26 Feb (Fri): Talk about Ginger flowers
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!
17-21 May: Ascidian Workshop, Singapore
from wild shores of singapore
Pink-necked Green Pigeon swallows MacArthur palm fruits
from Bird Ecology Study Group
The Adventures of The Borg
from The Borg's Hideout
Commuter numbers set to rise further, with expanding rail network
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
THE growing population, an expanded rail network and rising motoring costs have sent public transport ridership up for the fifth year running.
And the trend is likely to continue - in line with the Government's push to have more people commute by trains and buses.
Based on preliminary data obtained from public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT Corp, the number of average daily trips on buses and trains hit nearly 5.04 million last year.
This is 3 per cent higher than the 4.89 million recorded in 2008, and 20 per cent more since 2005.
Trains garnered all the growth, with the opening of Stage 3 of the Circle Line last May funnelling more people into the network. Trips by rail shot up by nearly 8 per cent to hit 1.952 million a day, while bus trips remained unchanged at 3.085 million.
Analysts expect trains to continue fuelling the rise in public transport ridership, with the opening of two more stages of the Circle Line this April, and the rest of the line by next year. New lines such as the Downtown, Eastern Region and Thomson lines, on track to open over the next decade, will also drive growth.
Royal Bank of Scotland Asia Securities analyst John Rachmat said higher public transport ridership will also come on the back of economic growth, higher tourist arrivals and Singapore's population increase.
'The Government will have to make the use of private cars progressively more unattractive in order to allow the limited space we have in Singapore to cope with the projected rise in population. This unavoidably implies more intense use of public transportation,' said Mr Rachmat, who is forecasting a compound average growth rate in public transport ridership of 7 per cent from 2009 to 2012.
While this is positive news to public transport operators as ridership growth will translate to higher revenue, commuters may increasingly feel the squeeze.
Marketing professional Lau Sau Kuen, who is in her 30s, said: 'Trains and buses continue to arrive on time but they are much more packed compared with five years ago.'
'I think our infrastructure is simply not ready to handle the increase in population,' the Bendemeer resident added.
Singapore's population hit 4.99 million last June, up 3 per cent from 2008 and up 17 per cent from 2005.
Government Parliamentary Committee chairman for Transport Lim Wee Kiak admitted that 'there is certainly room for improvement' in public transport.
'Public transport companies cannot operate on the premise that buses and trains run at maximum capacity,' he said, but added that 'commuters cannot expect a seat every time they get on board'.
He noted that operators have increased capacity of late.
SMRT, for instance, has added about 1,000 train trips and 2,000 bus trips per week in the last two years.
SBS Transit spent $147 million on 400 new buses last year; and since December, has added 12 trips per weekday on the North-East Line.
Secondary school teacher Yeo Jun Han, 26, said: 'The buses and trains are just as crowded. The worst thing is that they seem to be running single-deck buses during peak hours.'
The Public Transport Council has in place quality standards for bus operators to meet, including one requiring that 80 per cent of buses arrive at intervals of not more than 10 minutes during peak hours.
Although operators have been fined occasionally for failing to meet standards, the council said it has noticed improvements.
The Government is aiming to raise the share of public transport trips made during the morning peak period to 70 per cent by 2020. According to the latest Household Interview Travel Survey, the share stood at 59 per cent in 2008.
Abigail Kwok, The Inquirer 19 Feb 10;
MANILA, Philippines – The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the Philippines and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have announced a P100,000 reward to anyone who could give information that would lead to the identification and arrest of those responsible for the death of a whale shark in Batangas City early this week.
The WWF posted its hotline on its website, (0917)883-4207.
At the same time, the WWF condemned the attack against the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which was discovered by divers in Barangay (village) Kambing on Monday.
Locally known as “butanding,” the whale shark was found by foreign and local divers de-finned and fighting for its life.
“Its twin pairs of dorsal and pectoral fins were neatly and deliberately sliced off – the soft, white flesh glistening in the morning rays. Rope and knife-marks were evident all over its tail – mercifully too thick to cut through,” the WWF said.
“Sadly, its wounds were too great – and the shark, nicknamed Tingloy Baby, died during the night. The incident came right after the conclusion of the third Convention on Migratory Species for Sharks, held in Manila from 8 to 12 February. The talks were held to safeguard shark populations in the Indo-Pacific region. Tingloy Baby was laid to rest in Caban cove. It neither died alone nor in vain,” the WWF added.
The WWF, citing Bantay Dagat units from Mabini town, said that local fishermen from Lemery town could be the possible culprits.
The WWF said that for several days reported that for several days, fishing vessels were spotted on the shores of Mabini. The vessels were reportedly equipped with powerful lights and sometimes drifted as close as 300 meters to the shore.
“WWF condemns the perpetrators of this illegal act,” said WWF-Philippines Conservation Programmes Vice-President Joel Palma.
“This is a real eye-opener, for it proves that the slaughter of endangered species – even one as big as a ‘butanding’ – can still take place if we let our guards down. The public and private sectors must come together to refine and polish current conservation mechanisms,” he added.
