Best of our wild blogs: 12 Oct 10

Crimson Sunbird confronting its own image
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Hit me baby one more time...
from The annotated budak

Changi still alive!
from wild shores of singapore

Shop Wise, Save Lives
from My Itchy Fingers

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Fish culture leading Singapore food resilience efforts

Esther Ng Today Online 12 Oct 10;

SINGAPORE - The future of food resilience in Singapore is being increasingly underpinned by the advances made in fish culture.

Four out of 11 projects approved by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) went to commercial fish farm Barramundi Asia, which currently operates aquaculture sites off Pulau Semakau and, in future, off Pulau Senang.

Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that targets for fish supply look promising. Singapore, he said, has a good aquaculture industry, good base stock for fish farms and clean waters.

Barramundi Asia is one of the 11 successful applicants that accepted AVA's Food Fund, a $5 million initiative launched in December last year to provide funding for projects with potential to contribute to Singapore's food supply and to support efforts to secure food from different sources.

Most of the projects involve upgrading the capabilities of local farms.

Barramundi's first project under the funding, which begins this month, will place large round cages in open waters off Pulau Semakau and have the space to produce 200 metric tonnes of fish compared with the 80 metric tonnes from its current square cages, its spokesperson told MediaCorp.

Its other projects include a site evaluation for deep water fish farming in high currents off Pulau Senang, an automatic feeding system at its open water fish farm off Pulau Semakau and an automating fish sorting, grading and vaccination process. The latter will reduce the use of unskilled labour and improve productivity.

With the funding, Barramundi hopes to produce 3,000 metric tonnes of fish each year by 2012 - up from 500 metric tonnes currently.

The Inter-Agency Committee on Food Supply Resilience had recommended that Singapore strengthen its resilience in six key food items: Rice, chicken, pork, fish, eggs and leafy vegetables.

In the next five to seven years, Singapore aims to increase egg production to meet 30 per cent of local consumption, up from the current 23 per cent, fish to meet 15 per cent of local demand, up from 4 per cent, and leafy vegetables to meet 15 per cent of local demand, up from 7 per cent.

Other successful Food Fund projects include Seng Choon Farm and United Engineers' initiative to reduce odorous air emissions from its poultry farm and Aquaproduce's feasibility study into finding a seafood source in Vietnam through long-term procurement contracts.

Mr Mah, who toured Seng Choon's new premises in Lim Chu Kang yesterday, told reporters that egg producers were on track to meet the national target.

The AVA received 48 applications by the closing date in March, of which 24 were successful but two applicants turned down its offer of funding.

Eleven applicants have yet to accept the offer.

Farmers get money to hatch growth plans
11 farms tap Food Fund for their projects; AVA doubles funding to $10m
Jessica Lim Straits Times 12 Oct 10;

VEGETABLE farm Koh Fah Technology Farm in Sungei Tengah hires 25 workers to pack vegetables by hand into bags. Next month, a new automated system will free many of them to work in the fields.

The machine, costing a six-figure sum, is expected to increase productivity by 16 per cent from the current 115 tonnes of vegetables each month, said Mr Dave Huang, who manages the family-owned business.

This and 10 other projects from local farms are some productivity-boosting ideas that are getting funding from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Fund.

The fund, which the AVA doubled to $10 million yesterday, is used to support farmers and companies here, particularly those that produce essential food items such as fish, eggs and leafy vegetables.

The idea is to either encourage them to develop their capabilities to increase production here or help them import more from other countries.

Farms and firms can also use the money to pay for studies to see if they should invest in overseas food zones and contract farming, or source food from places that are not major exporters to Singapore.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who visited egg producer Seng Choon Farm in Lim Chu Kang yesterday, said the fund was set up in anticipation of 'volatility in the food supply situation'. The amount in the fund was doubled, he said, due to good response.

'Hopefully we can encourage more local investors and farmers to come in and help us diversify (our food sources),' he said, adding that he hoped to see more fish farmers apply. 'If they are successful and need more money, I think we can try to provide that as well.'

AVA's chief executive officer Tan Poh Hong said the fund is likely to be topped up in the coming years. She also said the authority expects to make another call for applicants next year. The fund was launched last December and attracted 48 applicants: 11 accepted funding amounting to about $5 million. Another 11 are pending acceptance by the firms. Twenty-one were rejected, two declined funding and three withdrew their applications.

Ms Tan said applications were rejected because the firms did not meet financial guidelines or did not target the increased production of essential food items.

Those which declined found that funding arrangements did not suit them.

The Food Fund is part of a larger push to ensure that Singapore's food supply remains stable. In 2008, a committee was formed to study trends in global food supply and devise long-term strategies to keep food flowing in. The inter-agency committee - comprising members from the National Development, and Trade and Industry ministries - recommended the establishment of the fund.

Eventually, Singapore hopes to meet its goal of raising local production of fish from 4 per cent of domestic demand to 15 per cent; eggs from 23 per cent to 30 per cent; and leafy vegetables from 7 per cent to 10 per cent. The Republic imports 90 per cent of the food consumed here.

Mr Malcolm Ong, 46, the owner of Metropolitan Fishery Group off Lim Chu Kang, will be using money from the fund to install oxygen pumps and a monitoring system for oxygen levels.

The owner of the 2ha farm currently employs farm-hands, who ensure oxygen-rich water by churning up water in his farm with his speedboat's propeller.

'We cannot use such simple methods if we want to expand,' he said, adding that output can now be increased from 350 to 1,000 tonnes over the next two years. 'Without the fund, we risk losing millions if something goes wrong, and first we'll have to raise enough money.'

Such oxygen systems, he said, cost a few hundred thousand dollars. He declined to say how much he received, as he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

At egg farm Chew's Agriculture, an automated feeding system and feed-mixing system will help to raise daily production from 250,000 eggs to 400,000 eggs over the next two years. At Seng Choon Farm, suction devices to reduce odour will be installed on the farms.

Up to 70 per cent of each project is funded and the amount awarded depends on factors such as the firm's financial position, its proposal and track record.

