30 Jan (Sun): For kids - Seashore Study at Chek Jawa
from wild shores of singapore
110120 Punggol
from Singapore Nature
New Tiny Findings at Mandai Track 15
from Macro Photography in Singapore
Nesting Grey Herons: 6. Chick development
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Quick trip to Chek Jawa
from wild shores of singapore
Logger retrieval at Chek Jawa (20 Jan)
from teamseagrass
一月华语导游Mandarin guide walk@SBWR,December(XV)
from PurpleMangrove
ECO’s ENRICH! SERIES
from ECO @ COP
Straits Times Forum 21 Jan 11;
THE concerns with plastic bags relate to them being sent to landfills where they can pollute the environment ("Charge a fee for plastic bags"; Jan 14).
In Singapore, plastic bags are sent to our waste-to-energy plants for incineration, rather than to our landfill. Notwithstanding this, as part of its 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) efforts, the National Environment Agency currently encourages the public and community to reduce their packaging waste as well as reuse items that are reusable.
Retailers such as NTUC FairPrice and Ikea have also implemented their own schemes to encourage the use of customers' own bags or discourage the overuse of plastic bags. We would encourage more organisations to step forward to adopt more environmentally friendly practices rather than making it mandatory to charge a fee for plastic bags.
Low Fong Hon
Director
Waste and Resource Management Department
National Environment Agency
Charge a fee for plastic bags
Straits Times Forum 14 Jan 11;
I URGE the National Environment Agency to emulate the Penang state government in implementing the 'No free plastic bags every day of the week' policy which began on Jan 1.
The environmental destruction caused by plastic bags is massive and cannot be quantified by dollars and cents. Consumers in Singapore are nonchalant because plastic bags come free and are found aplenty at supermarkets.
It is time for Singapore to emulate Penang and even China in charging consumers a fee for plastic bags. It is only when consumers feel the pinch of purchasing plastic bags at checkout counters that they will change their habits and take along their own shopping bags.
Elgar Lee
Straits Times 21 Jan 11;
FIVE employees of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific and two other workers employed by the oil company's contractor were charged in court yesterday with breaching workplace safety laws in relation to a fire at the oil refinery about four years ago.
The fire at the Jurong oil refinery on May 3, 2007 claimed the lives of three workers and injured one. A fifth managed to escape unharmed.
The three who died worked for Mun Siong Engineering, which has since been accused of failing to take measures to ensure the safety and health of its employees at work.
The company, which was engaged by ExxonMobil to provide services for mechanical works, faces a fine of up to $500,000 upon conviction.
Its case will be next mentioned on Tuesday.
The five from the oil giant accused yesterday of contravening the Workplace Safety and Health Act are: fuels manufacturing coordinator Yeo Soon Yong; operation supervisor Poonis Iswaran Ganesan; and senior operation technicians Soh Beng Thong, Ng Kim Seng and Lim Joe Ann.
Mun Siong's two employees accused of a similar offence are its site supervisor Anowar Hossain Khan Shahadatali Khan and process and maintenance worker Hannan Abdul Jalil Monowara Begum.
If convicted, each faces a fine of up to $1,000.
The men's cases will come up for mention again on Feb 17.
ELENA CHONG
Engineering firm fined $100K for fatal fire
Khushwant Singh Straits Times 25 Jan 11;
MUN Siong Engineering was fined $100,000 on Tuesday for failing to ensure the safety of three workers who died from injuries sustained in a fire at the ExxonMobil oil refinery on Jurong Island in 2007. The maximum fine for this offence is $500,000.
A district court heard that Mun Siong was the resident contractor to maintain and repair equipment at the refinery. On May 3, 2007, five of its workers had removed a steel plate between two heat exchangers when a liquid containing the flammable naphtha spilled out. They did not have the proper drip pan to collect the spill so they used water to flush it away. Ten minutes later, a fire broke out. Civil Defence and ExxonMobil firefighters took an hour to put out the blaze.
Singaporeans Tan Kong Lam, 56, and Ng Swee Min, 47, both working as a pipe fitter, were found dead at the scene. Mr Prabir Braja, 35, a Bangladeshi, who was among the three maintenance workers that managed to run away, suffered 70 per cent burns and died two days later on May 5. Another suffered 15 per cent burns. He recovered while a fifth was unhurt.
Arguing for a light fine, lawyer Tan Liam Beng said that the court should note Mun Siong's impeccable safety record for more than 40 years. The 2007 accident was its only safety violation and a total of $332,560 in insurance had been paid to the grieving families, he added.
On Jan 20, five employees of ExxonMobil were charged for breaching workplace safety laws in relation to the fire. Two workers of Mun Siong were also charged with the same violation.
Two workers fined over fatal incident at oil refinery
Shaffiq Alkhatib Today Online 11 Feb 11;
SINGAPORE - Two Bangladeshi workers were each fined the maximum $1,000 after their tardiness caused the death of three men at an ExxonMobil oil refinery in 2007.
Site supervisor Anowar Hossain Khan Md Shahadatali Khan and construction worker Hannan Abdul Jalil Monowara Begum are with engineering firm Mun Siong, which provided services for mechanical work at the facility at Ayer Chawan Place in Jurong. They had failed to cooperate with their employer, which led to the fatal incident.
