How is Beting Bronok doing?
from wonderful creation
Coral rubble survey at Pulau Sekudu
from wonderful creation
Butterfly Species @ Jurong-Eco Garden
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Half-backed birds and other animals
from Bird Ecology Study Group
White-spotted Slug Snake @ Punggol
from Monday Morgue
Straits Times 16 Jun 14;
SEMENYIH (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - China's property developer Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Johor's economic development arm are in plans to develop over 2,000 hectares of reclaimed land in a project, which will include a man-made island, near the second link in Johor.
A study on the project, which will be developed over 30 years, was done more than a year ago.
In an interview with StarBiz, Country Garden's regional president for Malaysia project Kayson Yuen said the China-based company had studied the mega project, known as "Forest City", for more than a year before it decided to invest in it.
"We decided in the investment because the land cost was reasonable. I cannot remember the exact price but we have committed towards the project," he said.
Mr Yuen also stressed that the slowdown in China did not have any impact on their overseas ventures.
"This is because we are able to collect a bigger deposit for our projects in China and this helps with cash flow," said Mr Yuen.
In March this year, StarBiz reported that the Hong-Kong listed company was joining hands with Johor's economic development agency Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) to build a massive man-made island near Pendas, Johor, for luxury homes.
"This will be a massive mixed development and the investment and commitment shows our confidence in the Malaysia market," he said, adding that it had hired local contractors for the reclamation works and engaged an Australian consultant who had reclamation experience at Sentosa Island, Singapore.
The man-made island that had started works, however, raised eyebrows due to environmental concerns, among others.
Country Garden intended to announce the project in March but held it back due to the incident of the missing flight MH370.
Mr Yuen conceded that the aviation mishap, which involved many passengers from mainland China, had affected sentiments of home buyers from that country but he was quick to acknowledge that the political rapport between China and Malaysia was strong and would help bring back relations to normalcy in time.
"It is only a matter of time before the confidence level of Chinese buyers recovers. We are still very confident with Malaysia's fundamentals," he said, adding that the company had studied this new market for a long time before penetrating into the country.
Malaysia is Country Garden's maiden overseas venture. But it is no stranger, having made headlines with its massive project in Danga Bay, Johor, that is estimated to have a gross development value of RM18billion (S$6.9 billion).
In August 2013, Country Garden attracted attention when it announced the sale of 6,000 out of its 9,000 units of condominiums on its development in Danga Bay. It attracted attention because a project of such a scale had not been seen in Malaysia.
It prompted allegations that the high take-up rate was due to huge discounts offered by Country Garden. There were reports that it even offered "buy-one-free-one" for its buyers from China.
Mr Yuen rubbished speculation that the company employed a "buy-one-free-one" approach to lure buyers.
"People who made those claims do not have knowledge of the property market. There is no logic in it," he said.
Apart from Johor, Country Garden also has projects in Selangor. In the Klang Valley, it plans to launch the project in Serendah with its 55:45 joint-venture partner Malaysia Land Properties Sdn Bhd (Mayland) this year.
The 67.58ha project has a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.5billion.
Its other project in Selangor is known as Diamond City in Semenyih. The RM2billion project, which was launched officially over the weekend, received overwhelming response with some 60 per cent of the offered units sold.
Country Garden Properties (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Chai Keng Wai, who also represents Mayland, said he was confident that the remaining units would be fully taken up in "a few weeks' time."
He said people had booked most of the units since the soft launch of the project last year.
Prices for its link houses, bungalows and mansions range from RM378 psf to RM430 psf while built-up sizes start from 2,300 sq ft to 8,600 sq ft.
The first phase of Diamond City sits on a 40ha tract and counts a clubhouse, a Spanish-style commercial street and an infinity pool as some of its facilities. Its selling points include its Spanish-inspired design as well as ready-built show village and amenities.
Country Garden is one of the top 10 developers in China and has more than 20 years of experience in township development.
