Best of our wild blogs: 23 Nov 18

[Spotlight on IYOR Interns!] Our Seas, Our Legacy by Nathaniel Soon
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

Beneath tide, Running forest Exhibition 24 Nov 2018 - Apr 2019
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

Unveiling the world of mushroom
Love our MacRitchie Forest

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Lost villages of Pulau Ubin

Armed with only his mother’s photographs and directions from an old friend, Mr Syazwan Majid goes in search of an abandoned village where his grandparents used to live.
Rachel Quek and Toh Ting Wei Straits Times 21 Nov 18;

SINGAPORE - Mr Syazwan Majid grew up listening to his mother reminisce about her lost kampung in Pulau Ubin.

"It was like a broken record," the 22-year-old full-time national serviceman said.

But the repeated stories gradually piqued his curiosity in both the island and his family's heritage.

Mr Syazwan began to wonder if his family's old house was still standing in Ubin, since the island had yet to undergo a large-scale development.

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Malaysia: Resilient black panther dies after accident on LPT2

FITRI NIZAM, Rosli Ilham New Straits Times 22 Nov 18;

DUNGUN: A black panther sustained injuries and later on died, after it was hit by a car along the East Coast Expressway (LPT2) near Bukit Besi at about 6.30pm yesterday.

Nazaiwadi Mohamed who was driving at the time, hit the animal after failing to avoid it.

"The panther looked like it flew over the divider before falling on the hood of my car," he said.

During the incident, Nazaiwadi was heading home to Kampung Raja Besut from the Kuala Dungun toll plaza.

"I got out of my car to help the animal but it got up and tried to attack me," the 32-year-old project manager said, adding that out of fear, he went back into his vehicle.

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Indonesia: Plastic waste pollution serious - Minister

Antara 22 Nov 18;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Noting that plastic waste in the archipelago`s sea have serious consequences for the nation, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti stated all parties should work to resolve the matter.

"Marine debris is creating massive problems for humankind," the minister said in a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday.

The ministry has carried out all the necessary measures to its maximum capability, including by continuously campaigning about it, she remarked.

For example, the Directorate General of Marine Space Management of the ministry has distributed nets to be set up over a number of river estuaries so the waste materials do not flow into the open ocean through the river, she stressed.

Even though the regulation to ban the use of plastic does not come under the purview of the ministry, she reiterated her support and encouragement to the various local governments to issue rules relating to this matter.

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Climate-heating greenhouse gases at record levels, says UN

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are far above pre-industrial levels
Damian Carrington The Guardian 22 Nov 18;

The main greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change have all reached record levels, the UN’s meteorology experts have reported.

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are now far above pre-industrial levels, with no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, a World Meteorological Organization report says.

“The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5m years ago, when the temperature was 2-3C warmer and sea level was 10-20 metres higher than now,” said the WMO secretary general, Petteri Taalas.

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