Best of our wild blogs: 24 Jul 10

Banded Leaf Monkeys, RMBR, mangroves in beMUSE
from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

New Book: A Selection of Plants for Greening of Waterways and Waterbodies in the Tropics from Flying Fish Friends by Joseph

Rain oh rain, how does it affect the bugs?
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Guides of Singapore shores: Rocky shore and coastal forest
from wild shores of singapore

Ops Jellyfish in Langkawi
from Natura Gig

Scientists commend Indonesia for conservation measures, but urge immediate action on forests and peatlands from Mongabay.com news

UN climate talks in the mire?
from BBC NEWS blog by Richard Black

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Helping frogs to breed better in the Singapore wild

They take to artificial habitats set up by NUS student in her project
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 24 Jul 10;

FROGS are happy to have a helping hand when it comes to mating, a National University of Singapore (NUS) student has found.

Miss Teo Yea Tian, 23, found that the average number of mating calls from the frogs rose from nine to 13 a night after she provided artificial breeding sites in rain-filled cups, basins and dishes.

Her study centred on the black-spotted sticky frog, so named because of a glue-like mucus it secretes from its skin when threatened.

The frog is highly dependent on rainfall as it lays its eggs in puddles collected in leaves or water collected in declining pitcher plants.

In October last year, Miss Teo began to measure the numbers in her study area along the 400m catchment path in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

She went into the reserve three to four times a week for about two hours each time.

These ground-dwelling frogs can grow up to 3cm for males and 5cm for females and are brown in colour, making them tricky to spot against fallen leaves.

The student carried out audio surveys at night as these little frogs make a big noise. The mating call of the male sounds like a high-pitched, short, repetitive whistle.

At the start of December, Miss Teo took two days to set up various artificial habitats in plastic and bamboo cups and plastic and ceramic basins to see if it encouraged breeding.

The cups were filled naturally with rainwater and it took less than two weeks for the frogs to make use of them, with batches of 10 to 120 eggs laid.

Its takes 14 to 16 days for the frogs to develop from the egg.

Froglets that developed in the plastic basin were found to have the best survival rate of 53 per cent.

However, introducing these cups had a wider effect on the ecosystem as dragonfly larvae, which eat the tadpoles, were also found in the basins.

Another unforeseen consequence was that thirsty macaques drank the water from some of the test sites and destroyed the basins.

Also, a sudden and marked increase in the number of these frogs may affect the food chain; they feed on ants and termites and they are eaten by snakes.

Miss Teo said: 'I think we should continue to help vulnerable species, but we have to have a more complete study of the surrounding effects.

'This is possible but it will require more money and it would be good to try and get the Government involved as they are the ones with the money to put into it.'

The study cost about $500 and Miss Teo is in the process of trying to get it published in a journal.

Assistant Professor David Bickford from the NUS Department of Biological Sciences said that following on from Miss Teo's study, there needs to be a strategy for all the rare and endangered frogs in Singapore.

'These frogs need specific kinds of phytotelms (water-holding plants or tree holes) or pristine streams. Those will be what we try and provide for them - in quantities and qualities that have deteriorated in Singapore in the past decades,' said the frog expert, who supervised Miss Teo's project.

Dr Leong Tzi Ming, a National Parks Board research officer in charge of a survey to document nature in Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment nature reserves, said the findings had important implications for future conservation efforts.

'It shows that this particular species is receptive to artificial micro habitats which could help in the conservation of species that may be affected by prolonged dry weather,' he said.

There are 25 frog and toad species in Singapore and the survey found that while numbers do not seem to be declining, the locations of populations have shifted as these amphibians move to be closer to reliable water sources.

'This is good news for the island's biodiversity,' said Dr Leong, as frogs are seen as an indicator of the health of bio-diversity. This is because they are most rapidly affected by changes in the environment from pollutants or a lack of water as they have thin skin. If the frogs are doing well, it is likely that the ecosystem is in good shape.

One of the key findings of the survey was the first evidence of breeding of the thumbnail-size St Andrew's cross toadlet which is critically endangered in Singapore.

Thanks to the findings in Miss Teo's study, there are plans to put artificial breeding spots on trees to help increase the population and distribution of this tiny toadlet.

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American Bullfrogs don't belong in Singapore

Straits Times 24 Jul 10;

UNWELCOME visitors were found by the National Parks Board (NParks) survey on the Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves which could pose a threat to native wildlife.

Several American Bullfrogs, native to areas of North America, were found in the nature reserves.

'Most of the bullfrogs were quite young, so it seems that they are not breeding well here, probably because they are not used to a tropical climate.

'But it is quite alarming as they can hang on for a couple of days and they have been known to carry the chytrid fungus, which has been identified as a serious threat to amphibians around the world,' said survey leader Leong Tzi Ming.

It is thought that these frogs, which can grow up to 20cm, have been released by pet owners and animal lovers who wish to spare them from being eaten as this species is traditionally used for local cuisine.

Dr Leong urged people not to release these frogs into the wild as they could harm local species.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) discourages the release of non-native animals because of the potential negative impact it can have on the animal and on the environment.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, any owner who abandons an animal is deemed to have committed an act of cruelty which carries a fine of up to $10,000 and/or 12 months' jail.

Elsewhere, non-native species have caused havoc as they establish themselves in a new area and become invasive, harming local wildlife.

Perhaps the most famous example is the Cane Toad in Australia.

According to the Australian Museum, Sydney, 100 toads were brought into the country from Hawaii to eat beetle larvae which was destroying sugar cane crops.

In July 1935, after some swift breeding, more than 3,000 were released.

With few natural predators, it has grown in numbers and threatens local amphibians and bees which it eats, while snakes and pets are poisoned by glands on the toad when they try to eat it.

