Malayan Whistling Thrush: Importance of images and publishing your observations from Bird Ecology Study
Public Lecture on “The Blue Future”
from BlueWaterVolunteers
Snakes in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR)
from Mountain and Sea
Botanic Gardens - Rainforest Walk
from Singapore Nature
An ideal house pede
from The annotated budak
Climate change could hit us hard, but we can do something about it
Teh Jen Lee, The New Paper 6 Aug 09;
IMAGINE Sentosa's Palawan Beach being swept away by a violent storm.
Far-fetched? The scenario could happen and is one of the potential impacts of climate change on Singapore.
This and other projections were shared by Dr Elspeth Thomson, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore's Energy Studies Institute (ESI), at a seminar yesterday.
Dr Thomson's presentation was based on ESI's Singapore chapter submission to an April 2009 publication by the Asian Development Bank on the economics of climate change in South-east Asia.
Much of the impact, such as increased flooding and erosion, is the result of changing weather patterns.
For example, there will be an increase in the frequency of extreme warm and wet seasons.
There will also be an increase in extreme rainfall and winds associated with tropical cyclones.
For each of the potential impacts faced by Singapore, Dr Thomson elaborated on measures that the authorities are taking to counter them.
She said: 'Singapore could be seriously affected by climate change. It is adopting a combination of incentives and legislation to raise energy efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
'Singapore is also taking multi-dimensional steps to protect itself from the potential impacts of climate change.'
The steps include forming the National Climate Change Committee and the Energy Efficiency Programme Office - made up of eight government agencies such as the Energy Market Authority and the Land Transport Authority.
There's also the inter-agency National Adaptation Taskforce, led by the Ministry of National Development, that will review existing infrastructural adaptation measures.
Will all this be enough to fight climate change?
Sociology student Alvin Kiang, 24, who attended the seminar, said: 'Compared to other countries, we may not be doing as much. But with the mandatory energy labelling scheme that kicked in last year, we're off to a very good start.'
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia 5 Aug 09;
SINGAPORE: The Nature Explorers' Programme is aimed at instilling students with a greater awareness of Singapore's rich biodiversity.
The programme is jointly organised by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific and the West Zone Centre of Excellence for Science and Technology.
Its first batch of students from 23 primary and secondary schools received their certificates on Wednesday.
Every year, about 300 students from Primary 4 to the first year of junior college will be admitted into the programme, with the best 30 nature explorers given a chance to participate in a four-day field study camp at Pulau Tioman.
The camp allows students to interact with scientists and experienced naturalists, learn more about biodiversity, and conduct research projects and field studies within a pristine and biodiversity-rich habitat.
- CNA/so
Awards for keen, green youth
Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
IN AN effort to develop tomorrow's ambassadors for the environment, more youth here are getting up close and personal with nature.
Since January, 299 students from 23 primary and secondary schools have embarked on a wide range of projects - both at school and at home - to deepen their understanding of nature.
Next month, 30 students from schools such as Raffles Institution, NUS High and Cedar Girls' Secondary, will embark on a four-day field trip to Pulau Tioman in Malaysia, where they will interact with scientists and naturalists to learn more about the habitat.
They are recipients of awards given out under the Nature Explorers' Programme, which empowers youth from Primary 4 to first-year junior college to cultivate a curiosity for the study of science.
At a ceremony held at the National University of Singapore (NUS) yesterday, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim presented the students with their certificates. Organised by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) at NUS, the programme provides students with the opportunity to assess how flora and fauna thrive here and in the region.
RMBR director Peter Ng said: 'The way to save our biodiversity is not through laws, dictates or even incentives... It is through education.'
Petrochemical giant ExxonMobil Asia Pacific and the West Zone Centre of Excellence for Science and Technology are sponsoring the trips.
Dr Yaacob said the programme highlighted the importance of youth here learning about the impact of the environment on biodiversity. Such programmes could be scaled up over the long term to become part of the education curriculum, he added.
AMRESH GUNASINGHAM
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia 5 Aug 09;
SINGAPORE: There's now another place for nature lovers to hang out. The Sentosa Nature Discovery gallery was opened on Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Located on the fringe of the Imbiah Forest in Sentosa, this latest attraction at the Imbiah Lookout is housed in a former monorail station. It is Imbiah Lookout's 11th attraction.
Visitors can view an interactive exhibition of interesting facts and colourful displays housed in a two-storey indoor information gallery before moving on to explore the Imbiah forest via a linked walkway that used to be the old monorail track.
Mike Barclay, CEO, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "When we have infrastructure around the island, we try to be adaptive in the use. And as I'm sure many of you will remember, we have a monorail running all the way around the island with many stations.
"And rather than to just knock down the stations, we actually adapted it for other uses. One is being used for Sentosa Nature Discovery. We also have restaurants in two of the other stations - one is a shop, and one is being used as a fish spa." - CNA/vm
New draw for nature lovers at Sentosa
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
AMID the din of development on Sentosa, there is a new respite for nature lovers.
The island's Nature Discovery gallery, the 11th attraction at Imbiah Lookout, was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday. The free learning space and walk through the Mount Imbiah nature reserve took two years to complete and cost $5.5 million.
Mr Teo said the gallery is a testament to Sentosa's commitment to preserving its natural heritage and history.
'This is a unique opportunity for young people in Singapore, students especially, to see how we can match and harmonise development together with respect for the environment.'
Doing his part, Mr Teo planted a Seashore Mangosteen, an endangered tree in Singapore, to mark the occasion.
The gallery aims to turn visitors into 'nature detectives' by displaying examples of clues nature leaves behind, such as tracks and droppings.
The gallery, which is housed in a renovated monorail station, is the start of the 200m boardwalk which joins a pre-existing 2km track.
Visitors can expect to see crab-eating macaques, flocks of swiftlets - whose nests are used for bird's nest soup - and golden orb spiders.
Mr Mike Barclay, chief executive officer of Sentosa Leisure Group, said: 'We aim to keep Sentosa 60 per cent green and as part of that strategy we want to invest more in the green parts of the island.'
Next month, Sentosa will begin rolling out a series of educational programmes to schools based on the nature attraction.
The Nature Discovery trail will offer guided tours for up to 20 people, at $12 per person. Tickets are sold at the gallery shop.
Private group tours can also be arranged for $150.
Sim Bak Heng, New Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
JOHOR BARU: Residents of Kampung Teluk Jawa woke up to a sickening stench yesterday. More than 100 tonnes of fish being farmed in cages in Sungai Teluk Jawa went belly-up in what was described as one of the worst environmental disasters in the country in recent years.
The Department of Environment, which collected samples for analysis by the Chemistry Department, has not ruled out water pollution as a cause.
Eight breeders said their losses could run up to RM3 million, as most of the fish had reached marketable size of about 10kg each.
They were farming the premium giant grouper and tiger grouper, mainly for export to Taiwan, China and Singapore where they could fetch up to RM50 per kg, and sea bass, mackerel and red snapper.
Breeder Wong Chan In said the river water had turned brownish last Sunday and that some dead fish were found in the cages.
"On Monday and Tuesday, more dead fish were found but yesterday was the worst. Almost 90 per cent were dead."
The fish farms were set up about three years ago.
DOE Operations Division chief Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said the high death toll could have been caused by water pollution, a depletion of dissolved oxygen or uncontrolled development in nearby areas.
"We should have the results of the analysis in a week."
The village is one of the state's most popular seafood spots among locals and Singaporeans.
Johor Jaya state assemblyman Tan Cher Puk urged the Fisheries Department to help the breeders as the problem could affect their business.
See also Mass death at Johor fish farms: "worst environmental disaster in Malaysia"
on the wild shores of singapore blog
Julia Chan, New Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
KOTA KINABALU: A five-year study on how the proper management of rainforests can mitigate the impact of global warming will take place in the Danum Valley Conservation Area.
The HSBC Malaysia Rainforest Carbon Project, managed by the Royal Society's Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP), will also study the role of tropical rainforests in the carbon cycle.
The Sabah Foundation as well as rangers and researchers of the Sabah Forestry Department will be involved in the RM1.5 million study, which will cover about 50ha in Danum Valley, plus a series of 1ha blocks.
SEARRP research coordinator Professor Rory Walsh said: "A large part of the project aims at transferring knowledge and training to local rangers and stakeholders. Things like plant identification, computer databases and management will be taught to the Sabahans working in the area.
"We hope to study large tracts of rainforest representative of the forests in the entire region to answer many scientific questions that will be useful not only to the local communities but also the science society at large."
HSBC Malaysia deputy chairman and chief executive officer Irene Dorner said the bank had taken on the project to raise awareness of the gravity of climate change and because it wanted to support something that reflected its sustainable business practice.
