Pulau Sekudu
on the colourful clouds blog and wild shores of singapore blog and more fishy stuff
Bats at SBWR
on the Biodiversity Singapore blog
Oriental Pratincole crouching
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Red-legged Crake released after rescue
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Monday Morgue: 27th April 2009
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog
8 May (Fri): Workshop for Nature Guides - Pioneer Plants Last week to sign up for this workshop! on the wild shores of singapore blog
WWF Malaysia 27 Apr 09;
Kuala Lumpur – The upgrading of Federal Route 8 from Kg. Relong, Pahang, to Gua Musang, Kelantan which includes realignment of the existing road at certain stretches, threatens the critical ecological link between Taman Negara National Park and the Main Range.
On the ground investigations reveal that parts of forests have been cleared for Phase 1-Segment 5 of the upgrading project. Information on how many more phases or segments there are in this project remains sketchy.
“We are greatly concerned that the upgrading and realignment of the existing road may not only impede wildlife movement between the Main Range and Taman Negara, but also accelerate forest conversion and fragmentation in surrounding areas. This in turn will disrupt ecological functions and lead to the loss of biodiversity,” said Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia.
Dato’ Sharma proposes that this project be extensively reviewed and urges the JKR to reconsider if the road realignment is necessary.
“WWF-Malaysia also calls for the Public Works Department (JKR) to share information on the technical aspects of the project with key government agencies and NGOs as they may be able to provide useful recommendations on how to minimise the environmental impacts of the project,” he added.
Should the realignment in certain stretches of the Kg. Relong – Gua Musang road be absolutely necessary, measures such as elevated roads and tunnels as well as wildlife crossings to maintain forest connectivity should be incorporated at the design stage of the project. WWF-Malaysia strongly feels that wildlife crossings should be constructed at crucial areas even on the existing road. Sufficient funds for these measures should also be allocated in the project cost from the very initial stages.
According to Dato’ Sharma, parts of the surrounding forests along the road are also vulnerable to conversion to other land uses as they are currently stateland forest with no protection status.
It is also feared that the upgrading and realignment of the road and the resulting land development would allow for easier access by trespassers and poachers into Taman Negara, as the closest distance between the new realigned road and Taman Negara is less than two kilometers. The Taman Negara is already facing threats from poaching, with the park management authority, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), recently revealing that nearly 500 snares were recovered and destroyed in a single operation in November last year.
“In line with the National Physical Plan, it is therefore absolutely crucial and urgent that a buffer zone is demarcated for Taman Negara to address a range of mounting concerns such as forest conversion and potential poaching pressures,“ stressed Dato’ Sharma. “No development activities should take place in this buffer zone.”
“We strongly urge the Pahang state government to gazette the remaining stateland forest in the area as Permanent Reserved Forest under the National Forestry Act 1984, to reduce the risk of forest conversion and maintain the connectivity between the Main Range and Taman Negara,” he added.
Notes to the editor:
* Taman Negara is the largest national park in Malaysia, covering 4,343 km² of forest in three states: Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. Rare and endangered species such as the elusive Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris) and seladang (Bos frontalis) can be found in the primary rainforest within this protected area.
* The Federal Department Town and Country Planning Department is currently spearheading a project to identify important forest linkages. This project, which involves various stakeholders, is in line with the National Physical Plan which states that forest connectivity shall be reestablished between major forest complexes. One of the linkages identified is between the Main Range and Taman Negara.
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia 26 Apr 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore will take a pro-active stance should the threat of a flu pandemic surface following the swine flu outbreak in Mexico.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan also said the SARS epidemic has equipped Singapore with the skills to handle a similar outbreak.
Speaking to reporters at a community event on Sunday, Mr Khaw said the ability of the swine flu virus to spread from human to human makes it especially dangerous, and his ministry is monitoring the situation.
As for the virus spreading to the US, Mr Khaw said it could pose a global threat as the US is well-connected to the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement it will implement precautionary measures at Changi Airport in light of the outbreak.
From 11pm Sunday, thermal scanners will be deployed to screen passengers on flights arriving from the US. And from 8am Monday, scanners will be deployed at all three arrival halls to screen all arriving passengers.
From Wednesday, scanners will also be deployed at the Budget Terminal and Seletar Airport.
CAAS added that flights in and out of Changi Airport are continuing as normal.
Separately, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a statement that there is no danger of people contracting swine flu from eating pork or pork products.
All pork imports are being tested for the new strain of swine flu virus as a precautionary measure, it added.