VICTORIA VAUGHAN

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Spot suspect tree: Teach us

Straits Times Forum 24 Jul 10;

THURSDAY'S report ('Man killed by tree: Family seeks compensation') noted that the computerised system of the National Parks Board (NParks) automatically schedules inspections for every tree along our roads and in our parks.

It is unrealistic to expect every tree within NPark's purview to be inspected at close intervals and not be at risk of causing property damage or bodily harm.

Singapore may be a small city. Yet it certainly is not small enough for NParks to ensure that all trees lining and beautifying our roads, pavements and parks are inspected or pruned every day, week or month. The average full cycle appears to be at intervals of between 12 and 18 months.

While government agencies may well need to strengthen infrastructure and step up maintenance services - and we still need to rely on the expertise of arborists - it is probably more effective to depend on ordinary residents on the ground.

If we can nurture a culture where the public takes a more active interest and has a heightened sense of one's environment, prevention - call it 'green risk management' - might just work bigger wonders.

For instance, NParks could start an initiative to better educate the public on how to spot trees with overhanging canopies or obstructive branches that need pruning.

A dedicated hotline could be started and reports systematically investigated quickly.

Help from such green-space 'cops', or citizens on patrol, will complement the work of the tree professionals.

Residents could be encouraged to adopt a stretch of road or park to monitor. The sense of ownership may make them more alert to tree problems in their neighbourhoods.

In this way, the collective strength and common sensibilities of communities can be tapped and put to good use in making our environment not only a greener one, but also a safer one.

Lee Seow Ser (Ms)

Steps taken to educate public about trees
Straits Times Forum 29 Jul 10;

WE REFER to Ms Lee Seow Ser's letter last Saturday ('Spot suspect trees: Teach us').

The recent spate of bad weather has been challenging for our trees, and we thank members of the public like Ms Lee who have shown support and understanding.

In the past two months, our staff and contractors have been working hard on the ground to step up our tree inspection and pruning. In addition to our scheduled 15,000 tree inspections per month, we have inspected another 2,000 trees along expressways and major roads and done pruning to reduce the weight of their crowns. We will continue with this intensified maintenance regime.

Ms Lee suggested that we can educate the public to help the National Parks Board spot trees that need pruning. In fact, we already organise tree appreciation walks for the public. These walks are led by our arborists in selected parks and the participants learn about our trees. We will increase the frequency of these walks and include more information about tree care.

We receive regular feedback from the public, who call our 24-hour helpline 1800-471-7300 whenever they spot trees in need of our attention.

Our arborists usually respond to such feedback on the same day. Sometimes, we also receive requests from individuals to remove trees. We do not accede to such requests if there are no reasons to do so.

We seek the public's continued support and give our assurance that we are fully committed to our responsibility.

Simon Longman
Director (Streetscape)
National Parks Board

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Liveable, but on whose terms?

New index ranks Siingapore much higher than other indexes on liveability
Tan Hui Yee, Straits Times 24 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE loves international yardsticks. And it's nice when the nation does well in global league tables.

So, there will be broad smiles that it did well recently in an index of liveable cities. But before popping the bubbly, it's timely to look at how rankings are arrived at in the first place.

Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities commissioned a new Global Liveable Cities Index (GLCI). The study has not been completed, but tentative findings show that Singapore is the third most liveable city in the world, behind Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.

The index was a subject of discussion at the World Cities Summit which concluded here recently and has been drawing interest. The Swiss-Singapore designed index, touts itself as a 'more comprehensive and balanced' study compared with other rankings.

Other prominent efforts to rank cities include The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Report on living conditions in 140 cities. Human resource firm Mercer's Quality of Living survey covers 221 cities. And there is current affairs magazine Monocle's Top 25 Most Liveable Cities.

Are these reports less complete or balanced than the new one? It would seem so if one considers that all three studies largely target the expatriate market. The Economist and Mercer reports are designed to help organisations calculate allowances for staff on overseas postings, while Monocle's speaks directly to globally mobile professionals in search of the good life.

So apart from the usual items like hospital services and pollution, Mercer's study also looks at whether alcohol and cars are easily available, while the Economist assesses the 'discomfort of climate to travellers'.

Monocle clocks sunshine hours and subjects cities to its 'chain store pollution' test. This measures the ratio of international brand food outlets and retailers to the total mix. Presumably, the more Zara fashion stores and Starbucks cafes, the less desirable a city is.

The trouble is that the values and preferences in these studies do not apply to everybody. After all, some would ask, why is access to alcohol such a big deal?

Yet Singapore officials have referred to such rankings as yardsticks of progress. For example, when Singapore, ranked 28th on Mercer's list, it was said the nation should aim to join cities like Zurich, Vienna and Vancouver in the top 10.

The Swiss-Singapore team behind the new index has set its sights elsewhere. For one thing, it examines not just topline cities like Madrid, Bangkok and Singapore, but emerging ones such as Chongqing in China and Ahmedabad in India.

When completed, the index will allow simulations by mayors to let them find out how their city's ranking can go up if it improved upon, say, sanitation.

But it remains to be seen if the index can stake its claim to be more 'balanced'. A liveable city, according to its authors, has to be well-governed, economically vibrant, environmentally friendly, stable, diverse and provide a good quality of life. To measure that, it takes into account aspects like 'economic openness', 'demographic burden', and 'diversity and community cohesion'.

The rankings are based on 85 indicators - but the authors decline to disclose what these are. They do, however, plan to strengthen it with field surveys.

From what has been discussed so far, the index is not without its quirks. Professor Woo Wing Thye, an economist at the University of California at Davis, has wondered if hotel occupancy rates, one of the indicators it uses to measure economic openness, is all that important.

What is unclear too, is whether the index will follow the path of the Mercer and Economist studies to take into account levels of censorship and press freedom - an area Singapore often scores badly in, affecting its placing in these two surveys.

