A decade of biodiversity conservation and discoveries in Singapore from Raffles Museum News
Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [28 Mar - 3 Apr 2011]
from Green Business Times
Exposure of flying fairies at Pasir Ris Park
from The Green Volunteers
Brood parasitism
from Life's Indulgences
scorpion fish @ Pandan Mangroves
from sgbeachbum
Lian Cheong/Sara Grosse Channel NewsAsia 4 Apr 11;
SINGAPORE: Floods in southern Thailand have made it more expensive for businesses to import fish and vegetables into Singapore.
Vegetable importers said that there has been a delay in their supply due to heavy rains which affect transportation.
This is why, for every 15kg of vegetables brought in, the price has increased by S$2.
Transport woes have also affected the supply of popular fish and fish-based products.
Some importers said that the prices of such fish have doubled.
Lee Boon Cheow, President of the Singapore Fish Merchant's General Association, said: "From S$3-4 a kilo of our wholesale up to S$6-7. So we expect when the weather is better or the flood is over, the price will go back as normal."
-CNA/ac
Vegetable and fruit supply to Singapore affected
Prices up in wet markets but supermarkets ensure supply at old prices
Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 7 Apr 11;
THE floods in the south of Thailand have affected the supply of vegetables and fruit to Singapore, causing prices to rise about 20 per cent in wet markets and delaying delivery.
Importers told The Straits Times that the prices of young corn and Chinese parsley from Thailand have risen and orders of fruit have not arrived on schedule.
'It's mango season and we were supposed to have a batch coming in from Thailand on Tuesday but it did not arrive,' said a spokesman for fruit importer and distributor Heng Teck Huat Fruits.
At wet markets, Chinese parsley for example is going for up to $8 per kg. It used to cost between $6 and $7.
Vegetable importers at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre said that they import vegetables such as young corn, yam, chives and Chinese parsley mostly from Thailand.
Leafy greens such as cai xin and kai lan usually come from Malaysia.
Heavy rain hit southern Thailand last month, which led to severe flooding and mudslides in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Krabi provinces.
So far, more than 50 people have died and close to two million people have been affected.
Importers said that whenever there is a flood in a country that supplies Singapore, prices go up. To ensure a steady supply, they look to other countries like Malaysia and China to make up for the shortfall.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said Singapore imports vegetables from 39 countries, with the largest suppliers being Malaysia, China and India. The three account for 86 per cent of vegetables here.
Last year, vegetable imports from Thailand added up to 3 per cent or 13,300 tonnes.
Importers such as Mr Rat Ang said that customers prefer produce such as Chinese parsley and mangoes from Thailand because they taste better than those from China or Malaysia.
Over at the supermarkets, supply is being kept stable as they source from different countries. They have not passed on any price increase to customers.
Cold Storage, which sells mangoes and durians from Thailand, also stocks the same fruits from India and Malaysia respectively.
'Supply of these fruits has been affected by the flood but the impact is minimal for Cold Storage as these account for less than 5 per cent of our range,' said a spokesman for the 50-outlet chain. He added that the stores still have existing stocks of these Thai fruits.
NTUC FairPrice also assured consumers that they can still get their favourite greens at the same price.
Mrs Mui-Kok Kah Wei, the supermarket chain's director of purchasing, merchandising and international trading, said it is anticipating a smaller supply of mini- cucumbers from Thailand and even though it imports corn from the country, consumers can still buy those from the northern part of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
'We assure our customers that in the event that our suppliers choose to increase their prices, we will check to ensure that the increase is reasonable,' said Mrs Mui-Kok.
Meanwhile, consumers are not too worried.
Mr Norman Chew, 62, who shops for his family weekly at supermarkets and wet markets, said: 'The prices of vegetables like cai xin and cabbage, which we eat more often, are not affected, so it's okay.'
Garden strips flourish, even 'unofficial' ones
Grace Chua Straits Times 5 Apr 11;
IN THIS fast-paced, highly urbanised island, the call to cordon off a patch of land and coax things to grow can still be heard.
Sometimes, these gardens flourish without having been given official clearance to do so: They sit on state land, or on land belonging to Malaysia's Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway, the lease on which will revert to the Singapore Government from July 1.
On a sleepy weekday afternoon near Zhenghua Park in Bukit Panjang, for example, a handful of middle-aged and older men potter around in their vegetable patch, which sits on state land beneath an expressway. Traffic thunders overhead.
Sometimes, they just sit in the garden - among sweet potato leaves, banana trees, lady's fingers, herbs and flowers - for a good old yarn.
One of the gardeners, retiree Tan Boon Kwong, 71, said he is not interested in the activities organised for senior citizens in his estate. He prefers this patch of green, where he has been tending to plants for the last two to three years 'just for fun'.
He may have to give it up, as his garden patch is in an area earmarked for the development of sports and recreation facilities.
A similar story can be heard at a garden patch near the KTM railway tracks, across from the Ulu Pandan Canal. This one has been around for two decades.
Another retiree who gave his name only as Jeloni, 72, was weeding his tennis court-sized garden when The Straits Times visited.
He said he is the sort who cannot just sit around doing nothing, adding: 'I want morning exercise. Gardening is even better - I can have bananas or fruit. On Sundays, all my friends come.'
He is hankering for the old days when he used to live in a village off Sixth Avenue, but he and his fellow farmers are ever aware that the fate of their respective plots are up in the air.
The KTM land will soon go back to the Government, and the Ulu Pandan Canal near his garden is to be upgraded too, under national water agency PUB's Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme to develop the waterways.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which oversees the use of state land, said members of the public who wish to cultivate state land have to seek its approval - and the answer may not necessarily be 'no, you cannot'.
Said an SLA spokesman via an e-mail message: 'The SLA has worked with a number of Citizens Consultative Committees (CCCs) on the use of state land that is not required for immediate development for community gardening/cultivation activities. The CCCs are issued temporary occupation licences for these activities, which promote community bonding.'
This is what has been allowed in a narrow garden strip under the tracks between the Paya Lebar and Eunos MRT stations, where residents from the housing blocks on Eunos Road 5 tend to a garden with the Housing Board's blessings.
The Housing Board owns the land beneath MRT tracks.
Today, more than 40 residents tend to plots along the kilometre-long, 4m-wide strip, where they plant lady's fingers, brinjals, bananas and other plants, and even check the site for mosquito breeding.
Their permit is renewed every year, with their residents' committee (RC) paying the rent of between $400 and $500.
Academics unequivocally agree that community gardening - whether 'official' or not - creates a sense of community and identity.
In 2005, the National Parks Board started its Community in Bloom gardening programme with town councils and RCs. Four hundred such gardens are blooming today.
National University of Singapore (NUS) geographer Harvey Neo pointed out, however, that with the Community in Bloom programme being coordinated through the town councils and RCs, people may get the impression that it is a politicised programme and stay away from it.
