Octopus behaviour
from Compressed air junkie
Coppersmith Barbet excavating a cavity I
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Ocean acidification: the facts
from Pulau Hantu
World's rarest gorilla caught on film
from Mongabay.com news
Climate change: can you trust the science?
with comments from Bjorn Lomborg from the Reuters Environment blog
Straits Times Forum 17 Dec 09;
ARMED with a newly bought inflatable kayak and life vests, I mobilised my wife and two children and took them to one of our lovely reservoirs, MacRitchie, early one Saturday morning, on Dec 5. The idea was to get the kids to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate nature while getting some exercise by teaching them to kayak.
We spent about 15 minutes inflating the kayak and just as we placed it on the placid water at the pontoon, we heard an authoritative voice boom out: 'Do you have a permit?' On my knees, I turned my head up to see an angry woman glaring down at us as though we had been caught committing a grave offence.
Meekly, I asked: 'Do we need one, ma'am?' She replied: 'Of course! You cannot just bring your own kayak and start kayaking here you know? You need a permit. Give me your particulars.'
So even before our kayak could get wet, it was deflated together with our enthusiasm. So much for a nice morning of exercise and fun at the reservoir.
Undeterred even after getting 'booked', I promised my kids I would get a permit even if it killed me. So I started exploring the PUB website for kayaking and called the PUB hotline to ask about Bedok reservoir. The officer told me I needed to contact the People's Association (PA). I told her it did not make sense to me but I would try anyway. She said: 'Well, call us back if they refer you back to us.' So I did and sure enough, the PA told me it was under PUB.
Further exploration of the PUB website led me to a 'Use non-motorised vessel permit form'. However, there was no further information on where I had to submit the form, whether a fee was payable and so on. So I e-mailed the officer whose contact number was given on the website.
She answered two days later and referred me to the website and the form I had already found.
I e-mailed her further queries one week ago and since then there has been no answer. I tried calling the helpline. No answer.
Our dream of drifting leisurely on the peaceful waters of our very own reservoir has turned into a nightmare of trying to secure a permit to get our kayak wet.
Jason Toh
Straits Times Forum 17 Dec 09;
I THANK Mr Lee Seck Kay for his letter last Thursday, 'Green option for roofs'. We share his view on the benefits of green spaces and have been integrating more greenery into our estates.
For new housing projects, we incorporate a roof garden on the top deck of multi-storey carparks, right from the planning stage. Since 2005, roof gardens are a common sight in new towns such as Punggol and Sengkang.
For existing multi-storey carparks, it is not always feasible to add roof gardens. Such gardens come with intensive greenery like shrubs, trees and facilities like playgrounds and fitness courts, which require additional structural loading to be provided right from the start.
Instead, we have introduced a low-maintenance rooftop greenery system that is lightweight in nature and does not require additional structural loading. These green roofs come with hardy ground cover and have been provided in older towns such as Toa Payoh, Serangoon and Hougang since 2006.
We will implement more of such green roofs in existing multi-storey carparks to benefit residents.
Alan Tan
Acting Deputy Managing Director
(Environmental Sustainability Research)
Housing & Development Board
Green option for roofs
Straits Times Forum 10 Dec 09;
'Turn these man-made deserts into something beautiful and beneficial, like a roof garden.'
MR LEE SECK KAY: 'Singapore may already be green but there is much we can still do. My study overlooks an HDB multi-storey carpark. The largely unused carpark roof - and many more like it all over the island - often reminds me how we could turn these man-made deserts into something beautiful and beneficial, like a roof garden. Even the roofs of thousands of housing blocks can similarly be transformed with imaginative landscaping. Swiss biodiversity advocate Stephan Brenneisen has said that 'people feel happier in a building where we have given something back to nature'.'
Business Times 17 Dec 09;
If the Copenhagen conference is a success, Singapore firms in this sector are ready to tap the vast opportunities, reports CHUANG PECK MING
ALL eyes - including those of Singapore business - will be on Copenhagen in the next two days as international leaders descend on the Danish capital in a bid to cut a grand deal that some say will save the world from frying.
The big move at the United Nations' climate conference in Copenhagen to curb global warming entails not just cutbacks in emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. There will also be a shift to clean and renewable energy as well as environment-friendly technology.
'If successful, (the conference) could open a flood of opportunities for companies operating in the clean-energy sector,' says Leong Teng Chau, assistant director of environmental and engineering services at International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
At stake for business is some US$800 billion - that's the projected size of the global market for environmental technology in 2015.
IE Singapore, which is pushing Singapore companies to go global, wants Singapore's clean-energy industry to capture a slice of this pie. 'Singapore players should take on the Singapore brand name of reliability and quality to reach out to overseas markets,' says Mr Leong.
He reckons Singapore's clean-energy firms have niche competencies in off-grid - that is, minus public utilities - applications for residential, farming and industrial communities in rural areas. They can also provide green consultancy, such as accreditation of green buildings.
'Smaller Singapore renewable-energy players will have the advantage of being flexible, nimble in meeting customers' demand and specialised requirements,' Mr Leong says.
The environmental sector accounted for $3.6 billion of Singapore's manufacturing output in 2007 and added value of $816 million to the economy that year. Some 300 firms make up the local environmental sector, with four in five of them being small and medium-sized enterprises.
Singapore's environmental services sector covers water and waste-water management, solid waste management and energy management.
'Singapore's clean energy sector refers to companies investing in and providing turnkey solutions in renewable power generation, as well as consultancy in energy-efficient services,' Mr Leong says.
Even before Copenhagen, Singapore had picked clean energy as a strategic growth industry. The government has pledged $1 billion over the next five years to back programmes for energy efficiency, green transport, clean energy and greening spaces.
'By 2015, the clean energy sector is expected to contribute $1.7 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product and create 7000 jobs,' Mr Leong says.
There is also the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, set up in 2006 to give the industry an outward push.
Indeed, Singapore's renewable energy firms have been expanding externally. Grenzone, which offers solar-power solutions, is active in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. And Daily Life Renewable Energy has completed projects in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji, South Korea and Australia.
G-Energy Global, a specialist in energy and system audits, has made its mark in Malaysia. And Singapore Power has been involved in transmission and distribution projects in China.
'Our Singapore companies' strengths are in integration of the right technology to customise solutions for clients and finance projects at the same time,' Mr Leong says.
IE Singapore has also played a key role. It's a match-maker in connecting Singapore clean-energy firms to buyers overseas. And it has helped Singapore clean-energy projects get off the ground in unfamiliar terrain abroad.
IE Singapore has also provided market intelligence and led business missions to sell Singapore's clean-energy solutions globally.
With such ground work done, Singapore's clean-energy industry is ready to seize on the business opportunities coming out of the Copenhagen climate conference.
SEAS to promote green business in Singapore, overseas
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 17 Dec 09;
AMONG protesters at the Copenhagen climate conference pushing world leaders to take quick and effective action are young Singaporeans. But they are not the only Singaporeans championing the green cause.
Singapore business also has a green champion. But unlike those in the Danish capital, the people at the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) are interested in more than saving the world.
The three-year-old body wants to promote green business in Singapore - specifically renewable energy, carbon trading, energy efficiency and clean technology. And it wants to help and encourage those already in the business to reach out to global markets.
'Singapore has a strength in developing urban solutions, and the government is offering research and development support, as well as test beds to test the technology in commercial settings,' says SEAS chairman Edwin Khew.
So local companies should take advantage of these opportunities to develop 'appropriate' technology suitable not only for Singapore but other major Asian cities too.
But Singapore is not big enough to provide a market that can sustain most companies in the green business. So these companies must look beyond Singapore to sell their goods and services.
And SEAS thinks Singapore companies are in a good position to do just that. 'Singapore companies have experience in testing and deploying technology at home, and that works as a very good reference (for them) to venture overseas,' Mr Khew says.
In Singapore, SEAS works to connect local start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises with financial backers - government, venture capitalists, green funds and banks.
'SEAS also helps with strategic planning and connections with partners locally and regionally,' Mr Khew says. 'And we help recruit staff for manufacturing, systems design or service.'
Outside Singapore, SEAS has hooked up with a network of sustainable energy associations in Asia to offer Singapore companies 'multiple project opportunities on the ground'.
It has signed memoranda of understanding with the Clean Energy Council of Australia, the Sustainable Energy Association of Indonesia and the New and Renewable Energy Association of Korea.
SEAS also chairs a working group on enterprise development backed by the Asian Development Bank. This group not only attracts projects but also provides ADB funding for them.
'There are always challenges and opportunities within the local business environment in each country, which is unique,' says Mr Khew. 'Singapore companies can overcome that by having local partners - and that is why SEAS is connecting with local associations to improve understanding of local markets.'
With the leaders at the Copenhagen climate talks moving to cut greenhouse gas emissions and shift to energy-efficient technology, Mr Khew reckons there is immense renewable energy business in Singapore's building and transport sectors.
