Invasive Aliens in Singapore
via twitter on the ashira blog and the long winded version on the wild shores of singapore blog
School walk at Sungei Buloh
on the Urban Forest blog
Jerdon’s Baza moulting
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Munias eating grass seeds IV
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Life History of the Malayan Plum Judy
on the Butterflies of Singapore blog
To save animals, put a price on them
on the spotlight's on nature blog
Jessica Yeo, Channel NewsAsia 22 May 09;
SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) has opened a Butterfly Garden at HortPark.
The 150-square-metre theme garden will enable NParks to research the winged insects as part of the butterfly species recovery programme in Singapore and develop new butterfly trails in public parks.
It will serve as a butterfly breeding area and an experimental garden for suitable nectar plants and host plants to breed various species, including locally extinct ones such as clipper (Parthenos sylvia), common sergeant (Athyma perius) and yellow glassy tiger (Parantica aspasia).
Where appropriate, NParks will release locally extinct species back into the environment.
Besides the Butterfly Garden, HortPark - which turned one this month - will also see several new garden display plots.
One highlight is the 128-square-metre Permaculture Trail - a science exploration and learning trail with stations such as "The Climbers and Creepers", "The Colourful Foliage Bed", "The Succulent Garden", "The Wormery", as well as a sustainable food garden.
HortPark hopes that such gardens would help inspire visitors to design and plant their own gardens.
As part of its first anniversary celebrations, NParks will hold free workshops and activities for gardening enthusiasts and families on Saturday, May 23.
- CNA/yt
HortPark to re-introduce locally extinct butterflies
Business Times 23 May 09;
HORTPARK'S new Butterfly Garden opens its doors to the public today and tomorrow, where a visual feast of multi-hued plants and butterflies can be seen.
The garden is part of a butterfly species recovery programme that includes butterfly breeding and re-introducing locally extinct butterflies where appropriate.
The 150 square metre Butterfly Garden has an indoor enclosure open to the public on the last Saturday of every month, besides its two-day opening today and tomorrow. Butterfly lovers can also get up close and personal with the different butterflies in the outdoor garden, which is open every day.
New butterfly trails will be developed based on NParks' research on butterflies and host plants within the garden.
Besides the garden, new display plots have also been added, such as a Permaculture Trail where crops can be harvested worms can be seen.
Launched a year ago by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, HortPark is part of the Southern Ridges.
938 LIVE Channel NewsAsia 22 May 09;
SINGAPORE: Earth Hour Singapore which was held on March 28 was a success with phenomenal levels of participation and action.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a statement that over 1.6 million people here participated in the event.
The figures were revealed by market research firm The Nielsen Company and the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
Nielsen said 40 per cent of the population took part by turning off their lights between 8.30pm and 9.30pm.
It added that 56 per cent said they would be making a conscious effort to save the Earth by deliberately reducing their energy consumption going forward.
According to EMA, there was a 42 megawatt drop in electricity demand during the hour.
Earth Hour Campaign Manager Carine Seror said the next step now is to keep up the good work by making longlasting behavioural changes.
- CNA/yt
Channel NewsAsia 22 May 09;
SINGAPORE: Egg prices have risen four times in the past month and eggs now cost 20 per cent more than a month ago.
The price hike is apparently due to a Singapore ban placed on Malaysian exporter Linggi Agriculture after its eggs were found to contain antibiotics.
The Singapore Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) says this will not cause a shortage of eggs as Liggi Agriculture only has a 7.7 per cent market share in Singapore.
AVA urges importers to find other egg sources.
Importers Channel NewsAsia spoke to say even if they find other suppliers, securing AVA approval will still take one to two months.
Singapore imports 120 million eggs a month from Malaysian exporters.
Eggs suppliers say egg prices may continue to rise if the supply from Linggi Agriculture does not resume and alternative sources are not found and approved quickly.
They also urge Singaporeans not to stock up on eggs as this will affect their freshness and quality.
- CNA/yt
AVA, egg importers discuss suspension of eggs from Linggi Agriculture
Channel NewsAsia 23 May 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) officers have met some local egg importers on Saturday to discuss the suspension of eggs from Linggi Agriculture.
Its eggs have been found to contain antibiotics.
Importers who have been affected by the suspension said they are keen to work with AVA to accredit more farms in Malaysia, including one in Sarawak.
AVA said it has advised them that the Malaysian farms should contact the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Malaysia as DVS is very familiar with AVA's accreditation requirements. It has also offered to brief the Malaysian farms on Singapore's accreditation requirements.
AVA said the suspension of eggs from Linggi farm into Singapore did not impact the supply of eggs here as Malaysian farms are exporting only up to about 80 per cent of their production capacity to Singapore.
It added that the current increase in prices of Malaysian eggs could be a compensation to correct the drastic drop in price in the previous months.
AVA said the average price of an egg from Malaysia was about 18 cents until February, based on its monitoring of egg prices at some supermarkets.
The average price dropped to about 15 cents an egg in the following two months and is at almost 16 cents this month.
- CNA/yb
Linggi Agriculture farm can resume exporting eggs to Singapore
Channel NewsAsia 26 May 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) says Linggi Agriculture farm can resume exporting eggs to Singapore with immediate effect.
AVA says no antibiotic residues were detected in samples collected from the farm.
The farm also meets the requirements of AVA's accreditation for standards in biosecurity and biosanitation assessment.
- CNA/ir
Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia 22 May 09;
SINGAPORE: A freelance canoeing instructor is believed to have drowned while coaching some secondary school students at the MacRitchie Reservoir.
According to national water agency PUB, which operates Singapore's reservoirs, the man's canoe capsized shortly after 6pm.
An eyewitness called the MediaCorp hotline and said he saw a canoe sinking and some school girls crying near the shore.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call at about 6.45pm.
When they arrived, they were taken across the reservoir in a speedboat. The body had already been pulled onto shore.
Civil Defence officers found some people believed to be the victim's colleagues and friends attempting to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him.
SCDF officers took over CPR but the man could not be revived. Paramedics pronounced the 35-year-old man dead at the scene.
Police are investigating how he fell into the water.
- CNA/yt
Canoe instructor drowns at MacRitchie
Lee Xin En, Straits Times 24 May 09;
FREELANCE canoe instructor Chua Ee Tuck drowned while coaching some secondary school students last Friday at MacRitchie Reservoir.
According to the police, officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force received a call at about 6.45pm.
When they arrived 15 minutes later, the 35-year-old Singapore Polytechnic graduate had already stopped breathing. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
At the wake yesterday, his mother, Madam Choong Kam Choo, 64, said she found it hard to accept his sudden death.
'He was such a good son, and he was always responsible. If he wasn't coming home for dinner, he would SMS me ahead of time. Whenever I fell sick, he would take care of me,' she said in between sobs.
She added that she could not understand how the tragedy had happened because he was always careful. He cycled and jogged regularly and was a good swimmer.
About 50 students from the National Junior College canoeing team, including some who had already graduated, attended the wake yesterday. Mr Chua had been coaching the team since last year.
One student, who declined to be named, said:'We're going to miss him. He was very patient, and like a friendly buddy to us.'
BCA honours building firms for efforts to minimise noise and be environment-friendly
Linette Lai, Straits Times 23 May 09;
A NEW award recognising building firms that adopt environmentally friendly practices and minimise the effects of construction for people living near the worksite has been presented to 14 firms.
The inaugural Green and Gracious Builder Awards are given out by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), which judges builders on a points system with top performers earning an Excellent rating.
All the 14 honoured builders use piling methods that generate less noise. They also put in place systems to build rapport with residents living around the construction sites and show concern for their workers' welfare.
However, some builders go the extra mile.
Poh Lian Construction installs recycled polyurethane sandwich panels around its generators and the perimeter of its worksites to reduce noise.
It has also ensured that its worker dormitories are of high standards, especially as these are often located away from residential areas and may lack adequate infrastructure.
Poh Lian Construction is building projects such as the Trillium and Solitaire condominiums.
Kay Lim Construction and Trading, another honoured firm, is involved mainly in HDB projects such as precinct upgrading.
It installed air-conditioners and louvre curtains for the school beside its worksite in Punggol to ensure that lessons could go on uninterrupted.
The company also planted trees and herbs on site to improve the working environment.
'We hope that more builders will join in to become green and gracious builders,' said Mr Tan Tian Chong, BCA's director of technology development.
