Best of our wild blogs: 3 Dec 10

Kids meet dugong, turtle and more at the Museum Open House!
from wild shores of singapore and Raffles Museum News

First field survey at Sungei Buloh (2 Dec 10)
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore

First look at Bidadari Cemetery
from wonderful creation

Male? Female? or BOTH??
from Macro Photography in Singapore and The Courtship of Tiger Beetles

Long-tailed Shrikes and fledglings
from Bird Ecology Study Group

The Green Corridor – my railway adventure
from isn't it a wonder, how life came to be

Water quality in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR)
from Water Quality in Singapore

泰坦魔芋花还是没有开放 The flower of Titan Arum is still not open
from PurpleMangrove

The sun bear youngsters at BSBCC
from Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

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Singapore in tough environmental balancing act

Agence France-Presse MSN Malaysia 3 Dec 10;

Singapore prides itself on being a clean and green city but a booming economy and a high-consumption lifestyle have made it one of the world's biggest carbon polluters per person.

As a major United Nations summit is being held in Mexico to find ways of curbing the carbon emissions blamed for global warming, Singapore's environmental balancing act poses challenging questions for the rest of Asia and the world.

Singapore's green credentials are in many ways very strong and it is establishing itself as a regional renewable energy hub.

Yet, if all Asians emulated Singaporeans' modern and often luxurious lifestyles, greenhouse gas emissions would spike alarmingly.

"If everyone in the world enjoyed the same level of consumption as the average Singaporean, we would need three planets to meet the demands placed on our resources," World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) spokesman Chris Chaplin said.

Singapore was last month listed by the British global risk advisory firm Maplecroft as the world's seventh largest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter relative to its population size.

Ahead of it were only the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

Maplecroft's index was calculated by evaluating annual CO2 emissions from energy use, emissions per capita and cumulative emissions of a country over more than a century -- 1900 to 2006.

"The lack of 'clean' energy sources coupled with the growth in Singapore's economy and the increasing use of cars as well as electronic appliances such as air-conditioners contribute to Singapore's emissions," Maplecroft said in a statement to AFP.

Despite a punishing auto levy and road charges, the number of motor vehicles on its roads reached 925,518 in 2009, up more than 27 percent in five years, with private cars making up 60 percent of the total, official figures show.

In a separate list, the WWF ranked Singapore 21st in the world in terms of ecological footprint, or the demand for resources per person, ahead of such countries as Germany, France and Britain.

WWF's calculation covered not only emissions -- the biggest component of humanity's carbon footprint -- but also demand placed by people on arable land, fishing grounds, forest and grazing land worldwide.

Singapore authorities insist, however, that that the country has had no choice but to rely on imported fossil fuel to power its rapid industrialisation.

The trade-reliant economy, valued at 200 billion US dollars in 2009, is tipped to expand by a massive 15 percent this year.

With a land area smaller than that of New York City, Singapore has no space among its five million citizens for wind farms, while it is devoid of hydro and geothermal power sources.

"We are dependent on fossil fuels because our small size severely limits our ability to switch to alternative energies," the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement to AFP.

It said Maplecroft's index neither reflected Singapore's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions nor took into account its unique circumstances.

"As a small city-state, the use of per capita emissions inflates our carbon emissions," it said, noting that overall, Singapore accounts for less than 0.2 percent of global emissions.

Nevertheless, the government said it was committed to the fight against climate change and was taking steps to reduce the growth of its emissions, including switching from oil to natural gas to produce electricity.

Singapore is investing heavily in clean energy technologies -- it has allocated 770 million dollars to develop innovative energy solutions -- and is building a liquefied natural gas terminal that will be ready by 2013.

This will allow access to gas sources beyond neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia.

It is also pushing its people to do more recycling, doubling its already expansive rail network by 2020 and testing electric vehicles for commercial use.

In another positive move, Singapore has offered itself as a "living laboratory" where global energy firms can develop and test new technologies before mass production.

Norway's Renewable Energy Corp (REC) opened one of the world's biggest solar technology manufacturing facilities in Singapore in November, a project costing nearly two billion dollars.

Vestas, a Danish manufacturer of wind turbines, already has a global research and development centre in the city-state.

"Singapore has been very wise in the way they are approaching this," REC's chief executive Ole Enger said. "They have made Singapore a global hub for renewable energy."

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Taxonomy is key to saving coral reefs – experts

Ellalyn B. De Vera Manila Bulletin 2 Dec 10;

MANILA, Philippines – Taxonomy, the practice and science of classifying organisms, and taxonomists appear to be in danger of becoming an endangered species. And this doesn’t bode well for biodiversity and the protection of coral reefs.

This is apparently the reason why the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) and Japan’s Ministry of Environment vowed to address the increasing risk of coral reef destruction in the region from damaging human activities and climate change by boosting the region's taxonomic capacities.

ACB executive director Rodrigo Fuentes said ASEAN region is home to 34 percent of the world’s coral reefs.

Fuentes said there is a need to boost the ASEAN countries’ taxonomic capacities on corals to address changing climate and harsh human activities.

“Taxonomy, which forms an important basis for biology and the protection of biodiversity, is in peril. The last few decades saw the discipline of taxonomy falling off the global political, funding, and academic agenda,” Fuentes said.

To boost the ASEAN region’s taxonomic capacities and save the dying science of taxonomy, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Environment, will conduct a series of training workshops that will enhance the capabilities of ASEAN+3 countries in the understanding and application of taxonomic knowledge in the context of sustainable biodiversity conservation and management.

ASEAN+3 include the 10 ASEAN member-states, Japan, China, and Korea.

“Taxonomists, like many endangered species, are not increasing in numbers. There is a dire need to revive interest in taxonomy. The diminishing status of this science and profession is crippling the ASEAN member-states’ and other Asian countries’ capacity to effectively catalogue our biological resources,” Fuentes said.

“We are all aware that without knowledge and understanding of species, it would be difficult to plan and implement biodiversity conservation efforts. But we believe that taxonomy is one of the fundamental tools required by our global community to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the development targets set by the World Summit for Sustainable Development,” he added.

Fuentes said the workshops are part of a project on “Taxonomic Capacity Building and Governance for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity” funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund.

The first in the series will focus on corals taxonomy and will be held on December 4 to 8 in Penang, in cooperation with the University Sains Malaysia (UMS). Experts from the UMS, Kyoto University of Japan, and Phuket Marine Biological Centre will serve as resource persons.

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WWF study shows decline in Fiji marine turtle shell trade

WWF 1 Dec 10;

Suva, Fiji - The marine turtle derivatives trade in Fiji is showing a marked decrease compared to previous years, a new report from WWF South Pacific says.

The result of four years of surveys conducted in all municipal markets around Viti Levu, Turtle shells and derivatives looks at the trade in marine turtles shells, products and other species in Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island.

It reveals that while sea turtles face many threats in the wild, their biggest challenge comes from human demand for subsistence and traditional products derived from their shells.

The report specifies that Fiji’s Turtle Moratorium needs to be amended if this iconic species is to survive. For example, the Moratorium currently allows exemptions if turtle shells or their derivatives are used as ceremonial tokens of appreciation or for other traditional purposes.

Capacity to monitor the number of turtles captured and the trade for its meat, shell or eggs also needs further strengthening, the report says, to guarantee the long-term survival of Fiji’s threatened marine turtles.

Awareness campaigns have been effective for consumers and vendors

However, an increase in awareness campaigns developed by government, NGOs, and media over the past few years have had a positive impact on conservation, with more people now taking action to protect Fiji’s threatened marine turtle populations.

Lead author and WWF South Pacific marine species officer Merewalesi Laveti highlights in the report that the enforcement of the Endangered and Protected Species Act (1998) and the extension of the turtle moratorium have further enhanced the protection and conservation of marine turtles.

“A total of 102 traders were extensively interviewed for this report and they have indicated the lack of demand from consumers for turtle derivatives”, she said. “Consumers who had an interest in turtle derivatives have made a shift to wooden artefacts.”

Results from the survey also indicate a change in vendor behaviour, which has been brought about thanks to ongoing campaigns to raise public awareness on Fiji’s endangered marine turtles.

“The change in vendor behaviour shows that the Endangered Species Protection Act and the Turtle Moratorium have been effective in enforcing laws on the ground and increasing levels of public awareness.”

Black market remains an unknown quantity

The report shows that the 57 turtle shells sold in the markets from 2006 to 2008 decreased to none in 2009. However, this figure does not reflect the level of underground trading in black markets.

“Instances where the derivatives were found, dealers explained that the items were on the shelves from previous years. This is an achievement that would not have been possible without effective partnerships,” Laveti said.

Other species of concern remain on the shelves

While there has been a noticeable decline in the sales of turtle shells and derivatives, the sale of other species – which the report calls “species of special concern” – continued to sell in larger volumes in fish and municipal markets around Fiji.

Species falling into this category include the near threatened juvenile Black tip shark and the endangered Hammerhead shark, which are usually sold for food. The report says this illustrates a lack of enforcement on fishing size limits as well as general awareness on what species need to be protected.

