Best of our wild blogs: 18 Jul 13



Biodiversity in Singapore – Not Extinct!
from Pulau Hantu

Mangrove education at Festival of Biodiversity 2013
from Mangrove Action Squad

Back to work, civetgirls!
from Otterman speaks

Butterflies Galore! : Yamfly
from Butterflies of Singapore

Billions lost to corruption in Indonesia’s forest sector, says report
Mongabay.com news by Rhett Butler

80% of rainforests in Malaysian Borneo logged
from Mongabay.com news by Rhett Butler

Haze summit proposes sharing concession data, but keeping it hidden from the public from Mongabay.com news by Rhett Butler


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Malaysian activists protest Taiwan-invested petrochemical project in Pengerang

Focus Taiwan 18 Jul 13;

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) A group of activists from Malaysia staged a protest in Taipei Thursday against a plan by Taiwan's Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co. to move a controversial refinery project to their country.

Led by Johor State Legislative Assembly members Tan Hong Pin, Ee Chin Li and Chua Wee Beng, the activists gathered in front of the Presidential Office to voice their opposition to the investment plan.

They later delivered a letter of protest to the government.

At issue is a plan by Kuokuang, a subsidiary of the state-run oil refinery CPC Corp., to invest in a refinery and petrochemical complex located in Pengerang in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

Kuokuang had originally planned to build a similar complex in Changhua, central Taiwan, but was forced to scrap the project in 2011 because it failed to pass local environmental assessments, and the company eventually decided to move it overseas.

"Malaysia is not a dumping ground," said Chua Peng Seng, acting chairman of the Pengerang NGO Alliance, which is promoting a civic campaign to save Pengerang, originally a serene fishing village, from industrial pollution.

According to Tan, Pengerang is famous for its seafood, especially lobster, and is a major habitat of the manatee, an endangered species.

The establishment of a petrochemical industry there will severely damage the local ecology and water resources, Tan warned.

"We welcome all sectors to visit and invest in Pengerang, but not if they want to build highly polluting plants there," he said.

In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it respects the opinions of the Malaysian protesters.

The Kuokuang investment plan is still undergoing an evaluation process in Malaysia, and the ministry has been tracking public opinion in the Southeast Asian country on the issue, said James Chou, deputy director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

(By Zoe Wei, Angela Tsai and Y.F. Low)


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Strong peat land protection only way to keep haze away

Yuyun Indradi For The Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

THE Asean haze summit is a world away for those who are still recovering from last month's devastating forest fires and haze.

Take Mr Laskar Harianja, 30, a single father with three children (11, eight, and seven) in Rokan Hilir district in Sumatra. More than many, he has experienced the brunt of the forest fires that not only engulfed the region with record-breaking air pollution, but also burned away thousands of hectares of land and turned people's lives upside down.

Greenpeace went into the field two weeks ago, believing that the haze wave was affecting those in Sumatra as dramatically as it was Indonesia's neighbours such as Singapore. But what we actually witnessed was far more tragic.

Mr Laskar's wife died in 2009, and he has not remarried. To feed his family, he was relying on a 1ha pineapple farm behind his house. The arrangement allows him to work while looking after his kids. He spent about 10 million rupiah (S$1,200) on the seeds and the maintenance. When the fruit was ready for harvesting - which would have been early next year - he was hoping to make about 20 million rupiah. With this income, he had promised his young children a bicycle as a special gift. But the children will be waiting for a while longer.

The forest fires destroyed his farm, turning it to dust. His story is one among many. Another family we spoke to said their grandparents died while trying to fight the flames that were creeping onto their lands. In Dumai, we saw children who were being treated in local hospitals having breathed in air thick with acrid smoke.

These stories tell the human face of the forest fires that have gripped the island of Sumatra.

But since the worst has passed, governments, companies, communities and NGOs have all played the blame game, attempting to pin this environmental disaster on someone, or something. Greenpeace was among the first to release analysis confirming that the majority of the fires were on peat lands - carbon rich, moist and making up around 0.01 per cent of the earth's surface. A natural, undisturbed peat forest is a swamp that is resilient to fires. But when the land is cleared, and the peat drained to make way for plantations for crops such as oil palm, it becomes fire-prone. A fire, no matter who started it, sets this rich material ablaze. It sizzles and smoulders deep below the earth, billowing up whenever a gust of wind feeds it with oxygen.

As long as carbon-rich peat lands are drained for the relentless expansion of oil palm plantations, the conditions for next year's fire crisis will remain. These fires are a reminder of the need for strong forest and peat land protection, not only because these are much more resilient to fires, but also because it is the degradation of peat that has pushed Indonesia into the ranks of the world's biggest carbon emitters.

Greenpeace demands stronger forest protection, including the implementation of a full ban on peat land development on existing concessions, and the enforcement of laws prohibiting fire clearing.

There is one aspect to this annual story we cannot ignore: The companies clearing and draining peat are laying the foundations for these fires. These companies sell palm oil tainted with forest destruction to the global markets through traders like Singapore-based Wilmar International. Wilmar has declared that it will exclude palm oil from companies involved in the fires. But this statement is only meaningful if the company ensures that it will no longer buy or trade with any company that is involved in peat drainage.

Corporations must be brought to account for their role in the forest fires. Simply pointing to no-burning policies and distancing themselves through their complicated third-party relationships with suppliers is not enough. We know that the conditions that led to this disaster did not happen overnight. It is the result of decades of forest clearance.

This is why Greenpeace demands that companies and governments step up, take responsibility, and commit to zero deforestation and full peat land protection.

Asean will need to come up with more than words. People across the region demand action now.

The writer is a forest campaigner from Greenpeace South-east Asia.


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Indonesia set to ratify haze treaty by early 2014

Muuniandy Jegathesan (AFP) Google News 17 Jul 13;

KUALA LUMPUR — Indonesia said Wednesday it hopes to ratify a regional treaty by early next year to fight smog from forest fires that brings misery to millions, but an activist said tougher steps are needed.

"We hope we can ratify the agreement by the end of the year or early next year," the country's Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told reporters.

Earlier Wednesday Kambuaya and environment ministers from four other ASEAN countries, which together form the Southeast Asian bloc's "haze committee", met to discuss ways to prevent the Indonesian forest fires.

The blazes on Sumatra island, caused by the slash and burn method of land clearance for cultivation, left neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia choking in June on the worst haze in more than a decade.

The air pollution scared off tourists, forced schools to close and caused a rise in respiratory illnesses.

