4-hr date with the Smooth Otters
from The Simplicities in Life and friendship is
April update
from The Green Volunteers
Not grounded
from The annotated budak and Shroom with a view
Mangroves of the world and Singapore
from wild shores of singapore
Mangrove Pitta breeding: 4. Food for hatchings
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Forgotten species: the subterranean Gekko gigante
from Mongabay.com news by Jeremy Hance
Best of our wild blogs: 9 Apr 10
Ecologists unveil plan for 'barometer of natural life'
Paper co-authored by E O Wilson calls for thousands of scientists to collect information on 160,000 species deemed representative of life on Earth
Juliette Jowit, guardian.co.uk 8 Apr 10;
An ambitious project to create a "barometer of life" to track the changing fortunes of the natural world will be set out tomorrow by some of the world's leading ecologists.
The plan is for thousands of scientists to collect information on 160,000 of the world's nearly 2 million known species - from great mammals, fish and birds to obscure insects and fungi - chosen to be representative of life on Earth.
The index would more than triple the scope of what is already the world's biggest scheme - the "red list" of extinct and endangered species published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) - and would be updated every five years.
The cost of building the database would be about US$60m (£39.3m), but this would be "one of the best investments for the good of humanity," says the proposal, published in the journal Science and co-authored by the great American ecologist and writer E O Wilson.
The figures could be used to help companies carry out environmental impact assessments, allow national and international organisations to prioritise spending, and draw public attention to problems as a way of building support for policies to protect and improve biodiversity, said Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN's species survival commission, and the paper's lead author.
"Just think of the other uses $60m are put to by the world, and the amount of money spent on wars or banks, or advertising," Stuart told the Guardian. "We can put our hands on our hearts and say this would be better for the good of humanity. First of all it's an indicator of the health of the planet. Secondly in many parts of the world people depend on biodiversity for food or clean water or living wages. Thirdly I'd say because of their intrinsic value: there's something inspirational about ecosystems and species being in good shape, and the diversity of it."
The idea – informally titled the "barometer of life" – is supported by the IUCN and nine partner organisations, including Kew Gardens in London, and the Zoological Society of London.
The IUCN's red list has so far assessed more than 47,000 species, but is heavily biased towards a few groups of animals – mammals, birds and amphibians – and does not adequately represent the whole of life on Earth, says the paper.
Only half of all vertebrates and "an extremely small proportion" of plants, invertebrates, fungi and other groups like seaweeds have been assessed, and species from marine, freshwater and arid environments are also "poorly covered", said Stuart.
"There are good reasons for believing you are going to get different results in different groups, which is why we have got to extend what we have got already," he added.
Using the hundreds of experts in the partner groups, and guidelines set down by the IUCN, Stuart estimates the first barometer could be published five years after receiving funding – probably from a private source. After that it could be updated every five years, for an annual cost of – at a "guess" - $5m, said Stuart, little more than is spent on the red list by global governments.
The headline figure for all life on Earth could be modelled on the IUCN's extinction risk rating of 0-1, where 0 is all species in the group are extinct, and 1 means there are no threats. In addition, the index could be broken down by region, species group, and by type of threat, said Stuart.
The 160,000 species proposed is a "provisional" figure, and includes almost all the nearly 65,000 species of vertebrates, and representative samples from the other groups. The scheme is being proposed to mark the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.
Scientists have so far described 1.9 million of the estimated up to 10 million species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi and other groups on Earth, and possibly tens of millions more bacteria and archeans.
Ten of the most endangered species in the world
Florida bonneted bat - Eumops floridanus was thought to be extinct until 2002, when a small colony was discovered in a North Fort Myers suburb of Florida, US.
Saola – The cow-like Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, which occurs only in the Annamite mountains of Vietnam and Laos is in protracted decline.
Kakapo or owl parrot - In 2008, the total population of this large, flightless nocturnal parrot (Strigops habroptila) from New Zealand was 93, including the seven hatched that year.
Golden arrow poison frog – With the chytridiomycosis epidemic spreading from west to east through Panama, populations of Atelopus zeteki are now at severe risk.
Jamaican iguana – There may be no more than a hundred adult Cyclura collei remaining in the wild, and juvenile recruitment appears to be minimal.
Chinese paddlefish - Only two adult specimens of Psephurus gladius (both females) have been recorded since 2002. It is expected there are fewer than 50 adults left in the wild.
Chinese giant salamander - The largest of all amphibian species, sometimes growing to more than 1m long, Andrias davidianus is widespread in southern China, but its range is very fragmented
Sicilian fir - Abies nebrodensis trees are presently limited to the steep, dry slopes of Mt. Scalone in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily.
Sumatran orang-utan - The majority of surviving Pongo abelii live in the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Scientists call for biodiversity barometer
IUCN Press Release 8 Apr 10;
For the first time scientists have put a figure on how much it would cost to learn about the conservation status of millions of species, some of which have yet to be identified. The price tag is US$60 million, according to a team of scientists, including those from IUCN and Conservation International, who presented their case in this week’s Science magazine in an article called “The Barometer of Life.”
“Our knowledge about species and extinction rates remains very poor, and this has negative consequences for our environment and economy,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. “By expanding the current IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM to include up to approximately 160,000 well-chosen species, we will have a good barometer for informing decisions globally.”
To date, almost 48,000 species have been assessed on the IUCN Red List, which costs about US$4 million each year. Most of this work is carried out by thousands of volunteers worldwide through the Species Survival Commission.
Globally, only 1.9 million species have been identified, though the estimated number of species is thought to be somewhere between 10 and 20 million. While the Red List contains assessments of all species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reef-building corals, freshwater crabs, cycads and conifers, the vast majority of the world’s species are poorly represented, including many plants, invertebrates, reptiles, fishes and fungi.
“The more we learn about indicator species (which can provide information on the quality of the environment around them), the more we know about the status of the living environment that sustains us all,” says Edward O. Wilson, a prominent biologist at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. “Threatened species, in particular, need to be targeted to enable better conservation and policy decisions.”
“We urgently need to ramp up current efforts to catalogue a far more representative selection of our vast biodiversity, while we still can, and we should focus first and foremost on those areas of highest extinction risk,” says Russell Mittermeier, President of Conservation International and Chair of IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. “Such information will also help governments and communities to design appropriate responses to climate change and to other pressing conservation challenges.”
“Another important challenge is to strengthen scientific capacity for performing Red List assessments in biodiversity-rich areas. The developing world is home to most of the earth’s species, but human resources for monitoring this natural wealth are seriously lacking,” says Jon Paul Rodríguez, an ecologist at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigation and the Venezuelan NGO Provita, who serves as Deputy Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.
“The fact that we will not achieve the 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity is disheartening,” says Jeff McNeely, Senior Science Advisor, IUCN. “But complaining will not help nearly as much as a redoubled effort to conserve what remains of our planet’s living wealth. The Barometer of Life offers us an effective tool for measuring our progress towards saving life on earth.”
Media team:
Nicki Chadwick, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, t +41 22 999 0229, m +41 76 771 4208, e nicki.chadwick@iucn.org
Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui, Press Officer, Conservation International, t +1 703 341 2471, m +1 571 225 8345, e p.malentaqui@conservation.org
Note to Editors:
The authors of the Science article, “The Barometer of Life,” are: Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC), Bath, UK; Edward O. Wilson, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Jeffrey A. McNeely, Senior Science Advisor, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland; Russell A. Mittermeier, President of Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA, and Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group; Jon Paul Rodriguez, Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela, and SSC Deputy Chair.
About the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (or the IUCN Red List) is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species. It is based on an objective system for assessing the risk of extinction of a species should no conservation action be taken.
Species are assigned to one of eight categories of threat based on whether they meet criteria linked to population trend, population size and structure and geographic range. Species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable are collectively described as ‘Threatened’.
The IUCN Red List is not just a register of names and associated threat categories. It is a rich compendium of information on the threats to the species, their ecological requirements, where they live, and information on conservation actions that can be used to reduce or prevent extinctions.
www.iucnredlist.org
About Conservation International
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International (CI) empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. With headquarters in Washington, DC, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents.
www.conservation.org
How to Preserve the Breadth of Life on the Planet
New tools attempt to capture the sixth extinction currently underway, while also highlighting ways to stop it
David Biello Scientific American 9 Apr 10;
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. Now a coalition of biologists is calling for a similar scientific tool to measure extinction pressure on Earth's biodiversity—a so-called "barometer of life".
After all, scientists have conclusively identified only a fraction of the species that exist on Earth; the roughly 1.9 million species catalogued to date may represent only 20 percent of the total biodiversity on the planet. "Species disappear before we know they existed," wrote biologists Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University, and others in the April 9 issue of Science, calling for an international effort to fund the creation of such a bio-barometer. Adds Stuart: "The point of conservation is to turn that negative trend into a positive trend."
The biologists propose to do that by spending $60 million to pull together all the known information to assess roughly 160,000 individual species from four groups: chordates (mammals and other vertebrates); invertebrates (insects and worms); plants; and fungi. The species would be assessed to identify which are suffering as a result of various extinction pressures: agricultural expansion and/or intensification; habitat changes; and climate change, among others. Such an assessment would give a better picture of the overall threat to biodiversity than do current efforts, according to the biologists. "There's an awful lot of information out there that we're not using because it's sitting in obscure places like museum jars," Stuart says.
Of course, 160,000 is only roughly 8 percent of known species—and the survey will not attempt to expand the rolls of living things, like the Encyclopedia of Life (an effort to catalogue all the species on the planet). "We're not going to be able to monitor the conservation status of nematodes anytime soon," Stuart admits. But "if the barometer shows a very major decline—as [the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species suggests already]—in mammals due to overhunting in Asia then that informs us what needs to be done."
As the aforementioned Encyclopedia and Red List suggest, the barometer would be only one of many such efforts, particularly given that this is the International Year of Biodiversity, according to the United Nations. But many of those efforts, including the IUCN's, cover even fewer species and betray a distinct bias toward charismatic megafauna like polar bears or bald eagles.
Other conservation groups take a different approach: The Nature Conservancy will release its Atlas of Global Conservation on April 22, which attempts to capture in maps the pressures faced by global habitats as well as the relative density of various species, such as amphibians. "By taking a habitat view, you're able to encompass all those species," says Conservancy senior scientist Jennifer Molnar. "It's a new view of the planet."
The new maps, which rely on collating everything from satellite data to field expeditions to fish species counts in specific locales, reveal that most areas of the world have already warmed as a result of climate change; almost all coastal ecosystems are now impacted by excess flows of nitrogen and other fertilizers, along with a decrease in sediment; and many regions of the world (if not all, because the rest lack sufficient data) now enjoy at least five invasive mammal species and three invading freshwater plants or animal species. "It's the first time to see how bad the problems are at a global scale," Molnar says. "We're not just damaging the environment, we're hurting ourselves…. The maps show that these resources are threatened beyond what we may realize."
The maps might show that current conservation efforts have failed, given that global species-saving efforts have grown as have the extent of protected habitats, although IUCN's Stuart rejects that claim. "Things would be going very much worse were it not for conservation measures," he says. "What we don't know at this stage is how much conservation has achieved." Given that Earth may be losing as many as 140,000 species a year—most of those nematodes and other uncharismatic microfauna—the question of how well conservation has worked to preserve biodiversity may soon be moot.
Juliette Jowit, guardian.co.uk 8 Apr 10;
An ambitious project to create a "barometer of life" to track the changing fortunes of the natural world will be set out tomorrow by some of the world's leading ecologists.
The plan is for thousands of scientists to collect information on 160,000 of the world's nearly 2 million known species - from great mammals, fish and birds to obscure insects and fungi - chosen to be representative of life on Earth.
The index would more than triple the scope of what is already the world's biggest scheme - the "red list" of extinct and endangered species published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) - and would be updated every five years.
The cost of building the database would be about US$60m (£39.3m), but this would be "one of the best investments for the good of humanity," says the proposal, published in the journal Science and co-authored by the great American ecologist and writer E O Wilson.
The figures could be used to help companies carry out environmental impact assessments, allow national and international organisations to prioritise spending, and draw public attention to problems as a way of building support for policies to protect and improve biodiversity, said Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN's species survival commission, and the paper's lead author.
"Just think of the other uses $60m are put to by the world, and the amount of money spent on wars or banks, or advertising," Stuart told the Guardian. "We can put our hands on our hearts and say this would be better for the good of humanity. First of all it's an indicator of the health of the planet. Secondly in many parts of the world people depend on biodiversity for food or clean water or living wages. Thirdly I'd say because of their intrinsic value: there's something inspirational about ecosystems and species being in good shape, and the diversity of it."
The idea – informally titled the "barometer of life" – is supported by the IUCN and nine partner organisations, including Kew Gardens in London, and the Zoological Society of London.
The IUCN's red list has so far assessed more than 47,000 species, but is heavily biased towards a few groups of animals – mammals, birds and amphibians – and does not adequately represent the whole of life on Earth, says the paper.
Only half of all vertebrates and "an extremely small proportion" of plants, invertebrates, fungi and other groups like seaweeds have been assessed, and species from marine, freshwater and arid environments are also "poorly covered", said Stuart.
"There are good reasons for believing you are going to get different results in different groups, which is why we have got to extend what we have got already," he added.
