Video of penis fencing in flatworms
from wonderful creation
Two Skips and a Growl
Updating the Singapore Butterfly Checklist to 294 from Butterflies of Singapore
Icon of the reef
from Psychedelic Nature
First Day of The Tiger Year @ Lower Pierce Reservoir Park
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Nests of the Yellow-vented Bulbul
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Channel 4 News 20 Feb 10;
Channel 4 News has obtained exclusive mobile phone video from Malaysia showing the arrogance of one criminal gang of tiger poachers, writes Julian Rush.
Tiger poachers are rarely seen, and rarely caught. The criminal gangs behind the illegal trade in tiger parts for black market Chinese traditional medicine like to keep their secrets.
But in extraordinary footage given to Channel 4 News anonymously, they reveal themselves to be callous, arrogant and contemptuous of the law.
Shot on a mobile phone in northern Malaysia towards the end of last year, the video shows four young men gloating and laughing over the carcass of a dead tiger. They stand to make just a few hundred dollars from the animal.
"It's the middle men who make the money," says Sarah Christie who heads the tiger conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London and who has spent years studying the trade in tiger parts, "the poachers get very little."
Those middle men who trade the tiger carcass on into China will be the ones who make the real profit; that can run into thousands of dollars.
The bones are ground up to make pills or potions to treat rheumatism. The meat is often sold to restaurants that specialise in wild animals; it is believed to have strength-giving properties. The skin is valuable too. Official Chinese medicine practitioners no longer use tiger parts, but a thriving black market remains.
Officially too, China has joined international efforts to save the tiger. Between three and four thousand remain in the wild, across south east Asia, India, China and Russia.
This is the Chinese Year of the Tiger, and last month in a meeting in Thailand, China signed up to a pledge to double the number of tigers in the wild by the next one, in 2022.
But at the same time, the Chinese government is considering a proposal to legalise the trade in tiger parts from tiger farms in China. The farm owners have been lobbying hard, but conservationists say any legalised trade will only encourage more poaching.
In Malaysia too, where the video was shot, the government has adopted a widely-praised Tiger Action Plan. They have plans to preserve the tiger's forest habitat, to extend it even, and they too want to double the numbers in their country, from 500 to 1000, still only a third of the size of the tiger population in the 1950s.
But habitat destruction, driven by the desire of the country's people to develop, and limited resources and local corruption makes for a different reality.
For the men in the mobile phone video, their cockiness may be their undoing; their arrogance, incriminating evidence for the Malaysian police. But they are small fry.
The answer, says Sarah Christie from ZSL "is to take out the dealers and for that you really need national and international efforts to shut down the trade. Reducing demand within China is absolutely crucial."
Farmed-in-Singapore barramundi makes a splash as an alternative to regular sea bass
Sandra Leong, Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
Barramundi used to be the sort of fish found more on the menus of chi-chi Western restaurants rather than at, say, a Sheng Siong supermarket in the heartland.
And even then, you would expect to pay top dollar to savour the fish, air-flown from distant shores such as Australia.
So here is news that might go down well with seafood connoisseurs: Farmed-in-Singapore barramundi is now making its way onto dinner tables, delivered fresh from a new farm located in pristine waters off Pulau Semakau.
Since its first harvest in October last year, Barramundi Asia has established itself as Singapore's largest commercial fish farm, touting itself as the only large-scale operation here specialising in barramundi for the local market and for export.
About 120,000kg of fish have already been supplied to local traders such as the Sheng Siong chain of supermarkets, seafood wholesalers and restaurants, says the farm's managing director, Mr Joep Kleine Staarman, 52.
The fish farming veteran from the Netherlands decided to test the waters here because of the Republic's sheltered geographical location and well-developed trading facilities. He has also farmed fish in countries such as Japan, Australia and Italy.
Barramundi Asia's targets are to generate 500 tonnes of fish this year and 3,000 tonnes a year by 2012, eventually making up 86 per cent of current local fish production and 3 per cent of total fish consumption. Other commonly farmed food fish in Singapore include snapper and grouper.
Farms like this are part of an Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) initiative to make Singapore's food supply more sustainable by increasing local food production from 4 per cent to 15 per cent of consumption, says Mr Lim Huan Sein, 44, head of AVA's Marine Aquaculture Centre.
In all, there are now 106 licensed floating fish farms in the coastal waters here.
Barramundi fish is akin to the more common sea bass - or 'kim bak lor' in wet market parlance. The two are, in fact, the same species, with barramundi sometimes referred to as 'Asian sea bass'.