Indonesia is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which has still not ratified its Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, brokered in 2002.

The treaty aims to stop cross-border smog from forest fires by requiring parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange information and provide mutual help.

It also binds signatories to "respond promptly" to requests for information from countries hit by the smoke, and to take steps to implement their obligations under the treaty.

T. Jayabalan, a public health consultant and adviser to Friends of the Earth Malaysia, praised Jakarta's move to vow to ratify the treaty but warned that lax law enforcement meant the smog problem would not go away.

"It is a lukewarm measure. You can have all the regulations, but if enforcement is lax, we will continue to have haze," he told AFP.

Jayabalan said large swathes of combustible peatland in Sumatra also meant enforcement would be difficult.

"What we need is meaningful self-regulation. Public health should override profits," he said. "We need a code of practice which includes deterrent measures to prevent burning, where directors of companies are liable to be jailed."

Indonesia has blamed its parliament for the long delay in ratifying the haze agreement.

Jakarta had sought legislators' approval for ratification, but the proposal was rejected in 2008.

The pact has again been submitted to the legislature.

Kambuaya said eight companies are being investigated in connection with the recent haze crisis and the government would identify them "as soon as possible".

He said Jakarta was prepared to share concession maps of fire-prone areas with other governments, but they would not be made available to the public as Singapore had requested.

The concession maps show who has the right to plant crops or log particular tracts of land, allowing them to be investigated and prosecuted for fires.

"We are not allowed to publish concession maps to the public," he said.

Singapore's Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said his country compromised to share such data only among governments "after intense consultations... in the aftermath of the worst haze episode that we have ever experienced".

"We told the other ministers quite frankly that this could not be business as usual," he said in a statement on Facebook. "It is a pity that we could not get greater transparency and public access."

The Sumatra fires have been largely blamed on palm oil firms using the illegal but cheap method of burning vast tracts of rainforest and peatland to clear them for planting.

Besides Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Thailand and Brunei also took part in the regional meeting.

Faizal Parish, senior technical adviser to ASEAN's peatland forests project, said there was no quick fix for the dreaded haze.

"There is no magic wand... it is going to take a long time to reverse the situation," he said, adding that with dry weather expected there could be more haze in the coming months.

Asean Welcomes Indonesia's Seriousness To Ratify Haze Agreement
Bernama 17 Jul 13;

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Asean has welcomed Indonesia's commitment and seriousness to combat the prolonged haze situation, by agreeing to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

It's secretary-general, Le Luong Minh, said the move showed the Indonesian Government was ready to mobilise available resources to put out fires and eradicate the haze problem.

In June, forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra left neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia choking on the worst haze in more than a decade.

"This is the spirit of cooperation commended, and with this success, we are able to achieve our agreements," he said.

Le was speaking to reporters after the joint press conference here on the final day of a three-day task force meeting to seek a solution to the haze problem.

Malaysia hosted the 15th Meeting of the Technical Working Group and Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Environment ministers from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand gathered for the meeting, which began on Monday.

Earlier, Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said the country hoped to ratify the regional treaty by year-end or early 2014 to fight smog from forest fires which brought misery to millions in the region.

Indonesia is the only member of Asean that has yet to ratify the bloc's Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution brokered in 2002.

Jakarta has sought parliament approval to ratify a 2002 pact on haze pollution which has been signed by all its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But the proposal was rejected in 2008.

Le also urged for continued vigilance on the possibility of a recurrence of the haze and ways to improve the system of monitoring.

"Countries concerned should be ready to train and educate the authorities and relevant bodies to prevent the haze situation," he noted.

On concession maps, the Asean secretary-general said it was developed by Singapore and the decision to disclose the map publicly, would be decided in October's Asean Leaders' Summit in Brunei Darussalam.

Meanwhile, Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan hoped Indonesia would enforce its own laws to make a big difference, to mitigate forest burning activities in Riau and Jambi.

-- BERNAMA

ASEAN welcomes Indonesia's commitment to ratify haze pact
Channel NewsAsia 17 Jul 13;

KUALA LUMPUR - ASEAN has welcomed Indonesia's commitment and seriousness to combat the prolonged haze situation by agreeing to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Its secretary-general, Le Luong Minh, said the move showed the Indonesian government was ready to mobilise available resources to put out fires and eradicate the haze problem.

In June, forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra left neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia choking on the worst haze in more than a decade.

"This is the spirit of cooperation commended, and with this success, we are able to achieve our agreements," he said.

Le was speaking to reporters after the joint news conference in Kuala Lumpur on the final day of a three-day taskforce meeting to seek a solution to the haze problem.

Malaysia hosted the 15th Meeting of the Technical Working Group and Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Environment ministers from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand gathered for the meeting, which began on Monday.

Earlier Wednesday, Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said the country hoped to ratify the regional treaty by year-end or early 2014 to fight smog from forest fires which brought misery to millions in the region.

Indonesia is the only member of ASEAN that has yet to ratify the bloc's Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution brokered in 2002.

Jakarta has sought parliamentary approval to ratify a 2002 pact on haze pollution which has been signed by all its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But the proposal was rejected in 2008.

Le also urged continued vigilance on the possibility of a recurrence of the haze and ways to improve the system of monitoring.

"Countries concerned should be ready to train and educate the authorities and relevant bodies to prevent the haze situation," he noted.

The ministers agreed to launch a joint haze monitoring system developed by Singapore at a cost of $100,000.

But this is subject to approval at the ASEAN Leaders' Summit in October this year.

A key component in this system is the sharing of concession maps, which when combined with satellite imagery, allows governments to pinpoint errant companies responsible for the fires.

Countries like Indonesia have agreed to share the maps with other governments but not make them public - which falls short of what Singapore has asked for.

They say legal and confidentiality issues prevent them from making maps public.

Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: "I'm somewhat disappointed at the slow progress. So when they raised the objection that their laws don't allow the public access to their data, the fallback position was then share it at a government level, the civil service level, so there will still be a joint monitoring system...

"We didn't get everything we wanted. We would prefer that all these data be available in public domain. Greater transparency does put pressure on companies and helps to ensure that they behave themselves.

"Nevertheless, I think this is still one step forward, that we can share data, that companies will know these data have been shared amongst the civil servants."

Dr Balakrishnan also hoped Indonesia would enforce its own laws to make a big difference, to mitigate forest burning activities in Riau and Jambi.