Using the hundreds of experts in the partner groups, and guidelines set down by the IUCN, Stuart estimates the first barometer could be published five years after receiving funding – probably from a private source. After that it could be updated every five years, for an annual cost of – at a "guess" - $5m, said Stuart, little more than is spent on the red list by global governments.
The headline figure for all life on Earth could be modelled on the IUCN's extinction risk rating of 0-1, where 0 is all species in the group are extinct, and 1 means there are no threats. In addition, the index could be broken down by region, species group, and by type of threat, said Stuart.
The 160,000 species proposed is a "provisional" figure, and includes almost all the nearly 65,000 species of vertebrates, and representative samples from the other groups. The scheme is being proposed to mark the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.
Scientists have so far described 1.9 million of the estimated up to 10 million species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi and other groups on Earth, and possibly tens of millions more bacteria and archeans.
Ten of the most endangered species in the world
Florida bonneted bat - Eumops floridanus was thought to be extinct until 2002, when a small colony was discovered in a North Fort Myers suburb of Florida, US.
Saola – The cow-like Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, which occurs only in the Annamite mountains of Vietnam and Laos is in protracted decline.
Kakapo or owl parrot - In 2008, the total population of this large, flightless nocturnal parrot (Strigops habroptila) from New Zealand was 93, including the seven hatched that year.
Golden arrow poison frog – With the chytridiomycosis epidemic spreading from west to east through Panama, populations of Atelopus zeteki are now at severe risk.
Jamaican iguana – There may be no more than a hundred adult Cyclura collei remaining in the wild, and juvenile recruitment appears to be minimal.
Chinese paddlefish - Only two adult specimens of Psephurus gladius (both females) have been recorded since 2002. It is expected there are fewer than 50 adults left in the wild.
Chinese giant salamander - The largest of all amphibian species, sometimes growing to more than 1m long, Andrias davidianus is widespread in southern China, but its range is very fragmented
Sicilian fir - Abies nebrodensis trees are presently limited to the steep, dry slopes of Mt. Scalone in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily.
Sumatran orang-utan - The majority of surviving Pongo abelii live in the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Scientists call for biodiversity barometer
IUCN Press Release 8 Apr 10;
For the first time scientists have put a figure on how much it would cost to learn about the conservation status of millions of species, some of which have yet to be identified. The price tag is US$60 million, according to a team of scientists, including those from IUCN and Conservation International, who presented their case in this week’s Science magazine in an article called “The Barometer of Life.”
“Our knowledge about species and extinction rates remains very poor, and this has negative consequences for our environment and economy,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. “By expanding the current IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM to include up to approximately 160,000 well-chosen species, we will have a good barometer for informing decisions globally.”
To date, almost 48,000 species have been assessed on the IUCN Red List, which costs about US$4 million each year. Most of this work is carried out by thousands of volunteers worldwide through the Species Survival Commission.
Globally, only 1.9 million species have been identified, though the estimated number of species is thought to be somewhere between 10 and 20 million. While the Red List contains assessments of all species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reef-building corals, freshwater crabs, cycads and conifers, the vast majority of the world’s species are poorly represented, including many plants, invertebrates, reptiles, fishes and fungi.
“The more we learn about indicator species (which can provide information on the quality of the environment around them), the more we know about the status of the living environment that sustains us all,” says Edward O. Wilson, a prominent biologist at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. “Threatened species, in particular, need to be targeted to enable better conservation and policy decisions.”
“We urgently need to ramp up current efforts to catalogue a far more representative selection of our vast biodiversity, while we still can, and we should focus first and foremost on those areas of highest extinction risk,” says Russell Mittermeier, President of Conservation International and Chair of IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. “Such information will also help governments and communities to design appropriate responses to climate change and to other pressing conservation challenges.”
“Another important challenge is to strengthen scientific capacity for performing Red List assessments in biodiversity-rich areas. The developing world is home to most of the earth’s species, but human resources for monitoring this natural wealth are seriously lacking,” says Jon Paul Rodríguez, an ecologist at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigation and the Venezuelan NGO Provita, who serves as Deputy Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.
“The fact that we will not achieve the 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity is disheartening,” says Jeff McNeely, Senior Science Advisor, IUCN. “But complaining will not help nearly as much as a redoubled effort to conserve what remains of our planet’s living wealth. The Barometer of Life offers us an effective tool for measuring our progress towards saving life on earth.”
Media team:
Nicki Chadwick, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, t +41 22 999 0229, m +41 76 771 4208, e nicki.chadwick@iucn.org
Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui, Press Officer, Conservation International, t +1 703 341 2471, m +1 571 225 8345, e p.malentaqui@conservation.org
Note to Editors:
The authors of the Science article, “The Barometer of Life,” are: Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC), Bath, UK; Edward O. Wilson, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Jeffrey A. McNeely, Senior Science Advisor, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland; Russell A. Mittermeier, President of Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA, and Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group; Jon Paul Rodriguez, Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela, and SSC Deputy Chair.
About the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (or the IUCN Red List) is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species. It is based on an objective system for assessing the risk of extinction of a species should no conservation action be taken.
Species are assigned to one of eight categories of threat based on whether they meet criteria linked to population trend, population size and structure and geographic range. Species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable are collectively described as ‘Threatened’.
The IUCN Red List is not just a register of names and associated threat categories. It is a rich compendium of information on the threats to the species, their ecological requirements, where they live, and information on conservation actions that can be used to reduce or prevent extinctions.
www.iucnredlist.org
About Conservation International
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International (CI) empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. With headquarters in Washington, DC, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents.
www.conservation.org
How to Preserve the Breadth of Life on the Planet
New tools attempt to capture the sixth extinction currently underway, while also highlighting ways to stop it
David Biello Scientific American 9 Apr 10;
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. Now a coalition of biologists is calling for a similar scientific tool to measure extinction pressure on Earth's biodiversity—a so-called "barometer of life".
After all, scientists have conclusively identified only a fraction of the species that exist on Earth; the roughly 1.9 million species catalogued to date may represent only 20 percent of the total biodiversity on the planet. "Species disappear before we know they existed," wrote biologists Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University, and others in the April 9 issue of Science, calling for an international effort to fund the creation of such a bio-barometer. Adds Stuart: "The point of conservation is to turn that negative trend into a positive trend."
The biologists propose to do that by spending $60 million to pull together all the known information to assess roughly 160,000 individual species from four groups: chordates (mammals and other vertebrates); invertebrates (insects and worms); plants; and fungi. The species would be assessed to identify which are suffering as a result of various extinction pressures: agricultural expansion and/or intensification; habitat changes; and climate change, among others. Such an assessment would give a better picture of the overall threat to biodiversity than do current efforts, according to the biologists. "There's an awful lot of information out there that we're not using because it's sitting in obscure places like museum jars," Stuart says.
Of course, 160,000 is only roughly 8 percent of known species—and the survey will not attempt to expand the rolls of living things, like the Encyclopedia of Life (an effort to catalogue all the species on the planet). "We're not going to be able to monitor the conservation status of nematodes anytime soon," Stuart admits. But "if the barometer shows a very major decline—as [the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species suggests already]—in mammals due to overhunting in Asia then that informs us what needs to be done."
As the aforementioned Encyclopedia and Red List suggest, the barometer would be only one of many such efforts, particularly given that this is the International Year of Biodiversity, according to the United Nations. But many of those efforts, including the IUCN's, cover even fewer species and betray a distinct bias toward charismatic megafauna like polar bears or bald eagles.
Other conservation groups take a different approach: The Nature Conservancy will release its Atlas of Global Conservation on April 22, which attempts to capture in maps the pressures faced by global habitats as well as the relative density of various species, such as amphibians. "By taking a habitat view, you're able to encompass all those species," says Conservancy senior scientist Jennifer Molnar. "It's a new view of the planet."
The new maps, which rely on collating everything from satellite data to field expeditions to fish species counts in specific locales, reveal that most areas of the world have already warmed as a result of climate change; almost all coastal ecosystems are now impacted by excess flows of nitrogen and other fertilizers, along with a decrease in sediment; and many regions of the world (if not all, because the rest lack sufficient data) now enjoy at least five invasive mammal species and three invading freshwater plants or animal species. "It's the first time to see how bad the problems are at a global scale," Molnar says. "We're not just damaging the environment, we're hurting ourselves…. The maps show that these resources are threatened beyond what we may realize."
The maps might show that current conservation efforts have failed, given that global species-saving efforts have grown as have the extent of protected habitats, although IUCN's Stuart rejects that claim. "Things would be going very much worse were it not for conservation measures," he says. "What we don't know at this stage is how much conservation has achieved." Given that Earth may be losing as many as 140,000 species a year—most of those nematodes and other uncharismatic microfauna—the question of how well conservation has worked to preserve biodiversity may soon be moot.
Mangrove forests in worldwide decline
IUCN Press Release 9 Apr 10;
More than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction due to coastal development and other factors, including climate change, logging and agriculture, according to the first-ever global assessment on the conservation status of mangroves for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
As a result, 11 out of 70 mangrove species (16 percent) which were assessed will be placed on the IUCN Red List. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40 percent of mangrove species are considered threatened, are particularly affected.
Mangroves are vital to coastal communities as they protect them from damage caused by tsunami waves, erosion and storms, and serve as a nursery for fish and other species that support coastal livelihoods. In addition, they have a staggering ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and serve as both a source and repository for nutrients and sediments for other inshore marine habitats, such as seagrass beds and coral reefs.
The study appears in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. It was carried out by the Global Marine Species Assessment Unit (GMSA), which is part of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit, a joint initiative of IUCN and Conservation International, together with the world’s leading mangrove experts.
“The potential loss of these species is a symptom of widespread destruction and exploitation of mangrove forests,” says Beth Polidoro, Research Associate of the GMSA at Old Dominion University and principal author of the study. “Mangroves form one of the most important tropical habitats that support many species, and their loss can affect marine and terrestrial biodiversity much more widely.”
Mangrove forests grow where saltwater meets the shore in tropical and subtropical regions, thus serving as an interface between terrestrial, fresh-water and marine ecosystems. These forests provide at least US$1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services.
Urgent protection is needed for two mangrove species that are listed as Critically Endangered, the highest probability of extinction measured by the IUCN Red List, Sonneratia griffithii and Bruguiera hainesii.
Sonneratia griffithii is found in India and Southeast Asia, where 80 percent of all mangrove area has been lost over the past 60 years. Bruguiera hainesii is an even rarer species and grows only in a few fragmented locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. It is estimated that there are fewer than 250 mature trees of the species remaining.
“The loss of mangroves will have devastating economic and environmental consequences,” says Greg Stone, Senior Vice President of Marine Programmes at Conservation International. “These ecosystems are not only a vital component in efforts to fight climate change, but they also protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people from extreme weather and provide them with a source of food and income.”
Photographs are available at: http://bit.ly/c1obw9
Media team:
Nicki Chadwick, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, t +41 22 999 0229, m +41 76 771 4208, e nicki.chadwick@iucn.org
Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui, Press Officer, Conservation International, t +1 703 341 2471, m +1 571 225 8345, e p.malentaqui@conservation.org
About the mangroves assessment
The mangroves assessment is one of a number of strategic global assessments that the Global Marine Species Assessment Unit (GMSA), which is part of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit, a joint initiative of IUCN and Conservation International, has been conducting since 2006 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Other assessments completed or in progress include the world’s reef-building corals (Carpenter et al. 2008) and seagrasses, as well as all marine fishes, and other important keystone invertebrates.
By 2012, the GMSA plans to complete its comprehensive first stage assessment of the threat of extinction for over 20,000 marine plants and animals, providing an essential baseline for conservation plans around the world, and tracking the extinction risk of marine species. The results of the mangrove species assessment will be placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in June 2010. The GMSA is largely enabled by the generous support of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Tom Haas. Currently, the assessments can be found at: http://sci.odu.edu/gmsa/about/mangrove.shtml
About Conservation International
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International (CI) empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. With headquarters in Washington, DC, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents.
www.conservation.org
Related post
Mangroves of the world and Singapore on the wild shores of singapore blog - about Singapore mangrove species in this report.
More than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction due to coastal development and other factors, including climate change, logging and agriculture, according to the first-ever global assessment on the conservation status of mangroves for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
As a result, 11 out of 70 mangrove species (16 percent) which were assessed will be placed on the IUCN Red List. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40 percent of mangrove species are considered threatened, are particularly affected.
Mangroves are vital to coastal communities as they protect them from damage caused by tsunami waves, erosion and storms, and serve as a nursery for fish and other species that support coastal livelihoods. In addition, they have a staggering ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and serve as both a source and repository for nutrients and sediments for other inshore marine habitats, such as seagrass beds and coral reefs.
The study appears in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. It was carried out by the Global Marine Species Assessment Unit (GMSA), which is part of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit, a joint initiative of IUCN and Conservation International, together with the world’s leading mangrove experts.
“The potential loss of these species is a symptom of widespread destruction and exploitation of mangrove forests,” says Beth Polidoro, Research Associate of the GMSA at Old Dominion University and principal author of the study. “Mangroves form one of the most important tropical habitats that support many species, and their loss can affect marine and terrestrial biodiversity much more widely.”
Mangrove forests grow where saltwater meets the shore in tropical and subtropical regions, thus serving as an interface between terrestrial, fresh-water and marine ecosystems. These forests provide at least US$1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services.
