Best of our wild blogs: 18 May 09

New Carnival – Carnival of Broader Impacts
submit your short term, limited lifespan blog to this carnival, on the Southern Fried Science blog

Sunday bugs
on the annotated budak blog

Nesting of the Blue-eared Kingfisher in Singapore
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Jelutong mangroves on Pulau Ubin
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Monday Morgue: 18th May 2009
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

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Are all avenues explored before converting grass patches to concrete?

Straits Times Forum 18 May 09;

I READ with interest last Thursday's replies by the National Parks Board and Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council in the letter, 'Parks, council open to greenery feedback'.

While it is true that stagnant water allows mosquitoes to breed, I simply cannot comprehend the idea of turning grass patches into concrete. Before we go into the issue of eroded soil clogging drains, should we not ask ourselves how the soil ended up in the drain in the first place?

The answer is clear. Soil is porous and concrete is not. By building a non-porous structure beside the grass patch, we are disturbing the natural flow of water. Water accumulates at the edge of the walkway and finally spills over into the drain, together with the top soil.

The problem of grass patches converted to concrete is not unique to Pasir Ris. Grass patches at many road junctions, walkways and void decks has been converted to concrete. Some of these areas do not have a problem of soil erosion or stagnant water.

In a world of climate change, were all avenues explored before the conversion? For example, installing a mesh over the drain that allows water to flow but prevents soil from entering? Or planting shrubs to secure the top soil and prevent erosion?

Anthony Tan

Parks, council open to greenery feedback
Straits Times Forum 14 May 09;

WE REFER to last Thursday's letter by Madam Chiang Meng Lee, 'Vanishing grass patches and shady trees - are we still going green?'

We assure Madam Chiang that the Government is committed to sustaining a clean and green environment. Although land is scarce, with careful planning, Singapore is able to commit 10 per cent of its land area to parks and nature reserves. Streetscape, or roadside greenery, forms the backbone of our City in a Garden.

While planting shade trees along the roadside is our first choice, palms were selected along the Tampines Expressway dividers due to site conditions. The National Parks Board (NParks) will consider Madam Chiang's feedback and review the planting along the expressway when it is scheduled for widening.

As for her feedback regarding the grass patch which was replaced with concrete, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council would like to explain that the decision was made only after careful consideration of overall site conditions.

During the council's periodic site surveys, the arborist observed that eroded soil was clogging the scupper drains beside the slopes of the covered linkway between Block 581 and Block 582. To prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the drains, part of the grass patch was converted to a cement surface.

Notwithstanding this, the council will plant an additional row of bougainvillea shrubs along Pasir Ris Street 53 to enhance the greenery of the precinct.

We thank Madam Chiang for her feedback.

Simon Longman
Director, Streetscape
National Parks Board

Lydia Ho (Ms)
Public Relations Manager
Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council

Vanishing grass patches and shady trees - are we still going green?
Straits Times Forum 7 May 09;

I SIMPLY cannot reconcile what I see on the ground and the reports I read in the press about Singapore's greening and environmentally friendly plans ('Green is the word - from ground to the sky', April 28; and 'CDCs take green message to heartland', April 29).

Along fairly new highways like the Tampines Expressway, the authorities have planted palm trees instead of the shady trees that played no small part in creating our garden city image. These palms not only give no shade, but the glare on a hot day is also as good as not having any trees at all. Last but not least, they do not have the same appeal as shady trees.

If the reason is ease of maintenance, then we should not plan any trees at all. Have we allowed our over-efficiency to ride roughshod over our ability to appreciate beauty?

Also, around the estate where I live, in Pasir Ris Street 53, the town council is doing landscape upgrading works and many grass patches have been replaced with concrete. Even worse, the grass slopes that used to line the walkway to the bus stop at Block 581 have been completely removed and the space covered with concrete.

What is the reason for all these un-green moves? To save on maintenance? Whatever has happened to the idea of having some nature? This is undoubtedly why we feel the heat of the sun more these days.

I hope the authorities' plans are in sync with what is being done on the ground, or our greening plans will come to nothing.

Chiang Meng Lee (Mdm)

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Wanted: Singapore 'farmers' overseas

Outgoing AVA chief wants local investors to venture into food farms beyond Singapore's boundaries
Chen Huifen, Business Times 18 May 09;

OUTGOING Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) chief executive Chua Sin Bin will serve his last day at the agency next week, but he won't be going on a world tour anytime soon.

