Best of our wild blogs: 5 Sep 10

Observation Notes on Forest Hopper / Coon
from Butterflies of Singapore

MAD Lessons Go To School
from Cicada Tree Eco-Place

Walk in Sengkang forest
from Urban Forest and blooooooooooo

Hog run
from The annotated budak

A Long-tailed Beauty @ AHBT
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

“The Majestic Plastic Bag”
from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

Did you know! Wow.... :)
from Psychedelic Nature

Bat lessons!
from Cicada Tree Eco-Place

Some perils of birdwatching in the Malaysian jungle
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Last kampung in Singapore a tourist draw

Foreigners and locals are visiting Kampung Lorong Buangkok in droves to see Singapore's last rustic village
Huang Huifen Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

It is a lazy Saturday afternoon at a special spot near Hougang - what is believed to be Singapore's sole surviving rustic village, Kampung Lorong Buangkok.

Birds tweet while trees sway in the breeze. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the smell of fresh earth and the chirping of crickets are amplified in this quiet village of 28 households who live in wooden single-storey houses lining mud tracks.

'Click!' The stillness is broken by the sound of a camera shutter and the chatter of two photography enthusiasts.

Technicians Mohammed Yusri, 28, and Rashideen Zakaria, 24, are here to capture the last sight of Singapore's heritage before redevelopment engulfs it.

'It is like a hidden city. Where else can you find such kampungs unless you take a ferry to Pulau Ubin?' asks Mr Yusri.

Interest in the rural retreat increased when it emerged last year that the kampung, which has been around for five decades, is living on borrowed time.

Kampung Lorong Buangkok and its surrounds are slated under the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)'s Masterplan 1998 to be replaced by housing, schools and other neighbourhood facilities supported by a road network. Part of the land is also marked for development of a major road linking to Buangkok Drive.

Details have not yet been firmed up but it would involve developing the 1.22ha area - the equivalent of three football fields - that the kampung now sits on.

Since the redevelopment plans were highlighted in the foreign and local press last year, as many as 200 'tourists' a week have been popping by for a last taste of the rural life in decidedly urban Singapore.

While most residents do not mind sharing their community with outsiders, some complain that the visitors overstep the boundary and intrude into their privacy.

As Mr Yusri and his friend snap away at the homes, kampung resident Sharifa Rahmat walks past without batting an eye, having got used to the sight of photographers.

But the 43-year-old, who has been staying here for 40 years, tells LifeStyle: 'The visitors can photograph the house, but some photograph me without my consent while I'm doing laundry or sitting outside the porch. I will scold them and they usually just say sorry.'

Residents also complain that items such as bicycles placed outside homes have been stolen.

Golf trainer Noor Aisah, 20, who lives at her grandmother's house with her parents and two sisters, says she now avoids putting expensive things outside.

'We just have to be more careful. There is nothing we can do to prevent such things from happening,' she says.

Landlord Sng Mui Hong, 57 - who, together with three older siblings, inherited the land bought by her father, the late Mr Sng Teow Koon, in 1956 on a 999-year lease - estimates that there are about 100 to 200 visitors a week.

These include foreigners and come from all walks of life, including primary school children, retirees, artists and film crews in search of nostalgia.

Besides postings by bloggers about their visits to the area, extra publicity is coming from the URA's Rediscover Singapore website, which lists the Jalan Kayu Trail, a segment of which includes the kampung. The site also has facts and information about various districts (see other story).

The kampung as hot tourist destination does not stop there.

Since 2004, the Asia Paranormal Investigators society has been conducting fortnightly trips there as part of a four-hour Punggol tour, where visitors go to forgotten corners of Singapore at night.

But Ms Sng has no plans to capitalise on the interest: 'If I don't open the place, people can't come. The children will not know what kampung life is. The visitors can come, as long as they don't steal anything.'

She charges the kampung residents a monthly rental of between $6.50 and $30 for the land on which their houses are built.

Ms Sng, who is single, does not rule out selling the land - she is unsure if her nieces will take over it when she grows old. But that may be a moot point: Based on state laws, she has to sell the land to the Government if required.