'The award will enhance the image of the construction industry by recognising the efforts of builders in addressing environmental and public concerns arising from construction works.'
The BCA received 14 applications from companies. All clinched awards, with 13 judged to be 'excellent'.
14 builders recognised for green efforts
Business Times 23 May 09;
THE Building and Construction Authority (BCA) recognised 14 builders this year for their efforts in going green.
BCA's inaugural Green and Gracious Builders' Award is the first of its kind in Singapore, and aims to spur builders to adopt sustainable and environment-friendly practices during the construction phase of development.
The award, which has two categories - "excellent" and "merit" - looks at three criteria: innovation, green practices and "graciousness" in minimising inconvenience to those living near the site.
Common traits the 14 builders display include the use of piling methods that produce less noise, a good system to build rapport with surrounding residents and caring for their workers' welfare.
Gammon Pte Ltd, for instance, does well in the area of green practices as it espouses environmental sustainability in educating staff to be energy-efficient at all their project sites.
"We hope that more builders will join in to become a green and gracious builder," says Tan Tian Chong, BCA's director of technology development. The winners will receive their awards from Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development on Wednesday.
New Straits Times 23 May 09;
They are in dire straits, most of them. ELIZABETH JOHN writes about the plight of turtles.
FOR slow movers, turtles are certainly moving fast – in trade that is.
Feasting on their eggs, taking them as pets, stuffing them for souvenirs and pulling apart their shells to make combs and bags – these are just a few in a long list of threats that have left turtles at their most precarious in living memory.
Leatherback Turtles have been declared functionally extinct in many areas where they were once common. Some populations in the Indo Pacific region crashed by over 90 per cent over the past two decades.
Many other marine turtles are heading down the same path.
Asian Box Turtles, popular for their meat and as medicine, are vanishing across much of Malaysia and other parts of their range.
The threats to turtles in Malaysia are many as evidenced by the 814 turtles that Customs officers rescued from traffickers last month, just as they were about to be smuggled across the northern border.
Though illegal in many states here, marine turtle eggs are still openly available in a number of markets in the country some sourced from waters off Sabah and others from the Philippines and Indonesia, as numerous seizures have shown.
Last November, Malaysian marine police seized 10,000 marine turtle eggs near Sandakan. They were smuggled in from the Philippines.
More recent news of turtle eggs served at a General Operations Force event last month in Sarawak, serves to underline the severity of the problem.
But the demand and cross border trade in turtles in this region poses as much of problem, shows a new report by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.
The study on the marine turtle trade in Vietnam reveals how traders in there are reporting that they get their supply of raw scutes – the individual segments of the turtle shells – from Malaysia and Indonesia.
The populations of numerous species are also falling due to the international pet trade with a taste for the beautifully patterned species.
MANY turtles are headed fast towards trouble. Here are five examples:
1 Marine Turtles
Top on the troubled turtle list is the Leatherback Turtle.
This heavyweight champion of the reptile world, Leatherback Turtles can tip the scales at over 900kg.
Individuals cover 10,000km distances over time and they can dive more than one kilometre deep.
The only species of this family lives in the open ocean, and feeds almost entirely on jellyfish. Although females may lay up to 160 eggs per clutch, threats imposed by human behaviour are diminishing world populations.
Nesting beaches are under severe threat from development, while pollution and poaching add to current threats.
The World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Leatherback as critically endangered, and although some viable populations are recognized, those in West Malaysia are teetering on the brink of extinction.
Other marine turtles like the Hawksbill and Green Turtles are also imperilled.
In March last year Sabah marine police seized 72 Green and Hawksbill Turtles in one raid and three days later, another batch of 220 of these two species in Chinese fishing boats.
2 River Terrapin Batagur baska
The River Terrapin is one of few turtles that live in rivers and then go into brackish water and lay their eggs on beaches.
Their homes are under ever increasing pressure from the impacts of development. Egg exploitation and poaching have also contributed to the decline.
The IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species lists it as extinct in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is endangered in Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia, and critically endangered in India and Bangladesh.
3 Impressed Tortoise Manouria impressa
This tortoise can be found in hilly forests of continental Southeast Asia. Like all tortoises and many other terrestrial turtle species, females of this species only lay eggs after several years and rarely more than 15 eggs at a time.
The species has a unique and beautiful back golden shell with impressed scutes, which may be the reason why it is collected and transported worldwide for the international pet trade.
Many do not survive. But this species is also sought after in Asian food trade; the back shell is sold as trophies while the belly shell is used in traditional Chinese medicines.
It is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
4 Southeast Asian Box Turtle Cuora amboinensis
A once widely distributed turtle living in diverse wetlands in Southeast Asia, this species has now become rare in many parts of its range.
The young usually do not leave the water but the adults can be found travelling on land.
What makes box turtles unique is their flexible hinge on the belly shell (plastron), which locks all soft body parts when threatened. This means the turtle can withdraw its entire body into its shell.
The intense demand in the shell for traditional Chinese medicines and soft body parts for the Asian food market has caused a decline to many populations in its range.
Recently published studies by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia show that this species is being traded at 10 to 100 times the legal levels in Indonesia and is being overexploited in Malaysia despite a ban on its trade here.
The IUCN Red List classifies it as vulnerable.
5 Asian Giant Softshell Turtle Pelochelys cantorii
The Asian Giant Softshell Turtle is one member of four species of softshell turtles native to Malaysia, besides many tropical Asian countries, where it is found in large rivers and estuaries.
Until today the biology of the species still remains poorly understood, as is true for many threatened turtles and tortoises of Malaysia.
Unlike other freshwater turtles, softshell turtles have a leathery “shell” which is very flexible at its rear end. This species is much more flat in shape than its close relatives, and its snout projects in a very small trunk.
It is also one of world’s largest aquatic non-marine turtles, measuring approximately 1.5m and weighing 200kg.
Over much of its range populations have been severely depleted, largely due to poaching and destruction of habitats. The World Conservation Union’s Red List of Endangered Species lists it as endangered.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REVERSE THE TIDE
1. Don’t buy or eat turtle eggs
Turtles lay a large clutch of eggs to help ensure survival of the species as many hatchlings are taken by predators at sea.
Taking the eggs for human consumption further compounds the problem.
2. Don’t buy souvenirs made from turtle parts
Turtle and tortoise shells are often removed in a very cruel manner, in many cases while the animal is still alive. All marine turtles and many freshwater turtles and tortoises are protected under various national laws.
All marine turtles and tortoises as well as some freshwater turtles are listed in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Buying freshwater turtles and tortoises and marine turtles or their parts and derivatives may be illegal.
3. Support a turtle rescue programme/Adopt a turtle
For further information, visit:
www.asianturtlenetwork.org, http://www.umt.edu.my/turtle/ or www.iucn-tftsg.org.
4. Learn about turtles and make your voice heard
For further information, visit:
www.traffic.org, www.wwf.org.my
5. Report illegal trade to authorities.
In Malaysia, you can call the Fisheries Department at 03- 8870 4465, or the Wildlife and National Parks Department at 03-9075 2872
Errol Oh, The Star 23 May 09;
THIS month didn’t start well for the plantation industry. Over the first two days, British newspaper The Independent ran several hard-hitting articles, anchored by a front-page editorial on May 1, that blamed the expansion of oil palm area in Malaysia and Indonesia for ills caused by deforestation.
The allegations – that the current clearing of land to make way for estates is crowding out indigenous people and wild animals, and is contributing to global warming – are not really news. We have heard these many times before.
However, the newspaper, known for its forceful campaigns on environmental issues, has adopted a relatively fresh angle that’s meant to lay a guilt trip on readers.
The Independent says it has discovered that many of Britain’s best-selling products, particularly food items, contain palm oil and therefore, consumers are part of the problem.
It relies on the name-and-shame tactic, listing manufacturers and retailers who use palm oil, and highlighting their policies on the commodity. These companies include Unilever, Cadbury, Mars, Kellogg’s, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Kraft.
“At breakfast, when millions of us are munching toast, we’re eating a small slice of the rainforest,” reminds an article. In other words, The Independent is saying the cookies, crisps and candy bars that the British love are laced with the blood of orangutans, the symbol of the victims of deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra.
The intent is clear – the newspaper wants to shape popular opinion into a market force that will pressure businesses into halting the opening of oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia. The tool of choice is the threat of a consumer boycott.