- BERNAMA/CNA/ir

Asean okays system to monitor haze
Rozanna Latiff and Nuradilla Noorazam New Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

MAP-SHARING: It will detect those responsible for causing forest fires

KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN environment ministers have recommended the adoption of a joint haze-monitoring system (HMS) to weed out those responsible for haze-causing forest fires.

The system, developed by Singapore, relies on satellite images of hot spots and may be used in tandem with official land-use and concession maps to pinpoint owners of the land on which the fires occur.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed to share the maps only on a government-to-government basis.

“We are prepared to share the maps on all fire-prone areas and peatlands but they cannot be disclosed to the public,” he said during a joint press conference after the 15th meeting of the Asean sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution yesterday.

The meeting was held after two days of discussions between environment taskforce officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia on short- and long-term solutions against recurrent haze.

The talks, originally scheduled next month, had been brought forward after haze from forest fires in Sumatra and Riau engulfed parts
of Malaysia and Singapore recently.

Singaporean Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said HMS was expected to be formally launched at an Asean leaders’ summit in October.

He voiced his disappointment that the concession map data could not be made publicly available but acknowledged that progress was being made towards bringing those responsible for forest fires to justice.

“The talks did not go as far as I’d like but they are still a step forward.

“The companies will know that the data is being shared and that action can be taken against them at the local level (if they cause fires).”

Indonesian Environment Minister Dr Balthasar Kambuaya said the country’s strict regulations about public information and transparency made it difficult for the concession maps to be made available to the public.

Instead, the maps will be made available on a case-to-case basis upon request.

On another matter, the ministers commended Indonesia’s commitment to speed up the ratification of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, planned for early next year.

In response, Balthasar said the documents for ratification were pending review at Parliament and were expected to be passed by the end of the year.

He said the Indonesian government welcomed the offers for bilateral collaboration projects from Malaysia and Singapore and was identifying the areas of cooperation.

The ministers noted efforts taken by Indonesia to mitigate the occurrence of fires in its peat lands and fire-prone areas, expressing their appreciation for the implementation of Indonesia’s plan of action in dealing with transboundary haze pollution.

Haze meeting: Govts agree to share concession maps
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 18 Jul 13;

KUALA LUMPUR — Despite Indonesia committing to ratify the regional pact on transboundary haze pollution by early next year, at the latest, and agreeing to share digitised concession maps with other governments, Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan left yesterday’s regional meeting on the haze problem “disappointed (but) not surprised”, in his own words.

The 15th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze was held in Kuala Lumpur. Last week, Dr Balakrishnan spelt out in Parliament four outcomes that Singapore was seeking at the meeting.

He told the Singapore media after the meeting yesterday that he had to push hard — to the extent of persuading other leaders during a tea break — to get the countries to agree to share the concession maps at government-to-government level, subject to the approval of ASEAN leaders at a summit in October.

This was a compromise from what the Republic had wanted, which was for the detailed maps to be made available to the public.

Only two of the four outcomes that Singapore had sought were fully met after the four-hour meeting: Getting the participating countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand — to involve high-level officials from all relevant ministries and agencies from each country in the MSC process, and getting a commitment from Indonesia to ratify the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement “expeditiously”.

Singapore was unable to get an agreement from Indonesia to renew their collaboration to reduce forest fires at Jambi and other provinces if possible, with Indonesia issuing a noncommittal response to offers of bilateral collaborations from Malaysia and Singapore.

While it welcomed the offers, Indonesia is “currently identifying the areas of cooperation which will maximise and bring mutual benefits for all parties concerned”, a press released issued after the meeting said.

Singapore had also hoped to get the participating countries to submit their concession maps and agree a date for the public launch of the ASEAN Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System (HMS) platform to enable identification errant companies engaging in slash-and-burn practices.

The computerised HMS platform — which Singapore developed in the past year — uses hot spot data, high-resolution satellite pictures and concession maps to help hold companies accountable for fires in their areas. It was unveiled and demonstrated during closed door briefings that were held since Monday but some governments — understood to be Malaysia and Indonesia — expressed reservations about its use, citing a variety of legal impediments, said Dr Balakrishnan. “A year ago, Singapore had been tasked to develop the HMS… We developed the system and demonstrated it to them… then they came up with this reservation about making concession data public,” he said.

A tea break that made the difference

In the end, he brokered a compromise during a 20-minute tea break. “I told them I cannot go back empty handed,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

He added: “My main focus was to make sure that they do share that data, so when they raised the objection that their laws do not allow the public access to their data, the fallback position was … share it at a government level … so that there would still be a joint monitoring system.”

On whether he was satisfied with the outcomes, Dr Balakrishan — who was accompanied at the meeting by Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu — said: “We didn’t get everything that we wanted but nonetheless, I think there is some progress.” Still, the progress was “slow”, he said.

On the use of the HMS platform, he said that the Singapore Government is working with non-governmental organisations informally. “There are some things that we can share, the high-res photos that we’ve purchased ... we can make available ... I would say that as far as the public is concerned, they will still get data,” he said.

At a joint press conference earlier, Malaysia’s Environment Minister G Palanivel explained that both Malaysia and Indonesia were “very strict” on the use of concession maps. “At the same time, we are ready to provide (maps) of all the fire-prone areas … Indonesia says that it has to be government-to-government, so we agreed to that,” he said.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Mr Faizal Parish, a Senior Technical Advisor of ASEAN’s peatland forests project, told reporters that because of Indonesia’s complex system of land allocation, concession maps used for identifying hotspots may not match with the actual land allocation. Said Mr Parish: “There is maybe some valid concern from the Indonesian government that if they make (available to the public) the wrong map … then legal action could be taken against the government by the companies concerned, (for) bringing their names into disrepute by making effectively false claims.”

However, Indonesia’s Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya rejected Mr Parish’s suggestion that his government was worried of potential lawsuits. He said that his country’s “regulations regarding transparency and publicly available information bar us from releasing” the concession maps. Adding that Indonesia will only provide the maps on a “case-by-case basis”, Professor Kambuaya said: “Companies will feel compromised in terms of their competitiveness by releasing this data.”

Last Friday, an spokesman for Indonesia’s national police said PT Adei Plantations, a unit of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd — Malaysia’s third-largest palm oil planter — would be charged for illegal fires. The company has denied the accusations.

Prof Kambuaya declined to reveal if any of the eight errant companies being investigated were linked to Singapore or Malaysia. He said that the outcome of the probe will be announced “as soon as possible”.

He added that Indonesia hopes to ratify the Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement “by the end of the year or early next year”. Indonesia remains the only ASEAN country that has not ratified the agreement which was inked in 2002.

