Operation No Release: Authorities to raise awareness on dangers of releasing animals

The Operation No Release campaign aims to spread public awareness on the dangers related to the release of animals into parks, including ponds, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways.
Channel NewsAsia 13 May 15;

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks), PUB and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) will be stepping up education and enforcement efforts at 19 selected parks, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways, as part of an annual campaign called ‘Operation No Release’.

The campaign, from May 16 to 31, aims to spread public awareness on the dangers related to the release of animals into parks, including ponds, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways, the agencies said in a joint press release on Wednesday (May 13).

NParks and PUB will extend their outreach to more parks and reservoirs at Lower Seletar, Bedok, Punggol, Serangoon and Marina, in addition to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Volunteers and community groups such as Waterways Watch Society, Punggol South River Watch Group and Toddycats! will also join NParks and PUB officers in this year’s outreach efforts.

Besides keeping a lookout for any sign of animal release at parks, nature reserves, reservoirs and waterways, they will also educate and advise members of the public on the harm of releasing animals into the wild.

"Many of the released animals are unlikely to survive, and most often, face a slow and painful death, as they are unable to cope with their new surroundings,” says Mr Wong Tuan Wah, Director of Conservation, NParks.

“The release of animals by members of public into our reservoirs and waterways may have ecological impacts on our freshwater ecosystems. This year, we are extending our efforts to more locations and we hope to raise greater awareness on this issue,” said Mr Ridzuan Ismail, PUB’s Director of Catchment and Waterways.

First-time offenders caught releasing animals may be charged under the Parks and Trees Act and could be fined up to S$50,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

- CNA/eg

Authorities to ramp up enforcement at 19 locations to deter release of animals into the wild
Today Online 13 May 15;

SINGAPORE — Ahead of Vesak Day, authorities will be ramping up education and enforcement efforts at 19 locations to deter people from releasing animals into the wild.

From this Saturday (May 16) to the end of the month, the National Parks Board (NParks) and PUB will extend their outreach to more parks and reservoirs at Lower Seletar, Bedok, Punggol, Serangoon and Marina Bay, in addition to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

This is part of an annual campaign, Operation No Release, which aims to spread public awareness on the dangers related to the release of animals into parks, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways. Vesak Day is on June 1 this year, and during this period, some devotees mark the festival by releasing animals.

Mr Ridzuan Ismail, PUB’s Director of Catchment and Waterway, said: “As with any ecosystem, the health and functionality of reservoir habitats is influenced by the diversity and ecology of aquatic organisms living within them. The release of animals by members of public into our reservoirs and waterways may have ecological impacts on our freshwater ecosystems. This year, we are extending our efforts to more locations and we hope to raise greater awareness on this issue.”

Volunteers and community groups, such as Waterways Watch Society, Punggol South River Watch Group and Toddycats!, will also help out, said NParks, PUB and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore in a joint release today (May 13). They will keep a lookout for any sign of animal release at parks, nature reserves, reservoirs and waterways, and educate the public on the harm of releasing animals into the wild.

NParks Director of Conservation Wong Tuan Wah said: “Many of the released animals are unlikely to survive, and most often, face a slow and painful death, as they are unable to cope with their new surroundings.”

“Those that are bred or captured deliberately to be sold for ‘release’ usually become so stressed during their captivity that they are too weak to survive in the wild when released eventually,” he added.

Animals that were kept as household pets and released often may not survive as well as they do not have the natural instincts and ability to forage for food or fend for themselves in the wild. “It is irresponsible and cruel to abandon a pet,” said authorities, advising owners to re-home the pet.

Dying or dead animals may also have an impact on the environment, they noted.

And should the animal survive, they “often do so at the expense of native wildlife”, the authorities said. “They upset the ecological balance by preying on the native species, out-competing them for resources or introducing new diseases. For example, the American Bullfrogs are known to breed prolifically and compete with local frogs for food and space.”

