to snap, but it immediately issued a stop-work order. No one was hurt in the incident.

Mr Chang Long Yew, an engineer who lives on the 12th floor of a block in Jurong East, said wind speeds picked up suddenly at around 11.20pm on Wednesday.

“Trees were swinging very badly and some large branches from one tree fell on an overhead bridge and onto the road,” he recounted.

Mrs Alice Yap, a Toa Payoh resident, was sleeping at the time, but her husband was “watching television when he heard a loud boom — like the ceiling was falling”, she said.

“It turned out that two to three pieces — about the size of a door — of asbestos-like material had fallen off a pillar,” said Mrs Yap.

Over in Woodlands, businessman Tony Liau said his remote control, telephone and cups were blown off the table of his sixth-floor flat.

“We’ve lived here for over 10 years and it’s never happened before,” he said.

As Mr Liau went around his flat shutting windows, he saw his neighbours doing the same. Gingerly looking out their windows, they were all “wondering why the winds were so strong”.

Read more!

Collision leaves freighter listing in Singapore waters

Straits Times 24 Apr 09;

OFFICE workers in high-rise buildings in Tanjong Pagar got a jolt yesterday when they looked out of their windows and saw a ship listing in the waters off Singapore.
Some feared the ship was sinking, but the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the vessel, the Iranian-registered Danoosh, had earlier been involved in a collision and was to undergo repairs here.

The vessel, carrying a crew of 33, had left Singapore with a cargo of maize and collided with an Indonesian container ship near St John's Island at about 2am.

MPA dispatched patrol and emergency response craft to the scene.

No one was injured and there were no reports of pollution.

The freighter suffered a damaged cargo hold, and as a precautionary measure, it was towed to shallower waters in the Eastern Working Anchorage for salvage works, said the MPA.

The Indonesian vessel suffered minor damage and continued its voyage.

Journalist Kate O'Keeffe, who works in the Dow Jones office on the 32nd floor of International Plaza, said the sight caused a commotion among her colleagues at about 2pm.

The 25-year-old said: 'There appeared to be a ship sinking in the sea.'

She added that she was concerned as she did not see any other vessels approaching it to carry out a rescue.

The MPA is investigating the cause of the incident.

SUJIN THOMAS

Two vessels collide off St John's Island
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia 23 Apr 09;

SINGAPORE: A cargo ship collided with a smaller container vessel Thursday morning near St John's Island, which is located 6.5 kilometre south of Singapore.

No one was injured in the incident.

Several people called the MediaCorp hotline, reporting a sinking vessel off the Marina South Pier.

But the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore clarified that the Iranian-registered cargo ship "Danoosh" was anchored there for salvage works after the collision.

It is currently anchored in the Eastern Working Anchorage. The ship's cargo hold was damaged, but it is in stable condition. Its crew of 33 are believed to be still onboard.

The smaller container vessel, Indonesian-registered "Lagun Mas", suffered some damage to its railing and bow and has continued on its way.

MPA, which is investigating the incident, said there was no report of pollution and port operations remain unaffected.- CNA/yt

Listing and helpless
Today Online 24 Apr 09;

A freighter and container ship collided about 3km south-west of St John’s Island yesterday at 2.30am. The Iranian-registered freighter, Danoosh, was travelling east while Indonesian-registered container ship, Lagun Mas, was heading west. There was no report of pollution or injury, and port operations remain unaffected, said the Maritime Port Authority (MPA).

But the Danoosh, which has a crew of 33, reported damage to its cargo of maize. The freighter was towed to more shallow waters as a precaution for salvage works. Lagun Mas continued its voyage.

Prior to the collision, MPA had alerted both vessels and provided navigational information. It is investigating the incident.

Read more!

Sentosa sardine-packed?

More attractions are being built at Sentosa, drawing crowds and crowding out space on the beachfront
Cara van miriah, Straits Times 24 Apr 09;

Life is not quite a beach nowadays along the Siloso shoreline at Sentosa. It is more, well, a mini-construction site.

The opening of Sentosa's integrated resort, Resorts World, is barely a year away and Siloso, the island's main beach, is morphing from a laidback hangout into splash city.

Two massive structures are already being built that will house two of four new attractions planned for the beach.

One is a 7,650 sq m hotspot with three wavepools and a three-storey complex with bars and a restaurant.

The other site spans 1,870 sq m with a double-storey entertainment complex, offering activities such as banana boat rides.

Another new hang-out is a treetop high-rope course, where participants swing over obstacles. All are due to open this year and by next year, Singapore's first indoor skydiving simulator will be located on the 1.2km beach too.

When the three attractions are completed, there will be 29 attractions on the 500ha Sentosa, including bars, mostly along the 3.2km stretch that includes Siloso, Tanjong and Palawan beaches.

Siloso Beach alone will have about 10 attractions, including bars, and this is getting too crowded for some visitors who fear their chill-out zone is becoming a concrete zone.

Secretary Cheryl Ho, 29, who prefers the quieter Palawan Beach, says: 'Siloso Beach is a mini-city now. It has become too built-up.'

Visitors lament that it has become hard to find a tranquil spot too. They point to the shoreline, deck chairs spill out onto it from Coastes beach bar and Cafe del Mar bar, eight volleyball courts are packed with teens, and sunbathers hog the beachfront just before the Sapphire Pavillion event hall.

The only portion of unspoilt beachfront is a 25m gap between the bars and the shoreline, they grouse.

Ms Cindy Berlandier, 52, ran Sentosa's first beach bar Sunset Bay from 1995 to 2006.

She recalls: 'Siloso Beach was just sand, sea and jungle. It had the kampung vibe. In the 1990s, people had to take the bus to Mount Imbiah and walk down to the beach.

'There were only three snack bars in Siloso Beach then.' She now runs Sunset Bay in East Coast Park.

In the last 15 years, the sleepy beach has undergone several phases of development.

In 1997, the width of the beach was doubled to between 40m and 60m. About 38,000 sq m of beach was added to the existing 35,000 sq m.

Today, Siloso Beach spans 100,000 sq m.

In the last five years, more attractions appeared, including Siloso Beach Hotel, multimedia show Songs Of The Sea, Cafe del Mar, Coastes bar, Bikini Bar and Sentosa Luge & Skyride.

They are part of Sentosa's efforts to diversify its lifestyle offerings, with Siloso positioned as a hip party zone.

Mr Mike Barclay, chief executive officer of Sentosa Development Corporation, tells Life!: 'The energy at Siloso will start to build up with the opening of a new attraction from June. There is never a dull moment on our sandy stretch, especially at Siloso Beach.'

On the concrete build-up, Ms Suzanne Ho, deputy director communications of Sentosa Leisure Group, says: 'Siloso Beach is for the young and energetic. It's about beach volleyball, fun in the sun and soon, adventure. Thrill-seekers to the new attractions will find some action at every turn.'

The group is the overall operator of Sentosa.

Many visit Siloso Beach as it is near Mount Imbiah which has 10 other attractions, such as Images Of Singapore, Merlion Walk and Tiger Sky Tower.

Visitors can also take a short tram ride from Siloso Beach to Palawan and Tanjong beaches.

Palawan has four attractions popular with families including the Animal & Bird Encounters, Dolphin Lagoon and Southernmost Point Of Continental Asia.

Tanjong, at the far end of the southern coastline, is the least populated of the three. It has no attractions, but a beach bar, The Shack, opens next month.

But some visitors wonder if Tanjong and Palawan beaches will go the way of Siloso Beach.

Office manager Harpal Singh, 42, who visits Palawan Beach twice a month with his family, says: 'The new attractions will draw more visitors and the other beaches may be further developed when Resorts World opens.'

Ms Ho of Sentosa Leisure Group points out: 'Palawan Beach is a family-themed beach and Tanjong Beach will retain its chill-out atmosphere.'

About 300,000 visitors, or about 3.6 million annually, visit the three beaches every month, says Sentosa's Mr Barclay.

