Best of our wild blogs: 21-22 Jun 14



29 Jun (Sun): Mangrove cleanup @ Sungei Api-Api, Pasir Ris park
from The Green Volunteers

Sat 05 Jul 2014: 10.15am @ Singapore Botanic Gardens, Botany Centre – Two Talks on Moths
from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

Sticky
from The annotated budak

Beting Bronok: that bit of Singapore beyond the northern shores of Tekong
from The Long and Winding Road

Butterfly of the Month - June 2014
from Butterflies of Singapore

Brown Anole, a new exotic lizard for Singapore
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Short Walk At Punggol Track 22 (20 Jun 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Morning Walk At Venus Drive (18 Jun 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

The Green Books That Moved Me
from Green Future Solutions

Water quality of wetlands - Sengkang Floating Wetland
from Water Quality in Singapore

Donation of narwhal tusk to the Museum by Mdm Hoo Miew Oon
from News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum


Read more!

Singapore “concerned” about impact of Malaysia's reclamation works

Chitra Kumar Channel NewsAsia 21 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has said that given Singapore’s proximity to Johor, it is "naturally concerned" about any possible transboundary impact on the country from Malaysian property development projects that involve reclamation works in the Straits of Johor.

MFA was responding to queries following reports in the Malaysian media that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had written to his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak concerning the land reclamation works near the Second Link.

The MFA spokeswoman also said that there are international obligations for both Malaysia and Singapore authorities to work closely on such matters.

Malaysian reports said the project -- called Forest City -- involves several connected islands with a total land size of some 2,000 hectares.

The reports added that Mr Lee had asked Malaysia to provide all relevant information, including an environmental impact assessment report and an estimate of the project's completion date.

It has also been reported that Mr Lee's letter follows earlier diplomatic notes sent by Singapore to Malaysia's Foreign Ministry.

MFA has confirmed that it has asked the Malaysian authorities to provide more information, so that it can undertake a study as soon as possible on the impact of the reclamation works on Singapore and the Straits.

The ministry said Malaysia has agreed to do so and Singapore hopes to receive the information soon.

- CNA/nd

Singapore wants more information on Johor project: MFA
The Star/Asia News Network AsiaOne 22 Jun 14;

In response to media queries on Malaysian property development projects involving reclamation works in the Straits of Johor, the MFA Spokesman said:

"Given Johor's close proximity to Singapore, we are naturally concerned about any possible transboundary impact on Singapore from property development projects that involve reclamation works in the Straits of Johor.

"There are also international obligations for both Malaysia and Singapore authorities to work closely on such matters.

"We have asked the Malaysian authorities to provide more information so that we can undertake a study as soon as possible on the impacts of these reclamation works on Singapore and the Straits. They have agreed to do so and we hope to receive the information soon."

Singapore concerned over Johor project

PETALING JAYA: An ambitious project which will see massive land reclamation work near the Johor Second Link has raised eyebrows across the Causeway.

The project called Forest City, which is said to involve several connected islands with a total land size of about 2,000ha - bigger than Pangkor island - could have potential transboundary effects and Singapore is concerned.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak about the project.

This is a follow-up to two third-person notes from Singapore on the matter that were sent to the Foreign Ministry last month.

Another letter was handed to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar when he was in Singapore for a bilateral meeting recently.

Singapore started voicing its concern after a report appeared in The Star in March on the project by China's Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

The project will involve land reclamation to build luxury homes on man-made islands off Pendas in southern Johor.

So far, there have been no indications of environment impact assessment reports over the projects. However, reclamation of parcels of less than 50ha each do not require EIAs.

Parties close to royalty are believed to be linked to the project, which will be developed over more than 30 years.

In a recent The Star report, Kayson Yuen, Country Garden regional president for Malaysia project, said the company had studied the mega project for more than a year before it decided to invest.

Singapore's first diplomatic note asked Malaysia to provide all relevant information, including an EIA report and an estimate of the project's completion.

Singapore then sought clarification and explanation via the second note following Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin's assurance in the state assembly recently that the reclamation work would not affect the environment.

The mentri besar was reported to have said that the state government had issued a notice to the developer, Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd, to prepare an action plan to effectively clear any sediment caused by the reclamation work.

Industry sources said the concerns raised by Singapore should be taken seriously.

They said the fact that Singapore chose to raise its concerns at the government-to-government level when land development was a state matter indicated that the island republic was taking the issue very seriously.

"It becomes a federal matter when transboundary and environmental issues are involved," said one source.

"Singapore is using all channels to raise the matter so Malaysia needs to take this seriously."

Malaysian government officials were tight lipped, but assured that there were discussions ongoing with the other side and that relevant agencies in Johor had been asked to provide more details on the project.

There is also a concern that Singapore may lodge a protest with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg over the reclamation project.

Malaysia went to ITLOS in 2003 when Singapore started land reclamation work, totalling 5,214ha at the eastern and western parts of the Straits of Johor.

ITLOS then directed both countries to conduct a joint study and propose mitigating measures in Tuas and Pulau Tekong.

It also directed Singapore not to conduct reclamation that may cause irreparable damage to Malaysia's interests or serious harm to the area's marine environment.

Mega reclamation project off Johor raises concerns
The Straits Times AsiaOne 24 Jun 14;

Singapore has expressed concern to Malaysia over a proposal for a massive reclamation project to create an island in the Strait of Johor below the Second Link.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed yesterday that Singapore has asked for more information so it can study the possible impact on the Republic and the strait. "They have agreed to do so and we hope to receive the information soon," a spokesman said in response to media queries.

A report in the Malaysian daily The Star yesterday said that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, about the project.

That was a follow-up to two diplomatic notes on the matter sent to Malaysia's Foreign Ministry last month, the paper said. A third note was handed to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wahid Omar when he visited Singapore recently, it added.

The Star reported last Monday that China property developer Country Garden Holdings and a Johor government company, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor, were planning the reclamation project called Forest City for luxury homes.

The idea to create a 2,000ha island - nearly three times the size of Ang Mo Kio estate - will take 30 years to complete, Mr Kayson Yuen, Country Garden's regional president for the project, told the paper. A project map showed part of the man-made island under the Second Link, which connects Tuas in Singapore to Johor.

The Edge Review online magazine reported last month that Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Ismail Sultan Iskandar was behind the project, which was being promoted actively by powerful Johor politicians.

Mr Yuen told The Star that his Hong Kong-listed company had studied the project for more than a year before deciding to invest in it, and that an Australian consultant and local contractors had been hired for the reclamation works.

Singapore's MFA said yesterday: "Given Johor's close proximity to Singapore, we are naturally concerned about any possible transboundary impact on Singapore from property development projects that involve reclamation works in the Strait of Johor.

"There are also international obligations for both the Malaysian and Singapore authorities to work closely on such matters. We have asked the Malaysian authorities to provide more information, so that we can undertake a study as soon as possible on the impacts of these reclamation works on Singapore and the Strait. They have agreed to do so and we hope to receive the information soon."