In conjunction with the project, SEARRP has developed a field training programme to provide 24 selected HSBC staff with a better understanding of the forestry sector, including the principles of sustainable forestry and the environmental and social impacts as well as plantation issues.
SEARRP has been operating for more than 20 years.
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 5 Aug 09;
The air quality in several cities across Riau province dropped to "dangerous" levels Tuesday, due to thick haze from forest fires that also disrupted flights and forced schools to close.
The thick smog also lead to eye irritations and respiratory difficulties among local residents.
Ibnu Hasan, duty manager of the Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport in the provincial capital Pekanbaru, said flights there had been disrupted for a second straight day, with three flights postponed due to low visibility.
"The pilots didn't want to risk flying with such poor visibility," he told The Jakarta Post.
He added an inbound flight had to be diverted Tuesday morning to Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, because of the haze.
Readings of PM10 particulates ranged between 120 and 404 microns per cubic meter, far higher than the tolerable level of 100.
The head of the city's environmental agency, Dedi Gusriadi, said residents of Pekanbaru had had only two days of healthy air throughout July.
"These are the worst levels of air pollution we've seen in Pekanbaru in the past two years," he said.
In Siak regency, the education agency ordered all kindergartens and grade schools to close for three days.
"The younger students are very vulnerable to the pollution," said Siak regency spokesman Hendri San.
"Students in fourth grade and up will still have classes, but will not take part in any outdoor activities."
There has also been a marked increase in the number of residents complaining of sore eyes and breathing difficulties, as a result of the choking smog.
"I'm having trouble breathing and my eyes are red and sore," said Nasir, a civil servant at the governor's office.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar and his Malaysian counterpart, Douglas Uggah Embas, will meet Saturday in Riau to discuss the out-of-control forest fires in the province that are also threatening the neighboring country.
The snap meeting is expected to call for concerted measures to be taken to ensure the haze does not reach other countries.
"The two ministers will discuss cooperation in tackling the forest fires, mainly in Rokan Hilir regency," said Purwasto Sapoprayogi, head of the ministry's forest fire unit.
WWF Indonesia has reported a rise in the number of hot spots in Riau, from less than 1,000 in January to nearly 2,400 in July - the highest number anywhere in the country.
A hot spot is defined as a fire covering at least a hectare of land.
Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban, in a mind-boggling statement, said the government would only take firm action to control fires if the haze disrupts flights and sparks protests in neighboring countries.
"We must accept the fact that haze might reach other regions, like Batam and other parts of Sumatra," he said.
"Why should we care about domestic affairs? Our international image is what matters."
Rizal Harahap in Pekanbaru and Fadli in Batam contributed to this report.
Malaysia hit with haze from forest fires
AFP 5 Aug 09;
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia was Wednesday hit with the worst haze levels recorded this year, as smoke from forest fires caused "unhealthy" levels of pollution in six areas.
Environment Department director general Rosnani Ibarahim said hundreds of forest fires were blazing in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island.
"Malaysia started to record an increase in hotspot numbers since Sunday due to the dry weather and open burning activities which spread very fast," she told AFP.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded unhealthy levels of between 102 and 137 in six areas on Wednesday morning, including a district of the capital Kuala Lumpur, two in surrounding Selangor state, and three in Sarawak.
The API considers a score of 101-200 to be unhealthy, while 51-100 is moderate.
An official from the Meteorological Services Department said the heavy haze caused visibility levels to fall to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in Selangor as well as Malacca, a tourist destination south of the capital.
Farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia's half of Borneo island burn forests every year to clear land for agriculture, sending plumes of smoke across neighbouring countries.
The haze hit its worst level in 1997-1998, costing the Southeast Asian region an estimated nine billion dollars by disrupting air travel and other business activities.
Dumai airport closed as haze worsens
The Jakarta Post 5 Aug 09;
Authorities have again closed Dumai's Pinang Kampai airport in Riau on Wednesday as haze in the area worsens, state news agency Antara reports.
"Today, the airport is temporarily closed. We don't know yet how long the closure will be as the haze is still thick," airport control tower official Van Switen Sitanggang told Antara.
The closure has affected at least two flights, a Pelita Air flight from Jakarta and a Riau Airlines flight from Pekanbaru.
Sitanggang said Pelita Air had informed the airport authorities that it had cancelled its flight to Dumai.
Meanwhile, a delegation from the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), which was scheduled to travel on the Riau Airlines flight, reportedly decided to take road transportation to Dumai.
Antara reported that visibility in Dumai had dropped to below 50 meters, forcing motorists to slow down.
Thick haze shrouds Malaysia
Worst levels this year in six areas; PSI also rises in Singapore
Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia was yesterday hit with the worst haze levels recorded this year, as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia caused unhealthy levels of pollution in six areas.
Singapore was affected too, as its Pollution Standards Index (PSI) hit the moderate range for the first time since February.
The director-general of the Malaysian Environment Department, Datuk Rosnani Ibrahim, said that hundreds of forest fires were blazing in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and in Sarawak in Malaysia.
'Malaysia has started to record an increase in hot spot numbers since Sunday due to the dry weather and open-burning activities which spread very fast,' she said.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded unhealthy levels of between 102 and 137 in six areas yesterday morning, including a district of the capital Kuala Lumpur, two in surrounding Selangor state, and three in Sarawak.
The API considers a score of 101-200 to be unhealthy, while 51-100 is moderate.
An official from the Meteorological Services Department said the heavy haze caused visibility levels to drop to 2km in Selangor and in Malacca.
Visibility in one town in Sarawak was down to less than 800m, according to the department. Generally, visibility throughout Malaysia is at least 4km. Visibility on a clear day exceeds 10km.
The authorities in Indonesia's Riau province yesterday closed the airport in Dumai temporarily as visibility levels fell to less than 50m, the Antara state news agency reported.
In Singapore, the PSI crept up to 52 yesterday, which is just inside the moderate range.
In February, bush fires in Singapore combined with scorching temperatures and weak winds to push the PSI to 57.
In the next two weeks, the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Services Division said slightly hazy conditions could be expected for a few days because of the prevailing south-west monsoon conditions, which bring drier weather.
Each year during the dry season, Indonesian farmers set fire illegally to forests to clear land for planting, sending plumes of smoke drifting towards neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
The two countries have long complained about the haze, which hit its worst level in 1997-1998.
It cost the South-east Asian region an estimated US$9 billion (S$13 billion) by disrupting air travel and other business activities.
Indonesia has argued that it lacks the money and the resources to stem the illegal practice of setting fires to forests and also to fight them.
Malaysia's Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas is scheduled to attend a regional meeting in Riau this weekend to discuss the problem.
He has reportedly proposed building dams in peat swamps to draw water to fight the fires.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Additional reporting by Amresh Gunasingham in Singapore
Forest fires worsen, haze covers Malaysia
Adianto P Simamora, The Jakarta Post 6 Aug 09;
Forest fires continued to rage across the country, blanketing neighbor Malaysia in haze on Wednesday, which caused temporary closure of Dumai's Pinang Kampar airport in Riau as visibility dropped to below 50 meters.
The WWF Indonesia has detected 1,608 fire hot spots across the country on Wednesday, the highest number in the last five days with a total of 5,349.
The hot spots are spread mostly in Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and West Kalimantan provinces.
Fires blazing in Indonesia sent a blanket of haze over neighboring Malaysia's largest city, obscuring the sun and leaving an acrid smell in the air, the Associated Press reported from Kuala Lumpur.
It said the pollution caused air quality to drop to unhealthy levels in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak state in eastern Malaysia.
Malaysia's Department of Environment readings showed air quality was "unhealthy" in six areas around Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak.
Only three of 50 monitoring stations across Malaysia recorded "good" air quality, while elsewhere it was "moderate."
Visibility in one town in Sarawak was down to less than 800 meters, according to the Meteorological Department. Generally visibility throughout Malaysia was at least 4 kilometers. Visibility on a clear day exceeds 10 kilometer.
Indonesian State Minister for Environment Rachmat Witoelar and his Malaysian counterpart Douglas Unggah Embas are scheduled to meet in Riau province to discuss the forest fire problems Saturday.
Official from Indonesia said the haze blanketing Malaysia was not from Indonesia since forest fires also happened in Malaysia.
"It is too early to complain that such haze comes from Indonesia," Illyas Asaad, deputy environment minister for law enforcement told The Jakarta Post.
He said the government had yet to take urgent plans to tackle the forest fires in Indonesia.
Indonesian Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban said Tuesday that the government would only take firm action to control fires if haze disturbed flights and sparked protests in Malaysia and Singapore.
Head of the Riau environment agency, Fadrizal Labay, denied the haze from forest fires in Riau had reached Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia and Singapore have complained since 1997 about haze drifting from Indonesia. The last time a severe haze affected those countries was in 2006.
