When the Melastoma Blooms
from Butterflies of Singapore
Pink-necked Green Pigeon eats petals
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Venus Drive
from Singapore Nature
Malayan Night Heron catches an earthworm
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Wildfacts updates: Sightings in November
from wild shores of singapore
Straits Times 28 Nov 09;
THE authorities are still looking into whether Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) will be allowed to drop a controversial plan to exhibit the world's largest fish.
The resort said in May that it might not be able to care for the animals, which can grow to more than 12m long and weigh up to 15 tonnes.
The whale sharks had been touted as a star attraction at the resort's 8ha oceanarium, the biggest in the world, when Genting International's RWS won its bid for the Sentosa integrated resort three years ago.
Whale sharks have been notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, and the news that they and other animals such as dolphins would be the highlights in the oceanarium had animal welfare and conservation groups up in arms.
The final nod on any proposed changes must be given by the Government.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) director of integrated resorts Carrie Kwik confirmed that RWS had made a request for changes to its original submission, but did not say when any decision would be made.
'The STB is currently evaluating the proposal, taking into consideration its impact on the overall appeal of the IR and the benefits that it will bring to the project,' she said.
Whale sharks are filter feeders, which survive on plankton and other tiny creatures. They are listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and their import and export are controlled.
Researchers here say that keeping the gentle giants in captivity will be a mammoth task.
Professor Peter Ng, head of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at the National University of Singapore, noted that the only facility to have successfully done so was the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan.
'Even then, they can't stay in the tanks for long. The secret is that several whale sharks are kept in an enormous holding area in the ocean, and a complex engineering system hoists the sharks in and out of their tanks,' he said.
'I believe there will never be a whale shark in Singapore. We don't have the expertise, we don't have the space, and there's a global ban on the animals,' he added.
While RWS is set to have its soft opening early next year, its Marine Life Park is part of phase two of the facility's development and will be set up at a later date.
It is not clear whether earlier plans to have 700,000 marine creatures, ranging from tiger sharks to sea horses, are still in place.
The Straits Times understands that the sole purchases for the oceanarium so far have been seven dolphins caught in the wild.
These were shipped from the Solomon Islands and are being trained at an ocean park in Subic Bay in the Philippines.
Organisations such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are also against keeping dolphins caught in the wild, saying these mammals undergo stress and suffering in captivity.
RWS declined to give details on its new proposal, but said the marine park would be a key attraction, with a strong focus on education and marine life conservation.
Related post
Will there be a whale shark at Resorts World Sentosa? on the wild shores of singapore blog with links to related posts and articles.
Business Times 27 Nov 09;
The factors: its size, cost competitiveness considerations
SINGAPORE's policy response to climate change is limited by its size and considerations of cost-competitiveness, local economists said at a forum yesterday.
Monitoring the environmental impact of individual internal projects and focusing on optimising technology to boost energy efficiency is more realistic than committing to carbon emission targets, some participants at the 12th Singapore Economic Roundtable said.
Opening the session on climate change with a presentation on policy implications, Bindu Lohani, vice-president of the Asian Development Bank, said it is 'in the best interest of all, particularly the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific, to transition to low carbon growth'.
The global recession has created an opportunity for such a transition, as significant resources have been dedicated to green investments under various government's stimulus packages, he said.
To meet reduced carbon emission targets, he said, policymakers should promote low carbon policies by transforming their energy and transport and agriculture sectors, as well as better using carbon markets.
With just over a week to the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, Dr Lohani said its success requires an agreement to address mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology transfer issues. In the discussion that followed, one economist said it is a pity the global conversation on climate change has focused on 'which country should cut carbon emissions and by how much'.
For Singapore, he said, it has always been a 'terms of trade issue'.
Imposing carbon taxes does not yield huge revenues, but affects trading competitiveness disproportionately, especially since the dent Singapore can make in global carbon emissions would be negligible.
Another local economist said Dr Lohani's suggestions that policymakers invest in energy-efficient buildings and projects, and encourage businesses to adopt green technology, would be more applicable to Singapore's context.
Drains to be widened in several areas over the next three years
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 28 Nov 09;
THE PUB is spending $67.5million over the next three years to widen the drains in five areas around Singapore to make them less prone to floods.
They are in Jalan Haji Alias, Telok Kurau, Keppel Road, Jurong Port Road and Lincoln Road.
The national water agency also recently completed 10 projects in places such as Sims Avenue, Geylang and Commonwealth Avenue, which are low-lying areas prone to being inundated by the year-end deluge. The projects were fast-tracked and completed in two years, at least a year ahead of schedule.
Almost half the year's rainfall of 2,357.8mm comes during the months of November, December and January.
The projects are part of ongoing efforts that have seen the number of flood-prone areas in Singapore reduced from 3,200ha in the 1970s to 79ha today.
Another project at the junction of Tanjong Katong and Mountbatten Roads will see over $1million invested to widen a portion of the drainage system from 1m at present, to 3.5m.
The drains in this area of reclaimed land of 0.5ha regularly overflow when bouts of heavy rain coincide with high tides during the north-east monsoon season, flooding nearby homes up to three times a month.
Construction will be completed by the first quarter of next year.
PUB is also working with the three Bukit Timah condominiums whose basement carparks were partially submerged during an unusually intense rainstorm last week, to prevent future occurrences.
The building management at the three-decade-old Corona Ville condominium, in Jalan Haji Alias, for example, is looking to build a concrete hump at the entrance to its basement carpark to block surface run-off during a storm.
This should be completed by early next month.
Mr Edwin Tan, chairman of the residents' committee at the condominium, said the estimated cost of damage to the eight cars affected by the floods ran into a 'few hundred thousand dollars', but residents were, so far, adopting a sense of perspective in assessing the cost to their property.
'This is something beyond everyone's control,' said Mr Tan, whose $140,000 BMW X4 was partially damaged in the floods.
The Sixth Avenue Centre is exploring the installation of a water sensor system to provide a flood alert, said Mr S.K. Goh of the building's managing agent, Land & Building Services.
The system would trigger an alarm once the water reached a certain level so car owners could move their vehicles.
Mr Goh said the carpark does have water pumps, but these could not cope with the 'sudden surge of water' that occurred on Nov19, when around 92mm of rain was dumped in the area in just half an hour in the early afternoon.
It is understood that the owners of four cars and one motorcycle which were submerged have been asked to submit claims for damages to the building's management by next week.
At the two-year-old Tessarina condominium in Wilby Road, more sandbags have been placed around the control rooms in the 500-lot basement carpark that provide electricity to the estate's five buildings.
'We are working with the management to explore other measures they can take,' said a PUB spokesman, adding that the estate's drainage network was also being assessed.
Mr Chan Ming Hwang, senior manager, catchment and waterways department, with the PUB, said ejector pumps used in basement carparks to channel rainwater outside have to be checked regularly to prevent them from being choked by debris such as silt and mud.
Straits Times Forum 28 Nov 09;
IT IS heartening to learn from Wednesday's report, 'Work to expand canals next year', that PUB intends to take concrete steps in the wake of what was described as 'an extraordinarily intensive storm on Nov 19'. I hope this will go at least some way to relieve the anxiety of residents in the flood-prone Bukit Timah area.
Although we are into the annual monsoon period when heavy rain is only to be expected, it does seem strange that with all the sophisticated tracking technology now available to meteorologists, there was no advance warning of this 'extraordinarily intensive storm' for the public to prepare themselves adequately.
The report informs that 'this flood comes three years after one of Singapore's worst floodings in recent history, in December 2006'.
However, this appears to conflict with the comment attributed to the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim ('Deluge a 'once in 50 years' event', last Saturday) that this was a 'freak' event.
I recall from memory that friends living in a two-storey house in Carlisle Road had to evacuate to the upper floor when there was more than 1m of water downstairs - this would have been in 1969. Again in 1979, I was caught along Dunearn Road in a car with the water more than 1m above road level, leaving many cars stalled. Arguably, anyone who had any personal experience would be inclined to believe his was the worst.
As the weather appears to be at the whims and fancy of Mother Nature, it will be intriguing to see how far the ingenuity of man will be able to keep its destructive forces at bay.