Singapore does not import pork from Mexico. But since the beginning of this year, 2,700 tons or 10 per cent of total imports of frozen pork and other pork products have been imported from the US.
No chilled pork has been imported from the US. Singapore only imports processed pork products from the affected US states of California, Texas and Kansas. But AVA said properly heated processed products do not pose a risk of swine flu virus.
Singapore only imports pigs from one AVA-accredited farm located on Pulau Bulan, Indonesia. There has been no introduction of pigs from external sources into the farm.
AVA also inspects the farm regularly to ensure biosecurity measures are implemented. On-farm disease situation as well as the health of the pigs imported from the farm into Singapore are also closely monitored.
Other high-level biosecurity measures include strict access of people into the farm, as well as rigorous hygiene and sanitation practices. Pigs in the farm are also regularly vaccinated against swine influenza.
As for pig lungs - the major target organ in an animal infected by swine flu - AVA said there have been no import of pig lungs into Singapore from any country in the last three years.- CNA/ir
Scanners at the airport
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 27 Apr 09;
THERE are no known cases of swine flu in Singapore, but preventive measures have already kicked in at Changi Airport.
From 11pm yesterday, thermal scanners were deployed to screen passengers arriving from the United States. And from 8am today, all passengers arriving at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 will also have to undergo thermal scans just before their immigration checks. Those arriving at the Budget Terminal and Seletar Airport will have to do so from Wednesday, said the Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in a joint statement last night.
Those with higher-than-normal temperatures will be put through further medical assessments.
Speaking to the media after a block visit in Woodlands yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said it is too early to close our borders as this will affect the economy and food supply.
However, given the US’ connectedness with the rest of the world, he warned it could be a matter of hours before swine flu reaches Singapore, hence the high level of alertness.
The Ministry has also advised Singaporeans to postpone or avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.
Those who develop flu-like symptoms including high fever, cough, and runny nose within seven days of travel to California, Texas or Kansas in the United States, or to Mexico, should seek medical attention.
So far, the World Health Organization does not consider a human swine flu pandemic to be imminent — the outbreak in Mexico and the US, however, constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
And although humans cannot get swine flu from eating pork or pork products, the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority will be testing incoming pork products for the flu virus.
It will also step up surveillance testing of pigs from Pulau Bulan in Indonesia — Singapore’s only source of live pigs — to ensure they are not infected with the virus behind the current outbreak.
Singapore does not import pork from Mexico, nor does it import pigs from the US.
Khaw: Play safe, assume the worst
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 27 Apr 09;
His ministry is working “round the clock” to stay abreast of swine flu developments around the world. And Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday sounded a reassuring note, saying the nation is in a better position to deal with a global pandemic compared to six years ago when Sars hit.
Back then, 33 people here died from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Since then, progress has been made in laboratory capabilities and as well as alertness levels at hospitals and airports.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is also looking at restricting the number of visitors for hospital patients — if developments over the next two days warrants it.
“As a general principal, if you don’t have to visit hospitals, don’t visit because it’s not exactly a clean place. Why expose yourself unnecessarily?” said Mr Khaw.
Those who need to visit loved ones should maintain a high level of personal hygiene including frequent hand-washing.
Singapore also has a stockpile of Tamiflu — one of the antiviral drugs found to be effective against the swine flu virus — as well as personal protective equipment for hospital staff, he said.
MOH is likely to request hospital staff working in high-risk areas such as accident and emergency (A&E) wards and intensive care units to wear the personal protective equipment.
At least one hospital has already taken the initiative. Since Saturday, National University Hospital staff at the A&E temperature screening area have put on protective gowns in addition to the face mask routinely worn.
NUH and the Singapore General Hospital said patients are also asked about their travel histories. “Patients ... with travel history to Mexico, USA and Canada will be asked to alert our staff. Visitors with travel history and who are feeling unwell are advised not to visit patients, and to seek medical attention,” said SGH chief executive Prof Ang Chong Lye.
Indeed, disclosure of travel history becomes “very important”, said Mr Khaw, given how swine flu symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat are similar to that of regular flu.
And while the swine flu outbreak could be “just a very localised” one that will “eventually burn itself out”, Mr Khaw said Singapore will “play safe and assume the worst.”
Debora MacKenzie, New Scientist 26 Apr 09;
Several hundred people in Mexico and 20 people in the US have come down with a new kind of swine flu. People are concerned because some of those infected in Mexico have died, and because this is the kind of virus that could become a serious worldwide epidemic (see Deadly new flu virus in US and Mexico may go pandemic).
