Best of our wild blogs: 29 Aug 14

Speaking at Corporate Events and Conferences
from Green Future Solutions

The search for Asian Openbills in Singapore
from Francis' Random Yaks, Articles & Photos

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Pulau Ubin: a day trip back in time from Singapore

Sanjay Surana The National (UAE) 28 Aug 14;

Solitude. It’s not easy to find in Singapore, a country with the third-highest population density and where four-fifths of the population lives in government-built high-rise blocks. But if you look hard, it is within grasp, on a small island called Pulau Ubin, sandwiched in a channel of water between Singapore’s main island and Malaysia’s Johor state.

Covering a mere 10 square kilometres, Pulau Ubin is a hilly island whose shape has been likened to a boomerang or a raptor in full flight. Unlike Singapore, full of new shiny malls and the latest high-performance Italian sports cars, Pulau Ubin is in a time warp, where the fastest objects are wild boars and red junglefowl, and where generators power TVs inside tin-roofed homes. It’s Singapore as it was pre-1965 independence, semi-rural and decidedly dressed down.

Today, fewer than 50 people live on the island, and apart from the working village by the jetty, there’s scant trace of humanity. This microcosm of Singapore half a century ago is so enduring that the entertainment behemoth Mediacorp films parts of Mata Mata, a period drama set in 1950s Singapore, on the island.

Though currently home to a skeleton population (but a thriving environment with 603 species of vascular plants, 207 species of birds, 153 species of butterflies, 39 species of reptiles, and more), the island wasn’t always so low-density.

In 1825, John Crawfurd, British resident of Singapore, a senior government post, landed on Pulau Ubin to the hoisting of a British flag and the rousing cacophony of a 21-gun salute, part of a ceremonial trip to take possession of lands agreed in the Crawfurd Treaty of 1824.

To the 1800’s Ubin supported a booming quarrying business – the granite here (ubin is Malay for granite, pulau means island) was prized, used to build the Horsburgh Lighthouse unveiled in 1851. During its boom years, thousands worked and lived on Ubin. The quarrying industry left in 1999; the craters left behind have since filled with water and appear as almost natural lakes.

According to Chinese legend, Ubin was formed when a frog, a pig and an elephant challenged each other to swim to Johor, and whichever failed would be turned to rock. All three did, the first two became Pulau Ubin, the frog turned into Pulau Sekudu, off Ubin’s southeast coast. That’s the myth. In reality, Ubin seems so distant from Singapore you might as well be visiting another planet.

This explains its popularity, which peaks at about 2,000 visitors on weekends, most seeking to experience a side of Singapore that’s virtually disappeared. The demand hasn’t been lost on kayaking and biking outfitter Ubin Adventure Centre – it opened an office on the island last year, offering trips to walk-in customers (previously all excursions were booked in advance online), suggesting that Ubin’s popularity is growing.

Getting to the island is a perfect introduction to the island’s antiquated, unhurried ways. From Changi Point Ferry Terminal, passengers wait for 12 people to arrive before the boat, called a bumboat, departs (the service runs during daylight hours only). Each visitor pays S$2.50 (Dh7.5), unless you charter the whole boat for S$30. The boats are clunky wooden vessels with interiors filled with decades of detritus and sputtering motors that just about sustain enough drive for motion.

Once off the ferry, bicycles with rusted frames and saddle posts line the jetty railings, and stilted buildings, one of them the only full-service restaurant on the island, appear to the left, jutting out over silty water. A small village hugs the pier, with a few smaller places to eat and buy basic provisions, but what’s most striking is the large number of bicycles for rent, hundreds and hundreds of them (available from about S$10 per day).

Three roads leave the village: one to the right, past the police station and beyond to the overpriced, unremarkable Celestial Ubin Beach Resort, where guests entertain themselves with a fish spa and a scrappy beach.

The other two, left from the jetty, lead to the east and west before splintering off. A National Parks office at the western cusp of the village has boards stapled with handouts on what to see. Across from this visitors’ centre is a new micro-grid test-bed outpost that brought the first biodiesel-powered electricity to the houses and businesses of the main village last year.

And then, quick as a flash, the village ends, nature takes over, and Ubin’s delights begin to materialise, from lotus ponds to towering trees to the appropriately named Butterfly Hill.

To the west of the island is the undulating 10-kilometre Ketam Mountain Bike Park that cuts through rubber forests, along rocky hills and flowering meadows. The Singapore Mountain Bike Association calls it “a glowing example of how a proper [mountain bike] trail should be done, with proper riding flow and sustainability in mind”.

Between Butterfly Hill and the bike park is the island’s finest viewpoint, the peak of Bukit Puaka above the old HDB Quarry (now labelled Ubin Quarry on maps). The waters filling the quarry give off tints of cobalt, contrasting with the verdant forests around it, while high-rises on Singapore’s main island appear in the distance. It’s a pretty spot, but oddly whenever I visit, I’m always alone.

The east-coast Chek Jawa Wetlands is a National Park site opened in 2007 to showcase seven different ecosystems, including mangrove, coastal forest and rocky shore, the last a rarity here since reclamation-crazy Singapore barely has any rocky coastline.

The boardwalk skirts forest and mangroves, home to mud lobsters, Malayan monitor lizards, sea snakes and the threatened straw-headed bulbul. The 114-step Jejawi Tower, named for a banyan tree and set among the mangroves, provides a breezy lookout above the wetlands, while Chek Jawa’s main house is a mock Tudor cottage with a working fireplace, built for the chief surveyor in the 1930s.

But the greatest joy of Ubin is the escape it offers, an escape from people, from technology, from buildings that dominate the horizon, from the imprint of humanity. That’s why many people raised here don’t want to leave.

At 45-C Bicycle Rental in the main village, I sit with owner Chew Yok Chun, a small man with doleful eyes. Born here in 1945, he lives in his home behind the shop. “It’s quiet here, and you can do what you want. You can catch fish anywhere. And nighttime, because of all the trees, it’s not so hot. I love this island.” He opened a bicycle repair shop when he was 17, and started renting out bicycles seven years ago. “It’s difficult. Not easy to do business here. I work nearly every day. Whenever there is a public holiday, I have to be here.”