The Star said yesterday there has been no indication that the parties behind the reclamation works submitted environment impact assessment reports to the government.

It noted, however, that reclamation works smaller than 50ha in land area need not submit environmental impact studies.

The Edge Review magazine had claimed in its report last month that the man-made island may be dissected by canals into smaller

Singapore concern over Johor project
MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR The Star 21 Jun 14;

PETALING JAYA: An ambitious project which will see massive land reclamation work near the Johor Second Link has raised eyebrows across the Causeway.

The project called Forest City, which is said to involve several connected islands with a total land size of about 2,000ha – bigger than Pangkor island – could have potential transboundary effects and Singapore is concerned.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak about the project.

This is a follow-up to two third-person notes from Singapore on the matter that were sent to the Foreign Ministry last month.

Another letter was handed to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar when he was in Singapore for a bilateral meeting recently.

Singapore started voicing its concern after a report appeared in The Star in March on the project by China’s Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

The project will involve land reclamation to build luxury homes on man-made islands off Pendas in southern Johor.

So far, there have been no indications of environment impact assessment reports over the projects. However, reclamation of parcels of less than 50ha each do not require EIAs.

Parties close to royalty are believed to be linked to the project, which will be developed over more than 30 years.

In a recent The Star report, Kayson Yuen, Country Garden regional president for Malaysia project, said the company had studied the mega project for more than a year before it decided to invest.

Singapore’s first diplomatic note asked Malaysia to provide all relevant information, including an EIA report and an estimate of the project’s completion.

Singapore then sought clarification and explanation via the second note following Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin’s assurance in the state assembly recently that the reclamation work would not affect the environment.

The mentri besar was reported to have said that the state government had issued a notice to the developer, Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd, to prepare an action plan to effectively clear any sediment caused by the reclamation work.

Industry sources said the concerns raised by Singapore should be taken seriously.

They said the fact that Singapore chose to raise its concerns at the government-to-government level when land development was a state matter indicated that the island republic was taking the issue very seriously.

“It becomes a federal matter when transboundary and environmental issues are involved,” said one source.

“Singapore is using all channels to raise the matter so Malaysia needs to take this seriously.”

Malaysian government officials were tight lipped, but assured that there were discussions ongoing with the other side and that relevant agencies in Johor had been asked to provide more details on the project.

There is also a concern that Singapore may lodge a protest with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg over the reclamation project.

Malaysia went to ITLOS in 2003 when Singapore started land reclamation work, totalling 5,214ha at the eastern and western parts of the Straits of Johor.

ITLOS then directed both countries to conduct a joint study and propose mitigating measures in Tuas and Pulau Tekong.

It also directed Singapore not to conduct reclamation that may cause irreparable damage to Malaysia’s interests or serious harm to the area’s marine environment.

Stormy property landscape
NG BEI SHAN The Star 21 Jun 14;

THE booming presence of developers from China in Johor has not only ruffled feathers among local developers but also sparked concerns of the Singapore government due to the massive land reclamation works.

Following the high-profile entrance of Guangzhou-based Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, which launched 9,000 units in Danga Bay at one-go in 2013, all eyes are now on other developers from China who are expected to adopt carpet bombing kind of development.

Country Garden made the first move in Johor Baru. It is followed by Guangzhou’s R&F Properties Co (R&F) that bought 116 acres near the first link in Johor Baru from the Sultan of Johor for RM4.5bil. R&F could be launching as many as 30,000 units over the next few years on land that is to be reclaimed.

Agile Property Holdings Ltd is another China-based developer that is expected to make its presence felt in Johor Baru after it bought 1.3ha from Tropicana Corp Bhd in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

A study by a government investment body, which had undertaken a comprehensive development plan for Johor estimated that the number of new condominiums coming up in Johor Baru is about 30 times over the number of units built in Mont Kiara.

“That is the number of new units coming into the market,” says an official.

But what has caught the attention of the Singapore government is a project near the Second Link involving 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) reclaimed from the sea.

Country Garden, one of the Top 10 developers in China, has teamed up with a subsidiary of Johor’s state-owned investment arm, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ), to undertake the job.





Singapore’s concern

The development has caught the attention of Singaporean authorities who felt that it would eventually have an impact on their shore line.

Towards this end, Singapore has sent a note to Wisma Putra expressing concerns over the project.

“It is being dealt with” says a source.

An addition of 5,000 acres also means that there will be much more land in the southern region, possibly impacting the sustainability of the supply-and-demand chain.

In an interview with StarBizWeek, Country Garden regional president for Malaysia project Kayson Yuen says the mega project “Forest City” will span over 30 years and the company had studied it more than a year ago before committing into it.

He said the land was bought at a “reasonable price” but could not furnish with details for Forest City’s land cost.

As for R&F, a very high-density project is in the pipeline, with the company planning to launch 15 blocks in the first phase. The six plots it bought from the Johor Sultan last year came with a high plot ratio of 1:10.

Industry observers say the plot ratio can be further extended to 1:13.

R&F plans to develop high-rise residential units, retail properties, offices, hotel and a shopping mall, all of which will be on a saleable floor area of about 3.5 million sq m, which is close to 10 times the floor space of the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital.

Local developers are starting to feel the pressure following the massive developments by the Chinese developers.

But the developers from China are optimistic that Johor will be akin to Shenzhen and the units being built would eventually be taken up.

Says Yuen: “It takes Shenzhen 20 years to where it is today... so we expect for it to take some time for Johor to develop into the same status.”

But Iskandar Malaysia, which is almost three times the size of Singapore, is already being positioned as the Shenzen of Hong Kong. Shenzhen is about twice the area of Hong Kong.

Iskandar’s sustainability

The Chinese are investing in Malaysia because of political stability, potential from the Singapore spillover effect, low cost of entry, cultural similarities, language and also partly due to the slowdown of the property market in China.

The developers, especially listed companies, come to Malaysia because it is still considered one of the most affordable countries in the region.

“Take Vietnam as an example, the recent (anti-China) riot shows that there is a considerable political risk to invest in the Indo Chinese nation,” one developer explains.

As for the Philippines, the political relationship is not amicable over the years.

Singapore, on the other hand, is expensive.

Betting on Iskandar Malaysia as the next Shenzhen, Johor becomes a natural investment choice for China developers but it is also the very same reason that Malaysia has to strike a balance to maintain a congenial relationship with Singapore.

That said, the sustainability of Iskandar Malaysia is in question due to supply far outstripping demand.

Currently, Iskandar Malaysia has a population of 1.6 million while Singapore has 5.4 million.

Shenzhen’s population is a whopping 11 million while Hong Kong’s has 7.2 million.

That leads to another question: Who will take up the massive supply of houses in Iskandar Malaysia and Johor Baru?