China company in mega land reclamation project in Johor
MSN Malaysia 16 Jun 14;
The Malaysian Insider : Malaysia
Despite environmental concerns and unease said to have been expressed by Singapore, a mega land reclamation project in Johor is going ahead with the involvement of a property developer from China.
StarBiz reported today that Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd has joined hands with Johor’s economic development arm, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ), to develop over 2,000ha of reclaimed land in the project which is said to have caused a wrinkle in the close Malaysia-Singapore ties.
The Edge Review had previously reported that the massive land project located near the second link in Johor is backed by the Johor royal household and it will extend the Johor coast around the so-called Second Link right up to the edges of the boundary separating Malaysia and Singapore.
The “Forest City” project will include a man-made island and a study on the matter was done more than a year ago, the StarBiz report said.
“We decided in the investment because the land cost was reasonable. I cannot remember the exact price but we have committed towards the project," Country Garden’s regional president for Malaysia project Kayson Yuen was quoted as saying in the StarBiz report today.
“This will be a massive mixed development and the investment and commitment shows our confidence in the Malaysia market,” Yuen said, adding that it had hired local contractors for the reclamation works and engaged an Australian consultant who had reclamation experience at Sentosa Island, Singapore.
The multi-billion dollar project is expected to span more than 30 years.
Yuen, meanwhile, told StarBiz that the property slowdown in China did not have any impact on the company's overseas ventures.
“This is because we are able to collect a bigger deposit for our projects in China and this helps with cash flow,” said Yuen.
Country Garden had intended to announce the project in March but held it back due to the sentiments following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Yuen agreed that the aviation mishap, which involved many passengers from mainland China, had affected sentiments of home buyers from China but he was confident that relations between China and Malaysia would return to normal.
“It is only a matter of time before the confidence level of Chinese buyers recovers. We are still very confident with Malaysia’s fundamentals,” he told StarBiz.
Malaysia is Country Garden’s maiden overseas venture. The company had previously made headlines with its massive project in Danga Bay, Johor, that is estimated to have a gross development value of RM18 billion.
In August 2013, Country Garden attracted attention when it announced the sale of 6,000 out of its 9,000 units of condominiums on its development in Danga Bay. It attracted attention because a project of such a scale had not been seen in Malaysia, said the StarBiz report.
It prompted allegations that the high take-up rate was due to huge discounts offered by Country Garden. There were reports that it even offered “buy-one-free-one” for its buyers from China.
Yuen, however, told StarBiz that there was no truth in the speculation that the company had employed a “buy-one-free-one” approach to lure buyers.
Apart from Johor, Country Garden also has projects in Selangor. In the Klang Valley, it plans to launch the project in Serendah with its 55:45 joint-venture partner Malaysia Land Properties Sdn Bhd (Mayland) this year.
The 67.58ha project has a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.5 billion.
Its other project in Selangor is known as Diamond City in Semenyih. The RM2 billion project, which was launched officially over the weekend, received overwhelming response with some 60% of the offered units sold.
Country Garden is one of the top 10 developers in China and has more than 20 years of experience in township development.
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 15 Jun 14;
SINGAPORE: Fires in Sumatra and the yearly haze problem can be drastically reduced in five years or less.
Global Forest Watch, an organisation that monitors forest activity, tells Channel NewsAsia this is possible through concerted efforts on the ground -- involving palm oil companies and law enforcement.
And all stakeholders -- from financial institutions to even consumers -- can do more to get the US$21b industry in Indonesia to adopt sustainable sourcing practices.
But it would seem palm oil markets in the region are not as committed to sustainability, perhaps put off by the associated costs.
The dry season begins in June and runs until October.
About 250km from Singapore, farmers on Sumatra island are getting ready to clear land traditionally -- by burning vegetation.
That could be the spark needed to ignite and spread fires onto adjacent plantations.
