Morning Walk At Dairy Farm Nature Park (29 Jun 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG
The Bamboo Feeders (Part 2)
Butterflies of Singapore
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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Jun 19
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Floating wetlands in Pulau Ubin to be expanded, more amenities for wheelchair users
Felicia Choo Straits Times 29 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE - Bird enthusiasts and nature lovers will soon have more to enjoy in Pulau Ubin, where floating wetlands will be vastly expanded to provide more habitats for various species of migratory birds.
The mangroves at abandoned aquaculture ponds in the south-eastern part of the island will also be restored.
These are part of plans announced by the National Parks Board (NParks) on Saturday, which will also see improved accessibility to Pulau Ubin for wheelchair users.
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New MPA database to promote better use of Singapore waters
Zhaki Abdullah Straits Times 29 Jun 19;
A new database on Singapore's waters, from its coastlines to the seabed, was launched yesterday by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Dubbed GeoSpace-Sea, it aims to provide comprehensive geospatial data for port and coastal planning, among other things, as well as environmental management.
"It will be something like the SLA's (Singapore Land Authority's) OneMap," said MPA deputy chief hydrographer Jamie Chen, referring to the map service which will provide geospatial data as well as land ownership information.
The MPA's database will help Singapore's waters be used and developed in a safe and sustainable manner, he added.
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Singapore bans bottled water from Malaysia's Malee Mineral Water after bacteria found
Channel NewsAsia 28 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: The import of all bottled drinking and mineral water from Malee Mineral Water has been banned with immediate effect after bacteria was detected in recent consignments.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced this in a circular addressed to all bottled water importers on its website on Friday (Jun 28).
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Malaysia, Johor: 'Authorities must determine safe range in Pasir Gudang'
New Straits Times 29 Jun 19;
PASIR GUDANG: Medical experts have urged the authorities to ascertain the concentration level of the ‘anomalous’ gases foundin Pasir Gudang atmosphere.
This ratio, they believe, is the key towards determining the “safe range”, or whether residents have to exercise additional precautionary measures.
Dr Ravindran R. Naidu, who is former president of the Malaysian Medical Association, said the three gases detected in named by the authorities as being present in the Pasir Gudang air should not be treated lightly.
He said the gases, if found in large quantities, could pose not just immediate problems, but also severe respiratory issues.
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Indonesia, Kalimantan: Land fires hit East Kotawaringin
Antara 29 Jun 19;
Sampit, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Land fires began in East Kotawaringin District, Central Kalimantan, as less rain fell in the past week to make the dry land flammable.
"Today we are putting out land fires that have occurred in an area of about 50x100 meters with an area burned (into the ground) around 20x10 meters," said Head of the East Kotawaringin Fire and Rescue Service, Rihel, in Sampit Saturday. A fire was spotted on Walter Hugo Street, Baamang Barat Village, Baamang District. The location of the burned land is still within the area of Sampit City.
A team of eight firefighters was immediately dispatched to the location after public reports. Although the burning area is an empty field full of weeds, the prompt response of the firefighters helped to quickly bring the fire under control.
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Staying in Jakarta: Will a great sea wall protect Indonesia's capital from coastal flooding?
Stania Puspa Channel NewsAsia 29 Jun 19;
JAKARTA: For those living in North Jakarta, regular coastal flooding is a fact of life.
Entire communities are inundated, usually in the middle of the month, as the sea level rises around the full moon period. Residents of Kaliadem in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, simply refer to coastal flooding using the Javanese word “rob”.
“(A) big cycle (of flooding) comes once every three months,” said local citizen Bani Sadar when interviewed by CNA.
“Sometimes, it’s a moderate flood, sometimes it’s a big flood. We have (in the past) experienced five days of flooding in a row.”
In the middle of May this year, seawater flooded Mr Sadar’s house. The water level was up to his ankle.
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Japan whaling: Commercial hunts to resume despite outcry
BBC 29 Jun 19;
Japan is about to resume catching whales for profit, in defiance of international criticism.
Its last commercial hunt was in 1986, but Japan has never really stopped whaling - it has been conducting instead what it says are research missions which catch hundreds of whales annually.
But Japan has now withdrawn from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which banned hunting, and will send out its first whaling fleet this July.
Isn't whaling banned?
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How Singapore is battling ‘existential’ climate threat
Environmental change and water dispute with Malaysia threaten low-lying state
Stefania Palma Financial Times 27 Jun 19;
One word crops up repeatedly in Singaporean authorities’ discussions on the environmental risks facing the low-lying country: “existential”.
An island nation half the size of London with limited natural resources, Singapore is vulnerable to rising sea levels and flooding, with food and water security major concerns. A spat with Malaysia over an accord that has underpinned water exports to Singapore for almost six decades has compounded the sustainability challenge.
However, Singapore has rolled out some of the world’s most progressive policies to tackle climate change risks as well as encouraging businesses to harness technology to address them.
“The effects of climate change are real, and in Singapore we are definitely going to be facing them,” says Pamela Lee, director of policy and planning at the National Climate Change Secretariat in the prime minister’s office.
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Malaysia, Johor: Crackdown on Pasir Gudang factories dumping chemical waste illegally
Kalbana Perimbanayagam New Straits Times 27 Jun 19;
PASIR GUDANG : The Department of Environment (DOE) in Johor has initiated investigation on at least 38 industrial factories operating in Pasir Gudang, for non-compliance and flouting the department’s laws, following the recent toxic fume pollution here.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said action taken included the issuing of compounds to 37 factory operators who had failed to adhere to the department’s procedures under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
“Of the total, 27 compounds were issued for unscheduled waste disposal, 10 were for industrial effluents and three notices to stop work and notice of demand, each were also issued to six of them.
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Indonesia: TNI foil alleged sale of protected primates worth Rp 1.42b
Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 27 Jun 19;
The Indonesian Military (TNI) have arrested two Pekanbaru residents for allegedly trading illegal wildlife in Dumai, Riau.
Dumai Customs and Excise Office head Fuad Fauzi said he had received a report from residents regarding the illegal selling of protected animals in the area.
“We suspect that the animals were heading to Malaysia and were to be delivered by speedboat from a harbor belonging to one of the locals,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
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Indonesia: Number of hot spots down in first half of 2019
Kharishar Kahfi The Jakarta Post 27 Jun 19;
The Environment and Forestry Ministry has reported a drop in the number of hot spots across the country during this year’s first half from the equivalent period last year.
According to observation using the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, 508 hot spots were detected in forest areas in Indonesia between Jan. 1 and June 25, marking a 25 percent drop from 685 detected in the same period of 2018.
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Indonesia: Houses in Aceh destroyed after 12 elephants go on rampage
Antara 27 Jun 19;
A house at Tuwi Meuleusong Village, Seunagan Timur Sub-district, Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province, is damaged after an elephant attack. (ANTARA/Istimewa)
Suka Makmue, Aceh (ANTARA) - A herd of 12 elephants recently ran amok in the villages of Blang Lango and Tuwi Meuleusong in Seunagan Timur Sub-district, Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province, destroying a house and plantations.
"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), (the attack) claimed no lives," Seunagan Timur Sub-district Head Teuku Mukhsin stated on Thursday.
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Big energy discussion 'scrubbed from record' at UN climate talks
Patrick GALEY, AFP Yahoo News 27 Jun 19;
Bonn (AFP) - Hours of discussions over whether the United Nations climate process needs protecting from big energy interests were "scrubbed" from official conclusions at a conference in Germany this week, AFP has learned.
Talks between nations over how to implement the Paris climate goals wrap up in Bonn Thursday, when summaries of discussions and decisions will be presented to delegates and observers.
Among those allowed to participate in UN climate talks are representatives of trade organisations who count among their members energy giants such as ExxonMobil and Shell.
Industry representatives say their presence as observers at climate negotiations is crucial as it will be the private sector that is tasked with implementing change in the global economy.
Critics question why lobby groups tied to fossil fuel companies should be allowed inside a process that specifically aims to slash the planet-warming emissions those fuels cause.
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Record-breaking heat wave cooks Europe
Mark Kaufman, Mashable Yahoo News 27 Jun 19;
The heat has arrived.
As predicted, a potent heat wave settled over Europe this week, bringing abnormally high June temperatures to vast swathes of France, Spain, Germany and beyond — home to hundreds of millions. Already, the highest ever recorded June temperatures have toppled in Germany, France, and Poland, reaching into the triple digits on Wednesday.
Radzyń, Poland hit nearly 101 degrees Fahrenheit, a region outside of Berlin reached 101.5 degrees, and the average max June temperature in France hit its highest point ever, at nearly 95 degrees. On Thursday, France peaked at over 107 degrees. And there's more heat to come.
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3 ways for Singapore to stretch land options: Lawrence Wong
Tee Zhuo Straits Times 26 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE - Land-scarce Singapore has three ways to stretch its land options: going upward, downward and seaward.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong detailed these different ways in a blog post on Wednesday (June 26).