Country Garden’s Yuen says Chinese buyers make up 35%, locals 40% and Singaporeans 20% for its high-rise Danga Bay project.

Who are the buyers?

While there are rumours that Country Garden has employed a “buy-one-free-one” approach to lure Chinese buyers, Yuen outright denied such talks.

One commercial banker tells StarBizWeek that many of the purchasers from China who buys into Malaysian properties fall into the middle-income level.

Their profiles range from small business owners, teachers to executives.

“To them, Malaysian properties are very cheap. Some of them do not even bother to take up loans due to the lengthy process of approval.”

He says such buyers will opt to buy in cash and the property prices here are much cheaper compared with those in their homeland.

Some buy the houses as investment while others buy for their children, so that when they send their children here, there will a place for them to live.

“Other countries like Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong are too expensive for the middle-income Chinese buyers while in Thailand, foreigners cannot own property there,” he explains.

Depending on the bank, the process to approve the loans may vary.

He says normally foreign buyers can get 50% to 60% loan of the total purchase price and banks may request for the foreign buyers to deposit few more months of instalments upfront.

“To prevent the risk of default, banks are usually more cautious with the approval process as the checking of the income statement can be different from the local buyers.

“Some banks may also perform a credit checking on the buyers in their country,” he adds.

It is usually easier for buyers to borrow from the developers’ panel banks, which can also be a local bank.

As for Country Garden, analysts say the company raises bonds in Hong Kong and utilise the funds for its expansion overseas.

While listing can be another way of raising funds, in Country Garden’s case, analysts opine that floatation of its Malaysian unit is unlikely to happen in the near-term.

As for project execution, industry players note that besides developers from China, many contractors from the mainland are also moving into Malaysia.

However, Country Garden’s Yuen says it engages with mostly local contractors for its projects in Johor and hired an Australian consultant for the gargantuan reclamation works.

Chain reaction from China?

So far, Country Garden has the most number of notable projects in Malaysia. R&F is fast gain prominence with its launches in a big way.

Country Garden’s Danga Bay project has a gross development value of RM10bil while its projects in Semenyih and Serendah are estimated at RM3.5bil jointly. It also has the major capital commitment for the land reclamation works for the Forest City off the coast of Pendas, Johor.

Some quarters are concerned that the property growth in China will have an impact on the Chinese developers that have venutred into Malaysia following reports of property bubbles in some of the cities in China.

John So of RHB Research who is based in Hong Kong tells StarBizWeek that the perception that there is a property bubble in the third and fourth-tier cities in China is a “simplistic view”.

“The national home sales (of China) has gone down 10% for the first five months while developers like Country Garden and Evergrande Real Estate Group have experienced robust growth for the same period,” he says.

He notes that sales in certain tier-one and two cities have slowed down by some 20% and it will be impacted by affordability and demand.

The issue of funding
THEAN LEE CHENG The Star 21 Jun 14;

LARGE banners the size of multi-storey buildings and hoardings herald the coming launch of a Chinese mainland developer Guangzhou R&F Properties. Since 2012, it has made its presence felt buying up tracks of land.

Says a 50-something Johorean: “The Chinese developers did things in a big way. They imported grown trees for their projects and spend millions on landscaping. The effect of growns trees on the project was immediate. This impressed many Johoreans.”

The economic spin-offs were massive. But things began to change.

“We have enjoyed the land that fronts the Johor Straits, formerly Lido Beach. That is a public area. Today it is known as Danga Bay and it has become private property.”

The Danga Bay project, a joint venture between Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd and Country Garden Properties (M) Sdn Bhd, a unit of China-based Country Garden Holdings, is the Chinese developer’s first foray abroad.

The mainland Chinese also irked local developers who quietly voiced their discontent. They pay premium prices for land.

The last two years, Malaysia has become the darling of Chinese developers. According to real estate consultancy Savills, Greenland Group announced in March a US$3.3bil deal in two residential and hotel projects here.

It joins smaller peers Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd and Agile Property Holdings Ltd, which have invested a combined US$2.7bil in Malaysia.

In 2013, Chinese institutional and retail investors invested a total of US$1.9bil into real estate in Malaysia, exceeding the US$867mil invested in Hong Kong and US$1.8bil invested in Singapore.

“Malaysia is the cheapest in the region in terms of capital city pricing,” says IP Global chief executive of property investment consultant and underwriter Tim Murphy told Reuters in March. He likes Malaysia also because of the “strong foreign ownership level and because you can borrow money. Lenders are friendly.”

Shadow banking is a huge issue currently in China. How Chinese developers fund their projects is haunting the overall Chinese economy because a collapse in the property sector will have far reaching effects on the broader Chinese economy. The contagion effect on Malaysia would be massive.

Shadow banking, the use of funds from non-bank sources, funded most of the development in second and third-tier cities in China. Most of these projects continue to remain empty years after completion. Credit Suisse analyst Victor Wang in a May 9 report says China banks have limited direct loan exposure to the property sector but a total 54% of their loans are collateralised lending. Dropping asset (property) prices and a prolonged weak construction activity would “impact” loan quality.

“Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China... are relatively safer banks from this angle as 7.0% and 7.7% of their 2013 loans (respectively) were lent to developers,” says Wang. Exposure of lenders to the sector may be far greater due to off-balance sheet fund raising.

While foreigners are barred from buying homes in China, they are exposed to the sector when they lend to real estate companies via bond investments.

Financial Times had reported that since 2010, foreign investors had lent Chinese real estate companies almost US$50bil and US$6bil in yuan-denominated debt, citing Dealogic. Developers accounted for a fifth or 20% of all non-financial dollar bonds sold by companies across Asia (excluding Japan) in 2013, and more than 40% of new issuance this year.

Developers also use offshore entities to borrow foreign currency using a variety of structures that link onshore and offshore companies to avoid a myriad of restrictions on capital flows. These entities may be based in Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands.

Last month, Country Garden postponed the launch of a US dollar bond issue, and this was perceived as yet another sign of growing concern. The Hong Kong-listed company met with investors to gauge appetite for a deal but did not press ahead with it, the Financial Times reported. A number of Chinese developers have suffered in the equity market this year.

Country Garden was planning to use funds from the proposed deal to refinance existing debt. Chinese developers have been active in the bond markets over the past two years, driving issuance in Asia.

On the local home front, Malaysia’s relatively easy laws have also attracted a considerable number of Chinese individual buyers.

The lost of flight MH370, however, has scuttled some of these deals, property consultants said. New investment instruments have resulted in the Chinese going for quick sales if sentiments turn weak or if they see unattractive returns from their property investments.

In Malaysia, Country Garden has come under scrutiny, not over funding, but its plan to reclaim 2,023 ha on the Johor Straits.

According to a source, Country Garden has been called to a meeting with the Department of Environment in the capital last week. Country Garden’s regional president Kayson Yuen said yesterday he has returned to China for a meeting.

