Best of our wild blogs: 6 Jan 11

Job: 1 RF, 4 RA positions for climate change impact on biodiversity in Singapore (closes 19 Jan 2011) from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks - AMK Town Garden West
from Butterflies of Singapore

Luzon Point Headed Termites... Are They Faceless?
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Nesting Grey Herons: 5. Predation‏‏
from Bird Ecology Study Group and Cattle Egrets foraging

Checking out Kranji
from wonderful creation

110105 Seletar shore
from Singapore Nature

Flora Singapura - a new resource on Singapore's plants
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!

Mangroves at Pasir Ris briefly
from wild shores of singapore

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Lightning that hit Laguna golfer likely to be from outside watch radius

Lee U-Wen Business Times 6 Jan 11;

(SINGAPORE) The bolt of lightning that struck a 62-year-old golfer on New Year's Day could well be described as a freak accident. This is because the lightning that struck the Laguna National Golf and Country Club golf course where Chen Yuk Fu was playing had likely come from a thunderstorm outside the prescribed 5-6 km lightning watch radius.

Mr Chen, a director at a technology firm, survived the attack with burns to his head and hand, and had to be warded at the Changi General Hospital.

Responding to queries from BT, the Meteorological Services Division (MSD) said that it had issued a total of 63 lightning alerts to its subscribers in affected areas on that day.

There were no alerts sent out to Laguna as 'only light showers were observed and no thunderstorms were expected'. Laguna had earlier claimed that it had contacted MSD to check if it would issue a lightning warning.

'The lightning that struck at Laguna was likely to have come from a thunderstorm outside Laguna's watch area,' said a spokesman for the MSD. 'While we endeavour to be as accurate and comprehensive as possible in our lightning alert service, lightning can still strike at a large distance away from a thunderstorm.'

The MSD - which comes under the National Environment Agency statutory board - said that the thunderstorms that developed on Saturday afternoon affected mostly the southern and western parts of Singapore.

Typically, when the MSD issues a lightning alert, the golf club would then sound its siren to warn people off the course.

Golfers on the Laguna course at the time reported that there was no siren despite overcast skies and a slight drizzle. There was also no siren from the neighbouring Tanah Merah Country Club, which has a siren that can be heard from Laguna National.

After the lighting incident, Laguna National's management shut the golf course for the rest of the day and all the remaining golfers were asked to leave the course.

'Subscribers of the lightning alert service provided by MSD will receive an alert if thunderstorms are forecast to develop within 5-6 km of a particular location,' said the spokesman.

'Our adoption of the 5-6 km radius lightning watch area is to achieve a higher accuracy in the prediction of lightning striking the particular location. A larger watch area will result in more false alarms of lightning striking the location.'

Being in the tropics, Singapore has one of the highest rates of lightning from thunderstorms in the world. On average, there are about 170 thunderstorm days each year in Singapore.

The MSD has advised members of the public to take the necessary precautions if they are out in the open during thundery weather.

GOLFER HIT BY LIGHTNING: No alert as storm was 'too far away'
Bolt that seriously hurt man came from thunderstorm over 5km away, says weatherman
Straits Times 6 Jan 11;

NO ALERTS were sent out before a bolt of lightning struck golfer Chen Yuk Fu because the thunderstorm it came from was too far away.

The Meteorological Services Division (MSD) said the strike that left Mr Chen seriously injured last Saturday originated more than 5km from the Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Changi.

This is outside the radius in which lightning is monitored for any given area. The freak occurrence meant Laguna had no warning despite signing up for alerts from MSD.

Mr Chen, a technology firm director, was discharged from Changi General Hospital yesterday after five days. The 62-year-old had burns to his head, neck and hand after being struck by lightning while playing from a very high point at the 18th hole.

The MSD, part of the National Environment Agency, said thunderstorms, which provide an indication that lightning is about to strike, had developed mostly in southern and western Singapore that day.

As a result, there were 63 lightning alerts sent to subscribers in those areas. But no alerts were issued to Laguna in the east, as no thunderstorms were expected there.

Lightning specialist Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore said electrical charges often drift away from the cloud they originated from during the final stages of a thunderstorm - sometimes travelling 8km to 10km.

But these drifting charges cause lightning to strike only once in a blue moon.

'If you want to be very safe, you can have a 10km to 20km radius, but then golfers can't play every time it rains anywhere. The current radius is a calculated risk,' Professor Liew said.

