Best of our wild blogs: 1 Feb 11

The things that nobody told you about Pasir Ris
from Water Quality in Singapore

Pacific Reef Egret: Foot tapping
from Bird Ecology Study Group

paradise tree snakes @ Labrador Park 29Jan2011
from sgbeachbum

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Flooding in Johor: Worst flood in years

Nelson Benjamin, Austin Camoens and Yee Xiang Yun The Star 1 Feb 11

LABIS: Heavy rainfall over the past six days has caused massive flooding in all 10 districts in the state displacing more than 30,000 people to about 200 relief centres state-wide.

At least two fatalities have been recorded and millions of ringgit in losses to property and livestock.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said Segamat, Johor Baru and Kluang were the worst-hit areas and the bad weather was expected to continue on until today.

He said the rainfall was similar to the great floods which hit Johor on Dec 19, 2006.

“Previously, the heavy rainfall was only detected in Segamat but now we are seeing the same situation in most parts of the state.

“However we are more prepared now and we can open up 600 relief centres statewide if the need arises,” he said, urging the people to adhere to instructions given by the rescue personnel during evacuations.

The water level in seven rivers in the state has shown marked increase and some were above the danger levels.

Among the affected rivers are Sungai Muar, Sungai Bekok, Sungai Benut, Sungai Mengkibol, Sungai Tiram, Sungai Muar and Sungai Segamat. Water level at the Macap dam has also increased.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was in Tenang for the by-election, took time off to visit some of the evacuees at a relief centre in Sekolah Agama Labis here yesterday.

He wants the relevant government agencies to come up with a more efficient early warning system for floods.

Muhyiddin, who is also the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said the discussion should be carried at the National Security Council level.

“The early warning system will not only allows us to anticipate the flood, but also ensure a more efficient evacuation of flood victims and deployment of rescue assets,” he said.

The centre currently houses 830 people from 137 families.

Newly elected Tenang assemblyman Mohd Azahar Ibrahim was already up and about visiting victims at relief centres along with Abdul Ghani.

“There are about 10 relief centres housing more than 1,000 evacuees in my area,” he said.

On the two deaths reported earlier, both victims have been identified as women – one in Chaah, Segamat and the other in Kampung Rahmat, Kulaijaya.

Segamat OCPD Supt Abd Majid Mohd Ali said a 51-year old woman was traveling in a car with five other family members when the car was swept away by strong currents.

Supt Abd Majid said the car was swept about 50m away into an oil palm estate and the family members including a nine-year boy managed to hold on to the trees.

He said motorists and passers-by rushed to help them and managed to save four of the family members but could not locate the woman and her body was found about two hours later.

In Kulaijaya, a 53-year woman drowned after her four-wheel drive plunged into a river near Kampung Rahmat at 9pm on Sunday.

Kulaijaya deputy OCPD Supt Mohd Kamil Sukarni said the body was retrieved from the vehicle at 11.30pm and was taken to Kulai Hospital for postmortem.

Labis town was a sea of yellow mud on polling day on Sunday.

All access roads into the town was cut off for 10 hours after floodwaters inundated main roads leading to Segamat, Chaah and Muar.

To make matters worse, water supply was disrupted and certain areas were without electricity.

Food outlets in town were unable to cope with the huge demand of people who were stuck after the Tenang by-election.

Many of the restaurants had to turn away their customers as they had ran out of food.

Many motorists were only able to leave Labis in the wee hours of the morning after floodwaters started to recede.

Yesterday, many of the shop owners in Labis town were busy cleaning up, complaining that profits made during the by-election were washed away.

Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) has opened its 24-hour flood operation centre to monitor the situation in the Johor Baru district and co-ordinate evacuation operations.

Mayor Mohd Jaafar Awang said it also has set-up the Special Task Force unit and Quick Response Unit to assist those affected by the floods within the MBJB jurisdiction.

He singled out low-lying areas such as Kangkar Tebrau, Permas Jaya and Taman Kota Puteri as flood-prone areas and advised those living in the areas to be more vigilant and be ready to evacuated if the need arises.

For updates, call 07-2281 939 or 1300-88-0146.

Military To Mobilise All Personnel, Assets To Assist Flood Victims
Bernama 31 Jan 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- The government has ordered the Malaysian Armed Forces to mobilise all personnel and assets to assist in operations to evacuate flood victims following the major flood occurring in at least five states and resulted in the death of three people so far.

To date, more than 8,000 people had been evacuated to flood relief centres in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Sabah, while the Meteorological Department had forecast continuous rain covering almost the whole country Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that he had asked Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to mobilise the assets of the armed forces for flood evacuation operations.

He said the experience of Johor, when facing the major flood in 2006 where tens of thousands of flood victims in the state were evacuated to relief centres, was most useful in facing the flood this time around.

Muhyiddin told reporters in Labis that the flood occurring in Labis, Segamat, Kluang, Ledang and several other districts for the past two days was due to the heavy showers which he described as unusual.

In Johor, the flood had taken the lives of two women -- one in Cha'ah, Segamat and the other in Kampung Rahmat, Kulaijaya when they were trapped in their respective vehicles and were swept off by strong current last night.

In Cha'ah, Rohani Ismail, 51, drowned after the car she was driving was swept off by strong current at KM145 Jalan Johor Baharu-Seremban, said Segamat OCPD, Supt Abdul Majid Mohd Ali.

In Kulaijaya, the victim of the flood in Kampung Rahmat was identified as Aw Yoke Lin, 53, from Taman Pelangi who died after the Hilux pick-up truck she was driving was swept off by strong current into the river in the village.

Segamat was almost cut off by the flood.