His brother-in-law, Yeo Choo Huat, drives a taxi on Ubin by day. A slim man with a neatly manicured moustache and a restless manner, he rues leaving Ubin. “I was born in Kampong Chek Jawa, but moved to Punggol 12 years ago with my wife and children to live in an HDB [public housing flat]. Singapore is no good,” he grimaces, shaking his head.

As we speak, an old, crossed-eyed man comes up to us, waves to me, and starts to imitate Psy’s clippety-cloppety Gangnam Style dance. After 10 seconds he walks away. “That man, he is 80, he moved here a few years ago with his wife,” explains Yeo. “He rents out his HDB and now he is rich and goes around on his motorcycle.” Yeo’s jealousy of such reverse migration is all too apparent.

Despite the universal praise and the idyllic image of the old way of life, Ubin’s primitive-life-loving residents have suffered some recent scares. In January 2013, the government published a report predicting that Singapore’s population, now at 5.3 million, could hit 6.9 million by 2030, and to accommodate the higher numbers, reserve land (Pulau Ubin is officially categorised as “open space and reserve land”) might be developed. And in March of last year, it sent a letter to island residents, suggesting the Ubin they had grown to love was under threat.

The drama blew over in July 2013, when the government reassured residents and nature-lovers that there was no development plan for Ubin, declaring “our intention is to keep Pulau Ubin in its rustic state for as long as possible, and as an outdoor playground for Singaporeans”.

Ubin’s proponents were never too worried. “If the government does make large buildings here, it will be after I pass away,” reflects 45-C Bicycle Rental owner Chun.

Margie Hall, a nature and history guide and conservationist from the United Kingdom who lives in Singapore and takes groups around Ubin, remains hopeful for the island’s future as a natural environment. “I’m optimistic because the original plans for Ubin’s development [housing, industry, subway line] were published around 1990-1991 and were supposed to come to fruition when the population of Singapore reached four million. We are way past that and there is still land for housing and industry available for use on the main island. However, because of that plan there were some unfortunate losses at Ubin, like Kampong Melayu and Kampong Chek Jawa cleared at the end of the 1990s for proposed land reclamation, though happily, pressure from conservationists stopped that from happening.”

At last, a victory for those who cherish nature’s gifts.

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Outcry after HDB suggestion to debark noisy dogs

Today Online 28 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has apologised for “causing anxiety” to dog owners and removed a HDB notice that listed debarking as an option to manage excessive dog barking, after the notice drew an outcry from animal welfare groups and animal lovers.

Noting that the notice “does not reflect accurately the position we take”, the HDB said: “The notice had meant to seek the assistance of dog owners to help manage the issue of excessive dog barking at an Ang Mo Kio block, arising from complaints received. We agree it should have been handled more sensitively, and the notice has since been taken down.”

The HDB added that when residents complain about excessive dog barking, “we have always advised and counselled dog owners to manage their pets’ barking and behaviour through obedience training”.

“Debarking should only be considered by pet owners as a last resort when all other measures, especially training, are ineffective and only if the dog owner considers it an option.”

The notice, issued by the HDB’s Ang Mo Kio Branch on Friday (Aug 22), lists the surgical procedure — in which a section of a dog’s vocal chords is removed to reduce the volume of its bark — alongside two other options available to owners: Obedience training and the use of training collars.

Various animal welfare groups criticised the suggestion to debark dogs.

Action for Dogs Singapore (ASD) posted on its Facebook page that while it agreed with the basic premise of the notice that consideration for neighbours is “paramount”, it “strongly objects to point #3 of ‘debarking your dog through surgery’”.

“This is an extremely cruel and painful procedure of removing the vocal chords which can cause constant physical pain. A dog also barks when it is in a stressed or anxious mode, and not hearing the dog does not mean the dog is in a stable state of mind. That can lead to further behavioural issues such as aggression and separation anxiety,” ASD said.

The group added: “Such recommendations should not be publicly put out without due advice from experts as it sets a wrong mindset that such solutions are ethical or safe.”

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Singapore issued a statement saying the recommendation to debark pet animals is “disappointing”

“The surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak, and we find that highly objectionable and surely at least mentally cruel to the animal,” said SPCA’s Executive Director Corinne Fong. She noted that countries such as the United Kingdom have expressly prohibited debarking.

Ms Fong also took issue with the suggestion to use a training collar, saying the electric collar “is already considered illegal as an abusive tool in countries such as Finland and Wales and in the Canadian province of Quebec”.

“Shock or electric collars are devices placed around a dog’s neck connected to handheld transmitters which remotely deliver varying levels of electric shock to the dog’s neck. They are designed to provide an aversive stimulus to a dog as a punishment or correction from its trainer or owner, and cause the animal pain and fear,” she said.

When contacted, Dr Heng Yee Ling from Mount Pleasant Animal Medical Centre (Redhill) said the clinic does not debark dogs “because there are better and more humane ways to control the dog, like behaviour training”.

Many respondents to ASD’s post on Facebook felt that the recommendation was inhumane, or did not address the root cause of the issue: That of owners being unable to discipline their pets.

Facebook user Rebekah Charmixy Jay wrote: “The issue is the owners ability to discipline and train their dog, not the dog having the ability to bark.”

Another user, Margaret Mchardy, said, “Appalling. How can a dog be happy without the ability to express itself fully?”

Facebook user Amos Ong, however, felt that the matter was blown out of proportion. He wrote: “It’s not a directive, it’s a suggestion...No one is forcing you to go with option 3. You make your own choice based on your individual situation to resolve the existing nuisance issue.”

HDB suggestion to debark noisy dogs angers animal rights groups
Paul Lim Today Online 29 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — A Housing and Development Board (HDB) notice on excessive dog barking that listed the option of surgically debarking dogs as a solution has drawn the ire of animal welfare groups, prompting the agency to take down the notice and apologise.

