Note of thanks and special highlights from 2009/2010 civet work
from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS
Bidadari Cemetery
from Urban Forest
Guides of Singapore shores: Sandy shores and seagrass meadows
from wild shores of singapore
Pulau Ubin - Singapore's last kampong!
from wild shores of singapore
Massive Tuas reclamation continues until Jan 2011
from wild shores of singapore
Predators and Prey, and Catching Turtles
from NYT science blog
Third book in series on biodiversity throws up some surprising insights
Ben Nadarajan Straits Times 31 Jul 10;
THE third book in the Private Lives series on Singapore's biodiversity will be launched next Monday.
The latest book will focus on the wide range of species living in Singapore's freshwater bodies. The previous two books were on the country's shoreline and its mangroves.
The series is sponsored by ExxonMobil through its Biodiversity Fund, which was set up in December 2005 through a donation to the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at the National University of Singapore's department of biology.
Proceeds from the sale of the books go back to the fund, which publishes guidesheets and books on nature and conservation for schools as well as the general public. The fourth book planned for the series will be on rainforests.
One of the new book's editors, Assistant Professor Darren Yeo Chong Jinn, said it is not meant to be a guide to the biodiversity in Singapore's freshwater bodies, but more to provide a glimpse, to get people interested in some of the 'strange and unusual' aspects.
'Some of these animals really surprise us - we think they're gone, then they suddenly show up again,' he said. 'It's amazing how resilient some of them are.'
Prof Yeo said many people may think that a book on freshwater species would just be about fish and prawns, but there are other species in the ecosystem such as insects, frogs and birds as well, all featured in the book.
In fact, the cover photo is of the purple swamphen, standing among wetlands. This bird, which is closely related to the chicken, is quite uncommon but can be found even in artificial wetlands, such as those at Kranji.
There is also a chapter titled Temasekia which highlights species which were important in the country's heritage. These are species which were either first discovered in Singapore or named after some part of the country. This group includes prawns, crabs and aquatic bugs.
The book also features contributions from academics, biologists and overseas experts, as well as amateurs who have a keen interest in the topic. National water agency PUB has also contributed a chapter on human and societal involvement with freshwater bodies.
The other two editors of the book are Mr Kelvin Lim, the Raffles Museum's collections manager, and field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng, who is the museum's education and research officer.
Prof Yeo, who lectures on freshwater biology, the ecology of aquatic environments and biodiversity, said: 'Conservation of freshwater resources is very important as the freshwater ecosystems provide us not only with fresh water for daily use, but also other, perhaps less tangible, benefits such as temperature regulation, biodiversity, and even aesthetics and recreational opportunities.'
Raffles Museum head Peter Ng said that after 150 years of 'relentless development' in Singapore, it was very surprising that the extinction rate of fish, for example, was just 40 per cent and not closer to 90 per cent.
'It is hard to imagine that any of the freshwater biodiversity would have survived,' he said.
benjamin@sph.com.sg
Private Lives: An Expose Of Singapore's Freshwaters will be available for sale at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore, as well as bookstore Nature's Niche. The hardcover version is $35, while the paperback costs $22.
Alvina Soh Channel NewsAsia 30 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE : The National Environment Agency (NEA) has unveiled a series of Litter Munchers as part of its nationwide campaign to curb littering among youths in Singapore.
The Litter Munchers are litter bins which have been given a unique personality to motivate youths to keep their environment clean.
According to a one-year sociological study by NEA, about 7-in-10 students interviewed admitted to littering. More than 2-in-10 even said nothing will stop them from littering.
The Litter Munchers have been created as a fun and amusing approach to appeal to the youths to stop littering.
Munster Muncher, which is one of the most popular of the series, takes the form of a cute and furry monster that burps whenever it receives litter.
And Robo Muncher, which is created from robotic parts, makes robotic noises. It even thanks people for binning their trash.
NEA said the Litter Munchers will also be incorporated into a skit - "Do The Right Thing. Let's Bin It!" - to deliver the anti-littering message in schools.
They also have their own interactive website, www.littermunchers.com.sg.
On Friday, NEA also introduced local celebrity Edmund Chen as its first cleanliness ambassador.
- CNA/al
Much of innovation in sustainable living will occur in China, he says
Grace Ng Straits Times 31 Jul 10;
SHANGHAI: What a small place like Singapore can do to create a fast-growing yet liveable city, the cities of China have even more potential to do it, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told a Shanghai forum yesterday.
'My personal belief is that much of the innovation in sustainable living will occur right here in Chinese cities,' he said.
'The huge market in China, as well as the huge talent pool in China, will make Chinese cities fertile grounds for innovations, new technology and ideas to bloom and take off.'
Mr Mah was giving the keynote speech at the forum organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore in conjunction with the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Some 300 people attended the forum, including officials from Shanghai, Tianjin, provinces such as Guangdong and Jiangsu, as well as local developers and urban planners.
The event featured speakers such as China's Vice-Minister for Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Mr Qiu Baoxing, and Mr Daniel Libeskind, a renowned American architect who designed Reflections at Keppel Bay.
The speakers shared their views on how to make high-growth cities sustainable and liveable.
This is a hot topic in China, which has paid a heavy environmental and social price for its red-hot growth in many parts of the vast country.
Mr Mah observed that different cities in Asia will strike their own paths, depending on their unique circumstances.
But, he noted, underlying the innovative ideas and models of sustainable and liveable cities are three principles that guided Singapore as it was charting its own development path, since gaining independence 45 years ago.
Firstly, Mr Mah said, 'sustainable development is about improving the quality of life for our people'.
Secondly, there is a need to plan long term and invest consistently in sustainable development during both high and low points of the economic cycle, he said.
A third principle, he added, was to 'make markets work for, rather than against sustainability'.
The Singapore Government has intervened in markets to make them work better, such as by pricing resources right. For instance, Singapore has a policy of zero subsidy for water and may even include a charge to discourage wastage and pollution.
Singapore has followed these principles in creating 'clean growth' that cuts down on pollution, and designing living spaces that are green, congestion-free and make good use of scarce resources.
And Chinese cities can do even more than Singapore - which at 710 sq km, is just one-tenth the size of the Shanghai municipality.
'If Singapore, a small city-state, can achieve both growth and liveability, so much more is the potential of Chinese cities,' said Mr Mah.
'China's success in achieving both vibrant growth and liveability will make a tremendous positive impact on cities throughout Asia, including Singapore.'
Vice-minister Qiu said China wants to be at the forefront of the creation of low-carbon eco-cities.
Unlike some developed countries that create eco-cities after they have industrialised, China is doing both at the same time now, he added. 'The development of our eco-cities is taking place at the peak period of our urbanisation.'
Mr Libeskind noted that China has what it takes to successfully create sustainable eco-cities - even ahead of some developed countries. It has 'great potential of intelligence', a sophisticated culture, and 'more urgency', he said. 'I have great confidence... that eco-cities will be realised here first.'
Daily Express 30 Jul 10;
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Parks is checking all marine parks in the State for coral bleaching, Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin said.
If the situation arises, Sabah Parks would close the parks or take ameliorative actions to overcome the problem.
"A few days ago, the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia announced that numerous islands in Kedah, Terengganu and Pahang have been closed for a few months due to coral bleaching.
"The bleaching this time was more significant and widespread due to global warming," he said, at the opening of the Fifth Meeting of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Programme Tri-National Committee here.
His speech was delivered by Assistant Minister, Datuk Musbah Hj Jamli Yahya, who is also Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, said he highlighted the point to drive home the message that people now face unprecedented challenges to protect their natural resources.
"If in the past we have been concerned about more specific issues such as the destructive exploitation of natural resources, making animal or plant species extinct, pollution and illegal fishing, now we have to be not only very concerned but actually take necessary action to improve our global climate.
"The flip side of this is starkly dark for our future - species disappearance, biodiversity loss, negative socio-economic impacts, threats to our very living spaces and regression in our quality of lives, among others," he said.
Meanwhile, dive master Clement Lee said the claim by USM marine biologist Prof Dr Zulfigar Yassin that "some 90pc of Malaysia's corals are dead" does not speak for Sabah.
"Sipadan and Mabul both 40 minutes to one hour from Semporna are not affected except at isolated spots. Pulau Sibuan and Mantabuan are also not affected," Clement said via phone.
"I have been taking pictures in Mabul and Sipadan, the corals are as healthy as ever." Lee said readers can verify what he says in the Internet at clement@borneodivers.info.
In the West Coast such as Tunku Abdul Rahman Park we do see some bleaching but it's no more than 20pc to 30pc and began since June, Lee said.
"Our West Coast shares the same South China Sea as the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The water temperature in Sabah's west coast and Peninsular Malaysia is quite similar. In Peninsular, it's between 30-31 degrees Celsius and 29 to 30 degrees in Sabah," Lee said.
USM's Prof Zulfigar singled out global warming, noting that coral bleaching had spread since April from the coast of India to Australia and now West Malaysia but said non-stop sewage and industrial discharge from coastal development add to the "stress".
