Threats to urban civets
from The Diet of the Common Palm Civet in Singapore
Have you seen a dolphin? SWiMMS on facebook and more!
from wild shores of singapore
Escape to Ubin on a weekday!
from wonderful creation
Dove shells and pigeonholes
from The annotated budak
Blue-tailed Bee-eater feasting on hymenopterans
from Bird Ecology Study Group
World Water Day: Join the Aveda Walk for Water
from Green Drinks Singapore
Christian Roewekamp Monsters and Critics 8 Mar 11;
Singapore - The landlady of the harbour restaurant in Pulau Ubin shakes her head. 'I'm sorry, we don't take credit cards.' She insists on banknotes which comes as a surprise to most visitors.
Over on the main island tourists can pay for anything with a slab of plastic - even a humble stick of chewing gum, although it is best not to spit out the remains on the pavement since doing so invokes a hefty fine.
In the Season Live Seafood hostelry on Pulau Ubin only cash will do and somehow that seems to fit in well with this tiny island in the Straits of Johor north-east of Singapore.
It offers a calm contrast to the tropical city of skyscrapers where men in suits rush to and fro with a mobile phone pressed to their ear. To journey to Pulau Ubin is not stressful either. It takes only ten minutes in a gently rocking 'bumboat' to reach the islet. The ferries set off from Changi Point close to Singapore Airport.
There is no scheduled timetable and the skipper waits until his contingent of 12 passengers are on board. The transfer costs 2.50 Singapore dollars (2 dollars) per person and it helps to be a little patient.
Pulau Ubin is Singapore in aspic and the local tourist board makes much play of the relaxed 1960s atmosphere here which once pervaded the whole country.
Pulau Ubin comes from Malay and means 'granite island.' The tourist board advertises the location as a taste of old Singapore and in some respects time here has stood still.
There are however differences and one of them strikes visitors the moment they disembark: In the old days the High Street would not have been teeming with mountain bikes. Hundreds of bikes for hire await visitors here and renting one for the day generally costs eight Singapore dollars.
The absence of modern civilisation becomes quickly apparent to anyone who sets off on the road leading out of the little community. It is like pedalling through a 1960s landscape and although this is not Vietnam, the little roadside huts are reminiscent of the ones seen on television in reports on the war which once raged in that country.
The typical shacks made of wooden stakes supporting a tin roof as protection against tropical downpours are a more recent addition. They are dotted all over the island and are ideal for cyclists seeking shelter from heavy showers.
Those who seek refuge here invariably get chatting with other cyclists or outdoor enthusiasts who come to the island to admire the lush greenery.
Numerous cyclists and backpackers come across each other on the roads while under a bridge a dozen canoeists with day-glo life jackets and orange boots gets ready for the off.
The bright boats stand out against a riot of green. Small rivers and lakes can be found all over Ubin and there are a few hills too. At 70 metres above sea level the highest elevation may not sound spectacular but the incline is very steep.
Most cyclists will want to dismount when tackling this obstacle, especially since the high humidity can leave those not used to the climate quickly short of breath.
From the north coast of Ubin, Malaysia seems to be close enough to touch yet the biggest attraction hereabouts is on the eastern side of the island. The Chek Jawa Wetlands is the name of a nature reserve rich in mangroves, rainforest and an ocean lagoon full of sea grasses.
With a little luck visitors may spot diminutive monkeys swinging from one branch to another while wild boars sniff the ground in search of something to eat. Visitors enter the area on a raised path mounted on stilts in order to protect the local flora and fauna.
From here a gaze into the gently lapping waves reveals a tranquil world where sea horses and starfish flourish. Another activity is to climb to the top of the 20-metre-high observation tower. From here there is not a skyscraper to be seen. The panoramic view is of a sea of green with sea-eagles circling overhead.
Much larger birds can be seen from this vantage point as well. Ubin lies below the main flight path to Singapore's busy airport and sometimes giant Airbus A380s and jumbo-jets sweep down in quick succession. The aerial commotion is a reminder that although Pulau Ubin is off the beaten track, it is still very much of this world.
Channel NewsAsia 8 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE: The rise of Shanghai's port was not achieved at Singapore's expense, Second Minister for Transport Ms Lim Hwee Hua said in parliament Tuesday.