The notice, which was posted at a HDB block on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, was dated Aug 22. In the notice, the housing authority said it had received feedback about dog barking in the middle of the night. “A dog barking excessively can become a nuisance to your neighbours. It could disturb their sleep or affect their work or study,” the HDB said.

It suggested that dog owners who cannot control their pets from barking consider obedience training, using training collars to control them or debarking, which involves the removal of a dog’s vocal cords through surgery.

A photograph of the notice was posted online yesterday by Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), which described debarking as an “extremely cruel and painful procedure” that can cause constant physical pain.

“A dog also barks when it is in a stressed or anxious mode, and not hearing the dog does not mean the dog is in a stable state of mind,” it said. “Such recommendations should not be publicly put out without due advice from experts as it sets a wrong mindset that such solutions are ethical or safe.”

In a statement, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) executive director Corinne Fong said debarking usually leaves the animal “with something between a wheeze and a squeak”. “Many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds. Those who do rarely advertise it,” she said, adding that the procedure is prohibited in the United Kingdom and in some American states.

Added Dr Heng Yee Ling of Mount Pleasant Vets: “We do not do debarking because there are better and more humane ways to control a dog, such as behaviour training.”

The SPCA also objected to the recommendation to use training collars, which work by delivering electric shocks to the dog to correct behaviour.

In a response to media queries, the HDB apologised for causing anxiety to dog owners. “We agree it should have been handled more sensitively, and the notice has since been taken down,” it said.

It also said the notice did not accurately reflect its position. “When residents complain about excessive dog barking, we have always advised and counselled dog owners to manage their pets’ barking and behaviour through obedience training. Debarking should be considered by pet owners only as a last resort when all other measures, especially training, are ineffective, and only if the owner considers it an option,” it said.

ASD president Ricky Yeo said a framework was needed to ensure that a complaint about incessant barking is substantiated. “People also have to understand that changes will not happen overnight. A certain tolerance level should be accepted,” he said. “There needs to be a certain yardstick that everyone lives by. We all live in a very close area, so we have to learn to accommodate and compromise.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LAURA PHILOMIN

HDB retracts notice asking residents to consider 'debarking' noisy dogs
Channel NewsAsia 28 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said a notice put up in Ang Mo Kio, advising residents to possibly 'debark' their dogs if they make too much noise, does not accurately reflect its position.

The notice had listed debarking as one option, alongside obedience training sessions and training collars, to manage the problem of excessive barking by dogs, which HDB says, could become a nuisance to neighbours. It went viral on social media, with some animal lovers labelling the suggestion "barking mad".

In a statement issued in response to Channel NewsAsia's enquiries on Thursday (Aug 28), HDB said the notice has been taken down and apologised for the anxiety caused to dog owners.

"The notice had meant to seek the assistance of dog owners to help manage the issue of excessive dog barking at an Ang Mo Kio block, arising from complaints received. We agree it should have been handled more sensitively," the statement read.

HDB said when residents complain about excessive dog barking, they have always advised and counselled dog owners to manage their pets' barking and behaviour through obedience training.

"Debarking should only be considered by pet owners as a last resort when all other measures, especially training, are ineffective and only if the dog owner considers it an option," HDB stated.

An advisory on the website of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority also says debarking surgery is a "solution of last resort".

Prior to HDB's confirmation that the notice was withdrawn, non-profit organisation Agency for Animal Welfare wrote on its Facebook page that it had written to the Ministry of National Development at 5am on Thursday regarding the issue. Hours later, it posted: "The AMK HDB notice has been removed. We thank MND Ministers of State, Mr Desmond Lee and Dr Maliki Osman for their swift and responsive wisdom and kindness".

Ms Corrine Fong, Executive Director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said the initial recommendation to debark dogs was "disappointing". In a statement released to the media, she called the debarking procedure "outdated and inhumane", noting that many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds.

Ms Fong said the SPCA urges HDB and the public to always put animal welfare first in resolving communal problems.

- CNA/ly

Growls of protest over HDB suggestion to debark dogs
Cheryl Faith Wee The Straits Times AsiaOne 31 Aug 14;

Animal lovers have criticised a Housing Board notice that suggested that some dog owners in Ang Mo Kio consider "debarking your dog through surgery" - a procedure which involves the cutting of its vocal cords.

The notice, which was dated Aug 22, noted feedback about a barking nuisance in the middle of the night at Block 601, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.

It asked dog owners to consider three ways to keep their pets from barking incessantly, namely obedience training, using training collars or surgery.

But animal welfare groups have criticised the suggestion of surgery as inhumane.

Ms Corinne Fong, the executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said in a statement that the debarking recommendation was "disappointing" and "inhumane".

The Agency for Animal Welfare said on its Facebook page that it had e-mailed the Ministry of National Developmentyesterday morning about the notice.

It added that it later received a positive response from Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee.

The Housing Board, in response to questions from The Straits Times, apologised for "causing anxiety" to dog owners.

The notice was meant to seek the help of dog owners to manage the issue of excessive barking, the HDB said.

It agreed it should have been handled more sensitively, and added that the notice has since been taken down.

Debarking the truth
Darishini Thiyagarajan The New Paper AsiaOne 31 Aug 14;

A bark can sometimes be worse than the bite.

So when the Housing Board's Ang Mo Kio branch posted a notice last week suggesting flat-owners could "debark" their unruly pets, it wasn't meant to be as insensitive as it sounded.

But outraged local animal welfare groups took to social media to voice their objections.

Yesterday, HDB clarified that the notice did not accurately reflect its stand.

"We agree it should have been handled more sensitively," said a statement from HDB, "and the notice has since been taken down. The notice does not reflect accurately the position we take."

The Ang Mo Kio branch had posted the notice, dated Aug 22, at the lift landing of Block 601, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.

It was in response to residents' feedback about "dog barking nuisance in the middle of the night".

