Best of our wild blogs: 24 Apr 10

Two hoots
from The annotated budak and Your true colours

Courtship ritual of the Little Grebe
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Singapore shoppers will pay more for green goods: Poll

Straits Times 24 Apr 10;

MIDDLE- and upper-income Singaporeans are sceptical shoppers, and are willing to spend on eco-friendly products, according to a Reader's Digest survey released yesterday.

Conducted in October, the survey polled 1,000 Singaporeans on their most trusted brands and studied how they placed their trust.

It found that three quarters of shoppers here are willing to pay a bit extra to have a green conscience, rather than buying cheap or value brands.

'In the last decade, we have become more conscious of environmental friendliness, and you see this taking shape in our shopping choices,' said Ms Gwen Loong, Reader's Digest Asia's group advertising director.

But too much of a price increase still deters shoppers - the survey found that consumers would accept, at most, an 8 per cent price difference between an eco-friendly product and its regular equivalent.

Half of the 1,000 respondents were selected from Reader's Digest's subscribers, while the others were chosen from research firm Synovate's database.

Respondents chosen were aged 20 or above, have at least a secondary school education, and are among the top 50 per cent of the population ranked by household income.

The survey also found that whether it's buying a carton of milk or airline tickets, proven research matters the most to shoppers when figuring out which brand to trust.

More than a third ranked research and development findings as the most important reason in deciding a product's credibility. Celebrity endorsement was placed the lowest.

There were also striking differences between different demographics. Those in their twenties, as well as women of all ages, tend to trust brands more if friends recommended them.

Ms Betty Wu, research director of Synovate, said this could be because shopping tends to be a 'very social conversation topic', especially among women.

Ms Loong added that many 20-somethings use social media, which means more could be taking their shopping cues from their friends over Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

The survey is part of an Asia-wide look at how shoppers trust brands, with seven other markets also polled. They were: China, India, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand.

Singapore's findings generally dovetailed with those of the other markets.

For instance, respondents in all eight put the least faith in celebrity endorsements. The majority also based their trust on research findings.

Reader's Digest also asked Singaporeans to name trusted brands across 13 local categories and 30 regional categories.

About a third of the top brands named were local, including Singapore Airlines, Jean Yip, CapitaLand, PropNex, FairPrice and SingTel.

TESSA WONG

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New scheme planned to replace Bring Your Own Bag Day

Saifulbahri Ismail, Sharon See Channel NewsAsia 23 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE : The weekly "Bring Your Own Bag Day" campaign will end soon. In its place is a new nationwide scheme that the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) plans to introduce.

Every Wednesday, shoppers at retail outlets which are part of the "Bring Your Own Bag Day" campaign can either buy re-usable cloth bags, or donate 10 cents for every plastic bag that they ask for.

Proceeds go to fund other SEC environmental programmes. But after running for three years, this weekly campaign will soon end.

Howard Shaw, executive director, Singapore Environment Council, said: "I think it had (played) its role as a campaign. ... it has created awareness about plastic bag issues. You do see many more people using renewable bags these days.

"So, I think that's encouraging and we see also a lot of other retailers, smaller retailers, fashion brands moving away from disposable bags and actually giving their customers reusable bags as well."

The spirit of the campaign will live on and grow stronger.

A survey by the National Environment Agency indicated that about two thirds of shoppers supported a more frequent "Bring Your Own Bag Day".

Mr Shaw said: "We are in dialogues with all the major retailers to actually implement a nationwide scheme, basically bringing your own bag day, every day, idea - by offering their customers incentives for using reusable bags, like a small discounts, for example.

"So instead of charging them for the bag, you give them a discount for not taking a bag."

Some retailers are already doing this. Every day, supermarket chain FairPrice gives customers who spend at least S$10 a 10-cent rebate if they bring their own shopping bags.

Mr Shaw said the challenge now is to get the commitment from all major retailers to participate on the new scheme.

Consumers support this idea.

Ho Keen Hoe said: "Actually, it's more important to make the effort rather than treat it as an inconvenience."

"I think that's a step further in the right direction, simply because the point is hammered harder into people. People actually see the point clearer, said Abdul Azin bin Awalluddin.

Koh Han Pin added: "If it's (on an) everyday basis, then I think it will be like a normal routine. Then you'll just automatically put a bag inside your bag."

SEC will announce details of the new scheme in June.