Narayana Narayana
Straits Times 28 Nov 09;
Using live guppies as amusement at Geylang Prawn Fishing Restaurant (above) is socially irresponsible, says a reader. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Iam writing to express my concern over the use of live guppies as amusement for children at Geylang Prawn Fishing Restaurant (Out With Racquets, In With Rods, LifeStyle, Nov 22).
Just as the use of dogs or cats forpublic entertainment with ropes or nets in a commercial setting would unlikely be welcomed by the public, I hope guppies would be given the same consideration.
There is no justification for the continued use of live animals for entertainment.
I hope the owners of Geylang Prawn Fishing Restaurant will exercise some social responsibility and stop the cruel practice.
Veronica Lim Lay Koon
Out with racquets, in with rods
A new 24-hour indoor prawn fishing eatery is calling the Singapore Badminton Hall home
Tan Yi Hui, Straits Times 22 Nov 09;
From the outside, the Singapore Badminton Hall in Guillemard Road looks like it always has. But inside, it is a different story: Prawns with big heads have taken up residence.
Where people once practised their drop shots and smashes, the Geylang Prawn Fishing Restaurant sprang up last month.
Half the old cavernous sports hall has been converted into a 24-hour prawn fishing haven, owned by Ms Amelia Lua and her husband David Ang, both 45.
They were previously in the tourism retail industry.
The other half is a kid's carnival ground with different owners.
There are about 10 prawn-fishing spots in Singapore, in such areas as Punggol and Sin Ming, but Ms Lua says theirs is the only indoor one.
'My husband and I both love prawn fishing and we used to go to a farm in Pasir Ris,' she says. 'But sometimes it rains and our trip gets ruined.
'You don't have to worry about the weather with an indoor facility.'
Indoor prawn-fishing is not a new concept, however.
In 1994, The Straits Times reported on a now defunct, air-conditioned Golden Pond Taiwan Prawn Fishing Foodcourt at the former Apollo Centre in Havelock Road.
But Ms Lua is confident about her $1-million investment. She says the place sees up to 100 customers a day, with the figure doubling on weekends.
Patrons are a mix of young and old, and she has already secured a corporate booking for 200 people on Christmas Eve.
Prices start at $15 a person for one hour and go up to $30 for three hours. Fishing rods and bait are provided and then it is up to the prawn-fisher's luck or skill.
Six ponds, each measuring 5m by 8m, have been dug into the existing floor and are packed with prawns ranging in length from 10cm to 20cm.
But customers cannot see the crustaceans as the water has been darkened with food dye. Ms Lua says: 'This is to prevent people from 'cheating'. If they can see the prawns, everyone will crowd around the part where there are more of them.'
The prawns on offer are a freshwater species commonly known as 'big-head prawns' from Malaysia.
Along the terraces, where badminton fans used to cheer on players, are tanks with more prawns to replace those that people catch.
There are also dining tables where guests sit at and relax, have a beer or sink their teeth into their catch.
Diners can barbecue their prawns for free at pits outside the hall or send them to the kitchen where, for another $10 or so, the catch is turned into dishes such as black-pepper and chilli prawns.
A sheltered beer garden at the back sits up to 200 people. Besides prawns, other menu items include beverages, western food and snacks such as otah and satay.
When LifeStyle visited last Wednesday night, the place started filling up at about 9pm with people ranging from seniors to families with kids.
Besides prawns, entertainment for the young ones include small tanks with guppies to catch.
Regulars such as Mr Alan Tian, 40, who is self-employed, likes the indoor concept so much that he visits four times a week, and fishes for up to three hours each time.
He adds: 'There is ample parking space and this place's prawns are bigger than at other places. I can catch up to 2kg worth of prawns in one night.
'Furthermore, this is an indoor area, so smoking is prohibited. In other places, people smoke while they fish and I don't like being surrounded by the smoke.'
Prawn fishing the new sport at Badminton Hall
Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times 29 Nov 09;
It can take in 2,800 spectators and has 14 courts, but the former Singapore Badminton Hall's new game is prawn fishing and eating.
A 24-hour restaurant, complete with the chance to reel in prawns for your dinner, opened last month in the iconic venue which is now called Guillemard Village.
The change of service prompted one reader to write to The Sunday Times. Ms Theresa Tan, 42, who is self-employed, is upset that the hall - built in 1952 - is no longer in play as a sports centre.
'The courts are all in place already. It can possibly be used for other indoor sports like sepak takraw, gymnastics or netball training. In fact, it can even be used for community or grassroots events and functions when necessary,' she wrote in an e-mail.
A 30-year lease to use the place, held by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), ran out last year.
The cost of renewing the lease for both the former Singapore Badminton Association building (now a foodcourt and health spa) and hall was high, said Ms Rhonda Koh, director of the integrated marketing communications division of the SSC.
After careful consideration, the SSC and SBA felt that the money could be better spent to improve the sport here, she added. The SBA is now renting space at the Singapore Sports School in Woodlands.
SBA's chief executive Edwin Pang said the school is a conducive training ground - it has 12 courts - but the national players have to share facilities with the school's own students. It is a situation which does not score high marks with national shuttler Kendrick Lee, 25.
'I grew up playing at the Singapore Badminton Hall and I feel quite sad that we had to move,' he said. 'While we had the courts to ourselves in the hall, in the Sports School, sometimes, I feel like we don't get enough time on the courts.'
The SBA - which is slated to have a new badminton hall at the upcoming Sports Hub in Kallang - is also losing out in terms of revenue.
Said Mr Pang: 'We used to get income from the restaurant and spa that rented the space at the Singapore Badminton Hall. That helped us pay our professional players and coaches, and fund our organisation and participation in tournaments.'
The SBA now has to net more sponsors for certain competitions, like the Li-Ming Singapore International Series.
Mr Pang noted that the old hall had shock-absorbent flooring - a plus for players - and a seating gallery to go with competitions.
Another problem has been lobbed into the SBA court. It has to vacate its Sports School facilities during the Youth Olympic Games next year.
The SSC is helping to find a solution, said Mr Pang of the disruption which will last about three months.
Meanwhile, could sports make a return to the hall in Guillemard?
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which owns the property, said it 'will consult with the planning authority and other relevant agencies' when Guillemard Village's tenancy ends.
The SLA said the approved uses are as offices, food and beverage outlets, preschools and language centres as well as for sports and recreation.
But some sports will soon take place in the Guillemard site.
The management of Guillemard Village said it is holding Chinese martial arts classes for children during the year-end school holidays.
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia 27 Nov 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore has been clear of malaria clusters for about two months. But an expert warns that because the country is so globalised, it is a matter of time before another one appears. Hence, the public health system needs to be poised to deal with it.
Dr Laurent Renia, a researcher who has three to four years of experience with Singapore's malaria situation, said that in the first 14 days of infection, the malaria parasite remains dormant in the liver.
In the recent malaria clusters here, with nearly all the 28 people infected living in foreign worker dormitories, Dr Renia said it would not have been feasible to screen all the foreign workers here.
Dr Renia, a principal investigator at Singapore Immunology Network, said: "It could have taken one month, two months, before the parasite go into the blood. They (foreign workers) could have been screened; you would have never found the parasite. (When) the parasite is released and introduces the disease, it's already too late.
"You cannot prevent it (the disease) completely. It will always happen, because you are living in the world of globalisation. You will always have people coming. You cannot do mass screening, because this is, in the operational point of view, impossible.
"What you can do is to be prepared when it happens. Public health system, be ready. So you need to have medical doctors trained to recognise a malaria parasite."
Still, hospitals say the most common way of detecting malaria is through blood tests that take up to four hours to get results.
Once the disease is detected here, the National Environment Agency or NEA is then tasked to wipe out the carrier of the malaria parasite - the Anopheles mosquito.
Unlike the Aedes mosquito that transmits dengue fever, the Anopheles mosquito exists in the outdoors and breeds in brackish water in coastal areas and seepage water.
The last big malaria outbreak in Singapore was in 2006 when there were 13 local transmissions. Singapore may still see 100 to 300 cases a year. But most of the cases were brought in by people from overseas.