Singapore's supply of the fish comes mainly from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, though some businesses here also farm the fish on a smaller scale.
So why the need for distinction between barramundi and sea bass?
Location and farming methods matter, says Mr Staarman. Barramundi Asia's fish are farmed in large cages and in open waters off the southern coast of Singapore, whereas imported sea bass are traditionally farmed in smaller cages in stiller waters.
'Due to the current, the water quality is better. This results in a fresh fish taste. It also results in a darker fish as the fish protects itself from the sunshine in the clear water,' he says. The open-water conditions in which his fish are bred are similar to those in Australia, hence the Australian name 'barramundi' which means 'big-scale fish' in Aboriginal speak.
Another distinguishing factor is size: Bred-in-Singapore barramundi are born from special fingerlings supplied by AVA's hatchery. Called 'super sea bass', they grow up to 15 per cent faster than normal fish.
The biggest fish on the farm now weighs 3.5kg, grown from a tiny 1g. Heftier fish, however, are better suited to Western palates and are usually sold overseas, says Mr Staarman.
Indeed, a LifeStyle test conducted by culinary consultant Violet Oon and Straits Times restaurant critic Wong Ah Yoke found barramundi varied in taste and texture when compared to regular sea bass. (see other story)
The differences are also discernible to chef Dominic Chung, 29, from Barossa restaurant at The Esplanade, who recently started serving farmed-in-Singapore barramundi. He says: 'Sea bass from Malaysia, whether farmed or wild, usually has a bit of a 'mud' taste. Barramundi doesn't.'
Other restaurants that have put local barramundi on the menu include Al Dente Trattoria at The Esplanade and Flutes At The Fort in Fort Canning.
Marketgoers can expect to pay between $14 and $16 a kg for barramundi, says the farm. But a check with Sheng Siong found that the fish was being sold together with sea bass at $12 to $15 a kg because the home-grown barramundi is relatively new and not all fishmongers or vendors will know to mark the difference between the two.
More awareness must be cultivated but one way of spotting barramundi is to ask for the sea bass with the darker scales.
Mr Staarman says with a laugh: 'Some customers, after trying it, go to the market and say 'I want that black sea bass'.'
Taste test: Barramundi a fine fish
Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
Food consultant Violet Oon, 60, who runs Violet Oon's Kitchen in Toa Payoh North, and Straits Times food critic Wong Ah Yoke, 48, conducted a taste test comparing farmed-in-Singapore barramundi fish with the more common Malaysian salt water sea bass.
The fish was cooked by Oon in two ways: steamed Cantonese style with ginger and spring onion, and baked with lemon, onion, tomato and thyme.
Their verdict:
Violet Oon: 'The raw appearance of the fish is already different. The sea bass is bloodier while the barramundi is whiter.
The barramundi seems to be a 'tai tai' fish. The taste is more gentle and elegant while the sea bass has a more masculine taste, making it tastier.
The barramundi is probably more for Western cooking as Westerners prefer its white colour and less fishy taste. As someone in the business, I would also prefer to serve the barramundi as a fillet because it has a cleaner, prettier look.
I would recommend steaming, baking or pan frying the fish.'
Wong Ah Yoke: 'The barramundi flesh is much softer and its favour is quite slight. The sea bass has a stronger fish flavour and its flesh is firmer with more bite.
But sometimes you come across sea bass that are farmed in ponds and with those, the meat is too soft - much softer than the barramundi - and that's not so nice.
In terms of appearance, the barramundi does look so much nicer. It's a fine fish on its own.'
A new generation of young people are ensuring farmsin Singapore stay vibrant, viable and relevant
Christa Yeo, Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
The next time you munch on a serving of kai lan, relish this thought: It might have been grown in Singapore soil and nurtured by one of Singapore's fourth generation of farmers.
Yes, farmers.
Singapore may be known for its office blocks, high-rise buildings and 24/7 urban vibe, but in the island's sleepy, semi-rural hinterland covering 700ha in the north-west, there are still 227 farms in existence.
In that area, vegetables are not the only things that are fresh.
While many of the farms face the prospect of a young generation who want to swop the outdoors life for an airconditioned office, there is a handful of young farmers under 30 - both men and women - who are carrying on family businesses.
The new breed are a tech-savvy bunch who are enthusiastic about a job based on old-style commodities such as vegetables, frogs, fish, poultry and dairy products - but given a modern twist.
These days, many of these farms are open to the public. School tours and walk-in customers provide a welcome stream of revenue.