Urgent protection is needed for two mangrove species that are listed as Critically Endangered, the highest probability of extinction measured by the IUCN Red List, Sonneratia griffithii and Bruguiera hainesii.
Sonneratia griffithii is found in India and Southeast Asia, where 80 percent of all mangrove area has been lost over the past 60 years. Bruguiera hainesii is an even rarer species and grows only in a few fragmented locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. It is estimated that there are fewer than 250 mature trees of the species remaining.
“The loss of mangroves will have devastating economic and environmental consequences,” says Greg Stone, Senior Vice President of Marine Programmes at Conservation International. “These ecosystems are not only a vital component in efforts to fight climate change, but they also protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people from extreme weather and provide them with a source of food and income.”
Photographs are available at: http://bit.ly/c1obw9
Media team:
Nicki Chadwick, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, t +41 22 999 0229, m +41 76 771 4208, e nicki.chadwick@iucn.org
Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui, Press Officer, Conservation International, t +1 703 341 2471, m +1 571 225 8345, e p.malentaqui@conservation.org
About the mangroves assessment
The mangroves assessment is one of a number of strategic global assessments that the Global Marine Species Assessment Unit (GMSA), which is part of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit, a joint initiative of IUCN and Conservation International, has been conducting since 2006 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Other assessments completed or in progress include the world’s reef-building corals (Carpenter et al. 2008) and seagrasses, as well as all marine fishes, and other important keystone invertebrates.
By 2012, the GMSA plans to complete its comprehensive first stage assessment of the threat of extinction for over 20,000 marine plants and animals, providing an essential baseline for conservation plans around the world, and tracking the extinction risk of marine species. The results of the mangrove species assessment will be placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in June 2010. The GMSA is largely enabled by the generous support of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Tom Haas. Currently, the assessments can be found at: http://sci.odu.edu/gmsa/about/mangrove.shtml
About Conservation International
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International (CI) empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. With headquarters in Washington, DC, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents.
www.conservation.org
Related post
Mangroves of the world and Singapore on the wild shores of singapore blog - about Singapore mangrove species in this report.
Phuket leatherback sea turtle eggs fail to hatch
Phuket Gazette 8 Apr 10;
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hopes that two clutches of eggs could spell a reversal of fortune for Phuket’s endangered leatherback sea turtle population were dashed last month when the eggs failed to hatch.
Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Group member Somporn Anupun said the 130 eggs, laid in mid-January, failed to hatch as expected in March.
The two clutches, thought to have been laid by the same female, were the first in several years at Mai Khao Beach, once famed nationwide for the scores of enormous leatherback turtles that came to nest there. Little remains of that legacy apart from tourist attractions with turtle-themed names.
The eggs appeared to be viable, but after the expected hatching period, a look inside revealed the albumen was watery. This indicated they had never been fertilized, Mr Somporn said.
Kongkiet Kittiratanawong, a researcher at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), agreed with this assessment.
The failure of the eggs to hatch had not been caused by volunteers moving them to a safe location on the beach after they were discovered, he said.
The PMBC often incubates and raises hatchlings at its facilities at Cape Panwa, but not the highly pelagic leatherback, which does not do well in captivity, he told the Gazette earlier.
A similar clutch of unfertilized leatherback eggs was found at Mai Khao in 2004, he said.
Despite the disappointment in Phuket, it has been a good year for leatherback nesting along other parts of Thailand’s Andaman coastline.
More eggs were laid this nesting season than over the last five, with clutches reported at Thai Muang Beach and Koh Phrathong in Phang Nga, and Koh Lanta in Krabi.
Only the eggs at Thai Muang were viable however, with a 70% to 80% hatching rate.
Leatherbacks typically lay clutches of around 80 fertilized eggs together with 30 smaller unfertilized eggs. The incubation period is about 65 days.
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hopes that two clutches of eggs could spell a reversal of fortune for Phuket’s endangered leatherback sea turtle population were dashed last month when the eggs failed to hatch.
Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Group member Somporn Anupun said the 130 eggs, laid in mid-January, failed to hatch as expected in March.
The two clutches, thought to have been laid by the same female, were the first in several years at Mai Khao Beach, once famed nationwide for the scores of enormous leatherback turtles that came to nest there. Little remains of that legacy apart from tourist attractions with turtle-themed names.
The eggs appeared to be viable, but after the expected hatching period, a look inside revealed the albumen was watery. This indicated they had never been fertilized, Mr Somporn said.
Kongkiet Kittiratanawong, a researcher at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), agreed with this assessment.
The failure of the eggs to hatch had not been caused by volunteers moving them to a safe location on the beach after they were discovered, he said.
The PMBC often incubates and raises hatchlings at its facilities at Cape Panwa, but not the highly pelagic leatherback, which does not do well in captivity, he told the Gazette earlier.
A similar clutch of unfertilized leatherback eggs was found at Mai Khao in 2004, he said.
Despite the disappointment in Phuket, it has been a good year for leatherback nesting along other parts of Thailand’s Andaman coastline.
More eggs were laid this nesting season than over the last five, with clutches reported at Thai Muang Beach and Koh Phrathong in Phang Nga, and Koh Lanta in Krabi.
Only the eggs at Thai Muang were viable however, with a 70% to 80% hatching rate.
Leatherbacks typically lay clutches of around 80 fertilized eggs together with 30 smaller unfertilized eggs. The incubation period is about 65 days.
One dead, dozens treated after consuming turtle meat in West Sumatra
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post 8 Apr 10;
A 57-year-old man died and 139 residents of South Pagai Island, in Mentawai, West Sumatra, have been treated for food poisoning after consuming the meat of a leatherback turtle.
Tiolina Saogo, chief of South Pagai public health center, told The Jakarta Post 30 residents had been put under intensive care.
“We had to treat the others at their homes because of insufficient facilities on the island,” Tiolina said.
Residents of Maonai and Mapinang coastal hamlets caught the 40-kilogram turtle two weeks ago and split the meat between the hamlets.
“A few days later, all the residents that ate the meat suffered dizziness, nausea and vomiting. A man named Osael died four days after he had eaten the meat,” Tiolina said.
The health official only became aware of the mass poisoning earlier in the week after a number of residents came to the health center for treatment.
There are frequent deaths from turtle-meat poisoning on the islands off the West Sumatran coast.
Three have died in a village on South Pagai Island and two others on Siberut Island in the past two months.
Local authorities have repeatedly warned residents about their turtle-consuming habit. Aside from pork, turtle meat is the main cuisine at local traditional feasts.
A 57-year-old man died and 139 residents of South Pagai Island, in Mentawai, West Sumatra, have been treated for food poisoning after consuming the meat of a leatherback turtle.
Tiolina Saogo, chief of South Pagai public health center, told The Jakarta Post 30 residents had been put under intensive care.
“We had to treat the others at their homes because of insufficient facilities on the island,” Tiolina said.
Residents of Maonai and Mapinang coastal hamlets caught the 40-kilogram turtle two weeks ago and split the meat between the hamlets.
“A few days later, all the residents that ate the meat suffered dizziness, nausea and vomiting. A man named Osael died four days after he had eaten the meat,” Tiolina said.
The health official only became aware of the mass poisoning earlier in the week after a number of residents came to the health center for treatment.
There are frequent deaths from turtle-meat poisoning on the islands off the West Sumatran coast.
Three have died in a village on South Pagai Island and two others on Siberut Island in the past two months.
Local authorities have repeatedly warned residents about their turtle-consuming habit. Aside from pork, turtle meat is the main cuisine at local traditional feasts.
Pulau Redang aims to lure the rich with room rates no less than RM1,600
R.S.N. MURALI, The Star 9 Apr 10;
KUALA TERENGGANU: Pulau Redang — rated as one of the world’s most beautiful islands — is set to be turned into a getaway exclusively for the rich and famous.
Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the state government would no longer approve the construction of chalet-type accommodation on the renowned island, which is much visited by the diving community.
“Only hotels rated five-star and above will be allowed to be built,” he said when met after the state assembly sitting here yesterday.
In future, only wealthy individuals would be able to afford holidays in Pulau Redang as hotel rooms will cost no less than US$500 (RM1,599) a night, Ahmad said.
He that said with the decision to turn the island into a high-end holiday destination, current chalets catering for backpackers would have to upgrade and raise their rates.
Asked if the move would draw criticism from non-governmental organisations, Ahmad said it was the only way to save the surrounding rich marine life and prevent environmental destruction due to pollution and indiscriminate littering.
“Some of the budget accommodation places on the island have no proper sewage system and waste is directed to the sea, and this destroys the corals,” he said.
Apart from that, Pulau Redang is a jewel for Terengganu and the 10th most beautiful island in the world, Ahmad said.
“Efforts must be made to save the island from deteriorating environmentally. Those on budget excursions can visit other islands like Pulau Kapas and Pulau Perhentian that are equally charming.”
Pulau Redang, a popular holiday destination for locals as well as foreigners, attracts about 100,000 visitors annually including many who flock there to visit the marine park.
Terengganu Tourist Association deputy president Alex Lee lauded the move, saying that it was time for Malaysia to create its own niche market.
“Redang has only one five-star hotel and others are mostly budget accomodations,” he said.
He believed the move by Ahmad was initiated out of concern for the environment as damage to the corals had been extensive.
The owner of an eight-room hotel in Redang, however, was worried that his livelihood would be affected if Pulau Redang became an exclusive holiday destination.
He said the move would affect many holidaymakers, both local and foreign, who would not be able to afford to stay in Pulau Redang if the state government went ahead with the niche market proposal.
“I hope the state government will meet budget hotel and chalet operators in Redang to get our views and include us in the planning,” said the man, who wanted to be known only as Dina,
He also said the state government should ensure there was proper drainage and sewage on the island for better waste disposal.
Another chalet operator, Nik Kamal Nik Husin, 43, said the move would only burden the villagers on the island as many were renting out rooms to budget travellers.
He also said only a handful of irresponsible chalet operators were directing the waste into the sea.
The state government, he said, should build a centralised sewage treatment to deal with the waste disposal problem.
KUALA TERENGGANU: Pulau Redang — rated as one of the world’s most beautiful islands — is set to be turned into a getaway exclusively for the rich and famous.
Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the state government would no longer approve the construction of chalet-type accommodation on the renowned island, which is much visited by the diving community.
“Only hotels rated five-star and above will be allowed to be built,” he said when met after the state assembly sitting here yesterday.
In future, only wealthy individuals would be able to afford holidays in Pulau Redang as hotel rooms will cost no less than US$500 (RM1,599) a night, Ahmad said.
He that said with the decision to turn the island into a high-end holiday destination, current chalets catering for backpackers would have to upgrade and raise their rates.
Asked if the move would draw criticism from non-governmental organisations, Ahmad said it was the only way to save the surrounding rich marine life and prevent environmental destruction due to pollution and indiscriminate littering.
“Some of the budget accommodation places on the island have no proper sewage system and waste is directed to the sea, and this destroys the corals,” he said.
Apart from that, Pulau Redang is a jewel for Terengganu and the 10th most beautiful island in the world, Ahmad said.
“Efforts must be made to save the island from deteriorating environmentally. Those on budget excursions can visit other islands like Pulau Kapas and Pulau Perhentian that are equally charming.”
Pulau Redang, a popular holiday destination for locals as well as foreigners, attracts about 100,000 visitors annually including many who flock there to visit the marine park.
Terengganu Tourist Association deputy president Alex Lee lauded the move, saying that it was time for Malaysia to create its own niche market.
“Redang has only one five-star hotel and others are mostly budget accomodations,” he said.
He believed the move by Ahmad was initiated out of concern for the environment as damage to the corals had been extensive.
The owner of an eight-room hotel in Redang, however, was worried that his livelihood would be affected if Pulau Redang became an exclusive holiday destination.
He said the move would affect many holidaymakers, both local and foreign, who would not be able to afford to stay in Pulau Redang if the state government went ahead with the niche market proposal.
“I hope the state government will meet budget hotel and chalet operators in Redang to get our views and include us in the planning,” said the man, who wanted to be known only as Dina,
He also said the state government should ensure there was proper drainage and sewage on the island for better waste disposal.
Another chalet operator, Nik Kamal Nik Husin, 43, said the move would only burden the villagers on the island as many were renting out rooms to budget travellers.
He also said only a handful of irresponsible chalet operators were directing the waste into the sea.
The state government, he said, should build a centralised sewage treatment to deal with the waste disposal problem.
Greens Skeptical Indonesian President Can Live Up to Crack Down on Illegal Logging
Jakarta Globe 8 Apr 10;
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s call to go after the “mafia” involved in illegal logging only proves that a previous campaign has been a failure, a green group said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Yudhoyono said he had instructed the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force to investigate the possibility of organized groups involved in forestry crimes and to crush them.
But Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, said the president’s call was simply a repetition of his own instructions five years ago.
In 2005, Yudhoyono issued a presidential instruction involving 12 ministries, the Attorney General’s Office, National Police, Army, State Intelligence Agency (BIN), governors and district heads. This instruction was meant to herald the start of a concerted campaign against illegal logging.
“This just proves that [the 2005] instruction was never carried out effectively, because for the past five years, illegal logging just kept going,” Elfian said.
“There are no visible results from the instruction, which spelled out clear obligations for ministries and agencies from the central to local governments.”