NUS sociologist Ho Kong Chong agreed, saying that an official hand in things is sometimes neither necessary nor desirable.
The bigger danger, he added, is 'if people just keep within the four walls of their home and not worry about common space outside'.
Dylan Loh Channel NewsAsia 4 Apr 11;
SINGAPORE: Residents in Punggol Place have some unwelcome visitors, with creepy-crawlies worming their way into several common places.
A caller to the MediaCorp hotline said the millipedes started appearing last December and that he has raised the issue with the area's Town Council which has promised to take action.
Apparently, these creatures are "sharing the public space" because soil in the area has not been treated with certain chemicals.
-CNA/ac
Malaysian company looks south to plug temporary shortfall
Ronnie Lim Business Times 5 Apr 11;
(SINGAPORE) Malaysia's largest electricity group, Tenaga Nasional, has approached Singapore to buy some electricity from power stations here. This is to help Tenaga tide over some capacity shortages 'for a few months' due to problems with its natural gas feedstock supplies, BT has learnt.
While the details are sketchy at this point, the Malaysian company is scheduled to meet Singapore generation companies this week to flesh out its proposal.
Operationally, some 200 megawatts of electricity can be transmitted through two 230 kV submarine cables linking Malaysia's national power grid with Singapore's transmission network at Senoko. And there have been previous instances of cross-country electricity supplies during emergency outages.
BT understands that the Singapore gencos were appraised of the Malaysian request at a meeting with the Energy Market Authority last week. Tenaga is said to require some 2O0 MW of electricity supplies 'as soon as possible'.
'Tenaga is short apparently because of gas feedstock issues for its plants, with this arising from maintenance of offshore gas production platforms there. They apparently need electricity supplies from Singapore for a few months,' sources said.
An earlier BT report in January said that Malaysia's gas supplies are heavily subsidised and running down in the peninsula because of robust demand.
Tenaga alone has installed capacity of 11,941 MW - more than the combined 10,000 MW of Singapore gencos including the big three, French-Japanese owned Senoko Energy (3,300 MW), YTL of Malaysia's PowerSeraya (3,100 MW) and China Huaneng-owned Tuas Power (2,670 MW).
But the Malaysian utilities giant - which faces rising prices for its fuel oil and gas, as well as coal (the last because of the recent Queensland floods) - has been pressing the Malaysian government for a fuel cost pass-through mechanism, but the latter reportedly appears reluctant to tackle electricity tariff increases.
It is not clear at this time whether the Malaysian request for the 200 MW of Singapore power is for peak or off-peak periods, or for a constant period, the sources add. It also boils down to price issues.
'While the 200MW appears little, in relation to total Singapore generation capacity of some 10,000 MW, it, in fact, represents the capacity of one steam plant here,' one industry source said.
While some 80 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated from gas-fired units, with steam plants accounting for the remainder, 'this should be seen in the context of steam plant use going up to as high as 30 per cent during peak demand periods', the source added.
Tenaga's request for Singapore electricity will not only require an agreement between the Malaysian company and the supplying Singapore genco, but also that of other stakeholders such as SP PowerGrid, which manages Singapore's electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, and regulator EMA.
While electricity demand in Singapore has remained 'relatively flat' in the first quarter, this is expected to pick up as 'we move into the hotter months', one industry official said.
Blanketed by haze, Pinang Kampai Airport closed temporarily
Antara 4 Apr 11;
Dumai, Riau (ANTARA News) - Haze from forest burning is blanketing Dumai, Riau Province, where visibility dropped to 500 meters and forced the temporary closure of Pinang Kampai Airport.
The weather on Pinang Kampai Airport became so bad and wind speed was less than five knots, the Operational Chief of Pinang Kampai Airport, Sayed Yoesman Syahputra said here Monday.
"This condition has worsened the weathe. Besides the haze, cloud formation is accumulating and disrupted normal flights," Sayed said.
Pelita had to delay its flight involving employees of Chevron Pasific Indonesia Company, Sayed said.
"The airplane, chartered by Chevron, is now at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport, Pekanbaru," Sayed said, adding that the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 8.30 am of local time had been delayed due to low visibility.
According to Sayed, normal condition would be restored if the wind speed reached more than 10 knots and break the clouds which had been accumulating in above the airport.
"However, we could not predict when the weather in Dumai would back to normal," Sayed said.
Usually, around 10.00 -11.00 a.m. the haze would diminish and visibility would reach 2,000 meters, Sayed said.
"If the clouds are reduced and visibility is above 2,000 meters, flights can be restored," Sayed said.
(Uu.KR-AES/H-NG/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Yahoo News 4 Apr 11;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Five Malaysian soldiers on anti-poaching duty face criminal charges after Facebook pictures appeared of them posing with a dead, endangered Great Pied Hornbill bird.
Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the group was part of a force protecting the Royal Belum-Temengor rainforest in the northern state of Perak, when they came across the bird which had been shot by a hunter.
"The bird fell to the ground and upon seeing the dying bird, they slaughtered it," he told state media late Sunday.
He said the five, including an officer, had been suspended and would be charged under the country's wildlife laws.
He did not elaborate but an officer with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks told AFP Monday: "An investigation is still ongoing."
Ahmad Zahid said that although the soldiers were not responsible for shooting the bird, they should have tried to save it rather than killing and posing with it.
The pictures were uploaded onto one of the soldiers' Facebook profile pages and were distributing widely, causing public outrage and the defence ministry to investigate, according to Perak state government news portal Perak News.
It said the soldiers involved were assigned to anti-poaching and anti-smuggling duties in the protected forest, which lies in the border area between Thailand and Malaysia and is home to more than 14 endangered species.
"Isn't it suspicious that a hunter killed the bird when the area is supposed to be protected?" Perak wildlife activist Nabilla Ravina told AFP.
"Here we are thinking that Malaysian wildlife which are on the brink of extinction are very safe and happy in Belum under military protection, but incidents like this make one wonder who the real poachers are," she said.
The Great Pied Hornbill is found in the rainforests of India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The bird's impressive size and plumage have made it an important part of tribal culture and rituals.
Hornbill numbers have declined perilously owing to habitat loss and poaching. Their trade or sale is illegal under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Relevant offences under Malaysia's Wildlife Conservation Act carry a maximum fine of 50,000 ringgit ($16,500) and/or imprisonment of up to two years.
Antara 4 Apr 11;
Pontianak, April 4 (ANTARA) - Pontianak`s Quarantine Office handed back five protected red-crested cockatoos (Lorrius domicellus) to the local Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) on Monday for safekeeping after the undocumented birds were about to be smuggled to East Java from West Kalimantan, according to the BKSDA office.
"The birds have been returned to the BKSDA because they are a protected species," said Azmal A.Z., head of Pontianak BKSDA.