Manpower Ministry prosecutor Vince Tio told the court that a fire broke out at the oil refinery on May 3, 2007. Singaporean pipe fitters Tan Kong Lam, 56, and Ng Swee Min, 47, died at the scene, while Bangladeshi worker Prabir Braja, 35, suffered 70 per cent burns and died in hospital.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force and ExxonMobil took about an hour to extinguish the fire, which began shortly after workers opened a flange and naphta, a flammable liquid, flowed out.
Hannan should have re-tightened the flange to stop the flow. He instead sprayed water at it to wash the naphta away. Anowar, meanwhile, failed to ensure that a drip pan container was at hand to contain the spillage.
Mr Tio said the liquid could have ignited after it came into contact with some hot surfaces in the area.
Mun Siong Engineering was fined $100,000 on Jan 25 for failing to provide a safe working environment for its employees. SHAFFIQ ALKHATIB
Related post
ExxonMobil refinery fire: SCDF withdraws charges Leong Wee Keat Channel NewsAsia 28 Dec 10;
The Star 20 Jan 11;
THE Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) have sent memorandums to the health ministries of neighbouring countries to oppose the release of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes in Bentong and Alor Gajah.
CAP and SAM president SM Mohamed Idris said Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia should have been consulted in the decision to push ahead with GM mosquito field trials that are aimed at stunting the growth of Aedes mosquitoes.
He said the memorandum was also sent to Malaysia’s Health Ministry along with other related ministries and departments.
“There are some unanswered questions about the impact of the proposed releases,” Mohamed Idris said, dubbing the modified insects as ‘terminator mosquitoes’ due to their genetically altered state.
He said this at a press conference at the CAP office yesterday.
He also urged the National Biosafety Board (NBB) to revoke its approval to the Institute for Medical Research for the field experiments.
Earlier this month, it was reported that field trials for GM mosquitoes releases in Bentong and Alor Gajah were delayed due to the rainy season last month.
The objective of the project is to allow normal Aedes-carrying female mosquitoes (only female mosquitos bite) to mate with the male GM mosquitoes that carry a conditional lethality trait, resulting in any offspring dying before they reach adulthood.
Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 20 Jan 11;
A conservation group on Wednesday finally got the go-ahead to release captive orangutans back into the wild, following a nine-year hyatus marked by zero releases.
Restorasi Habitat Orangutan Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, was awarded a concession for an orangutan release area by the Ministry of Forestry in August 2010.
The concession covers 86,540 hectares of previously logged land in East Kalimantan, for which the RHOI must pay a license fee of Rp 13 billion ($1.4 million) over the next 60 years.
But the sluggish bureaucratic process meant the group only now received approval to start releasing the apes back into the wild.
“In addition to the concession we’ve been granted by the Forestry Ministry, we plan to add another 23,000 hectares in the northern part of East Kalimantan, because not all the land we got is suitable as an orangutan release habitat,” said Togu Manurung, chairman of the BOS Foundation.
“The topography is the main challenge — at 900 meters above sea level, it’s too high an elevation for orangutans.”
He said each orangutan would ideally require at least 150 hectares of forest in which to roam, given its wide home range.
“We’ll release the orangutans in several phases through 2015,” Togu said.
“We’ll start with the release of at least 127 orangutans, not all at the same time, in East Kalimantan. We also plan to release around 520 orangutans in Central Kalimantan.”
He said the BOS Foundation currently housed 620 orangutans at its Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation center in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, but not all the animals were ready to be released back into the wild.
“Some of them are suffering from illnesses such as hepatitis and tuberculosis,” Togu said.
Initially, the foundation will release between 24 and 30 orangutans back into the wild this May, he said.
The BOS Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1991, focuses on preparing orangutans to be reintroduced to their natural environment at its rehabilitation centers.
Togu said the BOS Foundation had been unable to release any apes since 2002 because of the difficulty in finding suitable habitats for them.
Between 1992 and 2002 the group released 450 orangutans in East Kalimantan.
“This is a serious matter because orangutans are on the verge of extinction,” he said.
“None of the trees that have been planted in the concession area for orangutan release since 2002 should be cut down. We should keep them as they are because this will benefit the orangutans and other species in the wider ecosystem.”
Togu said now that the land was officially dedicated for orangutan releases, the BOS Foundation’s next challenge would be to finance the release of each of the apes.
“Preparing each orangutan for release will cost around Rp 2 million to Rp 2.4 million,” he said.
Given the number of orangutans the foundation plans to release, “that adds up to a lot of money,” he said.
He proposed the government waive the $1.4 million license fee in exchange for the foundation carrying out ecosystem restoration efforts.
“That’s because we’ll be doing what is essentially the government’s duty to protect orangutans, which are considered an endangered species,” Togu said.
“The government should be responsible for this duty.”
He added his organization would also seek to raise funds for the orangutan release program through carbon-trading schemes within the concession area it was granted by the government.
Bangkok Post 21 Jan 11;
Eighteen popular diving sites will be closed for up to 14 months to allow coral damaged by bleaching to recover.