Container volumes in Singapore rose 10 per cent last year, and the Singapore government intends to develop a vibrant maritime services cluster.
The government is also exploring options for a terminal in Tuas and encouraging more banks to offer shipping finance.
The government will also launch a new operations control centre in Changi to beef up navigational safety in waters around Singapore.
Additionally, it is exploring ways to promote green shipping.
As the shipping industry expands and demand for shipping professionals increases, the government says that awareness of maritime career opportunities needs to be raised.
- CNA/cc
Singapore's star to rise with Shanghai's
As major transhipment hub, Singapore well-placed to capture higher trade volume
Joyce Hooi Business Times 9 Mar 11;
SHANGHAI might have overtaken Singapore as the world's No 1 port last year, but it did not do so at Singapore's expense, Second Minister for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua told Parliament yesterday.
Mrs Lim was responding to Lim Wee Kiak, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, about whether there was cause for concern over the shift in port ranking in terms of the number of containers handled. Last year saw Singapore slipping into second place behind Shanghai for the first time since 2005.
'China's prosperity will continue to be a plus for us as a significant portion of our container volumes comes from or goes to destinations in China. As a major transhipment hub, Singapore is well-placed to capture the growing trade volumes of not just China, but the rest of Asia as well,' said Mrs Lim. The 10 per cent increase in container volumes going through Singapore's ports last year bears testimony to that, she said.
For future growth, the government is 'pressing ahead with the expansion of the Pasir Panjang terminals', said Mrs Lim.
'Beyond Pasir Panjang, we will explore if longer-term needs could be met at Tuas.'
While Nominated Member of Parliament Teo Siong Seng - who is also president of the Singapore Shipping Association - lauded the introduction of a goods and services tax scheme that will zero-rate supplies of goods to certain marine customers, he had his reservations about the Maritime Sector Incentive (MSI) for new ship operators.
These operators under the MSI will get a tax incentive that is valid only for five years and cannot be renewed. Currently, their existing and larger counterparts enjoy 10 years' worth of tax benefits under another scheme: the Approved International Shipping Enterprise (AIS) scheme.
'We understand that this is based on the assumption that, before the end of the fifth year, these companies will have grown in size so as to qualify for the main AIS tax incentive,' said Mr Teo.
'However, the past two years have shown that shipping is heavily dependent on the health of the global economy. If these companies are marginally unable to meet the AIS criteria, could some form of grace period be given?'
Mr Teo also highlighted the need for more incentives for the shipping community in order to encourage the hefty investments necessary for green technology in shipping to take off.
'A new ship can easily cost over US$100 million, and installing new green technologies and features can add up to 30 per cent of the cost,' said Mr Teo.
In response, Mrs Lim said that the government would be willing to look at the possibility of providing incentives to early adopters of green shipping technology.
Finnish firm seeks to convert new materials into biofuels
Yasmine Yahya Straits Times 9 Mar 11;
THE FINNISH operator of the world's largest renewable diesel plant, which opened yesterday in Tuas, has started investing heavily in research to find new materials to be turned into biofuels.
As the price of crude palm oil continues to surge, Neste Oil is looking for alternatives to the commodity which currently makes up 45 per cent of its feedstock - its single largest raw material input.
Its 550 million euro (S$973 million) renewable diesel plant was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
At the opening ceremony, the firm's chief executive Matti Lievonen told the media the company has begun committing about 80 per cent of its annual research and development budget into finding new sources of feedstock.
It is looking for ways to convert new raw materials, such as microbes, algae and wood waste, into biofuels, he said.
However, it will be quite a while before such research comes to fruition. 'It will take another six years at least before algae can be used as feedstock. Microbes could take a shorter time but there aren't huge volumes of microbes that you could get from the market,' Mr Lievonen said.
Mr Teo said in his speech that the Government is working to strengthen the capabilities of local research institutes in the area of biorenewable feedstock. These efforts could help Neste identify new sources of feedstock, he added.
The plant, with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year, is the biggest renewable diesel facility in the world.
Besides palm oil, the plant also uses by-products of palm oil production from Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as waste animal fat from Australia and New Zealand, to produce its renewable diesel, which Neste Oil claims is the cleanest diesel fuel on the market today.
It is being sold in Europe and North America, where governments have adopted biofuel mandates, under which sellers of transportation fuel have to ensure that part of the fuel they sell is biodiesel.