One such young farmer is 26-year-old William Huang, who has worked at Kok Fah Technology Farm for nearly four years.
The farm, founded by his uncle, Mr Wong Kok Fah, supplies vegetables such as kai lan, cai xin, kang kong and spinach to NTUC FairPrice's Pasar label and other markets around Singapore.
Mr Huang, a civil and structural engineering diploma holder, is the fourth-generation family member to work on a farm and he has already made his mark, introducing an automated vegetable-packing machine.
He says: 'I used to wonder how my uncle and father were able to work every single day, but now that I'm following in their footsteps, I understand that it's their passion that is driving them, as well as a commitment to their families.'
But down on the farm, Mr Huang is the exception these days.
Take second-generation farmer William Ho, 43, who took over his father Ho Seng Choon's chicken farm in 1994, turning it into a game farm.
The father of two girls, aged 10 and seven, is unsure if it will remain a family business when they grow up.
He says: 'I cannot force my daughters to come and work on the farm. If they are interested, I don't mind passing it on to them but I wouldn't want to force them.'
Mr Ho adds: 'I'm afraid that the younger generation cannot endure hardship. This job is not glamorous and is dirty. '
Many older folk can empathise with his lament: 'Children these days don't know where their food comes from. They don't know the chicken they eat have feathers and are not originally from a supermarket.'
LifeStyle spoke to farmers from several of the farms in Mandai, Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah, and found only a handful of fresh faces amid the generations who were happy to toil on the land.
Indeed, the lack of interest in farming among younger Singaporeans is evident in the small intake for Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Horticulture and Landscape Management diploma course.
The 13-year-old course, in partnership with National Parks Singapore, has a small but steady intake of about 50 to 60 students per year.
Mr Gregory Chow, senior lecturer and course manager, says: 'There are no official statistics but students who graduate from this course go on to pursue careers in nurseries, resorts and landscape industries.'
However, universities in Singapore do not offer a horticulture degree programme. Students who want to pursue their green interest further tend to go to universities in Australian cities such as in Queensland and Melbourne.
One such degree-holder from Queensland is 26-year-old Muhammad Haider. He is now 'farm chief', as owner Ivy Singh-Lim of Bollywood Veggies puts it. She is also the founder of Kranji Countryside Association, which represents farmers in the area.
Mrs Evelyn Eng-Lim, 63, who owns Green Circle Eco Farm in Lim Chu Kang, echoes Mr Ho's concerns about an uncertain future.
Her husband Lim Tian Soo, also 63, co-owns the farm and the couple have no children. She says: 'There is no farming culture here and in this electronic age, young people are so removed from nature.'
But she adds: 'I really welcome young people but they must be committed. They cannot expect to acquire a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time and they shouldn't expect to get rich.'
Mr Ho also says: 'Farmers are often required to go beyond the call of duty as nothing is predictable on a farm and we make a lot of sacrifices.
'Are they ready for that?'
Who says frogs are slimy?
Chelsea Wan, 26, Jurong Frog Farm
Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
Meet Singapore's Frog Princess, Chelsea Wan.
Clad in a T-shirt and shorts,she is a no-nonsense professional. She hands over a business card that describes her as a 'frogologist'' at Jurong Frog Farm, which supplies 25 per cent of the frogs that Singaporeans consume daily.
Any misconceptions about the next generation of frog farmers are dispelled when she opens her mouth, revealing a tongue with a trendy stud piercing.
The sociology major from the National University of Singapore says she earns 25 per cent less than her peers, but the laidback lifestyle and job satisfaction make up for that.
Yet, when she started working full-time three years ago at her father's farm, she found the stinky American bullfrogs too offputting to touch.
It was not a future she had envisaged when growing up. 'Even though I was running around with chickens and dogs, I never wanted to touch the frogs nor did I think of working on the farm,' she says.
Her father, 58-year-old Wan Bock Thiaw, set up the farm in 1981 in Jurong but moved to the 0.6ha patch in Lim Chu Kang Road in 1997.
He and his wife Quee Fong, 53, import frogs from Malaysia and Taiwan to slaughter for local restaurants and wet markets.
Her brother Jackson, 21, is awaiting admission into Nanyang Technological University to study applied physics and has not expressed interest in joining the family business.
They raise their own frogs too and sell eels, turtles and catfish to restaurants and zichar stalls and at the farm store, as well as hold educational tours.
The tours make use of her marketing skills. In fact, when she was at school, she wanted to be an events coordinator or marketer.