Should I worry about this flu?
That depends on two things: how severe the flu is, and how far it spreads. Its severity is still unknown. Those who died in Mexico were young adults who don't often die of flu, so we know this virus can be serious. But it isn't always bad: the cases picked up in the US were mild. Outbreak investigators are now trying to find out how many people have had the virus, and how many of those were seriously ill, to get an idea of how bad it is.
Will it spread to where I live?
That depends on two things: whether the virus is transported to where you live, and how efficiently it spreads between people. So many people travel globally now that, as long as this virus keeps infecting people, it is unlikely not to get to where you live. Some countries are already using infrared cameras to spot people with fevers on flights from affected areas. But that won't stop it entirely, since five days can pass before an infected person shows symptoms, and the virus can spread before symptoms start.
The question is how efficiently it spreads once it lands. From the number of cases in Mexico and the fact that those infected in the US had not contacted pigs or each other, we know that it can spread from human to human, and has done so for weeks at least. Investigators are testing whether people who contacted known cases were also infected to try to assess how easily it spreads.
Similar swine flu viruses have jumped from pigs to people before and have always petered out without causing a pandemic because they were not good enough at spreading in people. This virus may do the same thing.
Does this virus mean I shouldn't eat pork?
No. This virus is named swine flu because one of its surface proteins is most similar to viruses that usually infect pigs. But we've never seen this particular virus in pigs before. It is spreading in people; that's the problem.
Can I travel to other countries?
Yes. There are no official travel advisories against going to affected regions of Mexico, but cases of this virus are being discovered in other countries in people who recently visited there.
What if it causes a pandemic?
Most countries in the world have pandemic plans, on paper at least. They can respond with vaccines, drugs, and measures called "social distancing", aimed at limiting human contacts that spread flu. Mexico has already done this, by banning public gatherings and closing schools in affected areas. Modelling suggests this can be effective.
The Mexican swine flu virus is susceptible to the most widely stockpiled flu antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and its relatives. But viruses of the same family can readily develop resistance to these drugs, so no one knows how long the drugs will remain effective.
There are no stocks of vaccine to this flu. The US has already created a "seed strain" from it, a virus that can be grown to make vaccines. Because of fears that H5N1 bird flu would go pandemic, vaccine companies and regulators, especially in Europe, have developed procedures over the past few years for rapidly approving and manufacturing pandemic vaccines in factories that normally make regular human flu vaccines.
The question now is whether and when they will switch production to a pandemic vaccine. If they do, the question will be how many doses they can produce, and how fast. Researchers are trying to find ways to stretch vaccine stocks, but there is no commonly agreed approach yet.
They won't be able to make much vaccine for several months. But if there are several waves, each several months apart, as there have been in past pandemics, they might have time to make stocks of the vaccine before the next wave – if there is one.
Why are we worried this virus could go pandemic?
Because it is new. Flu constantly evolves, mostly with small changes to its surface proteins. There are usually enough differences between this year's flu and whatever you had last time to allow the new virus to evade your immune defenses and cause an infection, but its similarities to your last case mean you still have partial immunity to it.
But flu surface proteins come in 16 different families, and viruses interbreed and swap genes. Occasionally a new flu virus that has picked up completely new surface proteins from pig or bird flu viruses circulates in people. Since no humans have been exposed to it before, no one has any immunity. Those viruses cause pandemics.
The Mexican swine flu is like this. It is of the H1N1 family, named for its two main surface proteins. There are other, mild H1N1 viruses circulating in humans as ordinary flu. But pig H1's are somewhat different, and it is not yet clear whether having had human H1N1 gives you much immunity to this swine flu.
The bad 1918 pandemic was an H1N1 virus, and there is evidence that people exposed to earlier human H1 flu had some immunity to it. The 1918 virus was different from this one, however, because its H surface protein was from birds.
What should I do to prepare for a pandemic?
We don't know yet if this will be one – but quiet preparation can't hurt. Cover coughs and sneezes and wash your hands a lot. Don't run down your ability to fight infection – eat well and be sensible. Some scientists recommend going on statins as there is some evidence they reduce death rates from flu in people who tend to die from it in normal years.
Do all the things you might do to prepare for any disaster. Stockpile canned and dried food and water, a little cash, and your family's essential medicines, as disruptions in supply might happen in a bad pandemic, and make sure you have a crank- or battery-operated radio and lights and spare batteries.
Michael Casey, Associated Press Yahoo News 27 Apr 09;
BANGKOK – Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the region's agriculture-dependent economies to contract by as much as 6.7 percent annually by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday.
