Crude Oi! residue @ Tanah Merah & ECP - 13June2010
from sgbeachbum
Seagrass habitats are important! (Changi)
from Psychedelic Nature
Leaves, caterpillars and yellowness in birds
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Dun Pray Pray
from My Itchy Fingers
The ant, the fly, the flying ant
from Macro Photography in Singapore
Monday Morgue: 14th June 2010
from Lazy Lizard's Tales
Raffles Museum Treasures: Whip spider
from Lazy Lizard's Tales
Jakarta Post 14 Jun 10;
Selamet added that the often-cited example of successful reclamation in Singapore neglected the fact that Nipah Island in Riau Islands province, almost sank because of the sand extracted for the project.
The Coalition to Save Jakarta Bay Movement urged the city administration to stop land reclamation in Jakarta’s North Coast and conduct a strategic environmental review as required by the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law.
The group expressed concern that the plan, which included construction of business and housing areas, would not address environmental aspects and local interests.
Selamet Daroyni from the Indonesian Green Institute said Sunday that the reclamation of 2,700 hectares of Jakarta’s coastal area required 330 million cubic meters of filler material, which would destroy the surrounding environment.
“It is not realistic if the administration says the plan is related to the agenda of spatial order in Greater Jakarta,” he said.
Selamet added that the often-cited example of successful reclamation in Singapore neglected the fact that Nipah Island in Riau Islands province, almost sank because of the sand extracted for the project.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Environment Ministry by allowing it to uphold its 2003 decree against the city’s reclamation and revitalization plan of the North Coast.
The ruling, announced on the Court’s website, annulled a 2003 verdict by the Jakarta Administrative Court that declared the decree rejecting the plan to reclaim 2,700 hectares of the area unlawful and ordered the ministry to revoke it.
Secretary-general of the People’s Coalition on Fisheries Justice (Kiara), Riza Damanik, said reclamation would not benefit the city.
“Since 2000, the city has spent more than Rp 7 billion [US$761 million] to overcome the impact of floods caused by reclamation every year,” he said, adding that recently it also used a Rp 1 billion World Bank loan to repair its water channels.
Damanik said the Supreme Court ruling against the plan was a good starting point for the city administration to reevaluate its spatial plan by conducting a strategic environmental review.
“In this context, the administration should also execute the ruling by ceasing reclamation works and rehabilitating both the environment and the livelihoods of fishermen,” he said.
Damanik added that there were strong indications of judicial corruption, including in issuing permits, in the Jakarta Bay development project.
He said the administration protected the developers who went ahead with reclamation activity plans despite the Supreme Court ruling.
Nurkholis Hidayat from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation said the issuance of permits only benefitted certain parties and neglected the condition of fishermen and residents of North Jakarta who were hit by tidal floods every year.
“The administration should shell out to prepare for the negative impacts of the project, such as by repairing infrastructure and building dikes,” he said.
He added that all parties should investigate the possibility of corruption in the project. (lnd)
Straits Times Forum 14 Jun 10;
THE recent oil spill off Changi coast - following a collision of two large vessels - was relatively small compared with the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
However, in Singapore, there remains the concern that accidents at sea on a larger scale could pose a threat to our economy and security if we are unable to handle it effectively in a short time.
We do not have a large coastline and it does not take many tonnes of oil to blanket all of the southern coastline if the currents and weather conditions aid the spread of a spill.
Ideally, we should be able to contain an oil spill and remove the oil from the sea where the accident occurred before it spreads over a larger area, where it will be relatively more difficult and take a longer time to clean up.
I hope the relevant authorities will take cognisance of the threat of a large oil spill and be ready for any such eventuality.
Ng Wai Tong
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 14 Jun 10;
HAZE is bad for your heart, with evidence linking it to heart attacks and cardiovascular death having 'strengthened substantially', warned the American Heart Association (AHA) in a scientific statement on its website.
The culprit is particulate matter less than 2.5 micrograms in diameter, known as PM2.5, the main component of haze.
The warning comes at a time when the haze season, caused by widespread burning of forests in Indonesia, is about to begin again in the region from next month.
