Best of our wild blogs: 31 Dec 14

Bat End
from Go Wildlife Now!

Sungei Buloh extension, now nearer to mudskippers
from Sengkang Babies

Paradise Tree Snake
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Pasir Ris fun with families
from wild shores of singapore

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Malaysia floods: 220,000 at shelters

New Straits Times 31 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: THE number of evacuees nationwide yesterday hit 220,393 from 210,116 on Monday, with Kelantan and Pahang topping the list, followed by Terengganu and Perak.

Kelantan also had the most fatalities, with 14 deaths, while four were missing. In Terengganu, four were dead and five were missing, while Pahang had three dead and one missing.

The number of evacuees in Kelantan, the worst-hit state, stood at 144,015 people in 324 relief centres as of 9pm yesterday, a slight drop from 147,072 people on Monday. The decrease was due to the receding flood waters in several districts.

Kota Baru had the most evacuees with 29,531, followed by Tumpat (24,919), Pasir Mas (23,568), Kuala Krai (23,500), Tanah Merah (19,440), Gua Musang (13,327), Machang (9,538) and Pasir Putih (192).

In Pahang, despite the fine weather yesterday, the number of evacuees doubled from Monday’s 24,912, with 51,484 people from 12,588 families. Temerloh remained the worst-hit district with 21,284 evacuees, followed by Pekan (10,441), Jerantut (5,674), Maran (4,098), Kuantan (3,852), Lipis (3,090), Bera (2,879) and Rompin (166).

In Terengganu, the number of evacuees dropped to 17,169 at 53 relief centres, as nearly half of the 31,258 people recorded on Monday were allowed to return home after the situation improved. Several relief centres in the state have also been closed. Kemaman recorded the highest number evacuees with 9,023, followed by Dungun (7,923), Kuala Terengganu (208) and Hulu Terengganu (15).

In Perak, the number of people evacuated in Central Perak, Kuala Kangsar, Hulu Perak and Kerian stood at 7,577 yesterday. The state recorded 7,423 evacuees at 54 relief centres on Monday.

Central Perak remained the worst hit, with 4,717 people evacuated, followed by Kuala Kangsar (1,748), Hulu Perak (694) and Kerian (318).

Johor saw improved weather yesterday, with receding floodwaters and light rain reported in most districts. As of 4.30pm, 148 evacuees from 41 families were at four relief centres, a drop from 171 people on Monday.

Batu Pahat had the highest number of evacuees with 104 people from 31 families, followed by Segamat (44), while two relief centres in Kluang were closed.

Number of evacuees in Pahang and Perak rises
The Star 31 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: More people are being evacuated due to the worsening floods in Pahang and Perak while the number of evacuees in Tereng­ganu continues to drop.

In Pahang, the number of flood victims at the 263 relief centres in eight districts continued to rise to 51,343 yesterday evening from 49,978 recorded in the afternoon.

A spokesman at the Pahang police contingent flood operations room said Temerloh still recorded the highest number of evacuees, with 21,284 at 62 relief centres.

The seven other flood-affected areas in Pahang are Pekan with 9,960 evacuees at 40 centres, Jerantut (6,025 evacuees at 59 centres), Maran (4,238 evacuees at 32 centres), Kuantan (3,797 evacuees at 17 centres), Lipis (3,090 evacuees at 28 centres), Bera (2,854 evacuees at 19 centres) and Rompin (186 evacuees at six centres).

In Perak, the number of people evacuated in central Perak, Kuala Kangsar, Hulu Perak and Kerian stood at 7,762 yesterday evening, compared with 7,664 recorded earlier in the day.

According to a Perak National Security Council spokesman, the number of flood victims recorded in central Perak was 4,628, Kuala Kangsar (2,017), Hulu Perak (799) and Kerian (318).

In Kelantan, no latest information on the number of flood evacuees was made available as at 5pm yesterday after the 158,476 victims recorded in the afternoon.

In Terengganu, the number of people taking shelter at relief centres dropped to 20,122 yesterday evening from 25,775.

According to the Terengganu National Security Council portal, Kemaman still had 10,318 evacuees, followed by Dungun (8,815), Hulu Terengganu (39) and Kuala Terengganu (213).

Several relief centres in the state have also been closed, leaving only 28 each in Dungun and Kemaman, three in Hulu Terengganu and two in Kuala Terengganu.

In Johor, 148 people from 41 families were still taking shelter at relief centres yesterday. — Bernama

Floods: Johor continues to improve, lower water levels reported
BEN TAN New Straits Times 30 Dec 14;

JOHOR BARU: The flood situation continues to improve in Johor as of 12pm today, following lower water levels reported in most districts since this morning.

