Sort Sort Sort!
from The Diet of the Common Palm Civet in Singapore
First look at Sentosa's reefs off Serapong
from wild shores of singapore
INNOVATION featuring RMBR
from Raffles Museum News
Crimson-rumped Waxbill, another exotic canary
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Wayne Chan Channel NewsAsia 16 Feb 11;
SINGAPORE: Taking the effort to 'green' offices has paid dividends.
The latest batch of recipients of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) Eco-Office Label on Wednesday said they saw savings of between five and 30 per cent in utility costs.
Gammon Construction Quality Assurance Manager Thng Seng Huat said they made efforts to orientate the site offices to be north-south facing to reduce heat gain, cutting down the need for air-conditioning.
They have also designed the layout of lighting and air-conditioning at their offices to maximise energy efficiency.
"(The staff) make an effort to switch off the computer and also the wall switches when they are leaving the office," Mr Thng said.
"After meetings, they switch off the meeting room lights. When they go out, they try to car pool. They cut down on overseas travelling by using the video-conferencing.
Another recipient, Changi Women's Prison, said simple changes like installing energy efficient light bulbs, and water saving taps and flushes, helped them achieve their target of 20 per cent savings in water and up to 30 per cent savings in electricity.
22 new recipients received their certificates on Wednesday, bringing the number of green offices in Singapore to 73 since the Eco-Office label was first launched in 2005.
Executive Director of the Singapore Environment Council Howard Shaw said the eco certification scheme will be rolled out to two more sectors in the second quarter of this year.
"We've identified the retail industry where there are significant issues such as energy consumption, packaging and waste as well. Singapore having such dense shopping districts and there are more and more coming up all the time, we feel that some standards in this field would be useful."
Building and Construction Authority CEO John Keung said that beyond the use of energy efficient technology, it takes commitment from users of buildings to achieve results.
He said this was especially so for tenanted buildings where the landlords face the challenge of reducing total energy consumption although individual tenant's energy use is usually out of his or her control.
Mr Shaw said: "There is a general perception that if you go green in the office, it's going to mean greater inconvenience for people and added cost to the business, when many cases, the opposite is true.
"All our eco-certified offices have actually reported that they've saved on their operating costs, especially in the area of energy."
He added that one of the biggest wasters of energy that is often overlooked is standby power. Many companies often leave appliances on standby overnight even when not in use.
Singapore was recently ranked first in green building policy in the Asia Pacific, doing better than cities like Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney.
-CNA/fa/wk
Retail industry, community clubs are the next targets to go 'green'
Wayne Chan Today Online 17 Feb 11;
SINGAPORE - Taking the effort to go "green" has paid dividends for several companies.
The latest batch of recipients of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) Eco-Office Label yesterday said they saw savings of between 5 and 30 per cent in utility costs.
One of the new recipients of the Eco-Office label, Gammon Construction, said they positioned their site offices in a north-south direction.
Its quality assurance manager, Mr Thng Seng Huat, said this prevented them from getting the full glare of the sun, cutting down on the need for air-conditioning.
Mr Thng said having "greener" offices has also changed staff behaviour. Employees now switch off computers and room lights once they are no longer in use. They also try to car-pool and cut down on overseas travel by video-conferencing.
Another recipient, the Changi Women's Prison, said that, by installing energy-efficient light bulbs and water-saving taps and flushes, there has been a 30 per cent reduction in electricity cost and 20 per cent savings in water.
Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw said the eco-certification scheme will be rolled out to two more sectors in the second quarter of this year.
He said: "We've identified the retail industry where there are significant issues such as energy consumption, packaging and waste as well ... we feel that some standards in this field would be useful."
Another sector is community clubs, which the SEC feels is a high-traffic area.
Twenty-two new recipients received their certificates yesterday, bringing the number of green offices in Singapore to 73 since the Eco-Office label was first launched in 2005.
Speaking at the event, Dr John Keung, CEO of the Building and Construction Authority, added that beyond using energy-efficient technology, it takes commitment from users of buildings to achieve results.
He cited the example of tenanted buildings where landlords face the challenge of reducing total energy consumption, despite having little control over individual tenants' energy use. Wayne Chan
Bangkok Post 17 Feb 11;
Thailand Nature Explorer, a biodiversity and environmental preservation group, has discovered 10 new species of geckos and lizards that are believed to exist nowhere else in the world.
The group found the new species last year and introduced them to the public yesterday amid concern that if the unique creatures are not put on the list of protected animals immediately, they could disappear.
"What is most worrying to us is that newly discovered species are not normally included on the list of protected species. This raises the fear the new species will be particularly prone to being caught and sold in markets," Non Phanitwong, the founder of the group, said.
He called on the government to come up with a new legal mechanism that would see any newly discovered species promptly included on the protected animal list.
The new species were named as Tuk Kai Tham Nuea and Tuk Kai Dam Nuii (Cyrtodactylus dumnuii) which are commonly found in caves in the North and Tuk Kai Tham Plong Thong (Cyrtodactylus auribalteatus) which was discovered in the Thung Salaeng Luang National Park in Phitsanulok.
Tuk Kae Tham Hin Pun (Gekko lauhachindai) lives in several caves in Saraburi and Jing Jok Niew Yao Ajan Thanya (Cnemaspis chanardi) was discovered in Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Phangnga, Trang and Satun.
Tuk Kai is in the same species as Tuk Kae but is smaller.
Jing Jok Niew Yao Khlong Nakha (Cnemaspis vandeventeri) was found in Ranong, Phangnga, and Phuket, while Jing Jok Niew Yao Mo Sumeth (Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi) is located only in Surat Thani.
Jing Jok Niew Yao Hua Si Som (Cnemaspis huaseesom) was found in Kanchanaburi and Jing Jok Niew Yao Kho Jud (Cnemaspis punctatonuchalis) was discovered in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
In Narathiwat and Yala, the group discovered Jing Jok Niew Yao Narathiwat (Cnemaspis narathiwatensis), while Jing Jok Niew Yao Niyom Wan (Cnemaspis niyomwanae) was reported to be thriving in Trang and Satun.
Gecko, lizard finds bring local species to 60
The Nation 17 Feb 11;
Thai taxonomists have discovered 10 native geckos and lizards during the past year, bringing the total number of gecko/house-lizard species in Thailand to 60.
"This is a milestone for Thailand in terms of studies of reptiles and amphibians," Non Phanitwong, doctorate candidate in environmental science at Kasetsart University, said Wednesday.
"All these geckos and lizards are found only in Thailand," said Non, who is a co-founder of Siamensis, a group of conservationists working to protect biodiversity and the environment.
The newly identified species have been officially recognised and published in "Zootaxa", an international journal.
The research involved many organisations, including Kasetsart, Siamensis, the National Science Museum, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO).
Many of the species were named after some distinguished Thais.
Cyrtodactylus dumnuii, which looks like a gecko but is smaller and has no sticky feet, was named after ZPO chairman Sophon Damnui.
Gekko lauhachindai, a gecko, was named after Kasetsart lecturer Virayuth Lauhachinda.
Cnemaspis chanardi, a lizard, was named after National Science Museum researcher Thanya Chan-ard, while another lizard, Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi, was named after ZPO senior executive Sumeth Kamolnorranath.
The other new species were Cyrtodactylus auribalteatus, Cnemaspis vandeventeri, Cnemaspis huaseesom, Cnemaspis punctatonuchalis, Cnemaspis narathiwatensis and Cnemaspis niyomwanae.
Environment News Service 15 Feb 11;
KINGSFOLD, West Sussex, England, February 15, 2011 (ENS) - Rising demand for powdered rhino horn in Vietnam and China has driven the price as high as US$50,000 per kilogram, roughly equal to the street price for cocaine in the UK, says a international wildlife conservation organization headquartered in the hamlet of Kingsfold, West Sussex.
