Best of our wild blogs: 24 Feb 11

Re-Discovery of the White Banded Flat
from Butterflies of Singapore

Finally set foot on Lazarus natural shore
from wonderful creation

Sliver of mangroves near Punggol Jetty
from wild shores of singapore

Collared Kingfisher attacked and killed a flycatcher
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Dragonflies from MacRitchie
from Creatures in the Wild and Damselflies from MacRitchie

Living Shores of Singapore
from Raffles Museum News

Jurong Line: A Photo Guide
from wanderfolly and Kampung Life and Digging Up A Bit of My Childhood and Is this Goodbye?

(Abandoned) Railway Track Photo Walkabout
from Photojournalist

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Clementi bird sanctuary under threat

Proposed road will cut through haven in Clementi
Letter from Chow Bee Lin Today Online 24 Feb 11;

IN RESPONSE to residents' request to resolve peak-hour traffic congestion along Jalan Lempeng Road, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has decided to build a road that cuts through an unspoilt bird sanctuary right behind the ITE College West Clementi Campus. I hope the LTA will reconsider its decision.

The proposed new road may somewhat ease traffic congestion during peak hours but it will also destroy the dynamic biodiversity of the bird sanctuary where two migratory species - the Hooded and the Blue-winged Pitta - and the globally endangered Long-tailed Parakeet are sighted.

According to the Nature Society of Singapore, the Long-tailed Parakeet is common in Singapore but is endangered in many parts of the world, and the Hooded and the Blue-winged Pitta are not commonly found in Singapore.

I sincerely hope the LTA will explore better options for easing the peak-hour traffic congestion along Jalan Lempeng. During peak hours, drivers are likely to continue using Jalan Lempeng which leads directly to the expressways, instead of the proposed new road which diverts traffic to Commonwealth Avenue West heading to Jurong East.

The traffic congestion along Jalan Lempeng Road occurs only on weekdays between 7am and 7.30am, when classes at Nan Hua Primary School begin, and from 1pm to 1.30pm when classes end. If we can bear with this one hour of traffic congestion per day, we will be able to salvage some of our natural habitat.

I hope the LTA will refrain from building a road across the precious bird sanctuary, and that it will help save Singapore's fast disappearing greenery and preserve our natural habitat for the sake of our future generations.

Some of us would rather have a road
Today Online 28 Feb 11;

I read with interest Ms Chow Bee Lin's letter criticising the LTA's decision to build a road in Clementi, "Bird sanctuary under threat" (Feb 24). Like many conservationists, the letter writer believed herself to be speaking up not only for her beliefs, but also "for the sake of our future generations".

However, it is anybody's guess what future generations would prefer. It is at least conceivable that future Singaporeans would prefer the convenience of an additional road to the preservation of natural habitat.

Ms Chow is well within her rights to voice her own opinions and personal preferences. But she and other conservationists should refrain from claiming to speak for unborn persons when they cannot possibly do so. Letter from Daryl Yong

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More Singapore firms going green

Rachel Kelly Channel NewsAsia 23 Feb 11;

SINGAPORE: Businesses need to think green when looking to the future -- and in Singapore they appear to be doing just that.

From making eco-friendly furniture to wanting to shape the Republic's policy on emissions, they see a role for action and advocacy.

Singapore-based Wilsin Office Furniture for instance, has come up with transformer-like-office-space innovation, which allows companies to expand and contract furniture.

Its executive director James Pang said with this innovation, companies can easily change the size of their furniture to suit the number of staff.

This is one example of how companies are innovating to come up with products that combine utility with environmental-friendliness.

On a larger scale, Shell's climate change advisor said companies in Singapore are interested in entering into a dialogue with policy makers on energy use and climate change.

That's because businesses don't want to be caught off guard by new rules and regulations on carbon emissions.

Shell climate change advisor David Hone said: "One of the things that business wants to do is be part of moulding that future, rather than just have it inflicted upon them.

"In fact, one of the reasons I'm in Singapore is that in the UK, Shell belongs to an organisation called the Corporate Leaders Group on climate change and there's a first meeting of interested companies in Singapore which may look (to) form a similar group here.

"The aim of this group is to take a leadership role in working and talking with the government on how it looks at the regulatory framework in the future in terms of carbon emissions".

Mr Hone added that the group may start off in Singapore, but may spread in the region as companies in Japan have also showed interest in having a dialogue with policy makers.

-CNA/wk

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Zapping the toxic out of growing electronic waste

Proper disposal brings benefits, prevents damage to environment and health
Grace Chua Straits Times 24 Feb 11;

FOR nearly a year, a disused 30-inch cathode-ray-tube (CRT) TV sat in the living room of Mrs Adeline Koh's four-room flat. No karung guni or rag-and-bone man wanted the old set because it was too bulky and heavy to cart away.

Two weeks ago, the 38-year-old finally handed it over to local rag-and-bone company Recycling Point Dot Com, which will donate or scrap it.

As consumers like her switch more frequently to sleeker appliances and gadgets, lured by firms constantly upgrading their products, the problem of electronic waste, or e-waste, is mounting.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) does not keep a record of the amount of e-waste generated in Singapore, but figures showing the amount of electronic gadgets consumers here buy each year should prove cause for worry.

E-waste, if not properly disposed of, can pose hazards to the environment and human health.

Last year, more than 443,000 TV sets were bought here - an 80 per cent jump from the number in 2007, according to figures this month by market research firm GfK. The demand for laptop and desktop computers is likewise booming - sales of desktops in the second quarter of last year were up 39 per cent year-on-year. On average, Singapore residents replace their cellphones every 12 to 16 months, said GfK.

Recycling firms said the volume of e-waste has grown over the years. Recycling Point Dot Com founder Joseph Tan said he now processes 200 tonnes of e-waste a month, up from five to 10 tonnes a month 15 years ago.

Going by how Singapore has performed on some surveys on green issues, waste management, including e-waste, merits closer attention.

A recent survey by consulting firm Solidiance, for example, named Singapore as the fourth-greenest city in the Asia-Pacific region, winning accolades for water management and green buildings. But it was ranked last among the 10 cities surveyed on overall waste management. It fared poorly both in waste produced per capita and municipal recycling ratio.

Proper management of e-waste brings benefits.

First, it is a veritable treasure trove. Computer parts and circuit boards contain tiny amounts of gold - in fact, the gold medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics last year contained a small amount of gold from e-waste.

Second, recovering materials like gold, copper and plastic, in theory, is less environmentally destructive than mining or making them afresh.

But electronic items contain toxic substances like lead, mercury, cadmium and flame retardants, which can get into the environment if not handled properly. For example, lead can leach into the environment from the broken glass of CRTs. And if PVC-coated wires are burned to extract copper, dioxins - compounds linked to cancer, developmental defects and other health problems - are released.

The NEA said most e-waste here is recycled, but did not provide figures.

'Hence, there is very little risk of groundwater contamination arising from e-waste disposal,' said a spokesman.

But the NEA does not consider reused items, such as working appliances sold to karung guni men and second-hand dealers, as e-waste.

Environmentalists said many here are unaware of the option to recycle, partly because there are few collection points.

