Best of our wild blogs: 8 Dec 15

Singapore Bird Monthly Report – November 2015
Singapore Bird Group

Macro Photography Outings – November 2015
Bugs & Insects of Singapore

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Singapore pledges environmental commitment at Paris climate talks

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli pledges to reduce the country's emissions intensity as world leaders enter the second week of COP21 climate talks in Paris.
Natalie Powell, UK Correspondent, Channel NewsAsia 8 Dec 15;

PARIS: Singapore on Monday (Dec 7) pledged its commitment to the environment, as global environment ministers attended a second week of COP21 climate talks in Paris.

Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli joined a series of high-level voices and promised to reduce the country’s emissions intensity by 36 per cent from 2005 levels. The clock is ticking for a binding deal to be reached by the end of the week to stop the planet’s temperature from increasing by above 2 degrees.

“Reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions is not only about mitigating emissions from our industrial sectors, it can also be about protecting our forests and preventing peat land fires,” said Mr Masagos. “Peat lands are major carbon sinks. However with peat land fires caused by slash and burn practices of errant companies, they are no longer carbon sinks but a source of carbon dioxide emissions.”

Some studies have estimated that fires in Southeast Asia have released more than a gigatonne of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere just this year, and it is something that has become a major concern for campaigners.

“Recently the massive fires in Indonesia is just a huge ecological catastrophe, both in terms of the biodiversity but also for our planet because a lot of the forests are on peat land and sending up a huge amount of carbon,” explained Campaign Against Climate Change’s campaigns coordinator Claire James. “So as well as thinking about long-term targets, we need real practical steps of shifting things now, building the right kind of infrastructure for clean energy.”

The message from most countries attending the summit in Paris was that there is a difficult task ahead, but now is the time to take action.

“It will take time, it’s a period of 15 years, but I think if we understand what and how big this problem is, facing not just us but the world and particularly Singapore being an island, we all ought to be serious about it,” said Mr Masagos.

Facebook post by Mr Masagos


Climate change talks: Splits laid bare as leaders work on pact
ALBERT WAI Today Online 8 Dec 15;

PARIS — As talks on a universal climate pact enter the crucial last stretch in Paris this week, ministers from 195 countries last night took turns to speak on the urgency of reaching an agreement that is applicable to all parties.

But the divisions were once again laid bare in the statements of foreign and environment ministers who joined the talks outside Paris after lower-level negotiators had delivered a draft agreement over the weekend with crunch issues left unresolved.

“The objectives and requirements are clear. We need a universal climate agreement,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius when opening the high level segment of the climate talks that aim to curb emissions to limit the rise in average global temperatures to less than 2 C over preindustrial levels.

Delivering Singapore’s national statement later in the day, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli echoed calls for universal participation in the new agreement.

“We should not underestimate the potential of a universal agreement that binds all parties of the Convention (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC) to undertake climate action,” he said.

Noting that more than 180 countries have submitted post-2020 pledges (also known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions - INDCs) to cut emissions, he said that “we must now match these pledges with a global agreement that promotes the ability to raise ambition over time and bring our world closer towards climate safety.”

The Minister said that as a responsible global citizen, “Singapore is committed to play our part in the global fight against climate change”, adding that the Republic has pledged in its INDC to reduce Emissions Intensity by 36 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, and stabilise emissions with the aim of peaking around the same time.

Despite Singapore being a small emitter (contributing only 0.11 per cent of global emissions), “we continue to deepen and widen our South-South contributions in technical cooperation, sharing our sustainable development experiences,” said Mr Masagos, adding that Singapore has trained almost 11,000 officials from developing countries in climate change issues.

When kicking off the high level segment of the climate talks, Mr Fabius characterised the proceedings this week as a “week of hope” made possible by the hard work of the negotiators to narrow down the options in the draft agreement and strong political will expressed by leaders to deal with climate change.

But several contentious issues still need to be resolved, including the responsibilities of developed and developing countries.

South African Ambassador Nozipho J Mxakato-Diseko, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, yesterday called for “substantial upscaling” of financial support and “clarity on the level of financial support” from developed countries to help developing countries cope with climate change.

India and other major developing countries insist on their right to use some fossil fuels to advance their economies and argue the developed countries are historically responsible for raising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

“India is here to ensure that rich countries pay back their debt for overdraft that they have drawn on the carbon space,” Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

Speaking to Singaporean journalists after delivering the national statement, Mr Masagos said that the climate accord “is not an easy agreement to arrive at.”

“It is not just about numbers being committed but also about obligations. I foresee tough negotiations in the next two to three days.” he said.