In 2007, Sentosa saw a record 6.1 million visitors, a 7.9 per cent increase over 2006. Of these, 3.8 million were beachgoers, up from 3.4 million visitors in 2006.

No wonder hotel operators want a slice of the action. The five-star Movenpick Hotel Sentosa opens next year near the Beach Station and will be the fourth resort in the Siloso area. The others are Siloso Beach Resort, Costa Sands Resort (Sentosa) and Rasa Sentosa Resort.

Nature lovers such as housewife Diana Chow, 32, gripe that there is 'too much concrete, too little greenery' at Siloso Beach.

Mr Shawn Lum, 46, president of the Nature Society (Singapore), says: 'When the structures are built, it will take away the tranquility that has been there before.'

But he adds, 'key areas like Mount Imbiah retain the greenery of the Siloso Beach'.

Lifestyle operators such as Mr Tom Lochtefeld, 56, who is developing the new Wave House Sentosa at Siloso Beach, say they are drawn to the 'thriving beach culture'.

During Life!'s two visits there, hundreds of visitors, mostly tourists and expats, were hanging out at beachfront bars such as Coastes, Bikini Bar, Sand Bar and Cafe del Mar.

The beach culture reminded some of the vibe on Spain's famous fun isle of Ibiza, known for its bars and beach parties.

Local partygoers say Siloso Beach lives up to its hip quotient, hosting numerous bashes such as the annual ZoukOut dance music festival. The duskto-dawn party drew a record of 26,000 revellers last year.

And tourists like what they see at Siloso Beach.

Briton Jeremy Lale, 42, who is here on a holiday with his fiancee, raves: 'It's a refreshing change from the sardine-packed beaches in Brighton where everyone is 5cm away from you.'

Sentosa sardine packed?
Straits Times 24 Apr 09;

Wave House Sentosa (Siloso Beach)

What: Three enormous pools with artificial waves. To ride the waves on the surf board, you have to be at least 1.06m tall. It is a three-storey complex with a rooftop bar, a lounge and a Mexican-Californian restaurant. There will also be two cocktail bars and a Billabong surf shop
Opens: October

Azzura Hydro Sports Centre
What: A double-storey entertainment complex at Siloso with watersport activities such as wakeboards and banana boats. Charter a boat to go island-hopping to Kusu Island, St John's Island and Sisters' Island. Suitable for families and corporate events. Has restaurant and bar on the second storey.
Opens: August

Megazip Adventure Park (Siloso Beach)
What: The Megazip offers a 450m flying fox ride from Mount Imbiah to a small islet offshore at Siloso Beach. Climbmax is a three-level aerial obstacle course with 36 obstacles at varying heights.
The park also has a 15m rock-climbing wall called The North Face and a Para Jump, a simulated 'freefalling' parachute. Suitable for families and corporate events
Opens: June

iFly Singapore
What: 'Skydive' from a height of 17m at the city's first indoor skydiving simulator, which offers a spectacular view of the South China Sea and Siloso Beach
Opens: Next year

Movenpick Hotel Singapore (Palawan Beach)
What: A five-star resort where the rooms include suites with their own rooftop spa pool overlooking the South China Sea.
Opens: Next year

The Shack (Tanjong Beach)
What: This chill-out beach bar is a temporary drinking hole before it is converted into a chic restaurant-bar
Opens: Next month

Read more!

New Park Connector Network Pitstops in Parks

NParks newsletter Jan-Mar 09

Six bicycle rental kiosks or 'PCN Pitstops' have been set up in four parks along the 42km Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network (PCN), allowing park visitors to rent bicycles from any pitstop and return them at the other five without having to backtrack. This new service will give park visitors the flexibility and convenience to return their bicycles in another park, any time of the day.

The service is provided by Lifestyle Recreation, a company offering rental of roller-blades and bicycles as well as food & beverage facilities. The six PCN Pitstops are located in the following areas:

* East Coast Park Area C
* East Coast Park Area G
* Changi Beach Park Area Car Park 1
* Sun Plaza Park
* Changi Beach Park Car Park 7 (Operational in March 2009)
* Telok Kurau Park (Operational in March 2009)


Depending on the popularity of this service, two more PCN Pitstops may be set up at Bedok Town Park and Pasir Ris Town Park.


Bicycle rental rates range from $5 per hour for an adult bicycle to $10 for a double bicycle, which is comparable to rates offered by other rental kiosks. To provide an all-day service, Lifestyle Recreation is looking into implementing an online booking service where park visitors can unlock their rented bicycles from a pitstop using a pre-issued number. The same lock can be used to secure the bicycle back to any pitstop, thus allowing park visitors to return their bicycles at any time of the day, even after operational hours of 9.00am to 9.00pm.

Completed in 2007, the Eastern Coastal PCN is the longest of seven loops of park connectors which have been planned by NParks. It connects several parks in eastern Singapore, allowing park visitors to walk, jog, cycle or roller-blade through idyllic coastal areas and popular parks, such as East Coast Park, Changi Beach Park, Sun Plaza Park and Bedok Reservoir Park. It is also one of the most scenic PCN, with long stretches that are conducive for uninterrupted cycling.

By Ng Hui Bing

Read more!

Animal lovers call teen's ad for dog cruel

Photos of dog posted online by student shows animal in poor health and condition
Liew Hanqing, The New Paper 24 Apr 09;

IT WAS a brief advertisement to sell a dog on a local classifieds website.

But the ad, posted by a 15-year-old student, caused a stir online after pictures of the dog were leaked.

In pictures posted on the forums, the dog is shown locked in a small cage. Its fur looks dirty and matted.

The write-up on the advertisement describes the dog as 'a one-year-old female' which 'does not bark much'.

Incensed members of several local forums posted the student's personal information - including his photos and his mobile phone number - over forum threads.

The message board on the student's blog has also been filled with angry messages from netizens.

One wrote: 'You evil boy. Don't treat a dog like a commodity.'

Another added: 'I hope your parents treat you like a dog, so you know how it feels.'

In the ad, the student had written: 'Hi. I have a schnauzer for sale. It will look good after grooming. I will include its cage, leash and a small bag of food.'

The list price of the dog was $200.

The link to the ad was posted on several local pet forums and caught the eye of Ms Regina Low, 31, who e-mailed the student for a set of pictures of the dog.

Shocked by the dog's condition, Ms Low decided to investigate. She arranged to meet the student on 17 Apr, assuring him that she was a genuinely interested buyer.

Animal welfare alerted

She was accompanied by an officer from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

She told The New Paper: 'The dog was in a horrendous state - it was dirty and it smelled. She was very skinny - we could feel her rib cage and bones.

'It obviously had not been bathed or groomed for a very long time. The nails were long and the fur was badly matted.

'The teeth were stained with tartar and it was badly infested with ticks.'

Ms Low, a marketing manager, said she had decided to contact SPCA because she 'didn't want the boy to get away scot-free'.

'By that I don't mean punishment - if I were to pay him $200, warn him, and go, this would only encourage him to continue with his deeds,' said Ms Low.

Ms Low added that she had come across another ad the student had posted, wanting to adopt a dog for free.

In one ad The New Paper found, the student said he was looking to adopt a Jack Russell Terrier.

He wrote: 'SMS me if you have one up for adoption. It must be free.'

Recalled Ms Low: 'The SPCA officer, who was there with me, questioned the boy (about the schnauzer). The boy replied that the dog was already in this state when he got it.

'This prompted me to ask why he didn't send it for medical treatment or grooming immediately. He remained silent.'

Responding to e-mail questions from The New Paper, the student claimed he had bought the dog for $200 several weeks after he first posted an ad looking for one.

He said: 'It belonged to a girl I didn't know. After I boughtthe dog from her, she changed her handphone number.'

He added that the dog was already in poor condition when he received it, but he 'did not notice it' at the time.