The focus of recycling incentives here, such as the NEA's 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Fund, is still on traditional recyclables such as paper and glass, said Mr Howard Shaw, executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

He said: 'We should look at e-waste because we use so many electronic components and they become so redundant so quickly.'

Currently, there are four NEA-approved recycling plants, which use high-tech methods to break down electronic items and recover precious and semi-precious metals.

For example, TES-AMM, which recycles phones for Nokia and Sony Ericsson, uses a process called electrolysis to strip gold from used circuit boards. The metal is then collected and smelted into bars. There, the crushing and separating of metals are done mechanically and workers are protected with gloves and masks.

But many people simply do not know where to send their unwanted electronic goods.

There is not enough infrastructure to take back e-waste and direct it to the right channels for recycling, said Mr Shaw. He suggested that more suppliers implement take-back programmes like Nokia's ongoing phone recycling scheme.

Manufacturers and businesses can also play a bigger role.

Mr Venkatesha Murthy, director of electronic scrap recovery firm Cimelia, noted that in Europe and Japan, manufacturers have to pay a recycling fee, which supports material-recovery firms.

In Singapore, manufacturers pay waste incineration fees instead - which work out to be $77 to $81 a tonne and are meant to indirectly encourage recycling.

'Here, consumers expect to get paid, instead of pay, for recycling,' Mr Murthy said.

To conveniently dispose of their old appliances, many consumers turn to unlicensed karung guni men, who in turn resell them to second-hand dealers here. Foreign dealers buy them, and they may end up overseas in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The NEA does not track where items go, though exporters must furnish proof that they are bound for reuse. But the second-hand trade, which involves many small-time players, is not well regulated.

Once the goods arrive at their destinations, they may not be reused but are taken apart - not always in a safe manner - for parts such as plastic and scrap metal. The remaining parts may not be properly recycled if the technology and infrastructure required are unavailable.

Thus, items like Mrs Koh's 30-inch TV may end up as hazardous waste in a developing country if not disposed of properly.

Mr Eugene Tay, who runs environmental consultancy Green Future Solutions, proposed that the Government take steps to ensure the items are really reused. For example, the exporting country should have standards to ensure items can be reused, and the importing country could get importers to show proof, such as pictures or serial numbers - though realistically, he admitted this might be difficult.

Another way to manage the potentially harmful effects of e-waste is to cut down on hazardous substances in devices. NGOs like Greenpeace are asking manufacturers not to use such toxic materials in devices. The European Union's (EU) Restriction Of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive also restricts the use of six hazardous substances in a variety of electronic goods.

Singapore does not have such regulations yet, though experts reckon that most items sold here probably already comply with the RoHS regulations.

But the authorities are beginning to keep such records. Earlier this month, the NEA awarded a $58,000 contract to GfK to find out what proportion of commonly used consumer appliances sold here between October 2006 and September 2009 comply with the RoHS directive.

Asked about the study, the NEA spokesman said: 'Like many countries outside EU, NEA is monitoring the development of its RoHS as part of the regular review of its own system.'

But the key to reducing e-waste, said Mr Tay of Green Future Solutions, is still to curb what he calls the 'tech obsessive-compulsive disorder' - the need to buy ever shinier and better gadgets.

'The treatment for the disorder is to reduce first, reuse and recycle last.'

Old gadgets find new lease of life on Batam
Straits Times 24 Feb 11;

BATAM: At least once a week, Indonesian Tamrin Khairul, 34, makes a trip to Singapore and returns with new purchases such as computers, TV sets and Xbox game consoles.

Except that these items are not new - they are used electronic goods he buys from second-hand shops in Serangoon Road. Each time, he returns with about 20 computer central processing units (CPUs) and monitors that he spruces up, cleans and sells in his shop.

The repair-and-resale industry provides those like Mr Tamrin with a living. He says he makes 'enough to eat'.

His Batam neighbourhood of Batu Ampar is chock-a-block with shops selling used computers, TV sets, washing machines and assorted items.

A CPU might sell for 700,000 rupiah (S$100), while a full desktop computer set might go for 1 million rupiah. In comparison, a brand-new computer might cost 5 million rupiah. These cheap electronic goods and appliances are popular with offices, schools and lower-income households in Indonesia, where the gross national income per capita was just US$3,720 (S$4,770) in 2009.

Batam is one of the main places that Singapore exports its second-hand gadgets to, thanks to its proximity. Other destinations include Vietnam, South Korea and African countries like Nigeria, according to dealers in Serangoon Road.

In Singapore, rag-and-bone men collect old computers and other electronic gadgets, which they then sell to scrap dealers and resellers.

An old laptop fetches about $10, while newer items in working condition can fetch a higher price. These then end up in other countries, as foreign dealers buy them to send home.

Reusing electronic items helps extend the machines' natural lifespans and keeps them out of waste streams.

But there are concerns that when these items reach developing countries, they are not recycled or disposed of properly at the end of their lifespans.

If goods sent to Batam are no longer in working condition and cannot be repaired, they are sold for scrap. But if the scrap is not recycled safely, its plastics and metals may harm workers and residents; if it is incinerated, its toxins may pollute the air, and if it is dumped in landfill, its toxins may leach into water.

The United Nations' Basel Convention controls the transboundary movement of waste containing such toxic substances. In countries that comply with the Convention, permits are needed to import, export or transit hazardous waste.

Singapore acceded to the Convention in 1996, and enacted its Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) Act two years later. Anyone who wants to export second-hand

computers and machines must show documents proving they are bound for reuse.

But this regulation does not seem tough to get around.

Second-hand dealers told The Straits Times they use a variety of methods, some of which are questionable.

Mr Surhadi Supandi, 40, claims he ships a hundred TV sets at a time via ferry at an informal, jetty-less seaport. The 'port' abuts a scrapyard that holds all manner of materials: wooden pallets, unidentifiable plastic and metal bits, and tyres.

Other dealers insist the courier services they use are legal, at about $50 for a suitcase-size box - taxes and fees included. 'I have to maintain my reputation,' said dealer Yap Shun Ming, 38, whose shop is in the Cipta Prima used-goods market.

He said that about three years ago, dealers were able to ship used electronic items over in large shipping containers, but this stopped as the Indonesian government viewed it as dumping.

But this does not stop most dealers.

Among the shops of Batu Ampar, Mr Jumadi, 38, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name, shows off haphazard piles of electronic scrap at the back of his repair shop-cum-Internet cafe. Apparently, even here, no one wants fixed-up but ageing cathode-ray-tube TV sets.

He will eventually sell the items to scrap dealers, he said.

GRACE CHUA

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Germany says no to dolphin imports

Solomon Star 23 Feb 11;

GERMANY will not allow any dolphin imports into their country.

This is according to the Federal Agency for Nature and Conservation (FANC), the CITES agency in Germany.

In an email the Solomon Star, Earth Island Institute affiliate German dolphin conservation society Ulrike Kirsch said she had spoken with authorities from FANC and they confirmed that there will not be any dolphin exports into Germany.

“There are no requests for any dolphin exports into Germany and if there was one, authorities here said that there would be no permits granted,” Mrs Kirsch said.