Azmal added that one of the five birds, however, had been found dead because the cage they were put together was too small to be able to accommodate them healthily before they were handed over to the BKSDA office.
Azmal explained that the red-crested cockatoo is one of protected members of fauna based on the government regulation number 7 year 1999 on the preservation of flora and fauna species. Based on this regulation, this species of birds cannot be for sale or buy nor for being made a pet animal.
In addition, the confiscation of the birds based on local government regulation on the temporary banning of fowl transfers due to measure on containing avian flu. The violation of the regulations carries a penalty of three years imprisonment and a fine of 150 million rupiahs.
In related action on the matter, Niken Wury, Forest Ecosystem Control Coordination, a sub-division under the West Kalimantan BKSDA, said that she will move forward with legal proceeding against the violator of the regulation, Mrs. Sartinah of Bondowoso, East Java, who possessed the birds.
Mrs. Sartinah may face a jail sentence of up to maximum fife years for breaching the regulation based on the Law No. 5 Year 1990 on the conservation of nature resource and the ecosystem.
The birds will be turned in to the Sinka Zoo in Singkawang city as this zoo has been designated as a conservation institution.
"After undergoing a rehabilitation program at Sinka Zoo, the birds will be released back to their habitat," said Wury.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli
Thanhnien News 4 Apr 11;
A group of scientists have discovered that Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands is the habitat of an endangered turtle species, Saigon Tiep Thi reported Monday.
Dr. Bryan Stuart from the US-based North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and scientists from Ho Chi Minh City University of Sciences, found eight southern Vietnamese box turtles (Cuora picturata) in the forests of Langbian plateau during a study conducted from July 2010 to January this year.
Scientists have never spotted the turtle in the wild before.
A representative of the group said the discovery was significant to preserve the endangered animal. The species was first recorded in 1998 during an investigation into wildlife trades in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Cuora picturata is a “critically endangered” animal.
In other news, Quang Ngai Museum in the central province of the same name Saturday said archeologists have found a group of graves dating back more than 2,000 years.
The graves, belonging to one of the most prominent ancient Vietnamese cultures – Sa Huynh (1,000 BC-200 AD), were unearthed about five kilometers from an excavation site in Tay Tra District’s Tang valley.
They were located about one meter underground and between two-five meters from the Tang River’s banks.
According to the museum, scientists started excavating the Tang valley two months ago and so far have discovered many relics like pottery, jewelry, tools, and nearly 20 graves. The graves included jar and pot ones – a burial tradition in the Southeast Asia.
The relics are between 2,000-4,000 years old.
Turtle Known Only From Asian Markets Finally Found in Wild
Brandon Keim Wired Science 7 Apr 11;
In the early 1990s, biologists in southeast Asia discovered a species of turtle unknown to science. But there was a catch: They didn’t know where it came from. Cuora picturata, as the new turtle was formally named, was found only in markets where it was sold for food.
Nearly two decades later, a clever piece of biological sleuthing has found the native home of C. picturata. The discovery offers hope not just to C. picturata, but to other turtle species known only from markets.
“It’s frustrating. You see this animal being exploited, and likely facing extinction,” said Bryan Stuart, a biologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, whose search for C. picturata’s home was described April 1 in Biological Sciences. “But there’s little that conservation can do, because we’re missing the basic information necessary for conservation: Where does this species occur in the wild?”
Stuart and other researchers weren’t starting from scratch, however. From the location of markets where C. picturata was sold, they figured the turtles were captured in southern Vietnam or across the border in Cambodia. The turtle also resembled two other known box turtle species, Cuora galbinifrons and Cuora bourretti. Genetic comparisons proved their relation.
Those other turtles live in wet forests with closed canopies. The place best fitting that description in southern Vietnam was the Langbian plateau, at the southern tip of the Truong Son mountains — and C. bourreti lived in the central part of the mountains, with C. galbinifrons to the north.
The puzzle pieces were coming together, and there was one more clue. Where C. galbinifrons lived, so did Hylobates leucogenys, a species of gibbon, and Pygathrix nemaeus, a species of douc langur. Likewise, where C. bourretti lived, so did a Hylobates species closely related to the northern gibbons, and a Pygathrix species closely related to the northern doucs. Such so-called “co-occurences” result from historic events — a new river, a climate change — that split ancestral populations into separate groups. The Langbian plateau also had its own unique gibbon and douc langur; if the pattern held, C. picturata should be its box turtle.
But though Stuart could guess where C. picturata might be, he still needed help finding it. Enter Tri Ly, a biologist at the University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City, who had just finished his undergraduate studies and approached Stuart in search of a project.
Ly traveled to the Langbian plateau, where he interviewed villagers and met with hunters. In July of 2010, the first expedition set off. Hunting dogs were used to find turtles in the dense jungle foliage, but their barks were often false alarms: the group found king cobras, mouse deer, squirrels, monkeys — but no turtles.
Finally, on July 5, 2010, hiding from the dogs under a pile of dry leaves at the base of a rattan bush on the slope of a hill, was a single female C. picturata, seen for the first time in the wild. “I was totally amazed and elated,” said Tri Ly.
Three separate expeditions recovered a total of eight turtles, firmly establishing the Langbian plateau as their home. Unfortunately, the turtles’ habitat is being lost to agriculture and coffee plantations, but the findings are an essential first step toward conservation.
Beyond knowing what places need protection, conservationists now know where turtles bred in captivity can be released. Without this knowledge, C. picturata could end up in the conservation equivalent of life support, bred in captivity in perpetuity.
Stuart and Ly hope their efforts will inspire other biologists in southeast Asia, which is currently experiencing what’s known as the “Asian turtle crisis“: Millions of turtles are sent each year to China, threatening many species with extinction. At least three other box turtle species — C. zhoui, C. mccordi and C. yunnanensis — are known only from markets.
“It is hoped that focused field efforts such as ours will soon identify the mysterious origins of these other rare species that are known to scientists only by turtles bearing price tags,” wrote Stuart and Ly.
The Star 5 Apr 11;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is set to become a player in an exciting people led initiative to unite three of the most bio-diverse eco-systems on the planet - The Coral Triangle, Amazon Basin and the Congo Basin.
The Borneo-Pacific Rim Hub based in Tanjung Aru will become a meeting point for the exchange of ideas on conservation, promotion of indigenous crafts and food, and a myriad of activities including artwork and music.
A sneak peak of the venture was unveiled on Friday evening at the ‘Power to the People Party’, held at the famed Tanjung Aru beach to celebrate Sabah’s bold move to opt for cleaner sources of energy by saying no to a coal-fired power plant.
The hub will also focus on promoting clean energy production, rain-water collection and green architecture, apart from becoming a platform for performances and healthy living through exercise and the importance of organic food.
Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) executive director Cynthia Ong said the hub would link three bio-diverse ecosystems at the equator.
“This will become an epicentre for collaboration by engaging with the public, government, industry and politics.