The Asian Development Bank study identified four countries as especially vulnerable: Indonesia and the Philippines with large coastal populations facing rising sea levels, and Thailand and Vietnam where rice yields could drop 50 percent due to water shortages.
"You have to think about developing countries' capacity," ADB Senior Economist Tae Yong Jung said. "They are not really well prepared. Their capacity to handle extreme events is much lower than the developed world."
He said globally climate change would cost the equivalent of 2.6 percent of gross domestic product each year by the end of the century.
If nothing is done to combat global warming, the report said that by 2100 the four Asian countries would see temperatures rise an average of 8.6 Fahrenheit (4.8 Celsius) from the 1990 level. They would also likely suffer drops in rainfall leading to worsening droughts and more forest fires, more destructive tropical storms and flooding from rising seas that could displace millions of people and lead to the destruction of 965 square miles (2,500 square kilometers) of mangroves.
The economic cost, according to the report, would be 6.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2100.
The key for Southeast Asia would be protecting its remaining tropical forests which have fallen victim in recent years to widespread illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, the report found. Deforestation represents as much as 75 percent of the four country's emissions.
Global warming threatens economic chaos in SE Asia-ADB
Rosemarie Francisco, Reuters 27 Apr 09;
MANILA (Reuters) - Southeast Asia is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change and could face conflict over failing rice yields, lack of water and high economic costs, a major Asian Development Bank report shows.
The region's economies could lose as much as 6.7 percent of combined gross domestic product yearly by 2100, more than twice the global average loss, according to the ADB's report on the economics of climate change in Southeast Asia.
"By the end of this century, the economy-wide cost each year on average could reach 2.2 percent of GDP, if only market impact is considered...(to) 6.7 percent of GDP when catastrophic risks are also taken into account," the British-government funded report said.
This compared with an estimated global loss of just under 1 percent of GDP in market impact terms, the Manila-based ADB said.
The global economic downturn could delay funding for climate change mitigation measures by regional governments.
Yet this was the time to offer incentives for green investment schemes in the energy and water sectors, said the study focusing on Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
These schemes could involve the shift to renewable and clean energy options for the power and transport sectors across Southeast Asia, home to nearly 600 million people.
In particular, cutting carbon emissions from forest fires and deforestation was crucial since these were major contributors to the region's total emissions, it said. Renewable energy such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal also offered great potential in slashing emissions.
VULNERABLE
But if nothing was done globally to fight climate change, Southeast Asia could suffer a decline in rice output potential of about 50 percent on average by 2100 against 1990 levels.
The yield drop ranged from 34 percent in Indonesia to 75 percent in the Philippines, with the fall forecast to start in 2020 for the four nations.
Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change because of the high economic activity along its long coastlines, and its heavy dependence on agriculture, forestry and other natural resources.
Unless the pace of climate change was checked, millions of people in the region would be left unable to produce or purchase sufficient food.
"More people will be at risk of hunger and malnutrition, which will cause more deaths. The possibility of local conflicts may increase," said the report.
Annual mean temperature in the four countries could also rise by an average 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100 from 1990 levels if global emissions keep growing.
This would intensify water shortages in the dry season and raise flooding risks during wet periods.
The report says an increase in extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and storms, and forest fires arising from climate change would also jeopardize export industries.
It said the region, which contributed 12 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, had made significant efforts to counter climate change, but most steps were reactive and offered short-term benefits with implementation patchy.
Raising public awareness of climate change and its impact, increased funding and enhancing policy coordination, were crucial, it added.
Stepping up measures to adapt were also needed.
These included scaling up water conservation and management, developing heat-resistant crop varieties, more efficient irrigation systems and enhanced awareness-raising programs to prepare for more forest fires.
(Editing by David Fogarty and Sanjeev Miglani)
Climate change threat to SEAsia development
Yahoo News 27 Apr 09;
MANILA (AFP) – Climate change could "seriously hinder" Southeast Asia's development and efforts to reduce poverty, a new study released by the Asian Development Bank said Monday.
With its long coastlines and heavy dependence on agriculture and forestry, Southeast Asia is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said, warning: "The worst is yet to come."
"Combating climate change requires urgent action on both adaptation and mitigation -- there is no time to delay," the study said.
If the world continues with its "business-as-usual" approach, the average cost of climate change for Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam could be "equivalent to losing 6.7 percent of combined gross domestic product each year by 2100 -- more than twice the global average."
Already, climate change has led to extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and tropical cyclones in recent decades in the region, the ADB said.