The WWF said that whale sharks were often hunted in the country, particularly in Bohol, Misamis Oriental, and Sorsogon. Shark fins and meat, the WWF said, were usually exported to the countries of China, Hongkong and Taiwan.
These were usually sold for around $8 or P360 per kilogram. Meanwhile, dried shark fins were valued at $800 or P36,000 per kilogram.
BFAR said that at least 200 whale sharks were slaughtered in the country in 1997 alone.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified whale sharks as vulnerable. These are also protected by laws under Republic Act 8550 and Fisheries Administrative Order 193.
Anyone caught in possession or slaughtering of a whale shark could be penalized for a maximum jail term of four years, with a fine of around P10,000, as well as the cancellation of his fishing licenses.
The WWF said that whale sharks that were accidentally caught in nets or other fishing gears should be released immediately.
UN News Center 19 10;
19 February 2010 – East Asia’s economically viable coastal habitats and ecosystems are under threat from pollution, alien invasive species and other factors which could impact the region’s poverty levels unless urgent action is taken, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a new report.
“With nearly three quarters of the region’s population depending directly or indirectly on coastal areas, and with 80 per cent of the region’s GDP linked to the coastal natural resources, the time must be right for factoring the marine environment into the centre of economic planning,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
The East Asian Seas State of the Marine Environment report said economically important coastal habitats and ecosystems are under pressure as 40 per cent of coral reefs and half of all mangroves have already been lost. Coral reefs generate an estimated $112.5 billion and mangroves $5.1 billion annually.
The East Asian Seas – which includes the region between China, the Republic of Korea and Australia – have some of the world’s highest concentrations of shipping and fishing vessel activity. They account for 50 per cent of global fisheries production and 80 per cent of global aquaculture production.
“These ocean ecosystems are a critical lifeline for the region’s economies and people. You can say that the health of these oceans and their ecosystems is very much tied to the economic health of these countries and well-being of their citizens,” said Chou Loke Ming, author of the report produced by UNEP’s Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA).
Mr. Ming noted that the East Asian Seas account for 30 per cent of the world’s seas under national jurisdiction and called on the governments in the region – which also include Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam – to have a major role in maintaining effective stewardship of the marine environment.
The report recommended a more systematic and integrated approach to managing coastal and oceanic issues, including improved data collection and management, and economic incentives to encourage private sector involvement in environmental protection efforts.
“Such actions can support better decision-making, national assessments of coastal and ocean resources and conditions, [and] enhanced public private partnerships” the report stated.
Marine Environment Can Affect East Asian Economy
Bernama 19 Feb 10;
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The economic future of East Asia and the region's ability to overcome poverty are facing serious challenges unless urgent action is taken to manage the health and wealth of its marine environment, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in its latest report.
The East Asian Seas State of the Marine Environment report stated that the region's seas faced multiple threats as a result of factors including insensitive development, pollution, alien invasive species and climate change.
Economically, important coastal habitats and ecosystems are under pressure with 40 per cent of coral reefs and half of all mangroves having already been lost, UNEP said in the report released Friday.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, said that with nearly three quarters of the region's population depending directly or indirectly on coastal areas, and with 80 per cent of the region's GDP linked to the coastal natural resources, the time must be right for factoring the marine environment into the centre of economic planning.
Dr Chou Loke Ming from the National University of Singapore said these ocean ecosystems were a critical lifeline for the region's economies and people.
UNEP the East Asian Seas are home to nearly 80 percent of global coral species, over 60 percent of mangrove species, and over 55 percent of sea grass species.
Furthermore, they accounts for 50 percent of global fisheries production and 80 percent of global aquaculture production.
Annually, coral reefs are estimated to generate US$112.5 billion, mangroves US$5.1 billion, wetlands US$1.2 billion and sea grass US$86 million.
According to the report, the most exposed areas are deltas and mega-deltas of China, Vietnam and Thailand, which also stated that sea level rise was estimated to affect as much as 55 percent of the population in Vietnam, 26 percent in Thailand, 18 percent in the Philippines, and 11 percent in China.
"Governments in the region have taken some actions to deal with these issues, but it is crucial that they strike a balance between development and the protection of these coastal resources. Strong political will is needed if the myriad of problems that plague the region are to be addressed," said UNEP's Dr Ellik Adler, Coordinator of the Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia.
Overall the report recommends a more systematic and integrated approach to managing coastal and oceanic issues.
-- BERNAMA
(UKPA) Google News 19 Feb 10;
Fewer great white sharks are left in the oceans than there are tigers surviving on Earth, it has been claimed.
The two top predators are almost equally under threat, but the plight of great whites needs more recognition, according to Canadian expert Dr Ronald O'Dor.
Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in San Diego, he told how the discovery was made by colleagues from the Census of Marine Life.
He said: "I recently heard a report from the team that's been tagging great white sharks. The estimated total population of great white sharks in the world's oceans is actually less than the number of tigers.