"Land is a critical factor in any country's development, more so for a little red dot like Singapore," he wrote.
"But through human ingenuity, we can come up with innovative ways to stretch our land options... That's how we can overcome our natural constraints, and continue to succeed over the long-term," he added.
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New Aquaculture Innovation Centre seeks to work with other players on joint research
Shabana Begum Straits Times 26 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE - Food and beverage outlets providing food waste that can be used for fish feed is an example of partnership that the new Aquaculture Innovation Centre (AIC) is looking for. It is seeking urban fish farms, tertiary institutes, government agencies and other industries that can come together to help increase Singapore's seafood production.
The country's 10th centre of innovation is the first to be run as a consortium so that various players from academia and industries can research jointly to strengthen the aquaculture sector.
The AIC, headquartered in Temasek Polytechnic and supported by Enterprise Singapore, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Wednesday (June 26) to collaborate with eight partners including other polytechnics, the National University of Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and the Singapore Food Agency.
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Crabs reared sustainably to help boost Singapore's food security
Project ongoing to grow crustaceans in lab amid efforts to increase local food production
Shabana Begum Straits Times 27 Jun 19;
Inside a lab in Temasek Polytechnic, dozens of mud crabs are scuttling, feeding and breeding - to meet Singaporeans' insatiable appetite for chilli crab and black pepper crab.
Due to overharvesting and bad weather conditions brought on by global warming, the mud crab populations in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, where Singapore imports crabs from, have dwindled by 30 per cent.
Many crabs are also harvested before they reach maturity, which is an unsustainable farming practice.
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Malaysia: Call to protect Sungai Johor
zazali musa The Star 27 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: Johor government is urged to be more proactive in monitoring the quality of Sungai Johor as the river is the main source of raw water supply in south of the state.
Green Earth Society Johor president P. Sivakumar said based on incidents over the years, contamination in the river caused inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of consumers.
He said the main cause of pollution in Johor’s longest river was the high content of ammonia in the water due to effluents discharged by oil palm mills upstream.
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Malaysia, Johor: Cabinet told no link between Pasir Gudang and Sg Kim Kim cases
Azura Abas New Straits Times 26 Jun 19;
PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet was briefed that the recent air pollution incident in Pasir Gudang had nothing to do with earlier pollution of Sungai Kim Kim.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said this was the briefing provided by the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, which said that after investigating all possible indicators, found no indication of any link between the two incidents.
Dr Wan Azizah said the relevant authorities had conducted tests on the victims’ urine and blood samples as part of the investigation.
She also noted that National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) officers were currently in Pasir Gudang conducting investigations.
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Malaysia busts attempt to smuggle over 5,000 terrapins
AFP 26 Jun 19;
Malaysian customs officers arrested two Indian men attempting to smuggle over 5,000 terrapins through the country to be sold as pets, officials said Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian country, home to rare animals such as orangutans and tigers, has become a hub for wildlife trafficking.
The men were detained at Kuala Lumpur's main airport last Thursday after they arrived from China with 5,255 red-eared terrapins.
The creatures -- packed into plastic containers inside two suitcases -- were worth 52,550 ringgit ($12,700), senior customs official Zulkurnain Mohamed Yusuf said.
Some died on the journey, although a large number survived.
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Indonesia: Military joins efforts to halt forest fires in South Sumatra
Antara 26 Jun 19
Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA) - The Indonesian military will join efforts to halt recurrences of land and forest fires in South Sumatra Province during this year's dry season by regularly conducting public awareness campaigns in several districts.
The campaigns regarding the importance of taking precautionary measures have been conducted in districts such as Banyuasin and Ogan Komering Ilir, Chief of the 044/Garuda Dempo Military Resort Command, Major Binsar J Simanjuntak, said on Wednesday.
Speaking to local journalists here, Simanjuntak said precautionary measures were also taken by the land and forest fire task force by monitoring vulnerable areas.
The same preventive measures have also been taken by the Banyuasin district military command.
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Greenpeace sounds alarm over shark overfishing in North Atlantic
AFP Yahoo News 27 Jun 19;
Madrid (AFP) - Thousands of endangered sharks are killed each year in the North Atlantic due to a lack of protection against overfishing in international waters, Greenpeace said Thursday.
Fishing vessels dedicated primarily to catching swordfish in the area collectively caught four times more sharks than swordfish by weight with their long lines loaded with thousands of hooks, the environmental group said in a report based on findings from Greenpeace ship Esperanza which visited the region earlier this year.
"It is absolutely immoral to kill sharks and other wildlife with these terrible fishing practices," said Will McCallum, of Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign, in a statement.
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Team effort needed for climate action: Khor
Civil society, businesses and individuals must play their part, she tells ethical investing meet
Aw Cheng Wei Straits Times 25 Jun 19;
Fighting climate change needs to be a consolidated effort, and the Government cannot tackle the pressing issue alone, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said yesterday.
"Everyone, including civil society organisations, businesses and individuals must take urgent climate action."
Climate change poses existential threats for the Republic, she added, speaking on the first day of a four-day conference on ethical investing. Speakers included representatives from Standard Chartered Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Macquarie Group Foundation.
Dr Khor pointed out that Singapore is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, and climate change aggravates challenges such as public health, livelihoods and food supply. "Businesses are also realising and counting the cost of climate risks," she added.
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Malaysia, Johor: Pasir Gudang industries to be strictly monitored to prevent pollution
Rizalman Hammim New Straits Times 25 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: The state government has set up a committee to conduct continuous monitoring on activities of industries in Pasir Gudang to ensure incidents such as air pollution do not recur.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said, among others, the committee would look into the feasibility of creating a buffer zone between residential and industrial zones in Pasir Gudang.
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Indonesia: Riau's land, forest fires covered 3,147 hectares in Jan-June 2019
Antara 25 Jun 19;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Land and forest fires in Riau Province during the period from January to June covered an area of 3,147 hectares, according to data of the Land and Forest Fire Task Force.
Deputy Chief of the task force Edwar Sanger informed ANTARA here on Tuesday that the area covered 12 districts and cities in the province.
"The largest area was in Bengkalis covering 1,426 hectares of land," Sanger, concurrently managing chief of the Regional Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Riau, stated.
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Indonesia: Trained elephants ill after 10 days of expelling wild elephants
Antara 25 Jun 19;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Two trained elephants fell ill from fatigue after a 10-day operation to drive out wild elephants in Riau Province and had to be returned to the Tesso Nilo National Park for their recovery.
"Two elephants named Rahman and Indro were returned (to the park) on Sunday night, as they had fallen sick and showed signs of exhaustion," Andri Hansen Siregar, an official of the Riau Natural Conservation Agency (BBKSDA), stated here on Tuesday.
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Indonesia: KPK hints at crime behind major flooding in Southeast Sulawesi
Antara 25 Jun 19;
Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Laode M. Syarif, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman, sought to conduct an evaluation over possible crime behind the flooding that wrecked parts of Southeast Sulawesi Province.
"Lately, the public has shown interest in speaking about alleged crime pertaining to the mining sector since flooding occurred in mining areas with abundant natural resources, notably in North Konawe, Konawe, and South Konawe," he stated here on Tuesday.
However, that crime could not be termed as a corruption crime as assumed by several people, he noted.
Syarif, an environmental law expert, pointed out that it was no easy task to prove that corruption had occurred, as strong evidence is required.
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Indonesia: Batam city government bans use of imported plastic waste
Antara 25 Jun 19;
Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The Batam city government barred imported plastic waste used as raw materials for industries in the coastal city owing to the harmful and damaging impact on the environment, a local government official stated here, Tuesday.
The firm stance on banning imported plastic waste was taken by the city administration by strictly implementing waste management regulations for environmental protection, Head of the Batam City Government's Environmental Management Division IP stated.
"We reject those offering imported raw materials," IP affirmed, adding that the Indonesian Customs and Excise officers had recently come across 65 containers of imported plastic waste. Drums, pipes, and buckets were among the plastic goods found loaded inside the containers.
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Greenpeace recommends ASEAN to curtain single-use plastic production
Antara 26 Jun 19;
Banyuwangi, East Java, (ANTARA) - Greenpeace Southeast Asia has praised the Bangkok Declaration and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris, though views the ASEAN as being unable to tackle the upstream problem pertaining to production of single-use plastics.
According to a statement by Greenpeace, the Bangkok Declaration and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris is a good example of how regional action can be achieved to address a common challenge.
However, the Framework remained inadequate in solving the problem of plastic pollution at its core by prioritizing waste management instead of the need to lessen the production of single-use plastics to prevent them from ending up as waste, Muharram Atha Rasyadi, urban campaigner of Greenpeace Indonesia, noted in the statement on Tuesday.