In most cases fish species of special concern tend to be ignored by traders and continue to appear in markets due to consumer demand.

Continuing to work with other stakeholders to protect marine turtles and other species of concern

The WWF South Pacific species programme works closely with the Fiji Sea Turtle Steering Committee (FSTSC) to improve awareness on the need for conservation and protection of the sea. Composed of turtle conservation stakeholders, the steering committee is also looking to extend their mandate to cover species of special concern such as the sharks, humphead wrasse and bumphead parrotfish.

Turtle shells and derivatives reiterates the need to enforce existing regulations but at the same time recognises the need for increased financial assistance to be focussed on initiating and continuing research for new information about marine turtle population in Fiji.

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Coral bleaching in Tobago

Trinidad Express 1 Dec 10;

Mass coral bleaching as a result of unusually warm sea surface threatens the coral reefs of Tobago. The health and very survival of coral reefs around Tobago is currently under threat from widespread devastation in what is now looking to be the worst mass coral bleaching event the island has ever witnessed.

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that corals display in particularly stressful conditions, such as unusually high sea-water temperatures. The algae that provide the coral with food and live within its tissue are expelled from the living coral animal. As a result, the coral tissue loses its colouration and appears white; commonly referred to as coral bleaching. The algae provide up to 90 per cent of the food to the coral and if they are not regained in a matter of weeks, the coral is likely to die from starvation.

In 2005, unusually high sea surface temperatures caused widespread mortality of reef animals and a reduction of hard coral cover on many reefs around the island including Buccoo Reef, one of Tobago’s main tourist attractions, renowned for its vibrant and colourful reefs. A mass-bleaching event is currently unfolding in the Caribbean with island nations in the Lesser Antilles including Tobago experiencing the highest sea surface temperatures. Many of the popular reefs in Tobago now resemble winter snow scenery. The Caribbean has been warmer than average since January and temperatures in Speyside have been high enough to initiate bleaching (29.5°C for the southern Caribbean) for nearly 2 months according to temperature logger data. Conditions are considered even more stressful than 2005 in terms of sustained higher temperatures.
During the 2005 mass-bleaching event, Speyside remained relatively unaffected. It is likely that the strong local currents carried away the warmer temperatures and sediment from the Orinoco River. Unfortunately, Speyside has not been so lucky this year as it has suffered extensive bleaching which researchers believe may be related to the high temperatures combined with the seasonal pulse of freshwater from the Orinoco River in Venezuela.

The reefs around Tobago have been monitored since the last mass-bleaching event in 2005. Coral Cay Conservation, a UK-based not for profit organisation, has been mapping the reefs of Tobago since 2007. They are currently working with the Speyside Eco-Marine Park rangers to monitor the extent, recovery and mortality of reefs in the areas of Speyside and Charlotteville.

In addition to the high water temperatures, Tobago has also been impacted by Hurricane Thomas. The resulting storm caused numerous landslides and muddy waters which have remained in Charlotteville bay for over three weeks.

If coral reefs recover they still remain vulnerable to disease and other environmental stressors, such as these storms. After the last bleaching event in 2005, many coral became infected with yellow blotch disease and white plague. We are now already beginning to see a number of coral diseases.

Severe landslides and muddy waters affected Charlotteville following Hurricane Thomas. Bleached coral suffering from black band disease and white plague disease in Speyside.
Being a small tropical island, it is no secret that Tobago heavily relies on tourism as one of its main sources of income and coral reef related activities make up a big part of this income. If reefs fail to recover from this bleaching event, we are looking at a replacement of from thriving coral reefs with abundant life to baron seascapes dominated by seaweed. Fishermen can expect to be spending more hours at sea to catch fewer fish if the correct action is not taken now. In the event that the island’s reefs should disappear, it will have severe implications for the economic benefits derived from these natural resources, estimated to constitute nearly half of Tobago’s GDP according to a economic valuation conducted by the World Resource Institute in 20061.

Successful recovery of the coral reefs of Tobago depends on a number of factors including:
1) The presence of other healthy reefs where new coral larvae can be sourced and generated, replenishing damaged reefs.

2) Effective sewage treatment so that chemicals that promote algae overgrowth and coral diseases do not wash onto the reefs.

3) Stopping upland deforestation and poorly planned coastal construction projects that result

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Evidence destroyed in Timor oil spill: the luckiest oil spill

Wendy Carlisle ABC News 3 Dec 10;

It was the luckiest oil spill we ever had.

When the West Atlas rig - operated by the Thai oil giant PTTEP - haemorrhaged oil for 74 days last year, no-one was killed and according to the Government and the oil company the environmental damage has been minimal.

"The fact is we were lucky with Montara" said Resources Minister Ferguson when he tabled the Montara Commission of inquiry last week.

Headed by former public servant David Borthwick, the Montara Inquiry and its report had been a long 15 months in the making.

"The quick coordinated response from government's regulators and the industry means that the impact on the marine environment was minimal."* said Martin Ferguson.

Former environment minister Peter Garrett had said much the same thing during the spill.

"I've been advised the number of birds affected is about 22, some 13 birds had died. I mean that's terrible and I hope there are no more, but I think we can genuinely say the impact has been minimal.**

"We're head-down and bum-up on this" Garrett had assured Radio National's Fran Kelly at the time.

But leafing through the report I was struck with the strange feeling they were in a parallel universe to that inhabited by Commissioner Borthwick.

Borthwick did not conclude the environmental damage was minimal.

On the contrary, he said the environmental monitoring was so poor we might never know the truth.

"It is unlikely that the full impact of the blowout will ever be known. This reflects the vast and remote area affected by the spill; the absence of solid reliable baseline data on species and ecosystems, and the slow response in putting together a monitoring plan."

The crime scene had been destroyed, by time, by wind and by the seas.

Referring to scientific monitoring reports from both the oil company and the Government which cited one dead sea snake, 22 dead birds but no confirmed reports of oiled whales or cetaceans or other affected wildlife as a result of the spill, Borthwick noted:

"Mention has been made in submissions to this inquiry of very limited impacts of the blowout on wildlife. It is unlikely that this reporting depicts the extent of the impact on species."

He suggested dead wildlife would have sunk while nobody was looking.

"Animals that may have died in oil-affected water may not have stayed afloat for very long, making it unlikely that they could be detected in large numbers in the vast area of open water over which the oil and oil residue was dispersed."***

The Montara commission of inquiry has made 100 findings of fact about the spill, its causes and the aftermath, and 105 recommendations, most of which have been accepted.

Resources Minister Ferguson who now referred to the blowout as an 'incident' said the Government is now dealing with the "learning's".

There was room for improvement, but "our regulatory regime is good- it's effective".

"At the heart of the matter is the failure of the operator and the failure of the regulator to adhere to this regime."

Ferguson said Montara was "preventable" and he proceeded to wade into the territory government like one would with the village idiot.

Their approach to regulation was 'minimalist'.

Indeed a quick read of the territory's submission to the Montara inquiry bears this out.

It wasn't 'usual practice' for their inspectors to visit rigs. No, they sat at their desks in Darwin and rubberstamped oil company requests.

What he failed to mention was that that under Offshore Petroleum Act the Commonwealth is the regulator.

Canberra had delegated the territory to do the job, and paid them $2 million a year for their efforts.

Borthwick observed they'd been spending less than half that, and pocketing the rest.

Apparently no-one in Canberra had noticed.

It was light-touch self-regulation gone mad.

Borthwick threw the book at PTTEP. They had misled the inquiry and he questioned their corporate ethics. PTTEP ought show cause why they should be allowed to continue to operate in the Montara oilfield.

Ferguson agreed and said he would review all their licences, including the ones he awarded after the blowout began.

Ten days into the spill Peter Garrett despatched a Queensland Government scientist - Dr Mike Short to fly over the slick and pull together a wildlife response strategy in the event of the nightmare scenario - oil hitting the precious Ashmore reef or the Cartier Islands, home to protected and endangered species and thousands of migratory birds.

Peering out the plane's window Dr Short spotted a dead whale , but no autopsy was conducted.

Putting together my Background Briefing story (at the time, I called him up and asked for an interview. It was to be my first encounter with the confidentiality clauses that had been slapped on scientists by the Government and the oil company.

An interview would not be possible.

Meanwhile commercial fishermen started to worry aloud about the spraying of dispersants as fish were spawning. Fisherman George Hamilton landed four gold band snappers near Broome and he demanded they be tested.

The snappers would become exhibit A in PTTEP's (S4A) Fish study Assessment of the effects on Timor Sea Fish.

The frozen fish were sent to Associate Professor Monique Gagnon at Curtin University for examination.

She too had signed a confidentiality clause but had made a vital recommendation. "It is imperative to commence a monitoring program of fish health during the oil spill and continue monitoring after the oil leak has been solved."

This was ignored. Her finding of "no oil contamination" in the snappers was reported prominently on the Government's website.

Later the nation's leading marine science organisation AIMS would scoff at the S4A study.

They didn't call it junk science, but they might as well have.

"There was no description of when or where the fish were caught, no description of the methodologies or analytical techniques used.

"There comes a point when scientific rigour has been compromised to such an extent that results could be considered meaningless."