“The hub will connect the different groups at local, regional and global levels. It is an inclusive and transparent initiative,” Ong said.
LEAP and its numerous partners initiated the formation of the hub, having seen how individuals and citizens’ movements were keen to engage with one another to find and offer solutions on issues, especially onenergy production and conservation.
Ong also said Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future), of which LEAP is a founding member, is taking concrete steps to link different partners keen on pursuing renewable and greener energyoptions.
“We are even looking at the possibility of working with communities who want efficient and sustainable energy.
“The potential for this ishuge,” she said.
Other founding members of Green SURF are Partners of CommunityOrganisations (Pacos), WWF-Malaysia, Sabah Environ-ment Protection Association (Sepa) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Sabah.
The People Party event offered the public a better understanding of on-going work by citizen movements and non-governmental organisations to make Sabah a better place to live in, and the importance ofsustainable living.
The event which kicked off at 5.30pm, featured a renewable energydisplay, traditional food and a chance for the public to donate to Mercy Malaysia Japan Earthquake /Tsunami Relief Fund.
Over 20 organisations and groups took part in the programme, which drew hundreds from all segments of society.
For details on the Borneo-Pacific Rim Hub, call 012-828 1705 (Ong).
Chuah Bee Kim New Straits Times 4 Apr 11;
THE beautiful view of the Leka Beach, near Parit Jawa, Muar, has been marred by erosion caused by strong waves.
Previously, visitors had nothing but praise for the fresh air and breathtaking view of the Straits of Malacca from there.
Now they are greeted by the sorry sight of coastal erosion.
Besides visitors expressing their disappointment, the local fishermen who use the jetty to unload their haul said that they, too, were affected by the erosion.
Raja Ismail Raja Tabar, 55, a resident said the beach is now muddy, stretching almost five kilometres to the sea.
"Leka Beach, which stretches from Parit Jamil to Parit Pecah and Seri Menanti, attracted many picnickers and beach-goers before this.
"The visitors would spend their whole day there and leave only after sunset.
"But that is now a thing of the past as the beach is in a deplorable state," he said.
Raja Ismail, who is also the Muar Joran Emas Fishing Association chairman, said only Parit Penyengat Laut and part of the Seri Menanti Beach is still covered with sand.
Fisherman Roslan Ibrahim, 45, said the Leka Beach, however, still attracts various species of migratory birds which flock there in search of food. He said the presence of the birds lured avid birdwatchers to the beach.
Because of this, the local council had spent RM300,000 to build a bird-watching tower at the beach.
Roslan said a recreation area was also built recently for visitors.
Bernama 4 Apr 11;
KUALA TERENGGANU, April 4 (Bernama) -- The use of prawn trawlers has been identified as one of the main causes of turtle extinction not only in Malaysia but in other countries around the world.
This has forced shrimp importing countries, such as the United States, to issue regulations requiring prawn exporting countries to ensure fishermen install the turtle excluder (TED) device, which releases turtles trapped in trawlers, Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood said.
"Without the device, prawns that are caught cannot be exported into the United States.
"The regulation referred to is the U.S Shrimp Import Embargo which was enforced in 1996," he told reporters after launching the Turtle and Turtle Excluder Device Workshop here Monday.
His speech text was delivered by Fisheries Department Resource Management and Licensing Division director Gulamsarwar Jan Mohammad.
Ahamad Sabki said the TEDs, costing RM400 a unit, had already been in use in Sabah.
He hoped that the fishing community in the peninsula can use it to help prevent turtle extinction.
He said other threats to turtles include unplanned development activities at turtle landing areas, pollution, erosion, beach embankment, turtle egg trading and destructive fishing methods.
Turtle conservation and management efforts in Malaysia has been carried out since 1960, especially in states which have turtle landings such as Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Melaka, Perak and Penang, he said.
He added that work carried out by the Fisheries Department from 2000 to 2010 resulted in a total of three million turtle eggs hatched and 1.9 million baby turtles released into its natural habitat.
-- BERNAMA
Duke University EurekAlert 4 Apr 11;
DURHAM, N.C. – The number of endangered leatherback sea turtle nests at 68 beaches in Florida has increased by 10.2 percent a year since 1979, according to a new Duke University-led study published in the current issue of the journal Ecological Applications.
Some beaches posted annual increases of more than 16 percent, others as low as 3.1 percent.
The population boom of turtle nests in the Sunshine State mirrors trends observed for other Atlantic leatherback sea turtle populations and is "very encouraging news," says Larry B. Crowder, director of the Duke Center for Marine Conservation. "It suggests that conservation and recovery efforts mandated under the Endangered Species Act are paying off region-wide."
The growth has likely been fueled in part by improved monitoring and protection of nesting beaches over the last 30 years, Crowder says, but other less benign factors may also be at work.
"Nesting is increasing even where beach protection has not been enhanced," he says. "Changing ocean conditions linked to climate variability may be altering the marine food web and creating an environment that favors turtles by reducing the number of predators and increasing the abundance of prey, particularly jellyfish."
With plenty of jellyfish to munch on, breeding-age female leatherbacks may be able to build up fat reserves more quickly, allowing them to nest more frequently, says Kelly Stewart, lead author of the study. Stewart received her Ph.D. from Duke in 2007 and conducted the research on Florida's leatherback sea turtles as her dissertation research. Crowder was her faculty adviser.
Reduced populations of large predators, including the collapse of shark populations in the northwest Atlantic over the past decade, may be playing an even larger role in the turtle boom by decreasing at-sea mortality rates for juvenile and young adult turtles, she says.
Despite being a small population – scientists estimate fewer than 1,000 leatherbacks nest on Florida beaches – the increases in nest counts there may help achieve objectives of the federal Endangered Species Act-mandated recovery plan, Stewart says.
News for leatherback populations elsewhere is not so encouraging, however. Populations have plummeted at eastern Pacific nesting beaches in Mexico and Costa Rica, which once hosted thousands of female leatherbacks each year. Extirpation, or local extinction of the species, may be imminent on those beaches.
"The good news here is that while most sea turtles continue to decline, some sea turtles are increasing. We need to understand why they are increasing as much as why they are declining so we can transfer this understanding to other at-risk species, like Pacific leatherbacks," says Crowder.
Stewart, Crowder and their colleagues modeled the 30-year nest counts on Florida beaches using a type of multilevel statistical analysis called Poisson regression, which is frequently used to model counts affected by multiple, often random, factors.
Nest counts are the most reliable way of assessing trends in sea turtle populations because they spend most of their lives in the open ocean, where changes in abundance are difficult to detect.
Stewart is now based at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in LaJolla, Calif., as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow. Prior to that, she served as a postdoctoral research associate at the Duke Center for Marine Conservation.
###
Other co-authors of the study are Michelle Sims of the University of Bath, U.K., and Anne Meylan, Blair Witherington and Beth Brost, all of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Ecological Applications is published by the Ecological Society of America.