It noted also that the annual mean temperature in the region's four biggest countries was projected to rise by 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100 from the 1990 level.
It said that during this period, the sea level in the region was expected to rise 70 centimetres (2.3 feet), while increasingly drier weather is likely in the next two to three decades.
"Southeast Asia is likely to suffer more from climate change than the global average," it said.
The Jakarta Globe 26 Apr 09;
Jember. The Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Jember district, East Java Province, will conduct field checks on the alleged circulation of protected turtle eggs in traditional markets, an agency spokesman said over the weekend.
“[Sea] turtles are rare and are protected because their population is facing extinction. People are not allowed to sell their eggs in free markets,” agency head for East Java’s Region III, Abdullah Effendi said.
Agency officials had frequently found and foiled poachers of turtle eggs in the nature reserve area of Nusa Barong Island, which is widely known to be a nesting area for the turtles.
Effendi did not know about the recent circulation of illegal turtle eggs in a number of traditional markets in Jember.
“We will carry out field checks in traditional markets where people are suspected to be selling turtle eggs illegally,” Effendi said.
A number of locals said they had found turtle eggs had been secretly sold to consumers.
Setiorini, a local resident, admitted she had been offered turtle eggs on the sly. She reported that she had been offered the eggs while buying fish at the Puger Fish Auction Market.
“Unexpectedly, a trader whispered to me, offering turtle eggs,” Setyorini said.
She said that merchants offered the eggs to consumers for between Rp 2,000 (18 cents) and Rp 3,000 each. Meanwhile, environmental group WWF has launched a campaign to stop Malaysians from eating turtle eggs, in a bid to help save the marine creatures from extinction.
Turtle eggs are openly sold in markets in some parts of Malaysia. Thousands of sea turtles once migrated to Malaysian beaches annually to lay their eggs, but are now increasingly rare due to poaching and extensive coastal development.
The five-month online campaign aims to collect 40,000 signatures from Malaysians pledging that they will stop consuming the eggs and halt all trade in turtles and their parts.
“Turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy,” WWF Malaysia executive director Dionysius S.K. Sharma said.
“Marine turtles are threatened with extinction due to various factors, including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, becoming accidentally caught
in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of turtles and their parts,” he said.
Under Malaysian law, it is illegal to collect turtle eggs without a permit from the country’s fisheries department, but steady demand for turtle products and eggs in Southeast Asia continues to drive the illegal trade.
Antara, AFP
Yahoo News 26 Apr 09;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian authorities seized 814 tortoises and 160 king cobras as they were being smuggled out of the country on its northern border, according to a report Sunday.
Customs officials told state news agency Bernama the wildlife was found in the back of a truck in northern Perlis state as it was clearing border formalities before entering Thailand.
State customs director Mohammad Isa Endot said the reptiles were found under 2,300 kilos of garlic used to help disguise the smell of the illicit cargo.
He said the truck driver, a Thai national, was detained after failing to produce any documents for the export of the wildlife, Bernama reported.
Mohammad Isa said the tortoises and snakes had been handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department.
Wildlife is often smuggled out of Malaysia and into kitchens abroad.
Last month, authorities seized the butchered remains of dozens of civet cats, long-tailed monkeys and wild boar destined for sale in neighbouring countries.
BBC News 26 Apr 09;
Plans for new curbs on the practice of removing fins from live sharks have been welcomed by wildlife campaigners.
EU countries are the main exporter of shark fins to China, where they are used to make shark-fin soup.
A meeting in Brussels on Thursday drew up an action plan on "finning", which results in the deaths of the sharks.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said the plans for Scottish waters went further, only giving permission in exceptional circumstances.
Environment groups claimed current law on finning - cutting fins off the living shark and dumping the low-value carcass at sea - was not strict enough.
Mr Lochhead said: "We know that some shark populations are critically endangered, and that is why we are proposing even tougher restrictions in Scotland, sending out a strong message."
Special fishing permits for taking sharks' fins were first issued in Scotland in 2004.
The only Scottish-based boats which request the permits are Anglo-Spanish vessels administered from Ayr and Ullapool.
If approved, the new restrictions would ban the granting of permits.
Mr Lochhead said: "We are one of Europe's most important fishing nations and we have a huge interest in maintaining the sustainability of our seas, their stocks and the wider marine ecosystem.
"I welcome the fact that across Europe commitments are being made to review existing regulations on shark finning. I strongly believe it's a wasteful and damaging practice.