The notice had advised dog owners in Ang Mo Kio to ensure their pets were not disrupting the sleep of other residents, with suggestions on measures that could be taken if owners could not control their pets.

Ms Corinne Fong, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), responded in a statement last night that firstly, training collars are considered illegal in some countries and the SPCA cannot agree that it should be a valid choice.

She added that the recommendation to debark was "disappointing". Calling it "outdated and inhumane", Ms Fong urged HDB and the public to "put animal welfare first", and that there are humane approaches.

Dog welfare group Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), posted a lengthy message on its Facebook page, saying it "strongly object(s)" to the suggestion of debarking dogs, even as it agrees that consideration for one's neighbours is important.

"This is an extremely cruel and painful procedure of removing the vocal cords which can cause constant physical pain," the group said.

"Such recommendations should not be publicly put out without due advice from experts as it sets a wrong mindset that such solutions are ethical or safe."

Mr Ricky Yeo, an ASD spokesman who is also a dog trainer, said that most owners do not understand their pets, hence the incessant barking that starts when animals are neglected.

"It is just like when parents wonder why their child acts a certain way. They send the child for counselling sessions, not send them to jail or hit them.

"People must understand that the root of the problem needs to be identified before taking action - because it involves both the dogs and the families," he told The New Paper.

Consequences

Mr Yeo added that in the worst case scenario, where a dog has to undergo debarking, there are consequences.

He said: "The dogs will continue to bark, but the difference would be that no one can hear these barks. The dogs will then turn into time bombs."

These dogs would experience pent-up anxiety that would cause aggression to both owners and strangers.

An HDB spokesman said they had received feedback from Ang Mo Kio residents, especially dog owners who found the debarking method objectionable.

It said in its statement: "We apologise for causing anxiety to dog owners.

"The notice had meant to seek the assistance of dog owners to help manage the issue of excessive dog barking at an Ang Mo Kio block, arising from complaints received...

"When residents complain about excessive dog barking, we have always advised and counselled dog owners to manage their pets' barking and behaviour through obedience training.

"Debarking should only be considered by pet owners as a last resort when all other measures, especially training, are ineffective and only if the dog owner considers it an option."

Most of the residents of Block 601 who spoke to The New Paper said they hardly hear incessant barking at night.

Madam Krishnakumari, 31, a housewife, said that although she is afraid of dogs, this problem can be resolved in a different manner.

She said: "If the owners take good care of them, they would not be barking much. I think it's like being a parent, because pets are the same."

Another resident was surprised that there have been such complaints.

The 50-year-old taxi driver, who wanted to known only as Mr Tan, said that in his 18 years living in the block, he has hardly been bothered by barking, even at night.

"It is natural for dogs to bark," said Mr Tan, who does not own a pet.

"I mean, it has the right to bark. How would people feel if they were asked to stop talking? I think it applies to the dogs here, too."

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Govt looking to take solar power to schools, camps

Siau Ming En Today Online 29 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — The Government is looking to expand the use of solar power on its properties beyond Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, possibly to schools and military camps, for example.

Announcing this yesterday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said government organisations, which could include the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), will ride on the HDB’s bulk tenders for solar panels to expand their use here.

Writing on his blog, Mr Khaw noted that the HDB has the most experience with solar panels and also the largest installation.

“(Having) the largest (number), the HDB is also taking on the role of helping other government (organisations) harness solar energy. This way, we help to expand the use of solar panels beyond HDB blocks,” he said. “MINDEF has expressed interest to install solar panels on the rooftops of their camps. The MOE is also looking into using them on the rooftops of schools.” Details of the two ministries’ plans were unavailable.

The first demand aggregation tender, which combines solar panel demands across the various government organisations, will be called next year, Mr Khaw said. Having the different government arms ride on the HDB’s bulk tenders would lead to lower costs due to economies of scale. This way, solar deployment here would also be accelerated, he added.

There are currently 176 HDB blocks with solar panels and the number is set to grow to 300 blocks next year. Energy generated from these panels helps power common services such as lifts and corridor lighting. The clean energy also helps town councils offset rising energy costs.

In May, the HDB called the largest solar leasing tender to date, for 20MWp of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to be installed at 500 blocks of flats in Jurong, Sembawang, Marine Parade and Tampines.

Other government organisations that have tapped solar panels include national water agency PUB. It has two pilot projects — building rooftop solar panels at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks and installing floating solar systems on Tengeh Reservoir — that harness solar power.

Similarly, the “zero-energy” building, located within the Building and Construction Authority Academy, achieves energy self-sufficiency with the power generated from solar panels installed at multiple locations on the building.

Dr Thomas Reindl, deputy chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, said an aggregation tender could enjoy some benefits. He said: “There are two effects: Increasing productivity through more experience, more optimised workflows and continuous capacity utilisation; and secondly, the lower cost through volume discounts on the supply side.”

Mr Nilesh Jadhav, programme director at the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University, said more installers could also enter the market with more activity taking place on the solar energy front. But while aggregating demand across government organisations would help reduce equipment costs, he noted that there would be a limited impact on overall cost savings as installation costs would not change.

“This is due to (installation) happening at different sites,” said Mr Nilesh, all of which requires additional regulatory costs, permit costs, labour costs, costs of moving and installing the panels at different rooftops, for instance.

Under the SolarNova Programme, an initial target of 350MWp of solar energy by 2020 has been set for the public sector.

Of this, the HDB will contribute 220MWp from solar PV panels at about 5,500 HDB blocks — generating enough electricity to provide for common services and households in a town the size of Woodlands.

HDB to lead combined tender for solar panels
Channel NewsAsia 28 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said an aggregated tender of solar panels across Government agencies in Singapore will be called next year.

The Housing & Development Board (HDB) - as the largest user of solar panels in Singapore - will take the lead in helping other government agencies harness solar energy, and accelerating the deployment of the technology, he wrote in a blogpost on Thursday (Aug 28).