Carl Zimmer New York Times 4 Apr 11;
Over the past 540 million years, life on Earth has passed through five great mass extinctions. In each of those catastrophes, an estimated 75 percent or more of all species disappeared in a few million years or less.
For decades, scientists have warned that humans may be ushering in a sixth mass extinction, and recently a group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, tested the hypothesis.
They applied new statistical methods to a new generation of fossil databases. As they reported last month in the journal Nature, the current rate of extinctions is far above normal. If endangered species continue to disappear, we will indeed experience a sixth extinction, over just the next few centuries or millennia.
The Berkeley scientists warn that their new study may actually grossly underestimate how many species could disappear. So far, humans have pushed species toward extinctions through means like hunting, overfishing and deforestation. Global warming, on the other hand, is only starting to make itself felt in the natural world. Many scientists expect that as the planet’s temperature rises, global warming could add even more devastation. “The current rate and magnitude of climate change are faster and more severe than many species have experienced in their evolutionary history,” said Anthony Barnosky, the lead author of the Nature study.
But equally as strong as the conclusion that global warming can push extinctions is the difficulty in linking the fate of any single species to climate. Policy makers would like to get a better idea of exactly what to expect — how many species will risk extinction, and which ones are most likely to wink out of existence. But scientists who study the impact of global warming on biodiversity are pushing back against the pressure for detailed forecasts. While it’s clear that global warming’s impact could potentially be huge, scientists are warning that it’s still impossible to provide fine-grained predictions.
“We need to stand firm about the real complexity of biological systems and not let policy makers push us into simplistic answers,” said Camille Parmesan, a biologist at the University of Texas. She and others studying climate’s effects on biodiversity are calling for conservation measures that don’t rely on impossible precision.
Dr. Parmesan herself has gathered some of the most compelling evidence that global warming is already leaving its mark on nature. In 2003, she and Gary Yohe, an economist at Wesleyan University, analyzed records of the geographical ranges of more than 1,700 species of plants and animals. They found that their ranges were moving, on average, 3.8 miles per decade toward the poles. Animals and plants were also moving up mountain slopes.
These were the sorts of changes you’d expect from global warming. The warmer edges of a range might become too hot for a species to survive, while the cooler edge becomes more suitable. What’s more, only worldwide climate change could explain the entire pattern. “Because it’s happening consistently on a global scale, we can link it to greenhouse gases changes,” Dr. Parmesan said.
Dr. Parmesan and her colleagues have continued to expand their database since then. But other researchers have been moving in the opposite direction, seeking to attribute changes in individual species to climate change. Last year, for example, Michael Kearney of the University of Melbourne and his colleagues published a study on the common brown butterfly of Australia. From 1941 to 2005, adult butterflies had been emerging from their pupae 1.5 days earlier per decade around Melbourne.
To see if the brown butterfly is actually responding to climate change, Dr. Kearney and his colleagues first analyzed historical temperature records in Melbourne. Temperatures have gradually risen over the past 60 years. Computer models indicate that natural climate cycles can explain only a small part of the change.
The scientists then observed how temperature affects how brown butterflies develop. The warmer the temperature, the faster the butterflies emerged from their pupae. Dr. Kearney and his colleagues used those results to build a mathematical model to predict how long the butterflies would develop at any given temperature. They determined that Melbourne’s local warming should have led to the butterflies emerging 1.5 days earlier per decade — exactly what the butterflies are, in fact, doing.
In the journal Nature Climate Change, Dr. Parmesan and her colleagues argue that trying to attribute specific biological changes to global warming is the wrong way to go. While the global fingerprint of climate change may be clear, the picture can get blurry in individual species. “When you go to the local level, the outcome of climate change on one particular species is not dependent just on what climate change is doing,” said Dr. Parmesan.
In Europe, for example, the map butterfly has expanded its range at both its northern and its southern edge. Global warming probably has something to do with its northern expansion. But the butterflies are also benefiting from the mowing of roadsides, which allows more nettle plants to grow. Because map butterflies feed on nettles, they’re able to survive across a broader range of Europe.
A number of experts applaud the commentary from Dr. Parmesan and her colleagues. “I think they really hit the nail on the head,” said Richard Pearson, the director of biodiversity informatics research at the American Museum of Natural History. “Biologists shouldn’t get drawn heavily into the attribution debate.”
But some researchers counter that such studies can be worthwhile cases where global warming’s impact on an individual species is clear. “The fact that the task may simply be too challenging in most cases does not mean that it will be impossible or a waste of effort in some particular cases,” said Dáithà Stone, a climate scientist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Tracking the effects of climate change on species today can help show how nature may respond to it in decades to come. And many scientists think that the future looks grim. As temperatures rise, many species may not be able to shift their ranges to stay in a comfortable environment. Instead, their ranges may shrink, pushing them toward extinction.
Over the past decade, Dr. Pearson and other researchers have developed models to predict these future range shifts. They typically calculate the “climate envelope” in which species live today, and then use global warming projections to find where their climate envelopes will be in the future.
These models first came to prominence in 2004, when an international team of scientists published a study of more than a thousand species. They estimated that 15 percent to 37 percent of all species could become “committed to extinction” by 2050, thanks to climate change.
“It was a big splash for the field,” recalled Dr. Pearson. But in his new book, “Driven to Extinction,” Dr. Pearson recounts how he cringed to see the research boiled down to simple, stark headlines that said a million species were doomed.
“Biodiversity is under severe threat from climate change, but we need to be careful that we don’t give a false impression of what our confidence is,” said Dr. Pearson. “We have to give a nuanced sense of what we do know and what we can say with confidence.”
Seven years after the million-species headlines, Dr. Pearson says that extinction models still have a long way to go. “We’ve made some incremental improvements, but I don’t think they’re hugely better,” he said.
“It’s been a very powerful tool, but my concern is that it’s very weak on biology,” said Georgina Mace of Imperial College London. In the latest issue of Science, she and her colleagues use the fossil record to demonstrate how seemingly similar species can respond in different ways to climate change.
When the planet warmed at the end of the ice age 11,000 years ago, for example, the change was too much for Irish elk, which became extinct. Moose, on the other hand, have survived. Some moose populations stayed put; other populations shifted to more suitable places.
Dr. Mace and her colleagues call for new models that can assess the sensitivity of species to climate, as well as their ability to adapt. In some cases, that adaptation may be evolution. Species may become better able to tolerate warmer temperatures or a change in rainfall. In other cases, animals may adapt by changing their behavior.
Polar bears, for example, are having a harder time hunting seals because of melting sea ice. “They don’t say, we can’t eat seals anymore, so we’re just going to starve,” Dr. Pearson said. Instead, some bears are getting more food on land, raiding goose nests for their eggs.