Dr Renia said: "Malaria is no longer endemic in Singapore. It used to be, but it's not anymore. So if you have an outbreak, it's treated, it's contained. You move on, for the next six months, you don't have malaria. You forget (about the disease), this is human nature, you forget, till the next time. So the thing is to be prepared, and to be responsive."
The NEA has also stressed the need to stay vigilant in pre-empting any malaria outbreaks, and says it will continue to work closely with other agencies.
Since 1982, the World Health Organisation has recognised Singapore's efforts in preventing malaria from becoming endemic in Singapore.
- CNA/ir
The Star 28 Nov 09;
GEORGE TOWN: It is “No Plastic Day” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays too in Penang from Jan 1.
The state government has decided to extend its “No Plastic Monday” campaign against the use of plastic bags to three days in a week.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said all hypermarkets, supermarkets and mini-markets would be required to abide by the ruling for their licences to be renewed under the Local Government Act and Municipal Council of Penang Island (Food Establishments) by-laws.
“Consumers who insist on plastic bags will still pay 20sen per plastic bag, which will then be channelled to the state government’s ‘Partners Against Poverty’ fund to wipe out hardcore poverty,” he said.
Lim said even single stores at shopping malls would now be required to adhere to the ruling on Mondays.
He said according to data provided by 45 supermarkets, hypermarkets and other retailers, Penangites saved on the use of more than one million plastic bags since the campaign kicked off in July.
“To date, we have also collected RM21,403 for the fund for the poor,” he added.
“Due to tremendous public support, the state has decided to extend it to three days after discussion with all stakeholders, including non-governmental groups and plastic manufacturers.”
No-plastic days meet resistance
New Straits Times 30 Nov 09;
GEORGE TOWN: The state government's decision to extend its no-plastic Mondays to three days a week from January has not gone down well with retailers and consumers here.
Many retailers were unhappy with the latest ruling which they claimed was not beneficial to them.
The retailers said instead of putting the burden on them, the state government should absorb some responsibility by educating consumers on the need to reduce the use of plastic bags.
Sunshine Wholesale Mart advertising and promotion manager Peter Chan said while the company was aware of climate change, the recent ruling was too drastic.
"As it is, we are already losing customers on Mondays. With the latest ruling, we expect our business to suffer even more."
Chan said the company had always supported any green campaign initiated by the state government or other parties.
"We will continue to do so for mother nature. All we are asking is for the state government to create a win-win situation for all, unlike the present situation where retailers are at the losing end."
He said to ensure that the latest ruling would work, the state government should turn it into a bylaw across the board.
Sunshine currently operates six hypermarkets in the state with one more opening soon.
It was reported that in a bid to position itself as a "green state", the state government had extended no-plastic Mondays to all retail stores while other businesses which had already done so, will now implement it three days a week.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said those doing it for three days -- Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday -- included hypermarkets, supermarkets, professional outlets, firms and franchise stores.
He was quoted as saying that local government bylaws allowed local councils to impose specific conditions for the renewal of business licences and the "no plastic bags" programme was now a condition which must be followed.
A Tesco hypermarket representative said the company would abide by the latest ruling. However, a retailer, who spoke on anonymity, said the state government left them with no choice but to abide with the latest ruling.
"If we don't do it, then chances are our licence will not be renewed."
Retiree Joo S.P., 59, said the latest ruling, although good for the environment, was too harsh for consumers.
"The state government must move one step at a time and not be overly eager," he said.
Ben Webster, The Times Online 28 Nov 09;
The bright lights of the M4 motorway which could soon become a dim memory
Street and motorway lights should be dimmed or switched off to save energy and let people see the stars, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution says.
It says there is little evidence that such lighting significantly cuts accidents or crime. It recommends the removal of thousands of motorway lights, possibly even at junctions. Its report, Artificial Light in the Environment, also calls on councils to consider reducing street lighting.
The report says that since 1993 most of the UK has become brighter, obscuring the stars, and it backs a recent paper in the scientific journal Nature that said: “Without a direct view of the stars, mankind is cut off from most of the Universe, deprived of any direct sense of its huge scale and our tiny place in it.”
The commission proposes “dark- sky parks” all over Britain, with planning restrictions on outdoor lighting. The Galloway Forest Park in southern Scotland this month became Britain’s first official dark-sky park, with 7,000 stars visible there, compared with 500 in Glasgow.
The report challenges Home Office assumptions that better street lighting cuts crime, arguing that the reductions also happen in daytime and can be credited to improvements such as removal of graffiti.
It says that the planned replacement of 2.3 million of Britain’s 7.4 million road lights in the next two years is “a real opportunity for local authorities to think about minimising the negative impacts of stray light”.
The commission acknowledges that turning off street lights can be very unpopular and it describes how, in Powys, one resident paid for lights to stay in his village.
Jenny Fawson, of the safety guidance charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said: “Before lighting is reduced, we need to consider not only the potential increase in crime but that darkness increases people’s fear of crime.”
The report suggests that much wildlife can be harmed by artifical light, and recommends a planning presumption against artificial light in areas where it may harm species of concern.
The commission suggests that historic buildings should be floodlit only occasionally.
It says motorway lighting reduces crashes by about 10 per cent and that this may be too low to justify the costs. It welcomes the Highways Agency’s trials of switching off lighting on six stretches of motorway between midnight and 5am. The trials began in March and have so far reduced carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 230 tonnes, equal to 100 cars’ annual emissions.
Lighting up
In the 16th and 17th century, public lighting in London and Paris started with residents hanging lamps from their property to guide them home
Gas light, developed by William Murdoch, used coal gas to power lamps. In January 1807 Pall Mall, London, became the first street to be lit by gas light
The first electric streetlight in the UK was In Mosley Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was lit by Joseph Swan’s incandescent lamp in February 1879. Two months later electric streetlights arrived in the United States at the Public Square road system in Cleveland, Ohio.
Modern streetlights do not need to be changed to take into account daylight savings as they are fitted with solar clocks and photocells that self-adjust. Lamps are designed to stay on if they fail so that the street is not left dark at night
Source: Times archives
Less can be more when it comes to street lighting claims report
Light pollution not only blocks out the night sky but encourages crime and damages the environment, a Royal Commission report claims.
Richard Alleyne, The Telegraph 27 Nov 09;
Experts believe that the explosion of street lighting since the Second World War has not necessarily been beneficial and it is time to look at more subtle ways to illuminate the country at night.
They believe that too often authorities "blast" light in the "wrong place at the wrong time" and this can encourage crime, has no impact on road safety and damages quality of life.
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution concludes that at the very least lighting should be removed from all motorways except at junctions and from many urban parks.
It also suggests that lights in city centres should be "dimmed" to reduce glare and that flood lights on buildings should be swapped for smaller spot lights.
Sir John Lawton, chair of the commission, said: "There is an urgent need for Government to recognise that artificial light in the wrong place or at the wrong time is a pollutant which can harm the natural environment."
He said artificial light provides many benefits – providing us with a sense of security and enabling us to pursue recreational activities at night.
But much of our outdoor lighting is badly designed or poorly installed, leading to wasted light or "sky glow".
He said the commission received evidence suggesting that artificial light can have adverse effects on the biology of many plants and animals – and maybe even humans.
This could be exasperated by the move towards replacing existing yellow road lighting with more modern broader wavelength lighting which can be seen by more wildlife.
In terms of crime, he said badly designed lighting can lead to glare and the creation of dark shadows which can help rather than hinder criminal activity.
In terms of road safety, studies suggest that lighting can reduce accidents at junctions where pedestrians and traffic meet, but it does not necessarily reduce accident levels on motorways when compared to daylight conditions.
Sir John said: "Too much lighting creates shadowed areas that allow criminals to hide. Intensely shadowed areas provide places for potential criminals such as muggers and burglars to hide.
“There are around seven and a half million road lights in the UK. Over two million are nearly 30 years old and will therefore need to be replaced in the next couple of years.
"This presents a real opportunity for local authorities to think about minimising the negative impacts of stray light, for the benefit of both nature and the general public.”
Salina Khalid, The Star 28 Nov 09;
A year ago, the Raja Musa forest reserve near Batang Berjuntai was in a deplorable state with hardly any of the original species of trees seen at the peat swamp.