Instead, he wants to encourage Singapore investors to go overseas to set up food farms abroad in his new role as consultant to AVA, where he has worked for 38 years.

'It is my life,' says the man who started out as a veterinary officer with the Primary Production Department, AVA's predecessor. 'Even after I retire, I will still help AVA in my capacity as a consultant. And, of course, my aim is to help not just AVA; I would like to also help the Singapore food industry and our agro-businesses to go overseas, to extend their reach into the international arena.

'Of course, this will certainly help Singapore. If our food industry can grow and export competitively, it is good for Singapore.'

Relative to the investments Singapore has made over the years in IT, engineering and other industrial fields, the agriculture sector is 'quite badly underfunded', Dr Chua says. He hopes to turn that around by encouraging Singapore investors to go abroad to set up food farms that can export surplus produce to Singapore. This will add a new dimension to Singapore's food supply diversification strategy.

The concept sounds simple: identify food zones overseas that have the potential to scale up commercially, invest in them, and help transfer know-how on food safety and management to the farmers. In turn, investors in Singapore can obtain food from such sources not only in good times, but also in difficult times.

Some possible sites include locations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Indochina region. 'We need major investors, investments and we need big companies - they can be food companies,' says Dr Chua. 'Some of them may find it logical for them to go upstream and, even in terms of technology and expertise, we can build up and buy.'

But for the concept to work, it will need the buy-in from many stakeholders - from the native farmers and local governments, to entrepreneurs here. It will require a long-term wait for return on investment, which may not be the appetite of all enterprises.

'We have to be very sensitive as well,' adds Dr Chua. 'It has to be something that's beneficial, not only to Singapore as an investor, but to the country we are investing in. It must be a win-win situation, where we can uplift the standard of living, improve the social status of the community.'

The model should be balanced with an increase in local production. Land available for agriculture may be limited, but R&D can help find ways to shorten reproduction cycles, or cut the feed-to-meat conversion ratio.

For Singapore, achieving 20-40 per cent self-sufficiency in food supply through a combination of the above two initiatives is not an impossible goal in the long term, says Dr Chua.

Although many local manufacturers in the food industry have a global reach, they are still SMEs by international standards. Dr Chua sees plenty of scope to grow them into even bigger enterprises, along the likes of Fraser & Neave, by tapping into technology.

'Technology in improving the quality of product, in improving processes so that they can produce faster, with lower cost, produce it safer, with less manpower - that will cut down the cost,' he adds.

Dr Chua will retire from AVA next Wednesday, after nearly four years as its CEO. He will be succeeded by Tan Poh Hong, deputy chief executive (estates and corporate) of the Housing and Development Board.

AVA's key challenge: Managing Singapore's cost, supply of food
Plan is to get Singapore investors to set up farms abroad, says outgoing CEO
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 18 May 09

AMID food scares and escalating food prices in the world today, Singapore needs to be proactive in seeking out opportunities to keep food prices affordable and ensure a constant source of supply.

Asserting this as a key challenge for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) was outgoing chief executive, Dr Chua Sin Bin, 61, who steps down on Wednesday after four years at the helm.

He said a key strategy of AVA is to encourage Singapore investors to go overseas to set up food farms abroad.

Developing food zones in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Indochina will ensure that Singapore can continue to obtain food supplies at 'competitive prices' and have 'alternative sources to turn to should the need arise', Dr Chua said.

But the Colombo Plan scholar, who studied veterinary science at the University of Queensland in Australia before joining the Primary Production Department, AVA's predecessor, as a veterinary officer in 1971, expects challenges ahead. This is owing primarily to a lack of investment in agriculture worldwide.

'Following decades of promoting an open-door policy towards trade, countries around the world are now prepared to suspend or even ban exports altogether,' he said. 'Suddenly, the whole dimension has changed.'

He said the agency's key response to managing the costs of food has been to diversify its sources.

'We have actively promoted the global search for sources that can provide a safe and competitively priced food supply for Singaporeans,' Dr Chua said.

With the exception of eggs, key food items in Singapore have less than 50 per cent of their supply source from a single country. Staples such as poultry, vegetables and seafood are sourced from as far and wide as Brazil, Vietnam and Namibia.

'This has worked very well. Today, we have more sources of food supply than we would ever need.'