A total of 154 flood victims from 43 families still remained in the temporary flood centres in the state.

This was an improvement over yesterday where 175 victims from 50 families were registered by the National Security Council (NSC).

Johor NSC spokesperson said Batu Pahat district registered the highest number of flood victims which was 100 people from 30 families.

“This is followed by Segamat which has only 44 victims from 10 families seeking shelter at the centres,” she said today.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson said Kluang has been reported as the district with the lowest number of flood victims with only 10 remaining from three families.

“At present, there are only seven temporary flood shelters that are open in the state which are in Segamat (three), Batu Pahat (two) and also Kluang (two). The one in Muar has been closed as of today,” she said.

Freak storm wreaks havoc in Penang
ROYCE TAN AND The Star 31 Dec 14;

BALIK PULAU: Zinc roofs were blown away, trees uprooted and electric cables ripped off during a freak eight-hour storm that struck various places here.

The strong winds, which blew at an estimated 50kph starting from 8pm on Monday, damaged about 500 houses and shops, affecting some 1,500 people.

Among the worst affected areas were Kampung Sungai Rusa and Kampung Permatang Pasir. Other areas included Sungai Pinang, Jalan Baru, Kuala Jalan Baru, Pantai Acheh and Kuala Sungai Pinang.

More than 200 people had been temporarily evacuated to three relief centres – the Permatang Pasir mosque, Sungai Rusa Primary School and Teluk Bahang assemblyman Datuk Shah Headan Hussain Ayob Shah’s service centre in Sungai Rusa – following the storm.

The only injury reported was that of a motorist whose car was hit by a fallen tree along Jalan Tun Sardon on Monday night.

The man, in his 30s, was sent to the Balik Pulau hospital where he was reported to be in a stable condition.

Retiree Zainal Ariffin, from Kampung Permatang Pasir, said he was thankful that he told his family to take shelter in their relative’s house nearby after noticing the unusually high winds upon his return from the mosque.

“About 30 minutes later, the zinc roof of my patio came crashing down, hitting the cradle where my grandchild would usually take his nap in.

“I have lived here my entire life, but I have never encountered anything like this before. We are lucky to have left the house earlier,” Zainal said yesterday.

It was probably the most unforgettable birthday for Masriyah Harun who turned 64 on Monday as the wind blew the roof of her house in Kampung Sungai Rusa.

Masriyah said she was watching television when she heard a loud crash outside her house at about 10pm only to discover later that it was her roof which landed nearby.

“This is the first time I have encountered such strong winds since I moved here in 1986.”

Lorry driver Abdul Jalil Ishak, 54, carried his stroke-stricken wife Maliah Othman, 53, and ran out of their house when part of its zinc roof was blown off.

The strong gusts also destroyed the dome of the Sungai Rusa mosque, blowing off its steel panels.

The storm also dealt a big blow to agro-tourism and eco-tourism farm operator Sam Lim after it damaged a row of huts on his 1ha property in Sungai Rusa.

A similar freak wind, known as angin langkisau, has hit Penang in the past. This included the 60kmph one in June last year which toppled the lightning arrester of the Menara Umno building in Macalister Road.

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Malaysian $150bn mega-project riles Singapore

Gavin Bowring and Hafiz Noor Shams Financial Times 30 Dec 14;

Only a few hundred meters from Singapore, the sleepy fishing villages that flank the Malaysia-Singapore Second Bridge, to the west of Johor Bahru’s famous Iskandar development, feel a world away from skyscrapers and hustle.

But this is set to change. Country Garden, one of China’s largest real estate developers, has bought a huge 1,800 hectare area of land and sea, and has made progress on developing “Forest City”, a planned mega-project almost entirely built on four separate reclaimed islands.

When completed, it would be even larger than Singapore’s Sentosa Island and have a skyline reminiscent of Dubai or Shanghai’s Pudong district (see photo).

It would add to Country Garden’s existing project (under construction) in Johor Bahru’s Danga Bay which, although occupying a comparatively small 22 hectares of reclaimed land, is already Johor state’s largest standalone condominium project, delivering over 9,000 housing units upon completion by 2017-2018.

Forest City takes it to another level, however. Official blueprints envision scattered assortments of residential-commercial-retail districts, a new football stadium, and sports centers, with a potential gross investment value of up to $150bn. The photo below shows the area in its current state.