Sampling from commercial fisheries did not begin until mid-December, way after the well had been killed. A window of opportunity had closed.

As the oil gushing from the Montara well head entered its first month, the WWF became so frustrated at the lack of information that they sent their own vessel steaming into the spill zone.

On the same day Garrett flew over the slick for the first time and lest anyone think the Government was not doing anything, he too announced a survey vessel.

The day before staff from his department had made frantic calls to the University of Qld to locate a suitable scientist.

They found Dr James Watson, a marine biologist who would later tell me "They didn't have a clue what was going on. But they wanted someone there urgently".

A few days later Watson and two colleagues flew to Darwin and were picked up at the airport by an oil company rep who took them down to meet the Sea Sprite.

What happened next was astonishing.

"We got to the ship and the captain of the ship and I obviously didn't know where the oil was. So we sat around with the oil rep and he literally drew a map on an A4 piece of paper saying "This is the oil rig and then this is Ashmore Reef and we think the oil is here at the moment".

Dr Watson was incredulous. He needed satellite maps showing the exact location of the slick so that he could plan his transects.

The satellite maps never eventuated.

"Now without having any knowledge of where the oil slick was, that was quite stressful," he said.

Nevertheless the team was excited about the job ahead, but the main difficulty was that so little was known about this part of the planet.

"It's considered one of the most biologically rich places on earth. Just 100 kilometres from Ashmore Reef you see blue whales, you see fin whales. If you go in another direction there's massive humpback whale nurseries. It's the highest concentration of sea snakes on earth. It's an incredibly rich area yet we don't know anything about it."

For five days the team transacted the spill in straight lines. They saw pilot whales feeding in the oil.

"We saw a hundred pilot whales and if you look at the photos, its right in a big smack pool of oil. So there's no doubt they were feeding, some animals were feeding on fish which were actually living in that oil. We don't know what that means. It could mean nothing. It could mean everything in terms of the food chain."

In the absence of this he feared, the impact of the spill might never be known.

With the Watson expedition on the water Peter Garrett delivered the good news to Fran Kelly.

"We have got a team of marine biologists we are doing water sampling, we're making sure that we monitor very carefully the area of the slick," he said.

"We will pick up any impacts that have been taking place on wildlife as soon as they do and take the appropriate response."

Dr Watson's report recommended long term monitoring of sea birds, turtles, sea snakes and fish.

He wanted toxicology tests on whales and dolphins.

These recommendations were ignored. To date no research has been triggered into the whales, dolphins or turtles.

The fish studies would not begin until six months after the spoil began. There are no results yet.

But it was the spraying of 180,000 litres of chemical dispersants that aroused most concern. Scientists were worried about the impact on coral spawn and fish larvae.

Minister Garrett reassured them, "We are doing water sampling, we're making sure that we monitor very carefully the areas of the slick and in fact whether there are any impacts on the wildlife at all" he told ABC Radio.

The Government's clean-up agency - AMSA confirmed by email that water sampling was being done. However because of the Borthwick Inquiry "it would be inappropriate to comment".

Fifteen months later, the truth can now be told.

"The inquiry has not seen data that indicated the distribution of the oil and the dispersant mix beneath the sea surface. This is a major shortcoming of the response. There should have been a thorough sub-surface sampling of the oil/dispersant mix. This was important to inform judgements about the environmental consequences of the Blowout."****

While the use of dispersants had been justified, the absence of sampling meant detecting damage on coral spawn, fish larvae and other subsurface species might "never be fully known".

The reason for the mess was simple enough. There is a gaping hole in Australia's environmental defence laws. Oil rigs in Commonwealth waters are not required by law to pay for the cleanup, let alone assess any ecological damages that may occur as a result of a spill.

So behind the scenes Garrett's department furiously negotiated with the oil company over what the environmental monitoring plan might look like.

As Borthwick was later to note, the company called the shots on the science. He suggested the Montara plan would benefit from peer review, and in the future the process ought to be independent of oil companies.

Meanwhile as the spill played out the only 'scientific' monitoring that was being done was by Customs officers flying over in planes and workers on the water spraying the dispersants.

PTTEP's PR machine swung into gear.

Media was peppered with audio news releases, mostly dealing with the frantic struggle to kill the well, but some to do with the impact of the spill.

"I don't want to pre-empt the studies but I'm not expecting a large effect from this spill." said PTTEP's John Wardrop in one of them.

"Obviously things like turtles, sea snakes, birds are a concern, but we haven't to-date seen significant numbers and people have been looking."

Not only was the company controlling the science, but much of the other information as well.

Borthwick asked why was there no "authoritative" information about the volume of oil spilt or its coverage?

Why wasn't did the Government independently verify PTTEP's claims that the spill was 400 barrels a day when that could have been be way off the mark?

"The provision of information should not have been left in PTTEP's hands" said Borthwick.

In the wake of the Gulf Of Mexico spill, BP has set aside $30 billion for compensation.

The scale of the two spills is vastly different. But Borthwick's finding that the impact of the Timor sea spill might never been known must be music to the ears of PTTEP.

If no damage is detected, then potential litigants are going to have a hard time claiming damages.

As Ferguson tabled the Montara report in the parliament, the new Environment Minister Tony Burke was up at the site of the proposed giant new LNG hub at James Price Point on the Kimberly.

His office issued a statement to The Drum "The four monitoring reports released suggest that the immediate impact on marine life was limited.

"Long-term monitoring of the impacts of the oil spill will continue and the results of these studies will be released when they become available."

The italics were theirs.

It was the luckiest oil spill they ever had.

Read more!

Unseen Workers Survive on Jakarta’s Trash

Ulma Haryanto Jakarta Globe 3 Dec 10;

Jakarta. Behind the row of buildings that line Jalan Cirendeu Raya in South Jakarta, just three kilometers from the upscale residential area of Pondok Indah, trash scavengers live among the piles of garbage that they mine for a living.

The families here eke out a meager existence, with just enough electricity for lights, no television, a worn-out sofa and thin mattresses for their beds.

Their only source of water comes from a donated water pump, while their homes are shacks made from sheets of plywood and corrugated metal.

Their job is a simple if unheralded one: they sort through the trash for items that can be recycled, then burn the rest.

Sidik, 45, and his family moved to Cirendeu with 12 other families from their old haunt in Pondok Pinang, also in South Jakarta, after they were evicted in 2002 to make way for a private school’s new parking lot.

“Most of us used to sort trash for the Jakarta Sanitation Office, but now that we’ve had to move here, we’re on our own,” he says.

“Its slightly better here; we don’t get flooded, but the roof leaks once in a while.”

The scavengers have become the subject of a campaign by the XSProject Foundation, which advocates for their welfare while encouraging greater environmental awareness.

Since 2002, the foundation has been buying the polypropylene bottles and packaging collected by the scavengers, and selling them to plastics producers overseas who are looking for cheap, recyclable raw material.

Retno Hapsari says the project helps lift the scavengers out of poverty and cuts down on the amount of waste incinerated.

“There are 80,000 tons of polypropylene packaging produced in Indonesia per year, and in Jakarta alone there are approximately 450,000 trash scavengers,” she says.

“They need to sift through all the waste to find the 21 types of garbage that can be reused.”

“Not so many people realize that scavengers play an important role in neighborhood sanitation,” she adds.

“They’re the ones who take our waste and sort it so that it can be recycled. Yet most of them live in poverty.”

Retno says that before the XSProject Foundation became involved, polypropylene and other plastic waste would simply be incinerated. Now, the foundation buys it up by the ton.

Najat, the foundation’s financial officer, says most of it is sold to buyers in Singapore, Australia, Greece, the United States and the Netherlands.

“We purchase the materials from the scavengers at well above the market price,” she says, adding the foundation pays Rp 6,500 per kilogram of polypropylene, and Rp 3,500 if it needs to be cleaned up.

Sidik says the families in Cirendeu can make a combined Rp 35,000 to Rp 100,000 ($4 to $11) a day. They collect all their trash in the Pondok Indah and Lebak Bulus areas, then bring it back to their commune.

Those who don’t go out scavenging stay back to sort out the garbage. They separate cardboard boxes, glass, metal and plastic items, and sell them to a variety of buyers, including recycling companies and organizations like the XSProject Foundation.

Linda, 27, is new to the community, having just moved here seven months ago from Cikarang in Bekasi.

“Here the women usually stay at home while the men scavenge,” she says.

She adds the work isn’t all just collecting and sorting. In October, they began making the cardboard trumpets popular among New Year’s Eve revelers.

All the materials for the trumpets come from the scavenged trash: plastic bottles for the mouthpiece and cardboard boxes for the tubes.

“Nobody taught us how to do it,” Linda says. “We saw other people making the trumpets and we tried it ourselves.”

There are also young children among the families here, most of whom face the prospect of following in their parents’ footsteps later in life.

But one parent, Sastro, 48, says he wants to break the cycle.

“My oldest son is now studying at a vocational school,” he says.

“It’s not easy to afford the fees, but I’m determined that my children will have a better life than me.”

Read more!