"These agencies ride on HDB’s bulk tenders for solar panels, and enjoy lower costs due to economies of scale. This way, we help to expand the use of solar panels beyond HDB blocks," he added.

Among the interested parties, the Ministry of Defence has expressed interest in installing solar panels on the rooftops of their camps, while the Education Ministry is also looking to do the same in schools.

The HDB will itself nearly double the number of blocks with solar panels installed next year, he said. The figure currently stands at 176, but will increase to 300 in 2015. And by 2020, that figure will hit around 5,500. This will see the total power output generated by HDB's panels increase more than 13-fold, from 16MWp (mega watt-peak) today to 220MWp in 2020.

Such panels are used to to power common services such as lifts and corridor lighting. "It is clean energy and helps Town Councils offset rising energy costs," he said.

"Overall, Singapore plans to raise the adoption of solar energy to 350MWp by 2020. HDB’s contribution will amount to 220MWp, involving solar PV panels at about 5,500 HDB blocks. This could generate enough electricity to provide for common services and households in a town the size of Woodlands!"

- CNA/es

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Tide rising for Singapore’s water industry

Wong Wei Han Today Online 29 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — The Republic’s efforts to grow its water industry into a global leader has paid off, with more companies joining the sector and others making headway into global markets amid surging demand for residential and industrial water solutions.

As a testament to the strong industry growth, the number of water companies in Singapore has almost tripled since 2006, bringing the total to 150 companies today, the PUB said yesterday.

“(These companies) span the entire spectrum, from research, planning, design to manufacturing”, said Mr Chew Men Leong, chief executive of PUB. “And so far they’ve accumulated international projects totalling around S$10 billion in key markets such as China and India. The number of research centres here has also grown by nine-fold to 26 today.”

Over the past decade, much emphasis has been placed on making water and environment technologies a key growth sector.

In 2006, an Environment and Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) was set up, led by the PUB and involving the Economic Development Board (EDB), International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and SPRING Singapore. It has so far granted around S$300 million in research funding to more than 100 projects, while helping companies explore overseas markets.

The vision: To increase the value-added contribution of the water sector to S$1.7 billion, or 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product, by next year, up from S$0.5 billion, or 0.3 per cent of GDP, in 2003. In 2012, the value-added contribution of the water sector was S$1.6 billion.

New investments secured last year alone will contribute S$150 million of annual value-add and generate about 500 jobs when fully realised, said Mr Chew, who is also the executive director of EWI. The agency also aims to create 11,000 jobs by 2015, mostly skilled jobs, he added.

The heightened attention on the water industry comes as the government increases efforts to shape the sector into one of Singapore’s key service exports.

During the Africa Singapore Business Forum on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam highlighted water solutions as one of the key areas in which Singapore can help emerging countries in Africa. Opportunities similarly abound closer to home, with Asia’s water infrastructure market set to reach US$400 billion (S$500 billion) by 2020 as modernisation and industrialisation pick up pace.

One of the local companies riding this wave is Medad Technologies. The two-year-old startup is currently building a system to help its first client — Al Safwa Cement Company’s plant in Saudi Arabia — improve its water efficiency by using waste heat to treat reverse osmosis reject water (adsorption desalination).

“We are working to complete it by the first quarter of 2015. There are plans for the second phase of that project where we will expand the current treatment volume by 10-fold, to be announced hopefully by the third quarter of next year,” chief executive Joseph Ng told TODAY, adding that his company’s technology was based on research conducted at the National University of Singapore and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

But not every company has been successful and many face challenges in commercialising their solutions, said Mr Goh Chee Kiong, executive director for cities, infrastructure and industrial solutions at EDB.

“Clients in this sector are known to be conservative; they are risk-averse and want tried and tested solutions — this is a barrier that companies may find hard to surmount,” he said.

“EWI’s upcoming focus will be to help companies commercialise their products. This entails helping them develop a proven track record, and that’s why we currently have more than 100 pilot systems being tested at PUB premises.”

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Rise in Dengue Type 2 virus cases

Patwant Singh Channel NewsAsia 29 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE: Dengue Type 2 virus cases are getting more common in Singapore. The proportion of the second most common type of dengue virus rose to 25 per cent of all dengue cases in August, from 15 per cent for the first eight months of this year.

Type 1 virus cases in August accounted for 73 per cent of all cases, compared to 82 per cent for the first eight months of this year.

The authorities have warned that should the Type 2 virus become more prevalent, the risk of an epidemic may increase as the immunity level for the Type 2 virus is lower.

"We hope that residents as well as Singaporeans will continue to protect themselves and protect their families. And ex-dengue patients should be aware that immunity against one type of virus does not bring you immunity for another type, so there is still a risk of picking up a different serotype. So we need to continue to watch out and be alert," said Ms Grace Fu, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

Ms Fu was making a site visit to the MacPherson dengue cluster on Thursday (Aug 28) to see the steps taken by the Marine Parade Town Council against mosquito breeding habitats. As of Aug 25, a total of 229 cases have been reported in Circuit Road, one of three dengue clusters in MacPherson. Four-fifths of the cases of dengue here are Type 2 virus cases and the rest are Type 1.

With Singapore still in the peak dengue season, the authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation.

- CNA/by

More DEN-2 cases, but too early to be considered serotype switch: Grace Fu
Today Online 28 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — Contrasting with observations across the rest of Singapore, dengue serotype DEN-2 has been found to be the predominant strain of the virus among the cases reported in the Circuit Road cluster, presently the largest active cluster.

As of Monday (Aug 25), 229 dengue cases have been reported in the Circuit Road cluster, of which 80 per cent are dengue serotype DEN-2, and the rest are DEN-1.

This is the reverse of observations islandwide. DEN-1 took up a 82.4 per cent majority of cases across the island in the first eight months of this year, while DEN-2 took up 15.4 per cent. DEN-3 and DEN-4 cases took up trace proportions.

In August alone, however, DEN-1 saw a dip to 73 per cent while DEN-2 saw a spike to 25 per cent.