ASEAN ministers push for joint haze monitoring system
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 17 Jul 13;

KUALA LUMPUR — ASEAN environment ministers today (July 17) agreed to recommend the adoption of the Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System as a joint monitoring system for approval by ASEAN leaders at October’s Leaders’ Summit.

However, the digitised land-use maps and concession maps of fire-prone areas that cause transboundary haze are to be shared on a Government-to-Government basis, the environment ministers said in a joint statement issued after today’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

During a joint press conference, Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuya said that "it's a matter of business" why concession maps cannot be published publicly but denied that his government was afraid of legal repercussions from companies.

He also added that Indonesia's concession maps of fire prone peat land will be shared on a "case by case" basis.

The ministers acknowledged the need for better early warning systems and to be better prepared to anticipate any fires in future, so that immediate mitigation actions could be undertaken even before the fires get out of control.

Ministers who are on the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution also affirmed their offer of assistance for emergency response should the situation warrant.

Malaysia and Singapore extended offers to renew existing bilateral collaboration projects and extend these activities to other provinces in Indonesia’s Sumatra island. The offers failed to get a firm commitment, with Indonesia saying it is currently identifying the areas of cooperation which will maximise and bring “mutual benefits” for all the parties concerned, according to the statement.

Singapore's delegation at the meeting is led by Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The participating countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore. The meeting had originally been scheduled for next month, but was brought forward after air quality in several countries soared to record hazardous levels last month due to plantation fires in Sumatra.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore will seek four outcomes at the meeting. Besides the maps, Singapore hopes that Indonesia will agree to renew the collaboration that we have successfully had in Jambi and in other provinces, if possible; and that Indonesia commits to ratify the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement as soon as possible.

Singapore will also seek a date for the public launch of the ASEAN Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System platform that will enable the identification of errant companies, he told the House.

When asked how he felt the talks went, Dr Balakrishnan said it is "not an acceptable situation", but acknowledged that compromises, including government to government sharing of fire prone land areas "is one step forward".

Asean finds compromise on tackling haze issue
Ministers agree on joint monitoring system and limited sharing of maps
Teo Cheng Wee Regional Correspondent And Lester Kong Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur
Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

ASEAN environment ministers reached a compromise on the contentious haze problem, while holding out hopes that their leaders' summit in October would provide fresh breakthroughs.

Meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, they agreed to recommend the adoption of a joint haze monitoring system (HMS) developed by Singapore, and the limited sharing of official maps to track down culprits who start forest fires.

The compromise came after resistance from Indonesia and Malaysia in making these official maps public, citing legal concerns. The adoption of the HMS awaits approval at the Asean Leaders' Summit, which will be held in Brunei in October.

"We didn't get everything that we wanted, but I think there is some progress. Setting the deadline of October 2013… to launch the HMS is a good starting point," Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told a joint press conference after the meeting ended.

"In the meantime, I think all the companies are put on notice that we're watching."

If adopted, the HMS will be used by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.

The five countries, which are in the Asean sub-regional ministerial steering committee (MSC) on transboundary haze pollution, had brought forward their scheduled meeting by a month after the region suffered its worst episode of haze since 1997.

During the three-day session - described by some officials as intense - Singapore had pushed for public disclosure of official land- use and concession maps, to allow the public to exert pressure on errant companies or individuals.

Accurate and official maps, when used with satellite images of hot spots, also give the authorities evidence for enforcement action.

But the leaders eventually settled on sharing these concession maps between governments on a "case-by-case basis".

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told reporters yesterday that his country had regulations on information and transparency, which dictate what officials can make public.

"As a government, we're not allowed to publish concession maps for the public," he said.

He later told The Straits Times that plantation companies would "feel compromised in terms of their competitiveness by releasing these data". He denied speculation that the Indonesian government was worried the companies may sue if the maps were inaccurate.

Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel also said his country was "a bit strict" on public disclosure of concession maps, but did not elaborate. He added that the issue was complicated by the fact that land issues come under the jurisdiction of state governments here, not the federal government.

At the meeting, Indonesia said it hopes to ratify the 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution by early next year. The pact requires parties to prevent burning of forests, and to provide information and mutual help.

The ministers also agreed to renew a collaboration to promote sustainable farming and haze prediction in Jambi that lapsed in 2011.

Tea break - just the time to seal a haze deal
Informality helps ministers break impasse on sharing concession maps
Elgin Toh Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

LOCKED in an impasse over the sharing of concession maps yesterday, Asean environment ministers decided to adjourn for a tea break.

Over snacks, "intense bilateral and multilateral consultations" took place at the Royale Chulan hotel in the city centre, and the ministers hammered out the main points of an acceptable solution.

At issue was a haze monitoring system that Singapore had spent $100,000 developing. It was all systems go for the computer software except for one missing jigsaw puzzle piece: land concession maps from each country, to be matched with hot-spot data and high-resolution satellite images.

These are crucial to pinpointing companies responsible for burning land illegally. Singapore went to the meeting pushing hard on the issue, which it saw as vital for deterrence.

Making the maps public would pressure errant firms, as consumers would be better informed to take action against them, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said at a post-meeting press conference.

The worst haze crisis last month in the history of the region provided further impetus.

"We were quite determined that it cannot be business as usual - just talk shop and no commitments," he said.

"I told them I cannot go home empty handed... You've got to show that... something additional has been committed, and that the companies know what was coming their way."

But the minister said he also knew pushing too hard might trigger a backlash, and may jeopardise any hopes of Indonesia's future ratification of the Asean Transboundary Haze Agreement.

The signs were not good. In two days of preparatory meetings between civil servants, Indonesia and Malaysia raised for the first time the concern that their domestic laws may not allow the maps to be shared. Indonesia at one point proposed the removal of any mention of maps in the press release, sources said.

Sources added that on Tuesday night, meetings scheduled to end before dinner ended at 11.30pm.

"Usually in an Asean meeting, the senior officials would have had most of the items finalised and agreed upon. This one - several of these (points) were left to the minister to discuss," said Second Foreign Minister Grace Fu, who accompanied Dr Balakrishnan.

In the end, that sharing would be government-to-government, not with the public, and was subject to approval at the Asean Summit in October, appeased all sides.

Malaysia, sources added, asked to include a phrase that required only maps of fire-prone areas "that cause transboundary haze" - effectively excluding itself, since its fires usually only have local effects.

But for some, it was the folksy setting of the break that sealed it.