A freelance photographer in Segamat, Khairil Faizi Jamian, when contacted said all roads from Segamat to Kuala Lumpur, Gemas and the southern part were cut off while the only road out of the town was through the Tun Razak Highway to Kuantan.

"The rain only stopped after five days...hope the water level will recede after this. Many banks and shops were closed because the premises were inundated. Many who wanted to return for the Chinese New Year to Singapore were still unale to do so," he said.

Reports on the flood situation could also be obtained through the web site.

"Segamat river broke it's bank yesterday evening and a big rush of water came over Segamat town. Houses near the river along Jln Sia Her Yam had water up to the top of their front gates at the peak last night. Now the water level is around the middle of their front gates."

"Most areas were under up to 6 feet of water. Now it has receded to about 1-2 feet," according to the latest report in the web site www.segamat.com.

The flood in Melaka claimed its first victim in Jasin Monday while 2,714 others were evacuated to 26 relief centres in the three districts in the state up to 4pm Monday.

The victim who was found drowned was Yusry Mohd Yusof, 40, a security guard at the water treatment plant in Kg Chinchin, in Jasin.

In Negeri Sembilan, about 1,921 residents in four districts were evacuated to relief centres Monday due to the flood.

A spokesman of the Tampin District Operations Room said 1,545 victims in the sub-district of Gemas and the Tampin district were evacuated to 13 relief centres in the two districts.

The flood in Gemas this time was worse than the one in 2006 due to the continuous rain that lasted for two days and resulting in the Sungai Muar to overflow its banks.

Pahang too was not spared by the flood when 538 people from four districts were moved to 13 relief centres, said the Head of the Pahang Public Order and Traffic Department, Supt Mohamed Fauzi Abd Rahim.

He said the victims were from 18 settlements in the districts of Rompin, Raub, Bera and Maran who were evacuated to relief centres since 2.40pm Sunday.

In Sabah, 2,742 victims were moved to relief centres in Sandakan, Beluran, Kota Marudu and Matunggong.

The Health Ministry had also set up health teams at all the evacuation centres to monitor the cleanliness of food, water and health situation.

-- BERNAMA

40,000 evacuated to relief centres as floods hit five states
The Star 1 Feb 11;

JOHOR BARU: Floodwaters have cut off communications in several towns in Johor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Pahang and Sabah while nearly 40,000 people were evacuated to relief centres.

So far three people were killed – two were swept away by strong currents while one fell into a pool. Another person is missing.

Thousands of commuters going back to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year holidays were disrupted by floods on trunk roads and a section of the North-South Expressway.

KTM Berhad was forced to cancel several intercity train services in Negri Sembilan and Johor.

Rohani Ismail, 51, was killed when the car she was driving was swept away by floodwaters from an oil palm plantation in Cha’ah, Johor at about 7pm.

Aw Yoke Lin, 53, from Taman Pelangi was killed when her four-wheel drive vehicle was swept into a river at Kampung Rahmat, Kulaijaya.

Some 1,426 people from 342 families have been evacuated from their homes in Kulai and have taken refuge at 11 relief centres.

“For the time being, there are sufficient supplies of food, medical aid and shelter for affected residents,” said Kulai MP Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, adding the situation there was under control.

In Malacca, rescuers recovered the body of security guard Yusry Mohd Yusof, 40, after he fell into a water treatment plant pool at 10am in Kampung Chinchin, Jasin.

In Sabah, farmer Meriting Andi, 52, went missing as he waded a swollen Sungai Samparita in Kota Marudu to rescue his stranded children on the other side of the river bank.

The Prime Minister is expected to visit the flood-prone areas in Johor today.

A total of 29,294 people were evacuated in Johor and were housed in 200 relief centres as at 4pm yesterday, in a repeat of major floods which occurred in 2006.

Segamat has become an “island” after it was cut off by floodwaters. Police said no one can get in or out of Segamat as the roads to Muar, Johor Baru and Kuala Lumpur are under water.

A Ledang flood operations centre spokesman said four roads – Jalan Sialang-Tangkak, Jalan Gementah-Segamat, Jalan Simpang Bekoh and a stretch of the North-South Ex­­pressway near Km173 are only accessible to heavy vehicles.

Flash floods were also reported in Lahad Datu, Beluran and certain areas of Pitas, while many rural roads including those in plantations have been cut off by floods, making it difficult for vegetable farmers to send their produce to the main towns.

Mad scramble to leave Labis as floods threaten
The Star 1 Feb 11;

LABIS: It was a race against time for motorists when the trunk road from here to Yong Peng reopened to vehicles.

They literally scrambled to leave because rising waters in the river nearby threatened to flood the roads again yesterday.

Media personnel who came here to cover the Tenang by-election and campaigners made up the bulk of those rushing to leave.

Petrol kiosks were full of vehicles, mostly with outstation registration number plates, especially Selangor and the Federal Territory, waiting to fill their tanks for the “escape”.

The trunk road from Labis to Yong Peng was also full of potholes after the flood yesterday.

The signs of an impending flood were evident as flood waters from oil palm plantations lining the road was spilling over to the left lane.

The same situation affected the road from Yong Peng to Labis with water spilling over to the left lane.

But there were hardly any vehicles heading towards Labis which is the stop before Segamat.

Segamat has been the worst hit by the flood and remained inaccessible yesterday.

Journalists from Kuala Lumpur who stayed in Segamat and travelled to Labis daily to cover the by-election had to leave their belongings in Segamat.

Many left Labis for Kuala Lumpur with only the clothes they were wearing and their laptops and mobile phones.

Downpour for another week
The Star 1 Feb 11;

PETALING JAYA: More rain is expected in Johor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang for at least another week.

Besides heavy rain, thunderstorms have also been forecasted in these states.

