Mega Marine Survey of Singapore!
from wild shores of singapore
Fri 16 Jul 2010: 6pm @ NUS LT22 – The Wallace Talk: “An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles,” by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS
The first of the Guides of Singapore Shores workshops!
from wild shores of singapore
Lower Peirce Reservoir
from Singapore Nature
Common Mynas and their unusual nesting sites
from Bird Ecology Study Group
It will be first such study in region; information collected will go into public database
Grace Chua Straits Times 9 Jul 10;
A THREE-YEAR national-scale survey of marine life here, the first such exercise in South-east Asia, will be done here from next month.
It will make an audit of plant and animal life, starting with that in the mangrove mudflats to the zone between the high- and low-tide marks, the offshore coral reefs and even the sea floor, 20m down.
Doing it will take many hands - the National Parks Board (NParks), local scientists, green groups, non-governmental groups, volunteers and students, backed up by international experts.
The information collected will go into a national, public database, said Dr Lena Chan, deputy director of NParks' National Biodiversity Centre.
This knowledge will come in useful, for example, in supporting policy recommendations regarding protected areas or how industry can be developed with minimal harm to marine life, she explained. 'The data will help with decision-making as well as policy formation, based on sound science. Without that, we are just working in a vacuum,' she added.
The money for the project will come in part from oil major Shell, which donated $500,000 for conservation activities in May. Of this sum, $300,000 will pay for bringing in foreign expertise for the study. The remaining cost, a not-yet-finalised sum, will be borne by the Government and other contributors such as corporate sponsors.
The project is being undertaken a year after civil society groups presented a marine conservation Blue Plan to the Government, in which they called for such a survey and a formal recognition of the richness of this island's reef habitats.
Already, more than 60 per cent of coral reefs here have been lost to development, and the survival of the rest may be threatened by factors such as climate change and pollution.
But still, the remaining 5 sq km to 10 sq km of reefs harbour at least 250 species of hard coral, 120 species of fish and 12 species of seagrass, putting Singapore nearly on a par with the rest of South-east Asia's marine biodiversity hot spots.
The problem though is that Singapore's limited land space means that every bit of land, including that on the coast, is in demand for some kind of commercial activity, so the need to preserve the health of the plant and animal ecosystem needs to be balanced against the economic imperative, said Nature Society (Singapore) president Shawn Lum.
NParks said the time was ripe for such a survey. It cited factors such as the rising public interest in biodiversity, existing research, the availability of private sector funding and the Government's backing for initiatives like the Blue Plan.
On Wednesday, it met civil society groups, environmentalists and academics in a closed-door session to discuss details of the survey.
Academics and environmentalists hailed the study as 'a great move' and 'a step forward'.
Mr Francis Lee, a contributor to the Blue Plan and chairman of International Year of the Reef 2008 Singapore, said: 'We are grateful to the Government for responding so positively to the Blue Plan 2009 and, in particular, this proposal to survey and conserve our reefs.'
National University of Singapore (NUS) marine biologist Chou Loke Ming welcomed the funding for the project and the chance 'to do a systematic, intensive survey to really understand what we have'. Most studies done so far have been limited in area and scope, and areas such as the Johor Strait and the tiny southern island Pulau Jong have not been studied extensively, he noted.
NUS biologist Peter Ng noted that Sweden and Taiwan have also undertaken comprehensive studies of their plant and animal life, and China is doing a long-term one.
People who wish to volunteer for the survey may send an e-mail message to Wild Singapore at hello@wildsingapore.com; companies keen to help fund the project may contact NParks' Garden City Fund at garden_city_fund@nparks.gov.sg
Related links
More about the Mega Marine Survey on the wild shores of singapore blog. Register your interest to volunteer here.
COMPREHENSIVE MARINE BIODIVERSITY SURVEY OF SINGAPORE
NParks Media Factsheet 8 Jul 10;
Background - Why the survey
Singapore is one of the busiest ports in the world. Yet we have very rich marine biodiversity. Singapore’s waters harbour some 250 species of hard corals, or a third of the world’s hard coral species. Half the number of seagrass species in the Indo-Pacific region can be found within Singapore’s waters. More than 100 species of inter-tidal sponges have been recorded and many more are likely to be observed in the survey.
We have achieved this through delicately balancing development and biodiversity conservation, and it is something that we will need to continue to do given our limited space and resources.
In order for Singapore to remain a sustainable coastal city as we continue to urbanise, we need to better integrate the management of our coastal and marine environments. The starting to this is to know comprehensively and understand our marine biodiversity ie what we have, where they are and how best to conserve them.
What is the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey
The Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey (CMBS) will take stock of Singapore’s marine ecosystem and species diversity, species distribution and abundance.
It will be led by NParks and will bring together the larger community of experts from tertiary institutions, NGOs and individual enthusiasts. Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd has donated $500,000 for conservation activities, of which $300 000 will go towards bringing in scientific experts for this survey through NUS. NParks is currently coordinating the logistics of the survey.