As a 66/34 per cent joint venture between Country Garden and the sultan of Johor, it is reportedly lobbying the federal government for lower corporate income tax to entice investment from foreign multinationals. According to local representatives of Country Garden, the company’s CEO, Yang Guoqiang, has “always dreamed” of undertaking a project such as this.

Opposition from Singapore
The sheer scale of the project has led to some degree of opposition. Most notable are the concerns of Singapore. While Forest City does not cross the water boundaries between Malaysia and Singapore, large-scale dredging would nevertheless impact water flows and silting through the channel.

Earlier this year, the Singaporean government demanded a thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA) and in late November renewed its complaints to the Malaysian federal government, calling for all reclamation work to be further suspended.

Malaysia’s Department of Environment deferred a decision that had been due last week on whether and in what form the project could be carried out. The deferral followed recommendations by a panel of experts on ways to minimise the environmental mpact on the Straits of Johor.

There is growing local opposition to the project, too. Fishing communities are upset about potential detriments to their livelihood, while the project effectively impedes the future development of the adjacent Port Tanjung Pelapas, Malaysia’s second largest port, which was previously planned for future expansion along the coastline.

The lack of public consultation has raised some eyebrows. While the land acquisition process itself has been smooth – owners of coastal land have happily sold most of their holdings for a hefty premium –land usage is heavily influenced by the sultan of Johor, who effectively is selling mostly “reclaimed sea”, despite Johor state’s abundance of unused land.

In addition to Country Garden, other major Chinese developers such as Greenland Group and R&F Properties are also developing large mixed use projects entirely on reclaimed land – and directly overlooking Singapore.

The biggest fear is that Forest City may tip the balance in Johor’s already-distorted real estate market. The recent entrance of condominium developers has led to a near quadrupling in land prices along the coast, with ramifications throughout the Johor area. R&F Properties, for example, recently paid MYR900 per sq ft for a stretch of sea close to the Malaysia-Singapore borderline. Just three years ago, prices were barely at MYR250 per sq ft in this area, industry experts said.

Can the surging prices continue?
The question is whether the astronomical price growth can continue, and whether these developers can successfully turn profits. For example, valuations would require condominium prices to increase at least another 30 to 40 per cent for R&F’s investment to breakeven.

For sure, developers have mainly viewed Iskandar and Johor through the prism of a Singapore proxy, and as a test case for future overseas expansion in other markets. Although average condominium prices are already in line with Kuala Lumpur (which has a higher average income), prices are still at a fraction of those in the city-state next door.

Growing connectivity across the straits – including the planned Malaysia-Singapore high speed rail and a proposed extension of Singapore’s MRT – lend support to the notion that this price gap will narrow over time, particularly given Malaysia’s practice of granting permanent residency to some foreign buyers.

The recent weakening of the Malaysian ringgit could also help promote this investment thesis. Nevertheless, increasingly out of reach of most local buyers, these projects may not be able to rely on foreigners alone.

By law, foreign property buyers are required to take out mortgages from Malaysia-domiciled banks. However, mortgage lending is facing growing caps, while buyers from mainland China are reportedly facing new restrictions due to banks’ inability to verify documents.

Buyers from Singapore are also increasingly worried about issues such as building management, landscaping, and other “soft” elements of real estate. With fears that the growing supply glut – including at least 10,000 new condo units in Iskandar’s Medini area from mostly local developers – could result in price wars between competitors, many existing players are pulling back new launches.

Already, average local house price indices (subject to revision) in Johor have seen moderate dips in the last few months. Given this environment, whether Forest City will proceed – at least according to its current blueprint – remains unclear.

Land reclamation has already begun near the Second Malaysia-Singapore Link, while huge parcels of land and forest have already been cleared by Teng Yue Construction, the main contractor for Country Garden.

A bilateral issue?
According to officials at Teng Yue, all further reclamation will be delayed at least until the first quarter of 2015, both due to Singaporean objections and the impending monsoon season. Singapore’s complaints, however have been directed towards the federal government in Putrajaya, not to the sultan of Johor.

The two governments have had a history of disputes over reclaimed land in the past, including Malaysia’s objections to Singaporean reclamation works around Tekong Island on the east side of their channel, which in 2003 resulted in a modification of Singapore’s original plans.

In theory, the federal government has the power to block or stall mega-projects such as Forest City. However, the political dissonance that has been created as a result of falling public support for Umno – the leading party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition – has effectively granted greater individual powers to state sultans. It is unclear, therefore, to what extent Putrajaya would be willing to embarrass Johor’s royals in order to do Singapore’s bidding.