No country in Asia has adopted such a mandate yet, and while this remains the case, Mr Lievonen said Neste Oil is unlikely to start marketing its biodiesel in the region: 'Asia in the next five years is not going to be a big market for us.'
Biodiesel is more expensive than conventional diesel, and fuel sellers have little incentive to buy biodiesel if they are not required by law to do so.
Mr Lievonen added that he has a 'very positive' outlook for refining margins in 2012 and 2013, as the firm has started output from its Singapore plant and is in the midst of building another one in Rotterdam of the same capacity as the one here.
Neste's profits from processing crude oil into products such as fuel and diesel averaged US$8.50 a barrel last year, Mr Lievonen said, declining to give margin levels this year. There is potential for diesel margins to improve because of gains in industrial output, he added.
Singapore Neste plant starts biodiesel exports to EU
But Finnish refiner may not ramp up output fully yet, as outlook is less than rosy
Ronnie Lim Business Times 9 Mar 11;
(SINGAPORE) Made-in-Singapore renewable biodiesel from Neste Oil's S$1.2 billion Tuas plant - the world's largest - has started to enter European markets. But the Finnish refiner may not run the plant fully just yet, given the less-than-rosy market outlook.
'Whether we ramp up to full capacity or not depends on margins, feedstock prices and development of the market,' Matti Lievonen, its president and CEO told a press conference, following the opening of the world-scale 800,000 tonnes per annum plant yesterday.
Neste is mindful that as it ramps up production here, followed by that for another identical-sized twin facility in Rotterdam starting up mid-year, it is at the same time encountering strong headwinds in the form of rising prices for palm oil (its main raw material) and slow progress in biofuels legislation in its key European and US markets.
Mr Lievonen in fact warned last month that the group's renewable diesel division would make a loss this year, although Neste was just at 'start-up phase', in this business and still saw a future in producing the world's cleanest diesel.
'We expect the business to turn around in 2012,' he said yesterday of its second-generation, renewable NExBTL, which is said to be of higher quality and is more flexible to use, outperforming biodiesels and even the best fossil diesels.
Neste's two world-scale plants in Singapore and Rotterdam will add considerable biofuel capacity to its two smaller Finnish plants, which have a combined output of 380,000 tpa. 'The annual volume (from the Singapore plant alone) is enough for 10 million cars to run continuously with 10 per cent NExBTL blend,' he said.
Amidst rising crude oil prices - due to the current political crisis in Libya, and also threats to Gulf oil supplies - Neste says that its renewable NExBTL in fact becomes more viable. 'Renewable prices follow those of crude.'
'From an energy security viewpoint, when oil prices rise, renewables like biodiesel also help to meet supplies,' he said.
Neste uses fully-sustainable biofeedstocks: with palm oil currently accounting for 45 per cent of this; stearin, a by-product of the palm oil production process for 20-25 per cent, and animal fats for another 20-25 per cent.
But to counter the threat of ever-rising palm oil prices, the Finnish refiner has also started to look into using other alternatives like wood-based biomass and also algae and microbes.
Asked when these would likely become economically viable, Mr Lievonen said that it already has a pilot plant in Finland to convert wood waste to wax, 'but the investment costs are really huge'. Still, coming EU subsidies for this, expected in the second half of next year, could potentially make the project viable.
'Currently, 80 per cent of Neste's R&D is also focused on feedstocks like algae and microbes, but it would take six years at least for algae use to become viable,' he reckoned.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean, who officiated at the Neste plant opening, said that the investment will play an important role in Singapore's move to increase production of cleaner and higher-quality fuels.
Germany's Lufthansa is for instance starting to use some of Neste's jet biofuel for its aircraft. And DPM Teo said that 'adopting sustainable bio-renewable feedstock as an alternative source of raw material for transportation fuels is a promising economic opportunity. It could also play an important role in contributing towards greater environmental sustainability.'
Neste Oil's S'pore plant to market renewable diesel overseas
Julie Quek Channel NewsAsia 8 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE : Neste Oil has said its giant biodiesel plant in Singapore, which mainly uses palm oil as a raw material, will be able to sell its renewable diesel to Germany.
It is also looking at North America as a potential market.
This comes as increasing feedstock prices, including palm-oil prices, prompt concerns about rising costs faced by biodiesel plants worldwide.