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Air quality in Singapore unaffected by Johor incident: NEA
Rei Kurohi New Straits Times 25 Jun 19;
The air quality in Singapore has remained good and has not been affected by what has been described as an "air pollution incident" which resulted in the closure of schools in the Taman Mawar area of Pasir Gudang in Johor.
In response to queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday that it is in contact with its counterparts in Johor's Department of the Environment, and that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) and the PM2.5 readings in Singapore have remained in the "good" and "normal" ranges since last Thursday.
NEA added that the wind has been blowing over Singapore from the south and south-east, and that it expects this to continue for the next few days.
The ambient levels of volatile organic compounds along Singapore's coast have also remained low and within safe levels, NEA said.
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Businesses can soon buy 'green' commercial dishwashers; manufacturers urged to get products certified
Ng Huiwen Straits Times 24 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE - Businesses will soon be able to buy certified commercial dishwashers and washer extractors that are water efficient, helping them to save up to 44 per cent of water.
National water agency PUB and the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) said in a joint statement on Monday (June 24) that two manufacturers - Electrolux SEA and EcoLab - have submitted applications to certify their products under the new Singapore Green Labelling Scheme for commercial water use appliances.
The scheme for commercial appliances, which was developed in April, is the PUB's latest initiative to drive efficient water usage in the non-domestic sector, the statement said.
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Malaysia: Authorities confirm - Latest Pasir Gudang pollution caused by Sg Kim Kim toxic waste
Siti A'isyah Sukaimi New Straits Times 24 Jun 19;
PUTRAJAYA: The authorities have confirmed that the airborne contaminants, which left a number of students in Pasir Gudang hospitalised since last week, was due to excess toxic waste from Sungai Kim Kim, which first affected residents back in March.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said this was the information obtained from the Fire and Rescue Department, who were conducting investigations in the area.
“I have received information from the department that the case appears to be a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim incident. I was made to understand that a contractor had previously been tasked with cleaning up and removing the harmful substances from the river.
“However, the substances were not 100 per cent removed. As such, the substances, left in Pasir Gudang exposed to the elements such as wind and rain, began spreading,” she told reporters after attending a ministry event here on Monday.
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Malaysia: Pangolin santuary to be Sabah's new wildlife tourist attraction
Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 24 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: A pangolin sanctuary, to be established within the protected Tawau Hills National Park, is set to become Sabah’s new wildlife tourist attraction.
Funded by Arizona Sabah Pangolin Sanctuary and Research Institute (Sapsari) with an initial start-up investment of RM1 million, the sanctuary is an effort by the state government to further protect arguably the world’s most poached and trafficked animal.
Deputy Chief Minister cum state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said Tawau was picked as a suitable location for the pangolin sanctuary because it has a vast forest.
“It will be a suitable place for pangolins because there’s plenty of food supplies there in the form of insects such as termites and ants.
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Malaysia: Devoting her life to saving the orangutans
Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 24 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: When Sue Sheward visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan for the first time 18 years ago, she saw the challenges faced by the state in translocating and rehabilitating the protected species.
After being briefed by the centre’s then officer-in-charge Dr Sen Nathan, the Briton decided to devote her life towards wildlife conservation, specifically the orangutan.
Sabah Wildlife director Augustine Tuuga recalled that Sheward, who had founded Orangutan Appeal UK in 2000, started to raise funds through humble ways.
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Indonesia: Hot spots begin appearing in Riau - BMKG
Antara 24 Jun 19;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) revealed on Monday afternoon that five hot spots, which indicate possible occurrences of bush and forest fires, have begun appearing in four districts of Riau Province.
The confidence level of those hot spots that the Terra and Aqua Satellites detected on Monday at 04.00 pm local time reached above 50 percent, Head of the Pekanbaru-based BMKG, Sukisno, revealed.
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Indonesia: Environmental lesson to learn from flooding in Southeast Sulawesi
Antara 24 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Parts of Indonesia have begun to experience extreme dry season that causes water crisis, while other parts still have rains with high precipitation leading to major floods in Samarinda (East Kalimantan Province), Morowali (Central Sulawesi), and Konawe and North Konawe Districts in Southeast Sulawesi Province.
Flooding in Morowali District recently destroyed four bridges and caused extensive damage to over 10 homes, and affected more than 16 thousand people in three sub-districts.
In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, floods affected 9,358 families constituting 30,580 people living in of North Samarinda, Sungai Pinang, and Samarinda Ulu sub-districts.
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About 900 households fined between January and May as NEA calls for 'collective effort' to tackle dengue surge
Channel NewsAsia 23 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: About 900 households have been fined for mosquito breeding as of May this year, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) as it called for a "national collective effort" to tackle the high number of dengue cases in Singapore.
More than 372,000 inspections were carried out islandwide between January and May this year and about 6,500 instances of mosquito breeding habitats were uncovered, said NEA in a media statement on Sunday (Jun 23).
During the same period, the proportion of breeding detected in homes in cluster areas was 74 per cent, much higher than the national average of 60 per cent.
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Working to keep Singapore's beaches clean
John Tan The New Paper 24 Jun 19;
Dressed in neon shirts and vests, with bright yellow construction boots, Mr Wong Hua Sun and Mr Chan Chee Yan gather at East Coast Park at 6am, along with eight other men.
They are part of a team responsible for a stretch along East Coast Park, from Area G to Area H, which is about 1.6km.
Part of Ramky Cleantech Services, a company hired by the National Environment Agency to clean public parks, these men are a reason why the park remains litter-free.
The men start their day with area cleaning, tidying up the barbecue pits and the surrounding area.
At first light, usually around 7am, their team moves down to the beach to clean it.
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10 new land parcels in Lim Chu Kang on sale for farming
The plots come with a 20-year lease and six of them are for bean sprouts
Cheryl Teh Straits Times 20 Jun 19;
The humble bean sprout continues to be a major part of Singapore's journey towards self-sufficiency in producing its own food.
In another step along this path, 10 land parcels for food farming in Lim Chu Kang were put up for sale yesterday by public tender by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
These include six land parcels for bean-sprout farming, three land parcels for general agriculture (food) farming and one land parcel for vegetable farming, the agency said in a statement.
The land parcels for general agriculture (food) farming may be used to farm food crops, seafood, quail eggs, cattle or goats for dairy milk, and/or frogs reared for food.
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Malaysia, Johor: Pasir Gudang air pollution: 16 schools ordered shut
AMANINA SUHAINI New Straits Times 24 Jun 19;
A TOTAL of 16 schools in a 6km radius of SA Taman Mawar here have been instructed to close for four days beginning today following back-to-back incidences of schoolchildren falling ill due to suspected air pollution.
The closure involves 20,180 schoolchildren and teachers from the 16 schools, the Ibrahim Sultan Polytechnic, as well as 69 kindergartens and preschools.
On Thursday, 15 pupils from the school, as well as nearby SK Pasir Gudang 4, were hospitalised over suspected exposure to air pollution.
The incident worsened yesterday when 20 students from another school — SMK Taman Nusa Damai — displayed symptoms of air pollution exposure and were rushed to hospital.
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Malaysia: Sabah identified as potential site for pangolin research, conservation efforts
stephanie lee The Star 23 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has been identified as a potential site for pangolin research and conservation efforts and a research site will be set up in Tawau district soon.
To accomplish this, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the Sabah Pangolin Sanctuary and Research Institute (Sapsari) will be signed on Monday (June 24).
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said the MoU will be signed between the state government and Peter Chan, the founder and chief executive officer of US-based Sapsari Arizona.
Liew said the much-anticipated Sapsari is going to be a reality for the conservation of the critically-endangered Sunda pangolin.
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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Jun 19
Wild Dolphins sighted off Siloso Beach, 21 Jun 2019
wild shores of singapore
23 June, 1pm: Celebrating Primates in Southeast Asia
Green Drinks Singapore
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Asean needs to cooperate to solve marine debris, haze pollution and other transboundary environmental issues: PM Lee
Rachel Au-Yong Straits Times 22 Jun 19;
BANGKOK - The transboundary nature of many environmental challenges, from marine debris to haze pollution, "makes it impossible for any single country to solve the issue alone," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday (June 22).
This is why Singapore strongly supports Asean efforts to cooperate, he told his counterparts at the start of the 34th Asean Summit in Bangkok.
A meeting Singapore held among Asean ministers to discuss climate change issues last year, while it was Asean chair, prompted regional action on environmental issues, and PM Lee said he intends to keep the conversation going on this issue.
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As temperatures and urbanisation increase, fight against dengue will only get tougher
CYNTHIA CHOO Today Online 22 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — When 28-year-old Amanda Poh was bitten by mosquitoes earlier this month while having after-work drinks at a bar, dengue fever was the “furthest thing from her mind”.
About a week later, she was down with a 40 degree fever and experienced bouts of nausea. Even then, she thought it was food poisoning.