Satellite pictures in April showed 3,166 hot spots in the region, much higher than the 2,427 detected in April last year, prompting fears that the haze will return even stronger in the traditional burning season from July to September.
In Singapore, air quality is calculated using the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), which does not measure PM2.5 levels. Instead, it measures the amount of PM10, a larger particulate matter in haze.
Doctors say the very small PM2.5 particles may get into a human's blood circulation and cause direct harm to the person.
Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said it monitors PM2.5 levels through its 11 air-monitoring stations islandwide, although this measurement is not made publicly available each day.
Instead, the agency lists the annual average reading in its annual report.
The PM2.5 average here in the last two years were both above the 'safe' level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
They were 16 micrograms (ug) per cubic m and 19 ug per cubic m respectively, which exceeds both the WHO standard of 10 ug per cubic m and the EPA standard of 15 ug per cubic m.
But the NEA said the levels clocked here were comparable to that in other major cities like London, New York, Los Angeles and Paris. The level was higher last year compared to the year before because of 'transboundary smoke haze', it added.
The PSI was a standard Singapore adopted from the EPA 19 years ago and daily PSI readings are made publicly available on NEA's website. The US agency no longer uses this index, having switched to the Air Quality Index (AQI) in 1999. This index measures PM2.5 levels in the air.
When asked if it would consider switching its method of calculating air quality, an NEA spokesman said there was 'no internationally-harmonised protocol' for reporting air quality indices.
'The PSI system that NEA has adopted has served us well in issuing appropriate public health advisories when Singapore's air quality was adversely affected by transboundary smoke haze in the past,' said the spokesman.
Other places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Britain, France and Belgium also used indices which measured PM10 rather than PM2.5, the agency pointed out.
The NEA did not elaborate on why PM2.5 levels are not made available daily.
However, experts felt it was time for more regular updates on PM2.5 levels.
National University of Singapore climatologist, Associate Professor Matthias Roth, felt hourly values should be made available to the public.
'It's important for the public to know about the levels of PM2.5 in the air as these small particles have a strong association with most types of respiratory illness and even mortality,' he said. 'Reporting an annual average has limited use as it will have a low bias due to the numerous rainy days when concentration of air pollutants are minimal.'
When asked if the public should be concerned about PM2.5, Singapore's Health Ministry said: 'The PSI cut-offs are internationally accepted standards. People are advised to avoid vigorous outdoor activities at PSI more than 100 because air quality is unhealthy beyond this level. However, these are general public health guidelines and individuals may choose to avoid vigorous outdoor activities at PSI levels less than 100 if they are still concerned.'
According to the WHO, air pollution is estimated to cause about two million premature deaths worldwide each year.
But while AHA's warning seems pretty dire, heart doctors here say they have not seen increased incidents linked to haze.
Dr K. Gunasegaran, a senior consultant at the Department of Cardiology in the National Heart Centre, noted the haze situation here is not particularly bad. 'Generally, it is not prevalent all year round,' he said.
But while the centre has not seen an upswing in cardiac failure during hazy periods, he said patients with underlying conditions such as lung disease could be at higher risk.
He suggested such individuals stay indoors during periods of haze and seek early medical attention if they feel unwell.
Are we prepared?
Straits Times 21 Jun 10;
THE article, 'Haze 'is bad for your heart'' (last Monday), said that with more hot spots detected in the region in April this year compared with the number last year, the haze may return stronger in the coming months.
Are we now better prepared to counter a thicker haze should that happen?
Would more data on pollutants, such as particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, be made known when their levels are abnormally high? Should hourly measurements be disclosed?
And do people here know the dos and don'ts if the situation becomes life-threatening? What safety procedures are in place or recommended to deal with a critical situation - at homes and in schools, hospitals, coastal areas and other open areas? What are the ways to inform the public of precautions and procedures?
Freak weather conditions seem to occur quite often around the world these days and must be factored into our disaster preparation planning.
When pollutant levels are dangerously high and an unexpected windless condition suddenly develops, the situation could become life-threatening. Britain experienced two smog disasters in the last 60 years due to freak weather conditions - one in 1952 and another in 1991.