"In a formal setting, it's very large, a lot of people around, so we couldn't really come face to face and listen to one another. During the break time, it's just (the) ministers... and all of us just gathered around and came to a conclusion," said Ms Fu.

Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia Ong Keng Yong, who is also a former Asean secretary-general, added, half in jest: "Asean decisions all (reached) at tea break."

In a word, progress is 'incremental'
Zakir Hussain Indonesia Bureau Chief In Jakarta And Jonathan Kwok
Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

ASKED about Asean's apparent inability to resolve the perennial issue of transboundary haze, the grouping's Secretary-General, Mr Le Luong Minh, told The Straits Times recently that the Asean process is "informal, consensus-driven, incremental".

"Incremental" is not a bad word to describe the progress at yesterday's regional haze meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where the outcome seems as much about saving face as buying more time to fix a contentious issue.

Key decisions, such as whether to adopt a joint monitoring system that involves sharing digitised land-use maps and concession maps of fire-prone areas, have been pushed down the line for Asean leaders to decide at their Brunei summit in October.

It was not the breakthrough many had hoped for. But, hopefully, it is enough to keep prodding all the countries involved to see the need to move together to fix the root causes of the haze. Chief among them is the practice of open burning to clear land in Sumatra, much of it on areas listed as belonging to companies but are not fully within their control.

Asean, after all, can only do what its member states give it the mandate to take on.

Noteworthy, however, is the apparent concession on sharing maps. Granted, there exist large discrepancies between concession maps provided by companies and those housed in official Indonesian government databases, a point groups like the World Resources Institute have noted.

And there is no guarantee that having the maps will result in precise identification of culprits.

As law professor Alan Tan of the National University of Singapore noted, pulp and oil palm concessions and their operating boundaries are often ill-defined and overlap with other community uses, and there is a high level of tolerance for such fluidity.

"The maps are unlikely to be of much help if, on the ground, the boundaries are not respected and there is rampant encroachment. As we have seen, this is precisely what enables the big companies to shift the blame to small-time farmers," he said.

This year's efforts come as Indonesia is trying to integrate its maps onto a single database.

Also to its credit, the severity of this year's haze - and the reaction from neighbouring countries - seems to have sparked official commitment to do more.

The question is whether the efforts will continue over the coming months, or lurch from one severe bout of haze to another.

Jakarta's to-do list includes ratifying the 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, a pact all the other nine members have since ratified.

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya, who previously said preparations have begun for ratification, yesterday said he hoped Parliament would agree to it by early 2014.

The last time the pact was up for ratification in 2008, MPs rejected it for failing to address the problem of illegal logging.

This time round, some have expressed the view that the more pressure neighbouring countries put on Indonesia to ratify the treaty, the greater the resistance that is likely to come from Parliament.

It does not help that with an election year coming up, issues of sovereignty and access to national resources could easily be whipped up by some quarters.

Still, Mr Minh says countries have made a lot of progress if one looks back 16 years to the severe haze of 1997. But the region should not need to wait another 16 years to stop open burning.

ASEAN lauds Indonesian`s efforts to fight forest fires
Antara 17 Jul 13;

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - ASEAN environment ministers have praised Indonesia for its quick act to combat land and forest fires that caused air pollution in neighboring countries.

They also lauded Indonesia`s commitment to speeding up the process of ratifying an ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution, according to the result of a haze pollution-related meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Also attending the "15th Meeting of the Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution were ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh, Brunei, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singapore environment ministers and Thai deputy environment minister.

The ministers said Indonesia`s efforts to fight land and forest fires indicated its capacity to prevent the fires from spreading.

Yet they underscored the need for the country to adopt an early warning system to prevent the land and forest fires from a recurrence in the future.

They also affirmed their offer to help fight forest fires if needed.

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthazar Kambuaya said Indonesia was very serious about handling land and forest fires in Riau province which caused thick haze a few weeks ago in view of their impact on many parties.

"Don`t think that Indonesia was silent. As a matter of fact, we made as maximum efforts as possible to put out the land and forest fires," he said.

The maximum efforts were made because Indonesia wanted to serve the interests of the local people whose health was at greater risk rather than to satisfy the interests of its neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, he said.

"We paid great attention to the health of the people living near the land and forest fires in Riau province," he said.

Kambuaya said the Indonesian government had proposed to the House of Representatives (DPR) to ratify the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution.

"We hope the DPR would approve the proposal at the end of this year," he said. ***1***

Reporting by N. Aulia Badar


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Haze risk will remain high

Nigel Sizer Jakarta Post 17 Jul 13;

Following record-breaking air pollution across Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, ministers from five Southeast Asian countries will meet in Kuala Lumpur this week for urgent talks on combating the haze.

New analysis of the patterns and causes of the fires in Sumatra that caused the haze highlights serious issues at the kickoff of this 15th meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

The new analysis from the World Resources Institute (WRI), which has been closely monitoring the fires since they began, highlights four key challenges that should help set the agenda for the Ministers of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand.

First, pulpwood and oil palm concessions have a more significant role in the fires that we earlier thought. WRI’s analysis shows that that the number of fire alerts per hectare, in other words their density, is three to four times higher within pulpwood and oil palm concession boundaries than outside those boundaries.

In other words, the companies and their land played an important role in the fire and haze episode and they should take greater responsibility in helping prevent future fires.

This conclusion is based on analysis of the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry’s databases of maps together with NASA fire alert data observed from space.

Second, however, there are significant discrepancies between the Ministry of Forestry’s maps and those being used by the companies themselves.

Company “Business Land Use Rights” license boundaries (or in Indonesian, Hak Guna Usaha — HGU), made available to WRI, are generally nested within and smaller than the concession boundaries the government is using.

This is creating confusion about responsibility for fires found on land thought to be within concessions but outside areas the companies fully control and are directly developing.

Third, about two thirds of the fires appear to have been on peatland. This heightens concern since fires on peat, with its richness of combustible organic matter stretching deep into the soil, are far more serious from both a human health and environmental perspective than those on non-peat soils. Peat fires release larger amounts of smoke, haze, other pollutants and greenhouse gases. They can burn on for weeks or even months.

Fourth and most importantly, there is a high risk of repeated fire and haze crises in the coming months and years.

The fires of June 2013 were not an unusual event. We can see from the historical record that while a large number of fire alerts occurred this June, there have, in fact, been two worse periods in the last decade, occurring in 2005 and 2006.

The record levels of smog experienced in Singapore and Malaysia this year were the result of shifting wind patterns, not unusually high levels of forest fires.