Along with Norway, common ground sought on 3 issues
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 17 Dec 09;
SINGAPORE has been asked to help move the climate talks here forward before world leaders arrive this week to discuss an agreement to cut back on emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
Officials meeting in the past week have made little progress on narrowing the gap between developed and emerging nations in how to tackle the many issues involved.
'The issues are still there,' Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim told Singapore reporters covering the conference yesterday.
Leaders including Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao are due in Copenhagen today.
And US President Barack Obama is scheduled to appear on Friday for the conference wrap-up.
But so far, officials have not persuaded developed countries to make deeper cuts in emissions and pledge money to emerging states.
Dr Yaacob said conference president Connie Hedegaard is now trying to engage environment ministers at the political level to break the stalemate.
A statement released on Tuesday said the Norwegian and Singapore environment ministers have been asked 'to consult with delegations on a possible way forward on the questions of aviation and maritime bunker fuel'.
Aviation and maritime bunker fuel are two big emitters of carbon dioxide.
Dr Yaacob and his Norwegian counterpart Erik Solheim will help seek common ground on three issues - emissions reduction target setting; application of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities to reduction measures; and the use of revenue from these measures.
'It is vital that any Copenhagen agreement finally set emission reduction targets for international aviation and shipping and resolve the political impasse over global action,' the statement said.
'Using revenue from bunker measures - potentially US$25-$37 billion per annum - as climate finance for developing countries would ensure these proposals are equitable and help raise the ambition of the overall deal by providing a substantial new source of money,' it added.
The statement said the two ministers 'have a unique opportunity to make a real difference to champion a major new source of climate finance, while brokering agreement on mitigation measures to help ensure global warming remains below two degrees'.
Dr Yaacob said flexibility and compromises are needed to move the Copenhagen talks forward.
While the talks may not yield a legally binding agreement, they should at least produce a political mandate to hammer out the details in the next six months, he said.
'This would be a very good outcome.'
Leaders arrive for make-or-break talks
Wide differences remain; Singapore's emissions cut offer received positively
Clarissa Oon, Straits Times 17 Dec 09;
COPENHAGEN: World leaders have begun arriving in the Danish capital to salvage deadlocked climate talks in the hopes of reaching the first stage of an international deal to fight global warming.
United States President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are among 130 heads of state and government attending tomorrow's crucial finale to the 12-day conference.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has taken over from Ms Connie Hedegaard as conference chair for the final session. Ms Hedegaard continues to oversee the closed-door negotiations.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrives here this morning to join Senior Minister S. Jayakumar and Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who are already here.
Mr Lee will present Singapore's national statement on climate change later today and participate in the make-or-break concluding negotiations, which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has called 'the most complex and ambitious ever to be undertaken by the world community'.
Negotiators are working hard to bridge huge gaps between developed and developing nations in order to put a climate deal before world leaders, said Dr Yaacob, who has taken part in meetings with his ministerial counterparts from 193 countries since Saturday.
Speaking to the Singapore media on Tuesday, he said all countries should exercise flexibility on the critical issues of emissions reduction targets and financing.
Singapore, he said, is doing its part to bring about a successful conclusion to the talks. All the countries have more or less given up hope of getting a legally binding deal, he added. Instead, they seek 'at least a politically binding agreement' to pave the way for further talks over the next six to 12 months. Progress is 'inching' but he was hopeful and 'not giving up yet'.
Tempers flared outside the conference venue yesterday as police used tear gas and arrested more than 200 protesters.
Dr Yaacob said three issues had divided negotiators thus far: emissions cuts for developed nations from 2012, nationally-appropriate mitigation actions to be undertaken by developing countries, and how such actions would be financed.
'We don't think you can cobble together something that is 100 per cent, but I think what the Danes are looking for is some framework that can be used as a basis for (future) negotiations,' he said.
Dr Yaacob and his Norwegian counterpart co-chaired a session earlier this week on trade, international aviation and bunkering fuels - all major concerns for Singapore as an aviation and shipping hub.
As a small country with limited land to develop renewable energy, Singapore has 'some red lines here and there' but is 'prepared to be flexible' on taxes against emissions-spewing bunker fuel, the minister said, without elaborating.
Going into the summit, Singapore joined several countries, including China and the US, in announcing for the first time voluntary curbs to their greenhouse gas emissions. Singapore's target of a 16 per cent cut in emissions growth by 2020 from business-as-usual levels has been well received, Dr Yaacob said.
Countries 'saw it was a very good effort', he said.
Time is running out for the world to reach a new climate change agreement.
Under the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period, which expires in 2012, developed nations are legally required to cut emissions while developing countries are exempt. But many developed countries want major emitters like China and more affluent countries like Singapore in the developing bloc to do more.
Singapore, said Dr Yaacob, believes every country must do its part 'under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility'.
'In our case, energy efficiency is our key strategy in combating climate change. Other countries can move towards renewables. We can't. So, rather than putting a common template, let's leave the countries to decide.'
Antara 16 Dec 09;
Berlin (ANTARA News) - Indonesia should keep seeking loopholes for possible negotiations in the midst of the threat of a deadlock in the current climate change talks in Copenhagen, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
In a phone conversation with Rahmat Witoelar, the Indonesian chief delegate to the talks, held during a limited meeting several cabinet ministers and provincial governors joining the presidential delegation at where the Head of State and delegation stayed in Berlin on Wednesday President Yudhoyono said "we are formulating a strategy, which is not confrontational but partnership, and not media popularity, showing Indonesia speaking up here and there. The criteria of success must be a deal in Copenhagen," he said.
Rahmat on the occasion told the head of state about the current developments in the talks including problems being faced and potentials of a deadlock.
After being briefed on the developments of the talks President Yudhoyono said Indonesia`s delegation must play a role in the process of negotiations and would not resort to threats like a walkout or others.
"Norway prime minister Stoltenberg called me and asked for a meeting with me to harmonize steps well. Later we will formulate the strategy. Our choice is not confrontation but partnership," he said.
To the ministers and provincial governors Yudhoyono meanwhile said Indonesia had to prepare well for the implementation of the country`s decision to cut gas emissions by 26 percent in 2020.
He called on them to take into account potential obstacles to the implementation of the decision.
He said the meeting in Copenhagen would be tough like that in Bali but through various approaches available he hoped no deadlock would occur.
"The COP (climate talks) is a forum of negotiators nor leaders. The G-20 is a forum of leaders but here those who fight are negotiators. Based on the Bali experience they would leave earlier because they are hopeless, no deal was made," he said.
He said however that problems could be reduced through non-confrontational approaches.
The meeting lasted for about an hour before President Yudhoyono departed for Copenhagen.(*)
The Star 17 Dec 09;
KOTA KINABALU: Local fishermen have saved an endangered dugong from certain death at the proposed Tun Mustapha Park near Pulau Banggi in northern Sabah.
The dugong was found in a net by Bajau fishermen within the marine sanctuary in Pulau Maliangin Kecil early on Tuesday morning.
The 1.5m-long female juvenile dugong was taken to Pulau Banggi and a rescue team from WWF-Malaysia – with advice from the Sabah Wildlife Department – later arranged for the dugong’s release back into the sea at Kg Pangasaan near Karakit, Banggi.
The marine mammal is a protected species and is rarely seen these days, but sightings of it were common in the past within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park.
Leela Rajamani, a dugong researcher with the Borneo Marine Research Institute in Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said Pulau Maliangin Kecil had been confirmed as a feeding ground for the mammals.
She said the discovery of the dugong further emphasises the importance of protecting the areas within the proposed park – including Maliangin.
Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Programme Team Leader in Kudat Robecca Jumin said the action taken by the fishermen showed that the local community was aware of the need to protect the animals.
“We hope they will continue to support the gazetting of the proposed Tun Mustapha Park so that they can reap the economic benefits of conserving biodiversity,” she said.
Dugong returned to sea
Daily Express 17 Dec 09;
Kudat: A rarely seen dugong was saved by local fishermen in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, near Pulau Banggi, early Tuesday.
The dugong was found in a net by a Bajau fisherman within the marine sanctuary in Pulau Maliangin Kecil, according to WWF-Malaysia in a statement, Wednesday.
It was taken to Pulau Banggi, after members of the newly-formed Maliangin Association, PKR Abdan Abdul Majid and Cikgu Jaafar Muksan, called for assistance.
A rescue team from WWF-Malaysia with advice from Sabah Wildlife Department arranged for the dugong's release back to the sea off Kg Pangasaan near Karakit, Banggi, the same afternoon.
The dugong found was a female juvenile measuring 1.5m. This marine mammal is an endangered and protected species which is rarely seen these days, but sightings of it were common in the past within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park.
Pulau Maliangin Kecil is confirmed as a feeding ground for dugongs according to a dugong researcher Leela Rajamani of the Borneo Marine Research Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
The disccovery of the dugong further emphasises the importance of protecting areas within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, including the Maliangin area which is currently being established in collaboration with local communities.