Here’s how the May 1 editorial concludes: “The destruction wrought by the palm oil industry is no longer a distant problem. Its bitter fruits can be found in our shopping trolleys. We need to send a clear message to the food industry by removing them without delay.”
It is interesting that the package of articles in The Independent includes one written by Greenpeace forest campaigner James Turner.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) has long pushed for a moratorium on oil palm expansion into Indonesia’s rainforest and peatland areas. This stance is increasingly relevant as we approach the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark in December.
The conservation of forests is expected to be a hot topic at the talks, and a strident consumer lobby against products with palm oil will definitely be a valuable bargaining chip.
There have been some attempts to counter the newspaper articles. In his latest blog entry, Malaysian Palm Oil Council chief executive officer Tan Sri Yusof Basiron says The Independent is “telling lies” and disputes several points raised in the stories.
A little-known outfit called the Palm Oil Truth Foundation also pooh-poohs the reports, saying The Independent has “joined the ranks of the integrity-challenged witch-hunters”.
Yusof is doing his job, of course, and The Independent articles are indeed more about putting across certain views than it is about presenting a balanced picture. So, there is much in the stories that can and should be contested.
However, the plantation industry must go beyond refuting untruths and inaccuracies. It should also come clean about its shortcomings and commit to plans to remedy these. There must be a willingness to strictly enforce the law and weed out the black sheep of the industry.
There is a sense that not all the oil palm growers and policy-makers in Malaysia quite grasp the nature and extent of the challenge the industry faces on the environmental front. For one thing, it’s wrong to liken this to the anti-palm oil lobby of the 1980s.
The opposition today is a different beast from that of 20 years ago, when the soybean farmers waged a turf war with the palm oil producers. Back then, the focus was palm oil itself and its effect on the health of consumers.
Today, the practices of the oil palm industry are being targeted, and those attacking are NGOs and the media, organisations that are widely seen as altruistic and trustworthy. It’s difficult to be dismissive when they are talking about saving the planet and its natural resources.
Fighting the anti-palm oil lobby of the 1980s required some savvy wielding of science and cold, hard facts. That won’t work well this time around because the issues raised are often emotional and abstract. Furthermore, the audience in the West are thousands of kilometres away. They will never get the ringside view that the plantation industry and we in Malaysia and Indonesia have. Merely presenting our side of the story will do little to help our case.
The best solution is to mature quickly into a well-regulated industry that deeply understands its impact on people and the environment.
To do this, the industry and the authorities have to first ask themselves some tough questions. Do we have our hearts in the right place? Are we united in what we stand for and in what we need to do to fight this? Are we ready to penalise those that do not play by the rules?
Have we done enough to ensure that the industry does as little harm to the world as possible, particularly by subscribing to the principles of sustainable production of palm oil? Are we transparent and open to engagement with all stakeholders?
Without honest answers to these questions, the palm oil industry will be hard-pressed to come up with a solid game plan that can lead to an enduring position of trust and respect among buyers, consumers and NGOs.
l Because deputy business editor Errol Oh grew up in rubber and oil palm estates – his father was a planter – the issues affecting the plantation industry is no less real to him than the woes of an over-exploited planet.
IUCN Press Release 22 May 09;
Protecting the oceans through marine protected areas can provide higher and more sustained income through tourism and controlled fisheries than continued exploitation. This is the result of IUCN’s new compilation of case studies about the economic benefits of marine protected areas, launched on World Biodiversity Day at the 2nd International Marine Protected Area Congress in Washington, D.C.
Along the western coast of Hawaii, a network of marine protected areas was established in 1999 following concerns about over harvesting by aquarium fishers. Eight years later, the total catch and the catch for the top two commercial species in the adjacent areas were higher than in the previous 40 years. Western Hawaii case study on the IUCN website (PDF).
In the Navakavu Locally Managed Marine Area near Viti Levu Island in Fiji, finfish catch increased by 3 per cent in the four years after putting the area under protection, resulting in a revenue increase of US$28,700 for local communities. Navakavu case study on the IUCN website (PDF).
A third case study shows that fishermen near the Kulape-Batu-Batu Marine Protected Area, in the Philippine Tawi-Tawi province, were able to increase their income by about 20 percent only one year after the establishment of the Kulape-Batu-Batu marine sanctuary. Kulape-Batu-Batu case study on the IUCN website (PDF).
“These case studies show that closing selected marine areas to fishing or other extractive uses makes economic sense,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head of IUCN’s Global Marine Programme. “Marine protected areas, if well managed, help fish stocks replenish, which then increase yields in neighbouring areas and improve the economic situation of the local communities.”
Marine protected areas also attract tourism, which is the other important source of income through marine conservation.
Since all fishing has been banned in the British Lundy Island No Take Zone, a small four square km marine protected area set up in the Bristol Channel in 2003, tourism has picked up significantly: the business of the area’s tour operator, for example, has doubled since 2003. The fishing industry also benefits from the Lundy No Take Zone: lobsters have become more abundant and grown in average size, within and outside the protected zone, which is expected to replenish fish stocks in the area and increase fisheries yields. Lundy case study on the IUCN website (PDF).
“On World Biodiversity Day, IUCN gives the proof that protecting the oceans is not only good for biodiversity, but it also makes money,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “These examples from around the world prove that there are no excuses anymore for exploiting the oceans until nothing is left – it will ultimately destroy the fishing industry altogether, let alone the diversity of life on our planet.”
Less than one percent of the world’s oceans are currently protected, compared to about 12 percent of the land surface. Governments agreed under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to increase protection of the oceans to 10 percent by 2010.
CNN 22 May 09;
(CNN) -- A pea-sized seahorse, the world's longest insect, a "ghost slug" and the world's smallest snake were among the top 10 species discovered in 2008, a committee of scientists said Friday.
These unusual critters were among thousands of species found last year, many in remote or tropical regions of the planet, that hint at the breadth of the Earth's undiscovered biodiversity.
"Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth's species is," said Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, which announced the top 10 new species list.
"We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted," Wheeler added.
The ASU institute and an international committee of taxonomists -- scientists devoted to species exploration and classification -- compile the top 10 list of new species each year.
Also on the 2008 list are a caffeine-free coffee plant, a snail whose shell twists around four axes, a palm that flowers itself to death and microscopic bacteria that live in hairspray.
Here's the complete list:
1. Pygmy seahorse: Classified by its Latin name, Hippocampus satomiae, this species measures about half an inch long and was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan, Indonesia.
2. A plant that kills itself: Found in a small area of northwestern Madagascar, a rare genus of palm -- Tahina spectablilis -- produces huge, spectacular flowers and then dies and collapses. Fewer than 100 have been found.
3. Decaf, please: Known as Coffea charrieriana, this plant found in Cameroon is the first record of a caffeine-free coffee species from Central Africa.
4. Spray-on species: An extremophile bacteria, Microbacterium hatanonis, was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists.
5. A stick that moves: The world's longest insect, with a body length of 14 inches (22.3 inches including legs), Phobaeticus chani resembles a stick and was found in Borneo, Malaysia.
6. The Barbados Threadsnake: Leptotyphlops carlae measures only 4.1 inches long and is believed to be the world's smallest snake.
7. A pale "ghost slug": Selenochlamys ysbryda was a surprising find in the densely populated area of Cardiff, Wales.
8. A very limber snail: This unique species, Opisthostoma vermiculum, is found on a limestone hill in Malaysia and has a shell that twists around four axes.
9. Damsel in the deep blue sea: Chromis abyssus is a beautiful species of damselfish found in deep-reef habitat off the coast of Ngemelis Island, Palau.
10. Fossil mama: A fossilized fish, Materpiscis attenboroughi, is an extremely rare find from Western Australia and shows a mother giving birth 380 million years ago.
Scientists are still classifying species found around the globe in 2008, so final data for that year are not available. But on Friday, the taxonomists issued a State of Observed Species report card that states 18,516 species new to science -- about half of them insects -- were discovered and described in 2007.
The vast majority of the 18,516 species named in 2007 were invertebrate animals (75.6 percent), vascular plants (11.1 percent) and vertebrates (6.7 percent).
The report was compiled by ASU's International Institute for Species Exploration in partnership with other scientists.
"Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life," Wheeler said. "It is in our own self-interest as we face the challenges of living on a rapidly changing planet."
According to Wheeler, a new generation of tools is coming online that will vastly accelerate the rate at which humans can discover and describe species.
The annual release of the top 10 new species list and State of Observed Species report commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.