We are now in discussion with various interest nature groups such as Blue Plan Group which includes among others, RMBR, Wild Singapore, NSS, Blue Water Volunteers, NTU/NIE, Habitat News. We are very encouraged by the many offers of assistance made by groups that can contribute expertise, boats, equipment and volunteer time. Members of the public who are keen to volunteer their time for the survey can contact Wild Singapore at hello@wildsingapore.com. Corporations that are keen to support this project can contact the Garden City Fund.
The CMBS is scheduled to start in the later part of 2010 and will be carried out in phases over three years.
Oh, how I miss being in the Garden City
Tabitha Wang Today Online 9 Jul 10;
If a tree falls in a city but no one gets killed, does it still make headlines? Yes, if you are in Hong Kong, which treats trees as evil Godzilla-like beings on a constant lookout for people to squash.
A couple of weeks ago, an 80-year-old banyan tree collapsed in Central. Only two people were mildly hurt by the falling branches, but from the uproar it raised, you would have thought the 10-metre tree had targeted those two in some kind of kamikaze mission.
Granted, sometimes falling trees can cause tragedy. On June 14, one fell in front of a cyclist, who swerved to avoid it, hit his head on the pavement and later died.
And then there was the one everyone remembers: The death of university student Kitty Chong Chung-yin, 19, when a diseased tree fell on her in 2008.
But what some people don't understand is that trees are living things and, like all living things, will die if they don't get enough nourishment and care. When a tree falls, it's not the fault of the tree, but that of the authorities looking after it.
The problem is, the authorities here treat trees like pests, rather than natural beauties.
People ask me what I miss most about Singapore. I tell them that, apart from the food and the people, it's the trees.
I yearn for the lovely shade they cast on a sunny afternoon. I dream of my favourite stretch of road - the bit along the East Coast Parkway where rainforest trees spread their branches over the whole six lanes.
What rubbish, you say? After all, doesn't Hong Kong have plenty of trees and hectares more national parks than Singapore? The Leisure and Cultural Department says it plants 10,000 trees, 500,000 annuals and close to 3 million shrubs every year.
To be fair, the place, which once used to be described as a "barren rock", has been good with its reforestation attempts and is green where it used to be grey.
But take a closer look and you'll notice that most of the lush greenery is confined to mountainsides and parks.
All you see in the city itself are spindly shrubs in plastic pots amid acres of concrete and asphalt.
The pots are for convenience as the roads and pavements are always being dug up, so they can hardly have permanent greenery.
No one seems to know what to do with the lovely banyans Hong Kong used to be known for.
Unlike in Singapore, which will divert a road just to save a tree, the authorities here allow heritage trees to be encased in concrete and, when the trees start dying because their roots can't get enough water and nutrients, order them to be chopped down.
They treat trees more like cancerous growths than living things which can help with Hong Kong's pollution. When it comes to greening urban areas, Hong Kong falls far behind our Garden City.
They've just finished one part of the waterfront where I often wait for the shuttle bus home. Finished, that is, to the town planners, but I found it uncomfortably empty.
For weeks, I kept wondering what was missing, when a Singaporean friend happened to remark: "That place needs some greenery." Ah yes, trees to break up those soulless cement plazas and squares between the buildings.
The concrete jungle effect is most felt now, when temperatures start rising.
In the winter, shade isn't crucial, but in the summer, it can mean the difference between arriving for a work meeting looking cool as a cucumber or like a melting tub of ice-cream.
There is a vast expanse of concrete in front of the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui that I refuse to cross in hot weather. With no shade in sight, you can feel your hair frizzle before you get to the end of the whimsically-named "piazza".
I once asked a Hongkonger why the city seemed to have a death warrant out for trees and, after denying it weakly, she paused and said: "Maybe it's because we can't control them. They grow where they want and fall when they want. Oh, and they always become toilets for dogs."
Tabitha Wang thinks dogs do more for Hong Kong's trees than humans do.
Study to pit fungi against 'soldier' fungi
Aim is to find way to protect plants without using toxic chemicals
Grace Chua Straits Times 9 Jul 10;
SOME types of fungi cause ornamental plants to wilt, vegetables to turn yellow or mould to grow in the ventilation systems of buildings.
To combat these scourges, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) researchers have, in the last four years, been studying other tiny fungi with a view to enlisting them as 'soldiers' in the war against their disease-causing cousins.
The polytechnic has now paired up with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to do a study using weapons culled from nature to kill disease-causing plant agents.
The findings from the NYP-AVA study could add to knowledge about how vegetables and plants can be protected without using toxic chemical fungicides.
AVA chief executive Tan Poh Hong said at the ceremony at which the NYP-AVA tie-up was inked: 'In land-scarce Singapore, we will have to use new technologies to grow more from less land, using fewer hands.'
As of 2008, Singapore had 58 vegetable farms and 83 orchid and ornamental plant farms; its share of the international cut-orchid market was 15 per cent.