But the fever refused to go away. Upon advice from a general practitioner, she went for a blood test at Changi General Hospital and the results confirmed she had dengue fever.
“Dengue always felt like a ‘it will happen to someone else but not me’ kind of thing, so it was a huge shock to find out that I had this virus,” said Ms Poh, a communications executive.
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No ifs or butts: Cigarette rubbish is littering Singapore's coastline
Nicole Chang Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: Mention the phrase “marine litter” and chances are that images of plastic straws or bottles would be the first things to spring to mind.
Yet these items, while often found in local waters, pale in comparison to the number of cigarette butts littering the world’s shorelines.
Awareness of single-use plastic waste has been gaining traction in Singapore, most recently with the move by more than 270 food and beverage outlets to eliminate plastic straws.
But at a time when many other single-use plastic waste items - from plastic bags to single-use straws and cutlery - are facing growing public attention, have cigarette butts managed to slip under the radar?
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Malaysia: Sabah judiciary gets new guidelines for wildlife crime
Roy Goh New Straits Times 22 Jun 19;
KUDAT: The state judiciary has received a new set of guidelines for dealing with crimes involving wildlife.
The first of its kind in Malaysia, it was formulated during a series of workshops and meetings involving the judiciary, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Sabah Law Association and World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia since 2017.
In a simple ceremony here today, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Seri David Wong Dak Wah signed it and handed it over to the Registrar of High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak to be implemented.
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Malaysia: Three Pasir Gudang schools, two kindergartens ordered shut for two days over air pollution fears
venesa devi The Star 22 Jun 19;
PASIR GUDANG: Three schools and two kindergartens have been ordered to be close for two days from Sunday (June 23) here as a safety precaution following possible air pollution.
The schools are Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, SK Pasir Gudang 4 and SMK Pasir Gudang 2 while the kindergartens are Tadika Pasti and Tadika Pintar Bistari.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said the schools and childcare centres are located from 100m to 800m away from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, where the incident first started.
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Crocodile spotted in drain in Sungei Kadut caught, transferred to farm: NParks
Channel NewsAsia 21 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: A crocodile that was seen in a drain at Sungei Kadut Drive on Friday (Jun 21) has been caught and transported to a crocodile farm, said National Parks Board (NParks).
“NParks officers worked with our trained contractors to secure the crocodile. It has since been translocated to a crocodile farm,” it said in response to CNA's queries.
NParks was alerted to the sighting of the Estuarine crocodile at 8.20am, it said.
The crocodile was spotted by employees at concrete company Star Ready Mix.
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84-year-old woman dies from dengue in 5th fatal case this year
Channel NewsAsia 20 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: An 84-year-old woman died from dengue last week, marking the fifth such death in Singapore this year, according to a joint statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Jun 20).
The woman, who died last Friday, lived within an active dengue cluster at Lorong 6 Geylang.
As of Monday, 108 dengue cases have been reported in the cluster at Geylang Road, said NEA and MOH.
Since it was notified of the cluster on Apr 26, NEA said it had detected and destroyed 64 mosquito breeding habitats.
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Malaysia: Johor rules out Sg Kim Kim repeat following Pasir Gudang air pollution incident
mohd farhaan shah The Star 21 Jun 19;
PASIR GUDANG: The Johor government has ruled out a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim incident after 15 individuals, including 13 students, were admitted to hospital following breathing and vomiting difficulties.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said the authorities have opened an operation centre at the Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium, following the latest incident on Thursday (June 20).
“This incident has nothing to do with Sungai Kim Kim because the school is located some 6km away and so far, the Department of Environment (DOE) has found no illegal dumping here.
“The Fire and Rescue Department and DOE will lead the operation team, where they would inspect air quality within a 2km radius around the affected area,” he told a press conference at the operation centre here Friday (June 21).
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Indonesia to face drier dry season this year
Antara 21 Jun 19;
"NTB and NTT are harvesting rainwater for farming, hence they need to be supported by irrigation water," he said.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Forecasting that this year's dry season will be drier as compared to that of the previous year, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has reminded the regional authorities to intensify vigilance over possible forest fires and droughts.
"Regions which were affected by droughts during the June, July and August period of last year, should be vigilant this year," Adi Ripalsi, head of the agency's climate information analysis sub-unit, said here on Friday, adding, "Last year, the precipitation during the dry season was less than 20 millimeters a month, and this year, it can go lower."
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Indonesia: Flooding inundates 40 hectares of rice fields in Mukomuko, Bengkulu
Antara 20 Jun 19;
Mukomuko, Bengkulu (ANTARA) - Flooding caused by continuous torrential rains resulted in a local river overflowing its bank and inundating some 40 hectares of rice fields in Pondok Baru Village, Selagan Raya Sub-district, Mukomuko District, Bengkulu Province.
In spite of the flooding, two-month-old paddy plants in the affected rice fields were not destroyed, Sugiyanto, an official of the Mukomuko agriculture office, confirmed here on Thursday.
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Indonesia's two new biosphere reserves recognized by UNESCO
Antara 21 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Tojo Una-Una Togean, Central Sulawesi, and Saleh-Moyo-Tambora (Samota), West Nusa Tenggara, were two new biosphere reserves recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Paris congregation, France, June 19.
At the 31st Session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Program (ICC-MAB), Tojo Una-Una and Saleh-Moyo-Tambora Togean were the 15th and 16th biosphere reserves in Indonesia to be added to UNESCO's list.
"The Togean Tojo Una-Una Biosphere Reserve spans an area of 2,187,632 hectares in the heart of the Coral Triangle that has the highest coral diversity in the world as well as mangrove forests and small island ecosystems," IESCO-MAB UNESCO President Enny Sudarmonowati, also deputy for life sciences at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Friday.
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Thailand's $13 Billion Plan Could Woo 65 Million Tourists Yearly
Natnicha Chuwiruch Bloomberg 21 Jun 19;
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Thailand is already struggling to cope with the environmental impact of a tourism boom that’s expected to lure 40 million visitors this year. The influx is on course to hit 65 million a decade from now, signaling an even bigger challenge ahead.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy plans to pour about $13 billion into expanding airport capacity and connecting major terminals with high-speed railways. As a result, foreign tourist numbers could jump more than 60% by 2029 to about the size of the U.K. population, projections from The World Travel & Tourism Council show.
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Canada becomes first G7 country to ban shark fin imports
Leyland Cecco The Guardian 21 Jun 19;
It was on a family visit to Hong Kong that Kristyn Wong-Tam noticed her uncle – a well-regarded chef – was the only person at the table not touching a bowl of shark fin soup.
When he explained how fins are hacked from struggling sharks, before their bodies are tossed back into the water, the rest of the family soon lost their appetite.
“We didn’t understand how the food came to the table,” recalled Wong-Tam. “But it made me think about whether I wanted to eat it, if my uncle – who was actually preparing the food – didn’t want to.”
The experience became a pivotal moment for Wong-Tam: as a Toronto city councillor, she went on to lead efforts to stamp out the sale of shark fins in Canada.
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Indonesia: Juvenile elephant initially thought dead released back into jungle
stephanie lee The Star 19 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: A seriously injured juvenile male pygmy elephant thought to be already dead in May has been nurtured to reasonable health and released back into the wild.
Though wildlife rangers are not completely sure it has fully recovered, they have high hopes it will survive and be reunited with its herd.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga (pic) said the elephant was in bad shape when it was discovered at an estate in Sabah’s central Telupid district on May 22, and could not even stand.
He said the male elephant believed aged between five and eight, was immediately taken in for medical treatment.
“When the elephant was found, he could not even stand, there was a huge hole on its back and, at that time, there was a serious infection,” he said when contacted Wednesday (June 19).
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Indonesia: BKSDA rescues trapped, injured female elephant calf in East Aceh
Antara 19 Jun 19;
Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - A team rescued a trapped elephant calf that contracted infection from injuries in a forest area in Batu Sumbang Village, Simpang Jernih Sub-district, East Aceh District, Aceh Province, Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Office (BKSDA) stated.
"The trapped elephant calf is a female. She is about a year old," Sapto Aji Prabowo, head of the Aceh BKSDA, remarked here on Wednesday.
The calf's left front leg got wounded following contact with a metal wire mesh.
"She has contracted a serious infection. Moreover, the elephant calf is suffering from dehydration. She got separated from her herd," Prabowo noted.
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Indonesia: Konawe flooding's impact wide-ranging, with 22,573 affected
Antara 19 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that flooding in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi Province, has affected 5,847 families comprising 22,573 people in 24 sub-districts with 166 villages devastated.
Torrential downpour triggered flooding that resulted in the rivers of Konaweeha, Lahambuti, and Rawa Aopa overflowing their banks, BNPB spokesperson Rita Rosita remarked here on Wednesday.