Official at the control tower of Dumai's Pinang Kampai airport in Riau, Van Switen Sitanggang said the airport was closed again Wednesday morning as the haze in the area worsens. The closure has affected at least two flights, a Pelita Air flight from Jakarta and a Riau Airlines flight from Pekanbaru.
Rizal Harahap from Pekanbaru contributed to this report.
Reuters 5 Aug 09;
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Psychological barriers like uncertainty, mistrust and denial keep most Americans from acting to fight climate change, a task force of the American Psychological Association said on Wednesday.
Policymakers, scientists and marketers should look at these factors to figure out what might prod people take action, the task force reported at the association's annual convention in Toronto.
While most Americans -- 75 percent to 80 percent in a Pew Research Center poll -- said climate change is an important issue, it still ranked last in a list of 20 compelling issues such as the economy or terrorism, the task force said.
Despite warnings from scientists that humans need to make changes now if they want to avoid the worst effects of climate change, "people don't feel a sense of urgency," the association said in a statement.
Numerous psychological barriers are to blame, the task force found, including: uncertainty over climate change, mistrust of the messages about risk from scientists or government officials, denial that climate change is occurring or that it is related to human activity.
Other factors include undervaluing the risk. Even though an international study showed many people believe environmental conditions will worsen in 25 years, that could lead some to conclude that they don't have to make changes now.
Some people believe anything they do would make little difference and they therefore choose to do nothing.
Habit is the most important obstacle to pro-environment behavior, the task force found.
But habits can be changed, especially if changing saves money and people are quickly made aware of it. People are more likely to use energy-efficient appliances if they get immediate energy-use feedback, the task force said.
It identified other areas where psychology can help limit the effects of climate change, such as developing environmental regulations, economic incentives, better energy-efficient technology and communication methods.
(Editing by Chris Wilson)
One of the world's most endangered birds has been successfully bred in captivity for the first time, providing a "huge boost" to efforts to prevent it becoming extinct in the wild, claim RSPB rescue team.
Richard Alleyne, The Telegraph 5 Aug 09;
The slender-billed vulture, which is even more threatened than the tiger in India, is one of several Asian species of the carrion-eating bird which has seen dramatic declines in numbers in recent years and are now critically endangered.
Their numbers have been devastated in the last two decades. There are just 1,000 slender-billed vultures left in the wild, the RSPB said. and along with the long-billed vulture, has suffered declines of almost 97 per cent since 1992.
The vultures have been hit by the use of the veterinarian drug Diclofenac which gives them kidney failure when they eat the carcases of livestock that have died within a few days of being treated with the medication.
A captive breeding scheme in India, run by a coalition of conservation groups including the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London, has seen the successful hatching and fledging of two slender-billed vultures for the first time this year.
Last year the dedicated breeding centres managed to rear Oriental white-backed vultures for the first time, and repeated their success this year with three youngsters of the species.
There is also hope the long-billed vulture may breed in captivity next year.
The RSPB said that captive breeding would be key to preserving the vulture species, which could be extinct within a decade because of the problem of Diclofenac, used to reduce inflammation.
Chris Bowden, who is in charge of the RSPB's Asian vulture programme, said the news of the successful rearing of the chicks was a huge boost to efforts to fight their declines.
"It is clear we are refining our expertise, but with extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste.
"The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species.
"Birds can only be saved from extinction through banning the retail sale of Diclofenac, promotion of the safe alternative, Meloxicam, and the capture of more birds for the breeding programme."
The RSPB said veterinary formulations of Diclofenac had been banned in India since 2006 but more steps were needed to prevent versions of the medication being illegally given to livestock.
Boost for endangered vultures after captive breeding success
Two slender-billed vultures born in RSPB breeding programme in India as wild population heads towards extinction
Press Association, guardian.co.uk 6 Aug 09;
One of the world's most threatened birds has been successfully bred in captivity for the first time, conservationists said today.
The slender-billed vulture, which is even more threatened than the tiger in India, is one of several Asian species of the carrion-eating bird which has seen dramatic declines in numbers in recent years and are now critically endangered. There are just 1,000 slender-billed vultures left in the wild, according to the RSPB.
Conservationists say successfully breeding one of the birds in captivity is a "huge boost" to efforts to prevent it becoming extinct in the wild.
The slender-billed vulture and another species, the long-billed vulture, have together suffered declines of almost 97% since 1992.
The population of a third of critically endangered species, the oriental white-backed vulture, is halving each year and is heading towards extinction even more quickly than the dodo.
The vultures have been hit by the use of the veterinarian drug Diclofenac which gives them kidney failure when they eat the carcasses of livestock that have died within a few days of being treated with the medication.
A captive breeding scheme in India, run by a coalition of conservation groups including the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London, has seen the successful hatching and fledging of two slender-billed vultures for the first time this year.
Last year, the dedicated breeding centres managed to rear Oriental white-backed vultures for the first time, and repeated their success this year with three chicks.
"It is clear we are refining our expertise, but with extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste," said Chris Bowden, who is in charge of the RSPB's Asian vulture programme.
"The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species. Birds can only be saved from extinction through banning the retail sale of Diclofenac, promotion of the safe alternative, Meloxicam, and the capture of more birds for the breeding programme."
The RSPB said veterinary formulations of Diclofenac had been banned in India since 2006 and efforts to take it out of use there and in Nepal were taking effect.
But more steps were needed to prevent versions of the medication which are being illegally given to livestock, and introduce the safe alternative Meloxicam.
Indian vulture births are hailed
BBC News 7 Aug 09;
Conservationists say they are delighted at the news that one of the world's most endangered birds has twice been successfully bred in India.
Two slender billed vultures, which experts say are rarer and more endangered than the tiger, are being reared in Haryana and West Bengal.
Officials say that the chicks were born separately are both in good health.
It is believed the vultures' catastrophic decline has been driven by veterinary medicines.
A decade ago, vultures could be counted in their millions in the wild in India.
But now experts estimate there are only around a 1,000 slender-billed vultures left, with similar declines in other species.
They say it is a a population catastrophe exacerbated by medicine.
A veterinary drug called Diclofenac is fatal to the vultures that feed off the livestock carcasses.
Although it has been banned since 2006, experts say it is still in use.
The BBC's environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee says that the dramatic decline of vultures has had several effects including an increase in rabies-carrying feral dogs that feed on the carrion the vultures once ate.
The Parsi community in Mumbai (Bombay), who leave their dead to be consumed by vultures, have had to find alternative methods following the dramatic decline of the birds.
The Birdlife International campaigning group says that while the captive births are good news, urgent action is still needed to save vultures from extinction in the wild.
"With extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste. The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species," Birdlife International spokesman Chris Bowden said.
"Birds can only be saved from extinction through banning the retail sale of Diclofenac, promotion of the safe alternative, Meloxicam, and the capture of more birds for the breeding programme."
Yahoo News 5 Aug 09;
LONDON (AFP) – A new plastic beehive was launched in Britain on Wednesday to encourage people to keep bees in their gardens or on rooftops to help boost declining honeybee populations.
The bees seemed to like their ultra-modern home as they buzzed happily in and out of the postbox-like slot in the grey and yellow 'beehaus' on the roof of state-backed conservation agency Natural England's London offices.
The agency's chief scientist Tom Tew said if more urban residents kept honeybees, it would increase the insects' numbers and make them more resilient to attacks from disease and pests which threaten their survival.
"We need to recognise that if we want plants to flourish, we need healthy populations of insects to sustain them," Tew said.
"There's no reason why our towns and cities should exist as wildlife deserts -- wildlife can thrive when we design our urban areas with nature in mind and the 'beehaus' is a great example of how easy it is for anyone to bring the natural world closer to their doorstep."
Its makers Omlet claim that at one metre wide and 0.5 metres high (three feet wide and one foot eight inches high), the 'beehaus' is twice as big as a traditional beehive, giving plenty of room for the colony to grow in comfort.
The hive will produce an average of 50 pots of honey in the summer, in return for just an hour's attention a week from the owner.
The number of honeybees in Britain has dropped by up to 15 percent in the past two years, according to government figures, as they face a growing range of diseases and wild flowers they feed on are wiped out by urban development.
Hi honey I'm home
The new hobby that's creating a buzz in Britain's towns and cities
• New plastic hive promises affordable beekeeping
• Membership of local associations thriving
Caroline Davies, The Guardian 5 Aug 09;
The humble native honeybee has been dying out in recent years due to disease, but it may have found an unlikely ally in a creature which shares a reputation for busyness: the urban dweller.
Apiarist courses in many places are over-subscribed and membership of beekeeping associations has shot up with the increased awareness of the plight of the productive pollinator. Those without gardens are increasingly using rooftops for their hives.
Now Johannes Paul's company Omlet is helping to transform the traditionally rural art of beekeeping for the city dweller.