Over 80% of the coral at each diving site had been damaged, National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department chief Sunan Arunnoparat said yesterday.
Bleaching, or a whitening of coral as it loses its natural pigment, is caused by a rise in sea temperatures which has been linked to global warming. The dive sites which have been closed are in seven marine national parks.
They are the Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang, Mu Koh Petra and Tarutao national parks in Satun, Mu Koh Chumphon National Park in Chumphon, Hat Nopparat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park in Krabi, and Mu Koh Surin and Mu Koh Similan national parks in Phangnga.
The coral bleaching, which has been growing more serious since April, is said to be the worst in 20 years.
Up to 90% of coral in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea has been bleached.
The department chief said he could not say how long the dive sites would be closed but diving activities probably would be banned until the end of the monsoon season in October.
Marine national parks would be closed for six months during the monsoon season.
Mr Sunan said curbs would be imposed on tourist visits to some sites, and public awareness of marine life conservation would be promoted in other measures to deter bleaching.
A task force will monitor the situation and issue measures to speed up coral rehabilitation, he said.
Praput Khorpetch, vice-president of the Phangnga Tourism Association, said the association was willing to cooperate with government efforts to protect marine life.
"We don't want to see just a closure of national parks to rehabilitate coral.
In fact, we want to see the government and private tourism operators work together to find a long-term solution," Mr Praput said.
"The Marine and Coastal Resources Department should not blame just the tourism sector for this problem. We received the message and have made an effort to limit the number of tourists but we don't have the power to do that. The government should impose a strict law on this issue."
Suchart Sirankanokkul, president of the Thai Hotels Association Southern Charter, suggested the government set up a meeting with tourism operators in the affected areas to discuss solutions to the problem.
Thailand closes dive sites to halt damage to reefs
Jutarat Skulpichetrat Reuters 20 Jan 11;
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand is closing dozens of dive sites to tourists after unusually warm seas caused severe damage to coral reefs in the Andaman Sea, one of the world's top diving and beach resort regions, authorities said on Thursday.
More than half of southern Thailand's 15,000 hectares of coral reefs are suffering from bleaching, or the shedding of coral colors, a phenomenon caused largely by rising sea temperatures over an extended period, officials said.
"We will study the cause and effect and find a way to restore them," Sunan Arunnopparat, director of the Department of National Parks, told Reuters, adding that the reefs will be closed across seven national parks.
"This is part of an effort to restore the reefs."
He declined to say how many diving spots would be closed or how extensive the damage was to the reefs. He said diving sites where bleaching had spread to 80 percent of the reefs would be shut for an unspecified period.
The coral bleaching -- whitening due to heat driving out the algae living within the coral tissues -- was first reported in May after a surge in temperatures across the Andaman Sea from the northern tip of Sumatra island to Thailand and Myanmar.
Other parts of Southeast Asia have also suffered. An international team of scientists studying bleaching off Indonesia's Aceh province found that 80 percent of some species have died between May and August.
Marine conservationists blame unregulated tourism -- walking on coral, mooring of boats over reefs and contamination of the water in the Andaman Sea, a region of sparkling blue-green waters and pearl-white beaches that draws thousands of tourists a year.
But Sunan said global warming was at fault.
Between April and late May, sea surface temperatures in the Andaman Sea rose to 34 degrees Celsius or about 4 degrees C above the long-term average, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Hotspots website. (See: here)
Coral bleaching involves the loss or expulsion of single cell algae (zooxanthellae) which normally live within the coral tissue and give it a brownish coloration. Loss of the algae sees the coral skeleton become visible through the transparent tissue giving the coral a bleached white appearance.
Bleaching occurs when coral is under stress from high temperatures, strong light and low salinity. Coral can only recover from minor bleaching.
"We did not close all of the national parks, just some of the dive sites. Tourists can still go see the forests and the mountains in these parks," Sunan said.
(Writing by Ambika Ahuja; Editing by Jason Szep and Sanjeev Miglani)
Phuket Reef Diving Closures to Begin on Friday
Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison Phuketwan 19 Jan 11;
THAILAND will begin closing seven ''hot spot'' coral reef sites off Phuket and the Andaman Coast from tomorrow, intending to keep the sites closed for up to five years.
Closures include diving sites in the Similan Islands, Surin Islands and Phi Phi.
The dramatic move was announced tonight by the Director of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Planned Conservation, Sunan Aroonnopparat following a meeting in Bangkok that included marine biologists and researchers.
The verdict will bring consternation among Phuket and Andaman dive operators who mostly do not see how continued diving inhibits or disturbs renewed coral growth.
An exceptionally hot period in 2010 maintained water temperature at a high level for so long that 50 percent of corals or more in some areas died from bleaching.
Khun Sunan said tonight that the closures, which could be wound back within three years depending on coral regrowth, would ensure the coral reefs recovered.
The ban on diving would also assist any potential bid by Thailand for UN World Heritage listing for Phuket and the Andaman region, based on its marine treasures, he said.