What used to be a heavily forested area had become barren land. Pockets of the forest reserve were planted with cash crops like tapioca, pineapple, starfruit and banana trees instead of the original species like Mahang (Macarang species), Meranti (Shorea spp), Jelutong (Dyera sp,), Rengas (Gluta renghas) and Ramin (Gonystilus bancanus), which are commonly found at peat forests.
For more than 10 years, more than 500ha of the forest reserve was illegally cleared and burnt for large-scale farming.
At the end of last year, the Selangor state forestry department, on the instruction of the state government, ordered the eviction of the illegal occupants and started clearing all vegetation and agricultural activities in the area.
Access roads were cut off to prevent entry to the area and all the illegal settlers were evicted from the forest reserve. The drains and canals were blocked to contain the water and raise the water table.
Since then, the department together with various NGOs have put in continuous effort to save the 23,000ha peat swamp forest reserve. It includes replanting seedlings indigenous to the peat swamp in an attempt to return it to its original state.
Now, after a year, the area is showing signs of recovery, thanks to the efforts of the state forestry department and several nature-loving NGOs.
“For the past year, we have been carrying out continuous efforts to restore the forest.
“Initially, we provided everything including the tree saplings to be planted in the area.
“But now the NGOs have started to come in with their initiatives to help restore the forest,” Selangor Forestry department deputy director for silviculture and forest protection Samsu Anuar Nawi said.
He added that the tree-planting was being held regularly at the forest reserve.
Initially, the department had supplied several species of saplings to be replanted. However, the method was found to be less successful as some of the species were not suitable under those conditions.
He said the rehabilitation process was going at a much slower rate than expected. Only some of the replanted trees survived.
“We only had a survival rate of 30% from what we had planted in the area.
“Now we are focusing on one particular species — the Mahang tree.
“The tree is more suitable as it is fast-growing and can create forest cover rapidly,” he said.
Samsu added that Mahang, which was considered a pioneer species in peat forests, had a higher survival rate. It had up to 80% survival rate compared with other species. The Mahang species would take about 10 years to muture but could reach maturity faster with proper care.
The result can be seen in three years, with the trees providing enough cover for the introduction of other species.
Samsu added that the department hoped to restore the ecology of the forest and having the trees would also help prevent the encroachers from coming back.
“The replanting project is part of efforts to create awareness on the importance of preserving the existing trees and to help prevent any illegal activities that would damage the natural forestry at the peat swamp,” said Samsu.
He added that the young trees were also eaten by cows and goats grazing in the area.
Peat swamps are like sponges that absorb rain and river water. They help control floods during the rainy season and release much needed water during the dry season.
The accumulation of organic matter from the debris of the vegetation above it over a long period of time, even to the extent of thousands of years, has caused the trees, twigs, leaves and roots to decompose and create a layer of blackish peat soil.
Draining the peat forest will lower the water table and increase the risk of fire in the peat soil.
Once dried, the peat would oxidize and break down, causing the soil to collapse.
Drainage of peat land led to aeration and decomposition of the peat materials and oxidation that triggered carbon dioxide emission.
Numerous studies have shown that disturbed peat swamps in Indonesia and Malaysia continued to emit carbon dioxide for years after clearing had stopped.
Malaysia, with nearly 2.5mil ha of peat forests, is the second largest in the region after Indonesia.
The Raja Musa and Sungai Karang forest reserves form the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest, the second largest peat forest in the peninsula, covering 75,000ha while the largest in Pahang covers 200,000ha.
The Raja Musa alone covers 23,000ha, but 525ha of it had been illegally cleared.
The largest peat forest in the country is located in Sarawak and measures 1.5mil ha.
Previously, there were many reports about peat fires at the forest reserve, which were set deliberately by the encroachers who were clearing the area for agriculture and plantation.
“I am glad that we managed to restore this forest reserve,” forestry department enforcement and operations assistant director Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said.
He added that the department had spent many hours of planning and preparing before carrying out the enforcement operations on Dec 4, last year.
“We had sent out officers to the site several times to check and verify the situation six months before the operation date.
“Then, we also had to prepare the manpower and equipment involved in the operation,” he said, adding that about 300 officers were involved.
Following the success at the forest reserve, the department has decided to carry out similar moves at other problematic forest reserves.
They will continue to reclaim whatever has been taken by illegal settlers and restore the forest back to its original condition, no matter how hard it would be.
With enforcement as its main priority next year, the department looks set to take action against settlers in three forest reserves in the state by the end of next year.
“We hope to be able to settle the problems in Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat Selatan, Hutan Simpan Bukit Tarik and Hutan Simpan Hulu Gombak,” Yussainy said.
The department’s statistics show that 241,568ha has been marked as permanent reserved forest in Selangor with 11,381ha marked as forest plantations (forest which has been planted with various species of timber to be logged in later years) and 1,608ha for wildlife reserve.
He added that more than 2,600ha of the forest reserves in the state, which included peat swamps and mangroves, had been cleared.
The department is also going all out to nab those who conduct illegal logging.
Under Section 15 of the National Forestry Act, 1984 (Amendment 1993) those who conduct illegal logging can be fined up to a maximum of RM500,000 and mandatory imprisonment of 1 year minimum to a maximum of 20 years.
www.chinaview.cn 28 Nov 09;
JAKARTA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The deforestation in Indonesia takes up to 1.1 million hectares each year, while the government is only able to restore 500,000 acres each year, a local media reported here on Saturday.
Speaking in South Kalimantan province's capital city of Banjarmasin on Friday, the Environmental Affairs Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said that should such a condition continue to occur, it would endanger 30 to 40 million people around the country living around the devastated forests.
"Smog from the forest fire, extreme climate change, flood, landslide and other disasters are among risks taken by those living around the devastated forest," Gusti was quoted by the Kompas.com as saying.
He added that the heat that comes up from the rampant forest fire in Indonesia has increased temperature up to four degrees, raising the sea level up to 80 centimeters.
"Regarding that fact, I call on all people across the country to plant trees, at least one person for one tree. This is an essential attempt to slow down the pace of climate change impacts," Gusti said.
Gusti pointed out that Indonesia's future would depend on the efforts to preserve the forest, not the price of woods taken out from the forest.
Gusti added that the government has allocated 2 trillion rupiah ( about 212.7 million U.S. dollars ) each year, and would increase the allocation up to 2.6 trillion rupiah ( about 276.5 million U.S. dollars) to finance the reforestation efforts.
The wood industry and paper industry are the two manufactures that take woods in Indonesian forests, the minister said, adding that many forest areas had now turned into mining or plantation areas without having certain license from the government.
According to the minister, the unlicensed forest opening has been rampant in South Kalimantan, while in neighboring province of Central Kalimantan, it reached a million hectares. Similar situation also occurs in Sumatran forests.
Environmental damage in S Kalimantan alarming : minister
Antara 28 Nov 09;
Banjarmasin (ANTARA News) - Environmental damage in South Kalimatan has reached an alarming level, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said here on Friday.
He said South Kalimantan, known as the "province of one thousand rivers", would some day be hit by big floods if the serious environmental problem was not addressed properly.
"Uncontrolled deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution over the past 15 years are major problems in the province," the environment minister said.
The minister said fires and illegal logging activities in the 2003-2007 period alone had destroyed more than 1.7 million hectares of forest in the province.
He said the extensive forest damage in the province had diminished the water flows in river basins and therefore floods and landslides frequently happened.
In 2007 alone floods hit the province 32 times and in 2008 and 2009 the number continued to increase because of silting up of rivers and illegal logging activities.
Such a condition, according to environment minister, was worsened by the malfunctioning of rivers as a result of domestic and industrial activities.
To overcome the problems, the local government would launch clean-water and blue-sky programs, in addition to the construction of waste water management systems, and rehabilitation of degraded forests.(*)
Alfonso Daniels, BBC News 27 Nov 09;
Wagons brimming with logs accumulate in the Siberian railway station of Dalnerechensk, more than 8,000km (4,971 miles) east of Moscow. They are waiting to cross the nearby Chinese border.
Once in China, they will be processed and used for construction or turned into garden furniture and other products to be sold in European and US shops.
More than a third of all Russian logs are smuggled by mafias, a practice that doubled between 2005 and 2007, according to official figures.