Maliangin Sanctuary is a marine protected area pilot site proposed in August 2006 by the local community on Pulau Maliangin Besar, Department of Fisheries Sabah and Sabah Parks.
It aims to demonstrate the benefits of a marine protected area, which include improvement in fish and other seafood stocks, how collaborative management works to preserve marine resources, protection and improvement of marine biodiversity in the land, and improvement in the socio-economic status of the local community.
"It is very encouraging that the local community reacted promptly by doing the right thing to inform the relevant authorities and help to release the dugong," says Robecca Jumin, the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSM E) Programme Team Leader in Kudat.
"It shows they are aware of the importance of protecting endangered species, such as the dugong, and believe in the benefits of a marine sanctuaryÉwe hope they will continue to support the gazettement of the proposed Tun Mustapha Park so they can reap the economic benefits of conserving biodiversity through collaborative management of marine resources," she said.
WWF-Malaysia is working with Sabah Parks and others to facilitate a collaborative management plan for the proposed Tun Mustapha Park in the Kudat-Banggi area.
This type of collaborative management allows resource users and the management agencies such as Sabah Parks, Sabah Wildlife Department and Fisheries Department to work hand-in-hand in the conservation of species and natural resources.
"Participatory and collaborative management arrangement is beneficial," says Dr Rahimatsah Amat, WWF-Malaysia Chief Technical Officer, Borneo Programme.
Resource users provide extra hands that the governmental agencies lack and reduce governmental agencies' operational costs.
Management of this kind or environmental stewardship, has proven to be more effective, when resource users are given the responsibility to take care of resources that their subsistence or livelihoods depend on.
WWF-Malaysia SSME Programme is currently implementing a project in Kudat to facilitate collaborative management of fisheries and marine resources among the stakeholders, the governmental agencies and district offices.
Together with Sabah Parks, Fisheries Department, Fishing Boat-owners Association, teachers and Kudat District Office, the Kudat Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Team works on building support for the proposed multiple-use Tun Mustapha Park.
WWF-Malaysia is a national conservation trust that currently runs more than 75 projects covering a diverse range of environmental protection and nature conservation work in Malaysia. Since 1972, WWF-Malaysia has worked on important conservation projects, from saving endangered species such as tigers and turtles, to protecting highland forests, rivers and seas.
WWF-Malaysia is able to leverage upon conservation expertise worldwide as part of WWF, the global conservation organisation.
Rare Dugong saved in Maliangin Community Marine Sanctuary
WWF 16 Dec 09;
Kudat, 16 December 2009: A rarely seen dugong was saved by local fishermen in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park near Pulau Banggi. The dugong was found in a net by a Bajau fisher within the marine sanctuary in Pulau Maliangin Kecil early morning of 15 December.
It was taken to Pulau Banggi, after members of the newly formed Maliangin Association PKR Abdan Abdul Majid and Cikgu Jaafar Muksan called for assistance. A rescue team from WWF-Malaysia with advice from Sabah Wildlife Department arranged for the dugong’s release back to sea at Kampung Pangasaan near Karakit, Banggi on the same afternoon.
The dugong found is a female juvenile measuring 1.5 metres of undermined sex. This marine mammal is an endangered and protected species which is rarely seen these days, but sightings of it were common in the past within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park. Pulau Maliangin Kecil is confirmed as a feeding ground for dugongs according to Leela Rajamani, dugong researcher, from the Borneo Marine Research Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
The discovery of the dugong further emphasises the importance of protecting areas within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, including the Maliangin area which is currently being established in collaboration with local communities. Maliangin Santuary is a marine protected area pilot site proposed in August 2006 by the local community on Pulau Maliangin Besar, Department of Fisheries, Sabah and Sabah Parks. It aims to demonstrate these benefits of a marine protected area:
i. Improvement in fish and other seafood stocks,
ii. How collaborative management works to preserve marine resources,
iii. Protection and improvement of marine biodiversity in the area, and
iv. Improvement in the socio-economic status of the local community.
Robecca Jumin, Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) Programme Team Leader in Kudat, said “It is very encouraging that the local community reacted promptly by doing the right thing to inform the relevant authorities and help to release the dugong. It shows they are aware of the importance of protecting endangered species, such as the dugong, and that they believe in the benefits of a marine sanctuary. We hope they will continue to support the gazettement of the proposed Tun Mustapha Park so that they can reap the economic benefits of conserving biodiversity through collaborative management of marine resources.”
WWF-Malaysia is working with Sabah Parks and others to facilitate a collaborative management plan for the proposed Tun Mustapha Park in the Kudat-Banggi area. This type of collaborative management allows resource users and the management agencies, such as Sabah Parks, Sabah Wildlife Department, Department of Fisheries, Sabah, to work hand-in-hand in the conservation of species and natural resources.
“Participatory and collaborative management arrangement is beneficial”, says Dr. Rahimatsah Amat, WWF-Malaysia Chief Technical Officer, Borneo Programme. Resource users provide extra hands that the governmental agencies lack and reduce governmental agencies’ operational costs. Management of this kind or environmental stewardship, has proven to be more effective, when resource users are given the responsibility to take care of resources that their subsistence or livelihoods depend upon.
WWF-Malaysia SSME Programme is currently implementing a project in Kudat to facilitate collaborative management of fisheries and marine resources among the stakeholders, the governmental agencies and district offices. Together with Sabah Parks, Department of Fisheries, the Fishing Boat-owners Association, teachers, and Kudat District Office, the Kudat Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Team works on building support for the proposed multiple-use Tun Mustapha Park.
The Star 17 Dec 09;
KUALA LUMPUR: As the Year of the Tiger approaches, impassioned calls are being made to the government to sharpen its legal claws for greater protection of wildlife.
Already, three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for a stronger and more comprehensive wildlife law.
The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and WWFMalaysia want the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to be amended at the next Parliament session.
In a joint statement yesterday they noted that the legislation, meant to protect wildlife against domestic threats like poaching, had failed to be a deterrent.
Instead, the legislation continued to allow wildlife criminals to escape justice, it said.
Nevertheless, the statement acknowledged that the government had addressed part of the problem, with the coming into force of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 in a week’s time.
“However, Malaysia also needs a strong legislation to combat wildlife crimes that occur inside the country.
“Amending the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 must be made a priority if our wildlife is to stand a chance,” said MNS executive director Dr Loh Chi Leong in the statement.
Meanwhile, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia acting director Chris R. Shepherd said only powerful tools such as strong legislation could enable the authorities to combat wildlife crimes effectively.
The three organisations urged the government not to delay the tabling of the law any further and hoped that all parties would give it the support it sorely needed. — Bernama
Call for tougher wildlife law gets the support of 56,000
WWF 16 Dec 09;
Petaling Jaya, 16 December 2009 – The Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and WWF-Malaysia, urgently call for the tabling and adoption of amendments to the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 (Act 76) at the next session of Parliament.
The campaign, which was carried out over one and a half years, calling for a stronger and more comprehensive wildlife law, has received the support of 56,062 people from 161 countries.
However, the legislation that is meant to defend wildlife against domestic threats like poaching fails to be a deterrent and continues to allow wildlife criminals to escape justice.
The government has addressed part of the problem with the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 which will come into force in a week’s time.
“This new law, which governs the import and export of wildlife, is timely. However, Malaysia also needs a strong legislation to combat wildlife crime that occurs inside the country,” says Dr Loh Chi Leong, Executive Director of MNS.
“Therefore, amending the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 (Act 76) must be made a priority if our wildlife is to stand a chance, “he adds.
Malaysia is one of the few countries that stand a good chance of saving her wildlife. However, this requires the support of laws that are tough enough to take on the highly organised and well-connected criminals who are wiping out many wildlife species.
“Only with powerful tools such as strong legislation will authorities be able to effectively combat wildlife crimes,” says Chris R. Shepherd, Acting Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
MNS, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and WWF-Malaysia acknowledge the efforts by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to improve and strengthen wildlife laws during this period.
The three organisations are urging the government not to delay the tabling of the law any further and hope all parties will give it the support it sorely needs.
“The Year of the tiger is approaching and the eyes of the world will soon be upon us. Tabling amendments to the PWA 1972 in Parliament as soon as possible will send a strong signal to the public that Malaysia is committed to improving protection of tigers and their prey,” says Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director /CEO of WWF-Malaysia.
Hamdan Raja Abdullah, The Star 17 Dec 09;
MUAR: After keeping watch on the activities of a group for two weeks, marine police here swooped in on them and seized 62 pangolins valued at over RM100,000.
Some 31 live pangolins were found in two cars near a house in Taman Tasik Ria in Tangkak and in the living room of a house while another 31 frozen pangolins were found in a freezer in the kitchen.
Muar marine police officer Insp Mohd Naser Marzuke said the team also seized the two cars used to transport the animals in the 9pm raid on Tuesday.