The visitors are a concern for Mr Kevin Tan, president of non-governmental organisation, the Singapore Heritage Society.

'The fact that the residents choose to live away from the hustle and bustle of city life is that they do not want such attention. Why turn these people into a circus show?' he asks.

The society holds occasional heritage tours but they do not include the kampung.

Institute of Technical Education student Ahmad Asyraf, 17, is irked when visitors ask to go inside the home he shares with his parents and four siblings to take pictures. 'I'm shy and it intrudes into my privacy. Anyway, my house is not a real kampung. It is furnished like an HDB apartment.'

Indeed, while the exterior of the houses retains a rustic charm, inside they have running water and electricity. Cars and motorcycles are parked outside the spacious porches - a hint of connection to the outside world.

Still, there is good news for those who fear that the kampung's newfound popularity might prompt the Singapore Tourism Board and tour agencies to transform the place into a souvenir-touting tourist attraction: Both parties have no plans to do so.

CTC Travel's senior vice-president of marketing and public relations Alicia Seah says: 'There is currently no market for South-east Asian tourists, as such kampungs are a common sight back home. Unless it is earmarked as a heritage site, there will be no commercial interest for this kampung.'

But for younger people such as MrYusri, the trip helps him appreciate what he has now. 'I don't think I can survive in the kampung. I am too pampered. I feel so lucky to live in an HDB flat. At least there are no mosquitoes.'

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Singapore's night lighting masterplan to light up the city

City lights, a wondrous sight
The blueprint for the city's night lighting shapes up. Goh Chin Lian finds out how this was done
Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

Light up, Singapore, went the masterplan's message.

And it has. The city's skyline has never looked so dazzling at night.

On special occasions like last month's Youth Olympic Games' opening and closing ceremonies, and the National Day Parade, shimmery beams shot the light fantastic from the top of buildings across Marina Bay and into the clouds.

This month's Formula One night race will also see buildings brightly lit for TV viewers here and around the world.

New buildings and structures designed to look good at night have also added a permanent sparkle to the bayfront skyline and nearby Central Business District (CBD).

They include the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, Marina Bay Financial Centre and The Helix bridge, with programmable lights accentuating its double-helix steel structure. Also shining is the row of buildings forming the Fullerton Heritage dining and hotel belt, such as the Customs House and Clifford Pier.

The four-year-old night lighting masterplan is shaping up, an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spokesman said.

She told The Sunday Times: 'The masterplan has succeeded in enhancing the night-time image of the city and in guiding the lighting of buildings and public spaces to be tasteful and elegant.'

Tastefulness and elegance are the agency's two guiding posts in approving lighting plans for the area, in contrast to some cities that may be more liberal in lighting up their buildings, she said.

Good lighting practices in the URA's books boil down to not flooding a building with light, but using the beams and colours to create interest or emphasise architectural features while playing with light and shadow.

And while it cautions discretion in using coloured lights which tend to lose their wow factor over time, it suggests cool colours (like white and blue) for high-rise office buildings, and warmer hues (like red and yellow) for low-rise structures.

It has approved 40 night lighting proposals so far, with a few more being assessed.

Architects interviewed feel the masterplan has been realised in the Marina Bay area.

Ms Ong Swee Hong, a lecturer of environment design at Temasek Polytechnic, said: 'We are now seeing a skyline that's very well-defined by lights.'

Other areas covered by the 2006 masterplan are the Singapore River, Orchard Road and Bugis-Bras Basah.

Ms Ong noted Singapore's increasing regard for lighting not only for safety and navigation, but also aesthetics. A turning point was the 1995 lighting plan for historic and institutional buildings in the civic district. Most of them, 105 in all, have been lit, the URA said.

They include the Fullerton Hotel, and the former City Hall and Supreme Court.

Singapore Institute of Architects president Ashvinkumar Kantilal lauded the coordinated approach taken early on to light up buildings fronting Marina Bay. Otherwise, a person hoping to appreciate the skyline would be bombarded with glare and blinking lights.