It is a huge business. China imports nearly six out of 10 logs produced in the world, after banning logging in its own territory following devastating floods a decade ago.
In total, 10m cubic metres of wood, equivalent to nearly a third of all logging in the Amazon, is harvested every year from Russian soil.
This fuels a massive illegal business that threatens to destroy the largest forest on the planet in 20 to 30 years, according to Forest Trends, an international consortium of industry and conservation groups.
Small logging brigades of some four men, with the help of trucks, are behind most illegal felling.
The head of one of these brigades, a burly young former policeman calling himself Yevgeni, agreed to tell me how the system operated from the inside, on condition his identity was not revealed.
"Quick, jump in the car! I'll be shot if I'm seen with a journalist," he orders as I arrive in a forest clearing.
"My boss has a guy who shuts up anyone creating problems or speaking too much," he explains later.
Corruption
Illegal loggers usually carry guns, says Yevgeni, have sophisticated saws that cannot be heard beyond a dozen metres and place watchmen with satellite phones to warn of intruders.
Once they deliver the logs to the sawmills, according to Yevgeni, the mafia "legalises" them by bribing officials.
"Most are corrupt - inspectors, policemen, they all protect each other," he says.
Nowhere are the effects of their activities more evident than in the remote mountain villages in the heart of Primorsky region, the last refuge of Siberian tigers.
Anatoly Lebedev, an ex-KGB agent who is now a prominent environmental activist, accompanies me to one of these places.
"In northern Siberia loggers leave a trail of destruction," he says.
"Here, the forests seem fine, but they're actually dead. They're taking the most valuable species like Korean pine, oak and linden, which are key to maintaining the ecosystem. It's a disgrace," he says.
On the way to the village, he jumps up and shouts: "Look! There goes one."
Mr Lebedev points to a truck laden with logs emerging from a small path in the forest.
Dry rivers
Hours later we arrive in the tiny village of Limolniki, a collection of wooden tin-roofed houses.
Nicolai Lizun, a 76-year-old retired civil servant wearing military fatigues, explains that during the Soviet period, the state logging company prevented any illegal activities.
"Now it's all out of control. Illegal loggers working for outside companies come here, destroy everything and leave. It's barbaric."
Next to him, Vitali Tereshchuk, 21, says: "We used to collect strawberries, mushrooms and ginseng. We went hunting, but now the hills are logged, the rivers are dry and soon there will be nothing left."
The powerful Russian mafia barons behind this booming illegal business lavish their money on flashy mansions in the region's capital, Dalnerechensk.
But Alexander von Bismarck, from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a non-governmental organisation or NGO, says the main beneficiaries are Chinese mafiosi and businessmen.
"There's pressure on forests in north-western Russia, touching Scandinavia, but the main problem is in far-eastern Siberia where the mafia is particularly violent," Mr Bismarck told me.
"We went to a dozen Chinese wood-processing companies across the border and most told us that they export all over Europe."
Russian forest inspectors I spoke to said there was little they could do against such well-funded and organised gangs.
Their situation is made worse by the firing of thousands of their colleagues when the then president, now prime minister, Vladimir Putin scrapped the Forest Service in 2001.
Deadly risk
Alexander Vitrik, a local senior inspector, says that in the few cases where someone is arrested, pressure to stop trials is huge from the top levels of government.
"I can't give names, but they're protected by very influential people," he says.
Mr Vitrik admits that corruption among inspectors is rife, but declines to go into detail.
Despite these problems, some inspectors vow to keep on fighting.
Alexander Samoilenko, 57, whom I find in an off-road vehicle donated by a Western NGO, is dressed in military fatigues and armed with a rifle and camera to record evidence against any offender.
"Since March, I've only been given 600 litres of gas to patrol seven million hectares," he says.
Mr Samoilenko says those behind the illegal logging set fire to his car and then tried to burn down his parents' house, but failed.
His colleague Anatoly Kabaniets, sitting in the driver's seat, smiles when hearing this: "All this small stuff doesn't perturb us. My son worked as an inspector and was murdered, but we'll never give up."
Gersende Rambourg Yahoo News 26 Nov 09;
PARIS (AFP) – Top French chefs this week pledged to keep bluefin tuna and other threatened fish species off the menu, whatever the cost.
With half of the fish eaten in Europe dished up in restaurants, it was high time for the food-loving nation's leading chefs to take a stand, said one of the country's greatest chefs, Olivier Roellinger.
Roellinger, celebrated for his fish and seaweed fare in western Brittany, took bluefin tuna -- aka red tuna -- off the menu five years ago. "We have a responsibility towards all those who are in charge of feeding others, cooks but also mothers and even fathers, and must show them the way," he told AFP.
"They must be made aware that the sea, this natural larder, is in danger," added Roellinger, who a year ago threw in the coveted three-star rating awarded him by the Michelin Guide, the French food bible, on grounds of fatigue.
Environmentalists say bluefin tuna faces the threat of extinction because of overfishing and want its trade banned by CITES, the UN body that rules on wildlife trade.
In a move to protect the species, an international body meeting in Brazil last week agreed to cut the allowable bluefin tuna catch in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean by 40 percent next year compared to 2009.
Scientific experts reckon the fish we eat will have disappeared from the oceans by 2050, said the luxury hotel network Relais et Chateaux this week.
Roellinger, who has just become its deputy president, has won an agreement from 60 percent of its members -- 475 European, Japanese and US chefs in 57 countries, including the Inn at Little Washington and Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco -- to stop dishing up bluefin tuna.
"We will release the names of all those and their establishments who don't agree in order to make sure that they assume their responsibilities," Roellinger added.
Another Paris eatery well-known for the quality of its fish, Auguste, no longer serves bluefin, fresh codfish or even white tuna, which is also known as germon.
"We chefs have played our part in this catastrophe," chef Gael Orieux told AFP. "People tend to buy fish at the market that they've had at a restaurant. So my logic is to propose other fish, that are less under threat, in order to influence consumers in their choices."
Three-star Michelin chef Gerald Passedat, one of only 26 in the top league in France, took bluefin off his menu in Marseille two years ago though he cooks with 65 to 70 species of fish a year.
"I like to work with lesser-known fish," he said "for the different tastes but also to help biodiversity."
Likewise Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse -- arguably among the handful of the world's very top chefs with respectively 18 and 14 Michelin stars for their various restaurants across the globe -- too have scrapped red tuna in their inns.
Robuchon took it off the menu a year ago while Ducasse scrubbed it off a couple of years ago.
But with sushi bars flourishing and Japan by far the world's largest consumer of red tuna, the chefs are wary of fighting a losing battle.
"We have to make people conscious individually," said Orieux. "During the 'mad cow' crisis, people completely stopped eating calf sweetbreads and bone marrow and then rediscovered this with pleasure a few years later.
"This is what we need to do to save fish."
BBC News 28 Nov 09;
Consumer carbon offset schemes do not lead people to change their behaviour, the first holiday firm to run such a scheme has argued.
Responsible Travel said they were a "distraction" from climate change's real urgency and is ending its scheme.
Such schemes involve individuals paying a premium for the emissions generated by certain choices, such as flying.
The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance says offsetting has an impact, but governments must do more.
Carbon offset schemes also cover things like choosing to drive a car or choices around the way homes are heated.
'Assuage your guilt'
Money raised under the schemes is used to pay for carbon reduction projects in developing countries, such as installing solar power or capturing methane gas released by farm animals.
Some environmentalists argue that while these schemes bring some benefit, offsetting has not changed people's behaviour enough and emissions covered by such schemes should be avoided in the first place.
Justin Francis, founder of Responsible Travel, said: "It's perceived as this magic pill, this get out of jail free card if you like, that means you don't need to change your behaviour.
"You can go on flying just as much as you were before, you can run your hotel the way you were before, but through this magic pill somehow you can assuage your guilt.
"We need to be reducing the amount we pollute and I think carbon offsetting is a distraction from that."
Andy Atkins, director of Friends of the Earth, agreed that introducing offsetting alone allowed individuals and companies to continue with business as usual.
He said: "We understand why people wanted to offset in the belief that it was reducing their emissions, but it isn't working and we have to recognise now that the science says we have to cut our emissions really, at home.
"That means governments and individuals doing everything they can to reduce their genuine carbon impact and offsetting doesn't do that."