Under a leaden sky in the allotment at St James's Park in London yesterday, Paul and his three co-founders unveiled the futuristic Beehaus, a plastic horizontal hive which at first glance resembles a giant coolbox on legs.
"We're aiming for the hobby beekeeper, those who want to live their self-sufficiency dreams a little," said Paul.
With promises of 50 jars of homemade honey a year they hope to tempt the busy townie who dreams of the good life. And with the support of Natural England, the agency responsible for safeguarding England's natural environment, its green credentials seem intact.
Certainly, there is a market. "There has been a definite shift in the demographics of people coming into beekeeping," said Tim Lovett, chairman of the British Beekeepers' Association, which has seen membership increase by 3,000 to 14,500 in the last 18 months.
"Many of our new members are in urban settings, the worried wealthy, so to speak. They are environmentally aware people, who would like to do a lot more than they are able because of their busy lives.
"They are the concerned working families, the professionals under pressure from their kids who are getting the story at school. And now they are getting the message. Beekeeping is not incompatible with busy family and working life."
But with urban beekeeping comes responsibility. There are fears would-be beekeepers, seduced by the apparent simplicity of the new hive, could order on a whim with no thought for the practicalities. This could lead to the spread of diseases, the death of their bees or huge swarms in their neighbours' gardens.
"These are legitimate concerns," said Dr Tom Tew, chief scientist for Natural England, "and the first thing we would stress is that anyone thinking of keeping bees should speak to their local beekeeper association.
"But," he said of the Beehaus, "we support anything that helps promote the honeybee."
Last year more than 30% of honeybees died from disease, mainly varroa mite. This year the percentage looks still to be in the high teens or lower 20s, which is not sustainable. It is estimated the honeybee, through pollination and honey, contributes £150m annually to the economy.
Omlet, whose plastic chicken coop, Eglu, sparked a wave of urban chicken keeping, said it would offer Beehaus parties and local beekeeping courses. It will supply everything – including full bee suit – in the £495 price. Bees cost extra, however, at £80 to £150 a colony.
"Obviously, they have had great success with the Eglu," said Lovett. "But going down to the local broiler house, rescuing some redundant chickens and putting them at the end of your garden, is not terribly difficult. You feed them, water them, take the eggs out now and again, and if they do escape the local urban fox will get them. But with bees, you need to know what you are doing.
"It's very difficult to get on a course. Ours are full to the gunnels," he said. "And they are going to have difficulty in supplying bees. Maintaining supplies is a real problem.
"However, we do welcome this new hive. It will be a way in to beekeeping for a group of people. But there will be limitations. We haven't discovered the holy grail. But it is a modest, useful step.
"What people must remember is that one hive quickly become two, two become four and four become eight."
Urban bee etiquette
• Do consult neighbours
• Do place hive near a hedge or fence to ensure bees fly upwards and away from neighbours. Better still, put it on a roof
• Don't place hive so entrance is facing neighbour's swimming pool
• Do choose docile bees
Famous apiarists
Aristotle
Leo Tolstoy
Henry Fonda US actor
Bill Turnbull BBC TV presenter
Suggs Madness frontman
Get busy and give a honeybee a home
Emily Beament, Press Association The Independent 5 Aug 09;
Urban householders are being urged to consider keeping bees in their gardens, rooftops or even balconies to help protect declining honeybee populations.
Natural England, which is backing the launch of a new easy-to-use design of beehive, also wants people to support wild bee species such as bumblebees by planting insect-friendly plants in their gardens.
The Government conservation agency's chief scientist Tom Tew said gardeners should go out into their local area and see which plants the bees liked and then plant those in their flowerbeds.
He also said more people keeping and caring for honeybees would create more populations, making the insects more resilient to attacks from disease and pests which threaten their survival.
The first newly-designed 'beehaus' is going on the roof of Natural England's central London offices, and Dr Tew said the bees would be foraging in nearby areas such as St James' Park and Buckingham Palace gardens.
The bees fly high - around 5 metres above the ground - and would not be coming into contact with people on the city's pavements, he added.
He said: "We are happy to support anything that brings people in closer touch with the natural environment and helps the natural environment.
"There's no reason why our towns and cities should exist as wildlife deserts - wildlife can thrive when we design our urban areas with nature in mind and the 'beehaus' is a great example of how easy it is for anyone to bring the natural world closer to their doorstep."
Bees also provided an important service pollinating plants and crops, he said, and "we need to recognise that if we want plants to flourish we need healthy populations of insects to sustain them".
He said the more populations of honeybees "scattered around" there were, the more able they would be to cope with outbreaks of disease.
He also encouraged people to support other species of bee by installing bumblebee nest boxes in their gardens, and planting insect-friendly species in their gardens.
Bees play an important role in agriculture, with the value of commercial crops that benefit from bee pollination estimated at £100 million to £200 million a year. Honey is worth some £10 million to £30 million.
But bee populations face a growing number of threats including pests and diseases such as the varroa mite and a lack of habitat providing food sources such as wild flowers.
The number of honeybees has fallen by 10 per cent-15 per cent in the past two years, according to the Government.
There are some 250 species of bee in the UK, including 25 bumblebee species, and they are nearly all in decline.
The new beehive design by Omlet - makers of the Eglu urban chicken coop - aims to make it easier for people to keep bees in towns and cities, even if they do not have much space.
Its makers say the bees, which can forage up to three miles away from the site, will produce an average of 50 pots of honey from just an hour's attention a week in the summer.
Johannes Paul, of Omlet, said it was easy to keep bees in urban areas, and having a hive was a "low maintenance hobby which is really fascinating".
"Those in the know have been keeping bees in towns for a long time. Keeping a hive doesn't take much space, so you can even keep them on balconies, roof tops and obviously gardens."
The losses in honeybee colonies have led to a rash of "bee rustling" with hives stolen from commercial farms, but Mr Paul said amateur beekeepers keeping their hives in gardens or rooftops were unlikely to be the victims of theft.
Natural England urged anyone interested in keeping bees to consider the commitment it involves before taking the plunge, and then to get professional advice or visit their local beekeeping association for support and to see what was involved.
LATimes 5 Aug 09;
The federal government must take decisive action to avoid "a potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life," in the National Parks, according to a new report which details the impact of global warming on the nation's most treasured public lands.
The 53-page report from the National Parks and Conservation Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, details a litany of concerns related to climate change in the parks, from the bleaching of coral reefs in Florida to the disappearance of high-altitude ponds that nurture yellow-legged frogs in California.
The group, which has offices in California and 10 other states, called on the National Park Service to come up with a detailed plan and funding to adapt to temperature-related ecosystem changes.
"Right now, no national plan exists to manage wildlife throughout their habitat, which often is a patchwork of lands managed by multiple federal agencies, states, tribes, municipalities and private landholders," wrote Tom C. Kiernan, president of the group.
A major climate bill passed by the House in June would allocate more than $500 million a year to natural resources adaptation under a proposed carbon-trading program. The Senate is drafting a companion bill, but the outcome of the legislation remains uncertain.
The survey by the parks and conservation group reinforces recent testimony by President Obama's nominee for Park Service director, Jon Jarvis. "Climate change challenges the very foundation of the National Park system and our abiilty to leave America's natural and cultural heritage unimpaired for future generations,"Jarvis told a House subcommittee.
He suggested that "national park units can serve as the proverbial canary in the coal mine, a place where we can monitor and document ecosystem change without many of the stressors that are found on other public lands."
The report recommends adapation strategies including the creation of wildlife corridors stretching from one park to another, so that species can move unencumbered into cooler areas. It also recommends more effective limiting of existing environmental hazards.
"Air and water pollution, development of adjacent wild lands, logging and mining and other forces are harming national park wildlife now, and adding climate change to the mix could be disastrous," it said.
Pesticides from nearby farms and the spread of non-native trout have already decimated populations of yellow-legged frogs in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. With global warming, a rapid melting of high Sierra snowpacks could eliminate many shallow ponds and streams that the amphibians need for survival, leaving them "high and dry," it said.
Salmon could disappear from Olympic, North Cascades and Mount Rainier National Parks, the report suggests. And Grizzly bears, birds, fish and other species in Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain national parks could decline as bark beetles, drought and other climate-induced conditions increase.
The report suggests that park officials work with private landowners around Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef national parks to create pathways for bighorn sheep, as precipitation and vegetation patterns change due to global warming.
Likewise, wildlife managers in Alasan Parks such as the Noatak and Bering Land Bridge national preserves, the Kobuk Valley National Park and Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve will need to insure a clear path for caribou heards as climate change renders traditional calving grounds and winter feeding areas unsuitable, the report said.
But adaptation to a changing climate may not be enough. Unless humans limit their emissions of greenhouse gases, the report concludes, some wildlife species "will not be able to endure much more change and could disappear from national parks and even go extinct if climate change is unchecked."