The winds that occur during the Southwest Monsoon could fan the smoke and its unhealthy particulates right towards Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, as it had done for years, as seen during Singapore's worst bout of haze in June 2013.
Increasingly, the pressure is on large palm oil and pulp companies to put an end to such practices.
Nigel Sizer, director of Global Forest Watch (Forests Programme) at World Resources Institute, said: "About half of these fires are burning on land that's in the concessions of palm oil and pulp wood companies in Riau and across Sumatra.
"We're not saying that those companies necessarily cause those fires. In fact we know that often the fires start outside their land and spread into their land.
"A lot of illegal and small palm oil companies, and others who are taking advantage of disputes over land, use fire to clear land cheaply."
Mr Sizer said that large companies have a responsibility to educate the farmers and provide them with alternatives to slash-and-burn methods.
The firms should also help to put out fires, not just on their own land, and investigate whether small farmers are supplying them with sustainably produced palm oil and other raw materials.
Some 40 per cent of Indonesia's palm oil is produced by third-party crops or owners of small farms.
Cargill, the largest importer of palm oil into the United States, said 40 per cent of its palm fruit is from small holders.
It said a majority (99 per cent) of its crops are from small holders which have adopted Cargill's own land-clearing practices.
But it also buys crops from other small holders, and it's working with many of them to adopt sustainable practices.
Still, Cargill said that unravelling the supply chain is a complicated process, as the oil is mixed at different stages of production.
Cargill said it is working to trace its supply chain, but it would seem not all parties are ready for sustainable palm oil, which may come at a higher cost.
John Hartmann, CEO of Cargill Tropical Palm, said: "Around 87 per cent of the palm oil that is produced goes to markets which are not ready to work closely with sustainability (campaigners).
"About 13 per cent are going to the European, North American, Australia and New Zealand markets. Those markets are demanding more and more insights into the source of their food and the food products and that leverages itself well to work into sustainability."
Singapore may be a small market, but experts say more can be done to promote sustainable sourcing and, in the process, play a part in addressing the haze that has plagued the country for years.
It's thought that about half of household products contain palm oil.
It's a healthier substitute for other kinds of vegetable oil.
So you may find it in margarines, cookies, chocolates and ice-cream.
Shampoos, soaps and even cosmetics contain palm oil.
Craving for a meal at your favourite fast-food joint after shopping? It's likely been prepared in edible palm oil.
Drive a diesel vehicle? The biodiesel used by cars also comes from palm oil.
Some say certifying products will help consumers make more informed choices.
There are international certifications, such as the one by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a voluntary non-profit organisation comprising palm oil stakeholders.
But experts say it's not widely used at the moment and is not likely to be found in any local supermarkets.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) says its food labelling (based on principles applied by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation) focuses on food safety and the traceability of foods sold in Singapore.
AVA says sustainability of source declarations is not a mandatory labelling requirement.
Meanwhile, many large palm oil companies are pledging to produce palm oil sustainably -- by not clearing forests of high conservation value, not developing on peat land, and adhering to a no-burn policy.
Experts say pledging sustainability throughout the supply chain could be given a further push by financial backers.
Banks, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and asset management funds often invest in palm oil, and these investors are often listed on the stock exchanges in Singapore and Malaysia, for example.
Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, said: "Investors (are) starting to become more conscious that they need to have some standards in place and hold investees to those standards to protect against financial performance risks, because if palm oil companies they invest in are subjected to boycott or blacklisting or an adverse regulatory decision, that will impact the price performance of the shares, that will impact dividends and so on.
"So from a purely financial perspective, there is a case for financial investors to pay attention to these guidelines and getting these investors to do so as well."
Mr Perera says Singapore's proposed Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill will put the pressure on investors, as it's a sign that governments are ready to take tougher action to enforce laws and take companies to task.
But until it's implemented, consumers have another avenue to pressure companies, thanks to a tool launched by the Global Forest Watch this month.