'The girl told me it was in healthy condition and that it was microchipped,' he said, adding that he had never owned a pet before.

Eager to adopt the dog, he said he accepted the dog on the spot, in its existing condition.

But he said he was forced to give up the dog shortly after when his parents objected.

He recounted the incident on his blog, which has since been locked with a password.

He wrote: 'My dog isn't microchipped, registered or sterilised - I bought it from somebody I don't know and now I'm selling it.

'I posted an ad and someone came to view it. She confirmed she would buy it on Friday.'

He said, however, that when the SPCA officer showed up, he realised that the meeting had been planned.

He wrote: 'I wonder why you all must do this? What can you gain by doing this? Are you trying to get a free dog and just pay for medication?

'Even if you're a dog lover, that dog is mine. Why must you all care? Now, $200 gone, dog gone.'

Ms Deirdre Moss, SPCA's executive officer, confirmed the dog is now with the SPCA and is being treated.

She added that the SPCA is investigating the matter.

Reflecting on the incident, Ms Low said profiteering at the expense of animal welfare should not be tolerated.

She said: 'Even if you wish to give up your pets for whatever reason or sell them, at least ensure that they are in good health and condition, and screen through the adopters or buyers.

'Always be prepared to take back ownership of the animal in the event that the new owner is unable to care for it.'

She added that she felt more should be done to educate students on pet ownership.

PENALTIES & RULES

UNDER the Animals and Birds (Dog Licensing and Control) Rules, all dogs more than three months old must be licensed for rabies control.

A maximum of three dogs may be kept in private premises. Dog owners must seek written permission from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to keep more than 3 dogs.

Current HDB rules allow only one dog of an approved breed per residential unit.

The dog must be implanted with a microchip, be leashed in public places and should not be allowed to stray.

A dog licence is valid for one year only and must be renewed before expiry. The renewal fee for a sterilised dog is $14 and $70 for an unsterilised dog.

Failure to comply with these requirements is an offence under the Animals and Birds (Dog Licensing and Control) Rules and can result in the dog being impounded, a fine of up to $5,000, and the dog licence being revoked.

Visit www.ava.gov.sg for more details.

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UNEP Announces the 2009 Champions of the Earth

Winners from Ethiopia, India, France, Norway, Papua New Guinea and United States Receive Coveted Awards at Gala Event in Paris
UNEP 22 Apr 09;

Paris, 22 April 2009 - Six tireless innovators of positive environmental change and an inspirational anti-poverty organization from Africa were today named as the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) 2009 Champions of the Earth.

This year's winners are: Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim; tropical forest and climate campaigner Kevin Conrad; photographic and public awareness pioneer Yann Arthus-Bertrand; wind power entrepreneur Tulsi Tanti; biomimicry specialist Janine Benyus; recycling innovator Ron Gonen; and the youth-empowering Ethiopian organization Tena Kebena.

All seven laureates gathered in Paris on Earth Day to receive their trophies at a gala event attended by more than 200 personalities from business, politics and civil society.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, who presented the awards to the winners, said: "Today we celebrate and honour seven catalysts of positive environmental change who, through the worlds of politics, business, science, photography, resource efficiency and civil society have challenged the status quo and demonstrated across communities and countries new and transformational solutions to persistent and emerging environmental threats."

"Passion, creativity, intellect, vision and drive unites each of our 2009 winners - key qualities urgently needed with less than 230 days to go to the crucial UN climate convention meeting in December. Qualities also essential to turn the current and coming crises into an opportunity to realize a sustainable, Green Economy for the 21st century," he said.

This year, the awards - which are hosted in conjunction with the annual Business for the Environment Summit (B4E) - moved away from geographical distribution to recognize achievements in the areas of Policy Leadership, Science and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Vision, Inspiration and Action, and Next-Generation Champions.

UNEP Champions of the Earth Profile: Yann Arthus-Bertrand
UNEP 22 Apr 09;

Nairobi, April 22 2009 - His striking, aerial photos have awakened the imaginations of millions, and his new film "Home", illustrates the beauty of our planet, and the urgent need to sustain it. Meanwhile his non-profit organization, GoodPlanet has made strides at sensitizing the public on how to lead a more environmentally responsible life. For this demonstrated commitment to environmental causes, UNEP is proud to designate Yann Arthus-Bertrand its Goodwill Ambassodor for 2009.

Born in France in 1946, Arthus-Bertrand always had a passion for nature and, at the age of 30, he moved to Kenya with his wife, Anne, to study the behaviour of lions in the Masaai Mara Reserve. While there the budding photographer discovered a unique way of capturing the stunning landscapes - flying miles above the earth in a hot air balloon.

Years later in 2000, Arthus-Bertrand a budding photographer no more, entered the public limelight, following a large-scale public art exhibition titled "Earth from Above". Premiering in Paris to unprecedented success, the exhibition soon traveled to cities around the world to reach over 130 million visitors across every populated continent by 2008. The idea was to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living while admiring locally images that show our planet in all its fragile and stunning splendor. To date, the book has sold millions of copies in over 21 languages.

By 2005, Arthus-Bertrand created the association GoodPlanet. This international NGO develops numerous projects whose shared objective is to educate about sustainable development and request individuals across every background, culture and border to think beyond the development of our planet and, instead, toward the future of all of its inhabitants.

Now, in his new film "Home" scheduled for worldwide release on June 5, 2009, Arthus Bertrand takes viewers on a unique journey all around the planet to contemplate and understand its workings and show us that the marks we leave behind are having a negative impact on its well being. The film is a travel notebook showing only landscapes captured from above. In this sense "Home" calls for a new awareness, because as we observe ourselves from the air, we see our world in a whole new light.

Arthus-Bertrand's latest project is 'Vu du Ciel', a documentary series broadcast on French TV station France 2. The programme is filmed on High Definition video and uses investigative journalism to document environmental degradation around the globe. In addition, the show celebrates scientists, environmentalists and members of the public who are engaged in the fight to save our planet.

As UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Arthus-Bertrand's prestige, talent and passion will raise and reinforce public awareness of environmental issues and the solutions to these. In his new role, it is expected that Arthus-Bertrand will engage in public advocacy, fundraising and participate in relevant UNEP events, among other duties.

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Urbanisation affecting worm sellers

The New Paper 24 Apr 09;

FOR some Orang Asli (indigenous peoples) staying in the Sungai Skudai area, catching worms and selling them is a way of life.

But of late, villagers of Kampung Bakar Batu blame housing developments nearby for affecting the worm population, which is now running dry.

They blame the murky waters, caused by the developments, as having affected the harvest of 'pompom' - a type of worm found in the coastal mangrove forest there.

Mr John Bento, 32, told New Straits Times that there are at least 10 families who depend on selling worms for a living.

He said: 'Now, only my cousin and I are selling worms.

'However, we are selling another type of worm called 'wat-wat' which we get from the coastal mangrove forest at Teluk Jawa, some 20km away, and Stulang Laut.

'I have to drive there every day to dig worms with my cousin and children as the worms are no longer found in our village.'

Losing natural resources

Their worm-harvesting trip sees them leave their village in the early morning and return by noon.

Mr Bento said that, on a good day, they cart back about 2kg of worms.

They then clean the worms before selling them.

A small heap, he said, sells for about RM5($2).

Quality control is strict - they dispose of the unsold worms as he said these can't be kept for the next day.

He spends about RM10 per day on petrol.

The father of nine said: 'If business is bad, we will have less money to buy food.'

Cousin Sidah Tamat, 32, said many villagers in their kampung now face an uncertain future.

The reason?

Many natural resources in their area have disappeared as a result of the housing developments nearby.

She said: 'We see luxurious residential houses coming up one after another on the other side of the river.

'Over at our side, it is a pathetic sight. I hope the government can look into some of our problems.'