Information from the Konawe disaster mitigation office on Tuesday indicated that the sub-districts of Pondidaha, Wonggeduku, and West Wonggeduku are still submerged in floodwaters of between 30 centimeters and a meter in height.
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Indonesia to restore 200,000 hectares of peatland this year
Reuters 19 Jun 19;
JAKARTA, June 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Peatland Restoration Agency said on Wednesday that it aims to restore 200,000 hectares of peatland in 2019, as it races to reach a 1 million hectare restoration target by the end of next year.
The agency was set up in 2016 to restore carbon-rich peatland damaged by fires in seven provinces on Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua islands in 2015.
Indonesia was subsequently blamed for one of the worst ever peat and forest fire crises that blanketed much of Southeast Asia in thick haze and caused billions of dollars of economic losses.
Up to 2018, the agency had restored around 679,000 hectares of peatland, Nazir Foead, head of the Peat Restoration Agency, said.
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Badly injured civet abandoned in cage at Bedok HDB block, later euthanised: Acres
Yahoo News 18 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — Animal welfare group Acres said on Tuesday (18 June) that it is working with NParks to investigate the case of a severely injured common palm civet found abandoned at the foot of an HDB block in Bedok.
The civet was euthanised following an assessment by the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Acres, or Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said in a Facebook post that the civet was found near the bin centre of Block 13A Bedok South Road in a cage on Sunday.
In photos attached with the post, the civet could be seen with open wounds on its tail and right shoulder. Food could be also seen in the cage, which was secured by raffia string.
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Weekly dengue cases in Singapore spike to highest in more than 3 years
Channel NewsAsia 18 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: There were a total of 468 reported dengue cases in the week ending Jun 15, the highest since March 2016, according to data by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
"The number of weekly reported dengue cases have more than quadrupled in the past three months," the agency said on its website.
As of 3pm on Monday (Jun 17), there were 5,261 reported cases, more than the 3,285 cases reported in the whole of 2018 and 2,772 cases in all of 2017.
The number of active dengue clusters has also more than doubled in the past month to 112, as of Monday.
There are 31 high-risk areas with 10 or more cases, including areas in Woodlands, Chai Chee and Geylang.
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Malaysia: Dengue cases on the rise in Sarawak
Goh Pei Pei, Melvin Jon New Straits Times 18 Jun 19;
KUCHING: Sarawak recorded over 700 dengue cases in the first half of this year, with Kampung Ajibah Abol near here being the latest outbreak area.
As the number increases, the state health department has taken the approach that it will no longer compromise with any premises, houses or resident units that found to have Aedes breeding grounds.
Vector Borne Disease Control Unit officer of Sarawak Health Department Kuching Division, Dr Mohd Daniel Salim said RM500 compound will be issued under the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act (DDBIA) 1975.
The dengue situation in the state, particularly in Kuching, is worrying as it recorded over 200 cases this year, with Kampung Ajibah Abol, identified as the latest outbreak area, he said.
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Malaysia: Conservationists call for mangrove preservation measures along Sabah's coast
kristy inus The Star 18 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: A coalition of conservationists and community-based entities have called for mangrove-preservation measures in future development along Sabah's coast.
Coalition 3H, which is made of nine organisations, recommended that any tourism development and associated roads planned must consider future effects of climate change and preserve the natural coastal defence system that mangrove provides.
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Indonesia: Government to be sued for air pollution over Jakarta
Antara 18 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has said that 40 to 50 people, including university students and lecturers, advocates, researchers and businessmen, will file a citizen lawsuit against several government institutions due to air pollution in Jakarta.
"Ninety percent of the preparations have been completed, because it involves many people, including some 40 to 50 would-be plaintiffs," LBH public lawyer Ayu Eza Tiara said here on Tuesday.
The participants in the lawsuit, grouped in a movement called "Inisiatif Bersihkan Udara Koalisi Semesta (Ibu Kota), will file the citizen lawsuit (CLS) to demand the right to enjoy clean air.
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Indonesia: 900 hectares of rice fields flooded in Penajam, E Kalimantan
Antara 18 Jun 19;
Penajam, East Kalimantan (ANTARA) - At least 900 hectares of rice fields were inundated in Babulu Sub-district, Penajam Paser Utara District, East Kalimantan Province.
Of the 900 hectares, 600 hectares were located in Sebakung Village and 300 hectares in Sri Rahrja, Bambang Marjuki, an official of the Penajam Paser Utara agriculture office, said here on Tuesday.
The condition of paddy plants were not very bad, so local farmers still could harvest it, he said.
The paddy would have been spoiled if the rice fields were flooded for too long, and if the farmers did not harvest it immediately, he said.
In the meantime, flooding in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, earlier, had extended to a broader area and affected 9,358 families constituting 30,580 people, rising from 20 thousand people the day before, in North Samarinda, Sungai Pinang, and Samarinda Ulu sub-districts.
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Urbanisation, commercial farms threaten Asia's forests, U.N. warns
Rina Chandran, Thomson Reuters Foundation 18 Jun 19;
BANGKOK, June 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sprawling urban areas and expanding plantations are placing greater pressure on forests and resources in Asia-Pacific, hurting rural communities and exacerbating the effects of climate change, the United Nations food agency said on Tuesday.
The region has the world’s lowest per capita forest area of 19% compared to the global average of 32%, even as the total forest area increased by nearly 18 million hectares (44 million acres) between 1990 and 2015, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.
While some Asian countries have introduced policies to conserve forests and give more rights to indigenous people, the area of planted forest nearly doubled between 1990 and 2015 at the expense of more critical primary forests, it said.
“We are worried about the lack of forest quality in our region – as primary forests are rich in biodiversity – and once that’s gone it’s gone,” said Kundhavi Kadiresan, FAO assistant director-general and regional representative in Bangkok.
“Unfortunately, conservation of forests in one country often just shifts deforestation to another,” she said.
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Southeast Asia should ban imports of foreign trash: environmentalists
Patpicha Tanakasempipat Reuters 18 Jun 19;
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Environmental groups called on Tuesday for Southeast Asian countries to ban waste imports from developed countries to help tackle a plastic pollution crisis, as regional leaders prepare to meet this week in Bangkok.
FILE PHOTO: Fishermen boats are seen at a beach covered with plastic waste in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
Southeast Asia has seen a staggering spike in imports of plastic and electronic waste from developed countries after the world’s top recycler, China, banned imports, causing millions of tonnes of trash to be diverted to less-regulated countries.
Thailand will from Thursday host four days of meetings for leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the region’s most pressing issues, including plastic debris in the ocean.
“Greenpeace Southeast Asia demands that ASEAN leaders put this issue on the agenda during their summits this year and make a united declaration to address the region’s plastic waste crisis,” the group said in a statement.
“Declare an immediate ban on all imports of plastic waste,” Greenpeace urged.
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Best of our wild blogs: 16-18 Jun 19
Sea fan garden at Changi fading away
wild shores of singapore
Participate in "My Defining Maritime Moment" Social Media Contest (1 Mar to 31 Aug)!
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
24 Jun (Mon): Chasing Coral - Public Screening & Discussion Forum
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
6 Jul (Sat): A World Without Functional Mangroves? Public Forum
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
Bobs of Singapore
Butterflies of Singapore
Night Walk At Ang Mo Kio Garden West (14 Jun 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG
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Tackling issues like building resilience and an inclusive society
Linette Lai Straits Times 16 Jun 10;
Whatever the cause Singaporeans believe in and want to act on, the Government will be happy to partner them in their efforts as long as it is good for Singapore, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said.
He also encouraged people to look beyond the immediate issues that need solving, and think harder about Singapore - such as what it might look like when it turns 100. "How will our economy look like? How will our society look like?" he asked at the end of a dialogue session yesterday that lasted nearly two hours and was attended by more than 400 people.
Concern over the environment, the plight of the disadvantaged, being a small nation in a tumultuous world and what people can do to tackle challenges in these and other areas were among the issues raised by 25 people at the session that was jointly organised by Reach and CNA.
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Student’s lightbulb moment leads to installation of solar panels on school’s roof
REBECCA METTEO Today Online 16 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — One can call it a lightbulb moment.
For Hemal Arora, 16, all it took was him finding out that his school’s electricity consumption was almost 6,000 megawatt hours a year.
That would have been enough to power about 1,300 four-room Housing and Development Board flats. (The average monthly electricity consumption for a four-room flat is about 372.9 kilowatt hours, according to statistics from the Energy Market Authority.)
So Hemal, a Grade 10 student at the United World College South East Asia (UWCSEA) East campus, decided that he needed to take action.
“If all of this was coming from natural gas, then it is not sustainable because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions that we're still responsible for just by switching on the lights,” Hemal said.
The solution, he figured, was to use solar panels.
Together with seven other Grade 10 students, they started a project called “Solar for East”.