“Our team was monitoring the movements of suspects believed to be involved with pangolin smuggling and spotted their cars in Tangkak.
“However, when the team followed the cars to a house, the men abandoned the cars and fled,” he told reporters at the Muar marine police jetty yesterday.
Insp Mohd Naser said there were three men in each car but they managed to run to the back of the house and disappeared into the dark.
The team then checked the house and found 13 sacks with live pangolins in the living room and 31 frozen ones in a freezer.
All the pangolins were taken to the Muar marine police jetty before being surrendered to the Wildlife Department.
Meanwhile, Muar Wildlife and National Parks Department chief Mohd Faizal Moin said pangolins were protected animals and smugglers could be charged under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Marine police seize 62 pangolins
New Straits Times 17 Dec 09;
MUAR: Marine police seized 62 live and frozen pangolins worth more than RM100,000, believed smuggled from Indonesia, in a raid on a terrace house in Taman Ria Tasik near Tangkak.
Ten live pangolins were found in gunny sacks that were in a parked Proton Saga while eight more were in a Proton Iswara. Both cars were parked in front of the house.
Thirteen dead pangolins were found in the living room and 31 frozen pangolins were found in the refrigerator. The marine police team had acted on a tip-off when they raided the house.
The team, led by Muar marine operations and investigation unit chief Inspector Mohd Naser Marzuke, entered the premises at 9pm on Tuesday.
However, the smugglers, believed to be in their 20s, managed to flee via the back door.
Naser said investigations revealed that the smugglers had rented the house about a month ago and had used it to store the animals to be sold to neighbouring countries.
Pangolin meat fetches up to RM300 per kilogramme on the black market.
Initial investigations revealed that the pangolins were smuggled into the country via illegal jetties along the Muar-Malacca shores.
Malaysian marine police seize 62 pangolins: official
Yahoo News 17 Dec 09;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian marine police said Thursday they had seized 62 pangolins, destined for cooking pots and medicine shops overseas, in a two-week operation.
Police in southern Johor state seized 31 live pangolins -- also known as scaly anteaters -- packed in blue sacks in the living room of a house and found another 31 frozen creatures in a freezer, marine police official Mohammad Naser Marzuke said.
"Following two weeks of monitoring, we trailed six suspects who were travelling in two cars and who then unloaded the live pangolins in the house," Mohammad Naser told AFP.
"However, by the time we reached them, their lookouts had alerted the group and they all fled, abandoning the cars and the pangolins," he said, adding that police were still on the lookout for the group.
"We have handed the pangolins over to the wildlife authorities as we continue our investigations."
Indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia and parts of Malaysia as well as southern Thailand, pangolins are considered a delicacy in China but are classified as a protected species under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Wildlife officials have said pangolins face a serious threat from poachers and smugglers in Southeast Asia where inadequate enforcement and lack of information encourages the burgeoning trade.
Jakarta Post 12 Dec 09;
DENPASAR: The Forestry Ministry is considering a controversial proposal by the Bali provincial administration to approve the slaughter of 1,000 turtles per year for religious ceremonies, an official said Monday.
"We're still considering the request," Minister Zulkifli Hasan said at a ceremony to declare a forest conservation zone in Denpasar.
The request, first proposed in September, has sparked controversy from the public since the practice is considered inhumane.
"I think we can find a suitable compromise by increasing turtle breeding to fulfill the quota," Zulkifli said.
Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the administration put forth the proposal on behalf of community leaders. The administration is seeking a quota of 1,000 turtles per year based on the number of customary villages (banjar) in Bali, which number more than 1,000.
Pastika said he would ensure the administration closely supervised the turtle supply to avoid any abuses. - JP
The Jakarta Post 16 Dec 09;
Herds of Sumatran elephants have been closing in on villages in Riau following flooding in their natural habitat.
“Many of them enter residential areas and destroy palm and rice fields,” Syahimin, a top official at the local Natural Resources Conservation Center, told Antara state news agency in Pekanbaru on Wednesday.
The center has recorded elephant disturbances in Tapung district in Kampar regency, Sungai Mandau district in Siak regency and in Pinggir district in Bengkalis regency.
Syahimin said that it was natural for elephants to avoid wetlands.
He said that there were around 50 elephants approaching the villages. The center has deployed officers to help local residents drive the elephants away
Floods driving elephants to residential areas
Antara 16 Dec 09;
Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - A herd of elephants have entered a number of villages since recently because their habitat has been hit by floods, a nature conservationist said.
"Since the emergence of floods in the region many elephants have entered villages, destroying villagers oil palm plantations and rice fields," head of Raiu`s Nature Preservation and Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Syahimin said here on Wednesday.
The herd of elephants have made residents restless in three villages, among others, in Tapung subdistrict, Kampar districts, he said.
Syhimin said that the elephant had roamed to the villages because their habitat was being flooded. Elephants did not like their cruising areas to be inundated by water.
He said the herd of elephants which attacked the Sungai Mandau and Pinggir villages, was the bigg
Fidelis E. Satriastanti, Jakarta Globe 16 Dec 09;
The palm oil industry may be contributing billions of dollars to Indonesia’s economy, but environmentalists say the country’s vast forest areas are paying a dangerously steep price.
Elfian Effendi, executive director of policy development institute Greenomics Indonesia, said economic losses due to forest conversion would be bigger than the contributions of the palm oil industry if ecological costs were taken into account.
“For forest conversion, the country loses at least Rp 52.07 million [$ 5,481] per hectare every year, and that does not includ e the ecological costs,” he said.
Based on data from nongovernmental organization Sawit Watch, the palm oil industry contributed to 12 percent — or Rp 720 trillion ($75.8 billion) — to the state budget in 2008. This year, that rate could go up to 14.2 percent. This, however, was at the expense of as much as 100,000 hectares of peatlands and as much as 300,000 hectares of natural forests converted to palm oil plantations every year.
Elfian said 8.3 million hectares of the country’s forested areas had already been classified as nonforested areas, which means it could be converted into plantations, and an additional 11 million hectares of forests had also been reserved for a similar purpose.
“If these 19.3 million hectares of forested areas are eventually cleared, including for the palm oil industry, then the country would lose $105.78 billion per year in terms of ecological loss and biodiversity,” he said.
Joko Arif, a forest campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, on Wednesday said his group has been pushing for a moratorium on the clearing of natural forests and peatlands to give government, palm-oil companies and even NGO’s time to identify which areas were suitable for conversion into oil palm plantation.
Joko said he wasn’t denying the lucrative nature of the palm oil industry. “We’re fully aware of the industry’s contributions to the economy. We’re not anti-industry or anti-palm oil,” Joko said. “But the current methods being used to clear forests and peatlands are not sustainable.”
Jefri Saragih, head of advocacy and public education of Sawit Watch, said the industry could use idle lands, such as former forest concessions, instead.
“If grassland was converted, it would only emit around 3.3 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year. And if we could plant palm oil [in the grassland areas] then it could absorb 5.3 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year. So, palm oil can even contribute to [Indonesia’s] emission reduction targets,” he said, adding that data from National Land Agency showed the country had 7.3 million hectares of such idle lands.
By contrast, he said converting peatlands into palm oil plantations released at least 380 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year.
But Jefri said palm oil companies preferred not to use idle lands to avoid “social costs,” such as conflicts with local villagers, a charge the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) denies.
“For plantations, peatlands are the last option because it is costly. It would take at least Rp 45 million [to develop] each hectare. So it is not true that peatlands are cheaper,” Gapki secretary general Joko Supriyono said.
Indonesian Producers Criticize Certification Body After Unilever Boycott
Arti Ekawati, Jakarta Globe 16 Dec 09;
Unilever’s boycott of Sinar Mas last week, following the release of a report by Greenpeace accusing the palm oil giant of illegal practices, is putting the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in the spotlight.
“We plan to send a letter to RSPO questioning their credibility in relation to environmental standards,” Joko Supriyono, the general secretary of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki), told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
RSPO is a multi-stakeholder organization consisting of palm oil producers, buyers and nongovernmental organizations. It issues certificates to producers commensurate with their environmental standards. A number of major buyers require this certification.
Last week, Unilever announced it was suspending purchases from the Sinar Mas Group after Greenpeace reported that the group’s companies were not obtaining permits for clearing forested areas. PT Smart, a Sinar Mas unit, provides about 5 percent of all the palm oil that Unilever uses.
“Since Unilever stopped buying crude palm oil from PT Smart based on the Greenpeace report, we are questioning why Unilever prefers to use Greenpeace’s standards rather than RPSO’s,” Joko said. “Both PT Smart and Unilever are RSPO members. If Unilever preferred to use other standards, I wonder, is RSPO qualified enough?”
Achmad Mangga Barani, the director general of plantation at the Agriculture Ministry, said RSPO “should be able to represent both consumers and producers. If it cares only about requirements from buyers, why should we be active in such an organization?”