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'Super Reefs' Fend Off Climate Change, Study Says

ScienceDaily 23 Apr 09;

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today a study showing that some coral reefs off East Africa are unusually resilient to climate change due to improved fisheries management and a combination of geophysical factors. WCS announced the results of the study at the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), which is meeting this week in Phuket, Thailand.

The study, published in the online journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, provides additional evidence that globally important "super reefs" exist in the triangle from Northern Madagascar across to northern Mozambique to southern Kenya and, thus, should be a high priority for future conservation action.

Authors of the study include Tim McClanahan and Nyawira Muthiga of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Joseph Maina of the Coral Reef Conservation Project, Albogast Kamukuru of the University of Dar es Salaam's Department of Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, and Saleh A.S. Yahna of the University of Dar es Salaam's Institute of Marine Sciences and Stockholm University's Department of Zoology.

The study found that Tanzania's corals recovered rapidly from the 1998 bleaching event that had wiped out up to 45 percent of the region's corals. Along with monitoring Tanzania's reefs, WCS helps coral conservation in this region through training of park staff in protected areas.

The authors attribute the recovery of Tanzania's coral reefs due in part to direct management measures, including closures to commercial fishing. Areas with fishery closures contained an abundance of fish that feed on algae that can otherwise smother corals, while the few sites without any specific management measures remain degraded; one site had experienced a population explosion of sea urchins—pests that feeds on corals.

The findings also showed that the structure of the reefs played a major factor in their resiliency. Tanzania's reefs are particularly complex and experience unusual variations in current and water temperature. These factors allow for greater survivorship of a higher diversity of coral species, including those that can quickly re-colonize after bleaching.

"Northern Tanzania's reefs have exhibited considerable resilience and in some cases improvements in reef conditions despite heavy pressure from climate change impacts and overfishing," noted Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Dr. Tim McClanahan, the study's lead author. "This gives cause for considerably more optimism that developing countries, such as Tanzania, can effectively manage their reefs in the face of climate change."

The authors suggest that reefs in Tanzania and elsewhere that exhibit similar environmental conditions have the ability to recover from large-scale climatic and human disturbances. They may, therefore, be a priority for conservation under predicted climate change scenarios where many reefs are expected to suffer further degradation.

On a broader scale, the Wildlife Conservation Society is actively conserving nearly 90 percent of the world's tropical coral reef species in priority seascapes in Belize, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Kenya and Madagascar.

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) is a global partnership among governments and organizations working to stop and reverse the degradation of coral reefs and related ecosystems. This ICRI General Meeting was convened by the joint Mexico - United States Secretariat. WCS is an institutional partner to ICRI.

From Fiji to Glover's Reef, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation have provided generous support for Dr. McClanahan's research, which examines the ecology, fisheries, climate change effects, and management of coral reefs at key sites throughout the world.

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Handsome Devils to the rescue in Extinction Sucks

WWF 24 Apr 09;

Australians Aleisha Caruso and Ashleigh Young enlist the help of a posse of “handsome devils” in this week's episode of Extinction Sucks as they join the fight to save the iconic Tasmanian Devil from a deadly disease.

The Devils – made famous in the Warner Brothers cartoons – could disappear within twenty years because of a horrific facial cancer which causes the animal to die of starvation. Scientists are baffled and are struggling to find a cure before it's too late.

Aleisha and Ash hold a “handsome devils” fundraiser, and persuade five hunky guys to sell kisses and cakes at a nightclub, They raise enough money to buy motion-activated camera traps which they then donate to the conservationists working with the remaining Tasmanian Devil populations. The cameras enable scientists to observe these unique creature and better understand how the disease is spread.

Extinction Sucks is a unique co-production between WWF and Babelgum to bring high-quality conservation programming to web audiences. It's thought to be the first time that an online video channel has commissioned original, full-length wildlife shows specifically for the internet. The series is being broadcast over a six week run on www.panda.org and www.babelgum.com. Other programmes see Ash and Aleisha raise funds for WWF programmes protecting elephants in India and rhinos in Nepal threatened by poachers, and rare dolphins in New Zealand.

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Amur tigers threatened by economic crisis

WWF 24 Apr 09;

Primorye, Russia – Loggers in Russia’s Far East increasingly are cutting down Korean cedar pine, raising concerns that the endangered Amur tiger could lose critical habitat and its prey could lose a major food source.

Under pressure from the ongoing economic crisis, loggers are turning to the more lucrative Korean cedar pine (Pinus korajensis) as commodity prices for other types of wood fall, which in turn has led to large-scale illegal logging operations in the Ussuriiskaya taiga in Primorye, according to WWF-Russia.

“Chinese importers of the Far Eastern wood have sharply dropped prices and demand for oak and ash wood as an answer to the world crisis,” said Denis Smirnov, head of the forest program at WWF-Russia’s Amur branch. “These species were the most desired ones for poachers before, but the demand was reduced after export customs duties for these species of timber had been increased from Feb. 1.”

“At the same time, Korean pine wood is still highly demanded both in domestic and international markets and is sold at rather high prices,” Smirnov said.

Russia’s Far East Korean cedar pine forests were heavily logged during the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the late 1990s, which resulted in a 50 percent reduction and left only around 2.88 million hectares of the forests today.

Although P. koraiensis is not nationally protected in Russia, its logging is either prohibited or regulated in certain provinces of Russia and China. However, loggers typically exploit loopholes in regional regulations to launder illegally logged wood, often taking advantage of lax customs controls or by under-declaring the volume of legal exports.

“This rampant and mindless logging is shocking and disturbs the habitat and prey base of some of the rarest animals in the world including the Amur tiger and Amur leopard,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of the Species Programme for WWF-International.

In the Amur region, tiger conservation hinges on protecting the Korean cedar pine. Pine nuts from the tree represent an integral food source for the Amur tiger’s prey, such as wild boars. Korean pine-broadleaved forests also provide habitats for the Far Eastern leopard, Asiatic and brown bears, sika deers and many other species. These pine nuts are also sold internationally, benefiting local communities as well.

Awareness of the recently increased demand for Korean cedar pine surfaced after WWF staff, with members of Russia’s Internal Affairs Department, the Primorskii Province Forestry Department and Rosselkhoznadzor -- the Federal Service of Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Supervision – raided a wood exporter platform in January in the city of Dalnerechensk.

They found about 10 to 15,000 cubic meters of Korean cedar pine originating from illegal logging sites in Dalnerechenskii, Krasnoarmeiskii and Lesozavodskii districts in central and northern Primorye.

Two largest of logging sites, with total volume exceeding 3,000 cubic meters, were found close to the village of Malinovo in an area leased by one of the biggest logging companies in Primorye – JSC “Dalnerechenskles,” which is part of the “Dallesprom” group.

Before enforcement of a new Russian Forest Code in 2007, Korean pine held a special status as a species protected from commercial use, which contributed to its conservation. Korean pine has now lost its protective status and increased demand for Korean pine timber along with the complete inaction of regulators and forest control services to address the need for a new special status for the Korean pine have made it an easy target for illegal logging.

The only way to stop the complete destruction of the Far Eastern Korean pine forests is to impose a moratorium on its harvesting, according to WWF. The conservation organization asks that provincial and federal authorities come up with a proposal to urgently add Korean pine into the list of species forbidden to harvest, and to inform importing countries accordingly.

The Amur tiger, which can weigh up to 300 kg and measure around three metres from its nose to the tip of its tail, has come back from the brink of extinction to its highest population for at least 100 years. Only about 40 were alive in 1950 but nowadays there are around 450, one of the strongest tiger populations in the world.

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Tree "Found" In Ethiopia Raises Hopes For Species

Alister Doyle, PlanetArk 24 Apr 09;

OSLO - A tree that covers a large area of eastern Ethiopia but has only recently been categorized by botanists raises hope for finding new species elsewhere, experts said.

The acacia fumosa tree, which grows in an area the size of the island of Crete, was not "found" for scientific purposes until 2006-7, mostly likely because its main habitat is a war zone.