Dr Joel Lee, the director of life sciences at the NYP's School of Chemical & Life Sciences, explained that not all fungi cause harm or disease. Those classed as endophytes often produce chemicals that kill harmful organisms and protect their host plant.
Researchers are thus trying to identify the fungi which produce such arsenals of chemicals, and to perhaps extract these protective chemicals.
'Instead of looking in exotic locations, we should look in our own backyard,' said Dr Lee of the search for such fungi.
The researchers have done just that, collecting microscopic fungi from places such as the Central Nature Reserve here.
The soil and leaf litter there have yielded a wide range of micro-organisms which could become valuable sources of new drugs and useful substances.
AVA plant pathology assistant director Yap Mei Lai said the research could pave the way for commercial development of a bio-fungicide to control common plant diseases without the use of toxic chemicals.
The AVA has put $35,000 into the fungi project and the NYP, $40,000.
Want some mussel sauce with that?
Straits Times 9 Jul 10;
OYSTER sauce could one day have a competitor that looks the same, tastes the same but costs less.
Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) food scientists, working with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), have developed one such sauce - using mussels.
It is likely to be ready for companies to mass produce and market in about a year.
The thick brown sauce, which can be used as a condiment or dip, is made from the broth produced as a result of processing of the shellfish for sale. This broth, which would otherwise have been discarded, is what is left behind when mussels have one shell removed and are frozen.
Because mussels are cheaper than oysters, mussel sauce costs less to produce.
This project is one of four covered under a memorandum of understanding signed by the AVA and NYP yesterday.
The other joint projects aim to:
# Develop quality and safety guidelines for processed vegetables and fruit, such as ready-to-eat salads
# Build a machine to mechanise the vaccination of farmed fish
# Use fungi as natural fungicides to kill the kinds of fungi that cause disease in vegetables, trees and ornamental plants.
These projects will involve five NYP staff members and 75 students from the polytechnic's School of Chemical & Life Sciences and its School of Engineering.
NYP will also launch a new diploma programme in food and beverage business next year. For a start, it will take in 40 students for training in both the business and food-preparation side of the industry.
GRACE CHUA
Singapore's food science sector set to expand
Surekha Yadav Channel NewsAsia 10 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE: You could soon have your vegetables with mussel sauce if the joint project between Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority hits the supermarkets shelves in about a year's time.
Students working on the project are studying for a diploma in Food Science and Nutrition.
The project is just one of several covered under a memorandum of understanding between AVA and the polytechnic.
Other projects in the work include an automated fish vaccination machine for the aquaculture industry to increase productivity and the survival rate of fingerlings.
The projects are identified by the AVA based on areas that will serve national interest.
And such collaborations are part of AVA's long term strategy to work with institutions to increase local production.
Tan Poh Hong, CEO, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, said: "It provides a strategic stockpile for us in times of need. However in Singapore, there is very little land. So in land scarce Singapore, we will have to use technologies so we use less land for local farming and fewer hands. One of the areas we can be more productive in use of our lands is to leverage on technology to increase our capabilities and capacities."
Last year NYP had an ice cream making competition - "Eskimos Battle" to whet the appetite of secondary school students for Food Science.
The competition was held in partnership with Swensens. The ice-cream chain is now launching its first Savoury Ice Cream range after the collaboration.
Educators note that developing the local food industry further will require training from conceptualisation to commercialisation.
Nanyang Polytechnic will soon introduce a Diploma in Food & Beverage Business which aims to train students in both the food preparation and business aspects of F&B services.
Dr Joel Lee, director (Life Science), School of Chemical & Life Sciences, NYP, said: "We know in the food industry the whole value chain is from conceptualising to making sure its safe for consumption, all the way to manufacturing it, and commercialising it.
“By launching this new diploma in food and beverage business, it completes our contribution towards training manpower in Singapore to sustain the food industry from upstream all the way up to the commercialisation part."
The diploma will be offered in April next year. - CNA/vm
Vision of Temasek unit SingBridge creates new growth platform as well
Jessica Cheam Straits Times 9 Jul 10;
TEMASEK Holdings unit SingBridge International Singapore unveiled its vision yesterday to be a global 'master developer' of cities that are not only sustainable but also economically viable.
The strategy should create a new growth platform for Singapore firms, which can export their urban solutions to other cities around the world, even while providing a return of investment to the Singapore investment company.
SingBridge chairman Lim Chee Onn, speaking at the firm's first press briefing yesterday, said the strategic direction of the new unit was borne out of the observation of two major global trends: urbanisation and the 'tremendous interest in the environment'.
Singapore can draw on its development experience of the past four decades and 'aggregate the experience... to help strengthen capabilities and capacity in order to generate business opportunities', added Mr Lim, a former Cabinet minister and former Keppel chairman.
SingBridge, which was established a year ago, is a 'deliberate effort... in creating opportunities for Singapore and Singaporean companies'.
The firm has taken on the mission of investing in and developing sustainable and economic cities internationally, although its initial focus will be on China.