'When you are looking at a water-edge promenade from a distance, your eyes get distracted if the lights flicker in the background,' he said. 'It's difficult for the human eye to adapt to different levels and colours of lighting all at the same time.'

The amount of energy to light up a city is an environmental concern, but architect Chan Ee Mun, 35, thinks it is a matter of finding a balance.

'It's necessary to identify our city as we progress and to beautify the structures around us. It does bring a certain amount of excitement and joy,' said Mr Chan, a senior associate at design and architecture firm Woha.

The URA guides building owners and developers to use energy-efficient lights like compact metal halide lamps, LEDsand electrodeless lamps.

Architect Aamer Taher, a Singapore Institute of Architects council member, thinks that popular districts like Little India and Geylang could be better lit too. 'Seedy districts could take on a new life. Maybe Geylang should have more red lights,' he quipped.

Parks can gain from better lighting design too so they can be used at night, suggested Ms Ong. 'Our parks and public spaces are often badly illuminated, or perhaps, visually monotonous,' she said.

The National Parks Board's (NParks) lighting considerations include the theme of the park, maintenance costs and sensitivity to wildlife.

It said it has used creative lighting in Bedok Reservoir Park, one-north Park, as well as the Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch bridges at the Southern Ridges.

To raise awareness of lighting design, Ms Ong will hold a lighting workshop next month at the Esplanade Park as part of Archifest, an annual architecture festival organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects.

Official financial support also fuelled the change that the masterplan provided for the skyline: Building owners in the CBD and Marina Bay areas received incentives to light up their buildings from the rooftop to the facade and sky gardens.

The incentives were additional gross floor area and cash grants capped at $500,000.

They have been given to 14 developments so far, including 78 Shenton Way and Maybank Singapore, the spokesman said.

Maybank spent about $3 million on LED lights that run on the outer edges of its 32-storey Battery Road building.

Out of several developments whose plans have been approved, the bank is the only one that has completed installing permanent lights that can be programmed for festive celebrations, the URA said.

While the lights for special occasions have wowed spectators, Mr Ashvinkumar warned against overkill, especially cannon lights that are so powerful they can be seen as far as Toa Payoh. 'It should not be done all year around, or you'd feel Batman is going to appear any moment,' he said.

Orchard Road: Funky or distracting?
Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

The lights are so much brighter there... so go downtown...

So goes a hit song of the Sixties.

Today, the downtown Orchard shopping belt, with malls like Ion Orchard and Orchard Central, are aglow come night-time.

These two malls especially stand out - with their towering facades of moving, coloured displays of flashy lights, images and digital art.

They are in sync with the Urban Redevelopment Authority's lighting masterplan that calls for exciting shopfronts and vibrant facades.

Its spokesman told The Sunday Times the plan for Orchard Road 'focuses on creating a revitalising and delightful shoppers' experience'.

But glitzy facades will have their detractors. Architect Aamer Taher, 48, is one. The Singapore Institute of Architects council member felt both malls have overdone the lighting in their bid to attract shoppers.

'It's all right if we are in Disneyland but a city should be soothing and pleasant. It should be more a glow and not a glare.'

Both malls have defended their facades, saying they add vibrancy to the streets and create ambience for shoppers.

For instance, the LED wall on Ion Orchard's curvy facade of glass and metal broadcast the National Day Parade and the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony. Free popular movies are screened on the last Saturday of every month.

'During Christmas last year, snowflakes patterns lit up the facade, while National Day saw the entire exterior enveloped in fireworks and the national red and white colours,' a spokesman added.

Taking a contrary view to Mr Aamer's is Singapore Institute of Architects president Ashvinkumar Kantilal, 49, who likes the facades.

'They are funky and add character,' he said.

The URA's masterplan also provided for the lighting up of the streets and trees to create a sequential experience, its spokesman said.

New street lights were part of a $40 million makeover of Orchard Road completed early last year.

'Rainbow connection' at Singapore River
Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

The nightly kaleidoscope of lights at the Singapore River is being joined by snapshot-pretty lanterns.

These lanterns, depicting animal characters and Chinese legends, will illuminate the river for this month's Mid-Autumn Festival.