A source said detailed studies of the site are on-going. “Country Garden is making efforts in terms of environmental management and in getting the planning right.”

The source said the layout has not been finalised although the land has been reclaimed.

No EIA, but Johor coastal reclamation projects already underway, say sources
The Malaysian Insider MSN News 22 Jun 14;

Despite the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and a call for intervention by Singapore, two massive reclamation projects are well underway in the Johor straits that separate Malaysia and the island republic.
The coastal reclamation work has also raised concerns over the effect the project will have on the coastal eco-system and the livelihood of fishermen in the area apart from Malaysia's transhipment hub in the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP).

An environmentalist who declined to be named questioned how work was allowed to proceed despite the projects being "illegal" in the absence of the EIA report.

Several queries by The Malaysian Insider to the Department of Environment (DOE) on the status of the projects, their impact on the environment and the lack of an EIA report have not been answered.

Johor health and environment exco Datuk Ayub Rahmat had told The Malaysian Insider when contacted that it was unlikely that no EIA report was done for the reclamation projects.

Nevertheless, he said that he was waiting for a report by the state's Economic Planning Unit (EPU) on the matter.

"It is improbable that there is no EIA report if it is indeed required. Even for the Tanjung Kupang reclamation project, a preliminary EIA report has been done, so it cannot be that no such report was done for the other reclamation projects.

"Whether it’s a big or small company doing the project, I'm sure they know the law so let's not politicise the issue until we find out the facts and the EPU report is ready, hopefully in a week's time," he had said last week.

The source, however, disagreed with Ayub, saying that as of June 15, 2014, publicly available information on the DOE web portal showed that no EIA report, either preliminary or detailed, was submitted by Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd for the 2,000 ha project, and by Spektrum Kukuh Sdn Bhd for its reclamation off Tanjung Piai.

According to the source, most worrying of all was the coastal reclamation work stretching over 1,817ha by Country Garden Pacific View, dubbed the Forest City.

The plot near the second link crossing to Singapore has also been given a lot number, Lot PTD 4071, Mukim Tanjung Kupang, Daerah Johor Baru.

A company search in February revealed that one of the directors of Country Garden Pacific View is Datuk Daing A. Malek Daing A. Rahaman, who is believed to be a long-time friend of the Sultan of Johor and is a member of the council of the Royal Court of Advisers to the Sultan.

China's Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd had undertaken its first project in Danga Bay, which covers 20ha of land – for which it paid RM900 million several years ago.

It was reported that Country Garden Holdings and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor are jointly undertaking the new Forest City project, which is poised to become a tourism hub.

Two weeks ago, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin had assured the state assembly that the land reclamation for the development of the Forest City project in Iskandar Malaysia would not affect the environment.

He had also said that the state government had issued a notice to the developer, Country Garden Pacific View to prepare an action plan to effectively clear any sediment caused by the reclamation work.

He also reportedly said that the DOE would be closely monitoring the activities carried out throughout the duration of the project to ensure that the environment was not compromised.

The other reclamation project covering 1,410ha near Tanjung Piai, which is the southern most tip of continental Asia, is being undertaken by Benalec Holdings for the purpose of an industrial oil and gas hub.

The Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Idris Sultan Ibrahim and Daing A. Malek are directors of Spektrum Kukuh, which partnered Benalec in the Tanjung Piai reclamation project.

"There are serious environmental concerns here because the area is surrounded by fishing villages, given the rich sea grass and marine diversity,” the source said of the projects.

"Their livelihoods will be affected by the coastal reclamation.”

The source questioned how the land reclamation was allowed to be carried out without detailed EIA reports as required under the law for coastal reclamation projects over 50ha in size.

This requirement is stated under the Environmental Quality (prescribed activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987 to be read together with the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

The Edge Review had reported three weeks ago that Singapore's diplomatic feathers had been ruffled over concerns that the Country Garden project would extend the Johor coast around the Second Link right up to the edge of the boundary separating Malaysia from Singapore.

Media reports said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had written to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to voice his concerns over the project.

Another letter was handed to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar when he was in Singapore recently, according to the report.

The Sultan of Johor, when officiating the opening of the second session of the state assembly last month, had made remarks about the DOE and had said that environment and water issues were state matters.

The sultan had said in his speech that in carrying out development work, environmental issues needed to be given priority and that EIA reports needed to be prepared for development projects.

"However, there are irresponsible quarters who use their powers with the EIA as a weapon to stop a development that does not benefit them.

"For instance, the development project by Benalec, where the MOU was signed three years ago and witnessed by the prime minister himself, has yet to obtain the EIA approval until now," Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had said.

The sultan had further questioned why certain quarters were bent on delaying the approval, and said that such actions only hindered the development of the state and drove away investors.

"Johor is for the people of Johor and only the people know the conditions and the needs of the state so why are there outsiders who are trying to interfere or even trying to teach us what we should do in our own state?" the sultan had asked.

The Johor ruler had also suggested that the jurisdiction on environmental issues be handled by the state government because it was related to land and water matters.

"A state environmental body should be set up under the Johor state enactment as what has been done in Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak," the sultan had said. – June 23, 2014.

Is JB the next Shenzen of China?
A JALIL HAMID New Straits Times 22 Jun 14;

MAJOR property developers from China are making a beeline for Johor Baru, cashing in on the foreign-led property boom that analysts say could have some impact on diplomacy, environment and domestic politics.

The Chinese builders are tapping into the new “growth corridor” of Iskandar, its proximity to Singapore and the deep-pocketed buyers from China and Singapore.

Even established local developers were ruffled by the presence of the Chinese companies, which seemed to be unleashing a huge number of units at just one go.

China-based Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, for example, sold 6,000 condominium units at Danga Bay within a few months, with Singaporean and mainland Chinese snapping up the bulk of the units.

Guangzhou-based R&F Properties Co Ltd, which in December last year bought 116 acres of land near the Causeway from the sultan of Johor for RM4.5 billion, is developing what it called R&F Princess Cove.

News reports said it could be selling up to 30,000 units over the next few years on the land and the adjacent land that is to be reclaimed. Set up in 1994, R&F claimed it is China’s No. 1 “comprehensive property developer”.

Chinese developers are pumping billions of dollars into projects across the globe as regulatory restrictions in China and rising concerns that the property market is overheating have forced many to venture abroad.

“Like other developers, R&F made the move to diversify its investment portfolio outside China as domestic property curbs don’t seem to end soon,” Alan Jin, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd, was quoted as saying.

For various reasons, Johor Baru and the greater Iskandar region seem to be their favourite destination. But the rise of China’s developers in Johor has also led to some side issues.

An ambitious plan by China’s Country Garden and a Johor state agency to reclaim 2,000ha of land and turn it into a man-made island off the Second Link, near Tuas, in Singapore has drawn deep concerns from the Singapore government.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a few weeks ago, asking for more details on the project, which apparently is located too close to the Singapore border.