The impetus for federal adaptation plans comes as states such as California, which released a comprehensive plan this week, and cities such as New York and New Orleans are beginning to come to grips with expected climate impacts such as rising sea levels and water shortages.
--Margot Roosevelt
Hui Min Neo Yahoo News 5 Aug 09;
GENEVA (AFP) – John Sellar is no comic book super hero, but judging by the criminals he deals with as the only policeman at the UN agency against illegal wildlife trade, he could well be one.
Russian mafia, Latin American druglords, suspected rebel or terror groups and crooked Asian diplomats count among poachers of rhinoceros, tigers and leopards whom Sellar aims to collar.
"My title is chief, but I have no Indians," he told AFP.
A former policeman in Scotland, he is the "enforcement assistance chief" at the UN agency against illegal wildlife trade, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
With a budget of 5.1 million dollars this year, its resources are so strapped that the organisation does not even have a data base of known criminal activities in illegal trafficking of animal parts.
Sellar's space is confined to a small office that fits in only an L-shaped desk, three chairs and a row of bookshelves, where he coordinates enforcement activities undertaken by local customs authorities or police.
However, in many of the poorer countries where poaching occurs, enforcement teams "don't even have access to forensic science for murder, so they're not going to have resources for rhinos," he said.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, organised crime appears to be tightening its grip on the illegal trade, attracted by its high returns, according to evidence collected by CITES and non-governmental organisations.
The Russian mafia has been found to be involved in illicit caviar trade, while some Asian gangs have been caught trafficking rhino horns, which are promoted for medical uses, and elephant ivory, so prized in Asian art.
Sellar is reluctant to estimate the value of the illicit commerce, but said the high value could be driving more people to try their luck in the trade.
Major conservation groups including the Worldwide Fund for Nature said in a report last month that demand for rhinoceros horns in Asia has driven rhinoceros poaching to a 15-year-high.
A rhino horn is easily worth "several tens of thousands of dollars per kilo," he noted. "In weight, rhino horn is much more profitable than gold or diamonds or heroin or cocaine. You're getting much more returns."
Some criminals are also attracted by the prospect of laundering other ill-gotten gains, added Sellar.
"The money associated with narcotics, human trafficking is huge. They have so much money they don't know what to do with it. They can't wash it fast enough," said Sellar.
"They've obviously been looking into areas where they can get into -- ivory is one, caviar trade is another.
In addition, gangs having trouble carrying wads of cash or stashes of diamonds around the world are simply converting them into rhino horns or other exotic animal parts.
"Financial crime units have tended historically to focus on particular forms of avoidance. They're not looking for a rhino horn or caviar. It's an evasion on the part of organised crime," he said.
Bit wildlife crime is "not regarded as mainstream crime" and as a result, little priority is given to cracking down on the trade, said Sellar, who sees this as a wasted opportunity.
He cited the example of Al Capone, the notorious Chicago gangster who was arrested not for his heinous crimes but for not declaring his taxes.
"I think sometimes by failing to address wildlife crime, some agencies are missing the opportunity to deal with these organised criminals," Sellar said.
"A lot of these criminal networks are probably not covering their tracks as carefully when they're dealing with illegal wildlife trade as they might do when dealing with human trafficking or narcotics.
"There are lots of opportunities for us to arrest these people," he insisted.
Even rebel or terror groups have turned to poaching to fund activities, particularly in Africa, Sellar said. "If you look in parts of Africa, then poaching there has funded rebel activities for decades."
Beyond the shady gangs, suit-wearing diplomats have been caught red-handed.
Sellar would not name specific countries, but said "it is probably true to say that it's more often than not Asian diplomats. Not exclusively, but that appears to be the trend."
In November, Vietnam said it would recall one of its diplomats from South Africa after she was filmed conducting an illegal deal for protected rhinoceros horn.
This "by no means whatsoever" is the only instance of diplomatic involvement in the trafficking, according to Sellar who said growing affluence in Asian countries such as Vietnam and China seems to be fueling the demand.
He cited another example in an east African country he would not name where an Asian diplomat sought to use his legal immunity to smuggle elephant tusks through customs in metal boxes marked as diplomatic bags.
"The diplomat was arrested but subsequently bailed by his country and fled," said Sellar.
"Diplomatic immunity is regrettably abused, not regularly, but it is not uncommon for us to see people abusing immunity," he said.
"They use cars with CD plates, they use diplomatic baggage, parcels... to smuggle ivory, rhino horns, basically you name it."
Matt Walker, BBC News 5 Aug 09;
Freshwater dolphins living in the Amazon river basin are being attacked and killed by local fishermen.
Conservationists have found a number of boto and tucuxi dolphins that have been struck with machetes and harpoons and left to die.
The fishermen attack the dolphins fearing they are stealing their fish and ruining their fishing gear.
Some of the killings may also be driven by strong cultural taboos that suggest the animals bring bad luck.
The discovery of the dolphins came during a survey designed to monitor the mortality rate of both Amazonian dolphins and manatees conducted by researchers at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development in Tefe, Brazil.
During the survey, the research team led by Miriam Marmontel and Carolina Loch recovered 18 dead dolphins, six of which were botos ( Inia geoffrensis ), also known as the Amazon river dolphin or pink river dolphin, and 12 were tucuxi ( Sotalia fluviatilis ), another species that lives in the Amazon basin that is more closely related to oceanic dolphins.
Three of the dolphins had unusual injuries.
"These lesions were recognisable as marks made by stabbing with machetes and harpoon wounds," says Loch.
The dolphins were found in two adjacent areas.
Both tucuxi carcasses were found floating in Amana Lake within the Amana Sustainable Development Reserve, a protected area, while the dead boto was found floating in the unprotected Tefe Lake.
Both locations are in the northwestern Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Crucially, no parts of the dolphins' bodies had been harvested, the researchers report in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.
In some areas in the Amazonian basin, particularly in Colombia and Brazil, dolphins are killed for their body parts which are sold.
"The genital organs and eyes of tucuxis and botos are sometimes sold as amulets in popular markets of some Amazonian cities," says Loch.
She also explains that there is a growing trend toward using boto meat and blubber as bait to catch a scavenging catfish called the 'piracatinga' or Calophysus macropterus .
"This practice is possibly widespread in the Brazilian Amazon and may severely threaten [the boto's] conservation," Loch says.
But the three carcasses were unmolested apart from the initial fatal wounds.
That means that fishermen are killing the dolphins simply to eliminate rather than exploit them.
"Aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins and sea lions are frequently seen as unwanted competitors for fisheries resources," says Loch. "This sense is also widespread in the Amazonian region, especially among fishermen."
Loch's team think the fishermen suspect the dolphins of taking too many fish, both from the river and from their nets, and damaging their fishing gear in the process.
Cultural beliefs, myths and superstitions may also be driving some of the killings.
For example, in some parts of the Amazonian, the boto is traditionally viewed as a mischievous and tempestuous being, both feared and respected.
In extreme cases, it is thought the dolphins transform themselves into handsome men who come ashore and seduce young women, which explains why their reproductive organs are sold as charms.
But while such beliefs sometimes protect the boto and other dolphins from harm, they can also lead people to kill them out of fear or to prevent unexpected teenage pregnancies.
The researchers say the three carcasses suggest that many more Amazonian dolphins are being intentionally killed, and the practice may pose a significant threat to their conservation.
An extensive education program must be started to mitigate the problem, Loch says.
"Environmental education activities with school children are fundamental to avoid these conflicts in the future," she says.
"Amazonian dolphins play an important role in the local culture of Amazonian region, and positive aspects of this influence should be reinforced and encouraged."
"Negative myths and legends linked to undesired pregnancy of women and enchantment of people should be respected as part of their culture, but should be clarified and negative attitudes towards animals should be discouraged."
'Slaughter' fear over poaching rise
Andrew Luck-Baker, BBC News 6 Aug 09;
The number of African elephants killed illegally for their ivory is rising steeply.
A poaching surge in the past five years is raising fears of a re-run of the catastrophic slaughter of elephants in the 1970s and 1980s.
During that period, referred to by some as the "ivory holocaust", Africa's elephant population plunged from an estimated 1.3 million animals to 500,000.
One team of scientists argues that, today, about 38,000 elephants across sub-Saharan Africa are dying annually at the hands of poachers to feed the growing demand for ivory carvings and trinkets in eastern Asia.
If that poaching rate is correct and is sustained, the elephant would become extinct across most of sub-Saharan Africa in fifteen years.
The calculation on which this figure is based is questioned by a number of other experts on the illegal ivory trade. They believe the overall slaughter rate is considerably lower.
Rocketing prices
Nonetheless, 20 years after the international trade in ivory was made illegal, there is widespread concern over the escalating problem.
