Best of our wild blogs: 9 Aug 12

ACRES: Rescuing toddycats in need
from Life of a common palm civet in Singapore

Celebrating National Day in Lim Chu Kang mangroves!
from Nature rambles

Sharing Singapore with visiting scientists
from Lazy Lizard's Tales

Sun Chong Hong: A fascination with birdsound
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Clipping the wings of wildlife smugglers

Feng Zengkun Straits Times 9 Aug 12;

MILLIONS of passengers wend in and out of Singapore each year, but some apparently carry fake travel documents.

These "interlopers" came to light last month when the Republic made world headlines as the key laundering point for tens of thousands of illegally-caught birds from the Solomon Islands.

A special report by Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring group, found that these were likely wild birds with export documents claiming they were bred in captivity. This concealed the damage to the birds' natural populations.

Singapore was the largest holding cage for the illicit trade, taking in 49,500 birds, or 72 per cent of the islands' exports, between 2000 and 2010.

The report and the headlines were embarrassing for the Republic, but more crucially, they exposed a gap in our fence against illegal wildlife traders.

In the past, other smuggled animals may have been strapped to human bodies, hidden in suitcases or even stuffed in underwear, but the Solomon Islands birds were legal imports.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), trusting the export documents, had issued permits for the birds to be imported. It later allowed some of the birds to be re-exported to other places such as Taiwan, turning Singapore into a transhipment hub for this fly-by-night trade.

When asked, the AVA said it was the responsibility of the exporting country's authorities to check the source of the creatures before issuing export permits.

But Singapore could do more to protect its reputation, and it should not ignore warning signs.

In 2004, the Malaysian authorities grew suspicious of the large numbers of protected birds and reptiles being shipped from the Solomon Islands to Johor. It investigated, froze the trade and alerted Traffic.

Singapore, which took in three times more birds than Malaysia in the past decade, did not follow suit.

Dr Chris Shepherd, Traffic's South-east Asia deputy director who helped write the Solomon Islands report, told The Straits Times that more smugglers were turning to false documents to fool the importing authorities precisely because the paperwork was often taken at face value.

Animal activists have said for years that Singapore is likely a key stop in the smuggling of wild animals. Traders are drawn to the Republic's efficient trading infrastructure and accessibility to the rest of the region.

They also bank on Singapore's good standing in the world, which means other countries may not check exports that come with our seal of approval.

In the past decade, the number of animal seizures here peaked at 59 cases in 2004, but activists say these represent only a fraction of the wildlife trade. Some animals are intercepted overseas, others slip through enforcement nets.

In 2010, a shipment of 523 African Grey parrots was stopped at an airport in Congo en route to Singapore. The permits were forged.

Conservation groups estimate the global, unlawful trade to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Many cases involve hundreds or thousands of animals, suggesting the work of syndicates.

The AVA has done much over the years to ferret out the criminals. It works with other enforcement agencies such as the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Police Coast Guard to monitor Singapore's borders.

It conducts regular workshops and training sessions for checkpoint officers, including teaching them to identify animal species so they will not be hoodwinked by smugglers.

In 1986, Singapore signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which restricts the trade of vulnerable animals. It is also part of the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network.

AVA permits are required for the import of Cites-listed species. Cites export permits from the source country are also needed before an import permit can be obtained.

Under Singapore's Endangered Species (Import & Export) Act, anyone who imports, exports, re-exports or possesses Cites species without a valid permit can be fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed up to two years.

But the Solomon Islands report and trends suggest the first line of defence against the rising breed of in-plain-sight smugglers cannot be at the checkpoints.

In the Solomon Islands case, Traffic investigators not only researched the country's breeding facilities, but also looked at the species of the exported birds.

It found that some species such as the yellow-bibbed lory take years to reach breeding age and produce few offspring. Some also retail at fairly low prices.

"In such cases, it is not likely that breeders will go through the trouble to breed the species, investing time and money in what would be a losing venture," Dr Shepherd told The Straits Times.

Another safeguard is to know which animal species are native to the countries that export them to Singapore. If the countries export large quantities of non-native animals, that should be considered a red flag.

Much of this data has been compiled by international wildlife groups. Singapore should get the information, plug gaps specific to our wildlife trade with other countries, and create a database that would help unlock the true state of trade here.