"I have spent a lifetime looking at plants and describing species -- it knocked me sideways when I heard about this tree," David Mabberley of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, told Reuters.

"The total numbers must be in the millions," he said of the pink-flowered, 6-m (20-ft) tall tree that covers hillsides in an inaccessible area of 8,000 sq kms (3,100 sq miles) near the border with Somalia.

In an article in Friday's edition of the journal Science, he wrote that the tree had been overlooked by generations of botanists, apparently because of few visits to the area where the Ogaden National Liberation Front is fighting for autonomy.

The discovery was an encouraging sign that other overlooked large species might still be found, from rainforests to the ocean depths. Still, he said, scientists were "highly unlikely" to find another tree dominating such a large area.

The discovery contrasts with gloom about destruction of habitats and global warming threatening more extinctions. Environment Ministers of the Group of Eight are meeting in Italy from April 22-24 discussing ways to slow a loss of biodiversity.

"It's an upbeat story for a change," Mabberley said. The tree was found by Swedish botanist Mats Thulin and previously described in a Nordic journal.

People in the sparsely populated region did not exploit the tree except for firewood but it might have commercial uses, for instance in gum used for foodstuffs or glues.

About 10,000 new species of plants or creatures are described worldwide every year, most of them tiny, he said.

COELACANTH

Among exceptions, a coelacanth fish known only from fossils was caught off South Africa in 1938. The wollemi pine, also known from fossils, was found in Australia in 1994. And the saola antelope in Vietnam and Laos was identified in 1992.

"I suspect there are still large species out there to be discovered," Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of endangered species, told Reuters.

He said that countries that have suffered conflicts -- such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia or Colombia -- were likely places to find overlooked species.

And some types of beaked whales that dive to great depths were only known from washed up corpses. "There are probably still a few things in the deep ocean we haven't found," he said.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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'G8-Plus' vow stronger biodiversity commitments

Gina Doggett, Yahoo News 23 Apr 09;

SYRACUSE, Italy (AFP) – The environment ministers of rich and emerging nations Thursday pledged new commitments to stopping biodiversity loss even with resources hit hard by the global financial crisis.

Ministers from 16 leading economies will agree a "Syracuse Charter" spelling out ways to reinforce and extend goals for 2010 that were set in 2002, European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a news conference.

"Efforts must be redoubled and we must start thinking beyond 2010," he said.

Climate change is a growing threat to biodiversity at a time when a quarter of all animal and plant species may be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"We must deliver together what science has told us," Swedish Environment Minister Andras Carlgren told the news conference, saying "carbon emissions must peak in 10 years."

On a hopeful note, he added: "There is no doubt that action on climate change will show the path out of the crisis and bring opportunities to business."

Delegates will pledge in the Syracuse Charter "to ensure that the current deep economic crisis does not translate into a reduction in resources for the protection of biodiversity," according to a draft obtained by AFP.

Noting that the global financial crisis is spurring major infrastructure projects to create employment, a set of guidelines for delegates to the talks warned that "such investments ... are the main cause of negative effects on the natural environment."

The cost of bailing out financial institutions during the economic meltdown, while huge, pales in comparison to the lost value caused every year by ecological damage to the environment, experts say.

The three-day meeting in Sicily brings together countries responsible for more than 40 percent of the world's carbon gas emissions.

The United States and China each use up about a fifth of total global biocapacity, but US per capita consumption is much higher.

The administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, was attending on her first international trip in the job.

The G8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The G8 is one of several forums on the way to a UN meeting in Copenhagen in December aimed at sealing an international pact for curbing greenhouse gases beyond 2012.

The G8 ministers have been joined by their counterparts from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea and Egypt.

The Czech Republic -- current holder of the rotating European Union presidency -- plus the European Commission and Denmark as host of the upcoming Copenhagen conference are also attending the talks.

The UN goal is either to halve emissions compared with a benchmark year, or to peg temperature increases below 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times.

Some 1,000 activists staged a protest Thursday accusing the conference of being "part of the problem, not part of the solution."

The group Contro-G8 (Against G8) staged the protest far from the heavily secured G8 venue, the medieval Maniace Castle at the tip of a peninsula jutting off Syracuse.

G8 and poor nations vow to tackle species loss
Daniel Flynn and Massimiliano di Giorgio, Reuters 24 Apr 09;

SYRACUSE, Italy (Reuters) - Environment ministers from major rich and developing nations signed a deal on Friday to try to slow species loss, but failed to make progress in crucial climate change talks despite U.S. pledges of commitment.

Almost every country in the world in 2002 agreed to a "significant reduction" in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but scientists say extinctions are gathering pace.

The Group of Eight (G8) industrial countries and major developing economies, meeting on the island of Sicily, signed a charter pledging to tackle deforestation, trade in illegal wildlife, and to boost research into the rate of species loss.

"We set objectives on biodiversity for 2010 ... but unfortunately we have all recognized they have not been met," said Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo, who hosted the summit.

"We are all convinced of the urgency ... of intervening to safeguard our biodiversity."

By some calculations extinction rates are running at 1,000 times their natural pace, due to human influence. Three species disappear every hour, according to U.N. figures.

The Syracuse Charter emphasized the economic value of biodiversity, particularly for developing countries. It was adopted after Washington dropped opposition to a reference to the future need to pay for the use of wildlife, such as plants employed in medical and scientific research, delegates said.

The meeting in Syracuse had generated excitement as it was the first ministerial summit involving the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, who has reversed his predecessor's opposition to an international deal to cut carbon emissions.

Rich and poor nations are embarking on complex negotiations to clinch a deal on carbon emissions in December in Copenhagen, with developing countries calling on the West to make steep cuts and pay billions of dollars a year for clean fuel technology.

U.S. URGED TO TAKE FIRST STEP

Obama has promised to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas output to 1990 levels by 2020. Developing nations welcomed the positive U.S. approach at Syracuse but expressed disappointment Washington did not take the first step in negotiations.

"If the U.S. does not say clearly what it wants, then we cannot move forward," said Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc.

"Developing countries, like China, are willing to make cuts, I believe, but there is a climate of mistrust ... The U.S. has still not put anything concrete on the table."

G8 countries have suggested $100 billion a year be put aside globally to help poorer nations adapt to a low-carbon technology and face the effects of climate change, but Brazil has said that at least twice this amount is required, Minc said.

Obama has asked Congress to approve a cap-and-trade law to address climate change and is to host a summit of leaders from the 17 largest carbon emitting nations in Washington next week.

The Syracuse meeting grouped for the first time ministers from Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Sweden, in an effort to forge a broad consensus. The Czech Republic was also present as the rotating head of the European Union.

The United Nations has set a goal of halving emissions by 2050, in order to keep global warming to below 2 degrees centigrade, but has not set a base year for the comparison.

"We need to see the U.S. go further ... both in terms of its own emission reduction target and what it is going to contribute to emissions reductions targets and adaptation overseas," said Kim Carstensen, director of the WWF's global climate initiative.

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Peru Mulls New Reserves To Protect Amazon Tribes

Dana Ford, PlanetArk 24 Apr 09;

LIMA - Peru's government, which is encouraging energy companies to develop the resource-rich Amazon, is considering creating five new reserves to protect jungle tribes that are living in voluntary isolation.

Advocacy groups have been pressuring Peru to balance indigenous and environmental rights demands with those of foreign investors as the country tries to boost energy output.

The government signed 13 oil and gas concessions earlier this month and has said it will auction at least another dozen lots in July.

"The first step is to see whether there are tribes living within the proposed areas. If there are, we must recognize and protect them," said Mayta Capac Alatrista, president of the government's indigenous affairs department, INDEPA.

Three of the five proposed reserves are nestled in northeast Peru. One reserve is at the Ecuadorean border and the fifth is in central Peru.

The government has angered human rights groups in the past by casting doubt on whether isolated tribes actually exist. But the official position now is that they do and that it's the government's responsibility to protect them.