According to Tom Milliken of the wildlife trade monitoring organisation, TRAFFIC: "Since 2004 there's been a rapidly increasing trend in the illegal ivory trade. And this is very worrying because it follows on from a progressive decline in the ivory trade."
In the last five years, the price of ivory has sky-rocketed.
There are reports of Asian dealers paying well in excess of US$1,000 per kilo - such is the demand from the burgeoning population of consumers in China, for example, who can now afford ivory products.
A combination of the soaring value and the fact that wildlife crime is a low priority for most law enforcement agencies means that ivory poaching and trafficking has attracted the interest of international criminal syndicates.
According to Sam Wasser of the Centre for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, Seattle: "This has created a situation where organised crime has gotten very heavily involved in the illegal trade. In fact, if you look at all wildlife crime - not just ivory - there are tens of billions of dollars being made annually."
The slaughter of elephants is at its most rampant in the forests and bush of Central Africa, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo where civil war, corruption and poor standards of governance make the animals particularly vulnerable. However, poaching rates are also rising in southern and East African countries.
Patrick Omondi, who is head of species conservation at the Kenya Wildlife Service, said that the number of elephants killed for their tusks in his country more than doubled between 2007 and 2008. The latest figures for 2009 suggest it may double again by the close of this year.
2009 has also seen a string of spectacular seizures of contraband ivory made by authorities in eastern Asia. In March, Vietnamese customs discovered a shipping container with 6.3 tonnes of tusks in Hanoi.
Within six weeks, another 3.5 tonnes was seized in Manila in the Philippines and another illegal shipment of one tonne was picked up in Bangkok, Thailand. The combined weight of just these consignments represents about 2,000 dead elephants.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 programme Last Chance for Africa's Elephants?, Peter Younger of the wildlife crime unit at the global police agency, Interpol, said: "These three seizures over that short a period of time are the largest seizures I've seen since I've been in this business."
They had been shipped out of Africa from Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, though the East African country is not necessarily the country where the elephants were poached.
Once ivory has been trafficked out of the continent, it is often impossible to identify where the tusks were originally poached.
According to Sam Wasser, the lack of this information has kept the criminals several steps ahead of law enforcement and allowed intense elephant killing to go unchallenged in areas where anti-poaching measures are not adequately enforced.
In a bid to fight back against the illegal trade, Professor Wasser has led the development of a DNA forensic technique which pinpoints the origin of seized ivory.
Over the last decade, hundreds of elephant dung samples have been collected and sent to his lab from all over sub-Saharan Africa.
DNA from each has been analysed. The team have focussed on 16 specific genes from the elephant genome and plotted how the specific genetic code of each one varies from location to location. This gives them a map of elephant genetic variation across the sub-continent.
Being an overgrown tooth, an elephant tusk also harbours the animal's DNA. So when Sam Wasser's team receives a piece of seized ivory - either raw or carved - they pulverise it to a powder and then chemically extract the DNA within. The make-up of the 16 genes is then compared to the dung DNA database.
'Organised crime'
Because populations of elephants living near each other are more genetically similar than populations further apart, a statistical analysis allows the Seattle lab to say where the poached ivory originated - sometimes to within several tens of kilometres.
According to Professor Wasser, this method is much less cumbersome than other ivory genetic marker techniques.
He also said that his DNA tests on impounded ivory shipments have revealed new information on the way the criminal syndicates of poachers and illegal dealers are operating.
The findings are contrary to a widely-held belief of law enforcement agencies, he told the BBC.
"They thought that the dealers who were shipping them were cherry-picking across Africa: taking bits of ivory from here and there, putting together a big consignment together and sending it out. We find that's not happening at all," said Sam Wasser.
"In fact they (the dealers) get a purchase order - we need so many tusks at such a time - and they go and hammer these populations over and over again - the same population. So they are doing major, major devastation."
For example, analysis of samples from two large illegal shipments in 2006 suggested that the Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania had become a hotspot of intense poaching. These seizures were 5.2 tonnes of ivory in Taiwan and 2.6 tonnes caught in Hong Kong.
Another Hong Kong seizure in 2006 contained 3.5 tonnes of tusks, hidden behind a false wall in a shipping container. It had left Africa from the port city of Douala in Cameroon.
Follow-up investigations revealed a second and third container with similar secret compartments. Both had chips of ivory on their floors. All three were owned by a Taiwanese national living in Cameroon.
Customs documents suggested at least 11 shipments to ports in East Asia. Although all the illegal exports came out of Cameroon, the Seattle DNA tests showed that most of the ivory originated from the south-east of neighbouring Gabon. According to Sam Wasser: "There wasn't a lot of indication of heavy poaching in Gabon so this exposed Gabon as a very significant poaching area."
Forensic techniques such as the geographic DNA test can help to reveal regions where anti-poaching measures need to be beefed up. They can also aid the investigations of how the big time ivory traffickers are operating.
However, many of the interviewees who spoke to BBC Radio 4 are daunted by the scale and international nature of the criminality involved. At Interpol, Peter Younger argues that much more concerted co-operation among African and Asian countries is necessary.
"In this particular area of crime, we're losing because the people we are tasked to deal with are much more co-ordinated than we are. We have a mechanism to co-operate. Interpol is the only international police agency, but there are other platforms. We are just not using them enough."
"Last Chance for Africa's Elephants?" is available on the BBC iPlayer. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Andrew Luck-Baker will also be presenting two editions of "Discovery" on BBC World Service on the crisis facing the African Elephant on Wednesday 19th and 26th August
A bloody battle is raging in Eastern Congo over the illegal charcoal trade that is killing the region's great apes
Daniel Howden, The Independent 6 Aug 09;
For the past week a remarkable battle has been raging in the mountain forests of Eastern Congo. Park rangers entrusted with protecting some of the world's most endangered gorillas have launched an offensive against the rebel armies in the area and the charcoal industry that helps to support them.
Specially trained wildlife officers, backed by UN troops, have attacked and destroyed hundreds of illegal charcoal kilns deep in the forests of Virunga National Park, in a bid to disrupt the environmentally devastating industry.
The $30m (£17.7m) trade helps fund the myriad armed groups who destabilise this region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and its perpetrators are unlikely to accept the counterattack. Speaking from his mountain base in Rumangabo, the park's director, Emmanuel de Merode, said his men were "braced for a violent reaction" to their strike.
Virunga, Africa's oldest national park, lies across the mountain chain that straddles the border between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. It is home to the most important remaining population of mountain gorillas.
But the 7,800 sq km reserve is also surrounded by as many as one million people, who have been displaced by the nearly continual civil war that has ravaged North Kivu in the last two decades. The tremendous local demand for cheap fuel for heating and cooking has been exploited by armed groups, and in many cases rogue elements from the Congolese national army, who have profited from a protection racket that has shielded illegal loggers and charcoal kilns from the law.
The lucrative trade has pitted armed rebels against the 200 gorillas and their protectors in a battle for the forest, with often murderous consequences. In June and July of 2007, seven gorillas were slaughtered and the shocking pictures of a dead 500-pound silverback, named Senkwekwe, being carried on poles by grieving villagers sparked a global outcry.
The killings were traced back to the corrupt circle protecting the charcoal trade, which produces 120,000 sacks of charred forest wood every month. Investigators found that rangers and their associates in the armed militias murdered the animals as a warning to their protectors not to interfere.
In addition to the great ape killings, more than 150 rangers have been murdered in the last 10 years in the five parks of Eastern DRC. The park authorities had been expelled from much of their own reserve for 18 months by one rebel army, the CNDP, until November last year.
Mr de Merode, a former anthropologist, said that it shouldn't be up to park authorities to fight armed militia but the destructive threat of the charcoal trade had left them with little choice. "It's not our job to fight the rebels, that's the army's job," he said. "Our job is to protect the park, but they are in the park and they are destroying it."
The Congolese national army is among the most dysfunctional institution in an already notoriously corrupt country. Last year its weakness was exposed by the rogue general Laurent Nkunda who routed a much larger national army force and briefly threatened to overrun Goma, the most important city in the region. Nkunda's CNDP forces held back and were eventually driven away, but only after assistance from the army in neighbouring Rwanda. Eastern Congo is overrun by dozens of armed groups which the army and Monuc, the UN mission, has failed to neutralise. The rebel groups include the FDLR, made up of remnants of the Rwandan Hutu soldiers who carried out the genocide across the border before fleeing into Congo's vast forests.
The FDLR has been one of the main factions profiting from the charcoal trade and is also blamed for many of the recent atrocities in Eastern Congo. "The illegal exploitation of resources is one of the main factors behind 15 years of civil war and the five million deaths that it has caused," said Mr de Merode.