The AVA is also working with the Jilin City municipal government on a $32 million deal to establish and maintain a disease-free zone - crucial for agricultural production and food processing - in the Jilin Food Zone in China. The plan is for pigs to be bred and farmed there, with the pork processed and then exported to Singapore.

AVA doubles funding support to farms to S$10m
Hoe Yeen Nie Channel NewsAsia 11 Oct 10;

SINGAPORE: The government has doubled its support for farms to S$10 million, under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Fund.

The aim is to ensure import-dependent Singapore doesn't lose out when global markets turn volatile.

Singapore currently imports about 90 percent of its food.

So far, 11 projects have received funding.

Egg production has gone high-tech at Seng Choon Farm - from the mixing and distribution of chicken feed to the collection and packing of eggs.

Farming is a labour-intensive venture, and in Singapore, that means it's expensive too.

Automation lowers costs, while at the same time, ensures that the product remains free from human contamination.

Soon, the farm will install a system to treat its waste and turn it into high-grade fertiliser for export.

"It will help us to bring in additional revenue. This revenue will help us lower our overall production costs, and improve on our sustainable farming practices," said Koh Yeow Koon, MD of Seng Choon Farm.

The project is one of 11 that have received funding from AVA. Another 11 are pending acceptance.

Two other projects, to do with vertical vegetable farming, were approved by AVA but the applicants declined to take up funding.

In total, 48 applications were submitted before the closing date in March this year.

It said due to strong response, total funding has been doubled from the initial S$5 million.

The Food Fund is part of Singapore's effort to reduce reliance on imports.

"If we can get prepared and it will take us some time to ramp up, but I think it will put us in a stronger position to secure safe supply of food in the future," said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

About 23 per cent of eggs consumed in Singapore are produced locally, and the AVA's aim is to increase that to 30 per cent.

But eggs aside, the broader aim is also to increase local production of fish to 15 per cent of consumption, and for leafy vegetables to 10 per cent of local consumption.

Fish farms will also get funding to automate the feeding process, and to monitor the water quality.

Applicants may receive up to 70 per cent of funding.

Application for the fund has now closed, and AVA has not indicated when it will open a new round of applications.

A technical working group has been formed to review progress made, and AVA said it expects regular audit reports from the farms.

There are 72 land-based food farms in Singapore, which produce anything from bean sprouts to dairy cattle.

Besides this, there are 109 sea-based farms where food-fish, molluscs and other seafood are reared.

Aside from the Food Fund, the government has also been working on diversifying its food sources.

Recent efforts include developing a food zone in China's Jilin province, and increasing the number of contract farms in Indonesia.

AVA said its priority is to ensure a steady and safe supply in six key items that feature strongly in the average Singaporean's diet. They are eggs, chicken, pork, rice, fish and leafy vegetables. - CNA/wk/ls

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NUS to launch 'green' degree

Environmental Studies course starts next year; talks to set up research institute in Suzhou
Leow Si Wan Straits Times 12 Oct 10;

IN A sign that environmental issues are gaining importance here, a new undergraduate programme in environmental studies will be launched by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the latter half of next year.

Fifty to 100 students will get to enrol in this four-year direct honours programme - the first new undergraduate course to be introduced by NUS in five years - and graduate with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree.

The programme, which aims to produce what are called 'green-collar workers', will comprise two years of a broad-based curriculum with modules in subjects such as law, chemistry and geography, before offering specialisations in the final two years. The two available options are currently Environmental Biology and Environmental Geography.

Speaking to about 360 NUS staff, students and other invited guests at the school's annual State of the University address held yesterday, NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan said the new programme is an example of how the 105-year-old institution is creating 'highly multi-disciplinary courses' to make its education offerings more flexible.

Besides the new course, Professor Tan also announced that the university is 'in advanced discussions' to set up an NUS research institute in Suzhou Industrial Park.

The institute, which will pursue research in areas such as finance, water and environmental sustainability, will also support NUS and Singapore start-ups in the Chinese market and offer some training opportunities for Chinese students.

Staying relevant and responsive to a competitive landscape was a key theme in Prof Tan's speech.

Drawing from analogies about how Manaus in Brazil - the original centre of the rubber boom - failed to compete against rubber plantations in South-east Asia, Prof Tan added that NUS' strategy has to be 'distinctly anti-potoo'. The potoo is a bird found in north Brazil known to stay absolutely still as a response to the external environment.

'The best way for us to respond to the educational challenges of the future is to drive ourselves forward, to stay well ahead of the curve,' he said.

Over the past 10 years, he added, the university had carried out 'transformative measures' to broaden its education, initiated curricular reforms and forged global education programmes.

Professor Tan Eng Chye, deputy president (academic affairs) and provost of NUS, also provided updates on University Town (UTown) in his address. He said the building of these residential colleges and accompanying facilities, such as an educational resource centre, was on track.

Meanwhile, industry players are looking forward to NUS' new degree programme.

The executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Mr Howard Shaw, said: 'There is a growing demand for what we call green-collar workers, who are specialists in the environment field and who are responsible for putting policies into practice throughout business operations.

'NUS' new programme will definitely help to meet this demand.'

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New hub for eco-friendly firms

Straits Times 12 Oct 10;

ONE does research in the field of water, environment and health. Another specialises in large-scale thermal solar panels. A third delves into areas such as water treatment.

These cutting-edge clean-technology companies will be neighbours in the new CleanTech One (CTO) building, launched by JTC Corporation and the Economic Development Board yesterday.

The seven-storey, 37,500 sq m building will be the first of 25 expected to be constructed in CleanTech Park in Jurong - the region's first eco-business park.

CTO will cost an estimated $87 million and is expected to be completed next year. Tenants can move in starting from 2012.

Sinomem founder and chairman Lan Weiguang said expanding in Singapore makes sense because of the Republic's ability to bridge the gap between China and the rest of the world. The top membrane separation and purification solutions supplier for China's pharmaceutical and fermentation industries, Sinomem employs more than 1,500 people in China and 12 people here.