The list of diving sites where divers could from tomorrow incur a penalty of between 1000 baht and 10,000 baht is:
In Phang Nga province - Mo Koh Surin Island, Ao Sutep, Ao Mai Ngam, Koh Ster, Ao Pakkard; Mo Koh Similan, East of Eden, Ao Faiwab.
In Krabi province - Nopparat Thara Park, Phi Phi, Hin Klang.
In Satun province - Hat Chao Mai National Park, Koh Cher; Mu Ko Phetra National Park, Koh Bulon Mai Pai, Koh Bulon Don; Koh Tarutao National Park, Kohtakiang, Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi, Koh Dong.
In Chumporn province - At Mo Koh Chumporn, Koh Maprao.
A large number diving companies centred on Khao Lak in Phang Nga are planning to meet on January 26 and expected to express dissatisfaction with aspects of the marine bans.
The dive companies are: Khao Lak Scuba Adventures; Sea Dragon Dive Center Khao Lak; IQ Dive; Liquid Adventures; Similan Diving Safari; Octavia; Big Blue Khao Lak; Wicked Diving Khao Lak; Kompas Dive Center; Geo Dive; Kon Tiki Khao Lak; Sea Bees Khao Lak; Wetzone Dive Center; Siam Adventure Divers; Private Holiday Dive Center.
Don't Pick On Us, Say Phuket, Andaman Ban Divers
Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison PhuketWan 21 Jan 11;
CONFUSION and anger rippled through the Phuket and Andaman diving communities today in the wake of a hasty government decision to close many prime popular diving sites in seven marine parks.
The logic behind the closures eludes the dive companies, who do not see themselves as being responsible for the natural phenomenon of coral bleaching.
Many are now concerned that the ban on diving at 18 key sites in the seven marine parks - six along the Andaman coast - will simply lead to overcrowding at other popular spots that are in some cases outside marine parks.
Coral reefs off Phuket are popular but not included in the marine parks, so pressure is likely to grow at these sites to the point where some dive industry people believe they could be quickly destroyed.
A survey by Phuketwan today showed that the industry feels it has been made a scapegoat for the continuing failure of authorities to properly protect the reefs from illegal fishing and reef fish poachers.
One dive company owner, who preferred not to be named, said: ''Of course this will have a huge effect. But the coral reefs have bleached because of a natural occurrence. We dive deep to 18 metres or beyond.
''Have the researchers been down that deep? There's no bleaching at that level. This is where the best-trained divers go. Yet they too are banned, and for no good reason.''
She said that there was no denying there had been damage to reefs in shallow waters, but divers who had been properly trained never touched the reefs and so never damaged the underwater environment.
''Snorkellers are the biggest danger because the reefs closest to the surface are the ones that suffered most in the bleaching and they are the ones that sometimes are also damaged by people who haven't been taught not to touch them.''
One species of coral, Acroporidae, had been particularly harmed but different species responded to the bleaching in different ways.
''I'm not sure that the minister has been properly briefed on this issue,'' she said. ''The result is confusion and possibly greater damage to other parts of the reefs that will now become overcrowded.''
She added that there didn't seem much point in the Tourism Authority of Thailand spending millions of baht promoting tourism and diving when the government authorities suddenly decide not to let people go diving.
''Airlines, resorts, restaurants, tuk-tuks, taxis, people on tour boats will all suffer reduced income because of this thoughtless move,'' she said.
Resorts had been asking and getting 7000 baht a night two years ago, but with 1500 baht now the asking price at the same resorts, she feared some resorts along the Andaman coast would inevitably be forced to close because of the government diving ban.
There is no indication yet how the closures will be enforced. For decades, illegal fishing has continued on and around marine parks, even though divers have been calling on the authorities to enforce the protection laws.
Dive industry workers are also suspicious that it could be part of an as yet unspoken attempt to improve the reefs to enhance Thailand's potential to win UN World Heritage listing for the region.
However, with the authorities' lack of ability to enforce current regulations, such a bid inevitably seemed doomed to fail, divers said.
Dr Wannakiat Tubtimsang, Director of the Phuket Region Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, said Phuket was a conservation area but not a national park.
''We must follow the act on Phuket,'' he said. ''The number of boats, the number of people diving, must be recorded and controlled. Pollution and big numbers are damaging some of the sites.
''Now at the east of Racha Yai [probably Phuket's most popular diving spot] and Koh He, the quality of the tourists is not good. How can we improve the guide quality and the quality of the divers?
''The problem is just as much about the people as it is about coral bleaching or global warming.''
The list of diving sites where divers could from today incur a penalty of between 1000 baht and 10,000 baht is:
In Phang Nga province - Mo Koh Surin Island, Ao Sutep, Ao Mai Ngam, Koh Ster, Ao Pakkard; Mo Koh Similan, East of Eden, Ao Faiwab.
In Krabi province - Nopparat Thara Park, Phi Phi, Hin Klang.
In Satun province - Hat Chao Mai National Park, Koh Cher; Mu Ko Phetra National Park, Koh Bulon Mai Pai, Koh Bulon Don; Koh Tarutao National Park, Kohtakiang, Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi, Koh Dong.