Mark Jones, programs director at Care for the Wild International, says increased demand and high prices have led to a renewed surge in rhino poaching.
"Reports of rhinos being killed, their horns sawn off, and calves left to starve, come in almost daily," Jones said. "Poachers and park rangers are often involved in shoot-outs, with deaths on both sides. It's a war."
Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine to treat anything from headaches to fevers, rheumatism and gout. Recent claims by a Vietnamese official that he used rhino horn to cure his cancer have escalated demand, says Jones.
"Rhino horn is made of keratin, the same stuff that makes up human hair and nails," said Jones. "It has no medicinal value - you might as well bite your fingernails!"
South Africa alone, which is inhabited by 70 percent of the world's remaining rhinos, lost more than 330 animals to poachers during 2010, almost three times the previous year's losses, and 30 times poaching levels in the 1990s. Another 21 rhinos were killed there in January this year, says Jones.
On January 31, the South African Press Agency reported that two Vietnamese hunters with permits to hunt rhino near Musina were caught allegedly trying to smuggle four rhino horns out of Limpopo. While the hunting was legal, the removal and transportation of the horns constituted an illegal act.
Populations of rhinos in other African countries also are being affected, with poachers using sophisticated equipment such as helicopters, modern veterinary drugs, night-vision goggles, and high caliber weapons.
Poachers are using aircraft to hunt rhinoceros, Zimbabwe's wildlife chief said February 1. Seven endangered rhinos were killed in southern Zimbabwe in December and January, said Parks and Wildlife Director General Vitalis Chidenga.
Reports from India suggest that beleaguered populations of one-horned rhinos in Assam are also being targeted, with horns being smuggled across the poorly protected border with Myanmar, also called Burma.
"Asia's rhinos, and black rhinos in Africa, are severely threatened by poaching," said Jones. "The last northern white rhinos disappeared a few years ago. The relatively more numerous southern white rhino populations are now being threatened. Even rhinos that have been moved from South Africa to Tanzania as part of a reintroduction program have been targeted."
The authoritative IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum, as Near Threatened with extinction.
The black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis, is listed as Critically Endangered. Throughout most of the 20th century, the black rhino was the most numerous of the world's rhino species. Relentless hunting of the species and clearances of land for settlement and agriculture resulted in the population being reduced from a probable several hundred thousand at the start of the century, to less than 2,500 by the early 1990s.
The greater one-horned rhino, Rhinocerus unicornus, is considered to be Vulnerable. The IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group has a policy of not releasing detailed information on the whereabouts of all rhino populations for security reasons.
The populations of all three species now are increasing slowly, according to the IUCN.
By 1977, all international commercial trade in rhinos and their products was prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. However, following a continued increase in numbers, in 1994 the South African population of southern white rhino was downlisted to allow for trade in live animals to "approved and acceptable destinations" and for the continued export of hunting trophies. In 2004, Swaziland's southern white rhinos were similarly downlisted.
In September 2010, the British government placed restrictions on the export of antique rhino horn objects and trophies, concerned that these items were being auctioned off at high prices and exported for grinding down and sale as powdered horn in the Far East, fueling the rhino horn trade.
Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries Richard Benyon said, "I am extremely concerned about the increase in the number of rhinoceros horn products being sold through UK auction houses. We believe this is providing a financial incentive for poachers and encouraging the use of rhinoceros horns in Asian medicine."
"The government is committed to protecting endangered species, and in order to do this it has become necessary to take steps to refuse future applications for the export of rhinoceros horn," said Benyon.
Jones said, "We were pleased to see the UK take these steps, and urge other nations to do the same."
Care for the Wild International today called for immediate action to save rhino populations from extinction at the hands of poachers.
"We need better protection for the remaining rhino populations. More and better trained and equipped park staff are urgently required. Border security needs to be tightened up. Loopholes in national and international regulations need to be closed to prevent poachers posing as trophy hunters and exporting "trophy" horns for sale," Jones advised.
"Exports of live rhinos from South African ranches need to be stopped," he said. "Horn stockpiles that are currently in private hands need to be managed by governments in a transparent way, and preferably destroyed."
"Every effort needs to be made to reduce demand for rhino horn in China, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Asia," said Jones, "through engagement of the Traditional Medicine Community, and through education, awareness-raising and rigorous law enforcement."
Yahoo News 16 Feb 11;
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka is planning its first ever census of elephants as the animals increasingly come into conflict with villagers, a top official said Wednesday.
Government wildlife director Chandrawansa Pathiraja said a head count would start in August to aid better planning of conservation and minimise clashes between elephants and humans.
"We will carry out the census within a 48-hour period," Pathiraja told AFP. "We expect dry weather at this time."
He said a meeting of enumerators would be held next month to work out details of the census, and the department also hopes to rope in volunteers to help.
"We have had just over 200 elephants deaths last year," Pathiraja said. "During the same period about 50 people were killed by wild elephants and we have seen this trend in the past three years."
Elephants are killed mostly by farmers whose crops are destroyed while marauding animals also raid villages in search of food.
Sri Lanka's elephant population is believed to have dwindled to about 4,000 from an estimated 12,000 in 1900.
Most of the jungles in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions were inaccessible for wildlife authorities during the fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.
However, with the ending of hostilities in May 2009, the wildlife department has begun managing some of the animal sanctuaries and re-launched conservation efforts.
Elephants are considered sacred animals in Sri Lanka, but they increasingly clash with villagers as habitat becomes scarce.
Yoko Kubota PlanetArk 17 Feb 11;
Japan has suspended its annual whale hunt in the Antarctic for now after a hardline anti-whaling group gave chase to its mother ship and it may call the fleet back home, a government official said.
Regular attempts by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to interrupt hunts have caused irritation in Japan, one of only three countries that now hunt whales and where the government says it is an important cultural tradition.
"Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," said Tatsuya Nakaoku, an official at the Fisheries Agency.
When asked if Japan was considering bringing back the fleet earlier than planned, he said this remained an option and added that Japan's whaling plans were not going smoothly.
Representatives for Sea Shepherd were not immediately available for comment.
Japan introduced scientific whaling to skirt the commercial whaling ban under a 1986 moratorium, arguing it had a right to watch the whales' impact on its fishing industry.
The fleet, consisting of some 180 people on four vessels, is aiming to cull about 850 minke whales in Antarctic waters this season, which is scheduled to end around March.
In the same period last year, Japan killed 506 minke whales, well below its planned catch of around 850.
Last year, Australia filed a complaint against Japan at the world court in The Hague to stop Southern Ocean scientific whaling. The decision is expected to come in 2013 or later.
A Sea Shepherd activist was given a two-year suspended jail term by a Japanese court in July for boarding a whaling ship, while one of the group's ships sank last year after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Japan whalers suspend Antarctic hunt
Frank Zeller Yahoo News 16 Feb 11;
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese whalers have suspended their Antarctic hunt, citing harassment by environmentalists, and are considering ending their annual mission early, a fisheries agency official said on Wednesday.
Activists from the US-based militant environmental group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have pursued the Japanese fleet for months to stop its harpoon ships from killing the giant sea mammals.
Japanese Fisheries Agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku said the factory ship "the Nisshin Maru, which has been chased by Sea Shepherd, has suspended operations since February 10 so as to ensure the safety" of the crew.
"We are now studying the situation, including the possibility of cutting the mission early," he told AFP, confirming media reports, but stressed that "nothing has been decided at this point".
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, confirmed the temporary suspension and said the "Sea Shepherd's repeated sabotage is extremely deplorable", Kyodo News reported.
The Jiji Press news agency said, without naming sources, that the government was considering calling the fleet home earlier than the usual end of the annual expeditions, which would be in mid-March.
Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Television also said "the government is judging the situation so dangerous that it may cause casualties, and preparing to call back the fleet and ending the research whaling earlier than usual".