Solid Asia chief executive Peter-Jurgen Husnik said the advantages of being based in Singapore are the ability to conduct safe business, government support for research, and a secure intellectual property framework. The firm has more than 20 years of experience in large-scale solar thermal systems, which provide air-conditioning and heating through solar energy.

Mr Tom Foster, managing director of Danish firm DHI, which does research in water, environment and health, said the company's move to CTO was timely because it had been thinking about expanding. It employs more than 1,000 staff worldwide, and plans to expand its Singapore office to 160 people, up from 125.

Mr Foster added that the rent at CTO is 'competitive'. The monthly rent for lab space is $25 per sq m, while office space is $22 per sq m. Four other clean-tech firms have confirmed their tenancies, bringing occupancy to 50 per cent.

Speaking at the launch, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said CleanTech Park is set to play a major role in the development of the clean-tech industry here. He added that this was in line with the Economic Strategies Committee's recommendations earlier this year, which indicated that the clean-tech industry has significant potential to generate sustainable value for Singapore.

JTC chairman Cedric Foo said CTO will boost Singapore's position as a clean-energy hub. The industry is expected to contribute $3.4 billion to gross domestic product by generating some 18,000 jobs by 2015.

DARYL CHIN

CleanTech One achieves 50% occupancy rate
May Wong Channel NewsAsia 11 Oct 10;

SINGAPORE: The upcoming CleanTech Park in Jurong West is attracting strong interest.

Industrial landlord JTC said the first phase of the eco business park - CleanTech One - has already achieved a 50 per cent occupancy rate.

The building is part of a total of 25 buildings which will make up the entire CleanTech Park.

The new eco business park will occupy a land of about 50 football fields and will only be fully completed by 2030.

One of the key aims of the park is to provide a one-stop place for cleantech companies to interact and collaborate in different research and development projects.

CleanTech One is expected to be completed by December next year, and tenants can move into the two-towered building by early 2012.

The construction cost of CleanTech One is about S$87 million. The 37,500 square metre building will occupy a 1.5-hectare site.

A unique feature of CleanTech One is that it also incorporates renewable energy and green facilities as part of its design and operation.

JTC chairman Cedric Foo said: "By locating here at CleanTech One, companies can demonstrate their commitment towards green technologies. This strong brand association cannot be replicated elsewhere in Singapore."

There are hopes that CleanTech Park will become a model of sustainable features for other industrial parks.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said: "We have made good progress in building up a strong cleantech ecosystem comprising world-class R&D centres, testing and certification services, and multipliers such as various venture capital funds and incubators.

"These institutes and initiatives serve to complement (one another) to create a dynamic environment for advancement in clean technologies".

Some of the key tenants in CleanTech One include the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, SOLID Asia, one of the world's leading specialists in all applications of solar thermal energy, and Sinomen Technology, a membrane solution provider.

One of the tenants, DHI, a water environment technology company, will move a majority of its current facilities from Pandan Loop to CleanTech One.

DHI Water & Environment's Southeast Asia's regional manager, Tom Foster, said: "So, (the) 3,000 square metres which we've committed, which is about 40 per cent more than what we presently have in our existing office building, gives us the opportunity to expand our research and developments here in Singapore.

"We're probably planning to expand our research by 40 per cent or so in human capital; it's probably an increase of something in the order of S$1.5 million of (our) own funding at the moment to maybe S$2 million of own funding come 2012, when we plan to move in here.

"And the ability to mix and to cooperate with the other companies here, I think, it's a tremendous opportunity to foster the research and development of sustainable technologies in Singapore."

One of the key aims of the park is to provide a one-stop place for cleantech companies to interact and collaborate in different research and development projects.

- CNA/wk/al

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New Mongoose-Like Carnivorous Mammal Discovered in Madagascar

ScienceDaily 11 Oct 10;

A new species of small carnivore, known as Durrell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) has been identified by researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Natural History Museum, London, Nature Heritage, Jersey, and Conservation International (CI).

The small, cat-sized, speckled brown carnivore from the marshes of the Lac Alaotra wetlands in central eastern Madagascar weighs just over half a kilogramme and belongs to a family of carnivores only known from Madagascar. It is likely to be one of the most threatened carnivores in the world.

The findings are outlined in the latest issue of the taxonomic journal Systematics and Biodiversity.

The carnivore was first seen swimming in a lake by researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on a field trip surveying bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis) in 2004. After briefly examining the animal, the team suspected they had witnessed a new species and so took photographs. By examining brown-tailed vontsira (Salanoia concolor) specimens in the Natural History Museum's collections, Museum zoologists confirmed the animal was a new species. The brown-tailed vontsira is the closest relative of the new species, which zoologists named in honour of the conservationist and writer Gerald Durrell, who died 15 years ago.

Fidimalala Bruno Ralainasolo, a conservation biologist working for Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust who originally captured the new carnivore, commented: "We have known for some time that a carnivore lives in the Lac Alaotra marshes, but we've always assumed it was a brown-tailed vontsira that is also found in the eastern rainforests. However, differences in its skull, teeth, and paws have shown that this animal is clearly a different species with adaptations to life in an aquatic environment. It is a very exciting discovery and we decided to honour our founder, the world renowned conservationist Gerald Durrell, by naming this new species after him. However, the future of the species is very uncertain because the Lac Alaotra marshes are extremely threatened by agricultural expansion, burning and invasive plants and fish. It is a highly significant site for wildlife and the resources it provides people, and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is working closely with local communities to ensure its sustainable use and to conserve Durrell's vontsira and other important species."

Paula Jenkins, Natural History Museum zoologist said: "We know very little about the small mongoose-like vontsiras because they are poorly known and rarely seen or studied in the field. This research is a fantastic example of the importance and relevance that Museum collections have for contemporary scientific research. Though people may know that museums such as the Natural History Museum hold reference collections, few people are aware how critical these collections are to our understanding of the world today."

Stephan M Funk of Nature Heritage, formerly at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and co-author of the paper, said: "Population genetics and evolution of the Durrell's vontsira and related species remain badly understood, highlighting the importance of future research. More important, however, is the protection of the wetlands around Lac Alaotra, which remain highly threatened."