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Malaysia: Elephant calf falls into drain
The Star 15 Jun 19;
KOTA TINGGI: A baby elephant, believed to be merely a day old, fell into a drain while crossing the road with its mother at a plantation near the Kota Tinggi Rubber Research Station.
He said the animal was trapped for about six hours before its mother managed to help it out and return to the forest reserve. The calf is said to have sustained bruises.
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Indonesia: Aceh hit by 283 forest fires since 2016
Antara 16 Jun 19;
Aceh Province has recorded a total of 283 cases of forest fires that hit Indonesia's western most province since 2016 until early June 2019.
Traditional farming using slash-and-burn method contributed to the high number of forest fire cases in the province, according to M Daud, head of the forest management office for Region IV of Aceh, said here on Sunday.
In Aceh, there were 103 fire spots in 2016, 113 in 2017, and 65 in 2018, according to him.
"And in 2019, there are only two fire spots, notably in West Aceh District," he remarked.
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Vietnam seizes 7.5 tons of elephant ivory, pangolin scales
Associated Press 14 Jun 19;
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Authorities have seized 7.5 tons of elephant ivory and pangolin scales in one of Vietnam’s biggest wildlife trafficking cases.
The 3.5 tons of ivory and 4 tons of pangolin scales were found Wednesday in barrels when customs officers checked a shipping container arriving at northern Hai Phong port, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
The steel barrels containing the ivory and scales were mixed with ones containing tar to conceal the trafficked animal parts from customs authorities.
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Asian countries take a stand against the rich world’s plastic waste
SHASHANK BENGALI LA Times 17 Jun 19;
When the MV Bavaria cargo ship chugged out of a Philippine port one morning last month carrying 69 containers of rotted Canadian garbage, it didn’t just end a messy diplomatic spat between the two countries.
It also signaled a sea change in the global recycling system.
After years of pressure, Canada had agreed to take back the waste, which had been exported to the Philippines beginning in 2013 falsely labeled as plastic scrap. The shipments were part of a decades-old practice in which rich countries including the United States sent used plastic to Asia to be recycled. Often, the shipments included contaminated waste that couldn’t be recycled but made it past customs checks anyway, and countries had few legal avenues to send it back.
That began to change 18 months ago, when China, the biggest consumer of discarded plastics, banned nearly all waste imports to stop the smuggling of non-recyclable scrap. The trade in plastics quickly rerouted to neighboring Southeast Asian countries that lacked effective recycling plants and disposal laws, leaving much of the waste to be burned or dumped in fields and waterways, creating health and environmental hazards.
Now those countries are closing their doors, too.
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Hundreds of dolphins have died along Gulf Coast since February, scientists say
At least 279 animals have been stranded, triple the usual figure, and 98% have died, prompting investigation
Associated Press The Guardian 15 Jun 19;
At least 279 dolphins have become stranded across much of the US Gulf coast since the start of February, triple the usual number, and about 98% of them have died, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said.
Scientists will investigate whether lingering effects from the 2010 BP oil spill and more immediate effects from low salinity because of freshwater flowing from high rivers and a Louisiana spillway contributed to the deaths, said Teri Rowles, coordinator for Noaa fisheries’ marine mammal health and stranding response program.
BP spill effects included problems with lungs and adrenal glands, which produce stress-related hormones; blood abnormalities; and general poor condition, according to earlier reports. Those reports said the spill contributed to the Gulf of Mexico’s largest and longest dolphin die-off.
“We do know some of the health conditions … are improving, but some have been slow to improve,” Rowles said on Friday. “Reproduction in the heaviest-oiled areas continues below normal.”
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Malaysia: Prevent human-elephant conflicts, Johor urged
nelson benjamin and esther tan The Star 14 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: The state government must take measures to better protect areas where wildlife roam freely to prevent an escalation in human and animal conflicts in future.
Malaysian Nature Society vice-president Vincent Chow said there were several major areas in Johor which needed protection, the Panti and Lenggor forests in Kahang and Mersing, and Labis National Park.
“Elephants roam these areas. Plantations might be destroyed as a result,” he said.
“If we continue to encroach into their habitat, the animals will be forced to come out and look for food in our villages.
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Malaysia: Sabah to cap visitor numbers at marine park to prevent overcrowding
kristy inus The Star 14 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: The carrying capacity to the five islands under Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) here will be capped due to overcrowding, as proposals to "facelift" the islands are also being considered.
Sabah Parks director Dr Jamili Nais said that at present the numbers can reach up to 2,000 visitors per day, with an average of 400 to 500 visitors per island.
“We are going to limit the numbers but that can only be done once we go online to sell entrance tickets.
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Malaysia: Shock over Canada's refusal to accept returned plastic waste
AUDREY DERMAWAN AND BALVIN KAUR New Straits Times 14 Jun 19;
GEORGE TOWN: A senior Penang lawmaker has expressed shock over news report that Canada is refusing to take back plastic waste from Malaysia.
After all, Canada has willingly taken back its plastic waste from the Philippines.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said he had given due respect to the Canadian representatives by not inviting the media during a visit to show the condition of the containers and their content at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) on Tuesday.
“At the federal level, the Malaysian and Canadian ministers are dealing with the issue, but when they put out this kind of statement, they (Canadian government) are not showing any respect to Malaysia, especially Penang.
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Indonesia: Floods in South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and East Kalimantan Provinces
International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies ReliefWeb 14 Jun 19;
This bulletin is issued for information only and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Indonesian Red Cross – Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI), with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), are continuing to monitor and respond to the situation with local and national resources. If required, additional financial resources will be sought via the relevant IFRC international disaster response mechanism.
The situation
High intensity rainfall triggered flooding in several areas of Sulawesi and Kalimantan in early June 2019. Three provinces in Sulawesi, namely South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi; and one province in Kalimantan – East Kalimantan, still suffer flooding from significant increase of water discharge, worsened by the high tidal wave.
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Major oil companies commit to carbon pricing at Vatican
NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Jun 19;
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Some of the world's major oil producers pledged Friday to support "economically meaningful" carbon pricing regimes after a personal appeal from Pope Francis to avoid "perpetrating a brutal act of injustice" against the poor and future generations.
The companies, including ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni, said in a joint statement at the end of a Vatican climate summit that governments should set such pricing regimes at a level that encourages business and investment, while "minimizing the costs to vulnerable communities and supporting economic growth."
The CEOs, as well as leaders of major asset managers such as BlackRock and BNP Paribas, also called for companies to provide investors with clarity about the risks climate change poses to their businesses and how they plan to transition to cleaner energy sources.
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Climate Change Is All Most of Us Have Ever Known
Nathaniel Bullard, Bloomberg Yahoo News 15 Jun 19;
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In May, the Toronto Star launched an in-depth series on climate change in Canada, with a straightforward title: “Undeniable.” It’s an apt description of the evidence within the reporting and elsewhere in publicly available data.
“Undeniable” might be a useful descriptor, but let’s frame climate change differently: how this reality manifests itself within the human experience, and how politics are being shaped by that experience. Let’s begin with global average temperatures.
Global surface temperatures have surpassed the 1951-1980 average every year since 1977, which means anyone born since has lived their entire lives in an already changed climate.
In 2015, the global median age was just below 30, so a changing climate is the only thing most people on Earth have known.
Different age groups have contrasting views of a climate of constant change and volatility. A recent Gallup poll separated Americans into three climate change cohorts:
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Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study
Researchers say simply sitting and enjoying the peace has mental and physical benefits
Damian Carrington The Guardian 13 Jun 19;
A two-hour “dose” of nature a week significantly boosts health and wellbeing, research suggests, even if you simply sit and enjoy the peace.
The physical and mental health benefits of time spent in parks, woods or the beach are well known, but the new research is the first major study into how long is needed to produce the effect. If confirmed by future research, two hours in nature could join five a day of fruit and veg and 150 minutes of exercise a week as official health advice.
The finding is based on interviews with 20,000 people in England about their activity in the previous week. Of those who spent little or no time in nature, a quarter reported poor health and almost half said they were not satisfied with their life, a standard measure of wellbeing. In contrast, just one-seventh of those who spent at least two hours in nature said their health was poor, while a third were not satisfied with their life.
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Best of our wild blog: 12-13 Jun 19
Coney Island is Alive
Offshore Singapore
Going Bananas!
Flying Fish Friends
Symbiosis – Who’s the original: Fragines or Tridacnines?
Mei Lin NEO
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Building resilience against natural disasters among ways Singapore can help Asia grow sustainably: Heng Swee Keat
Tang See Kit Channel NewsAsia 12 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is currently developing the market for insurance-linked securities (ILS) as an alternative risk-financing solution, said Acting Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Wednesday (Jun 12).
This can help strengthen Asia’s resiliency against natural catastrophes – one of the three broad ways Singapore can contribute to sustainable growth in the region, according to Mr Heng.