Still, it is too early to deem this a serotype switch, said Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu during a site visit to MacPherson dengue cluster this afternoon.

“It is too early to predict that this is a switch of serotype, but we will monitor the situation closely,” Ms Fu said.

A change in the predominant dengue serotype calls for concern because the population lacks immunity to this new circulating serotype. The last switch was observed in March last year, from DEN-2 to DEN-1.

Ms Fu called for residents to work closely with the town council and authorities, cautioning that they “should not let their guard down, even if (they) have had dengue before”.

During this afternoon’s site visit, Ms Png Chiew Hoon, general manager of Marine Parade Town Council, also shared how they have been working with residents to tackle dengue, such as by giving out insect repellents, increasing checks on drains and common corridors.

Meanwhile, the total number of dengue cases reported dipped to 421 last week (ending Aug 23) from 442 the previous week.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it has conducted two million inspections to date and will continue to focus on areas with high potential for dengue transmission, like construction sites. The NEA has also issued 71 Stop Work Orders and 14 contractors have been prosecuted in court for repeat offences

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Indonesia Steps Up Audits of Companies Operating in Rain Forests

Fitri Wulandari and Neil Chatterjee Bloomberg News 27 Aug 14;

Indonesia’s latest tactic for slowing the world’s fastest rate of deforestation is to crack down on licensing of companies with concessions for agriculture on peat lands and rain forests.

The agency for Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation is auditing 18 companies to check for proper licensing, Heru Prasetyo, head of the REDD+ office in Jakarta, said in an interview. The country’s laws and the way they are enforced need to be changed, said Prasetyo.

“After we review the licenses, we register them and we start doing the dirty things like revoking the licenses,” Prasetyo said on Aug. 18. “Three companies are being prosecuted,” he said, declining to identify them.

A lack of central government oversight and corruption in licensing, traditionally done at the local level, contributed to illegal burning of Indonesia’s peat lands and forests. The environment ministry is separately investigating 29 cases this year against 26 companies accused of using fires to clear land in Riau, a national center for palm oil, pulp and paper production, it said Aug. 6. Only seven criminal cases involving forest fires were filed in 2013.

The audits come after Singapore passed a bill last month on trans-boundary haze to fine companies proven to engage, authorize or condone acts that contribute to haze. The city-state endured its worst-ever air quality last year.

Not Pretty

Joko Widodo, who takes over as president of Indonesia in October after winning 53 percent of the vote in July elections, has said the lack of a single national forestry map results in overlapping permits. There may be about 1,000 mid-sized palm oil companies below the radar of international organizations, while nearly a third of local regents are being tried for alleged graft, Prasetyo said.

“The track record of Indonesia in terms of law enforcement is not good,” Prasetyo said. “The condition of our forests is not pretty.”

Indonesia lost more than 6 million hectares of its primary forest, an area the size of England, from 2000 to 2012. The deforestation rate surpasses that of Brazil, scientists including Belinda Arunarwati Margono and Fred Stolle wrote in Nature Climate Change on June 29.

Forestry Crimes

Indonesian companies can be put on trial if they fail to participate with mandatory environmental assessments or used bribery to win licenses, said Prasetyo.

PT Kalista Alam was sentenced this year by a court in Aceh province on Sumatra island to pay fines of 366 billion rupiah ($31 million), and one of its officials was sent to jail for three years for forest fires, according to the Environment Ministry.

Indonesia, estimated to be the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the U.S. because of deforestation, has imposed a moratorium on new permits to develop peat lands and primary forests. The ban, set to expire in May 2015, is part of an agreement for $1 billion from Norway.

Jokowi plans to continue the moratorium, Sonny Keraf, Indonesia’s environment minister from 1999-2001 and adviser to Jokowi, said last month. The president-elect also wants to deploy a network of drones to help monitor and stop land misuse across an archipelago of 17,000 islands that would stretch from New York to Alaska.

“The pressure that we have now is not to end the moratorium at a certain year, but at a certain condition,” Prasetyo said. “When governance is already set and regulations are already proper, then we can say the moratorium is over and you can apply for licenses using the new governance processes.”

Indonesia steps up audits of oil palm companies
Agencies, Jakarta Post 28 Aug 14;

Indonesia’s latest tactic for slowing the world’s fastest rate of deforestation is to crack down on the licensing of companies that have concessions for agriculture on peatlands and rain forests.

The agency for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is auditing 18 companies to check for proper licensing, Heru Prasetyo, head of the REDD+ office in Jakarta, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The country’s laws and the way they are enforced need to be changed, said Prasetyo.

“After we review the licenses, we register them and we start doing the dirty things like revoking the licenses,” Prasetyo said on Aug. 18. “Three companies are being prosecuted,” he added, declining to identify them.

A lack of central government oversight and corruption in licensing, traditionally done at the local level, contributed to the illegal burning of Indonesia’s peatlands and forests. The Environment Ministry is separately investigating 29 cases this year against 26 companies accused of using fires to clear land in Riau, a national center for oil palm, pulp and paper production, it said on Aug. 6. Only seven criminal cases involving forest fires were filed in 2013.

The audits come after Singapore passed a bill last month on trans-boundary haze to fine companies proven to engage, authorize or condone acts that contribute to haze. The city-state endured its worst-ever air quality last year.

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who takes over as president of Indonesia in October after winning 53 percent of the vote in July, has said the lack of a single national forestry map results in overlapping permits. There may be about 1,000 mid-sized oil palm companies below the radar of international organizations, while nearly a third of local regents are being tried for alleged graft, Prasetyo said.

“The track record of Indonesia in terms of law enforcement is not good,” Prasetyo said. “The condition of our forests is not pretty.”

Indonesia lost more than 6 million hectares of its primary forest, an area the size of England, from 2000 to 2012. The deforestation rate surpassed that of Brazil, scientists including Belinda Arunarwati Margono and Fred Stolle wrote in Nature Climate Change on June 29.