He said corals would bleach and turn white when sea temperature rises above 31 degrees Celsius for more than two days.
However, Clement said if global warming were the cause, it puzzles him why Sabah seems to be spared .
Even during an extended drought February to April this year when stifling temperatures were experienced across Sabah, there was little sign of coral bleaching here, Clement noted.
However, the switch of weather patterns from El Nino to La Nina which see frequent cloudy conditions and rainfalls "invariably lower the water temperature," Clement guessed.
"Being part of the Celebes Sea, Semporna's water temperature right now is 26 to 28 degrees Celsius and therefore Mabul and Sipadan's water temperature is much cooler than West Malaysia or even Sabah's West Coast.
Maybe this is why the corals here are not affected," Clement said.
"But equally, corals will get a shock if there were a sudden drop in temperature," said Clement, citing a caution from UMS' Prof Ridzwan.
"We hope this will not be the case," Lee said.
Prof Zulfigar warned that decline in coral reefs will lead to fewer fishes in the sea and ocean and hurt fishing industry because the reefs provide a home to many marine species.
He also warned that bleached corals may take years to recover despite mitigating measures such as closure of diver sites, reduced intake of seafood and reduction in carbon emissions.
Niniek Karmini, Associated Press Yahoo News 31 Jul 10;
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The most threatened tortoise in the world is being sold openly at a plant and animal exposition in the heart of Indonesia's capital, highlighting concerns about the rampant — and growing — illegal pet trade.
The country has become a major trading hub for endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles, including species from Africa, South America and Asia, said Chris Shepherd of TRAFFIC, a British-based international wildlife monitoring network
While the government has passed legislation banning such illegal trade, dealers continue to blatantly sell endangered species without fear of arrest or prosecution, Shepherd said.
Those found Friday at Jakarta's annual flora and fauna expo — held from July 2 until Aug. 2 — included the world's most threatened ploughshare tortoise and the critically endangered radiated tortoises, both from Madagascar. They were priced up to $1,700.
Cages also were filled with rare Indian star tortoises, which are protected under the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species, known as CITES, and the endangered pig-nose tortoise, from Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, both selling for up to $500.
Vendors told The Associated Press other threatened tortoises and turtles not found on display could easily be obtained for a price.
"Recent surveys, and this expo, have shown that the trade continues and, in fact, now involves more illegally imported species than ever," said Shepherd. "Dealers know full well that it is illegal and are taking advantage of the enforcement agencies' lack of action."
Indonesia, one of the most biologically diverse nations in the world, has for years sold everything from eagles and leopard cats to gibbons as pets in the capital. Shady transactions continue to take place at the popular Pramuka and Jati Negara markets.
Antara 30 Jul 10;
Tapaktuan, Aceh Province (ANTARA News) - Salehuddin (30), a resident of Gampong Koto, Central Kluet sub district, South Aceh District, Aceh, was trampled to death by a herd of elephants, Friday.
The victim was a farmer who was guarding his garden at Alue Keujereun village, around 50 km east of Tapaktuan, South Aceh, when he was attacked by sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus), Muhammad Hasbi, Central Kluet Sub district head, said.
Last July 15, in Bengkalis district, a senior citizen aged 63 years old, Marsini, was found dead Riau province, after being attacked by wild elephants.
"According to information we`ve received, Marsini was attacked by more than one elephant," chief of Riau province`s Conservation and Natural Resources Board, Trisnu Danisworo, said recently.
The tragic accident happened when Marsini who was walking around a palm oil plantation near her house met a group of wild elephants which were crossing the area.
"That location is actually part of wild elephant`s habitat. There are 40 elephants there. But now their habitat is damaged due to the shifting function of the area into palm oil plantation," he said.
Wild elephants attacking local people often happens in Bengkalis district during this year.
Last June, a herd of wild elephants attacked Petani village, Mandau sub-district, Riau district of Bengkalis, damaging four houses over the weekend.
BBC News 30 Jul 10;
The cheetah, eradicated in India by hunting nearly a century ago, will run again in the country, as three sites are earmarked for its reintroduction.
The government has approved wildlife groups' recommendations of two sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and an area in Rajasthan as potential homes.
The government will spend 30m rupees ($0.6m; £0.4m) to restore these sites before the animals are imported.
The plan is to import the cats from Africa, Iran and the Middle East.
Kuno Palpur and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh area in Jaisalmer, in the northern state of Rajasthan, have been selected as the sites to house the animals.
Trophy hunters
Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said the reintroduction of the world's fastest land animal would "restore the grasslands" of India.
Wildlife experts say the two sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh had the capacity to accommodate nearly 80 cheetahs, although 23 human settlements will have to be moved from the one in Nauradehi.
Scores of nomadic human settlements would also have to be cleared at the site in Rajasthan on the international border with Pakistan.
"The return of the cheetah would make India the only country in the world to host six of the world's eight large cats and the only one to have all the large cats of Asia," MK Ranjitsinh of Wildlife Trust of India told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Pursued by trophy hunters and herdsmen to the brink of extinction during the Raj, the Asiatic cheetah vanished from India many decades ago.
Conservationists say less than 100 of the critically endangered subspecies remain in Iran, roaming the central deserts.
The vast majority of the 10,000 cheetahs left in the world are in Africa.
Critics of the reintroduction scheme in India say that without restoring habitat and prey base, and reducing the scope for man-animal conflict, viable cheetah populations will not flourish.
Tabelo Timse Yahoo News 30 Jul 10;
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Nine-month-old rhinoceros Vuma was orphaned after poachers this month hacked out his mother's horn and left her dead in a pool of blood at a reserve just north of Johannesburg.
She was the latest victim in a wave of poaching that has seen the number of slain rhinos escalate sharply this year in South Africa.
Vuma, whose name means "acceptance", only survived because his horn has still to grow. His mother was the last adult at the reserve, so he was moved last weekend to join a new herd.
Rhinos are so social that they can actually die of loneliness if left on their own.
"He was very stressed, dehydrated and extremely hungry when he arrived, but now he is slowly making progress, he is adapting well," said Ed Hern, owner of the private Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve where Vuma now lives with two other orphaned calves.
Poaching has surged this year on growing demand in Asia, where rhino horns are believed to have medicinal powers.
Last year, 122 rhinos were killed, but the number is set to double this year with 139 already slain, said Pelham Jones, chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association.
Conservationists warned that if poaching continues at the current rate, the number of killings will outstrip the new births.
"South Africa is the remaining bastion of a viable rhino population in Africa and they (poachers) won't stop until there are no rhinos left," said Jones.
"What is of concern now is the level of sophistication they use for these attacks and the brutality," he added.
In the past, poachers used home-made weapons, but now conservation experts say international criminal gangs have entered the trade with specialised veterinary drugs, guns, helicopters, night vision equipment, bullet-proof vests and well-trained mercenaries to track rhinos.
South Africa National Parks spokeswoman Wanda Mkutshulwa said the government has established a Wildlife Reaction Unit to fight and combat rhino poaching.
"The aim of the unit is to coordinate the reporting, investigation and prosecution of these criminals in a systematic and deliberate manner because it has come to light that we are not dealing with your 'normal' poacher but rather with organised crime involving a number of syndicates," said Mkutshulwa.
She said that 5.2 million rands (710,000 dollars, 544,000 euros) was spent last year to hire more field rangers and buy new equipment for Kruger National Park.
Private game reserves, which often have less security, have been more vulnerable but are also stepping up their defences.
The commercial value of the slain rhinos is more than 470 million rands (64 million dollars), said Jones, adding that tourism will be greatly affected if the problem continued as the animal was among the big five which South Africa boasts.
"These guys know there is increased security at Kruger so now they are shifting their focus to us. I have to pay 40,000 rand a month for additional security and equipment," said Hern, who lost two rhinos to poaching two months ago.
"Rhino poaching is not only a problem but a trauma in our lives," he said.
"There is a lot of anger that goes with these things. One of our rhinos that was killed had been here for 25 years. These people just come and kill it just for the horn."
Jones said an awareness campaign in Asia was needed to explain that rhino horns have no scientific medicinal value.
"Scientists have proven that the rhino horn has keratin, which is the same chemical found in your nails. We respect their (Asian) culture and heritage so they must do the same to us," he said.
"Rhinos are part of our heritage. We brought these animals from extinction."
Victoria Gill BBC News 30 Jul 10;
The largest wildlife census of its kind conducted in Chernobyl has revealed that mammals are declining in the exclusion zone surrounding the nuclear power plant.
The study aimed to establish the most reliable way to measure the impact on wildlife of contamination in the zone.
It was based on almost four years of counting and studying animals there.
The scientists say that birds provide the best "quantitative measure" of these impacts.
They report their findings in the journal Ecological Indicators.
The research team say that their census of species in the zone - which was carried out for more than three years - provides more evidence that contamination has a "significant impact" on biodiversity.