If a freak, windless condition develops here amid a huge gathering of pollutants in the air, what should we do?
Do we have the technology and equipment to create winds or make rain, or protect our drinking water from pollution?
To depend totally or only on our breezy weather to avert haze disasters is unwise.
Ng Ya Ken
Burning issue
Straits Times Forum 21 Jun 10;
'Reduce outdoor burning of incense and paper offerings here.'
MADAM LEE SIEW KENG: 'I read with concern last Monday's article, 'Haze 'is bad for your heart''. For those living near temples that burn incense and paper offerings, this presents a double whammy. There is a limit to what we can do about forest burning in Indonesia, but surely we can reduce outdoor burning of incense and paper offerings here. Smoke absorbers should be installed in temples if burning cannot be avoided. We should also limit the hours during which offerings can be burned. Getting temples to plant more trees to absorb the smoke may also help. Smaller, covered kilns should be used and larger offerings should be burned in state incinerators.'
Eco-friendly projects awarded more floor space under BCA scheme
Emilyn Yap Business Times 14 Jun 10;
(SINGAPORE) Going green has its rewards, and some developers have got them in the form of additional floor space for their projects.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) told BT that it has received 37 applications for a scheme that grants eco-friendly buildings more gross floor area (GFA).
The agency has approved some of these requests, from companies such as City Developments (CDL), Soilbuild Group, Ascendas and Parkway Holdings.
BCA and the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched the Green Mark GFA Incentive Scheme in April last year to encourage private developers to go green.
If buildings meet certain Green Mark standards, owners can apply for additional GFA beyond the master plan gross plot ratio control. Developments with the Platinum rating can receive up to 2 per cent more GFA (capped at 5,000 sq m), while those with the Gold Plus rating are eligible for up to one per cent more (capped at 2,500 sq m).
The bonus GFA is not entirely free though - developers still have to pay a development charge or differential premium for the space.
Nevertheless, some developers have found it worthwhile to sign up for the GFA incentive scheme. BCA said that of the 37 applications, 10 were for residential projects, six for commercial developments and the remaining 21 for mixed-use and other types of buildings.
Changi City, developed jointly by Ascendas and Frasers Centrepoint, is a project which received bonus GFA. The developers decided to aim for a Green Mark Gold Plus rating partly because of the incentive scheme, said Ascendas Land (Singapore) CEO Tan Yew Chin.
A few other developers were already eyeing the Platinum or Gold Plus rating before the scheme existed. For instance, Soilbuild had drawn up plans for Solaris at one-north with the Platinum rating in mind and 'during the course of the design, the Green Mark GFA Incentive Scheme was introduced', it said.
CDL told BT that environmental sustainability has always been high on its agenda. Its residential project Cube 8 at Thomson Road, which won the Green Mark Platinum award, qualified for 377 sq m of bonus GFA from the scheme. CDL was able to build three more apartments, bringing the total number of units to 177.
Even a healthcare service provider is riding on the green trend. Parkway got an additional 1,447 sq m of GFA at Parkway Novena Hospital, which is likely to receive the Platinum rating. The extra space will go towards 'better diagnostic and treatment facilities', a Parkway spokesman said.
Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han supports the incentive scheme, noting that buildings meeting Green Mark standards would cost developers relatively more to build.
The green movement in Singapore is still in an 'infancy' stage compared with other countries such as the United States and Australia, he said. 'But, we're getting there.'
JJ Robinson MiniVan News 13 Jun 10;
The Maldives is currently suffering the most serious incidence of coral bleaching since the major 1998 El Niño-event that destroyed most of the country’s shallow reef coral.
Coral bleaching is caused when rising water temperatures stress the coral, leading it to expel the algae it uses to obtain nutrients. When water temperatures rise even slightly, algae leaves the coral polyp and enters the water column, causing the coral to lose its colour and eventually die.
Reports of bleaching have been trickling in from marine biologists and researchers across the country.