"We hear an awful lot about how endangered tigers are but apparently great white sharks are pretty close to the same level. Some people say 'I don't care, they eat people,' but I think we have to give them a little space to live in."
Dr O'Dor, from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, added: "The Australians have now got a system where they put tags on great white sharks and they have receivers on the beaches so when a great white comes into the bay the receiver automatically makes a cell phone call and tells the guy in charge to close the beach. So we can co-exist with marine life."
"Until recently, people thought sharks were bad and there was no urge to save great whites. Now people are beginning to understand that they are rare and that they are a wonderful species."
Great white shark outnumbered by the tiger, marine scientists warn
Mark Henderson, Times Online 19 Feb 10;
The great white shark has become so threatened that it is now outnumbered by the tiger, a leading marine scientist claimed yesterday.
New research has suggested that population numbers for the ocean’s most feared predator have been overestimated because many great whites have been double-counted, according to Ronald O’Dor, of Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada, the senior scientist at the Census of Marine Life project.
He told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Diego that electronic tagging of great white sharks had made researchers more pessimistic about its survival.
“I recently heard a report from the team that’s been tagging great white sharks,” he said. “The estimated total population of great white sharks in the world’s oceans is actually less than the number of tigers.
“We hear an awful lot about how endangered tigers are but, apparently, great white sharks are pretty close to the same level. Some people say, ‘I don’t care, they eat people’, but I think we have to give them a little space to live in.”
The World Wildlife Fund currently estimates that fewer than 3,200 tigers remain in the wild and all six of the remaining subspecies are classified as endangered or critically endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
The great white shark is classified as vulnerable on the Red List, denoting a less severe category of concern.
Dr O’Dor said that the revised estimate of population numbers was based on unpublished research led by Barbara Block, of Stanford University.
“There was a series of papers published by Barbara Block at Stanford on great whites that had tagged,” Dr O’Dor said. “The papers showed there is a separate population between Hawaii and the California coast that is genetically distinct from the one in Australia. Based on their understanding on populations, they have done some estimates of how many sharks there are.
“People see a great white shark on the South California coast, and another hundreds of miles away. We are now understanding that they are more mobile than we thought and, actually, it’s the same shark appearing in different places.”
Victoria Gill BBC News 19 Feb 10;
A preview of the Census of Marine Life has revealed that the project has discovered over 5,000 new species.
These include bizarre and colourful creatures, as well as many organisms that produce therapeutic chemicals.
A panel of scientists presented these early insights at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego.
The final report from the decade-long census will be released in October 2010.
The project has involved more than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries, and the researchers involved believe the census will lay the scientific foundations for marine policies to protect vulnerable habitats.
The researchers presented images of some of the most striking species discovered in the last decade, including a crab so unusual it warranted a whole new family designation. This member of the new Kiwaidae family of crabs, discovered near Easter Island, was named Kiwa hirsuta because of its furry appearance.
One member of the panel, Shirley Pomponi, a scientist from Florida Atlantic University, highlighted a new species of sponge.
This was found in the Florida Keys in August of 1999. Further investigation revealed that it produced a chemical with anti-cancer properties, which is now being investigated as a potential therapeutic.
Dr Pomponi said: "Adaptation to life in the sea has resulted in the production of chemicals that not even the most advanced computer program could produce.
"Mother nature still makes the best chemicals."
Bulldozing reefs
A major aim of the census is to provide the scientific support for the establishment of a global network of marine protected areas to prevent damage from fishing and other human activity.
Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, a marine biologist from the UK's University of Plymouth, said that delicate coral reefs were under threat from deep-sea trawling.
"All but one of the reefs I've looked at has been very badly damaged by bottom trawling - where a fishing net is dragged along the sea floor," he said.
"Bottom trawling bulldozes through reef habitats that are thousands of years old.
"But the good news is that we now have the data to change policy and work with fishermen to say where marine protected areas should be."
Marine Census Grows Near Completion
Researchers near completion of ocean census, cite value of protecting marine life
Randolp E. Schmid Associated Press ABC News 18 Feb 10;
From pole to pole, surface to frigid depths, researchers have discovered thousands of new ocean creatures in a decade-long effort now nearing completion, and there may still be several times more strange creatures to be found, leaders of the Census of Marine Life reported Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The effort has "given us a much clearer window into marine life," said Shirley Pomponi, executive director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce.
The research, which has involved thousands of scientists from around the world, got under way in 2000 and the final report is scheduled to be released in London on Oct. 4.
Last fall the census reported having added 5,600 new ocean species to those already known. Ron O'Dor, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, said there may be another 100,000 or more to be found. "Add microbes and it could be millions," he said.
One benefit of learning more about ocean life is the chance of finding new medical treatments, Pomponi said.
For example, a chemical discovered in deep water sponges is now a component of the cream used to treat herpes infections, Pomponi said. Other research is under way on pain killers and cancer treatments based on ocean life.
Kristina Gjerde, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, in Konstancin-Chylice, Poland, said the research will help guide governments in setting up marine protected areas to preserve species both for food and of value for other reasons.