It recently signed an agreement with the Guangzhou Municipality to jointly develop the 123 sq km Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in Guangzhou. This will require an estimated two billion yuan (S$410 million) investment for its 50 per cent stake.
In May, SingBridge agreed to a feasibility study with the Jilin municipal government to assess the commercial feasibility of jointly developing a 1,450 sq km modern agricultural and food zone in Jilin City. It has also acquired a 10 per cent stake in the Singapore consortium that holds a 50 per cent stake in the Tianjin Eco-city project. There will be significant opportunities for businesses in sectors like real estate, infrastructure, health care, retail, services, education and manufacturing, said SingBridge.
The firm's chief executive, Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, the former managing director of the Economic Development Board, said SingBridge will assess projects carefully for their commercial viability.
'Massive urbanisation and the need to sustain our environment will create demand for eco-cities, but they're not eco for eco's sake. They will also have to be economic cities,' he said.
Mr Lim added that SingBridge will try to develop projects 'in bite sizes, instead of a 10-pounder cake'. Part of its strategy will be to develop a 'start-up area', like a 6 sq km site in the Knowledge City, and develop the city in stages, he said.
The firm will fund its projects by either raising capital on its own, through Temasek, or by applying to banks for credit. 'We're mindful not to plonk (down) too much capital, but (just) the necessary working capital,' said Mr Lim.
It may be a new player on the scene, but many have expressed an interest in collaborating with SingBridge, he added.
The firm is the 'conduit in which... authorities and agencies can cooperate with Singapore', hence the inspiration for its name, added Mr Lim.
Ultimately, SingBridge is a start-up. Over time, it will build a greater variety of projects, he said.
'So Singaporeans who are interested in an adventure, please call us.'
Patrick Jonas, tabla! AsiaOne 9 Jul 10;
CEMENT and concrete have a shade of green. But that is all the green that most of us can associate with the building materials.
Not Dr Sujit Ghosh. Ask the CEO of cement manufacturing firm Holcim about the green efforts of the company and he can talk to you at length on how Holcim has changed the green practices in the industry here. It is no empty boast, for Holcim - an early pioneer in using recycled material to produce ready-mixed concrete, now an accepted practice in the construction industry - has won the Singapore Environmental Achievement Award for 2008-09.
How did this come about?
Some time after Dr Ghosh took over the reins at Holcim, a friend who was working for a recycling company asked him if he could find any good use for copper slag sand.
"That was the beginning. My research revealed that about 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of copper slag sand waste came from the ship repair industry every year. After processing this waste according to National Environment Agency standards, the material is sent to the landfill year after year as no one had any good use for it. This strengthened my resolve to find a solution," says Dr Ghosh, 45.
His company, which is headquartered in Switzerland, supported his efforts.
"By the middle of 2006, after extensive testing and development, we had a product that was not only a substitute for sand, but, in fact, was a far superior substitute for sand."
The real battle, however, lay ahead. Dr Ghosh had to convince the industry, the regulators and the end-users. It was not easy.
"Most give up here. Eventually, the uphill battle was won, somewhat facilitated by the subsequent sand-ban from Indonesia in 2007 which made people think seriously about resource recovery and reuse, and the eventual support provided by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), to help promote this alternative to sand. It gives me a great sense of self-satisfaction when I hear these days that no copper slag sand is sent to landfills and the material is in high demand as builders get 'green points' from BCA for using concrete that is made with copper slag sand as a partial substitute for natural sand," says Dr Ghosh, with justifiable pride.
Singapore's shipyards import copper slag which is used for sand blasting - the copper slag is pumped at high force to blast rust and marine organisms from the hulls of ships that are dry docked for repair - from Japan.
After repeated use, the slag loses its abrasive strength and becomes waste material.
Seeing how Holcim could turn a waste material into useful "sand", the NEA asked Dr Ghosh to help find a use for incinerator ash, another waste product that adds to the Semakau landfill. Holcim then joined hands with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to see what could be done and the outcome looks promising.
The ash (or what is left after incineration) comes out as solid chunky material.
This is broken down into stone-like pieces, or aggregates, and can be a substitute for stone chips in concrete. Holcim, which supplies about a quarter of Singapore's requirement of concrete, is working towards making this a reality.
The washed copper slag and the ash generated in Singapore cannot fully replace the annual requirement of sand and stones used in concrete.
They can at best substitute a month's supply. But Dr Ghosh is glad that it will reduce the load on the landfill and therefore extend its life.
The Kolkata native says his background in civil engineering helped in his green efforts. After graduating from Bengal Engineering College, he worked for a few years in Consulting Engineering at New Delhi before moving to Canada for his higher studies.
He did his master's in Alberta and his doctorate at the University of Saskatchewan.
However, he did not want to remain in Canada and was happy to move to Singapore 16 years ago when he was offered a faculty position in NUS.