Hussein Zahir from the Marine Research Centre (MRC) has been collecting reports of the bleaching, and said that based on his estimates, “10-15 percent of shallow reef coral is now completely white, while 50-70 percent has begun to pale.”
Senior Marine Biologist Guy Stevens, based at the Four Seasons Resort in Landaa Giraavaru, said that he had noticed that bleaching was beginning to occur last year “after a change in the weather linked to El Niño. The last one in 1998 was pretty catastrophic, and reefs in the Maldives have been recovering ever since.”
“It had a huge impact across the Indian Ocean, and the Maldives was most affected – pristine reefs suffered coral mortality rates of 95 percent,” Stevens explained. “At the time people were mortified and scientists were predicting the end of the reefs – coral is the foundation of the whole reef ecosystem.”
Since the devastating El Niño in 1998, marine biologists in the Maldives “have been holding their breath for the next one. In the meantime the coral has been slowly recovering. It was pretty depressing in 2003, but roll forward to 2010 and it’s starting to look good again. It recovers exponentially.”
Meanwhile, colleagues of Stevens based in Thailand, which escaped largely unscathed in 1998, have reported coral mortality rates “of up to 100 percent.”
“The hot spots move around, but they cover a big area and the coral here could easily take another hit,” Stevens commented.
Zahir noted that temperatures this year were following similar patterns to those of 1998, with a surface temperature in April of one degree above the long term average.
However the recent drop in temperature, brought on by rain and the onset of the southwest monsoon, has lowered the surface sea temperature and brought some relief, “and may give the coral time to recover.”
“Now the temperature has dropped from 32 degrees to 29-30 degrees, so hopefully things will improve. The conditions are right for the coral to become healthy again,” Zahir noted, however he emphasised the need for the tourism industry to assist with monitoring the bleaching.
“Here in the Maldives we have a vast reef area, and the MRC has very little capacity to do surveys. From the very beginning we’ve been running a bleach-watch reporting programme with the dive industry, but for some reason the feedback has been very disappointing. There’s a hundred resorts, but I can count on my fingers the ones who are working to raise awareness. I know it might impact on their marketing, but this needs to be documented.”
All the MRC required was GPS coordinates and an indication of how much bleaching was occurring, he explained.
In the meantime, both Stevens and Zahir noted that there was little that could be done to prevent further bleaching.
“There is very little we can do, especially in a resort environment, other than reducing human impact on the reef while it recovers – that means ceasing things like sand-pumping and beach renewal on a daily basis, while the reef is especially vulnerable to sedimentation,” Zahir explained.
Verena Wiesbauer, a marine biologist at Male-based consultancy Water Solutions, said she had just returned from visiting two islands in North Male’ Atoll and had documented heavy coral bleaching.
“The reefs had only just recovered, and now it’s struck again. It’s a big setback,” she observed.
“Fortunately it’s not as bad as 1998, and now the temperature is dropping. But I hope someone will keep track of the paling coral, to see if it gets its colour back.”
Wiesbauer added that the bleaching did not appear to have affected fish numbers yet, and suggested that “many fish don’t need live coral as long as the structure is there for them to hide in, and many algae feeders don’t mind [bleaching] at all. But there are some specialist coral feeders we need to watch for changes.”
Meanwhile, like Zahir, Stevens observed that the tourism industry appeared to have been in no hurry to report that bleaching was occurring.
“That’s something the resorts obviously don’t want to publicise,” Stevens commented. “But I don’t think it’s any good burying our heads in the sand, when there’s going to be no sand left to bury our heads in.”
The artificial coral breeding programs run at many resorts were well-intentioned, “but rather like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound.”
“It doesn’t address the issue. Rather [breeding programmes] are a tool to raise awareness and alleviate pressure on the local reef. But there are things like sand-pumping that resorts should halt during periods of bleaching because it makes the problem worse,” he said, concurring with Zahir.
“Otherwise there’s very little we can do – it’s really a global issue. We haven’t seen a reduction in fish life, turtles and mantas, and it seems those parts of the ecosystem can survive while the reef structure is at least in place, but overall I think we’re going to see a gradual decline. Coral reefs may be the first ecosystem we’ll lose on our planet.”