This is a touchy issue in Singapore, which was ranked 133 out of 175 countries in press freedom last year by non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders. Singapore's official policy, in the words of Law Minister K. Shanmugam, is to 'ignore the criticisms which make no sense'.

Then there is the question of whether the new index will take into account each society's tolerance of difference, which features prominently in Monocle's survey.

A relatively poor showing in the 'tolerance of other lifestyles, be they gay or otherwise' was cited by Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brule as the reason Singapore slid from 17th to 22nd position in its 2008 rankings.

Singapore's current third place ranking in the new index stands in stark contrast to what it achieved in the Economist's (54), Mercer's (28) and Monocle's (18) surveys. Given this disparity, cynics may think the GLCI was designed to put Singapore in the best possible light. But the real picture is rather more complex.

According to previous reports, some areas of study like water management had to be left out because there was insufficient data in many other cities. Omitting it probably lowered Singapore's performance in environmental protection.

A good survey depends on the availability of data comparable across countries. Yet if it relies solely on indicators that can be backed up by hard data, it may become an index that merely sizes up the hardware of cities. That in itself is not a bad thing, as long as the index is explicit about this conceptual bias.

Understanding the latent bias in such surveys, both policymakers and laymen should guard against lapping up glowing city rankings without question.

The new index ought to be strengthened, if it is to become an authoritative report that puts Singapore on the global map as a centre for research on liveability.

For all the buzz around 'liveability', it remains a contested term. Some planners consider culture and community important components, but both have yet to be measured in an objective and reliable form in existing studies.

Still, the new index should not shy away from these areas because of their subjective or contentious nature.

After all, while the hardware can draw people to a city, it is often the intangibles that keep them there.

Read more!

Right time to explore nuclear option for Singapore

As traditional sources of energy dwindle, Singapore needs to take a hard look at this alternative
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 24 Jul 10;

MALAYSIA recently announced an ambitious plan to build its first nuclear plant by 2021.

Vietnam has declared its intention to build at least one plant within the next decade, while Indonesia and Thailand are giving serious thought to the idea. Singapore has so far opted to tread the cautious route, announcing earlier this year that it would do a feasibility study to explore the use of nuclear energy.

The mention of nuclear energy still conjures images in the public consciousness of environmental disasters like Chernobyl and the devastating long-term toll it took on the health of many.

But the posts have shifted dramatically in the last two decades, with the advancements made in nuclear technology and improving its safety.

In a region of half a billion people, many countries are making strides to explore the nuclear option as a means to fuelling their power hungry economies. The issue is galvanised by the realities of a modern world where traditional sources of energy are both dwindling in supply and causing increasing harm to the environment.

The feasibility study, a multi-agency effort spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is exploring a number of options. It will do well to consult major nuclear power users such as the United States, where up to 20 per cent of electricity is generated from nuclear power.

Key among the challenges to overcome is to ensure, as far as possible, that situating a reactor here would assuage public safety concerns.

That is easier said than done. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recently remarked jokingly at a conference that a nuclear reactor could be located out at sea, the reason being it would minimise the threat to the population in the event of a leak.

Finding a suitable site to locate a plant here is complicated by the fact that international safety guidelines stipulate a nuclear reactor has to be ringed by a safety buffer zone, which poses an immediate challenge for land-scarce Singapore.

Researchers say areas in the western part of the island or even offshore around the Republic's southern islands could be suitable for building such a plant.

But the bigger question will be how to dispose of radioactive waste safely.

Officials familiar with Singapore's feasibility study say the main options are to either go underground or export waste nuclear material to countries with the proper storage facilities.

The option of going underground is widely considered by most countries as the safest way of running a nuclear facility, although there has not been consensus as yet on the most effective way to do it.

Experts say that more studies are needed to better understand how the heat generated by a nuclear reactor will affect a rock mass and how radionuclides could seep through the rocks into the atmosphere in the event of an accident.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently submitted a proposal to the US government that looks at whether the drilling of bore holes 4km deep underground could be a safe way of storing waste near nuclear plants there.

The most common method used to store radioactive waste now is above ground in massive, airtight canisters made of steel or concrete.

For Singapore, though, given its limited physical space, the preferred option remains to export its waste to countries already equipped with nuclear storage facilities.

Countries such as Canada, Russia, the US and Australia can be tapped to build a nuclear plant, train staff to run it as well as provide uranium - the fuel most widely used in nuclear plants to generate electricity, said Energy Studies Institute researcher Hooman Peimani.

Another is South Korea, which recently scooped a US$40 billion (S$55 billion) contract with Saudi Arabia to build a nuclear facility there for the Saudis' exclusive use by 2017.

Agreements could be struck with countries from whom plutonium is purchased, to export the radioactive waste there.

'All this could be done by one country although that does not need to be the case' he said.

The benefits of going nuclear are well established. It offers a viable alternative energy source to a nation chronically lacking in resources and increasingly dependent on its neighbours for energy.

The need for alternative energy sources here has grown with the double-barrelled effect of population and economic growth.

Over the next three years alone, electricity demand is set to soar from around 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) at present to around 60 GWh.

Unlike the burning of fossil fuels, nuclear-generated power also does not emit heat-trapping carbon emissions into the atmosphere, making it an attractive alternative fuel source to combat global warming.

Many countries have boldly declared their intention to embark on such projects, only to flounder under the weight of the hefty capital costs needed.

Finland, for example, will have to cough up close to US$8 billion, almost double the initial estimates, to realise its plans to build a reactor.

That said, the technology is continually improving. New reactor prototypes designed with a smaller capacity makes them cheaper.

This, coupled with enhancements made to safety, will make nuclear power more viable going forward.