“Globally and together, every country has got its own interests to protect but every country though, understands how important this is for the future of their survival and also for their children.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, who is leading the Singapore delegation at the Paris talks, wrote on Facebook last night: “Since touching down in Paris on Sunday, we have been immersed in an intensive series of meetings. Still significant gaps, but there is a positive spirit in finding ‘landing zones’ that we can agree on. It’s going to be a long week.”

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Strict standards in place to ensure fish are safe to eat: Supermarkets

Efforts have also been stepped up to educate consumers on what can be eaten raw, added local supermarkets.
Loke Kok Fai Channel NewsAsia 7 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE: NTUC FairPrice outlets have seen a 10 per cent drop in sales of freshwater fish. This comes after a ban on serving them raw kicked in last week, following concerns that eating raw fish could lead to Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection.

However, supermarkets on Monday (Dec 7) said strict standards are in place to ensure that fish are safe to eat, and they have stepped up efforts to educate consumers on what can be eaten raw.

NTUC FairPrice said it has begun putting up advisories on fresh seafood beds and chillers, explaining that the seafood there should be cooked before consumption.

"Customers are also able to know the name of the fish by looking at the price cards, which indicate relevant information displayed at fish beds. Seafood for raw consumption sold at the ready-to-eat counters such as sushi is also sourced from AVA-licensed and reputable suppliers that supply 'sashimi-grade' seafood," said an NTUC FairPrice spokesperson.

"Our Food Safety Management System complies with the ISO 22000:2005 international standard, which is a more stringent food safety assurance scheme than the current food safety standards required by the authorities," added the spokesperson.

Giant and Cold Storage are also preparing to display similar notices. They said additional inspections have been in place since GBS cases surged earlier this year.

These include submitting fish samples to the National Environment Agency to show they are free from GBS and other pathogens.

"Aside from this, ready-to-eat fish on sale are differentiated by labels to indicate 'sashimi-grade'. We will also advise customers to keep products in chilled storage at less than 5 degrees Celsius after purchase," said a spokesperson of the Dairy Farm Group, which owns the two chains.

Commonwealth Capital, which owns local fish supplier Kuhlbarra, said sales of its barramundi and salmon to restaurants and individuals have not been significantly affected by the scare.

It said both types of fish could be classified as either saltwater or freshwater, which might lead to some consumer confusion. However, it added that when it comes to raw food preparation, one's skill and care at food handling mattered more than the species of the fish.

"Some of these species of fish, for example salmon, barramundi and even tilapia, can thrive in both conditions," said Commonwealth Capital's group managing director, Andrew Kwan. "I don't think it's about the species of the fish per se, I think it's all about really controlling the cold chain process. If that is not compromised, generally speaking, the fish can be taken raw in the case of salmon or even barramundi."

Mr Kwan added: "The challenge is really in the preparation of the raw fish at home. So unless you are a trained chef and take particular care to make sure that there's no cross-contamination, even with the knives used to prepare a raw fish, we generally would not recommend (it)."

- CNA/xk

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Sperm whale tooth found on Sisters' Islands

This is the second specimen from the species ever recorded in Singapore, with the first found just earlier in July this year.
Channel NewsAsia 7 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE: A mysterious tooth found at Sisters' Islands Marine Park on Nov 25 has been positively identified as belonging to a sperm whale, officials from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCHM) said.

The 15.5cm-long specimen is the second sperm whale-related find this year. LKCHM's Ms Toh Chay Hoon and Mr Marcus Chua said the tooth comes from a much larger animal than the 10.6m female sperm whale that was found dead off Jurong Island on Jul 10.

In a paper in the Singapore Biodiversity Records, Ms Toh and Mr Chua suggested that the specimen could be from an adult male sperm whale. Male sperm whales have larger teeth on their lower jaws, which are thought to be used for battling other males, LKCHM said in a Facebook post. As sperm whales swallow their prey whole, their teeth are seldom used for feeding.



The sperm whale, of Moby Dick fame, is elusive in the region. The specimen found in July was the first of the species recorded in Singapore, and only the third in South-east Asia.

However, as there are signs of weathering on the tooth surface, it is not clear if the tooth came to be on the island’s lagoon by natural means. It could have been transported with material such as sand from outside Singapore that was used to reclaim the island between 1974 and 1975, it wrote.

- CNA/mz

Tooth possibly belonging to adult male sperm whale found in Singapore
Today Online 7 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE — A 15.5cm tooth belonging to a sperm whale was found in a small lagoon located within the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park on Nov 25, making it the second find related to this elusive mammal to date.

The specimen was found during one of the guided walks at the park conducted by National Parks Board (NParks) and its volunteers.