If there is any doubt about a country's wildlife exports, a pre- emptive move to stop the trade and alert the regional or international authorities might be useful.

Another link in the fight is, of course, reducing demand. Greater consumer awareness helps curb demand for illicit and protected animals.

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Malaysia: Ban on wild bird trapping lifted

Free to keep birds
Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 8 Aug 12;

BAN LIFTED: Quota still in place for certain species

KOTA BARU: WILD bird fans in Kelantan can keep up to 100 murai batu (white-rumped shama) and 50 kelicap kunyit (oriental white eye) without applying for a permit.

State Wildlife director Rahmat Topani said the new regulation followed the lifting of a temporary ban on catching the two birds and other species by the government.

"As our country is now free from bird flu diseases, the government has decided to cancel the ban on catching wild birds while imposing a quota to keep certain birds.

"The regulation is relaxed for murai batu and kelicap kunyit in Kelantan as there are a big number of enthusiasts for the two bird species.

"From now on, the public can hunt and catch the two birds but if they have more than 100 and 50, respectively, for murai batu and kelicap kunyit, they will have to apply for a licence for each species."

Rahmat said the licences to keep 100 or more murai batu, scientifically known as Copsychus malabaricus, and 50 or more kelicap kunyit (Zosterops palpebrosa), were valid for a year.

He said the limitation was to ensure the two species could be controlled from becoming extinct through excessive hunting.

He said members of the public who were interested in hunting for other protected birds such as burung tiong (hill myna) and serindit (blue-crowned hanging-parrot) must still apply for a licence.

Rahmat said applications for the licence could be made at his department's office at Wisma Persekutuan from Aug 15, and the deadline to do so was Sept 3.

On Aug 1, the Wildlife and National Parks Department lifted the temporary ban on catching wild birds with immediate effect.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in a statement had said the temporary ban had been in force since Feb 18, 2004.

The announcement, however, drew criticism from animal rights activists who said international organisations had shown that Malaysia was a top poaching ground in the illegal bird trade.

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Indonesia: Plantation Permits Approved for 300,00 Forest Hectares So Far in 2012

Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 7 Aug 12;

The Forestry Ministry has so far this year issued permits to convert more than 300,000 hectares of forest into plantations, an official said on Tuesday.

Tri Joko Mulyono, the ministry’s director for forest area zoning, said permits were issued for 342,709 hectares so far this year, compared to a total of 4.9 million hectares in 2009, 8,613 hectares in 2010 and 366,259 hectares in 2011.

“It [Permit issuance] decreased drastically in 2010, almost stopping due to the moratorium on the conversion of forest areas, but then it rose again the year after that,” he said.

Even under the moratorium, he said, there were exceptions to allow conversion for plantations related to vital and strategic projects, including for geothermal energy, oil and gas, electricity, rice or sugarcane.

Conversion could also be approved for ecosystem restoration, he said.

“The forestry minister has already allocated 300,000 hectares for food areas and 300,000 hectares for sugarcane this year.” he said, adding that the permits were issued in the form of a Forest Area Release Letter.

“The forestry minister has already issued a letter so regional heads can allocate this land for food crops and sugar cane, but many [companies] still prefer to use it for palm oil,” he said.

Tri said that after the letter of release was issued, the land fell under the jurisdiction of the National Land Agency (BPN), and in the event of a land conflict, the ministry would not longer be involved.

“Once the forest area is released, its management becomes the responsibility of the land institution,” he said, referring to the BPN.

He said only convertible production forests (HPK), which total some 20 million hectares, could be converted into plantations, and companies were also required to get another permit from the ministry to use it.

“Forest areas also can’t be released unless they’re swapped with other forest areas. They should have a replacement,” he said, without elaborating on the replacement forests.

BeritaSatu, JG

Permits for Conversion of Forest to Plantations on Track to Top Past 2 Years
Fidelis E. Satriastanti & Arientha Primanita Jakarta Globe 9 Aug 12;

The Forestry Ministry has so far this year issued permits to convert more than 300,000 hectares of forest into plantations, an official said on Tuesday.

Tri Joko Mulyono, the ministry’s director for forest area zoning, said permits were issued for 342,709 hectares so far this year, compared to a total of 4.9 million hectares in 2009, 8,613 hectares in 2010 and 366,259 hectares in 2011.