First-time offenders caught releasing animals may be charged under the Parks and Trees Act and could be fined up to S$50,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

The list of parks, nature reserves, reservoirs and waterways taking part in Operation No Release 2015:

1. Bedok Reservoir
2. Bukit Batok Nature Park
3. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
4. Dairy Farm Nature Park (includes Singapore Quarry)
5. Jurong Lake
6. Kranji Reservoir Park
7. Labrador Nature Reserve
8. Lower Peirce Reservoir Park
9. Lower Seletar Reservoir
10. MacRitichie Reservoir Park
11. Marina Reservoir
12. Pandan Reservoir
13. Pulau Ubin
14. Punggol Reservoir
15. Punggol Waterway
16. Serangoon Reservoir
17. Springleaf Nature Park
18. Upper Peirce Reservoir Park
19. Upper Seletar Reservoir Park

Authorities to step up enforcement to prevent the release of animals into the wild
SAMANTHA BOH Straits Times 14 May 15;

SINGAPORE - The authorities will step up enforcement on people who release animals into the wild.

From Saturday to the end of the month, officers from the National Parks Board (NParks) and national water agency PUB will be stationed periodically at 19 parks, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways.

They will be joined by volunteers, including those from community groups Waterways Watch Society, Punggol South River Watch Group and Toddycats!.

The effort will be part of Operation No Release, an annual campaign aimed at raising awareness against releasing animals into the wild.

NParks, PUB and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said in a joint media release that they will educate and advise members of the public on the harm of releasing animals into the wild.

Household pets, for example, often do not survive in the wild as they do not have the natural instincts and ability to forage for food or fend for themselves.

"Many of the released animals are unlikely to survive, and most often, face a slow and painful death, as they are unable to cope with their new surroundings," said Mr Wong Tuan Wah, director of conservation at NParks.

"Those that are bred or captured deliberately to be sold for release usually become so stressed during their captivity that they are too weak to survive in the wild when released eventually," he added.

The agencies advised pet owners who are unable to look after their pet to find a suitable second home for the animal, or seek the help of an animal welfare group in rehoming their pet.

Animals that do survive would affect the environment by upsetting the ecological balance. They do so by preying on the native species, out-competing them for resources or introducing new diseases, said the agencies. An example would be the American Bullfrogs which are known to breed prolifically and compete with local frogs for food and space.

Mr Ridzuan Ismail, director of catchment and waterways at PUB, said the health and functionality of reservoir habitats is influenced by the diversity and ecology of aquatic organisms living within them. The release of animals into reservoirs and waterways may have ecological impacts on the freshwater ecosystems.

"This year, we are extending our efforts to more locations and we hope to raise greater awareness on this issue," he said.

The operation takes place on the run-up to Vesak day. Animals such as birds, fish and red-eared terrapins, and more recently insects such as crickets, are usually released by devotees at reservoirs and parks as a symbolic gesture of compassion on Vesak Day, which falls on June 1 this year.

First-time offenders caught releasing animals may be charged under the Parks and Trees Act and could be fined up to $50,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

Patrols to curb releasing of animals
Samantha Boh The Straits Times AsiaOne 14 May 15;

Efforts will be stepped up to prevent people from releasing animals into the wild, during the two weeks leading up to Vesak Day on June 1.

From Saturday to the end of the month, officers from the National Parks Board (NParks) and national water agency PUB will conduct periodic patrols at 19 parks, nature areas, reservoirs and waterways. Volunteers - including those from community groups Waterways Watch Society, Punggol South RiverWatch Group and Toddycats! - will join them.

The patrols are part of Operation No Release, an annual campaign that spreads public awareness on the harm of releasing animals into the wild.

Animals such as birds, fish and red-eared terrapins are released at reservoirs and parks as a symbolic gesture of compassion to mark Vesak Day.

NParks, PUB and the AgriFood and Veterinary Authority said yesterday they will work together to educate the public on the issue. Said Mr Wong Tuan Wah, director of conservation at NParks: "Many of the released animals are unlikely to survive and, most often, face a slow and painful death as they are unable to cope with their new surroundings."