Neste Oil said its Singapore plant has received a key certification; the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) requires minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions and preservation of biodiversity during the production of biofuels and bioenergy.
Although the certification is specific to Germany, Neste Oil hopes this will help it enter new markets, especially in North America.
Completed on schedule, the high-technology plant started operations in November, and cost 550 million euros to build. It currently has about 120 employees.
Speaking at the official opening of the plant on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said global energy demand is projected to rise 25 per cent over the next 20 years.
He said: "Neste's project is a milestone, because at 800 kilotonne per annum, this will be the world's largest renewable diesel plant. We are confident that with this and other investments, Singapore will widen our lead in the fuel production sector."
The Economic Development Board is also working with other bio-renewables plants in Jurong Island.
Mr Teo added that Singapore is actively pursuing projects that leverage bio-renewable raw materials for the production of fuels, and that Singapore's strategic location in Southeast Asia, a region of abundant bio-renewable feedstock, will provide "exciting opportunities".
Malaysia and Indonesia, two of the largest producers of palm oil in the region, are, however, facing some headwinds.
That is because European Union's Renewable Energy Directive said that tropical forests should not be cleared away to produce raw materials for biofuels.
Meanwhile, adverse weather conditions are affecting oil-palm oil harvests in Malaysia and Indonesia, with a production shortfall leading to a rise in palm oil prices.
Matti Lehmus, executive vice president of Oil Products & Renewables, said: "Let's say in general it is true that price fluctuations have some impact, but we have seen lately that both crude oil prices and vegetable oil prices have increased.
"Still, the demand is created by the legislations, so there is no impact on the demand in the short-term. But of course, in the long term, we hope that the prices will normalise."
The benchmark crude palm-oil futures contracts in Malaysia hit almost a three-year high at more than 3,900 ringgit per tonne last month.
Analysts are concerned that biofuel plants worldwide will face a significant rise in their raw material cost.
- CNA/ms
Giant renewable diesel plant opens in Singapore
Yahoo News 8 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Finnish firm Neste Oil opened the world's biggest renewable diesel plant in Singapore on Tuesday, taking advantage of massive palm oil production in nearby Malaysia and Indonesia.
Clean diesel produced from the 550 million-euro ($769 million) plant using feedstocks such as palm oil and animal fat will be marketed in Europe, Canada and the United States, which already have legislation in place supporting biofuels.
"Asia in the next five years is not going to be a big market for us," Neste Oil Corp president and chief executive Matti Lievonen said at the plant's opening.
With an annual capacity of 800,000 metric tonnes, the Singapore facility is the biggest renewable diesel plant in the world, Neste Oil said.
The plant produces Neste Oil's patented NExBTL renewable diesel, which the company says is the cleanest diesel fuel in the world, although it is more expensive than conventional diesel.
NExBTL can be used in all diesel engines and significantly reduces exhaust emissions compared with regular diesel, the company says.
About 45 percent of the facility's feedstock is currently palm oil from neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, while the rest comes from other by-products of the palm oil production process and waste animal fat from Australia and New Zealand.
The palm oil industry in both Malaysia and Indonesia has come under pressure from environmental campaigners who believe it causes deforestation and threatens species such as orangutans and rhinos.
Neste Oil said that its Singapore plant had obtained an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certificate from Germany, guaranteeing that it has met tough environment standards.
Lievonen said the firm had earmarked 80 percent of its research and development for finding ways to produce clean diesel from other feedstocks like algae and microbes.
Algae will not compete for fresh water or land because production plants can be built on wasteland and the algae can be grown in seawater, said the company, adding that research was still in its early stages.
Tran Thi Minh Ha Yahoo News 8 Mar 11;
HANOI (AFP) – Hundreds of onlookers gathered at a Hanoi lake on Tuesday as rescuers began efforts to capture and treat an ailing giant turtle revered as a symbol of Vietnam's centuries-old independence struggle.
Crowds jostled for position on the shores of the polluted Hoan Kiem Lake to watch divers and experts in small boats slowly try to move the turtle, using a large net, to a nearby islet for treatment.
But the feisty old animal apparently broke free of the net after a few hours. An AFP reporter saw the turtle's head periodically breaking the surface as it swam across the lake, watched by the expectant spectators.