- CNA/al

Bring your own bag ... every day
Today Online 24 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE - Say goodbye to the campaign to get shoppers to bring along their own bags every Wednesday. Instead it's to become a daily routine soon.

The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) is winding down its campaign which it launched in 2007 to discourage the excessive use of plastic bags. In its place could be a nation-wide scheme to get consumers to bring their own shopping bags every time they head for the stores.

Said SEC executive director Howard Shaw: "We are in dialogue with all the major retailers ... to offer their customers incentives for using reusable bags, like a small discount. So, instead of charging them for a plastic bag, you give them a discount for not taking a bag."

Under the current once-a-week scheme, shoppers are encouraged to use their own bags every Wednesday or they can voluntarily donate 10 cents for each plastic bag taken at checkout counters. Proceeds go to the SEC to fund other environmental programmes.

Mr Shaw feels the campaign has "achieved results" in creating awareness, with more people using reusable bags and more retailers - including fashion brands - moving away from using disposable bags.

A National Environment Agency survey found that about two-thirds of shoppers support a more frequent Bring Your Own Bag Day. NTUC FairPrice is one retailer that already practises a rebate scheme and customers who bring their own bags get 10 cents back.

Since the scheme started in 2007, it has given more than $600,000 in rebates and saved on more than 43 million plastic bags, the supermarket chain said.

The SEC plans to announce details of the scheme in June. Saifulbahri Ismail

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The cons of air-con in Singapore

Thermostat levels set too low waste energy and money; cause discomfort
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 24 Apr 10;

WINTER in Britain is a cold, wet, dark, miserable affair.

It was winter two years ago when I decided to move to Singapore.

My head was filled with endless days of sunshine as Singapore's average temperature ranges from 24 to 31 deg C, compared to the average winter range of 3 to 7.5 deg C in Britain.

Farewell jumpers, scarves, hats and gloves, and hello heat.

A foolish assumption for I had not factored in the 'air-con' phenomenon.

The guidelines for building owners say that the thermostat should be set between 22.5 and 25.5 deg C, for both comfort and energy saving.

But I cannot believe that all are sticking to the rules - there have been repeated calls for a law on air-conditioning levels by Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng, who asked for public buildings to set the air-con at 24 deg C 'not just to save money' but 'to tread as lightly as we can upon the earth's surface'.

Speaking on March 8 in Parliament, he said: 'There is a heatwave in Singapore at the moment, but pop into any office along Raffles Place and it is winter time.

'What is the matter with us? We can build two resorts in a few years, but we cannot turn the air-conditioning down.'

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, replied that guidelines should be followed. He also added that 12 out of 56 public sector buildings which had carried out energy audits had saved $3 million. As much of the energy in an average building goes to powering air-con, it is easy to see where those savings came from. A law is not likely to be forthcoming, though.

The Sustainable Singapore website calls it a 'waste of energy' to overcool buildings. Additionally, 'building occupants may experience discomfort from low indoor temperatures', it added.

I have to agree that I have experienced first-hand discomfort at arctic air-con temperatures.

In the first office I worked at in the Central Business District, it was not an unusual sight to see colleagues parading around in ski jackets.

I hastily dug out jumpers and made a mercy dash to Ikea for a blanket.

I pleaded with the building security guard to raise the air-con to a higher temperature but 'Cannot! It's centrally controlled!' was the immovable reply.

I sat like a granny (or should I say auntie) in my cubicle, shivering the days away until I remembered the portable heater I had failed to sell before I left for warmer climes and had brought along to Singapore.

I never thought I would have to use it again. It was buried beneath packing boxes in a forgotten corner of my home.

But I dug it out and carted it into office early one morning, plugged it in under my desk and soaked up the heat, feeling somewhat guilty as my colleagues remarked on how nice and warm it was around my desk.

I admit I am somewhat of a reptile - a cold-blooded creature who craves the warmth, but I am not alone in my disappointment at the big air-con freeze.

As a journalist, I am often at conferences with delegates from overseas who remark on how disappointing and ridiculous it is to be stuck in winter woolies when it is 31 deg C outside.

It is not just an expat thing, although we may have the greater distress at having to dust off the winter wear and part with cash for coats near the equator. My Singaporean friends also agree that the air-con is too chilly in places.

There was a flurry of letters to The Straits Times forum in February following a colleague's column about air-con aversion.

