Best of our wild blogs: 8 Sep 12

paint-along with Pui San
from Art in Wetlands

Curiosities in our forests
from lekowala!

ICCS Berlayar Creek Mangrove Cleanup: Registration for Toddycats is now open!
from Toddycats!

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Singapore's PSI hits high of 79, sparks health warning

Leong Wai Kit Channel NewsAsia 7 Sep 12;

SINGAPORE: Singapore registered its worst level of air pollution for the year on Friday as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia blew over the city-state, triggering a health warning.

Singapore's three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a high of 79 at 7am on Friday. The air began to clear later in the morning thanks to favourable winds.

The PSI fell to a reading of 33 at noon, before climbing to 52 at 5pm.

A PSI reading of 0-50 indicates air quality is "good", 51-100 is "moderate" while anything above 100 is considered "unhealthy".

"For the past one week, an increase in hotspot activities was observed over Sumatra," the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in its latest update.

"The current prevailing winds blowing from the southwest or south have transported the haze from fires in southern Sumatra towards Singapore," referring to the Indonesian island.

It said hazy conditions could still recur and advised people with heart or lung disease, children and older adults aged 65 and above to avoid all physical activity outdoors.

"Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion," NEA added.

Fires in Indonesia are mostly concentrated in the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra.

The haze caused by the fires builds up during the dry season when farmers clean their land by burning, affecting tourism and contributing to health problems across the region.

Indonesia's government has outlawed land-clearing by fire but weak law enforcement means the ban is largely ignored.

As Singapore braces for more hazy days ahead, the NEA will provide hourly updates of the three-hour PSI reading from 7am to 7pm daily to keep the public informed more regularly of the haze situation.

Meanwhile businesses and the organisers of a major marathon said there are contingency plans in place.

Organisers of the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2012 said they are ready to cancel the event on Sunday morning if the PSI reaches an unhealthy level by Saturday evening.

Participants are advised to check the SAFRA website for more information.

One bicycle rental shop at a beach attraction said it is considering giving out masks to its customers.

Others with back-up plans include the Singapore Flyer.

Singapore Flyer's senior manager for guest services, Henry Loo, said: "If the haze is bad, it will be a national problem. Everybody will be advised to stay indoors. So, we will definitely discourage our visitors from boarding the capsules. But, for those visitors who have already purchased tickets, we will encourage them to come back another day, or if they insist, we will refund them."

The public can access PSI updates through the following channels:

a) Weather@SG website at www.weather.nea.gov.sg/

b) twitter.com/neasg

c) NEA Call Centre at 1800 CALL NEA (1800 2255 632)

d) NEA iPhone/Android App myENV

- CNA/AFP/xq/al/ir

Hourly PSI readings until haze ends
Jennani Durai Straits Times 8 Sep 12;

WITH the haze worsening yesterday, the authorities have started providing hourly updates to keep the public better informed.

Previously, readings of the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) were taken only at 8am, noon and 4pm daily, and they reflected 24-hour averages.

Since yesterday, readings have been taken hourly, and they reflect the average of the PSI readings for the previous three hours.

Readings from 7am to 7pm will be posted on the National Environment Agency's (NEA) website.

Such hourly readings will be more relevant because shifting winds could cause the haze situation to change at any time, said a spokesman for NEA.

Yesterday's readings hit a high of 79 at 7am - the highest so far this year. It was outside the good range of 0 to 50, and within the moderate range of 51 to 100.

On Thursday, the last readings taken at 4pm ranged from 58 to 64 across the island.

NEA attributed the haze to an increase in hot spots over Sumatra earlier this week.

It added, however, that the haze situation improved later in the day yesterday.

The wind direction had changed since Thursday evening - with winds blowing from the south-east and south instead of south-west - bringing about better air quality and visibility.

The latest PSI reading, publicised at 7pm last night, was 52.

NEA expects burning activities in southern Sumatra to continue in the week ahead due to dry weather. "We might still experience hazy conditions on some days if the wind direction changes to southwesterly," it said.