It was a project for university that opened her eyes to the possibility of working on her parents' frog farm after graduation.
She recalls: 'The project was to develop a business plan for an existing product. I suggested that we use a farm product called hashima because I'm familiar with it.'
Hashima is also known as snow jelly and is the oviduct fat of frogs.
It was once a royal treat for Chinese emperors. When cooked in liquid, the fat, which is tasteless, looks like cloudy globules. Most people eat it for its reputed beautifying properties and benefit to the lungs and kidneys.
The farm sells chilled bowls of hashima cooked with red dates and gingko nuts in rock sugar syrup.
'We have regular customers who drive up to buy the hashima because it is priced cheaper than elsewhere,' she says. A bowl is $3.50, compared to $8 at Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant in Ngee Ann City.
These days, she has got over finding frogs 'slimy and sticky'. But she handles the frogs only during guided tours.
The rest of the time, the farm's four foreign workers feed the frogs twice a day and take turns to slaughter an average of 8 tonnes or 32,000 frogs a month.
A routine day sees her guiding tours, bookkeeping, manning the retail counter where customers can buy products such as frog legs and essence of bullfrog with ginseng and cordyceps, and maintaining the company website and Facebook fan page.
Being on a farm does not make for an isolated social life: She has a 23-year-old South African boyfriend who lends a hand with repairs around the farm.
She says: 'I enjoy the autonomy that comes with it, but I have to take initiative to improve the farm. It takes a lot of discipline, motivation, perseverance and time to succeed.'
A passion for veggies
William Huang, 26, Kok Fah Technology Farm
Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
Farming may not be popular in urban Singapore, but at Kok Fah Technology Farm, fourth-generation farmer William Huang is gung-ho.
Tech-savvy Huang, a nephew of the owner of the vegetable farm, 49-year-old Wong Kok Fah, is introducing new ideas to improve efficiency.
The 26-year-old father of two does not need to toil under the sun as his great- grandfather, grandfather, father and uncles once did, saying 'they have already set the foundation for us so what we can do is to look into new directions and introduce new technology'.
He roped in younger brother Wei De, 23, after he graduated last year from independent education institution PSB Academy. Wei De has administrative duties such as writing up proposals and plans.
Mr Huang, who has worked nearly four years as a full-time employee on the farm in Lim Chu Kang, is more hands-on.
He drives around the five farms, which span about 10 football fields, supervising foreign workers, planning new developments with consultants and conducting tours for schoolchildren and other visitors.
The farm grows kai lan and other vegetables for FairPrice supermarkets. It also sells parsley, bok choy, lady's fingers, endive and aloe vera at a weekend market that has been held at the farm since 2004.
The civil and structural engineering diploma holder is experimenting with artificial light and its effect on crops and hopes to make Kok Fah Technology Farm a pesticide-free one soon.
He has already implemented an automated system to pack the vegetables for export efficiently and with minimal manual labour.
He says: 'If I had known that I would join the farm full-time, I would have taken courses related to agriculture.
'I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of furthering my studies, but I will do something related to farming.'
He joined the farm after national service because he found it a 'worthwhile career' and he had already been helping out and learning from his farming elders during school holidays.
Mr Wong was only too pleased to take his nephew on, saying in Mandarin: 'We were worried that there wouldn't be anyone to take over from us, but now that the brothers are here, we are relieved.'
He adds: 'Two youngsters are better than none. Even though we know they do things differently from us, we hope this is a good start in welcoming new blood.'
One significant difference between the generations lies in their work ethic.
Mr Wong, who is married with three children, aged 16, 12 and three, has worked tirelessly 365 days a year every year since setting up the farm with his three brothers in 1979.
'Even if the farm is closed to customers, we still need to check on the vegetables to make sure they have been watered and harvested accordingly,' he explains.
In contrast, Mr Huang, who has a two-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son, has cut down on his working hours because he does not want to miss out on his children's growing-up years.
'I used to wonder how my uncle and father were able to work every single day but now I understand that it's their passion that drives them, as well as a commitment to their families,' says Mr Huang, who lives in an HDB flat in Choa Chu Kang.
But what about the fifth generation?
He says: 'I wouldn't pressure my children to take over the farm when they are older, but if they are interested, why not?'
While Mr Wong does not see himself retiring yet, he is realistic, saying: 'This industry cannot be studied from books. So much of it comes from practical experience and not many young people want to lead this way of life.
'As elders like myself get older, I wouldn't mind passing the farm to the brothers. I will be at ease as long as there is someone to inherit the business.'