The habitat of Durrell's vontsira has been suffering from a number of threats over the past decades, from introduced fish to silting and pollution from fertiliser and pesticides. While the conservation status of the new species remains to be formally evaluated, it is likely to be threatened as a result of small population size, restricted distribution and the impact of habitat degradation.

Remarkably, Lac Alaotra hit the headlines only a few months ago when the extinction of the Alaotra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus) was announced. Now a new species has been described from the very area where the last Alaotra grebe was seen.

Frank Hawkins of Conservation International, co-author of the paper describing the species, said: "This species is probably the carnivore with one of the smallest ranges in the world, and likely to be one of the most threatened. The Lac Alaotra wetlands are under considerable pressure, and only urgent conservation work to make this species a flagship for conservation will prevent its extinction."

New carnivorous mammal species found in Madagascar
Victoria Gill, BBC News 11 Oct 10;

A new species of carnivorous mammal has been discovered in Madagascar.

The mongoose-like creature has been called Durrell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) in honour of conservationist Gerald Durrell.

Scientists found the creature in the wetlands of Lake Alaotra, the largest lake in Madagascar.

Its marsh habitat is under pressure from invasive species and pollution, and the team thinks it could be one of the world's most threatened mammals.

They describe the cat-sized animal for the first time in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity.

A team from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust first saw the mammal swimming in the lake during a field trip in 2004. Suspecting it might be a new species, they photographed it so their zoologist colleagues could examine it more closely.

A team then returned to the site in 2005, caught one of the animals and took detailed measurements and blood and tissue samples.

During the same expedition, the scientists sent one dead specimen to the Natural History Museum in London.

There, zoologists were able to compare the creature with its closest relative, the forest-dwelling brown-tailed vontsira, and finally confirm its identity.

Durrell's vontsira and the brown-tailed vontsira are similar but have very different colouring, explained the Natural History Museum's Dr Paula Jenkins, a member of the research team.

"In addition, we found obvious differences in the structure of the skull and teeth... the size and shape of the pads on the paws clearly distinguished this animal from the brown-tailed vontsira, which is a forest-dwelling animal found in eastern Madagascar.

"It was indeed a distinct new species and the specimen we have in the museum is now recognised as the holotype (the specimen from which the species takes its name) so it is available to scientists for research in the future."

'Incredibly rare'

The discovery of mammal species is uncommon and finding a new carnivore species is "particularly unusual", Dr Jenkins added.

"Durrell's vontsira is incredibly rare," she said.

"We know of only two animals in the wild. It has only been found in the wetlands of [Lake] Alaotra in Madagascar, so it lives in a very small area and is consequently vulnerable to the pressures on this threatened habitat."

The researchers still know very little about the animal's behaviour and biology.

They think it may be a mongoose-like creature specifically adapted for an aquatic or semi-aquatic environment.

Professor John Fa, chief conservation officer at Durrell, told BBC News: "If that is the case, it's very interesting indeed; mongooses normally live in arid or forested areas.

"We think it feeds on fish and small mammals in the lake and if it's a mongoose that catches fish - that's very unusual."

The scientists hope to return to the lake to carry out a more detailed, systematic trapping study, and possibly to tag and follow the small mammals to see if their habitat is confined to the lake.

"This just shows how much biodiversity Madagascar is still throwing at us," Professor Fa added.

Since 2006, new mammal species found in this biodiversity hotspot have included three new species of mouse lemur (Microcebus jollyae, M. mittermeieri and M. simmoni) and a bat (Scotophilus marovaza).

But the last carnivore discovered on the island was Grandider's vontsira (Galidictis grandidieri), described in 1986.

It is classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List.

The team also included researchers from Nature Heritage in Jersey and Conservation International (CI).

Read more!

Japan warns on pace of biodiversity loss

Yahoo News 11 Oct 10;

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan warned Monday that the diversity of life on Earth was being lost at the fastest rate ever seen, at the opening of a UN conference on the safe use of modern biotechnology.

The five-day meeting in the central Japanese city of Nagoya comes ahead of a major international conference on biodiversity next week and was to consider how genetically modified organisms are threatening plant and animal species.

The talks, which include more than 190 countries and NGOs, are expected to agree that a country can seek compensation for damage to biodiversity caused by imports of genetically-modified organisms from other countries or companies.

"The loss of biodiversity is developing in the fastest pace ever," Japanese Farm Minister Michihiko Kano said at the opening of the talks.

"It is our responsibility to carry over a rich biodiversity to the next generation," he said.

The meeting comes ahead of a conference of the 193-nation Convention on Biological Diversity from October 18 in Nagoya due to discuss how to pay for the "equitable sharing" of the benefits from natural resources.

The biodiversity talks will also discuss a fresh target of preserving animal and plant species that are disappearing mostly as a result of human activity.

Species under threat include 21 percent of all known mammals, 30 percent of known amphibians and 12 percent of known birds, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Scientists warn that wildlife habitat destruction is destroying ecosystems that give humans "environmental services" such as clean water and air and are vital for climate control and food production.

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Indonesian Ministers Blame Heavy Rain and Quake, Not Loggers, for Flash Flood in Wasior

Dessy Sagita,Banjir Ambarita & Susilo Wardhani Jakarta Globe 11 Oct 10;

Jakarta. A top government minister on Monday said last week’s flash flood that hit Wasior in West Papua and killed more than 140 people, was not caused by massive illegal logging in the area, but was the result of intense rainfall.

Agung Laksono, the coordinating minister for people’s welfare, told a press conference in Jakarta that there was no large-scale logging in the area.

He said though it was highly likely that some individuals cut down trees in the area without permits, there was no evidence of illegal logging being conducted by a corporation.

“The flood happened because rain of very high intensity poured relentlessly for a few days. The National Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] has said that extreme weather is to be expected.”

Several environmental organizations have said unchecked illegal logging on the mountains near Wasior was to blame for the flash flood.

Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, speaking at the same event, said only around 1 percent of land had been converted in Wasior since 2000, which meant that no major impact had been made on the land as a result of illegal logging.