Officials and Analysts Say Greenpeace's 'Lies' About Indonesia Are Imperialistic

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nurfika Osman Jakarta Globe 2 Dec 10;

Jakarta. Analysts and government officials on Thursday accused the environmental group Greenpeace of fabricating its data on environmental destruction in Indonesia, and have called for the group to defend its claims.

In the discussion “Menguak Dusta Greenpeace” (“Revealing Greenpeace’s Lies”), participants said there were strong indications of double standards in the organization’s work, influenced by the political and financial interests of its donors.

The discussion was held to promote a newly published book of the same title, written by Syarif Hidayatullah, a lawyer for plantation and mining interests.

Agus Purnomo, the presidential adviser for environmental affairs, said that while Greenpeace had raised many worthwhile issues, many of its reports of environmental damage “use fake data to harm the target country.”

He cited in particular one of the group’s latest reports, “REDD Alert: Protection Money,” which raises doubts about Indonesia’s commitment to REDD, the UN-backed scheme to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Agus said the report falsely implied the Indonesian government planned to clear more than 63 million hectares of forest by 2030 to make way for pulp, oil palm, mining and renewable energy operations.

He also took issue with another part of the same report in which Greenpeace warned that a $1 billion deal with Norway on REDD Plus initiatives was prone to corruption.

“Where’s the money that has been misappropriated? We know nothing about it,” Agus said.

“All the claims are fake and the writers must clarify them before the House of Representatives and the government.”

Boni Hargens, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, accused Greenpeace of employing double standards, given that its main donors were major foreign companies.

He questioned why Greenpeace “always fights hard to limit the expansion of palm oil plantations in Indonesia, but not in other countries.”

He said the organization was also notably silent on the Indonesian operations of foreign firms such as miner Freeport and ExxonMobil, an oil major.

“These are double standards — just another form of modern imperialism imposed on third-world countries like Indonesia,” Boni said.

Syarif said his purpose in writing the book was to “reveal Greenpeace as an agent for multinational companies trying to disrupt local industries.”

He accused the organization of mounting “black campaigns” to harm local industries, such as by lobbying foreign financial institutions and donors to refuse loans to Indonesian-based plantation companies.

Syarif also refuted what he said was Greenpeace data showing that Indonesia was the world’s third-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide after China and the United States.

He cited the World Bank’s World Development Indicators 2010 report that he said showed Indonesia was 19th overall on the global list.

However, the WDI 2010 clearly puts Indonesia a solid fourth, behind China, the US and Russia. The country is also in the top 10 for emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, two other greenhouse gases.

Syarif said his book featured several statements criticizing Greenpeace made by Indonesian politicians, activists, businesspeople, academics, and even Patrick Moore, an early member of the group.

“There are strong reasons for the government to ban Greenpeace from entering Indonesia, and even suing them for their black campaigns,” Syarif said.

Basuki Eka Purnama, a legislator from Bangka-Belitung province, said that while he was a district head there, he frequently saw Greenpeace protest against legitimate local logging and mining firms, while ignoring the illegal operations.

“They only bark when there’s a local company with the potential to compete against a large foreign firm,” he said.

“Local palm oil, pulp and mining companies: those will always be their targets.”

Greenpeace on Thursday denied all the accusations, calling the book an attempt to discredit the organization.

“They’re trying to discredit us in a ridiculous way,” said Yuyun Indradi, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner.

“Our reports are based on research with clear references that they can check.”

He said his group was not driven by any political or financial motivation in carrying out its various campaigns.

“We’re not financed by any companies or governments,” Yuyun said.

“We’re not linked to any political party. We’re driven purely by our mission, which is to help save the environment.”

He said Greenpeace was preparing a rebuttal to the allegations raised in Syarif’s book and considering further actions.

“We’ll respond as soon as possible, by next week at the latest,” he said.

“While we can rebut them, maybe we should just ignore them. Our people are smart. They know what’s been going on so far regarding environmental degradation and what’s behind it.”

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Google Unveils Satellite Platform To Aid Forest Efforts

Timothy Gardner PlanetArk 3 Dec 10;

Google Inc unveiled technology on Thursday it says will help build trust between rich and poor countries on projects designed to protect the world's tropical forests.

Measuring the success of forest-protection plans in places like the Amazon, Indonesia and the Congo basin has always been difficult because tree disease, corruption, and illegal logging threaten vast remote areas that scientists can't monitor by land.

The future of the projects are important to global talks on climate being held in Cancun for two weeks ending December 10 because forest destruction is responsible for up to 17 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions.

The platform, called Google Earth Engine, takes vast amounts of forest images from U.S. and French satellites and crunches it at shared data centers, through cloud computing. It allows scientists to monitor forests from their own computers in minutes or seconds instead of the hours or days it took before.

Google also wants to eventually sell access to advanced aspects of the tool to carbon traders, policy makers, and researchers working in forestry.

Global deals among nations to protect forests have been slowed by the lack of transparency and the failure of the United States to pass a climate bill that would have boosted a global market in carbon offsets.

But negotiators at the climate talks believe progress can be made on a global plan called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation, or REDD, in which rich countries would fund rewards for developing and poor nations like Brazil, Indonesia and several in Africa such as Rwanda, that save and restore forests.

REDD

Google hopes its tool will help speed cooperation in REDD which could lead to further global agreements on climate.

"How does a rich donor nation gain a level of comfort that what is being recorded about forest protection projects is in fact what is taking place-" said Rebecca Moore, Earth Engine's engineering manager, on the sidelines of the U.N. global warming talks.

"What's nice about a cloud computing environment is that both donor countries and developing countries ... now have the same tools and data" to analyze the evidence of how well projects work, she said.

The United States, Japan, Norway and other rich countries pledged $3.5 billion at last year's climate talks in Copenhagen, to fund the development of REDD and it could be worth much more in the future.

Gerry Steinlegger, a forestry expert based in Switzerland with World Wildlife Fund, said stronger satellite analysis tools dramatically cut the costs of monitoring forests by land.

He also said the tools should help countries trust each other to work together.

"Ultimately this is what the global climate negotiations are about, how to monitor and verify what is going on with emissions and this offers consistency."

Google.org, the company's philanthropic unit, will give 10 million computer hours of Earth Engine to developing countries for the next two years as the world tries to come to a new agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

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'No Fish Left Behind' Approach Leaves Earth With Nowhere Left to Fish, Study Finds

ScienceDaily 2 Dec 10;

Earth has run out of room to expand fisheries, according to a new study led by University of British Columbia researchers that charts the systematic expansion of industrialized fisheries.

In collaboration with the National Geographic Society and published in the online journal PLoS ONE, the study is the first to measure the spatial expansion of global fisheries. It reveals that fisheries expanded at a rate of one million sq. kilometres per year from the 1950s to the end of the 1970s. The rate of expansion more than tripled in the 1980s and early 1990s -- to roughly the size of Brazil's Amazon rain forest every year.

Between 1950 and 2005, the spatial expansion of fisheries started from the coastal waters off the North Atlantic and Northwest Pacific, reached into the high seas and southward into the Southern Hemisphere at a rate of almost one degree latitude per year. It was accompanied by a nearly five-fold increase in catch, from 19 million tonnes in 1950, to a peak of 90 million tonnes in the late 1980s, and dropping to 87 million tonnes in 2005, according to the study.

"The decline of spatial expansion since the mid-1990s is not a reflection of successful conservation efforts but rather an indication that we've simply run out of room to expand fisheries," says Wilf Swartz, a PhD student at UBC Fisheries Centre and lead author of the study.

Meanwhile, less than 0.1 per cent of the world's oceans are designated as marine reserves that are closed to fishing.

"If people in Japan, Europe, and North America find themselves wondering how the markets are still filled with seafood, it's in part because spatial expansion and trade makes up for overfishing and 'fishing down the food chain' in local waters," says Swartz.

"While many people still view fisheries as a romantic, localized activity pursued by rugged individuals, the reality is that for decades now, numerous fisheries are corporate operations that take a mostly no-fish-left-behind approach to our oceans until there's nowhere left to go," says Daniel Pauly, co-author and principal investigator of the Sea Around Us Project at UBC Fisheries Centre.

The researchers used a newly created measurement for the ecological footprint of fisheries that allows them to determine the combined impact of all marine fisheries and their rate of expansion. Known as SeafoodPrint, it quantifies the amount of "primary production" -- the microscopic organisms and plants at the bottom of the marine food chain -- required to produce any given amount of fish.

"This method allows us to truly gauge the impact of catching all types of fish, from large predators such as bluefin tuna to small fish such as sardines and anchovies," says Pauly. "Because not all fish are created equal and neither is their impact on the sustainability of our ocean."

"The era of great expansion has come to an end, and maintaining the current supply of wild fish sustainably is not possible," says co-author and National Geographic Ocean Fellow Enric Sala. "The sooner we come to grips with it -- similar to how society has recognized the effects of climate change -- the sooner we can stop the downward spiral by creating stricter fisheries regulations and more marine reserves."