Survival International, a London-based indigenous rights group, is hopeful the proposal for new reserves will become a reality and has said the stakes are high.

Roughly half of the world's 100 so-called uncontacted tribes are thought to live in either Brazil or Peru.

"If contact is made, the tribes may be decimated, either though violent conflict or diseases against which they have no immunity," said Survival International researcher David Hill.

THE GREATER GOOD?

In most cases, outsiders -- like scientists, miners and loggers -- are not allowed on reserves for people living in voluntary isolation, but the government can make exceptions if it considers the work to be done is in the public interest.

Practically, this means oil and gas companies are free to operate on reserves marked for isolated tribes.

And they do.

The project at Camisea, a massive natural gas field in southern Peru run by Argentina's Pluspetrol, overlaps a reserve as does a lot operated by Brazil's Petrobras.

Companies have also been granted concessions to work in areas that fall within the proposed reserves.

Firms that have activities where uncontacted tribes are recognized must have a plan for how they aim to protect indigenous integrity and prevent against the spread of disease, said Capac Alatrista, adding it's the government's job to respect life.

He estimated that as many as 3,500 people may live in voluntary isolation within the proposed reserve areas.

"Peru has 29 million people and a poverty rate of around 35 percent. We can't give up the right to extract resources where they are found," said Capac.

"We prioritize, I believe, the needs of the majority, which also needs protection," he said.

(Editing by Jim Marshall)

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Afghans get first national park

BBC News 22 Apr 09;

Afghanistan has established its first national park in a spectacular region of deep blue lakes separated by natural dams of travertine, a mineral deposit.

Band-e-Amir is visited by thousands of Afghans and pilgrims, though foreign tourism stalled with the increase in violence since 1979.
Declaring Band-e-Amir a park should help protect its fragile environment.

The new park is near the Bamyan Valley, where 1,500-year-old giant Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taleban.

Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency (Nepa) said the creation of the park would help the region attract international tourism and obtain World Heritage Status.

"The park will draw people from Herat to Kabul to Jalalabad... to be inspired by the great beauty of Afghanistan's first national park, Band-e-Amir, " said Mostapha Zaher, Nepa's director-general.

Hand grenades

In the stillness of the high, thin air, the blue and turquoise waters are often like glass, perfectly reflecting the slopes around them, says the BBC's Alan Johnston, who has visited Band-e-Amir.

However, this quietness may be occasionally punctured by the damaging local practice of fishing by blasting the lake waters with hand grenades, he adds.

Much of the park's wildlife has been lost, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

But recent WCS surveys show it still contains ibex, a species of wild goat, and urial, a type of wild sheep.

Other wildlife include wolves, foxes, smaller mammals and fish, and various bird species including the Afghan snow finch, which is believed to be the only bird found exclusively in Afghanistan.

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Food prices remain high in developing countries

Despite improved global cereal supplies food emergencies continue in 32 countries
FAO 23 Apr 09;

23 April 2009, Rome - High food prices persist in developing countries despite an improved global cereal supply situation and a sharp decline in international food prices, FAO warned today in its latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. This is creating further hardship for millions of poor people already suffering from hunger and undernourishment.

This year's world cereal production is forecast to decline by 3 percent from the 2008 record, but it would still be the second largest crop ever, according to FAO's first 2009 forecast. Most of the decrease is expected to be in wheat, mainly due to a significant reduction in plantings in developed countries in response to lower international prices. In developing countries, cereal output could remain close to last year's good level.

Food emergencies persist in 32 countries, despite good 2008 cereal crops in many of the countries normally most at risk of food insecurity.

Out of reach

Cereal prices in developing countries remain generally very high - in some cases at record levels, FAO said. Worst affected are the urban poor and food-deficit farmers who are dependent on the market to access food. Moreover, the global economic recession is drying up remittances from family members working abroad that often sustain the food consumption levels of vulnerable households.

An analysis of domestic food prices for 58 developing countries shows that in around 80 percent of the cases food prices are higher than 12 months ago, and in around 40 percent higher than three months ago. In 17 percent of the cases, the latest price quotations are the highest on record.

The situation is most dramatic in sub-Saharan Africa. Domestic prices of rice are much higher than 12 months earlier in all countries analyzed, while prices of maize, millet and sorghum are higher in 89 percent of the countries compared to a year earlier.

Food prices remain at high levels in other regions as well, particularly in Asia for rice and in Central and South America for maize and wheat.

Slower imports

The cereal import bill for low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) is expected to decline in 2008/09 to $28 billion, down 27 percent from the previous season's all-time high, with lower international prices and freight rates bringing some relief, the report said.

But the slow pace of both commercial cereal imports and food aid is one of the factors keeping food prices high in poor countries, FAO says. By late March, only 45 percent of the LIFDCs' cereal import requirement for the marketing years ending in 2009 had been met.

Hunger hotspots

Food insecurity prevails in parts of Asia, especially in parts of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, amid chronic food insecurity, food rations have reportedly been halved following reduced supplies.

In Eastern Africa more than 17 million people face serious food insecurity due to poor harvests, conflict or a combination of these factors. In Somalia, an estimated 3.2 million people currently require food assistance. In Sudan, the continued conflict and the recent expulsion of some humanitarian agencies in Darfur have raised serious concern for millions of vulnerable people faced already with dire situations.

In Southern Africa high domestic prices, slow pace of imports and high demand during these peak hunger months are affecting the food security of around 8.7 million people, including over 5 million in Zimbabwe, where the ongoing outbreak of cholera poses a serious threat to the health and nutrition of vulnerable groups.

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Ice Study Has Good And Bad News For Planet: Scientist

David Fogarty, PlanetArk 24 Apr 09;

SINGAPORE - A study of Greenland's icesheet has revealed that a vast store of planet-warming methane appears to be more stable than thought, easing fears of a rapid rise in temperatures, a scientist said on Friday.

Methane is about 25 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2) and vast amounts of the compound are trapped in permafrost in the far northern hemisphere or in seabed deposits called clathrates.

Scientists have feared climate change could trigger a huge release of methane from the clathrate reservoir, sending global warming spiraling out of control.

An estimated 5,000 billion tonnes of carbon are locked up in these deposits, said Vasilii Petrenko of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado.

"That's about equal to all of the oil, coal and gas reserves that we think we have," he told Reuters from Boulder, Colorado.

Petrenko and an international team of scientists spent six years studying air samples from vast blocks of Greenland ice to see if a rapid rise in temperatures about 12,000 years ago was triggered by methane from clathrates or another source.

The results showed the methane was most likely to have come from wetlands rather than the clathrates, deposits which resemble ice and are held in place on the ocean bed by high pressures and relatively low temperatures.

Petrenko said temperatures in Greenland 12,000 years ago had increased about 10 degrees Celsius in 20 years. But it took 150 years for methane levels in the atmosphere to increase by 50 percent.

The rapid warming was driving the release of methane, he said, with the most likely sources being tropical wetlands and the vast northern wetlands created after the large-scale retreat of icesheets about 18,000 years ago.

GOING BACK IN TIME

Previous studies of ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica had shown an increase in methane levels about 11,500 years ago came from the tropics and the northern wetlands.

But Petrenko and his team wanted to be sure of the source, particularly since a massive release of methane from clathrate deposits is believed to have sent temperatures soaring about 56 million years ago, when the planet was much warmer than today.

His team measured the amount of an isotope called carbon-14 (C14) in tiny amounts of methane extracted from air bubbles trapped in Greenland ice going back 12,000 years.

C14 deteriorates at a known rate, so the scientists can use it to determine the age of the ice and also the likely source of the methane.

Methane from wetlands has different C14 "signature" than methane from clathrate deposits.

"The project involved pushing the analytical techniques to a level no one has taken them before," Petrenko said.

Only about one trillionth of the methane from the air bubbles contained the carbon-14 isotope. The analysis was undertaken at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization.