In other words, forest fires in Indonesia are part of a long-standing, endemic problem — one that calls for a coordinated and comprehensive solution.

What can the ministers do to address these challenges?

Interestingly, they already seem to know. According to the official media release from their previous meeting, held a year-and-a-half ago in Bali, they agreed that, “digital geo-referenced concession maps” should be shared between the governments, “to hold plantation companies and land owners responsible.”

They also noted that, “greater transparency is required to make plantation companies and land owners more accountable,” and that member states should “undertake more deterrent and effective enforcement measures against offenders.”

The ministers should now redouble efforts and agree on more precise and urgent next steps, together with clear milestones of progress for the public to monitor.

More specific actions include immediately prioritizing and accelerating the Indonesian government’s highly strategic “One Map Initiative.”

This effort is creating an authoritative single database to clarify concession boundaries and ownerships for the entire country, but is expected to take another three years to complete.

Sumatra’s Riau province, where most of the fires were seen, should be prioritized and mapped much more quickly.

The resulting maps should also be made freely available to the public in digital format so that they can easily be used for independent analysis and monitoring of fires and forest clearing, as well as to support law enforcement.

Similar information should also be shared by other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, which has also seen a significant number of fire alerts recently in Sarawak.

In the meantime, existing government and company maps, which have not been made public, should be released.

On the enforcement side, the ministers from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia should commit to work together on the investigation of any crimes that may have been committed.

While the bulk of the police work needs to be done in Indonesia, some of the larger companies now under suspicion also have strong ties to Singapore and Malaysia.

The governments of these countries should look for ways to hold the companies accountable for the damage inflicted on their people.

The neighboring governments can also help Indonesia to unravel complex ownership structures of the companies since many arms-length subsidiaries also seem to be implicated.

Top national and local officials as well as corporate executives and community leaders should also get together to see what practical steps they can take in unison to more quickly address land conflict.

In the immediate term they can also pool their monitoring and fire-fighting capabilities to be ready to respond much more quickly when dry weather and fire alerts rear their ugly heads again.

Meanwhile longer term intensive efforts are needed to work with local landowners and communities to ensure that mechanical land clearing, rather than fire, is the tool of choice for preparing farm land, as well as effectively preventing illegal encroachment and burning especially on peatland.

The ministerial meeting in Malaysia is an opportunity to make rapid progress. The ministers should agree on a more precise plan where concession data is consistent between government agencies and companies, is made public, criminal burning of forests is investigated and prosecuted, and better management practices are instituted across the region’s forest lands.

Now it is up to the people of the region to hold the officials’ feet to the fire to ensure this urgent call is not ignored.

The writer leads the forests team at World Resources Institute, an independent global think tank with offices in Washington DC and around the world.


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No shortage, but expect less fresh fish

Melissa Lin Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

SINGAPORE fish merchants, worried that Malaysia may suspend the export of even more seafood in the future, say consumers may have to start settling for fish which is less fresh.

Last week's two-month ban on five species was due to seasonal demand pushing up prices by 30 to 40 per cent in parts of the country, Malaysia's Fisheries Development Authority marketing director Mohari Mohd Tamin told The Straits Times yesterday.

He added that the export ban on Indian mackerel (kembung), short-bodied mackerel (pelaling), hardtail scad (cencaru), round scad (selayang) and one-finlet scad (selar) was not exclusive to Singapore, as Thailand, Indonesia and the Middle East were also affected.

The impact of the ban, which began last Wednesday, is not as widespread as initially feared here. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) clarified yesterday that the five species from Malaysia made up less than 4 per cent of the total imported from around the world last year.

Singapore Fish Merchants' General Association president Lee Boon Cheow also gave an assurance that there will not be a shortage of the banned fish in markets. Its members are already looking to sources in Thailand and Indonesia.

But consumers may have to settle for fish which is less fresh as it can take at least two days to bring stocks to Singapore, he added. Fish from Malaysia is usually sent here the day after being caught.

The ban has dented business confidence, members of the association told reporters yesterday.

Kian Huat Fish Merchant normally imports 2,000kg to 4,000kg of fish from Malaysia daily, of which 80 per cent are the banned varieties. Owner Lim Ah Lik is now increasing his imports from Thailand to make up for the shortfall, and may do so for the long term so as to decrease reliance on Malaysian suppliers.

A joint $7 million investment project with his friends to build a frozen fish factory in Iskandar, Johor, has also been put on hold.

"I am reconsidering. If they suddenly ban the export of fish, I won't be able to sell my products in Singapore and will make a loss," Mr Lim said.

Many were upset with how sudden the ban was.

"They announced it only on Facebook," said Mr Ang Kieow Mok, who co-owns Chuan Hin Fish Industry & Co.

He said many of the merchants found out about it only through their transport operators who, three days before the ban took effect, were given slips of paper at the Malaysian Customs listing the types of fish affected.

Mr Ang, who is also the association's vice-president, added: "Who knows, they may ban prawns or squid next."

The association will meet AVA officials tomorrow to discuss the issue and possible solutions, including asking Malaysia to allow small amounts of the banned fish to be exported, Mr Lee said.

Housewife Lynda Yeo, 53, said she usually buys kembung imported from Malaysia because it is fresher but does not mind switching to those from other countries.

She said: "The meat won't be as sweet but I'm okay with that as long as the fish was stored properly."

Additional reporting by Lester Kong


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Malaysia: New attractions at elephant sanctuary

T. N. Alagesh New Straits Times 18 Jul 13;

BETTER EXPERIENCE: Upgrades and other activities to replace popular jumbo rides

TEMERLOH: Although visitors are no longer allowed to ride on and bath with the adult pachyderms at Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Lanchang near here, the centre is still a popular destination when it managed to attract 58,000 visitors in the first six months of this year.

It was previously reported that the centre had lost its appeal after the management stopped the elephant riding and bathing activities in October last year, in compliance with the Wildlife Protection Act 2010.

Sanctuary head Nasharuddin Othman said they would organise new activities to attract people to the centre, which received 177,000 visitors last year.

"Early this year, we re-introduced the bathing activity but only with the elephant calves. As part of safety procedure, we assigned between four and six workers to handle the bathing activity," he said at the sanctuary yesterday.

He also said visitors were no longer allowed to climb on the young elephants.

"They can only scrub and splash water on the mammals. At the same time, we will allow them to take photographs while participating in the activity, which is still receiving strong support so far."