The University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, in the College for Interdisciplinary Studies, undertakes research to restore fisheries, conserve aquatic life and rebuild ecosystems. It promotes multidisciplinary study of aquatic ecosystems and broad-based collaboration with maritime communities, government, NGOs and other partners. The UBC Fisheries Centre is recognized globally for its innovative and enterprising research, with its academics winning many accolades and awards. The Sea Around Us Project is funded in part by the Pew Environment Group. For more information, visit www.fisheries.ubc.ca and www.cfis.ubc.ca.

The National Geographic Society, the Waitt Foundation, the SEAlliance along with strategic government, private, academic and conservation partners including the TEDPrize, Google and IUCN, are beginning an action-oriented marine conservation initiative under the banner of "Mission Blue" that will increase global awareness of the urgent ocean crisis and help to reverse the decline in ocean health by inspiring people to care and act; reducing the impact of fishing; and promoting the creation of marine protected areas. For more information, go to www.iamtheocean.org.

World Running Out Of New Places To Fish: Study
Allan Dowd PlanetArk 7 Dec 10;

The world's fishing industry is fast running out of new ocean fishing grounds to exploit as it depletes existing areas through unsustainable harvesting practices, according to a study published Thursday.

Expansion into unexploited fishing grounds allowed global catches to increase for decades, and disguised the fact that older areas were being depleted, according researchers at the University of British Columbia and National Geographic.

"We knew the expansion was going on, but this is the first time we have quantified it," said Daniel Pauly, a scientist at the Vancouver-based university who co-authored the report published in the online journal PLoS ONE. (here)

About 19 million tons of fish were landed in 1950, and that increased to a peak of 90 million tons a year in the late 1980s, according to the researchers, who looked at data from 1950 to 2005.

The researchers tracked the expansion of fishing activity using computer models that examine both the total number of fish caught and the impact that catching different types of fish has had on the ocean's productivity.

By the late 1990s, the world's fishing fleets had largely run out of new fishing grounds to exploit, the researchers said.

Consumers have a romantic view of fishers being local business people, but most fishing is done by large companies, according to Pauly, who said these companies can ignore the decline of older stocks by simply moving to new areas.

The data shows more must done to ensure existing fish stocks are protected, said the researchers, who have done other studies outlining problems with the world's fish supplies.

"The sooner we come to grips with it ... the sooner we can stop the downward spiral by creating stricter fishing regulations and more marine reserves," co-author Enric Sala said in a statement.

The researchers said that in 1950 most heavy fishing was done in the North Atlantic and the Western Pacific, but by the mid 1990s, a third of the world's oceans and two-thirds of the continental shelves were exploited.

That expansion has left only unproductive fishing areas on the high seas and the ice-covered waters of the Arctic and Antarctic for boats to move into.

Some other researchers have complained that recent studies warning the oceans are being depleted of larger fish are making the situation appear worse than it really is.

Pauly said those critics have ignored the role that the move of the fleet into new fishing grounds has on fish-catch data, which is documented in the current study.

(Editing by Peter Galloway)

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Report calls for radical redesign of cities to cope with population growth

Megacities on the Move report says authorities must start planning their transport infrastructure now for a future when two thirds of the world's population will live in cities
Alok Jha guardian.co.uk 2 Dec 10;

Moving away from car ownership, using real-time traffic information to help plan journeys and having more virtual meetings will be vital to prevent the megacities of the future from becoming dysfunctional and unpleasant places to live, according to a study by the environmental think tank Forum for the Future.

The report argues that authorities must begin to plan now in order to create easier and more sustainable ways of accessing goods and services in the world's ever-growing cities. Citizens must also be encouraged to change their behaviour to keep cities liveable.

By 2040, the world's urban population is expected to have grown from 3.5bn to 5.6bn. The new report calls for a radical re-engineering of cities' infrastructure to cope. "The future is going to look pretty urban ... with more and more people shifting to cities to the point that, by 2040, we're going to have two thirds of all the people in the world living in cities," said Ivana Gazibara, senior strategic adviser at Forum for the Future and an author of the report, Megacities on the Move.

"If we go on with business as usual, what happens is unmanageable levels of congestion because personal car ownership has proliferated," she said. "Cities could be a pretty nasty place to live for the two-thirds of the global population in the next 30 years if we don't act on things like climate change mitigation and adaptation, smarter use of resources and sorting out big systemic things like urban mobility."

The report looked at transport, but not just moving from A to B. "It's about accessibility and productivity and interaction," said Gazibara. "Those are things you can do through physical interaction but you don't have to.."

One issue is to integrate different modes of transport: citizens will want to walk, cycle, access public transport, drive personal vehicles or a mixture of all modes in one journey. "Information technology is going to be incredibly important in all of this, in terms of better integrating and connecting physical modes of transport," said Gazibara. "But we're also going to see lots more user-centred ICT [information and communication technology] so it makes it easier for us to access things virtually."

She said there are already cars that have integrated hardware allowing them to communicate with each other and central traffic hubs. By collecting and centralising information of this kind, city authorities could manage traffic information in real time and help speed up people's journeys. And better "telepresence" systems for virtual meetings could remove the need for some journeys altogether.

The trickiest part, though, could be getting citizens themselves to take part. "We have the technological solutions, whether it's alternative drive-trains for vehicles or sophisticated IT – the real challenge will be scaling it in a meaningful way," said Gazibara.

City planning will also be important, she said, creating self-contained neighbourhoods where everything is accessible by walking or cycling.

The report also highlights examples of good practice that are already in use. Vancouver, for example, has recognised that many of its inhabitants will use several modes of transport in one journey, so city planners have widened pedestrian crossings, built more cycle lanes and provided cycle racks on buses.

For the future, Gazibara pointed to innovative car-sharing schemes such as the CityCar concept, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with "stackable" electric cars lined up near transport hubs. These could be rented out for short journeys within city limits. They could also store power at night, when renewable sources might be generating electricity that would otherwise have to be dumped.

Friends of the Earth transport campaigner Richard Dyer agreed that action was needed now to make cities more sustainable. "Tackling climate change must be at the heart of building a greener, fairer future – and local people must have their say. New technologies will be part of the solution, but rising populations and the urgent need to cut carbon emissions mean that we also need policies that reduce the need to travel, cut car use and make walking and cycling the first choice for short journeys. Alongside green energy and better insulation for our homes, this will make our cities healthier, more pleasant and vibrant places to live – and will create new jobs too."

Gazibara said city authorities needed to start taking the issues more seriously. "[There are] far too many places where cities that are acknowledging climate change as a threat continue to build more roads, continue to provide incentives to more car ownership and more driving. That's something that will fundamentally need to change."

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Africa Can Feed Itself Within A Generation: Study

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 3 Dec 10;

African nations can break dependence on food imports and produce enough to feed a growing population within a generation despite extra strains from climate change, a study said on Thursday.

Research into new crops resistant to heat, droughts or floods, better support for small-scale farmers and greater involvement by national leaders in setting policies in sectors from transport to education were needed, it said.

"Africa can feed itself. And it can make the transition from hungry importer to self-sufficiency in a single generation," said an international study led by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma.

About 70 percent of Africans are involved in agriculture but almost 250 million people, or a quarter of the population of the poorest continent, are undernourished. The number has risen by 100 million since 1990.

Juma, who is a professor of international development, told Reuters that food self-sufficiency would require big shifts in policies that have led to dependence on food aid handouts and imports in many nations.

"Climate change makes it more difficult," he said in a telephone interview of the study released to coincide with a meeting of several African leaders in Tanzania on Thursday, as well as U.N. talks on slowing climate change in Cancun, Mexico.

The U.N. panel of climate scientists says that up to 220 million people in Africa could face extra disruptions to water supplies by 2020. It says the continent faces more heatwaves, floods, mudslides, desertification and droughts.

Juma said the study, "The New Harvest, Agricultural Innovation in Africa," called for more involvement by national leaders in solving problems in sectors such as water, energy, transport, communications and education.

He said that the army, for instance, might refuse if the agriculture minister asked them to build a new road vital to distribute food. "But if the president asks they will do it. The president is the commander in chief," he said.

Research, including genetic modification, could help by developing new crops, perhaps by exploiting traits in indigenous varieties, he said.

"New technologies, especially biotechnology, provide African countries with additional tools for improving the welfare of farmers," said Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore in a statement about the study.

And any methods developed by Africa could help other parts of the world. "It will pave the way for improved collaboration between Africa and South America," said Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla.

(Editing by Eric Beech)

Africa 'can feed itself in a generation'
Neil Bowdler BBC News 2 Dec 10;

A new book claims Africa could feed itself within a generation, and become a major agricultural exporter.

The book, The New Harvest, by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma, calls on African leaders to make agricultural expansion central to all decision-making.

Improvements in infrastructure, mechanisation and GM crops could vastly increase production, he claims.

The findings are being presented to African leaders in Tanzania today.

The presidents of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are holding an informal summit to discuss African food security and climate change.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the meeting, Professor Juma said African leaders had to recognise that "agriculture and economy for Africa are one and the same".

"It is the responsibility of an African president to modernise the economy and that means essentially starting with the modernisation of agriculture," he said.

Stagnation

Global food production has rocketed in recent decades but has stagnated in many parts of Africa, despite the continent having "abundant" arable land and labour, says Professor Juma.