A check with the Meteorological Department showed that wet weather was expected to last until Feb 6.

Read more!

Rain in Singapore: Wetter days ahead, says NEA

Channel NewsAsia 31 Jan 11;

SINGAPORE: The weather will continue to be wet for the rest of the week.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said short duration showers can be expected, mainly in the afternoon over several areas from Tuesday to Sunday.

Temperatures are likely to range from 23 to 31 degrees Celsius.

NEA said for the past few days, the region has been experiencing the effects of a Northeast Monsoon surge.

NEA acting senior meteorological officer Chiam Keng Oon said: "This is a surge of cold air from an intense high pressure over Northern China that results in a strengthening of winds over the region, bringing widespread moderate to heavy rain, occasionally windy conditions and cooler temperatures to Singapore.

"Such monsoon surges are common during the wet phase of the Northeast monsoon".

NEA said the current weather conditions are expected to ease around midnight.

The agency said areas that had the highest total rainfall over the past few days included Changi, where 216 mm of rainfall and Thomson, which received 86 mm of rainfall.

The total daily rainfall recorded at Changi on January 30 was the highest recorded in a day for January.

NEA said such heavy rainfall is common during a Northeast Monsoon surge.

The highest total daily rainfall during a Northeast Monsoon is 512.4 mm, recorded on Dec 2, 1978.

The average daily minimum temperature for January (up to Jan 30, 2011) was 23.6 deg Celsius.

NEA said this is common as the long-term average daily minimum temperature for January is 23.3 deg Celsius.

-CNA/wk

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NEA sets up gas monitoring system at Yishun

Channel NewsAsia 1 Feb 11;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) is setting up a gas monitoring system in Yishun to monitor the air quality.

The system, which measures the presence of volatile organic compounds, will be ready by the end of February 2011.

The NEA's move follows complaints by residents in Yishun and Canberra of a smell in their neighbourhood between 2.30pm to 5pm on January 30.

NEA said it investigated the smell but found no toxic gases present.

It said the source of the smell was likely to be from outside Singapore. NEA said it had alerted its Malaysian counterparts.

- AFP/de

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Auspicious green in Malaysia

Meng Yew Choong The Star 1 Feb 11;

Some people are marking the Lunar New Year in the greenest way possible.

FENGSHUI practitioners say green is an auspicious colour this Chinese New Year. Some individuals, however, are not just donning green attire but greening their lifestyle. As Chinese households declutter and clean up in preparation for the coming new lunar year, a fair amount of stuff will be thrown out.

Knowledge management consultant Cheryl Teh does her spring cleaning differently. She sorts through her recyclables every month so that things are in order and neatly categorised. This kind of practice is what charitable organisations that depend on recyclables cherish. It leads to recyclables that are high in quality, which means things that are properly sorted, clean and dry.

According to Sia Siew Chin, director of Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, an organisation that supports itself by selling recyclables, people should be more mindful of the things they throw. “Typically, those who do their clean-up at the last minute are only interested to get rid of everything in the most convenient way, which might mean that the things are mixed up with unusable items. It is preferred that you take a step back, and to think before you throw.”

December to January seems to be the peak period where people declutter, said Sia. In the last two months of 2010, Beautiful Gate’s Petaling Jaya operations collected 38 tonnes of paper waste, four tonnes of used clothing, and nearly 18 tonnes of scrap metal, among many others.

Chinese New Year celebrations can also generate more waste, especially food and beverage containers. “There will be many cans and plastic bottles. We hope that people can take the effort to send them to us. As for the abundance of mandarin orange peels, I hope that people will take the effort to compost them or to ferment them into garbage enzymes (a form of home-made vinegar).” (For the locations of Beautiful Gate’s recycling bins, go to english.beautifulgate.org.my/locations-recycle-bin)

Green advocate Teh is not into the habit of buying new stuff for the new year. Rather than buying, using and then recycle, she “reduces” first.

“When my friends come over to my place, or when my family hosts guests, we serve only cordial or water, and refrain from buying packet or canned drinks. So, we don’t even need to think about whether a container is recyclable or not. And of course, we refrain from serving food and drinks using disposable containers.”

Teh will also cut down on meat consumption during the festivities. For the celebration dinner for members of the Selangor Philharmonic Society, of which she is chairman, she has drawn up a customised menu for the restaurant.

“The menu, while not entirely meat-free, will be friendly to vegetarians,” said Teh, who also managed to persuade her parents to eat less meat.

Insurance agent Tan Boon Kien, too, will not be buying soft drinks or processed beverages. “I am serving Chinese tea to my guests. This is far healthier than the sugary drinks that are on sale in the market,’’ said the father of three girls who also grows vegetables for his own consumption.

Other ways of going green may be just to cook the right amount of food. Tan’s mother, Yap Sin Kiw, 68, is no believer in cooking copious amounts of food just for the sake of ancient Chinese tradition, where it is believed that the abundance of food during reunion dinners signifies the abundance of blessings when a lot of food is left over until “the next year”.

“I believe in cooking just enough to minimise wastage, and so that everyone can eat freshly cooked meals, and not have to endure days of eating leftovers in the new year,’’ said Yap, who also grows her own veggies on an empty plot of land just outside her house.

On the subject of food, there is no running away from the issue of serving shark fin soup. The debate may rage on between traditionalists and the enlightened, but one man is actively doing something during the festivity to get his message across.

Kirk Lee, 34, started a Facebook page to campaign against the consumption of shark fins during last year’s celebrations.

“I’ve always loved shark fin soup until I saw a video of a juvenile whale shark adrift in the ocean after having its fins cut off,’’ said the freelance swimming coach who is also an avid diver. “It never crossed my mind as to how the fins were obtained, and the rate of harvesting for these slow-to-mature creatures.”