Goats beat statistics
Stephanie Hay, 25, Hay Dairies
Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
She has a degree in banking and finance and a master's in professional accounting, but these days she is not a bean-counter. She milks goats instead.
Meet Stephanie Hay, the new blood at Hays Dairies goat farm in Lim Chu Kang.
After graduating from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, she returned home in November last year and began working full-time on the farm, the second generation to do so.
It was founded by her parents John Hay, 55, and Doreen, 50, in 1988.
The name Hay may sound Caucasian but it is an 'Anglicised' version of the Chinese pronunciation, Xia.
The 25-year-old goat farmer used to want to be a banker but 'as I grew up and looked at my friends who are working, they look so stressed. If I can do farming, then why would I want to be so stressed for? Farming is a better alternative'.
She adds: 'I did my master's to be practical, but I returned to the farm to work full-time because I have an interest in farming and I'm used to the way of life. I probably wouldn't last long in an office.'
Many young people would turn their noses up at her daily routine: feeding baby goats at 6am, milking the mother goats later and pasteurising and bottling the milk.
Her day ends early, at 6 or 7pm.
But she says, without a hint of a complaint: 'I can't go out drinking or clubbing with my friends because at the end of the day, I would already be very tired.'
Many parents would have wanted their offspring to land a cushy office job if they had her accounting qualifications, but her parents are happy with her choice. 'We welcomed her with open arms,' says Mrs Hay.
When LifeStyle visited the farm on the third day of Chinese New Year, business was brisk. A steady stream of customers, a mix of local and expatriate families, had driven there to buy plastic bottles of fresh milk packed in styrofoam cooler boxes.
Goat's milk, the only product from the farm, is sold there at $2 for 200ml and $7 for 800ml.
The milk comes in original or chocolate flavour. The farm sells directly to customers either from its premises or through home deliveries six days a week.
Feeding and milking times for the almost 1,000 goats were over but Ms Hay willingly changed back into her work uniform of white polo T-shirt, jeans and white rubber boots to have her photo taken with a baby goat.
Her experience of 'being on the farm since the first day she was born', as her mother put it, is evident in the way the young farmer lovingly cradled the baby goat when it began to fidget.
When asked if it would be more practical and less labour intensive to just hire more foreign workers to help with the feeding and milking, she says: 'We are dealing with live animals here and goats are like dogs, affectionate and playful, so we feel that foreign workers may not be able to give them the attention and affection they need.'
Her parents, who previously ran a pig farm called Yak Seng Hay in Punggol, also have the help of their elder son, Leon, 31, on the farm. He joined after national service and is married with two daughters, aged four and one.
The entire Hay family live in a one-storey house on the grounds. The five adults and two children occupy four spacious bedrooms.
Ms Hay's life on the farm may have shielded her from the uncertainties a banker may have to face these days, but her future with the farm is not cast in stone either.
'I'm learning how business is done and maybe one day, I will start my own too,' she says.
From spiders to farm
Muhammad Haidir, 24, Bollywood Veggies
Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
It was the case of an employee with a fake degree and an employer who stood up for him in court that led Mr Muhammad Haidir to become a farmer.
Reading about the 2007 case in The Straits Times, he was moved to write to Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim about becoming a farmer at her Bollywood Veggies farm in Kranji.
Mrs Singh-Lim, the past president of Netball Singapore, had fought for Shivalingam Chandrasekaran to stay in Singapore even after he was discovered to have gained employment at her farm with a fake botany degree from India.
She did so because she was impressed with his work as a farm supervisor for six years. After the verdict, she paid his fines but he was sentenced to jail for two weeks and then deported to India.
One man's mistake was another man's gain, as Mr Haidir became a temporary employee on the farm in 2008.
Mrs Singh-Lim is married to Mr Lim Ho Seng, former CEO of NTUC FairPrice supermarkets. They have a daughter from his previous marriage.
Mr Haidir, who is the eldest of three children, is no stranger to nurturing plants and the great outdoors. He already had a diploma in horticulture and landscape planning from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
He went on to impress Mrs Singh-Lim so much that she loaned him money in 2008 to obtain a driving licence and take a one-year course to get a bachelor of science degree in Queensland, Australia. The normally four-year degree programme was shortened to one year from exemptions granted because of his relevant diploma.
Mrs Singh-Lim, who was not able to recall the loan amount but said it was five digits, says: 'I didn't worry that he was never going to repay the loans. I was already sure of his character and I know that he is an honest boy who puts in good work for me.'