NGO documenting how ‘rehabilitated’ animals cope in the wild
Ruben Sario, The Star 14 Jun 10;
KOTA KINABALU: An extensive study on rescued and “rehabilitated” orang utan that have been released back into the forests has begun in Sabah as part of efforts to ascertain how the animals are coping in the wild.
Three orang utan, implanted with tracking devices, were freed into the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, an area twice the size of Singapore and covered with primary and secondary forests.
It is part of a research by the Sabah Wildlife Department and The Sepilok Orangutan Appeal UK, a non-governmental organisation based in Britain.
James Robins (pic), a primatologist from the NGO, said the study began last month and that it was the first time that the primates were implanted with telemetry devices to enable researchers to track them in the forests.
“This would enable wildlife researchers and me to keep tabs on the orang utan in Tabin,” he added.
“We track them on a daily basis. One of the most important aspects of our research is to document the behaviour of the newly released orang utan including the type of fruits they are feeding on and whether they are getting enough to eat.
“If we are unable to immediately identify the food that they eat, we will collect the samples and identify them at a later date,” he said.
Robins said it was important for wildlife researchers to compare the data they had on the rehabilitated orang utan with their counterparts in the wild.
“We are looking at things like behavioural data, nesting behaviour or feeding ecology,” said Robins, who was among the participants of a recent workshop on the action plans for Sabah’s iconic wildlife namely the orang utan, the Borneo pygmy elephant and Borneo Sumatran rhino.
He said this when a participant questioned whether there had been any follow-up research on primates from Sandakan’s internationally renowned orang utan rehabilitation centre that were released into the wild.
Robins said the post-release research was crucial as the orang utan were young orphans who had to be taught skills on foraging, for instance.
“So the research will enable us to find out whether we will need to change any part of the rehabilitation process to enable them to better cope in the wild,” he added.
Antara 13 Jun 10;
Dumai, Riau (ANTARA News) - Sumatran elephants are predicted to disappear in view of the declining forest areas as their habitat, a nature conservationist said.
Head of the Nature Conservation Office (BKSDA) for Riau province, Trisnu Danisworo said on Sunday that eight of the nine elephant habitat enclaves in Central Riau had been seriously damaged.
He said that only one enclave in that region still serve as an elephant habitat. "Only one enclave which is still in a good condition," he said.
Trisnu said that the remaining eight enclaves could no longer serve as elephant habitats because they had turned into arid land or transformed into oil palm plantations, human settlements and even into village head offices such as those in the sub-districts of Mandau
and Pinggir, Benkalis regency.
He said that the elephant habitats in the Balai Raja area initially covered 16,000 hectares, now only 300 hectares were left.
"After we made a study and clarification, some of the areas turned out to have been transformed into plantations, human settlements, school buildings and even offices for village heads," Trisnu said.
He said that under these circumstances, it was difficult for the BKSDA to supervise the elephant habitats and to prevent a conflict between elephants and the locals such as what had happeaed in Petani village, Bengkalis regency. This village was formerly a track area of elephants.(*)
The New Straits Times 13 Jun 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport seized some 300 species of live tortoises last Tuesday that were in transit illegally from Madagascar.
Malaysian Customs detected the tortoises packed among shredded paper in two pieces of luggage that had been checked in from an airport in Madagascar.
The bags also contained an undisclosed amount of drugs, believed to be ganja.
However, no one was arrested as officers were unable to trace to whom the bags belonged.
Wildlife and National Parks Department deputy director-general Misliah Mohamad Basir said the Customs officers on duty became suspicious when they spotted slight movement in one of the bags.
"Upon inspecting the bag, they found the tortoises and alerted the department.
"There were more tortoises and ganja in another bag," she told a press conference at the department office in Cheras on Thursday.
Among the many species were radiated and spider tortoises as well as a Madagascar tortoise. They are ranked among the most endangered reptiles facing extinction.
"We have contacted the Madagascar government to arrange for the tortoises to be sent back. We have also urged them to arrest the culprits."