Dining on seafood in a responsible manner is much more than avoiding shark fin, according to Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia. In its Save Our Seafood campaign launched last year, it distributed a pamphlet listing marine species that one should watch out for when feasting on seafood (saveourseafood.my/sustainableSeafood/whereToGetGuide.html).

“The list should be posted to the public because it will open people’s eyes about the seafood that they eat. I’m more aware about it now,’’ said Charmaine Ho, 22, who immediately shared the information with her elder sister when she came across the guide last week.

Other than spreading the word about sustainable seafood among friends and relatives, Ho intends to reduce food waste that ends up in landfills.

“I thought of making garbage enzymes from mandarin orange peels,” said the environmental management undergraduate.

Waterfalls are not forgotten this spring cleaning season. Over the past month, the group Waterfall Survivors has spruced up cascades in Sungai Lembing, Pahang, as well as in Ulu Yam and Serendah in Selangor.

Group president Joe Yap said this was a good time to give back to nature. “Most people just clean their own homes for Chinese New Year but forget that the environment could do with some cleaning too.”

On the third day of the new lunar year (Feb 5), the group will head to Jeram Enggang in Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, and on Feb 13, Sungai Liam in Selangor. “Thus far, we’ve left our footprints on over 70 waterfalls in Malaysia but this is our first concerted clean-up around the Chinese New Year period,’’ said the bubbly 32-year-old, a mother of one.

Yap added that small-town residents are generally receptive to their message on saving the environment. For example, at their recent visit to Sungai Lembing, they managed to persuade a resthouse owner to have his premise decorated with Chinese New Year paraphernalia made from old ang pow packets and other recycled materials. “We taught the local folk how to make origami items such as fish and paper lanterns.”

Another way to shrink the carbon footprint of the celebration is to refrain from giving out new banknotes in ang pows.

This not only reduces paper waste but also traffic congestion (which can lead to higher carbon emissions) around banks. Waterfall Survivors (waterfallsurvivors.com.my) is spreading the message that new notes have nothing to do with the significance of the event or the value of the red packet.

Instead, the truly green ang pow you can give to everyone and the planet is by being thoughtful in what you eat, drink, consume and ultimately, discard.

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South Asian scheme launched to fight poaching

Yahoo News 31 Jan 11;

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Eight South Asian countries have launched a regional scheme to share information on poaching and wildlife trafficking in a bid to protect dwindling populations of tigers and other rare animals.

After talks in Bhutan at the weekend, the countries launched the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), according to a joint statement from wildlife groups and the Bhutanese agriculture ministry.

"SAWEN will help Bhutan to link up with authorities and officials across the region to share good practices and resources to co-operate and co-ordinate actions to apprehend poachers and traffickers," Pema Jamtsho, Bhutan's Minister for Agriculture and Forests said in the statement.

Samir Sinha, programme head for anti-smuggling body Traffic in India, said in the statement that the launch of SAWEN by India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh was "a milestone."

"This is an essential piece of a collective effort to conserve a region of outstanding biological richness and diversity," he said.

Decades of poaching and smuggling have decimated the population of tigers in South Asia, with elephants and rhinos also under threat.

Tiger and elephant parts are used as decoration, good luck charms, and jewellery. Tiger parts are also used in the preparation of oriental medicines, particularly in China.

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21 rhinos killed in South Africa so far this year

Yahoo News 31 Jan 11;

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Poachers killed 21 rhinos in South Africa in January despite measures introduced to curb the surge after the worst year of rhino poaching on record, the country's parks agency said on Monday.

"The loss of 333 rhinos to poaching in 2010 was a devastating loss for us but we are determined that in 2011 that should not happen," said South African National Parks chief David Mabunda.

He said government's efforts to stop poaching were paying off as five suspected rhino poachers had been killed so far this year while police have arrested 31 people in the same period.

"Anyone who is involved in poaching at whatever level will be a prime target for our investigations and we will leave no stone unturned in this respect, including going for the kingpins of these operations," Mabunda said.

The government launched a National Wildlife Crime Investigation Unit in October to crack down on poachers.

Parks and game reserves are also introducing a range of inventive anti-poaching programmes, including dyeing the horns, tracking them with micro-chips and cutting them off before poachers can get to them.

But Pelham Jones of the Private Rhino Association said that while the January figures might be lower than last year's, there was not much improvement.

"Last year we lost 333 rhinos, which means we lost one rhino every 26 hours," he said.

"We are hugely concerned that we have not seen a remarkable reduction and we don't think the situation is improving."

Government and conservationists have blamed the surge in poaching on organised syndicates that use helicopters, night-vision equipment, veterinary tranquilizers and silencers to hunt their prey by night.

South Africa is home to some 17,500 white rhinos and 4,200 black rhinos, or more than 70 percent of the world's remaining total population.

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Worst attack on Virunga National Park rangers in years

IUCN 31 Jan 11;

IUCN's Global Protected Areas Programme is sad to announce that more rangers have recently been killed in the line of duty. On 24 January 2011 a patrol of three rangers and five soldiers, protecting a road in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, were attacked and killed by the FDLR Rwandan militia, an illegal movement thought to include the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

Officials say the attack is likely to have been carried out in retaliation for the destruction of two FDLR Rwanda camps by park rangers in December 2010.

The FDLR is extremely hostile to the Congolese Wildlife Authority (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, ICCN) which manages Virunga National Park, as the organisation has stopped the destruction of the forest for charcoal production, one of the main revenues of the FDLR movement.

Since 1996 more than 130 rangers have been killed in the park and for many years during the civil war in Congo, the rangers were working without pay.