“We are asking for more information, especially the shape, the profile and the timeline of the project,” said one Singapore source.

The issue was also raised by Singapore during the recent meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore joint committee on environment.

Country Garden has teamed up with state-owned investment arm Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor to undertake the project. Singapore is concerned that the project could impact its boundary and marine environment.

A bigger concern for the Johor government is that the property boom in Iskandar could spawn discontent among the local population since the skyrocketing house prices seem to be out of their reach.

Without the corresponding rise in the supply of “affordable” homes, Johoreans might find themselves being priced out of the medium- to high-end property market in JB.

This is not to mention the rise in the cost of living, with businesses and services targeting the more upmarket residents from Singapore and China. Malays will not be able to match the purchasing power of the foreigners.

Already, we have seen the growing number of “homeless” in the city centre. These are Malays who commute to Singapore daily to work but cannot afford to rent a house in the city.

Malay voters in Johor Baru may also find themselves becoming a “minority” if more and more non-Malay voters move into the city centre. In short, there will be a massive shift in the demographics.

We could eventually see more Malays selling off their JB properties and moving elsewhere. Will the much-debated housing board be able to quickly address this demographic deficit? Time will tell.


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Malaysia: The haze is here again

HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM The Star 21 Jun 14;

PETALING JAYA: Local pollution and lower rainfall have contributed to a thin layer of haze enveloping certain parts of the country.

Malaysian Meteorological De­­partment spokesman Dr Hisham Mohd Anip said the haze, likely due to smoke emitted from factories and vehicles, was not too serious at present.

Dr Hisham said no rainfall was expected until next week, except for local isolated rain in inland areas.

“We are now in the south-west monsoon season. It is normal for the country to receive low rainfall during this season,” he said.

“Most places in the peninsula will get rainfall between 75mm and 150mm this month, which is 20-40% lower than normal.”

He said the south-west monsoon season, which began in the middle of last month, would continue until early September, bringing in heat, less rainfall and fewer cloud formations.

He added that the El Nino phenomenon would kick in between this month and August and persist for at least five to six months.

Dr Hisham said the hot spell had also caused an increase in the number of open burning, forest and peat fires.

A check with the Fire and Rescue Depart­ment’s website revealed a total of 416 cases of open burning, forest fires and peat fires throughout the country as of Monday.

“However, the number of hot spots detected (based on satellite images) is still low,” said Dr Hisham.

“On Thursday, we detected two hot spots in the peninsula and Sabah and nine in Sarawak.”

Satellite images also showed two hot spots in Sumatera and 26 in Kalimantan, Indonesia, but Dr Hisham said they did not contribute to the current hazy condition.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as at 3pm showed many places with good and moderate readings.

An API reading between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, hazardous.


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Indonesia: Residents warned over haze returning to Sumatra

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 22 Jun 14;

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has called on residents to prepare for the worst as forest and peatland fires intensify leading up to the peak of the dry season in two months.

BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said some parts of Riau were once again blanketed in choking haze.

The affected areas include Rengat, Pelalawan, Dumai and Pekanbaru. Haze, however, has yet to severely reduce visibility in those areas.

“In Rengat, the visibility is 3 kilometers, while Dumai is at 6 kilometers and Pekan Baru is 8 kilometers. Those numbers are still normal,” Sutopo told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Sutopo also said the reappearance of haze in Riau was undoubtedly caused by forest and land clearing, usually done to make way for plantations. According to the Terra and Aqua satellites, as of Saturday, there were at least 250 hotspots across Riau.

Rokan Hilir recorded the highest number of hotspots, 157, followed by Bengkalis, Dumai, Rokan Hulu, Pelalawan, Kampar, Inhil, Kuansing and Siak.

“The number of hotspots has increased significantly, as of yesterday [Friday] there were only 80 hotspots detected,” Sutopo said, adding that higher temperatures had contributed to the spike.

It is predicted that the number of hotspots would peak between August and October.

Instead of conducting firefighting efforts, strict law enforcement aimed at prevention would be more effective in combating haze, Sutopo said. “It is not easy to extinguish peatland fires.”

He went on to say that the forest and peatland fires that hit from February to April in Riau alone had caused Rp 20 trillion (US$1.6 billion) in damage. As many as 2,398 hectares of biosphere reserve and 21,914 hectares of land were razed.

The haze resulting from the fires affected 6 million people, with 58,000 suffering from respiratory illnesses.

The BNPB previously disbursed Rp 134 billion and deployed 4,931 personnel to tackle the problem.

“It really takes a lot of money to handle the forest and peatland fires. Therefore, the most effective way is applying strict law enforcement,” Sutopo said.

Meanwhile, BNPB head Syamsul Maarif said that he had called on local governments, especially the Riau provincial administration, to help prevent forest and peatland fires.

The haze has been a major problem for Riau and other provinces in Sumatra for years.

Last year, a diplomatic war of words ensured after the haze drifted over to Malaysia and Singapore, causing a severe health hazard for residents there. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono eventually issued a formal apology to the two nations.

BNPB warns Sumatrans of haze from forest fires
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 21 Jun 14;

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has issued a warning that thick haze could cover several regions in Sumatra, especially Riau, due to several large forest fires spotted on the island during this dry season.

Sutopo Purwo Yuwono of the BNPB said that haze was already building in several regions in Riau such as Rengat, Pelalawan, Dumai and Pekanbaru. He also said that 250 hotspots had been spotted in Riau alone.

He noted, however, that the haze had yet to become significant.

“Visibility still ranges from three to eight kilometers in those regions,” he said on Saturday.

Sutopo said that according to BNPB calculations, the forest fires, which started in February, had so far caused Rp 20 billion in state losses, mainly due to damage to biosphere forests.

Additionally, he said 6 million people stood to be affected by the fires.

To date, the BNPB has disbursed Rp 134 billion and deployed 4,391 personnel in its effort extinguish the fires.(dic)


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Eco-park coming up in Riau Islands

Tee Zhuo The Straits Times AsiaOne 21 Jun 14;

A giant new eco-park will soon be just a short boat ride away, after a local firm inked a deal with a theme park operator to build the new attraction yesterday.

Singapore's Funtasy Island Development (FID) and theme park specialist Seven Seas signed an equal-stake joint venture agreement to develop the 300ha park in Indonesia's Riau Islands.

When completed in 2017, the $200 million park will feature mangrove tours, an underwater viewing aquarium, an avian sanctuary and a dolphin habitat.

It will be a short 20-minute ferry ride away from Singapore and is aimed at families here looking for a short getaway, said FID managing director Michael Yong.

"Our purpose is not to change the natural environment. In fact, 70 per cent of the island will be conserved as natural sanctuaries, with facilities and infrastructure occupying only 30 per cent."

The theme park is expected to attract over one million visitors a year, although the operators have decided to keep visitors to below 1.5 million annually to preserve the island's natural environment.