In Chumporn province - At Mo Koh Chumporn, Koh Maprao. (in the Gulf of Thailand)
Diving sites to be closed for a month
The Nation 21 Jan 11;
More than a dozen diving sites in seven national marine parks will be closed today for at least a month as authorities seek ways to arrest coral bleaching, leaving many southern tourism operators fuming.
"We will give the coral reefs time to recover naturally," Sunan Arunnopparat, directorgeneral of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said yesterday.
More than 80 per cent of the coral in the areas were suffering from bleaching, he said, adding that the suspension of diving activities was introduced in consultation with academics.
The places to be made offlimits to visitors include Chuak Island of Chao Mai Beach National Park in Trang; Bulone Mai Pai and Bulone Rang Pheung Islands of Petra Islands National Park in Satun; Takiang Island, Hin Ngam Island, Rawi Island, Sai Khao Beach and Dong Island of Tarutao National Park in Satun; and Maphrao Island of Chumphon Islands National Park.
In Phang Nga, the sites are Hin Klang of Nopparat TharaPhi Phi Islands National Park; Suthep Bay, Mai Ngam Bay, Stork Island, Hin Kong and Pakkad Bay of Surin Islands National Park (coralreef area in front of the national park office); and Fai Wap Bay and Eve of Eden of Similan Islands National Park.
Sunan said the whitening is caused by various factors such as El Nino, chemicals, changes in coastal conditions and disruptive human activities.
"Coral reefs can recover from bleaching if the sea conditions turn fine. We should suspend diving activities to reduce pollution," he said.
The department would also adopt other measures such as limiting admissions to national parks and campaigning to make tourists more conscious of the environment.
Tourism operators in the South voiced opposition to the department's latest move.
Torpong Wongsathienchai, whose company offers diving tours to Similan Islands and Surin Islands in Phang Nga, said authorities were not aiming at the root problem.
"The move will hardly be useful. In fact, national marine parks have been closed to tourists for about six months out of the year all along," he said.
Authorities should implement strict measures to reduce oil spills from boats and promote environmentallyresponsible tourism, he said.
"When you close diving sites, you must think about the whole impact on the tourism industry. What about hotel operators? Will they get any guests?" he said.
If the hotel business was depressed, employees would face dire consequences too, he added.
Thawat Niranartwarodom, owner of the Bayfront Khao Lak Resort and Spa, said most travellers came to the Andaman Sea because they want to explore the marvellous snorkelling attractions.
"When we sell them tour packages, we show them our beautiful seas and islands. What will they say if they find they can't visit the places being advertised?" he asked.
Authorities should educate tour guides on how best to protect the environment instead of slapping a blanket ban on prime diving destinations, he added.
Thailand closes dive spots due to reef damage
Yahoo News 21 Jan 11;
BANGKOK (AFP) – Thailand has closed a host of popular dive sites to tourists indefinitely to allow coral reefs to recover from widespread bleaching caused by warmer sea temperatures, according to authorities.
In total 18 areas in seven marine parks are off-limits, according to an order by the Thai National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.
"Diving in all the spots is to be halted indefinitely until the reef has fully recovered," said department official Songtham Suksawang on Friday.
The ban, effective in seven of 26 marine parks, mainly covers sites in the Andaman Sea on the west coast. It also applies to snorkelling.
Songtham said the authorities would limit the number of people visiting certain other reefs at the same time.
Coral on Thailand's east and west coasts is thought to have been damaged by last year's unusually high sea temperatures caused by El Nino, as well as excessive human activity near the reefs, a statement by the department said.
The ban was imposed in certain areas that "have widespread bleaching of more than 80 percent to allow the reef to rehabilitate", it added.
Sea temperatures were said to be around two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal in the affected regions.
A study by Australia's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in October said reefs in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean were dying from the worst bleaching in over a decade after sea temperatures across the region rose in May 2010.
Bleaching is caused by the warm water sweeping over the reefs, shocking the corals and causing them to shed the algae that nourish them. If corals fail to regain their algae, they starve to death.
Scientists say corals are vital to marine life because they provide habitats for a vast variety of creatures and absorb large levels of poisonous carbon dioxide.
Reefs are also a big draw for tourists looking to explore the wealth of underwater life.
Thailand is a popular destination for divers, with many resort islands offering excursions to the reefs strung along the country's more than 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) of coastline.
The ban affects certain areas in the popular national parks of Similan and Phi Phi, as well as sites in Tarutao, Chao Mai, Chumphon, Phetra and most of Surin.
Penalties for non-compliance will run to fines and jail sentences and authorities have also vowed to step up patrols to stop illegal fishing.
Anchoring sites at spots not affected by the closures would also be increased to reduce damage done by boats to reefs.
Authorities said the coral bleaching will be closely monitored while the ban is in place.
Paul Icamina Malaya 21 Jan 11;
The world’s only bonsai forest is found in Mt. Hamiguitan where the unique pygmy trees thrive.
Located in Davao Oriental, the 6,843-hectare mountain reserve is the only protected pygmy forest and, as such, is a candidate World Heritage Site of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Trees in the 225-hectare mossy-pygmy forest have an average height of only 1.4 meters with a diameter of 8 centimeters; the highest average height is 2.4 meters.