This followed media reports that local dolphin exporter Robert Satu had 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, could not confirm the exact number of dolphins each country ordered but hoped to begin hunting at the end of June.

Mr Satu said the other European countries did not want their identities 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 put their order in.”

However, Mrs Kirsch said Germany was very strict on the issue of dolphin imports and there would be no requests for dolphin imports into the European Union stronghold.

“The person from the German CITES agency assumes that the whole thing might be a trick to divert attention from dolphin imports into Arab countries and maybe China. China's amusement park industry seems to be booming and apparently China may be the new market for dolphin exports,” he export.

Mr Satu said he was ready to begin hunting again after Earth Island failed to live up to an agreement made with Satu.

The Earth Islands regional director Lawrence Makili reaffirmed that there were no agreements made with Mr Satu.

By DOUGLAS MARAU

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Three islands in Eastern Thailand closed indefinitely for coral rehabilitation

MCOT 23 Feb 11;

TRAT, Feb 23 - This eastern Thai province has announced the closure of three islands indefinitely after over 90 per cent of their coral reefs are experiencing coral bleaching and have died from global warming, according to local officials.

Chalerm Glinnimnuan, chief of Mu Ko Chang National Park, said the announcement applies to only three islands, Ko Thong Lang, Ko Kra and Ko Tien, and was ordered by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

The islands closure aims at rehabilitating the coral and preventing divers from entering such areas. Buoys have already been placed around the three islands, he said.

Tourist or fishing boats entering the zones will be strictly prosecuted according to Thai law.

An official announcement on the matter will be made again, Mr Chalerm said.

In January, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ordered indefinite closure of diving sites in the country's national marine parks in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea for coral rehabilitation.

Director-General Sunun Arunnopparat said the problem of coral bleaching is the most severe in ten years, so the department has opted to close a number of diving sites in national marine parks including Had Nopparatthara-Mu Ko Phi Phi in Krabi, Mu Ko Chumphon in Chumpon, Had Chao Mai in Trang, Ao Phangnga and Mu Ko Similan in Phangnga, and Mu Ko Preta and Tarutao in Satun. (MCOT online news)

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World's coral reefs could be gone by 2050: study

Karin Zeitvogel Yahoo News 23 Feb 11;

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The world's coral reefs could be wiped out by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to stop threats posed to the "rainforests of the sea" by everything from overfishing to climate change, a report warned Wednesday.

Warmer seas caused by global warming; ocean acidification blamed on carbon dioxide pollution; shipping, overfishing, coastal development and agricultural runoff all pose a threat to coral reefs, which hundreds of millions of people depend on for a living, says the report.

"Threats on land, along the coast and in the water are converging in a perfect storm of threats to reefs," Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said at a news conference in Washington to launch the "Reefs at Risk Revisited" report.

According to the report, which follows on from an earlier study on the health of the world's coral reefs, more than 90 percent of reefs will be threatened by 2030 and nearly all reefs will be at risk by 2050 unless action is taken now to reduce the threats.

"Local pressures" on reefs, including overfishing, coastal development and pollution, pose the most immediate and direct threats to the world's reefs, threatening more than 60 percent of the colorful sea ecosystems.

The impacts of climate change -- a "global threat" to reefs -- is compounding the local pressures.

"Warming seas have already caused widespread damage to reefs, with high temperatures driving a stress response called coral bleaching, where corals lose their colorful symbiotic algae, exposing their white skeletons," the report says.

"In addition, increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are slowly causing the world's oceans to become more acidic. Ocean acidification reduces coral growth rates and, if unchecked, could reduce their ability to maintain their physical structure."

Quick, broad action could go a long way to saving the reefs, which have shown themselves in the past to be highly resilient, said Lauretta Burke, a lead author of the report, which was compiled by more than two dozen conservation and research groups led by World Resources International (WRI).

A future with dying or dead reefs is "not a future we are committed to," Burke said.

She urged global policymakers to take rapid action to improve marine management, reduce local threats, especially overfishing, and -- crucially -- cut greenhouse gas emissions.

If no effort is made to stop the threats to the reefs, and they are lost, the daily livelihoods of 500 million people worldwide would be threatened, many of them in developing nations in southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, said Lubchenco.

There would be fewer nurseries for commercial fish species, and shorelines would lose some protection from storms.

Coastal communities would lose an important source of protein and food security, not to mention revenues from tourists who travel to countries to visit their reefs and the "beautiful white sand beaches found throughout the tropics," which wouldn't be there without coral reefs, said Burke.

Climate Change Fuels "Dire" Threat To Coral Reefs
Deborah Zabarenko PlanetArk 24 Feb 11;

Globally warmer seas, rising carbon dioxide emissions and local factors like over-fishing have pushed the threat level on the world's coral reefs into the danger zone, environmental advocates said on Wednesday.

More than 75 percent of all reefs -- which harbor fish, attract tourists and shelter marine biodiversity -- are currently threatened, the advocates from U.S. government and non-governmental organizations said in releasing a report, "Reefs at Risk Revisited."

"Mounting pressures on land, along the coast and in the water converge in a perfect storm of threats to reefs," Jane Lubchenco, administrator at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a briefing. "Since the last 'Reefs at Risk' report ... threats have gone from worrisome to dire."

The last report, released in 1998, found nearly 60 percent of coral reefs were threatened by human activity.

More than 500 million people around the world depend on coral reefs for food and income; the report estimated coral reefs provide $30 billion a year in benefits.

The carbon dioxide emissions that fuel climate change also contribute to making oceans more acidic, which impedes coral formation. In addition, warmer sea surface temperatures cause damaging coral bleaching, the report said.

MOST REEFS AT RISK BY 2050

Local pressures include over-fishing, destructive fishing methods such as explosives or poison, pollution from farm chemical run-off, unchecked coastal development, ships that drag anchors and chains across the reefs and unsustainable tourism.

If these threats don't change, more than 90 percent of reefs will be at risk by 2030 and nearly all reefs will be at risk by 2050, according to the report, visible online at www.wri.org/reefs.

More than 275 million people live within 18 miles of coral reefs. In more than 100 countries, coral reefs protect over 93,000 miles of shorelines.

The report identified 27 nations -- most in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian oceans -- that are socially and economically vulnerable if coral reefs are degraded or lost. Among those 27, the nine most vulnerable are Comoros, Fiji, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia, Kiribati, Philippines, Tanzania and Vanuatu.

The three drivers of this national vulnerability are a high dependence on reefs, a high threat of exposure and a limited ability to adapt. The nine most vulnerable nations have all three.

Local efforts to curb over-fishing and protect reefs are a known part of the solution, while limiting climate-warming emissions is more challenging, the advocates said.

"It's pretty clear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, is absolutely necessary if we want any hope of preventing a lot of the dire situations that are presented in the report," Lubchenco said.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Coral reefs heading for fishing and climate crisis
Richard Black BBC News 23 Feb 11;

Three-quarters of the world's coral reefs are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, climate change and other factors, says a major new assessment.

Reefs at Risk Revisited collates the work of hundreds of scientists and took three years to compile.

The biggest threat is exploitative fishing, the researchers say, though most reefs will be feeling the impact of climate change within 20 years.