Local media reported that the turtle, which weighs about 200 kilograms (440 pounds), has been injured by fish hooks and small red-eared turtles which have appeared in the lake in recent years.
"It is very precious for Vietnamese," said Dang Giao Huan, 66, a retired soldier who saw wounds on the animal when it surfaced a few days ago.
"The turtle is the holy spirit of the nation... I think it's necessary to give it some treatment."
Official media say the turtle is one of only four of its kind in the world.
But the animal's status in Vietnam stems from its history and its home in Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword), rather than its rarity.
In a story that is taught to all Vietnamese school children, the 15th century rebel leader Le Loi used a magical sword to drive out Chinese invaders and founded the dynasty named after him.
Le Loi later became emperor and one day went boating on the lake. A turtle appeared, took his sacred sword and dived to the bottom, keeping the weapon safe for the next time Vietnam may have to defend its freedom, the story says.
Official media said the turtle could be up to 300 years old and is possibly the last of its kind in the lake, although they have not specified what species it is.
Sightings of the turtle are deemed auspicious, especially when they coincide with major national events.
The turtle has generally surfaced only rarely, but has been seen more often in recent weeks as concern mounted over its health.
"I heard on the radio that it will take between two months and two years to treat it," said Nguyen Thi Hung, 44, a street vendor.
She referred to the animal using the reverential term favoured by Vietnamese, "great grandfather turtle".
Residents perched on park benches and some even climbed trees to watch the rescue, which sparked a traffic jam. Officers were later forced to close the road.
The turtle's plight caught the attention of Hanoi's communist city government, which created a "Turtle Treatment Council" of experts led by a senior veterinarian in the agriculture department, Vietnam News Agency said.
Among those supervising the rescue from a dinghy was Ha Dinh Duc, known as the "turtle professor" for his expertise.
After the turtle's escape it was not immediately clear what tactic the rescuers planned to adopt next.
Following days and nights of preparatory work, they had hoped to gently lead the animal to the islet, which holds a small temple-like structure called "Turtle Tower" that is commonly featured in tourist pictures.
A rectangular enclosure has been set up in the water at one end of the islet to act as a type of hospital for the animal.
Philippe Le Failler, a historian from L'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient in Hanoi, said residents of the capital are "ready to do a lot for the sake of the turtle".
Vietnam News Agency reported that authorities plan to attack pollution in the lake, which looks like pea soup, is covered by an oily film and is littered with garbage.
Ed De Leon Philippine Information Agency 8 Mar 11;
LEGAZPI CITY,March 8 (PIA) — Donsol town in Sorsogon province is now being considered not only a feeding ground but also a breeding ground of whale sharks. Locally known as butanding, af a 15-inch-long live whale shark was found in the coastal waters of the town, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office here.
DOT Bicol regional director Maria “Nene” Ravanilla said the nature conservation group World Wide Fund-Philippines is conducting the study after the recent discovery of the baby whale shark accidentally caught in the area off the coast of Donsol.
She said that the smallest ever butanding was said to be a day-old whale shark hence it was born in the area.
Butanding are also thriving in this once sleepy town because of the abundance of krill and other planktons usually the diet of the gentle giants of the seas.
Ravanilla said that the whale shark interaction in Donsol, one of the most visited tourist spots in Bicol or perhaps in the whole country, continues to draw tourist to the province of Sorsogon last year which reached 101,799 or 21 percent higher than in 2009 with only 84,354.
She said that out of the total tourist arrivals last year, 73,925 were local tourists while 27,874 were foreigners or a ratio of one foreign tourist to three locals.
She said Donsol is now vying to be a first-class municipality after its gross receipts from tourism reached more than P66 million. (PIA V/Albay/mal)
MT Saju The Times of India 9 Mar 11;
CHENNAI: Selective fishing using kaccha valai (a special net to catch minute sea species) is on the rise in the stretch between Palaverkadu and Alampara fort near Chennai since the annual seasonal movement of rare sea species close to the shore last month. At least 25 boats venture into sea every day from various villages to catch rare sea snails, shells and crustaceans, and each returns with at least 50 kg of sea species every day. "The catch is loaded into private vans immediately and then transported to the nearby processing units. We get the money for our work a week later," says Sahayavelu, a fisherman in Vyalikuppam. About 90 % of these species are exported to countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia.