Mr Ridzuan Ismail, PUB's director of catchment and waterways, said the release of animals into reservoirs and waterways may have an ecological impact on the freshwater ecosystems. This can happen when non-native species prey on the native species, out-compete them for resources or introduce new diseases.

In recent years, insects such as crickets have also been released, with devotees believing that they are less likely to harm the environment. Nature Society president Shawn Lum, however, said it is not so much the type of animal being released but that releasing anything which is not native to the ecosystem is potentially detrimental.

Singapore Buddhist Federation president Seck Kwang Phing said: "Devotees can be compassionate in other ways, such as by being good to people or animals around them."

First-time offenders caught releasing animals could be fined up to $50,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

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Warmer, drier weather ahead for Singapore as El Nino develops

No consensus among climate centres on duration, strength of phenomenon this time round
AMANDA LEE Today Online 14 May 15;

SINGAPORE — With several Pacific Rim countries declaring in the past few days that El Nino is here, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has said the Republic is more likely than not to experience weak El Nino conditions in the coming weeks.

Based on its assessment of model outlooks from international climate centres, there is a 60 to 70 per cent chance of that happening, it said, in response to TODAY’s queries.

But the agency was also quick to lodge the caveat that predictions could be off the mark, given that existing models, at this time of the year, cannot “skilfully” capture El Nino.

El Nino, which comes along every two to seven years, is the abnormal warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean, which can potentially wreak havoc with weather conditions. In the case of South-east Asia, it can lead to prolonged drier and warmer weather.

On Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology joined the United States Climate Prediction Center and Japan Meteorological Agency in declaring that sea-surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific are high enough — and the atmosphere above the ocean has reacted strongly enough — to signal that an El Nino has begun, reported Bloomberg.

However, there is no consensus on the duration and strength of the phenomenon this time round.

For instance, the Australians forecast a “substantial” event later in the year, but conceded it was too early to say for sure how strong it could be.

Dr David Jones, manager of Climate Monitoring and Prediction at the Australian bureau, has said “all of our model guidance predicts it’s going to continue to strengthen. A significant or substantial event is likely”.

The US centre’s deputy director, Mr Mike Halpert, however, said last week that he was not ready to make a prediction on strength yet.

Models have been struggling to predict with certainty the intensity of each event. A strong event was expected last year, but failed to materialise.

That each agency has its own criteria for El Nino is another reason for the lack of consensus.

In its reply, the MSS said some “sporadic warm anomalies of sea-surface temperatures have been observed in nearby seas in recent months”, but added that there is “no reason” to associate these with the developing El Nino conditions.

“The impact of these sea-surface temperature anomalies on local and regional weather patterns on seasonal time scales is not as established as the El Nino sea-surface temperature anomaly in the tropical Pacific Ocean,” it explained.

Commenting on the possible impact from an El Nino event, Assistant Professor Winston Chow from the National University of Singapore’s Geography Department said a strong event is usually linked to drier conditions in Singapore and other South-east Asian countries.

For example, Singapore recorded one of the lowest annual rainfalls in 1997, which corresponded with one of the strongest El Nino events. There was 53 per cent less rainfall from June to September that year.

Food supplies could also be disrupted: The last El Nino in 2009 brought the worst drought in nearly 40 years to India, cutting rice output in the world’s second-largest producer by 10 million tonnes and pushing global sugar prices to the highest in nearly three decades.

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What's the buzz around bees in Singapore?

Channel NewsAsia's Lam Shushan takes a peek into the micro-world of bees and why they are an integral part of the ecosystem in Singapore.
Lam Shushan Channel NewsAsia 13 May 15;

SINGAPORE: Carl Baptista, 39, runs a buzzing business with bees. Earlier this year, he and his partner Elric founded Pollen Nation – a social enterprise that offers beehive relocation services for the unwanted “pests” that may dwell in our homes.