But, they say, there are measures that can be taken to protect at least some.

The report is compiled by a group of more than 20 research and conservation organisations, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington DC.

"This report serves as a wake-up call for policymakers, business leaders, ocean managers, and others about the urgent need for greater protection for coral reefs," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa).

"Local and global threats, including climate change, are already having significant impacts on coral reefs, putting the future of these beautiful and valuable ecosystems at risk."

The report revisits some of the territory explored in the original Reefs at Risk project, published in 1998, but in much greater detail.

Over the 13 years intervening, the area at risk of destruction has increased by nearly a third.

The main reason for that change has been a massive increase in damage from exploitative fishing, particularly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Climate of death

Altogether, more than half of the world's reefs are threatened by the ways in which fishermen use them.

These range from simply catching more than nature can replace to the use of extremely damaging fishing methods such as dynamiting fish to stun or kill them - which also blasts coral formations to smithereens.

Other major threats are pollution carried in rivers, coastal development, and climate change.

If climate projections turn into reality, then by 2030 roughly half of the world's reefs will experience bleaching in most years - rising to 95% during the 2050s.

Coral polyps - the tiny reef-building creatures - live in partnership with algae that provide nutrition and give corals their colour.

When the water gets too hot, the algae are expelled and the coral turns white.

Although reefs can recover, the more often it happens, the more likely they are simply to die.

In addition, the slow decrease in the pH of seawater as it absorbs more carbon dioxide - usually known as ocean acidification - will compromise coral's capacity to form the hard structures it needs.

"Reefs are already being hit by global warming," said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy.

"They are the canaries in the coal mine, super-sensitive to warm summer temperatures, such that even a small background induces bleaching.

"Into the future, I suspect warming and acidification will become the major threats, but as we say again and again, no threats act in isolation; often it's the combination that really hurts," he told BBC News.
'Lower the pressure'

Regionally, southeast Asia is the worst affected region, with 95% of reefs on the threatened list.

But in terms of the impact on human society, threat is only part of the equation.

The researchers reasoned that societies most affected by reef degradation would be those where the threats are high, where a big proportion of the population depends on reefs for their livelihood, and where people's capacity to adapt is low.

Combining these criteria, the countries highest on the risk register are Comoros, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, Kiribati, Philippines, Tanzania and Vanuatu.

Against this bleak backdrop, the researchers have been at pains to emphasise that there are things that can be done to reduce the damage.

"There are reasons for hope," said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI and a lead author of the report.

"Reefs are resilient; and by reducing the local pressures, we can help buy time to find solutions to global threats that can preserve reefs for future generations."

Research has shown for example that allowing a diversity of life to flourish on a reef keeps it healthy and more resistant to rising water temperatures.

Protecting important regions of sea would be one obvious strategy.

However, having evaluated more than 2,500 protected areas of reef, these researchers concluded that even though over a quarter of the world's coral is nominally protected, only one-sixth of those areas offer good protection.

"The report is full of solutions - real world examples where people have succeeded to turn things around," said Dr Spalding.

"However, if we don't learn from these successes then I think that in 50 years' time, most reefs will be gone - just banks of eroding limestone, overgrown with algae and grazed by a small variety of small fish."

75% of World’s Coral Reefs Currently Under Threat, New Analysis Finds
Michael Oko WRI Press Release 23 Feb 11;

“Reefs at Risk Revisited” report presents comprehensive analysis of threats to coral reefs

A new comprehensive analysis finds that 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures. For the first time, the analysis includes threats from climate change, including warming seas and rising ocean acidification. The report shows that local pressures— such as overfishing, coastal development, and pollution— pose the most immediate and direct risks, threatening more than 60 percent of coral reefs today.

“Reefs at Risk Revisited,” the most detailed assessment of threats to coral reefs ever undertaken, is being released by the World Resources Institute, along with the Nature Conservancy, the WorldFish Center, the International Coral Reef Action Network, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center, along with a network of more than 25 organizations. Launch activities are taking place in Washington, D.C., London, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Caribbean, Australia, and other locations around the world.

“This report serves as a wake-up call for policy-makers, business leaders, ocean managers, and others about the urgent need for greater protection for coral reefs,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “As the report makes clear, local and global threats, including climate change, are already having significant impacts on coral reefs, putting the future of these beautiful and valuable ecosystems at risk.”

Local pressures – especially overfishing and destructive fishing – are causing many reefs to be degraded. Global pressures are leading to coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures and increasing ocean acidification from carbon dioxide pollution. According to the new analysis, if left unchecked, more than 90 percent of reefs will be threatened by 2030 and nearly all reefs will be at risk by 2050.

“Coral reefs are valuable resources for millions of people worldwide. Despite the dire situation for many reefs, there is reason for hope,” said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI and a lead author of the report. “Reefs are resilient, and by reducing the local pressures we can buy time as we find global solutions to preserve reefs for future generations.”

The report includes multiple recommendations to better protect and manage reefs, including through marine protected areas. The analysis shows that more than one-quarter of reefs are already encompassed in a range of parks and reserves, more than any other marine habitat. However, only six percent of reefs are in protected areas that are effectively managed.

“Well managed marine protected areas are one of the best tools to safeguard reefs,” said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy and a lead author of the report. “At their core, reefs are about people as well as nature: ensuring stable food supplies, promoting recovery from coral bleaching, and acting as a magnet for tourist dollars. We need apply the knowledge we have to shore up existing protected areas, as well as to designate new sites where threats are highest, such as the populous hearts of the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Middle East.”

Reefs offer multiple benefits to people and the economy – providing food, sustaining livelihoods, supporting tourism, protecting coasts, and even helping to prevent disease. According the report, more than 275 million people live in the direct vicinity (30 km/18 miles) of coral reefs. In more than 100 countries and territories, coral reefs protect 150,000 km (over 93,000 miles) of shorelines, helping defend coastal communities and infrastructure against storms and erosion.

For the first time, the report identifies the 27 nations most socially and economically vulnerable to coral reef degradation and loss. Among these, the nine most vulnerable countries are: Haiti, Grenada, Philippines, Comoros, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Kiribati, Fiji, and Indonesia.

“The people at greatest risk are those who depend heavily on threatened reefs, and who have limited capacity to adapt to the loss of the valuable resources and services reefs provide,” said Allison Perry, project scientist at the WorldFish Center and a lead author. “For highly vulnerable nations – including many island nations – there is a pressing need for development efforts to reduce dependence on reefs and build adaptive capacity, in addition to protecting reefs from threats.”

The report is an update of “Reefs at Risk,” released by WRI in 1998, which served as an important resource for policymakers to understand and address the threats of reefs. The new report uses the latest data and satellite information to map coral reefs— including a reef map with a resolution 64 times higher than the original report.

“Through new technology and improved data, this study provides valuable tools and information for decision makers from national leaders to local marine managers,” said Katie Reytar, research associate at WRI and a lead author. “In order to maximize the benefits of these tools, we need policymakers to commit to greater action to address the growing threats to coral reefs.”