Realistically, it takes at least a decade to build up the technical expertise and execute the construction of a nuclear plant.

Given the lack of viable alternatives to source power from, it is timely that we have at least begun to explore this option.

Read more!

Oh, for a dip in Orchard River

Seah Chiang Nee The Star 24 Jul 10;

Floods are hitting the city with increased regularity since the last serious one in memory three decades ago, raising conjectures that range from climate change to a Singapore sinking under its own weight.

A WESTERN tourist pulled off his shirt for a little dip in the middle of flood-engulfed Orchard Road, something no others have done.

Flashing a V-sign at reporters, he repeatedly dived into the city’s most famous road then lying under water.

That was a month ago. Last week, a Singaporean model put on a bikini for a similar spot of fun in her flooded kitchen.

These were the lighter side of a traumatic story as Singaporeans geared for a future of flash floods that they only read about in cities like Bangkok and Jakarta – albeit much less seriously.

For three decades, serious floods have been rare in this city, the last being in 1978.

During the past month, they have repeatedly covered some prime areas with a blanket of yellowish knee-high water, submerging wealthy homes (as well as a Lamborghini) and shopping malls.

The strong rains and floods – an almost weekly occurrence during the past month – struck with an intensity that was unseen for 30 years.

It was the worst since the disastrous 1978 monsoon floods, which caused seven deaths and hundreds to be evacuated. One man died when an uprooted tree fell on his car, and several people were injured.

Floods had taken place occasionally, but nothing like the recent scale, because the government had designed a good drainage system.

(However, the population had more than doubled from 2.23 million in 1978 to 5 million now. This means more high-rise buildings disgorging used water into the drainage system.)

No one is sure what caused them or whether they will be permanent, but feels they will not go away. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that no engineering work can prevent them.

The first flood, like a notice served by nature, happened last November. It left and came back with sustained force.

Between mid-June and mid-July, flash floods wreaked havoc among an unprepared population, over-flowing reservoirs and canals.

The worst hit was low-lying parts of northern, eastern and central Singapore, including Orchard Road, Newton and Bukit Timah, where some of the rich and famous live.

“Singapore is looking like a third world country,” said a citizen reporter as he filmed flooded Orchard Road, cynically renamed “Orchard River”.

Some surfers began tracking floods and warning others. “Heavy rains now in Balestier, move your cars to high ground,” one advised.

So what brought back these floods after such a long absence?

Apart from saying they were caused by storms, the authorities gave no other explanations.

It has revisited a discussion that Singapore may be sinking – like neighbouring Bangkok and Jakarta.

In a Yahoo forum discussion of the subject “Is Singapore Island sinking?” a writer implied that it had already caused Bukit Timah hill to be shorter by three metres – from 166 metres – over the years.

He opined that more buildings had been built that created a heavy load on the land. At the same time, Singapore had constructed more subway systems and created more holes in the ground.

“More buildings create a heavy load. Can the island withstand such heavy loads?” he asked.

Others dismiss the “sinking” theory, but say the sea level is continually rising because of global warming. Singapore, they say, cannot escape the impact.

Another writer, fins and wings, believes there is nothing to worry about.

“It would probably take a century for the sea to rise by half a metre, depending on the rate of global warming,” he said.

No officials have talked of a possible connection between increasing flash floods in Singapore and global warming.

On the recent floods, Peter Su wrote: “Damage to public property, private residences and expensive cars in this prime district are beyond imagination.”

He said that offices, restaurants and businesses have lost a lot of income due to the flood, without compensation.

“Is this an act of nature or the Environment Ministry’s negligence?” he asked, reflecting a general public question.

Among the many thousands of victims were rich Singaporeans, including highly-paid Cabinet ministers and Parliamentarians, and expatriate executives who are unused to getting their feet wet this way.

“Some frustrated households at Gentle Reflections have moved to hotels and serviced apartments for S$700 to S$1,000 a night,” reported TODAY newspaper.

The reporter said South African Adre Volschenk had had enough and planned to move out of his luxurious townhouse at Gentle Road, off Dunearn Road, once his lawyer had settled the lease agreement.

“He lost two cars and S$15,000 worth of personal items when the flood waters came on Saturday,” it reported.

Volschenk said he had to pull his maid to safety from the rising water.

An Asian Development Bank (ADB) study in 2009 gave an indication of how climate change and rising sea levels could aggravate flash floods.

Flood water eventually flows back into the sea, and all is well again, wrote Lee Poh Onn, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

However, as sea levels are rising flash floods cannot be dissipated easily, he wrote in Asian Tribune.

A worried Singapore has been exploring the possibility of building dikes to protect parts of the island, especially the south, which is the heart of the republic, housing the bulk of the Istana, the Courts, Parlia­ment and various ministries, as well as banks and the stock exchange.

If serious floods become a regular feature – a distant supposition – they could drive down some of the astronomical prices of some of Singapore’s most luxurious properties.

A foreign agency report headlined: “These flash floods are staining Singapore’s reputation as an urban paradise.”

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China Three Gorges dam can't tame all floods: paper

Reuters 23 Jul 10;

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) - China's Three Gorges dam, the world's largest hydropower project that was built partly to tame flooding, cannot be counted on to hold back all surges that might hit the Yangtze River, state media reported on Friday.

The dam's own safety would be at risk if floodwaters rushed through at more than 122,000 cubic metres per second, the official China Daily quoted Zhao Yunfa, deputy director of the Three Gorges Corporation's cascade dispatch centre, as saying.

"The dam's flood-control capacity is not unlimited," he said.

Waters near that volume are unlikely to test the dam often. Torrential rains across China brought a peak of 70,000 cubic metres per second flowing into the reservoir earlier this week.

During devastating floods that killed over 4,000 people in 1998, before the dam was completed, the surge was lower.