The temporary festive decorations complement the permanent upgrade over the last two years to light up the riverside, a popular spot for diners and camera-toting tourists.

A 2006 masterplan had envisaged night lighting to infuse a warm and inviting ambience for the area.

There was indeed a rainbow connection of colours, when The Sunday Times dropped by last week.

Various bridges across the river were lit up. Hues of soft blue adorned Coleman Bridge, next to Clarke Quay. Beams of light were also cast on the waters below, while riverboats carrying tourists plied beneath the bridge.

Tiny rainbow-coloured lights lined the length of Elgin Bridge, on the way to Boat Quay.

Stops for the boats were also lit - a luminous purple and blue. Even an underpass connecting Clarke Quay to Boat Quay had lights that changed from purple to blue.

Ms Ong Swee Hong, a lecturer of environment design at Temasek Polytechnic, liked the night lighting in the Boat Quay and Clarke Quay areas. Saying it complemented the activities there well, she added that a fillip has been provided by new snazzy features, such as light emitting diodes.

Mr Romeo Millares Jr, 29, a staff member operating the Hippo river tour, remembers the bridges being left in darkness more than two years ago.

Said the Filipino, who has been in Singapore for five years: 'The river now comes alive because of the lights. Tourists are now raring to take pictures here.'

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F1 has a green rival: Singapore G1

Amanda Tan Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

This town is big enough for two motor races, one eco-friendly. So rev your electric engines for G1.

The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) yesterday launched the inaugural Singapore G1.

This eco-friendly spoof of the Formula 1 (F1) race will be held at The Float@Marina Bay later this month.

The event is one of the council's ways to pitch electric vehicles and greener technology in a fun manner, said SEC executive director Howard Shaw.

To drive home the message that transport contributes to 20 per cent of the total carbon emissions here, SEC directors and guest of honour Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, arrived at the event venue outside Shaw House on bicycles - and a Porsche and BMW modified and fitted with electric motors.

The G1 is expected to become an annual event, held one week before the F1 race in Singapore.

A race among 10 eco-cars, from solar energy types to hybrid, a mass walk and cycle event, and a soapbox car race are some events lined up for the G1 event on Sept 19.

As part of the event, some 40,000 ez-link cards with racing car pictures are on sale at MRT stations.

Mr Shaw said that while there are only a few electric car models now, he believes that in 10 to 20 years, these will be in common use.

He hopes to see matching infrastructure to serve the potential demand. For instance, people who live in apartments will need a place to charge their electric cars.

Meanwhile, local research and development company EV Hub is conducting tests on electric cars. Currently, it takes second-hand cars from brands like Renault, BMW and Porsche and refits them with the greener technology, giving them a new lease of life.

Company director David Chou said: 'We chose these cars because we want people to be proud to drive them. Our message is that electric cars aren't ugly or small.'

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PUB wants to hire weather experts

Jamie Ee Wen Wei Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

Meteorologists and hydrologists deal with water-related subjects, including storm conditions.

Well, national water agency PUB wants to hire a meteorologist and a hydrologist.

The recruitment advertisements appeared on online job portal JobStreet on Aug 17.

But when contacted, a PUB spokesman said the recruitment was not prompted by the series of flash floods in recent months.

The Sunday Times understands that while PUB already has a hydrologist on its staff, it does not have a meteorologist.

The spokesman said the agency has been looking to hire such experts since February but it did not put out recruitment ads then.

She added that the agency carries out its mass recruitment exercise for managers and professionals in January and July every year.

On the job portal, PUB said the meteorologist will join a team involved in the study of the causes of particular weather conditions.

The job scope includes weather forecasting, researching on weather patterns and climate changes, and applying the information to practical problems such as predicting rainfall intensities for reservoir operations and flood management.

The hydrologist will plan responses to weather conditions like droughts and floods.

He or she will also recommend changes to the drainage designs for water supply and flood control, among others.

Unusually heavy rain triggered three massive floods between June and July this year, which resulted in damage to homes and property.

PUB is working to improve drainage in affected areas.