FID expects 40 per cent of visitors will stay on the island, including at accommodation managed by Meritus Hotels & Resorts. The others will be day-trippers.

The theme park is the latest addition to the $300 million Funtasy Island project, which occupies a cluster of six islands. FID was established in 2010 to manage and market the project developed by PT Batam Island Marina.

- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/eco-park-coming-riau-islands#sthash.SGZP42NC.dpuf


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Whampoa's descendant donates rare whale tusk

David Ee The Straits Times AsiaOne 22 Jun 14;

The sword-like tusk of a whale known as the "unicorn of the ocean" will take pride of place at the new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum when it opens next year.

The narwhal tusk, which is at least 200 years old, had belonged to businessman "Whampoa" Hoo Ah Kay, one of Singapore's pioneers of the 1800s.

On Wednesday, his great-granddaughter Hoo Miew Oon, 79, donated the family heirloom to the museum, formerly known as the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

The 2.7m-long tusk, which when placed upright is as tall as the tallest human in history, had been given to Whampoa in the 1860s by the Russian government, for whom he was consul in Singapore. It then remained in his family for four generations. It is considered a rare specimen, as these tusks grow only as long as 3m.

"I will miss it," Madam Hoo said at her Dempsey home, as professional movers engaged by the museum packed the spirally tusk. But she insisted this was the right time to give it up. "The museum holds more than 500,000 specimens. I know it will be in its good hands."

The artefact is her "treasured birthday gift" to the nation for its 50th year of independence next year, she added, happy that the public will finally be able to see it.

The narwhal tusk is actually an extremely long tooth of the male of the species. The mammals have other teeth that usually remain much shorter. While scientists are uncertain of the tusk's exact purpose, they believe it to be used for mating rituals, and for males to fight off rival suitors.

Narwhals are considered a moderately threatened species, with an estimated 75,000 still alive in waters around the Arctic circle. The Inuit people in northern Canada and Greenland have hunted them for their tusks and skin for more than a thousand years.

The museum's project manager, Dr Tan Swee Hee, called the donation "unprecedented", and said it takes on added importance because of its provenance. "We have never had anything so spectacular donated to us."

The tusk - believed to be the only one here - will be on permanent display in the museum's mammal zone.

It was first kept at Whampoa Gardens, where Whampoa displayed his rare animal and bird species, then in the Club Street home of his son Hoo Keng Tuck, Madam Hoo's late grandfather.

During World War II, it escaped the notice of Japanese soldiers as her grandfather, a lawyer, hid it behind a giant four-poster bed covered with mosquito netting.

The museum has received other prominent donations in the past, including from Whampoa.

In 1877, three years before he died, he gave the then Raffles Museum a tooth from a stegodon, a prehistoric animal similar to elephants and mammoths.

The museum also has in its collection the skins of gibbons, orang utans and sun bears. They were donated by animal trader William Lawrence Soma Basapa, who set up the now long-gone Punggol Zoo in 1928.

A home filled with love for the sea and nature
David Ee The Straits Times 22 Jun 14;


Ocean motifs catch the eye in Madam Hoo Miew Oon's old-world home deep within the Dempsey district.

In her sitting room is perched - almost from floor to ceiling - a sword-like narwhal tusk she has now donated to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

But the humbler items around the house are the things that reveal the 79-year-old's love for the sea and nature. Numerous colourful ceramic lobsters and crabs in grey-blue and red adorn the walls.

She told The Straits Times that the crustaceans take her back to her childhood by the sea in Pasir Panjang. That is where the housewife met her husband Yap Boh Lee, 80, a retiree who used to work in insurance.

Madam Hoo is one of 18 great-grandchildren of early Singapore pioneer Hoo Ah Kay, or Whampoa, who was born in Whampoa in Guangdong, China, and came here in 1830 at age 15 looking for work.

Whampoa went on to create a name for his family's company, Whampoa and Co, as a ship's chandler to the British Royal Navy. He was also appointed consul in Singapore for three nations - Russia, China and Japan.

His celebrated Whampoa Gardens home in Serangoon, acquired by the Government in 1964 and demolished, was open to the public during Chinese New Year and became a popular gathering spot.

He died in 1880 at age 64. His name continues to grace roads here, a river and a district.

Madam Hoo is the granddaughter of Whampoa's youngest of three sons, the late lawyer Hoo Keng Tuck. She and her husband have two children - a daughter who works as a doctor in the United States, and a son who works in finance.


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Website to serve as matchmaker for solar firms

Chia Yan Min The Straits Times AsiaOne 22 Jun 14;

A new website launched yesterday aims to make the costly and time-consuming process of finding the right solar panel provider for your home or office much easier.

The site - SolarPVExchange - is a matchmaker in that it links solar panel installers and property owners, allowing firms to submit price quotes for projects put up by individuals and companies.

Property owners will also be able to use the website to estimate their utility bill savings from using solar energy.

SolarPVExchange will take a 4 per cent cut from the cost of successful installation projects.

Interest in solar energy has been gaining momentum, with policymakers aiming to boost its take-up here, including ensuring that it is used across more government buildings and spaces.

"Solar energy is still not widely used here partly due to a lack of access to information," said Mr Rob Khoo, SolarPVExchange's managing director.

This is despite the cost of solar panel installation falling significantly in the past decade.

Mr Khoo added that commercial property owners and developers have expressed interest in the new platform as a more efficient method of tendering for solar energy projects.

About 15 solar panel installation companies have signed on to the platform. There are more than 20 companies in the solar energy sector here.

The cost of installing panels in a home can range from $10,000 to $40,000, depending on the complexity of the process, said Mr Khoo.

Home owners who find the costs too prohibitive can opt for the new site's "crowdleasing" function, which will be rolled out next month.

This will allow investors to help finance installations in homes and offices.

Property owners - who do not incur any upfront costs - will then split their utility bill savings with investors.

"The benefits of solar energy are there, but for a lot of home owners it's a matter of how the installation is financed," said Mr Khoo.

Solar energy firms said the market for installing panels on commercial buildings has gained significantly more traction than residential demand.

Mr Ken Tan, director of solar energy firm Ecosys Infrastructure, said the company has seen rising interest among commercial and industrial property owners, of both upcoming and existing buildings.

This has been concentrated among larger firms, however, as "solar panels require significant roof space".

Ms Tricia Chia, 34, said she has been considering alternative energy for her terraced home because of high utility bills.

"I've always understood it to be quite costly, and not an option for residential homes," added Ms Chia, who works in a private bank.

"But there now seem to be new technologies and financing methods that are more palatable for home owners."

SolarPVExchange was also launched in Malaysia yesterday and will be progressively rolled out to the rest of the region, said Mr Khoo.

The company is also looking into similar platforms for other forms of renewable energy, such as wind and hydroelectric power, he added.


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BCA releases ‘green’ guidelines for landlords, tenants

Chitra Kumar Channel NewsAsia 20 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has released environmentally-friendly guidelines for landlords and tenants that can be adapted as part of a Green Lease agreement.