Global Forest Watch's Nigel Sizer said: "Where we see a fire alert, we'll actually be able to task satellites each day to photograph those areas of land at 50cm resolutions and immediately put them online, give them to the governments, let the public see.
"We believe that a very significant reduction in the fires and haze is possible in the next five years, or even less. Our research shows that the problem is very concentrated in a small number of sub-districts -- literally we're talking about a few dozen villages. That's where most of the fires are taking place."
Mr Sizer said this information will help with fire-fighting efforts and hold those responsible for illegal burning accountable. It will put more pressure on local and federal governments in Indonesia, which is the world's largest palm oil supplier.
- CNA/ir
Amy R. Remo Philippine Daily Inquirer 16 Jun 14;
MANILA, Philippines–Exporters from Central Luzon are lamenting a new Department of Agriculture policy, which is expected to result in unemployment and reduced export revenues for seagrass farmers in the region.
Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 250, which has banned the collection, harvesting, gathering, selling and exporting of brown algae and seagrass to preserve the marine ecosystem, is expected to adversely affect the farmers and other marginalized people who are highly dependent on this raw material for their livelihood.
Malou Balano, executive director of Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) Region 3, was quoted in a statement as saying that seagrass being harvested was being used as a material for Philippine handicrafts, as earlier recommended by the Department of Trade and Industry.
“The DTI supported this project. In fact, we have developed bags, slippers, baskets and other accessories that are being exported already,” Balano disclosed.
To address the impact of ban on selling and exporting seagrass on the export sector, Balano has proposed the identification of other or alternative areas, where seagrass can be legally cultivated and harvested or monitored.
The DA earlier explained that the restrictions set under FAO No. 250 were meant to protect the marine ecosystems as the uncontrolled harvesting of seaweeds and sea grass are resulting in the loss of shelter and destruction of the food base of aquatic organisms.
Violators of this order would be subject to a fine of P100,000 to P500,000 and imprisonment of two to 10 years.
Exemptions would be issued for those who target to collect, harvest and export seagrass for scientific and educational purposes.
Dennis Orlina, president of the Asean Handicraft Promotion and Development Association, however, noted that most of the seagrass that they use are “growing wildly as terrain species, not aquatic.”
“Just recently, many are growing at the lahar areas, north of Manila in Zambales, Pampanga, giving us cheap raw materials,” Orlina added.
Tommy Wilkes PlanetArk 13 Jun 14;
Swathes of north India are sweltering under the longest heatwave on record, triggering widespread breakdowns in the supply of electricity and increasingly angry protests over the government's failure to provide people with basic services.
The power crisis and heatwave, which some activists say has caused dozens of deaths, is one of the first major challenges for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected three weeks ago partly on promises to provide reliable electricity supplies.
In Delhi, where temperatures have hit 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) for six days straight, residents marched through the streets in protests organized by opposition parties on Thursday. In the north of the city, people enraged by night-long outages clashed with police and torched a bus, media reported.
Delhi is suffering staggered cuts as power companies ration spikes in demand as people crank up air coolers to fight the heat. Modi has inherited the shortages from his predecessors, and power distribution is partially the responsibility of state governments.
Residents staged sit-in protests outside electricity substations in the state of Uttar Pradesh late on Wednesday, days after protesters had set substations on fire and taken power officials hostage after weeks of daily blackouts.
"God alone can provide any relief from the prevailing power crisis," said A.P. Misra, director of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation. Having drawn on all available supplies, Misra said power would only return once rain arrived and demand fell.
The protests and collapse in the power supply underline how ill-equipped much of India remains to sudden surges in temperature, which many worry are happening more frequently because of changes in the climate and rapid urbanization.
BODIES
For L.D. Chopra, a 76-year old asthmatic in Delhi, the power cuts almost mean the difference between life and death.
Chopra was taken to hospital on May 31 after falling unconscious when a machine he depends on for oxygen support switched off in the outages, he told Reuters.