The MSD said monitoring a wider area might lead to false alarms.

Laguna general manager Benjamin Tan said the club has been in touch with Mr Chen's family and that there has been no talk of compensation or legal action.

The club is looking to enhance its lightning warning system, he added. It currently subscribes to the MSD alert, which is sent out at least 15 minutes before lightning strikes.

Mr Tan acknowledged that the MSD has one of the most sophisticated systems around, and said the club will not be judging it on the basis of this isolated incident.

The MSD advises the public to avoid being out in the open during thundery weather.

JALELAH ABU BAKER

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CPIB looks into Changi Motorsports Hub deal

Sources say CPIB is investigating award of the tender to the winning consortium
Nisha Ramchandani Business Times 6 Jan 11;

(SINGAPORE) The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is looking into the tender awarded by Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to build the upcoming $380 million Changi Motorsports Hub, BT understands.

When contacted, the CPIB said it was unable to comment.

However, a source told BT that the probe relates to the award of the tender for the Changi Motorsports Hub to the SG Changi consortium and whether there was any information leakage during the tender process, which would have given one party an advantage over the other parties.

There is also talk that one or more SSC staff involved with the tender for the project had been looking at joining SG Changi some months ago, which ultimately did not materialise. SG Changi declined to comment when contacted.

SG Changi was awarded the tender in March last year, pipping Singapore Agro Agriculture - the company behind food-and-retail mall Turf City - and Haw Par Corporation-backed Sports Services to operate the Changi Motorsports Hub for a 30-year period.

BT understands from a source that SG Changi is co-operating with the CPIB and that the consortium insists that no money changed hands during the tender process.

In response to queries from BT, a spokesperson for the SSC said: 'We are unable to comment on this matter at this point in time.'

It hasn't quite been smooth sailing for SG Changi since it first won the bid in the first quarter of last year to build and operate the Changi Motorsports Hub.

For starters, the consortium saw a management reshuffle last year, with former Japan GT driver Genji Hashimoto - previously SG Changi's managing director - leaving the group while Japanese businessman Moto Sakuma came onboard as director.

Other members who constitute the group include executive chairman Fuminori Murahashi as well as director Thia Yoke Kian, the former owner of Jurong Kart World.

Construction of the facility also took a while to kick off, with piling commencing late last year, despite the group breaking ground in July on the 41-hectare sea-facing site near Changi Airport.

According to a media report in December, SG Changi reportedly said that it still hopes to have the motorsports hub completed by the original target of end-2011, with the first race to take place as early as March 2012.

'SG Changi has already started piling works and completion is on track by end-2011,' an SSC spokesperson confirmed yesterday.

Located along Aviation Park Road, the Changi Motorsports Hub will include a Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Grade-2 certified 3.7 km racetrack, a 1.2 km karting track, a drift track, a bonded warehouse and seating capacity for some 20,000 spectators plus a 10,000-seat temporary grandstand.

It aims to host a calendar of both local and international racing events, including the Formula One of motorcycling, MotoGP.

The round-the-clock facility will also feature an entertainment complex, a motor museum, food and beverage and retail outlets as well as a hotel.

Motorsports hub tender under probe
Terrence Voon Straits Times 6 Jan 11;

THE Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has begun a probe into the tender for the $380 million Changi Motorsports Hub.

Sources told The Straits Times that a senior official at the motorsports industry development arm of the Singapore Sports Council as well as others involved in the deal have been called up for interviews and lie detector tests.

Investigations were said to have begun last year, after the CPIB was tipped off about possible irregularities in the tender for the upcoming motorsports hub, which was won by the SG Changi consortium in March.

The tender was announced in 2009, and the winner was picked by a panel of government agencies and consultants.

SG Changi - fronted by home-grown Jurong Kart World along with its Japanese partners - eventually beat two other bidders for the right to build the 41ha facility off Changi Coast Road. The other two consortia who put in bids were Singapore Agro Agriculture and Sports Services, which was backed by public-listed leisure and health-care products firm Haw Par Corporation.

In March last year, government figures praised the winning bid for its innovative 3.7km track design which allows for two races to be staged simultaneously; the quality of the international and local events to be brought in, and the group's financial strength.

Aimed at cementing Singapore's reputation as a regional motorsports hub following the first Formula One (F1) night race here in 2008, it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Changi track is slated to host its first race early next year, and there has been talk of it staging a MotoGP leg, motorcycle's equivalent of F1.