“I know we can see many logs in Wasior, but they’re probably only for household use,” he said. Gusti said the Wasior area had become unstable after an earthquake on Oct. 4, and this made it unable to withstand the effects of the torrential rain.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said separately on Monday he would visit Wasior directly to confirm whether or not the flood was triggered by illegal logging. He is scheduled to leave for Wasior on Wednesday and stay there until Friday.

“As far as I’m concerned, the last illegal logging case handled by the police happened not too far from the flood location, but we will see directly at the site,” he said.

Agung said the government was looking for a safe area to relocate the thousands of people who have been left homeless or had houses severely damaged by the flood.

“Currently, the regional government of West Papua and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) are looking for a safe location for a proper new resettlement area,” he said.

Agung said Wasior was not suitable for habitation because of its geographic location, being too near to a forest reservation.

He said West Papua authorities were thinking of building a resettlement south of Wasior, in Raseei, a 30-minute drive from the disaster site.

La Abidin, an Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) official, said on Sunday survivors were forced to seek refuge in damaged homes and buildings because the government had focused more on recovering bodies.

He said the survivors were vulnerable if more floods hit the area.

Agung said the government would immediately start the reconstruction and the rehabilitation program once the emergency response period had ended on October 18th.

He said the government would soon decree that the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction program was the responsibility of all ministries and so they must each set aside part of their budgets for the programs.

As of Monday, 145 people had been found dead while 103 remained missing following the Oct. 4 flash flood.

Minister: Almost impossible illegal logging behind Wasior flood
Antara 12 Oct 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said it was almost impossible that illegal logging had been the factor behind the recent flood in Wasior, Teluk Wondama, West Papua.

"According to me the initial cause of the flash flood was high intensity of rains," he said here on Monday.

He said based on satelite images of 2000 and 2009 it was seen that forest coverage in the area had dropped just one percent.

"Besides that one must know that forests in Wasior are natural reserves so that they are protected tightly and monitored closely so that it is almost impossible that a forest concession holder is operating there," he said.

He admitted that it was not impossible that tree felling had occurred but it must have been not on a big scale but just by individuals and not by big companies.

He said the region had been hit by an earthquake before the flood occured so the earth there had become unstable.

Because of the earthquake the earth structure there had changed and some of it had covered the river making the water in the river to overflow.

"So this has happened because of a natural phenomenon. If land clearing has really occurred it must not have been too significant," he said.

According to the latest data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency up to 145 people had been found dead after the flood. (*)

Indonesia Probes Illegal Logging Role In Papua Floods
Olivia Rondonuwu PlanetArk 12 Oct 10;

Indonesian officials and forestry experts are to investigate claims that illegal logging contributed to floods that have killed at least 145 people, the Forestry Ministry said on Monday.

This comes ahead of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to the flood-wreaked district in Papau province this week. Recent floods have left more than 700 injured and 123 missing and flattened houses and civil infrastructure in Wasior district, in the western half of Indonesia's easternmost Papua province. Over 4,300 people have been left homeless.

"We want to know the causes of the disaster and we want to know whether illegal logging was the cause or not," said Masyhud, a Forestry Ministry spokesman, who, like many Indonesians, has only one name.

Indonesia has struggled to curb widespread illegal logging of its forests, which exacerbates damage caused by flooding.

Conservationist group Greenomics said in a statement that a logging 'mafia' was partly to blame for the floods.

Forests are cleared in resource-rich Papua to make way for mines, plantations or local infrastructure but its remoteness, vastness and system of semi-autonomous government have made monitoring difficult.

Krystof Obidzinski, a scientist at the West Java-based Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), said that between 2000 and 2008, 2300 hectares (5,683 acres) of forested land were logged in the flood-affected district and 26,800 hectares of primary forest were thinned or disturbed to make way for housing, small-scale agriculture and infrastructure.

"Most of the deforestation has occurred outside of the logging concessions," he said.

(Sunanda Creagh)

‘No More Logging Around Wasior’
Fidelis E Satriastanti, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Banjir Ambarita
Jakarta Globe 12 Oct 10;

Jakarta. After denying that the deadly flash floods in Wasior, West Papua, were caused by illegal logging, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan on Tuesday said he planned to reclassify existing forest concessions near the district into conservation areas.

Forest concessions are essentially production forests, where concession holders are allowed to carry out commercial logging.

Conservation concessions, on the other hand, will allow private holders to earn money through the carbon trading mechanism in exchange for preserving the trees.

Based on ministry data, there are 22 active forest concessions in West Papua, none of them located in Wasior.

“We are planning to change these production forests into conservation areas so that these [concession] holders will shift to carbon trading,” Zulkifli said.

At least 145 people were killed, hundreds were injured and thousands of homes were damaged when torrential rains triggered landslides in Wasior and caused a river to burst its banks on Oct. 4.

More than 100 people are still missing.

Activists have blamed illegal logging for the disaster, a charge that has been denied by the government.

Zulkifli said it was impossible that the floods were caused by illegal logging because the district was classified as a reserve.

“Wasior is already a nature reserve area which is the highest status for conservation,” he said.

“Besides, the area itself is very dangerous because [the landscape] is too steep,” he said.

He added that his previous statement that illegal logging caused the flash floods was misquoted by the media.

“I did say that there is still illegal logging but that’s in West Papua, not in Wasior, because there are no forest concessionaires and no illegal logging there,” he said.

“The flash floods were caused by the land textures that were too steep and intense rains.”

However, legislators from Papua accused the government of lying when they denied illegal logging contributed to the disaster.

Paskalis Kossay, a Golkar lawmaker, said the government should not forget the protests in 2001 and 2002, when angry villagers assaulted the Papua offices of three logging companies, resulting in the death of five police officials, three employees and an unknown number of villagers.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said he would visit Wasior today to see for himself whether illegal logging caused the flash floods.

The local lawmakers, frustrated by what they deemed to be the government’s slow relief efforts, also demanded that the site be declared a disaster area.

Ishak Mandacan, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said the latest reports revealed that more than 2,000 victims were staying at a local port without enough food or a decent place to rest.