The stunted growth of trees is due to the ultramafic soil, so-called because it has an unusually high concentration of chromium, iron, nickel and magnesium that make it unproductive except for the most sturdy, often low, heath-like shrubs.
The bonsai forest is one of the reasons why , according to Park Superintendent Ruel Colong, the country is ranked seventh in the list of the world’s most biologically rich nations.
"It represents the fast disappearing habitats of globally important species," he told a symposium at the University of the PhilippinesInstitute of Biology.
Mt. Hamiguitan is home to the majestic Philippine Eagle and has been identified by Conservation International as one of the country’s biodiversity hot spots, meaning that wildlife in the extremely valuable area is most vulnerable to extinction.
Of the 477 species identified there, eight species have been recorded for the first time in Mindanao and one species is a new record in the Philippines. Some 163 species (18.56 percent) are endemic, 35 species (3.99 percent) threatened, 33 species (3.75 percent) rare and 204 species (23.23 percent) economically important.
These include the endangered Golden-crown Flying Fox and the Philippine Tarsier that are endangered and the Philippine Warty Pig, Philippine Brown Deer, Philippine Mossy-pygmy Fruit Bat and the Asian Palm Civet that are threatened.
Two endemic species of birds – the Dark-eared Brown Dove and the Tarictic Hornbill – are endangered; the Grey-hooded Sunbird is near-threatened while the Giant-scoop Owl is vulnerable.
"With its outstanding universal value, Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary is a new frontier for science and conservation," Colong said.
Alas, Mt. Hamiguitan is also one of three mountain ecosystems in Mindanao – along with Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon and Mt. Malindang in Misamis Occidental – where rare plants are threatened, according to surveys made by the Central Mindanao University (CMU).
Wildlife diversity is highest in Mt. Malindang (with 1,164 species), followed by Mt. Hamiguitan (878 species) and then Mt. Kitanglad (661 species). Mt. Kitanglad is most vulnerable, with the highest number of threatened species (92), followed by Mt. Malindang (34) and Mt. Hamiguitan (35).
With the most number of trees that is unique to the place, Mt. Hamiguitan has high endemism (34 percent), followed by Mt. Kitanglad (21 percent) and Mt. Malindang (16 percent).
The three mountain ecosystems harbor 64 species documented for the first time in Mindanao and 21 species found for the first time in the Philippines. Two species are new to science.
"While conservation Initiatives are given to protect the remaining threatened and endemic species of plants and their habitats, many plant groups are still poorly known," Victor B. Amoroso, a professor who teaches plant morphology and systematics at CMU, said in the symposium on long-term ecological and biodiversity research.
"Although we have estimates on the species richness and the number of threatened plants, there is very limited knowledge on what kind and number of plants occur in mountain ecosystems, what are found only there, and which species are threatened," he said.
Amoroso chairs the Philippine national committees for the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) and DIVERSITAS hosted by CMU in Musuan, Bukidnon.
ILTER is a global network of scientists engaged in long-term, site-based ecological, biodiversity and socio-economic research. DIVERSITAS is an international, non-government program that links biological, ecological and social scientists to produce socially relevant new knowledge and provide the scientific basis for conservation.
The research – on the diversity, status and conservation initiatives in the three mountain ecosystems – was undertaken by Amoroso with CMU colleagues Cecilia B. Amoroso and Fulgent P. Coritico. It was funded by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Commission on Higher Education and CMU.
Their efforts revealed nine vegetation types in Mt. Malindang, five in Mt. Hamiguitan and three in Mt. Kitanglad with three types. Regardless of the ecosystem, montane vegetation had high species richness and diversity compared to dipterocarp and mossy forests.
All these richness are under attack. Mt. Hamiguitan, according to Colong, is threatened by illegal collection of wild plants and animals; unregulated gathering of minor forest products; timber poaching; and adjacent mining exploration.
Unregulated hunting and rampant extraction of wildlife threatens Mt. Kitanglad as well, increasing the number on the watch list ofendangered and threatened species, said park superintendent Felix C. Mirasol.
A quarter of a million villagers, according to Mirasol, depend on the continued supply of clean water from Mt. Kitanglad. "Communities have reported that the frequency of droughts and floods has increased and that fish stocks and diversity in many rivers have decreased," he said.
Mt. Malindang is threatened by wildlife poaching, timber cutting and agricultural encroachment, said Park Superintendent Eden C. Pito, adding the protected areas is one of the key biodiversity areas in the country.
Great Barrier Reef tested for flood damage
Australian Geographic with AAP 19 Jan 11;
Authorities are monitoring for tell-tale signs of damage as muddy flood plumes smother 10% of the GBR.
TURBID FLOODWATERS FLOWING into the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) may cause an explosion in algal blooms and coral bleaching, authorities have warned.
The Fitzroy, Burnett and Thompson rivers have flushed floodwaters into the reef's inshore areas, particularly off the central Queensland coast near Rockhampton.