Professor Timothy Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, and Dr Anders Moller from the University of Paris-Sud, France, worked together on the project.
From 2006-2009, they counted and examined wildlife including insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Their previously published work revealed some of the negative impacts on birds and on insects of the low-level radiation that still contaminated the exclusion zone surrounding the power plant.
The new data on mammals and reptiles shows what Professor Moussaeu described as a "strong signal" of reduced biodiversity in these groups too.
The research team compared the abundance of species in the exclusion zone with similar types of habitats in the area, which were not contaminated.
"The truth is that these radiation contamination effects were so large as to be overwhelming," Professor Mousseau told BBC News.
During their census work, he and Dr Moller have also examined the effects of radiation contamination on the animals. They say that these impacts are particularly obvious in birds.
In their studies on barn swallows, the team observed birds with tumours on their feet, necks and around their eyes.
"We think they may be more susceptible, after their long migrations, to additional environmental stress," explained Professor Mousseau.
Poison or haven?
Scientists in the Ukraine criticised the conclusions. Dr Sergii Gashchak, a researcher at the Chornobyl Center in Ukraine was not available for comment on this latest paper.
But he spoke to BBC News last year and dismissed the team's previous findings on insects and birds. He said that he drew "opposite conclusions".
"Wildlife really thrives in Chernobyl area - due to the low level of [human] influence," Dr Gashchak told BBC News.
"All life appeared and developed under the influence of radiation, so mechanisms of resistance and recovery evolved to survive in those conditions," he continued.
But Professor Mousseau said the evidence of an increase in biodiversity in the region is "purely anecdotal".
"This is the first paper that provides quantitative, rigorous data that the mammals really are significantly affected by contamination," he told BBC News.
"That said - it's not a bad idea to set this place up as a wildlife haven - it's a natural laboratory where we can study the long-term consequences of this kind of an accident."
Dr Mousseau also criticised a recently made documentary film called Chernobyl, A Natural History, which has been promoted by a French production company as showing how nature has "recolonised" the exclusion zone in the absence of man.
Professor Mousseau said: "If society is ever to learn more about the long term environmental consequences of large scale accidents - and Chernobyl is just one of several - it is important that we all take our responsibilities seriously."
Oil-slicked Tanah Merah: Fishy surprises!
from wild shores of singapore
Dredging off Kusu Island until Jan 2011
from wild shores of singapore
BeMUSE features Singapore's biodiversity!
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!
Nesting behaviour of the Coppersmith Barbet
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Climate campaigns down the pan
from BBC NEWS blog by Richard Black
Growing a green economy is tough
Rapid growth, foreigner influx make it hard to 'green' most buildings, says council head
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 30 Jul 10;
EVERY year, Singapore adds about 8.4 million sq m of new building space to cater to a hot economy and the influx of foreigners.
As such, the demands posed by rapid urbanisation mean it is a challenge to grow the economy in a more sustainable way, said Singapore Green Building Council president Lee Chuan Seng.
He was speaking yesterday at the National Sustainability Conference, which brought together policymakers, academics and members of the industry.
All new buildings since 2008 have had to observe minimum energy consumption standards.
Despite this, just 8 per cent of all buildings here have been 'greened' since an energy efficiency rating was introduced in 2005.
This means that achieving the Government's target of greening eight in 10 buildings here over the next 10 years is a real challenge, said Mr Lee.
He added that this was made worse by rapid economic growth of around 6 per cent a year, while as many as a million people have been added to the population in the last five years.
Around 450 buildings in Singapore are part of the Green Mark scheme, a building rating system launched in 2005 by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). The rating is awarded based on factors like efficiency in electricity and water use and the building's indoor environmental quality.
The Government is considering a law to make it mandatory for all buildings, including older ones, to be greened here. But Mr Lee, who chairs the BCA's Green Mark Advisory Committee, said more data on the profile of buildings would be needed.
This would mean collating a database of the energy consumption of all buildings before targets can be set to bring down their consumption, he said.
In her keynote speech at the conference yesterday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Environment And Water Resources) Amy Khor gave an update on the take-up rate of government schemes that subsidise the cost of energy audits. The $10 million Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme, which co-funds the cost to building owners in engaging a consultant to help improve energy use, has had 177 approved applicants whose projects stand to reap about $53 million in annual cost savings.
S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 29 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE: The Singapore government is now looking at energy management practices for companies.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), Dr Amy Khor says the ministry is preparing to introduce the Energy Conservation Act which will come into force in 2013.
The legislation will set minimum energy management requirements for large industrial energy users.
Dr Khor says companies that consume more than the equivalent of 15 GWh of energy annually will be required to appoint an energy manager.
They would also have to monitor and report their energy use to the National Environment Agency (NEA) and develop and submit their energy efficiency improvement plans.
NEA is currently consulting with companies on the detailed requirements under the proposed Act.
Dr Khor adds that international experience indicates that implementing energy management programmes in companies is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency.
And companies can expect to reduce their energy consumption by at least 10 to 15 per cent.
Such energy management practices ought to be the norm for the companies says Dr Khor and some countries like Japan have mandated energy management practices for their companies.
Dr Khor said: "Sustainable development is a key priority for Singapore because it paves the way for a cleaner, greener environment.
"With a mere 710 sq km of land size, every part of this island is precious and a resource, we need to safeguard for future generations. We have set goals under the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint that will help Singapore continue to grow and prosper but in a responsible manner.
"To achieve these goals, it is imperative that we receive full support from the business community, and indeed from each and everyone in Singapore."
- CNA/jm
Government's energy efficiency drive takes shape
364 applications for NEA's Singapore Certified Energy Manager training grant approved
Joyce Hooi Business Times 30 Jul 10;
THE government's efforts to bridge the gaps between energy efficiency and corporations are gathering momentum.
Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, revealed yesterday that 364 applications for the Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM) training grant have been approved.
A sum of $6.6 million in grants was set aside in late 2008 by the National Environment Agency (NEA), with the aim of training 1,000 energy managers over 2-4 years.
According to Dr Khor, the applicants came mainly from the property and facilities management as well as the consultancy sectors.
'The government is now looking at energy management practices for companies,' said Dr Khor yesterday, during her speech at the National Sustainability Conference 2010.
'International experience indicates that the implementation of energy management programmes in companies is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency, and companies can expect to reduce their energy consumption by at least 10-15 per cent.'
Dr Khor also announced that the Energy Efficiency National Partnership, which was launched in April, has 77 partners to date, hailing from the chemicals, oil, electronics, wafer fabrication, pharmaceutical, and power generation industries.
The partnership was introduced to help energy-intensive corporations comply with the Energy Conservation Act, which will come into force in 2013.
'We are also reviewing the existing incentive schemes as well as exploring energy efficiency financing options to better cater to the needs of companies,' said Dr Khor.
Another scheme geared towards energy efficiency is also picking up pace.
The Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe) has approved another 16 applications since March, bringing the total to 177.
The $10 million scheme administered by NEA co-funds the engagement of specialist companies for energy efficiency improvement.
'These projects, when implemented, are estimated to reap a total annual energy savings of $53 million and reduce electricity demand by 300 GWh per year,' said Dr Khor.
Straits Times 30 Jul 10;
A PLANNED agricultural project being jointly built by Singapore and the Chinese authorities sits at the Songhua River in Jilin province, but it is in no danger from the chemical spill, say its Singapore investors.
All the sites identified for the Jilin-Singapore Agriculture and Food Zone in Yongji County are located on high ground and upstream of the area of the spill, a Singapore Food Industries (SFI) spokesman said yesterday.
The sites are also outside the flood zones, he added.
SFI, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and Temasek Holdings subsidiary Singbridge International Singapore are collaborating with the Jilin city municipal government to build an agricultural food zone that is expected to produce foodstuffs such as pork, beef, dairy products, rice, corn and grapes.
The proposed agricultural food zone is located in Chaluhe town in north-eastern Jilin province, and is to include an integrated pig farm.
The SFI spokesman said that as the chemical spill is downstream of the food zone and no construction work has been done, the project would not be affected.
'As at yesterday afternoon, the rain has stopped and the floodwater has subsided and a massive clean-up has begun. The government of Jilin City is coping well with the situation and things are getting back to normal again,' he said.
He added: 'Water in Songhua Jiang has been tested and potable water has resumed to normal supply and is declared to be safe for use.'
Bernama 29 Jul 10;
KUCHING, July 29 (Bernama) -- There has been a drastic drop in the number of hot spots detected, particularly in Indonesia, since the severe haze in 2006, which led to the forming of the Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on transboundary haze pollution.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah said several innovative actions were taken, including the formulation and implementation of Indonesia's Plan of Action (PoA).
He said Indonesia's collaboration with Malaysia and Singapore in the provinces of Riau and Jambi had also been successfully implemented to put the fire and haze situation under control.
"The (environment) ministers expressed appreciation of Indonesia for its enhanced and new efforts in implementing its PoA to deal with transboundary haze pollution.