The founder of the Kranji Countryside Association is known for not mincing her words and she has nothing but glowing compliments for Mr Haidir.
The 24-year-old, who called himself a 'nature boy' who grew up in the HDB heartlands catching spiders, returned from Australia with a bachelor of applied science with a major in plants and resumed working on the farm in September last year.
His daily duties include managing the farm's five foreign workers, overseeing the operations of the farm, leading tours and conducting activities such as treasure hunts.
The farm produces organic vegetables such as aloe vera, bitter gourd, capsicum, lady's fingers, tapioca and wintermelon.
Bollywood Veggies does not supply produce to external sources, but has positioned itself as an educational and entertainment farm.
It also has an onsite eatery Poison Ivy bistro and up to 90 per cent of what diners eat there is from the farm.
The farmboy with green fingers also works his magic on computers. He is able to repair them and troubleshoot problems for friends and he hopes to pioneer new innovations that marry agriculture with technology in the farming industry.
Bernama 20 Feb 10;
BANTING, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The National Tiger Action Plan (Ntap), aimed at protecting the Malayan tiger, should get a bite out of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
This is the fervent hope of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma that the Ntap, which was launched in 2008, would get some allocation from the 10MP.
He said the action plan to tackle the issue, like stepping up enforcement against poachers, carrying out scientific research on the species and its habitat management could be done and were achievable.
However, Dr Sharma noted, such actions needed funding.
He said this after the launch of WWF-Malaysia's 'Tx2: Double or Nothing' campaign here Saturday.
The campaign is aimed at creating awareness among Malaysians to protect the tiger -- symbol of the country -- which was currently left with about 500 residing in the Malaysian rain forest.
The Ntap, formulated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, spelled out a whole range of details to protect the animal which formed the Malaysian crest (jata negara), including environmental awareness and education for people in tiger conservation.
To date, there are just slightly more than 3,000 tigers left in the world.
-- BERNAMA
The Star 21 Feb 10;
KINABATANGAN: Age and gender have been found to dictate the movement of Bornean elephants in the wilds of the Lower Kina-batangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS).
These were among the initial findings of a study being conducted on three elephants, that were fitted with satellite collars two years ago, in an effort by experts to help minimise elephant and human conflicts.
“The data we have obtained so far shows that Bornean elephant movements in the wild varied between male and females,” according to researcher Nurzhafarina Othman, who is carrying out a study on the social behaviour of the elephants.
The elephants were fitted with the satellite collars in a joint project carried out by Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and French non-governmental organisation, Hutan.
“We placed one collar on a male bull, which we named Gading as he only has one tusk, and another on a female identified as being a matriarch, named Benina.
“The final collar is on a younger female named Bod Tai that had been collared previously by WWF-Malaysia,” said Nurzhafarina, who is based at the DGFC.
Meanwhile DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said: “It is crucial to know if there is any traditional or common routes used by the elephants at LKWS.
“This will help the wildlife managers to identify important areas within the sanctuary to establish wildlife corridors for the animals,” he added.
Julia Chan, New Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
KOTA KINABALU: The severe drought in the state has been blamed for the loss of 1,300ha of forest reserve land in the past two weeks.
Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the worst hit area was the Binsuluk Forest Reserve in the west coast of Beaufort, where fire razed 100ha of forests.
It is believed that open burning and land-clearing activities nearby were the cause of the forest fire.
A local daily reported that 5,000ha of private land in the west coast also caught fire.
Other locations that caught fire were the Sabah Forest Industries's plantation (90ha) in Sipitang, with losses estimated at more than RM500,000; the Bukit Hampuan forest reserve (20ha) in Ranau and the Melawaring forest reserve (4ha).
More than 80 personnel from the department and the Fire and Rescue Department have been deployed to combat the fires.
Sam urged all plantation owners and holders of the Sustainable Forest Management licensee agreement to upgrade their fire prevention methods and control capabilities.
He also urged them to seal all entry points into the forests to prevent illegal entry.
In the west coast, 15 families were evacuated from their homes in Bukit Sim Sim after a forest fire broke out on Wednesday.
All of them were evacuated to a nearby community.
Meanwhile, the state Water Department said supply was not affected.
"We are monitoring the water levels regularly to ensure that there will be no shortage.
"At the current rate, we should be able to operate normally for at least a few more months," said a department spokesperson.
Sabah Meteorological Department director Abdul Malek Tusin said on Tuesday the weather was a mild El Nino phenomenon, which started in the middle of last year and was predicted to last until April.