However, Daud Darsono, president director of PT Smart, said the company had yet to obtain a sustainable palm oil certificate.
Jakarta Globe 16 Dec 09;
A lack of regulations is hampering the country’s efforts to manage electronic waste, leaving communities exposed to health hazards from toxic chemicals, officials and experts have said.
Along with other developing countries such as China, Indonesia is a destination for old electronics from developed countries in a trade deemed illegal by an international treaty addressing the uncontrolled dumping of such materials, which came into force in 1992 and was ratified by Indonesia a year later.
The UN Environmental Program estimates that the world produces 50 million tons of electrical and electronic equipment waste, also known as e-waste, every year.
Heri Hamdani, an expert on waste management at the Ministry of Environment, said there was little data on the quantity of e-waste and what was collected for recycling, but televisions and cellphones made up the bulk of it, as these technologies had become much cheaper.
“There have been attempts to calculate the amount of e-waste, but it’s hard to come up with a figure, because not all electronic goods in Indonesia are legal,” Heri said.
According to Environment Ministry data, there are an estimated 100 million cellphones across the country, and lower prices are increasing the use of computers. But environmental campaigners say a lot of the goods are being imported illegally.
Heri said his ministry was preparing regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility, which he hoped could be implemented in the next one or two years, and would require electronics companies to be financially responsible for collecting and recycling e-waste.
So far, only Nokia, the Finland-based cellphone maker, has an EPR program, encouraging cell users to return their old handsets to its stores for recycling.
“Producers are reluctant to manage their e-waste because it costs a lot of money and there’s no binding regulation — that’s why we need legal pressure,” said Sri Wahyono, a researcher at the government-run Center for the Study and Application of Environmental Technology. “There’s very little awareness of EPR.”
Old electronic goods were thrown into garbage dumps along with other waste, and the discarded goods were later picked up by scavengers, who sold them to electronic repair stores for usable parts.
“The unusable parts are later thrown away arbitrarily, polluting the environment and water sources,” Wahyono said. “This practice is harmful to people’s health and the effects can be felt in the next five to 10 years.”
Exposure to chemicals from e‑waste — including lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and polybrominated biphennyls — could damage the brain and nervous system, affect the kidneys and liver and cause birth defects, said Candra Yoga Aditama, director general of communicable diseases and environmental health at the Ministry of Health.
Economic hardships forced thousands of impoverished people to make a living scavenging electronic garbage, exposing themselves to health hazards, said Martin Baker, a Greenpeace spokesman in Indonesia. “A lot of people who do this kind of work earn only about $2 a day — they are poisoning themselves to death,” Baker said.
The Indonesian Association of Scavengers said there were an estimated 500,000 scavengers in Jakarta — besides those in other cities — who sifted through garbage to salvage plastics, scrap metal and cardboard.
Arum Tri Pusposari, spokeswoman for a private waste management company licensed to handle e-waste, PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri, said that most e-waste was dumped at the firm’s landfill southeast of the capital.
“E-waste management is a new thing in Indonesia and people have talked about it only recently,” she said. “The amount … we process is insignificant, but we plan to have recycling facilities in the future.”
IRIN
Polly Hui Yahoo News 16 Dec 09;
HONG KONG (AFP) – On top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, groups of tourists find themselves staring down at an apocalyptic vision of a towering city shrouded in a menacing grey smog.
The haze blurs one of the world's most famous skylines and veils the ships dotting the harbour, disappointing visitors who made the trip to the Peak for a glimpse of what can be a spectacular panorama.
When a scene like this was captured on the cover of the Hong Kong edition of the "Lonely Planet" travel guide in 2002, shocked and embarrassed policymakers claimed the image did not truly reflect the southern Chinese city.
But a hazy sky has become an inescapable part of life for Hong Kong's population of seven million.
Statistics from the Hong Kong Observatory show that the annual number of hours of "reduced visibility" jumped from 295 in 1988 to 1,100 in 2008.
The term refers to visibility of less than eight kilometres (five miles) in the absence of fog, mist or rain.
"Blue skies are very rare in Hong Kong today," Professor Anthony Hedley of the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Hong Kong told AFP.
"There are very few days in which our air quality meets the safety guidelines promulgated by the World Health Organisation."
The haze in Hong Kong is formed by a combination of particles and gases generated by power plants, ships, vehicles and tens of thousands of factories in neighbouring Guangdong province in mainland China, experts say.
"It is a very toxic cocktail. The suspended particulates are so fine that they can penetrate to the very lowest region of our lungs, even cross into our (blood) circulation and damage our arteries as well as the air sacs," Hedley said.
Natural mist or fog was only a tiny component of the haze in times of high humidity, he said.
The problem is particularly acute in a city as densely packed as Hong Kong, as pollutants are often trapped between the buildings.
Although the government has in recent years pledged increased efforts to clean the air, critics say it is not aggressive enough.
"At this rate we are going, it's going to be 50 years before we get clean air," Hedley said.
The professor and a team at the university launched the Hedley Environmental Index last year to provide real-time measurements of the health and financial impacts of air pollution in Hong Kong.
The index showed that between January and mid-December this year health care and lost productivity related to air pollution illnesses had cost the city about 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (231 million US).
The team estimated that a total of 5.9 million doctor visits and 793 premature deaths were related to air pollution over the same period.
Hedley said he had found a direct correlation between visibility and health in his latest research.
His findings, due to be released within a few months, will allow anybody to estimate the number of expected air pollution-related deaths based on the visibility level on that day.
Meanwhile, another group of environmental scientists is travelling to all 18 districts of the city in a van to measure daily roadside pollution levels. One of their objectives is to compare their data with those collected by the government's roadside air quality measuring stations.
Chak Chan, acting head of the environment division at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and leader of the project, said the levels of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide they recorded in Central -- the city's business hub -- were often two or three times higher than the government figures.
"We believe our measurements can more accurately reflect the roadside situation because ours is a mobile measuring device and theirs are mounted at fixed spots," Chan told AFP.
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said air pollution was a regional problem.
"Reduced visibility is part of the regional air pollution problems in the Pearl River Delta region," he said in a statement to AFP.
However, a study conducted by the Civic Exchange think-tank showed that Hong Kong's own emissions -- not those from the factories in mainland China -- are the dominant sources of air pollution, affecting the city 53 percent of the time.
Although the government in 2006 imposed a requirement for newly-registered vehicles to meet European vehicle emission standards, Civic Exchange found that 99 percent of the 6,000 franchised buses are below the Euro IV standard.
Christine Loh, chief executive of Civic Exchange, warned that dirty air is now driving away the people who are instrumental to the success of the city.
"The biggest shocker of all was that our surveys showed that half a million Hong Kong people -- usually in the professional classes -- are planning to leave because of air pollution," she said.
Hedley urged Hong Kong people to pressure the government to take faster and more aggressive action.
"My advice to Hong Kong people is to write to the chief executive and tell him we want clean air now," he said. "We are all paying a heavy cost for it."
Jean-marc Mojon Yahoo News 16 Dec 09;
DENIS ISLAND, Seychelles (AFP) – Camille Hoareau stands on Denis Island's beach of creamy-white sand, exactly where trees used to grow a few years ago and where the fish will soon swim if global warming surges on.
"See those? They all went down recently," he says, pointing to the upturned roots of casuarina trees felled by the ever-advancing beach.
Hoareau believes this small privately-owned coralline island in the north of the Seychelles archipelago has shrunk by a few acres already since he became estate manager seven years ago.
"The highest point of the island is about 2.5 metres (eight feet), so it doesn't take long for an island like this one to be swallowed up," he says.
Scientific analyses factoring in melting glaciers and ice caps, added water from Greenland and Antarctica and thermal expansion of warming ocean water predict that sea levels could rise globally by up to two metres this century.
For many, climate change remains a slightly abstract notion that may one day involve minor sacrifices such as driving electric cars and buying solar panels.
But for the Seychellois and other people living on low-lying islands, climate change is a tangible issue that literally knocks on their front door every morning and poses a very existential question.
"Where will the water be in 10, 15 years? Global warming has changed our point of view on a lot of things," says Paul Horner, the manager of Denis Island resort.
"The waves are already lapping my front yard so now I'm building a home for the children in the mountains" on one of the Indian Ocean archipelago's granitic islands.
A two-metre rise in water levels would easily flood the runways of the international airport -- which brings in the tourists that account for 80 percent of the country's foreign currency earnings -- and put the capital Victoria at risk.
As a global deal to radically curb carbon emissions in Copenhagen looks anything but certain, the Seychelles fears that tourists will soon require diving gear to enter their rooms in the archipelago's many luxury hotels.
"Time has run out... Even if we are given a very large sum of money, how are we going to prevent a world heritage site like Aldabra atoll from going under?," asks Seychelles Environment and Transport Minister Joel Morgan.
Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean islands such as Barbados, Kiribati and the Seychelles feel let down by the world's rich, big-polluting countries whose elites like to spend their holidays on their beaches.
At a summit in New York in September, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) issued a declaration scathing the planet's powerhouses for sealing their doom by pussyfooting around the issue of carbon emissions.
We are "profoundly disappointed by the lack of apparent ambition within the international climate change negotiations to protect... vulnerable countries, their peoples, culture, land and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change," they said.
At the key UN climate talks involving 190 nations in Copenhagen, small islands were the first to put forward a draft calling for huge global carbon emissions and target a cap of 1.5 or two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit ) in global warming.
Several days into the meeting, island states were doing what their best to make their voices heard.
A teenage resident of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific asked Australia to welcome her nation's future climate refugees. The tiny Pacific archipelago Tuvalu took on giants China and India and called for a suspension of the conference, and the president of the Maldives, the famed Indian Ocean tourist paradise, made another passionate appeal, weeks after holding a cabinet meeting under water.
For his part, Seychelles President James Michel hopes to impress on world powers that they too have a lot to lose from unchecked climate changes, albeit a few decades after small islands have been wiped off the map.
"We will lose big, but we will continue to argue our case before the world's powers. We feel that we are seriously underestimating the potential impacts of climate change, which may end up costing the planet a lot more," he said in a statement to AFP.
Michel's special advisor on climate change Rolph Payet, whose role as lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won him the Nobel Peace Prize along with former US vice president Al Gore in 2007, takes the view that small nations can achieve the most by themselves.
"Even if we do something now, we won't see the impact for another 20-25 years, but we have to act," he says. "We are pushing for everyone to do that, to invest in sustainability, like restoring the coastline."
Looking at the fallen trees rimming his shrinking paradise island, Camille Hoareau is wasting no time and working relentlessly to win his own race against the climate clock.
"Here we have a scheme on Denis island, where conservation is integrated in the way the hotel is run. Tourists contribute to the effort in the price they pay and it's becoming more and more important to them," he explains.
"The best protection against erosion is trees, so we have to plant as many as possible... I don't know what's going to come out of Copenhagen, but right now it's about people taking responsibility."
Rob Dale The Independent 16 Dec 09;
With countries stalling over policies in Copenhagen, one easy way to cut down on emissions seems rather obvious - eat food more carefully. Recent estimations show that 10 per cent of the worlds richest countries greenhouse gas emissions come from growing food which is never eaten.
Speaking today at the 'Feeding the 5000' event in Trafalgar Square, London, leading food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart teamed up with charities to highlight the global problems with food waste and demonstrate some practical ways to solve it.
'Food is a basic human need but 1 billion people in the world are malnourished' he said. 'Even in the UK there are 4 million people unable to afford a healthy diet. There is plenty in the world, yet the amount of waste at every level of the system means many still go without. What we're showing here is that the easiest solution to this problem is quite simply to eat it. This isn't just about showing people how to save money, its about showing everyone how we can help protect the environment.'
The ingredients used in the feast were collected from local traders. Most was either excess stock or had been deemed unsellable due to irregular shape or size. With this volunteers worked from early in the morning to provide enough free curries, fruit bags and smoothies for five thousand passers-by.
The other food used was donated having passed its sell-by dates. Confusion over date labelling on food is estimated to result in 400,000 tonnes of food being thrown into landfill each year. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has called for supermarkets and food manufacturers to scrap the use of best-before and sell-by dates on food packaging.
He said, 'Thousands of tonnes are being thrown unnecessarily into landfill. There it converts in greenhouse gases and adds to the climate problem. Its not just costing us money, it's costing us the earth.'
Speaking on this, Mr Stuart told the Independent, 'politicians like Mr Benn have the right ideas on food waste, they just seem to lack the power to enforce them upon the supermarkets.'
Alastair McIndoe, Straits Times 17 Dec 09;
A 192MW geothermal plant on Negros island in the central Philippines run by the privately owned Energy Development Corporation. The country is the world's second-biggest producer of geothermal energy, and it plans to ramp up production. -- ST PHOTO: ALASTAIR MCINDOE
HERE in the Philippines at a geothermal power plant on the slopes of a dormant volcano in the central island of Negros, the thick plume of hot vapour furiously belching from a ground vent is an apt metaphor for the country's full-steam development of this green energy source.
The Philippines already has the world's largest installed geothermal capacity after the United States, with seven plants across the archipelago accounting for 20 per cent of the total energy mix. The government aims to increase that level to meet expectations of surging energy demand.
In the coming months, concessions to explore and develop a further 19 geothermal sites across the archipelago will be awarded to winning bidders, according to Mr Alejandro Oanes, head of the Department of Energy's geothermal division.
A landmark renewable energy law was passed last year to generate private investments in the sector through sizeable tax breaks and other financial sweeteners.
'Because of the Renewable Energy Act, there is a lot of investor interest to develop geothermal power that will help us reduce oil imports further,' said Mr Oanes.
Installed geothermal capacity in the Philippines is 1,900MW. Energy experts reckon that can be doubled over the next decade.
The government estimates that geothermal power has saved the country nearly US$1.7 billion (S$2.3 billion) in precious foreign exchange reserves since the first plant began operations here in 1976.
It was the crippling oil crisis of the 1970s that prompted the Philippines to search for local energy sources.
The country is already developing its own oil and gas reserves, and its
energy authorities are considering reviving a mothballed nuclear energy plant, though this appears a long shot. In the field of green energy, geothermal resources offer the biggest potential.
The country lies in a region of volcanic and seismic activity in the Paci-fic Ocean called the Ring of Fire. These underground heat reservoirs can be tapped with the same drilling technology as for oil and gas.
'There is still sufficient heat in inactive volcanoes to harness for geothermal power,' said Mr Dwight Maxino, manager of the Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field (SNGPF), a unit of the privately owned Energy Development Corporation, which runs five of the country's geothermal plants.
Geothermal power punches below its weight as a global energy source. The technology requires heavy initial investment. The cost of drilling an exploration well alone is S$6 million. But once the power plant is up and running, operating and maintenance costs are relatively low. Furthermore, 'this is an inexhaustible energy resource if you don't over-exploit extraction', said Mr Ariel Fronda, a government researcher into geothermal energy.
And on Negros, geothermal energy constitutes truly green power. The forests surrounding the SNGPF are unusually lush. Decades of logging had stripped the forest cover on all but 5 per cent of this large island, famous for its sugar plantations. But forests are needed as protective cover for the steamfields feeding the SNGPF's power systems and so the forest has been regrown.
Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times 17 Dec 09;
UNDER leaden skies on a frigid winter morning, Mr Soren Hermansen is hard at work - as usual.
More people have made the journey to Samsoe to see for themselves the small but stunning miracle that is the windswept Danish island. As director of the Samsoe Energy Academy, Mr Hermansen shows the visitors around. The academy receives about 5,000 visitors each year, including schoolchildren.
For a world in grave danger from the overuse of fossil fuels, the island - some five hours west of Copenhagen by train and ferry - represents a signpost to a better future.
�The 4,000 people living on the 114 sq km island of rolling green fields and big skies can boast of being the world's first totally self-sufficient and carbon-neutral community, whose energy needs are all met by renewable sources. Samsoe even exports its surplus electricity to the mainland, which brings in around $1 million in revenue a year.
The Samsoe project had its seeds in the oil price shock of the 1970s, which got the Danish government thinking about how to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
Plans to build nuclear power plants were dropped after they were met with widespread public apprehension. The government looked at renewable energy and the next two decades were marked by spectacular progress in renewable technology. Environmental funds were set up, which, together with policy incentives, catalysed investments. The wind energy industry alone has created 30,000 jobs in Denmark.
Samsoe was chosen in 1997 in a nationwide competition to become a model community for sustainable energy. A non-governmental organisation was formed to run the project but residents were also involved as decision-makers and shareholders.
In 2003 and 2004, a wind farm with 10 turbines was set up offshore. It was the biggest project of its kind in the world at the time, and its stakeholders were the residents, not big corporations. Another 11 land-based wind turbines were added later. Some houses now have their own turbines.
Residents learnt how to improve home insulation, cutting their heating needs by 10 per cent. Four heating plants - using straw from the fields or wood chips from the forests - as well as 2,500 sq m of solar photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to meet 60 per cent of Samsoe's needs.
At one dairy plant, water warmed as it cools the milk is then used in the shower.
All these renewable energy schemes have made Samsoe and its inhabitants not just carbon-neutral but carbon-negative.
There has been a 140 per cent reduction in carbon emissions on the island since 1998. While the Danes on average have a per capita carbon footprint of around 10 tonnes, Samsoe residents' per capita carbon footprint is minus 3.7 tonnes because they produce surplus energy.
Mr Hermansen is something of a celebrity. He makes trips abroad to tell countries from China to Morocco about the Samsoe success story.