Dr Chua has also been a key architect in the development of Singapore's robust food safety programme. He was part of the pioneering batch of six that established a meat technology laboratory in 1971.

Today, this has morphed into two state-of-the-art laboratories - the Veterinary Public Health Centre and the Animal and Plant Health Centre - housing almost 140 trained staff who include experts such as pathologists, chemists and toxicologists.

It is an achievement Dr Chua takes great satisfaction in.

'We have built ourselves up from Third World to First World standard. Today, Singapore is probably the safest place that you can find in terms of our food safety facility standards,' he added.

When the melamine-tainted milk scandal ignited last September, Dr Chua made the decision to order a total recall and suspension of imports of all milk products from China. Singapore was the first country to do so.

'When it started, we knew it could potentially be a very big crisis,' he said.

The agency's rapid response saw almost 10,000 rigorous tests being conducted on 3,853 products, leading to the destruction of 39 contaminated products that could have ended up on shelves here.

'We have come a long way to be where we are today...The rest of the world knows that if rubbish is dumped on our shores, we will pick it up,' Dr Chua said.

He will be succeeded by Ms Tan Poh Hong, who leaves her position as HDB's deputy chief executive (estates and corporate).

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South East CDC, NEA launch campaign to cut power consumption

Melanie Yip, 938LIVE Channel NewsAsia 17 May 09;

SINGAPORE: Starting June, South East CDC will partner the National Environment Agency (NEA) to launch a district-level plan aimed at cutting domestic electricity consumption by 10 per cent.

Through the "10 per cent Energy Challenge at South East" plan, home owners will conduct their own home energy audits to save electricity.

Under this programme, NEA will train an initial batch of 60 residents to identify wasteful energy consumption habits by conducting their own home energy audits, and make simple steps to reduce their household energy.

They will each be given an energy auditing kit containing useful information on energy efficiency, as well as an audit checklist during the four-month training.

Following the completion of the training, these residents can audit up to some 500 households in the South East district within a year.

Deputy general manager of community projects at South East CDC, Kia Siang Wei, said in view of the downturn, every cent matters, and by using energy wisely, residents could save money and fight climate change.

He said: "We worked very closely with our grassroots organisations to identify these volunteer energy auditors. For this pilot run, many of them are our grassroots leaders who volunteered to be the auditors.

"So we hope that this first group will be able to spread the message and encourage more people to take up this programme.

"A majority of the flats in this area fall into the three-room flat or larger, and this is an area where we think we can promote energy conservation at this type of flats."

- 938LIVE/yt

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Indonesian Ministry to Evict Large Vessels Near Riau Island

Tempo Interactive 17 May 09;

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said 10 cargo vessels and tankers anchoring in shallow waters around Riau Islands to be evicted for posing environmental damages to marine ecology in the area.

“The sea depth where the ships anchored was less than 30 meters,” Erlina Lusiati of the Waters Pollution Sub Directorate said after inspecting area near Galang Island on Saturday (16/5).

The Sub Directorate feared coral and larger sea ecosystem destruction in the area, and planned to order vessels to be taken to nearby Nipah Island. The vessels reportedly weighed over 10.000 tonnes and measured around 200 meters in length.

Sources in Batam commercial development agency said charges for anchoring in the area was lower than that of in Malaysian and Singaporean ports. The source said Malaysia charges around 7.000 Malaysian ringgit (1,964.72) for vessels weighed 9.000 tonnes and a further 300 ringgit (US$ 84.20) for every 100 gross tonnes increase. The ships according to the source paid US$ 2.050 each to Indonesian authorities.

The 10 ships were Word Baltic-Douglas, Word Falcon, Word Med-Douglas, Word Wodge, Washington High Way-Kobe, London Highway-Panama, Mediterranean Highway-Panama, Seven Seas Highway-Panama, Atlantic Highway-Panama, and Hume Highway-Panama.

The report came a day after the end of World Ocean Conference in Manado on Friday, no report on how long the area had been used as ship yards by foreign vessels.

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Scientists identify world's largest leatherback turtle population

EurekAlert 17 May 09;

An international team of scientists has identified a nesting population of leatherback sea turtles in Gabon, West Africa as the world's largest. The research, published in the May issue of Biological Conservation, involved country-wide land and aerial surveys that estimated a population of between 15,730 and 41,373 female turtles using the nesting beaches. The study highlights the importance of conservation work to manage key sites and protected areas in Gabon.