But State Minister for the Environment Gusti Muhammad Hatta said on Thursday he was pleased with the president’s new call.
“The message is to strengthen and remind the cabinet to get serious about illegal logging because we are aiming at the ‘big players,’ ” he said. “We don’t want to chase small-scale players, for instance local villagers who are just cutting down one or two trees to build their homes. Plenty of companies that don’t have permits cut down trees. They are the ones we’re after.”
Gusti said there would be stronger coordination between ministries in this new campaign.
“But the lead will be in the hands of the Ministry of Forestry. We’ll be supporting with any data and information if requires,” he said.
Yuyun Indradi, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia, however, said it was wrong to put the responsibility on the shoulders of the Forestry Ministry because the Environment Ministry had more power.
“If you’re talking about the environment, it isn’t just forests and non-forests but a whole package,” Yuyun said.
“The Environment Ministry has a stronger legal instrument in the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law, which means it can investigate, prosecute and even arrest violators. The Forestry Ministry has lots of regulations but they don’t know which ones to enforce,” he added.
Yuyun said the task force was a waste of time.
“If SBY is serious about eradicating illegal logging then just let the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] handle forestry issues],” he said.
Yudhoyono Talks Tough on Illegal Logging
Jakarta Globe 7 Apr 10;
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday identified illegal logging as another form of entrenched corruption he wants to add to his growing list of “mafia.”
The former general talked tough about stopping the world’s fastest deforestation rates as he left for a regional summit in Vietnam where the environment looms as a key issue.
He also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Greenpeace, which has angered powerful palm oil interests with protests that have seen some of its activists deported.
“I believe there’s a mafia in illegal logging. Our task force should be able to look into the possibility that it exists, and to stop it,” he told reporters at the airport.
“I also want to underline the importance of preserving our forests. I’ve followed Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, which are active” in criticizing forest management.
“I want to show my appreciation for their concerns, and I hope they will continue their partnership with Indonesia.”
This is not the first such proclamation by Yudhoyono. But a persistent culture of corruption within government frequently makes a mockery of his pledges to clean it up. He has labeled graft groups within the tax office and court system “mafia,” and created specialized task forces to eradicate them.
But like his frequent pronouncements about environmental responsibility, critics complain that little of substance actually gets done.
A recent study by the Center for East Asia Cooperation Studies at the University of Indonesia found that the Indonesian military was heavily involved in the illegal logging industry.
Unchecked deforestation, often to make way for palm oil plantations, makes Indonesia the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, according to most estimates.
US-based Human Rights Watch said in a report late last year that graft contaminated every level of the country’s logging industry, including the Ministry of Forestry.
Between 2003 and 2006, annual revenue lost to mismanagement and corruption in the timber industry was equal to total public health spending, it said.
AFP
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s call to go after the “mafia” involved in illegal logging only proves that a previous campaign has been a failure, a green group said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Yudhoyono said he had instructed the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force to investigate the possibility of organized groups involved in forestry crimes and to crush them.
But Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, said the president’s call was simply a repetition of his own instructions five years ago.
In 2005, Yudhoyono issued a presidential instruction involving 12 ministries, the Attorney General’s Office, National Police, Army, State Intelligence Agency (BIN), governors and district heads. This instruction was meant to herald the start of a concerted campaign against illegal logging.
“This just proves that [the 2005] instruction was never carried out effectively, because for the past five years, illegal logging just kept going,” Elfian said.
“There are no visible results from the instruction, which spelled out clear obligations for ministries and agencies from the central to local governments.”
But State Minister for the Environment Gusti Muhammad Hatta said on Thursday he was pleased with the president’s new call.
“The message is to strengthen and remind the cabinet to get serious about illegal logging because we are aiming at the ‘big players,’ ” he said. “We don’t want to chase small-scale players, for instance local villagers who are just cutting down one or two trees to build their homes. Plenty of companies that don’t have permits cut down trees. They are the ones we’re after.”
Gusti said there would be stronger coordination between ministries in this new campaign.
“But the lead will be in the hands of the Ministry of Forestry. We’ll be supporting with any data and information if requires,” he said.
Yuyun Indradi, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia, however, said it was wrong to put the responsibility on the shoulders of the Forestry Ministry because the Environment Ministry had more power.
“If you’re talking about the environment, it isn’t just forests and non-forests but a whole package,” Yuyun said.
“The Environment Ministry has a stronger legal instrument in the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law, which means it can investigate, prosecute and even arrest violators. The Forestry Ministry has lots of regulations but they don’t know which ones to enforce,” he added.
Yuyun said the task force was a waste of time.
“If SBY is serious about eradicating illegal logging then just let the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] handle forestry issues],” he said.
Yudhoyono Talks Tough on Illegal Logging
Jakarta Globe 7 Apr 10;
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday identified illegal logging as another form of entrenched corruption he wants to add to his growing list of “mafia.”
The former general talked tough about stopping the world’s fastest deforestation rates as he left for a regional summit in Vietnam where the environment looms as a key issue.
He also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Greenpeace, which has angered powerful palm oil interests with protests that have seen some of its activists deported.
“I believe there’s a mafia in illegal logging. Our task force should be able to look into the possibility that it exists, and to stop it,” he told reporters at the airport.
“I also want to underline the importance of preserving our forests. I’ve followed Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, which are active” in criticizing forest management.
“I want to show my appreciation for their concerns, and I hope they will continue their partnership with Indonesia.”
This is not the first such proclamation by Yudhoyono. But a persistent culture of corruption within government frequently makes a mockery of his pledges to clean it up. He has labeled graft groups within the tax office and court system “mafia,” and created specialized task forces to eradicate them.
But like his frequent pronouncements about environmental responsibility, critics complain that little of substance actually gets done.
A recent study by the Center for East Asia Cooperation Studies at the University of Indonesia found that the Indonesian military was heavily involved in the illegal logging industry.
Unchecked deforestation, often to make way for palm oil plantations, makes Indonesia the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, according to most estimates.
US-based Human Rights Watch said in a report late last year that graft contaminated every level of the country’s logging industry, including the Ministry of Forestry.
Between 2003 and 2006, annual revenue lost to mismanagement and corruption in the timber industry was equal to total public health spending, it said.
AFP
Only 20 Percent of Indonesian Forest in Good Condition
TEMPO Interactive 8 Apr 10;
Wonosobo: Forestry and Spatial Planning Minister, Zulkifli Hasan, said damage to forests have reached a critical level. Only 20 percent of the total forest area are regarded to be in good condition. “The law cites that at least 30 percent of the forest area must be in a good condition,” he said yesterday.
According to Zulkifli, out of some 130 million hectares of forest area, 40 million hectares are still in good condition. This area consists of natural, primary forest.
Around 48 million hectares are critical due to past government policies, covering the production of forest management up to the cutting down of trees.
Meanwhile, the other 42 million hectares have been totally demolished. “It is a forest area, but the forest no longer exists,” he said.
The biggest damage, Zulkifly said, has happened in Sumatra, followed by Kalimantan. Now, forest damages have spread to eastern Indonesia like in the provinces of Papua and Maluku, he said.
ANANG ZAKARIA
Wonosobo: Forestry and Spatial Planning Minister, Zulkifli Hasan, said damage to forests have reached a critical level. Only 20 percent of the total forest area are regarded to be in good condition. “The law cites that at least 30 percent of the forest area must be in a good condition,” he said yesterday.
According to Zulkifli, out of some 130 million hectares of forest area, 40 million hectares are still in good condition. This area consists of natural, primary forest.
Around 48 million hectares are critical due to past government policies, covering the production of forest management up to the cutting down of trees.
Meanwhile, the other 42 million hectares have been totally demolished. “It is a forest area, but the forest no longer exists,” he said.
The biggest damage, Zulkifly said, has happened in Sumatra, followed by Kalimantan. Now, forest damages have spread to eastern Indonesia like in the provinces of Papua and Maluku, he said.
ANANG ZAKARIA
Greenpeace: Turn Indonesian President's words into action, stop destruction
Antara 9 Apr 10;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A group of environmental organization activists dressed up in costumes resembling endangered species rallied at the Environment Ministry here Thursday to demand the enforcement of the laws to protect the environment.
The costumes worn by the Greenpeace activists represented endangered animal species that were losing their habitats and in need of protection such as orangutan, tigers and elephants
As part of the call, the activists also delivered dossiers of companies committing environmental destruction in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua where action to save the country`s forests was most urgently needed.
"Greenpeace welcomes President SBY`s call for Greenpeace to work together with the government to save the Indonesian environment. The Ministry for the Environment has the mandate and the power to take action against those who destroy forests and peat lands," said Yuyun Indradi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Political Campaigner, in a press statement on Thursday.
According to Indradi, the ministry must turn Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s words into action by investigating environmental destruction and taking urgent and necessary action.
"We are here to help the ministry take this action by providing evidence of the oil palm and pulp and paper industries destroying forests and peat lands to aid the ministry`s investigations," he said.
As a start, the ministry, together with President SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) must instigate an immediate moratorium on deforestation and mandate the full protection of peat lands. This is the most important step that can truly protect Indonesia`s environment and achieve the President?s commitment to reduce Indonesia`s emissions by 41 percent by 2020, said Indradi.
Greenpeace is asking for full peat land protection and an immediate moratorium on deforestation as it would provide the space for the implementation of longer term measures for forest protection supported by international donors.
Such a moratorium would also drive investment into other areas for instance yield improvements on existing plantation areas, especially those owned by smallholders.
Furthermore, it will kick-start a planning process with local communities to identify non-forest, degraded areas where the palm oil industry could potentially expand.
A recently-passed environmental law on Environmental Protection and Management gives the Ministry of Environment a greater mandate to implement environmental audit, law enforcement, investigation, and administrative prosecution.
Greenpeace sees their visit to the Ministry?s office not just as an expression of concern regarding continuing forest destruction in Indonesia by a few giant companies, but also as a way of supporting the agency to execute the mandate in the new environmental law.
"We take SBY`s call for partnership very seriously and call on his Ministries to do the same. In order to truly develop a model of forest protection and welfare for the Indonesian people President SBY and the Ministry for the Environment must stop the destruction now," concluded Indradi. (*)
Quit stalling, enforce the law: Greenpeace
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 8 Apr 10;
Greenpeace Indonesia staged a rally at the Environment Ministry on Thursday, demanding Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta speed up law enforcement against violators to avoid further environmental damage.
Greenpeace also handed over evidence on environmental violations by palm oil plantations and pulp and paper companies, which they said damaged forests in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua.
“We hope the ministry accelerates the implementation of the environment law to improve the country’s environmental condition,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest political campaigner Yuyun Indradi said.
It was the first rally held at the ministry since Gusti took office last year. Gusti had left the ministry an hour before the Greenpeace rally, saying he had to accompany Vice President Boediono.
The 2009 Environment Law gives strong mandates to the ministry, including arresting violators of the law, in order to protect the environment. But the law remains ineffective with no government regulations issued to implement it.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A group of environmental organization activists dressed up in costumes resembling endangered species rallied at the Environment Ministry here Thursday to demand the enforcement of the laws to protect the environment.
The costumes worn by the Greenpeace activists represented endangered animal species that were losing their habitats and in need of protection such as orangutan, tigers and elephants
As part of the call, the activists also delivered dossiers of companies committing environmental destruction in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua where action to save the country`s forests was most urgently needed.
"Greenpeace welcomes President SBY`s call for Greenpeace to work together with the government to save the Indonesian environment. The Ministry for the Environment has the mandate and the power to take action against those who destroy forests and peat lands," said Yuyun Indradi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Political Campaigner, in a press statement on Thursday.
According to Indradi, the ministry must turn Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s words into action by investigating environmental destruction and taking urgent and necessary action.
"We are here to help the ministry take this action by providing evidence of the oil palm and pulp and paper industries destroying forests and peat lands to aid the ministry`s investigations," he said.
As a start, the ministry, together with President SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) must instigate an immediate moratorium on deforestation and mandate the full protection of peat lands. This is the most important step that can truly protect Indonesia`s environment and achieve the President?s commitment to reduce Indonesia`s emissions by 41 percent by 2020, said Indradi.
Greenpeace is asking for full peat land protection and an immediate moratorium on deforestation as it would provide the space for the implementation of longer term measures for forest protection supported by international donors.
Such a moratorium would also drive investment into other areas for instance yield improvements on existing plantation areas, especially those owned by smallholders.
Furthermore, it will kick-start a planning process with local communities to identify non-forest, degraded areas where the palm oil industry could potentially expand.
A recently-passed environmental law on Environmental Protection and Management gives the Ministry of Environment a greater mandate to implement environmental audit, law enforcement, investigation, and administrative prosecution.
Greenpeace sees their visit to the Ministry?s office not just as an expression of concern regarding continuing forest destruction in Indonesia by a few giant companies, but also as a way of supporting the agency to execute the mandate in the new environmental law.
"We take SBY`s call for partnership very seriously and call on his Ministries to do the same. In order to truly develop a model of forest protection and welfare for the Indonesian people President SBY and the Ministry for the Environment must stop the destruction now," concluded Indradi. (*)
Quit stalling, enforce the law: Greenpeace
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 8 Apr 10;
Greenpeace Indonesia staged a rally at the Environment Ministry on Thursday, demanding Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta speed up law enforcement against violators to avoid further environmental damage.