An estimated 1.8 million species have been described since Linnaeus initiated the modern systems for naming plants and animals in the 18th century. Scientists estimate that there are between 2 million and 100 million species on Earth, though most set the number closer to 10 million, according to ASU.
"It is estimated that the approximately 1.8 million species named since 1758 represent no more than a fraction of the world's species," the report states.
"Rapid environmental changes around the world highlight the urgent need to accelerate our exploration of Earth's species," the report says. "Millions of species -- the majority not yet known to science -- face an uncertain future. Among these species are keys to understanding the history of the origin and diversification of life on our planet."
Photos of the new species on CNN.
Pea-Sized Seahorse Makes 'Top 10 Species' List
LiveScience.com Yahoo News 22 May 09;
A pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray are among the "top 10" species described in 2008, a group of scientists announced today.
The top 10 new species also include the very tiny (a snake just a slither longer than 4 inches or 104 millimeters), the very long (an insect from Malaysia with an overall length of 22.3 inches or 56.7 centimeters), the very old (a fossilized specimen of the oldest known live-bearing vertebrate) and the very twisted (a snail whose shell twists around four axes). Rounding out this year's list are a palm that flowers itself to death, a ghost slug from Wales and a deep blue damselfish.
The species were announced by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists.
The taxonomists also are issuing an SOS - State of Observed Species - report card on human knowledge of Earth's species. In it, they report that 18,516 species new to science were discovered and described in 2007.
The SOS report was compiled by ASU's International Institute for Species Exploration in partnership with the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, International Plant Names Index, Zoological Record published by Thomson Reuters, and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
Details on the organisms
Among this year's top 10 picks is a tiny seahorse - Hippocampus satomiae - with a standard length of 0.54 inches (13.8 millimeters) and an approximate height of 0.45 inches (11.5 millimeters). This pygmy species was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan, Indonesia. The name - satomiae - is "in honour of Miss Satomi Onishi, the dive guide who collected the type specimens."
From the plant kingdom is a gigantic new species and genus of palm - Tahina spectablilis - with fewer than 100 individuals found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar. This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses. Soon after the original publication of the species description, seeds were disseminated throughout the palm grower community, to raise money for its conservation by the local villagers. It has since become a highly prized ornamental.
Also on the top 10 list is caffeine-free coffee from Cameroon. Coffea charrieriana is the first record of a caffeine-free species from Central Africa. The plant is named for Professor Andre Charrier, "who managed coffee breeding research and collecting missions at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement) during the last 30 years of the 20th century."
And, in the category of "spray on new species" is an extremophile bacteria that was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists. The species - Microbacterium hatanonis - was named in honor of Kazunori Hatano, "for his contribution to the understanding of the genus Microbacterium."
Phobaeticus chani made the list as the world's longest insect with a body length of 14 inches (36.6 centimeters) and overall length of 22.3 inches (56.7 centimeters). The insect, which resembles a stick, was found in Borneo, Malaysia.
The Barbados Threadsnake - Leptotyphlops carlae - measuring 4.1 inches (104 millimeters) is believed to be the world's smallest snake. It was discovered in St. Joseph Parish, Barbados.
The ghost slug - Selenochlamys ysbryda - was a surprising find in the well-collected and densely populated area of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.
A snail - Opisthostoma vermiculum - found in Malaysia, represents a unique morphological evolution, with a shell that twists around four axes. It is endemic to a unique limestone hill habitat in Malaysia.
The other two species on the top 10 list are fish - one found in deep-reef habitat off the coast of Ngemelis Island, Palau, and the other a fossilized specimen of the oldest known live-bearing vertebrate.
Chromis abyssus - a beautiful species of damselfish made it to the top 10 representing the first taxonomic act of 2008 and the first act registered in the newly launched taxonomic database Zoobank. As a result, in the first month following its original description, it was the most downloaded article in Zootaxa's history and was among the top 10 downloaded articles for 11 months in 2008. The discovery also highlights how little is known about deep-reef biodiversity.
Also on the top 10 list is a fossilized specimen - Materpiscis attenboroughi - the oldest known vertebrate to be viviparous (live bearing). The specimen, an extremely rare find from Western Australia, shows a mother fish giving birth approximately 380 million years ago. The holotype specimen has been nicknamed "Josie" by the discoverer, John Long, in honor of his mother.
Why the list
Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life, says Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist and director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. "It is in our own self-interest as we face the challenges of living on a rapidly changing planet," he said.
A new generation of tools are coming online, he said, that will vastly accelerate the rate at which we are able to discover and describe species.
"Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth's species is or the steady rate at which taxonomists are exploring that diversity. We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted," Wheeler said.
Celebration of Linnaeus
The annual top 10 new species announcement and issuance of the SOS report commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications. The 300th anniversary of his birth on May 23 was celebrated worldwide in 2007. Last year marked the 250th anniversary of the beginning of animal naming.
There are an estimated 1.8 million species that have been described since Linnaeus initiated the modern systems for naming plants and animals in the 18th century. Scientists estimate there are between 2 million and 100 million species on Earth, though most set the number closer to 10 million.
An international committee of experts, chaired by Janine N. Caira of the University of Connecticut, selected the top 10 new species for this year's list. Nominations were invited through the species.asu.edu Web site and also generated by institute staff and committee members.
The Caira committee had complete freedom in making its choices and developing its own criteria, from unique attributes or surprising facts about the species to peculiar names, Wheeler said.
Matt Walker, BBC News 22 May 09;
One of the world's most elusive mammals has revealed itself.
Footprints and scat belonging to the Visayan spotted deer have been found deep in the Philippines jungle.
Less than 300 of the deer are thought to remain, confined to just two islands, making it one of the most vulnerable of all mammals.
The discovery proves a small population survives in the wild, despite the ongoing threat to its survival from hunting and deforestation.
An expedition team led by Craig Turner and James Sawyer decided to explore the inner forests of the North Negros Natural Park (NNNP) on Negros Island in the Philippines.
The park is considered an important biodiversity hotspot, yet it's one of the most vulnerable forest ecosystems in the world, with only 16,500h of forest remaining in a park of more than 80,000h.
It is also one of the least explored of all tropical forests.
"We held an ambition to access the interior and undertake the first biological exploration," says Turner, an environmental consultant who for years helped organise conservation work on the fringes of the park.
So after five years of planning, Turner, Sawyer and colleagues in the Philippines founded an organisation called the Negros Interior Biodiversity Expedition to do just that. A number of conservation organisations helped fund the trip, including the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation Inc, Coral Cay Conservation and the Zoological Society of London.
At the start of April, they entered the interior. As well as surveying for new species, the expedition team kept a particular eye out for the Visayan spotted deer ( Rusa alfredi ), also known as the Philippine spotted deer. One of three deer species native to the country, it holds the distinction of possibly being the rarest deer in the world.
After three days of walking, the team found what they were looking for, stumbling across several sets of tracks along the edge of a river.
Three days later, the team then found evidence of where the deer had been feeding on young palm trees. Being so far apart, the two discoveries suggest that more than one group of Visayan spotted deer survive in the park.
Over the following days, the team also found two piles of deer scat in a natural clearing, at a site where they hoped to trap bats. The scat lay in small piles of 20 to 30 pellets with a trail of deer footprints leading away.
The team can be confident they found signs of life of the Visayan spotted deer because it is the only deer species living on Negros island. There are also few other large mammals on the island that could have left such signs.
"Other species such as the Visayan warty pig and civets have distinctly different scat," Turner says.
His team were thrilled by the discovery.
The last major survey of the Visayan spotted deer, conducted back in 1991, found that even then it had become extinct over 95% of its former range. The Visayan spotted deer is endemic to the Visayan islands of the central Philippines, but while it once lived on seven, it now survives on two, Negros and Panay. The two populations have been seperated for thousands of years, with no confirmed sighting of the deer on Negros since the mid-1990s.
"It has been assumed that the species persists in the NNNP but no scientific proof has been presented in recent years, and very little field work has been completed on this species," says Turner.
"This discovery confirms they are surviving, but doesn't tell us they are thriving."
As well as the deer, the expedition also discovered some unusual plants, including ground orchids and pitchers, and numerous bird and frog species which they hope to investigate further.
Rare deer found on Philippine island: scientists
Yahoo News 28 May 09;
MANILA (AFP) – One of the world's rarest deer has been found in a tiny patch of Philippines forest that is being cut down by farmers and loggers, according to a British-Filipino scientific expedition.