Siti Romlah, a worker at the Manokwari health center, said evacuees in Manokwari have begun contracting diarrhea, respiratory illness and malaria.

“From the 1,078 people currently housed at the military base in Manokwari, 535 are now ill, as much as 172 contracted respiratory illnesses while others are suffering from malaria and skin diseases,” Siti said on Tuesday.

The lack of health facilities and poor sanitation at the location was exacerbating the situation, she said.

Ishak said he had requested his party leaders devote more attention to helping the victims but had not received a response.

“On the contrary, I was asked to give Rp 15 million [$1,700] as contribution for the Democrat anniversary celebration.”

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New research questions hydroelectric emissions

Yahoo News 11 Oct 10;

GENEVA (AFP) – Scientists have found that some reservoirs formed by hydroelectric dams emit more greenhouse gases than expected, potentially upsetting the climate-friendly balance of hydroelectric power.

A scientific study of Lake Wohlen in central Switzerland found "unexpectedly high" emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, the Swiss Federal Institute of Acquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) said on Monday.

The 150,000 tonnes of methane bubbling up from sediment in the retention lake on the river Aare over a year are the equivalent of emissions from 2,000 cows, or 25 million kilometres (15.5 million miles) travelled by cars, EAWAG added in a statement.

"So hydropower isn't quite as climate-neutral as people have assumed in the past," said one of the scientists involved, Tonya Del Sontro.

"In the summer, the water in Lake Wohlen sometimes looks like champagne with masses of gas bubbles rising to the surface," she added.

The peer-reviewed research by scientists at Swiss, German and Israeli institutes was published in the US journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Joint author Bernhard Wehrli, a professor of aquatic sciences at Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ), said the study mirrored initial findings in research on tropical reservoirs, notably at the Kariba dam in Zambia.

Preliminary studies there had found "very high" inflows of carbon-rich material, forming sediment in the reservoir that released greenhouse gases, Wehrli told AFP.

However, he underlined that the complex process was highly dependent on temperature, depth and the amount of carbon rich organic material -- such as vegetation -- that accumulated in the sediment on the reservoir floor.

"We have done a study of high Alpine reservoirs that are in a better state in terms of methane emissions," he added. High altitude mountain reservoirs are generally in colder, more rocky and sparsely vegetated surroundings.

In the shallow Lake Wohlen, on the populated 500-metre (1,640 foot) high plateau near the Swiss capital Berne, the reservoir captures large amounts of organic material that would flow along the rive Aare.

"It's not the fault of the reservoir builders that there are emissions, but because the flow of the river is slowed down," Wehrli explained.

That allows the organic material to ferment and produce gas that bubbles up to the surface.

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La Nina strengthens: WMO

Yahoo News 11 Oct 10;

GENEVA (AFP) – The disruptive La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific basin should strengthen over the next four to six months, heralding stronger monsoons and more hurricanes, the UN weather agency said on Monday.

World Meteorological Organisation climate services chief Rupa Kumar Kolli said a "moderate to strong" La Nina, which appeared in July, was now well estabished.

Kumar Kolli told journalists that forecasts showed "rather a strengthening of this La Nina episode for the next four to six months."

La Nina is the opposition condition of the El Nino weather pattern which subsided in June after being blamed for an exceptionally snowbound winter in North America and Europe.

La Nina is characterised by unusually cool ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific and has been associated with strong rainfall in Asia and Australia, bitter cold snaps in North America, as well as drought in South America.

The WMO expert warned regions typically affected by La Nina to expect "enhanced climate change" into the first quarter of 2011, predicting a "more active than normal" monsoon.

He also associated it with a more active Atlantic hurricane season.

Nonetheless, the WMO said that despite the similarity so far with previous La Nina episodes, notably with major flooding in South Asia since July, the impact of the latest one on local climates may differ from the past.

El Nino and La Nina, the complex interaction between shifting ocean currents and the atmosphere, and the broader impact beyond the Pacific remain ill understood by WMO scientists, who are also reluctant to establish clear links with climate change.

Ghassem Asrar, head of research at the WMO, noted that the number of monsoons with more intense rainfall had increased over the past 50 years.

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Asia's water scarcity poses economic, political test

Alan Wheatley Reuters AlertNet 11 Oct 10;

JINGHONG, China, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Framed by banana and eucalyptus trees, the caramel-coloured Mekong river rolls through this lush corner of Yunnan province in southwestern China with an unerring rhythm that is reassuring in its seeming timelessness.

Yet as recently as April, a fearsome drought had shrivelled the Mekong to its narrowest in 50 years. Water levels were so low that at Guanlei, a river town not far from here, dozens of boats were laid up for more than three months.

Alarmed at the drying up of the world's largest inland fishery, the four members of the Mekong River Commission -- Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam -- called a special summit.

"Without good and careful management of the Mekong river as well as its natural resources, this great river will not survive," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned.

The commission's political leaders suspected that China was hoarding water behind the dams it has built on the Mekong, exacerbating the impact of the drought.

China presented data to allay these fears. Finally, the rains returned and the tensions dissipated.

But the incident highlighted the strains that are being generated as Asia's unslakeable thirst for water collides with the reality of a supply that is limited and, if climate change projections are borne out, may shrink sharply.

The Asian Development Bank speaks of a looming crisis that threatens access to water and sanitation needs for millions of households and industries.

The bank is holding a high-level conference at its headquarters in Manila this week to chart solutions and canvass greater regional cooperation.

"In the next five to 10 years, if the initiatives to secure greater efficiencies in water are not put in place, you really are at risk," said Arjun Thapan, the ADB's special senior adviser for infrastructure and water, told Reuters. [ID:nSGE699014]

MIND THE GAP

Projections last year by the Water Resources Group (WRG), a consortium of private-sector companies formed to tackle water scarcity, point to a global gap of 40 percent between the supply and demand for water by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario.

The imbalance is particularly daunting in India, where the trend towards a middle-class diet will increase demand for meat, sugar and wheat, which require a lot of water to produce.

Agriculture uses almost 90 percent of India's water.