The size of the specimen suggested that it was from an animal much larger than the 10.6m long female sperm whale that washed up near Jurong Island on July 10, and most likely belonged to an adult male, wrote Ms Toh Chay Hoon and Mr Marcus Chua from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in an online biodiversity record.

“Male sperm whales have large teeth on their lower jaws that are thought to be for battling other males. Scars on the bodies of sperm whales commonly attributed to battles with giant squids are often tooth marks that match these teeth rather than from squid beaks or suckers. These teeth are probably of limited use for feeding as most of their prey is swallowed whole,” said the museum on its official Facebook page.

Due to signs of weathering on the tooth’s surface, it is unknown whether the specimen came to be in the lagoon naturally or was transported with material used to reclaim the island between 1974 and 1975.

NParks will also be working closely with the museum to share the exhibit at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park Public Gallery on St John’s Island, the statutory board told TODAY.

"We are also grateful to our expert partners for helping us identify the find as a sperm whale tooth... This find highlights the important role that the Marine Park plays in documenting and communicating the significance of biodiversity discoveries in Singapore,” added NParks.

The dead female sperm whale that washed up earlier this year was the first sperm whale recorded in Singapore, and the third recorded in South-east Asia. Sperm whales were earlier recorded near Sarawak in 1995 and Phang Nga in western Thailand in 2012.

Its skeleton, once properly processed, will be displayed at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.


Sperm whale tooth found in Singapore
Audrey Tan, My Paper AsiaOne 8 Dec 15;

Scientists believe the 15.5cm tooth - found in a lagoon within the Sisters' Island Marine Park on Nov 25 - could have come from an adult male.


Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum/Toh Chay Hoon

A tooth from a sperm whale was found in a lagoon within the Sisters' Islands Marine Park on Nov 25, making it the second find related to the marine mammal this year.

In July, the 9-tonne carcass of an adult female sperm whale was found floating off Jurong Island. Affectionately dubbed Jubi Lee, its skeleton is now being prepared and is set to go on display at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum by the end of February.

Museum scientists believe the latest discovery, a 15.5cm tooth, could have come from an adult male.

"The size of the tooth suggests that it was from an animal much larger than the 10.6m female sperm whale that was found dead off Jurong Island," wrote museum officer Toh Chay Hoon and Marcus Chua, the museum's curator of mammals and birds, in a paper published on Friday in the Singapore Biodiversity Records.

The tooth, which weighs about 400g, is bigger and thicker than the ones found on the female, which were about the size of a person's finger, said Mr Chua.

As sperm whales swallow their prey whole, their teeth are likely to be of limited use for feeding. Instead, male sperm whales have large teeth on their lower jaws that are thought to be for battling other males, Mr Chua said.

The tooth was found by Ms Toh while she was conducting an intertidal walk for the National Parks Board (NParks) in the lagoon.

Signs of weathering on it made it hard to determine how long the tooth had been exposed and how it came to Singapore.

The surface layers on the tooth seem to have been lost, Mr Chua said. "This could be due to mechanical abrasion or chemical reactions. We don't know how fast (these layers) go away, so we can't tell how long it's been out there," he told The Straits Times.

The available information is also not enough to determine how the tooth came to the lagoon.

A possibility is that Singapore is on the migratory route for these large marine mammals, which can grow up to 20m. Although female sperm whales and calves remain in tropical or subtropical waters all year long, males migrate to colder waters and head back towards the Equator to breed.

The other possibility is that the tooth could have been transported to Singapore together with sand or other land reclamation materials.

Museum head Peter Ng said: "We plan to exhibit the pair together and showcase them to as many Singaporeans as possible - not just to teach them about these wonderful animals; but also to highlight the importance of marine conservation and the important work NParks and university researchers are doing."


Lagoon find gives teeth to marine conservation efforts
Audrey Tan Straits Times 8 Dec 15;

A 15.5cm-long tooth from a sperm whale was found in the Sisters' Islands Marine Park last month, making it the second find related to the marine mammal this year.

In July, the nine-tonne carcass of an adult female sperm whale was found floating off Jurong Island. Affectionately dubbed Jubi Lee, its skeleton is being prepared for display at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum by end-February.

The tooth was found by an officer of the museum, Ms Toh Chay Hoon, who was conducting an intertidal walk for the National Parks Board (NParks) in a lagoon within the marine park on Nov 25.

The museum's head, Mr Peter Ng, said: "The find is a rallying call for marine conservation in Singapore, highlighting its importance and the work that NParks and university researchers are doing."