The team said it "found fresh deer droppings, deer tracks and evidence of feeding activity" by the Visayan spotted deer during the group's three-week sortie into Mount Mandalagan in the north of Negros island last month.
"This is a critically important find to discover such an important animal alive and well in its natural habitat," expedition leader James Sawyer said in a statement released after the British members' return to London.
Not much larger than a dog, the short-legged, rainforest-dwelling deer that feeds at night is the largest endemic species of the west Visayan islands.
It is notable for its distinctive pattern of buff-coloured spots scattered across its dark brown back and sides.
Cervus alfredi are found only in the central Philippines and before the herds dwindled through heavy hunting and rapid habitat loss, they were present on the islands of Cebu, Guimaras, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay and Samar.
Only a few hundred are now thought to remain on Panay and Negros due to intensive hunting and extensive deforestation as land is cleared for farming.
The northern Negros herds themselves had not been seen "for many years," according to the expedition statement.
The expedition also proved that "Philippine forests still harbour many rare and unique species, found nowhere else in the world," said the team's research leader Craig Turner.
The forest, which comprises the core of the protected North Negros Natural Park, is described by the expedition as "a biodiversity hotspot of great importance" and "one of the top 10 most vulnerable forest ecosystems globally".
The team said it would present its findings at Britain's Royal Geographical Society on September 3.
Yahoo News 21 May 09;
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's Tasmanian devil, the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, will be listed as endangered because of a contagious and deadly cancer, the government said.
"This disease has led to the decline of about 70 percent of the Tasmanian devil population since the disease was first reported in 1996," Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement.
Devil facial tumour disease, which is spread through biting, kills the animals usually within three months by growing over their faces and mouths, preventing them from eating.
Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.
The animals were previously listed as vulnerable, and Garrett said the change in status to endangered would give them greater protection under national environment law.
"Fortunately, strong action is being taken to find out more about this disease and to stop its spread," he said.
The government had committed 10 million dollars (7.5 million US) over five years to a program aimed at saving the devil, including research into the disease and support for captive and wild populations, he said.
The species is restricted to the island state of Tasmania after competition from the dingo led to its extinction on mainland Australia.
It is Australia's largest marsupial carnivore after the extinction last century of its distant cousin, the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger.
Tasmanian devils listed as endangered in Australia
Rod Mcguirk, Associated Press Yahoo News 22 May 09;
CANBERRA, Australia – The Tasmanian devil, a snarling fox-sized marsupial made notorious by its Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz, was listed in Australia as an endangered species Friday because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population.
The upgrade from "vulnerable" under Australian environmental law entitles the world's largest marsupial carnivore to greater protection in the island state of Tasmania, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement.
Devils do not exist in the wild outside Tasmania, although mainland zoos are breeding captive populations as a strategy against total extinction.
Their numbers have declined by 70 percent since the facial cancer was first reported in 1996. The disease is caused by bites inflicted on each other's faces as part of a bizarre mating ritual or while squabbling over food. It causes grotesque facial tumors that eventually prevent them from feeding, leading to starvation within months.
"Strong action is being taken to find out more about this disease and to stop its spread," Garrett said.
The government has already committed 10 million Australian dollars ($7.8 million) over five years to research the disease and support captive breeding programs, but scientists say more is needed.
Hamish McCallum, senior scientist in the government-backed devil rescue program, said the main advantage of the endangered listing was that it acknowledged the serious threat the species faced.
"I'm hoping that it might cause a philanthropist or corporate sponsors to say: 'Hey, this is serious' and to chip in some serious money," McCallum said.
"I guess my optimism has diminished a little bit, but I'm still hopeful that of the various angles we're looking at, one of them will come through and we won't lose the animals in the wild," he added.
Warner Bros., which owns Taz, and CNN founder Ted Turner, who started the Cartoon Network, have helped fund the fight against the disease.
McCallum fears that devils could be extinct in the wild in 20 years. He estimates there are as few as 10,000 now, as the cancer continues to spread west and south across Tasmania.
Scientists have been working since the disease first emerged to save the animals, known for their powerful jaws and bloodcurdling growl.
Programs to try to save them include plans to relocate breeding pairs to island sanctuaries and to protect disease-free populations on peninsulas with devil-proof fences several miles (kilometers) long.
McCallum said he is frustrated that disagreement among scientists has prevented the sanctuaries from being established on islands off Tasmania. Some scientists fear the introduced devils would threaten endangered birds.
Scientists had hoped to find a genetic solution to the disease through a young devil who showed signs of natural immunity in laboratory tests. But that devil last year contracted a second, mutated strain of the cancer.
A test that can potentially detect the disease in a devil before it becomes contagious is in trials. While scientists hope this will help keep small wild populations disease free, the test is not yet proven to be accurate.
UNEP 22 May 09;
Bonn, 22 May 2009 - An omnipresent yet invisible threat to gorillas and their habitats, as well as to countless other species, is the ever-growing human demand for energy and its consequences.
Charcoal production is a major threat to gorilla forests in many areas, not least the Mountain Gorilla habitat in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. To reduce this threat, solar cookers, tree-planting on farms and the spread of fuel-efficient stoves are needed. The Year of the Gorilla (YoG) is supporting a project in the Mountain Gorillas' range which enables local residents to purchase highly fuel-efficient stoves for a low price, thereby enabling them to use less firewood, which is often taken from the very same forests that are home to the gorillas.
This threat manifests itself also through fossil fuel extraction. Oil exploration in Petit Loango wetland, Gabon, put Western Lowland Gorillas in peril, but prospecting luckily did not yield results to justify further action. The search for nuclear fuel can have similar effects.
Robert Hepworth, Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of wild animals (UNEP/CMS), said: "Stopping the current overexploitation of natural resources is a key element of any strategy leading to a sustainable way of living. The forests and woodlands of Africa must play a central role in efforts to avoid dangerous climate change. There is a strong scientific case for carbon finance to make significant contributions to gorilla conservation, as gorilla range states would benefit financially from protecting their forests."
A further worrying development is the fact that many gorilla range states are signing land deals with foreign companies for agriculture, including bio-fuels. On top of destroying the habitat of numerous species, forest degradation also means palm oil, an edible oil found in one in ten supermarket products and also increasingly being seen as a profitable bio-fuel, has a higher carbon footprint than the fossil fuels it is supposed to replace.
Beyond the immediate impact of these industries, the influx of relatively well-paid workers who can afford to frequently eat meat causes bushmeat trade to boom and gorillas to decline, as happened with the Coltan boom in Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000/2001.
Apes and other large mammals are keystone species in their ecosystems, dispersing billions of seeds, which have higher germination and seedling survival rates than seeds that just fall to ground. Ian Redmond OBE, Ambassador for the YoG said, "I am proud to be an Ambassador for the YoG. Fascinating though gorillas are because of their similarities to humans, we also need to focus on their key ecological role. They are second only to elephants in the number of seeds dispersed per unit area, and symbolise the fate of the Congo Basin forests, which the planet needs for climate stability. Save the gorillas and you save the world!"
Viewed globally, degradation and destruction of habitats not only threaten gorillas, they also worsen climate change overall. Tropical trees in undisturbed forest are absorbing nearly a fifth of the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels. The world's remaining tropical forests remove 4.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year. This includes a previously unknown carbon sink in Africa, mopping up 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2.
Numerous threats endanger gorillas' survival. Together with the other great apes, they are most severely threatened by: habitat loss and fragmentation; hunting and the bushmeat trade; diseases and epidemics; mining; and the effects of armed conflicts. This is why the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have joined forces to declare 2009 the Year of the Gorilla.
Angela Meder of the German gorilla conservation NGO Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe e.V. said: "This year, we celebrate our 25th anniversary. Our organization supports gorilla conservation projects through quick, unbureaucratic help. For example we are currently supporting the reforestation of a montane forest on the edge of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo."
Notes to Editors
The main threats to gorillas are hunting for food and traditional medicine, destruction of habitat through logging, mining and unsustainable production of charcoal, as well as the effects of armed conflicts and diseases like Ebola. Concerted conservation and restoration efforts focus on saving gorilla populations in the wild and their habitats. However, gorillas remain on the brink of extinction, and continue to face severe threats.
In 2006, the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) requested the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, in partnership with the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), and in consultation with the gorilla range states and GRASP members, to develop a gorilla conservation agreement, to be implemented via a regional, transborder Action Plan.