Though the reef runs for 2300 km down the coast of Queensland, research from James Cook University has revealed that the muddy plumes are already covering more than 10 per cent of its surface area.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is mapping the floodwaters and testing samples for pesticides, salinity, turbidity and temperature anomalies. So far the plumes are not affecting popular tourism locations in the Whitsundays, Cairns or Port Douglas, it says.
Immediate and long-term threats
The most immediate threat is from the freshwater itself which kills coral; nutrient- and pesticide-rich waters can also smother corals and encourage blooms of algae and other competitors.
The risk doesn't end when the floodwater stop flowing, according to Dr Britta Schaffelke, with the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville. "After flooding we see an increased incidence of disease," she told the British science journal Nature this week.
"So even if the coral initially survive, over the next few months they might still die, or not reproduce, or reduce their growth rate," she said. "They would also be less resilient to any subsequent bleaching events caused by periods of very warm weather, an event that has already struck the reef twice in the past decade and is predicted to become more common due to climate change."
Time will tell
"It will be some time before we know the full extent of damage caused by the flood plume," says GBRMPA spokesman Andrew Skeat. "[But] even when ecosystems are exposed to freshwater plumes they do not necessarily die."
The flood run-off, full of sediment and nutrients, could spark increased algal blooms, coral bleaching and coral diseases, he agrees. It could also increase the productivity of some inshore species such as barramundi, mangrove jack, some prawns and sponges.
"Many plants and animals have mechanisms to cope ... however, this event has unusually large amounts of flood run-off with suspended material and the prevailing conditions may be different to previous events."
Disastrous impact
Environmental groups have also expressed wide concerns.
"The plumes of sediment and debris generated by flooding on this scale can have a wide range of impacts on marine habitats and species," said a statement released by the Australian Marine Conservation Society. "From entanglement of marine life in debris such as plastic bags to the smothering effects of large amounts of deposited sediments on sensitive habitats like seagrass meadows and coral reefs."
WWF-Australia, based in Sydney, has warned against the "disastrous impact" on corals and species including dugongs and turtles.
"In addition to the terrible costs to farmers and communities in Queensland, we will also see a major and extremely harmful decline in water quality on the Great Barrier Reef," says Nick Heath, program leader for water.
"Today's floods are bigger, dirtier and more dangerous from excessive tree clearing, overgrazing and soil compaction. As a result less water infiltrates deep into the soil, increasing the size and erosive intensity of floods," he adds.
Anxious wait for impact on Moreton Bay
Courtney Trenwith Brisbane Times 21 Jan 11;
Queensland environmentalists are anxiously waiting to see how much of Moreton Bay's "unique playground" will be destroyed by the unprecedented pollution that is still gushing down the Brisbane River.
Experts say turtles, dugongs and various fish species are certain to die as toxins kill their main food source, sea grass.
But just how many don't survive will depend on how quickly the bay can recover.
The bay is also likely to turn green as algal blooms develop, but the extent of algae damage will depend on how long it lingers.
On Wednesday, an team of marine scientists began the meticulous task of monitoring and assessing exactly what effect last week's floods are having on the bay and what the long-term damage may be.
The CSIRO's Andy Steven said the flood had given researchers a rare opportunity to understand how marine ecosystems respond to massive inputs of freshwater and sediments.
Dr Steven said a torpedo-like ocean glider, packed with sensors, would play a key role in helping to determine how the floods have affected marine ecosystems in Moreton Bay by monitoring the extent of the flood plume and assessing its impacts on marine life.
Experts have agreed that although the recent floods did not peak as high as in 1974, additional development since then meant it would cause greater damage to waterways.
Queensland Conservation Council executive director Toby Hutcheon said a clear picture would not be known until the contaminated sediment washing into the bay settled. That could take weeks or months.
Mr Hutcheon said the worst-case scenario would see the loss of the entire dugong and turtle populations.
The World Wildlife Fund has also has expressed concerns over the likelihood of dugong deaths.
"This is new to everyone," Mr Hutcheon said.
"We don't know anything about the [impact on the] wildlife ... it could be very serious.
"We need to be concerned. We're at the point now that, because the [Department of Environment and Resource Management] and the government have been focused on the clean-up, we haven't had an opportunity to assess some of the threats and damages yet so we don't know how serious it will be."
SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership scientific program director Eva Abal said there would be impacts for all of the catchments in the flood path, including Oxley Creek, the Bremer River and Brisbane River.
Dr Abal said invertebrates that lived on the sediment would be scarred after being dragged along in the current.
The extent of the damage would depend on how much of the gunk that ended up in the waterways flowed out to Moreton Bay.
"[The suburban catchments] are acting as a drain, they're draining all this out into Moreton Bay," Dr Abal said.
"[The impact] will still be fairly significant in terms of water quality and whatever biodiversity they had."
Mr Hutcheon said there would also be issues with creek bed erosion due to the sudden surge of water.
He said the first priority was to clean-up the waterways, then assess the damage and determine how to recover from the natural disaster and ensure the ecosystem is better protected if there was another major flood.
"It's very important we don't just rebuild and do what we had in the past because with the climate changing it's very likely this sort of event can happen again," Mr Hutcheon said.
"[We need to] make sure that nature and biodiversity is more resilient."
