Best of our wild blogs: 1 Nov 18

10 November (Sat) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

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Nature Society urges HDB to save more of Tengah new town’s forests for wildlife

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 30 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE — The Nature Society Singapore (NSS) has called for significantly more land to be set aside for wildlife at the future Tengah new town, in a proposal that it said would reduce the number of housing units that can be built there.

Tengah, which sits between ecosystems in the Western Catchment Area and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, is couched by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to be Singapore’s first housing estate that is a “forest town”.

In its 16-page position paper posted online last week, the society said that a total of about 220ha at two ends of the 700ha site should be set aside as a refuge for animals including uncommon birds and mammals.

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Floating solar panels in Kranji could be option for private firms seeking to cut carbon footprint

Today Online 31 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE — Could the option to tap solar energy be a draw for investors in Singapore? The Economic Development Board (EDB) thinks so.

If things go according to plan, a private company could in future tap energy from floating solar panels at Kranji Reservoir.

The EDB is inviting potential users of renewable energy from the private sector to submit proposals on how they can harness solar energy from a large-scale floating solar photovoltaic system, it said on Wednesday (Oct 31).

Through a request for information, it hopes to determine the demand in the private sector for renewable energy and identify an end-user to partner with.

At the next stage, the EDB and other government agencies will require the selected end-user to do comprehensive studies on the potential environmental impact of the proposed project, before deciding whether to go ahead.

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Five countries hold 70% of world's last wildernesses, map reveals

First map of Earth’s intact ecosystems shows just five nations are responsible for most of them – but it will require global action to protect them
Lisa Cox The Guardian 31 Oct 18;

Just five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research.

Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have for the first time produced a global map that sets out which countries are responsible for nature that is devoid of heavy industrial activity.

It comes ahead of the conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Egypt in November where signatory nations are working towards a plan for the protection of biodiversity beyond 2020.

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