A TBS newscaster added: "If the government does call back the fleet it would mean giving in to anti-whaling activists, which would affect other research whaling missions. The government will have to make a difficult decision."
Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson, speaking to AFP by satellite phone, gave a cautious welcome to the reports and confirmed that the Nisshin Maru was now sailing in waters far from the hunting area.
"If that's true then it demonstrates that our tactics, our strategies have been successful," Watson said from his ship, the Steve Irwin.
"I don't think they've gotten more than 30 whales... certainly they haven't got many whales at all."
Sea Shepherd activists have harassed whalers in recent years, moving their ships and inflatable and speed boats between the harpoon vessels and the sea mammals, and throwing stink and paint bombs at the whaling ships.
Watson was reluctant to claim victory but said that "every whale saved is a victory to us, so we've gotten a lot of victories down here this year".
Another anti-whaling group, the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare, said it welcomed the reports, in emailed comments from Patrick Ramage, director of IFAW's Global Whale Programme.
"We hope this is a first sign of Japanese government decision-makers recognizing there is no future for whaling in the 21st century and that responsible whale watching, the only genuinely sustainable use of whales, is now the best way forward for a great nation like Japan," he said.
Japan kills hundreds of whales a year under a loophole in a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling that allows "lethal research".
The government has long defended the practice as part of the island-nation's culture and makes no secret of the fact that the meat ends up in restaurants.
Anti-whaling nations, led by Australia and New Zealand, and environmental groups call the hunts cruel and unnecessary.
Greenpeace has long argued the state-financed whale hunts are a waste of taxpayers' money, producing excess stockpiles of whale meat.
Junichi Sato, an anti-whaling campaigner at Greenpeace, said the group had information that the fleet would indeed return home early because Japan is already burdened with excess stocks of whale meat.
"Given the excessive stockpiles, they are economically troubled," he told AFP, noting that the factory ship is not big enough to carry the hunt's target number of up to 1,000 whales.
"Harassment has been cited as the reason, but really this is about Japan's internal situation."
Radio New Zealand International 16 Feb 11;
A Solomon Islands exporter of live dolphins has confirmed that he plans to fill an order from Germany, along with orders from other European countries and Dubai.
Robert Satu, the director of the Marine Mammal Educational Centre, can’t confirm the exact number of dolphins each country’s ordered but hopes to begin hunting at the end of June.
Mr Satu says the other European countries don’t want their identity publicised.
“After Germany then I’ll go back to Dubai and get the other contract from Dubai, which is, they have to complete their tourism place again before I’ll send them but they already out their order in.”
Robert Satu says he released dolphins on Independence Day last year at the request of the animal activists Earth Island Institute on the basis that they would pay him.
He says he’s resuming dolphin exports because he hasn’t received the payment.
Solomon Islands dolphin exporter blames animal activists for resumption of trade
Radio New Zealand International 16 Feb 11;
A Solomon Islands exporter of live dolphins says he’s resuming the trade because he hasn’t been paid by an animal activist group.
Robert Satu, the director of the Marine Mammal Educational Centre, says he plans to start hunting dolphins at the end of June to fill orders from Europe and the Middle East.
He says he made an agreement with Earth Island Institute to release dolphins last July on Independence Day on the basis that he’d be paid.
But Mr Satu says that payment never arrived.
“They told me that after the release then they’re going to pay and they told me not to hunt dolphin more for, to try and wait for another four years. So if I stop hunting dolphins or selling them then what sort of business did they provided for me?”
Robert Satu says people from overseas should stop poking their nose into Solomon Islanders’ business.
Adianto P. Simamora and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 16 Feb 11;
As the 2011 chair of ASEAN, Indonesia has an ambitious plan to implement a haze agreement this year. But facts from the ground shows that Jakarta is finding it hard to call parties to support the cause.
While the House of Representatives has not listed haze ratification as a priority bill to be deliberated, smoke has begun affecting part of Sumatra Island.
About 500 fire spots in North Sumatra, Riau and Jambi have limited sight at Polonia Airport, North Sumatra, over the past few days.
“[People’s line of sight] has reduced to less than 3,000 meters now when it should be at 5,000 meters,” said Firman, the head of the Meteorological and Geophysics Agency’s division at the airport.
Reduced sight has caused the delay of several flights to Pekanbaru, Riau.
Indonesia is the largest forest nation in ASEAN with some 120 million hectares of rainforest. Land and forest fires are normally massive in dry season with its haze reached neighboring nations such as Singapore and Malaysia, making it the only member in the region that has not ratified the haze treaty since it was sanctioned in 2003.
The agreement binds statutory countries to take steps to stop haze pollution from land and forest fires within their territories, through strict regulations, heat-seeking satellites and firefighting training. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has set a target to cut 20 percent of hotspots per year.
Forestry Ministry secretary-general Hadi Daryanto said that the government should review its plan to accord the regional treaty if it could not stop forest fires at its core. “It is not big problem to control fires if they occur in plantation areas; the problem is if the fires are lit by the local people,” he said.
Hadi said that the government should engage in discussions with the local government, indigenous people and local communities to settle the case.
In South Sumatra, he said, the local people had long practiced sonar, the habit of people setting fires to clear land for agriculture purposes.
“We should first upgrade the capacity of the local people in order to avert the practice of clearing land with fires; otherwise a ratification would burden Indonesia,” he said.
ASEAN ministers are holding a two-day meeting in Singapore to discuss the transboundary haze pollution, which began Tuesday.
Before leaving for the meeting, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said a legislation process was key to realizing Jakarta’s commitment to curb haze. “The ratification must be in line with the law; It can’t be made through a presidential decree [as we planned before],” Gusti told reporters.
The legislators rejected the ratification draft in 2008, saying the treaty should mention illegal logging as countries in ASEAN should stop accepting wood taken illegally from Indonesian forests. Heads of states from ASEAN are to gather in Jakarta for a summit this year with the ministers to hold a meeting to discuss haze pollution from forest fires.
Singapore, Indonesia ministers satisfied with progress on forest fires
Channel NewsAsia 16 Feb 11;
SINGAPORE: The environment ministers of Singapore and Indonesia have expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved from the joint co-operation in dealing with land and forest fires in Jambi Province.
Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim met Indonesia's State Minister for Environment Professor Gusti Muhammad Hatta at the fifth Indonesia-Singapore Environmental Partnership framework meeting in Singapore on Wednesday.
During the meeting, they discussed the possibility of continuing the good work in Jambi and replicating the lessons learnt in other fire-prone provinces.
The ministers also exchanged views on how both countries could work closer together, and with other ASEAN countries, to address the forest fires and transboundary haze.
In addition, they reviewed the progress of works carried out by the Indonesia-Singapore Joint Working Group on the Environment.
There was also a wide-ranging discussion on issues relating to river water management, climate change, e-waste management, green buildings, environmental education, including capacity building programmes in these areas.
-CNA/ac
Jakarta Globe 16 Feb 11;
Environmentalists and the government have welcomed a pledge by Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer to follow new standards to protect carbon-rich forests and peat land.
“This could be good news for the forests, endangered species like the orangutan and for the Indonesian economy,” said Bustar Maitar, chief forest campaigner for Greenpeace in Indonesia.
“On paper, the new commitments from Golden Agri-Resources are a major step towards ending their involvement in deforestation,” he said.
“And if they do make these changes, large areas of forests will be saved. But now they’ve actually got to implement these plans, and we’re watching closely to make sure this happens.”
On 9 February, Golden Agri-Resources, a unit of the Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas and the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, announced that it was working with the government and The Forest Trust (TFT), a Geneva-based global NGO, to develop sustainable palm oil plantations.
With annual revenues of US$2.3 billion, Golden Agri-Resources is the largest palm oil producer in Indonesia, the world’s leading palm oil-producing country.