At least 701 people have died since the start of the year as a result of torrential rains which have swept large parts of southern and central China, and another 347 are missing, the government said on Wednesday.

Future floods could possibly be worse, with climate change raising that possibility. Melting glaciers and more rain in the southwest could both contribute to unusually high water levels.

China's media have started fretting about whether the Three Gorges project will live up to one of its main long-term objectives. Officials have been toning down claims of the dam's flood-taming abilities, the China Daily reported.

A report released in June 2003 claimed the dam could control the worst flood in 10,000 years. Four years later that claim was down to the worst flood in 1,000 years, and in 2008 it was trimmed again to the worst in 100 years, the paper said.

Enormously expensive and disruptive, the dam has cost over 254 billion yuan ($37.47 billion) and forced the relocation of 1.3 million people to make way for the reservoir. Towns, fields and historical and archaeological sites have been submerged.

Officials said the dam is opening up China's interior to economic development, providing clean, cheap energy, and will end centuries of deadly flooding along the lower reaches of the Yangtze river.

Environmentalists have warned for years that the reservoir could turn into a cesspool of raw sewage and industrial chemicals backing onto Chongqing, and feared that silt trapped behind the dam could cause erosion downstream.

China has made scant progress on schemes drawn up nearly a decade ago to limit pollution in and around the reservoir. ($1=6.779 Yuan) (Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Ben Blanchard)

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WWF lauds move to close Malaysian dive destinations to protect bleached coral

Rachael Kam The Star 23 Jul 10;

PETALING JAYA: Pre-emptive measures like closing the affected dive destinations to reduce stress to the bleached corals is important, said WWF-Malaysia.

It said the closure of affected dive sites was a temporary measure to minimise further stress to the bleached corals.
“However, it is important to take pre-emptive measures against events like this by putting more resources into marine protected area management, preventing coastal and marine pollution and promoting sustainable fisheries,” it said in a statement Friday.

WWF-Malaysia hoped that the Government would adopt and implement Ecosystem Based Management of Fisheries and strengthen Marine Protected Area Management and Integration.

On Thursday, The Star reported that several dive sites in Tioman and Redang were temporarily marked off-limits to divers until the end of October.

These two of the top dive destinations and a marine park, Pulau Payar in Kedah, are affected by coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused by global warming that has increased sea water temperature by 2°C to between 28°C and 29°C.

Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin said this was done to protect the coral reefs that had turned white.

He said that the department would continue to monitor popular dive sites affected by coral bleaching.

WWF-Malaysia said coral bleaching occurred when coral reefs were stressed.

“At a local scale, the stress may include disease, pollution, sedimentation, cyanide fishing, changes in salinity and temperature, and storms,” it said.

The trust said mass bleaching events like what Malaysia was currently experiencing primarily due to increased sea temperatures.

Temperature increased of one to two degree celsius above the long term average maximum could already triggered mass bleaching.

However, WWF-Malaysia said corals could recover from bleaching events, but they must have support for factors that promote coral resiliency.

Studies shown that the recovery success of healthy coral systems was much higher than the degraded ones.

Good water quality, high coral cover and an abundant, and diverse community of herbivorous fishes are important conditions to promote coral recovery, said WWF-Malaysia.

Coral lifeline
The Star 22 Jul 10;

ALOR SETAR: Several dive sites at marine parks in the country including the top diving destinations in the world — Pulau Tioman in Pahang and Pulau Redang in Te­­rengganu – have been temporarily closed due to coral bleaching.

Divers and snorkellers are barred from the dive sites until the end of October to protect the corals which have turned white due to global warming.

Each year about 500,000 tourists, including foreigners, visit each of the marine parks.

Environmental groups have lauded the move to close the dive sites temporarily, saying there is a need to allow the country’s corals to recover.

They also cautioned that human activities and current climatic condition would have an impact on the reefs.

Marine parks closure due to coral bleaching not a bane to tourism
The Star 24 Jul 10;

KUALA TERENGGANU: The closure of five marine parks in Terengganu will not affect the state’s tourism industry.

Terengganu Tourism Malaysia director Ahmad Fathil Abdul Ghani said only several diving spots were closed.

He said there were 20 dive sites in Pulau Redang and another 30 in Pulau Perhentian which were popular among local and foreign divers.

Ahmad Fathil added that not all tourists were indulgent in diving and snorkelling activities because there were those who prefer the beauty and serenity of beaches on the islands, especially those holidaying with families.

Ahmad Fathil said this when he commented on the temporary closure of nine areas gazetted as marine parks and three other islands nationwide, including in Terengganu.

The closure, from July 2 to Oct 31, was due to coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused by global warming.

Pulau Redang (Teluk Bakau), Pulau Tenggol (Teluk Air Tawar), Pulau Perhentian Besar (Teluk Dalam) and Pulau Perhentian Besar (Tanjung Tukas Darat and Tanjung Tukas Laut) were the spots affected in Terengganu.

Ahmad Fathil said the damage to the corals was not entirely caused by diving and snorkelling activities as perceived by some.

“Coral bleaching is also caused by an increase in water temperatures, in this case by two degrees Celsius, to between 28 and 29 degrees Celsius,” he added.

He welcomed the temporary closure, saying it could help restore corals in the affected areas. – Bernama.

Read more!

Researchers Warn Bangkok Under Threat To Sink

Bernama 23 Jul 10;

BANGKOK, July 23 (Bernama) -- Thailand's capital of Bangkok is under threat of being underwater within a century, researchers predicted, warning that current flood prevention measures are not ready to prevent such disaster, Thai News Agency reported Friday.

The prediction comes from research study calculations indicating that land in Bangkok on average subsides about one centimetre annually.