"This includes revising targets of hot spot reduction by 20 per cent annually based on the 2006 data beginning this year and directing local governments to stay alert for any escalation of hot spots," he told a news conference after chairing the 10th meeting of the Sub-Regional MSC on Tansboundary Haze Pollution, here Thursday.
Also present were the environment ministers of Indonesia Prof Dr Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim (Singapore) and Dato' Seri Setia Awang Suyoi Osman (Brunei), Thailand's Environment deputy permanent secretary Siripong Hangsapreuk and Asean deputy secretary-general Datuk Misran Karmain.
Uggah said the cumulative daily hot spot counts for Kalimantan had decreased to 728 as at July 24, this year from 17,045 in 2006, while for Sumatra the figure was reduced to 1,135 from 12,014 during the same period.
During that period, the Indonesian authorities also provided new fire suppression equipment for the Manggala Agni Brigade, especially in eight fire-prone provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, he said.
For Sabah and Sarawak, he said, there was also a downward trend from a cumulative daily hot spot counts of 1,147 in 2006 to 675 so far this year, although in the peninsula the detection of hot spots had increased from 299 in 2006 to 705 at present.
On the meeting, Uggah said the MSC countries agreed to remain vigilant for any possible occurrence of fire during the dry spell in the coming months, especially as traditional land clearing and replanting normally occurred during this period, which might lead to escalation of fires.
"The ministers noted that based on the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) forecast, the dry weather condition is expected in August and September this year," he said, adding that normal to above normal rainfall was expected because of the high likelihood of La Nina during that period.
Uggah said all relevant agencies in the Asean member countries were also encouraged to collaborate with SMC to adopt the Fire Danger Rating System - which provided assessment of ignition potential, occurrence and spread of fires based on the weather, fuel and soil conditions - to complement the monitoring of weather and hot spots in the region.
Singapore will assume the chairmanship of MSC for the next two years, with the next meeting scheduled to be held in the island republic in February next year.
-- BERNAMA
Regional ministers agree to be vigilant on haze pollution
Channel NewsAsia 30 Jul 10;
KUCHING, Sarawak - Environment ministers from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and representatives from Thailand and the ASEAN Secretariat have agreed to remain vigilant for possible occurrence of fires during the dry spell in the coming months.
They noted that traditional land clearing and replanting normally occur during this period, which may lead to escalation of fires during extended dry periods.
The ministers said there has been a drastic drop in the number of hot spots detected, particularly in Indonesia, since the severe haze in 2006 which led to the formation of the Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
Several innovative actions were taken, including the formulation and implementation of Indonesia's Plan of Action (PoA).
They said Indonesia's collaboration with Malaysia and Singapore in the provinces of Riau and Jambi had also been successfully implemented, putting the fire and haze situation under control.
The ministers expressed appreciation to Indonesia for its enhanced and new efforts in implementing its PoA to deal with haze pollution.
These included revising targets of hot spot reduction by 20 per cent annually based on the 2006 data, beginning this year, and directing local governments to stay alert for any escalation of hot spots.
On Thursday, the ministers agreed to undertake a strategic review of the MSC framework and its activities with a view to further improve the mechanism and to draw out successful lessons that could be shared with other sub-regions and ASEAN in general.
They also noted it is possible to provide early warning of fire danger rating if there is a reliable forecast of the weather and wind conditions.
They agreed to encourage and support the further development and refinement of the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) which provides assessment of ignition potential, occurrence and spread of fires based on the weather, fuel and soil conditions.
Present at the meeting were Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Douglas Uggah; Indonesia's Prof Dr Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Singapore's Dr Yaacob Ibrahim; Brunei's Awang Suyoi Osman; Thailand's Environment deputy permanent secretary Siripong Hangsapreuk and ASEAN deputy secretary-general Misran Karmain.
Singapore will assume the chairmanship of MSC for the next two years, with the next meeting scheduled to be held in the island state in February next year.
- CNA/al
Government renews effort to ratify ASEAN haze treaty
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 29 Jul 10;
The government will for the second time push the House of Representatives to endorse the ASEAN agreement on haze pollution, an official said on Thursday.
Indonesia is the only country in Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) that had not endorsed the agreement aimed to cut forest fires and combat haze pollution.
“From the government side, there has been agreement to ratify it,” Environmental Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta told The Jakarta Post from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
“But, it might still take time because it depends on the process in the House.”
Gusti was in Kuching, Malaysia, on Thursday to attend a two-day ministerial meeting on haze to converse actions on expected land and forest fires on upcoming dry season
Sarawak happy with action on transboundry haze
Saiful Bahari The Borneo Post 31 Jul 10;
KUCHING: The state government is happy with proactive steps by members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) and Asean Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC), especially Indonesia, on transboundry haze pollution.
Stating this during the dinner for the 10th meeting of the Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundry Haze Pollution, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hing Nam said the on-going bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia in the Riau province had yielded positive results.
“Apart from the Riau province, the on-going cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore in Jambi province has also turned in positive results,” said Dr Chan to delegates from Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
He suggested the authorities in Borneo collaborate to help solve the haze problem on the island.
“I would like to suggest that we also initiate bilateral cooperation between Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah to address this annual problem,” he said, indicating that collaboration is vital to keep the momentum of regional efforts on-going.
Dr Chan added that the threats brought about by global warming needed to be dealt with seriously as they have the potential to change everyone’s lives and also the environment.
“Huge social, political, and economic issues will arise if we don’t do something to stop the skyrocketing rise of the temperatures and environmental pollution. We need to act,” he said, adding that everybody had to give utmost priority to sustainable development with minimal degradation.
On the state’s development policies, Dr Chan said Sarawak is embarking on prudent and judicious development to uplift and enhance the socioeconomic status of the people.
“One of the main thrusts is the development of its vast underutilised native customary land and state land for oil palm and planted forests, while at the same time (we are) committed to ensure sufficient biosphere such as national parks, nature reserves, water catchment and other totally protected areas.”
Dr Chan said the state also recognises that environmental protection agenda is important to ensure that development will not cause irreversible damage to the environment.
“Among the steps taken by the state government were the enactment of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance in 1993 and the establishment of the Natural Resources of Environment Board (NREB) in 1994,” he said, describing the effort as testament of the country and state’s initiative to protect the environment.
Among those present during the dinner were Brunei’s Minister of Development Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Datuk Seri Setia Awang Suyoi Osman, Singapore’s Minister of the Environment and Water Resource Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas as well as Minister of Environment and Public Health Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
WWF 29 Jul 10;
Mass coral bleaching caused by global warming is threatening the health of the Coral Triangle, a vast marine region that is home to 76% of all known corals in the world.
The Malaysian government recently closed portions of world-renowned dive sties on the tropical islands of Tioman and Redang, saying they would be off limits until October to give the fragile coral reef ecosystems time to heal.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, bleaching has been reported in Anilao and Nasugbu, as well as off the cost of the western municipality of Taytay, Palawan. The latter saw corals, which usually exhibit a green and brown hue, temporarily turn unusual shades of pink, orange and yellow—a precursor to complete bleaching.
Numerous other Philippine reefs are likely to have been affected as well, exacerbated by localized outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns Seastars.
Widespread bleaching has also been recorded in Indonesia, with areas near Sabang, Aceh, Padang, Thousand Island Jakarta, Bali, and other locations showing telltale signs.
“This widespread bleaching is alarming because it directly affects the health of our oceans and their ability to nurture fish stocks and other marine resources on which millions of people depend for food and income” says Richard Leck, Climate Change Strategy Leader of the WWF Coral Triangle Programme.
Coral bleaching is a phenomenon caused by global warming. Increased seawater temperatures, which in some regions have grown as much as 2°C above the long-term average maximum, can push the algae living inside corals beyond the brink, causing reefs to eventually turn white and die.
Aside from increased sea temperatures, other causes of stress include disease, pollution, sedimentation, cyanide fishing, changes in salinity, and storms.
The Coral Triangle region covers the seas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. This nursery of the seas contains more than 600 species of reef-building coral.
Since March this year, about 50 different organizations and individuals have reported signs of coral bleaching in the Coral Triangle region. Up to 100% bleaching on susceptible coral species have been reported, and in some areas, severe bleaching has also affected the more resistant species.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch stated that the current incident is the worst of it kind since 1997-1998, which decimated 16% of the world’s coral reefs.
With many areas showing signs of mass bleaching, it has become apparent that more weight needs to be put behind long-term conservation strategies, such as marine protected area management, preventing coastal and marine pollution, as well as promoting sustainable fisheries.
“Well-designed and appropriately-managed networks of marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas are essential to enhance resilience against climate change, and prevent further loss of biodiversity, including fisheries collapse” Leck also added.
Through new sustainable finance mechanisms and investments in climate adaptation, WWF plans to support networks of marine sanctuaries and locally managed conservation areas across the Coral Triangle.