Leatherbacks are of profound conservation concern around the world after populations in the Indo-Pacific crashed by more than 90 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists leatherback turtles as critically endangered globally, but detailed population assessments in much of the Atlantic, especially Africa, are lacking.

The research was led by the University of Exeter working in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which spearheads the Gabon Sea Turtle Partnership, a network of organisations concerned with the protection of marine turtles in Gabon

During three nesting seasons between 2002 and 2007, the team's members carried out the most comprehensive survey of marine turtles ever conducted in Gabon. This involved aerial surveys along Gabon's 600 km (372 mile) coast, using video to capture footage for evaluation, and detailed ground-based monitoring. By covering the entire coastline, they were not only able to estimate the number of nests and nesting females, but also to identify the key sites for leatherback nesting, data which are crucial to developing conservation management plans for the species. Leatherbacks were first described nesting in Gabon in 1984.

Lead author on the paper, Dr Matthew Witt of the University of Exeter, said: "We knew that Gabon was an important nesting site for leatherback turtles but until now had little idea of the size of the population or its global ranking. We are now focusing our efforts on working with local agencies to coordinate conservation efforts to ensure this population is protected against the threats from illegal fisheries, nest poaching, pollution and habitat disturbance, and climate change."

The study also revealed that around 79 percent of the nesting occurs within National Parks and other protected areas. This gives added hope that Gabon can continue to be one of the world's most important countries for these magnificent creatures.

Dr Angela Formia of the Wildlife Conservation Society, a co-author of the paper, said: "These findings show the critical importance of protected areas to maintain populations of sea turtles. Gabon should be commended for creating a network of National Parks in 2002 that have provided a sanctuary for this endangered species as well as other rare wildlife."

###

This study was carried out by the University of Exeter, Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Florence, IUCN-France, PROTOMAC (Gabon), CNDIO-Gabon, IBONGA-ACPE (Gabon), Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (Gabon), Gabon Environnment, Aventures Sans Frontières (Gabon) and WWF-Gabon.

The study was made possible through funding by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), the United States Fish and Wildlife Serve (USFWS) Marine Turtle Conservation Fund (U.S Department of the Interior), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE). The team has now also received £300,000 (approx. $450,000 USD) Darwin funding for a three-year project, working with local agencies to improve marine biodiversity management in Gabon.

About leatherback turtles

• The leatherback is the largest sea turtle, reaching up to nearly two metres (6.5 feet) in length and 540kg (1190 pounds) in weight.
• Unlike other sea turtles, the leatherback does not have a hard shell. Its shell is made-up of a mosaic of small bones covered by firm, rubbery skin with seven longitudinal ridges.
• Leatherbacks are the most widely spread marine turtles, and are found in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, particularly in tropical regions.
• Leatherbacks are the deepest diving of all sea turtles. The deepest recorded dive is 1.2 kilometres (3/4 mile), which is slightly more than the deepest known dive of a sperm whale.
• As with other reptiles, the sex of leatherbacks is determined by the temperature of eggs during incubation. With leatherbacks, temperatures above 29 degrees centigrade (84 degrees Fahrenheit) will result in female hatchlings.
• Leatherbacks are strong swimmers and tagged individuals have been known to cross ocean basins and are known to travel many thousands of kilometres in search of their jellyfish prey.

To see turtles currently being tracked from Gabon see: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=340

See www.wcs.org/seaturtles for more information about WCS conservation efforts

Website of the Gabon Sea Turtle Partnership: www.seaturtle.org/groups/gabon/

University of Exeter website: www.exeter.ac.uk

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UN chief urges action on growing climate change risk

Mohammad Fadhel Yahoo News 17 May 09;

MANAMA (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for decisive action to reduce the growing impact of climate change as he launched on Sunday a global assessment of ways to minimise the risks from natural disasters.

"Gulf countries have so far been less exposed to disasters but rising sea levels threaten Bahrain, Egypt and Djibouti. Many other Arab countries are stricken by earthquakes and drought," Ban said in Bahrain.

"As a result of global climate change, weather-related hazards are on the rise and we must act decisively," the UN secretary general said, urging governments to do more to reduce the risks, which affects most the poor.

Last year alone, 236,000 people lost their lives in over 300 disasters. More than 200 million were directly affected and estimated damage totalled over 180 billion dollars, Ban said.