PARK'S SOLID CONTRIBUTION

This find highlights the important role that the marine park plays in documenting and communicating the significance of biodiversity discoveries in Singapore.

DR KARENNE TUN, deputy director of the coastal and marine division at NParks' National Biodiversity Centre
Museum scientists believe the tooth could have come from an adult male sperm whale.

"The size of the tooth suggests it was from an animal much larger than the 10.6m female sperm whale that was found dead off Jurong Island," wrote Ms Toh and Mr Marcus Chua, the museum's curator of mammals and birds, in a paper published last Friday in the Singapore Biodiversity Records.

The tooth, which weighs about 400g, is bigger and thicker than the ones found in the female, which were each about the size of a person's finger, said Mr Chua.

As sperm whales swallow their prey whole, their teeth are likely to be of limited use for feeding. Instead, male sperm whales have large teeth in their lower jaws that are thought to be for battling other males, Mr Chua said.

But signs of weathering on the tooth make it difficult to determine how long it has been exposed and how it came to Singapore.

The surface layers on the tooth seem to have been lost, Mr Chua said. "This could be due to mechanical abrasion or chemical reactions. We don't know how fast (these layers) go away, so we can't tell how long it's been out there," he said. The information available is also not enough to determine how the tooth came to be in the lagoon.

One possibility is that Singapore is on the migratory route for these marine mammals, which can grow up to 20m. While female sperm whales and calves remain in waters close to the Equator all year round, males migrate to colder waters and head back towards the Equator to breed. Another possibility is that the tooth could have been transported to Singapore with sand or other land reclamation materials.

"We will be working closely with the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum to share this exhibit at the Sisters' Islands Marine Park Public Gallery on St John's Island as well, for the public to gain a deeper understanding of the rich biodiversity in our waters," said Dr Karenne Tun, deputy director of the coastal and marine division at NParks' National Biodiversity Centre.

"This find highlights the important role that the marine park plays in documenting and communicating the significance of biodiversity discoveries in Singapore."

Mr Stephen Beng from the marine conservation group of the Nature Society (Singapore) said the finds show the inter-connected nature of the world's seas and oceans, and throw up a "thrilling mystery" about what could have happened to the whales along the way.

He said: "It is this connectivity we have to remain mindful of when gauging our impact on the natural world. We can make consumption choices in our daily lives which can help slow climate change and ensure the long-term sustainability of our oceans."


Related link
Sperm whale tooth at Pulau Subar Laut. 4 Dec 2015. SINGAPORE BIODIVERSITY RECORDS 2015: 191-192 ISSN 2345-7597

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Malaysia: Plans to widen Johor Special Water company’s role

MOHD FARHAAN SHAH The Star 7 Dec 15;

NUSAJAYA: The state government plans to widen the role of its Johor Special Water (JSW) company as the main body to manage supply of raw water in its effort to better manage the utility.

State Works, Regional and Rural Develoment Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the company’s role is different from SAJ Holdings that is responsible for managing treated water.

He pointed out that the government decided to take the action of strengthening Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj) besides amending Water Enactment to enforce rules on protecting catchment areas.

“By increasing the role of JSW, the agency is now responsible for maintaining and developing raw water, especially at Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC).

“This is a proactive initiative decided on by the government to maintain water management here besides organising the Johor Water Forum," he said.

Hasni said this in his winding up speech during the state assembly sitting here recently.

He added that through the state Budget 2016, Johor government would take a serious approach that involves untreated water supply.

“If there is an encroachment either at dams or at catchment areas, then the District Land Office together with Bakaj and relevant departments will conduct enforcements.

“Bakaj will also conduct studies on water supply by focusing on controlling of supplies and implementation of buffer zones in its main source,” he said.

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Malaysia: Klang Valley dams full following weekend downpour

The Star 8 Dec 15;

PETALING JAYA: The Sungai Selangor dam, which provides 60% of treated water supply in the Klang Valley is at its full capacity.

Apart from Sungai Selangor, the Klang Gates and Tasik Subang dams were also at 100%, following downpours over the weekend.

Selangor Water Management Authority on its website, said the water level in Langat was at 61.31%, Semenyih (96.81%), Batu (77.24%), Sungai Labu Reservoir (64.52%) and Sungai Tinggi (81.98%).

Meanwhile, two states had issued alerts due to the rise in water levels.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department’s online flood information website, which provides up-to-date data on river water levels, indicated that alerts were issued by authorities in Johor and Kelantan.

The water level readings at Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang, Kelantan was at 7.15m, exceeding the normal level of 5m while in Johor, the Sungai Tangkak Kampung Seri Makmur and Kampung Murni Jaya stations were slightly above normal levels as at 4pm yesterday.