Find out more at: www.wri.org/reefs

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The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. (www.wri.org)

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than one million members have protected more than 480,000 sq km of land and engage in more than100 marine conservation projects. The Conservancy is actively working on coral reef conservation in 24 countries, including the Caribbean and the Coral Triangle. (www.nature.org)

WorldFish Center is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. Working in partnership with a wide range of agencies and research institutions, WorldFish carries out research to improve small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. Its work on coral reefs includes ReefBase, the global information system on coral reefs. (www.worldfishcenter.org)

International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) is a global network of coral reef science and conservation organizations working together and with local stakeholders to improve the management of coral reef ecosystems. ICRAN facilitates the exchange and replication of good practices in coral reef management throughout the world’s major coral reef regions. (www.icran.org)

United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is an internationally recognized center for the synthesis, analysis, and dissemination of global biodiversity knowledge. UNEP-WCMC provides authoritative, strategic, and timely information on critical marine and coastal habitats for conventions, countries, organizations, and companies to use in the development and implementation of their policies and decisions. (www.unep-wcmc.org)

Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) is an operational unit of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) charged with coordinating research and monitoring of coral reefs. The network, with many partners, reports on ecological and socioeconomic monitoring and produces Status of Coral Reefs of the World reports covering more than 80 countries and states. (www.gcrmn.org)

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Vietnam: Too late for legendary turtle?

Hong Thuy Vietnam News 23 Feb 11;

In an urgent move, Ha Noi People's Committee has decided to set up a steering committee to protect the legendary, but very real, Hoan Kiem Lake turtle. This is because, at present, everything remains vague about how to go about it.

The decision is a crucial step in preserving the extremely rare creature, whose ancestry is directly linked to the building of the ancient citadel of Co Loa, about 15km upstream from Ha Noi.

While there is no denying that Ha Noi authorities put a strong focus on saving the beloved reptile as far back as the early nineties, no office seemed directly in charge of the campaign. All that was available was a long list of offices concerned, but in a very general way.

Vice chairman of the Viet Nam Ecology Association, Mai Dinh Yen, said at the time that as the turtle was related to the culture and spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ha Noi Science and Technology Department – and even the Department for Protecting Aquatic Resources – could all be concerned.

Turtle expert Ha Dinh Duc said no single body then had ultimate responsibility for protecting the giant turtle. "Never before have city authorities jumped at the chance to be involved," he said.

Local and foreign scientists recently met in Ha Noi to discuss measures to save the soft-shelled turtle, which has been lacerated by fish hooks, forced to survive in highly polluted water and suffering from attacks from small aggressive turtles released by ignorant people in the lake.

A series of proposals put forward at the meeting achieved little. Duc said everything was still in a muddle because there were too many opinions. While most scientists at the meeting agreed with a proposal to remove the turtle from the lake for emergency treatment, director of Ha Noi Science and Technology Le Xuan Rao said no measures were adopted.

A day after the meeting was held last Wednesday, Rao met the leaders of the Ha Noi city People's Committee to report on the meeting and propose emergency solutions. In a move that was beyond the expectations of many scientists and Hanoians, he asked city authorities to treat the pollution in Hoan Kiem Lake. However, there was no mention of treatment for the injured beast.

If his proposal is approved, it places a fresh and direct new focus on the poor animal. Back in 1991, there was a plan to improve water quality in the lake, which is polluted by run-off from the streets and rubbish thrown into the water. The People's Committee's agreed to dredge out much of the deep, stinking mud.

Using manual methods to prevent any harm to the lake environment and the creatures living in it, more than 3,000 cubic metres of mud and rubbish were removed by the end of 1993. Yet, Yen recalled, the level of pH increased to 10, which is much more alkaline than the safe level, which is between 6.5 to 7.4. Changes in pH levels can destroy the whole food chain in water, weakening or killing plants and animals. "At the time, many people complained that the so-called cleansing had achieved very little," Yen said.

Sixteen years later in 2009, a German dredging machine was given a trial run in scientifically cleaning lake waters without interfering with any aquatic life. Rao said the results were encouraging. He said the concentration of toxic water weeds had decreased remarkably after the dredging. Importantly, no plants or animals living on the floor of the lake were disturbed.

Pleased with the results, Ha Noi city People's committee gave the go ahead for the whole lake to be dredged clean with the German technology. It planned to begin work after the lunar New Year of 2010, but nothing happened.

Explaining the delay, Rao said it was because the Ha Noi Water Supply Company had not yet completed payments for the dredger, which is worth about VND8.3 billion. While Ha Noi authorities have yet to come up with a final plan to protect the turtle, mostly because the giant turtle has such significance to Vietnamese they do not want to make a wrong move.

Turtle expert Tim McCormack said little money had so far been spent on conserving the turtle, but protection was vital if the legend was to live on. "I hope this species can be protected in Viet Nam. "It is an amazing species and so special for its rarity, size and cultural importance," he said.

Those who love the ancient legend, which rivals the stories of King Arthur and his Round Table, share his view. We are all keeping our fingers crossed and waiting for something specific to be done to save the Golden Turtle, or Kim Quy. — VNS

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Malaysian experiment releases 3 orangutans in wild

(AP) Google News 23 Feb 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian researchers are testing whether three young orangutans reared in captivity can adapt to life in the wild outside Borneo, while activists insisted Wednesday the experiment was a flawed way of trying to help the endangered primates.

The project is spearheaded by a private foundation that runs Orangutan Island, a research center and tourist attraction in northern peninsular Malaysia. The facility has bred orangutans in captivity over the past decade despite criticism by animal rights groups that conservation programs should focus instead on protecting existing orangutans in the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra.

D. Sabapathy, the center's senior manager, said researchers released three captive orangutans on a neighboring island last week. They are expected to remain there for up to six years before officials determine whether they can be let loose, either in peninsular Malaysia or Borneo.

The project marks the first time that orangutans have been allowed to roam on their own in peninsular Malaysia. Activists estimate some 50,000 orangutans live in the wild in Malaysian and Indonesian territory in Borneo, while another 7,000 can be found on Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The three apes include Sonia, born at the center eight years ago, and two others — Ah Ling, 17, and Nicky, 23 — found by wildlife authorities in Borneo a decade ago and brought to the center. Sabapathy said he was not sure whether Ah Ling and Nicky had lost their mothers or were rescued from poachers.

"It's a rehabilitation program," Sabapathy said. "It's not that we simply will release them anywhere."

The orangutans' lives are expected to change dramatically. On Orangutan Island, they were kept in a 5-acre (2-hectare) enclosure, where they were fed by workers and observed by tourists.

During their stay on the neighboring island, they will enjoy freedom across a 14-acre (6-hectare) forested area, where workers have hidden bananas and tapioca for them to find until they are accustomed to obtaining food such as wild fruit and termites on their own.

Researchers are using binoculars to monitor their behavior, including how they build nests and interact with their environment without human contact.

Marc Ancrenaz, co-founder of French-based conservation group Hutan, said however that resources for orangutan conservation research could be used more effectively elsewhere.

"There's no reason why they should do this. ... We (already) have a wild population" of orangutans in Borneo, Ancrenaz said.

Orangutans in the wild face threats such as the loss of habitat due to illegal logging and agriculture, as well as illegal hunting of the apes for private collections or use in traditional medicine.

