Best of our wild blogs: 21 Apr 13

Pasir Ris Mangrove is ALIVE!
from Diary of a Boy wandering through Our Little Urban Eden and wild shores of singapore

Butterfly of the Month - April 2013
from Butterflies of Singapore

Volunteering – Open Arms of BSBCC
from Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

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Animal cameras launched in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Kimberly Spykerman Channel NewsAsia 20 Apr 13;

To bring nature closer to Singaporeans who prefer staying indoors, the National Parks Board (NParks) has installed special cameras within the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

SINGAPORE: To bring nature closer to Singaporeans who prefer staying indoors, the National Parks Board (NParks) has installed special cameras within the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, as revealed on Saturday as part of Nparks' Earth Day celebrations.

Singaporeans can now see the animals in their natural habitat via four cameras.

Camera footage can be streamed to their computers or mobile phones through the NParks website.

You can choose scenes to observe within the reserve, and if you are in luck, you might catch a glimpse otters frolicking in a pond, or migratory birds feeding on the wetlands.

Pre-recorded footage of animal action is also available at the website for the public to enjoy.

NParks said this is part of an effort to encourage people to have more encounters with nature.

- CNA/ck

Catch live footage of animals at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve with new 'AnimalCams'
Feng Zengkun Straits Times 20 Apr 13;

People can now watch live footage of animals such as otters and birds in the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve by visiting www.nparks.gov.sg/animalcam

Ahead of the international Earth Day on Monday, the National Parks Board (NParks) has installed four cameras in the reserve to bring nature closer to Singaporeans who prefer to stay indoors.

The agency also celebrated the occasion on Saturday by holding talks at the reserve on mangrove ecology. It will have a bird-watching session on Monday morning at the Singapore Quarry Wetland.

"As Singapore continues to evolve into a City in a Garden, we hope that people's lives can be enriched by having frequent encounters with nature," said NParks conservation director Wong Tuan Wah.

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Government slams blogger over ‘misleading’ Pulau Ubin article

Nurul Azliah Aripin, SingaporeScene Yahoo News 20 Apr 13;

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has criticised a blogger's post regarding the recent developments happening among Pulau Ubin residents as "inaccurate" and some of its facts “misleading”.

In his article entitled, “Pulau Ubin: Rent will increase at 35% p.a.?” published Thursday on news site The Online Citizen, economist and statistician Leong Sze Hian said the government had forgotten to compensate residents for 20 years since the state’s development plans on the island began in 1993.

But in a statement to Yahoo! Singapore on Friday, SLA slammed this as “false” and explained that those who did not receive compensation were tenants and their owners have been renting out the properties since 1993. Therefore, these tenants are “not entitled to compensation from the government”.

However, SLA also stated that resettlement benefits were still provided to these tenants on an “ex-gratia basis” in terms of “money” and “priority for HDB flats”.

In the same article, Leong highlighted the 5-year increase in rent for Pulau Ubin residents and regarded the annual increase of 35 per cent per annum as too much, describing this as a “whopping” rate.

SLA said this was “highly misleading” as Leong had “ignored” the fact that the government" did not charge any rental in 1993 and for 20 years the tenants have been enjoying that”. The SLA statement added that “even now the Government has chosen to phase in the rentals over five years to mitigate the impact on the residents”.

The SLA also said the writer's formula in calculating the rent Pulau Ubin residents could have paid in 1993 as “factually wrong".

The government agency then reiterated that the census survey currently being conducted in Pulau Ubin and its residents aims to find out which other households are eligible for resettlement benefits offered in 1993, as well as to regularise property rents in the form of a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) fee on those who wish to remain on the island.

The census survey is being conducted from 3 April until June and Pulau Ubin residents have been informed of this through a notice letter sent last month.

The notice letter which was headlined as “Clearance of structures previously acquired for development of adventure park on Pulau Ubin”, sparked concern among Pulau Ubin residents as well as those on Singapore’s mainland who thought that it was an eviction letter, said the SLA.

But the SLA and Housing Development Board (HDB) have since clarified it was a misunderstanding and admitted they should have “carefully worded” and “updated” the language used in the letter, adding that the “adventure park” was a term used back in 1993 when referring to developments such as recreational facilities.

SLA clarifies regularisation of Pulau Ubin
Channel NewsAsia 20 Apr 13;

The Singapore Land Authority has described Mr Leong Sze Hian's article on the recent developments concerning residents on Pulau Ubin as inaccurate.