By 2030, demand will grow to almost 1.5 trillion cubic metres, compared with today's supply of about 740 billion cubic metres, according to a report for the WRG by consultants McKinsey.

As a result, in the absence of concerted action, most of India's river basins could face a severe water deficit by 2030.

China's likely water deficit is more manageable on paper -- a shortfall of 200 billion cubic metres -- but 21 percent of the country's surface water resources are unfit even for farming, which consumes about 70 percent of the country's water.

What makes such forecasts even more daunting is evidence that global warming is already eroding the Himalayan glaciers covering the Tibetan plateau, which feed neighbours including India and Pakistan as well as China itself.

More than 80 percent of glaciers in western China are now in retreat, according to a study by a group of mainly Chinese climate-change scientists in the September issue of 'Nature'.

Overall, 5 percent to 27 percent of China's glacial area is forecast to disappear by 2050, the study said.

"Even though the exact timing and magnitude of the 'tipping point' of each glacier is still uncertain, the projected long-term exhaustion of glacial water supply should have a considerable impact on the availability of water for both agricultural and human consumption," the scientists wrote.

Because 60 percent of the run-off from China's glaciers flows out of the country, this can spell only trouble.

China's plans for more dams on the Mekong and on other major rivers that tumble down from the Tibetan plateau already have its southern neighbours on edge.

"As far as transboundary management of water is concerned, I think certainly the Himalayas are likely to be a flashpoint," said the ADB's Thapan.

THE NEW OIL

The risk of conflict over water rights is magnified because China and India are home to over a third of the world's population yet have to make do with less than 10 percent of its water.

"Although both nations are seeking to become the superpowers of the 21st century, their weak point is water," according to Yoichi Funabashi, a prominent foreign-affairs commentator and editor-in-chief of the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper.

India and Pakistan are another potential point of friction.

The Indus Waters Treaty, which parcelled out river use rights after India's partition in 1947, has survived three wars between the two neighbours since it was signed in 1960. But the pact is under strain from Indian plans for more upstream dams and water diversion schemes.

So what is to be done? Given that agriculture accounts for almost 70 percent of global water use, it will be critical to increase "crop per drop" via improved irrigation techniques and growing food that needs less water.

In the words of the Water Resources Group, "While the gap between supply and demand WILL be closed, the question is HOW."

As Funabashi puts it, oil can ultimately be replaced by other resources, but the same is not true for water. Water is also closely tied to food, energy and climate change.

"In that sense, water is a key component of national security. If the 20th century witnessed the rise and fall of nations over oil, the 21st century could be one in which the rise and fall of nations is determined by water," he wrote last month. (Additional reporting by John Mair in Manila; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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Population Growth Demographics Spur Climate Change

Deborah Zabarenko PlanetArk 12 Oct 10;

The world is probably going to be a more crowded place by 2100 and demographic changes in this growing population -- how many more people there are, how old they are and where they live -- will affect climate-warming emissions, researchers reported on Monday.

Slowing down population growth could have a profound effect on the level of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, the researchers found, but this alone will not be enough to prevent the most severe impact from climate change.

Scientists have long drawn a connection between population growth and increased greenhouse gas emissions, but previous research has not focused on demographic shifts that are likely to go along with the increase in the number of people.

World population is expected to be generally older and more urban by century's end, and more people are likely to live in smaller households rather than in extended families, U.S., German and Austrian researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But how many people might there be? The researchers considered three scenarios: a continuation of current trends, which would yield a 2-billion-person increase by 2050; a slower growth path which could mean about 1 billion more people; and a faster growth path, which could see a population rise of as much as 3 billion by 2050.

That would mean about 9 billion people living on Earth, compared to more than 6 billion now.

A slower-growth path could cut emissions by 16 to 29 percent of the amount needed to keep global temperatures from causing serious effects, the researchers said. And an aging population with lower participation in the workforce could cut emissions by as much as 20 percent in some industrialized countries.

POSSIBLE RISE IN ASIAN ENERGY DEMAND

Generally speaking, the more people there are, the more fossil fuel they use, causing more greenhouse gas emissions. But those who live in rural areas, particularly in developing countries, use more biomass as fuel instead of fossil fuels like coal and oil, said Brian O'Neill of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the study's authors.

Therefore, a big move from country to city living is likely to mean greater fossil fuel use, especially in the developing world. Even if city-dwellers have relatively smaller carbon footprints -- living in smaller spaces, using public transit and less fossil fuel per person -- an influx of country people into cities is likely to make greenhouse emissions rise.

Another effect of urbanization is that urban workers tend to contribute more to economic growth than rural workers do.

"That's not because they work harder or longer hours," O'Neill said by telephone from Boulder, Colorado.

"It's because they're in sectors of the economy that drive economic growth more."

As a result, he said, the whole economy of the country grows faster and overall demand for energy rises, driving emissions up, as much as 25 percent in some developing countries.

The trend toward urbanization could have a noticeable impact on energy demand, especially in Asia, O'Neill said.

"I think it's possible ... that we're underestimating potential growth rates in energy demand in regions of the world that may urbanize very quickly over the next 20 to 30 years," he said.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)


Urbanization, Aging Will Affect Greenhouse Gas Emissions
LiveScience.com Yahoo News 13 Oct 10;

As the number of humans already on Earth has resources bursting at the seams, researchers are now finding it's not just population size that impacts the planet's health. The composition of that population and where they live also play huge roles in the release of greenhouse gases.

Aging and urbanization, in particular, could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years, according to new research published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"By examining the relationship between population dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions, this groundbreaking research increases our understanding of how human behaviors, decisions and lifestyles will determine the path of future climate change," said Sarah Ruth, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funded the study, along with a European Young Investigator's Award, and the Hewlett Foundation.

By mid-century it is estimated that the global population could rise by more than 3 billion people, with most of that increase occurring in urban areas, the researchers say.

To figure out how these changing demographics might impact climate change, the researchers developed scenarios for energy use, emissions and economic growth using a computer model (Population- Environment-Technology model, or PET).

They also analyzed data from national surveys covering 34 countries and representative of 61 percent of the global population to estimate key economic characteristics of household types over time, including labor supply and demand for consumer goods.