"In Scotland we will not sit back and wait for things to happen. We are determined to develop robust, workable procedures, proving beyond doubt that we are leading the rest of Europe on the conservation front."
Ali Hood, director of conservation for the Shark Trust, said: "The shark fin trade encourages unsustainable mortality and unacceptable waste - these proposals will ensure compliance and potentially reduce the requests for permits to near zero.
"Mr Lochhead has recognised the urgent need for strict management measures for sharks and Scotland is setting a fine example to the rest of the UK and Europe."
Louize Hill, marine policy officer at WWF Scotland, said: "As well as being an incredibly wasteful practice, with over 90% in weight of the shark discarded, many shark species are threatened with extinction.
"Only effective control and enforcement, such as the measures proposed here, will protect these vulnerable species.
"Once again Scotland looks set to be at the forefront of fisheries conservation."
Maria Golovnina, Reuters 26 Apr 09;
ALMATY (Reuters) - The five leaders of Central Asian nations will hold a summit this week to try to end a bitter row over water use in one of the world's driest regions.
The dispute over cross-border water sharing in the vast region north of Afghanistan is a worry for its leaders who know how much stability in their ethnically diverse and potentially volatile nations depends on the scarce commodity.
On April 28, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will meet to discuss water use -- the summit's official agenda -- and other pressing issues such as energy security and cooperation with the United States on cargo transit for troops fighting in Afghanistan.
Central Asian leaders, despite their geographical proximity, meet infrequently and usually on the sidelines of other regional summits -- making this week's summit in Kazakhstan a rare event.
"Expectations are high, even though no one expects them to sit down and solve everything in one day," said Eduard Poletayev, an independent analyst in Kazakhstan.
"It's a step in the right direction, toward more integration. ... It will make people realize further that water is one of the most important issues in Central Asia."
Uzbek President Islam Karimov, one of the region's most reclusive and longest-serving leaders, will also be a focus.
All Central Asian nations are criticized in the West over human rights abuses, but Uzbekistan has been at the center of particular attention since troops fired on protesters in 2005 to quell a riot, killing hundreds, according to witnesses.
Karimov, who usually limits his visits to other former Soviet countries, has not traveled much abroad since then. His latest official foreign visit was to the Caspian nation of Azerbaijan in late 2008.
DRY LAND
Central Asia is one of the world's driest places and, due to 70 years of Soviet agricultural policy, water-guzzling crops such as cotton remain the main livelihood for most of its 58 million people.
A communist-era legacy of decaying pipe networks is also hampering sustainable distribution, analysts say.
The most emphatic symbol of the problem is the Aral Sea -- lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and once the world's fourth largest lake -- which has shrunk by 70 percent as Moscow planners siphoned off water for cotton irrigation projects in Uzbekistan.
Other big problems are between upstream countries such as Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation with massive hydro resources, and downstream consumers such as Uzbekistan which has aggressively opposed construction of new hydro stations in the upstream nations.
The region's most populous country, Uzbekistan is worried that the upstream states will gain political leverage over it by regulating water flows through new hydro plants.
"The deficit of water resources that may in the future be in greater demand than petroleum and natural gas has already become a reality for many districts of the inner Eurasia," Global Research, a Canadian-based think tank, said an April 23 note.
"The difference of interests of the 'upstream' and 'downstream' Central Asian countries that poses a threat of ending in an inter-state conflict is both a diplomatic and geopolitical challenge to Russia."
Russia, which sees the region as part of its traditional sphere of interest, wants to invest in new hydro projects there and has sought to play a role in regional water talks, has not been invited to the summit.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
Suzanne Mustacich Yahoo News 26 Apr 09;
BORDEAUX, France (AFP) – France's Aquitaine coast stretches north from the Spanish border to the Gironde river estuary, encompassing rocky bluffs, giant lagoons, deltas, beaches and Europe's largest dune.
Now climate change has laid siege to this natural oasis, dramatically speeding up the erosion of the 270 kilometre-long (168 miles) Atlantic coastline and threatening local communities.
A study published in 2006 by the European LIFE program identified 13 coastal communities as erosion "hotspots".
"There is a lack of sand on the beaches, because of a period of warming -- climate change," confirmed Cyril Mallet, geological engineer and project manager for the French geology and mining research agency BRGM.
Climate change means rising sea levels, more violent storms and increasing rainfall in a region already suffering from its location on the Bay of Biscay, where ocean waves carry 500,000 cubic metres (17.6 million cubic feet) -- about 200 Olympic swimming pools -- of sand southward every year.