He said the current El Nino would not bring a prolonged drought similar to what the state experienced in 1983 and 1997.
He also said rainfall was below normal but that the situation was expected to improve in the next couple of months.Extreme weather: Look for alternative sources now, says expert
New Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: Whenever a water crisis occurs, Malaysians tend to use more water than necessary, often a result of panic.
In such a situation, it was imperative for consumers to understand the importance of conserving water and using it more efficiently, said Mohmad Asari Daud, the Council for Water and Green Technology Professionals (Proatek) secretary-general yesterday.
He said the current water issues could become a problem if temperatures continued to rise and the taps slowly ran dry.
Asari said the changing weather patterns and growing demand for water, combined with persistent intrusion into catchment areas and pollution, were key factors that impacted supply.
The country, he added, was too dependent on surface water, making Malaysia more susceptible to a crisis whenever drought occurred.
"Water operators must keep the public informed on the situation and provide sound advice on water conservation. The public needs to be updated regularly, not only on the quality of water but also its quantity.
"Experience and knowledge are essential for operators to utilise their resources effectively in order to minimise impact."
Asari added that the right technology could be utilised to manage the water problems efficiently and promptly.
Proatek is a non-governmental organisation made up of water and green-technology industry professionals.
It provides a platform for experts, professionals and opinion leaders in the industry to compare notes, share ideas, network and learn while promoting industry best practices in Malaysia.
Asari also said rivers must be protected so that they could continue to be a reliable source of water.
"And yet, rivers are often in a deplorable state due to lack of care. Building dams can augment water-storage capacity during a dry spell but dams also dry out if the drought is prolonged."
The time is ripe for industry professionals to put their heads together to explore viable sources of water.
"One alternative is rainwater harvesting, which essentially means the gathering and storing of rainwater from roofs of houses or from specially prepared areas.
"Another alternative is groundwater, which can play a significant role in supplementing water supply and reduce the impact of drought."
He added that groundwater offered a more sustainable source of water but only if the extraction process was efficiently done.
"Climate change may be just a buzzword to some but it is real. Droughts and floods are getting more extreme. So, all parties must act in concert."
Extreme weather: Surge in demand for drinking water
New Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: The prolonged dry spell has sent the demand for drinking water soaring.
Suppliers and companies operating in the Klang Valley have reported a jump in sales in the past few weeks.
Engkateswara Rao, 42, who supplies drinking water to offices and companies in the Klang Valley, said his company had received numerous orders lately.
He believed that this could be due to the weather.
"The demand from factories and manufacturing plants has increased tremendously, probably due to the heat wave," Rao told the New Straits Times yesterday.
"We can't cope with the demand."
An executive of a myNews.com convenience store said the dry and humid days had prompted more people to buy bottled drinks.
"Most of our outlets have reported an increase in sales since last month.
"Besides drinking water, isotonic drinks are also selling fast as our customers want quick relief in this hot weather."
However, drinking water is also more popular than bottled mineral water.
"Many people have switched to drinking water because it is cheaper than mineral water," said a water wholesaler who declined to be named.
Extreme weather: Situation improving at Sembrong Timur plant
New Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
KLUANG: The water level at the Sembrong Timur water processing plant here went up yesterday due to a burst of rain on Thursday afternoon.
The water processing plant, which feeds water to most of the Kluang district, saw a 0.2m increase in water level.
Johor's water management company, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, is hopeful that the situation would improve.
Its corporate communications head, Jamaluddin Jamil, said even though the number was small, it was still good news as in previous days, the water level was below the 0.1m mark.
"However, I remind Kluang residents to conserve water until the processing plant in Sembrong Timur reaches normal operating levels."
Jamaluddin said the month-long water rationing exercise, which was due to end early next month, would still be carried out within the district.
He added that the 19 water tankers would be mobilised to the remote areas of Chamek, Nyior and Paloh, where residents faced the worst water shortage in the district.
On Tuesday, the New Straits Times reported that the water supply at the Sembrong Timur plant had reached the critical level of 10 millilitres per day (mlpd), down from the normal level of 20mlpd.
About 50,000 people were affected and the situation was made worst by the ongoing Chinese New Year celebrations.
It is learnt that with the brief rainfall, full water production can reach 19mlpd within the next few days.
On the overall situation in neighbouring districts, Jamaluddin said the situation was normal, especially at the Sembrong Barat water processing plant.
Jamaluddin said SAJ Holdings had also recorded fewer complaints due to better awareness among Kluang residents.