"The results definitely help us to say that it doesn't seem methane clathrates respond to warming by releasing lots of methane into the atmosphere, which is really good news for global warming."

But the sting in the tale were the ice core records showing methane levels rising as the planet warms.

"We're warming now and we know that there's evidence of northern wetlands becoming more productive. If it's not clathrates, the wetlands might still drag the methane up."

(Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Fires Seen Making Climate Change Worse

Deborah Zabarenko, PlanetArk 24 Apr 09;

WASHINGTON - In a vicious cycle made worse by humans, scientists now believe fires spur climate change, which in turn makes blazes bigger, more frequent and more damaging to the environment.

Climate experts have known that a warmer world would spawn more fires, but in research published on Thursday in the journal Science, scientists reported that fires -- especially those set by humans to clear forests -- influence climate change.

Smoke particles sent into the atmosphere by fires inhibit rainfall, which makes the land drier and encourages more fires to start, said study co-author Jennifer Balch of the University of Santa Barbara in California.

On a global scale, burning releases vast amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, making fires more likely in a warming world, Balch said in a video news briefing.

The report's authors estimate that greenhouse emissions from the world's fires equal about 50 percent of emissions that come from the burning of fossil fuels.

Deforestation fires, like those set to clear forest for pasture in tropical areas like the Amazon, are part of an unintentional "extreme experiment," Balch said: "We're testing how burning forests will influence the climate system."

"THE SCARY BIT"

These deliberately set forest fires contributed up to one-fifth of all human-generated warming in industrial times, she said.

The climate-fire cycle works like this: plants store the climate-warming gas carbon dioxide; when they burn, they release the gas into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.

The more fires, the more carbon dioxide is released, which in turn causes more warming in a cycle scientists call positive feedback.

"The scary bit is that, because of the feedbacks and other uncertainties, we could be way underestimating the role of fire in driving future climate change," said co-author Thomas Swetnam of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

This important piece of the climate change puzzle has not previously been emphasized, said co-author David Bowman of the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

Most climate scientists considered fire to be a natural disturbance that was not a crucial force that should be considered in creating models of how the planet's climate will change, Bowman said.

"Humans and fire have a complex and ancient relationship," Bowman said. "The relationship means that we can manage fire but we can also start fires. A citizen can't create hurricanes, but a citizen (who sets a fire) can create a mass disaster."

The report's 22 authors called on the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to take the role of fire into account when making future climate models.

Fires Fuel for Climate Change
A warmer climate mean more fires, and more fires mean more greenhouse gases, says new report
Katherine Harmon, Scientific American 23 Apr 09;

The wildfires blazing through North Myrtle Beach, S.C., today are hardly an anomaly in a warming world. According to a landmark report that will be published tomorrow in Science, fires are not just a result of a changing climate, they're also contributing to the overall warming trend much more than imagined, the authors report. As vegetation burns, it releases stored-up carbon into the atmosphere, speeding global warming and thereby exacerbating conditions that may generate a greater incidence of wildfires in the coming years.

Because fires have been part of the global environment for hundreds of millions of years—since the first land plants emerged—as well as a tool for humans for more than 50,000 years, they're largely assumed to be a natural and negligible part of the carbon and climactic cycles. As people use fire on a massive scale as a cheap and efficient way to clear forests for agriculture or development, however, it is having a much greater impact than many scientists realized. In fact, deforestation fires alone have contributed 20 percent of the total greenhouse gases humans have contributed to the atmosphere since industrialization.

The report brought together 22 scientists from a range of disciplines and countries in an effort to better understand the global impact of fire. "This is a critical move away from the thinking that fires are just a disaster," says David Bowman, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, and a lead author of the report. Taken in isolation, each conflagration can cause massive human, economic and natural devastation, but as a broader force fire wields a much larger power, according to the report. "Fire is a feature of our planet…. High levels of fire activity have the capacity to change climate," he says.

But across the globe, fires have been getting larger and stronger. "We are witnessing an increasing instance of these megafires," says Thomas Swetnam, director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. This year alone has seen an increase in both the magnitude and deadliness of conflagrations sweeping Australia and the U.S. Southwest. In the past 20 years, the area scorched by fire in the western U.S. was six times greater than in the two decades that preceded it. These infernos are in large part a result of longer, drier summers, which are only poised to get worse with climate change, Swetnam explains.

"The real originality of this work is that we've been able to say something so obvious," Bowman says. He noted that the challenge now will be integrating fire into the large-scale climate models, and that will take further research and understanding.

"What we're calling for," said Bowman of the report, "is inclusion [of fire] in the next [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] models." Not only is the fire of a broader concern for climate stability and human well-being, but large-scale events also pose a risk of upsetting new carbon trading schemes, notes Jennifer Balch, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, because they can release huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere with one fell poof.

For more, visit our In-Depth Report on fires and climate change.

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How to stop biofuel crops becoming invasive

IUCN 23 Apr 09;

Experts have come up with a series of tips for biofuel producers to stop biofuel crops becoming invasive species.

All introduced crops for biofuel production should be treated as suspect or potentially invasive until proven otherwise, according to the experts. Risk assessments should be carried out at the earliest stages of planning biofuel production, they add.

Production systems should be monitored for possible escapes and appropriate barriers should be used, such as fences, gullies or buffer zones of resistant plants to reduce chances of escapes and invasions.

Finally, the crops should be converted into the first stage of fuel on site if possible to remove the possibility of spreading invasions through seeds or other plant parts.

“We need alternatives to fossil fuels and the judicious development of a range of biofuel production systems is a logical way of addressing that need,” says Geoffrey Howard, IUCN’s expert on invasive species. “Biological invasions from the introduced species themselves, as well as from the production processes, are real risks to biodiversity and livelihoods. The risks can be reduced by following the recommendations we’ve set out.”

The recommendations, compiled by a workshop hosted by IUCN in Nairobi, Kenya, will be published as soon as they have been refined by industry and other invasive species experts.

The experts found that many characteristics of biofuel crops are shared by invasive species, such as fast growth, high productivity, adaptability to a range of soil and climatic conditions and resistance to pests and diseases.

“Existing standard food-crops that are used for biofuels have limited risk of becoming invasive,” says Nadine McCormick, of IUCN’s Energy, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Initiative. “But new plants that are being proposed to increase biofuel production often have higher risks of developing invasive tendencies.”

IUCN will develop a series of best practices and guidance for the avoidance of biological invasions. This will be discussed at a second workshop later in the year for eventual input to the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels principles.

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UK Imposes Carbon Limits On New Coal Plants

Nina Chestney and Gerard Wynn, PlanetArk 24 Apr 09;

LONDON - Britain announced on Thursday plans to force all new coal plants in the country to test a pioneering carbon-cutting technology, as it tries to sharpen efforts to meet steep climate change targets.

The move would make Britain the first country to require coal plants to fit carbon capture and storage (CCS), still unproven on a commercial scale.

Initially, new plants would have to apply CCS to only about a quarter of power production rising to all output by 2025, Energy and Climate Minister Ed Miliband told parliament.

The government would fund up to four CCS test plants -- including one previously announced -- said Miliband, on measures which won support from analysts and some green groups.

"We need to signal a move away from the building of unabated coal-fired power stations," he said.

CCS traps and then buries underground the carbon dioxide which power plants produce as a result of burning fossil fuels, and so cuts emissions of the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

Fossil fuels are expected to continue to provide the bulk of energy for modern life worldwide for many years, explaining the urgency to develop a low-carbon fix.

CCS adds about $1 billion to the cost of a power station. Funding for the test plants would be raised either by a premium on electricity produced or a payment per unit of carbon stored.

That would raise consumer power prices by about 2 percent by 2020. The first test should be up and running by 2015, Miliband said, on proposals the government is now consulting on.

WELCOME

Supporters want Britain to lead a CCS race already involving Australia, Norway, the United States and Canada.