Cliffs are sliding into the sea, beaches are disappearing, dunes that protect forests, towns and roads are in danger, and the tourism trade is in jeopardy, local experts said.
The stakes are high.
Only 10 percent of the coast is populated, but that population is growing, and between May and September, visitors spend more than 1.4 billion euros (1.8 billion dollars) in surfing beaches, spa towns, ocean side campsites and quaint villages.
The pristine beaches are the first casualty of coastal erosion.
"Tourism is our economy," said Albery Larrousset, Mayor of Guethary, a Basque town of 1,300 whose population swells to 5,000 in the summer months. "And without beaches, we won't have tourists."
Parking lots, businesses, roads and homes are planned with the notion that beaches remain in one place.
Traditional defences like seawalls increase erosion in neighbouring areas, denying the towns easy remedies. Solutions are as varied as the communities involved, but nearly all require moving sand from one place to another.
Near the northern tip of the coast, Soulac-sur-Mer is a popular beach and camping area. A year-around population of 2,800 expands to 40,000 in summer.
The town, roads and campgrounds are in danger from erosion, and one campground clings precariously to the beachside location.
Locals do not want to hear about retreat, but the damage forces a town employee to redistribute sand over an 800-metre (yard) section every day.
Farther south, Arcachon Bay has taken a different approach.
"For over 60 years, all waterfront property owners on Arcachon Bay have been required to belong to and pay dues to an association called SIBA, which manages the bay," said Louis Gaume, head of his family's property development firm.
SIBA combines both public and private financing, and involves a diverse waterfront community, including oyster farmers, retirees, luxury villa owners and small businesses.
In 2002, SIBA dumped 1,000,000 cubic metres of sand on the disastrously eroded beaches at Pyla.
But the complicated dynamics within the bay, including shifting sandbars, powerful tidal currents, waves and wind -- all heightened by climate change -- mean the work never ends.
Recent maintenance required a barge to spray 100,000 cubic metres of sand, taken from a sandbar 200 meters from the beach, in an operation that lasted two days and cost 200,000 euros.
While the Arcachonais win honours for community involvement, Capbreton takes the prize for ingenuity with its 4.5 million-euro sand bypass system, the only of its kind in Europe.
With a year-around population of 8,500, and a summer population of 65,000, the city found itself hauling 3,000 truck loads of sand each year to maintain its beaches. The trucks created traffic jams, pollution and tore up the roads. "We had two major things at stake," explained city engineer Eric Cufay.
"First, offering dry beaches during the tourist season, and supporting the economy that goes with them; and second, protecting construction, including roads" and a sewage treatment plant.
The new hydraulic system, largely underground, sucks up sand from a beach a kilometre to the north, and sends it south, spraying four beaches at a rate of 270 cubic metres per hour, triple the amount that was moved by trucks.
Farther south, the Basque country is caught between an encroaching sea and crumbling cliffs.
It's here that the town of Guethary clings to its patch of coastline. The bluffs are made partially of clay, and with the double onslaught of the sea below and the rain on top, landslides occur.
"Above all else, this is about the safety of people," explained Mayor Larrousset. Guethary spent 70,000 euros last year to stabilise a 300-metre stretch by inserting tubes into the cliffs to drain off the water.
Meanwhile, every spring, this 12th century former whaling village retrieves 500 cubic metres of sand that migrated during the winter. Even this does not provide a long-term solution to the rising sea.
"We used to have large beaches with parasols and beach chairs," reminisced Larrousset. "But now we barely have room for towels and we're nearly on top of one another." With rocky bluffs at their backs, they have nowhere to go.
Retreat is the less popular option, but in the case of the inhabitants of the Aquitaine coast, it may be their only sustainable option.
The Independent 27 Apr 09;
Scientists are baffled by what they’re seeing on the Sun’s surface – nothing at all. And this lack of activity could have a major impact on global warming. David Whitehouse investigates
Could the Sun play a greater role in recent climate change than has been believed? Climatologists had dismissed the idea and some solar scientists have been reticent about it because of its connections with those who those who deny climate change. But now the speculation has grown louder because of what is happening to our Sun. No living scientist has seen it behave this way. There are no sunspots.