The agreement, which came into effect in June 2008 and has so far been signed by six of the ten gorilla range states, provides a legal framework that will reinforce and integrate conservation efforts. Supporting the implementation of the Gorilla Agreement is the overarching goal of the Year of the Gorilla 2009.
www.yog2009.org
www.cms.int
UNEP On 22 May 2009: the 16th International Day for Biodiversity
Cambridge, 22 May 2009 – The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) is a global initiative funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) that brings together over 40 international organizations to develop biodiversity indicators and assess biodiversity loss. The 2010 BIP Secretariat, hosted by the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, will launch a new version of its website on the International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May 2009.
The website (http://www.twentyten.net) will be a unique portal to provide comprehensive information on global biodiversity indicators and trends; with an emphasis on reporting towards the "2010 Biodiversity Target".
The theme of 2009 International Day for Biodiversity (IDB) is Invasive Alien Species - which present one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the ecological and economic well-being of society. Each year the cost of damage caused by invasive species is estimated to be in the region of US$ 1.4 trillion. (Information: Global Invasive Species Programme, www.gisp.org).
This year's International Day of Biodiversity marks the countdown to the publication of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). The publication will be launched on IDB (22 May) 2010, which has been designated as the International Year of Biodiversity the United Nations. Over the next year the 2010 BIP partners will be working together to produce indicator results and storylines for inclusion in this publication.
In April 2002, 191 nations committed themselves to "achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth" at the 6th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biodiversity. The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership was established in a response to this target, to develop and promote the biodiversity indicators selected by the CBD for measuring progress towards this target.
The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership is a global initiative to track progress towards achieving the "2010 biodiversity target" to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
The 2010 BIP is a collaboration of over 40 international organizations and agencies developing global biodiversity indicators and is the leading source of information on trends in global biodiversity.
The three main objectives of the 2010 BIP are:
1. To generate information on biodiversity trends that is useful to decision makers.
2. To ensure improved global biodiversity indicators are implemented and available.
3. To establish links between biodiversity initiatives at the regional and national levels to enable capacity building and improve the delivery of the biodiversity indicators.
The website should be available in all six languages of the United Nations later in the year
Quotations / comment available from:
Dr Damon Stanwell-Smith, Project Coordinator, 2010 BIP
Dr. Matt Walpole, Head of Ecosystem Assessment Programme, UNEP-WCMC
Ms. Anna Chenery, Communications Focal Point, 2010 BIP
Other 2010 BIP, UNEP-WCMC and/or GEF representatives
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme, established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment. To accomplish this, UNEP works with a wide range of partners, including United Nations entities, international organisations, national governments non-governmental organisations, the private sector and civil society.
About GEF
The Global Environment Facility, established in 1991, unites 178 countries in partnership with international institutions, non-government organisations and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest funding organisation of projects to improve the global environment. An independent financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing US$8.3 billion in grants and leveraging US$33.7 billion in co-financing for over than 2,200 projects in more than 165 countries.
Alister Doyle, Reuters 21 May 09;
OSLO (Reuters) - Many governments are ignoring alien invasive species such as weeds or rats that may be causing $1.4 trillion damage a year to the world economy, the head of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) said on Friday.
"Time to get tough on alien species," UNEP head Achim Steiner wrote of insects, fungi, algae and other plants or animals often taken unwittingly by humans to new habitats, for instance in grain exports or in ships' ballast water.
Alien species may be "one of the least known threats to biodiversity and economies," he wrote in a statement to mark International Biological Diversity Day on May 22.
"Far too many countries have failed to grasp the threat or are far too casual in their response," he said, praising countries including South Africa for eradication programs or New Zealand for imposing tough customs controls.
He noted that one study put the cost of alien invasive species at $1.4 trillion a year -- almost 5 percent of the world economy -- split between losses from introduced pests in crops, pastures and forests and other environmental damage.
"The $1.4 trillion ... is still credible today," David Pimentel, a professor at Cornell University in the United States who led a 2001 study that came up with the number, told Reuters when asked if he might now revise the figure.
"I would rank agricultural weeds as number one and rats as number two," he wrote in an e-mail, asked to name what he reckoned the most destructive aliens, which can thrive in new habitats when freed of natural predators.
CHOKING HYACINTH
Among examples, Steiner pointed to the water hyacinth, a native of the Amazon basin with large violet flowers that has exploded in numbers since it was brought to Africa as an ornamental plant.
In Uganda alone, the hyacinths cause annual costs of perhaps $112 million, by forming a floating mat choking parts of Lake Victoria since 1990. Impacts include reduced fish catches and clogging propellers of ships.
And in sub-Saharan Africa, the invasive witchweed causes annual maize losses totaling about $7 billion a year, he said.
A project to curb invasive species in Europe, DAISIE, reckons there are more than 11,000 invaders of which 15 percent cause economic damage.
Aliens species "are spread from one continent to another via the global agricultural, horticultural and pet trades or by hitch-hiking lifts in ballast water and on ship's hulls," Steiner wrote, saying the "free ride" had to end.
"Globalization and international trade will, when the world economy recovers, increase the chances of new aliens to travel from one part of the world to another," he added.
(Editing by Jon Hemming)
Snapping turtles that kill ducklings, geese that are attacking other birds and an African clawed toad are some of the foreign species identified by scientists which could invade England and threaten native species.
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 21 May 09;
Invasive species such as the grey squirrel, American mink and Muntjack deer are already causing havoc in many areas of the country.
Now Natural England fear a whole new generation of foreign species could take over in Britain. In a new report 84 out of 161 animal species were identified as posing a risk.
Animals that are already in the country include the agressive snapping turtle from North America that will take young wild fowl, the Egyptian goose that is known to usurp the nests of barn owls and the African clawed toad that threatens endangered native amphibians.
The scientists also identified animals that are already circulating as pets or could be transported accidentally through foreign imports that would pose a "high risk" to British wildlife if they are released. The list includes leopard cats, racoons, American beaver, Arctic fox, marbled crayfish and Asian longhorn beetle
Poul Christensen, Acting Chair for Natural England, blamed ease of travel that means aninmals are being spread through imported plants, by tourists and even on the bottom of boats.
"It is no exaggeration to say that our native wildlife is increasingly exposed to its own form of globalisation as non-native species increasingly gain a foothold," he said.
Mr Christensen said the report highlighted species like the red-eared terrapin and eagle owl, that are already causing a problems as well as more exotic species like the Arctic fox and American beaver that are controlled at the moment but could pose a risk in the future.
"Non-native invasive species compete for food and habitat and sometimes carry viruses which our native wildlife often cannot fight off - the fate of our red squirrels, water voles and native bluebells is evidence of how dramatic the effects can be," he said.
"The report highlights that new arrivals and the steady expansion of current populations of non-native species could have significant impacts on native wildlife and their habitats, disrupting the normal functioning of the natural environment. The key will be to anticipate where the main changes are likely to occur so that we can take targeted action to reduce their impacts."
Some of the species identified by the Natural England report as posing a threat to British wildlife include:
Snapping turtles - Originally from the south east of the United States of America, it was released by pet owners and has been blamed for taking fish and young waterfowl.
African clawed toad - Feeds mainly on fresh water crustaceans but it is feared it will also take tadpoles of native species.
Leopard cat - Currenly kept as a pet or in animal parks in the UK. If the small cat from Asia was released it would threaten native birds and mammals.
Raccoons - The animals from North America are kept as pets but could become as problematic as the grey squirrel for trees and the native red squirrel if allowed to spread in the wild.
Asian longhorn beetle - The insect from China has already caused problems for trees in the US and could be accidentally imported into the UK on popular garden plants.
David Tirrell-wysocki, Associated Press Yahoo News 22 May 09;
CONCORD, N.H. – Forestry officials in the Northeast are on an urgent mission, tracking thousands of Massachusetts residents as they search for tree-eating stowaway insects they may have carried to campgrounds or vacation homes.
The culprit is the Asian longhorned beetle that has devastated trees in Worcester, Mass., and surrounding communities. The fear is that some have hitched rides into other states in firewood carried by campers or owners of seasonal homes.