He estimates that while food production has grown globally by 145% over the past 40 years, African food production has fallen by 10% since 1960, which he attributes to low investment.

While 70% of Africans may be engaged in farming, those who are undernourished on the continent has risen by 100 million to 250 million since 1990, he estimates.

The professor's blueprint calls for the expansion of basic infrastructure, including new road, irrigation and energy schemes.

Farms should be mechanised, storage and processing facilities built, while biotechnology and GM crops should be used where they can bring benefits.

But what was needed above all else was the political will at the highest level.

"You can modernise agriculture in an area by simply building roads, so that you can send in seed and move out produce," he told the BBC.

"The ministers for roads are not interested in connecting rural areas, they are mostly interested in connecting urban areas. It's going to take a president to go in and say I want a link between agricultural transportation and then it will happen."

He believes there is great scope to expand crops traditionally grown in Africa, such as millet, sorghum, cassava or yams.

He sees areas where farmers will need to adapt to tackle a changing climate - cereal farmers may switch into livestock, he says, while others may chose more radical options.

"Tree crops like breadfruit, which is from the Pacific, could be introduced in Africa because trees are more resistant to climate change."

He also envisages genetic modification playing a growing role in African agriculture, with GM cotton and GM maize, which are already being grown on the continent, just the start of things to come.

"You need to be able to breed new crops and adapt them to local conditions... and that is going to force more African countries to think about new genomics techniques."
Kitchen sink

George Mukkath, director of programmes at the charity Farm Africa, welcomed the study, but said with many African states investing less than 10% of their GDP in agriculture, politicians had to "put their money where there mouths are".

"It's what we've been shouting about for several years," he said. "African productivity is low. If there's an investment then African farmers are very capable of producing enough food not only to feed themselves but also for the export market."

But Dr Steve Wiggins, a research fellow at a British think-tank, the Overseas Development Institute, said that modest practical changes were preferable to long wish-lists.

"It's perfectly possible to get Africa on a much higher growth rate but I wouldn't have such a long list of things to do, particularly if I thought it was going to pre-empt all government investment," he said. "To make a difference, you don't need to throw the kitchen sink at the problem."

He also warned that Africa's urban centres could not be ignored, not least because they provide important markets for African farmers.

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UN report highlights ocean acidification

Yahoo News 3 Dec 10;

CANCUN, Mexico (AFP) – Carbon emissions from fossil fuels may bear a greater risk for the marine environment than thought, with wide-ranging impacts on reproduction, biodiversity richness and fisheries, a report at the UN climate talks here on Thursday said.

Each year, billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas, are absorbed by the sea and are very gradually turning the water more acidic, according to the study launched by the UN Environment Program (UNEP).

In the coming decades, the consequences are likely to be felt throughout the marine food chain, it said.

Rising acidity levels have an impact on calcium-based lifeforms, ranging from tiny organisms called ptetropods that are the primary food source, to crabs, fish, lobsters and coral, it said.

The report was compiled by scientists from Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the National Oceanography Centre in Britain, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, part of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

"We are seeing an overall negative impact from ocean acidification directly on organisms and on some key ecosystems that help provide food for billions," said Carol Turley, a senior scientist at Britain's Ocean Acidification Research Programme, who headed the report.

"We need to start thinking about the risk to food security."

Turley cautioned there many unknowns about ocean acidification.

For instance, some research indicated that adult lobsters might actually increase shell-building in response to rising acidity levels, but it may be the juveniles who are less able to build healthy skeletons, she said.

Similarly, the smelling systems of some species of young fish could be impaired, but adults may be unaffected.

There could be some winners as well as losers, she said.

"It is clearly not enough to look at a (single) species. Scientists will need to study all parts of the life cycle to see whether certain forms are more or less vulnerable," Turley said.

UNEP chief Achim Steiner described ocean acidification as "yet another red flag being raised" about greenhouse gases.

"It is a new and emerging piece in the scientific jigsaw puzzle, but one that is triggering rising concern."

The report calls for cuts in man-made CO2 emissions to reduce acidification and support for further work to quantify the risk and identify species that could be most in peril.

The "greenhouse" effect from CO2 is already a known problem for the sea. By trapping solar radiation, the gas warms the atmosphere and thus the Earth's surface.

Warming has already been linked to changes in fish migration, and some biologists fear that cases of coral die-out in recent years are clearly linked to higher temperatures.

Acidification May Push Already Over-Stressed Oceans into the Red
UNEP 2 Dec 10;

Rising C02 Concentrations Could Have Increasing Impacts on Key Fisheries and the Billions Depending Upon Them

Cancun/Nairobi/Plymouth, 2 December 2010 - The future impact of rising emissions on the health of seas and oceans may be far more wide-ranging and complex than was previously supposed, a new report released at the UN climate convention meeting in Mexico says.

The study, entitled the Environmental Consequences of Ocean Acidification, has brought together some of the latest scientific research on 'ocean acidification', a process triggered by increasing concentrations of dissolved C02 which is changing the sea's chemistry by lowering the pH of the marine environment.

Launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the report confirms concerns that some organisms, such as corals and shellfish may find it increasingly difficult to form their skeletons in the decades to come making it harder to survive let alone thrive. It also shows that ocean acidification can react together with ocean warming so that animals such as crabs have a reduced range of temperatures they can thrive in.

This in turn may have significant future impacts on catches of crabs, mussels and other shellfish; species dependent on coral reefs and ones such as salmon that feed on smaller, shell-building organisms lower down the food chain known as ptetropods, for example.

Other new research is spotlighting fresh areas of concern including findings that some species, including the clown fish made famous in the Disney cartoon Finding Nemo, may find it harder to avoid their predators and to find their way home.

If other fish react the same way, this may have implications for the marine food chain upon which billions of people depend directly or indirectly for protein and livelihoods.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Ocean acidification is yet another red flag being raised, carrying planetary health warnings about the uncontrolled growth in greenhouse gas emissions. It is a new and emerging piece in the scientific jigsaw puzzle, but one that is triggering rising concern".

'Whether ocean acidification on its own proves to be a major or a minor challenge to the marine environment and its food chain is to date unknown. But the phenomenon comes against a backdrop of already stressed seas and oceans as a result of over-fishing to other forms of environmental degradation. Thus the public might quite rightly ask how many red flags do governments need to see before the message to act gets through," he said.

The report was compiled in collaboration with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom and scientists from other organisations including the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.

Carol Turley, a senior scientist at the laboratory; Knowledge Exchange Coordinator for the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme, and lead author of the new report, said: "As scientists around the world start to investigate the potential impacts of ocean acidification, we are seeing an overall negative impact from ocean acidification directly on organisms and on some key ecosystems that help provide food for billions. We need to start thinking about the risk to food security."

Dr. Turley stressed that researchers were working on the frontiers of science in respect to ocean acidification and its potentially complex impact on the marine environment and its organisms.

She added that some research indicated that adult lobsters, for example, might actually increase shell-building in response to falling pH levels whereas it may be the juveniles who are less able to build healthy skeletons.

A similar possibility may arise in respect to adult and juvenile forms of fish with the olfactory or smelling systems of some species of young fish impaired but adults unaffected.

Meanwhile, there is some evidence of other curious changes if emissions continue to rise and concentrations of C02 continue to build-up in the seas and oceans. For example, brittle stars, an important part of the marine food chain, may increase shell-building at the cost of muscle formation, some science suggests.

"It is clearly not enough to look at a species. Scientists will need to study all parts of the life-cycle to see whether certain forms are more or less vulnerable. Meanwhile, the ability, or inability, to build calcium-based skeletons may not be the only impact of acidification on the health and viability of an organism: brittle stars perhaps being a case in point," said Dr. Turley.

The report points out that there may be "winners" as well as "losers", with photosynthetic organisms such as seagrasses likely to benefit from rising acidification. Yet studies of natural C02 vents in the Mediterranean Sea show that although there are some "winners" the ecosystem is likely to be altered in other ways.

The report calls on governments, policymakers and others to consider a range of actions including:

- Rapid and substantial cuts to man-made CO2 emissions to the atmosphere in order to reduce ocean acidification;

- Determine the vulnerability to ocean acidification of human communities dependent on marine resources;

- Identify species that are more flexible to change and assess how these may affect ecosystems and food security;

- Reduce other pressures on food fish stocks to provide the best chance of success through, for example, marine spatial planning or re-evaluating available resources and their usage;

- Assess the options for the development of environmentally sustainable 'aquaculture' options using species that may be more resistant to lowered pH;

- Embrace the science of ocean acidification into fisheries management tools.

Notes to Editors

Key Findings from the Report

Around 25 per cent of the world's C02 emissions are being absorbed into the seas and oceans where it converts to carbonic acid.

This is lowering the pH of the oceans and affecting its chemistry. For example, the concentrations of carbonate ions is decreasing and is linked to the ability of many marine organisms to build reefs and shells.