Dr Abal said waiting to learn the cost of the floods was a nail-biting prospect.
"I'm very anxious because I love the bay but at the same time ... [I'm] hopeful parts of or all of the bay is resilient," she said.
"It's the only place in the world where you can stand on the bay adjacent to Moreton Island and look straight ahead and you see the city skyline but at the same time we have this very healthy population of dugong and turtles swimming around.
"It's a very unique playground ... [that will be] diminished. It's about how Moreton Bay is able to recover, we don't know because we've never had any event like this."
- with AAP
Reefs reeling from Queensland floods
Abbie Thomas for ABC Science Online 21 Jan 11;
Researchers say the recent Queensland floods are carrying tonnes of fresh water, nutrients and pesticides to the ocean, placing enormous stress on the Great Barrier Reef.
For the past five weeks, plumes of silt-laden fresh water have been flowing onto reefs off the Queensland coast.
The impact is so massive it can be seen in NASA satellite photographs.
Researchers list the Keppel Islands near Rockhampton, Moreton Bay and Fraser Island, north of Brisbane, as being most at risk.
Dr Alison Jones, from Central Queensland University in Rockhampton, has seen first-hand the impact of the floods on corals in Keppel Bay.
"You can't see anything at all from above," she said.
"As you take the camera down, it looks like a big brown soupy mess.
"Deeper down the water is a bit clearer and you can see bleached white [coral] colonies appearing out of the gloom."
Dr Jones checked five islands and found stressed coral around all of them.
"Halfway Island was much worse than North Keppel. It was just dead coral, killed by the fresh water," she said.
"There wasn't really a single thing alive.
"There also seems to be some temperature bleaching, believe it or not, from the ocean being warm, which is completely unrelated to the flooding."
Dr Britta Shaffelke, a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, says wind direction over the next few days will be crucial in determining the extent of the damage.
"At the moment the mud plume [from the Fitzroy River] is confined to the Keppel Bay area," she said.
"However if the wind turns around from the south east to the north, the plume might reach much further to the outer reefs such as Heron Island."
Floods damage corals in a number of ways.
Corals cannot survive in freshwater because their physiology is adapted to salt water.
Silt is also clouding the water and blocking out sunlight, stopping corals from photosynthesising and feeding themselves.
Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous can kick start toxic algal blooms, which strip oxygen from the water and at the same time, provide food for the larvale of crown of thorns starfish.
Pesticides carried in floodwater call also kill corals.
Researchers are most concerned about the impact of the sediments.
"What has changed is that the load of sediment in the rivers has increased 4- to 10-fold since pre-European times," said AIMS scientist Dr Katharina Fabricius.
"Reefs exposed to high levels of nutrients and sediments have up to five-fold higher cover of seaweeds (which can smother corals) and half the biodiversity of species of coral - these are the long term effects of these floods," she says.
Dugongs at risk
Meanwhile, further south in Moreton Bay, experts are worried about the long-term impact on dugongs. In 1996, a flood left many dugongs starving, as sediment and nutrients overwhelmed and killed the seagrass beds in the area.
"For Morteton bay, the flooding event last week was significantly bigger for sediment deposition and fresh water than the flood of 1996," says Dr Eva Abal, chief scientific officer at the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
"My expectation about the impact on the bay is that we will experience some seagrass loss, but it also depends on how quickly water clears up."
Shaffelke also points out that there are unusually vast amounts of turbid freshwater off the coast of Brisbane.
"That hasn't happened for many, many decades in the Brisbane area, so many plants and animals will imediately die or be very stressed," she says. "I expect there to be quite serious impacts as well."
"In relation to the floods in Rockhampton … that is certainly not typical or happens very often. For both humans and the enviroment this is an extraordinary event.
"For the marine environment, the events are still unfolding. The highest rainfall is actually in February, so we are certainly not at the end of this season."
Yahoo News 20 Jan 11;
BRUSSELS (AFP) – France is failing in its duty to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace, a cute fur-ball facing extinction with fewer than 200 remaining, the advocate-general of Europe's top court said Thursday.
"If agro-environmental measures were put in place, in 2008, to protect the Great Hamster, they are incomplete at this stage," Juliane Kokott, a top legal expert at the European Court of Justice, wrote in an opinion.
The opinion of the advocate-general is not binding, but in most cases the judges in Luxembourg take the same line -- in which case France could land a multi-million-euro fine.
The European Commission brought the case, arguing that France has not applied European Union law covering protected species.
The hamster, Cricetus cricetus, an animal that hibernates for six months and spends the vast majority of its life alone, has been protected legally since 1993 but is now only found in fields around the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
Commission figures show its numbers fell from 1,167 in 2001 to as few as 161 in 2007.
The creature, which can grow to 10 inches (25 centimetres) long, has a brown and white face, a black belly and white paws. In old times, the paws were much prized by farmers who made them into trinkets.
The preferred grazing of the Great Hamster of Alsace -- forage crops such as alfalfa -- have largely been replaced by the more profitable maize, which it cannot abide.
France has previously given subsidies to farmers to grow alfalfa or wheat, but the commission wants it to do more.
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