O'Dor said the ocean is large and resilient, so that when a region is protected life there can rebound, "but we can't keep insulting the ocean."
O'Dor noted that many people are concerned about the decline of tigers in the wild, and said the same may be true of great white sharks.
Noting a marine census project that places sonar trackers on fish and marine mammals, O'Dor pointed to an Australian program that senses those trackers and warns people ashore when to close a beach because a shark is nearby.
Deep-sea trawling is destroying coral reefs and pristine marine habitats
A survey of the world's reefs and submerged mountains has revealed widespread damage from deep-sea trawling
Ian Sample, guardian.co.uk 18 Feb 10;
Deep-sea trawling is devastating corals and pristine marine habitats that have gone untouched since the last ice age, a leading marine biologist has warned.
A survey of the world's reefs and seamounts – giant submerged mountains that rise more than a kilometre above the seabed – has revealed widespread damage to the ecosystems, many of which are home to species unknown to science, said Jason Hall-Spencer at Plymouth University in the UK.
Hall-Spencer, a researcher involved with the Census of Marine Life, a worldwide project to catalogue life in the oceans, called for the establishment of an international network of marine reserves where deep-sea trawling was banned.
Deep-sea trawlers use giant, heavy-duty nets that are dragged over the seafloor at depths of more than a kilometre. The nets are fitted with rubber rollers called "rock hoppers", which destroy the corals that provide habitats for fish and other marine organisms.
The technique was developed for use in shallow waters with smooth sea floors, but as fish stocks dwindled and technology improved, fishing fleets began using the nets in much deeper waters.
Hall-Spencer said marine biologists have surveyed fewer than 1% of an estimated 50,000 seamounts in the world's oceans.
"Our research visits have revealed pristine coral reefs and many species that are brand new to science," Hall-Spencer said. "Over the past five years, these surveys have also worryingly revealed that all over the world, deep-sea habitats are suffering severe impacts from bottom trawling.
"It doesn't matter what ocean you go to, these habitats are being trashed by international fishing fleets. What is urgently needed is a network of protected areas where any type of fishing gear that involves dragging equipment across the sea bed is banned."
Each trawler typically crisscrosses an area of ocean around 33 kilometres square. Among the most threatened sites are cold water coral reefs in temperate regions, which are still being discovered. Sizeable areas off the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland have been severely damaged, Hall-Spencer told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego today.
"I've seen areas that are pristine and untouched since the ice age and these are worth protecting," he said. "The coral is white or bright orange, and there are fans as high as your chest. These are particularly vulnerable to trawling. Unlike shallow water reefs, they don't have to be strong enough to withstand large waves and they can't cope."
The Norwegian government has banned deep-sea trawling over the Røst reef, the biggest cold-water reef in the world, which was only discovered in 2002. The three kilometre-wide strip is teeming with life and stretches for almost 40 kilometres at a depth of 450 metres. Similar bans are in place at a number of other sites around the world, but more are needed, Hall-Spencer said.
Related link
Census of Marine Life website with latest results and an image gallery
Lim Chia Ying, The Star 20 Feb 10
THE female hornbill waits patiently inside a clay jar for her male partner to return. Lying low, with only her long beak peeking out of the small entrance, she is like the faithful wife waiting longingly for the safe return of her husband.
Her anticipation heightens as she hears a familiar sound from the sky but her mate stands perched on a tree branch, monitoring the human presence and ensuring that we had left before finally landing on the ground and moving closer to the clay jar while calling out to his partner.
The male hornbill then fed his mate a long centipede through the narrow opening of the jar that was half covered in mud.
Not until she has finished the meal does he leave her side to find more food, flying back and forth for at least the next three months while the female cares for their newborn inside the nest.
The scene played out at Kg Sg Panjang in Selangor and the birds are from the Southern Pied Hornbill species (Anthracoceros albirostris convexus), which is said to be common in Malaysia.
It is a sub-species of the Oriental Pied Hornbill and, according to Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Ismail from Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) biology department, are commonly found at the Sg Karang forest reserve.
“Four other species also thrive at this forest reserve and they are all totally protected under the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972.
“However, past clearing has put pressure on the forest and its surroundings which, in turn, has forced the birds to move to other areas like oil palm plantations and villages,” said Ahmad, who has been carrying out research on the adaptability and public acceptance towards the birds.
One of Ahmad’s Masters students, Nurul Hudha Mohd Jamil said she had been speaking to the villagers, getting their support and organising hornbill programmes for children like colouring activities to instill a sense of love and protection for the birds.
She said she could identify at least five pairs of hornbills in the area and some even flocked in groups of five to six.
Villager Mohammad Ali Ngah said the male would often peck at his window in the mornings.
“I’ve been staying here with my family for the last seven years but the hornbills have been around longer than that.
“They even chose this clay jar as their nesting spot until the fledgling can fly four months later. They are quite picky about their nesting spot as I’ve tried putting other items around but they are not tempted to move,” Mohammad Ali, 63, said.
He added that he had noticed that once the young bird was fully grown, the mother would leave the nest and the now adult fledgling would take over the jar as its own nesting site.