- The report says that the chemistry of the oceans is being altered at a speed not seen for 65 million years since the extinction of the dinosaurs;

- The mean pH of the marine world has decreased by 30 per cent and the concentration of carbonate ions has fallen by 16 per cent since the industrial revolution;

- Based on current rates of CO2 emissions, projections show that by the end of the 21st century, global ocean pH will decrease by a further 0.3 units, which represents a total increase in acidity of 150 per cent.

Fish including shellfish contribute 15 per cent of animal protein for three billion people worldwide, and a further one billion people rely on fisheries for their primary source of protein.

- The report says that many marine organisms have ways of compensating for changes in seawater chemistry, although they may have to spend more energy doing this in an increasingly more acidic ocean;

- However, studies of mussels and sea urchin species have shown that they have only a partial or no compensation mechanism, potentially making them more vulnerable.

Around 80 per cent of fish catches occur in just 10 per cent of the oceans, including key areas such as Continental shelves and estuaries.

- The report says that "many of these areas are also projected to be very vulnerable to ocean acidification this century";

The aquaculture industry is the fastest growing food producer worldwide, increasing at a rate of 7 per cent per annum and the proportion of fish produced by aquaculture and consumed by humans worldwide has risen to 50 per cent of total production.

- The report says that these industries are now at risk from future ocean acidification both directly through the impact on the organisms themselves and indirectly through the food webs and habitats they depend on.

Tropical reefs provide shelter and food for an estimated 25 per cent of known marine fish species, and account for between 9 and 12 per cent of world fish landings.

Consequently, these coral reefs provide food and livelihood security for some 500 million people worldwide.

- The report says it is anticipated that future ocean acidification is likely to affect adult and juvenile coral growth and recruitment, coralline red algae growth, reef structural integrity and potentially even the density of bio-eroding grazers and predators.

UNEP Emerging Issues:

Environmental Consequences of Ocean Acidification:A Threat to Food Security is available at http://www.unep.org/dewa/pdf/Environmental_Consequences_of_Ocean_Acidification.pdf

The report is being launched at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010 http://unfccc.int/2860.php

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2010 sets new temperature records

Richard Black BBC News 2 Dec 10;

Temperatures reached record levels in several regions during 2010, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says, confirming the year is likely to be among the warmest three on record.

Parts of Russia, Greenland, Canada, China, North Africa and South Asia all saw the mercury soar to record levels.

The three main temperature records show 2010 as the warmest, or joint warmest, year in the instrumental record.

The UK Met Office suggests 2011 will be cooler, as La Nina conditions dominate.

This brings colder than average water to the top of the eastern Pacific Ocean, which lowers temperatures globally.

The two leading US analyses of global temperature show that up until the end of October, 2010 was the warmest year in the instrumental record going back to 1850.

The global average temperature was 0.58C above the average for 1961-90 according to Nasa, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) put the figure at 0.54 above.

The UK record, kept by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, has 2010 in joint first place with the El Nino-dominated year of 1998.

The Met Office released its own analysis last week.

But with La Nina conditions continuing, 2010 could slip back into second or third place by the time data for November and December is included, it says.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Those who hoped that global warming would just go away will be disappointed by today's announcements”

End Quote Professor Mark Maslin UCL

If La Nina continues into next year, as expected, that could make 2011 cooler than 2010 - though still well above the 1961-90 average.

The UK itself, meanwhile, is on course to see the coldest year since 1996, due to the state of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) - a weather phenomenon that affects the distribution of heat within the northern hemisphere.

CRU's Professor Phil Jones - one of the scientists at the centre of the "ClimateGate" issue earlier in the year - cautioned that annual temperatures were not a good indicator of the progression of global warming as driven by greenhouse gas emissions.

"Year-to-year variability is dominated by features such as the NAO and El Nino," he told BBC News.

"But if you want to look at the underlying trend, you need to look at the decadal timescale, and that's when you detect the anthropogenic influence.

"In terms of looking at recent years, 1998 was the most anomalous - the remaining top 10 warmest years in the series have all occurred since 2000."
Cancun message

The WMO highlighted weather extremes in several parts of the world during 2010, which it says are consistent with the picture of man-made global warming.

In July, temperatures in Moscow soared 7.6C above normal, beating the previous record by 2C.

Some other parts of western Russia encountered summer temperatures 5C above normal.

Pakistan experienced the worst floods in its documented history, the WMO says, while parts of the Amazon saw a serious drought.

Canada as a whole experienced its warmest year in the instrumental record.

"Only limited land areas had below-normal temperatures in 2010," the WMO concludes.

Professor James Crabbe from the UK's University of Bedfordshire said high temperatures in the oceans had done severe damage to coral reefs.

"Coral bleaching has been observed in every ocean and major sea in which coral occurs, from the Persian Gulf to southeast Asia, the Central Pacific to the Caribbean - only the second time this has happened, the first being 1998," he said.

"This has serious implications for the many populations - about one billion people - who live near coral reefs and rely on them for their livelihoods and nutrition."

The WMO released the findings - as it always does - during the annual UN climate meeting, held this year in Cancun, Mexico.

Professor Mark Maslin, director of the Environment Institute at University College London, said negotiators should pay renewed attention to the data.

"Those who hoped that global warming would just go away will be disappointed by today's announcements," he said.

"It shows that the science underpinning the negotiations at Cancun is correct, and adds further weight to the need for a globally negotiated and accepted deal on carbon emissions."

2010 To Be Among Three Warmest Years: U.N.
Alister Doyle and Timothy Gardner PlanetArk 3 Dec 10;

This year is set to be among the three warmest since records began in 1850 and caps a record-warm decade that is a new indication of man-made climate change, the United Nations said on Thursday.

"The trend is of very significant warming," Michel Jarraud, head of the World Meteorological Organization, told a news conference on the sidelines of a meeting of almost 200 nations in the Caribbean resort of Cancun trying to curb global warming.

He said 2010 so far was slightly warmer than both 1998 and 2005, the previous top two, but could slip if December is a cool month.

The WMO said that land and sea surface temperatures so far in 2010 were 0.55 degree Celsius (1 F) above a 1961-1990 average of 14 degrees C (57.2 degrees F). The years 2001-10 were the warmest 10-year period, it said.

"There is a significant possibility that 2010 could be the warmest year," he said. A final ranking for 2010 is due to be published early in 2011.

Asked if the data were new evidence that human emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels were warming the climate, he said, "Short answer: yes."

"If nothing is done ... (temperatures) will go up and up," he said, saying the findings would guide negotiators meeting in Cancun from November 29 to December 10.

Temperatures have already risen by about 0.8 degree C since pre-industrial times.

CURRENT PROPOSALS 'ARE NOT ENOUGH'

The Cancun talks are trying to build on a nonbinding deal at the Copenhagen summit last year to limit overall temperature rises to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F). Curbs promised by emitters led by China and the United States are too little to reach the goal.

"It's becoming ever more clear that the current proposals are not enough to stay below 2 degrees," said Peter Wittoeck, head of the Belgian delegation in Cancun that holds the European Union presidency.

Cancun will seek a modest package of measures, including a new "green fund" to help channel aid to developing nations, a new mechanism to share clean technologies and to protect carbon-absorbing tropical forests.

The WMO said warming had been especially strong in Africa, parts of Asia and parts of the Arctic. Pakistan, hit by devastating floods, recorded a record temperature of 53.5 degrees C (128.30 F), the warmest in Asia since 1942.

Environmentalists said the data should spur action in Cancun. "This is yet another warning from the planet that it is feeling the heat," said Wendel Trio, international climate policy director for Greenpeace.

Jarraud said that the decade-long trend was most relevant to negotiators in Cancun seeking to avert more floods, droughts, desertification and rising sea levels.

2010 to be among warmest years ever: UN experts
Richard Ingham Yahoo News 2 Dec 10;

CANCUN, Mexico (AFP) – The year 2010 will be one of the warmest ever, climaxing a record-breaking decade, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said at global climate talks Thursday.

"2010 is almost certain to be in the top three warmest years on record," WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud told a press conference. "It is probably the warmest one up to October-November."

He added: "The decade from 2001 to 2010 has set a new record, it will be the warmest decade ever since we have records."

The snapshot was published on the fourth day of the 12-day talks in Cancun under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Jarraud said he hoped the provisional assessment -- a consensus of temperature data from four meteorological institutions -- would guide policymakers negotiating a post-2012 pact on global warming.

"This is the (scientific) foundation to say where we are now, these are the facts," he said. "Of course, if nothing is done, this curve will go on increasing and increasing, it will go up and up."

Only two other years, 1998 and 2005, have been warmer since records began, and only marginally so, said Jarraud. Reliable statistical records for world weather date from 1850.

The benchmark for warming is 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit), comprising the global combined surface temperatures of the air and sea from 1961-1990.

In 1998, temperatures were 0.53 C (0.95 F) above that level, and 2005 exceeded it by 0.52 C (0.93 F). For January-October 2010, there was a rise of 0.55 C (0.99 F), with a margin of error of plur or minus 0.11 C (0.17 F), although there are still two more months of monitoring left.

The final figures for 2010 will be issued next February.

In the decade from 2001 to 2010, global temperatures have averaged 0.46 C (0.82 F) above the 1960-1990 yardstick.