As demand for rare sea species increases, fishermen in the area are busy making use of the season. However, experts say if selective fishing continues in the Coromandel coast, it will soon destroy the marine eco system. The monofilament net the fishermen use, according to them, has the capacity to catch the minutest species from the water, including the juveniles. "The monofilament net is strong, so no sea species can escape once trapped. "The danger of catching juveniles is that they don't get a chance to grow and reproduce, which lead to destruction of the marine eco system," says P Dandapani, retried professor of zoological survey of India.
A week ago, two fishermen organisations in Chennai jointly issued a circular to villagers living in Palaverkadu and Alampara Fort asking them not to indulge in selective fishing using kaccha valai. Although the circular reached almost all the villages, there was no sign of compliance by the fishermen. While a section believes that catching shells and crustaceans are a livelihood option for fishermen, many villagers don't support the non-traditional method of selective fishing using kaccha valai. "Most of these species fall under the category of prohibited marine animals of the Wildlife (protection) Act. So it's not a matter of catching one or two shells. Here, fishing is done extensively targeting the rare sea species, exploiting the season. Targeting any species will lead to its extinction," says an activist based in Chennai.
In some villages, selective fishing even destroys the coral belt where female fish breed on. "The fishermen even destroy the whole coral belt to catch the rare sea cucumbers and horses. This is total destruction. You are killing the rare sea animals and also destroying the coral belt where other female fish lay eggs," says Dandapani.
Lack of control and sheer business interest of the marine products export development authority (MPEDA) is said to be the main reason behind this disastrous trend. "The MPEDA wants money, so there is no proper checking on what is exported. The government should intervene and take some appropriate action before they fully destroy the marine life," he says.
Reuters 8 Mar 11;
CHICAGO, March 8 (Reuters) - To keep new invasive species out of U.S. waters such as the Great Lakes, the United States must enact stricter rules on treating ship ballast water under a settlement reached on Tuesday with environmental groups.
Under the agreement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will settle on new rules by November that will go into effect in December 2013 to give shippers the chance to comply, conservation groups said.
"This settlement should prompt EPA to treat 'living pollution' as aggressively as it would an oil spill or toxic release," said Thom Cmar of the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups involved in the settlement.
For now, ocean-going vessels entering U.S. waters such as the Great Lakes must first flush ballast tanks in a procedure commonly known as "swish and spit."
Environmental groups and some U.S. states complained swish and spit was inadequate, pointing to the dozens of invasive species that have entered the Great Lakes. More effective, and costly, techniques are available to cleanse ballast tanks of potential invaders.
"This agreement moves the EPA forward to more effective methods that will protect our Great Lakes and the jobs that depend upon them," Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement.
Michigan is leading a separate effort involving invasive Asian carp, voracious and prolific fish that authorities fear will swim into the Great Lakes via man-made waterways linked to the Mississippi River basin.
(Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Alister Doyle PlanetArk 9 Mar 11;
Many farmers in developing nations can double food production within a decade by shifting to ecological agriculture from use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a U.N. report showed on Tuesday.
Insect-trapping plants in Kenya and Bangladesh's use of ducks to eat weeds in rice paddies are among examples of steps taken to increase food for a world population that the United Nations says will be 7 billion this year and 9 billion by 2050.
"Agriculture is at a crossroads," according to the study by Olivier de Schutter, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food, in a drive to depress record food prices and avoid the costly oil-dependent model of industrial farming.
"Agroecology" could also make farms more resilient to the projected impact of climate change including floods, droughts and a rise in sea levels that the report said was already making fresh water near some coasts too salty for use in irrigation.
So far, eco-farming projects in 57 nations had shown average crop yield gains of 80 percent by tapping natural methods for enhancing soil and protecting against pests, it said.
Recent projects in 20 African countries had resulted in a doubling of crop yields within three to 10 years. Those lessons could be widely mimicked elsewhere, it said.
"Sound ecological farming can significantly boost production and in the long term be more effective than conventional farming," De Schutter told Reuters of steps such as more use of natural compost or high-canopy trees to shade coffee groves.
AFRICA
Benefits would be greatest in "regions where too few efforts have been put in to agriculture, particularly sub-Saharan Africa," he said. "There are also a number of very promising experiences in parts of Latin America and parts of Asia."