A Green Lease agreement ensures that the landlords and tenants list down their commitments to, for example, cut energy use.

All tenants at 313@Somerset in Orchard Road are bound by a Green Lease agreement.

The Green Lease agreement formed part of the leasing contract when the mall opened in 2009.

It commits both parties to improve energy-saving practices and for the landlord to provide resources to encourage tenants to adopt energy-efficient equipment and materials.

Building owner Lend Lease said initial challenges include engaging the tenants and changing their mindsets.

Tenants in its other malls -- Jem in Jurong East and Parkway Parade in Marine Parade -- are also on Green Lease.

Thirukumaran Jallendra, head of Sustainability (Asia) at Lend Lease, said: “We have a team of retail design managers and a centre management team who will work with them, who will share with them our guidelines and take them through the process, make them understand what works, what doesn't work.

“From our assessment of all three malls, we're averaging something between 20 and 30 per cent of energy savings on a monthly basis. So that's how much tenants tend to save if they comply with the requirements that we set out for them."

Speaking at the opening of the Green Building Exhibition on Friday (June 20), Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Ms Grace Fu also said that two new Government Land Sales sites -- in Woodlands Regional Centre and Punggol -- will have to meet BCA Green Mark Gold Plus standards.

- CNA/nd

Toolkit aims to get more to sign 'green leases'
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 23 Jun 14;

It takes landlord and tenant to agree on how to cut energy and water use, and the authorities have introduced guidelines to nudge more to sign such "green leases".

Yesterday, the guidelines by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) were announced by Ms Grace Fu, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, at the launch of its Green Building Exhibition at Marina Square.

The commercial and service-related building sector uses 38 per cent of Singapore's energy, she said. Tenants in a commercial building typically are responsible for half of that usage.

The BCA has put out examples of how "green leases" might work. For instance, landlords could ask tenants to install energy-efficient lighting and fittings. In turn, they may offer the tenant renovation advice to cut energy use.

BCA chief executive John Keung said the green lease toolkit serves as "a starting point" for landlords and tenants to discuss what can be done.

Why suggest leases rather than issue guidelines for tenants? "I think all this boils down to a matter of commitment, because if it's part and parcel of the lease... then both parties can understand what they should and shouldn't do," Dr Keung said.

The BCA wants to attract "as many as possible" to sign such leases, he said.

And greener lease terms would complement existing Green Mark certification programmes for developers. "I suppose it's quite true that if your tenants sign up for a green lease, then the chances of you getting recertified at a higher level are much better," he said.

Currently, at least eight malls by developers CapitaLand and Lend Lease offer some or all of their tenants such lease terms. They are Bedok Mall, Bugis+, JCube, Junction 8, Westgate, 313@Somerset, Parkway Parade and Jem.

Mr Thirukumaran Jallendran, Lend Lease's head of sustainability for Asia, said all of its tenants are on such green leases. For instance, they may use at most 35 watts of power to light each square metre of space.

Lend Lease malls here - 313@Somerset, Parkway Parade and Jem - are Green Mark Platinum certified.

Yesterday, Ms Fu, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, announced that developments at two more strategic sites - Woodlands Regional Centre and Punggol - would have to meet Green Mark Platinum or Gold Plus standards.

Woodlands has many new projects and Punggol is a demonstration eco-town, Dr Keung noted. Currently, only those in Marina Bay and Jurong Lake District must meet these requirements, the highest two of four awards for new buildings.


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Malaysia: El Nino this year won’t be extreme, says dept

The Star 21 Jun 14;

PETALING JAYA: Unlike the extreme El Nino in 1997 and 1998, the effects this year may not cause widespread or prolonged water shortages, said the Meteorological Department.

Spokesman Dr Hisham Mohd Anip said the intensity of this year’s El Nino would be weak and moderate.

“The good news is that we may not see the dry dams and taps which we had in 1997 and 1998,” he told The Star.

Dr Hisham pointed out that the last El Nino, between 2009 and 2010, was also moderate and passed with little impact.

“Nobody even noticed,” he said.

However, he pointed out that their El Nino analysis was a long-term forecast and underscored that mother nature was unpredictable.

Dr Hisham said the global weather phenomenon occurred every four years on average and could last up to 18 months.

“It develops in the middle of the year and matures in December or January before it weakens and ends in March,” he said.

El Ninos starts with the unusual warming of the ocean surface in the tropics before it spreads and affects other parts of the globe.

The last extreme El Nino reportedly resulted in the deaths of an estimated 23,000 people around the world due to extreme hot weather, drought, wildfires, floods and cyclones.

Dr Hisham said that most of Malaysia had good or moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) readings yesterday.

“We are still in a dry period, which will last for one or two weeks, and there could be some haze,” he said, adding that there should be more rain next month.


Padi farming bodies to plan for El Nino
New Straits Times 22 Jun 14;

KOTA BARU: The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry has directed its agencies managing padi farming to take measures to handle the adverse effects of the El Nino phenomenon.

Deputy Minister Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said the agencies should revise schedules on planting and irrigation of farms to ensure the padi plants would not be ruined by a potentially long dry season.

He said agencies, such as Kemubu Agriculture Development Authority in Kelantan, had been told to carry out study on areas most likely to be affected by the El Nino.

“Early preparation should be made for farming management, such as determining the best time to channel water to the fields and harvest the crop,” he said after opening the annual general meeting of Jaya Peringat Area Farmers Organisation (AFO) here yesterday.

He said the government had set aside RM15 million to build tube wells in areas with irrigation problems during prolonged dry spell

“More than 70 tube wells can be constructed as RM200,000 is expected to be spent on each well.”

Tajuddin said even if the forecast of El Nino fell short, the tube wells could still be used by the people in the surrounding areas for household use.

On another note, he said AFO in various padi farming areas in the country should form consortiums as a vehicle for farmers to branch out to wider rice production business.

“They should have their own rice processing factory and venture into the supply chain down to retailing and have their own brand of rice for the market.”

He said the farmers’ children, who had graduated from universities, could participate in the business by contributing their knowledge.


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Malaysia: Protecting Kuala Gula

IVAN LOH The Star 20 Jun 14;

ABOUT 1,502ha of mangrove forest in Kuala Gula, near Kuala Kurau in Kerian, has been gazetted for rehabilitation and reforestation.

Perak Environment Committee chairman Datuk Dr Muhammad Amin Zakaria said the decision to gazette the Teluk Rubiah Forest Reserve was to protect it from being encroached by unscrupulous people.

“The approval was made by the state on April 23.

“This was in light of recent reports in the electronic and print media of some illegal developments there,” he told journalists after launching a tree planting ceremony at the mangrove forest reserve recently.

“We were in fact in the process of gazetting the area when the illegal development activity took place,” he said.

It was previously reported in The Star in February that land clearing activities had been taking place at the mangrove forest, one of Malaysia’s biggest mangrove ecosystems.