The study is a cooperative project on geo-dynamics called 'Geodetic Earth Observation Technologies for Thailand: Environmental Change Detection and Investigation' -- GEO2TECDI -- between Thai-based and European Union institutes.

According to Chulalongkorn University's Survey Engineering Department, data from satellites 15 years ago, indicated that the earth's tectonic plates have lifted up slowly.

"But the big earthquakes in Indonesia's Sumatra Island in 2004 which caused the Andaman Sea tsunami quickly resulted in a shrinkage of the tectonics of around one centimetre annually, while the subsidence of soil layers for the past decade in Bangkok and its vicinity has continued to subside-- data which matched that of the Royal Thai Survey Department," the study said.

Despite such statistics, researchers have not yet determined conclusively when the Thai capital will enter its critical stage of moving into a waterworld.

The second phase of research is yet to be conducted to create a model for an accurate forecast, Thai News Agency quoted the study as saying.

According to current estimates, the land beneath Bangkok can sink to as low as sea level in a hundred years, when comparing land subsidence ratio to Bangkok's ground, which now is only on average one metre above sea level.

It is predicted that land on the banks of the Chao Phraya River will be the first to be affected.

"The ground level is very low in Bangkok, and some areas are only a few centimetres above the mean sea level, which means that all factors seem to join forces to negatively affect us.

"The sea level is rising quickly. The level of soil and sand subsides, and the tectonics shrink. All this is worrying," said Assoc Prof Itthi Trisirisatayawong of Chulalongkorn Unjiversity's Survey Engineering Department.

Also, Thailand's capital may sink faster than we now expect, for the sea level in the Gulf of Thailand is continually rising, which is also shown by data of the Hydrographic Department dating back some 30 years.

That data demonstrated that the sea level in the Gulf has continually risen around 4 millimetres per year. The accelerating factors for the increasing sea level include global warming causing glaciers to melt and the enlargement of the oceans.

Meanwhile, Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute director Royol Chitradon said that the pattern of air flow and of currents in the ocean has changed, which also generates higher waves.

"Currents at the South Pole can also create high waves of over 10 metres, which is almost as high as waves in a tsunami. Now the currents at both the North and the South Poles are very strong, and they result in higher waves in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea," said Royol.

Some experts believe that Thailand's City of Angels might even sink within half a decade coming up when the ratio of land subsidence is calculated with the annual rising sea level and the outcome compared to the ability of Bangkok's flood prevention and mitigation system.

If no solution is discovered soon, we may have to migrate to other parts of the country so as to make sure our children will stay on solid ground when the capital finally becomes a part of the ocean.

The cooperation project aims to increase skills and Thai-EU joint research capabilities of Thai researchers in applying and exploiting three space geodetic techniques for the detection, observation and modelling of the change and movement of the tectonic plates beneath Thailand, Bangkok's land subsidence, and sea level changes in the Gulf of Thailand.

The techniques for the detection are namely Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Satellite Altimetry (SALT).

-- BERNAMA

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China blames desulphurising chemical for oil pipeline blast

Yahoo News 23 Jul 10;

BEIJING (AFP) – Chinese authorities on Friday blamed a chemical used to remove sulphur from crude oil for a blast at a storage facility that caused a spill on the country's northeast coast.

An investigation has found that a desulphurising chemical was mistakenly pumped into pipelines after a tanker had stopped unloading crude at the port city of Dalian last Friday, triggering the explosion, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

About 1,500 tonnes of oil were spilled into the Yellow Sea off Liaoning province, officials said previously.

The government has mobilised hundreds of fishing boats and other vessels to clean up the spill, which an official estimate Monday said affected 435 square kilometres (around 170 square miles) of the Yellow Sea.

However, Chinese media reports later said the slick had spread to 946 square kilometres, and stretched as far as 90 kilometres along the coast.

The government has said about 40 special oil-skimming vessels were leading clean-up efforts and that 23 tonnes of oil-eating bacteria were being employed.

China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil company and owner of the pipelines that exploded, said in a statement on its website Thursday that at least 400 tonnes of the spilt oil had been cleaned up already.

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Unique coral reef spurs Mexico tourism battle

Sophie Nicholson Yahoo News 23 Jul 10;

CABO PULMO, Mexico (AFP) – A 20,000 year-old coral reef, the only one in the Gulf of California, is at the center of a dispute over a huge tourist development which could draw thousands to a remote part of Mexico.

At the moment, most only hear about Cabo Pulmo, where pristine beaches meet a turquoise sea, by word of mouth.

US tourist Lenny McCarl said he discovered the village thanks to his girlfriend's family, during a visit in June.

"I like the little niche up here. You drive two hours outside of Cabo San Lucas and you're only 80 miles (130 kilometers) away, but there's no houses, there's just a villa here, a villa there," McCarl said, standing on the beach.

The site is less than two hours north of Cabo San Lucas and its luxury hotels and Hollywood celebrity-owned mansions, which have transformed the south of the peninsula in the past few decades.

The village also lies next to the site for one of Mexico's largest tourist development projects.

A wire fence marks out some 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) destined to include several thousand hotel rooms and condominiums rising in five stages over 25 years.

The 500-million-dollar plan includes a tourist town "where school children will parade on the plaza," a jet port for private planes and golf courses.

Locals and environmental groups say the scale of the project is bound to impact on the land as well as the sea -- with runoff from golf courses, desalinisation facilities and large yachts in a new marina.

"The government is blocking its ears and allowing a project like this, right on the limit of the marine reserve. As if there'll be no damage beyond an imaginary line," said Enrique Castro, whose family has lived in the area for five generations.

Commercial fishing is now banned and locals have spent 15 years changing their habits to try to preserve the reef under a government plan hailed as an example of conservation by ecologists.