The Sungai Tangkak water level was at 3.1m, compared to 2m normally while Kampung Murni Jaya’s reading was at 15.51m, compared to its normal level of 14.3m.

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Malaysia: Mystery of dead 'beached' fishes in Sabah solved

OLIVIA MIWIL New Straits Times 7 Dec 15;

KOTA KINABALU: The mystery over the discovery of a mass of dead fishes at Likas Bay here has finally been solved.

The fishes were neither bombed or poisoned, says the Sabah Fisheries Department, but thrown away by fishermen.

Social media had been abuzz over pictures of dead fishes found along the fishing hotbed.

Netizens had speculated that the “beached” fishes were either bombed or had died due to toxins or the ‘red tide’ phenomenon. The news prompted the Sabah Fisheries Department to investigate.

Sabah Fisheries director Datuk Rayner Stuel Galid said their investigation revealed a simple conclusion, which was these were excess fishes were discarded by local fishermen.

“These small time fishermen (with) small boats usually set their nets overnight.

“Since it is the season for basung and tamban (sardines) fishes, they catch more than enough. The ones which are in poor condition, they discard,” he said, adding that the picture of the dead fishes at Likas Bay was taken on Saturday. Rayner said the department has already advised the fishermen not to simply discard the fishes into the sea.

As Likas Bay is under the purview of the Kota Kinabalu City Hall, the fishermen could be fined for littering.

The seasonal occurrence happens when food sources are abundant in the sea, leading to the fishes breeding more and boosting its overall population.

In August, it was reported fishermen in the west coast of Sabah experienced a massive catch of sardines for a whole week.

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Indonesia introduces carbon emissions monitoring system

thejakartapost.com Paris 7 Dec 15;

The Indonesian government has introduced a monitoring system named the Indonesian National Accounting Carbon System (INCAS) in a bid to reduce national carbon emissions.

The government presented the INCAS recently during the Global Landscape Forum (GLF) on the sidelines of the COP 21 UNFCCC in Paris.

“This will help Indonesia to monitor our emissions reductions and reach our target of a 29 percent reduction by 2030,” said presidential special envoy for climate change Rachmat Witoelar as quoted on Kompas.com.

The system will use spatial data from the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) to calculate carbon stocks, Rachmat said in his opening statement.

INCAS, which will work under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Research, Development and Innovation Agency, was also supported by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Australian Aid, he added.

INCAS head researcher Haruni Krisnawati said that the carbon monitoring system had been in development since 2011 and had met the standards of the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines of Transparency, Accuracy, Consistency, Comparability and Completeness (TACCC).

The system can also be used to measure carbon stocks in forest and peatland areas, both underground and aboveground, Haruni added.

Earlier, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said that Indonesia had committed to a transparent method of calculating its carbon emissions.

“We have assured developed nations that Indonesia will conduct calculations in a transparent and responsible manner in order to reach the targeted 29 percent carbon emissions reduction,” she said. (liz/dan)(+)

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Indonesia: Harapan vows to protect indigenous groups, rights

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 7 Dec 15;

The management of Harapan rainforest in Sumatra has pledged to protect human rights and empower local communities while carrying out its operations.

PT Restorasi Ekosistem Indonesia (Reki) president director Effendy A. Sumardja, whose company is charged with the restoration of Harapan rainforest, said such a commitment would guide the company’s future operations.

“This commitment will ensure that the restoration of the forest’s ecosystem will improve of the life of local people,” Effendy said recently.

Harapan rainforest, spanning 101,000 hectares (ha) and located in the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra, is part of the remaining low-plain forests in Sumatra.

It straddles the four regencies of Batanghari, Muaro Jambi and Sarolangun in Jambi and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra.

The area is currently being reforested to replenish damaged forest. The area was formerly a timber concession.

To implement the commitment, Effendy said his company would settle potential conflicts with local communities in an active and transparent manner by involving all relevant stakeholders, including local government and community leaders.

This approach, he continued, would help the company secure approval for its operations from local communities under the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) principle.

“The management of Harapan rainforest respects and recognizes the customary and individual rights of indigenous communities over land that they have maintained for a long time,” he said.

As many as 48.8 million people and 30,000 villages around and inside Indonesian forests do not have access to forest management, according to data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

The Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) reported that 143 customary land disputes were raised throughout the country last year.

Data from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), meanwhile, revealed that last year, the commission received some 1,400 complaints related to land disputes that involved police and corporations.

This year alone, the government plans to give 2.5 million ha of forest to local people. The government argues that the redistribution of forest will prevent conflict and create justice in forest management, which has long been dominated by large companies.