The tendering process for the mega-project was handled by the sports council's motorsports department, which was set up in recent years to promote the sport here.

It is staffed by a small group of officials, some of whom were seconded from other government departments.

Sources said the senior official at the centre of the probe is known as a passionate champion of motorsports here, and his involvement in the investigations has come as a shock.

The CPIB case - which has been going on for months - is believed to have been extended to include the consortium, which received its permit to start work from the authorities last month.

It was also reported last month that SG Changi's director Genji Hashimoto, a former race driver, had resigned suddenly. He has since been replaced by businessman Moto Sakuma.

When contacted yesterday, both the CPIB and Mr Sakuma declined to comment. Mr Alvin Hang, the sports council's director of corporate communications and relations, also said: 'We are unable to comment on this matter at this point in time.'

It is not known if the investigations have been conclusive so far. But according to Mr Chia Boon Teck, a partner at Chia Wong law firm, lie detector tests are standard in graft cases where the evidence is not clear-cut.

He said: 'These tests are not compulsory, and it is up to the suspect whether or not to undergo it.'

Graft probe 'won't delay Motorsports Hub project'
Japanese director says project is on track for end-2011 completion
Leonard Lim & Jonathan Wong Straits Times 7 Jan 11;

ONE of the leading figures behind the construction of the Changi Motorsports Hub insists the timescale for the project will not be affected and that it will be completed by the end of the year.

This, despite news that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is probing those involved in the tender process, the latest blow to the $380 million project which has faced delays and other troubles since it was first announced in 2007.

'Work will still go ahead,' Japanese businessman Moto Sakuma vowed yesterday.

'We are still on track for the end-2011 completion date,' he added.

At the construction site off Changi Coast Road yesterday, a security guard denied The Straits Times entry but from the gate, signs of activity were visible, including a lorry that was spotted entering the compound.

Mr Sakuma, one of four directors of the private sector winning consortium SG Changi, was not prepared to comment further. The other three directors are Mr Fuminori Murahashi, former Jurong Kart World owner Thia Yoke Kian, and Mr Eddie Koh.

The 41ha project has been hampered by delays from the start.

The announcement of the Request for Proposals from interested parties was made only in March 2009, instead of the original date of May 2008. And despite a ground-breaking ceremony last July, SG Changi received its permit to start work only last month.

The track is slated to flag off its first race by March or April next year.

SG Changi was named the winning bidder last March after beating two other bids - one from Singapore Agro Agriculture, and the other from Sports Services, which is backed by public-listed Haw Par Corporation.

But since then there has been talk about the group being tight for cash, and it has also seen management changes. Mr Sakuma himself came on board last year, replacing former Japanese race driver Gengi Hashimoto after he left the group.

While spokesmen for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Singapore Sports Council declined comment yesterday, others in the motorsports fraternity expressed shock.

There were also concerns that the news may dent the country's hopes of cementing itself as a regional motorsports centre.

Mr Tan Teng Lip, president of the Singapore Motor Sports Association, said investigations were still in progress and it was not the time to comment.

'But if the charges are proven to be true, then of course it will have negative impact on Singapore's reputation.'

While not involved in the hub's construction, Mr Tan helps SG Changi in dealing with the sport's international bodies to ensure the track design meets their specifications.

The hub, which can host any motor race except Formula One, plans to stage at least three international races every year, such as MotoGP and Japan's Super GT, once completed.

Singapore's leading race driver Melvin Choo expressed the wish of many racing fans in Singapore. He said: 'I hope that whatever comes out of it, we are still on course for a circuit we can all be proud of.'

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Huge Coral Reefs Discovered off Puerto Rico

LiveScience.com Yahoo News 5 Jan 11;

A new discovery of thriving coral reefs off the coast of Puerto Rico may offer hope for other shallower reefs.
Scuba diving scientists discovered sprawling and diverse coral reefs at 100 to 500 feet (30 to 150 meters) below the ocean surface within a 12-mile (19-kilometer) span off the southwestern coast near La Parguera, Puerto Rico.

With the overall health of shallow coral reefs and the abundance of reef fish in Puerto Rico in decline, this finding brings hope that deeper fish stocks may help to replenish stocks on shallower reefs.