Under the agreement with TFT, the company said a new conservation policy had been established to focus on avoiding developing plantations on high carbon stock forests, high conservation value forest areas and peat land.
“Palm oil is a strategic commodity for Indonesia and we are committed to play a leading role in finding solutions to ensure sustainable long-term growth of the industry and the Indonesian economy as well as improving the lives of communities,” Golden Agri chairman Franky Widjaja said in a statement.
Under a $1 billion agreement with Norway, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged a two-year moratorium on all new forest and peat land concessions from January 2011 as part of efforts to avert a climate change crisis.
Maitar of Greenpeace said Golden Agri’s plan would boost the government’s pledge.
“Now the Indonesian government must support this initiative by stopping any more licences being granted for forest and peat land clearance, and by reviewing activities in areas where licences have already been handed out,” he said.
Deputy Trade Ministry Mahendra Siregar said Golden Agri’s initiative “is an example of efforts to find real solutions” for sustainable development in Indonesia.
In a November report, Greenpeace said government documents revealed plans for expansion in the pulp, palm, agriculture, bio-fuel and coal sectors that could bring an additional 63 million hectares of land into use by 2030.
The documents showed that areas earmarked for the expansion include 40 percent of Indonesia’s forest area, some 37 million hectares, according to Greenpeace.
IRIN
The article is available here.
Greenpeace: time for government to back efforts to stop deforestation
Antara 16 Feb 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Greenpeace Southeast Asia hailed the recent news that the palmoil arm of Sinar Mas, Golden Agri-Resources, would halt the destruction of Indonesia`s forests previously caused by their operations.
"The government must back efforts like those announced today (Feb. 9) by insisting on similar standards across industries operating in forest areas," said Bustar Maitar, head of Greenpeace`s campaign to protect Indonesian forests, recently.
"This could be good news for the forests, endangered species like the orang-utan and for the Indonesian economy," he said as quoted on the Greenpeace Southeast Asia`s official website.
Bustas said protecting Indonesia`s forests was good for business, the environment and future generations of all Indonesians.
"The need for other palm oil producers to clean up their act is now pressing, for business and environmental reasons," he added.
On paper, the new commitments from Golden Agri were a major step towards ending their involvement in deforestation, he stated.
"And if they do make these changes, large areas of forests will be saved. But now they`ve actually got to implement these plans, and we`re watching closely to make sure this happens," he added.
Golden Agri`s announcement has given a huge boost to the Indonesian President`s pledge to protect forests and tackle climate change, according to him.
"And now the Indonesian Government must support this initiative by stopping any more licenses being granted for forest and peatland clearance, and by reviewing activities in areas where licenses have already been handed out," he said.
In recent years, Greenpeace revelations showing the destruction caused by Golden Agri-Resources have led to international corporations such as Unilever and Nestle canceling their contracts with the Indonesian palm oil company. However, the current move could signal the start of a shift throughout the industry, and eventually lead to full forest and peatland protection.
A key commitment by Golden Agri-Resources is a pledge not to clear `High Carbon Storage` forest. Under the company`s new plans, they have set a provisional threshold and will not be developing land which contains over 35 tonnes of carbon per hectare.
Importantly, this provisional figure is in line with figures for low carbon development recommended to the Indonesian Government by their own advisers, according to Greenpeace.
Editor: Priyambodo
Bangkok Post 17 Feb 11;
Thai environmentalists plan to use every avenue to stop Laos from going ahead with the construction of the Xayaburi hydropower dam on the Mekong River.
Laos has signalled the launch of the dam, which will be built by the Thai company Ch Karnchang, with its first official statement saying the project would go ahead despite calls last year for it to provide further information.
Pakawan Chufahmanee, of the Thai National Mekong Committee Secretariat, said yesterday Laos had provided little information on the dam and no details on its transboundary and health impact.
"Some important information is missing. What we have now is just an initial disclosure. We need more information," Ms Pakawan said.
Vientiane yesterday told Mekong countries that it would go ahead with the Xayaburi dam.
It claimed the project would not have an impact on the environment and it had full authority to approve construction because the dam would be located in its territory.
Thailand has called on Laos to extend public hearings on the project as required under the framework of the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) protocol approved by Mekong subregion members in 2003. The Mekong subregion members are Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Ms Pakawan said the statement from Vientiane would make it difficult for the other countries to try to defer the construction and provide their own input on the project as required under the PNPCA.
The Xayaburi dam is the first project to be proposed under the PNPCA framework.
The protocol is a mechanism designed to allow the countries to voice concerns over projects that might have a cross-border impact.
After Thailand received information on the project through the PNPCA system in October, officials organised three public hearings in Chiang Rai and in Nakhon Phanom provinces, which are close to the dam site.
An initial survey found cause for concern that the dam's construction would pose a threat to the livelihood of wildlife and people living in nearby communities.
The hearings all demanded that the dam's construction be postponed until studies into the health and environmental impacts could be carried out.
Thailand was yet to complete more public hearings in April, six months after being informed of the project by PNPCA.
The report on the outcome of the public hearings will be submitted through the Mekong River Commission Secretariat to Vientiane.
Thai-Water Partnerships chairman Hanarong Yaowaloes said the government should oppose the project as it had the potential to affect residents living along the Mekong River.
The Xayaburi dam project is 200km away from Loei and is designed to churn out 1,285 megawatts. Thailand is expected to buy up to 90% of the output.
Muguntan Vanar The Star 17 Feb 11;
KOTA KINABALU: The proposed coal-fired power plant project in Lahad Datu has been scrapped after more than three years of controversy.
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said a consensus had been reached that coal would not be used as a source of energy for Sabah.
He added that both the federal and state governments had agreed to pursue alternative energy sources like natural gas to meet Sabah’s energy needs.
Musa said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had asked Tenaga Nasional and Petronas to come up with alternatives to replace the proposed 300MW coal-fired plant in Lahad Datu.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the state Cabinet meeting yesterday which endorsed the decision to pursue other energy options, Musa said: “Sabah needs to increase its power supply to meet the increasing development but the state cannot afford to put its natural environment at risk.”
Thus, he said, it was important that the state places priority on protecting the environment.
“The environment is the biggest tourism draw,” he said, adding that the growth of eco-tourism depended on how the state kept its natural environment.
The proposed coal-powered plant in Lahad Datu had come under intense public criticism. A detailed Environment Impact Assessment was rejected by the Department of Environment.
“I know there have been certain objections to the proposed coal plant. Today is proof that such objections have not fallen on deaf ears,” said Musa.
Since the proposal for the power plant became public in 2007, environmental groups have been campaigning against it.
NGOs: Decision to scrap coal-fired power plant is a step towards sustainability
The Star 17 Feb 11;
KOTA KINABALU: A coalition of environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) described the decision to scrap the proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu as historic and a courageous step in shifting development practices towards sustainability.
Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future) representative Cynthia Ong congratulated the state and federal governments for putting a stop to the coal-fired power plant and commended Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman for pioneering a new direction for the state and nation.
“We have conveyed the good news to our international partners who will no doubt join us in acknowledging the outstanding leadership that has been shown.
“On behalf of the individuals, people’s movements, organisations and friends of Green SURF, we thank the Chief Minister and his cabinet for safeguarding our priceless natural heritage and strengthening Sabah’s role as an environmental trailblazer in the region,” said Ong.
The coalition, founded in 2009 by WWF-Malaysia, Land Empowerment Animals People, Sabah Environment Protection Association, Partners of Community Organisations and the Malaysian Nature Society (Sabah branch), said Musa’s announcement was proof that the views of all parties were taken into account.
Ong said Green SURF had worked hard to have its voice heard, submitting its objection at the Parliament building last year and by writing to leaders in the Government and its partners overseas.