The first time I spoke to Mr Baptista, I asked him about the enigmatic bee farming community in Singapore. He corrected me quickly: “First things first, no one does bee farming in Singapore, and I’m not a bee farmer, I’m a bee conservationist.”

He rattled on about his involvement with the insect world and within 10 minutes, told me more about insects than any biology class had ever taught me. Bees have two stomachs, so I learnt, one of which is responsible for regurgitating digested nectar, which is what we know as honey.

It is unsurprising for someone who has a degree in Biotechnology from King's College London to be so passionate about these winged creatures, but it has not always been this way.

“I started out my life in the pest control world, so I used biology to kill insects,” Mr Baptista admitted, “But as I did more things with insects, I was able to breed them and use insects as a tool for medicine, and that made me relook my world.”

BEES IN OUR ECOSYSTEM

In recent years, the term Colony Collapse Disorder has been a buzzword in agriculture intensive countries. It is a phenomenon in which entire colonies of honey bees would suddenly disappear. This is distressing, considering 30 per cent of the food we eat are pollinated by domesticated bees.

In the US, it is projected that the agricultural industry would see losses of up to US$15 billion worth of crops if the honey bee were to go extinct.

So why should people fight to preserve bees in a trade-oriented market economy like Singapore, considering most of the foods we consume is not produced locally?

“If we wish our environment in Singapore to be a sustainable green environment, we have to start talking about insects,” said Mr Baptista. “We have lots of tropical native flowering plants, native trees, but you can’t have that if you don’t have your pollinators present.”

At the moment, Pollen Nation receives at least 10 calls per week from people asking about their “BeeVacuation” services, where they relocate - not exterminate - beehives that may be causing distress to residents.

But Mr Baptista maintains that most bees are harmless unless provoked within close range to their hives. “A lot of the bees that we are seeing everyday are stingless. They don’t even contain stings,” he added.

While the “BeeVacuations” make an interesting story, Carl’s main objective has always been in exploring ways in which people look at insects. He has worked with several primary schools to educate children on the benefits of having bees in the ecosystem.

“It’s about teaching kids to appreciate and respect these insects, and learning how to co-exist with them,” he said. “I hope to be able to walk into a school and hear kids appreciate and talk about bees.”

THE “BEEVACUATION” PROCESS

Towards the end of my phone conversation with Mr Baptista, he eagerly invited me to witness a “BeeVacuation”, even offering to give me a lift to the site.

The next morning, I found myself suited up in bee protection gear for three hours, observing the process of a bee relocation effort.

SWEET RETURNS

At the moment, Mr Baptista rents a space at Bollywood Veggies, where he domesticates some of the rescued bees. They produce about 20-25 kilograms of honey a year, which he hopes to collect and sell as Singapore honey.

However, he stressed that Pollen Nation is not about the honey, but about conserving the biodiversity of plants and insects in Singapore. He plans to achieve this by getting a bigger space within the Kranji countryside to create an ecosystem where plants and insects can interact and thrive.

Bee cause that matters
Ong Wee Jin The Straits Times AsiaOne 17 May 15;

The door of the red postbox clanks open, startling the swarm of occupants inside. The colony of bees springs into a flurry of activity, vibrating wings setting off a menacing buzz.

It is a warning for the intruders. But Mr Carl Baptista, 39, and Mr Elric Tan, 31, are not backing off. The bees don't know it, but they are being saved.

The duo are co-founders of Pollen Nation, Singapore's only conservation organisation that champions the bee cause.

"They are definitely pissed off," Mr Baptista remarks, pumping smoke over the nest to help calm the bees before conducting a "bee- vacuation".

The pair had been called to a house in the Holland Road area as bees had set up a hive in an ornamental postbox in the backyard.

Mr Tan, dressed in a white beekeeper suit, readies a modified vacuum cleaner with a plastic bottle attached to it.

With a flick of the switch, the bottle crinkles loudly, the vacuum pulling in several bees at once. In a few minutes, the bottle is full and it is swapped for an empty one.

This process is repeated until most of the bees have been removed and the honeycomb is visible. The honeycomb is cut away whole and packed.