These mesophotic ecosystems - 'meso' for middle and 'photic' for light - are the deepest of the light-dependent coral reefs. Too deep for exploration with traditional scuba gear, these reefs have until recently remained largely unexplored because of the cost and technical difficulty of reaching them. Advances in diving techniques allowed scientists to safely dive and conduct the new survey. [See images of the newfound reef.]

"We had no idea how extensive, vibrant and diverse these mesophotic coral ecosystems are off La Parguera," said Richard Appeldoorn, the study team leader from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez.

"At mesophotic depths in Puerto Rico, scientists are seeing fish species that were once common inhabitants of shallow reefs such as groupers, snappers and reef sharks," said Kimberly Puglise of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the organization that funded the study. "These reefs stand in stark contrast to declining shallow water reefs in the same area."

Because of the potential of mesophotic reefs to restore depleted fish stocks, local managers are looking carefully at adding protections for these coral ecosystems.

"We recognize the need to extend protections to mesophotic coral ecosystems in Puerto Rico, and the information being provided by this research is key to making that happen," said Ernesto Diaz, director of Puerto Rico's coastal management.

Puerto Rico aims to protect newly discovered reefs
Danica Coto, Associated Press Yahoo News 14 Jan 11;

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – As the ocean floor plunges off southwestern Puerto Rico, it reveals coral reefs dotted with bright-blue sea squirts and a multitude of other organisms whose existence has given hope to scientists who strive to save the island's threatened ecosystems.

The organisms are an integral part of a group of reefs discovered to be thriving near an area where most shallow coral reefs and the fish that depend on them are in poor health overall.

The reefs — at a depth of up to 500 feet (152 meters) in an area 12 miles (19 kilometers) across — were recently discovered as part of a federally funded mission to conduct research on deep-water corals, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"We stumbled across this area," Richard Appeldoorn, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez who was involved in the mission, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Divers enrolled in a one-year training course to depths of up to 100 feet (31 meters) noticed the thriving reefs and large predators lurking nearby, said Appeldoorn, who oversees the university's fisheries, biology and coral reef studies program.

The deep underwater landscape they encountered was populated by lettuce coral, the lace-like star coral and several species of sponges, as well as groupers, snappers and reef sharks, said Appledoorn, who is calling for the protection of the reefs and nearby shallower areas where fish spawn and later retreat to deeper waters.

"Any large fish is always neat to see, not having seen them on top of the (ocean) platform for decades, or not at all," he said.

The reef's existence means that struggling, shallow ecosystems in the U.S. Caribbean territory may have a better-than-believed chance at survival, because fish species thriving at a deeper level can help replenish stocks in more shallow reefs, said Appeldoorn and Ernesto Diaz, director of Puerto Rico's Coastal Zone Management Program.

"It's a pleasant surprise to know that species you thought you wouldn't see again exist," Diaz said.

The discovery — first announced by NOAA last week — comes as officials in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands seek to create the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership, an endeavor that aims to better coordinate the use of coastal waters and the implementation of conservation programs.

The two islands recently submitted a proposal for the partnership to NOAA, which also financed the mission that led to the discovery of the new reefs.

Among the partnership's proposed goals is the creation of a zoning map for waters surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The map would designate certain areas for conservation, recreation or commercial purposes, Diaz said.

The project also would allow researchers to explore how the ocean could be harnessed for energy or for the development of fish farms or the installation of underwater fiber-optic cables, Diaz said.

Officials decided to launch the project shortly after the administration of President Barack Obama approved a recent new policy that strengthens the way the U.S. manages its oceans and coasts.

"About 22 percent of Puerto Rico's waters are protected," Diaz said. "The other 78 percent, what potential do they have?"

Diaz said the partnership would eventually extend to the nearby Dominican Republic and the British Virgin Islands.

As Diaz awaits approval from NOAA, scientists including Appeldoorn are beginning to explore reefs off the nearby island of Mona, which is just west of Puerto Rico and is sometimes the unintended final destination of migrants from Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

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Great Barrier reef under threat from floods

Madeleine Coorey Yahoo News 5 Jan 11;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's spectacular Great Barrier Reef is under threat from massive floods swamping the country's northeast which are pouring harmful debris and sediment into the sea, an expert said Wednesday.

The full impact of the floods, which are rushing huge volumes of water into the pristine surrounds of the world's largest coral reef, is not yet known, but the influx will stress the colourful corals, said Michelle Devlin.

"This does impact on the reef. It just impacts on the reef's resilience so you get very stressed corals, you get stressed sea grass," Devlin, a researcher at James Cook University in northern Queensland, told AFP.