Alaskan Loren Howerter wrote that despite the minus 40 deg C temperatures of her old home, she often found herself 'uncomfortably cold' in Singapore and forgoes the cinema if she has forgotten her jacket.

When I head to the cinema, preparations are extensive - it is crucial to remember not only my spectacles, but also my dedicated fluffy cinema socks, leggings or jeans and hoodie with pocket for my hands, lest I ruin the experience by freezing.

A restaurant meal was narrowly rescued by an enterprising maitre d', who bought me two rugs as I almost left due to freezing conditions. No matter how long I live here, I still seem to be lulled into a false sense of security by the warmth of the outdoors and forget to cart a jumper everywhere I go.

Aside from the personal issues I have with the cold, air-cons are one of the biggest drains on the finances of businesses.

For example, it accounts for a whopping 70 per cent of the Singapore Expo's power bill.

Upping the temperature by a degree can save companies up to 3 per cent on their air-con bills. This would equate to savings of $20 million to $26 million if all companies here got on board.

The National Environment Agency says that if the home air-con is set at 25 deg C, every degree raised above that results in savings of $20 a year. With 1,119,000 homes in Singapore, a raise of one degree could result in annual energy savings of $22.3 million.

In these days of climate change awareness, shouldn't raising air-con temperatures be an obvious energy-saving manoeuvre?

When I asked major organisations what their buildings' air-con temperatures were, those who got back to me, such as Raffles City Convention Centre, Sheraton Towers Hotel, Singapore Expo and Ritz-Carlton Hotel, all vehemently swore that it was set at 22 to 23 deg C - which is in line with the guidelines.

The Intercontinental Singapore operates with two air-conditioning chillers from 10.30am, turning one off at 11pm on normal days, and at 9pm on weekends and public holidays. Singapore Expo increases the air-con temperature slightly on cooler rainy days, and according to crowd levels.

Incidentally, Wikipedia describes the temperature range of 21 to 25 deg C as being that of 'general human comfort'.

So these temperatures should not be making me shiver so.

I appreciate that without some level of air-con, working, or even just shopping, would be unbearable on some days.

But perhaps there could be a compromise for a rise of a degree or two, to save not just the environment, but also money for the building owners.

When that happens, and I still find a need for my shawl, then I'll accept that when it comes to air-con, it's really just me.

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Interview with Malayan Nature Society President, Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor

The Star 24 Apr 10;

You have been MNS president since 1979. What motivates you after being in that role for so long? Robin Khoo, Malacca

I am ready to serve as president as long as the society’s members want me to. I had stepped down in 2006, but friends persuaded me to come back and members re-elected me in 2008. So I am here to serve the society and through it, serve the country and Malaysians at large.

Moreover, there are so many challenges in the environmental area in the country, that we need a strong voice of the people, and MNS can be the conduit. If you or I speak out, no one will listen. But if MNS is a strong organisation with a few hundred thousand or a million members, then people will listen when MNS speaks. That is why we need to increase our membership so that MNS can be truly the voice of the people on the environment.

However, we must be always objective and politically neutral. MNS is not against the Government, but MNS will speak out against government policies and actions that are not environmentally friendly or sustainable.

What do you treasure most from your many years at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM)?

Khalid Azman, PJ

There are many great memories of my times at FRIM and I have documented them in my autobiography, which will hopefully be published soon. However, what I treasure most are the friends that I made from among the staff that worked with me to make FRIM a truly great place to work.

Besides the beautiful and peaceful environment with the trees and the forests, the staff from my directors and researchers right to the labourers, were my friends, including the hospital assistants who worked there at that time. They remain my friends until today.

While at work, I was their “boss” but after office, we played football, badminton, squash and other sports. We went hiking to Gunung Tahan and other parts of the country. In the early days, we even held a fun fair on the FRIM padang! We were all equals outside the office and that bond of friendship held the organisation together.

What do you think of the attitude of Malaysians towards conserving our natural heritage? Tan Eng Chuan

Unfortunately, in general, Malaysians have the “tidak apa” attitude towards the environment. They consider conserving the environment and our natural heritage as someone else’s responsibility and not theirs. While the Government has a very important role, we as individuals can also play our part.

First, we must practice conservation at home by minimising our use of energy, water and other non-renewable resources. For example, rely on sunlight as much as possible and turn off the lights when leaving the room. Use a pail of water when washing the car instead of a hose.

We must practice the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle. We can do this with newspapers, plastic and aluminium and just about everything else. Use public transport as much as possible, although the state of the country’s public transport is not something to shout about!