The other two ways include bridging partnerships for regional infrastructure development opportunities through Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia initiative, and promoting sustainable economic growth by growing its sustainable finance sector.
“Singapore seeks to contribute to Asia’s sustainable growth by serving as a key node for channelling financing to the region,” he said.
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More locally grown organic food in store after farm gets first-of-its-kind certification
LAUREN ONG Today Online 11 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — Singaporeans are set to see more locally grown organic products in their supermarkets after a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang took a vital step towards meeting fast-growing demand here for clean, green food.
The farm, operated by Sky Greens, is Singapore’s first farm to secure a new national standard for organic primary produce grown in or near an urban area. The farm received the SS 632 Certification on Tuesday (June 11) at a ceremony attended by Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli.
NTUC Fairprice director of food quality and safety, Ms Chong Nyet Chin, said Singaporeans’ expanding disposable income, increasing health concerns and consumer awareness are some of the drivers behind the proliferation of the local organic market.
She said consumers here increasingly want to “go for green, go for local and go for niche”.
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An average person could ingest 100,000 plastic particles a year — equal to one credit card a week: Study
CYNTHIA CHOO Today Online 12 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — An average person could be ingesting as many as 1,900 plastic particles a week — more than 100,000 particles a year — from sources such as tap and bottled water, shellfish, beer and salt, a study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has found.
This translates to eating about 250 grams of plastic a year. Put another way, it’s like consuming 5 grams of plastic a week — the equivalent of munching through a credit card.
The study, which is the first to estimate and combine insights from over 50 studies globally on the ingestion of plastic by people, was done by researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia and strategy consulting firm Dalberg Advisors.
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Singapore authorities recall bottled water from Malaysia containing bacteria
Today Online 12 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — Authorities here have issued a recall of bottled mineral water imported from Malaysia after it was found to contain a common environmental bacterium that is found in faeces, soil, water and sewage.
In a media statement on Wednesday (June 12), the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said that the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected in Malaysia’s “Starfresh” bottled drinking water during a routine sampling of the product. It comes in 500ml and 1.5 litre bottles.
The agency said it has directed the importer Radha Exports to recall all affected products, with the process ongoing.
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Malaysia: Sabah conservationists caution against issuing mining licences
muguntan vanar The Star 12 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: A group of Sabah conservationists has come out strongly against the issuance of mining licences for the extraction of natural resources in the state.
The group, comprising 12 NGOs, called on the state government to stay out of mining as its past experience from the Mamut copper mine had left irreparable damage to the state's biodiversity.
The group also called on Mineral and Geoscience Department director-general Effendi Abdullah Azizi to reconsider his suggestion to the state government to issue more mining licences to encourage extraction of natural resources in Sabah.
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Malaysia: Endangered eagles, slow loris rescued; turtles eggs seized in wildlife raids
stephen then The Star 11 Jun 19;
MIRI: The Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) has rescued two endangered eagles and a slow loris, also seizing dozens of turtle eggs.
In a series of enforcement operations in Serikin town at the southern Sarawak-Kalimantan border, SFC units arrested an Indonesian woman, 47, for selling the turtle eggs in the market there.
The operations were carried out in Serikin during the Gawai and Hari Raya holidays.
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Malaysia: Eight-year-old Borneo pygmy elephant with fractured jaw put to death
Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 12 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: An eight-year-old Borneo pygmy was euthanised yesterday after having suffered from severe dental condition as a result of a complete fracture of its lower jaw.
The sub-adult bull elephant, nicknamed Toothie, was put out of misery by Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) veterinary team at 12pm.
The process was carried out at the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary (BES) in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary where Toothie was being kept in captivity for three months.
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Indonesia to make moratorium on new forest clearance permanent: Minister
Channel NewsAsia 12 Jun 19;
JAKARTA: Indonesia's moratorium on new forest clearing for palm plantations or logging operations, which has been regularly extended since 2011, will become permanent, the environment minister said on Wednesday (Jun 12).
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with more than 74 million hectares of rainforest - an area nearly twice the size of Japan - logged, burned or degraded in the last half century, according to Greenpeace.
The moratorium covering more than 60 million hectares of primary forest and peatland was introduced in 2011 in an effort to reduce emissions from fires caused by deforestation.
"I have decided to keep the moratorium instead of renewing it every two years," Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told reporters.
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Indonesian waters facing possible six-meter high waves
Antara 12 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Waves as high as six-meters might be seen in Indonesian waters during the next four days, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
Head of BMKG Public Relations Taufan Maulana said here on Wednesday that the agency forecasted waves with heights of four to six meters in West Mentawai up to Bengkulu waters, as well as in the seas west of Lampung, and in part of the Indian ocean running from west Mentawai to Lampung.
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Climate change on track to reduce ocean wildlife by 17%
Marlowe HOOD, AFP Yahoo News 13 Jun 19;
Paris (AFP) - Climate change is set to empty the ocean of nearly a fifth of all living creatures, measured by mass, by the end of the century, researchers have calculated.
In a world that heats up three to four degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, 17 percent of marine biomass -- from minuscule plankton to 100-tonne whales -- will be wiped out, they reported in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
To date, Earth's surface has warmed a full degree (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
Bigger fish and marine mammals already devastated by overfishing, pollution and ship strikes will see especially sharp declines due to rising temperatures.
Even in a "best-case" scenario of limiting warming to 2C -- the cornerstone target of the Paris climate treaty -- the ocean's biomass will drop off by five percent.
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Devastating coral bleaching around French Polynesia
RNZ 12 Jun 19;
A coral bleaching around the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti and Mo'orea is being described as the most devastating seen in years.
But what's worried scientists most is that it took them by surprise.
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Near-record 'dead zone' forecast off U.S. Gulf coast, threatening fish
Rich McKay Reuters 11 Jun 19;
(Reuters) - A near record-sized “dead zone” of oxygen-starved water could form in the Gulf of Mexico this summer, threatening its huge stocks of marine life, researchers said.
The area could spread to about 8,717 square miles (20,577 square km), scientists at Louisiana State University said on Monday, or about the size of the state of New Hampshire, and larger than the 5-year average of 5,770 square miles.
Experts blamed unusually high rainfall across the U.S. Midwest this Spring that washed farm fertilisers along streams and rivers through the Mississippi River Basin out into the Gulf.
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Best of our wild blogs: 10-11 Jun 19
Rainbow rocks at Pulau Ubin!
wild shores of singapore
16 Jun (Sun): Turtle Tails - Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles in the 21st Century
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
Buffer Parks to Nature Reserves
Butterflies of Singapore
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MPA, conservation group team up to promote marine biodiversity
Lim Min Zhang Straits Times 10 Jun 19;
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and local marine conservation group Our Singapore Reefs have teamed up to promote the importance of Singapore's marine biodiversity.
They will organise underwater clean-up activities and public outreach events each year as part of a three-year collaboration.
Kicking off the partnership as part of efforts to commemorate World Oceans Day last Saturday, 20 volunteer divers completed an underwater clean-up exercise in the southern waters around Lazarus Island yesterday.
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Amid the doom and gloom over climate change, environment advocates hold out hope for better future
NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 9 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — After a week of sitting through discussions about climate change, participants at an environmental conference here walked away feeling a slight sense of optimism despite the challenges ahead for the world.
Around 2,000 global business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and academics converged at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre for the inaugural Ecosperity Week from June 4 to 7 to discuss matters ranging from how to build sustainable businesses to threats facing the ocean.
Some conference participants whom TODAY spoke to acknowledged that these are dire times.
Marine ecologist Alex Rogers likens climate change to a train that is “coming down the tunnel to hit us very, very hard”.
The world will become “increasingly chaotic because of extreme weather events”, he said, as he called for people to start adopting more sustainable lifestyles.
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This Convenience Store Doesn’t Sell Food Or Drinks, But Here’s Why You Should Check It Out Anyway
JASMINE TEO Today Online 11 Jun 19;
This new shop with a difference is nestled in Orchard Road.
There’s a new convenience store right smack in the middle of Orchard Road, but instead of snacks or drinks, you’ll find menstrual cups and discarded telephones on its shelves. Come again?
Welcome to The [Not-So] Convenience Store, with a shopfront so quirky cool, it makes for a great OOTD spot. But it’s more than just a photo opp, okay? What looks like a retro cool convenience store is actually an exhibition to raise awareness about a zero-waste lifestyle, and the massive impact that plastic, household, food and electronics waste have on the environment.
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BreadTalk among 38 companies prosecuted for illegal discharge into public sewers
Channel NewsAsia 10 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: A total of 38 companies have been prosecuted for illegally discharging trade effluent, or liquid waste, into public sewers, said national water agency PUB in a press release on Monday (Jun 10).