"It was easy for me to convince my wife as every year when we travelled to India from Canada, it was via Singapore and the vibrancy, cleanliness, orderliness and a touch of the Indian spirit as evident in Little India, always attracted us. Since then, this has been home to us. We do travel to India at least once every year, sometimes more, to meet and spend time with our parents and relatives for a few weeks," reasons Dr Ghosh for his choice.
He did not stay long at NUS, choosing to move to the corporate world and, after working with a few MNCs, took over the Holcim job five years ago.
Singapore, he says, kind of spoils you. "I remember in 2008 when I was in Toronto for a conference I felt uneasy with amenities so far flung, people living so far away from one another and the warmth and vibrancy of Singapore missing."
When the Ghoshes moved to Singapore, their son Shiladitya was only six months old. Today he is all grown up and doing his Year One of the IB programme (equivalent to JC 1) at the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
He likes debating and has a flair for music, playing the piano and the violin, the latter for his school orchestra. Dr Ghosh's wife Debarati holds degrees in arts and science, but chose to be a homemaker. She likes to write, paint and draw and contributes articles to a local Bengali Association's magazine. And, when Dr Ghosh is not travelling for work, she gives him "the privilege of home cooked food".
On weekends, though, the family steps out for some shopping, eating out or even a visit to Little India, where Mustafa Centre features quite prominently in Dr Ghosh's list. The ambience at this shopping mall, he says, is so "comfortably" Indian.
Business Times 9 Jul 10;
Award-winning photographer Mattias Klum talks to NATALIE KOH about using his images to raise awareness of the depleting tropical jungles, particularly in Borneo
EVER since Mattias Klum first set foot in the rainforests of Borneo in 1988, he knew he was on the cusp of a lifelong love affair.
The acclaimed Swedish photographer and filmmaker was so drawn to its beauty that he spent the next 20 years documenting its rich biodiversity. 'It was my boyhood dream to see rainforest, particularly in Borneo,' he recalls. 'Even its name is magical. Everything about it exudes exoticness and beauty.'
Unfortunately, the love of his life is being threatened as Borneo's rainforests suffer mass deforestation, resulting in the devastation of its rich variety of flora and fauna. Unwilling to sit by and let the inevitable happen, he is now using his skills and position to promote the conservation of Borneo's rainforests.
His current exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum, 'Testament of Tebaran: Borneo's Moment of Truth', is just part of his overall plan to bring his cause to a wider audience. In this exhibition you will see searing images of the rainforest - stunning in its beauty as well as its devastation.
Klum, whose advocacy of biodiversity earned him a medal from the King of Sweden and designation as a 2008 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, says that he aims to use his images to create bridges between people's brains and hearts.
'People might know intellectually that deforestation is not okay and that we need to change things, but they are not affected by it emotionally,' he explains. 'I like to use film and photography to evoke emotion, create an impact and help them see how important it really is and how it can affect them.'
His inspiration for the exhibition was Tebaran, a blowpipe hunter and one of the last nomadic Penan headmen living in the rainforest. Klum's admiration for Tebaran is undeniable as he calls him the Martin Luther King of Penan. 'Some people might regard Tebaran as primitive, as something from 1,000 years ago but you will be amazed by his intellectual ability to explain his surroundings to me - he is a very eloquent speaker,' he gushes.
Klum adds that despite the destruction of Tebaran's natural world, the nomadic headman does not blame anyone for it, saying that he understands that other people need to survive as well. Even so, Tebaran, with his extensive knowledge of the plants in the forests, just reminds Klum even more that that as the rainforests disappear, so will he and the other nomads, along with their knowledge of the forests.
What both Tebaran and Klum call for is a rethink of the use of rainforests.
'I've worked in so many countries over 25 years and I've seen so much beauty, yet so much devastation,' Klum says. 'I'm not crazy, I do understand that we need to use nature and we cannot leave it alone, our species needs to use nature to survive. But we need to find a more sustainable way to do it.'
He isn't boasting when he says he has worked in many countries. His passion for natural history along with his talent has taken him on major expeditions to places like Malaysia, Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Mongolia and Antarctica.
This award-winning photographer is also widely recognised for his environmental efforts and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of WWF - Sweden and fellow of The Linnean Society of London.
Ultimately, his message is that everyone has an important role in conserving biodiversity. He says: 'The worst is to think that something is beyond you. You might even feel depressed because you feel that whatever you do is too small but I feel it's very important to say the opposite. You can always create some sort of change but at different levels in society.'
He brings up the example of his experience of lecturing on deforestation effects on the climate at The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 alongside UK's former prime minister Tony Blair and Norway's former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
'When you have a photographer together with two powerful politicians and your agendas go hand in hand, the issue is brought up on different levels and from different perspectives. Then it becomes more interesting for new groups of people. So yes, we can really can make a difference,' he says.
With his works, Klum calls out to everyone to realise the enormity of the problem. He says: 'We have come to a crossroads - we can either go down the road that is not so sustainable or we can create awareness and choose the smarter and more sustainable path.'