Like Chopra's home in the east of the city, much of Delhi has been without power for 10 hours per day in the last week, after a jump in demand and damage from a thunderstorm overwhelmed the grid, causing blackouts. [ID:nL5N0OR21I]
Seventy-nine unidentified bodies were discovered in Delhi in the last four days, said the Center of Holistic Development, a group working to end homelessness. Founder Sunil Kumar Aledia attributed the high number of deaths to the extreme weather.
India has long-suffered deadly heatwaves. Periods of extreme temperatures have led to thousands of deaths since the 1990s, largely in rural areas where basic infrastructure is poor.
R.K. Jenamani, director of the meteorological office in Delhi, said his research did not point to any long-term trend of rising temperatures.
But a combination of urbanization, extensive use of concrete and more cars did appear to be changing microclimates within and near cities, exacerbating the impact of heatwaves, he said.
Temperatures were rising faster earlier in the day and staying higher for longer in congested built-up areas, he said.
The World Bank warned in a report last year that parts of India were rapidly becoming "heat-islands", and that urban planners needed to act to counteract the dangers.
"We are witnessing more serious and more extreme events," said Anumita Roychowdhury at India's Center for Science and Environment (CSE), warning about the impact on public health.
The heatwave has led to a jump in deadly ozone pollution in Delhi to levels that exceed government limits, the CSE said, with levels rising up to 315 percent in the city since June 1.
"We need to watch and assess this trend very carefully in this climate-challenged world," said Roychowdhury.
(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; additional reporting by Anindito Mukherjee in New Dekhi and Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Robert Birsel)
Ben Garside PlanetArk 16 Jun 14;
The talks, which were heading to a close on Saturday, drew some 1,900 diplomats from 182 countries to Bonn to line up what their leaders will be prepared to sign up to next year to tackle emissions that U.N.-backed scientists say will cause more severe flooding, droughts and the sea level to rise.
Negotiators and observers said signs of action from China and the United States, the world's top two emitters, had raised hopes but they warned the talks could break down unless rich nations pledged billions of dollars in aid to poorer states by the end of the year.
"We are getting to the point where all parties have a sense of trust that we can act together to combat climate change, but my biggest concern is about the cash," said Seyni Nafo, a Malian envoy representing a negotiating bloc of over 50 African states.
Developed nations agreed in 2009 to raise aid to developing nations to $100 billion a year by 2020 but the U.N.'s "Green Climate Fund" set up to channel the cash lies empty after launching last month.
Nafo said $7-8 billion dollars in pledges were needed by the year-end to start projects such as installing solar power or insurance schemes to help farmers cope with crop failures.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Nations agreed last year that the deal, due to be struck in Paris in 2015 and to enter into force from 2020, would consist of a framework of contributions from all countries to be proposed early next year.
Negotiations over the past two weeks focused on what those contributions should include, such as having major economies setting emission reduction or peaking targets. Some said these should also include binding financial aid commitments by richer nations to support the poor.
But there was little headway on which countries should make the strictest contributions - a thorny issue that could end a 20-year old distinction that meant effectively only developed nations had to take steps to curb their greenhouse gas output.
FALLING SHORT
The talks heard climate change would affect billions of people over the coming centuries due to rising sea levels but that cutting emissions now would be able to slow and limit much of that rise.
"We have started something that we simply cannot stop anymore," said Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, referring to U.S. research published last month on the West Antarctic ice shelf that signifies we have "entered a new era of irreversible climate change".
One observer at that presentation was Caleb Otto, U.N. Ambassador for Palau, a tiny island in the western Pacific Ocean identified among the countries with the most land to lose.
"For us in the Pacific we're already being submerged ... It's hard for people in the Convention to understand," he said, referring to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change under which the talks are held.