“The area of concessions granted decreased drastically in 2010, almost stopping due to the moratorium on the conversion of forest areas, but then it rose again the year after that,” he said.

Even under the moratorium, Tri said, there were exceptions to allow conversion of forested land for strategic purposes, including for developing geothermal energy, oil and gas exploration, electricity generation and cultivating rice and sugarcane. Conversion can also be approved for ecosystem restoration, he said.

“The forestry minister [Zulkifli Hasan] has already allocated 300,000 hectares for food areas and 300,000 hectares for sugarcane this year,” he said. “The minister has already issued a letter so regional heads can allocate this land for food crops and sugar cane, but many [companies] still prefer to use it for palm oil.”

Tri said that once the letter of release was issued by the minister, the land fell under the jurisdiction of the National Land Agency (BPN), and in the event of a dispute, the ministry would not be involved.

“Once the forest area is released, its management becomes the responsibility of the land institution,” he said, referring to the BPN.

He said only convertible production forests (HPK), which total 20 million hectares, could be converted into plantations, and companies were also required to get another permit from the ministry to use it.

“Forest areas also can’t be released unless they’re swapped with other forest areas. They should have a replacement,” Tri said, without elaborating on the replacement forests.

The increase in the amount of forest land converted for plantations comes as the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pushes for greater efforts to attain food self-sufficiency.

“Indonesia should become increasingly self-sufficient in food,” the president said at a meeting with Agriculture Ministry officials on Monday. “Not only in rice, but also corn, sugar, meat and even soybeans.”

He acknowledged that changes to the environment proved a growing challenge for food production. “It will be our challenge because of climate change and the long drought. There have been warnings from international institutions that global food prices could rise,” he said.

He asked all government institutions to be ready to confront the challenges and to step up food resilience.

Yudhoyono also called for more land availability, pointing to a recent BPN study that indicated that as many as 7.2 million hectares of land across the country had been abandoned by concession holders and were therefore going to waste.

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Asia, US plains facing water extraction crisis

AFP Yahoo News 9 Aug 12;

Heavily-populated regions of Asia, the arid Middle East and parts of the US corn belt are dangerously over-exploiting their underground water supplies, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

"The countries that are overusing groundwater most significantly are the United States, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, and the highest number of people that are impacted by this live in India and China," Canadian hydrologist Tom Gleeson told AFP.

"Over a quarter of the world's population live in these regions where groundwater is being overused," he said in a phone interview.

Many places are rapidly pumping out "fossil" water, or water that was laid down sometimes thousands of years ago and cannot be replaced on a human timescale.

Seeking a yardstick of sustainability, the study creates a measure called the groundwater footprint.

It calculates the area of land sustained by extracted water and compares this to the size of the aquifer beneath.

The global groundwater footprint is a whopping 3.5 times the size of the world's aquifers, the study found.

However, this stress is accounted for by a small number of countries.

For instance, in the South Caspian region of northern Iran, the footprint is 98 times the size of the aquifer; in the Upper Ganges in India and Pakistan, it is 54; while in the US High Plains, the figure is nine.

"Humans are over-exploiting groundwater in many large aquifers that are crucial to agriculture, especially in North America and Asia," said Gleeson.

"Irrigation for agriculture is largely causing the problem but it is already impacting in some regions the ability to use groundwater for irrigation, so it is almost like a self-reinforcing problem."

The study aims at adding a new analytical tool to help policymakers cope with the world's intensifying water problems.

In March, the UN warned in its Fourth World Water Report that water problems in many parts of the world were chronic, and without a crackdown on wastage would worsen as demand for food rises and climate change intensifies.

By 2050, agricultural use of water will rise by nearly 20 percent, on the basis of current farming methods, to meet food demands from a population set to rise from seven billion today more than nine billion.

Gleeson, a specialist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, used a computer model in collaboration with scientists at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and crunched national statistics on water use. The next step will be to use satellite data, which should be a more reliable source, he said.

Water from surface sources -- rivers and lakes -- is well documented, but use of aquifers is poorly understood.

According to the UN report, extraction from aquifers has tripled in the past 50 years and now accounts for nearly half of all drinking water today. But how this use breaks down in finer detail, notably its impact on the watersheds that feed rivers, is less well known.

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