In the meantime, Country Garden is trying its best to shore up its image amongst local Johoreans. It is now the lead sponsor of the local football team, in one of Malaysia’s most football-mad states.

Gavin Bowring and Hafiz Noor Shams are staff at Asean Confidential, a research service at the Financial Times.

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#TheYearThatWas: Distressing environmental issues in Malaysia in 2014

TAN CHENG LI The Star 30 Dec 14;

It has been a year marked by widespread deforestation, unpredictable weather, wildlife poaching and potentially destructive development schemes.

Rife with species

Half of Gunung Kanthan in Ipoh, Perak, has been quarried by Lafarge Malaysia but the untouched part is still a treasure-trove of endemic and new-to-science species. Recent discoveries include two species of plants, a tree, a gecko and a tiny snail. Nature lovers and scientists want what’s left of the limestone hill to be preserved instead of blasted.

Wise up about water

In late January, taps went dry in Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat in Selangor because of high ammonia levels – possibly from sewage pollution or fertiliser runoffs – in a river tapped for water supply. In March, millions in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur had running taps only every two days as reservoirs were drying up.

Lessons from the crisis? We have to use water prudently and stop fouling our rivers. It is also time to consider other water sources, such as recycled wastewater and rainwater.

Not-so-delectable caviar

The controversial sturgeon fish farming project just outside of Taman Negara in Pahang was put on hold as it had proceed without a detailed environmental impact assessment. Fearing that the introduction of an exotic species will harm native fish life and affect their income from ecotourism, the locals have objected to the project by Felda Investment Corp and MMC Hassed Co Ltd of South Korea.

Imports of live sturgeons are prohibited by Fisheries Departments.

Camerons in calamity

Devastating floods and a mudslide swept away homes, killing five and displacing hundreds in Bertam Valley and Ringlet in Cameron Highlands on Nov 5, in the latest disaster to hit the mountainous region. Accusations of corruption, said to cause widespread illegal land-clearing and land mismanagement, prompted state authorities to promise action.

Accusations of corruption, said to cause widespread illegal land-clearing and land mismanagement, prompted state authorities to promise action.

From forest to farm

Rubber trees, planted for both latex and timber, are replacing forests. In September, it was highlighted that 30,000ha of Lesong Forest Reserve in Kuala Rompin, Pahang, have been cleared for planting latex timber clones. The reason? It was degraded forest, stated Pahang Forestry Department.

From forest to farm

Rubber trees, planted for both latex and timber, are replacing forests. In September, it was highlighted that 30,000ha of Lesong Forest Reserve in Kuala Rompin, Pahang, have been cleared for planting latex timber clones. The reason? It was degraded forest, stated Pahang Forestry Department.

The changing climate

The World Meteorological Organisation says the world is getting warmer and the higher temperatures are already exacting a toll this year, with heavy rainfall and flooding in some countries, and extreme drought in others.

Locally, the four mini-twisters which tore through rural Kedah and the one which ripped up roofs in Klang, Selangor, might well portend the weather extremities to come.

Smothered by sandLand reclamation for the 2,000ha mixed development Forest City project off Gelang Patah, Johor, has buried portions of the seagrass meadows of Merambong Shoal, which is home to threatened animals such as dugongs, turtles and seahorses. Construction work has stopped for now as no detailed environmental impact assessment was conducted.

Smothered by sand

Land reclamation for the 2,000ha mixed development Forest City project off Gelang Patah, Johor, has buried portions of the seagrass meadows of Merambong Shoal, which is home to threatened animals such as dugongs, turtles and seahorses.

Construction work has stopped for now as no detailed environmental impact assessment was conducted.

Feasting on the wild

Poaching of wildlife remains rampant and people’s taste for wild meat, insatiable. In June, over 1,000 Asian box tortoises bound for restaurants in Thailand were seized. Last month, a former police constable was caught trying to smuggle 43 pangolins into Thailand. He had previously spent a year in jail for smuggling 18 pangolins in 2012. The most worrisome seizure was that of a sun bear, four barn owls and a common palm civet from a car at the Air Hitam toll plaza on the SKVE highway in October. Subsequently, a check of the driver’s house in Seremban unveiled a stash of a leopard cat, 20 barn owls, two flying lemurs and a porcupine.
Feasting on the wild

Poaching of wildlife remains rampant and people’s taste for wild meat, insatiable. In June, over 1,000 Asian box tortoises bound for restaurants in Thailand were seized. Last month, a former police constable was caught trying to smuggle 43 pangolins into Thailand. He had previously spent a year in jail for smuggling 18 pangolins in 2012.