The contributions of all countries are expected to fall well short of the 40-70 percent cuts U.N. scientists say are needed by 2050 to reach a global goal to limit temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
To address the shortfall, a group of South American nations including Colombia and Peru called for a review process after the contributions come in early next year but South Africa said any assessment need only happen after the Paris deal is struck.
The formal process resumes in October with a week-long Bonn session and aims to agree on the main elements of a deal at a high-level session in Lima, Peru at the end of the year.
(Editing by David Evans)
Stephanie Nebehay PlanetArk 16 Jun 14;
Criminal gangs and rebel militias hunt dwindling herds for tusks that fetch many thousands of dollars per kilo, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species said.
"Today we are confronting a situation of industrial-scale poaching and smuggling, the involvement of organized transnational criminal organizations, the involvement of rebel militia," CITES secretary-general John Scanlon told a briefing.
Fighters of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) were sanctioned by the Security Council this year for illegal hunting and ivory trade, particularly in central Africa, he said.
The 2013 estimated figure is less than the peak of 25,000 elephants poached in 2011. But it was the third straight year that more than 20,000 were killed illegally on the continent that has an estimated 500,000 elephants left, according to CITES which monitors 51 sites, including national parks.
"It (poaching) is leveling off, but at a level that is far too high. The number of elephants that are killed is far exceeding the number of elephants being born," Scanlon said.
Large seizures of smuggled ivory in Africa, those over 500 kilos, rose in 2013, for the first time exceeding those in Asia, according to CITES. Its 1975 pact to ban or restrict trade in endangered species has been ratified by 180 countries.
A record 40,000 kilos were confiscated last year, already exceeded by an estimated 55,000 kilos seized this year, it said.
This was due to better enforcement especially in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, which accounted for 80 percent of the large-scale seizures in Africa last year, Scanlon said.
"We need to deploy the same sort of techniques that are deployed to combat other serious crimes such as illicit trade in narcotics, human trafficking or illicit trade in arms," he said.
Rangers, custom officials and prosecutors must tackle poaching, driven by speculators betting on extinction, he said.
CRIME CHAIN AND KINGPINS
In January, China did its first crushing of confiscated ivory, destroying 6.2 tonnes in Dongguan, and Hong Kong is incinerating 28 tonnes, Scanlon said, calling it "a very strong signal".
"It is crucial that we follow up after seizures with investigations so that we can address the entire crime chain right up to the receiver and the kingpin behind this illegal trade," said Ben Janse van Rensburg, CITES enforcement officer.
China and Kenya, which deploys an elite anti-poaching unit at border points, cooperated closely to target an ivory smuggling syndicate operating between the two states, he said.
"This collaboration resulted in the arrest of two Chinese nationals in Kenya which was followed by an extradition to China in early 2014," said Janse van Rensburg, calling them kingpins.
Poachers use sophisticated methods, said Tom de Meulenaer, CITES senior scientific officer. "Elephants are very difficult to hunt. That is why they resort to techniques such as poisoning, night goggles and helicopters."
Southern Africa is home to nearly 55 percent of Africa's known elephants, East Africa has 28 percent and Central Africa 16 percent, while West Africa has virtually none, CITES said.
Poaching is worst in central Africa, which has lost at least 60 percent of its elephants in the past decade, de Meulenaer said. "If this same trend continues in the next 10 years we may lose practically all of the elephants in central Africa."
CITES hosts a July 7-11 meeting to assess progress in eight countries identified last year as the most heavily implicated in the illegal ivory trade chain. These are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The agency can issue a warning or suspend wildlife trade with a country, but Scanlon said he doubted that would happen at this year's review of the eight offenders.
CITES bans virtually all trade in elephant ivory, rhino horns and tiger parts - often used in traditional medicines - in order to try to save them from extinction. The animals are also under threat from loss of habitat, climate change and pollution.
(This story was refiled to remove double reference to Uganda in the ninth paragraph)
(Editing by Toby Chopra)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07