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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