Greenpeace also handed over evidence on environmental violations by palm oil plantations and pulp and paper companies, which they said damaged forests in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua.
“We hope the ministry accelerates the implementation of the environment law to improve the country’s environmental condition,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest political campaigner Yuyun Indradi said.
It was the first rally held at the ministry since Gusti took office last year. Gusti had left the ministry an hour before the Greenpeace rally, saying he had to accompany Vice President Boediono.
The 2009 Environment Law gives strong mandates to the ministry, including arresting violators of the law, in order to protect the environment. But the law remains ineffective with no government regulations issued to implement it.
Brazil Farmers Shown How To Profit By Conserving
Luciana Lopez, PlanetArk 9 Apr 10;
Talk of ecological diversity or saving rare species does not fly very far in Mato Grosso.
The state is Brazil's top soy producer, churning out an annual harvest of about 18 million tones. Fields of emerald green line the highways, stretching out to horizons so flat they look drawn with a ruler.
The crops have helped fuel Brazil's economic boom of recent years but they come at a price -- the clearing of more than 130,000 square km (50,000 square miles) of Amazon rain forest in the state from 1988 through 2008, to the widespread condemnation of environmental groups.
Years of acrimony have built up. When a visitor mentions environmentalists, the faces of Mato Grosso farmers often cloud with hostility.
So, with "save the world" emotional appeals not working, environmentalists are turning to economic arguments, stressing how preserving the world's largest forest can mean bigger profits for farmers.
"We have to define what's in it for the farmer," said John Buchanan, senior director for agricultural markets at the Conservation International group. "The private sector is too important a stakeholder not to have on board."
His group has worked with Brazilian farmers since 2001, helping them comply with confusing environment laws, negotiate government bureaucracy and identify environmentally important land, such as parcels housing rare species.
"We started very small, very simple," Buchanan said, adding that about 132,000 hectares (326,000 acres) of preserves in several states have been or are being legalized.
"Some in the environmental community have unrealistic expectations of what farmers can do," he said. "We know we need to preserve important places. We also need to be producing the food, fiber and fuel that we need for a growing world."
The Amazon rain forest in Brazil has lost nearly 20 percent of its area since the 1970s, largely because of ranchers and farmers seeking new land for their cattle and crops.
But better policing has helped reduce the destruction to around 7,000 square km (2,700 square miles) nationally in 2009, the lowest in more than two decades and less than one-quarter of the record rate in 1995, according to the National Institute of Space Studies' satellite data.
Environmentalists are trying to bring the figures down even further, emphasizing the long-term economic losses springing from deforestation.
"We see the conventional economy as an instrument," says Maria Amelia Enriquez, president of the Sociedade Brasileira de Economia Ecologica, which studies the economics of environmental policies. "Science can't just live in its own world anymore."
NEW TIMES FOR "SOY KING"
Perhaps no one embodies this shift like "soy king" Blairo Maggi.
Maggi's family are among the world's biggest soy producers, and, after a successful run at Mato Grosso's governorship in 2002, deforestation accelerated as his influence over environmental policy became even bigger.
In 2003, Maggi told the New York Times that he didn't feel "the slightest guilt" over deforestation. Two years later, Greenpeace gave him their 'Golden Chainsaw' award to protest his role in the destruction.
But Maggi has recently adopted a much more moderate tone, calling for a balance between agriculture and the environment. "We agree farmers need to preserve forest, but they need the financial incentive to do so," he told Forbes last year.
He backs the carbon-financing mechanisms known as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), under which rich countries can offset their carbon emissions by paying for avoided deforestation in countries like Brazil.
Those sorts of programs can make a clearer case for the financial benefits of conservation.
Consumer pressure for "greener" products also has an impact. Recent international campaigns by Greenpeace on the destructive effects of soy and cattle have forced farmers to become more environmentally aware or risk losing customers.
Environmentalists say the more efficient land use that resulted in many cases helped farmers make more profit and limited some environmentally-unfriendly practices.
"If you can make good economic arguments, it's hard not to make progress," says Marcos Amend, the executive director of Conservacao Estrategica, a Brazilian offshoot of the Conservation Strategy Fund.
Amend's group runs a nine-day class teaching conservationists how to couch their arguments in financial terms. About 350 people have cycled through the Brazilian version of the course, which includes microeconomics and valuing natural resources, among other topics.
"Conservation is basically putting order to economic activities," Amend said. "But if you don't understand the economics behind it all, it's a tough sell."
Farmers can be convinced, but the arguments need to be well-grounded with demonstrable results.
In Sorriso, for example, farmers have embraced a farming technique called zero tillage, in which they leave organic matter such as leaves, stalks, roots and stems, from previous harvests on the soil to provide a natural fertilizer and barrier against erosion for the next crop.
The fields in and around town are covered with old stalks and leaves of crops, such as corn, planted between seasons of soy, the plant most ubiquitous in this city of about 55,000 people.
Zero tillage can increase profits through labor and energy savings, conserve soil, increase tolerance to drought, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank says.
"For us, the farmers, as well as the environment, zero tillage has been the best thing," said Sorriso farmer Argino Bedin.
Brazilian farmers point out that they're feeding the nation -- and boosting the economy. Brazil is the world's top exporter of beef, poultry, coffee, sugar and orange juice.
Ultimately, numbers drive the bottom line, said Egidio Raul Vuaden, a farmer in nearby Lucas do Rio Verde. "If there's demand in the market, man will go in search of money."
(Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Kieran Murray)
Talk of ecological diversity or saving rare species does not fly very far in Mato Grosso.
The state is Brazil's top soy producer, churning out an annual harvest of about 18 million tones. Fields of emerald green line the highways, stretching out to horizons so flat they look drawn with a ruler.
The crops have helped fuel Brazil's economic boom of recent years but they come at a price -- the clearing of more than 130,000 square km (50,000 square miles) of Amazon rain forest in the state from 1988 through 2008, to the widespread condemnation of environmental groups.
Years of acrimony have built up. When a visitor mentions environmentalists, the faces of Mato Grosso farmers often cloud with hostility.
So, with "save the world" emotional appeals not working, environmentalists are turning to economic arguments, stressing how preserving the world's largest forest can mean bigger profits for farmers.
"We have to define what's in it for the farmer," said John Buchanan, senior director for agricultural markets at the Conservation International group. "The private sector is too important a stakeholder not to have on board."
His group has worked with Brazilian farmers since 2001, helping them comply with confusing environment laws, negotiate government bureaucracy and identify environmentally important land, such as parcels housing rare species.
"We started very small, very simple," Buchanan said, adding that about 132,000 hectares (326,000 acres) of preserves in several states have been or are being legalized.
"Some in the environmental community have unrealistic expectations of what farmers can do," he said. "We know we need to preserve important places. We also need to be producing the food, fiber and fuel that we need for a growing world."
The Amazon rain forest in Brazil has lost nearly 20 percent of its area since the 1970s, largely because of ranchers and farmers seeking new land for their cattle and crops.
But better policing has helped reduce the destruction to around 7,000 square km (2,700 square miles) nationally in 2009, the lowest in more than two decades and less than one-quarter of the record rate in 1995, according to the National Institute of Space Studies' satellite data.
Environmentalists are trying to bring the figures down even further, emphasizing the long-term economic losses springing from deforestation.
"We see the conventional economy as an instrument," says Maria Amelia Enriquez, president of the Sociedade Brasileira de Economia Ecologica, which studies the economics of environmental policies. "Science can't just live in its own world anymore."
NEW TIMES FOR "SOY KING"
Perhaps no one embodies this shift like "soy king" Blairo Maggi.
Maggi's family are among the world's biggest soy producers, and, after a successful run at Mato Grosso's governorship in 2002, deforestation accelerated as his influence over environmental policy became even bigger.
In 2003, Maggi told the New York Times that he didn't feel "the slightest guilt" over deforestation. Two years later, Greenpeace gave him their 'Golden Chainsaw' award to protest his role in the destruction.
But Maggi has recently adopted a much more moderate tone, calling for a balance between agriculture and the environment. "We agree farmers need to preserve forest, but they need the financial incentive to do so," he told Forbes last year.
He backs the carbon-financing mechanisms known as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), under which rich countries can offset their carbon emissions by paying for avoided deforestation in countries like Brazil.
Those sorts of programs can make a clearer case for the financial benefits of conservation.
Consumer pressure for "greener" products also has an impact. Recent international campaigns by Greenpeace on the destructive effects of soy and cattle have forced farmers to become more environmentally aware or risk losing customers.
Environmentalists say the more efficient land use that resulted in many cases helped farmers make more profit and limited some environmentally-unfriendly practices.
"If you can make good economic arguments, it's hard not to make progress," says Marcos Amend, the executive director of Conservacao Estrategica, a Brazilian offshoot of the Conservation Strategy Fund.
Amend's group runs a nine-day class teaching conservationists how to couch their arguments in financial terms. About 350 people have cycled through the Brazilian version of the course, which includes microeconomics and valuing natural resources, among other topics.
"Conservation is basically putting order to economic activities," Amend said. "But if you don't understand the economics behind it all, it's a tough sell."
Farmers can be convinced, but the arguments need to be well-grounded with demonstrable results.
In Sorriso, for example, farmers have embraced a farming technique called zero tillage, in which they leave organic matter such as leaves, stalks, roots and stems, from previous harvests on the soil to provide a natural fertilizer and barrier against erosion for the next crop.
The fields in and around town are covered with old stalks and leaves of crops, such as corn, planted between seasons of soy, the plant most ubiquitous in this city of about 55,000 people.
Zero tillage can increase profits through labor and energy savings, conserve soil, increase tolerance to drought, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank says.
"For us, the farmers, as well as the environment, zero tillage has been the best thing," said Sorriso farmer Argino Bedin.
Brazilian farmers point out that they're feeding the nation -- and boosting the economy. Brazil is the world's top exporter of beef, poultry, coffee, sugar and orange juice.
Ultimately, numbers drive the bottom line, said Egidio Raul Vuaden, a farmer in nearby Lucas do Rio Verde. "If there's demand in the market, man will go in search of money."
(Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Kieran Murray)
Whaling compromise under attack
Shaun Tandon Yahoo News 8 Apr 10;
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A fragile plan to resolve the global feud on whaling is coming under attack from all sides, with Australia seeking more concessions from whalers and Japan vowing never to end its hunt completely.
Key nations in the whaling debate submitted comments to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as it fleshes out a compromise to be submitted before the body's annual meeting in June in Morocco.
The plan would let Japan, Norway and Iceland hunt the ocean giants openly despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. In return, whaling nations would agree to reduce their catch "significantly" over 10 years.
The nation that gave the most positive assessment was New Zealand, whose former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer has been negotiating a deal and has warned that the IWC could otherwise fall apart.
But Japan and Australia, whose relations have been stained over Tokyo's annual whaling missions in the Antarctic Ocean, remained deeply at odds.
Japan, which says that whaling is part of its culture, said it had been seeking a compromise despite "extremely difficult domestic coordination" and deplored that other nations sought an eventual end to all whaling.
"We do not see any spirit of compromise towards consensus-building in such argument," said Japanese negotiator Jun Yamashita.
"Japan is deeply concerned that there is a serious risk that, if members were to stick to such a demand, which is starkly inconsistent with the intention of the process, the process might be put in jeopardy and collapse eventually."
But Australia said that the draft plan offered nothing from whaling nations.
"The draft 10-year compromise falls well short of a result that Australia could accept," wrote Australia's commissioner to the IWC, Donna Petrachenko.
"To date there has been no tangible engagement from whaling nations to define 'significant reductions'" in their catch, she said.
South Korea was unusually vocal in its comments, saying it "strongly" opposed language that would restrict whaling to those nations that currently catch the ocean giants.
"The draft is unfair and unduly restricts (countries') rights to sustainable use of whale resources without reasonable grounds," it said.
South Korea officially does not allow whaling. But whale meat is sold legally in South Korea if the mammals are accidentally caught in fishing nets, in what environmentalists say is an easily exploitable loophole.
"South Korea's position is a clear indication that this is a slippery slope," said Phil Kline, senior oceans campaigner for Greenpeace USA.
"If you restart commercial whaling, you know that others are going to be waiting in line," he said.
Despite the sharp gaps in reactions to the plan, Kline said that some other nations supported it and were keeping a low profile by not giving submissions -- notably Norway and Iceland.
Norway and Iceland are the only two nations that openly defy the 1986 moratorium. Japan says it abides by the ban by using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on whales.
The United States, which nudged key nations toward compromise during talks in Florida last month, offered a nuanced critique of the proposal and said it would withhold judgment until the issues are addressed.
Among its key points, the United States sought assurances that any whale meat go only for domestic consumption, amid criticism that Iceland resumed whaling in pursuit of the Japanese market.
"The United States reiterates its position that it strongly opposes commercial and lethal scientific whaling, and will not agree to any compromise that would lift the moratorium on commercial whaling," it said.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A fragile plan to resolve the global feud on whaling is coming under attack from all sides, with Australia seeking more concessions from whalers and Japan vowing never to end its hunt completely.
Key nations in the whaling debate submitted comments to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as it fleshes out a compromise to be submitted before the body's annual meeting in June in Morocco.