Improving fisheries management also an important step
Better fisheries management is also key to alleviating the impacts of coral bleaching, ensuring that only viable sites are given access to fishing and that the more sensitive ones are given time to recuperate via strong regulations, enforcement and awareness.
In Malaysia, for instance, WWF is promoting the conservation of herbivorous reef fish, which plays a critical role of keeping algae populations lower, allowing room for coral recruits to settle on the potentially newly-dead coral skeletons..
Only a year ago, WWF launched The Coral Triangle and Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies at Risk, a report based on a thorough consideration of the climate biology, economics and social characteristics of the region, showing how unchecked climate change will ultimately undermine and destroy ecosystems and livelihoods in the Coral Triangle.
New book claims western-style schemes to protect animals damage the environment and criminalise local people
Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk 29 Jul 10;
Ecotourism and western-style conservation projects are harming wildlife, damaging the environment, and displacing and criminalising local people, according to a controversial new book.
The pristine beaches and wildlife tours demanded by overseas tourists has led to developments that do not benefit wildlife, such as beaches being built, mangroves stripped out, waterholes drilled and forests cleared, says Rosaleen Duffy, a world expert on the ethical dimensions of wildlife conservation and management.
These picture-perfect images all too often hide a "darker history", she adds. Her new book, Nature Crime: How We're Getting Conservation Wrong, which draws on 15 years of research, 300 interviews with conservation professionals, local communities, tour operators and government officials, is published today.
When wildlife reserves are established, Duffy says, local communities can suddenly find that their everyday subsistence activities, such as hunting and collecting wood, have been outlawed.
At the same time, well-intentioned attempts to protect the habitats of animal species on the edge of extinction lead to the creation of wild, "people-free" areas. This approach has led to the displacement of millions of people across the world.
"Conservation does not constitute neat win-win scenarios. Schemes come with rules and regulations that criminalise communities, dressed up in the language of partnership and participation, coupled with promises of new jobs in the tourism industry," claims Duffy, professor of international politics at Manchester University.
A key failure of the western-style conservation approach is the assumption that people are the enemies of wildlife conservation – that they are the illegal traders, the poachers, the hunters and the habitat destroyers. Equally flawed, she says, is the belief that those engaged in conservation are "wildlife saviours".
Such images, she argues, are oversimplifications. "The inability to negotiate these conflicts and work with people on the ground is where conservation often sows the seeds of its own doom," she adds.
"Why do some attempts to conserve wildlife end up pitting local communities against conservationists?" she asks. "It is because they are regarded as unjust impositions, despite their good intentions. This is vital because failing to tackle such injustices damages wildlife conservation in the long run."
Duffy stresses that her intention is not to persuade people to stop supporting conservation schemes. "Wildlife is under threat and we need to act urgently," she acknowledges. Instead, she says, she wants to encourage environmentalists to examine what the real costs and benefits of conservation are, so that better practices for people and for animals can be developed.
"The assumption that the ends justify the means results in a situation where the international conservation movement and their supporters around the world assume they are making ethical and environmentally sound decisions to save wildlife," she says. "In fact, they are supporting practices that have counterproductive, unethical and highly unjust outcomes."
Duffy focuses on what she says is the fallacious belief that ecotourism is a solution to the problem of delivering economic development in an environmentally sustainable way.
This is, she says, a "bewitchingly simple argument" but the assumption that such tourism necessarily translates into the kinds of development that benefits wildlife is far too simplistic.
"Holiday makers are mostly unaware of how their tourist paradises have been produced," she says. "They assume that the picture-perfect landscape or the silver Caribbean beach is a natural feature. This is very far from the truth. Tourist playgrounds are manufactured environments, usually cleared of people. Similarly, hotel construction in tropical areas can result in clearing ecologically important mangroves or beach building which harms coral reefs."
But the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, one of the four biggest environmental NGOs in the world, maintains that the loss of wildlife is one of the most important challenges facing our planet. As such, a powerful focus on conservation is necessary: "Conservation is essential so let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater," says a WWF-UK spokesman. "There are examples out there where ecotourism is working and has thrown a lifeline to communities in terms of economics and social benefits, as well as added biodiversity benefits.
"Let's have more of those projects that are working for everybody and everything," he adds. "There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to ecotourism and conservation."
New Straits Times 29 Jul 10;
REDANG ISLAND: The Marine Parks Department plans to gazette 32 more islands as marine parks to raise to 74 the number of islands so categorised to protect marine resources, including corals.
Its director-general Abdul Jamal Maidin said the department was gathering data on the islands to make the recommendation to the government as soon as possible.
"So far, 42 islands in the country have been gazetted as marine parks," he said after launching a coral nursery at the Redang Island Marine Park Centre here yesterday.
The nursery was set up jointly by the Education Ministry with the collaboration of the Marine Parks Department and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
Jamal said some 800 islands in the country could be gazetted as marine parks.
He also said the department had detected 352 cases of trespassing by fishermen into marine parks between 2003 and last year, and 34 cases from January to June.
All these cases had been referred to the Fisheries Department for prosecution, he added. -- Bernama
Roy Goh New Straits Times 30 Jul 10;
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has ordered an investigation into allegations that an assessment prepared for the RM1.4 billion proposed coal-fired plant in Sinakut was inaccurate.
He said he had directed state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun to look into allegations that the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) on the site was inaccurate.
"The government looks at this allegation seriously. I have asked Datuk Masidi to investigate the matter," he said after launching the Oil and Palm Industry Exhibition and Seminar organised by the Industrial Development Ministry and Palm Oil Industrial Cluster Sdn Bhd.
He said it was vital that the assessment of the site was accurate.
World Wide Fund for Nature's Malaysia policy analyst Lanash Tanda claimed that the report had made a mistake in classifying the indigenous Orang Sungai and Tidong communities as Indonesians.
He had also challenged the report's assertion that the seabed near the site was largely devoid of sea life.
He had also stated that the report had failed to include details of sampling methods and choice of locations studied.
Wildlife conservationist Dr Marc Acrenaz had pointed out that there were at least two species identified in the report that were not found in Borneo.
They are the dusky langur monkey (Semnopithecus obscurus) and the White Rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus).
The report was prepared by consultants hired by Lahad Datu Energy, a TNB-owned company that had proposed to develop the plant.
Sinakut was identified as the site of the project aimed at stabilising power supply in the east coast of Sabah after residents in Darvel Bay, Lahat Datu, and Sandakan protested against proposals to locate the plant there.
No room for error in environs report, says Musa
The Star 30 Jul 10;
KOTA KINABALU: All preparatory work for a proposed 300MW coal-fired plant on Sabah’s east coast must be above board, Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said.
He said studies like the detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project must be accurate.
“Such studies should not leave any room for questioning. It must contain correct information,” he said after launching a palm oil industry exhibition here yesterday.
Musa was responding to reports quoting WWF Malaysia and the Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA) officials as saying that the detailed EIA for the coal-fired plant was fraught with errors.
The environmental groups said the errors became apparent at a panel review of the document on Monday.
Among the mistakes was the inclusion of non-existent animals species in Borneo such as the Dusky Langur, a type of monkey that was said to have been spotted at the project site in Kampung Sinakut, some 300km from the state capital.
In addition, the communities living in the area including the Orang Sungei and Tidung were wrongly described as of Indonesian origin.
WWF Malaysia policy analyst Lanesh Thanda said the consultants that drew up the detailed EIA also erred as they had compared the coastline at the project site which comprised mud flats to coral reefs in places like Pulau Tioman, Klang and the Straits ofMalacca.
The panel review was held at the Department of Environment (DOE) office here and among those present were state government representatives headed by Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Susanna Liaw.
Lanesh who was also at the meeting, said a new study should be commissioned
Antara 30 Jul 10;
Kendari, S E Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Fishermen of Buton district, Southeast Sulawesi Province, have helped protect coral reefs in their waters by stopping the use of the blast fishing method.
"A lot of fishermen have realized the danger of blast fishing method for coral reefs as the natural homes of fishes," Spokesman of Buton district government, La Ode Asraruddin, said here Thursday.
The Buton ditrict`s fishermen had got their own way of controlling for protecting their sea waters from the blast fishing method users.
"If they find fishermen using home-made bombs for poaching, they will bring the law violators to the police," he said.
As a result of this active participation, Asraruddin said the coral reefs being rehabilitated by "Coremap" could be protected.
Besides stopping the blast fishing method, the fishermen also supported Coremap`s efforts to rehabilitate the damaged coral reefs by using the man-made ones, he said.
To help protect the coral reefs, the Basilika sea waters had also been decided to be part of marine tourism destinations, he said.
The blast fishing activities remain serious problems in various parts of Indonesia.
In Bangka Belitung Province, for instance, some local fishermen were still found practicing blast fishing despite the fact that it could endanger themselves, other people and marine resources.
Blast fishing activity in the waters of Bangka Belitung Province was believed to be just like the tip of an iceberg.
The same method was also, among others, used by fishermen in West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi.
As a result, lots of traditional fishermen in the province could no longer get fish easily.