“We were in the dark as to whether the Government planned to proceed with the coal plant, as we received very minimal feedback.
“Green SURF and the thousands who had opposed dirty energy in Sabah take it that our voices were heard,” Ong added.
Government pulls plug on power plant
Roy Goh New Straits Times 17 Feb 11;
KOTA KINABALU: The government has scrapped the controversial proposal to build a coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman yesterday announced the state and Federal governments' decision to consider other sources of energy instead.
It was agreed Tenaga Nasional Berhad, its subsidiary Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, and Petronas work together to use gas or liquefied natural gas to meet the power needs of Sabah.
The scrapping came weeks after Musa hosted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's visit to the east coast of Sabah, including a helicopter ride over Lahad Datu.
In that trip, Najib also visited and subsequently launched the Maliau Basin Studies Centre in Tawau and was briefed on several other prime ecotourism attractions.
When asked if the visit helped convince the prime minister to consider other options rather than coal, Musa said: "To a certain extent, probably, but not entirely.
"The Barisan Nasional holds true to its 'People First, Performance Now' policy and this is a clear example. Many have expressed concerns over the proposal and we have been listening.
"The prime minister has been attentive to our power supply needs, especially in the east coast, but he is also concerned about our most valuable asset, the environment.
"As a responsible government, it is paramount to give priority to protecting the environment and the well-being of the people."
Musa said Sabah needed to increase its power supply to meet the growing demand from increasing industrial and commercial development activities and cannot afford to put the natural environment at risk.
"The government is mindful of the needs of the people but our approach to development will be balanced and sustainable," he added.
His announcement, after the weekly state cabinet meeting here yesterday, complemented a similar decision by the National Economic Action Council chaired by Najib.
The idea to develop a power plant to boost much needed power supply in the east coast was mooted in 2007, and a site in Silam, Lahad Datu, was identified.
Following strong public opposition, another site was proposed in Sandakan but that too was rejected by the public before Kampung Sinakut, in Lahad Datu, came into the picture in 2009.
The same year, TNB proposed a coal-fired plant to be built but the idea came under fire from non-governmental organisations.
Sabah scraps coal-fired power project
Move underlines growing electoral influence of environmentalists
S Jayasankaran Business Times 17 Feb 11;
MALAYSIA'S easternmost Sabah state yesterday scrapped plans for a RM1.3 billion (S$546 million) coal-fired power plant, bowing to a three-year campaign against the project by environmentalists.
'I am pleased to announce that the federal and state governments have agreed to pursue other alternative sources of energy namely gas to meet Sabah's power supply needs,' the state's Chief Minister Musa Aman said in a statement yesterday.
'I know there have been certain objections to the proposed coal powered plant,' Mr Musa added of the planned project at Sabah's western district of Lahad Datu. 'Today is proof that such objections have not fallen on deaf ears.'
The backtracking by the government underscores the growing electoral influence of environmentalists and local populations imbued with the not-in-my- backyard (Nimby) syndrome. Once thought to be only confined to developed countries, the influence of the Nimby syndrome has grown in Malaysia in tandem with the resurgence of the opposition, cancelling projects like an incinerator in Peninsular Malaysia and, now, the coal plant in Sabah.
The cancellation of the project also coincides with talk that a general election could be called as early as this year.
Another separate one is likely to be called for the state of Sarawak which neighbours Sabah any time soon so any move that could harm the chances of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is likely to be avoided.
In the coal plant's case, there were good grounds for second thoughts. The Department of Environment had rejected the detailed environmental impact assessment for the proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired plant in August last year because many important environmental parameters in the plan were not addressed in the report.
Mr Musa said Prime Minister Najib Razak understood the state's grave concern for the environment in Malaysia's easternmost state which earns a lot of revenue from tourism.
'The prime minister understands that while we need to build up our power supply in Sabah, it can't be done at the expense of the people's welfare and the environment,' Mr Musa said, adding that Mr Najib knew that the state's greatest asset were its natural attractions and 'somewhat pristine environment.'
'As a responsible government, it is paramount that we put priority on protecting our environment for the wellbeing of the people,' the chief minister said. 'We must also protect the environment especially since it's one of the biggest tourism draws in Sabah.'
Previous newsreports had pointed out that the environmental impact assessment on the proposed power plant stated that its construction could raise surrounding sea temperatures by four degrees Centigrade as well as damage the livelihoods of local fishermen.
The power plant could also result in the loss of a traditional seaweed farming area measuring 4 sq km near the area. The plant would also generate over 45,000 tonnes of ash every year.
Sabah praised for scrapping coal power plant
Joniston Bangkuai New Straits Times 19 Feb 11;
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia received a pat on the back from the international community for deciding not to use coal to produce energy in Sabah.
Leading the chorus of praise was chief technical specialist for renewable energy and energy efficiency at the World Bank, Professor Daniel M. Kammen.
Kammen said by cancelling the proposed coal plant in favour of sustainable energy options, Malaysia had opted to invest in a healthy economy and environment for the state.
"This is a turning point that should bring praise and partnerships to Malaysia at the upcoming climate conference in Durban, South Africa.
"I am thrilled by the efforts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, and for their leadership in directing the nation and state toward a diverse mixture of energy resources.
"This will help stabilise energy costs, bring new entrepreneurs into the energy field, create job growth and cut local environment impact and global greenhouse gas emissions."
Musa had on Wednesday announced the state government's decision to scrap the proposed RM1.2 billion coal-fired power plant project in Lahad Datu.
Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future), a coalition of non-governmental organisations formed to oppose "dirty energy", had commissioned Kammen to prepare an energy options report for the state, in his capacity as professor in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California in Berkeley.
"I am thrilled to have been able to work with the people of Sabah on this victory, and look forward to watching the international community learn from Sabah's triumph of planning and partnership," Kammen said.
World Land Trust chief executive officer and founder John Burton congratulated the government on making a rational decision that would have major benefits for all.
"It is good that they listened to public opinion and showed a genuine commitment to the environment."
Lauding the government's decision, 350.org Malaysia's Southeast Asia field coordinator Abe Woo said the move had charted a new course in the history of environmental movements and energy management.
"This signals a positive and responsive government as the whole international network of 350.org continues to support bold moves by the government in combating climate change."
Jamie Henn, 350.org communications director, described the decision as a "victory that's felt all around the world".
350.org is an international movement to unite the world on solutions to the climate crisis.
Environment campaigner Roz Savage lauded the state government's statement through Twitter, adding that she was honoured and proud to have been part of the campaign against the project.
Savage was the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean and was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2010.
Scott Malone PlanetArk 17 Feb 11;
The United States' reliance on coal to generate almost half of its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a study found.
Those costs would effectively triple the price of electricity produced by coal-fired plants, which are prevalent in part due to the their low cost of operation, the study led by a Harvard University researcher found.
"This is not borne by the coal industry, this is borne by us, in our taxes," said Paul Epstein, a Harvard Medical School instructor and the associate director of its Center for Health and the Global Environment, the study's lead author.
"The public cost is far greater than the cost of the coal itself. The impacts of this industry go way beyond just lighting our lights."
Coal-fired plants currently supply about 45 percent of the nation's electricity, according to U.S. Energy Department data. Accounting for all the ancillary costs associated with burning coal would add about 18 cents per kilowatt hour to the cost of electricity from coal-fired plants, shifting it from one of the cheapest sources of electricity to one of the most expensive.
In the year that ended in November, the average retail price of electricity in the United States was about 10 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the Energy Department.
Advocates of coal power have argued that it is among the cheapest of fuel sources available in the United States, allowing for lower-cost power than that provided by the developing wind and solar industries.
"The Epstein article ignores the substantial benefits of coal in maintaining lower energy prices for American families and businesses," said Lisa Camooso Miller, a spokeswoman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, an industry group. "Lower energy prices are linked to a higher standard of living and better health."