The exhibition is a part of this year's Month of Photography Asia and is ongoing until July 19 at the Shaw Foundation Foyer, Asian Civilisations Museum.
Admission is free
Ahmad Pathoni Jakarta Globe 7 Jul 10;
Officials and conservationists from 13 countries are to meet in Bali next week to discuss efforts to double the population of endangered Indonesian tigers by 2022, the Indonesian government says.
The meeting, to be held on the Indonesian resort island on Monday and Tuesday, is expected to produce a draft Global Tiger Recovery Program, said Darori, the Forestry Ministry’s director general of forest protection and nature conservation.
That document would then be discussed at a summit of global leaders on tiger conservation in Russia in September, he said.
The draft would address the threats facing the world’s remaining tigers, including the Sumatran tiger, Darori said on Tuesday.
The meeting was expected to be attended by senior government officials from the 13 tiger-range countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam — as well as tiger experts and representatives from local and international groups.
The World Wide Fund for Nature said the global wild tiger population was estimated at 3,200, including 400 Sumatran tigers.
Darori said Indonesia was confident it could double the population of Sumatran tigers by 2022.
“With better law enforcement and the support of donors and partners, we will be able to achieve the goal,” he said. “It’s easier to breed tigers than rhinos.”
Indonesia has been criticized by conservationists for considering a scheme allowing rich people to adopt captive tigers to help curb poaching.
Under the plan currently being worked out at the Forestry Ministry, a pair of tigers could be rented against a deposit of Rp 1 billion ($110,000 dollars).
“People don’t understand that this is a realistic initiative,” Darori said. “Every day, there are people who request to adopt tigers.”
“They will take good care of the tigers” he said. “It’s better than allowing them to be killed by poachers.”
Of nine tiger subspecies, six exist today, according to the WWF: the Sumatran, Bengal, Amur, Indochinese, South China and Malayan tigers.
Threats to the tiger include habitat fragmentation and destruction, loss of prey, poaching and illegal trade.
DPA
Maggie Fox PlanetArk 9 Jul 10;
Researchers have discovered two previously unknown species of bottom-dwelling fish in the Gulf of Mexico, living right in the area affected by the BP oil spill.
Researchers identified new species of pancake batfishes, a flat fish rarely seen because of the dark depths they favor. They are named for the clumsy way they "walk" along the sea bottom, like a bat crawling.
Photo by Ho, Chakrabarty & Sparks (2010)
"One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area," John Sparks of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, said in a statement released on Thursday.
"If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity, especially microdiversity, is out there that we do not know about."
Writing in the Journal of Fish Biology, Sparks and his colleagues named the species as Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus. A third already known species called H. aculeatus also only lives in waters affected by the spill, they said.
Pancake batfishes have round, flat bodies with giant heads and mouths they can thrust forward. They use arm-like fins to drag themselves along the bottom and a modified dorsal fin excretes fluid to lure prey.
Sparks said the three species had been considered just one species, but his team found distinct differences.
"These discoveries underscore the potential loss of undocumented biodiversity that a disaster of this scale may portend," he said.
BP aims to plug the well late this month or in August.
The well has pumped millions of gallons (liters) of oil into the Gulf, coating shorelines and animals and having as yet unknown effects on creatures living in deep waters.
It threatens to devastate the Gulf region's multibillion-dollar fishing and tourist industries.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
New species of pancake batfishes discovered in the Gulf of Mexico
American Museum of Natural History EurekAlert 8 Jul 10;
Scientists describe 2 new species of fish from area engulfed by oil spill
Although the Gulf of Mexico has been intensively surveyed by scientists and picked over by fishermen, it is still home to fishes that are waiting to be described. New research published in the Journal of Fish Biology describes two new species of pancake batfishes (Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus) and re-describes another (H. aculeatus), all of which live in waters either partially or fully encompassed by the recent oil spill.
"One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area," says John Sparks, curator of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History. "If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity—especially microdiversity—is out there that we do not know about."
Pancake batfishes are members of the anglerfish family Ogcocephalidae, a group of about 70 species of flat bottom-dwellers that often live in deep, perpetually dark waters. Pancake batfishes have enormous heads and mouths that can thrust forward. This, combined with their ability to cryptically blend in with their surroundings, gives them an advantage for capturing prey. They use their stout, arm-like fins to 'walk' awkwardly along the substrate; their movements have been described as grotesque, resembling a walking bat. As most anglerfishes, batfishes have a dorsal fin that is modified into a spine or lure, although their lure excretes a fluid to reel in prey instead of bio-illuminating.
The pancake batfishes described by Sparks and colleagues, genus Halieutichthys , live in shallower waters than most batfishes and occur along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic from Louisiana to North Carolina. Until now, the currently described three fishes had been lumped into one species, since they all have similar coloration and body shape.