Is eco-tourism a priority for MNS? And which aspects of it is environmentally viable in your opinion? Azman Abu Bakar

Eco-tourism is not a priority of MNS but we promote the conservation of natural areas that can be used for eco-tourism. We encourage eco-tourism even among our members. The private sector should take it up as an economic activity as there is money to be made.

MNS is not into business but we promote activities such as the Raptor Watch in Tanjung Tuan, Malacca, which attracted thousands last March. We help organise the Fraser’s Hill bird race, also an eco-tourism activity. Our nature centre in the Kuala Selangor Nature Park promotes eco-tourism in a way, including promoting the Kampong Kuantan fireflies.

However, our priority is conservation of the natural heritage and educating the Malaysian public on conservation and the environment, especially the younger generation. If our natural environment is conserved in its pristine state, and is easily accessible and safe, eco-tourism can develop and benefit from these resources.

Obviously you have a deep love for nature. But why exactly? Teh How Wai, Setapak

I really do not know why, but I suppose as a forester, I love the forest and had spent many years of my career doing forest inventory, camping in forests all over Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. The longest that I have camped in the forest is two months. It was one of the most enjoyable times of my life.

The forest is so peaceful and in the early days, we did not have mobile phones. Contrary to perception, the forest is a very safe place. Wild animals are scared of human beings and they disappear the moment they smell or hear our presence. There is nothing more enjoyable than swimming in a clear cool riverine pool after a hard day’s work. There is nothing more peaceful than sleeping in a hammock in the dark night of the jungle with the sounds of cicadas and other insects around you and the distant whooping of the gibbons. I totally enjoyed those days.

What are your favourite nature spots in Malaysia and abroad? M. Gayathri, Puchong

In Malaysia, I must say it is the grounds of FRIM. It is so close to Kuala Lumpur and yet one can get immersed in nature when one is in FRIM. The canopy walkway that was built during my time as FRIM director-general continues to attract visitors. Other areas in Malaysia include Taman Negara, Endau-Rompin National Park, Belum National Park, Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Sipadan Island, Pulau Redang and Kota Damansara Forest.

The Raptor Watch and Fraser’s Hill bird race are activities that I enjoy. The old Gombak-Pahang road leading to Genting Sempah is a wonderful escape to enjoy nature. I am sure there are many more.

As for overseas spots, there are many, but my favourites are the Galapagos Islands; the cold, white landscape of Antarctica; the Nile of Egypt; the National Parks of the United States, including the Giant Sequoia trees, the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls; Australia with its unique flora and fauna and the Great Barrier reef; and Africa with the Big Five game animals – rhinoceros, elephant, lion, hippopotamus and giraffe. As a forester, I enjoyed visiting the tropical forests of Congo and the Amazon, especially where the muddy waters of the Amazon and the black waters of the Rio Negro meet. However, there is no place like home!

If you had the power to make one change in environmental policies of the world’s nations, what would it be? Howard Lopez

I would ban wars and other conflicts because they are environmentally very destructive. Look at what happened in Vietnam, Iraq and the two World Wars. Even during the Emergency in Malaya, much destruction of habitats and wildlife took place.

As for specific environmental policy, I would ban the use of all forms of greenhouse gases as they are very damaging to the environment and the impact is slow and sometimes not perceivable. I would also ban the use of plastic as they are very environmentally unfriendly and there are alternatives.

What is Malaysia doing right in the area of conservation, and what aspects need the most improvement? Kalimuthu Pilai, Alor Setar

Laws on the environment in Malaysia are plenty and adequate, but the enforcement needs to be improved. Our system for allocating forest logging rights must be more transparent. While our system of forest reserves is well gazetted, logging needs greater control. We must phase out logging of natural forests because they have greater value as water catchments and for conservation of biodiversity.

I am convinced also that sooner or later, the international community will develop a system of biodiversity credits similar to the carbon credit concept, and Malaysia can benefit economically from this as we are among the world’s top 12 mega-diversity countries.

As for our long-term timber needs, trees can be grown as plantations, and research by FRIM has proven that rubberwood and oil palm trunks are good timber substitutes. More national parks should be created and we should invest more in research in conservation. Fundamental research such as in plant taxonomy should be encouraged.