The companies were prosecuted between June 2018 and May 2019, and fined a total of S$253,700. Eighteen of these companies were repeat offenders and given harsher penalties.
Offences ranged from the discharge of trade effluent containing regulated metals or chemical substances exceeding allowable limits, to more serious offences of discharging trade effluent containing dangerous or hazardous substances, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
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Recyclers cringe as South-east Asia says it’s sick of the West’s trash
Today Online 10 Jun 19;
TELOK GONG (Malaysia) — Black sedans with government plates raced through a town near Malaysia’s main seaport, flashing blue sirens as they approached rogue trash dumps.
The raid, in the town of Telok Gong this week, was among the latest efforts by officials to shut down unlicensed dumps holding plastic scrap imported from the United States and other rich countries.
“Everybody knows those dumps are illegal,” said Mr Modh Faiz Tamsir, a butcher hawking fly-covered beef in a parking lot on Telok Gong’s main drag. “We don’t like them.”
After China, once the world’s primary dumping ground, abruptly imposed restrictions on “foreign garbage” in late 2017, countries across South-east Asia began taking in the West’s plastic waste.
Within months, Malaysia, which has a sizable ethnic Chinese population, had replaced China as the world’s largest importer of plastic scrap. But this country, and others across the region, soon saw the waste as an environmental nightmare, and a heavy backlash has begun. With public support, some advocacy groups have urged officials to permanently ban the import of plastic waste.
But at a time when the world is awash in such plastic, some experts worry that this backlash could block the flow of raw material to South-east Asia’s aboveboard recyclers and manufacturers — and raise the chances that plastic scrap will end up in rivers, oceans, dumps and illegal burn sites.
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Malaysia: Penang to return 265 waste-filled containers to countries of origin
Balvin Kaur New Straits Times 10 Jun 19;
GEORGE TOWN: Penang will send 265 plastic waste-filled containers, which are currently held up at the North Butterworth Container Terminal, back to their countries of origin.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said that the state is taking the action after receiving instructions from the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry.
The plastic waste containers arrived in Penang from Belgium, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Canada and several other countries.
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Indonesia to re-export illegal plastic waste
Antara 10 Jun 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia will re-export illegal plastic waste entering the country, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said, following news of the illegal import of plastic waste in Gresik, East Java.
"The waste that enters Indonesia, which has plastic, is definitely not legal. And basically the provisions are there, therefore we will perform a re-export," Nurbaya said in Jakarta on Monday.
The import of illegal plastic waste is not a new problem. From 2015 to 2016, Indonesia re-exported dozens of containers of plastic waste.
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Indonesia: Sulawesi engulfed by floods, thousands evacuated
The Jakarta Post 10 Jun 19;
Floods in three provinces in Sulawesi have forced thousands of people to flee their houses for higher ground.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) revealed that 4,198 people in North Konawe regency in Southeast Sulawesi had been evacuated to safer areas.
"Asera district is the worst effected, with 13 of its villages inundated. Seventy two houses have been washed away, while thousands of other houses are inundated and hundreds of hectares of rice fields, corn fields and fish ponds have been damaged," Sutopo said in a press release made available to The Jakarta Post Monday.
Besides areas in Southeast Sulawesi, he said the floods that began at the beginning of June following torrential downpours had also left villages in South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi under water.
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Philippines: Surge in giant clam population seen as spawning starts in Palawan
The Inquirer 11 Jun 19;
CLAM NURSERY Rows of giant clams are protected in a nursery run by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute near Silaki Island in Bolinao, Pangasinan province. The endangered giant clams (Tridacna gigas) are also propagated in marine research facilities in other parts of the country. —REM ZAMORA
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — The future is bright for the conservation of giant clams (Tridacna gigas) after a private foundation has successfully fertilized 9.5 million eggs of this marine species that poachers seek in Philippine waters.
The Malampaya Foundation Inc. (MFI) on Monday said it had embarked on an ambitious project to propagate in large numbers the endangered giant clams, starting in the hatchery of Western Philippines University (WPU) in Barangay Binduyan here.
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‘Frightening’ number of plant extinctions found in global survey
Study shows 571 species wiped out, and scientists say figure is likely to be big underestimate
Damian Carrington The Guardian 10 Jun 19;
Human destruction of the living world is causing a “frightening” number of plant extinctions, according to scientists who have completed the first global analysis of the issue.
They found 571 species had definitely been wiped out since 1750 but with knowledge of many plant species still very limited the true number is likely to be much higher. The researchers said the plant extinction rate was 500 times greater now than before the industrial revolution, and this was also likely to be an underestimate.
“Plants underpin all life on Earth,” said Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who was part of the team. “They provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, as well as making up the backbone of the world’s ecosystems – so plant extinction is bad news for all species.”
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Best of our wild blogs: 7-9 Jun 19
Fiery seagrasses at Beting Bemban Besar!
wild shores of singapore
Terumbu Bemban: corals are well, seagrasses look good
wild shores of singapore
Celebrating World Oceans Day with my Ocean Heroes
Mei Lin NEO
‘200: a natural history’ Exhibition Launch
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
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DPM Heng Swee Keat offers ideas to building a sustainable future
Tang See Kit Channel NewsAsia 7 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: A sustainable future for the world can be achieved by deepening international partnerships, enabling all segments of society and developing next-generation talent.
This is according to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was speaking at the FutureChina Global Forum on Friday (Jun 7) held as part of the Ecosperity Week 2019.
“The world is facing major challenges in sustainable development,” said Mr Heng, who is also Singapore’s Finance Minister.
“If not properly handled, these challenges could potentially unravel the progress that the world has made over the past few decades.”
In particular, taking action against climate change and pursuing economic development are the areas in which more needs to be done.
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Restaurants and malls among 1,600 premises to cut use of disposables in new NEA campaign
Channel NewsAsia 8 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: More than 1,600 premises, including restaurants, malls, hotels, supermarkets and schools, will take steps to encourage consumers to reduce the use of disposables such as plastic bags and takeaway containers.
They come under 59 companies and organisations that have joined the National Environment Agency's (NEA) latest campaign launched on Saturday (Jun 8), to get people to cut down on waste and choose more sustainable alternatives.
Companies will implement initiatives such as providing only reusable straws, offering discounts to customers who bring their own cup for drinks, removing plastic bottled water in meeting rooms and reducing the use of cling wrap in kitchens.
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Fast fashion, fast trash: Industry needs to arrest carbon impact, find sustainable solutions
NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 6 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — The fashion industry is guilty of generating carbon emissions more than the aviation and shipping industries combined.
To create a more sustainable industry, it needs to work closer with researchers to implement solutions which can be scaled up more quickly than before.
This was the conclusion on Thursday (June 6) by panellists at the Ecosperity Conference here, held in conjunction with the inaugural Ecosperity Week at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The event is expected to be attended by 2,000 global business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and academia to discuss issues on the environment and sustainable development.
Ms Ariel Muller, the Asia-Pacific managing director at Forum for the Future, a non-profit organisation promoting sustainability, highlighted findings by the United Nations which showed that the fashion industry contributes to 10 per cent — or 1.2 billion tonnes — of carbon emissions.
This is more than the combined total for the shipping and aviation industries.
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Thirsty Singapore taps into innovation to secure its water future
Michael Taylor Thomson Reuters Foundation 7 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE, June 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Every day after his morning run, Adam Reutens-Tan washes under a half-full camping shower hooked on the ceiling of his bathroom.
The modified shower, which uses just four litres of water, is one of several ways the Reutens-Tans family conserve water as part of a countrywide push to cut Singapore's daily consumption by 8% by 2030.
The nation currently uses 141 litres per person each day - about enough for two typical eight-minute U.S. showers, according to Harvard University statistics.
Singapore, a steamy, low-lying island city-state, is the fifth most likely country in the world to face extremely high water stress by 2040, according to the U.S.-based World Resources Institute.
And it is hardly alone.
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Phasing out plastic straws helps the environment, but more needs to be done, say observers
Matthew Mohan Channel NewsAsia 8 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE: The move by more than 270 food and beverage (F&B) outlets to eliminate plastic straws represents an important move in the right direction, but more work is needed for Singapore to tackle its output of plastic waste, industry observers told CNA.
The local outlets in question will phase out plastic straws by Jul 1, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced on Monday (Jun 3).
They will be removing straws completely from their premises, providing them only on request or for specific medical reasons, WWF said in a media release. The move is part of the PACT (Plastic ACTion) initiative by WWF, which is supported by the National Environment Agency and Zero Waste SG.
Ms Melissa Lam, who started Bamboo Straw Girl, a business selling biodegradable straws, suggested that the move represents a "step" rather than an "achievement".
“It’s got a lot of publicity, a lot of countries have done this and we’re quite slow to the game," she said. "It’s not going to be the be all and end all of the problem.
"This is not an achievement, it’s just a step. It is small but it catches the attention."
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