'Making a difference'
The body representing those who run the schemes insist they do bring real benefits to the developing world.
Jonathan Shopley, of the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance, said: "It's not going to solve the climate change issue on its own, that's for sure. That needs government action, taxes.
"We need to stop doing certain things, but by the same account people are using offsetting to take responsibility for their unavoidable emissions and they need to understand that is a good thing and is making a difference."
Joan Ruddock, minister for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said: "Of course [offsetting is] not a solution to climate change - it's a tiny contribution - but it does help people to think about what they are doing.
"But we do need emissions reductions on quite a different scale and that is why we have a Climate Change Act and absolute limits on our emissions in this country."
Beborah Smith, Sydney Morning Herald 28 Nov 09;
MORE than 70 Australian marine scientists have called for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the release of the first report card on the impact of climate change on the marine environment.
Oceans around the continent have warmed and become more acidic and the East Australian Current has strengthened, bringing hotter, saltier water 350 kilometres further south than 60 years ago.
This has caused coral bleaching and is the likely cause of a 10 per cent reduction in growth rates of corals on the Great Barrier Reef, according to the report, Marine Climate Change in Australia, 2009 Report Card.
Other effects include a spread of destructive sea urchins in Tasmania, the death of sea turtles in Queensland and the spread of mangroves into freshwater wetlands in northern Australia.
The report, by scientists from universities, state and territory environmental agencies, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, warns that two degrees of further warming is already unavoidable. "A delay in reducing human-related emissions will result in even greater levels of climate change and subsequent impacts on marine species and habitats," it concludes.
Elvira Poloczanska, of the CSIRO Climate Change Adaptation Flagship, said ocean warming also meant some subtropical plants and animals were moving south into temperate waters. This had already severely affected giant kelp forests in Tasmania.
The report card, which is to be updated every two years, identifies where impacts have occurred, the predicted effects of climate change by 2030 and 2100, and scientific confidence levels in those predictions. It also outlines strategies for adapting to climate change, such as removing sea walls, increased surveillance for harmful algal blooms and managing the breeding habitats for sea birds better. A University of Wollongong researcher, Helen McGregor, said it was a "call to arms" for scientists, policymakers and the public to do everything possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Stingers likely to ravage southeast Queensland
Melanie Christiansen and Kate Higgins, The Courier-Mail 27 Nov 09;
THE dangerous stingers that close northern Queensland beaches every summer could migrate as far south as the Gold Coast, a leading climate scientist has warned.
Dr Anthony Richardson said warming oceans could drive irukandji and box jellyfish south in search of cooler waters.
"A lot of marine life, as the environment warms, it gets too warm for them in that particular place and they start to move towards the poles where it's cooler," he said.
"So a lot of venomous jellyfish in tropical north Queensland – which close beaches every year – could potentially move down as waters get warmer and the East Australian Current gets stronger into southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
"It could have repercussions. The tourist industry in southeast Queensland is worth billions of dollars every year."
Dr Richardson delivered his warning at the launch of a report card on marine climate change impacts – the work of more than 70 scientists from 35 Australian institutions led by the CSIRO.
National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility director Dr Jean Palutikof said jellyfish migrating south was a " pretty distressing" prospect. But she said the threat to Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef was a more certain outcome of climate change.
"It's got a high degree of certainty associated with the threat," Dr Palutikof said.
Dr Alistair Hobday, of the CSIRO climate adaptation project, also warned of a looming risk to mangroves, especially in northern Queensland.
"Mangroves are very important in buffering and protecting us from storms," he said. "If we lose those from some areas, we'll have many more storm surges and flooding of coastal properties.
"It will impact on people and their houses on the coast."
Dr Hobday said rising acidity could also have big ramifications for the ocean food chain.
But he emphasised there could also be some welcome changes as oceans warm.
"For recreational fishermen in southern Australia, though, more tropical fish species will be found further south, like yellowfin tuna or yellow tail kingfish – very popular recreational species," he said. "And that will mean quite a good opportunity for people."
The marine climate change report card, detailing known and predicted changes, is available online at www.oceanclimatechange.org.au
Pascal Fletcher and Adrian Croft, Reuters 27 Nov 09;
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - World leaders on Friday rallied to a diplomatic offensive to forge a U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen next month and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said an agreement was "within reach".
Ban, and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen who will host the December 7-18 U.N. climate talks, hailed what they portrayed as a growing international momentum toward a pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming.
"Our common goal is to achieve a firm foundation for a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010. I am confident that we are on track to do this," Ban told a summit of Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad and Tobago.
"Each week brings new commitments and pledges -- from industrialized countries, emerging economies and developing countries alike," he added.
"An agreement is within reach ... We must seal a deal in Copenhagen," Ban said. He, Rasmussen and French President Nicloas Sarkozy attended the summit of the 53-nation Commonwealth as special guests to lobby on Friday for international consensus on a climate pact.
Rasmussen said Denmark had received an "overwhelmingly positive" response to its invitation to world leaders to attend the talks next months. "More than 85 heads of state and government have told us they are coming to Copenhagen, and many are still positively considering," he said.
He urged major developed countries to deliver firm commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and to "put figures on the table" for "up-front" financing to help poor nations combat climate change.
"The need for money on the table -- that is what we want to achieve in Copenhagen," Rasmussen told a news conference later.
A framework accord in Copenhagen would also need to set a deadline for finalizing a detailed treaty, he told Reuters.
Rasmussen and Ban welcomed an earlier proposal by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the creation of a $10 billion-a-year fund to help developing countries battle the effects of global warming. Brown said such financing should be made available as early as next year, well before any new climate deal takes effect.
'CANNOT WAIT UNTIL 2013'
"We face a climate emergency: we cannot wait until 2013 to begin taking action," Brown said.
Sarkozy, who called for an "ambitious global accord" on climate, also made a similar proposal for what Rasmussen termed a "Copenhagen launch fund" that would quickly channel money to poor states to help them counter global warming and adapt their development models to requirements to reduce carbon pollution.
Most nations have given up hopes of finalizing a detailed legal climate treaty text in Copenhagen, but prospects for achieving a broad political framework pact have been brightened this week by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States, the world's biggest emitters.
An upbeat Rasmussen said: "A strong deal -- sealed at the leaders level -- will serve as a clear and detailed guidance for negotiators to quickly finalize a legal framework."
"Copenhagen is capable of delivering the turning point we all want ... From here on it's a matter of political will".
Ban dismissed suggestions that the Copenhagen meeting would be merely another "talk shop". "It will be a very substantive and concrete negotiating process," he told reporters.
Asked about reservations recently expressed by Canada about whether a binding detailed climate treaty was possible, Rasmussen said: "I don't think there is any contradiction between wishful thinking and realistic thinking".
'EXISTENTIAL THREAT'
The 53-nation Commonwealth group, which represents more than a quarter of the global population, bringing together wealthy nations like Britain, Canada and Australia with some of the world's smallest states, earlier launched a diplomatic push to drum up momentum for a comprehensive climate agreement.
"On this, the eve of the U.N. Copenhagen summit on climate change, the Commonwealth has an opportunity to lead once more," Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who heads the group comprising mostly former British colonies, said at the summit opening.
Nearly half of the Commonwealth's members are small island states which are directly threatened by rising sea levels caused by global warming, and developing nations are appealing for financial aid from rich governments to help them counter climate change and reduce carbon pollution.
The accord the United Nations is aiming for in Copenhagen would cover tougher emissions targets, climate financing for poorer nations and transfer of clean-energy technology.
The Commonwealth is putting at the forefront of the climate debate the cases of tiny island states like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Tuvalu and Kiribati in the Pacific, whose existence would be threatened by rises in ocean levels.
Rasmussen said these faced "immediate existential threat" and "cannot afford the luxury of a failure in Copenhagen".
The climate treaty, now expected to be adopted as a final text only next year, will replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
(Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Over 85 leaders to attend climate talks
Reuters 27 Nov 09;
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen next month can be a turning point in the world's fight against global warming, Denmark's prime minister said on Friday, adding that more than 85 heads of state and government had already said they would attend.