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
The estimate of hidden costs takes into account a variety of side-effects of coal production and use. Among them are the cost of treading elevated rates of cancer and other illnesses in coal-mining areas, environmental damage and lost tourism opportunities in coal regions where mountaintop removal is practiced and climate change resulting from elevated emissions of carbon dioxide from burning the coal.
Coal releases more carbon dioxide when burned than does natural gas or oil.
The $345 billion annual cost figure was the study's best estimate of the costs associated with burning coal. The study said the costs could be as low as $175 billion or as high as $523 billion.
"This is effectively a subsidy borne by asthmatic children and rain-polluted lakes and the climate is another way of looking at it," said Kert Davies, research director with the environmental activist group Greenpeace. "It's a tax by the industry on us that we are not seeing in our bills but we are bearing the costs."
The estimates came in the paper "Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal," to be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Epstein discussed his findings on the Arctic Sunrise, a 164-foot-long (50 meter long) icebreaker operated by Greenpeace, and moored in Boston Harbor.
Leading users of coal in the United States include utilities American Electric Power Co Inc and Duke Energy Corp. The top producers include miners Arch Coal Inc, Consol Energy Inc, Peabody Energy Corp and Alpha Natural Resources.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
Today Online 16 Feb 11;
WASHINGTON - World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said yesterday that global food prices have reached "dangerous levels" and warned that their impact could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East and Central Asia.
World Bank data released yesterday showed higher food prices - mainly for wheat, maize, sugars and edible oils - have pushed 44 million more people in developing countries into extreme poverty since June last year.
"There is no room for complacency," Mr Zoellick told a conference call.
"Global food prices are now at dangerous levels and it is also clear that recent food price rises are causing pain and suffering for poor people around the globe."
Mr Zoellick said although higher food prices were not the main cause leading to recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia, it was an aggravating factor and could become worse.
He warned that a sharp rise in food prices across Central Asia could also have social and political implications for that region.
The World Bank report comes days before a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in France where higher food prices and the reasons for those upward spikes will be discussed.
Mr Zoellick also said he was concerned that as countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan address causes of their social upheaval, higher food prices may add to "the fragility that is always there any time you have revolutions and transitions".
The World Bank chief said the international community needed to be aware of such risks and should not exacerbate problems by imposing policies, such as export bans or price fixing, that would push global food prices even higher.
"There is no silver bullet to resolving the potent combination of rising and volatile food prices," Mr Zoellick said, "but food security is now a global security issue."
Catastrophic storms and droughts have hurt the world's leading agriculture-producing countries - including flooding and a massive cyclone in Australia, major winter storms in the United States and fires last year in Russia.
Mr Zoellick said a World Bank team was currently in Tunisia taking a closer look at the country's transition and assessing possible financing needs, including for food assistance.
He suggested that Egypt may not need World Bank funds because its financing situation "is one that should be able to be managed" over the short term. Reuters
World food prices hitting danger levels
44m people pushed into extreme poverty, says World Bank
Straits Times 17 Feb 11;
WASHINGTON: Millions of Asia's poor are being hit both in the pocket and stomach, as global food prices rise relentlessly towards 'dangerous levels', according to the World Bank.
In its report released on Tuesday, the World Bank said higher food prices have pushed another 44 million people in developing countries into extreme poverty since June last year.
Just three years ago, the bank estimated that 125 million people were in extreme poverty - defined as living on less than US$1.25 (S$1.60) a day.
This round of surging food prices is forcing families in India to cut back on meat and vegetables. In Indonesia, it prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to urge people to grow their own chillies after the price of the spicy staple rose tenfold. In China, food vendors say they are feeling the squeeze.
Typically, poor families suffer the most because they spend more than half their household income on food.
With inflation climbing across Asia on the back of rising prices, many are reminded of the 2008 global food crisis, which sparked riots in many countries worldwide, including Indonesia.
'There is no room for complacency,' World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday.
'Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels and threaten tens of millions of poor people,' he said in remarks made in a statement and conference call.
'If we don't get a relief on the weather side, then I foresee conditions getting worse, and mistaken policy actions such as export bans or other tax or price controls will exacerbate the problems,' he added, referring to the trade curbs and other measures taken in 2008.
The root causes of food price inflation are hotly debated, with explanations varying from country to country.
But one common factor is extreme weather events that are occurring more frequently, wiping out crops.
Floods in Australia, Pakistan and India have forced up food prices, as have droughts in Argentina and Eastern Europe.
In other places, political instability is pushing up food costs.
Chocolate prices rose 12 per cent in January, partly the result of strife in the West African country of Ivory Coast, which placed a one-month ban on cocoa bean exports.
Asia's growing middle classes are also raising demand for food, as people with more income seek out meals with more variety.
Economists say higher energy prices also play a role, not only through higher transport and fertiliser costs, but also by encouraging farmers to use more of their land to grow crops for biofuels.
'Just three years after the terrifying food crisis of 2007-2009, prices of the most important commodity of all are skyrocketing,' economists at global bank Credit Suisse wrote in a report on food price inflation.
Asian inflation is among the most sensitive in the world to food price shocks, it said.
In Indonesia, where inflation was 7 per cent last month, the price of chillies vaulted as much as tenfold in recent months due to heavy rains that wiped out crops.
Some farmers took to arming themselves with machetes to guard their fields, prompting the President to suggest that Indonesians grow chillies in their own backyards.
Families in India, which saw inflation of 8.2 per cent, were hit badly when onion prices shot up after unseasonable rains damaged crops in western Maharashtra state, the main producer. Anger over the high prices erupted into street protests when onion prices nearly tripled to 80 rupees (S$2.25) per kg.
The government responded by quickly importing onions from long-time rival Pakistan. Prices have since stabilised to 20 rupees per kg, helped by an export ban and a fresh harvest.
But overall food prices remained higher than before, forcing families to switch to cheaper substitutes.
'My family switched (from meat) to eating seasonal vegetables, which cost much less,' said Mr Rajesh Kumar, a government clerk married with three children.
In China, inflation was near a 28-month high as food costs jumped more than 10 per cent.
A Beijing food vendor surnamed Zhang said she was earning more money after raising prices but even then found it harder to scrape by because living costs have gone up even more.
Given the urgency of the food situation, the World Bank's Mr Zoellick urged Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Paris later this week to make discussions on food a priority.
'There is no silver bullet to resolving the potent combination of rising and volatile food prices,' he said, 'but food security is now a global security issue.'
ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
Marlowe Hood Yahoo News 16 Feb 11;
PARIS (AFP) – Global warming driven by human activity boosted the intensity of rain, snow and consequent flooding in the northern hemisphere over the last half of the 20th century, research released Wednesday has shown.
Two studies, both published in Nature, are among the first to draw a straight line between climate change and its impact on potentially deadly and damaging extreme weather events.
Australia, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Pakistan have all been recently ravaged by massive flooding, raising questions as to whether global warming was at least partly to blame.
Computer models have long predicted that the observed rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases would magnify episodes of diluvian rainfall.
But up to now, the link has been largely theoretical.
"This paper provides the first specific evidence that this is indeed the case," said Francis Zwiers, a researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada and a co-author of one of the studies.
"Humans influence the intensity of precipitation extremes," he told journalists in a telephone press conference.
Data gathered between 1951 and 2000 from across Europe, Asia and North America showed that, on average, the most extreme 24-hour precipitation event in a given year -- whether rain, snow or sleet -- increased in intensity over the last 50 years of the 20th century.
When this measurable spike was compared with changes simulated by climate models, the fingerprint of human influence on Earth's weather patterns was unmistakable, Zwiers said.
"The observed change cannot be explained by natural, internal fluctuations of the climate system alone."
The main driver was simply more water in the air. "In a warmer world the atmosphere has greater moisture-holding capacity," he explained.