"So let's just say that a big cyclone came along, knocked them all out. They might not recover so well because they are already very stressed."

Devlin said while the rivers have always poured into the reef, the floods were no longer bringing just rainwater but also sediment, nutrients and pesticides.

"Top soil will run straight off into the water and that will come straight out into the Great Barrier Reef," said the researcher, who chased the flood plumes by boat to take samples and track the extent of the damage.

"There's a lot of water around and already it would be influencing the reef," she said, describing the mixture of fresh, warm water, nutrient-heavy soil and pesticide run-offs as a harmful "cocktail" for the corals.

"There is just going to be this cocktail of water containing a lot of things that they (the corals) wouldn't necessarily have seen before. It is fresh, warm water and that will stress corals out as well."

Devlin said flood plumes were visible near the coastal city of Rockhampton, where floods have virtually cut off the town of 75,000, and already stretched to up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) offshore.

As more floodwaters brought by weeks of torrential rains make their way to the coast, the dirty river water will pour into the reef for weeks, enabling the plume to extend for hundreds of kilometres, she said.

And although the worst of the flooding is at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, experts expect the floodwaters to drift towards the Whitsunday Islands, a tourist hotspot at centre of the colourful attraction.

Already the plume is at the scenic Keppel islands north of Rockhampton and Devlin said these would likely bear the brunt of the flood impact.

"I think the Keppels reefs... they will have quite high mortality," she said.

Delvin said the floods were some of the biggest in decades and it was too early to know what impact they would have overall on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which stretches some 2,300 kilometres up the northeast coast.

But she said it was possible that sea grass beds -- a key feeding ground for marine creatures such as dugongs -- could be wiped out in some areas while the additional nutrients in the water could allow the crown of thorns starfish -- a pest on the reef -- to flourish.

"This is a really massive event," Devlin said. "It has the potential to shift the food web, it has the potential to shift how the reef operates."

"But it is a really robust ecosystem," she said of the reef which teems with marine life and boasts hundreds of coral species.

Great Barrier Reef threatened
Rosanne Barrett The Australian 7 Jan 11;

THE floodwaters that have polluted dozens of Queensland cities and towns could also cause problems for the Great Barrier Reef.

Pesticides, fertilisers, top soil and sediment are being washed through the river systems out to sea, influencing the reef's salinity and water quality.

Farms and grazing properties have been inundated, leaving some of the runoff contaminated, while environmental groups remain concerned about the pollution from various mine sites across the state.

Australian Institute of Marine Science principal research scientist Katharina Fabricius said flood plumes from agricultural areas of Queensland would reduce salinity and increase nutrients and sedimentation on inshore areas. Floodwaters could damage corals, reduce species diversity and increase the abundance of seaweeds on reefs.

In the past, large floods of the Burdekin River had lead to outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, and there was concern that a new wave could soon form on the reef.

"The timing and location of the three observed outbreaks of crown-of thorns starfish in the past have all coincided with the the times and place where the three largest Burdekin floods on record have impinged on the reef," Dr Fabricius said. "These outbreaks of coral-eating starfish are still the greatest source of coral mortality on the Great Barrier Reef."

The sediment can also affect seagrass beds, leading to the starvation of marine life including dugongs that feed in and around the reef, including in Gladstone harbour. Reported dugong strandings have increased in recent years after a flood event.

But it is not only sediment being washed out to sea: a dead cow has been found on North Keppel Island, 12km off the coast. Police initially reported the cow had been found alive, but a Rockhampton Regional Council spokesman told AAP efforts to prevent the animal drowning were unsuccessful.

"It was washed out through the river," the spokesman said. "It was struggling. They put some flotation devices - I don't know what sort of flotation devices (but) not a lifejacket - but something to keep it buoyant. They were trying to get it to the nearest island, but unfortunately it didn't make it."

AgForce believes stock losses in Queensland will be minimal, with most graziers able to move cattle to higher ground, where they have survived on feed drops.

The impact on wildlife, however, is likely to be significant.

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Australian flood: Next comes the rat plague

Sean Parnell The Australian 6 Jan 11;

KANGAROOS, snakes and other native animals escaping Queensland floodwaters now find themselves sharing higher ground with humans and livestock.

While the increased presence of venomous creatures has added another element of danger to the rising floods, in the long term there is also the threat of rat plagues as some species thrive where others have either been killed off or forcibly relocated.