Rusdi, a local fisherman, recently said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.
These blast fishing activities had attracted world attention.
Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.
According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.
This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).
The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.
But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.
The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.
Camelia Pasandaran& Fidelis E Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 30 Jul 10;
Jakarta. Government officials on Thursday said more compensation was needed to pay for the Timor Sea oil spill, because the coastal residents faced long-term losses and the recovery process would take at least 10 years.
Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi declined to quote a figure, but emphasized the need for greater payments from those at fault.
“The mangroves need 10 years to recover, not to mention the fish stocks, which are only expected to return to normal after two years,” he said. “According to scientific calculations, this will take a long time, and we need money to cover the losses.”
Last August, the Montara oil rig blew out in the Timor Sea, polluting waters near East Nusa Tenggara with a large oil slick. The crude has been said to cover 16,420 square kilometers of Indonesian territorial waters.
The well, located 690 kilometers west of Darwin and operated by PTT Exploration & Production Australasia, a unit of the Thai energy major, was staunched 74 days after the spill began.
“In principal, [PTTEP] has agree to pay for losses incurred, but they need time and they need to verify claims. We have requested their data for comparison,” Freddy said.
He had earlier said officials involved in the recovery had demanded that the Thai oil company pay $5 million in reparations for the loss of business suffered by local fishing communities.
According to government data, direct losses from the oil spill add up to Rp 247 billion ($27.4 million) while indirect losses amount to Rp 42 billion.
“The East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration wanted more than Rp 800 billion, but we came up with a more pragmatic amount which doesn’t include the value of environmental losses, which account for the biggest claims,” Freddy said.
Separately, Ferdi Tanoni from the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports impoverished fishermen in Eastern Indonesia, claimed the numbers were nonsense because they were not based on scientific research.
“The numbers keep changing. It just shows how unprofessional the [recovery] team is. We have been strongly demanding that they not come forward with numbers until independent scientific investigations have been conducted,” he said.
“We cannot say for sure how long the environment will take to recover. What if it takes 30 years? Then how do we distribute the money to sustain the livelihoods of those people most effected by this spill?”
Meanwhile, Jose Martins, director and chief financial officer of PTTEP Australasia, said in a statement that no claims for compensation with verifiable evidence of any damage have been presented to the company yet.
Martins also said that the company and the government would exchange and review scientific data, and that the government would present a formal written claim to PTTEP.
Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison Phuketwan 29 Jul 10;
PHUKET'S surrounding seas become a special marine environmental zone from tomorrow. The change means that various activities will be restricted or allowed in 14 newly-created categories.
For the first time, land areas on Phuket are defined because of their effect on the nearby sea, which means future property sales may be affected by the zoning.
Tourist marine activities and areas are also defined in the large, thick tome. But Phuket officials today pleaded for time to absorb the changes.
The total area covered under the new statute includes a rectangle from 22 kilometres off the high tide mark to the east and the west of Phuket, extending south to include Racha Noi.
The strategic innovations were revealed today in the large ''Inception Report'' from the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning. The new plan has come as a surprise to local officials.
Vice Governor Tree Akaradate was taken aback today at a meeting at Provincial Hall in Phuket City with an official from the Bangkok-based Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning.
''Please give us a chance to read the document [about 200 pages] before we have to implement it,'' he asked. Among others at the meeting were the head of Phuket's Natural Resources and Environment Department, Ong-art Chanachanmongkol, the director of the Sea Conservation Office, Paithoon Panchaiyapum, the Phuket Marine Transport Chief, Phuripat Theerakulpisut.
The details of the new edicts were only handed out today.
Khun Phuripat said: ''This is a big, important issue. Phuket's future is at stake. We really need to discuss this zone by zone.''
Another official at the meeting said it would take days to digest the information because of its depth and complexity.
In the main map with this article, the red zones define protected coral reef areas, the green defines natural parks, and the blue defines water-quality protection areas.
Other areas at sea restrict damaging activities. The large shaded area off Mai Khao, Layan, Nai Yang and Nai Thon marks a natural sea park. The shading in Phang Nga Bay marks an area where the use of nets of any kind are prohibited. The shaded area around Ko Lon and Ko Aem to Phuket's south marks a marine nursery zone.
The new laws are a first for Thailand. Krabi is also gaining a new marine protection code, but with three zones compared to the 14 on Phuket.
While regulations protecting the seas around Phuket are updated every few years, enforcement continues to be inconsistent and haphazard.
Marwaan Macan-Markar IPS News 29 Jul 10;
BANGKOK, Jul 29, 2010 (IPS) - Northern Thai villagers living on Mekong River’s banks are poised to join a growing tide of opposition against a planned cascade of 11 dams to be built on the mainstream of South-east Asia’s largest body of water.
These communities, many of them from the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, are drafting a petition to be submitted in the coming weeks to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. They see this step as the first in a long battle to protect a riverine culture and livelihood that has come down generations.
The target of the Thai villagers’ ire is the Sayaboury dam, to be built across a part of the Mekong that flows through neighbouring Laos. In opposing it, they are coming up against powerful Thai interests behind this dam project.
The 1,260-megawatt Sayaboury dam is the one in the most advanced planning stage among the 11 dams, followed by the 360-mw Don Sahong dam, which is also in Laos, where nine of the lower Mekong dams are to be built. Two other dams on the river’s mainstream are planned in Cambodia.
The backers of the Sayaboury dam include a Thai-based dam developer, four Thai commercial banks that are reported to have pledged funds for the dam and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a state utility that signed an agreement in Laos in June to buy power once the new dam’s turbines come to life.
"The local communities are upset at the direct involvement of Thailand in a dam that could permanently damage their livelihood," said Pianporn Deetes, coordinator of Save the Mekong Coalition, a Bangkok-based network of environmentalist and grassroots activists. "Their fishing livelihood will be affected, because the dams across the Mekong’s mainstream will damage fish migration patterns for spawning."
The petition will challenge the Abhisit government to reveal its position on this dam and to explain if it consulted locals, Pianporn told IPS. "Local communities have no faith in fish ladders being built at the dam site to help fish migration. They know how such technology failed with the Pak Mun dam in Thailand."
For now, history is on the side of the villagers, since the mainstream of the lower Mekong, which is shared by Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, has been free of massive hydropower barriers. The only dams that cut across the river – and have enraged the 60 million people in the lower Mekong – are three large ones in its upper reaches that flow through China.
Thus, the Sayaboury dam has emerged as a benchmark to gauge which of the competing interests will prevail in the still unresolved debate about the 11 mainstream dams and their impact on local communities and the environment.
Beyond these, activists say the dam will condemn to extinction a much-storied icon of the river – the Mekong giant catfish.
"The Mekong giant catfish is a critically endangered species that will not survive if it cannot migrate through the Sayaboury dam," said the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in describing a "critical spawning area" close to the dam site near Chiang Rai and the Lao province of Bokeo.
"This area is one of the last places in the world where the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish is found spawning in the wild," the WWF added in a report it released this week, ‘River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong’.
The last time a Mekong giant catfish was sighted was in May 2009, near a section of the river that flows through the northern Thai district of Chiang Khong, says Trang Dang, WWF’s Mekong River ecoregion coordinator, in describing a fish that tips the scale at 350 kilogrammes.
These fish, whose numbers have dwindled by up to 95 percent over the past century, journey upriver from the Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia to spawning areas near Chiang Rai once the monsoons begin in May, covering distances of nearly 1,000 km at times.
The giant catfish is one of four large freshwater fish that inhabit the Mekong, the other three being the giant barb, the dog-eating catfish and the largest of them all, the giant freshwater stingray, which measures half the length of a bus and weighs 600 kg. "The world’s biggest freshwater fish and four out of the top 10 giant freshwater fish species can be found in the Mekong River," noted the WWF study. "More giants inhabit this mighty river than any other on earth."
But for now, the Thai villagers and environmentalists may be able to take heart from a comment by a Lao official. "We have studied so many planned dam construction projects, but there has been no decision to build any so far. The two dam projects in Sayaboury and southern Laos near the Cambodian border have been studied," Lao Minister of Energy and Mines Soulivong Daravong was quoted by media reports as saying in July.
But while the construction of the Sayaboury dam remains uncertain, what is clear is the growing role of the private sector in dam development, replacing institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank that used to lead such investments.
This shift presents new challenges to activists bent on protecting the Mekong River, which begins its 4,880-km journey from the Tibetan plateau, through southern China, and then Burma, before coursing into the Mekong basin, and emptying out into the South China Sea in southern Vietnam.
"When hydropower development becomes private sector led, where profit is the main motive, it leads to hydro chaos," said Carl Middleton, Mekong programme coordinator of the U.S.-based environmental watchdog International Rivers. "Each developer is trying to develop their own project to generate the cheapest electricity."