But there are several differences. The three species are distinguished by the size, shape (blunt or sharp), and arrangement of tubercles on the body; the presence or absence of dark bands on the pectoral fin; and the unique reticulate pigmentation patterns on the dorsal body surface. H. aculeatus, the re-described species, is characterized by a comparatively sparse arrangement of spiny tubercles and is distributed along the northeastern gulf coast as well as along the Florida, Georgia, and Carolina coasts. H. bispinosus is a newly described species with a characteristic pattern of densely arranged spiny tubercles covering the body and a geographic distribution similar to H. aculeatus. Finally, H. intermedius, the second newly described species, has a smooth, non-spiny dorsal surface and a geographic distribution that mirrors the current range of the Gulf oil spill. This last species does not have a known population outside of the Gulf of Mexico.
"These discoveries underscore the potential loss of undocumented biodiversity that a disaster of this scale may portend," says Sparks.
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In addition to Sparks, authors include Hsuan-Ching Ho of the Biodiversity Research Center of Academica Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan and Prosanta Chakrabarty of the Museum of Natural Science at Louisiana State University. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Lakeside Foundation, and the Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research.
Yahoo News 8 Jul 10;
WELLINGTON (AFP) – A New Zealand dolphin who became an international tourist attraction as he entertained bathers on beaches is believed to have died, conservation officials said Thursday.
The carcass of a bottlenose dolphin found on an eastern North Island beach looks like the well-known Moko and has been taken away for an autopsy and DNA testing.
"Based on the size, markings and teeth of the carcass, we think that this is Moko," Department of Conservation ranger Jamie Quirk said.
The playful Moko, who was last seen about two weeks ago, delighted in playing with bathers and had been a familiar sight at beaches near Gisborne on the North island.
"This is a sad loss. The way that Moko interacted with people really inspired public interest and care for dolphins and marine mammals and their environment in general," regional conservation manager Andrew Baucke said.
But Moko's antics did not please everyone.
Last year a woman swimmer had to be rescued after Moko swam around her and refused to let her return to shore.
"We were playing around for a while but then when I wanted to go back in, he just wanted to keep playing. I became exhausted and started to panic," the woman said.
"The reality set in that I was out in the ocean with a wild animal and no people around, so I felt quite vulnerable."
Moko's fame spread in March 2008 when a conservation worker trying to rescue two pygmy whales trapped between a sandbar and the beach saw Moko approach the pair and guide them through a narrow gap to the open sea.
Conservation department community relations manager, Katrina Knill said there was growing public interest in what will be done with Moko's remains.
"This is really sad, a large number of people feel strongly connected to Moko. We'll be looking into what's most practical and appropriate over the next few days."
David Fogarty Reuters 8 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Australia faces an election within months and new Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said she will announce additional steps on fighting climate change before the poll.
Climate change will be an election issue and analysts say Gillard must do something to win back voters angry over the government's shelving of an emissions trading scheme in April.
Gillard has said Australia needs to place a cost on planet-warming carbon emissions from industry, transport and households. A national consensus on how to do this is crucial.
Here is a look at what might come next in the government's fight to preserve its voter base and recapture disgruntled green voters ahead of elections.
A COMPROMISE EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME OR CARBON TAX?
Very unlikely.
The political debate on emissions trading has become so polarized that Gillard will want to avoid anything that gives the opposition or powerful industry lobbies reason to attack her, particularly after a bruising debate on a planned mining tax.
"A carbon price is completely off the agenda. I can't see the government going anywhere near that in the lead up to the election. They don't want to fight a great big new tax," said Andrew Macintosh, Associate Director of the Center for Climate Law and Policy at the Australian National University.
Gillard will want to shore up the existing voter base by trying to resolve other outstanding issues, such as the mining tax deal and changes to immigration and refugee policies.
But she needs to restore public trust in the fight against climate change, so she might announce some form of public consultation on carbon pricing prior to the election with a view to having legislation come back to the parliament next year.
MORE STEPS TO BOOST RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY?
Likely.
Gillard has said she will announce steps in these areas. She might announce additional funding of big-ticket renewable energy projects, such as offering tax relief or other incentives. She might also opt for energy efficiency measures for households and small-to-medium enterprises to help them cut power costs.
Analysts say much more can be done to boost energy efficiency in Australia to curb the growth in demand for electricity.
Plans for households and businesses could include subsidies, revolving funds or marginal tax rate benefits. But the key is to avoid a repeat of a botched government-backed home insulation scheme that led to fires and the deaths of four people.
Analysts say Gillard also needs to find a way to reach to out to farmers, even if it is simply discussing ideas on helping on climate change, land productivity and drought tolerance.
DO NOTHING?
Possible but risky.
"My feeling at the moment is that she will continue the rhetoric on concern about climate change, but we won't hear much in terms of substance," Macintosh said.
Gillard faces a delicate dance in being seen to be doing something while not angering blue-collar workers who fear higher costs from climate policies.
"My take-home message is the government has a major credibility gap in this policy space," said Peter Christoff, lecturer in climate policy at the University of Melbourne, adding the government needed to revisit the carbon pricing debate to regain that credibility.