Apart from that, he said visitors were also allowed to feed the young elephants, watch adult elephants take a dip in the river with their mahouts and enjoy a 15-minute performance by seven animals.

Nasharuddin said the centre had to take a new approach to fulfil its objective to educate people on the gentle giants.

"Gone are the days when elephants were only trained to perform at a circus or do tricks for entertainment. That is why we've decided to introduce activities that will help people understand these animals better and appreciate them."

He said the sanctuary would also organise activities with the Che Wong Orang Asli community nearby, where visitors could join them in jungle trekking and night walks.

"They can also visit the Orang Asli village and buy their bamboo handicraft. This will help reduce the stress on the elephants as previously, most of the activities revolved around them."

He said upgrading works were being carried out at the sanctuary and would be completed next year.

Apart from a new tourist information centre, the sanctuary will also have roofed walkways, hanging bridges and a water-retention pond.


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Seaweed farming linked to Qingdao's green tide of algae

With accusing fingers pointed at Jiangsu's seaweed industry, the annual spread of unsightly algae has become a divisive and sensitive issue

Li Jing South China Morning Post 17 Jul 13;

When Jiangsu seaweed farmers won the right to sell their produce to Japan in 2005, few expected their victory to bring such big changes to one of the mainland's most popular seaside resorts.

But as the tourist city of Qingdao in neighbouring Shandong copes with its sixth massive summer algal bloom in as many years, scientists are pointing to the expansion of seaweed farming along the coast as a possible culprit.

Qingdao's beaches began to look more like grasslands as they were swamped by the annual "green tide" last month, with this year's outbreak covering an unprecedented 28,600 square kilometres.

While the algae appears harmless to humans, it can choke off oxygen supplies for marine life, and the smell as it rots does little to attract tourists to a city long famed for its local Tsingtao beer and beaches.

The algae first hit in earnest in 2008, weeks before Qingdao was in the international spotlight as host of the sailing events for the Beijing Olympics, yet no convincing explanation for the algal bloom has emerged.

Many cite coastal pollution as a likely factor. However, a study published in May in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science concluded that the "green tide" originated from the Jiangsu coast and proliferated in the Yellow Sea before being swept north by the tide towards Qingdao. The study by scientists from the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences cited satellite images and field observations to support its claims.

But the findings are already proving controversial, with scientists involved in the research reluctant to speak publicly due to its "sensitivity". Not only does the study cover relations between two provinces, but it also has implications for a fast-growing and lucrative industry.

The massive algal bloom, consisting of the seaweed species Ulva prolifera, usually forms in the Yellow Sea about 300 kilometres south of Qingdao in mid-April, and arrives on the city's coast between mid-June and late July, according to Professor Zhu Mingyuan , of the Qingdao-based First Institute of Oceanography under the State Oceanic Administration.

"The small-scale algal bloom can expand really fast as the natural conditions - seawater temperature and sunlight - are right. Then the dominating southern winds, starting in April, bring them to the Shandong Peninsula, with Qingdao as a major destination," Zhu said.

The nearby cities of Weihai and Rizhao have also been plagued by the green tide in past years thanks to a slight change in wind direction.

"Where the initial biomass of Ulva prolifera comes from remains a complicated issue and there are still debates among researchers from different backgrounds," he said.

The recent published study sheds some light as it tracks the origin of Ulva prolifera to the tens of thousands of hectares of tidal flats devoted to growing seaweed, which it says offer a "hypothetical nursery bed" for the outbreak.

Scientists believe the algae grows on rafts used by Jiangsu seaweed farmers to grow porphyra, an edible species popular in Japan. When the seaweed is harvested in April, the Ulva prolifera is removed from the rafts, discarded and swept into the sea by waves, researchers believe.

"Certain biological traits of Ulva prolifera - efficient photosynthesis, rapid growth rates, high capacity for nutrient uptake and diverse reproductive systems - allow the growth of the original 5,000 tonnes of Ulva prolifera biomass into more than one million tonnes in just two months," the study says.

A study published in 2009 by the same group of researchers ruled out the possibility that the 2008 algae outbreak was caused by a sudden surge in the levels of nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen in the seawater.

But if seaweed farming is the problem, why was there no algal bloom before 2008?

The study's lead author, Liu Dongyan , declined an interview, describing the finding as too sensitive as it involved "different departments".

A researcher with knowledge of the studies in Qingdao, who asked not to be named, said Jiangsu's seaweed farming industry boomed after 2005, when Japan, the world's biggest consumer of dried seaweed, was forced to open its markets to Chinese producers under World Trade Organisation rules.

Previously, Japan had only allowed imports of seaweed from South Korea. But a February 2004 application by the provincial seaweed producers' association in Jiangsu led to an investigation by Beijing's Ministry of Commerce that forced Tokyo to change its stance.

The case was hailed as Beijing's first big victory in removing foreign trade barriers under WTO rules after China joined the trade body in 2001.

Official statistics from the China Fishery Yearbook show that seaweed farming in Jiangsu expanded from 12,040 hectares in 2004 to 38,260 hectares in 2010.

The provincial seaweed association, which now represents more than 350 enterprises, says annual sales of seaweed products are now worth more than 3 billion yuan (HK$3.76 billion).

"There was a small-scale algal bloom reported in 2007, but not as significant as in the years that followed," the researcher said. "This coincidence in time leads us to believe the expansion of seaweed farming [in Jiangsu] and the algae bloom are related."

But the hypothesis was, perhaps not surprisingly, flatly rejected by researchers in Jiangsu, who said the findings lacked "direct evidence", the source said.

There are also alternative hypotheses in Shandong. Pang Shaojun , a researcher from the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also based in Qingdao, told the Jinan -based Dazhong Daily that the algae could be caused by an increase in the use of fermented chicken manure as fertiliser in the area.

Wang Yamin , an associate professor of marine studies at Shandong University in Weihai , said the excessive amount of nutrients in seawaters, a result of worsening coastal pollution, was to blame for the wild algal bloom.

"I think the studies are showing the traces of local protectionism ... By blaming Jiangsu's seaweed industry, Qingdao is trying to escape from its own responsibility," said Wang.

"Don't forget it is the high level of nutrients in the waters off Qingdao that offers favourable conditions for fast growth of the algal bloom, the same reason for rampant outbreaks of blue algae in inland lakes," he said.

Even without the algal bloom, Wang said, the state of the Qingdao coastline offers alarming evidence that unchecked coastal pollution caused by human activities will, in turn, lead to disasters beyond human control.