Addressing a summit of Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad and Tobago, Lars Lokke Rasmussen urged major developed countries to deliver firm commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and to "put figures on the table" for "up-front" financing to help poorer nations tackle the threat of climate change.
He said Denmark had received an "overwhelmingly positive" response to its invitation to world leaders to attend the December 7-18 discussions in the Danish capital.
"More than 85 heads of state and government have told us they are coming to Copenhagen, and many are still positively considering," Rasmussen told the Commonwealth meeting, speaking as an invited guest.
The 53-nation Commonwealth group, which represents more than a quarter of the world's population, launched a diplomatic push on Friday to drum up momentum for a comprehensive climate deal in Copenhagen in 10 days' time.
"Copenhagen is capable of delivering the turning point we all want. We know the problem. We know the solutions. We know what we need to do. From here on it's a matter of political will," Rasmussen said.
"A strong deal -- sealed at the leaders level -- will serve as a clear and detailed guidance for negotiators to quickly finalize a legal framework. The stronger the deal, the faster we reach our end goal," he added.
Most nations have given up hopes of agreeing to a final legal treaty text in Copenhagen, but prospects for achieving a broad political pact have been brightened this week by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States, the world's biggest emitters.
(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
UN chief urges deal at Copenhagen
BBC News 27 Nov 09;
The United Nations chief has urged world leaders to "seal a deal" on climate change when they meet in Copenhagen next month.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he believed an agreement was in sight, with recent moves by some countries a positive step to cutting emissions.
Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he hoped to see "money on the table" at the UN conference he will host.
Both spoke at a Commonwealth meeting also focusing on climate change.
The Copenhagen summit, from 7-18 December, will see more than 85 national leaders gather to discuss climate change.
"Our common goal is to achieve a firm foundation for a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010," Mr Ban told the Commonwealth leaders at their summit in Trinidad and Tobago where he was a guest.
"An agreement is within reach.
"We must seal a deal in Copenhagen," he said.
Mr Rasmussen urged developed countries to "put figures on the table" to help poor nations combat climate change.
"The need for money on the table - that is what we want to achieve in Copenhagen," he said.
Their comments came after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, also a guest at the Commonwealth meeting, proposed a multi-billion-dollar fund to help developing nations deal with climate change.
Mr Brown said the $10bn (£6bn) fund should also be used to help developing nations cut greenhouse gas emissions.
"We face a climate emergency: we cannot wait until 2013 to begin taking action," Mr Brown said.
Many Commonwealth members are island states threatened by rising sea levels.
Mr Rasmussen was optimistic about a deal being struck at Copenhagen, saying the summit was "capable of delivering the turning point we all want".
The climate treaty, now expected to be adopted as a final text only next year, will replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
Mr Brown said half of the $10bn fund should go towards helping developing nations reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and the other half towards helping them adapt to climate change.
The first cash would be made available next year, he said, before any emissions deal could take effect.
He is offering $800m from the UK over three years, money that has already been budgeted for.
"What I feel the developing countries need to know is that we are absolutely serious that we would start now," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency.
In separate remarks quoted by AFP news agency, Mr Sarkozy proposed a funding programme of $10bn a year in the years 2010-12, and an "ambitious mechanism" for payments beyond those years.
He did not indicate how much France was prepared to contribute.
The Commonwealth's 53 nations comprise nearly two billion people, a third of the planet's population.
Lim Ai Lee, The Star 28 Nov 09;
PORT OF SPAIN: Commonwealth countries, including Malaysia, have agreed to press for a legally binding treaty to be implemented during the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen.
The decision was made at a special session on climate change held after the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, were invited as guests to give their views at the session on Friday. The Commonwealth has 53 member countries.
The Prime Minister, who also participated in the debate, said Malaysia felt it was timely for member countries to make a firm commitment during Chogm to ensure the success of the Copenhagen Summit less than three weeks away.
He added it would be difficult to get a commitment from some countries, especially developed countries, to act with just a political agreement.
During the Chogm session, Sarkozy had called for a World Environmental Organisation to be set up as the Kyoto Protocol - where 37 industrialised countries had committed themselves to a reduction of greenhouse gases - did not provide for a supervisory body.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed the setting up of a US$10bil (RM33.92bil) fund over a period of three years to help small developing island states. Globally, these islands have the highest ratio of economic losses from disasters and other climate impacts although they did not contribute to global warming.
The fund is to be used for mitigation against environmental disasters and adaptation of technology to reduce carbon emission.
During the debate, Najib said there should not be too many conditions set for the fund as this would hamper efforts to help affected countries.
He also urged countries not to set aside the declarations of the Kyoto Protocol which contained many fundamental principles that had been agreed upon earlier.
On reports that Sarkozy had hijacked Chogm to talk on global warming, Najib said this was not the case as climate change was a main issue at Chogm.
“Many Commonwealth countries are victims of climate change. Some have said that if global warming continues, small island states might totally sink. For many of them, this is a matter of life and death," he said.
Earlier, when opening Chogm 2009 in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Head of Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth said the environmental threat was now a global challenge which would affect security and stability in the years ahead.
She pointed to the fact that most of the countries under threat were the most vulnerable and least able to withstand the adverse effects of climate change.
Commonwealth throws weight behind climate talks
Marc Burleigh Yahoo News 28 Nov 09;
PORT OF SPAIN (AFP) – Commonwealth leaders representing two billion people on Saturday threw their combined weight behind upcoming climate talks, driving momentum towards a new carbon-cutting treaty.
"We, as the Commonwealth, representing one third of the world's population, believe the time for action on climate change has come," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said as he unveiled an agreement struck at a summit in Trinidad.
The Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus, backed by all 53 member states of the Commonwealth, supports the December 7-18 climate talks in Copenhagen and commits to seeking a legally binding treaty in 2010 that would set targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
It also upheld the adoption of clean energy, a carbon-credits trading scheme and the need for wealthier countries to pay developing nations to help them bear the economic costs of implementing environmentally friendly policies.
The statement was another boost for the Copenhagen talks, which only recently had been forecast to fail by several officials.
In the past two weeks though, major polluters the United States, China and Brazil have all come forward with numerical carbon-reducing goals to be presented at the talks.
India, the only major nation yet to provide a target, said it was also preparing figures.
High-profile leaders, including US President Barack Obama, have also said they would travel to Copenhagen.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who will host the talks, said: "I remain fully convinced that it will be possible to reach an agreement in Copenhagen." At least 90 leaders will be attending.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, too, hailed the "momentum for success."
But he cautioned work still had to be done to seal an accord.
"We are united in purpose, we are not yet united in action," he said, urging world leaders "to stay focused, stay committed and come to Copenhagen."
The Commonwealth consensus statement hailed an initial 10-billion-dollar-a-year fund that from 2010 would help pay "vulnerable countries," notably small island states, to sign on to a climate treaty. It would also help slow deforestation and finance technology transfer.
The fund was advocated at the summit by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who pledged 1.3 billion dollars to it over the next three years, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was there as a special guest at Brown's invitation.
Rudd said the Commonwealth climate change statement was "one further significant step... and we believe the political goodwill and resolve exists to secure a comprehensive agreement at Copenhagen."
The foundations were coming together to achieve a "comprehensive, substantial and operationally-binding agreement" in the Copenhagen talks, he said.
Commonwealth summit host Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma emphasized that the diversity of the Commonwealth -- whose members count rich nations Britain and Canada as well as small states such as the Maldives -- was valuable in closing differences ahead of Copenhagen.
"The Commonwealth's strength is the quality of voice it gives to everyone," Sharma said.
The consensus text, however, showed some divergences remained, notably on whether global temperature increases should be constrained to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit) or to no more than two degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Such a range could mean the difference between survival and catastrophe for low-lying island states threatened by flooding from global warming.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday that his country's carbon emission cut targets, when unveiled, would be "ambitious," though conditional on other countries also taking up the burden.
India and other major developing countries such as Brazil contend that rich countries are historically responsible for global warming and thus should fund emission cuts in poorer nations.
Commonwealth builds momentum for climate deal
Pascal Fletcher, Reuters 28 Nov 09;
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - Commonwealth nations representing one-third of the world's population threw their weight behind accelerating efforts to clinch an "operationally binding" U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen next month, their leaders said on Saturday.