"The cost of food production has been very closely following the cost of oil," he said. Upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia have been partly linked to discontent at soaring food prices. Oil prices were around $115 a barrel on Wednesday.
"If food prices are not kept under control and populations are unable to feed themselves...we will have increasingly states being disrupted and failed states developing," De Schutter said.
Among examples, thousands of Kenyan farmers were planting insect-repelling desmodium or tick clover, used as animal fodder, within corn fields to keep damaging insects away and sowed small plots of napier grass nearby that excretes a sticky gum to trap pests.
Better research, training and use of local knowledge were also needed. "Farmer field schools" by rice growers in Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh had led to cuts in insecticide use of between 35 and 92 percent, the study said.
De Schutter also called for a push to diversify global farm output from reliance on rice, wheat and maize in diets.
Developed nations, however, would be unable to make a quick shift to agroecology because of what he called an "addiction" to an industrial, oil-based model of farming. Still, a global long-term effort to shift to agroecology was needed.
Cuba had shown that such a change was possible after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 cut off supplies of cheap pesticides and fertilizers. Yields had risen after a downturn in the 1990s as farmers adopted more eco-friendly methods.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
Small-scale farms could abate world hunger: UN
Winnie Andrews Yahoo News 8 Mar 11;
PARIS (AFP) – Small-scale "eco-farming" could double food production in many of the world's poorest regions and also help fight climate change, according to a United Nations report unveiled Tuesday.
The spectre of world hunger looms ever larger as the global population continues to balloon, especially in the least developed nations.
Today more than a billion of the planet's nearly seven billion people live at the edge of subsistence on less than a dollar per day.
Food prices have flared in recent years due to climate-related natural disasters, with the cost of several staple foods reaching unprecedented levels last month, according to the UN's food price index.
By mid-century, when the global population is expected to surpass nine billion, food shortages will become even more critical as will the need for additional output.
But the key to boosting output in poor countries is a shift from mono-crops doused with chemical fertilisers and pesticides to more sustainable techniques that can both increase yields and repair the environment, the report said.
"We are not in a situation in which agriculture can only be about increasing production," said lead author Olivier De Schutter, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
"It must also be about limiting the impact on ecosystems ... and preserving agro-biodiversity. It must be about increasing the income of the farmers."
Conventional farming degrades soils, fuels climate change, is vulnerable to weather shocks, and relies on expensive inputs, he pointed out.
"It is simply not the best choice anymore," he told AFP by phone.
UN investigators searched scientific literature published over the last five years to identify agricultural techniques that work best in poor countries.
They found that small-scale and largely organic farms -- especially those with a diverse mix of crops and plants -- performed far better.
In development projects examined in 20 African countries, crop yields doubled over three to 10 years using these means.
Similar methods boosted output, on average, by 80 percent across 57 developing countries.
Beside growing more food, the sustainable approach slashed the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, saving farmers money, reducing pollution and allowing depleted soil to recover.
"It becomes essentially more affordable for poor farmers to farm because they will have to invest much less in order to buy the inputs they need," said De Schutter.
In Malawi, farmers who planted certain trees near their maize crops saw yields increase two-to-three fold.
The trees helped absorb nitrogen in the atmosphere, and fertilised the soil with nitrogen-rich foliage. At the same time, the tree roots oxygenated the earth and helped maintain ground moisture for nearby crops.
In combination with a modest dose of chemical fertiliser, this method increased yields even more, suggesting that the two techniques can sometimes complement each other.
Another programme in Kenya used some plants interspersed within crops to repel insects while other plants -- more distant -- were used to attract the pests a safe distance away.
Crop variety can protect subsistence farmers from disaster by pests or the weather, the report argued.
"Diversity on the farm creates an 'agro-portfolio effect' -- you don't lose all the crops at once," De Schutter said.
But in rich nations, he added, turning away from highly-mechanised industrial farming would likely reduce yields.
The study is one of many recent warnings that current agricultural practises are ruining life-giving ecosystems.
"The new reality is that the world is only one poor harvest away from chaos," said noted environmental expert Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, and author of "World on the Edge: How to Prevent and Economic Collapse."
Others approaches to stemming a global food crisis include the use of genetically modified food, further industrialisation, and reducing production of bio-fuel crops to make way for food crops.
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