The funeral of the rangers was held on 26 January at Mai ya Moto, a sacred site in the park where all rangers who died on duty are buried. Hundreds of people came to the funeral and a collection was made for the families.

Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest national park, was established in 1925 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Encompassing 7,800 square kilometres in eastern DR Congo, the park is managed by the Congolese Wildlife Authority, the ICCN.

The park is inhabited by 200 of the world's approximately 700 wild mountain gorillas and a small population of eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants and rhinos, among other wildlife.

Poaching, wildlife trafficking and habitat destruction remain the key threats to the survival of Virunga National Park wildlife.

IUCN, the International Ranger Federation and the Thin Green Line Foundation have an agreement to help families of rangers killed in the line of duty. Funds collected by the Thin Green Line are directly redistributed. In developing countries without social insurance, the ranger is often the only earner and these contributions are a necessity for survival. By donating to the Thin Green Line, you are contributing to helping families in desperate situations.

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Australia: Ningaloo coral bleached from warm seas

ABC News 31 Jan 11;

Warm sea surface temperatures have bleached coral on the Ningaloo Reef.

The Department of Environment and Conservation says satellite technology has found temperatures at the reef have increased by about three degrees and in the past fortnight the water has been above 29 degrees, which is the trigger for bleaching to occur.

Coral bleaching occurs when algae, which lives in a symbiotic relationship with the coral, leaves because it is too warm.

That leaves the coral's white skeleton to be exposed.

The warmer temperatures are expected to last another three weeks because of ex tropical cyclone Bianca and other cyclonic conditions.

The DEC believes less than 20 per cent of the coral in the 300 km long Ningaloo Reef has been bleached.

Hot seas bleach Ningaloo Reef
Narelle Towie PerthNow 31 Jan 11;

ABNORMALLY hot sea temperatures at Ningaloo Reef are bleaching the area's coral, environmental officers say.

Ocean surface temperatures at the reef have been 3C higher than average since October and peaked at 29C in the past two weeks - the 'trigger level' for bleaching.

The Department of Environment and Conservation detected the patches of bleached corals using satellite imaging.

“By continually monitoring the reef, we can look at changes over time and determine the significance of temperature-induced bleaching events,” DEC marine science leader Chris Simpson said.

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon where algae, which gives coral its colour, is expelled from inside the reef's tissue because of stress, leaving just the white skeleton of the coral behind.

Bleaching events are usually caused by long periods of warm sea surface temperatures but they can also be associated with exceptionally low ocean temperatures, disease or pollution.

“Initial reports related to sea surface temperature indicate that water temperatures in the Ningaloo area have been elevated to levels that may cause bleaching in some coral species,” Dr Simpson said.

“These temperatures are not expected to drop for at least two to three weeks because of the cyclonic activity over the Pilbara and Kimberley restricting flushing and causing heating of lagoon waters."

Dr Simpson said Ningaloo Reef had experienced minor coral bleaching events caused from both elevated and lowered sea surface temperatures in the past 20 years with no apparent long-term effects.

Inner reef areas, particularly in bays such as Bills Bay that had restricted water flow, were particularly prone to coral bleaching.

“While this is of concern, there is some good news. Ningaloo has an exceptionally high diversity of corals with more than 300 species and it is this diversity that will provide some resilience to bleaching as different corals have different tolerance levels to bleaching.

“So there still will be many colourful displays of coral all along its 300km length.”

Dr Simpson said current surveys in Bills Bay showed species of the fine branching corals that had the lowest resistance to coral bleaching had started to bleach in some areas.

“We estimate that the bleaching in most areas is considerably less than 20 per cent of the live coral at this stage,” he said.

“Coral reefs can recover from bleaching events although it can be a decade or two before full recovery occurs.

“One of the important things for recovery is the presence of ‘source’ reefs to generate new larvae along with good water quality, suitable substratum for new coral recruits and strong herbivorous fish populations to prevent algae colonising the reef.”

DEC is asking for all Ningaloo Marine Park visitors to be on the lookout for coral bleaching. If bleaching is spotted, people are asked to note the location of the coral and, if possible, take a photograph.

If you spot coral bleaching contact the DEC’s marine park coordinator in Exmouth on 9947 8000.

Read more!

Global fish consumption at all time high, says UN agency

Yahoo News 31 Jan 11;

ROME (AFP) – Fish consumption has reached record levels and world stocks need to be urgently rebuilt, experts at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a report Monday.

"The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of 17.1 kg per person on average, supplying over three billion people with at least 15 percent of their average animal protein intake," the FAO's report said.

The 'State of the World's Fisheries and Aquaculture' report, published at the FAO's Rome headquarters, said the increase was due mainly to a surge in fish farming, predicting that the number of fish which are bred for consumption was set to overtake those caught by fishermen.

Overall, fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of an estimated 540 million people, or eight percent of the world population, said the agency, whose report was based on 2008 figures, the latest available.

"The status of global fish stocks has not improved," the report said, adding that people have never eaten as much fish and more people than ever are employed in or depend on the sector.

"That there has been no improvement in the status of stocks is a matter of great concern," said senior FAO fisheries expert Richard Grainger, one of the report's editors.

"Fish is a good quality and high protein food and the sector contributes in an important way to world food security," he said.

"The percentage of overexploitation needs to go down although at least we seem to be reaching a plateau," he added.

The report explores the growing legal efforts to enforce tighter controls on the fisheries sector, revealing that a recent study estimates the cost of illegal and unreported fishing alone at $10-23.5 billion per year.

Among other tactics, the FAO report flags up debates surrounding trade measures meant to block entry of such fish and fish products from international trade, and a proposed global record of fishing vessels.

The record would assign a unique vessel identifier to each vessel that would remain constant regardless of ownership or flag changes over time and make it easier to police vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities, it said.