The disappearance of sunspots happens every few years, but this time it’s gone on far longer than anyone expected – and there is no sign of the Sun waking up. “This is the lowest we’ve ever seen. We thought we’d be out of it by now, but we’re not,” says Marc Hairston of the University of Texas. And it’s not just the sunspots that are causing concern. There is also the so-called solar wind – streams of particles the Sun pours out – that is at its weakest since records began. In addition, the Sun’s magnetic axis is tilted to an unusual degree. “This is the quietest Sun we’ve seen in almost a century,” says NASA solar scientist David Hathaway. But this is not just a scientific curiosity. It could affect everyone on Earth and force what for many is the unthinkable: a reappraisal of the science behind recent global warming.
Our Sun is the primary force of the Earth’s climate system, driving atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. It lies behind every aspect of the Earth’s climate and is, of course, a key component of the greenhouse effect. But there is another factor to be considered. When the Sun has gone quiet like this before, it coincided with the earth cooling slightly and there is speculation that a similar thing could happen now. If so, it could alter all our predictions of climate change, and show that our understanding of climate change might not be anywhere near as good as we thought.
Sunspots are dark, cooler patches on the Sun’s surface that come and go in a roughly 11-year cycle, first noticed in 1843. They have gone away before. They were absent in the 17th century – a period called the “Maunder Minimum” after the scientist who spotted it. Crucially, it has been observed that the periods when the Sun’s activity is high and low are related to warm and cool climatic periods. The weak Sun in the 17th century coincided with the so-called Little Ice Age. The Sun took a dip between 1790 and 1830 and the earth also cooled a little. It was weak during the cold Iron Age, and active during the warm Bronze Age. Recent research suggests that in the past 12,000 years there have been 27 grand minima and 19 grand maxima.
Throughout the 20th century the Sun was unusually active, peaking in the 1950s and the late 1980s. Dean Pensell of NASA, says that, “since the Space Age began in the 1950s, solar activity has been generally high. Five of the ten most intense solar cycles on record have occurred in the last 50 years.” The Sun became increasingly active at the same time that the Earth warmed. But according to the scientific consensus, the Sun has had only a minor recent effect on climate change.
Many scientists believe that the Sun was the major player on the Earth’s climate until the past few decades, when the greenhouse effect from increasing levels of carbon dioxide overwhelmed it.
Computer models suggest that of the 0.5C increase in global average temperatures over the past 30 years, only 10-20 per cent of the temperature variations observed were down to the Sun, although some said it was 50 per cent.
But around the turn of the century things started to change. Within a few years of the Sun’s activity starting to decline, the rise in the Earth’s temperature began to slow and has now been constant since the turn of the century. This was at the same time that the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide carried on rising. So, is the Sun’s quietness responsible for the tail-off in global warming and if not, what is?
There are some clues as to what’s going on. Although at solar maxima there are more sunspots on the Sun’s surface, their dimming effect is more than offset by the appearance of bright patches on the Sun’s disc called faculae – Italian for “little torches”. Overall, during an 11-year solar cycle the Sun’s output changes by only 0.1 per cent, an amount considered by many to be too small a variation to change much on earth. But there is another way of looking it. While this 0.1 per cent variation is small as a percentage, in terms of absolute energy levels it is enormous, amounting to a highly significant 1.3 Watts of energy per square metre at the Earth. This means that during the solar cycle’s rising phase from solar minima to maxima, the Sun’s increasing brightness has the same climate-forcing effect as that from increasing atmospheric greenhouse gasses. There is recent research suggesting that solar variability can have a very strong regional climatic influence on Earth – in fact stronger than any man-made greenhouse effect across vast swathes of the Earth. And that could rewrite the rules.
No one knows what will happen or how it will effect our understanding of climate change on Earth. If the Earth cools under a quiet Sun, then it may be an indication that the increase in the Sun’s activity since the Little Ice Age has been the dominant factor in global temperature rises. That would also mean that we have overestimated the sensitivity of the Earth’s atmosphere to an increase of carbon dioxide from the pre-industrial three parts per 10,000 by volume to today’s four parts per 10,000. Or the sun could compete with global warming, holding it back for a while. For now, all scientists can do, along with the rest of us, is to watch and wait.
Dr David Whitehouse is author of ‘The Sun: A Biography’ (John Wiley)
The Sun explained...
Core The energy of the Sun comes from nuclear fusion reactions that occur deep inside the core
Radiative zone The area that surrounds the core. Energy travels through it by radiation
Convective zone This zone extends from the radiative zone to the Sun’s surface. It consists of “boiling” convection cells
Photosphere The top layer of the Sun. It is this that we see when we look at the Sun in natural light
Filament A strand of solar plasma held up by the Sun’s magnetic field that can be seen against its surface
Chromosphere A layer of the Sun’s atmosphere above the photosphere, around 2000km deep
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