Misliah said officers also seized two hornbills and a snake from a business premises in Seri Kembangan on the same day. The owner of the premises eluded arrest.
Wildlife officers also arrested four men in separate operations and seized several protected wildlife from a house in Cheras and a business premises in Pulai, Perak, on May 31.
Among the animals confiscated were live pythons and cobras, a container filled with snake meat and animal organs, a goat's head and skin and 59 bottles of oil which were believed to be derived from the goat's organs.
Malaysia seizes endangered Madagascan tortoises
Yahoo News 14 Jun 10;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian authorities said Monday they had seized hundreds of critically endangered live tortoises bound for pet shops.
The 300 spider and radiated tortoises were discovered at Kuala Lumpur's international airport last week after being flown in from Madagascar, Malaysia's wildlife and national parks department deputy chief Misliah Mohamad Basir told AFP.
The reptiles were packed among shredded paper in two suitcases and were found by customs officials who spotted movement in one of the bags.
"Nobody came to collect the luggage and upon inspection by custom officials, they found the live tortoises," Misliah said.
"The luggage was destined for Kuala Lumpur," she said, adding she believed the tortoises were to be sold to pet shops. No one has been arrested so far.
The Madagascan spider and radiated tortoises are classified as critically endangered under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Both are hunted for their meat and for the exotic pet trade.
Despite efforts by Southeast Asian authorities to crack down on illegal animal smuggling and trade, the practice still persists in the region, posing a threat to several species, anti-trafficking activists say.
The Star 14 Jun 10;
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Penang Government will not accept any form of unethical practices leading to the cruelty of animals, said Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy.
“While the state encourages foreign and local investments to further boost Penang’s economy, it also practises caution to ensure such investments did not cause discomfort to the people and environment, including animals,” he said yesterday.
Ramasamy was commenting on a report in The Star on Saturday about a facility believed to be using animals for testing in Seberang Prai that had been operating for the past three years.
Animal lovers were up in arms recently over the setting up of a proposed animal testing laboratory in Malacca.
The company, Progenix Research Sdn Bhd, said on its website that it is an independent contract research organisation offering toxicology services to worldwide pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agrochemical and others.
The website added that it conducts canine toxicology tests on beagles, and on monkeys from the cynomolgus macaque and/or rhesus macaque as well as tests on rodents and rabbits.
Beagles were used in pre-clinical toxicity testing of pharmaceuticals and certain chemicals such as agrochemicals and biocides at the RM52mil facility at the Penang Science Park, Bukit Minyak.
Business Times 14 Jun 10;
(JEDDAH) Indonesia expects a 6 per cent rise in its milled rice harvest this year, leading to a two-million tonne surplus, and it aims to attract Gulf Arab investors to develop 'sleeping land', Agriculture Minister Suswono said.
'Growth is 6 per cent from last year's figure and over the next five years we would like to see a growth of 3.2 per cent,' Mr Suswono said on Saturday during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Indonesia is expected to produce 37 million tonnes of milled rice this year, which exceeds the 35 million tonnes required to satisfy domestic demand, he told reporters in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.
Mr Suswono met businessmen from the Gulf Arab country and discussed agricultural business opportunities in Indonesia. He was scheduled to meet the Saudi agricultural minister in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh, yesterday.
Indonesia has over 7.7 million hectares of unused land that is in need of development, Mr Suswono said.
'There is still . . . untapped potential for agribusiness investment in Indonesia, particularly in the field of food crops, industrial processing as well as horticulture and land stock industry,' he said.
Gulf countries, which mainly rely on food imports, have been investing in farmland overseas to secure their food supply, but difficulty in regulations has led to delays in tapping Indonesian opportunities.
Last year, Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden Group stalled plans for a US$4.3 billion project to develop two million hectares of land in Indonesia.