He said that his rangers' efforts to disrupt the charcoal trade could only play a small part in addressing these problems but that the issue "goes to the heart of instability" in Eastern Congo. However, the Belgian conservationist admitted that to take out a few hundred kilns was only a "drop in the ocean" and further action would be needed.
The offensive comes as efforts to provide alternatives to the seriously impoverished communities that surround the park and live on the fringe of the city of Goma have been accelerated. An EU-backed scheme to set up small-scale village factories producing sustainable briquettes has so far employed 1,800 people in the area.
The programme, run by the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN), has been training locals to use the kit to produce briquettes out of grass, leaves or dung. Officials plan to pull in 1,200 new producers each month, with the aim of getting 18,000 people employed in a new alternative fuel industry by 2011.
Fuelling the conflict: The charcoal trade
Few things illustrate the poverty in which millions of Africans continue to live as clearly as the fact that they cannot afford basic fossil fuels such as kerosene or natural gas for heating and cooking. In the absence of affordable alternatives many countries are locked into a cycle of expanding illegal charcoal use, increased deforestation and collapsing natural resources. The industry, both legal and illegal, is estimated to be worth more than $2bn (£1.2bn) per year across the 26 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. In energy terms charcoal use outstrips electricity, which remains unaffordable to many.*SUDAN Conflict and drought in the arid region of Darfur has seen more and more displaced people chasing fewer natural resources. The competition for scarce trees and the huge unregulated demand for charcoal has contributed seriously to the tensions that underpin clashes in Eastern Sudan.
Chad
The threat of desertification prompted the government to try a charcoal ban earlier this year, which prompted angry protests. The action was taken after 60 per cent of the country's trees were lost to the kilns.
Somalia
One of the neglected causes of the ongoing anarchy is the rampant deforestation in the acacia groves in the south. A highly organised illegal charcoal operation has destroyed the ecosystem in order to feed lucrative fuel exports to the Gulf States.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Profits from the charcoal trade have fuelled instability and funded rebel armies in North and South Kivu. With more than one million people displaced by the fighting authorities cannot afford to stop the trade until a viable alternative fuel can be found.
Geeta Pandey, BBC News 5 Aug 09;
A new variety of rice being tested in the fields of India's eastern Jharkhand state has the potential to change the face of Indian agriculture.
Sahbhagi dhan is drought-tolerant and can survive even if there are no rains for 12 days.
Rice is known to be a "thirsty crop" and a "water guzzler" and scientists have been working for years to develop a strain which will withstand a dry spell.
"A drought can occur anytime between 15 June and 15 September - the season in which rice is cultivated. Sometimes there can be gaps of five to 15 days between spells of rain," says Mukund Variar, agricultural scientist.
"If there's a dry spell when the seed is sown, or the flower is just emerging, even a five-day drought can be very dangerous for most varieties of rice. But Sahbhagi can tolerate a dry spell of 10 to 12 days."
'Positive'
Sahbhagi Dhan, which means rice developed through collaboration, is the result of 15 years of joint effort by scientists at the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station (CRURRS) in Hazaribag town.
Upland is a term used to define areas which are rain-deficient and nearly six million hectares of land in India falls in this category.
Agriculturists say the field trials of Sahbhagi, which began in 2006, have given positive results.
"We have already given it for testing to farmers in their fields. It's being tested in several villages and is proposed for release in the states of Jharkhand and Orissa. Hopefully it will be released in a couple of months," Mr Variar says.
In Singrawan village, farmer Bijay Kumar Singh shows me the patch of land where he is growing Sahbhagi. The seeds were planted a fortnight ago and little green shoots have sprung up everywhere.
"In this region, the most popular variety of rice so far has been Sadabahar. But last year I tried out Sahbhagi in a small patch of land. The yield was the best. The stem was the strongest. and it was good to eat too. It isn't the best, but it's better than the average in taste," he says.
Sadabahar gives excellent yield when the monsoon is good, but a dry spell results in total crop failure.
This year, on Mr Singh's recommendation seven farmers in his village are trying out the new variety.
'Little rain'
"I planted the seeds about a fortnight ago. The crop was good last year, the produce was good too. I've heard it's tasty as well. Next year, we'll grow it in a much larger area," farmer Baldev Kumar says.
But poor rainfall is making him worried: "The plant has not been able to come up to its full length because there has been little rain this year."
Farmers here grow maize, corn, lentils and mustard. But rice is the main staple in the state and almost all farmers grow paddy.
Monsoons are at best erratic in Jharkhand, and the scanty rainfall this year has given rise to a drought-like situation in many parts of the state which is bad news for rice growers.
"It's a very challenging year. We're dependent on the monsoon completely. We've already lost 60 percent of our crop because of poor rainfall. If the rains come now, we would be able to take 30-35 percent of our paddy crop," says Mr Singh.
For farmers like him, Sahbhagi could be the answer to prayers.
Dr VD Shukla of CRURRS says Sahbhagi Dhan has "the capacity to take moisture from the deeper levels of soil. It is also tolerant to diseases and pests. Moreover, its stem is much more sturdy and doesn't bend, which means the farmer gets a better yield".
Adds Mr Variar: "Last year, the crop season was good with well distributed rainfall. But this year there are drought-like conditions so the farmer will be able to differentiate between the Sahbhagi and other varieties and find out which one is better."
The farmers agree.
Says Gulab Mahato of Lupung village, "There's no water even in the village pond this year. So how do we sow our crops? But with Sahbhagi, we can wait for another 15 days. Even if it rains a little bit, we will be able to get some rice."
Christopher Wanjek, livescience.com 4 Aug 09;
Last week the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a report stating that organic food is not nutritionally superior to conventional food, and now the "insert-the-crass-word-for-a-common-organic-fertilizer" has hit the fan.
The research, led by public health nutritionist Alan Dangour of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, analyzed 162 peer-reviewed studies from the past 50 years comparing organic and conventional foods. After winnowing this to 55 studies meeting a certain quality threshold, the researchers found no statistical difference in levels of most nutrients.
The reaction in the news media and on blogs was swift, reflecting a divide sowed long ago. The pro-organic movement, naturally, calls the analysis flawed if not rigged by agribusiness. Others see this as proof that paying premium prices for organic products is a waste of money.
But factors influencing nutritional composition of food in the journey from field to fork are so extensive - such as plant variety, seasonal differences due to weather, crop handling, processing, storage and cooking - that organic farming can only hope to make nominal contributions to nutrition.
One of the most potent factors affecting nutrition is freshness. Here, you are best served by foods grown locally, regardless of whether they are organic.
The study indeed has opened up a can of worms, but worms are good for the soil.
Data harvest
The strength of this study, undertaken at the request of the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA), was that this is the first broad, systematic review investigating differences in nutrient content of organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. Its weakness, stated clearly in the article's introduction, was that this work didn't look at pesticide residue or long-term effects of conventional farming.
So the FSA study is unlikely to change many eating habits. Many people who buy organic do so because of a perceived danger of synthetic pesticides and the effect of synthetic fertilizers on soil and water quality.
One criticism has been that the analysis excluded a four-year study funded by the European Union, led in part by Carlo Leifert, professor of ecological agriculture at Newcastle University in Newcastle, England. Leifert found that organic milk could contain 60 percent more antioxidants and healthy fatty acids compared to conventional milk. This study, however, was published last April and missed the FSA study's criterion of papers published between 1958 and February 2008.
A cutoff is a cutoff. Had Dangour included all of 2008 and 2009, he would have found four recently published papers in high-quality journals, such as the British Journal of Nutrition, showing no nutritional differences between organic and conventional potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli and carrots.
Nevertheless, the EU-funded study, which ended in April 2009, was conducted by the QualityLowInputFood project, whose participants are organic advocates. Perhaps great potential lies in the data this project has gathered, but so far studies have been sparse and sample sizes in those studies sparser.
Buy local, eat better
The FSA analysis doesn't champion conventional farming, which is infested with troubles. Pesticide and nutrient runoff pose perplexing questions about the sustainability of such farming practices. Sickness and death among field workers exposed to synthetic pesticides are well documented. Less is certain about food we consume with pesticide residue.
Organic farming, too, faces challenges. Low yields continue to dog the community. Lower yield means more land needed for farming. Many organic farmers are reluctant to accept genetically modified crops, which could otherwise boost yield and produce crops with built-in pest management.
Conventional farming doesn't always mean the wanton application of death chemicals. Most small, local farmers apply a practice called integrated pest management (IPM). The goal is to minimize and often eliminate pesticide use through intensive monitoring, biological controls, insect traps and other methods, relegating chemical pesticide application to a last resort. Emphasis is on control, not elimination, of pests and weeds.
Getting Americans to eat more fresh vegetables would reduce many of the cases of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer plaguing this country. Most Americans consume more calories from soft drinks than from vegetables.