Research by the Ministry of Environmental Protection reveals a grim picture for the nation's coastline. The ministry grades seawater on a scale of one to four, with a fifth category considered worse than grade IV, meaning that the marine ecosystem has been destroyed and will not be able to recover in the short term. Some 18.9 per cent of waters are rated worse than grade IV, with a further 5.3 per cent rated grade IV.

In Qingdao, as the clean-up operation continues, the bloom barely raises curiosity any more.

"The city was caught completely off guard in 2008 right ahead of the summer Olympics, when thick seaweed covered the waters used as sailing venues," said Wang Yongqing , 61, a frequent beach-goer. "It was the first massive outbreak.

"But it has become routine since then, no longer posing too much of a disturbance for us, as the algae seems not to be toxic and quickly gets removed," he added, as he rubbed traces of the algae in the sand with one foot on the already cleared No 3 bathing beach.

Yet there has been a heavy price for the city's government, which spent an estimated US$30 million on cleaning up more than one million tonnes of algae before the Olympics.

Six years on, the city government is more experienced at dealing with the problem and deployed 2,000 people in clean-up operations earlier this month, as officials rushed to keep up with the strands swept in from the sea.

But with the root cause of the problem still unclear and vested interests involved, the chances of preventative measures being put in place remain slim, the researcher said.

"It is impossible for Shandong to pay Jiangsu compensation and ask it to stop seaweed farming as the industry involves billions of yuan," the source said. "But if the findings are true, why can't we try fishing out the algae biomass before it expands to an uncontrollable scale? It's like leaving a tumour unheeded until it grows into the late stage of cancer."

But until the source of the algae becomes clear, the city of Qingdao can expect to receive, if not exactly welcome, its green visitor for many years to come.


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To protect coasts, call on Mother Nature

Futurity 16 Jul 13;

Restoration and conservation of natural habitats could make the biggest difference in protecting the US coastline from extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy. "Hardening our shorelines with sea walls and other costly engineering shouldn't be the default solution," says Peter Kareiva.

STANFORD (US) — Natural habitats such as dunes and reefs are the best protection against storms and rising sea levels along the US coastline, a new study reports.

Extreme weather, sea level rise, and degraded coastal systems are placing people and property at greater risk along the coasts. Natural habitats are critical to protecting millions of US residents and billions of dollars in property.

The study offers the first comprehensive map of the entire US coastline that shows where and how much protection communities get from natural habitats such as sand dunes, coral reefs, sea grasses, and mangroves. The likelihood and magnitude of losses can be reduced by intact ecosystems near vulnerable coastal communities.

“The natural environment plays a key role in protecting our nation’s coasts,” says lead author Katie Arkema, a postdoctoral scholar at the Woods Institute of the Environment at Stanford University.

“If we lose these defenses, we will either have to have massive investments in engineered defenses or risk greater damage to millions of people and billions in property.”

With the release of the Obama administration’s Climate Action Plan on June 25, there is renewed interest in coastal resilience and climate adaptation planning, as well as in finding natural ways to protect America’s coastline.

Billions of dollars will soon be spent on restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard affected by Hurricane Sandy. Leaders can make decisions now to factor natural capital into decisions that could have long-term benefits.

“As a nation, we should be investing in nature to protect our coastal communities,” says Mary Ruckelshaus, managing director of the Natural Capital Project. “The number of people, poor families, elderly, and total value of residential property that are most exposed to hazards can be reduced by half if existing coastal habitats remain fully intact.”

At a moment when many coastal planners are considering their options for dealing with the impacts of sea level rise, the study, published in Nature Climate Change, provides both a national and a localized look at coastal areas where restoration and conservation of natural habitats could make the biggest difference.

“Hardening our shorelines with sea walls and other costly engineering shouldn’t be the default solution,” says Peter Kareiva, the chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and co-author of the study.

“This study helps us identify those places and opportunities we have to keep nature protecting our coastal communities—and giving us all the other benefits it can provide, such as recreation, fish nurseries, water filtration, and erosion control.”

The Best Defense Against Catastrophic Storms: Mother Nature, Researchers Say
Science Daily 17 Jul 13;

July 17, 2013 — Extreme weather, sea level rise and degraded coastal systems are placing people and property at greater risk along the coast. Natural habitats such as dunes and reefs are critical to protecting millions of U.S. residents and billions of dollars in property from coastal storms, according to a new study by scientists with the Natural Capital Project at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
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The study, "Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms," published July 14 in the journal Nature Climate Change, offers the first comprehensive map of the entire U.S. coastline that shows where and how much protection communities get from natural habitats such as sand dunes, coral reefs, sea grasses and mangroves. The likelihood and magnitude of losses can be reduced by intact ecosystems near vulnerable coastal communities.

One map shows predicted exposure of the United States coastline and coastal population to sea level rise and storms in the year 2100. An interactive map can be zoomed in on for the West, Gulf or East coasts; Hawaii or Alaska; or the continental United States.

"The natural environment plays a key role in protecting our nation's coasts," said study lead author Katie Arkema, a Woods postdoctoral scholar. "If we lose these defenses, we will either have to have massive investments in engineered defenses or risk greater damage to millions of people and billions in property."

With the release of the Obama administration's Climate Action Plan on June 25, there is renewed interest in coastal resilience and climate adaptation planning, as well as in finding natural ways to protect America's coastline. Billions of dollars will soon be spent on restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard affected by Hurricane Sandy. Leaders can make decisions now to factor natural capital into decisions that could have long-term benefits.

"As a nation, we should be investing in nature to protect our coastal communities," said Mary Ruckelshaus, managing director of the Natural Capital Project. "The number of people, poor families, elderly and total value of residential property that are most exposed to hazards can be reduced by half if existing coastal habitats remain fully intact."

At a moment when many coastal planners are considering their options for dealing with the impacts of sea level rise, the study provides both a national and a localized look at coastal areas where restoration and conservation of natural habitats could make the biggest difference.

"Hardening our shorelines with sea walls and other costly engineering shouldn't be the default solution," said Peter Kareiva, the chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and co-author of the study. "This study helps us identify those places and opportunities we have to keep nature protecting our coastal communities -- and giving us all the other benefits it can provide, such as recreation, fish nurseries, water filtration and erosion control."

The Natural Capital Project is a partnership with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, aimed at aligning economic forces with conservation. The project works to integrate ecosystem services approaches into all major resource decisions that affect Earth's natural resources.

For more information about the study, visit naturalcapitalproject.org.


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