Fish consumption reaches all-time high
FAO 31 Jan 11;

No improvement in level of global fish stocks – FAO report reviews latest data and trends

31 January 2011, Rome - The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of about 17 kg per person on average, supplying over three billion people with at least 15 percent of their average animal protein intake. This increase is due mainly to the ever-growing production of aquaculture which is set to overtake capture fisheries as a source of food fish, according to the State of the World's Fisheries and Aquaculture, released today. The report also stressed that the status of global fish stocks has not improved.

Overall, fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of an estimated 540 million people, or eight percent of the world population. People have never eaten as much fish and more people than ever are employed in or depend on the sector.

Fish products continue to be the most-traded of food commodities, worth a record $102 billion in 2008, up nine percent from 2007.

The overall percentage of overexploited, depleted or recovering fish stocks in the world's oceans has not dropped and is estimated to be slightly higher than in 2006. About 32 percent of world fish stocks are estimated to be overexploited, depleted or recovering and need to be urgently rebuilt, the report says.

On the other end of the scale, 15 percent of the stock groups monitored by FAO were estimated to be underexploited (three percent) or moderately exploited (12 percent) and therefore able to produce more than their current catches.

"That there has been no improvement in the status of stocks is a matter of great concern," said senior FAO fisheries expert Richard Grainger, one of the report's editors. "The percentage of overexploitation needs to go down although at least we seem to be reaching a plateau."

Tighter control

The report examines the growing legal efforts to enforce tighter controls on the fisheries sector, for example, through trade measures and against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The trade measures are meant to block entry of such fish and fish products from international trade in an effort to better manage the entire fisheries sector and reduce levels of overexploitation. A recent study estimates the cost of illegal and unreported fishing alone at $10-23.5 billion per year.

The report also notes increasing debate about a proposed global record of fishing vessels, which ideally would assign a unique vessel identifier to each vessel that would remain constant regardless of ownership or flag changes over time. Such transparency would make it easier to police vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities.

The increasing demand for fish highlights the need for the sustainable management of aquatic resources. The report recommends an ecosystem approach to fisheries, which is an integrated approach for balancing societal objectives with the state of the fishery and its natural and human environment.

Snapshot of the sector

Total world production of fish and fish products rose from 140 million tonnes in 2007 to 145 million tonnes in 2009, according to the FAO report. Much of the fish now comes from aquaculture, which is growing at the rate of almost seven percent a year.

The report held up aquaculture policies in Southeast Asia — where fish is a fundamental part of people's diets — as a good example of balanced management. The report praised continuously improving government interventions built on comparative advantages and economic incentives that lead to growth, food security and better living standards.

The report contains a special chapter on inland fisheries. Inland fisheries are often overlooked by policymakers and irrigation and hydroelectric schemes are at times planned without regard for the impact on inland fishers' livelihoods. However, inland fisheries supports 61 million people worldwide.

"Fish is a good quality and high protein food and the sector contributes in an important way to world food security," said Grainger.

Read the report: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1820e/i1820e00.htm

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Malaysia: State mangrove conservation stifled by 'inside help'

Sean Augustin New Straits Times 1 Feb 11;

PUTRAJAYA: The Selangor Forestry Department is questioning what it calls the indiscriminate approval of permits to import mangroves, which is stifling conservation efforts in the state.

Its assistant director (operations and enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop alleged that mangrove wood smugglers, a majority of whom are Indonesian, are getting "inside help" to obtain approved permits to bring in the timber to Malaysia.

The permits, he claimed, were given without proper investigation into the source of the harvested logs, a majority of which he suspects are felled illegally in Malaysia.


The claim comes following the arrest of four men on Friday who attempted to smuggle 2,000 mangrove logs worth RM20,000 into Port Klang at the barter trade jetty there.

The tekong of the vessel, Yussainy said, failed to produce evidence that the logs were harvested from Indonesia or Malaysia.

It was also learnt that the vessel used to ferry the logs had often encroached Malaysian waters.


The Customs Department, according to Yussainy, is responsible for issuing the permits, while the Malaysian Timber Industry Board issues the timber export licence.

He said there seemed to be "no end" to the joint operations by his department, Marine Police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency with 'invisible hands' legalising the stealing of mangroves in both Malaysia and Indonesia via the issuing of APs.

"If other agencies are not serious in tackling the smuggling of mangrove logs, it will just negate our efforts.


"Unfortunately the National Forest Act 1984 does not stipulate that agencies who issue import permits to smugglers can be brought to court. Smugglers will use the AP as an excuse to bring in logs and this will worsen the situation," said Yussainy.

He added that the Selangor Forestry Department had stopped issuing licences allowing the harvesting of mangroves last year but such activities were still rampant in the state.

Between July last year and Jan 15, nine people have been prosecuted for smuggling, while the department has seized over 200,000 logs.

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Biofuels firm, gold miner get worst company awards

The Associated Press Bloomberg 28 Jan 11;

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Social and environmental activists have named a Finnish maker of biofuels and South African mining company AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. the world's worst corporations.

Neste Oil Corp. received the most votes in an online poll organized by Greenpeace and Swiss-based group Declaration of Bern. Activists have claimed that the company's use of palm oil is causing rainforest destruction and displacing populations in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Organizers of the 2011 "Public Eye Awards" handed AngloGold Ashanti a separate jury award for its gold mining activity in Ghana.

The award ceremony was held Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting of top business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Neste Oil, in a statement, said it was disappointed by the decision.

"The result is not a positive one for us, but it is important to put it in perspective," said Simo Honkanen, senior vice president for sustainability.

"We believe that we are one of the world's most responsible companies buying palm oil today. We only buy palm oil produced according to sustainable principles with a verifiable origin that is available," he said in a statement.