It was claimed that about 6ha of mangroves had been cleared to pave the way for the construction of a shrimp farm.

The area was near the popular Kuala Gula bird sanctuary, where an estimated 200,000 birds make a brief stop during the migration season between August and April every year.

Dr Muhammad Amin said fishermen could still catch crabs, prawns, shellfish and fishes in the area but logging is forbidden.

“Locals can still catch fishes or shellfish as long as they don’t contravene the National Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313),” he said, adding that fishermen can catch some 20kg of prawns daily.

On the programme, Dr Muhammad Amin said about 500 mangrove tree saplings were planted at the cleared site in the forest reserve.

“This programme is continuous and the state is very concerned about the condition of the mangrove forests here,” he said, adding that the Kuala Gula mangrove forest was recognised as one of the best managed forests in the world.

About 50 people, including Kampung Kuala Gula villagers, civil servants and non-governmental organisation Friends of Mangroves and Global Environment Centre members took part in the event.

State Forestry Department director Datuk Roslan Ariffin said apart from the Teluk Rubiah Forest Reserve, two other mangrove forests have also been gazetted in November last year.

He said the 153ha Fireflies Forest Reserve (Hutan Simpan Kelip-kelip) was gazetted to preserve the habitat and conservation of the insects.

“The firefly sanctuary in Kampung Dew is iconic and we need to preserve it,” he said.

“The 850ha Lekir Forest was gazetted as a buffer zone and for reforestation purposes,” he added.


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Thailand: Acoustic tags to be used to monitor dugong behaviour

The Nation 22 Jun 14;

Japanese and Thai marine biology researchers plan to jointly monitor dugong behaviour via acoustic tags in Trang - home to Thailand's largest dugong population - in the hope of encouraging marine-life conservation.

Dr Kanjana Adulyanukosol, director of Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Centre (Upper Gulf of Thailand), and Kyoto University marine biologist Dr Kotaro Ichikawa went to Banbatuputeh School at Koh Libong, Trang on Tuesday to meet locals and prominent officials in order to explain the use of acoustic tags on dugongs.

Researchers have spent 10 years investigating the topic, with experiments set to start in November and implementation of the project set for the following February.

Researchers said the tags would not harm the dugongs as they would be tethered to the animals with a rubber rope with a built-in weak link.

The line, which is approximately 30 metres, can be broken to safeguard dugongs should the lines get tangled or they will eventually fall off in five days.

Capturing the dugongs to attach the tags will only take up to five minutes.

The Japanese team has used acoustic tags on over 1,000 dugongs in Sudan and Australia with great success. The work is divided into four procedures.

The acoustic tags will be attached to the dugong's tail and then an autonomous underwater sound-recorder will be placed on the seafloor or attached to a floating buoy.

The recorder will record sounds underwater and this is known as passive acoustic monitoring. The system will be equipped with built-in automatic detection software for dugong vocalisations.

A 60-metre-long hydrophone cable will then be towed behind a boat, with researchers monitoring the process from nearby Batuputae hill.

Five dugongs will be monitored over 14 days so that we have a better understanding of their habitat and daily routines. The information will be used to develop necessary measures for dugong conservation.

Trang has between 125-135 dugongs, with over 10 mother-child couplets.

Kanjana hopes that Koh Libong locals will help protect dugongs.

While she said she did not know why people killed the mammal, she reminded locals that Thailand had environmental protection laws covering dugongs.

Ichikawa declined to comment on the matter because he was aware that Thailand had laws to protect dugongs. He called on locals to stop smuggling the animal and preserve it instead.


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Australia: Remote reef’s recovery gives hope for tourist hot spot

Jamie Walker The Australian 21 Jun 14;

CYCLONES have emerged as the biggest wrecker of the Great ­Barrier Reef, surpassing the ­voracious crown-of-thorns starfish as a destroyer of corals.

Seven severe cyclones in nine years — two of them rated maximum-strength category five — have caused unprecedented damage to the reef, intensifying concern that the blows are coming too fast for it to withstand.

Nearly half of all coral lost in the past three decades is attributed to cyclone damage, according to management agency the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. But hope for the World Heritage-listed marine wonder can be found in a distant quarter: Scott Reef in the steamy Timor Sea.

The isolated outcrop came back from the dead after being devastated by another scourge of the Great Barrier Reef, coral bleaching, in the scorching summer of 1998.

A vast expanse of the reef was also hit by one of the worst bleaching episodes on record.

When Australian Institute of Marine Science researcher James Gilmour reached Scott Reef, 300km northwest of Broome, it was a “wasteland’’ of dead and crumb­ling coral, coated in algae. A few hardy specimens survived at the bottom of the lagoon. “Our initial thought was that it would take several decades to ­recover ... I certainly wasn’t confident that I was going to see it come back to what it was in my lifetime,’’ says Perth-based Dr Gilmour, 41.

Little happened for five years. But then the reef exploded into life, regenerating from corals that had survived the mass bleaching.

By 2004, soft new growth was crowding out the pink algae. Today, the reef is alive with stunning staghorn, elkhorn and table corals, set against schools of brightly coloured tropical fish.

“The lesson we have learned from Scott Reef is that, if the water quality is very good, reefs are very resilient,’’ Dr Gilmour told The Weekend Australian.

He believes that the news has implic­ations for the Great Barrier Reef as its management is ­reviewed by UNESCO and at a Senate inquiry.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee backed away this week from a threat to list the reef as “in danger’’, allowing Australia another year to address concerns about port development in the marine park area.

Institute research director Jamie Oliver said the work on Scott Reef had benchmarked the regenerative capacity of corals.

But the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s ecosystem, conservation and resilience director, David Wachenfeld, questioned whether compromised reefs would get time to recover as the frequency of ­severe weather and other attacks increased.

“What are the chances that a reef is going to get away for a ­decade with no bleaching event, no heatwave, no cyclone, no ­flood, no crown-of-thorns outbreak?

“These days, the chances of that are pretty low … the gaps ­between severe impacts to the reef are getting smaller and smaller,’’ Dr Wachenfeld said.

The mass bleaching episode in 1998 was followed by another big die-off of coral on the Great Barrier Reef in 2002, as heatwave conditions associated with an El Nino weather system took hold along Australia’s eastern seaboard and interior.

Bleaching happens when sea surface temperatures exceed the summer average by more than 1C for several weeks running, overwhelming the heat tolerance of corals. Concern is mounting that an El Nino will form this year.

A submission compiled by ­veteran reef scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg to the ongoing Senate committee inquiry into the management of the reef asserts that bleaching will result in the “loss of close to 100 per cent of ­corals” on the Great Barrier Reef by mid-century.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg, director of Queensland Univer­sity’s Global Change Instit­ute, said from Washington that Australia should join the effort to develop fourth-generation nuclear power technology to mitigate climate change and its impact on the reef.


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