Villager Mokhtar Sulaiman, 48, said the locals there had grown accustomed to the birds in their village.
“If I’m not mistaken, there are probably between 30 and 40 of them. When we sit down for drinks at the coffee shops, they will be on the tree nearby.
“But we do not disturb them. Why should we, when they don’t cause us any harm?
“I hope the state government or other authorities could gazette this area for hornbill conservation,” said Mokhtar, who has been living there for 20 years.
Moving on to another home, villager Mohamad Said Aman was seen feeding oil palm seeds to another female hornbill nesting inside a clay jar.
There seems to be a sincere connection between the villagers and the hornbills for now, but Ahmad is still concerned over the possibility of conflict.
“When the number of hornbills increases and they start to feed on the fruit trees, it may make the villagers angry.
“I have proposed that the Agriculture Department distribute fruit plants to the villagers so that there will be more sources of food for the birds. The villagers will also benefit from the extra trees.
“When you have the support of the villagers, this place can be developed into a tourist attraction and the village, a model for public participation in conservation,” Ahmad said.
“What is also important is maintaining the ecology of the Sg Karang forest reserve, with regular monitoring of all ecological parameters, biodiversity and surrounding activities like irrigation systems.
“The change in water levels may result in dying trees which are needed by hornbills to build their nests and support their diet. Otherwise, the birds will migrate elsewhere,” Ahmad said.
He added that for a conservation programme like this to work, it required the support from agencies like the Wildlife Department, the Agriculture Department, the Forestry Department and also the tourism authorities.
New Straits Times 19 Feb 10;
KUANTAN: The state Wildlife and National Parks Department will conduct a series of operations to crack down on poachers who had set up snares at the Persit Forest reserve in Kuala Lipis.
State director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said a team of wildlife rangers was dispatched to the area near Sg Yu on Monday after enforcement officers had cleared 17 snares the day before.
"The snares were found along animal tracks heading to a nearby stream.
"We believe there are still a large number of snares in the forest, especially along the route near the river, and our rangers are expected to clear them soon," she said.
Khairiah added that the snares could trap mouse-deer, Malayan tapir, wild boars, leopards, tigers and baby elephants.
She said the wire snares could have been set by the poachers to capture the endangered Malayan tiger.
On Sunday, wildlife officers found the mutilated carcass of a leopard, known locally as harimau kumbang, trapped in a snare, without its legs, paws and skin at the forest.
They also found the carcass of a male clouded leopard (harimau dahan) and four wild boars nearby. All the animals had died from multiple wounds.
Khairiah said initial investigations revealed that a local from the nearby village was the culprit.
Sources from the department said the man was familiar with the forest routes and had vast experience in poaching.
It was also learnt that the suspect acted as a middleman and had support from certain individuals, who would supply him with the necessary items, including the wires to prepare the snares.
It is learnt that a trapped adult Malayan tiger could fetch up to RM150,000, depending on its size.
Eny Wulandari, The Jakarta Post 19 Feb 10;
It took an hour for Mamat Sukandar and his nine neighbors to cycle from their homes in Warakas, North Jakarta, to Muara Angke natural conservation park, North Jakarta.
But their efforts paid off, he said, with the green sight of the 25-hectare stretch of forests and mangroves at the northern coast of the city.
“The place is beautiful and a rarity in Jakarta,” Mamat said last Sunday.
They were eager to see the place after hearing about the park at their subdistrict office and in the media.
The park is one of 12 tourism destinations in the municipality.
North Jakarta is an area dependent on industrial and trade activities with a series of small and large ports along its coast.
Poor waste management in the city also contributes to water pollution at Jakarta Bay, which is full of domestic and industrial waste.
The municipality administration, however, is attempting to promote tourism by focusing its campaign on the 12 sites, which include the park, Sunda Kelapa port and the Maritime Museum.
Mamat said he and his neighbors felt the park helped them learn more about the types of plants that they could use to promote greenery in their neighborhood.
“We would like to know if there are plants that we can find here that can be planted in our neighborhood too,” he said.
Mamat, however, complained that they could not spend enough time in the park as they did not have the proper permits.
“We were limited to a small area inside the park because we did not have a permit from the Natural Resources Conservation Center [BKSDA],” he said.
Such procedures, he said, were a problem because one had to go to the BKSDA office in Salemba, Central Jakarta before entering the park.
“It would be better if the procedure was done at the park,” he said.
Dedy Suhendi, another visitor, said he expected more plants and animals at the park.
“We wanted to see animals other than birds and monkeys here. Also, the park should add more forest
rangers,” he said.
Currently, the park has only two forest rangers, a guard and an environmental counselor, to take care the area.
Kapuk Muara subdistrict head Ronny Jarpiko said garbage remained one of the key problems that could discourage the public from visiting the forest.
“We have intensified efforts to keep the place clean. This month, for instance, we will hold two community service events,” Ronny said.
He added that his office was making an inventory of facilities that were lacking at the park before informing the North Jakarta administration.