While this switch may slow the decline of polar bears, it’s not great news for the geese. Dr. Pearson notes that all the influences that species have on one another will also determine how climate change affects them. “Predicting how communities will respond is really tricky,” he said.
Dr. Mace argues that a fuller accounting of how species cope with climate could let scientists revise their estimate for how many species could become extinct. “I think it could be a lot worse for some groups of species, and not as bad for others,” she said.
Humans add even more complexity to the forecast. Cities and farms now block the path for many species that might otherwise be able to spread to more suitable habitats, for example. Dr. Parmesan thinks much more research should go into the interactions of global warming and other human impacts. Scientists in Australia have found that coral reefs are more resilient against global warming, for example, if they’re protected from overfishing. The warming oceans stimulate the growth of deadly algae on the reefs. But grazing fish can keep the algae in check.
Such research will become the basis for decisions about which species to help, and how. Dr. Mace believes that some especially vulnerable species may need to be moved to new habitats in order to survive. Dr. Parmesan thinks that reducing other pressures, like overfishing, will make species more resilient to climate change. “We know that climate change wouldn’t be such a big problem if systems weren’t already stressed,” Dr. Parmesan said. “We really need to focus on reducing these other stressors.”
Dr. Pearson, on the other hand, argues for setting aside more land in parks and reserves. More space will help keep species ranges large even if those ranges shift.
“We need to give nature the opportunity to respond,” he said.
PLTA to destroy Tarailu-bonehau-kalumpang sub-districts
Antara 5 Apr 11;
Mamuju, W Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The plan to build a hydro-power plant (PLTA) by Chinese investors will threaten the elimination of three sub-districts in Mamuju regency, namely the Tarailu, Bonehau and Kalumpang sub-districts.
This statement was made by a member of the West Sulawesi legislative assembly DPRD) Kalvin P Kalambo here on Monday.
He said if the governor of West Sulawesi province Anwar Adnan Saleh goes on with building the mega PLTA Karama, the three sub-districts will be part of history.
The project, he said, is a very large project which will relocate at least 9,000 people living in the Bonehau river banks.
He also said that the project will destroy the cultural sites which cannot be exchanged with money or even 24 carat gold. (*)
Editor: B Kunto Wibisono
Bernama 4 Apr 11;
SINGAPORE, April 4 (Bernama) -- Alstom says the new 1,000 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant in Manjung, Perak, will be the first in Southeast Asia.
"The unit will be the single largest one in South East Asia and will produce enough electricity to power nearly two million households in Malaysia," the global leader in power generation said in a statement Monday.
Supercritical power plant operates at a higher temperature than regular coal-fired power plants.
The high temperature increases the pressure at which they operate, which in turns improves their efficiency, increasing the amount of power output and decreasing emissions per unit of fuel burned.
Alstom said the project was worth about EUR1 billion in total and the power plant contract to provide key power generation equipment was valued over EUR650 million.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, TNB Janamanjung Sdn Bhd, has awarded the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract to Alstom and its consortium partner, China Machinery Import and Export Corporation.
Under the terms of the contract, Alstom will engineer, procure, construct and commission a 1000 MW steam turbine, a generator, a supercritical boiler and auxiliaries.
Alstom will also supply and install its latest ALSPA� Series 6 Distributed Control System, and environmental control systems to cut emissions.
"The plant is expected to come online in 2015, providing an extra 1000 MW of power to the Malaysian grid," it said.
-- BERNAMA
Fate of petrochemical complex to be sealed before 2012 poll
Focus Taiwan 4 Apr 11;
Taipei, April 4 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that the government will decide whether to push for a proposed petrochemical complex development project in central Taiwan before the 2012 presidential election.
"The government will also make the best arrangement balancing the sustainable development of the environment and the future of the industry," the president said at the Dacheng Wetland in Fangyuan Township, Changhua County.
Ma was visiting the wetland, after being shouted down at a rally protesting the project the day before.
The president first listened to a briefing by the Fangyuan anti-pollution self-salvation association, and then changed into rubber boots to tour the wetland. He also dug mud from the wetland and visited oyster aquaculture areas.
Ma said that after entering the wetland, he could appreciate its rich ecological resources and the deep attachment of oyster growers to the land.
"I was deeply moved when I saw oyster farmers kneel on the wetland to pray to the heavens," the president said.
"Wetland conservation is the consensus of the world. We will not be absent from the world in this regard," he said.
The president said the visit was mainly to learn about the wetland and the commercial situation in the neighboring areas, noting that local development revolves around oyster aquaculture.
He expressed the hope to "strike a balance between industrial development and environmental conservation."
But he also said that "we are a democratic country, " and policy making will have to be rational and peaceful, and that everyone will have to abide by the rule of the game.
Environmentalists who accompanied Ma said the wetland at the mouth of the Jhuoshuei River is the only big muddy river mouth wetland left, with a rich intertidal ecology and aquaculture industry.
But the wetland's future, they said, is now shrouded in shadows because of the development project.
They also advocated passing related laws that would protect the wetland, such as the national land planning, shoreline and wetland acts.
Some supporters of the project also appeared. Dacheng Township head Wu Ming-yu said many opponents were not local people and could not represent their real voices.
Representatives from the township said unemployment in Dacheng is high and negative net migration is serious, and they complained that the president only heard the voice of opponents and not supporters.
The project was initiated by Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co., an affiliate of state-run oil refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan, to expand oil refining capacity and production of chemicals such as ethylene.
The government argues the capacity is needed to keep Taiwan competitive in the petrochemical sector in the face of stiff competition from Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Environmentalists believe the complex will create losses that outweigh its economic benefits, including damaging the local agriculture sector and the Dacheng Wetlands, where the complex would be located, while putting the health of local residents at risk. (By Wu Jhe-hao, Yeh Tzu-kang and Lilian Wu) enditem/ls
Malcolm Ritter Associated Press Yahoo News 4 Apr 11;
NEW YORK – Releases of radioactive water into the ocean near Japan's stricken nuclear complex shouldn't pose a widespread danger to sea animals or people who might eat them, experts say.
That's basically because of dilution.
"It's a very large ocean," noted William Burnett of Florida State University.
Very close to the nuclear plant — less than half a mile or so — sea creatures might be in danger of problems like genetic mutations if the dumping goes on a long time, he said. But there shouldn't be any serious hazard farther away "unless this escalates into something much, much larger than it has so far," he said.
Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., said readings for radioactive iodine and cesium show a thousand-fold drop from the shore to monitors about 19 miles offshore.
He said radioactive doses in seafood may turn out to be detectable but probably won't be a significant health hazard. They'd probably be less of a concern than what people could get from land-based sources like drinking water or eating produce, he said.
No fishing is allowed in the vicinity of the complex.
Radioactive water has been seeping into the Pacific Ocean from the nuclear plant, and on Monday plant operators began releasing more than 3 million gallons of tainted water to make room at a storage site for water that's even more radioactive.