Other than your work in MNS, what keeps you busy? A. B. Saiful, Taiping

I am active in the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, where as secretary-general, I chair a number of committees such as the Antarctica Task Force, Lindau Committee and Publications Committee. I am a member of other NGOs such as the Malaysian Scientific Association. I also have to earn a living and have a small consultancy company in forestry.

Why is it that Westerners seem more environmentally conscious than us Asians? Or is it just an illusion? Ken Leong , Kuala Lumpur

The Westerners, especially Europeans, and the Japanese are definitely more environmentally conscious and committed than Malaysians. To my mind, this is because of education, family consciousness, attitudes and values with regard to the environment.

Some say religious beliefs have a role to play, but I am not fully convinced. The television plays a role also. However, we as Malaysians can also practise conservation if we commit ourselves individually and collectively. This is a mindset that we need to inculcate, especially in our younger generation.

As an example, I have seen so many times drivers throwing rubbish from their cars. I have also often seen shopkeepers practising open burning of rubbish right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur! The motorcycle shops along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman dump waste oil into the drains and the pavements in front of their shops are black from the oil! All these can be avoided if only they are more conscious and committed to saving our environment.

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Jakarta sinking as fast as 10cm per year

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post 24 Apr 10;

Jakarta, the nation’s capital and largest city, is sinking at a rate of 10 centimeters a year, a recent study has found.

The main causes for this phenomenon, which has been evidenced in recent years by several major floods, are extensive land extraction due to groundwater exploration and pressure from high-rise buildings, which is pushing parts of the city into the underlying water table.

“The land has been sinking for a long time, and the coastline is now encroaching on the heart of the city,” a geodynamics researcher from the Bandung Institute of Technology Irwan Gumilar told The Jakarta Post.

Irwan was a member of a research team led by Professor Hasanuddin Z Abidin that monitored Jakarta from 1997-2009.

“Few people may realize that the land is sinking by 10 centimeters to 12 centimeters a year,” Irwan said.

The highest rate of subsidence was recorded in coastal areas in North Jakarta, including Muara Kapuk and Ancol, where extensive development had increased pressure on the relatively young and porous soil beneath.

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For Indonesian farmers, fishermen, climate change already close to home

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 23 Apr 10;

For some, climate change is something on the horizon not requiring immediate attention, while for others it has hit close to home and adaptation is an urgent issue.

Local communities living in coastal areas in Bengkulu, for example, once predicted weather patterns from the position of the stars, which they used to determine times for fishing and when to begin planting crops.

Before 2000, such traditional knowledge had been used for generations of fishermen and farmers, including in Sukamenanti, Waihawang, Linau and Tanjung Beringin villages in Kaur regency around 360 kilometers from the capital of Bengkulu.

But the story has changed now. And they can no longer tell how big the waves will be when they go out to sea.

“Erratic rains and waves have inflicted serious damage to local communities in Bengkulu,” activist Zenzi Aekido from Bengkulu told a dialog held to commemorate Earth Day, in Jakarta on Thursday. The Earth Day falls on April 22 every year.

Zenzi, who is also the executive director of the Bengkulu chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said many of the people in these communities had changed jobs as a result.

“To adapt to unexpected weather conditions, communities have three options: to migrate to new areas, to change jobs or to continue with their existing condition,” he said.

Migrating could also mean they cleared forested areas, he said.

Some farmers had also shifted to sand or coal mining.

The People’s Coalition for Equal Fisheries (Kiara) found that many fishermen in Jakarta could no longer go to sea because of the unpredictable tides.

The government said farmers and people living in coastal areas were most prone to impacts of climate change.
The Central Bureau of Statistic (BPS) says there were 46.7 million farmers in Indonesia as of 2009.

Activists commemorating Earth Day called on the government to change its priority to adaptation measures, to help local people adjust to the impacts of climate change.

The activists said the government needed to start thinking about adaptation, not just mitigation.

“Local communities have been seriously affected by unpredictable weather, but the government is still busy seeking funds to mitigate climate change,” Nadia Hadad from the Bank Information Center said.

“Now is the time for the government to take real action to help people who have [already] suffered from climate change.”

The international climate talks so far have focused more on mitigation measures with a number of wealthier nations promising to provide funds to Indonesia to mitigate climate change.

The UN Adaptation Board, for the first time, opened the application for developing countries to apply adaptation funds.

But all the money stored at the UN adaptation board was collected from 2 percent of proceeds of carbon sales by developing countries.

On several occasions the government has said there was a shortage of funding allocated to adaptation measures.