That doesn't necessarily mean that in a place where it doesn't rain very much precipitation will increase, he added. Indeed, some spots on Earth are likely to be drier.
But it does mean that when a hurricane or snowstorm does occur, there is more water available.
Why did it take so long for scientists to begin to make solid connections between global warming and extreme weather events?
One reason is that only in recent decades has the accumulated influx of heat-trapping gases become more obvious. "We are finding it easier and easier to detect that signal in observations," Zwiers said.
Progress has also been hampered by the lack of reliable, long-term data, and the sheer computer power needed to test ever-more complex computer models against reality.
In the second study -- which sought to tease out the impact of global warming on England's wettest autumn on record, in 2000 -- scientists led by Myles Allen of the University of Oxford tapped into the power of Internet-based social networks to overcome this last constraint.
The researchers compared two climate models, one based on detailed historical weather data and the other on a "parallel" autumn 2000 simulating conditions had no greenhouse gases been emitted in the 20th century.
Global warming likely doubled the odds that such an event would occur, they found.
"To really pin down the difference between these two worlds, we needed to repeat the simulation thousands of times," explained lead author Pardeep Pall, who initiated the project as a graduate student in 2003.
"We asked members of the public across the world to run the simulations for us on their own personal computers using their idle time."
Based on the results of the study, Britain national climate and weather office is developing tools to measure the human influence on future extreme weather events.
"This kind of study is going to allow us to quantify how climate change is affecting people now so it ceases to be some hypothetical projection of the future," said Allen.
The tool could also be useful in legitimating requests from developing countries seeking to tap into the hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked for climate adaptation, he said.
Members of the public interested in lending computing power can find information at climateprediction.net, which is currently fueled by 50,000 to 60,000 personal computers at any given time.
Floods Linked To Manmade Climate Change: Studies
Gerard Wynn PlanetArk 17 Feb 11;
Man-made greenhouse gas emissions are linked to more frequent heavy rainfall, two studies published found on Wednesday, portraying a clearer human fingerprint after a spate of floods around the world.
Scientists agree that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the world and expect that in turn would lead in the future to more evaporation of water, more moist air and heavier rainfall.
But the two new papers were the first to pin an increase in heavy rainfall in the second half of the last century directly on climate change, as well as one particular extreme flood in Britain.
"The two studies demonstrate that a human impact upon the intensification of rainfall and associated flooding is already detectable," said Richard Allan at the department of meteorology, University of Reading, in Britain.
A Canadian study published in the journal Nature analyzed a general increase in heavy rainfall globally from 1951-1999, and for the first time matched those observations with climate simulations, where the effects of man-made greenhouse gas emissions were included.
"We were able to establish a link between anthropogenic influence and the changes in precipitation," said co-author Xuebin Zhang, from Environment Canada, a government agency.
"The caveat is we haven't been able to identify, to quantify, how big is that influence. That is difficult because of the limitations in observations."
A separate paper, also published in Nature, went a step further and forged a link between climate change and a particular extreme flood in Britain in 2000.
The authors found that the flood was more likely when greenhouse gases were included in simulations than without.
"In two out of three cases we found around a doubling of risk," said co-author Myles Allen from Oxford University.
Extreme weather caused devastating floods in Pakistan and China in 2010, which was tied as the warmest year since records began, and heavy rains in Australia late last year and early 2011 disrupted coal mines and damaged transport infrastructure.
INFANCY
The British study used several thousand computers to simulate the weather in 2000 across England and Wales, where October and November were the wettest since records began in 1766, before the industrial revolution.
The models ran simulations with and without the effects of man-made greenhouse gases on climate change.
The study was striking in trying to attribute man-made climate change to a particular event, given all the complex, chaotic events that contribute to a given storm.
"The evidence for human influence on climate is now even more compelling," said British energy and climate secretary Chris Huhne, responding to the paper.
But the methods it used were in their infancy, said Roger Pielke at the University of Colorado, and the authors acknowledged more research was needed.
For example, one in 10 simulations showed that greenhouse gas emissions increased the chance of the flood by less than 20 percent. "There's quite a lot of uncertainty around this and we're hoping other centers will try to reproduce this and we'll see what results they get," said Allen.
(Editing by Jon Hemming)
Scientists connect global warming to extreme rain
Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Yahoo News 16 Feb 11;
WASHINGTON – Extreme rainstorms and snowfalls have grown substantially stronger, two studies suggest, with scientists for the first time finding the telltale fingerprints of man-made global warming on downpours that often cause deadly flooding.
Two studies in Wednesday's issue of the journal Nature link heavy rains to increases in greenhouse gases more than ever before.
One group of researchers looked at the strongest rain and snow events of each year from 1951 to 1999 in the Northern Hemisphere and found that the more recent storms were 7 percent wetter. That may not sound like much, but it adds up to be a substantial increase, said the report from a team of researchers from Canada and Scotland.
The study didn't single out specific storms but examined worst-of-each-year events all over the Northern Hemisphere. While the study ended in 1999, the close of the decade when scientists say climate change kicked into a higher gear, the events examined were similar to more recent disasters: deluges that triggered last year's deadly floods in Pakistan and in Nashville, Tenn., and this winter's paralyzing blizzards in parts of the United States.
The change in severity was most apparent in North America, but that could be because that's where the most rain gauges are, scientists said.
Both studies should weaken the argument that climate change is a "victimless crime," said Myles Allen of the University of Oxford. He co-authored the second study, which connected flooding and climate change in the United Kingdom. "Extreme weather is what actually hurts people."
Jonathan Overpeck, a University of Arizona climate scientist, who didn't take part in either study, praised them as sensible and "particularly relevant given the array of extreme weather that we've seen this winter and stretching back over the last few years."
Not all the extreme rain and snow events the scientists studied cause flooding. But since 1950, flooding has killed more than 2.3 million people, according to the World Health Organization's disaster database.
The British study focused on flooding in England and Wales in the fall of 2000. The disaster cost more than $1.7 billion in insured damages and was the wettest autumn for the region in more than 230 years of record-keeping.
Researchers found that global warming more than doubled the likelihood of that flood occurring. Similar studies are now under way to examine whether last year's deadly Russian heat wave and Pakistan floods — which were part of the same weather event — can be scientifically attributed to global warming.
For years scientists, relying on basic physics and climate knowledge, have said global warming would likely cause extremes in temperatures and rainfall. But this is the first time researchers have been able to point to a demonstrable cause-and-effect by using the rigorous and scientifically accepted method of looking for the "fingerprints" of human-caused climate change.
The scientists took all the information that shows an increase in extreme rain and snow events from the 1950s through the 1990s and ran dozens of computer models numerous times. They put in the effects of greenhouse gases — which come from the burning of fossil fuels — and then ran numerous models without those factors. Only when the greenhouse gases are factored in do the models show a similar increase to what actually happened. All other natural effects alone don't produce the jump in extreme rainfall. Essentially, the computer runs show climate change is the only way to explain what's happening.
In fact, the computer models underestimated the increase in extreme rain and snow. That is puzzling and could be even more troubling for our future, said Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University, who wasn't part of the study.
Similar fingerprinting studies have found human-caused greenhouse gas emissions triggered changes in more than a dozen other ecological ways: temperatures on land, the ocean's surface, heat content in the depths of the oceans, temperature extremes, sea level pressure, humidity at ground level and higher in the air, general rainfall amounts, the extent of Arctic sea ice, snowpack levels and timing of runoff in the western United States, Atlantic Ocean salinity, wildfire damage, and the height of the lower atmosphere.
All those signs say global warming is here, said Xuebin Zhang, a research scientist for the Canadian government and co-author of the Northern Hemisphere study. "It is affecting us in multiple directions."
Most of the 10 outside climate experts who reviewed the papers for The Associated Press called the research sound and strong.