Igor Linkov, an adjunct professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, also said he did not expect any major impact on ocean wildlife or people who eat seafood.
He agreed that animals near the plant may be affected. It's not clear in what way, because the level of radiation isn't well known, he said. In any case, fish would probably escape such an effect because unlike immobile species such as oysters, they move around and so would not get a continuous exposure, he said.
Countries could co-invest in commercial hubs situated some place safe, fuelled by nuclear energy
Kua Harn Wei Today Online 5 Apr 11;
The earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan is unlikely to alter the ambitions of many countries around the world to include nuclear power in their future power generation recipe. Much has also been discussed about the pros and cons of nuclear energy, including ways to ensure safer operations and crisis management.
The world certainly has not run out of energy options. Provided there is sufficient political will, there is considerable room for countries to implement non-nuclear energy policies, such as increasing energy efficiency and a carbon tax, that remain committed to the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions. However, what if nuclear has to be considered as one of the solutions by some countries?
There is always some degree of danger in going nuclear. Nonetheless, I would like to suggest an idea that may make it a little safer. It would require us to change the way we think and, more importantly, overcome three common mental blocks associated with nuclear energy use.
They are the assumptions that to use nuclear energy, one must exclusively own a nuclear energy plant; that a country must physically have a power plant in its backyard; and that using nuclear energy means the electricity flowing into our homes and factories must come directly from a nuclear energy source.
There are several nuclear power stations situated in earthquake high-risk areas. If a country can locate its nuclear power plant on to an offshore mega structure - one several times the size of an offshore oil rig - in an area with minimal risk of earthquakes, the overall danger would be reduced.
A project of such a nature would necessarily be more expensive than conventional onshore installations. A few countries might then come to an agreement to co-invest, and hence "co-own", such a nuclear plant.
It is likely such an offshore installation would be situated very far from the owner countries, perhaps even encroach on the sea territories of non-owner countries. International guidelines would have to be drawn up to determine, among other things, the minimum distances of these offshore installations from populated areas. The use of the location could be treated as a rental from the non-owner countries.
In some cases, it might be possible to transmit generated electricity to the owner countries via submarine power cables. If the distances are vast, however, using these cables becomes unviable and overwhelmingly expensive.
Every one of us consumes different types of electrical energy. For example, there is the energy that we use directly to power our laptop computers; we also indirectly consume energy that has gone into the manufacturing and procurement of our laptops (also known as embodied energy).
Owner countries can choose to enjoy the nuclear-generated electricity from these offshore installations not as the first, but the second type of electricity. One possibility is to establish an offshore nuclear energy commercial park in the vicinity of the power station, either on mega structures or on reclaimed land.
Qualified companies and factories could be sited in this park, their operations powered exclusively by the nuclear plant. Owner countries could benefit either by procuring the manufactured goods directly or by exporting the goods. In these ways, owner countries can enjoy the pay-offs of nuclear energy and contribute indirectly to climate change mitigation.
Of course, if the distances allow, nuclear-generated electricity can also be cabled and sold to non-owner countries in the vicinity of the plant.
For the idea of an offshore nuclear-powered commercial park to work, it must be more than just an industrial estate - it has to also be a conducive and attractive setting for work, play and living. Companies could be given attractive financial incentive packages to set up shop in the park, including a certain volume of guaranteed orders from owner countries.
However, these companies must also meet very stringent standards in product quality. Currently, the world has a comprehensive set of international operation standards on ensuring safety in nuclear plant design and operation (such as those under the International Standards Organization). We should also consider creating a set of certification requirements on an organisation's emergency readiness during a nuclear accident, including mastering knowledge on survival, evacuation and first aid. Before companies can operate in these commercial parks, they must attain such certification.
Having said that, there is always a danger of "out of sight, out of mind" attitudes among owner countries leading to lapses in attention paid to safety and security, including the careless disposal of radioactive wastes. To ensure that safety is not compromised, all parties involved in the location, building and operation of the power plant must agree to abide by international laws under, say, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But ultimately, the move to pursue other forms of alternative energy - including embodying nuclear - should not preclude one from embracing energy efficiency. And before we speak out against any form of energy, we should perhaps ask ourselves: "What have I done today to be more energy efficient?"
Dr Kua Harn Wei is an Associate Fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and Assistant Professor in the Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore.
Martin Abbugao Yahoo News 4 Apr 11;
SINGAPORE (AFP) – A global slowdown in the growth of nuclear power in reaction to the Japan crisis will seriously hamper the fight against climate change, a top International Energy Agency (IEA) official said Monday.
IEA chief economist Fatih Birol told AFP that governments must study the implications carefully before making any decision to retire nuclear power plants earlier than expected or shelve plans for new facilities.
"Nuclear is a very crucial part of the global energy mix," he said in a telephone interview from the IEA headquarters in Paris as Japan battled to place the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors under control.
"A lower nuclear capacity growth in the future may have substantial effect on the global energy mix, energy prices and climate change."
In its annual report released last year, the IEA projected that 360 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity would be added worldwide by 2035, on top of the existing 390 gigawatts already in use.
But as governments turn more cautious after a killer quake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11 and crippled the Fukushima plant, the IEA modelled the possible consequences of halving its projection to 180 gigawatts.
Birol said the model showed that the use of coal, natural gas and "renewables" to take up the slack from nuclear power would result in additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 500 million tonnes.
This is equivalent to five years of growth in global CO2 emissions, hindering efforts to keep global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius.
"Instead of reaching the (emissions) level by 2035, we will reach it in 2030 -- five years earlier -- which is definitely bad news for climate change and will make the challenge even much more difficult to achieve," Birol said.
He said higher demand for coal and gas is expected to push prices for these commodities higher, resulting in costlier electricity tariffs for consumers.
A third major implication of curbs on nuclear power that it will upset the global energy mix, Birol added.
Nuclear fuel does not emit any carbon dioxide, making it a serious option for "clean energy" proponents until the accident at the Fukushima plant prompted a fresh debate on the safety of nuclear energy.
Germany has announced the temporary shutdown of its seven oldest nuclear reactors while it conducts a safety probe in light of Japan's atomic emergency.
Switzerland suspended plans to replace its ageing atomic plants, while in France -- where nuclear makes up 75 percent of electricity production -- environmental groups have called for a referendum on the future use of nuclear power.
Calls have also been made in Asia to review nuclear plans based on lessons learned from Fukishima.
"The reason we made this assessment is for everybody to understand the consequences of a lower-than-expected role of nuclear power in the global energy mix and in the (fight against) climate change," Birol said.
"I think we should avoid making abrupt decisions."
Marwaan Macan-Markar IPS News 4 Apr 11;
BANGKOK, Apr 4, 2011 (IPS) - With just seven months to go before a pivotal U.N. climate change summit in South Africa, green groups are raising the alarm here about the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only international treaty that mandates most industrialised nations to cut their environment polluting greenhouse gases (GHG) to save the planet from overheating.