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Pacific countries aim to extend high seas' tuna fishing ban

Yahoo News 23 Apr 10;

MAJURO (AFP) – A group of eight Pacific island countries agreed Friday to push ahead with plans to close off 4.5 million square kilometres of high seas areas to fishing to save rapidly depleting tuna stocks.

Officials from the group known as the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) -- which controls areas responsible for a quarter of the world's tuna supply -- agreed to extend the ban to new areas on the high seas.

They plan to do this by requiring that fishing companies which want to fish in their economic zones have to agree to stop fishing in the targeted high seas areas.

They will take the proposal to the annual meeting in December of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, a body which groups the Pacific island nations with fishing countries to agree on measures to conserve tuna stocks.

Two high seas pockets between the islands' economic zones have already been excluded from fishing from this year. The PNA wants to expand this from next year to include new areas from Palau and Papua New Guinea in the west to Kiribati in the east, and Marshall Islands in the north to Tuvalu in the south.

"It's not going to be easy (to get acceptance of the closure)," said Sylvester Pokajam, managing director of Papua New Guinea's National Fisheries Authority.

"But it will have a great impact on bigeye tuna that is being overfished."

Bigeye and yellowfin tuna are favourites for Japan's sushi and sashimi markets and scientists warn they are being overfished. The other common species in the area is skipjack, which is still believed to be plentiful and is used for canning.

Palau's marine resources director Nanette Malsol said she believed the closure would help in the fight against illegal fishing.

"There is a lot of illegal and unregulated fishing in high seas areas," she said. "Countries bordering these areas are struggling with it."

The PNA has set up a secretariat which was opened in Majuro this week to coordinate conservation measures and to increase the returns to island countries from the three-billion-US-dollar tuna fishery in the Pacific.

In addition to PNG and Palau, the PNA's members include the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.

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Commercial whaling could get green light for first time in nearly 25 years

WWF 23 Apr 10;

Gland, Switzerland - A proposal announced today by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) would, if adopted, for the first time in almost 25 years, endorse the killing of whales in their most precious feeding grounds, the Southern Ocean.

The IWC has had a moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 but Iceland and Norway have legal objections to the moratorium and Japan continues to conduct commercial whaling using a loophole in the IWC which allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes.

In an effort to bring this whaling under IWC's control, the Chair of the IWC has proposed to give these countries official commercial whaling quotas for the next 10 years.

The proposed quotas are not set using the IWC's own scientific methods, but are a result of political bargaining which has little if anything to do with the whales themselves, said Wendy Elliott, Species Program manager, WWF-International. Setting quotas for commercial whaling based on politics not science would be a step backwards for IWC, Elliott said.

If adopted the new proposal would legitimise commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, despite the IWC's absolute ban on commercial whaling in this area since 1994. The Southern Ocean is the main feeding ground of many whale species such as blue whales, humpback whales and fin whales.

The Southern Ocean is the whale equivalent of a restaurant or supermarket. Some whales feed exclusively in the Southern Ocean -- not eating at all during the winter months when they travel up to tropical waters added Elliott.

If there is one place on earth where whales should have full protection, it is the Southern Ocean. Allowing commercial whaling in an area where whales are so vulnerable goes against all logic.

Furthermore the IWC Chair has proposed commercial whaling quotas for whale species listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered.

Both fin whales and sei whales are endangered species, yet this proposal would allow the commercial killing of 65 fin whales in the Southern Ocean and 500 Sei whales in the North Pacific over a ten year period. Both fin and sei whale species were depleted to severely low levels by previous whaling that spun out of control, and remain endangered as a result. Allowing new commercial whaling on these species when they have yet to recover from previous whaling is management madness.

The sei whale in the North Pacific was reduced from 42,000 to just 8,600 by whaling in the late 20th Century, when 40,000 sei whales were killed. The extent to which this whale population has recovered is not clear. 725,000 fin whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere in the twentieth century, and the most recent estimate puts numbers at just 15,178.

The positive aspects of the proposal include increased efforts to secure the recovery of depleted whale populations, action on critical conservation threats facing whales such as bycatch and climate change, and improved governance and compliance.

The members of the IWC will decide whether to adopt the proposal at its next annual meeting in Agadair, Morocco, June 21st-25th.

WWF calls on all countries attending the IWC meeting to put science and responsible management back at the forefront of IWC decision making.

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