"It is not an integrated approach, balancing the needs of Laos and addressing environmental and social concerns," he added. (END)
Yahoo News 29 Jul 10;
NAIROBI (AFP) – Wildlife officials in Kenya warned Thursday that an antelope species, whose entire global wild population of 103 exists only in the east African country, was on the verge of extinction.
Habitat loss, genetic factors, predation and disease were threatening to wipe out the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci), the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said in a statement.
The elusive mountain bongo is the largest mountain antelope and weighs up to 300 kilogrammes (660 pounds). It has white stripes against a chestnut brown hide and both males and females have twisted horns.
In Kenya, they are found in four forested mountains mainly in the country's central regions.
"The mountain bongo is now the most threatened antelope in Kenya and possibly the most endangered large land mammal south of the Sahara," the statement said.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the mountain bongo as critically endangered.
The KWS said the more than 500 mountain bongos in zoos across the world were originally from the Aberdares forest in central Kenya.
Reuters 29 Jul 10;
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CHANDRA, 29 July 2010 (IRIN) - As swollen monsoon rivers and rising sea levels threaten to engulf more land across Bangladesh, NGOs are training thousands of farmers in traditional soil-less farming on water.
Agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of Bangladesh's gross domestic product [http://www.moa.gov.bd/statistics/bag.htm] and provides work for 62 percent of the labour force.
Yet in a country frequently flooded and recognized as one of the most vulnerable to climate change, floating vegetable beds have become a fruitful farming alternative. The process is similar to hydroponics, [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83198] which uses a non-biological growing material like gravel, whereas floating farms use beds made of water hyacinth, bamboo and other aquatic plants.
"The productivity of this farming system is 10 times higher than traditional land-based agricultural production in the southeast of Bangladesh," said Papon Deb, project manager for the Wetland Resource Development Society (WRDS).
WRDS is one of several NGOs - along with CARE, [http://www.carebd.org/] the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), [http://www.iucn.org/] and Practical Action [http://practicalaction.org/] - working around the country to train thousands of farmers.
Bangladesh has had floating farms for hundreds of years, primarily in low-lying areas in the south where land is submerged most of the year.
"Soil-less agriculture evolved through people's initiative for adaptation to an adverse environment," said A.H.M. Rezaul Haq, a WRDS researcher. "It has been a part of the indigenous form of cultivation since our forefathers."
Hyacinth and bamboo
The plant bed, built using several layers of water hyacinth and bamboo, is typically 15-50m in length, 1.5-2m wide and 0.6-0.9m thick. Semi-decomposed aquatic plants are then added to the mix and left to sit for several days before it is ready to be seeded. The beds can be prepared in any depth of water. Farmers can stand on some of them or manoeuvre around them in boats.
The floating beds are anchored to prevent them from drifting out into larger bodies of water, and covered in netting to keep out ducks and other fowl that might eat the crops, said Faruk Ul Islam, head of organizational development for Practical Action, which is training farmers in 600 villages in the north on this practice. Some farmers have to swim out to retrieve beds that have strayed into open water.
Many villagers use the previous year's decomposed bed as organic fertilizer. These new beds are kept intact thanks to bamboo poles on the sides.
Islam says the floating garden set-up is virtually free, with water and water hyacinth widely available in the waters of Bangladesh. The cost of setting up the floating bed for the growing season might be as little as US$3 for seeds and labour, or as much as $9 if a farmer has to also buy bamboo and netting.
Haq's team said villagers in Chandra have grown 23 different types of vegetable and five types of spices on floating beds, including okra, cucumbers, bitter gourds, eggplants, beans, tomatoes, cauliflowers, turnips, radishes, carrots, ginger and garlic.
Several research and development organizations are now working with thousands of farmers across the country to implement floating garden projects. While the practice is common in the south - where huge floating farms look like land masses from the air - development workers are now teaching people in northern areas more recently prone to flooding.
The southwestern village of Chandra [http://www.leisa.info/index.php?url=show-blob-html.tpl&p[o_id]=70481&p[a_id]=211&p[a_seq]=1] long ago famed for its mango, jackfruit and dates, is one area where water levels rise more than two metres during the monsoon rains and remain high for 2-3 months.
"We had land very near the river, part of which got affected during floods and so we moved away," said Nasima, who belongs to a farming family. "Most of us staying here have now taken up 'dhap' [soil-less farming] as an alternative way to earn a living."
"Around 300-400 villagers had land on the bank of the river, but they were made to shift due to the erosion of the river banks," said Deb of WRDS. "Now, with this project, there are over 1,000 villagers involved and fewer people are migrating to the city."
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Island Press and EcoAdapt announce launch of new interactive, informational website
EurekAlert 29 Jul 10;
Washington, D.C (July 29, 2010) – While pundits write obituaries for the 2010 climate bill, the repercussions of climate changes are already being felt across the world. We are losing species and ecosystems are unraveling in ways that managers have never before seen.
We need new tools and strategies to deal with these changes. In that effort, Island Press and EcoAdapt are proud to announce the launch of their new Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) at www.cakex.org. It is an innovative and comprehensive website to enable practitioners to manage the natural environment in the face of climate change.
"Despite the attention now focused on mitigating global warming, the reality is that some level of it is inevitable," said Island Press President, Charles Savitt. "Unfortunately, the field of climate adaptation is still in its infancy. That's where CAKE plays a critical role."
By providing foundational knowledge on adaptation, as well as new research and innovative work from the field, CAKE enables scientists and practitioners to define and build the field of adaptation. With five core resources that include case studies, a virtual library, directory, a community section, and data tools, CAKE aims to arm conservation professionals, scientists, policymakers, and others with a new, multidisciplinary approach for managing systems in the face of rapid change.
The Case Studies section contains a wealth of examples from practitioners in North America and around the world and includes projects, profiles, and links to material that can help start, or inform, other adaptation initiatives.
A Virtual Library offers vetted resources such as journal articles, presentations, reports, book chapters, and grey literature. CAKE is the first website where such materials are gathered in one central location, organized for ease of discovery.
The Community section provides a discussion forum for the field of adaptation and features an expert advice column ("Adaptation Mavens") as well as a calendar of events, and an announcement board. Users will have access to moderated and open discussion groups and can even invite participation from both scientists and policy makers.
The Directory contains a list of adaptation professionals and organizations practicing on-the-ground climate change adaptation. Users can see who is working on what and who is facing similar challenges.
Last, the Tools section refers CAKE visitors to online resources helpful for adaptation planning and implementation. It includes links to an overview of tools like SLAMM, Climate Wizard, and PRECIS, among others.
"CAKE, with its detailed case studies, vetted virtual library, and directory of people working on adaptation is an essential tool to develop the knowledge and strategies that will enable people and nature to adapt to climate change," said Steven McCormick, president and trustee of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
CAKE offers a way forward in dealing with the impacts of climate change and is an invaluable tool for learning about and sharing ideas and experiences. It will allow everyone from the conservation biologist or a resource manager, an environmental advocate or a planner to network and discuss ideas in a community with common goals, learn new information, and receive access to new tools and sources of information.
Reuters 29 Jul 10;
LONDON (Reuters) - International action on climate change looks likely to drift over the next two years as politicians waver on tougher carbon caps in the wake of the financial crisis.
Recession in industrialized countries has focused attention on the cost of cutting emissions. And green motivations suffered a huge blow with the failure of U.N. negotiations to deliver a deal in Copenhagen in December.
Talks resume next week in Bonn, Germany, but a new draft text is as vague as ever on targets and a timetable to cut carbon emissions.
"I suspect that we're in for a fairly long period of slowdown, you're talking about a two to three years' timeframe before you restore the political momentum," said Tom Burke of Imperial College London.
The global renewable energy market is tipped to have a record year in 2010, thanks to existing support and subsidies, but a climate deal would boost investment above the current level of about $200 billion annually.
Global consensus would add pressure to introduce national carbon caps. The United States and Australia each confirmed last week legislative delays on industry carbon emissions caps.
"Domestically, there is going to be (U.S.) climate policy, in terms of congressional action it's less likely," said Harvard University's Robert Stavins, referring to state regulations which will likely apply in lieu of a stalled climate bill.
The most likely scenario for approval of a bill could be if U.S. President Barack Obama won a second term, from 2013, when recession was well over, Stavins added.
The U.S. delay would come as a "major disappointment" to governments and environmental groups, said Robert Watson, chief scientist at Britain's environment ministry.
"What signal does that send to other governments as they go into negotiations leading up to Cancun and beyond?" he said, referring to the next major U.N. climate meeting in Mexico at the end of the year.
The U.N. negotiations are meant to deliver a new deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol whose present round expires in 2012.
LOOKING OVER THE CLIFF
The negotiation doldrums are partly a failure of nerve.
"Governments have taken a look over the cliff and seen what's really involved in getting to a carbon neutral energy system by 2050 and have thought -- 'Whoops, do we really know how to do this?'," said Tom Burke.
"You're talking, in terms of making the changes necessary to deal with climate change, of unzipping the business model of the oil companies."