"It's extremely welcome," said Stuart Haszeldine, a CCS expert at the University of Edinburgh.

"Britain will be back in front because we'll have up to four plants built. What's been stopping them is the funding."

The initial pilot plants could be in a regional cluster, piping greenhouse gases into depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea between Britain and Germany.

The government said Humber, Teeside, Merseyside and the Firth of Forth in the North and Thames Gateway in the South were all potential regions for CCS clusters.

The new rules follow Britain's adoption on Wednesday of a target to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent by 2020. A third of Britain's aging coal plants will close in the next 10 years, adding to the urgency to develop CCS.

The proposed measures drew some support from green groups.

"At last Ed Miliband is demonstrating welcome signs of climate leadership," said John Sauven, Greenpeace executive director.

"But we're not there yet. For every tonne of carbon captured and buried from new coal plants before the 2020s, the government seems happy to see three tonnes released into the atmosphere."

Utilities broadly welcomed the news, but British utility ScottishPower, part of Spain's Iberdrola, argued the tests should apply to existing coal plants, too.

The UK unit of Germany's E.ON said it would still commit to fit CCS to a coal-fired plant in Kingsnorth, if it is approved to build it.

Coal exporters to Britain said there would be less coal consumption in Britain regardless of CCS.

The timescale for any new coal plant is so far into the future that it makes no difference, a South African supplier told Reuters.

(Editing by James Jukwey and Sue Thomas)

'Clean' coal plants get go-ahead
BBC 23 Apr 09; with links to more about how it works, tech option 2, tech option 3 and carbon burial.

The government has given the go-ahead for a new generation of coal-fired power plants - but only if they can prove they can reduce their emissions.

Up to four new plants will be built if they are fitted with technology to trap and store CO2 emissions underground.

The technology is not yet proven and would only initially apply to 25% of power stations' output.

Green groups welcomed the move but said any new stations would still release more carbon than they stored.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement followed confirmation in the Budget that there would be a new funding mechanism for at least two - and up to four - "demonstration" carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.

Stations closing

He told MPs it would allow the UK "to lead the world" in the technology - and keep coal within the UK's energy mix without abandoning climate change commitments.

It is not clear where the new plants will be located although the government said areas where the greatest benefits could be generated included parts of Kent and Essex, Humberside, Teesside, Firth of Forth and Merseyside.

In 2008 coal power stations provided 31% of the UK's electricity but a third of them are due to close in the next ten years.

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel but is likely to remain widely used across the world because it is cheap and relatively abundant.

Mr Miliband said there was an "international imperative to make coal clean" and said the era of "unabated" growth in coal-fired plants was over.

He said only allow new coal stations fitted with CCS would be allowed to be built in England and Wales.

Higher bills

The technology would at first have to cover between 20 and 25% of the station's energy output.

Once it is "independently judged as economically and technically proven" - which the government expects by 2020 - those stations would have five years to "retrofit" CCS to cover 100% of their output.

Mr Miliband said successful CCS development could cut carbon emissions from coal by 90%.

He told MPs the move put the UK "in a world leadership position on CCS and coal".

"There is no alternative to CCS if we are serious about fighting climate change and retaining a diverse mix of energy sources for our economy," he added.

One publicly funded project had already been planned and the additional ones will be funded through a scheme which will guarantee the price companies receive for electricity generated by CCS.

Mr Miliband said that would add an estimated 2% to energy bills by 2020.

Shadow energy secretary Greg Clark welcomed what he called the government's "Damascene conversion" to CCS adding: "This statement is urgently needed because after 12 years Britain's energy policy is as much of a horror show as our public finances."

For the Lib Dems, Martin Horwood was concerned that by only insisting on 100% CCS use when the technology was deemed ready, Mr Miliband had inserted a "dirty great loophole big enough for some of the dirtiest power stations possible to fit into".

The announcement was welcomed by trade unions who said it could create thousands of jobs, avoid energy shortages and put the UK at the forefront of a technology that could cut carbon emissions across the world.

But while environmental groups welcomed an end to unabated coal fired stations - there were concerns about increased emissions.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said that for every tonne of carbon captured before 2020, three would be released into the atmosphere.

Some concerns were raised that billions of pounds of taxpayers' money was being spent on technology that remains unproven.

WWF-UK's Keith Allott said the taxpayer should not have to "shoulder the full brunt of the costs" and the "polluter" should make significant financial contributions.

Clean coal push marks reversal of UK energy policy
Decision not to allow any new coal-powered plants to be built in Britain without carbon capture represents a major victory for the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and green pressure groups
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk 23 Apr 09;

No new coal-fired power stations will be built in Britain from now on unless they capture and bury at least 25% of greenhouse gases immediately and 100% by 2025, the climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, announced today.

In a reversal of energy policy which represents a major victory for the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and green pressure groups, the government will direct the building of four energy "clusters", generating a total of 2.5GW of electricity, on the east coast of Britain.

Each cluster will have at least one major new coal-fired power station able to collect carbon emissions and transport them out to sea, where they will be buried in redundant oil or gas fields.

The new power stations, the first to be built in over 30 years, are not expected to come onstream until 2015. They will be sited in the Thames Gateway, on the rivers Humber and Tees and in the Firth of Forth in Scotland, with a possible fifth on Merseyside. The government envisages oil and coal companies linking to reduce emissions from coal-powered electricity generation by up to 60% by 2025.

Demanding carbon capture and storage (CCS) on all new coal plants is expected to cost around £1bn for each plant and increase energy bills. Government and energy companies are in talks over how these will be funded but it is expected to come from a levy on all fossil fuel electricity generation in Britain. This could put 2%, or roughly £8 per household a year, on a consumer's electricity bills by 2020. Other funding alternatives being considered are to pay the energy companies according to how much carbon they store underground.

Earlier today, Ed Miliband said that Britain planned to lead the world in clean coal technology. This is expected to become a global industry in the next 50 years as countries commit to reducing carbon emissions to combat global warming. Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels but provides at least one-third of the world's electricity.

"There is a massive gain we can benefit from by being in the front of this revolution. We need to signal a move away from the building of unabated coal-fired power stations because it is right for our country to drive us towards a low-carbon [economy]. The change starts now," he said.

Environmental groups found themselves in the unusual position of joining the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in hailing a government initiative.

"At last Ed Miliband is demonstrating welcome signs of climate leadership in the face of resistance from Whitehall officials and cabinet colleagues. He is the first minister to throw down the gauntlet to the energy companies and demand they start taking climate change seriously," said John Sauven, Greenpeace UK's director.

"This time last year energy issues were being decided by tired ministers in thrall to regressive civil servants. Now we see hints of real climate leadership."

But he added: "Very significant questions remain unanswered, with environmentalists concerned that emissions from coal could still be undermining Britain's climate efforts for years to come. For every tonne of carbon captured and buried from new coal plants before the 2020s, the government seems happy to see three tonnes released into the atmosphere. Until there is a cast-iron guarantee that new coal plants won't be allowed to pump out massive amounts of CO2 from day one, our campaign continues."

The announcement will have the effect of delaying a decision on the go-ahead for a major new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent for at least another year, but it is not expected to stop major climate change protests over coming months.

Miliband said it was technically not possible to insist on 100% carbon capture and storage immediately. "Some people will say that Britain needs 100% carbon capture and storage from day one, but this is not practical, affordable or right. The technology must be shown to work on a large scale. If it leads to no new coal-fired power stations going ahead it would be a dramatic failure of leadership. 2025 is a practical."

Environmentalists have run a two-year campaign against new highly polluting coal plants, with attention focusing on E.ON's plans to build the new plant at Kingsnorth. The German utility submitted plans for a normal "unabated" plant, and came within weeks of being given permission by energy secretary John Hutton.

The announcement follows this week's budget which pledged £1.4bn towards home energy saving and other climate change reduction initiatives.

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