The Orangutan Island center houses 25 orangutans, including 17 born there. Orangutans are known to live up to 60 years in captivity, but not as long in the wild.

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Malaysia: Elusive elephant finally captured

The Star 24 Feb 11;

JELEBU: A 30-year-old male Asian elephant was captured after the elusive pachyderm was seen foraging for food in a village near here.

Villagers spotted the three-metre tall elephant in Kampung Gagu and reported it to National Parks and Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) officers on Sunday.

Village headman Mohd Saad Haron said the elephant had been destroying banana and coconut crops in the area for the past few years.

“It used to appear only at night. We would wake up to see the damaged crops,” he said.

Perhilitan’s elephant management unit head Nasharuddin Othman believed the elephant had broken away from its original group more than 10 years ago.

“Elephants usually travel along a corridor, but due to land development, the path may have been disrupted, causing it to become stranded,” he added.

“We have been monitoring the movements of these elephants over the years and this one is believed to be the last of its group.

“Sightings of this elephant had been previously reported but it was not easy for us to capture it due to the area’s hilly terrain,” he said, adding that the elephant would be relocated to Taman Negara.

The Asian elephant (elephas maximus), which has an estimated population of 1,200 in Peninsular Malaysia, can be found in the jungles of Johor, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak and Kedah.

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Malaysia: Citizens Of The Environment - That's Us!

Ali Imran Mohd Noordin Bernama 23 Feb 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- What does it mean to be citizens of a country like Malaysia? In short, every countryman is granted certain rights as privileges where in return, there are obligations to be fulfilled.

Overall, many do not realise that everybody are a part of a bigger 'country' called 'the environment' which grant and demand similar rights and obligations.

Look around and observe. Motor vehicles hurt the air, toxic chemicals being channelled into rivers, solid wastes not managed properly, all of these are costs that people are paying - with their life!

Has this gone too bad? Isn't there anything we can do?

100 YEARS OF EFFORT BUT TOO LITTLE IMPACT

In Malaysia, legislators started to make environment protected by-law since early 1900's. Among the earliest legislations passed are the Ordinance to Protect Several Species of Wild Birds (1904), Waters Enactment (1920) and Mining Enactment (1929).

In 1974, the Environment Quality Act was legislated to combat pollution issues. As this Act acts more on curative measure, it was amended in 1985, incorporating Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) to also act as preventive tool.

WHAT IS ENVIROMENTAL CITIZENSHIP (EC)?

The European Environment Agency (EEA) defined EC as 'The state, character or behaviour of a person viewed as a member of the ecosystem with attendant rights and responsibilities, especially the responsibility to maintain ecological integrity and the right to exist in a healthy environment.'

Meanwhile Stuart Bell and Donald McGilivray, experts of the field defined environmental citizenship as the notion that individuals should take responsibility for their own interaction with the environment.

"Environment management should be internalised within people", said Datin Paduka Che Asmah Ibrahim, Director of Department of Environment (DOE) Selangor.

"We need to take care our interaction with the environment by protecting and managing, not by exploiting it", she said.

WHO ARE ENVIRONMENT CITIZENS?

Stop pointing fingers to others. To make simple, everybody that lives on planet earth are a part of this big family of Environment Citizens (EC).

Just as like any country, citizens of the environment possess rights, which leads to responsibilities to be performed. The three main rights as are:

a)Access to Environmental Information.

To encourage the public to participate in environmental decision-making, the public must have access to information held by public bodies in relation to the pollution state of air, water, soil, land, plants and animals, energy, noise, etc.

Besides, identity of polluters and updated information on decisions, policies and activities that affect the environment need to make known to the public.

b)Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Monetary cost has deterred many valid environmental related cases from being brought to court. Each EC should have right to access legal help and to get adequate judicial remedy on environmental issues.

c)Clean and Healthy Environment

Every EC deserve to live and work in a clean and healthy environment. Laws and regulations should continuously be updated and enforced accordingly against environmental offenders to protect the interest of the mass.

ENVIRONMETAL EDUCATION (EE)

Knowledge is power. EE refers to an organised effort to teach the way environment interacts in a system and how human plays an important role in behaving right to ensure the protection of ecosystem and sustainable development.

Goals of EE are as follows:

a) To foster clear awareness and concern about economical, social, political and ecological interdependence in urban and rural areas.

b) To provide every person with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, commitment, and skills needed to protect and improve the environment.

c) To create new patterns if behaviour of individuals, groups and society as a whole towards the environment.

'Rakan Alam Sekitar' is DOE latest effort on EE. It is hoped to involve the community on hands-on approach and become government's eyes and ears combat any activities that harms the environment. Grab more info on this programme at www.doe.gov.my/ras.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As an EC, some small steps that can be taken towards protecting the environment are water saving, energy saving and other ways.

Water saving:

a) Save water usage - install water saving devices in toilets

b) Install a low-flow shower head

c) Have flow-reducers on taps

d) Promptly repair dripping taps and pipes

e) Always ensure water taps are turned off when not in use

Energy saving:

a) Hang dry your laundry

b) Always check your stove (also save life)

c) Check refrigerator working well all the time

d) Use energy efficient appliances

e) Turn off lights when not in use

f) Use solar energy

Other ways:

a) Boil or filter your own drinking water instead of using bottled water

b) Compost food and yard wastes

c) Donate unwanted goods to others that might need them or to social service group

d) Don't kill wildlife

e) Prioritise the use of public over private transport

f) Make recycling a habit

NEED AGAINST GREED

"Environment is enough for human needs, not for human greed," stressed Che Asmah at the end of interview. She admits that behavioral change is a huge challenge for any EC effort.

As the level of awareness is rising, so does the damage. The Ecological Footprint of humanity indicated that our footprint exceeds the world's ability to regenerate by about 25 per cent.

Take some time and ponder - as today's generation grow old and weak, would they able to bear critics and complaints by their young ones when there's no more safe water to drink?

-- BERNAMA

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Indonesia: Mangroves rapidly decline in South Kalimantan

The Jakarta Post 23 Feb 11;

JAKARTA: The massive extraction of mangrove forest by local communities is threatening the sustainability of mangroves in South Kalimantan, an official says.

South Kalimantan Environment Agency head Rakhmadi Kurdi said Monday that mangrove forests in several of Kalimantan’s coastal areas had been severely damaged.

“Many local people fell mangrove trees, which have wood that is more than 30 centimeters in diameter. They use it as support structures and for the walls of their homes,” he said.

Rakhmadi said no comprehensive research on mangrove destruction in South Kalimantan had been carried out so far but the massive destruction of mangrove in Aluh-Aluh in Banjar regency and Kualalapuk in Barito Kuala regency was evident.

South Kalimantan has more than 100,000 hectares of mangrove spread over five regencies: Kotabaru, Tanahbambu, Tanahlaut, Banjar and Barito Kuala.