Mr Suswono said there were no Gulf Arab firms operating in his country, but hoped to attract investors during his visit. 'We still have some difficulties internally in arranging land for large-scale farming, which is requested by foreign investors. This is due to environmental reasons to protect our rainforests,' he said, adding that the government has since issued regulations for investment in large farming. -- Reuters
Indonesia Woos Gulf Investors to Boost Local Agribusiness
Asma Alsharif Jakarta Globe 13 Jun 10;
Agriculture Minister Suswono launched a major charm offensive over the weekend in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to woo Gulf states into investing in agricultural business opportunities in Indonesia, calling on Arab investors to come and develop “sleeping land” here.
The minister met businessmen in the kingdom on Saturday to discuss agricultural business opportunities in Indonesia.
Indonesia has more than 7.7 million hectares of unused land that is in need of development, Suswono said.
“There is untapped potential for agribusiness investment in Indonesia, particularly for food crops, industrial processing, horticulture and land stock industry,” he said.
He was scheduled to meet the Saudi agricultural minister in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh, on Sunday.
Gulf countries, which mainly rely on food imports, have been investing heavily in farmland overseas in attempt to secure their food supplies, but regulation difficulties have led to delays in tapping farming opportunities in Indonesia.
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Bin Laden Group stalled plans for a $4.3 billion project to develop two million hectares of land in Indonesia. Suswono said the project has not materialized yet.
The minister said there were no Gulf Arab firms yet operating in Indonesia, but expressed hope that his visit to Saudi Arabia would change that.
“We still have some problems when it comes to arranging land for large-scale farming, which is a major sticking point when it comes to foreign investors. This is due to the environmental regulations in place to protect our rain forests,” the minister said. He added that the government had issued regulations that would hopefully ease the way for investment in large-scale farming.
Last week, changes were announced to the “negative investment” list of sectors off-limits to investors from overseas.
One major change touted by Suswono on his trip is that foreign investors will now be allowed to have a maximum ownership of 49 percent in plantations producing staple foods.
Indonesia needs billions of dollars in investment to support its target of 7 percent economic growth by 2014.
During his weekend meetings, Suswono also revealed that Indonesia expected a 6 percent rise in its milled rice harvest this year, leading to a surplus of 2 million tons.
The country is expected to produce 37 million tons of milled rice this year, which exceeds the 35 million tons required to satisfy domestic demand.
Suswono’s estimate was a substantial increase on a National Statistics Agency (BPS) prediction at the start of the year that the country would produce 60 million tons of unhusked rice, which would be processed into 33.6 million tons of finished rice.
The deputy agriculture Minister last month confirmed Indonesia would not import rice this year because of adequate stocks.
The government has pledged to increase the annual production of food by 2014, including specific targets to increase annual rice production from the current 67 million tons of unprocessed paddy to 76 million tons.
Belinda Goldsmith PlanetArk 11 Jun 10;
An Australian restaurateur fed up with the waste left by diners has ordered her customers to eat everything on their plates for their sake of the earth or pay a penalty and not return.
Chef Yukako Ichikawa has introduced a 30 percent discount for diners who eat all the food they have ordered at Wafu, her 30-seat restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, that describes itself as "guilty free Japanese cuisine."
"To contribute toward creating a sustainable future we request a little more of our guests than most other restaurants," she says in a list of her restaurant's policies that is pinned on the door to the eatery.
This list includes finishing all dishes ordered which are organic and free of gluten, dairy, sugar and eggs and the chef and her staff tell people who don't clear their plates to choose another restaurant next time.
"Finishing your meal requires that everything is eaten except lemon slices, gari (sushi ginger) and wasabi," says the menu.
"Please also note that vegetables and salad on the side are NOT decorations; they are part of the meal too."
Wafu's strict policy has been welcomed by some but criticized as overbearing by some reviewers. Ichikawa is undeterred.
"Wafu is not just a restaurant; it is an extension of Yukako's personal ethos toward nourishment and sustenance," says a statement on the restaurant's website.
"We are not only committed to serving meals that nurture and respect the body but are actively dedicated to the notion of waste prevention, and take seriously our responsibility toward the environment and sustainability for the future."
Yahoo News 13 Jun 10;
LONDON (AFP) – A British newspaper claimed Sunday it had evidence suggesting that Japan has bribed small nations to support its attempts to lift a 24-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling.