Leaders of the 53-nation Commonwealth meeting in Trinidad and Tobago used their summit to bolster a diplomatic offensive seeking wide consensus on how to fight global warming ahead of December 7-18 U.N. climate talks in the Danish capital.
"We believe ... the time for action on climate change has come. The clock is ticking to Copenhagen ... we believe that the political goodwill and resolve exists to secure a comprehensive agreement at Copenhagen," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told a news conference in Port of Spain.
The Commonwealth Climate Change Declaration pledged the group's backing for Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in his efforts to secure wide attendance and commitment from world leaders at the Copenhagen climate talks.
"We pledge our continued support to the leaders-driven process ... to deliver a comprehensive, substantial and operationally binding agreement in Copenhagen leading toward a full legally binding outcome no later than 2010," the Port of Spain declaration said.
Tackling the issue of funding for poor nations' efforts to fight climate change and global warming, the Commonwealth also backed an initiative to establish a Copenhagen Launch Fund, starting in 2010 and building to $10 billion annually by 2012.
Rasmussen and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who joined the Commonwealth leaders' discussions in Port of Spain, welcomed the declaration from the group.
Ban said world leaders should "stay focused, stay committed and come to Copenhagen to secure a deal."
Rasmussen said 89 heads of state and government had so far advised they would attend next month's talks in Copenhagen, and Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister and the Commonwealth summit's host, Patrick Manning, announced he would be there too, bringing the total expected number to 90.
While next month's U.N. talks are not expected to result in the immediate approval of a detailed climate treaty, the wording of the Commonwealth climate declaration made clear its leaders expected any deal reached in Copenhagen would be "operationally binding" and lead fast to a definitive treaty.
U.N. chief Ban has said an agreement to lay the foundation for such a legally binding accord is now "within reach."
The deal the United Nations is aiming for in Copenhagen would cover tougher emissions targets, climate financing for poorer nations and transfer of clean-energy technology.
The climate treaty, expected to be adopted as a final text next year, will replace the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012.
"FAST START FUNDING"
Commonwealth leaders suggested that 10 percent of the proposed $10 billion-a-year Copenhagen Launch Fund should be channeled to small island states most at risk from rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Nearly half of the Commonwealth's members are small island states, and developing nations have been appealing for hefty financial aid from rich governments to help them counter climate change and reduce carbon pollution.
The Commonwealth put at the forefront of the climate debate the cases of tiny island states like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Tuvalu and Kiribati in the Pacific, whose existence would be threatened by swelling ocean levels.
Earlier, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed welcomed the backing of the Commonwealth's developed countries -- Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand -- for the proposed "fast start funding" seen as essential for any climate deal.
"I believe the Commonwealth understands our predicament more than the others ... they have put concrete things on the table," he told Reuters.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the creation of the $10 billion-a-year fund, arguing such financing should be made available as early as next year, well before any new climate deal takes effect.
The idea was also backed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who also attended the Commonwealth summit as an invited guest to lobby in support of a climate deal.
Prospects for achieving a broad political framework pact in Copenhagen next month were brightened this week by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States, the world's biggest emitters.
Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times 27 Nov 09;
Some prominent climate scientists are calling for changes in the way research on global warming is conducted after a British university said thousands of private e-mail messages and documents had been stolen from its climate center.
The scientists say that the e-mail messages, which have circulated on the Internet and which disclose the inner workings of a small network of climatologists who chart the planet’s temperature, have damaged the public’s trust in the evidence that humans are dangerously warming the planet, just as many countries are poised to start reining in greenhouse gas emissions.
“This whole concept of, ‘We’re the experts, trust us,’ has clearly gone by the wayside with these e-mails,” said Judith Curry, a climate scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology.
She and other scientists are seeking more transparency in the way climate data is handled and in the methods used to analyze it. And they argue that scientists should re-evaluate the selection procedures used by some scientific journals and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the panel that in 2007 concluded that humans were the dominant force driving warming and whose findings underpin international discussions over a new climate treaty.
A fierce debate over the significance of the hacked material erupted as soon as the e-mail messages and other documents surfaced on Web sites just over a week ago. Some see in the e-mail correspondence — which includes heated discussions about warming trends, advice on deleting potentially controversial e-mail messages and derisive comments about climate skeptics — evidence of a conspiracy to stifle dissenting views and withhold data from public scrutiny, or, as some have put it, “Climategate.”
To others, the e-mail messages are merely evidence that climate scientists can be as competitive, proprietary, defensive and caustic as people engaged in any other high-level enterprise. They cast as villains those who disclosed the e-mail correspondence and who now, they say, are distorting the contents
Gavin A. Schmidt, a NASA climatologist involved in many of the e-mail exchanges, said that voluntarily disclosing more data would never satisfy the “very hard-bitten, distraught core” of climate skeptics. “The number of attacks on our integrity will actually increase since there will be more ways to twist what it is we do to support some conspiracy theory or other,” he said.
Officials at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in Britain say the disclosed material was copied from computers there in a “criminal breach.” (Some e-mail exchanges involved or described this reporter and other journalists).
On Friday, scientists at the university said the school was preparing to announce an inquiry, led by an independent panel, into the theft and related issues.
The most serious criticisms leveled at the authors of the e-mail messages revolve around three issues.
One is whether the correspondence reveals efforts by scientists to shield raw data, gleaned from tree rings and other indirect indicators of climate conditions, preventing it from being examined by independent researchers. Among those who say it does is Stephen McIntyre, a retired Canadian mining consultant who has a popular skeptics’ blog, climateaudit.org. A second issue is whether disclosed documents, said to be from the stolen cache, prove that the data underlying climate scientists’ conclusions about warming are murkier than the scientists have said. The documents include files of raw computer code and a computer programmer’s years-long log documenting his frustrations over data gathered from countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
Finally, questions have been raised about whether the e-mail messages indicated that climate scientists tried to prevent the publication of papers written by climate skeptics, which were described by the scientists in the e-mail messages as “garbage” and “fraud.”
Officials with Britain’s national climate office have defended the integrity of the climate unit’s work, noting that the warming trend it has measured is largely replicated by separate groups at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “This is a shallow and transparent attempt to discredit the robust science undertaken by some of the world’s most respected scientists,” said Vicky Pope, the office’s senior spokeswoman, in an e-mail message.
Rajendra K. Pachauri, the chairman of the intergovernmental climate panel, issued a statement rebutting claims that the e-mail messages, which involved some members of the panel, indicated that the panel’s reports were biased. In posts on the blog Realclimate.org, some of the scientists who participated in the correspondence have also said that, although inappropriate language was used at times, their critical comments about people or research papers were based on the quality of the arguments.
The public disclosure of the e-mail messages has already led to calls from conservative British and American legislators for investigations.
The lead Saudi Arabian climate negotiator, Mohammad al-Sabban, said that the affair could affect negotiations over a new global climate treaty. “This is very serious and can put the whole climate debate, including any future agreement in Copenhagen and beyond, in big question,” Mr. al-Sabban said in an e-mail message. And even some environmental campaigners believe that the disclosures have damaged calls for climate action. George Monbiot, a British environmentalist and author, excoriated some of the climate unit’s scientists and many of his fellow activists on Wednesday in a column in The Guardian.
“No one has been as badly let down by the revelations in these emails as those of us who have championed the science,” he wrote. “We should be the first to demand that it is unimpeachable, not the last.”
Mike Hulme, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia and author of “Why We Disagree About Climate Change,” said the disclosures could offer a chance to finally bring the practices of climate researchers and the intergovernmental panel into the modern era, where transparency — enforced legally or illegally — is inevitable and appropriate.
“The I.P.C.C. itself, through its structural tendency to politicize climate change science, has perhaps helped to foster a more authoritarian and exclusive form of knowledge production,” he said in an e-mail message, “just at a time when a globalizing and wired cosmopolitan culture is demanding of science something much more open and inclusive.”
Dr. Curry and others said that if nothing else, the e-mail correspondence suggested that climate scientists needed to show more temperance in dealing with their critics.
“We won the war — the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, and climate and energy legislation is near the top of the U.S. agenda,” Dr. Curry said. “Why keep fighting all these silly battles and putting ourselves in this position?"
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