It said that even though the current PSI readings have not reached an unhealthy level, those with heart and respiratory ailments, the elderly and children are advised to reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities.

A spokesman said hourly readings will be made available until the haze goes away.

The haze is an annual occurrence caused by farmers and logging companies in Indonesia - particularly in Riau, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Jambi and Aceh - burning forests to clear land for cultivation between June and September, the region's dry season.

But while the haze might have been a talking point, outdoor restaurants and tourist attractions have reported no significant dip in patronage in the past few days.

Ms Lily Hamid, the marketing manager for the 1-Rochester Group, said the haze was especially noticeable at 1-Altitude in Raffles Place because the bar is 282m above the ground.

"Some guests have said that there was a smoky smell in the air, but all our guests who booked al fresco tables have maintained their bookings," she said.

The Singapore Flyer and SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands remain open. A Flyer spokesman said that the number of visitors had not dropped, and it would act if the PSI exceeded 100.

Ticket refunds would be given, or guests would be encouraged to come back another time.

Ms Alicia Seah, a senior vice-president for marketing and public relations at CTC Travel, said the haze is unlikely to deter tourists from coming as it is not a prolonged problem.

A spokesman for the Singapore National Games said information on air quality will be relayed regulary to all those involved. Netball, football, athletics and swimming competitions will be held outdoors this weekend.

Cloud seeding in Jambi after disrupted flights
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 8 Sep 12;

JAKARTA - Indonesia started a cloud-seeding operation yesterday in Jambi after flights into the province were disrupted.

The operation coincided with the local authorities' appeal to residents in the provincial capital to go out of their houses only for essential purposes as choking haze enveloped the city.

"The operation will run for 30 days and cost a total of 3.35 billion rupiah (S$430,000)," Mr Heru Widodo, the most senior bureaucrat in charge of cloud-seeding operations across Indonesia, said in an SMS reply to The Straits Times.

Satellite images yesterday showed that the number of hot spots in the country's most forest fire-prone provinces - Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra - has declined in recent days. But haze spawned by earlier fires stayed above some areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The number of hot spots in these three provinces peaked in the three-day period that ended on Monday, when a total of 733 hot spots were detected, substantially higher than the 110 in the previous three-day span.

The effects seen in Singapore on Thursday were likely from forest fires concentrated in the southern part of Sumatra, including Jambi, according to West Kalimantan-based weather forecaster Suriandi.

The PSI in Singapore hit 64 in the northern and eastern parts on Thursday, and ranged between 58 and 61 elsewhere.

The readings yesterday ranged from 57 in the east to 68 in the north.

Yesterday, flights leaving and going into the Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin airport in Jambi were delayed for four hours until 10am as visibility dropped to below 1.5km, according to Jambi Deputy Mayor Sum Indra.

In Jambi, visibility during early morning hours up to 9am often falls below 1.5km due to morning fog and the lack of wind, Jambi-based weather forecaster Muhamad Nur told The Straits Times. It normally rises to above 5km at around noon and in the afternoon, helped by the sunlight and winds that blow at this time, he added.

Jambi has been practically blanketed by haze in the past month, but rain late last month helped to clear the air for a few days. In recent days, the haze has come back, and even intensified.

"If anyone must go out of the house, especially children, they should put on a mask as the haze would affect breathing," Mr Sum said in an interview with Jakarta-based Elshinta radio.

The municipal government started to distribute free masks yesterday to residents in certain parts of the city as part of the mask wearing campaign, and expects other residents to obtain masks themselves.

Most fires were not spontaneous fires, Mr Sum said.

"Many farmers like to burn their farmland ahead of the rainy season in October, believing it will boost fertility. This is an old-fashioned way of farming and must immediately be dropped," he told Elshinta radio.