Rakhmadi said special ports for coal and palm oil had significantly contributed to the destruction of mangrove forests. “In 2010, the local government closed 10 coal ports inside forested areas and mangrove conservation areas because of the negative impact on forest sustainability,” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mangrove destruction has not been balanced with adequate efforts to recultivate mangrove in those areas. On Kaget Island in the middle of the Barito River, for example, only 5,000 mangrove trees have been planted since 2008, whereas about 42 hectares or 50 percent of the island’s total area have been turned into agriculture sites. — JP

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Indonesian Corruption Watch Puts a Price on Deforestation at $1.6 billion

Antara & Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 23 Feb 11;

Indonesian Corruption Watch has estimated that the country suffers losses of around Rp 14 trillion ($1.6 billion) a year as a result of deforestation.

According to research conducted by the antigraft watchdog, deforestation during the 2005-2009 period totaled 5.4 million hectares, equivalent to Rp 71.28 trillion.

The ICW also urged the forestry minister to reform the forestry sector and address a number of weaknesses identified by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

In December the KPK announced that it had found 17 systemic problems in the implementation of forestry planning and supervision.

Of the 17 problems, nine concerned regulations, three were institutional, four concerned implementation and one related to natural resources.

This, ICW said in its statement, indicated that there were serious problems in the management of the country’s forests.

Hadi Daryanto, the director general of forestry management at the ministry, said his office would follow up on the reports if the data can be proven. “If they [ICW] can be objective by showing the exact locations or any proof of the violations, then the ministry will take legal action,” Hadi said, while pointing out that the ICW report made use of old data.

Furthermore, he said the Forestry Ministry was working together with other institutions, including the police, the attorney general and the Environment Ministry to map forest-use violations in the country.

In 2009, a report by Human Rights Watch stated that corruption in the forestry industry cost the nation US$2 billion annually.

NGO: state loss from deforestation reaches Rp71 trillion
Antara 23 Feb 11;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has estimated that Indonesia suffered loss amounting up to around Rp71 trillion from deforestation.

According to data obtained from a research conducted by ICW, deforestation during the 2005-2009 period had reached 5.4 million hectares or equivalent to Rp71.28 trillion (almost 7 billion US dollars).

The NGO in its statement said the loss comprised the stumpage loss (Rp64.8 trillion), and forestry resource fee (PSDH) worth Rp6.48 trillion).

In addition to the loss, the state had also failed to receive the Reforestation Fund.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its 2009 report stated that corruption in Indonesia`s lucrative forestry industry cost the government US$2 billion annually, detracting from the resources available to meet its obligations on economic and social rights/

ICW also said that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had once released a research result concerning 17 systemic problems in implementing forestry planning and supervision.

Of the 17 problems, nine concerned regulations, three institutional, four implementation, and one natural resources.

It indicated that there were serious problems in the management of the country`s forests, ICW said in its statement.

The NGO urged the forestry minister to address the systematic problems and to conduct reform in the forestry sector.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli

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South-East Asia urged to exploit abundant clean energy

Martin Abbugao (AFP) Google News 23 Feb 11;

SINGAPORE — From surging rivers to volcanic steam, Southeast Asia is blessed with abundant sources of renewable energy but governments are not doing enough to exploit them, experts and activists say.

Private firms are willing to invest in renewable energy, which could help rein in climate change, but are bogged down by policies that make it hard to reduce dependence on traditional sources like oil and coal, they said.

The recent eruptions of Mount Merapi in Indonesia and Mount Bulusan in the Philippines underscored the amount of geothermal power waiting to be tapped for electricity in Southeast Asia.

But harnessing renewable energy -- which also includes solar, wind and hydroelectric power as well as biomass fuels -- is costlier than building a fossil-fuelled power plant.

Paul Curnow, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie who specialises in climate change policy, said most investments in "renewables" in Asia have so far gone to China and India, which have moved well ahead of Southeast Asia.

"When you look across Southeast Asia, there are gaps in terms of climate and renewables policy," Curnow told AFP.

"And when you talk to investors, outside of China and India it's slim pickings in Southeast Asia because the policy settings are not mature enough," he added.

"It's not a question of a lack of capital."

To develop renewable energy sources, it is crucial to have a critical mass of customers after a power plant has been put up, said Rafael Senga of the environmental group WWF International.

Governments have to mandate utilities to buy power generated from renewables for a certain period during which the cost of electricity is fixed at a level called "feed-in tariffs", he said.

"This will ensure that cash flow and return on investment is secured for the investors," said Senga, WWF's energy policy manager for the Asia-Pacific.

The Southeast Asian renewables market is varied, said Marc Lohoff, president of Asia Pacific and the Middle East at German solar systems manufacturer Conergy.

Thailand, whose sun-kissed beaches on islands like Phuket and Krabi are a major tourist draw, has the best prospects at the moment, especially for solar energy.

The Philippines and Malaysia have "enormous potential" because both have renewable energy legislation in place, Singapore-based Lohoff said.

He said the growth of renewable energy in Southeast Asia "strongly depends on the development of incentives for investors," especially feed-in tariffs with long durations.

Feed-in tariffs must be backed by purchase contracts lasting 10 years or more to ensure a healthy return on investment, he said.

"Most investors are just waiting for governments to announce and implement their feed-in tariff systems before they get involved," he said.

Other incentives for the industry should include tax breaks and duty-free importation of renewable energy equipment like wind turbines and solar panels, he said.

Senga said the Philippines and Indonesia -- both straddling the "Pacific Ring of Fire" volcanic zone -- have the biggest potential for geothermal energy, which harnesses steam coming from the Earth's belly.

The Philippines, the world's second biggest user of geothermal power after the United States, is poised to further develop renewables after Congress passed the Renewable Energy Act in 2008, but Manila has yet to release the feed-in tariff rates.

Senga said the picture is different in Indonesia.

Despite accounting for 40 percent of the world's proven geothermal reserves, vested interests and the size and complexity of its energy market have prevented Jakarta from exploiting this resource, according to Senga.

Indonesia is aiming for geothermal energy to provide 9,500 megawatts of electricity by 2025, up from a little more than 1,000 MW currently -- a small percentage of its potential steam reserves of 27,000 MW, Senga added.

"The problem is while they have set a target, they don't have the right policies and incentives to encourage investors to come in," he said.

Senga also noted that several investors in the geothermal sector "got burned" as the governments that followed the fall of long-time dictator Suharto in 1998 constantly changed policies.

Despite its lack of natural resources, tiny Singapore has been active in the renewable energy sector.

Norway's Renewable Energy Corp. opened one of the world's biggest solar technology manufacturing facilities in Singapore in November 2010 costing nearly $2.0 billion.

Singapore also hosts the global research and development centre of Vestas, a Danish manufacturer of wind turbines.

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Indigenous Ecuadoran woman humbles US oil giant

Valeria Pacheco Yahoo News 23 Feb 11;

RUMIPAMBA, Ecuador (AFP) – She has no legal training, and doesn't speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home.

The diminutive grandmother whose modest home sits near marshes clogged for decades in sticky oil has been at the heart of the David-and-Goliath case, and spoke out after Chevron was slapped last week with a $9.5-billion fine, among the heaviest ever handed down for environmental damage.

"Before I die they have to pay me for the dead animals, and for what they did to the river, and the water and the earth," the 61-year-old Aguinda told AFP at her home in Rumipamba, a town in remote Orellana province where pollution caused by 30 years of oil drilling and petroleum accidents had become a sad fact of life.