The plan would let Japan, Norway and Iceland hunt the ocean giants openly despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. In return, whaling nations would agree to reduce their catch "significantly" over 10 years.
The nation that gave the most positive assessment was New Zealand, whose former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer has been negotiating a deal and has warned that the IWC could otherwise fall apart.
But Japan and Australia, whose relations have been stained over Tokyo's annual whaling missions in the Antarctic Ocean, remained deeply at odds.
Japan, which says that whaling is part of its culture, said it had been seeking a compromise despite "extremely difficult domestic coordination" and deplored that other nations sought an eventual end to all whaling.
"We do not see any spirit of compromise towards consensus-building in such argument," said Japanese negotiator Jun Yamashita.
"Japan is deeply concerned that there is a serious risk that, if members were to stick to such a demand, which is starkly inconsistent with the intention of the process, the process might be put in jeopardy and collapse eventually."
But Australia said that the draft plan offered nothing from whaling nations.
"The draft 10-year compromise falls well short of a result that Australia could accept," wrote Australia's commissioner to the IWC, Donna Petrachenko.
"To date there has been no tangible engagement from whaling nations to define 'significant reductions'" in their catch, she said.
South Korea was unusually vocal in its comments, saying it "strongly" opposed language that would restrict whaling to those nations that currently catch the ocean giants.
"The draft is unfair and unduly restricts (countries') rights to sustainable use of whale resources without reasonable grounds," it said.
South Korea officially does not allow whaling. But whale meat is sold legally in South Korea if the mammals are accidentally caught in fishing nets, in what environmentalists say is an easily exploitable loophole.
"South Korea's position is a clear indication that this is a slippery slope," said Phil Kline, senior oceans campaigner for Greenpeace USA.
"If you restart commercial whaling, you know that others are going to be waiting in line," he said.
Despite the sharp gaps in reactions to the plan, Kline said that some other nations supported it and were keeping a low profile by not giving submissions -- notably Norway and Iceland.
Norway and Iceland are the only two nations that openly defy the 1986 moratorium. Japan says it abides by the ban by using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on whales.
The United States, which nudged key nations toward compromise during talks in Florida last month, offered a nuanced critique of the proposal and said it would withhold judgment until the issues are addressed.
Among its key points, the United States sought assurances that any whale meat go only for domestic consumption, amid criticism that Iceland resumed whaling in pursuit of the Japanese market.
"The United States reiterates its position that it strongly opposes commercial and lethal scientific whaling, and will not agree to any compromise that would lift the moratorium on commercial whaling," it said.
Drought turns southern China into arid plain
The government has embarked on a massive rain-making operation, firing thousands of cloud-seeding rockets into the sky
Jonathan Watts, guardian.co.uk 7 Apr 10;
In pictures: Drought in south-west China and the Mekong basin
It is hard to imagine a less fitting environment for a mollusc than the arid plain of Damoguzhen in south-west China.
There is not a drop of water in sight. The baked and fissured earth resembles an ancient desert. Yet shellfish are scattered here in their thousands; all so recently perished that shriveled, blackened bodies are still visible inside cracked, opened shells.
Far out of water, the aquatic animals are not the advance guard of evolutionary progress; but the victims of a drought that has devastated their habitat and now threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in surrounding regions. The Chinese government is so worried about the drought that it has embarked on a massive rain-making operation, involving firing thousands of shells and rockets into the sky to seed clouds.
Until last summer, Damoguzhen was home to a lake that stretched across a mile-wide expanse of water in Yunnan, a southern Chinese province famed for its mighty rivers, moist climate and beautiful views.
Today, it joins 310 reservoirs, 580 rivers and 3,600 pools that have been baked dry by a once-in-a-century drought that is evaporating drinking supplies, devastating crops and stirring up political tensions over dam construction, monoculture plantations and cross-border water management in south-east Asia. Linking specific weather events to human-caused climate change is impossible, but the drought is consistent with what climate scientists expect to see more of in future.
Hardest hit are local farmers such as Ying Yuexian, who has seen her tobacco and rice crop shrivel up over a six-month period that has seen record high temperatures and half the usual amount of rain.
"In February, the water dried up completely," said the 34-year-old, surveying the parched expanse where she once fished. "It turned into this overnight." Instead of drawing water from the lake, she now scrapes soil from its cracked bed in the hope that the nutrients can replenish the earth on her sun-blasted farmland.
Her husband, Zhu Chongqing, estimates that the family's annual income will halve this year and the situation could get worse because the wet season is not due for another month. "We are waiting for the rain. We dare not plant rice or tobacco before that, but the drought continues" he said. "I've never experienced anything like this."
It is a similar story across the region. Older villagers say reservoirs and irrigation channels are dry for the first time in their lives. Mountain communities have to walk hours each day to secure drinking supplies. Rationing has been introduced in many areas, affecting more than 20 million people, 15m animals and 2m hectares of farmland.
With its mighty rivers and steep gorges, south-west China is the world's biggest hydro-electric powerhouse, but reservoir levels have fallen so low this year that 60% of dams report a decline in electricity output. This forces industrial estates and cities to burn more coal and emit more carbon to make up the shortfall.
Commodity values are also rising. In the giant rubber plantations of Xishuangbanna, farmers report a sharp fall in production that has pushed up prices by 40%.
"Less water means less rubber," said Zhang Xiaoping a rubber farmer. "In a good year, I can collect 80kg a day from these 300 trees, but I am down to half that now."
According to local media, sugar prices are up 10% because of the impact on cane fields. Rice and broad beans are also more expensive.
Wildlife is threatened because Yunnan - one of the most biodiverse regions on earth - is a last refuge for many species that are extinct elsewhere. Conservationists say birds have migrated, elephants moved to new territory and many big mammals are ranging further to secure water. Reptiles and plants are most vulnerable.
"We are hearing stories from nature reserves that amphibians are dying," said Wu Yusong of the Worldwide Fund for Nature's Yunnan office. "We are still in the process of monitoring the situation but we know that half the agricultural crops in this region cannot be harvested this year so we can imagine that other plants will be also be similarly affected."
The government says it has earmarked more than 7 billion yuan (£700m) for relief projects, mobilised 7,600 water trucks and dug 180,000 wells to alleviate the impact.
It has also launched a massive weather modification operation. In a single week, the authorities fired over 10,000 silver nitrate shells and over 1,000 rockets into the clouds to induce rain, according to Zheng Guoguang, head of the China Meteorological Administration.
Short bursts of rain have mitigated the problem in some areas, but the overall picture remains grim and the causes contentious.
On stretches of the Mekong river, water levels are at 50-year lows, spurring criticism from downstream nations that China's hydropower expansion has siphoned off supplies that should be preserved for drinking water and fishing.
At the first summit this week of the Mekong River Commission, which comprises Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the Chinese vice minister, Song Tao, insisted climate change rather than his country was to blame.
"Statistics show that the recent drought that hit the whole river basin is attributable to the extreme dry weather, and the water level decline of the Mekong River has nothing to do with hydropower development," he said.
But environment activists inside China say dams and other forms of accelerated development are taking an excessive ecological toll. "Dams and plantations are not to blame for the extreme weather, but they worsen the impact of the drought and the competition for water resources," said Yang Yong, an explorer and geologist. "The government now realises the problems and should reconsider its plans for water resource management."
"In recent years, the focus of dam construction has been on power generation, but we have neglected the needs of flood prevention and irrigation," said Wang Yongchen of Green Earth Volunteers.
The drought has also raised fresh doubts about the wisdom of China's biggest hydro-engineering project, the South-North water diversion scheme, which is designed to channel billions of tonnes to arid northern cities such as Beijing and Tianjin.
This made sense while the south enjoyed more abundant water resources, but climatologists are now warning that north and south China could suffer simultaneous droughts.
The National Climate Centre estimates 10 downpours will be needed to alleviate the water shortage in the south. This is not forecast for at least another month.
With the prospect of prolonged dry spells in the future, Liu Ning, vice-minister of water resources, told local media it may be necessary to move people from the most vulnerable areas.
"They can go to cities, or places with more water. If droughts continue for several more years, we think we can use the nation's power to relocate them to other provinces."
• Additional reporting by Chen Shi and Cui Zheng
Jonathan Watts, guardian.co.uk 7 Apr 10;
In pictures: Drought in south-west China and the Mekong basin
It is hard to imagine a less fitting environment for a mollusc than the arid plain of Damoguzhen in south-west China.
There is not a drop of water in sight. The baked and fissured earth resembles an ancient desert. Yet shellfish are scattered here in their thousands; all so recently perished that shriveled, blackened bodies are still visible inside cracked, opened shells.
Far out of water, the aquatic animals are not the advance guard of evolutionary progress; but the victims of a drought that has devastated their habitat and now threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in surrounding regions. The Chinese government is so worried about the drought that it has embarked on a massive rain-making operation, involving firing thousands of shells and rockets into the sky to seed clouds.
Until last summer, Damoguzhen was home to a lake that stretched across a mile-wide expanse of water in Yunnan, a southern Chinese province famed for its mighty rivers, moist climate and beautiful views.
Today, it joins 310 reservoirs, 580 rivers and 3,600 pools that have been baked dry by a once-in-a-century drought that is evaporating drinking supplies, devastating crops and stirring up political tensions over dam construction, monoculture plantations and cross-border water management in south-east Asia. Linking specific weather events to human-caused climate change is impossible, but the drought is consistent with what climate scientists expect to see more of in future.
Hardest hit are local farmers such as Ying Yuexian, who has seen her tobacco and rice crop shrivel up over a six-month period that has seen record high temperatures and half the usual amount of rain.
"In February, the water dried up completely," said the 34-year-old, surveying the parched expanse where she once fished. "It turned into this overnight." Instead of drawing water from the lake, she now scrapes soil from its cracked bed in the hope that the nutrients can replenish the earth on her sun-blasted farmland.
Her husband, Zhu Chongqing, estimates that the family's annual income will halve this year and the situation could get worse because the wet season is not due for another month. "We are waiting for the rain. We dare not plant rice or tobacco before that, but the drought continues" he said. "I've never experienced anything like this."
It is a similar story across the region. Older villagers say reservoirs and irrigation channels are dry for the first time in their lives. Mountain communities have to walk hours each day to secure drinking supplies. Rationing has been introduced in many areas, affecting more than 20 million people, 15m animals and 2m hectares of farmland.
With its mighty rivers and steep gorges, south-west China is the world's biggest hydro-electric powerhouse, but reservoir levels have fallen so low this year that 60% of dams report a decline in electricity output. This forces industrial estates and cities to burn more coal and emit more carbon to make up the shortfall.
Commodity values are also rising. In the giant rubber plantations of Xishuangbanna, farmers report a sharp fall in production that has pushed up prices by 40%.
"Less water means less rubber," said Zhang Xiaoping a rubber farmer. "In a good year, I can collect 80kg a day from these 300 trees, but I am down to half that now."
According to local media, sugar prices are up 10% because of the impact on cane fields. Rice and broad beans are also more expensive.
Wildlife is threatened because Yunnan - one of the most biodiverse regions on earth - is a last refuge for many species that are extinct elsewhere. Conservationists say birds have migrated, elephants moved to new territory and many big mammals are ranging further to secure water. Reptiles and plants are most vulnerable.
"We are hearing stories from nature reserves that amphibians are dying," said Wu Yusong of the Worldwide Fund for Nature's Yunnan office. "We are still in the process of monitoring the situation but we know that half the agricultural crops in this region cannot be harvested this year so we can imagine that other plants will be also be similarly affected."
The government says it has earmarked more than 7 billion yuan (£700m) for relief projects, mobilised 7,600 water trucks and dug 180,000 wells to alleviate the impact.
It has also launched a massive weather modification operation. In a single week, the authorities fired over 10,000 silver nitrate shells and over 1,000 rockets into the clouds to induce rain, according to Zheng Guoguang, head of the China Meteorological Administration.
Short bursts of rain have mitigated the problem in some areas, but the overall picture remains grim and the causes contentious.
On stretches of the Mekong river, water levels are at 50-year lows, spurring criticism from downstream nations that China's hydropower expansion has siphoned off supplies that should be preserved for drinking water and fishing.
At the first summit this week of the Mekong River Commission, which comprises Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the Chinese vice minister, Song Tao, insisted climate change rather than his country was to blame.
"Statistics show that the recent drought that hit the whole river basin is attributable to the extreme dry weather, and the water level decline of the Mekong River has nothing to do with hydropower development," he said.
But environment activists inside China say dams and other forms of accelerated development are taking an excessive ecological toll. "Dams and plantations are not to blame for the extreme weather, but they worsen the impact of the drought and the competition for water resources," said Yang Yong, an explorer and geologist. "The government now realises the problems and should reconsider its plans for water resource management."
"In recent years, the focus of dam construction has been on power generation, but we have neglected the needs of flood prevention and irrigation," said Wang Yongchen of Green Earth Volunteers.
The drought has also raised fresh doubts about the wisdom of China's biggest hydro-engineering project, the South-North water diversion scheme, which is designed to channel billions of tonnes to arid northern cities such as Beijing and Tianjin.
This made sense while the south enjoyed more abundant water resources, but climatologists are now warning that north and south China could suffer simultaneous droughts.
The National Climate Centre estimates 10 downpours will be needed to alleviate the water shortage in the south. This is not forecast for at least another month.