However, climate scientist Jerry North of Texas A&M University, while praising the work, said he worried that the studies were making too firm a connection based on weather data that could be poor in some locations. But Francis Zwiers of the University of Victoria, a lead author of the study with Zhang, said the data was from National Weather Service gauges and is reliable.
"Put the two papers together and we start to see an emerging pattern," said Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria, who wasn't part of either study. "We should continue to expect increased flooding associated with increased extreme precipitation because of increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas. And we have no one to blame but ourselves."
Climate change raises flood risk, researchers say
Richard Black BBC News 16 Feb 11;
Greenhouse gas emissions are making extreme rainfall events more common, scientists say - and in the UK, have increased the risk of flooding.
Two research groups present their findings in the journal Nature.
Using real-world data and computer models, one team says it has proven the link between greenhouse emissions and the observed increase in extreme rains in the Northern Hemisphere.
The other says greenhouse warming made the UK floods of 2000 more likely.
That autumn saw the highest rains in England and Wales since records began in 1766.
The Hampshire village of Hambledon was underwater for six weeks, and insurers put the final cost to the country at more than £1bn.
A research team led from Oxford University ran computer models of the atmosphere as it actually was, and parallel models of the atmosphere as it would have been without the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that had accumulated from humanity's emissions.
This produced projections of rainfall patterns, which were then fed into a further model that translated rainfall into the impact on river basins across England and Wales.
The 2000 floods occurred when river basins filled up rapidly.
"We looked at how greenhouse gas emissions affected the odds of a flood," related Pardeep Pall, the Oxford researcher who led the study.
"We found that the emissions substantially increased the odds of a flood occurring in 2000, with about a doubling of the likelihood."
Global influence
In the second study, researchers from Canada and the UK looked at the increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall events documented across much of the Northern Hemisphere between 1950 and 2000.
There are variations from year to year and from place to place; but across the piece, intense downpours have become more common over the period.
The researchers suggest there is nothing that can explain this trend except the slow steady increase in temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
"In North America, precipitation extremes correspond to the El Nino effect in pretty characteristic ways, where some regions get heavy rainfall while others receive less extreme precipitation," said Francis Zwiers from the University of Victoria in Canada.
"But we don't see these spatial variations in our study, and our models don't generate that kind of spatial structure either.
"The evidence is leading us in another direction, to a phenomena that influences precipitations in a global scale - and the only thing we can think of is the changing composition of the atmosphere."
For decades scientists have believed that on a global scale, a warmer world should be a wetter one, as warm air holds more moisture than cold air.
But the researchers say this is the first "formal identification" of the link between emissions and intense rains.
They also found that a number of the computer models commonly used in research currently underestimate the extent to which heavy rains have increased.
Model concerns
Both research groups were at pains to emphasise that these two papers are not the end of the road.
More research needs to be done, they say, with better records needed from regions of the world where data is scarce, improvements in models, and an extension to other types of weather event.
"There will be for some time to come extreme weather events happening that have been made less likely by human influence on climate," said Myles Allen, one of the Oxford group behind the year 2000 analysis.
"Disentangling these things and deciding which events have been made more likely and which less likely is a difficult but a very interesting scientific endeavour."
This was a point taken up by Sir Brian Hoskins from the Grantham Institute for Climate Change Research, who was not involved with either of these studies.
"Both studies depend heavily on the accuracy of their computer models," he told reporters.
"We need to understand better the actual physics of different flooding events and make sure that the models are able to capture this. Studies like these should be repeated as models continue to improve."
Researchers said they also needed to include other changes to the atmosphere in future analyses, such as the tiny aerosol particles of dust that reflect sunlight back into space.
'Alarming' picture
If the risk of floods is increasing, policymakers will have to ask themselves how to respond; and in the UK, the government has come under fire in recent weeks having cut the flood defence budget by 8% earlier this month.
But a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the implications of the research - which Defra partially funded - were being taken on board.
"This work reinforces the scientific evidence that the UK needs to tackle climate change and become more resilient to the likelihood of extreme weather events caused by climate change," he said.
"Defra will spend more than £2.1billion over the next four years to provide greater protection to at least 145,000 homes. Defra is also exploring innovative new ways of managing flood risk, such as supporting three land management demonstration projects to see if the rate at which rainfall enters watercourses can be slowed."
Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish "sceptical environmentalist" who was in London for a seminar, told BBC News that society had to look at where and how people lived.
"Some people criticise computer models and of course they are only computer models, but it's the only way we can talk about the future, through models - so I don't disagree with using models," he said.
"But is the right way to handle future flooding by focusing on climate change? The answer is no - that's an incredibly expensive way of making extreme flooding very slightly less likely in 100 years.
"We should focus on the simple ways - making better protection, making sure people don't settle on flood plains, and that we have some places where rivers can naturally flood as they did in the past."
As Professor Lomborg was speaking to the BBC in London, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC), was telling the Spanish parliament that tackling emissions was becoming ever more of a priority.
"It is alarming to admit that if the community of nations is unable to fully stabilise climate change, it will threaten where we can live, where and how we grow food and where we can find water - the very stability on which humanity has built its existence.
"On a global level, increasingly unpredictable weather patterns will lead to falling agricultural production and higher food prices, leading to food insecurity.
"Recent experiences around the world clearly show how such situations can cause political instability and undermine the performance of already fragile states."
David Fogarty PlanetArk 17 Feb 11;
Climate change could put trillions of investment dollars at risk over the next 20 years, a global study released on Wednesday said, calling for pension funds and other investors to overhaul how they allocate funds.
Risks from more extreme weather, continued delay in climate policy by governments and uncertainty over the shape of a new global climate pact were major concerns, while renewable energy, agriculture and infrastructure could be opportunities.
The study, led by global investment consultancy Mercer, describes climate change as systemic risk because it challenges the conventional allocation of assets and requires new ways of assessing climate policy and change risks.
For example, global warming-related policy changes could boost the cost of carbon emissions for power generators, aluminum smelters, transport and other sectors by $8 trillion by 2030, said the report.
The Investor Group on Climate Change in Australia, which represents about $600 billion in assets under management, said stronger climate change policies were needed to drive emissions-cutting investments and reduce longer-term risks.
"Weather events like the recent floods in Australia will continue to impact infrastructure, food security and property, contributing to material portfolio risk for institutional investors," Chief Executive Nathan Fabian told Reuters.
The study was compiled with the help of the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, and 14 institutional investors, mostly pension funds.
The report, designed as an investment guide, looked at four climate policy scenarios.
These ranged from regional divergence where some regions, such as the European Union and China/East Asia take strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to the least-likely scenario of a breakdown in efforts to fight climate change.
It also looked at the estimated flow of investment into low-carbon technologies such as wind, solar and nuclear, the impacts of climate change such as more extreme storms, floods and rising sea levels and costs from global carbon policy decisions.
It found that the cost of impacts on the environment, health and food security could exceed $4 trillion by 2030, with longer policy delays bringing rising costs, mostly from adaptation spending such as building sea walls.
It also found that investment needs could top $5 trillion by 2030 for low-carbon technologies such as energy efficiency, biofuels, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage.
CARBON PRICE RISK
The authors found a split between regions on emissions policies the most likely of the scenarios, with a cost on carbon pollution at $110 per tonne in the countries studied.
The "delayed action" scenario sees carbon costing just $15 a tonne to 2020, but jumping to $220 a tonne globally as 2030 nears.
Taking stern action sooner on climate policy was the least disruptive and best for investors, said the report.
"The uncertainties are lower than for the other scenarios, as investors are able to predict the pathways of policies with a reasonable degree of confidence," says the report of the "stern action" scenario.
Private equity investment opportunities in renewable energy, forestry and agriculture, infrastructure and real estate were also dependent on regional policies, it said.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07