The latest delays to U.S. and Australian legislation will only spur opposition from the fossil fuel industry, for instance in Europe over a decision on whether or not to strengthen carbon curbs through 2020.
China and other emerging economies may face less opposition from their fossil fuel industries, because increasing power demand is such that the priority is simply to add new capacity.
"It's that much harder in mature economies because it's about substitution, which puts you up against incumbents," said HSBC analyst Nick Robins. It means replacement of aging power plants rather than building additional capacity.
For all its renewable energy ambition, China's carbon emissions are surging, but it says the onus of action is on developed countries, a long-running bone of contention in the U.N. process.
A long-term global goal to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius, aspired to in Copenhagen, appears out of reach.
The target was "essentially infeasible for technical reasons," said Richard Tol, research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin. Harvard's Stavins also called it "politically infeasible."
The "climategate" furor over the reliability of climate science, following leaked emails and disclosure of two errors in a U.N. report, may be blowing over.
"The very large majority of scientists who have truly looked at this issue in detail ... are absolutely convinced the climate is changing," said Britain's Watson.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
Wynne Parry, LiveScience 28 Jul 10;
One hundred days ago Thursday, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As profoundly as the leak of millions of barrels of oil is injuring the Gulf ecosystem, it is only one of many threats to the Earth's oceans that, many experts say, could change the makeup of the oceans as we know them and wipe out a large portion of marine life.
The waters of the Gulf were already heavily fished, and the Gulf has been home to an oxygen-depleted dead zone generated by agricultural runoff rich in nutrients.
The Gulf and the rest of the world's waters also face the uncertain and potentially devastating effects of climate change. Warming ocean temperatures reduce the water's oxygen content, and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is altering the basic chemistry of the ocean, making it more acidic. There is no shortage of evidence that both of these effects have begun to wreak havoc on certain important creatures.
Human beings created these problems, largely in the two centuries since the Industrial Revolution, but for some researchers, they bring to mind the ancient past.
The Earth has seen several mass extinctions, including five that annihilated more than half the planet's species. Experts now believe Earth is in the midst of a sixth event, the first one caused by humans.
"Today the synergistic effects of human impacts are laying the groundwork for a comparably great Anthropocene mass extinction in the oceans, with unknown ecological and evolutionary consequences," Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a 2008 article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Frightening parallel
When it comes to the oceans, research shows a parallel to the Permian-Triassic extinction — also known as the Great Dying — which eradicated 95 percent of marine species when the oceans lost their oxygen about 250 million years ago.
The same phenomenon is taking place in many areas of today's oceans. The entry of fertilizers into rivers and subsequently oceans is eating up the oceans' oxygen — that runoff is the primary source of the Gulf of Mexico's 3,000-square-mile (7,770-square-kilometer) dead zone. Around the world, the number of dead zones, some of which are naturally occurring, increased from 149 in 2003 to more than 200 in 2006, according to a 2008 report by the United Nations Environmental Program.
What's more, the ocean surface is warming, driven by the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This keeps the deeper waters, which are rich in nutrients but low in oxygen, from mixing with the oxygenated surface. According to a 2007 report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperatures increased by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) throughout the 21st century, and, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this decade is the warmest since record-keeping began in 1880.
At the time of the third of the Big Five extinctions, the Permian-Triassic, there was only one massive continent and one massive ocean, conditions that disrupted ocean circulation and inhibited oxygen circulation in an already warm world, according to Lee Kump, a geoscientist at Pennsylvania State University. That set the stage for the ultimate trigger, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia.
The eruptions pumped massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This warmed the ocean further, exacerbating its oxygen problem. Meanwhile, more storms on land washed more oxygen-eating nutrients into the ocean. Bacteria began producing hydrogen sulfide, which was ultimately expelled into an atmosphere already toxic with carbon dioxide, according to Kump.
A comparison of carbon dioxide release then versus now is telling, Kump said. Siberian volcanoes emitted tens of thousands of gigatons of carbon dioxide into the air over what was probably thousands of years. Humans currently are producing 9 gigatons per year from fossil fuel reservoirs that contain up to 4,000 gigatons.
The rate of carbon dioxide release matters, Kump said, because life has to have time to adapt.
"It's: Would you rather be squeezed or punched?" Kump said. "The Permian extinction was a squeeze that gradually got tighter and tighter ... It may ultimately have been more fatal than the punch we are going to get, but the punch is going to hurt more."
Crumbling at the base
The parallel in ocean chemistry between the past and present isn't limited to oxygen depletion. The Permian ocean became more acidic as the climate changed, just as the modern ocean is doing.
The ocean has absorbed about 30 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide to date, and as a result, its waters have experienced a 30 percent increase in acidity, according to Richard Feely, a senior scientist with NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. If trends continue, ocean acidity will increase by up to 150 percent by the end of this century, he said.
Increased carbon dioxide and ocean acidity played a role in all of the Big Five mass extinctions, but in those cases the change in acidity was tens to hundreds of times slower than what's happening now. When changes happen quickly, "the ocean system itself doesn't have time to adapt," Feely said.
Increasingly acidic waters affect a number of species that are key parts of the ocean's ecosystems.
Acidification interferes with the ability of oysters, marine snails and other creatures to build shells or skeletons from calcium carbonate. In oyster hatcheries on the West Coast of the United States, more-acidic waters prevent oyster larvae from forming shells, and have been shown to dissolve the shells of pteropods — small marine snails that feed salmon and other commercially caught fish — from around the living creatures, Feely said.
Not least among the victims of acidification are corals, whose growth is inhibited in affected waters. But climate change poses another problem for coral reefs: Sunlight and small increases in water temperature cause corals to expel the symbiotic algae that provide them with energy, which causes them to turn white, an effect called bleaching that can be short-lived or fatal. Mass bleaching was first observed in the late 1970s. By 2008, an estimated 19 percent of the world's coral reefs had been lost and 35 percent seriously threatened.
Coral bleaching has an impact on not just the corals. Reefs are key habitats for many marine species.
"Perhaps 25 percent of ocean species spend at least part of their life cycle on coral reefs," said Ken Caldeira with the Carnegie Institution for Science. "When we lose corals, we are likely to lose many of these species."
A recently published paper in the journal Nature documented what may be another domino in the decline of the oceans, this one at the very base of the marine food chain. Over the past century, the authors found, global phytoplankton levels have declined by 1 percent per year, a phenomenon they link to warming ocean surfaces.
Incidental victims
Amid the specter of climate change, the most immediate threat to species and ecosystems is overfishing, according to Susan Lieberman, director of international policy with the Pew Environmental Group.
"We should not take out more than is being produced," Lieberman said. "It sounds very logical, but that is not what is happening."
Sharks are emblematic of this problem. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed about a third of all open-ocean shark species as threatened with extinction due to overfishing.
In addition to removing seafood, some fishing practices kill other creatures incidentally, a phenomenon known as bycatch. Sea turtles are among the victims of this problem; a study published in April estimated that millions of sea turtles have been inadvertently caught as part of commercial fishing over the past 20 years.
Bottom trawling — in which a large, heavy net is dragged over the sea floor — is another problem, as it destroys habitat, according to the Pew Environmental report "Protecting Life in the Sea." This report cites studies suggesting 90 percent of the world's large fish have disappeared and that nearly one third of the world supply of commercially caught fish has collapsed.
Not everyone believes that fisheries are in immediate peril though.
"The big picture is, if you're looking in places for which we have good data" – Europe, North America, New Zealand, Australia and the high seas – "fish populations are generally stable and in some cases improving, especially in the U.S.," said Ray Hilborn, a population ecologist at the University of Washington. Hilborn is co-author of a 2009 article published in the journal Science that found reason for hope in certain ecosystems, where management practices have prevented or, more frequently, reduced overfishing.
But given the lack of international oversight on fisheries, "I'm not terribly optimistic about their future," Hilborn said.
Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the lead author of the 2009 fisheries study, was less optimistic about the current health of fisheries. "Even in the best places it's very mixed," he said.
Humanity has solutions
Tony Haymet, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, describes the oceans, like the atmosphere, as victims of "the tragedy of the commons: everybody owns them, and nobody owns them."
"But on the positive side, there are three things that I think that at least we have the prospect of addressing," he said. These include signs of international movement to address overfishing, the creation of marine reserves, and the prospect that the U.S. Senate might finally ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which establishes international rules governing the use of the oceans.
Although there are hurdles, aquaculture also has the potential to become a safe, sustainable source of protein, he said.
Others aren't so optimistic. Humans have the technology and the knowledge to stop the ecological havoc we are wreaking, but we lack the wisdom to use it responsibly, Caldiera told LiveScience in an e-mail.
"If current trends continue, the extinctions of the coming decades will be clearly visible to future geologists comparable in scale to the great extinction events in Earth's history," he wrote. "I think it will be an enigmatic extinction. Future geologists will try to figure out why we apparently tried to kill off so many species, but they will find it hard to believe that simple reason is stupidity."
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