With the prospect of prolonged dry spells in the future, Liu Ning, vice-minister of water resources, told local media it may be necessary to move people from the most vulnerable areas.
"They can go to cities, or places with more water. If droughts continue for several more years, we think we can use the nation's power to relocate them to other provinces."
• Additional reporting by Chen Shi and Cui Zheng
Climate change sceptics have it wrong
Letter to the Editor, Business Times 9 Apr 10;
IT IS not worth the while to address the individual points raised in the polemical opinion piece 'End of the IPCC: one mistake too many' by S Fred Singer (BT, April 7), which reflect the views of a small group of anthropogenic climate change 'sceptics', many of whom are not climate scientists.
The so-called 'errors' have already been dealt with officially and found not to change the main conclusions of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The unsubstantiated claim of a 'conspiracy', on the other hand, is rather peculiar and perhaps reflects the shallowness of scientific arguments of the 'sceptics'. The known association of this group with conservative think tanks and the oil industry also does not help their case.
One could then equally argue that the oil lobby has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, which relies on hydrocarbon products as the main source of the world's electrical energy and heating fuels.
Despite all the noise and public exposure given by willing news outlets, the 'sceptics' so far have provided no reason to discard an explanation of the late 20th century warming that is consistent with theory, models and observations - namely, increased greenhouse gases.
This is a view endorsed by nearly every major national science academy and meteorological institute in the world. Indeed, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, quite independently of the IPCC, announced in January that 2009 was the second warmest year in the modern record.
The analysis also shows that in the Southern Hemisphere, 2009 was the warmest year since modern records began in 1880. In December 2009, the UK Meteorological Office and World Meteorological Organization announced that the previous decade was the warmest since records began.
Therefore, the announcement of the end of the IPCC is both premature and pretentious, and completely pre-empts the outcome of the UN official enquiry.
Matthias Roth
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
National University of Singapore
IT IS not worth the while to address the individual points raised in the polemical opinion piece 'End of the IPCC: one mistake too many' by S Fred Singer (BT, April 7), which reflect the views of a small group of anthropogenic climate change 'sceptics', many of whom are not climate scientists.
The so-called 'errors' have already been dealt with officially and found not to change the main conclusions of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The unsubstantiated claim of a 'conspiracy', on the other hand, is rather peculiar and perhaps reflects the shallowness of scientific arguments of the 'sceptics'. The known association of this group with conservative think tanks and the oil industry also does not help their case.
One could then equally argue that the oil lobby has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, which relies on hydrocarbon products as the main source of the world's electrical energy and heating fuels.
Despite all the noise and public exposure given by willing news outlets, the 'sceptics' so far have provided no reason to discard an explanation of the late 20th century warming that is consistent with theory, models and observations - namely, increased greenhouse gases.
This is a view endorsed by nearly every major national science academy and meteorological institute in the world. Indeed, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, quite independently of the IPCC, announced in January that 2009 was the second warmest year in the modern record.
The analysis also shows that in the Southern Hemisphere, 2009 was the warmest year since modern records began in 1880. In December 2009, the UK Meteorological Office and World Meteorological Organization announced that the previous decade was the warmest since records began.
Therefore, the announcement of the end of the IPCC is both premature and pretentious, and completely pre-empts the outcome of the UN official enquiry.
Matthias Roth
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
National University of Singapore
U.N. climate talks resume, scant chance of 2010 deal
Alister Doyle, Reuters 8 Apr 10;
BONN, Germany (Reuters) - Climate negotiators meet in Bonn on Friday for the first time since the fractious Copenhagen summit but with scant hopes of patching together a new legally binding U.N. deal in 2010.
Delegates from 170 nations gathered on Thursday for the April 9-11 meeting that will seek to rebuild trust after the December summit disappointed many by failing to agree a binding U.N. deal at the climax of two years of talks.
Bonn will decide a programme for meetings in 2010 and air ideas about the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, backed by more than 110 nations including major emitters China, the United States, Russia and India but opposed by some developing states.
The Accord seeks to limit world temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F), but without saying how.
"We need to reassess the situation after Copenhagen," said Bruno Sekoli of Lesotho, who speaks on behalf of the least developed nations who want far tougher cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to limit temperature rises to less than 1.5 C.
Many nations favor progress on practical steps in 2010, such as aid to developing nations to combat climate change that is meant to total about $10 billion a year from 2010-12 under the Copenhagen Accord, rising to $100 billion a year from 2020.
Delegates said perhaps two extra sessions of talks were likely to be added before the next annual ministerial talks in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29-December 10. That would mean a less hectic pace than last year's run-up to Copenhagen.
"There has been a constructive attitude" in informal preparatory talks in Tokyo and Mexico, said Harald Dovland, a Norwegian official who is the vice-chair of U.N. talks on a new deal to succeed the existing Kyoto Protocol.
COPENHAGEN
But it is unclear what will happen to the Copenhagen Accord.
The United States is among the strongest backers of the Copenhagen Accord, but many developing nations do not want it to supplant the 1992 Climate Convention which they reckon stresses that the rich have to lead the way.
"I don't believe that the Copenhagen Accord will become the new legal framework," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told reporters in a briefing about Bonn last week.
He also doubted a legally binding deal would be reached in 2010, saying he hoped Cancun would agree the basic architecture "so that a year later, you can decide or not decide to turn that into a treaty." The 2011 meeting is in South Africa.
Wendel Trio, of environmental group Greenpeace, said many nations had to toughen their targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions if they wanted to stay below a 2 degrees Celsius rise.
"The pledges so far will probably take us to somewhere between 3.5 and 4 degrees Celsius," he said. That would spur dangerous changes such as floods, heatwaves, droughts, more extinctions and rising sea levels.
In other signs of a revival of talks, the United States will host a meeting of major economies in Washington on April 18-19, top U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern said on Wednesday.
He said he did not know if a legal U.N. treaty could be reached in 2010. One hurdle to a pact is that U.S. legislation to cap emissions is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
Factbox: National goals for combating global warming
Yahoo News 8 Apr 10;
(Reuters) - U.N. climate talks in Bonn from April 9-11 will review efforts to tackle global warming after the Copenhagen summit in December fell short of a legally binding text sought by many nations.
Following are national plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions submitted this year to the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat. Many of the pledges hinge on actions by others:
INDUSTRIALISED NATIONS -- EMISSIONS CUTS BY 2020, FROM 1990 LEVELS UNLESS STATED (A scenario by the U.N. panel of climate scientists indicate industrialized nations would have to cut by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to avoid the worst impacts)
UNITED STATES - President Barack Obama wants to cut U.S. emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels, or 4 percent from 1990 levels. But legislation is stalled in the U.S. Senate and public concern about global warming has declined in 2010.
EU (27 nations) - 20 percent, or 30 percent if others act.
RUSSIA - 15 to 25 percent.
JAPAN - 25 percent as part of a "fair and effective international framework."
CANADA - 17 percent from 2005 levels, matching U.S. goal.
AUSTRALIA - 5 percent below 2000 levels or as much as 25 percent if there is an ambitious global deal. The range is 3-23 percent below 1990.
BELARUS - 5 to 10 percent, on condition of access to carbon trading and new technologies.
CROATIA - 5 percent.
KAZAKHSTAN - 15 percent.
NEW ZEALAND - 10 to 20 percent "if there is a comprehensive global agreement."
SWITZERLAND - 20 percent, or 30 percent if other developed nations make comparable cuts and poor nations act.
NORWAY - 30 percent, or 40 if there is an ambitious deal.
ICELAND - 30 percent in a joint effort with the EU.
LIECHTENSTEIN - 20 percent, or 30 percent if others act.
MONACO - 30 percent; aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.
DEVELOPING NATIONS' ACTIONS BY 2020 (U.N. climate panel scenarios show that major emerging economies should slow the growth of emissions by 15 to 30 percent below projected levels by 2020).
CHINA - Aims to cut the amount of carbon produced per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels. This "carbon intensity" goal would let emissions keep rising, but more slowly than economic growth.
INDIA - Plans to reduce the emissions intensity of gross domestic product by 20 to 25 percent from 2005 levels.
BRAZIL - Intends to cut emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9 percent below "business as usual" levels with measures such as reducing deforestation, energy efficiency and more hydropower.
SOUTH AFRICA - Says that, with the right international aid, its emissions could peak between 2020-25, plateau for a decade and then decline in absolute terms from about 2035.
INDONESIA - Intends to reduce emissions by 26 percent by 2020 with measures including sustainable peat management, reduced deforestation, and energy efficiency.
MEXICO - Will seek to cut greenhouse gases by up to 30 percent below "business as usual."
SOUTH KOREA - Plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below "business as usual" projections.
OTHERS' PLEDGES
ARMENIA - Increase renewable energy output, modernize power plants, restore forests.
BENIN - Develop public transport in Cotonou, better forest management, methane recovery from waste in big cities.
BHUTAN - Already absorbs more carbon in vegetation than it emits from burning fossil fuels; plans to stay that way.
BOTSWANA - Shift to gas from coal. Nuclear power, renewables, biomass and carbon capture also among options.
CONGO - Improve agriculture, limit vehicles in major cities, better forestry management.
COSTA RICA - A long-term effort to become "carbon neutral" under which any industrial emissions will be offset elsewhere, for instance by planting forests.
ETHIOPIA - More hydropower dams, wind farms, geothermal energy, biofuels and reforestation.
ERITREA - Improve energy conservation, efficiency, reduce deforestation, enhance soil carbon stocks.
GABON - Increase forestry, bolster clean energy
GEORGIA - Try to build a low-carbon economy while ensuring continued growth.
GHANA - Switch from oil to natural gas in electricity generation, build more hydropower dams, raise the share of renewable energy to 10-20 percent of electricity by 2020.
ISRAEL - Strive for a 20 percent cut in emissions below "business as usual" projections. Goals include getting 10 percent of electricity generation from renewable sources.
IVORY COAST - Shift to renewable energies, better forest management and farming, improved pollution monitoring.
JORDAN - Shift to renewable energies, upgrade railways, roads and ports. Goals include modernizing military equipment.
MACEDONIA - Improve energy efficiency, boost renewable energies, harmonize with EU energy laws.
MADAGASCAR - Shift to hydropower for major cities, push for "large scale" reforestation across the island, improve agriculture, waste management and transport.
MALDIVES - Achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2020.
MARSHALL ISLANDS - Cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent below 2009 levels.
MAURITANIA - Raise forest cover to 9 percent by 2050 from 3.2 percent in 2009, boost clean energy.
MOLDOVA - Cut emissions by "no less than 25 percent" from 1990 levels.
MONGOLIA - Examining large-scale solar power in the Gobi desert, wind and hydropower. Improve use of coal.
MOROCCO - Develop renewable energies such as wind, solar power, hydropower. Improve industrial efficiency.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - At least halve emissions per unit of economic output by 2030; become carbon neutral by 2050.
SIERRA LEONE - Set up a National Secretariat for Climate Change, create 12 protected areas by 2015, protect forests.
SINGAPORE - Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16 percent below "business as usual" levels if the world agrees a strong, legally binding deal.
SIERRA LEONE - Increase conservation efforts, ensure forest cover of at least 3.4 million hectares by 2015. Develop clean energy including biofuels from sugarcane or rice husks.
TOGO - Raise forested area to 30 percent of the country by 2050 from 7 percent in 2005; improve energy efficiency.
(Compiled by Alister Doyle in Bonn)
Climate deal fear as talks resume
Richard Black, BBC News 8 Apr 10;
The first round of UN climate talks since December's bitter Copenhagen summit opens in Bonn on Friday with the future of the process uncertain.
Developing countries are adamant that the UN climate convention is the right forum for negotiating a global deal and want it done by the year's end.
But others, notably the US, appear to think this is not politically feasible.
Some delegates are concerned that the whole process could collapse, given the divisions and lack of trust.
"There is the political will among developing countries. They are working for an agreement that includes further emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol," Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries, told the BBC.
"Whether there is political will among the industrialised countries is another matter," he said.
Developing nations have been pressing to agree a series of preparatory meetings this year - as many as five - in order that outstanding differences on the text of a new agreement can be worked out in time for the next major summit in Mexico, in November and December.
But delegates here said that richer countries were resisting this, holding out for just one more meeting before November, which would leave no chance of agreeing a new global treaty or even agreeing a framework.
Analyses released since the end of the Copenhagen summit suggest that without further constraints soon, it will be very difficult to keep the rise in average global temperatures since pre-industrial times below 2C, a threshold commonly cited as indicating dangerous climate change.
Cross parties
The US, in particular, is in a sticky situation regarding domestic legislation.
An initial bill, introduced to the Senate last September, is widely seen as having no chance of passing.
A cross-party group of senators has been drawing up a new one, containing concessions to some states and industries.
But this version, if enacted, may reduce US emissions by considerably less than the 17% figure (from 2005 levels by 2020) that President Barack Obama pledged when he addressed Copenhagen.
"There's considerable uncertainty about whether there is going to be a US domestic bill that follows through on the president's 17% commitment," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
"[The administration is] very sceptical about the ability to get a full-blown legal deal that replaces the Kyoto Protocol or builds on it, given the state of play back home."
As to whether growing scepticism about the science of climate change - evidenced in some US opinion polls - was slowing the legislative process, Mr Meyer suggested it was not.