Separately, Hanni Hadiati, a staff member for the environment and forestry minister, applauded Reki’s commitment to upholding the rights of indigenous communities.

“This effort will help build dialogue to map out problems within the concession area,” Hanni said.

Jambi Forestry Agency official Wahyu Widodo also shared a similar view, saying that such an effort would help create social balance in the rainforest for the next few decades.

“Forest concessions, like natural production forest concessions [HPH] and industrial forest permits [HTI], are usually driven to produce economic [benefits]. Harapan rainforest, however, is managed differently. It exists in order to restore the ecosystem,” he said.

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Indonesia: Floods submerge hundreds of houses in Jambi, Aceh

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 7 Dec 15;

Torrential rains have poured down over many regions in Sumatra, causing floods and engulfing hundreds of houses in Jambi and Aceh.

Overnight heavy downpours in Sungai Penuh, Jambi, saw Batang Merao River overflow on Saturday, flooding the city’s two districts of Hamparan Rawang and Tanah Kampung.

In Hamparan Rawang district the flood affected Sri Menanti and Tanjung Bunga subdistricts while in Tanah Kampung it affected Tanjung subdistrict.

“We need the government to build an embankment for the river to prevent the water from overflowing into people’s houses,” Mahmud, a Tanjung resident, said on Sunday.

He also asked the government to provide emergency aid including food and a public kitchen for everyone affected as it was impossible to cook at their houses, which were 75 centimeters deep in floodwater.

“The government has to respond rapidly to prevent our kids from starving,” he said.

Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported that overflowing water from Woyla River had inundated at least nine subdistricts in East Woyla district, West Aceh regency, Aceh, on Friday.

West Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Saiful AB said in Meulaboh on Friday that affected residents had been evacuated.

“The flood comes from the regency up stream,” Saiful said.

Heavy rain over the mountainous region on Thursday afternoon was blamed for the flood in East Woyla. Floodwaters in homes rose to between 50 and 100 centimeters deep.

Water from the overflowing Kreung Mereubo River also started to inundate hectares of rice fields in Kaway XVI district, damaging new seedling areas that had been seeded just two days ago.

Farmer Abdul Manan of Pasir Jambu subdistrict, Kaway XVI, said that local farmers had just finished plowing their rice fields within the last few days, and some had started growing seedlings.

“I have just spread seeds for two days and now they are submerged in water,” Manan said.

The West Aceh regency administration has deployed heavy equipment to do emergency mending work on the Ulee Raket Bridge, both sides of which were eroded by floods that have now hit 12 districts in the region.

The regency has reportedly suffered hundreds of billions of rupiah in flood damage, to rice fields, crops, houses, infrastructure and public facilities.

The regency administration calculated that it would need another Rp 1 trillion, at least, to solve the flood issue by building five kilometers of security embankment along the river (DAS).

“We hope the central government will help us,” West Aceh Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head T. Ahmad Dadek said.

Separately, Pematangsiantar BPBD in North Sumatra has estimated that losses from its flood and landslide on Tuesday amounted to at least Rp 1.3 billion.

“The total losses are still being calculated,” the city BPBD head Daniel Siregar said.

Tuesday’s flood affected the districts of West Siantar, North Siantar Utara and Siantar Martoba, killing two and damaging 23 houses.

The agency’s prevention and awareness sub-division head Anugerah Zendrato said that rain intensity would remain high in the region until the beginning of January.

He called on subdistrict heads in the regency to promote the need to improve caution especially for those living in flood-prone areas along riverbanks and landslide-prone areas in hilly regions.

These areas, Anugerah said, included West Siantar, Siantar Marihat, South Siantar, Siantar Martoba, Siantar Sitalasari and North Siantar districts.

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A hard sell? Companies struggle to promote green consumption

Emma Thomasson and Barbara Lewis PlanetArk 8 Dec 15;

Eat misshapen veg, wash clothes in cold water, drive more slowly and recycle? It is perhaps no surprise that companies say persuading consumers to go green is a big challenge.

As negotiators seek a deal to reduce global emissions at the U.N. talks in Paris, companies are under increasing pressure to account for all their carbon emissions, from manufacturing all the way through to packaging and a product's disposal.

Businesses have been lining up to announce they will power their factories by renewable energy or source raw materials from sustainably managed forests and farms, but many say it is up to consumers too to change the way they use their products.

Years after detergents were developed to wash clothes in cold water, many people still turn up the dial. Electric car sales have been as sluggish as their perceived performance on the road, and tonnes of food and clothing still choke landfills.