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Thailand: Phuket ocean trash inflicting mayhem on turtles

Phuket Gazette 7 Sep 12;


The turtle rescued yesterday also had a severed flipper and deep cuts inflicted by a discarded fishing net. Photo: Phuket Marine Biological Center

PHUKET: A turtle with one flipper severed and another suffering a deep cut inflicted by discarded fishing nets was recovered from Karon Beach yesterday.

The discovery brought to 24 the total number of turtles rescued from Phuket and Phang Nga beaches in the past two months alone.

Lifeguards patrolling Karon Beach found the turtle stranded in the sand near Karon Circle yesterday morning.

Both of the turtle’s front flippers were injured from fishing nets. The right front flipper had been severed and its left front flipper had a deep cut through the muscle.

The turtle is now being nursed at Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC).

Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit, explained to the Phuket Gazette that, “The turtle was an adult female Olive Ridley measuring 68 centimeters long. We will administer her antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication, just as we have done with the other sea turtles we have rescued.

“Some of them have needed operations because their flippers were cut off or cut to the bone by fishing nets, but they are all alive and receiving treatment at the center,” he said.

Dr Kongkiat said 24 adult female Olive Ridley sea turtles had washed ashore since July, with 21 of them requiring medical treatment for cuts and wounds caused by the nets.

“Some of them even lost their legs,” he said.

The remaining three are recovering from being caked in oil dumped into the ocean.

“All the turtles rescued were females ready to mate. I think there will be far fewer Olive Ridley eggs laid on our beaches this year than in previous years because we're only two months into the mating season and already 24 turtles have been stranded,” Dr Kongkiat said.

“I have reported this to the PMBC director and asked him to launch a campaign to help stop trash and used oil from being dumped into the sea,” he added.

Scuba divers and others interested in the plight of marine life around Phuket will have an opportunity later this month to help in what may be the largest reef clean-up ever to be staged here. Details of 'Dive Against Debris' are available here and, in greater detail, on the organizer's Facebook page.

The clean-up is sponsored by the Phuket Gazette and will be covered on national television (UBC/True Visions, channel 99) by the Gazette's new show 'Phuket Today'. The show airs six times per week. For the schedule, see October's True Visions programming guide.

Phuket businesses interested in joining the Gazette as a sponsor of 'Dive Against Debris' are invited to contact any local PADI dive center, or Tony Andrews, Regional Manager of PADI, by email. tony.andrews@padi.com.au

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Huge new nature reserves are needed to save species, says UN

Without massive protected areas for wildlife, the world will not be able to prevent rampant species loss, according to new analysis
Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk 7 Sep 12;

The world must look to designate an area twice the size of Argentina as nature reserves, or we will have little chance of establishing enough protected areas for wildlife and fish to stave off a disastrous loss of species, according to an analysis of natural and marine reserves.

In the 20 years from 1990 to 2010, the amount of land with protected status rose from 8.8% to 12.7%, while the amount of sea protected was increased from 0.9% to 4%, according to a report by the United Nations environment programme (Unep) and others, published at the World Conservation Congress on Friday.

Yet according to international targets adopted in 2010, that proportion must increase to 17% and 10% respectively by the end of this decade. On current rates of progress, this target looks very unlikely to be met. In order to meet the goals – which some analysts say will not even be enough to prevent rampant species loss – an area more than twice the size of Argentina would have to be designated on land as reserves, and at sea an area greater than Australia would need to be put under marine protection in order to meet the internationally set targets.

The report also concluded that about half of the world's important sites for biodiversity are still unprotected.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director-general of the IUCN, which is hosting the conference and co-authored the report, said establishing reserves and other forms of protection was an effective way of conserving species that are under threat. "Protected areas have contributed significantly to conservation of the world's biodiversity and an increase in their coverage and effectiveness is vital to a thriving planet and communities for the future. These rich natural areas are very important for people, who rely on them for food and clean water, climate regulation and reducing the impacts of natural disasters."

According to the report, much progress has been made in setting up and governing protected areas. But the wide range of ways of designating nature reserves in different countries, and the difficulty of establishing marine reserves, which often require cross-border cooperation and fraught negotiations over fishing rights, has made it hard to judge how well these initiatives are functioning.