Hailed as an environmental hero, he downplays the accolade, saying: 'The real heroes are the local guys.'
Samsoe, he says, is not unlike communities elsewhere: It too has its share of issues that need to be grappled with.
At one time, it was the survival of the island community itself. An agricultural community, Samsoe supplies tonnes of produce to the mainland. But its young men and women were leaving the island to study and work on the mainland. The closure of a slaughterhouse created a ripple effect, throwing 100 local people out of work - and sparking a mini depression on the island.
The renewable energy project that then came along fired up the locals, especially as the model promised money in the bank after the initial investment of €60 million (S$120 million). It also gave the people energy independence and jobs.
Ironically, Samsoe is surrounded by some of the country's biggest coal-fired plants, whose smokestacks can be seen on the far horizon.
Nevertheless, the residents can take pride in the fact that the island is today an icon of renewable energy.
To Mr Hermansen, the key to its success lies in the local community.
'Those people at the (Copenhagen conference on climate change) don't know local conditions,' he said.
'We should stop thinking globally, and act locally.'
Marlowe Hood Yahoo News 15 Dec 09;
COPENHAGEN (AFP) – 'Gubernator' Arnold Schwarzenegger called Tuesday for a UN climate summit for cities and regions, offering to host it in his home state of California.
"I would ask the UN to convene a climate summit, like Copenhagen, but for cities, for states, for provinces and for regions," the governor told the 194-nation UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
"And I would be more than happy to host such a summit in California," The Terminator star added, quipping that everyone liked to visit his "adopted home state" before signing off: "I'll be back!"
Schwarzenegger told a packed auditorium at the conference, that ends with a meeting of some 120 world leaders, that nations were not the only actors in the fight against global warming.
"The world's national governments cannot make the progress that is needed on global climate change alone," he said.
"California has shown that a sub-national government can lead the way to national change and I urge all of the world leaders here in Copenhagen to liberate the power beneath the national level to help us create an environment we can proudly pass down to our children, grandchildren and beyond."
California along with a number of US states and cities has launched a plan to curb carbon dioxide blamed for global warming, measures that the US Congress is still considering at a national levels.
The west coast state is frequently hit by wildfires due to its dry climate, winds and recent housing booms that have seen home construction spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.
A recent study by the American Geophysical Union said the state would be dramatically hit by rising sea levels, air pollution and extreme climate events in the coming years.
Schwarzenegger said California -- the seventh largest economy in the world -- was already getting 27 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and that the share would go up to 45 percent by 2020.
"We are proceeding with green tech no matter what happens in Washington or Copenhagen," he said, extolling the energy and innovation of entrepreneurs and the private sector.
In Copenhagen, 194 nations are struggling to find common ground for a deal to curb greenhouse gases and provide money to poor countries already suffering its ravages.
Despite two years of negotiations tasked with finalising an accord by the end of 2009, the conference remains blocked on most key issues.
A day earlier, Schwarzenegger and regions of Canada, Nigeria, France and Algeria launched a coalition to fast track the results of the Copenhagen talks.
The ex-movie star and body builder also said growing public pressure for strong action to curb warming will drive politicians to deepen their commitments on climate change.
"History tells us movements began with the people, not with government. And then, when they become powerful enough, government responds," he said, pointing to the struggle for women's rights and the civil rights movement.
Joining Schwarzenegger in pushing for a bigger role for cities was Governor Jose Serra of Sao Paulo state in Brazil, a region about the size of Britain with a population of 41 million.
Sao Paulo accounts for a third of the country's GDP and more than 40 percent of industry, but it's carbon footprint -- three tonnes of CO2 per person per year -- is only a quarter of the national average, Serra said.
"Deforestation is under control because of enforcement of land use policies," he said.
"Sub-national initiatives, whether regional or local, are crucial to the advancement of the environmental cause and to a fast conclusion to a global climate agreement."
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer praised the efforts of cities and regions in the campaign against global warming. "Your experience, advice and above all continued action is essential to further success," he said.
Hannah Devlin Times Online 17 Dec 09;
Al Gore’s office issued a formal correction yesterday to a speech the former US Vice-President had given earlier in the week that started the latest in a series of “climate spin” rows.
Mr Gore told the Copenhagen summit meeting that the latest research suggested that the North Pole would be ice-free within five to seven years. The Times revealed that this was not the information provided to Mr Gore’s office by the climatologist Wieslaw Maslowski, who works at the US Naval Postgraduate School in California.
Dr Maslowski said that his projections suggested that the North Pole would be near ice-free, but that some ice would remain beyond 2020. He also denied providing the 75 per cent figure used by Mr Gore. “It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at, based on the information I provided to Al Gore’s office,” he said.
The clarification said that Mr Gore “misspoke” on the polar ice prediction and that he meant that the cap would be nearly ice-free.
Scientists have criticised Mr Gore for basing his talk on unpublished data, rather than relying on the latest peer-reviewed studies. Most researchers agree on a 20 to 30-year time-scale for near ice-free conditions in the Arctic. Mr Gore’s office, however, stood by the choice of data. It said that the US Navy research unit was in a stronger position to give predictions as it had unique access to measurements of ice volume by submarines.
Reuters 16 Dec 09;
(Reuters) - About 120 U.N. world leaders are aiming to try to end deadlock at a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen that is meant to agree a new deal on Friday for fighting global warming.
Following are possible scenarios:
WHAT'S THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME?
The most robust would be legal texts including deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by developed nations by 2020, actions by developing nations to slow their rising emissions, and a package for finance and technology to help poor nations. Almost all nations reckon that a legal text is out of reach.
WHAT SORT OF DEAL IS MORE LIKELY?
World leaders could agree only what they call a "politically binding" text and try to set a deadline for transforming it into a full legal text sometime in 2010.
IF THERE IS A DEAL, WHAT WOULD IT SAY?
The easiest global goal would be to agree to limit global warming to a maximum temperature rise of 2 Celsius above pre-industrial times. The poorest nations and small island states want a tougher limit of 1.5 Celsius. A big problem is that a temperature goal does not bind individual nations to act.
A slightly firmer, but still distant, target is to agree to at least to halve world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But China and India and other developing nations have opposed such a goal in the past, saying rich nations first have to make far deeper cuts in their emissions by 2020.
WHAT DO RICH NATIONS HAVE TO DO?
They would have to set deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the years until 2020. A U.N. panel of climate scientists suggested in 2007 that emissions would have to fall by between 25 and 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to help avert the worst of climate change, such as more droughts, species extinctions, floods and rising seas. Industrialized nations' offers of cuts by 2020 so far range from about 14 to 18 percent.
HOW ABOUT DEVELOPING NATIONS?
They would have to commit to a "substantial deviation" to slow the rise in their greenhouse gas emissions below projected growth rates by 2020, for instance by shifting to more use of solar or wind power and away from coal-fired power plants.
HOW ABOUT MONEY TO HELP THE POOR?
The latest text is blank on the amounts to be committed. The United Nations wants to raise at least $10 billion a year from 2010-2012 in new funds to help kickstart a deal to help developing nations. Many nations also speak of raising the amount to $100 billion a year from 2020 to help the poor.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TALKS FAIL?
One option if the talks end in deadlock is to "suspend" the meeting and reconvene sometime in 2010 -- a similar deadlock happened at talks in The Hague in November 2000. A full breakdown in talks could deepen mistrust between rich and poor nations and undermine confidence in the U.N. system. It would probably also halt consideration by the U.S. Senate of legislation to cap U.S. emissions -- other nations' goals might in turn unravel.
FACTBOX: Main issues, progress in Copenhagen climate talks
Reuters 16 Dec 09;
(Reuters) - About 115 world leaders and 193 countries are meeting in Copenhagen to agree the outlines of a new global deal to combat climate change.
Negotiators hope to seal a full climate treaty next year to succeed the Kyoto Protocol whose present round ends in 2012.
Following are key issues yet to be agreed, and some areas of possible agreement if draft texts are approved.
ONE TREATY OR TWO?