Unilever, maker of Dove soap, estimates that customers are responsible for 70 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its products, compared to just 21 percent for the raw materials used to make them. The consumer goods giant has been promoting shorter showers - admittedly with limited success.

"It is far easier to get a consumer to switch their purchase behavior from a less sustainable product to a more sustainable product than it is to influence how people use the products," said Sally Uren, head of Forum for the Future, a non-profit that works with business and government on sustainability issues.

Swedish-based fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz says the way clothes are cared for at home accounts for more than a quarter of the emissions during a garment's life. All H&M clothes now carry labels that recommend washing at lower temperatures.

Irit Tamir, senior advocacy adviser at campaign group Oxfam, however, says companies can't shift too much of the onus onto consumers. Businesses should focus on reducing their own emissions and those of their suppliers, while government should do more to encourage behaviors like recycling, she says.

"We need consumers to be engaged as well, but if we put too much of a focus on the consumer we are letting companies off the hook in terms of their own responsibility," she said.

ENTRENCHED HABITS

Chip Bergh, chief executive of Levi Strauss [LEVST.UL], tries to lead by example. He says he hardly ever washes his jeans, noting that consumers are responsible for 50 percent of the water used in the lifecycle of the average pair.

"I know that sounds totally disgusting but believe me, it can be done. You can spot clean it, you can air dry it. It's fine. I have yet to get a skin disease," he joked last year.

But Anna Walker, Levi Strauss's senior director of global policy, said few people are following Bergh's example:

"Consumer behavior is the toughest thing to change."

More people now expect global warming will negatively affect them during their lifetime, a global survey by the National Geographic Society and GlobeScan found. However, sustainable behavior in areas from housing to transport, food and consumer goods actually fell in Canada, China, Germany, Japan and the United States between 2012 and 2014, the same survey showed.

"Consumers need more encouragement from peers as well as enablement and better leadership from companies and governments to lighten their own impact," said GlobeScan's Eric Whan.

Younger consumers, particularly the 18-30 year-olds dubbed the millennials, are seen as more malleable, but also more likely to expect big brands to do the heavy lifting for them.

Whan noted that products like smartphones that become obsolete in a relatively short time was leading to more disposability.

Unilever, which has set itself the goal of halving the environmental footprint in the making and use of its products by 2020, tweaks formulations and promotes product innovations like dry shampoo. But it admits that greenhouse gas impact per consumer use has risen by around 4 percent since 2010, partly because it has struggled to change bathing and shower habits.

British retailer Marks & Spencer had to cut a target to get its customers to recycle millions of items of clothing after disappointing take-up for its initiative to collect garments for recycling.

MAKING IT EASY

Procter & Gamble, behind brands like Tide and Ariel, sees some progress in encouraging the use of cold water detergent as it focuses its marketing on saving energy rather than saving the environment. It estimates that 53 percent of global machine loads were washed in cold water last year, up from 36 percent in 2010/11, but still far from the P&G target of 70 percent by 2020.

IKEA [IKEA.UL], the world's biggest furniture retailer, has managed to get its customers to switch from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs by slashing prices.

"We went super slim on margin to create the scale," said Steve Howard, head of sustainability at IKEA. "It's about making things really convenient. We will not be able to push things that make it harder for people."

Companies are also realizing the need to bundle their resources to change entrenched consumer habits. Detergent makers and fashion retailers have worked together to promote washing clothes at lower temperatures, while top retailers and food companies have jointly pledged to help halve per capita food waste at the consumer level by 2030.

The commitment was made by members of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a network of 400 retailers and manufacturers, which said if food waste were a country, its carbon footprint would be third after China and the United States.

British retailer Tesco, a CGF member, said it will end multi-buy offers on larger packs of bagged salad after admitting that 68 percent goes to waste, and will instead introduce twin-pack 'eat me now, eat me later' offers.

Ignacio Gavilan, the forum's sustainability director, said food retailers and producers had made major progress in improving their own operations, which account for about a third of food wasted, and are now trying to influence consumers, which account for another third.

"It's about making sure they make the right choices, but it's easier said than done," he said.

(Editing by Susan Fenton)

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World must agree to disagree on hunting whales, Japan official says

Japan’s research fleet, which has cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Japan’s top whaling spokesperson.
Michiyo Ishida, Japan Bureau Chief, Channel NewsAsia 7 Dec 15;

TOKYO: Japan has done nothing wrong by sending its whaling fleet out on its annual Antarctic hunt and the world must agree to disagree on the issue, the country's top whaling official said on Monday (Dec 7).

The International Court of Justice said last year that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop and an International Whaling Committee panel said in April that Tokyo had yet to demonstrate a need for killing whales. Tokyo took a one-year hiatus from Antarctic whaling.