Also at the conference, the World Bank's vice president for sustainable development, Rachel Kyte, issued a challenge to conservation groups, calling on them to forge closer links with businesses in order to achieve their aims. Conservation organisations have long been suspicious of businesses, seeing them as more likely to exploit valuable species and habitats for their own gain than to strive to protect them, even if paying lip service to environmental goals. Some are also reluctant to follow the World Bank's lead in attempting to put a value on the natural world, as a way of encouraging governments and the private sector to protect natural resources.

But Kyte said that the future for conservation lay in co-operating with the business world, and called on activists to "get out of their comfort zones". She said: "The need for action is overcoming global political sclerosis. Companies working in developing countries are increasingly investing in biodiversity expertise, in community development, environmental restoration and long-term conservation capacity building."

The two-week conference, held every four years, is expected to have 10,000 visitors. Some of the more controversial subjects to be discussed include the issue of conservation groups such as the IUCN working more closely with, and receiving funding, from businesses.

Protected areas for wildlife expand to size of Russia
Reuters Yahoo News 7 Sep 12;

OSLO (Reuters) - Protected areas for wildlife have expanded worldwide to cover a land area the size of Russia in the past two decades, but far more parks and reserves are needed to meet a 2020 target, a study showed on Friday.

The sharp growth, as governments expanded existing areas and declared new ones, was needed to help slow a loss of animal and plant species and to conserve eco-systems which serve vital functions such as purifying water and storing greenhouse gases, it said.

"These rich natural areas are very important for people, who rely on them for food and clean water, climate regulation and reducing the impacts of natural disasters," said Julia Marton-Lefevre, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN report, issued during a meeting of the organization in South Korea, said the areas protected had risen to 12.7 percent of the world's terrestrial area in 2010, or 17 million sq km (6.6 million sq miles), from 8.8 percent in 1990.

The United Nations has set a goal of protected areas reaching 17 percent of land area by 2020 - that would mean adding at least 6 million sq km (2.3 million sq miles) or an area about twice the size of Argentina or India, it said.

The area of the sea protected within national jurisdictions has risen more than four-fold to 4 percent, from 0.9 percent in 1990, but is also far short of a U.N. goal of 10 percent by 2020. Reaching the target would require adding marine areas the size of Australia.

Protected areas also vary widely in their effectiveness, according to the study by IUCN, which includes governments, scientists and activists.

"Some of the world's protected areas are properly managed but many, many of them aren't," Trevor Sandwith, director of the IUCN's Global Protected Areas Programme, told Reuters.

One possible option to meet the U.N. target would be to recognize more of the land that is under the control of indigenous peoples as protected, he said. Indigenous peoples were often better at conserving territory than governments.

Sandwith said U.N. climate negotiations had failed to agree a financial reward for governments which protect rainforests, putting a brake on conservation efforts.

Trees soak up carbon as they grow and release it when they burn or rot. Deforestation, from the Amazon Basin to the Congo, may account for 17 percent of all greenhouse gases from human activities, according to some government estimates.

Talks on a new global deal to fight climate change, which may include forest carbon, are making slow progress. The United Nations' goal is to strike an agreement by 2015 which will come into effect in 2020.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Pravin Char)

Launch of a new report on Protected Areas
IUCN 7 Sep 12;

Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 7 September, 2012 (IUCN) – Protected Areas –parks, nature reserves and other natural areas– assist in reducing deforestation, habitat and species loss, and support the livelihoods of over one billion people, while containing 15 % of the world’s carbon stock, according to a new report released today at the World Conservation Congress.

The Protected Planet Report 2012 finds that protected areas are growing in number and coverage of the earth’s surface, today comprising 12.7% of the world’s terrestrial area and 1.6% of the global ocean area.