Activities still revolve around the marine-rich Gulf of California, once nicknamed the "world's aquarium" by French explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Spanish company Hansa Urbana has meanwhile gathered permits to start building the Cabo Cortes development, including requirements for protecting the environment.

Such measures, including a ban on lights on the beach to avoid disturbing endangered turtles, water recycling and solar power, make the project 40 percent more expensive, representative Sergio Tabansky told AFP in Mexico City.

More than 60 percent of the land would be left for conservation, Tabansky said, admitting the eco-friendly label was also a good selling point.

"We want to help Mexico by giving jobs to Mexicans," Tabansky added, as the country struggles to emerge from one of its worst economic crises in years.

The H1N1 swine flu and the global crisis contributed to a drop of 1.1 million tourists in 2009 compared with the previous year, and a two-billion-dollar loss in revenues, the tourism ministry said recently.

Promotions and development plans are again picking up in a country which hosts some 22-23 million foreign tourists each year.

"Development is inevitable. What we can avoid are the (bad) terms under which we develop, right?" said Alejandro Gonzalez, who manages the Cabo Pulmo marine park for the government.

A handful of security guards patrol the vast site for Cabo Cortes on quad bikes for now, as the crisis has slowed construction.

Juan Castro, a former diver for pearls, and other locals hope the delay will buy them time to stop it completely.

"If the government allows this development, we can say that the government is the only one responsible for whatever damage is done to the reef," Castro said.

"It's the heritage of humanity. It's not mine, it's not yours."

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Hottest day in Sarawak on Sept 30, 2009

Pauline Ho The Star 24 Jul 10;

THE hottest day in Sarawak during the last five years from 2005 to 2009 was on Sept 30, last year with Kuching sweltering at 36.8 degree celcius.

However, the year 1991 had the highest temperature recorded in the state when the scorching heat drove the mercury level up to a record high of 37.1 degree celcius, according to statistics from the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

This reading was registered at the Meteorological Station at Sibu old Airport on 11 July 1991.

Records from Jan 2005 to Dec 2009 showed the highest temperature in Sibu to be 36.2 celcius on two days on Aug 8, 2009 and Sept 29, 2009, Bintulu 36.1 celcius on Aug 10, 2009 and Miri 34.9 celcius on June 18, 2009.

On rainfall, Bintulu has been recording the biggest volume during the five-year period up to 2009, with the most rainy year being 2008 with rainfall of 5,414.2mm when it rained for 252 days.

The driest year was in 2005 with rainfall of only 2,808.2mm.

Sibu and Miri had last year as the wettest year whereby 4,742.7mm (231 days) and 3,259.8mm (191 days) of rain was collected respectively.

Meanwhile, the lowest rainfall recorded was 3,140.4mm (216 days) in 2006 and 2,782.6mm (174 days) respectively.

In Kuching, the most amount of rain was experienced in 2007 (4,768.8mm) when it rained for 263 days.

Last years record in the capital city was 4,730mm of total rain collected (238 days), while the lowest rainfall was recorded in 2006 (3,847.6mm) when it rained for 227 days.

Similar to Kuching, all the Meteorological Stations in the other three areas are located at their current respective airports, 21.7 metres above sea level.

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Evil weed in Baltic Sea puts marine life at risk

Tony Paterson The Independent 23 Jul 10;

Record summer temperatures, farm fertilisers and a lack of wind have created a gigantic carpet of evil-smelling weed covering large areas of the Baltic and threatening both marine life and seaside tourism, scientists warn.

The 377,000 sq km of blue-green algae, covering an area the size of Germany, has been identified by satellite cameras. It extends from Finland along the south coast of Sweden and surrounds the Danish island of Bornholm.

Scientists from the German section of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Hamburg have warned of the damaging effects of the weed. "These huge algae carpets hit the marine environment most," said Jochen Lamp, a WWF project spokesman. "They kill plants and encourage the spread of dead zones on the sea bed which have no oxygen left in them."

Blue-green algae, which often smell of rotten eggs, can also harm humans as they contain cynanobacteria, which can produce skin rashes and other allergic reactions as well as poisons that damage the liver. Doctors warn that drinking water contaminated with the algae can cause severe diarrhoea.

The current algae explosion in the Baltic is the largest since 2005 and has been encouraged by daytime temperatures of up to 38C, light winds and an absence of waves, which normally help to break up weed carpet.

Scientists say one of the main causes of blue-green algae is over-fertilisation of farmland, leading to large quantities of phosphorous and nitrogen being washed off the land and into the Baltic from rivers. They say that under the right climatic conditions a weed explosion is inevitable. "Over-fertilisation is the biggest environmental problem facing the Baltic; it is the driving force behind the spread of dead zones on the sea bed," Mr Lamp said.

The WWF has criticised countries with a Baltic coastline for agreeing on ambitious targets for reducing over-fertilisation while also encouraging farmers to use more fertilisers.

In Germany, where several Baltic beaches were closed in 2001 because of algae, coastguards have already warned bathers not to going swimming if the sea water is contaminated.

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Heat wave warms frigid Baltic Sea waters

Yahoo News 23 Jul 10;

WARSAW (AFP) – A heat wave searing the Baltic region has warmed the usually frigid waters of the Baltic Sea to temperatures usually seen in more tropical climes, experts said Friday.

"The highest sea temperature recorded recently along the Polish Baltic coast was 24 degrees Celsius (75.2 Fahrenheit) at the Pucka Bay," Alicja Kanska, a meteorologist with the Polish meteorological and hydrological institute in the Polish Baltic port city of Gdynia told AFP.

"The water is definitely warmer than usual -- it's rare that Baltic water temperatures rise to this level," she said, adding that summertime temperatures in Baltic waters average 20 degrees Celsius.