The most worrisome seizure was that of a sun bear, four barn owls and a common palm civet from a car at the Air Hitam toll plaza on the SKVE highway in October. Subsequently, a check of the driver’s house in Seremban unveiled a stash of a leopard cat, 20 barn owls, two flying lemurs and a porcupine.

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Rogue Palm Oil Companies Continue to Destroy Indonesia's Forests

Grace Chua Vice News 31 Dec 14;

Widespread corruption and the absence of adequate law enforcement continue to enable deforestation in Indonesia, despite recent pledges from the world's largest agricultural corporations to halt forest clearing and a national moratorium on the issuance of new logging permits, according to a report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

Palm oil firms in the province of Central Kalimantan, EIA found, were clearing forests to make way for their plantations without proper permits and were passing off the logs as legally harvested wood. Central Kalimantan is located on the island of Borneo, which Indonesia shares with Malaysia, and is where some of the highest rates of deforestation in the world have occurred.

EIA estimates some 52 million cubic meters of wood were cut down to make way for oil palm plantations in the province between 2000 and 2010, yet official Forestry Ministry figures were only 39 million cubic meters. The difference, says EIA, is illegal timber.

"Illegal logging in oil palm concessions is out of control and Indonesia's revamped timber laws have completely failed to rein it in," said EIA's Tomasz Johnson.

Agricultural commodities giants such as Unilever and Cargill, as well as large palm oil suppliers like Wilmar, have announced zero-deforestation policies that cover at least 75 percent of the global trade in palm oil, which is an ingredient in everything from ice cream to lipstick. However, EIA's report suggests illegal clearing remains widespread among small and medium-sized firms.

"Companies like Wilmar may be able to produce deforestation-free palm oil for sensitive markets," Johnson told VICE News, "but the net gains will be totally undermined by rogue firms producing for less sensitive markets."

Among those firms, says EIA, are Anglo Eastern Plantations, based in London, and Malaysia's CB Industrial Product.

There may be more than 1,000 such small to mid-sized firms operating under the radar of international environmental groups, Johnson said.

For several years, environmental groups, like EIA, Greenpeace, and the Rainforest Action Network, have pressured companies through often-sensational direct action protests to adopt zero-deforestation commitments.

But supply chains in the palm oil sector are among the murkiest and difficult to monitor of any agricultural commodity. Corporations can pledge to halt their own environmentally destructive practices but they sometimes end up sourcing palm oil from companies that slash and burn forests. The key to ending this practice, says environmentalists, is to trace the palm oil back to the particular mill or refinery where it is produced. Once the refinery is identified, watchdog groups can more easily audit plantations around the site and determine whether or not they are properly permitted and policed for government authorities.

Some companies have taken responsibility for their supply chains. Cargill, for example, helped a 45-member smallholder cooperative in South Sumatra obtain certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Under the RSPO program, farmers pledge not to clear forests and learn how to boost yields by using efficient fertilizer and improved farming techniques. In exchange, Cargill buys their crops at a price that is about a third more than what the cooperative earned before.

Indonesia accounts for over half of the world's palm oil production. But the crop is also Indonesia's single biggest driver of deforestation. Between 2009 and 2011, some 300,000 hectares - an area roughly the size of Yosemite National Park - were cleared for palm oil plantations, according to a 2013 report by Greenpeace.

But Indonesian president Joko Widodo says his government is committed to addressing deforestation.

"If they are indeed destroying the ecosystem because of their monoculture plantations, they will have to be terminated," he said on a visit to Sumatra in November, two months after taking office. "It must be stopped, we mustn't allow our tropical rainforest to disappear because of monoculture plantations like oil palm."

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Warning of Marshall Islands coral bleaching

Radio New Zealand 30 Dec 14;

An environmentalist in the Marshall Islands says some coral reefs in the north Pacific are struggling to survive as coral bleaching becomes more widespread in the region.

Bleaching has been linked to greenhouse gas emissions that are causing ocean temperatures to rise.

The University of Hawaii's coral reef manager in Majuro, Karl Fellenius, says coral reefs in the Marshall Islands had not been vulnerable to significant bleaching until this year.

Dr Fellenuis says it could get worse if gas emissions aren't brought under control.

"This is the first large-scale bleaching event that the Marshall Islands has seen and in fact it is associated with a much larger event in the region that has seen bleaching since the summer from northern Marianas through to Kiribati and up to Hawaii."

Karl Fellenius says coral bleaches in response to extreme temperatures.

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