Japan’s research fleet, which has cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds to 333, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Joji Morishita, Japan's IWC Commissioner.

"We did our best to try to meet the criteria established by the International Court of Justice and we have decided to implement our research plan, because we are confident that we completed the scientific homework as well as ... meeting the ICJ requirement," Morishita told a news conference.

Mr Morishita said that past scientific research had found a shift in the Antarctic's eco-system. He believes the number of humpbacks, which were extensively hunted by many countries in the 1960s and '70s, are on the rise.

The Commissioner also stressed the importance of serving whale meat, arguing that it was the same situation as if India were to prohibit the consumption of beef.

"The picture in (my) mind is the same as the whale controversy," he said.

He added that the emotive issue may just be another one of many irreconcilable differences international society has to live with.

"The solution is that we have to agree to disagree," he said. "However, this does not mean that we will take all whales - exactly because we want to have sustainable whaling, we want to have a healthy whale population."

Mr Morishita did not specify the route the four Japanese whaling vessels will take to reach the Antarctic for fear of consequences by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Japan, which has long maintained most whale species are not endangered and eating whale is part of its culture, began what it calls scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect. The meat ends up on store shelves.

Japan's current plan is to catch whales in southern waters until next March.

- CNA/Reuters/yt


World must agree to disagree on hunting whales, Japan official says
Elaine Lies PlanetArk 8 Dec 15;

Japan has done nothing wrong by sending its whaling fleet out on its annual Antarctic hunt and the world must agree to disagree on the issue, the country's top whaling official said on Monday.

The International Court of Justice said last year that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop and an International Whaling Committee panel said in April that Tokyo had yet to demonstrate a need for killing whales. Tokyo took a one-year hiatus from Antarctic whaling.

But Tokyo's retooling of its hunt plan for the 2015/16 season, which cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds to 333, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Joji Morishita, Japan's IWC Commissioner.

Japan, which has long maintained most whale species are not endangered and eating whale is part of its culture, began what it calls scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect. The meat ends up on store shelves.

"We did our best to try to meet the criteria established by the International Court of Justice and we have decided to implement our research plan, because we are confident that we completed the scientific homework as well as ... meeting the ICJ judgment requirement," Morishita told a news conference.

Morishita added that the emotive issue may just be another one of many irreconcilable differences international society has to live with.

"The solution is that we have to agree to disagree," he said.

"However, this does not mean that we will take all whales - exactly because we'd like to have sustainable whaling, we'd like to have a healthy whale population."

(The story is refiled to tweak quotes in paragraphs 5, 8)

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Beijing's first ever red alert for pollution in place

China's capital issued its first ever red alert for pollution on Monday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city.
Channel NewsAsia 8 Dec 15;

BEIJING: China's capital issued its first ever red alert for pollution on Monday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city.

From Tuesday morning, half of Beijing's private cars were ordered off the road, with an odd-even number plate system in force, and 30 percent of government vehicles also garaged.

High-polluting factories and construction sites will also have to cease operations, Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said on its verified social media account, with fireworks and barbecues also banned.

"People should to the best of their ability reduce outdoor activities," it said. "If you are engaging in outdoor activities you should wear a mask or take other protective measures."

Kindergartens, primary and middle schools were urged to close, it added, without explicitly making the measures mandatory.

The red alert came a week after a thick grey haze shrouded the capital with concentrations of PM2.5, harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs, as high as 634 micrograms per cubic metre.

The reading given by the US embassy dwarfed the maximum recommended by the World Health Organisation, which is just 25 micrograms per cubic metre.

It also coincided with global climate change talks in Paris, where Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed "action" on greenhouse emissions.

Most of China's greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of coal for electricity and heating, which spikes when demand peaks in winter and is the main cause of smog.

The issue is a source of enduring public anger in China, which has seen breakneck economic growth in recent decades but at the cost of widespread environmental damage.

Pollution is blamed for causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths every year.

China is estimated to have emitted nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as the United States in 2013, and around two and a half times the European Union's total.

Beijing has pledged that emissions will peak "around 2030", without saying at what level and implying several years of further increases.

It has promised to reduce coal consumption by 100 million tonnes by 2020 -- a small fraction of the 4.2 billion tonnes it consumed in 2012 -- and cut 60 percent of "major pollutants" from coal-fired power plants, without specifying the chemicals in question.

On Monday evening PM2.5 levels were 206 micrograms per cubic metre according to the US embassy, and 187 according to local authorities. But visibility was significantly better than the previous week.

- AFP

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