"Rarely have we had such sustained tropical air masses bringing average daytime temperatures of 33-34 degrees Celsius over the region of the Polish Baltic for a week as is now the case," Gdynia meteorologist Marcin Czeczatka told AFP Friday.

This week's highs are still shy of the record 36.3 degrees recorded in 1992 along Poland's Baltic coast, he said.

Polish beach lovers will be disappointed at the weekend, says Czeczatka, as a cold front is expected to bring rain to the Polish coast and see temperatures plunge to around 20 degrees Celsius for several days before returning to average Polish summertime daytime temperatures of around 20 degrees.

Some 700 kilometres (400 miles) to the north of Gdynia, Baltic waters in Estonia have also warmed to a rare temperatures.

"The Baltic Sea temperature is well above the average and today on Friday at Narva-Joesuu beach near the Estonian-Russian border it is as high as 26 degrees Celsius," Ivo Saaremae from Estonian meteorological and hydrological institute told AFP.

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UK Watchdog Says Green Steps Help Government Close Budget Gap

Kylie MacLellan PlanetArk 23 Jul 10;

Britain has saved up to 70 million pounds ($106 million) a year by making government departments more energy efficient and the effort could help cut a huge budget deficit, a state watchdog said on Thursday.

But as part of austerity-driven budget cuts, the new conservative-liberal government announced later it was axing funding for the watchdog Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), and having the environment ministry assume its duties.

In a report, the SDC said improving energy efficiency would assist the drive to close a budget gap now running at 11 percent of national output, and it praised the government's commitment to reducing emissions by 10 percent in 12 months.

"Beyond the wider environmental, social and economic benefits of greening government, there is an immediate financial imperative to do so," SDC Chairman Will Day said in a foreword to the report entitled, "Becoming the greenest government ever."

"Sustainable development is no peripheral, nice to-have concept for times when it can be afforded. It is the best way of delivering more for less, while ensuring that the drive for efficiencies doesn't cost more in the long run," Day wrote.

In the annual report, the SDC said the adoption of green measures in 2008-2009 amounted to 60-70 million pounds in cost savings and equivalent benefit for British society.

It said road travel cuts by central government departments saved 13.7 million pounds in fuel costs.

Dramatic reductions in the use of water and cuts to waste also helped contribute significant cost savings but progress under the previous Labour government was too slow, the SDC said.

Recommending more coordination across departments in how resources are used, the SDC said the government could learn from the private sector, where there are many examples of sustainable development being successfully built into business models.

Japanese car maker Toyota for example, the SDC said, put a range of measures in place to encourage staff to be more aware of environmental issues, contributing to significant reductions in energy usage and waste since the early 1990s.

Waste could also be reduced by improving procurement procedures and more effectively managing demand for information technology and travel, the SDC added. It cited the example of the Department of Work and Pensions extending the cycle of replacement for computers from three to five years.

The SDC had been jointly owned by the administrations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The national government covered two-thirds of its 3-million-pound budget.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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WTO seeks more cooperation in natural resource trade

Jonathan Lynn Reuters 23 Jul 10;

GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization called on Friday for countries to work together more closely in trade in natural resources -- an area often seen as exempt from many international commerce rules.

Governments must cooperate more intensively to deal with the challenges for both importing and exporting countries in trade in natural resources, such as export restrictions and import tariffs, it said in its annual World Trade Report.

"In a world where scarce natural resource endowments must be nurtured and managed with care, uncooperative trade policies could have a particularly damaging effect on global welfare," the report said.

The report defines natural resources as fuels, forestry, mining and fisheries -- goods that are found naturally and can be used with minimal processing. It excludes agriculture, where products are cultivated not extracted, and industrial goods employing minerals that require a high level of processing.

Trade in such goods in 2008 was $3.7 trillion in 2008, or nearly 24 percent of total world trade in merchandise goods, a share that has been rising by 20 percent a year for the last decade, reflecting rising commodity prices.

"I believe not only that there is room for mutually beneficial negotiating trade-offs that encompass natural resources trade, but also that a failure to address these issues could be a recipe for a growing tension in international trade relations," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a foreword to the report.

EXHAUSTIBLE RESOURCES

WTO rules allow countries to restrict exports of natural resources to preserve an exhaustible resource.

Zhao Hong, a diplomat at China's mission to the WTO, said at the launch of the report in Geneva that WTO members had inalienable rights to the resources on their territory, while WTO rules allowed them to pursue goals such as environmental protection or sustainable development.

The United States, European Union and Mexico have complained to the WTO about China's restrictions on raw materials, and the WTO itself has questioned whether these are effective. [ID:nLDE64U1CM]

Such restrictions, as well as measures by importing countries, are open to legal challenge, said Joost Pauwelyn, professor of international law at Geneva's Graduate Institute for International Studies.

It was an "urban myth" that natural resources are not covered by the WTO, he said at the launch.

For instance a country could not claim to use export restrictions to preserve resources if it did not restrict domestic consumption.

Similarly production restrictions by a country that exports almost its entire output of a natural resource could be challenged as an export restraint, while consumption taxes on a country that relies on imports for a product could be seen as tariff open to challenge.

Still, trade in natural resources is not the same as other products, as it raises environmental issues and competition is limited as production cannot be switched to other locations.

"Natural resources and energy are unevenly distributed between countries as well as fixed. BP will confirm this: you cannot move an oil well," Pauwelyn said.

Pauwelyn said he could envisage negotiations where exporters agreed to curb their export restraints in exchange for importers limiting carbon tariffs.

The report shows that non-WTO member Russia was the biggest exporter of natural resources in 2008, with a value of $341 billion, while the United States is the biggest importer, taking in $583 billion. (For a factbox on resources trade click on [ID:nLDE66M0UB]) (For WTO report go to http://link.reuters.com/cus29m) (Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Jon Loades-Carter)

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