Best of our wild blogs: 29 Apr 19

Flying Flowers
Butterflies of Singapore

Mass coral spawning 2019
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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New public awareness programme in 12 constituencies in push towards cleaner Singapore

Cheryl Teh Straits Times 28 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE - A new initiative to encourage members of the public to clean their community areas will begin next month.

Organised by the Public Hygiene Council, the Sustainable Bright Spot programme will be launched in stages across 12 constituencies.

It was one of three fresh efforts announced on Sunday (April 28) by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli.

"The Sustainable Bright Spots programme is aimed at encouraging residents to keep their housing estates clean," said Mr Masagos.

"The hard truth is that many of us are still too dependent on an army of 58,000 workers who clean up our housing estates, roads, public walkways and waterways every day."

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Indonesia: Minister launches Clean Indonesia Movement to reduce plastic waste

Antara 28 Apr 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan accompanied by Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and legendary Singer Titik Puspa, launched a Clean Indonesian Movement here, Sunday, to reduce plastic waste.

"The Clean Indonesian Movement is our common movement. Waste is our common enemy. Hence, it is our common responsibility to maintain Indonesia clean. Moreover, the waste treatment program has become a crucial government program that should be carried out by everybody," Pandjaitan said.

Jakarta produces at least eight thousand tons of plastic waste daily.

He called on the public to stop using single-use plastic products.

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Indonesia: Innovation needed to end human-elephant conflict in Sumatra, says WWF Indonesia

Ivany Atina Arbi The Jakarta Post 28 Apr 19;

Over the past few years, the conflict between humans and elephants on the island of Sumatra has become inevitable as they both try to defend the land they claim as their own, making it urgent to find a way to keep the giant mammals away from humans.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia said massive land conversions across the island since the 1980s have turned forested areas, which are the natural habitat of the Sumatran elephant, into plantations and residential areas.

The elephants, that lost their homes then, at times entered the transformed areas seeking food. Humans, who were irritated by their presence, did everything they could to get rid of the animals from their properties.

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Indonesia: Ten die, 12,000 others displaced amid Bengkulu floods, landslides

The Jakarta Post 28 Apr 19;

A severe rainstorm in Bengkulu over the weekend has caused floods and landslides across the region, claiming the lives of at least 10 people.

Eight people were reportedly missing as of Sunday morning, while roughly 12,000 had been displaced.

The disaster has damaged 184 houses, four schools as well as roads and bridges in nine cities or regencies, including the city of Bengkulu and the regencies of Kepahiang, Rejang Lebong, Seluma and Kaur.

“The disaster’s impact will be further assessed as not all of the affected areas have been reached,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement on Sunday.

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