"The manufactured debate over the science is in our view just an excuse for [opposing senators] not to do what they weren't going to do anyway," he said.
"The attempts to swing votes behind the new bill aren't anything to do with climate science, they're to do with alleviating concerns from industries the senators are close to."
BASIC instinct
Immediately after the Copenhagen summit, the US appeared to have formed a powerful new alliance with the BASIC group of countries - Brazil, China, India and South Africa - that steered through the controversial and weak Copenhagen Accord on the summit's final day.
There were signs that this group saw the accord, with its voluntary nature, as more attractive than the traditional negotiations and supposedly binding commitments of the UN process.
However, the BASIC countries have now affirmed that the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) should be the sovereign body for international climate talks.
More than 120 countries have sent letters to the UNFCCC secretariat saying whether or not they endorse the accord.
A majority do endorse it, but many with the rider that they see it as just a political declaration leading to a full-blown treaty at some stage, and certainly not be a replacement for such a treaty.
Sources said the US was "bullying" small developing countries into endorsing the accord, claiming they would not be eligible for financial help from rich nations unless they did so.
Whereas this accusation appears to be straining relations that were already stretched, there are signs that the EU is preparing to give ground on one of the major demands of developing countries - that further emissions cuts for rich countries are made under the Kyoto Protocol.
In a strategy document released last week, the UK said it was prepared to consider the idea; and other EU leaders are also reportedly sympathetic.
"This is a pretty good first step," said Mr Khor. "It's not enough, but if more countries in the EU take this position, that could be the foundation of something that could be a salvation to this situation."
However, if the EU did formally move in this direction, it would put the bloc at odds with traditional allies such as the US, Canada and Japan.
The meeting here runs until Sunday evening.
BONN, Germany (Reuters) - Climate negotiators meet in Bonn on Friday for the first time since the fractious Copenhagen summit but with scant hopes of patching together a new legally binding U.N. deal in 2010.
Delegates from 170 nations gathered on Thursday for the April 9-11 meeting that will seek to rebuild trust after the December summit disappointed many by failing to agree a binding U.N. deal at the climax of two years of talks.
Bonn will decide a programme for meetings in 2010 and air ideas about the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, backed by more than 110 nations including major emitters China, the United States, Russia and India but opposed by some developing states.
The Accord seeks to limit world temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F), but without saying how.
"We need to reassess the situation after Copenhagen," said Bruno Sekoli of Lesotho, who speaks on behalf of the least developed nations who want far tougher cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to limit temperature rises to less than 1.5 C.
Many nations favor progress on practical steps in 2010, such as aid to developing nations to combat climate change that is meant to total about $10 billion a year from 2010-12 under the Copenhagen Accord, rising to $100 billion a year from 2020.
Delegates said perhaps two extra sessions of talks were likely to be added before the next annual ministerial talks in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29-December 10. That would mean a less hectic pace than last year's run-up to Copenhagen.
"There has been a constructive attitude" in informal preparatory talks in Tokyo and Mexico, said Harald Dovland, a Norwegian official who is the vice-chair of U.N. talks on a new deal to succeed the existing Kyoto Protocol.
COPENHAGEN
But it is unclear what will happen to the Copenhagen Accord.
The United States is among the strongest backers of the Copenhagen Accord, but many developing nations do not want it to supplant the 1992 Climate Convention which they reckon stresses that the rich have to lead the way.
"I don't believe that the Copenhagen Accord will become the new legal framework," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told reporters in a briefing about Bonn last week.
He also doubted a legally binding deal would be reached in 2010, saying he hoped Cancun would agree the basic architecture "so that a year later, you can decide or not decide to turn that into a treaty." The 2011 meeting is in South Africa.
Wendel Trio, of environmental group Greenpeace, said many nations had to toughen their targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions if they wanted to stay below a 2 degrees Celsius rise.
"The pledges so far will probably take us to somewhere between 3.5 and 4 degrees Celsius," he said. That would spur dangerous changes such as floods, heatwaves, droughts, more extinctions and rising sea levels.
In other signs of a revival of talks, the United States will host a meeting of major economies in Washington on April 18-19, top U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern said on Wednesday.
He said he did not know if a legal U.N. treaty could be reached in 2010. One hurdle to a pact is that U.S. legislation to cap emissions is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
Factbox: National goals for combating global warming
Yahoo News 8 Apr 10;
(Reuters) - U.N. climate talks in Bonn from April 9-11 will review efforts to tackle global warming after the Copenhagen summit in December fell short of a legally binding text sought by many nations.
Following are national plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions submitted this year to the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat. Many of the pledges hinge on actions by others:
INDUSTRIALISED NATIONS -- EMISSIONS CUTS BY 2020, FROM 1990 LEVELS UNLESS STATED (A scenario by the U.N. panel of climate scientists indicate industrialized nations would have to cut by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to avoid the worst impacts)
UNITED STATES - President Barack Obama wants to cut U.S. emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels, or 4 percent from 1990 levels. But legislation is stalled in the U.S. Senate and public concern about global warming has declined in 2010.
EU (27 nations) - 20 percent, or 30 percent if others act.
RUSSIA - 15 to 25 percent.
JAPAN - 25 percent as part of a "fair and effective international framework."
CANADA - 17 percent from 2005 levels, matching U.S. goal.
AUSTRALIA - 5 percent below 2000 levels or as much as 25 percent if there is an ambitious global deal. The range is 3-23 percent below 1990.
BELARUS - 5 to 10 percent, on condition of access to carbon trading and new technologies.
CROATIA - 5 percent.
KAZAKHSTAN - 15 percent.
NEW ZEALAND - 10 to 20 percent "if there is a comprehensive global agreement."
SWITZERLAND - 20 percent, or 30 percent if other developed nations make comparable cuts and poor nations act.
NORWAY - 30 percent, or 40 if there is an ambitious deal.
ICELAND - 30 percent in a joint effort with the EU.
LIECHTENSTEIN - 20 percent, or 30 percent if others act.
MONACO - 30 percent; aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.
DEVELOPING NATIONS' ACTIONS BY 2020 (U.N. climate panel scenarios show that major emerging economies should slow the growth of emissions by 15 to 30 percent below projected levels by 2020).
CHINA - Aims to cut the amount of carbon produced per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels. This "carbon intensity" goal would let emissions keep rising, but more slowly than economic growth.
INDIA - Plans to reduce the emissions intensity of gross domestic product by 20 to 25 percent from 2005 levels.
BRAZIL - Intends to cut emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9 percent below "business as usual" levels with measures such as reducing deforestation, energy efficiency and more hydropower.
SOUTH AFRICA - Says that, with the right international aid, its emissions could peak between 2020-25, plateau for a decade and then decline in absolute terms from about 2035.
INDONESIA - Intends to reduce emissions by 26 percent by 2020 with measures including sustainable peat management, reduced deforestation, and energy efficiency.
MEXICO - Will seek to cut greenhouse gases by up to 30 percent below "business as usual."
SOUTH KOREA - Plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below "business as usual" projections.
OTHERS' PLEDGES
ARMENIA - Increase renewable energy output, modernize power plants, restore forests.
BENIN - Develop public transport in Cotonou, better forest management, methane recovery from waste in big cities.
BHUTAN - Already absorbs more carbon in vegetation than it emits from burning fossil fuels; plans to stay that way.
BOTSWANA - Shift to gas from coal. Nuclear power, renewables, biomass and carbon capture also among options.
CONGO - Improve agriculture, limit vehicles in major cities, better forestry management.
COSTA RICA - A long-term effort to become "carbon neutral" under which any industrial emissions will be offset elsewhere, for instance by planting forests.
ETHIOPIA - More hydropower dams, wind farms, geothermal energy, biofuels and reforestation.
ERITREA - Improve energy conservation, efficiency, reduce deforestation, enhance soil carbon stocks.
GABON - Increase forestry, bolster clean energy
GEORGIA - Try to build a low-carbon economy while ensuring continued growth.
GHANA - Switch from oil to natural gas in electricity generation, build more hydropower dams, raise the share of renewable energy to 10-20 percent of electricity by 2020.
ISRAEL - Strive for a 20 percent cut in emissions below "business as usual" projections. Goals include getting 10 percent of electricity generation from renewable sources.
IVORY COAST - Shift to renewable energies, better forest management and farming, improved pollution monitoring.
JORDAN - Shift to renewable energies, upgrade railways, roads and ports. Goals include modernizing military equipment.
MACEDONIA - Improve energy efficiency, boost renewable energies, harmonize with EU energy laws.
MADAGASCAR - Shift to hydropower for major cities, push for "large scale" reforestation across the island, improve agriculture, waste management and transport.
MALDIVES - Achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2020.
MARSHALL ISLANDS - Cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent below 2009 levels.
MAURITANIA - Raise forest cover to 9 percent by 2050 from 3.2 percent in 2009, boost clean energy.
MOLDOVA - Cut emissions by "no less than 25 percent" from 1990 levels.
MONGOLIA - Examining large-scale solar power in the Gobi desert, wind and hydropower. Improve use of coal.
MOROCCO - Develop renewable energies such as wind, solar power, hydropower. Improve industrial efficiency.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - At least halve emissions per unit of economic output by 2030; become carbon neutral by 2050.
SIERRA LEONE - Set up a National Secretariat for Climate Change, create 12 protected areas by 2015, protect forests.
SINGAPORE - Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16 percent below "business as usual" levels if the world agrees a strong, legally binding deal.
SIERRA LEONE - Increase conservation efforts, ensure forest cover of at least 3.4 million hectares by 2015. Develop clean energy including biofuels from sugarcane or rice husks.
TOGO - Raise forested area to 30 percent of the country by 2050 from 7 percent in 2005; improve energy efficiency.
(Compiled by Alister Doyle in Bonn)
Climate deal fear as talks resume
Richard Black, BBC News 8 Apr 10;
The first round of UN climate talks since December's bitter Copenhagen summit opens in Bonn on Friday with the future of the process uncertain.
Developing countries are adamant that the UN climate convention is the right forum for negotiating a global deal and want it done by the year's end.
But others, notably the US, appear to think this is not politically feasible.
Some delegates are concerned that the whole process could collapse, given the divisions and lack of trust.
"There is the political will among developing countries. They are working for an agreement that includes further emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol," Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries, told the BBC.
"Whether there is political will among the industrialised countries is another matter," he said.
Developing nations have been pressing to agree a series of preparatory meetings this year - as many as five - in order that outstanding differences on the text of a new agreement can be worked out in time for the next major summit in Mexico, in November and December.
But delegates here said that richer countries were resisting this, holding out for just one more meeting before November, which would leave no chance of agreeing a new global treaty or even agreeing a framework.
Analyses released since the end of the Copenhagen summit suggest that without further constraints soon, it will be very difficult to keep the rise in average global temperatures since pre-industrial times below 2C, a threshold commonly cited as indicating dangerous climate change.
Cross parties
The US, in particular, is in a sticky situation regarding domestic legislation.
An initial bill, introduced to the Senate last September, is widely seen as having no chance of passing.
A cross-party group of senators has been drawing up a new one, containing concessions to some states and industries.
But this version, if enacted, may reduce US emissions by considerably less than the 17% figure (from 2005 levels by 2020) that President Barack Obama pledged when he addressed Copenhagen.
"There's considerable uncertainty about whether there is going to be a US domestic bill that follows through on the president's 17% commitment," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
"[The administration is] very sceptical about the ability to get a full-blown legal deal that replaces the Kyoto Protocol or builds on it, given the state of play back home."
As to whether growing scepticism about the science of climate change - evidenced in some US opinion polls - was slowing the legislative process, Mr Meyer suggested it was not.
"The manufactured debate over the science is in our view just an excuse for [opposing senators] not to do what they weren't going to do anyway," he said.
"The attempts to swing votes behind the new bill aren't anything to do with climate science, they're to do with alleviating concerns from industries the senators are close to."
BASIC instinct
Immediately after the Copenhagen summit, the US appeared to have formed a powerful new alliance with the BASIC group of countries - Brazil, China, India and South Africa - that steered through the controversial and weak Copenhagen Accord on the summit's final day.
There were signs that this group saw the accord, with its voluntary nature, as more attractive than the traditional negotiations and supposedly binding commitments of the UN process.
However, the BASIC countries have now affirmed that the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) should be the sovereign body for international climate talks.
More than 120 countries have sent letters to the UNFCCC secretariat saying whether or not they endorse the accord.
A majority do endorse it, but many with the rider that they see it as just a political declaration leading to a full-blown treaty at some stage, and certainly not be a replacement for such a treaty.
Sources said the US was "bullying" small developing countries into endorsing the accord, claiming they would not be eligible for financial help from rich nations unless they did so.
Whereas this accusation appears to be straining relations that were already stretched, there are signs that the EU is preparing to give ground on one of the major demands of developing countries - that further emissions cuts for rich countries are made under the Kyoto Protocol.
In a strategy document released last week, the UK said it was prepared to consider the idea; and other EU leaders are also reportedly sympathetic.
"This is a pretty good first step," said Mr Khor. "It's not enough, but if more countries in the EU take this position, that could be the foundation of something that could be a salvation to this situation."
However, if the EU did formally move in this direction, it would put the bloc at odds with traditional allies such as the US, Canada and Japan.
The meeting here runs until Sunday evening.