"We take full responsibility for all aspects of our operations and the sustainability of the renewable raw materials we use, and we work very hard to ensure our overall sustainability," Honkanen said.

AngloGold Ashanti could not be reached for comment.

South African mining firm wins 'shame award' at Davos
(AFP) Google News 28 Jan 11;

DAVOS, Switzerland — South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti scooped the unwanted "Public Eye Award" for environmental and social "irresponsibility" Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Campaigners in Davos to lobby the world business elite's annual get-together claimed the firm "contaminates land and people with its gold mining in Ghana".

"AngloGold Ashanti has destroyed over 50 rivers in Ghana that are indispensable for the residents. The rivers dry up, or mining toxins cause them to die off completely," the activists alleged.

Company spokesman Alan Fine told AFP: "First we have no idea what criteria was used for this award. Secondly, we have never been approached by these organisations and thirdly most of the events they refer to happened many years ago before our company was established."

Other firms nominated for the award included oil giant BP after an April 20 explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and unleashed 4.9 million barrels of oil in the worst-ever maritime spill.

Coca Cola, Philip Morris and Toyota were also "named and shamed."

Neste Oil, a Finnish manufacturer of bio diesel, won a separate online poll to nominate the "world's worst company" in terms of negative environmental and social impact, winning over 17,000 of 50,000 votes cast.

The firm, which sells biofuels from palm oil, "accelerates rainforest destruction and displaces ever more local communities in Indonesia and Malaysia," organisers said.

Simo Honkanen, responsible for sustainability at the firm, said: "Neste Oil is disappointed in the outcome of the Public Eye Award announced today and believes that it does not reflect the true nature of the situation."

"We believe that we are one of the world's most responsible companies buying palm oil today."

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WWF launches database of eco-rated paper products

WWF 31 Jan 11;

WWF today launched a global benchmarking tool for pulp and paper products at PaperWorld in Frankfurt, Germany. Check Your Paper is an online database to help paper buyers find products with the lowest environmental impact.

The tool rates the environmental quality of the paper-making process for a given product, including how well forests supplying fibre are managed, use of recycled fibre, fossil CO2 emissions, waste going to landfills and water pollution from mills. The fibre in all papers featured on the audited list on the website must come from known, legal sources. Paper products posted on the official list have been audited by third-party certification bodies to ensure high credibility.

Check Your Paper at the same time allows pulp and paper manufacturers to voluntarily rate and post their products’ environmental impacts online.

Makers of paper products including Arjo Wiggins, ITC Limited Paper Boards and Specialty Papers Division, Mondi, M-real, Lenzing Papier, SCA, Steinbeis Papier, Tullis Russell, and UPM are the first to disclose their selected papers’ environmental profile at http://checkyourpaper.panda.org.

As of today, the Check Your Paper includes about 100 paper products with “good” or “excellent” environmental score listed in the coated and uncoated categories, such as copy papers and printing and writing papers.

WWF invites other pulp and paper manufacturers to follow the example of these companies by communicating their products’ environmental performance transparently. “We believe this new database will help paper buyers choose the most environmentally friendly papers on the market. WWF invites all paper buyers to check the tool before purchasing and encourage other paper-makers to join Check Your Paper,” says Rodney Taylor, Forest Director, WWF International.

"Listing our products in Check Your Paper is an important step in our commitment to augmenting economic, environmental and societal capital and in making environmentally responsible products available to our customers and paper buyers." says P.N. Sridharr, ITC Limited, Paper Boards and Specialty Papers Division, India, one of the manufacturers that have posted their papers’ environmental information on the database.

“Over the years SCA has been deeply involved in the development of publication papers with high environmental performance - TCF bleaching, FSC certification, good resource utilisation, small carbon footprint. It is very positive that paper customers now get access to an easy-to-use tool to guide them in their choice of an environmental-friendly paper, says Björn Lyngfelt, vice president communications SCA Forest Products, Sweden.

Check Your Paper includes all the main pulp and paper categories, including coated and uncoated papers, newsprint, tissue, packaging and board papers, speciality papers and several types of pulp.

Globally, paper consumption is on the rise, with an expected increase from the current rate of 400 million tons annually to 450-500 million tons by 2020. Without a higher standard of environmental performance across the industry, this level of consumption will leave an unacceptably large environmental impact on the planet. Poor practices such as reckless logging and indiscriminate expansion of pulpwood plantations damage fragile ecosystems and escalate social conflict. The pulp and paper industry’s mills and factories are large users of energy and emitters of greenhouse gases, and many are also significant sources of water pollution and landfill waste.

Check Your Paper provides a single percentage score for a product that indicates the quality of its production in terms of reduced environmental impact. In addition, the star-rating breaks this down into impact mitigation performance specific to forests, climate change and aquatic ecosystems.

In order to earn the maximum five stars in WWF’s Check Your Paper, the paper product shall have:

• positive impacts on forests, and contain high proportions of post-consumer recycled fibre and/or virgin fibre originating from credibly certified, well managed forests.

• reduced contributions to climate change through use of recycled fibre, responsible forest management and minimising CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the manufacturing process, and, indirectly, emissions of CO2 and methane from degrading waste in landfills.

• close to zero water pollution through reduction of organic water pollution and reduced water pollution from bleaching, through promotion of unbleached or totally chlorine-free bleached products.

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Fertilizing Oceans Seen Fruitless In Climate Fight

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 1 Feb 11;

Fertilizing the oceans to boost the growth of tiny plants that soak up greenhouse gases is unlikely to work as a way to slow climate change, a U.N.-backed study showed on Monday.