The forest preserve was established during the Dutch colonial period in 1939 and upgraded to a wildlife reserve in 1999.
Although the area is the country’s smallest reserve, the forest is a significant international bird conservation site in Java, according to a 2003 BirdLife International report.
Jakarta Post 19 Feb 10;
Illegal loggers in Lampung have extended their grab beyond the Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas national parks and are now pilfering from reforestation areas managed under community forest programs, say officials.
West Lampung Forestry Office head Fauzi said huge volumes of illegally logged timber had recently been found originating from forested areas run by local communities.
“This finding means the logging has also taken place in community forests where local people put in a lot of hard work,” he said.
He added the community forest program in West Lampung was regarded as the country’s second most successful after Yogyakarta’s.
Fauzi said that since the program served as a role model for an ideal forest rehabilitation project, forestry experts from various countries had visited Way Tenong in West Lampung.
Since 2000, 6,537 farming families living around protected and production forests in West Lampung have been involved in the community forest program.
They reforest land stripped bare by conversion and illegal logging, and growing different crops in critical areas as well as conserving the forest.
Besides being a key source of livelihood for the farmers, the protected forest spanning 12,000 hectares in Register 45 in Bukit Rigis and Register 34 in Tangkit Tebak — previously critical and barren areas — have been turned into dense forests.
Under the community forest program, the local forestry office provides five-year permits to residents to manage critical areas in production and protected forests, on the condition they form groups and carry out forest conservation.
The groups must also have a management system and a good set of organizational rules.
”Bukit Rigis is included in West and North Lampung regencies,” Fauzi said.
“The Bukit Rigis forest in West Lampung has been kept safe for the past 10 years because residents around the forest monitor it closely and arrest all illegal loggers.”
Coffee farmer Jamaludin, whose land borders the Bukit Rigis forested area, said he had often seen illegal loggers at work in the forest.
”I recognize them, but I’m afraid to stop them because they carry sharp weapons,” he said.
“I’ve told the authorities about it repeatedly, but they only followed up last week in a raid led by the Way
Tenong district chief.”
He added he had been on the lookout for illegal loggers for the past decade.
“I report them to the Way Tenong district chief because I don’t want to be accused of being an illegal logger myself,” Jamaludin said.
“I also want to join the community forest program so I can get involved in managing the forest. I’ll register for it at the West Lampung Forestry Office this year.”
Police have questioned 11 residents of Fajar Bulan as witnesses in the illegal logging case in which dozens of trees were felled.
The illegal loggers made off with the bulk of it, leaving behind only 1.5 cubic meters of timber.
The distance between the forest and the highway is only a few kilometers, making transportation by truck the main scenario.
The Indonesia Crisis Center’s West Lampung secretary, Satori M. Baki, blamed the widespread illegal logging on lax law enforcement.
He said many illegal loggers in Lampung had been arrested, but most were then released due to insufficient evidence.
”At the end of December last year, the Kotaagung District Court in Tanggamus regency released an illegal logging suspect,” he said.
“Some are punished, but they only get light sentences because they’re charged with theft, and that doesn’t serve as a deterrent.
“They should face the more severe charges as stipulated in the forestry law,” he added.
Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
The head of the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF's) Heart of Borneo rainforest conservation initiative, Mr Adam Tomasek, was in Singapore recently to speak about the programme. The WWF is working with Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei to protect 220,000sq km of highland rainforest on the island of Borneo which is rich in species diversity. Mr Tomasek, 37, speaks to Grace Chua on the scheme's progress three years after the 2007 declaration was signed.
Three-nation pact shelters Borneo's ecosystem from logging, development
What were the issues facing the Heart of Borneo initiative?
It really comes down to economic development. Palm oil was a relatively new industry just 20 years ago and the impact of converting forests to oil palm plantations was not very well known.
As companies expanded in Indonesia and Malaysia, we started to see some of the impact and realities in higher rates of deforestation.
That is a combination of the timber industry rising and plateauing, and the palm oil industry on the upswing.
In those countries, over 80per cent, almost 85per cent, of the carbon emissions comes from deforestation and land use conversion... not urban development, not coal-fired power plants... It is keeping forests or turning them into something else.
What has the initiative achieved in the three years since the pact was signed?
There are a number of examples. One of them is that the Sabah state government has implemented a no-logging policy on more than 200,000ha of land.
This area has the highest density of orang utan in Malaysia.
There will be no logging there for the next 20 to 30 years, and anything that happens there will have to be Forest Stewardship Council-certified.
They have also removed proposals to have more oil palm plantations.
There are real conservation outcomes - about 5,000 to 6,000 orang utan live in this part of Sabah, and they have a safe home.
And a one-million-ha forest corridor that will connect the four main national parks in Borneo is being planned, allowing species to roam around.
How did you get Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei to put aside their differences and cooperate?
In that long negotiating process, they agreed that they all shared the island. Borneo is still draped in these wonderful tropical rainforests, and there is a lot of pride in that.
But it is not just about forests. It is about the other things that come along with having a healthy forest ecosystem. One example is fresh water.