Environmental scientist Noel Preece has conducted one of the few studies of the effect of floods on Queensland wildlife. He sees some similarities between the current disaster and flooding in the Gulf of Carpentaria two years ago.

"All the river floodplain areas were inundated for months (after the Norman and Yappar rivers flooded) and it had a really significant effect on the ground-dwelling fauna," Dr Preece said yesterday.

"All the small mammals and reptiles just disappeared -- it was devastating."

Dr Preece said animals able to move quickly could only survive if they had somewhere to go -- much of the current flooding is over vast, flat areas -- and even those capable of climbing trees could find themselves without food and threatened by predators.

Like bushfires, floods leave some areas uninhabited, even killing off native grasses, while there may be a disproportion of species elsewhere, which takes time for nature to address.

"It just wipes the slate clean for a period of time," Dr Preece said.

"It's an unsettled period because some animals, the rats for instance, can go into plague proportions once the floods have gone."

Queensland Parks and Wildlife general manager Clive Cook said that during the floods it appeared different species had become more tolerant of each other, despite being confined to smaller areas. Still, health authorities have dealt with an increase in snake and spider bites, and expect mosquitoes to become more of a problem.

Mr Cook said a population of northern hairy-nosed wombats near St George had so far survived. There are also flow-on effects, such as sediment destroying seagrass beds and leaving dugongs to starve.

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Japan's whale meat stockpile hit record last year: activists

Yahoo News 5 Jan 11;

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's whale meat stocks likely hit a record level of more than 6,000 tons last year, conservationists were quoted saying in a report Wednesday, suggesting it is becoming less popular with consumers.

The Iruka & Kujira (Dolphin & Whale) Action Network and journalist Junko Sakuma estimate that the stockpile could have reached 6,025 tons, higher than the previous record of 5,969 tons set in April 2006, Kyodo News said.

The data, if true, might reflect falling demand for whale meat, which is sourced from Japan's controversial government-run whaling programmes in waters near Japan and the Antarctic, Kyodo said.

The news agency said that "the finding will likely heighten calls for Tokyo to review its research whaling programme as it is financed partly by revenues from sales of the meat as well as state subsidies".

Anti-whaling nations, led by Australia and New Zealand, and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd have long criticised Japan for its whale hunts, criticising them as cruel and unnecessary.

Japan kills hundreds of whales a year under a loophole in the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling that allows "lethal research".

The fisheries agency has said Japan's whale meat stockpile in August was estimated at 5,790 tons -- but the activists challenge the figure, saying it is based on a smaller sample of warehouses than previous surveys.

Kyodo said the whale meat stocks seemed to have increased as consumption fell more sharply than supply, which has also has been decreasing as Sea Shepherd activists have obstructed harpoon ships in recent years.

"Although the supply has been small and wholesale prices of whale meat have been cut in the past two years, the pace of decline in stocks has been slowing as Japanese people are moving away from whale meat," Sakuma told Kyodo.

Because the fisheries agency's survey method changed in 2010, an agency official said he could not compare the latest data with past figures, declining to confirm whether the stockpile last summer hit a record high.

"The available amount of whale meat tends to increase in the summer," when coastal whaling ships return from the northwestern Pacific, the official added.

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WWF condemns oil exploration plans inside Africa's iconic national park

WWF 5 Jan 11;

Gland, Switzerland (WWF) – WWF calls on companies SOCO and Dominion to abandon their oil exploration plans in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning these actions will undermine decades of work and successful and costly conservation efforts aimed at saving the park’s unique nature.

The UK-listed companies’ plans to drill for oil will be costly for the area’s precious and fragile biodiversity, including, chimpanzees, hippos, elephants and other rare species, as well as the local population who benefit from tourism and sustainable fishing inside the national park.

Africa’s oldest national park and the continent’s first World Heritage Site, Virunga is home to many species of mammals, birds and reptiles, and an impressive diversity of landscape and habitats.

Home of the last mountain gorillas

It is also home to about 200, almost a quarter, of the earth’s last remaining mountain gorillas, a charismatic large ape species and one of human kind’s closest living relatives.

Some 30,000 local fishermen who fish sustainably on the park’s Lake Edward, a Ramsar protected site, will also suffer if drilling plans in the park go ahead.