Such "geo-engineering" schemes would be hard to monitor and were likely to store away only small amounts of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

"Geo-engineering schemes involving ocean fertilization to affect climate have a low chance of success," according to the 20-page study by the Commission, part of the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The review, by scientists in seven countries, said 13 experiments in recent years showed faded optimism that iron dust or other nutrients could spur growth of microscopic marine plants and permanently suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Twenty years ago, scientists had optimistically reckoned that one tonne of iron could make the seas absorb 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, it said. But one recent study suggested that one tonne of iron would only soak up 5,000 tonnes of the gas.

Firms including Climos, Atmocean Inc and the Ocean Nourishment Corp. have been looking into ocean fertilization technology as a way of offsetting emissions of greenhouse gases from factories, power plants and cars.

MARINE SNOW

But the study said that some absorbed carbon simply returns to the atmosphere. Just one to 15 percent falls as what scientists call "marine snow" -- dead plants, animals or their faeces -- to be stored on the deep ocean floor.

"At best it can make a small contribution" to storing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, Doug Wallace, lead author of the report at the Leibniz-Institut fur Meereswissenschaften, told Reuters.

In 2008, the U.N.'s Convention on Biological Diversity imposed a moratorium on ocean fertilization experiments outside coastal waters, awaiting wider scientific evidence.

The study said that some experiments had successfully triggered a bloom of plankton and bacteria -- such one in 2002 that produced a patch visible to satellites in the north-east Pacific Ocean.

But it was impossible to say how much of that carbon stayed in the oceans. And the extra plants might help fish grow in some areas by providing more food, but might also rob nutrients from other parts of the ocean.

Monitoring was vital, especially if ocean fertilization were ever to qualify for carbon credits under a U.N. deal meant to avert more floods, heatwaves, mudslides, or rising sea levels.

But it was far easier to monitor forests, which also soak up carbon as they grow. "A tree might burn next year but then at least you know it didn't work," Wallace said. "In the oceans you have a serious measurement problem."

The study was also skeptical about measures to use huge pipes to suck deep, nutrient-rich waters closer to the surface where sunlight could spur more plant growth. And it did not even look at the possible costs of marine geo-engineering.

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UK set for high end climate costs, as floods spread

Richard Black BBC News 31 Jan 11;

The UK is likely to feel bigger costs from climate change than most other EU countries, a report concludes.

Rising sea levels are likely to impact the nation harder than most, negating economic benefits from increased tourism and possibly farm yields.

The findings come from a study funded by the European Commission, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

It projects a net cost for most EU nations, but a net benefit for a few.

Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states should be better off, it finds, largely through increased opportunities for agriculture.

Researchers looked at climatic conditions likely to apply in 2080, and asked how present-day economies would fare if those climatic conditions were here now.

It addresses five issues - agriculture, river floods, coastal areas, tourism and human health - which the team acknowledges is a limitation.

"We know little at EU level or at member state level about implications of climate change in the economy," said Juan-Carlos Ciscar from the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies in Seville, Spain.

"Climate change is happening, we need to adapt to it, so we need to know which sectors will be affected and why so we can establish adaptation policies - which means minimising impacts, but also taking advantage of opportunities," he told BBC News.
Southern accent
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

If things changed more we could introduce crops and systems more fitting now to a Mediterranean climate - grapes, for example”

End Quote Professor Ana Iglesias Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

In 2004, the European Council asked the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) to analyse these costs and benefits as far as possible.

Dr Ciscar's institute is part of the JRC and led the project, which involved commissioning new models of some types of climate impact.

Overall, they calculate, EU citizens would be on average 0.2-1.0% worse off were climatic conditions projected for 2080 to apply now.

But that headline figure conceals big regional differences.

To simplify matters a little, they divided EU nations into five geographical blocs: southern Europe, central Europe south, central Europe north, northern Europe, and the British Isles.

The most heavily affected region is southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria), for which the models project drops in agricultural yield of up to a quarter, major increases in coastal flooding, and a small drop in tourism revenue.

The northern bloc, by contrast, would see farm yields rise by about one-third and an increase in tourism.

The UK and Ireland, meanwhile, would see an overall economic impact almost as large as southern Europe's - but produced mainly through an increase in flooding.

The researchers took four different scenarios of warming into account, and saw the biggest impact on the British Isles at the high-temperature end - a rise of about 5C from now.

"The highest scenario, with a sea level rise of 88cm, brings dramatic changes in coastal impacts - the increase is more than proportional," Dr Ciscar told BBC News.
Expansion agenda

In a counterintuitive twist, lower temperature rises are projected to cost the British Isles in terms of agricultural yields - but the warmest scenarios should bring a net benefit.

"With the lower temperature increase, we assume the current crop pattern would still apply, with conditions a little more hot and dry," explained Ana Iglesias, professor of agricultural economics at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.

"But if things changed more we could introduce crops and systems more fitting now to a Mediterranean climate - grapes for example - plus vegetables such as tomatoes you could grow outside glasshouses for longer periods."

The next step in the process will be to expand the issues covered, although including all sectors of the economy and all societal impacts promises to be a daunting task.

But the work so far is likely to be useful, according to Simon Dietz, deputy director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.

"The paper is likely to be useful in identifying adaptation needs - how much money is used, and where governments should be sending it to," he said.

"However, it isn't really able to look at extremes of weather; and we know from the Australian floods this year that you'll miss quite a lot [of impacts] if you're not able to include extremes in terms of droughts and floods."

Dr Dietz was not involved in the JRC project but was one of the team behind the 2006 Stern Review of Climate Change Economics.

Overall, Europe is one of the global regions considered to be most capable of adapting to climate change - partly because impacts in the region are projected to be relatively modest, and partly because it is reatively prosperous.

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