All the major cities, all the economic developments in the lowlands are completely dependent on water that comes from the highest parts of Borneo. And some watersheds are transboundary, so there is an interdependency.
In 2006, Brunei Shell - which runs the oil and gas refineries along the Brunei coast - came to the conclusion that if it were to lose the upstream fresh-water sources that it had not valued economically, in no more than 48 hours, the industrial energy and natural gas plants would be shut down.
Then all of a sudden you had a business voice on the table.
What challenges remain?
They are related to economic development. For instance, the Sarawak government started a statewide renewable energy drive to generate hydroelectric power and maybe export electricity, but that will affect watersheds.
So we have to ensure that the commitments around the Heart of Borneo are really embedded in these economic growth decisions.
What does the initiative mean for Singapore?
The Heart of Borneo is part of the regional heritage and Singaporeans can take pride that this is one of the few places in the world where you get orang utan, pygmy elephants and rhinoceroses living together.
In Singapore, citizens have a voice and they have a choice.
Palm oil is in almost every choice - food, cosmetics and so on. Being aware of good choices is a really big step.
There are very strong Singaporean business links to palm oil - such as holding, parent or investment companies - and there are very strong linkages to a lot of big industrial sectors.
We have been trying to engage them in a regional context.
But it is slow work. Agricultural product suppliers Olam and Wilmar or Asia Pulp and Paper have a lot of different business interests.
Part of it is figuring out what is in their best interests and where the liabilities and risks are.
(We are trying to) bring together a kind of green business network that would cut across the different sectors.
University of Washington, EurekAlert 19 Feb 10;
As biologists and ecologists propose ever-larger conservation areas in the tropics, ones that encompass multiple countries, social scientists say it's local people banding together with their community leaders who ultimately determine the success or failure of such efforts in many parts of the world.
"When people sacrifice to conserve, they want to benefit from that sacrifice," says Patrick Christie, University of Washington associate professor of marine affairs and a Pew fellow in marine conservation. "People expect direct economic and social benefits from conservation."
Conflicts develop, however, when outsiders move in to take advantage of improving environmental conditions. Managing such conflicts poorly generally leads to the collapse conservation efforts, he says.
Friday during the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego, Christie reported on how such conflicts are being successfully handled by small, Filipino non-governmental organizations, community members and their mayors in 36 communities with marine protected areas. Marine protected areas are sites in which these communities do not fish in order to restore overfished coral reefs.
Christie organized the session "Ensuring Marine Policy is Responsive to Social Dynamics and Management Experience" with Richard Pollnac of the University of Rhode Island. The session looked at marine conservation efforts in the tropics in regions such as the six countries of the "Coral Triangle": Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Island and Timor-Leste. The vast majority of ocean biodiversity is found in the tropics. Then too, most of the people who live there are highly dependent on marine resources for food, so sustaining those resources is a concern of leaders around the world from a food-security standpoint, Christie says.
Christie has conducted studies in the Philippines where residents have extensive experience with ecosystem-based management and hundreds of marine protected areas. The success of those protected areas varies widely, he says.
"What's exciting about work in the Philippines is that conservation can be successful if people don't see it as being forced on them. They need to have the sense they are in the driver's seat," he says.
Christie says social dynamics determine the success of ocean conservation. In his study in the Philippines, more than 500 people were asked such things as the number of community meetings they'd attended on conservation areas, how – on a scale of one-to-five – they thought their opinion mattered, if someone from their community was on the governance committee overseeing the area and if they felt their community's mayor listened to them.
Then there were measurements of biological changes once conservation areas were established to see, for example if fish numbers were up or corals were healthier. Residents also were asked if they felt catches had increased and if they felt there were more or less fish.
One important finding was that participatory planning and leadership at the mayoral level was key to dealing with the illegal fishing that troubles so many members of the communities making sacrifices in conservation areas. Unlike in the United States, there is no Coast Guard to enforce rules and no courts to turn to for relief, so collaboration between localities becomes very important.
Fostering collaboration, perhaps by helping train community leaders, and focusing on other factors concerning governance and social conditions is as important to the success of conservation areas as using the right biological and ecological parameters, Christie says.
###
Christie and his students' work in the Philippines during the last six years has been facilitated by the Filipino NGO Coastal Conservation Education Foundation and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
Related journal article: Coastal Management, April 2009 "Tropical Marine EBM Feasibility: A Synthesis of Case Studies and Comparative Analyses" http://www.oneocean.org/download/db_files/Christieetal.synthesis.CMJ%2009.pdf
Related journal article: Coastal Management, May 2009 "Back to Basics: An Empirical Study Demonstrating the Importance of Local-Level Dynamics for the Success of Tropical Marine Ecosystem-Based Management" http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/585899_731228499_910540296.pdf
Rising temperatures in the oceans around Antarctica could lead to the continent's penguins being replaced by jellyfish, scientists have warned.
The Telegraph 19 Feb 10;
The results of the largest ever survey of Antarctic marine life reveal melting sea ice is decimating krill populations, which form an integral part of penguins' diets.