Indonesian companies can be put on trial if they fail to participate with mandatory environmental assessments, or use bribery to win licenses, said Prasetyo.

Indonesia, estimated to be the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US because of deforestation, has imposed a moratorium on new permits to develop peat lands and primary forests. The ban, set to expire in May 2015, is part of an agreement to procure US$1 billion in aid from Norway.

Sonny Keraf, Indonesia’s environment minister from 1999 to 2001 and adviser to Jokowi, said last month that Jokowi planned to continue the moratorium. The president-elect also wants to deploy a network of drones to help monitor and stop land misuse across the archipelago of 17,000 islands.

“The pressure that we have now is not to end the moratorium by a certain year, but only under certain conditions,” Prasetyo said. “When governance is already established and regulations are already set, then we can say the moratorium is over and you can apply for licenses using the new governance processes.”

A lack of control contributed to illegal burning of peat lands and forests. The environment ministry is investigating 29 cases this year against 26 companies

Meanwhile, Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang said his administration had introduced a monitoring system that would provide transparent information about palm oil companies and their activities in the region.

Teras met with number of stakeholders in the palm oil industry in order to promote sustainable production and unveil the monitoring system. Together they agreed to establish a forum to resolve the issues plaguing the industry, including the issue of overlapping concessions.

“We hope that Central Kalimantan’s initiative will be useful for the development of the Indonesian palm oil industry. We aim to become a pioneer in developing sustainable oil palm plantations,” Teras told The Jakarta Post during a press conference in South Jakarta on Monday.

Teras said that the monitoring system allowed for strict oversight measures, including the management of permits and the productivity of individual plantations.

According to the governor, there are currently 87 productive companies out of a total of 96 legitimate businesses tending to 1.067 million hectares of land for oil palm plantations in the province.

Teras also said that some firms were already producing the commodity, albeit not to their maximum capacity. “We’d like for those [companies] with concessions to maximize their efforts. We want people to refer to Kalimantan palm oil, whether RSPO [Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil] or ISPO [Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil] graded, as safe or lawful. That’s our goal,” the governor said.

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U.S. lists 20 corals as threatened; activists want more

Daniel Wallis PlanetArk 29 Aug 14;

The U.S. government pared back the number of reef-building coral species it was considering to label as threatened from 66 to 20 this week, prompting criticism from conservationists.

Environmentalists urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday to extend the protection to all threatened marine species.

"We are concerned with NOAA's unwillingness to acknowledge the widespread threats to the coral species not receiving protections," said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for environmental advocacy group WildEarth Guardians.

NOAA was considering 66 coral species when it embarked on its study two years ago. On Wednesday it announced its decision, adding the 20 species to two - staghorn and elkhorn - that were listed as threatened in 2006.


Of the new species, five are found in the Caribbean, including pillar coral and rough cactus coral, and 15 in the Indo-Pacific.

A U.N.-backed study warned earlier this year that most reefs in the Caribbean could vanish in the next two decades, hit by the loss of fish and sea urchins that eat coral-smothering algae.

NOAA said it considered wide-ranging public comments as part of the rulemaking process.

"The final decision is a result of the most extensive rulemaking ever undertaken by NOAA," Eileen Sobeck, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said in a statement.

"The amount of scientific information sought, obtained and analyzed was unprecedented."

Coral is a stationary animal that slowly grows on sea floors over tens and even hundreds of years. Coral reefs are nurseries for many types of fish, and they also they help protect coasts from storms and tsunamis, as well as attracting tourists.

NOAA was petitioned in 2009 by the Center for Biological Diversity to list 83 of what it said were the most vulnerable coral species found in U.S. waters as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. agency considered 66 of those species for the protected status.

Miyoko Sakashita, the Center's oceans director, said getting 20 species listed on Wednesday was "great news," but also a "bittersweet victory."

"This is a wake-up call that our amazing coral reefs are dying and need federal protection," Sakashita said.

"But there's hope for saving corals and many other ocean animals if we make rapid cuts in greenhouse gas pollution to stop global warming and ocean acidification."

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by David Adams and Doina Chiacu)

Feds protect 20 species of coral as threatened
SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press Yahoo News 28 Aug 14;

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is protecting 20 types of colorful coral by putting them on the list of threatened species, partly because of climate change.

As with the polar bear, much of the threat to the coral species is because of future expected problems due to global warming, said David Bernhart, an endangered-species official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These coral species are already being hurt by climate change "but not to the point that they are endangered yet," he said.

Climate change is making the oceans warmer, more acidic and helping with coral diseases like bleaching — and those "are the major threats" explaining why the species were put on the threatened list, Bernhart said in a Wednesday conference call.

Other threats include overfishing, runoff from the land, and some coastal construction, but those are lesser, Bernhart said.

Five species can be found off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. They include pillar coral, rough cactus coral and three species of star coral. The other 15 are in the Pacific Ocean area near Guam and American Samoa, but not Hawaii.

The agency looked at listing 66 species, but Wednesday listed only 20 for various reasons. All are called threatened, not endangered. Two coral species were already listed.

The agency did not create any new rules yet that would prevent coral from being harvested or damaged.

"There is a growing body of expert scientists talking about a risk of mass extinction in the sea and on land," said Elliott Norse, founder and chief scientist of the Marine Conservation Institute of Seattle. Coral "are organisms on the front line of anything that humans do."

"I hope this wakes people up and we don't have to lose more coral," Norse said.

NOAA: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2014/08/corals_listing.html

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Warming aids Arctic economies but far short of 'cold rush'

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 28 Aug 14;

Climate change is aiding shipping, fisheries and tourism in the Arctic but the economic gains fall short of a "cold rush" for an icy region where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the world average.

A first cruise ship will travel the icy Northwest Passage north of Canada in 2016, Iceland has unilaterally set itself mackerel quotas as stocks shift north and Greenland is experimenting with crops such as tomatoes.

Yet businesses, including oil and gas companies or mining firms looking north, face risks including that permafrost will thaw and ruin ice roads, buildings and pipelines. A melt could also cause huge damage by unlocking frozen greenhouse gases.