So from a public health stance, it doesn't matter much if those potato chips are organic. The goal is to make available more fresh and inexpensive vegetables. The local food movement, some of it organic and most of it IPM, is attempting to meet that goal.
Leslie Kaufman, The New York Times 5 Aug 09;
ATLANTA — Six years ago, when Georgia’s state government rewrote its rules for water use during droughts, it cut no slack for an obvious culprit: golf courses.
With emerald fairways that glistened even in the most blistering conditions, they were a tempting target.
Yet golf course managers were indignant. They argued that they were reining in water use in dozens of ways, like planting native grasses and auditing sprinkler spray patterns. Instead of being penalized, they said, they should be emulated.
It took a while, but from the South to the arid West, their wish is coming true. Mindful that global warming could provoke more and longer dry spells, state governments are increasingly consulting golf courses on water strategies.
In Georgia, golf course managers have emerged as go-to gurus on water conservation for both industries and nonprofit groups.
Marriott International is applying lessons learned at its golf course here to its resort properties in other states. Habitat for Humanity is landscaping front yards with drought-tolerant plants recommended by golf superintendents.
“Look, if you want to learn how to irrigate, these are the guys to ask,” said Garith Grinnell, who recently retired from the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Such accolades are a turnabout for a business that is often faulted for harming the environment through excess use of water and pesticides.
In Georgia, the shift in perspective came about largely because of a crippling drought that peaked in 2007. By that year, 97 percent of the clubs that belonged to the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association had voluntarily adopted what are viewed as best-management practices for water use, reducing consumption, they estimated, by 25 percent in just three years.
Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s main source of water, had meanwhile dropped to record low levels, exposing muddy bottom not seen in half a century. It dawned on state and local water managers that golf courses might have some useful know-how.
Golfing grounds managers “are great technical assistance to me,” said Kathy Nguyen, president of the Georgia Water Wise Council, a state association of water professionals that encourages conservation. “I can call them up and talk to them about different technologies.” (Georgia’s drought eased significantly this year.)
Ms. Nguyen has relied on golf superintendents in drafting guidelines for homeowners like letting grass grow longer, fixing leaks in hoses as promptly as possible and keeping lawn mower blades razor sharp. (Grass cut by duller blades is more frayed and requires more water to stay healthy.)
The golf industry still draws strong criticism from environmentalists. Turf is, after all, the thirstiest of plants. The average American golf course drinks up some 50 million gallons of water a year — comparable to the yearly usage of 1,400 people. In the West, the figures are higher.
Yet that reality, coupled with rising water prices, is what led to strides like irrigating golf courses with “gray water,” or nonindustrial wastewater that is recycled for other purposes.
Tom Bancroft, chief scientist with the National Audubon Society, says that for all the progress golf has made, it remains a deeply problematic industry. Many courses “use fertilizers that can run off into fresh water, and many use pesticides in lawn and grass,” Mr. Bancroft said. (Audubon International, a separate group, works with golf courses to encourage wildlife preservation.)
Mark Esoda, superintendent of the Atlanta Country Club in suburban Marietta, where initiation fees are $85,000, acknowledges that practices among the nation’s courses range from indifferent to conscientious. But Mr. Esoda maintains that he and other superintendents have a lot to teach municipalities about watering their ball fields and homeowners about tending to their yards.
Zipping around the course on pine-shaded paths, Mr. Esoda stopped abruptly near the seventh hole. He gestured toward a patch of newly laid turf of zoysia, a warm-weather shade grass native to Southeast Asia and Australia. On shady parts of the course it is replacing fescue, a genus of cold-weather shade grass that can live through the winter and thus requires five months’ more watering and mowing.
Mr. Esoda said he had also installed affordable monitors that prevent automatic sprinklers from activating during or right after a rain.
And when isolated dry spots appear on the greens, he said, he sends staff members out with watering cans rather than turning on the sprinkler system.
Finally, Mr. Esoda has made an aesthetic adjustment after years of savoring the green glow of a perfect lawn. “Crispy around the edges is O.K.,” he confided.
Water is just one area where golf courses and environmentalists may find a rapprochement, said Anthony L. Williams, director of grounds at Marriott’s Stone Mountain public courses just outside Atlanta.
As metropolitan areas sprawl outward, golf courses may be the only large-scale green space for miles around, offering crucial potential habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife.
Mr. Williams, who has a degree in local horticulture, has been letting native grasses take over his lawns. Off the fairways he does not even bother to mow, and on the greens he is maintaining grass at one-sixteenth of an inch higher than typical courses. It makes playing slow, he allows, but “consistent.” He has also replaced all the flowering annuals with perennials, which generally require less water, choosing those that are attractive to native wildlife.
Since he took charge of the two courses in 2005, Mr. Williams has cut water consumption by 45 percent, he said, and witnessed the return of some wildlife species like the red-tailed hawk.
The changes have come with a price, like the occasional large brown spot on the fairway. But Mr. Williams says the golfers do not mind.
“I just stand out there on the greens and explain, ‘We are doing this so your grandchildren can come out here and play,’ ” he said. “People understand that.”
Yahoo News 5 Aug 09;
TOKYO (AFP) - Three Japanese electric car makers teamed up with the country's largest power company Wednesday to study ways to building a grid of battery charging stations for zero-emission vehicles.
Nissan Motors, Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries said they would set up a committee with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to discuss ways to standardise and promote their battery-charging technology.
The four companies said they were "aiming to standardise the power charge method and to popularise fast-speed charge stations, which are absolutely essential in promoting electric vehicles in Japan."
The three automakers have separately developed lithium-ion batteries together with TEPCO, the largest utility in Asia, for their plug-in electric vehicles, which started hitting the market this year.
"We believe it is important that the industry becomes united, cooperates and collaborates," said Nissan's senior vice president Minoru Shinohara.
"I think it's important that all parties concerned go beyond the boundaries of their industries and work together," he told a joint news conference.
The three automakers have led efforts to commercialise electric vehicles.
Mitsubishi in June launched its i-MiEV, with a annual global sales target of 6,000 units in the year to March 2011.
Fuji Heavy introduced its own Subaru Plug-in Stella in June and has said it expects to sell an initial 170 units by next March.
Nissan, meanwhile, last weekend showed off its first electric car, the "Leaf" hatchback, and said it expects to market the model in late 2010 in Japan, Europe and the United States.
TEPCO, a major nuclear power provider, has said it is gradually replacing its corporate fleet by buying or leasing as many as 3,000 in total of the Mitsubishi and Subaru electric vehicles.
Yahoo News 5 Aug 09;
WAKARUSA, Indiana (AFP) – President Barack Obama Wednesday unveiled a 2.4-billion-dollar funding boost for the development of new generation electric vehicles and slammed critics of his economic rescue plans.
The president traveled to a jobs crisis blackspot in the economically-struggling midwestern state of Indiana to announce a plan he said would create tens of thousands of new jobs.
"For far too long we've failed to invest in this kind of innovative work, even as countries like China and Japan were racing ahead," Obama said.
"That's why this announcement's so important. This represents the largest investment in this kind of technology in American history."
"This is an investment in our capacity to develop new technologies tomorrow. This is about creating the infrastructure of innovation."
Obama spoke in a plant that formerly made recreational vehicles (RVs) but which closed down as the recession hit. The factory has since been reopened and is now making RVs and electric hybrid vehicles.
The initiative, funded from the administration's 787-billion-dollar economic crisis bailout, came against a backdrop of shifting political fortunes with Obama's high opinion ratings eroding and Republican opposition resurgent.
It also came ahead of government jobs data due out on Friday which some analysts believe could see the unemployment rate growing to 9.6 percent, just short of the politically perilous 10-percent mark.
Obama's tactic of appearing outside Washington is designed to place him metaphorically on the side of the people who sent him to power last November, rather than squabbling politicians in the US capital.
"You know, too often there are those in Washington who focus on the ups and downs of politics. But my concern is the ups and downs in the lives of the American people," Obama said.
He also hit out at critics peddling "misinformation" on his economic recovery plans, which he said were starting to work and transition the US economy out of free-fall into a new, more sustainable era.
"There are a lot of people out there who are looking to defend the status quo," Obama said, touting political reforms to on energy, healthcare and economic policy.
"There are those who want to seek political advantage. They want to oppose these efforts -- some of them caused the problems that we've got now in the first place, and then suddenly they're blaming other folks for it."
The 2.4 billion dollars in grants for electric vehicles includes 1.5 billion dollars to US manufacturers to make batteries and components and to expand recycling, officials said.
A further 500 million dollars will go to US firms which produce components for vehicles including electric motors, electronics and other drive train items.
The grants gel with a wider Obama administration effort to wean the United States off foreign oil from volatile regions of the world and drive to slice into US greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
Posts
visitors since Nov 07