The six-inch-long invertebrates, also eaten by other higher Southern Ocean predators such as whales and seals, are being replaced by smaller crustaceans known as copepods.
These miniscule copepods, measuring just half a millimetre long, are too small for penguins but ideal for jellyfish and other similarly tentacled predators.
Huw Griffiths, a marine biologist, said the shifting food web, coupled with shrinking ice sheet breeding grounds, could seriously affect the world's favourite Antarctic animal.
Mr Griffiths, of British Antarctic Survey (BAS), said: ''Marine animals spent millions of years adapting to the freezing, stable conditions of the Antarctic waters and they are highly sensitive to change.
''The polar oceans are rich in biodiversity. But if species are unable to move or adapt to new conditions they could ultimately die out.
''Copepods are 120 times smaller than krill, which is inevitably going to affect all the things that feed in that area.
''Penguins, sea birds, whales are all used to catching large items of prey. But creatures with tentacles - like jellyfish are going to have more food value out of smaller prey.
''This kind of predator will do better in this warmer environment.
''We already have huge numbers of amazing looking jellyfish. They are not quite invading but numbers will go up to the point where they become the dominant group.
''And if the waters continue to warm there will not only be a shift between species that are already there, but new species will be able to come into the area.''
Mr Griffiths said species of small invertebrates, fish and crabs that cannot currently tolerate the -2C temperatures in the Antarctica waters might start soon start to appear.
Any decrease in sea ice will inevitably affect the delicate balance of the Antarctic marine food chain.
For creatures such as penguins who lives on the melting sea ice, a rise in temperatures will also shrink the size of their breeding grounds.
Mr Griffith's research is based ON the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and he presented his findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego on Thursday.
The census began in 2005 and will provide the benchmark for future studies on how the diverse sea-floor creatures living in Antarctica's waters will respond to predicted climate change.
More than 6,000 different species living on the sea-floor have been identified so far and more than half of these can only be found on the icy continent.
Mr Griffith's work also describes certain creatures such as sea spiders flourish in the Antarctic waters because of the unique environment.
The stunning sea spiders in Antarctica are roughly the size of dinner plates, whereas their delicate cousins around the UK coast are no bigger than a little fingernail.
Mr Griffiths added: ''This is a group that has done really well in the cold. Around 20 per cent of the world's population of sea spiders are from Antarctica.
''They are bigger than anywhere else in the world and this is probably because the environment happens to be ideal for them.
''It makes you realise if the waters warm and other species or predators move in these unique animals will come under competition.''
Karin Zeitvogel Yahoo News 19 Feb 10;
SAN DIEGO, California (AFP) – US researchers unveiled a vehicle Thursday that earns money for its driver instead of guzzling it up in gasoline and maintenance costs.
The converted Toyota Scion xB, shown at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science here, is the first electric car to be linked to a power grid and serve as a cash cow.
"This is the first vehicle that's ever been paid to participate in the grid -- the first proof of concept vehicle," Ken Huber, who oversees technological development at wholesale electricity coordinator PJM Interconnection, told AFP.
The presentation of the box-like, unassuming looking Scion was the researchers' way of introducing the "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) concept as it begins to gain momentum in the United States and around the world.
V2G projects with hybrid cars that use electricity and gas to store energy in their batteries and feed it back into the power grid are up and running in the United States, and the drive now is to produce all electric vehicles to plug into the power grid.
"This makes the car useful not only when it's being driven, but also when it's parked, as long as you remember to plug it in," said Willett Kempton, who is leading a V2G project at the University of Delaware.
A V2G car is connected via an Internet-over-powerline connection that sends a signal from inside the car's computer to an aggregator's server.
The aggregator acts as the middleman between the car owner and power grid management companies, which are constantly trying to keep electricity output at a constant level.
When the grid needs more power due to a surge in demand, power companies usually draw from traditional power plants, which in the United States are often coal-fired and leave a large carbon footprint.
When V2G becomes more widespread, the power could be drawn from millions of vehicles plugged into sockets in home garages or from commercial fleets, such as the US Postal Service's vans, for a much smaller footprint than that of the power plants.
Grid management companies like PJM Interconnection currently pay around 30 dollars an hour when taking power from a car.
V2G is still a new concept, but it is gaining ground in the United States and Europe.
"Ten years ago, this was just a plan. Today, it's a real project and in 10 years, we'll be producing tens of megawatts of power this way," said Kempton, adding that V2G will readily find applications in countries that are rapidly ramping up reliance on wind and solar energy, such as Denmark and Britain.
Huber said he will be meeting in the coming weeks in Paris with heads of European grid management companies about V2G.
"We're going to try to determine how we can work together on this. It's a technology that is very good at meeting a need we have, and there's growing interest among auto companies to develop V2G vehicles," he added.
AC Propulsion of California has designed an electric drive system for V2G, and car manufacturers including Renault/Nissan, Mitsubishi and BMW are producing all-electric vehicles with an eye on the V2G market.
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