"As far as New England is concerned, you should consider the Asian longhorned beetle Public Enemy Number 1," said Suzanne Bond, spokeswoman for the U.S. Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The Asian longhorned beetle is particularly troublesome because, unlike most insects that feed on one or two types of trees, it eats virtually all hardwoods. In New England, that puts a major part of the economy at risk: from lumber, to the cherished and very lucrative fall foliage that attracts visitors from around the world, to the maple trees that produce maple syrup.
So severe is the threat, that forestry officials in all six New England states, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as USDA, are studying camper registrations to find out where Worcester-area residents have been. Then, assuming that many brought their own potentially infested firewood, observers will head into the woods this summer to look for signs of the beetle.
Wary states also are checking property records to learn where Worcester-area residents own second homes or hunting camps.
"We will be sending a questionnaire soon, asking if they brought firewood or landscape material to that recreation home in the past 10 years," said New Hampshire Forest Health Manager Kyle Lombard. So far, they have found 300 properties in just 40 New Hampshire towns.
"I imagine the total number for all of New England is in the thousands," he said.
He said the risk from second homes is even greater than from campers, who tend to burn their wood in a few days.
"Think about all of the firewood that comes to a second home and just sits at the side of the house for three months," he said. "Everything that's in that firewood emerges and flies into the woods."
Threats from insects have prompted more than a dozen states to ban out-of-state firewood or even moving it long distances within the same state. New Hampshire will join them next month when it bans out-of-state firewood at federal and state-owned campgrounds, except prepackaged, kiln-dried wood marked with its place of origin.
Surveys have shown at least 25 percent of campers in New Hampshire bring firewood with their camping gear — from as far away as California.
"Firewood is usually firewood for a reason," Lombard said. "It's usually the junky, nasty, dead trees in someone's yard that they cut down and don't know what to do with. They are junky, dead trees for a reason, usually because they are infested with something."
Using the 25 percent figure, Vermont estimates that 450 Worcester-area campers brought firewood to state campgrounds between 2002-2008, during the infestation, but before it was discovered.
There have been three other infestations in the United States — New York City in 1996; Chicago in 1998; and New Jersey in 2004 — but the Worcester infestation is by far the largest ever found outside the bug's native China. Crews have cut down more than 20,000 infested trees in and around Worcester since the beetle was detected last August.
"We haven't seen a threat like this to our forests probably since the chestnut blight in the early 1900s" that virtually wiped out American chestnut trees, said Lombard.
Officials believe the infestation in Worcester grew undetected for a decade, leaving a huge opportunity for the beetle to travel far beyond its normal range of a city block to a half mile.
"That's a lot of wood taken to vacation homes," said Bond. "That's' a lot of wood taken on camping trips. That's a lot of wood moved to gramma's house, so the po
tential that this insect has spread from the Worcester area is significant."
In fact, Mike Bohne, the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Health group leader in New England, said they assume the beetle has escaped Worcester.
"Now, it's a question of how far has it gone and where is it?" he said.
Other states have faced similar problems with other pests.
In Minnesota, state surveys have shown about half of the vehicles that visit parks overnight carry firewood. In 2005, that meant about 50,000 loads of wood potentially infected with the emerald ash borer, which has infested 10 states and two Canadian provinces.
Because of that infestation, Maryland previously sent letters to hundreds of Ohio and Michigan residents who own land in forested western Maryland, urging them to leave their wood at home.
A coalition of government and private groups is working to spread the word about leaving firewood at home.
Leigh Greenwood of the Nature Conservancy said moving firewood causes problems all over the country, threatening everything from oak trees in northern California to avocado crops in Florida.
Through Web sites and social networking, the groups hope to spread the word nationwide, especially because their research shows the people most familiar with the Internet also tend to be those who need to hear the message: 18-to-29-year-olds.
"They are the kind of person who packs up the pickup, tosses some firewood in to save a little bit of money then drives 400 miles," Greenwood said.
China Chain Store and Franchise Association say year-old ban has significantly reduced waste and helped change attitudes
Jonathan Watts, guardian.co.uk 22 May 09;
Banning flimsy plastic bags has been dismissed as a drop in the ocean when it comes to dealing with the world's environment problems, but multiplied on a China scale, it appears to have made a big difference.
A new report suggests restrictions on bag usage in the world's most populous nation have saved the equivalent of 1.6 million tonnes of oil, in the year since it was introduced.
Just ahead of the first anniversary of the ban, the China Chain Store and Franchise Association estimated it had saved the country 40 billion plastic bags.
According to their survey, plastic bag use has fallen by two thirds as consumers grow accustomed to bringing their own reusable bags.
The ban was introduced on 1 June 2008 to reduce "white pollution" – the popular term for plastic bags and styrofoam packaging. Under the new rules, the state forbade production of ultra-thin bags under 0.025mm thick and ordered supermarkets to stop giving away free carriers.
That surprise move – which went further than anything done by the US, the UK and many other developed nations – was hailed by Greenpeace, Earthwatch and other green groups as a sign of growing environmental awareness in China. It also lead to the closure of the state's biggest plastic bag manufacturer.
Although the ban is often flouted, particularly at street stalls and small shops, it is widely praised for helping to change attitudes.
"It has made an impression," said recent graduate Xuyang Jingjing. "I see more people carrying 'green bags' to supermarkets these days. But I think if the government really wants people to stop using plastic bags, it should have the shops giving out green bags for free."
But there is a long way to go. China produces a million tonnes of rubbish a day with the volume looks set to rise.
China Reports 66-Percent Drop in Plastic Bag Use
Ben Block, World Watch Institute 18 Jun 09;
A strict Chinese limit on ultra-thin plastic bags significantly reduced bag-related pollution nationwide during the past year. The country avoided the use of 40 billion bags, according to government estimates.
Plastic bags are commonly found in waterways, on beaches, and in other "unofficial" dumping sites across China. Litter caused by the notorious bags has been referred to as "white pollution."
The State Council, China's parliament, responded in January 2008 by prohibiting shops, supermarkets, and sales outlets from providing free plastic bags that are less than 0.025 millimeters thick.
The State Administration of Industry and Commerce also threatened to fine shopkeepers and vendors as much as 10,000 yuan (US$1,465) if they were caught distributing free bags.
In its first review of the ban, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced earlier this month that supermarkets reduced plastic bag usage by 66 percent since the policy became effective last June. The limit in bag production saved China 1.6 million tons of petroleum, the NDRC estimated.
Prior to the ban, an estimated 3 billion plastic bags were used daily across China, creating more than 3 million tons of garbage each year. China consumed an estimated 5 million tons (37 million barrels) of crude oil annually to produce plastics for packaging.
The China Chain Store and Franchise Association undertook an analysis of the ban as well. The association announced earlier this month that foreign-owned and local supermarkets reduced plastic bag usage by 80 and 60 percent, respectively.
"Supermarket consumers are used to bringing along shopping bags and reusing plastic bags," an association statement said. "The awareness of environment is enhanced. The declined usage of plastic bags has no negative effect on the sales of supermarkets."
But compliance with the ban appears to be inconsistent across the country. A survey by Global Village, a Beijing-based environmental group, found that more than 80 percent of retail stores in rural regions continued to provide plastic bags free of charge.
The survey also found that nearly 96 percent of open food markets throughout Beijing continued to provide bags. The policy exempts the use of plastic packaging for raw meat and noodles for hygiene and safety reasons.
The commerce administration enforced the ban through a 600,000-strong army of regulators who inspected some 250,000 retail stores or markets, according to China Daily. The regulators dispensed about 2 million yuan (US$293,000) of fines.
Suiping Huaqiang Plastic, a 20,000-employee bag manufacturer, experienced the ban's economic effects almost immediately. The company went out of business last year, soon after the government announced the plastic bag policy.
Despite backlash from the plastics industry, numerous countries and cities worldwide have adopted bag limits in recent years. Mumbai, India, banned thin plastic bags in 2000 to prevent garbage from clogging storm drains during monsoon season. Bans or taxes have since been adopted in localities including Australia, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, and various U.S. cities. In Tanzania, selling a thin plastic bag risks the maximum penalty of six months in jail and a 1.5 million shilling (US$1,170) fine.
Depnding on its composition, plastic debris can require more than a century to decompose, gradually breaking down into smaller pieces over time. The Pacific Ocean is home to a floating heap of debris estimated to be twice the size of France and to weigh at least 3 million tons.
The world's plastic debris and other refuse is often digested by wildlife and kills an estimated 1 million seabirds per year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The agency reported earlier this month that plastic, especially plastic bags and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles, accounts for more than 80 percent of marine litter, the most common source worldwide. The report was the first assessment of marine debris in the world's 12 major sea regions.