Jarraud said these measurements were a further indicator that global warming was on the march.

The figures do not by themselves pin the cause on man-made greenhouse gases, although this is confirmed separately by other research into concentrations of carbon emissions in the atmosphere, he said.

"It's an additional element to confirm that there is indeed warming... the man-made (causes) you can deduct from other curves, such as greenhouse-gases," said Jarraud.

The report swung a spotlight on a wide range of extreme weather events in 2010, including an unprecedented heatwave in Russia, in which around 11,000 people died.

This phenomenon was linked to extreme moonsoon rainfall in Pakistan that affected millions of people, it said.

Other places that experienced extremely high temperatures were most of Canada and Greenland, the northern half of Africa and South Asia and the western part of China, where Yunnan and Guizhou provinces both had their lowest rainfalls on record.

In some of these heat-hit regions, annual mean temperatures were 3 C (5.4 F) or more above the norm.

Parts of the Amazon basin were badly affected by drought in the later part of 2010, according to the WMO. The Rio Negro, a major tributary to the Amazon, plunged to its lowest level on record.

In many parts of the mid-latitude northern hemisphere, though, the winter was abnormally cold. Ireland and Scotland experienced their coldest winter since 1962-1963, and many other parts of northern and central Europe saw their coldest winter since the 1980s or 1970s.

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are on course to have the least active year since 1979.

Only 65 tropical storms have been observed since the start of the year, and only 35 have reached hurricane-force intensity, compared with the long-term average of 85 and 44 respectively.

Arctic sea ice in the summer of 2010, meanwhile, reached the third lowest extent recorded.

"We are extremely concerned... (this) is certainly a measure of global warming," said Jarraud.

The campaign group Oxfam said the findings confirmed the need for a "climate fund" to help people exposed to shifting weather patterns.

"The climate is changing," Oxfam New Zealan's executive director, Barry Coates, said. "This is making it harder for people to survive. In the first nine months of this year, 21,000 people died due to weather-related disasters -- more than twice the number for the whole of 2009."

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Mexico hopeful for Cancun climate deals

Yahoo News 2 Dec 10;

MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Mexico's environment minister said Thursday that a UN climate conference in Cancun would likely reach at least two accords, rejecting criticism from Brazil's president that it would be inconclusive.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that the two-week talks on climate change "won't result in anything" because no major leaders were attending, and that pledges to finance the fight against deforestation in Latin America, Asia and Africa were "nebulous."

"That's his (Lula's) point of view, but we're carefully carrying out the negotiating process and we believe that, faced with natural disasters, it's urgent to reach deals," said Rafael Elvira Quesada on Televisa channel Thursday.

At least two accords were expected to be reached during the November 29 to December 10 summit in Cancun, Elvira said.

"Basically, what we're expecting are two (accords): one for adaptation to climate change and the protection of woods and tropical forests, and the other for a financing fund," he said.

The meeting aims to advance efforts towards a post-2012 climate treaty after the near-disaster of the December 2009 Copenhagen summit.

India hopes climate auditing scheme will get U.S. nod
* U.S. backing for climate reporting plan crucial -India
* Minister says India plan could put climate talks back on track
* But says Cancun talks overshadowed by Japan's Kyoto comments
Krittivas Mukherjee Reuters 2 Dec 10;

NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - An Indian proposal on how rich and poor nations report their actions to fight global warming could help get the United States on board for a broad agreement on climate change, India's environment minister said on Thursday.

Negotiators at Nov. 29 to Dec. 10 U.N. climate talks in Mexico are trying to define the climate actions required of developed and emerging economies, to overcome a major area of dispute in sharing the burden of carbon emissions cuts.

Stalling progress is the question how rich and poor countries report their cuts and actions, and whether this controversial issue also called measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) should be subject to international review.

In Mexico, India is proposing all countries, rich and poor, that contribute more than 1 percent of global greenhouse gases should report their steps to the United Nations every three years. Others can report their actions every six years.

Actions of developing countries will be voluntary and failure to meet any domestic target non punitive, the proposal says.

Under the United Nations' existing Kyoto Protocol, only rich countries have to meet binding emissions targets and report actions regularly. But developed nations led by the United States, which never ratified Kyoto, want emerging economies such as China and India to take on a greater share of climate actions.

That's because developing nations now emit more than half of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions and that portion is growing quickly. China has already passed the United States as the world's top carbon polluter.

Emerging nations say they will accept international consultation and analysis (ICA) of their emissions actions, but not anything equal to the standards expected of rich economies. They blame the rich for much of the greenhouse pollution pumped into the atmosphere over the past two centuries.

BREAKING THE LOGJAM

Ramesh told Reuters that the Indian MRV/ICA proposal should help get the United States, a potential provider of global green technology, onboard for any meaningful progress in the Mexico talks.

"Without the ICA, the United States is not going to come on board and we have to bring the U.S. on board," he said in an interview.

"It is a political proposal not a negotiating proposal. It is basically meant to break the logjam and it is basically meant to bring the U.S. in because without some progress in MRV/ICA the U.S. is not going to come on board." (For a factbox on key MRV proposals in Mexico, please click [ID:nLDE6AT268])

Ramesh said progress on reporting climate actions by all nations also depended on "some quid pro quo" from the United States particularly on sharing green technology and the Europeans on the second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol.

"We have a 10-point proposal for MRV/ICA and a 10-point proposal for technology cooperation. Initial reaction seems to be positive, but obviously it will require more consultations."

Fraught climate negotiations last year failed to agree on a binding treaty and climaxed in a bitter meeting in Copenhagen, which produced a vague and non-binding accord that later recorded the emissions pledges of many countries.

Fearing deadlock in efforts to reach a binding pact by late next year, governments are pushing in Mexico for broad agreement on less contentious objectives: a fund for climate action, a scheme to protect carbon-absorbing rainforests, and policies to share clean-energy technology with poorer nations.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Ramesh said talks at the Mexican beach resort of Cancun were "an historic opportunity" of clinching a pact on saving and expanding forests.

"Some countries are still opposed to it but my suggestion is we should have a plurilateral agreement on forestry."

For Ramesh, the success of Cancun talks depended on:

* Agreeing a set of operational guidelines for MRV/ICA and technology cooperation.
* Operational guidelines for the climate Green Fund and guidelines for climate adaptation for developing countries.
* Clinching a forestry agreement.

But the minister said there were hurdles.

"We are going into Cancun hobbled by the measely U.S. financial commitment," he said referring to Washington's less than $2 billion pledge for a global $30 billion fast-start fund for poorer countries most at risk from climate change.

He said another problem was Japan's opposition to extending the Kyoto Protocol into a second commitment period from 2013.

Japan, among almost 40 industrialized nations with targets under the Protocol until 2012, said it will not extend cuts unless other big emitters like the United States and China also join in. [ID:nLDE6B0208]

"These are not good signs," Ramesh said. "Our (India) mandate is to play the bridge role between developing and developed countries and to ensure that there are some outcomes at Cancun." (Editing by David Fogarty)

U.N. Climate Talks Struggle To Overhaul Carbon Trade
Gerard Wynn PlanetArk 3 Dec 10;

Countries differed sharply on Wednesday on the future of a $20 billion carbon market after 2012, casting doubt on any overhaul of the scheme at U.N. climate talks in Cancun.

The Kyoto Protocol allows rich countries to meet greenhouse gas emissions limits by paying for carbon cuts in developing countries, earning carbon offsets in return.

No new emissions limits have been agreed after the first phase of the protocol ends in 2012, stifling investment in the offset scheme, experts told the November 29-December 10 climate talks.

Some market participants and countries want a formal, U.N. decision in Cancun to commit to proceed with the market after 2012, regardless of whether any new targets are agreed.

"We want a clear indication in Cancun, we leave it to the parties to decide how," said Henry Derwent, chief executive of the International Emissions Trading Association, a lobbying group.

"A clear decision would be great. In the absence of that investors will look at intent. The more we hear people saying this must go on, it points in the right direction," he said.

The Kyoto carbon offsetting scheme, called the clean development mechanism (CDM), was worth $20 billion in 2009.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol requires industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gases by about 5 percent by 2012, compared with 1990 levels, but no successor has yet been agreed.

Several countries on Wednesday told the U.N. Cancun conference that the CDM's survival was vital, including Algeria, Brazil, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

But they differed on other issues, including whether to widen the scheme to include new carbon-cutting technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), much favored by oil-exporting countries but opposed by Brazil.

CCS involves trapping the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it into nearly depleted oil wells,

As well as stopping the greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere, it also has the advantage that it helps push out the last dregs of oil, a process called enhanced oil recovery.

Japan bemoaned the slow pace of progress to overhaul the CDM, and said that as a result it was pursuing bilateral deals with developing countries to promote low-carbon technologies.

"We find a lot of problems concerning the current CDM system," said Akira Yamada, a senior official at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, referring to the slow pace of project approvals and the narrow scope of technologies.

"We have to address these problems ... However, judging from the current progress of that discussion we cannot expect a timely solution so therefore ... we are also eager to explore bilateral cooperation with certain countries."

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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