After so many years of conservation and money invested in the Park by conservation groups, the international community and the government, it is devastating to see an oil company pursue profit with total disrespect for both the animals and the local Congolese.

Armed groups are moving out of the park, and the enormous efforts put into conservation work is starting to pay off and the park’s situation is finally improving.

But with oil companies coming in all these achievements might be undermined.

WWF calls on the Congolese government to guarantee and to enforce the existing oil exploration ban in the park designated World Heritage Site and asks the UK-listed companies to respect the law and international convention and to abandon their harmful plans for exploration.

Company maps seen by international media indicate that SOCO intends to drill through much of the park in areas with some of the highest savannah biomass in the world.

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Study backs community management to save world's fisheries

Yahoo News 5 Jan 11;

PARIS (AFP) – A study by marine scientists has given powerful backing to campaigners who say the future of many of the world's fisheries lies in co-management by government, local people and fishermen.

Publishing in the science journal Nature on Wednesday, researchers said the traditional "top-down" approach -- trawling quotas set down and policed by central authorities -- was failing in many fisheries as rules were often poorly implemented or abused.

The best-managed fisheries are those that bring together local representatives and fishermen who co-determine how the resources should be managed and enforce these decisions effectively, they said.

"They have very strong, cohesive communities with strong leaders," Nicolas Gutierrez, a University of Washington fishery scientist, who headed the paper, told AFP.

One billion people depend on fish or shellfish as their primary source of protein, but a third of fish stocks worldwide are overexploited or depleted, according to figures cited in the study.

Gutierrez and colleagues looked at 130 fisheries in 44 developed and developing countries, factoring in the size and location of the waters, the sustainability of the catches, the fishing gear used, the species fished, the regulatory system and wealth derived and shared from fishing.

Those that performed best shared responsibility between the government and users, rather than followed a rulebook conceived and directed by the central authorities.

Among the stars is a co-managed fishery of water snails, also known as Chilean abalone, which was tentatively launched in 1988 and covered initially four kilometres (2.5 miles) of Chile's coastline.

It now embraces 4,000 kms (2,500 miles) of coast and involves more than 20,000 artisanal fishers.

The study did not focus on deep-water international fisheries, Gutierrez said.

Most of the fisheries it investigated were generally within 50 nautical miles of the coast. Catching techniques included industrial trawlers as well as artisanal fishing.

Gutierrez added that governments or organisations seeking to strengthen community management in fisheries had to talent-spot strong leaders and these may need training in economics or ecology or given the help of experts.

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World food prices enter 'danger territory' to reach record high

UN food price index rises for sixth month in a row to highest since records began in 1990
Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk 5 Jan 11;

Soaring prices of sugar, grain and oilseed drove world food prices to a record in December, surpassing the levels of 2008 when the cost of food sparked riots around the world, and prompting warnings of prices being in "danger territory".

An index compiled monthly by the United Nations surpassed its previous monthly high – June 2008 – in December to reach the highest level since records began in 1990. Published by the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the index tracks the prices of a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, and has risen for six consecutive months.

Abdolreza Abbassian, FAO economist, told the Guardian: "We are entering a danger territory." But he stressed that the situation was not yet as bad as 2008.

Sugar and meat prices are at record levels, while cereal prices are back at the levels last seen in 2008, when riots in Haiti killed four people and riots in Cameroon left 40 dead.

Abbassian warned prices could rise higher still, amid fears of droughts in Argentina and floods in Australia and cold weather killing plants in the northern hemisphere.

"There is still room for prices to go up much higher, if for example the dry conditions in Argentina tend to become a drought, and if we start having problems with winterkill in the northern hemisphere for the wheat crops," Abbassian said.

Prices have been rising steadily but Abbassian said that by now he had been expecting food prices to start to fall because many poorer countries had good harvests last year.

But this has not happened after unpredictable weather caused a poor wheat crop in Russia. Last year European wheat prices doubled, US corn prices rose more than 50% and US soybean prices jumped more than 30%.

The current floods in Australia have the potential to affect prices for commodities such as sugar and cane growers are warning of production problems for up to three years. Wheat supplies are expected to be affected – Australia is the fourth-largest wheat exporter – and the country is also the largest exporter of coking coal, production of which is also being affected by the floods.

At the same time demand from emerging countries such as China and India has been strong.