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has described Mr Leong Sze Hian's article on the recent developments concerning residents on Pulau Ubin as inaccurate.

In his article published by The Online Citizen, Mr Leong said the government had forgotten to compensate residents for 20 years since the state's development plans on the island began in 1993.

SLA said this is false and all owners have been compensated.

However, some owners were renting out their properties at that time to their tenants.

These tenants are not entitled to compensation from the government.

But the government, in 1993, as a matter of goodwill, also provided resettlement benefits to these tenants on an ex-gratia basis.

SLA said the government also allowed the tenants to stay on, as long as development plans did not require them to move out.

SLA also said Mr Leong's claim about the percentage increase of the rent is highly misleading.

It said the government did not charge any rental in 1993 and for 20 years the tenants have been enjoying that.

Even now the government has chosen to phase in the rentals over five years to mitigate the impact on the residents.

Under this approach, the rent payable will increase over five years.

For the first year, nine out of 10 residents will pay less than S$20 per month.

After year five, they will still pay less than S$120 per month.

Mr Leong seems to think this is an unreasonable amount to charge.

SLA said Mr Leong's extrapolation that the rent was one cent in 1993 is factually completely wrong and untrue.

It added that it is regrettable that such statements are made.

On the census, SLA said it’s now being conducted to determine the households which are eligible for the benefits offered in 1993.

Some of the residents have been staying in the properties since 1993 without a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL).

SLA wants to regularise this as the TOL provides the basis for their continued stay on State land.

- CNA/ck

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Clearing air over Ubin

Straits Times 21 Apr 13;

Keeping Pulau Ubin rustic is an attractive idea for many of the 300,000 visitors who go there each year for respite from high-density urban life. They would be pleased the Singapore Land Authority and the Ministry of National Development have promised to keep Ubin as it is "for as long as possible" and not start building on it. Of course, when land is scarce, one should never say never. It is better to be prepared for any calls in the future to use the land for some utilitarian or urban recreational purpose.

For now, it would be useful to have more clarity of the plans of the authorities, such as they are, as these may have an impact on the island's residents and its numerous day trippers. Some households recently received notices to start paying rent on a temporary occupation licence or accept resettlement benefits and move. This could have been better handled. Though Ubin residents form a small community, they are fondly regarded for clinging to a simple life even though their numbers have been declining since the 1970s. Now with disincentives to stay and incentives to leave, how many will remain?

Despite, or ironically because of, the land use uncertainty, there is room to consider feedback from a public increasingly engaged on such issues. A focus group on sustainability and identity for the 2011 Concept Plan had recommended - and noted strong public support for - protection of nature, such as on Ubin. Revisions of the plan will likely have to take account of strong civil society demand for preservation of such heritage, including nostalgic reminders of a vanished way of life.

It is not possible, of course, to preserve ageing and dwindling communities artificially as a microcosm of yesteryear. At the same time, there is merit in allowing unhurried organic evolution to take place in Ubin if no great need has emerged yet for the use of the land.

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Dead dugong discovered east of Phuket prompts local resident action

Phuket Gazette 20 Apr 13;

PHUKET: A dead dugong was found floating just off the coast of Koh Pu in Krabi by a local crab fisherman yesterday morning, prompting villagers to take action.

The young marine mammal was discovered with a long gash across its snout in front of the Baan Koh Pu village port and was dragged to shore by villagers before it was reported to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC).

This is the first report issued to the PMBC by the local residents, who were unaware that it was important and necessary to report such matters, explained the village Kamnan, Samran Raden.

“This is at least the third one we have found dead since October last year,” Mr Samran said.

Before being notified of the possible death of at least two more dugong last year, Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC Endangered Species Unit, had already voiced concern over the dramatic rise in the number of dugong deaths in the Andaman region.

In 2011, only four of the vegetarian mammals were found washed ashore, while 12 were reported in 2012.

“The increase in deaths is a serious issue,” Dr Kongkiat said earlier this year. “It’s the highest number we’ve seen in the past 20 years.”

Dr Kongkiat believes the deaths were caused by fishing equipment and boats, as a number of the animals were found wrapped in nets or had wounds consistent with those inflicted by the propeller blades of fishing boats.

“The deep gash on the body of the 1.12-meter dugong we found today, as well as other injuries to its body, are consistent with injuries sustained from being hit by a boat propeller,” Dr Kongkiat said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species, lists the dugong as a “species vulnerable to extinction”.

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