Texaco operated in the area between 1964 and 1990, and was bought in 2001 by Chevron, which inherited Texaco's legal nightmare.

"The demand (for compensation) is going on track," said the ethnic Quechua woman, pointing to a nearby spot marked by spillage from an oil well run by Texaco in the 1970s.

"Mary Aguinda et al" are the opening words of the suit launched in 1993 on behalf of 30,000 residents of Orellana and Sucumbios provinces, in which they charge Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic crude during its operations, fouling rivers, lakes and soil and causing cancer deaths in indigenous communities.

Aguinda said she believes her husband and two of his 10 children died from effects of the pollution, which rights group Amazon Watch says has affected an area the size of the US state of Rhode Island.

Several of her family members "have skin problems, like fungus," Aguinda said as she lifted her granddaughter's foot off the dirt floor to show an outbreak on her leg.

Chevron blames state-run Petroecuador, with which Texaco formed a consortium from 1972 until the US firm departed in 1992, of not doing its part in the clean-up agreed with the state.

"When Texaco came we never thought they would leave behind such damage, never. Then it began to drill a well and set up burn pits," she said, helped in translation by her son William Grefa.

"It changed our life: hunting, fishing, and other food, it's all finished."

She skeptically eyes the ongoing cleanup of a marsh just meters from her house, where workers dressed in oil-stained yellow overalls dredge thick black ooze into suction pipes.

Aguinda said the spill is leftover from a Texaco storage pool which overflowed into the marshes during 1987-1990 operations of the Auca South 1 well about 200 meters (656 feet) from Rumipamba.

Texaco performed operational repairs in the area in the 1990s, and oil extraction continues in the region, according to Grefa.

Six months ago, a dozen workers from Petroecuador, which has managed the concession since 1990, began cleaning up the marshes, reviving bitter memories within the community of the slow-motion disaster.

The company "made arrangements, but they covered everything with sticks and earth and nothing more," said Grefa, a member of the Assembly of People Affected by Texaco, which represents the 30,000 indigenous people in the suit.

The operation has done little to improve conditions, Aguinda said.

"With the cleanup that Texaco left, the air is just unbearable. I can't live above the oil," groaned Aguinda, who grew visibly irritated talking about the disaster.

"If someone comes here from Texaco" he'll get "pepper in his eyes," she winced.

A strong petroleum smell permeates Rumipamba, home to nine families, some of whom complain of headaches. Several areas of Sucumbios are also contaminated, according to the plaintiffs, who argue that merely sinking a shovel into the ground yields a thick layer of crude.

Chevron, which has called the judgment "illegitimate and unenforceable," has asked a judge in Ecuador for clarification of the ruling as it seeks to appeal.

The court last week announced a penalty against Chevron of $8.6 billion with an additional 10 percent for environment management costs.

The plaintiffs, too, plan to appeal, saying the ruling fails to adequately compensate for certain damages and illness. They were seeking more than $27 billion in their suit.

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"Climate change halves Peru glacier: official

Yahoo News 24 Feb 11;

LIMA (AFP) – A glacier on Peru's Huaytapallana Moutain shed half its surface ice in just 23 years, officials said Wednesday, reinforcing concerns of climate change's growing threat to fresh water resources.

"Recent scientific studies indicate that between June 1983 and August 2006, the glacier has lost 50 percent of its surface ice," Erasmo Meza, manager of natural resources and the environment in the central Andean region of Junin, told the official Andina news agency.

He said the five square kilometers (1.9 square miles) of ice shrinkage on Huaytapallana, whose steep, jagged glacier and breathtaking lakes are popular tourist draws, was caused by global warming and presents growing problems in agriculture, health, fresh water resources and disaster mitigation.

To prevent further deterioration on the 5,557-meter (18,230-foot) mountain, the regional government of Junin is developing a project to declare Huaytapallana a natural conservation area -- a move Meza said could help prevent damage from a mining company doing a feasibility study in the area.

Glacier studies are often carried out in the Andes, the so-called "Roof of the Americas" region comprising more than 100 peaks above 5,000 meters (16,500 feet).

But the Huaytapallana studies show a sharper rate of glacial melt than other major findings.

A 2009 World Bank-published report said that in the last 35 years, Peru's glaciers have shrunk by 22 percent, leading to a 12 percent loss in the amount of fresh water reaching the coast -- home to most of the country's citizens.

It also warned that Andean glaciers and the peaks' permanent snow caps could disappear in 20 years if no measures are taken to tackle climate change, echoing the findings of Peruvian agencies.

One of the most threatened is Pastoruri, a 5,200-meter (17,060-foot) peak in Huascaran National Park in northern Peru that is home to Huascaran Mountain, Peru's highest point at 6,768 meters (22,200 feet).

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U.N. "Climate Vulnerability" List Urged To Guide Aid

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 24 Feb 11;

A climate "vulnerability index" to judge which developing countries are most at risk from global warming and in need of aid is among the proposals submitted to a U.N. body ahead of new climate talks in April.

The proposal is among submissions to the United Nations that also show a deep split between rich and poor countries about how to oversee billions of dollars to help developing nations adapt to impacts such as droughts, heatwaves, floods or rising seas.

Developed nations aim to raise climate aid to $100 billion a year from 2020, split between curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and aid to poor countries to adapt with measures such as extra river flood barriers or drought-resistant crops.

But no one knows how the cash, which is far short of the hopes of poor nations, will be distributed. Almost 200 nations agreed at climate talks in Mexico in December to submit initial ideas to the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.

In a posting on Wednesday, South Korea urged creation of "a 'Vulnerability Index' based on each country's degree of exposure to the adverse impacts of climate change in order to set priorities in providing financial and technical support."

An index would "consider the degree of the impact of climate change, including the sea level rise, water resources, health and response capacity of each country, in each area in a comprehensive manner," it said.

No such U.N. rankings exist. Last year, British consultancy Maplecroft rated Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, Nepal and Mozambique as among most vulnerable to climate change impacts over the next 30 years in a ranking of 170 nations.

VOTING DISPUTE

The submissions also show that developing nations including Bolivia, Indonesia and Ghana want a planned "Adaptation Committee" to have a majority of poor nations.

Several developing nations said a two-thirds majority should decide cases where consensus is not possible, tipping influence in favor of nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

But developed nations generally favor a 50-50 split between donors and recipients to decide any dispute over who will control tens of billions of dollars a year.

"It should be kept lean, possibly within the range of 12-18 comprising an equal number of members from developing and developed country Parties," the European Union said.

Countries will try to start resolving the standoff at the next U.N. climate talks in Bangkok in early April.

As part of adaptation, some nations favor setting up a new insurance fund to help protect developing nations, perhaps modeled on a Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility.

Submissions of ideas following up on the Mexico talks were meant to be delivered to the United Nations by February 21 but many are arriving late. Top greenhouse gas emitters China and the United States, for instance, have not presented ideas.

Almost 200 nations in Mexico agreed a set of measures including a goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times. All sides agree that curbs in emissions so far are insufficient to reach that goal.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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