* No agreement yet on whether to extend Kyoto and add extra national commitments under a separate pact, or end Kyoto and agree one new treaty which specifies actions by all countries
* Kyoto limits the emissions of nearly 40 industrialized countries from 2008-2012, but the United States never ratified the pact and it doesn't bind the emissions of developing nations
* Developed countries prefer one new treaty
* Developing nations want to preserve the Kyoto Protocol and agree a separate deal which also binds the United States and which includes finance for and action by developing nations
TERMS OF NEW TREATY
* No agreement on whether new pact or pacts would run from 2013-2017 or 2013-2020
* No agreement on whether would be legally binding
DEADLINE FOR NEW DEAL
* Copenhagen aims to agree a global climate pact. No agreement yet on a deadline to make that into a full treaty
* "Our goal is ... for a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday
LONG-TERM GOAL
* No agreement yet on a long-term goal to avoid dangerous climate change
* A U.N. text on Tuesday proposed choices to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by between 50 and 95 percent by 2050
* Poorer nations oppose long-term global targets until rich countries commit to do more in the short-term
MID-TERM RICH NATION EMISSIONS CUTS
* No agreement yet on how far individual rich countries should cut their emissions by 2020
* No agreement on a reference year for those cuts, for example compared with 1990, 2000 or 2005
* A draft Kyoto text on Tuesday proposed options for cuts of 30-45 percent, and another proposed 25-40 percent cuts
* Rich countries have so far proposed 14-18 percent
* Developing nations including China want collective rich nation cuts of at least 40 percent
CLIMATE ACTION BY DEVELOPING NATIONS
* No agreement yet on how far poorer countries should commit to targets to curb growth in greenhouse gases
* Developed countries want poorer countries to "stand behind" their targets through some kind of international inspection, which developing nations reject
* A Tuesday draft proposed a registry to record developing country actions, but left open whether that was voluntary
FINANCE
* No agreement yet on how much rich nations should pay developing nations in the short or medium term to help them fight climate change
* Rich nations have suggested about $10 billion per year from 2010-2012 which China and African nations have rejected as not enough
* No agreement on how much rich countries should pay from 2013. Developing nations have suggested figures of at least mid-term $200-$300 billion climate aid annually by 2020, compared with a European Union proposal of $150 billion
* No agreement on how the finance bill will be split between countries
* A Tuesday text proposed a "climate fund" but did not specify how much that would be, who would govern it or who would pay into it
EXCLUDED SECTORS, LOOPHOLES
* No agreement on whether to include aviation and shipping, and make it mandatory to include farming and forestry in targets
* Kyoto excludes greenhouse gases from aviation and shipping, responsible for at least 5 percent of global emissions
* Under Kyoto industrialized countries don't have to include in their targets emissions from land use, including forests and farming
* Combined, farms and deforestation account for a third of global greenhouse gases
ROLE OF CARBON MARKETS
* No agreement yet on how to scale up carbon finance, where rich nations pay for emissions cuts in developing countries through trade in carbon offsets, for example by making bigger Kyoto's existing $6.5 billion clean development mechanism (CDM)
* The European Union wants the scheme to invest tens of billions annually in developing nations by 2020
* No agreement on whether to include carbon capture storage in the CDM, a technology which cuts carbon emissions from coal plants
* No agreement on including forest preservation in CDM
* Likely agreement to allow developers to appeal against U.N. panel rejections of CDM projects
FORESTRY
* Likely agreement on rewarding tropical countries which slow deforestation under a new deal
* The latest draft Tuesday text includes safeguards to protect indigenous people's rights and prevent rewards for conversion of virgin forests
* No agreement on how to fund forest preservation
(Reporting by Gerard Wynn, Editing by Dominic Evans, gerard.wynn@reuters.com; +44 207 542 2302)
Richard Cowan, Reuters 16 Dec 09;
Logging debris covers an area that was clear cut by a timber company on private land in the Umpqua National Forest near Drain, Oregon May 15, 2008. REUTERS/Richard Clement
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The United States has pledged $1 billion as part of a $3.5 billion scheme as initial financing toward slowing deforestation, a major contributor to climate change, a U.S. government statement said on Wednesday.
Australia, France, Japan, Norway and Britain are also part of the forest protection plan announced at U.N. climate talks in Denmark where world leaders are trying to seal the outlines of a pact to avoid dangerous global warming.
The U.S. government said the money would be contingent on an ambitious political agreement on fighting climate change coming out of the Copenhagen talks.
The money is meant to help fund immediate steps from 2010 to 2012 to develop a U.N.-backed scheme meant to reward developing nations for saving carbon-rich tropical forests.
The scheme, called reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), has had wide support from rich and poor countries in the talks in the Danish capital and kick-start funding has been a key demand from developing nations.
"Protecting the world's forests is not a luxury. It's a necessity," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the statement from Copenhagen.
"This substantial commitment is reflective of our recognition that international public finance must play a role in developing countries' efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation," he said.
Deforestation is responsible for nearly a fifth of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions and curbing forest loss is regarded as a key way to brake the pace of global warming.
Forests such as the vast Amazon jungle or the peat forests of Borneo island in Southeast Asia soak up and lock away large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide, acting like lungs of the atmosphere.
REDD is aimed at putting a price on the carbon those forests lock away or are released if cut down, providing a financial incentive to keep them standing.
"This is a very positive and encouraging step," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. "This can help the atmosphere for negotiators in Copenhagen," he said.
The talks have stumbled on emissions targets by rich nations, financing for poor nations and arguments over the final shape of any new legal agreement to fight climate change.
"If we manage to stop deforestation, we'll have averted a third of all emissions we need to cut by 2020," Stoltenberg said. Norway says it has given more cash to projects for slowing deforestation than any other developed nation.
"This is what's needed to break the logjam of the REDD negotiations here in Copenhagen and spark the additional funding needed to address the global challenge of deforestation," said Andrew Deutz, Director of International Climate Policy for The Nature Conservancy.
"This $1 billion pledge from the United States should be an appetizer and the U.S. should also serve up the main course for further mitigation and adaptation funding."
(Writing by David Fogarty; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Ailing climate summit gets 22-billion-dollar boost
Shaun Tandon Yahoo News 17 Dec 09;
COPENHAGEN (AFP) – Wealthy nations pledged some 22 billion dollars Wednesday to bankroll the war on global warming, delivering a huge shot in the arm to a UN climate summit marred by wrangling and violent protests.
Japan led the way by promising to stump up a whopping 1.75 trillion yen (19.5 billion dollars), including 1.3 trillion in public funds, for developing nations on climate change if a comprehensive deal is reached at Copenhagen.
It was also one of five countries -- along with Australia, Britain, France, Norway and the United States -- that said they would set up a fund to fight the loss of forests, a leading source of the rising temperatures that scientists warn will cause droughts, plagues and storms if unchecked.
"Japan as a country takes very seriously its responsibility in the international community," Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa said as he announced the biggest financial offer yet for climate change.
Europe has already said it would give 7.2 billion euros (10.6 billion dollars) towards an envisioned fund worth 30 billion dollars to help developing nations tackle climate change over the three years from 2010-2012. Related article: The political price of failure in Copenhagen
The United States has yet to announce a contribution, although the White House has said it will offer a "fair share."
The package is viewed in Copenhagen as a sign of goodwill on longer-term finance, which is a core part of an overall deal for rolling back climate change.
In a joint statement, the six governments also said they would collectively dedicate 3.5 billion dollars from 2010 to 2012 in what they hoped would be just the starting point for a deforestation fund by wealthy nations.
The announcements were intended to provide fresh momentum as delegates feared an overwhelming amount of work remained to seal a deal ahead of the summit's finale on Friday when around 120 world leaders are due in Denmark.
After a day marked by finger-pointing, Britain's climate minister Ed Miliband feared a deal could slip away.
"People can kill this process, kill the agreement with process argument," Miliband said, warning the talks were at a "very dangerous point." Copenhagen talks: Update on the positions
Developing countries, led by China, accused host Denmark of a lack of transparency by suggesting language for the agreement without full consultation by all sides on the 194-nation summit. Related article: China opposes 'carbon tariffs'
"There's a group of countries who think they are better than us in the South, in the Third World," said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who railed against "the imperial dictatorship" of the West.
The anti-capitalist theme was picked up on by Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's veteran president who is the target of Western sanctions over alleged human rights abuses.
"When these capitalist gods of carbon burp and belch their dangerous emissions, it's we, the lesser mortals of the developing sphere who gasp and sink and eventually die." Related article: Maverick trio scoff at the West at climate summit
The leaders of Bangladesh and Nepal pleaded for the summit to be ambitious, warning they faced some of global warming's worst ravages.
"Bangladesh's greenhouse gas contribution is negligible, but it is one of its worst victims," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.
Tensions also flared outside, where police used clubs and tear gas to stop some 2,500 activists who tried to march on the tightly guarded Bella Center.
Police said they rounded up some 260 demonstrators, some of whom clashed again with the guards of their makeshift jail in a former beer warehouse.
Activists were outraged after the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is running the 12-day conference, turned away thousands who were registered, saying the building was at maximum capacity.
The summit climaxes Friday when the leaders including US President Barack Obama try to lay out a strategy to deal with climate change after the end of 2012, when obligations run out under the landmark Kyoto Protocol.
Obama, due here Friday, has offered to cut US carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 over a 2005 benchmark, a figure that aligns with legislation put before Congress but is well below pledges by the European Union and Japan.
"The president is hopeful that his presence can help," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, as US lawmakers tried to dash through business and catch a plane to the Danish capital.
In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with African leaders and appealed for help for the Congo basin, home to the world's second biggest forest, warning they "cannot on their own maintain a forest that is the heritage of humanity."
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