Q+A: Why Australia needs a price on carbon
David Fogarty Reuters 8 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Australia is the world's top 2coal exporter, relies on coal to generate more than 80 percent of its power, transports most goods by road and cars clog its cities.
Still, one of the world's top per-capita emitters of planet-warming carbon pollution is determined to cut its emissions, even as a growing population and booming economy make achieving this a major challenge.
Following are some questions and answers on tackling Australia's greenhouse gas emissions:
WHY THE NEED TO ACT?
Australia's economy, and particularly its power generation sector, has been driven by access to nearly limitless supplies of cheap brown and black coal, and gas. Coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, still remains the cheapest source of power.
Australians also love their cars. In a nation of 22 million people, there were 15.7 million vehicles registered in 2009, up from 13.5 million in 2004, government figures show.
Between 2008 and 1990, the base year for the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol climate pact, net emissions grew by 31.4 percent.
Over the same period, emissions from the power generation sector rose 52.1 percent, while transport emissions increased 29.2 percent. Overall, emissions from the energy sector, comprising three-quarters of the nation's greenhouse gas pollution, rose 44 percent.
A growing population, expanding at roughly two percent a year, and rising incomes mean greater demand for energy.
The projected impacts of climate change on Australia also worry many. Rising sea levels, greater extremes of droughts and floods, higher temperatures, more intense bushfires, water shortages, and warmer and more acidic oceans in coming decades collectively point to a tougher future.
WHAT HAS THE GOVERNMENT DONE SO FAR?
Not much. It is has developed an emissions trading scheme but twice failed to win political support and has since shelved it.
The government has also set a target of cutting emissions by 5 percent by 2020 from 2000 levels and by up to 25 percent if there's a strong global climate agreement.
Europe has a more ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 30 percent if there's a strong global climate pact. Britain is targeting a cut of 34 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
The Australian government has had better luck winning parliamentary approval for a scheme that mandates a target of 20 percent renewable energy generation by 2020 and has also laid out a A$4.5 billion initiative backing investment in clean energy.
IS A CARBON PRICE BEST?
Yes. An emissions trading scheme that sets a clear reduction target and lets the market set a price for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted is seen as the best way to drive greater energy efficiency and investment in cleaner energy.
The renewable energy target (RET) laws just passed by parliament, while boosting investment in wind farms and some other renewables, won't lead to significant emissions reductions, analysts say.
Instead, the RET will promote the addition of generating capacity that will largely meet the projected annual growth in consumption of about 3 percent.
The RET is unlikely to displace coal-fired generation to any significant degree but is likely to encourage fast-start gas-fired generation needed to meet baseload power demands when wind power output dips.
Generators say a CO2 price that effectively makes coal-fired power more expensive is needed to push a greater shift to cleaner gas and new-generation renewables, such as geothermal.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS IF THERE'S NO CARBON PRICE?
Increasingly, investors are demanding certainty on CO2 pricing to ensure financing for investment plans.
Some companies and the government also say the longer the delay, the higher the costs to the power generating sector, other industries and households in meeting the minus-5 percent target.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
Factbox: How will Australia's RET affect power generators?
Reuters 8 Jul 10;
(Reuters) - Australia's approval of an expanded green energy scheme will underpin a multi-billion dollar boom in wind farm construction, analysts and investors say.
The scheme mandates 20 percent renewable energy generation by 2020 and will go a long way to satisfy the growing thirst for electricity of Australia's expanding economy and limiting growth in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
It is expected to lead to an additional 7,000 to 9,000 megawatts of wind power on top of about 2,000 MW now.
Following are some of the scheme's key points and likely impacts on power generators.
HOW THE SCHEME WORKS
The renewable energy target (RET) scheme mandates the creation of 45,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green power by 2020, with 41,000 GWh to be met by large-scale investments and the rest by smaller domestic solar hot water and solar panels.
The large-scale target will step up from 10,500 GWh in 2010 to 41,000 GWh within a decade.
To underpin investment, clean-energy projects earn tradeable renewable energy certificates (RECs) per megawatt-hour produced.
The RET scheme legally obliges wholesale power retailers and some generators to buy RECs from green power providers at negotiated prices, so creating demand and supply. The RECs are traded online and held in a registry.
IMPACTS ON COAL-FIRED GENERATORS
Coal remains Australia's cheapest form of power generation. Black coal makes up 57 percent of all fuels used, brown coal 25 percent and gas 16 percent, based on 2007/08 government data.
Coal generators include International Power, TRUenergy Holdings Ltd, state-owned Macquarie Generation and AGL Energy.
Analysts and power firms say the RET will not displace coal and only a carbon price via an emissions trading scheme will speed the closure of brown and black coal power plants or refitting with cleaner gas burners.
But the RET will nonetheless put an extra squeeze on coal-fired generators, who already realize a price on carbon is coming and their polluting product will inevitably become more costly and less desirable, says WWF Australia CEO Greg Bourne.
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