“Protected areas have contributed significantly to conservation of the world’s biodiversity and an increase in their coverage and effectiveness is vital to a thriving planet and communities for the
future,“ says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “These rich natural areas are very important for people, who rely on them for food and clean water, climate regulation and reducing the impacts of natural disasters.”

The new report measures progress against the Aichi Targets, a set of goals released two years ago by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that included the objective of at least 17 % of the world’s terrestrial areas and 10 % of the world’s marine areas be effectively and equitably managed and conserved by 2020. The new report has been produced through a collaborative effort between IUCN and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), with other partners.

The report shows that from 1990 to 2010, global protected area coverage increased from 8.8% to 12.7% in terrestrial areas (including inland waters) and from 0.9% to 4% in marine areas under national jurisdiction. Current numbers, however, are well behind the Aichi targets, with under 13 % of the world’s terrestrial areas protected today, and just 1.6 % of the world’s ocean areas protected.

An area more than twice the size of Argentina comprising more than 6 million square kilometers of land and inland waters would have to be recognized as protected to meet the Aichi target. For oceans, an area more than the size of Australia comprising 8 million square kilometers would need to be recognized.

Protected areas are, however, diversifying rapidly in areas critical to their success, such as management and governance arrangements. According to the report, nearly half of the world’s protected areas are within sustainable-use areas and protected landscapes / seascapes, and nearly a quarter are managed by non-governmental actors or under co-management arrangements, often with indigenous peoples or local communities.

This is the first edition of the Protected Planet Report. It is scheduled to be published every two years, with the next edition planned in time for the IUCN World Parks Congress and the CBD COP (Conference of Parties) 12 in 2014. Future editions will provide updated information on progress towards the Aichi targets, as well as information on existing protected area indicators and progress towards protected areas connectivity.

Download the report: http://www.iucn.org/pa_protectedplanet

Protected areas for wildlife expand to size of Russia
Alister Doyle PlanetArk 10 Sep 12;

Protected areas for wildlife have expanded worldwide to cover a land area the size of Russia in the past two decades, but far more parks and reserves are needed to meet a 2020 target, a study showed on Friday.

The sharp growth, as governments expanded existing areas and declared new ones, was needed to help slow a loss of animal and plant species and to conserve eco-systems which serve vital functions such as purifying water and storing greenhouse gases, it said.

"These rich natural areas are very important for people, who rely on them for food and clean water, climate regulation and reducing the impacts of natural disasters," said Julia Marton-Lefevre, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN report, issued during a meeting of the organization in South Korea, said the areas protected had risen to 12.7 percent of the world's terrestrial area in 2010, or 17 million sq km (6.6 million sq miles), from 8.8 percent in 1990.

The United Nations has set a goal of protected areas reaching 17 percent of land area by 2020 - that would mean adding at least 6 million sq km (2.3 million sq miles) or an area about twice the size of Argentina or India, it said.

The area of the sea protected within national jurisdictions has risen more than four-fold to 4 percent, from 0.9 percent in 1990, but is also far short of a U.N. goal of 10 percent by 2020. Reaching the target would require adding marine areas the size of Australia.

Protected areas also vary widely in their effectiveness, according to the study by IUCN, which includes governments, scientists and activists.

"Some of the world's protected areas are properly managed but many, many of them aren't," Trevor Sandwith, director of the IUCN's Global Protected Areas Programme, told Reuters.

One possible option to meet the U.N. target would be to recognize more of the land that is under the control of indigenous peoples as protected, he said. Indigenous peoples were often better at conserving territory than governments.

Sandwith said U.N. climate negotiations had failed to agree a financial reward for governments which protect rainforests, putting a brake on conservation efforts.

Trees soak up carbon as they grow and release it when they burn or rot. Deforestation, from the Amazon Basin to the Congo, may account for 17 percent of all greenhouse gases from human activities, according to some government estimates.

Talks on a new global deal to fight climate change, which may include forest carbon, are making slow progress. The United Nations' goal is to strike an agreement by 2015 which will come into effect in 2020.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Pravin Char)

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