"Reducing disaster risk can help countries decrease poverty, safeguard development and adapt to climate change. This, in turn, can promote global security, stability and sustainability," he said.

He noted that last year Asia was hit hard by natural disasters

"Nine of the top 10 countries with the highest number of disaster-related deaths were in Asia," he said.

The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction launched at a two-day conference in the kingdom of Bahrain is timely, Ban said,

It is "the most comprehensive international effort to identify disaster risk, analyse its causes and show what we can do to tackle the challenge... (and) limit their potential for disaster," he added.

"We know that poor people and developing nations suffer the most from disasters. This new report catalogues just how concentrated this risk can be, and how similar exposure to hazard can kill many or a few," he said.

According to Ban "75 percent of those who die from floods live in just three countries -- Bangladesh, China and India" while "17 times more people perish due to tropical cyclones in the Philippines than in Japan."

He urged heads of governments and political leaders around the world "to invest more in disaster risk reduction."

"Taking action now to reduce disaster risk can be one of the best investments countries can make," he said.

The UN chief cited three main issues that needed to be dealt with -- unplanned urban development, vulnerable rural livelihoods and the decline of ecosystems.

He said governments should invest in upgrading squatter settlements and providing land for the urban poor, and protecting rural livelihoods and ecosystems.

He singled out the potential contribution that could be made by microcredit schemes like that pioneered in Bangladesh by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

On Thursday, a report submitted to the UN called on donor countries to raise up to two billion dollars to help vulnerable, poor countries adapt to climate change.

"As a first step, we urge donors countries to mobilize one to two billion dollars to assist the vulnerable, low-income countries, which are already suffering from climate impacts," particularly in Africa and small island states, said the final study by the Stockholm-based Commission on Climate Change and Development (CCCD).

A UN-led conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen in December is meant to approve a new global warming treaty for the period after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's obligations to cut carbon emissions expire.

In November four Gulf OPEC members - Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, pledged a total of 750 million dollars to a new fund to tackle global warming through financing research for a clean environment.

UN: Growth of slums boosting natural disaster risk
Brian Murphy, Associated Press Yahoo News 17 May 09;

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The rampant growth of urban slums around the world and weather extremes linked to climate change have sharply increased the risks from "megadisasters" such as devastating floods and cyclones, a U.N. report said Sunday.

The study — which examines natural disaster trends and strategies to reduce potential catastrophes — also noted that millions of people in rural areas are at higher risk from disasters such as landslides where forests have been stripped away or crippling droughts blamed on shifting rainfall patterns.

Much of nearly 200-page report restates warnings from previous studies about unchecked urban growth and shortsighted rural planning. But it also seeks to sharpen the apparent link between climate change and the severity and frequency of major natural disasters including severe droughts and epic storms.

"Climate change magnifies the interactions between disaster risk and poverty. On the one hand, it magnifies weather-related and climatic hazards. On the other hand, it will decrease the resilience of many poor households and communities to absorb the impact and recover," said the report, which was released in the Gulf nation of Bahrain.

At least 900 million people now live in shantytowns and other makeshift settlements in cities vulnerable to disasters such as cyclones, flooding or earthquakes, the report said. Those populations are growing at a rate of about 25 million a year, it said.

One model predicted many of the more than 19 million people in greater Manila would be swamped by a tsunami hitting the capital of the Philippines.

India, China and other parts of Asia were at a particularly high risk from so-called "megadisasters" such as last year's Cyclone Nargis, which killed an estimated 140,000 people in Myanmar, and the massive quake in China that claimed nearly 90,000 lives and left 5 million people homeless.

"Asia was hit especially hard," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Bahrain for the release of the report.

He said more than 300 natural disasters around the world last year caused more than $180 billion in damage.

"The linkages between disaster risk, poverty and climate change ... form a particularly tightly interlocked group of global challenges," the report said.

The lead author, Andrew Maskrey, acknowledged it was impossible to halt the migration to cities by people seeking work.

"But there are ways to alleviate the conditions of intense poverty if leaders choose to take the steps," he said. "It's all about whether there is the political will."

Maskrey noted initiatives in several cities, including Bogota, Columbia, and Karachi, Pakistan, to try to improve conditions in squatter settlements and shantytowns.

"There are all these factors coming together: urban poverty, climate change, migration to cities from rural areas," he said. "We're saying: This is bringing about a situation of impending catastrophes, but there's also something we can do about it to lower the risks."

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