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You can't separate climate from economy

Grace Chua Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

This summer's fires in Russia and floods in China and Pakistan fit right into patterns of climate change predicted by scientists' reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.

While scientists may shy away from linking these natural disasters directly to climate change, what is absolutely certain is that heatwaves and high water hurt developing countries and poor people more as they are less able to pay to protect themselves.

For instance, Pakistan's flood-plains and dry riverbeds were occupied by poor squatters, who were the first to be swept away by the raging torrents.

Poorer quarters in developed countries are also the worst hit when disaster strikes, such as when heatwaves hit Tokyo or American cities. The urban poor in Phoenix, Arizona, for instance, tend to live in more built-up areas which trap heat, while the rich live in cooler areas with more greenery.

The disasters are sparking a shift in the perception of climate change.

Instead of seeing climate change as a purely environmental issue, governments and international organisations are increasingly viewing it as an environmental and development issue.

At a talk here recently, Boston University public policy professor Adil Najam explained why development versus environment is a false dichotomy.

Climate issues, Professor Najam said, are often viewed as natural phenomena one cannot do anything about, 'whereas economic growth is something you can' act on.

In fact, the two are really inextricable, contends Prof Najam, who was born in Pakistan and is an expert on South Asian development and politics. Growth that destroys the environment and changes the climate is unsustainable, he said.

But given that fast and unsustainable growth now could make countries more liable to pay for climate change adaptation later, does it make sense to develop in an unsustainable way?

'No country ever says, 'We're going to choose between children's health and economic growth',' Prof Najam said. 'It's not a choice.'

Countries like China and India are beginning to recognise this and responding.

For instance, China's four trillion yuan (S$795 billion) stimulus package in 2008 funded railroads, power grids, ecological restoration and other projects, and has been lauded for its 'greenness'.

In February this year, Chinese President Hu Jintao, addressing a Communist Party meeting, said: 'We must make tackling climate change an important strategy for our socio-economic development.'

Mr Wilfred Walsh, managing director of carbon trading and advisory firm Biosphere Capital, pointed out that sustainable energy is actually cheaper than fossil fuels - over the right time scale and when the damage caused by fossil fuel pollution is factored in.

'The developing world might as well develop itself using appropriate, sustainable energy technologies,' he said, rather than face problems when the time comes to switch from established coal, oil and gas infrastructure.

But even when policymakers understand the issues involved, Prof Najam said, the short-term pressures they face to win elections and stay in power work on a different time scale from climate change, which works over decades.

However, some nations are realising that environmental issues have political mileage - sometimes for the whole nation.

Last year, for example, the Maldives made headlines by staging a Cabinet meeting underwater to underscore the urgency of climate change for small island states.

Indeed, said policy coordinator Sandeep Rai of the World Wide Fund for Nature's Global Climate Initiative, climate change for these states is a direct threat to their very survival.

With climate change presenting a tremendous threat to developing countries, these nations are taking a leadership role and offering the greatest opportunities to turn it around.

A WWF Global Climate Initiative report last year examined new renewable energy legislation by China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. And the International Energy Agency this year reckoned that over the next four decades, the developing world will need US$27 trillion (S$36.4 trillion) worth of clean-technology investments.

Energy use does not always have to increase in proportion to a country's economic growth, Prof Najam pointed out.

'The decoupling on economic growth and energy consumption is already happening, mostly through efficiency. Part of the technological race today is over who will be able to decouple the two the most, because in the decoupling are not only energy savings but also cost savings.'

Countries like Singapore, he added, have a 'great opportunity' to lead in such decoupling, both through increased energy efficiency and through adopting and developing efficient technologies.

The United Nations' climate talks in Mexico in November will probably not amount to much in terms of binding international agreements, Prof Najam believes.

But having successful climate negotiations will matter less and less because of the size of developing-country populations - China and India alone house two billion of the world's 6.9 billion people - and because governments and businesses will go ahead with green development on their own.

'On numbers alone, if the world is going to be saved, China and India are going to save it,' he said.

Others like Biosphere Capital's Mr Walsh are less bullish.