Plastics can also damage boats, fishing gear, and agricultural facilities. Phasing-out thin plastic bags at the source is often regarded as a cheaper alternative than removing the debris later by hand or machine, UNEP said.
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner has recommended that all countries ban thin plastic bags. "Some of the litter, like thin-film single-use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased-out rapidly everywhere," Steiner said in a statement earlier this month. "There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere."
Reuters 22 May 09;
(Reuters) - Forests soak up planet-warming carbon dioxide gas as they grow and planting large stands of trees is one strategy that carbon-polluting firms hope will offset emissions from industry and transport.
Emissions trading laws before the Australian parliament, if passed in coming weeks, would allow the nation's forestry sector to be the first to operate under the scheme from July 1 next year, giving it a competitive advantage.
Here are some facts about Australia's forestry sector and how it will operate under the planned emissions trading scheme.
HOW LARGE IS AUSTRALIA'S FORESTRY SECTOR?
Forests cover nearly 21 percent of Australia's landmass, sprawling over about 150 million hectares (375 million acres). Of this, 147.4 million ha are native forests and nearly two million ha are plantations. About 800,000 ha of plantations are dedicated to carbon sequestration, a process of locking carbon away in natural structures.
The sector employs about 77,000 people with total economic turnover of A$19 billion.
Under the federal government's 2020 Vision, there is a national target to increase the area of commercial plantations to 3 million ha over the next decade.
HOW MUCH CARBON DO PLANTATIONS LOCK AWAY?
This varies greatly, depending on the location, tree species and climate. For some species of native eucalypts, it can be any where between 10,000 and 40,000 tonnes per annum per 1,000 ha.
At present, Australian plantations soak up 20 million tonnes of CO2 each year but there is huge potential to increase this if emissions trading laws pass parliament. This would set a national carbon price and the tougher the carbon reduction target, the greater the likely incentive to invest in forests.
Government projections estimate the growth in land under forestry could provide a cumulative net carbon sink of between 1.3 billion and 4.3 billion tonnes of CO2 from 2005 to 2050, depending on the carbon price and targets.
HOW ARE CARBON OFFSETS ISSUED?
At present, forestry firms can only issue voluntary carbon market credits called verified emissions reductions, or VERs, and these are issued based on a calculated annual amount of carbon a plantation locks away.
Forestry firms use complex carbon accounting methods to monitor and verify the carbon reductions. These methods must meet national standards, such as the federal government's Greenhouse Friendly scheme or state-based rules, such as the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Certificates scheme and the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol.
For example, under Kyoto, an eligible forest must have a potential crown cover of at least 20 percent of the area occupied by the stand; has been established by direct human efforts; and is on land that, as at 31 December 1989, was clear of trees with a potential height of at least two meters and a potential crown cover of at least 20 percent.
Native forests will not be initially included in national emissions trading.
HOW WILL FORESTRY WORK UNDER EMISSIONS TRADING?
The final regulations have yet to be announced but an eligible forest would have a carbon permit life of 130 years. This means a plantation owner must guarantee the carbon underpinning the permit for 130 years.
For commercial production forests, owners would have to ensure that somewhere in the forest estate there is enough carbon sitting there to underpin the carbon permit for 130 years.
(Sources: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (www.daff.gov.au/ ); Department of Climate Change (www.climatechange.gov.au ); National Association of Forest Industries (www.nafi.com.au/site/ )
(Writing by David Fogarty; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Stuart Grudgings, Reuters 21 May 09;
ILHA GRANDE, Brazil (Reuters) - No one could say they hadn't seen it coming.
The sand dunes had been advancing for decades before, two years ago, they finally swallowed the houses of Raimundo do Nascimento and 12 other families in Ilha Grande, an island in the Parnaiba river delta in northeastern Brazil.
Standing on the 14-meter (46-feet)-high dune that now completely covers his old home, the 53-year-old Do Nascimento describes the landscape of his childhood -- cashew trees as far as he could see. Not a dune in sight.
"It is beautiful now, but beauty brings misery," he said. "The cause of this is natural, but it is man-made as well."
Experts blame deforestation and population increases for the huge dunes that are advancing by about 25 meters (82 feet) a year, threatening to wipe the town of 8,500 people off the map. But they and residents also blame stronger winds and drier weather in recent years.
"The wind has been getting stronger. It is the motor of this process," said Luiz Roberto del Poggetto, an oceanographer whose firm was contracted by the government to find ways to contain the dunes.
A bout of extreme weather has reignited a debate about how climate change is affecting Latin America's largest country, home to most of the world's biggest rain forest and one of the world's bread baskets.
Unusually heavy rains in the north and northeast have made hundreds of thousands of people homeless and killed about 45. Meanwhile, southern Brazil has been hit by a series of droughts, devastating farmers and cutting by a third the flow of water over the famed Iguacu waterfalls.
LULA CONCERN
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has expressed concern.
"Brazil is feeling climate changes that are happening in the world, when there is a severe drought in a place that didn't have them, when it rains in places where it didn't used to," Lula said in a recent radio broadcast.
While the exact effect of climate change is hard to measure due to a lack of historical data, it appears to be a factor in the extreme droughts and floods of recent years.
"We are seeing the warming and we are seeing conditions in many parts of the country that appear to be associated," said Carlos Nobre, a senior climate scientist at Brazil's National Institute of Space Research.
Southern states have suffered droughts in seven of the past 11 years and the first hurricane recorded in Brazil hit the southern coast in 2004. The Amazon area had its worst drought in decades in 2005.
Warming also plays a key role in models of a so-called "tipping point" in which drier weather and deforestation combine to turn much of the Amazon forest into a savanna and possibly cut the flow of rain to southern farming states.
Daniel Nepstad, a senior ecologist and Amazon specialist at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in San Francisco, said about half of the forest was "teetering on the edge" of not having enough water to survive the more intense dry seasons.
The drying process, which raises the amount of destruction by fires, was on course to release about 20 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere over the next two decades, he said, about twice the current annual total of global emissions.
"It's just really strange the weather we are seeing," he said. "If you talk to indigenous tribes ... they describe in detail how the rain has changed."
CHANGE OF HEART
One study used in government planning estimates that the Amazon area will heat up by as much as 6-8 degrees Celsius (10.8-14.4 Fahrenheit) by 2100, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in rainfall.
Average temperatures in Brazil have risen 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit) over the past 50 years.
"We are already not talking of change as something in the future, but about something that is going on," said Roberto Smeraldi, Amazon director for Friends of the Earth.
After years of reluctance, Brazil's government has shown more willingness to discuss curbing its carbon emissions.
As well as agriculture, the hydro-power that provides 85 percent of Brazil's energy will suffer as river levels fall.
Brazil, the fourth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases due largely to Amazon deforestation, has said it is ready to adopt emissions targets and aims to be a key negotiator at talks in Copenhagen in December to agree on a new global climate treaty.
Parts of the south this year had their driest April since 1929, forcing more than 300 towns to declare a state of emergency. Crop losses in the three states of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Parana from this year's drought are estimated at more than $1.5 billion.
"There's a very good chance that the rains that nourish the grain belt depend upon the Amazon," said Nepstad.
FAT COWS, THIN COWS
Yet the exact effects of climate change remain hard to pinpoint. Another possible cause of the recent weather extremes is the so-called La Nina effect characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
Even in southern Parana state, among the worst hit, the causes of the dry spells of recent years remain uncertain. Elci Dalgalo, a corn, soy and wheat farmer, said most farmers believed they were a natural phenomenon.
"As my grandfather and father would say, it's seven years of thin cows and seven years of fat cows. Now we have thin cows," he said.
In Ilha Grande, weather changes might be caused by warmer ocean temperatures. During the dry season that peaks in August, residents fight a losing battle to keep sand out of their hair, food and houses. Twenty-seven homes have been buried in the past four years, town officials said.
"In six years, the town will be finished," said Del Poggetto, the oceanographer.
Almost in the shadow of a towering dune, 38-year-old fisherman Valdecir Rodrigues de Souza said he and his family would have to flee the advancing sand within a year or two. It was an unlikely place to find a climate-change skeptic.
"Don't listen to what they say -- this is natural," he said, standing in his garden with his three young children.
(Editing by Alan Elsner and Todd Benson)
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