When bees swarm or set up a hive with people nearby, a common response in Singapore would be to call in pest controllers who would spray insecticide on them, wiping out the entire colony.

Mr Baptista and Mr Tan know this all too well.

It was once part of their jobs.

Mr Baptista had been in the pest-control industry for over 15 years and he estimates that the number of hives he has eradicated is "in the hundreds".

Last year, however, he saw an opportunity to set up an organisation that would spread the bee-conservation message instead. He hopes to change people's perception about bees as pests, through workshops and talks at corporations and schools.

He says: "Many times, people kill bees because they are not aware or lack information. My job is to provide that information.

When people become informed, then they have a choice. It is up to them to make that choice for themselves."

To Mr Baptista and Mr Tan, saving bees is not about the honey, but the important role bees play in the environment.

Bee populations have been declining globally, affecting agriculture as bees have long been the world's main insect pollinators.

When bees go in search of pollen and nectar, their hairy bodies trap pollen and carry them from flower to flower, starting reproduction and the production of seeds.

Without pollination, many edible plants would not produce fruits.

The postbox bees have been relocated to Bollywood Veggies, a farm in Kranji, one of several adoption centres that welcome bees. Mr Baptista says: "I think the bees will be happy there."

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Students plant trees on Pulau Ubin in national project to preserve island

JOANNA SEOW Straits Times 13 May 15;

SINGAPORE - Students from the School of Science and Technology planted eight saplings in Pulau Ubin on Wednesday, as part of a new reforestation activity by learning institution Outward Bound Singapore (OBS).

The 60 students received hands-on training from OBS staff and spent two hours helping to restore the Tanjong Tajam forested area, which was damaged in a bush fire last year. It was part of the service component of their OBS programme.

The reforestation activity is organised in partnership with the National Parks Board and was among the conservation initiatives announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last year, under the Ministry of National Development-led Ubin Project.

Mr Ng Thian Choon, OBS' deputy director of programmes and partnership, said it was heartening to see the collective effort of the students. "We hope that the students involved today have gained a sense of service to the community.

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New climate deal seen aiding GDP, lacking sanctions: U.N. chief

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 14 May 15;

A U.N. deal to combat global warming due in December will seek to lift world economic growth and be based more on encouragement than threats of punishment for non-compliance, the U.N.'s climate chief said on Wednesday.

Christiana Figueres, laying out her recipe for a deal meant to be agreed by almost 200 nations at a summit in Paris, said it would be part of a long haul to limit climate change and not an "overnight miraculous silver bullet".

The looser formula is a sharp shift from the U.N.'s 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which originally bound about 40 rich nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions and foresaw sanctions that were never imposed even when Japan, Russia and Canada dropped out.

Figueres dismissed fears by many developing nations, which have no binding targets under Kyoto and fear that a Paris accord due to enter into force from 2020 could force them to cut fossil fuel use, undermining economic growth.

"The bottom line (is that) this is an agreement and a path that is protective of growth and development rather than threatening to growth and development," Figueres told an online news conference.

The deal would be "enabling and facilitating" rather than a "punitive-type" agreement, she said. The deal's main thrust would be to decouple greenhouse gas emissions from gross domestic product growth.

A U.N. report last year indicated that tough measures to combat climate change, shifting to renewable energies such as wind and solar power, could cut economic growth by 0.06 percent a year.

But it would bring big long-term benefits for everything from human health to crop growth by limiting damaging heat waves, floods, desertification and rising seas.

Overall, she said "good progress" was being made towards a Paris accord. On Tuesday, energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations said three was unprecedented consensus among them on the urgency of tackling warming.

Senior officials will meet in Bonn, Germany, from June 1-11 to prepare for Paris.

Figueres said she expected that China, Australia and Canada would be among nations submitting plans for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020 in coming weeks to prepare for Paris.

So far, 37 nations including the United States, the European Union and Russia have submitted plans. But Figueres said she did not know when India, among the top emitters, would submit plans.

(Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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