The Sunday Times said it found officials from St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Guinea and Ivory Coast were willing to discuss selling their votes at the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
They admitted they voted with the pro-whaling grouping because of the aid they received from Japan, or because they were given cash or call girls.
The paper said Japan denies the claims and the ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement: "The government of Japan does not cover any cost of any other IWC member countries related to the IWC."
The sting was carried out ahead of a meeting of the IWC in Morocco this month at which Japan is expected to push its case for allowing more whaling.
Undercover reporters posing as representatives of a Swiss billionaire conservationist approached officials from pro-whaling countries and offered them an aid package to switch their vote.
During their negotiations, the officials revealed their Japanese support.
The top fisheries official for Guinea said Tokyo usually gave his minister a "minimum" of 1,000 dollars a day spending money during IWC and other fisheries meetings.
A top fisheries official for the Marshall Islands said: "We support Japan because of what they give us."
A Kiribati fisheries official said his country's vote was determined by the "benefit" it received in aid, and also said Japan gave delegates expenses and spending money at the IWC.
Meanwhile the IWC commissioner for Tanzania said "good girls" were made available for ministers and senior fisheries officials during all-expenses paid trips to Japan.
Isabelle Wesselingh Yahoo News 14 Jun 10;
MAMAIA, Romania (AFP) – Countries bordering the Danube want to increase shipping on the second longest river on the European continent without abusing an ecosystem unique in the world.
"Today, shipping goods on the Danube is very limited when the potential is enormous," Karla Peijs, the European coordinator for inland waterways, told AFP during a conference on the European Union Danube strategy in Mamaia, Romania.
"If we increase it, it could help stimulate economies in Eastern and Central Europe," she added.
"Only 10 percent of what can be transported on the Danube is now being shipped that way, this is nothing compared to the Rhine," said Ehrard Busek, chairman of the Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe in Vienna.
According to the latest figures available, 50 million tons of goods were transported on the Danube in 2007, Markus Simoner, senior expert for the Via Donau organisation, told AFP.
By was of comparison, more than 300 million tonnes of goods are shipped on the Rhine every year.
"We nevertheless should stress that one tonne is transported an average distance of 300 kilometers (188 miles) on the Rhine but 800 kilometers on the Danube, which is more important as far as the environment and carbon emissions are concerned," Simoner said.
Experts gathered at the EU Danube strategy conference stressed that an increase in inland shipping could help solve transportation problems that hamper economies in eastern and central Europe.
And it would be in a more environmentally friendly way than road transport, they insist.
The Danube originates in Germany. It then crosses Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine before emptying in the Black Sea.
But for a boom in river transport, its navigability has to be improved, European commissioner for Regional policies Johannes Hahn said.
At the moment, "a typical Danube vessel has a utilization rate that varies from 60 percent to 30 percent if the water level is really low," Simoner explained.
On the Rhine, the utilization rate is 80 percent, which makes it a more attractive proposition economically for ship operators.
Bottlenecks are found in Austria, Slovakia and also between Bulgaria and Romania, with dredging, building canals and locks among the solutions envisaged to solve such problems.
But environmental groups warn of the potentially very damaging effects of some of these infrastructure projects.
"Over the past 150 years, the Danube has been very much abused. Dikes, dams and dredging have straightened large sections of the 'blue river'," the WWF, an environmental group, stressed.
"More than 80 percent of the Danube's wetlands have been lost," the group added.
The river is home to the Beluga sturgeon and its delta has been designated a World Heritage Site by the UN cultural organisation UNESCO.
"Developing river transportation can be a good thing but the environment has to be integrated in every project," Orieta Hulea, head of the WWF's Danube/Freshwater Programme, said.
"The Danube must not become only a transport corridor but take into account biodiversity and flood mitigation zones," she added.
In Calarasi, between Romania and Bulgaria, a project to improve the navigability by blocking one side arm of the Danube could affect the migration of sturgeons, she explained.
"We need a serious impact study and also concrete data on sturgeon migration before the project can go ahead."
The EU Danube strategy should be adopted next year.
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