Overall, they found that if population follows one of the slower growth paths foreseen by demographers at the United Nations, by 2050 it could account for 16 to 29 percent of the emission reductions thought necessary to keep global temperatures from causing serious impacts, the researchers found.

"If global population growth slows down, it is not going to solve the climate problem, but it can make a contribution, especially in the long term," said study researcher Brian O'Neill, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.

The team found that growth in urban populations could lead to as much as a 25-percent rise in projected carbon dioxide emissions in some developing countries. The increased economic growth associated with city-dwellers was directly correlated with increased emissions, largely due to the higher productivity and consumption preferences of an urban population.

On the other hand, aging could reduce emissions levels by up to 20 percent in some industrialized countries, a finding that also had to do with productivity - older people are less likely to participate in the labor force or have lower labor productivity, and are associated with slower economic growth, the researchers say.

"Demography will matter to greenhouse gas emissions over the next 40 years," O'Neill said. "Urbanization will be particularly important in many developing countries, especially China and India, and aging will be important in industrialized countries."

The authors suggest that developers of future emissions scenarios give greater consideration to the implications of urbanization and aging, particularly in the United States, European Union, China and India.

"Further analysis of these trends would improve our understanding of the potential range of future energy demand and emissions," O'Neill said.

The research was conducted by scientists at NCAR, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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Adapting to rising sea levels: a new book

CSIRO Science Alert 12 Oct 10;

“The good news is that a recent concentration of science resources is improving our insight into ocean and ice dynamics, and scientific measurement of the rate of sea-level rise,” says the book’s lead editor, CSIRO Fellow and oceanographer Dr John Church.

“The way the world responds to climate change will become increasingly reliant on a sophisticated integrated atmosphere, ocean and ice observing network generating data on future climates and from which global and regional sea-level rise can be projected.

“The key question is where and how sea-level rise and associated extreme events will have their impact,” Dr Church says.

The 420-page book: Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability, is the work of more than 90 scientists from 13 nations, led by Dr Church, Dr Philip Woodworth from the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory UK, Dr Thorkild Aarup from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and Dr Stan Wilson from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on the science of sea-level rise, identifies the major impacts, assesses past sea-level change and the factors contributing to sea-level rise, and assesses how extreme events at the coast will change.

The book will be detailed this week at the Australia-New Zealand Climate Forum, being held in Hobart from October 13-15.

Dr Church says coastal development has accelerated over the past 50 years. Many of the world’s megacities are situated at the coast and new infrastructure worth billions of dollars is being constructed. These developments assume that the stable sea levels of the past several millennia will continue. This assumption is no longer true.

“Populations in low lying islands and deltaic regions are particularly at risk.

“Our knowledge has improved significantly since satellites were launched to observe the ocean and the ice sheets and robots deployed to explore the oceans. However, there are critical gaps in observations of the deep ocean, glaciers and ice sheets.

“Paralleling this, the development of computer simulations projecting ocean and ice sheet dynamics will be the tools that science needs, governments will rely on and coastal communities from the Pacific islands to the river deltas of Asia will be demanding.

“We cannot ignore sea-level change because it has the potential to change forever the crowded coastal fringes of our continents,” Dr Church says.

The book was initiated by the World Climate Research Programme and IOC shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but before cyclones Sidr and Nargis in 2007 and 2008. All claimed thousands of lives.

More on the CSIRO website.

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U.N. climate panel head aims to lead "overdue" reforms

Reuters 11 Oct 10;

(Reuters) - The head of the U.N. panel of climate scientists said on Monday he aimed to stay on and lead "overdue" reforms after errors in a 2007 report, including an exaggeration of the thaw of the Himalayan glaciers.

India's Rajendra Pachauri, opening an October 11-14 meeting of 300 delegates from 130 nations in Busan, South Korea, admitted "shortfalls and mistakes" in the 2007 overview of climate science but has resisted suggestions that he should quit.

"I am committed to carry reform forward," he told the first talks of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since an August 30 report by the InterAcademy Council, grouping science academies, urged fundamental reform of IPCC management.

"Change and improvement in an organization as important and complex as the IPCC is inevitable and overdue, but it must build on the demonstrated strengths of the system," he told delegates.

Among the council recommendations were that the chair of the IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with U.S. climate campaigner Al Gore, should serve only one six-year term. Pachauri, elected in 2002, is well into his second.

Pachauri has said in the past that he will fulfill his existing mandate to present a new IPCC review of global warming science in 2013-14, unless governments decide otherwise.

He noted that the InterAcademy Council said the IPCC could "claim many important accomplishments." It also called for more rigorous checks on information.

HIMALAYAS

In the 2007 report, the most glaring error was a projection that glaciers in the Himalayas could melt by 2035 -- far earlier than the worst projections. It also over-stated the amount of the Netherlands that is below sea level and the number of people in Africa at risk of disruptions to water supplies by 2020.

But scientific reviews have backed up the core IPCC conclusion that it is "very likely" that global warming is man-made, caused mainly by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

At Monday's session, no nations called for Pachauri to quit.

Diplomats say that forcing out Pachauri, who collected the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC, could help a fresh start but skeptics might seize on his departure as an admission that the report was badly flawed.

India has affirmed backing for Pachauri, making it hard for others to object to one of the few high-level climate posts held by a developing nation. And Pachauri himself has in the past sought to bolster the IPCC Secretariat in Geneva.

In a video message, Christiana Figueres, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, urged governments to carry out pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and praised the IPCC for alerting the world to risks of climate change.

"But confusion that has arisen recently has dampened the willingness of the public in some countries to support the tough decisions that governments need to make now in order to respond to the full challenge of climate change," she said.

Last year, most governments agreed at the U.N. summit in Copenhagen to limit temperature rises to below 2 Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times to avoid more droughts, mudslides, sandstorms, floods and rising sea levels.

"It is the job of governments to make sure that we avoid a future where climate disasters become the normal experience of humanity," she said.

(Writing by Alister Doyle in Oslo, editing by Janet Lawrence)

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