Abbassian played down concern that the rising food prices could cause fresh riots, as happened two years ago when the price of cereals was largely the cause of the problem, along with a dramatic spike in the price of oil. He noted that another rise in the oil price – currently around $95 a barrel – could exacerbate the problem. While oil is rising in price, and forecasters are suggesting it could hit $100, it is still well below the $145 peak it reached in July 2008 on a wave of buying by international speculators.

The FAO food index hit 215 points last month, up from 206 in November, to break the 213.5 registered in June 2008. It shows a dramatic rise in prices for food in a decade. In 2000 the index stood at 90 and did not break through 100 until 2004.

Economists are on guard for spikes in inflation around the world that might force up interest rates, which in the developed world are at historically low levels as a result of the banking crisis.

Julian Jessop, chief international economist at Capital Economics, said: "The upward pressure on inflation this year from the recent surge in the cost of agricultural commodities will be much greater than that from the pick-up in oil prices".

Jessop said the price of oil was rising largely as result of demand caused by a rebound in global industrial activity. "In contrast, the surge in agricultural food prices is largely a consequence of supply shocks, such as droughts in major wheat producing countries. These have been compounded by speculative pressures."

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The official pursuit of happiness

Derek Bok Straits Times 6 Jan 11;

POLITICIANS look to economic growth as the centrepiece of their domestic policy programmes.

Gross domestic product is taken to be the leading indicator of national well-being. But we should ask ourselves: Is it really wise to accord such importance to growth?

Granted, many studies have confirmed that wealthier nations tend to be happier than poor ones, and that rich people are generally more satisfied than the less affluent. Yet other findings from several relatively well-to-do countries, such as South Korea and the United States, suggest that people there are essentially no happier today than they were 50 years ago, despite a doubling or quadrupling of per capita income.

Moreover, in a recent Canadian study, the happiest people turned out to reside in the poorest provinces, such as Nova Scotia, while citizens in the richest provinces, such as British Columbia, were among the least happy. Since happiness is ultimately what people want the most, while wealth is only a means to that end, the primacy now accorded to economic growth would appear to be a mistake.

What seems clear from such research is that people do quite poorly at predicting what will make them happy or sad. They focus too much on their initial responses to changes in their lives and overlook how quickly the pleasure of a new car, a pay increase or a move to sunnier climes will fade, leaving them no happier than before. It is hazardous for politicians simply to rely on opinion polls and focus groups to discover what will truly enhance people's happiness.

In the findings to date, however, two conclusions have emerged that seem especially useful for us to ponder. First, most of the things that do bring enduring satisfaction for individuals are also good for other people - strong marriages and close relationships of all kinds, helping others, engaging in civic affairs, and effective, honest, democratic government. Thus, policies that promote individual well-being tend to benefit society as well.

Second, experiences that bring lasting happiness do not always command a high priority in government circles. For example, three medical afflictions that create especially acute distress - clinical depression, chronic pain, and sleep disorders - are all conditions that can often be treated successfully, to the vast relief of sufferers. But such people are frequently under-served by health-care systems.

The natural response to all this is to ask whether happiness research is really reliable enough to be used by policymakers. Researchers have paid close attention to this issue, and, after much testing, have found that the answers people give to questions about their well-being seem to correspond fairly well to more objective evidence.

People who claim to be happy tend to live longer, are less prone to commit suicide, abuse drugs less often, get promoted more frequently, and enjoy more good friends and lasting marriages. Their assessments of their own well-being also align quite closely with the opinions of friends and family members.

Of course, happiness research is still new. Many questions remain unexplored, some studies lack sufficient confirmatory evidence, and still others, like those involving the effects of economic growth, have yielded conflicting results.

Thus, it would be premature to base bold new policies on happiness research alone, or to follow the example of tiny Bhutan by adopting Gross National Happiness as the nation's principal goal. Yet the findings may be useful to lawmakers even today - for example, in assigning priorities among several plausible initiatives, or in identifying new possibilities for policy interventions that deserve further study.

At the very least, governments should follow Britain and France and consider publishing regular statistics on trends in the well-being of their citizens. Such findings will surely stimulate useful public discussion while yielding valuable data for investigators to use.

Beyond that, who knows? Further research will doubtless provide more detailed and reliable information about the kinds of policies that add to people's happiness. Someday, perhaps, public officials may even use the research to inform their decisions. After all, what could matter more to their constituents than happiness?

The writer, a former president of Harvard University (1971-91 and 2006-07), is the author of The Politics Of Happiness.

PROJECT SYNDICATE

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