"Talks on the future of the Kyoto Protocol are becoming more urgent," Meena Raman, a senior policy advisor at Friends of the Earth International, a global green lobby, told IPS. "Parties have been mandated under the protocol to negotiate a second and subsequent round."
The worry stems from the lack of commitment by the developed world to throw weight behind a new round of time-bound and deeper cuts of GHGs during U.N. climate change talks underway here. The meeting here marks the first of three U.N. climate change conferences, in the lead up to the Durban COP17 summit in late November.
Since last December’s U.N. climate change summit in Cancun, Mexico, negotiators from the developed world have been "dodging their responsibilities" as the clock runs out on the protocol’s first deadline, Raman explains. "This is evident at these talks in Bangkok, and there is a danger of the Kyoto Protocol unravelling."
"This is what is outrageous about the negotiations since Cancun," she added. "There is an attempt to replace the legally binding international treaty with a voluntary pledge and review system by the developed world."
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005 after nearly a decade of negotiations, is a cornerstone of the U.N.’s international climate change architecture - the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The protocol and UNFCCC require 37 industrialised nations and the European Community to reduce their GHG emissions by five percent, measured against 1990 levels, by 2012.
Climate change experts are viewing the Durban summit as the pivotal moment to determine the second and more significant phase of the protocol. Such pressure arises out of the failure of the two U.N. climate summits - in Cancun in 2010 and in Copenhagen in 2009 - to achieve substantial, binding commitments from the developed world with regard to their emissions cuts after 2012.
This has prompted the chief administrator of the UNFCCC to talk about a looming "gap" in the world’s international environment regime, which could emerge if new internationally-binding commitments are not in place before the clock runs out on the existing, time-bound commitments made by the developed countries under the first phase of the protocol.
"Governments have to resolve the fundamental issues over the Kyoto Protocol," Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, told reporters Monday. "The first period expires in 2012 and a gap looks increasingly difficult to avoid."
"Governments need to figure out how to address this issue and how to take it forward in a collective and inclusive way," she added. "Resolving the issue will create a firmer foundation for a greater collective ambition to cut emissions."
These are words that industrialised countries such as Japan, Canada and Russia are unlikely to warm to, despite being parties to the international treaty. The governments from all three countries opposed a new round of binding GHG cuts even before climate change negotiators from nearly 190 countries arrived in the Thai capital for the current round of talks, Apr. 3-8.
The U.S., still the world’s largest emitter of GHG per capita, continues to remain a stumbling block as well. Having refused to ratify the protocol, Washington’s climate change diplomat Jonathan Pershing said here Sunday, that the U.S. government was against a structure of top-down rules that "someone else established".
According to green groups, the world needs to slash GHG emissions 40 percent by 2020, and 95 percent by 2050 to ensure the planet’s temperature does not rise two degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial mark - which experts say could cause environmental havoc. Environmentalists want developed nations to take the lead in the new rounds of cuts after 2012.
The Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called for global emissions cuts of 25 to 40 percent by 2020.
In fact the emission cuts already made by countries across Europe under the first phase of the protocol are not the way forward, cautioned Tove Ryding, the climate policy coordinator of Greenpeace International, a global environmental lobby. "We have not seen a fundamental shift; we have not seen an energy revolution."
Europe’s success towards the five percent cuts by 2012 had more to do with "the [2008] global financial crisis, which caused emissions to go down because production went down," Ryding explained in an interview. "European countries also bought carbon credits on the carbon market rather than cut emissions by greening of their economies."
Any attempt by the developed world to turn their backs on the protocol after 2012 will prompt a strong reaction from the developing world, warned Tim Gore, policy advisor on climate change for Oxfam, a British humanitarian agency. "Developing countries are increasingly saying, if you don’t want to commit under the protocol, then withdraw from it," Gore said. "That will have legal implications and implications on the foreign policies of these developed countries."
UN climate chief warns on Kyoto Protocol deadline
Karl Malakunas Yahoo News 4 Apr 11;
BANGKOK (AFP) – Commitments by most developed countries to cut carbon emissions are likely to expire at the end of next year without a new round of legally binding pledges, the UN's climate chief warned Monday.
Christiana Figueres said governments needed to start preparing for a gap on the expiry of pledges under the Kyoto Protocol, which has formed the foundation of the world's efforts to cut the emissions that are blamed for global warming.
"Governments have to face the fact that a gap in this effort looks increasingly impossible to avoid," Figueres told reporters in Bangkok during the UN's first round of climate talks for the year.
"In 2011 they need to figure out how to address this issue and how to take it forward in a collective and inclusive way. Resolving this will create a firmer foundation for an even greater collective ambition to cut emissions."
Signed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol saw most developed nations agree to legally binding agreements in curbing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Those commitments are due to expire at the end of 2012.
But Japan and Russia have firmly opposed extending the protocol because it excludes the world's two biggest polluters -- China and the United States -- and therefore only covers about 30 percent of global emissions.
China did not have to commit to cutting emissions because of its status as a developing country, while the United States refused to ratify the protocol.
Japanese delegates to the Bangkok talks said their country would hold firm in its opposition to signing up for a second phase of emission reduction commitments unless the United States and China did the same.
"We will not change our position. We don't change, we haven't changed, we will not change," the deputy director general for global issues with Japan's foreign affairs ministry, Akira Yamada, said in an interview with AFP.
Some governments and many observers have warned that failing to reach an agreement on fresh carbon emission reduction targets would undermine potential progress in other vital areas of the UN's efforts to tackle global warming.
But Figueres said the Kyoto Protocol would not necessarily collapse without the legally binding commitments, and that countries could continue with other important elements.
"There are many different components of the Kyoto Protocol and they have the possibilities of deciding which of those, and all of those if they wish, would continue to operate," she said.
"For example the market mechanisms, for example the compliance system, the rules-based approach of the Kyoto Protocol.
"All of those are very important parts of the Kyoto Protocol that parties are free to choose which ones of those they want to continue and in what form."
The Japanese delegation in Bangkok also insisted UN efforts to combat climate change need not falter, and the Kyoto Protocol could remain effective, without a new round of legally binding emission cut pledges in time for 2013.
This could be done by implementing agreements on a wide range of long-term climate actions made by all countries at the last annual UN climate summit in the Mexican resort of Cancun in December, Japanese delegate Jun Amira said.
"Our first priority is how to operationalise the Cancun agreement," Amira told AFP.
The Cancun accord saw all 194 parties to the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change pledge "urgent action" to keep temperatures from rising no more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
The six days of talks in Bangkok, which began on Sunday, are aimed at kickstarting UN negotiations for the year ahead of the world body's next annual climate summit in Durban, South Africa, in November.
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