"There are those who think that growing strawberries in Greenland and drilling for oil in the Arctic are the new economic frontiers," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program.

"I would caution against the hypothetical bonanza that some people see," he told Reuters of Arctic regions in Russia, Nordic nations, Alaska and Canada. U.N. studies say global warming will be harmful overall with heatwaves, floods and rising seas.

FEWER FUR COATS

In 2002, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin mused that warming might benefit Russia - thereby easing pressure to curb greenhouse gas emissions. He joked that warmer temperatures could mean fewer fur coats in northern regions.

More than a decade later, researchers see the Arctic as a test case for the impacts of climate change. It is warming fast because a thaw of white ice and snow exposes darker ground and water below that soak up more of the sun's heat.

"So far, I believe the benefits (of Arctic warming) outweigh the potential problems," said Oleg Anisimov, a Russian scientist who co-authored a chapter about the impacts of climate change in polar regions for a U.N. report on global warming this year.

Others say it is hard to discern benefits. Factors such as improved drilling technology or relatively high oil prices around $100 a barrel may be bigger drivers for change than a thaw in a chill, remote region shrouded in winter darkness.

Off Alaska, for instance, oil company bids for leases in the Arctic Chukchi and Beaufort seas since 2005 have totaled about $2.7 billion. But a previous round in the 1980s - before global warming was an issue - attracted similar sums, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

"There are subjective interpretations of development costs and benefits (tourism, fishing, oil and gas, shipping) but it will be some years before there are enough trends and data," said Fran Ulmer, President Barack Obama's chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

Indigenous peoples doubt there are benefits. Aqqaluk Lynge, a Greenlander and ex-head of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, said vital dogsleds were useless in some areas because of the thaw.

"People think the economy is Wall Street but it's the local economy that's feeling the pressure," he said.

Among new activities, 71 cargo ships used a short-cut shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans north of Russia in 2013. Roughly the same number is likely in 2014, said Sergei Balmasov of the Northern Sea Route Information Office.

In a sign of more tourism, Crystal Cruises will send its Crystal Serenity ship from Anchorage to New York in 2016 past icebergs and polar bears north of Canada - priced from $19,755 per passenger and with an escort vessel as an ice-breaker.

CRUISES, CARGO

The route was first navigated in 1903-1906 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, but has only been ice-free in some recent years. Paul Garcia, spokesman for Crystal Cruises, said there had been a high volume of bookings so far.

Tourism has benefited in some areas. The number of nights spent by visitors to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard north of Norway rose to 107,000 in 2013 from 24,000 in 1993.

And cod, haddock, herring and blue whiting are among fish stocks expanding north. Iceland has set new, unilateral quotas for mackerel, including almost 150,000 tonnes in 2014.

"The biomass sum of all types of species is increasing, and will continue to increase in the Arctic," said Svein Sundby, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

Among oil companies, Exxon Mobil began drilling in Russia's Arctic on Aug. 9 despite Western sanctions on its Russian partner Rosneft over Ukraine crisis.

But Royal Dutch Shell dropped plans for drilling in 2014 after spending $5 billion on exploration since 2005, following protests and accidents off Alaska.

And despite any gains, a 2013 study in the journal Nature said the Arctic has a hidden economic time bomb.

A major release of methane trapped in the frozen seabed off Russia could accelerate global warming and cause $60 trillion in damage, almost the size of world GDP, it said. Costs would be from more heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising sea levels.

"The size (of drawbacks) is likely to dwarf any kind of benefits," said Chris Hope of the Judge Business School at Cambridge University, who was among the authors.

The U.N.'s panel of climate experts says that it is at least 95 percent probable that human activities are the main driver of warming since 1950. But many voters are doubtful, suspecting that natural variations are to blame.

(Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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Roads expanding fast worldwide, better planning needed to aid food output : study

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 28 Aug 14;

New roads long enough to girdle the Earth 600 times are expected to be built by 2050 and better planning is needed to protect the environment while also raising food production, a study showed on Wednesday.

The study in the journal Nature showed that roads can aid farmers, especially in developing nations where food production is held back by a lack of access to markets or to fertilisers and other technologies.

But too often, new roads slice through remaining wildernesses in the Amazon, New Guinea, Siberia or the Congo Basin, which are home to valuable species of animals and plants and help to slow climate change by storing greenhouse gases.

"While new roads can promote social and economic development, they can also open a Pandora's box of environmental problems," a team of scientists from Australia, Malaysia, the United States, Britain and Costa Rica wrote in the study.

The report's maps showed that 12 percent of the world land area could benefit from roads to help raise farm output with little environmental damage, such as areas of India, central Europe and Asia, North America and the Sahel in Africa.

New roads likely to be built by 2050 would total 250 million kms (155 million miles), a 60 percent gain from 2010 and long enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times, it said.

Lead author William Laurance, of James Cook University in Australia, told Reuters the maps were "just a starting point" for a wider debate about the economic impact of roads.

Many other local factors, such as keeping costs down by taking the shortest route, usually determine routes. Shorter roads also mean less pollution by vehicles.

"What we're attempting is to put road-building into a wider context," Laurance said. "There are a lot of local factors that will come into actual road planning -- but one of the things that's been ignored so far is the 'big picture'."

ROADS HELP GDP

Many other studies have shown that roads boost growth. A World Bank report this year about an expansion of the road network in Brazil since the 1960s found that "roads are shown to account for half of per capita GDP growth".

The maps tried to value the animals and plants in each region and gauge the amount of carbon stored in vegetation, a natural buffer against climate change. They also created an index to value agricultural production.

Stephen Perz, an expert at the University of Florida, said the quality of data available for creating such maps varied a lot from country to country but that the study could help "a broader effort to improve such maps".

"Governments routinely plan roads without adequate consultation with local people and construction often goes ahead with insufficient attention to minimizing the environmental effects," he wrote in a comment in Nature.

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

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