"I urge the residents to be patient as we (SAJ Holdings) are doing all we can to ease the water shortage," he said.
Regina Lee, New Straits Times 20 Feb 10;
PUTRAJAYA: Soon, peat swamp forests in southeast Pahang will be covered with plants to offset carbon footprint.
In a memorandum of understanding signed between the Pahang government and the Natural Resources and Environment ministry, the 230,600ha forest will act as a "carbon sink" to absorb carbon from the air.
In the voluntary carbon offset scheme (VCOS) initiated by Malaysia Airlines, 12,000ha of the forest will also be replanted with various species of plants.
This is part of efforts to offset carbon emission by the airline industry, which accounts for two per cent of emissions globally.
The ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Zoal Azha Yusof, said the VCOS in Pahang was a long-term plan that would be monitored for the next 30 years.
"The peat swamp forest in Pahang is the largest contiguous forest of its kind in Asia.
"Six years of research was poured into identifying the perfect place for such a project," he said after the signing ceremony yesterday.
He also said that there were other trickle-down effects from the project such as eco-tourism opportunities.
"The forest is home to several species of migratory birds. Avid bird watchers can have a whale of a time there."
Also present at the event was Pahang state secretary Datuk Muhammad Safian Ismail.
Victoria Gill, BBC News 20 Feb 10;
Leading scientists say that the recent controversies surrounding climate research have damaged the image of science as a whole.
President of the US National Academy of Sciences, Ralph Cicerone, said scandals including the "climategate" e-mail row had eroded public trust in scientists.
His comment came at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Diego.
Dr Cicerone joined other renowned scientists on a panel at the event.
'Distrust has spread'
He said that the controversial e-mail exchanges about climate change data had caused people to suspect that scientists "oppressed free speech".
His fellow panel members, including Lord Martin Rees, president of the UK's Royal Society, agreed that scientists needed to be more open about their findings.
"There is some evidence that the distrust has spread," Dr Cicerone told BBC News. "There is a feeling that scientists are suppressing dissent, stifling their competitors through conspiracies."
Recent polls, including one carried out by the BBC, have suggested that climate scepticism is on the rise.
Dr Cicerone linked this shift in public feeling to the hacked e-mails and to recently publicised mistakes made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in one of its key reports.
'More transparency'
He said he was convinced that these events had had a wider knock-on effect.
"Public opinion polls are showing that the answers to questions like: 'how much do you respect scientists?' or 'are they behaving in disinterested ways?', have deteriorated in the last few months."
He said that this crisis of public confidence should be a wake-up call for researchers, and that the world had now "entered an era in which people expected more transparency".
"People expect us to do things more in the public light and we just have to get used to that," he said. "Just as science itself improves and self-corrects, I think our processes have to improve and self-correct."
Yahoo News 20 Feb 10;
SAN DIEGO, California (AFP) – Climate science is alive and well despite the scandal of leaked emails in Britain and "glitches" in a report by the UN climate change panel, top scientists said Friday.
"There's consensus that action is justified, indeed imperative to reduce the problem of a really serious long-term global effect on the climate," said Lord Martin Rees, president of the British academy of science, the Royal Society.
"My personal take is the key bit of evidence is the rise in CO2 concentration plus simple physics. If we had no data other than that, that would be enough," Rees told reporters at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Climate change sceptics seized on a leak of thousands of emails and other documents from researchers at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Britain, which appeared to show scientists saying global warming was not as serious as previously thought.
That scandal, dubbed Climategate, came just weeks before UN talks on climate change in Copenhagen in December.
Several weeks after the talks, another scandal rocked the world of climate science, when the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was accused of basing a report about ice disappearing from the world's mountain peaks on a student essay and an article in a mountaineering magazine.
But scientists weren't out for the count; they just can't, ethically, "go into the gutter" the way the media have in attacking the science world over the leaks, said Jerry North of Texas A&M University.
"It's easy vilify scientists but scientists cannot go into the gutter and turn the attacks the other way.
"But the climate science paradigm is in fact quite healthy. We just have a lot of challenges about how we communicate," said North.
Scientists may be good at crunching numbers and data, but they're bad at doing their own public relations, said Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences.
"There are a lot of smart people working on climate change right now, but we're not doing a good job of translating what we're learning to the public," said Cicerone.
"Instead when we have a major snowstorm on the east coast of the US, jokes are proliferating about how wrong all this global warming stuff was. And yet you turn on your television and look at the winter Olympics in Canada and you find no snow..."
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