'We don't know yet if this will happen,' he said. 'Right now what is most obvious is a glaring lack of international leadership on climate change mitigation.'

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Indonesian Vice President: geothermal energy prioritized in Java

Antara 3 Sep 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The use of geothermal energy in the second stage 10,000 MW project will be prioritized in Java Island, Vice President Boediono said.

"I wish that the 10,000 MW project stopped using coal, especially in Java island," he said in Jakarta, Friday.

Speaking to the media after breaking the fast at his official residence, Boediono said coal in Java island will be replaced by gas or geothermal energy.

"Places other than Java may continue using coal, but it is also still being considered and planned," he said.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa said the second-stage 10,000 MW project will be based on geothermal energy.

Along with the Vice President and the relevant ministers, Hatta will formulate and seek a solution to problems facing electricity.

"If a regulation is necessary, we will make it, and if a law is needed, we will discuss it with the House of Representatives," he said.

Indonesia`s geothermal potential was said to be the biggest in the world, reaching 28,112 megawatts (MW).

Of these figures, the biggest geothermal reserve is 14,707 MW, with a power capacity of 14,405 MW. But only four percent, or 1,189 MW in 265 locations is utilized by Indonesia for four percent of electric energy, or 1,189 MW, whereas actually the utilization of fiver percent of this energy or 9,500 MW by 2025 had already been proclaimed.

Besides touching on the 10,000 MW program, the Vice President also mentioned several things the government is doing like anticipating the fluctuation of crude oil prices, poverty eradication, and bureaucratic reforms.

"On this occasion, I wish to say that actually we have done many things and many other things need to be done," he said.

But he added that in several programs progress had been rather slow, or results are expected in the long run.(*)

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China halts loans to firms that break environment rules

Yahoo News 4 Sep 10;

SHANGHAI (AFP) – China has ordered banks to stop new lending to companies that pollute excessively or consume too much energy, as part of a drive to make its economy more energy efficient, state media said Saturday.

Shao Fujun, director of the People's Bank of China's credit department, said the central bank had established a database to help banks review companies' environmental records, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

More than 30,000 pieces of information regarding companies' environmental violations are in the database, the report said.

Beijing has pledged to slash China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010, as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter seeks to reduce pollution and clean up its environment.

Last month the central government ordered 2,087 firms producing steel, coal, cement, aluminium, glass and other materials to close old and obsolete plants by the end of September -- or risk having bank loans frozen and power cut off.

Authorities in the eastern province of Anhui reportedly already cut off electricity to more than 500 factories for a month in mid-August after they failed to meet emission reduction targets.

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Bangladesh dams to reclaim 600 square kms of land

(AFP) Google News 5 Sep 10

DHAKA — Bangladesh plans to build a series of dams to reclaim 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) of land from the sea over the next five years, officials said Sunday.

The government has approved the ambitious project under which dams would be built in the Meghna estuary to connect islands and help deposit hundreds of millions of tonnes of sediment, project chief Hafizur Rahman said.

"The project would cost only 1.20 billion taka (18 million dollars). The dams will expedite sedimentations and manage the tidal system. They won't allow loss of any sediments to the sea," he told AFP.

"The whole process will reclaim at least 600 square kilometres of new land from the sea in just five years."

The mighty Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers join in Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of the Bengal.

Studies have found that the two rivers carry more than one billion tonnes of sediment a year.

Rahman said the dams would be designed so that small islands would become linked with the mainland as shallow areas in the estuary fill up with sediment.

A study by the Dutch-funded Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) has found that the damming process would not affect other parts of the coastline or aggravate erosion of the country's largest island, Bhola.

"We have done some water models of the project and found some 600 square kilometres of new land could be reclaimed without any side-effects," IWM principal researcher Jahirul Haq Khan told AFP.

The study has been verified by Dutch experts, he added.

Bangladesh reclaimed 1,000 square kilometres of new land in the Meghna estuary by building two dams in 1957 and 1964. Despite the success, the reclamation process was halted due to lack of donor financing.

The impoverished country has been one of the worse victims of climate change, with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicting that 17 percent of its land would go under a rising sea by 2050.

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