Best of our wild blogs: 10 Jul 19

Great Expectations
The Hantu Blog

Scaly-breasted Munia enjoying Algae
Singapore Bird Group

Protesting for the planet: Is climate activism alive in Singapore?
eco-business.com

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Spot a python? Just leave it alone, advise wildlife groups

Pythons are a natural control for the rat population, say wildlife experts.
Cindy Co Channel NewsAsia 19 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Waking up to the screams of his wife and maid, Mr Melvin Yap rushed to them, only to discover a snake coiled around the cage of his pet bird.

It was a reticulated python about 1.5m long - one of the most common species of snakes found in Singapore.

Although the incident occurred about two years ago, Mr Yap still has vivid memories of the snake.

“It was quite docile,” said Mr Yap, recalling how he calmly used a stick to coax the python into a plastic bag.

“Unless you know what you’re doing, the best thing is to avoid it. (But) I knew what kind of snake it was.”

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Reusable water bottles not in NDP 2019 funpacks due to high production cost

Channel NewsAsia 8 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Reusable water bottles were considered for this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) funpack, but this was not implemented due to the lack of suppliers who could do so at an affordable cost.

Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen revealed this in a written answer to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament Louis Ng on Monday (Jul 8).

Mr Ng had asked whether a reusable water bottle could be provided for the NDP funpack instead of a single-use plastic bottle.

"Drinking water in reusable bottles was considered but not implemented as there were a lack of suppliers which can do so at an affordable cost," said Dr Ng.

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Malaysia: 26 investigation papers opened on illegal waste dumping in Johor

The Star 8 Jul 19;

JOHOR BARU (Bernama): The Johor Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) has opened 26 investigation papers for the illegal dumping of solid waste since 2018.

Its director Cairul Hisham Jalaluddin said 12 companies had been charged, including three as of Monday (July 8).

"We are completing the investigation papers against the remaining 14 companies," he told reporters when met at the Sessions Court here.

On the cases that were brought to court today, he said three companies were involved, adding that all pleaded guilty to the charges and were fined a total of RM45,000.

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Indonesia: Fire razes 50 hectares of peatland area in Aceh

Antara 9 Jul 19;

Meulaboh, Aceh (ANTARA) - A fire scorched 50 hectares (ha) of peatland area in West Aceh District, Aceh Province.

"We have continued to make attempts to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to a wider area," Mashuri, coordinator of the Operation Control Center of the West Aceh Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), stated here on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, the fire razed a 45-ha peatland area located in Johan Pahlawan and West Woyla Sub-district, and on the next day, it extended to a five-ha area located in Alue Peunyareng in Meureubo Sub-district.

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Indonesia: Dry spells spread to wider Indonesian areas, affect farming

Antara 8 Jul 19;

Earlier this year, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reminded the regional authorities to step up their vigilance over possible forest fires and droughts as this year's dry season was forecast to be drier than that of the previous year.

The extreme dry season has affected several areas since May and is expected to last until September, with the condition likely to peak in August. In the beginning, dry spells were reported mostly on Java Island. Currently, drought has cast a pall over 100 districts and cities in the Aceh, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provinces, the Indonesian Agriculture Ministry's data stated.

"Most parts of Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara have not received rains for over 30 days. Drought has affected some 100 districts and cities," Sarwo Edhy, director general for agriculture infrastructure and facilities at the Agriculture Ministry, revealed on July 8, 2019, following a coordinating meeting to discuss mitigation efforts.

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Indonesia sends rubbish back to Australia and says it's too contaminated to recycle

Indonesian officials say containers of paper contaminated by electronic waste, used cans and plastic bottles
Kate Lamb and Adam Morton The Guardian 8 Jul 19;

Indonesia says it will immediately send eight containers of household rubbish back to Australia after inspectors declared the material too contaminated to be recycled.

It is the latest in a series of announcements by south-east Asian nations that they will not be dumping grounds for overseas waste.

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Indonesia: Farmer arrested for alleged plan to sell Sumatran tiger pelts

The Jakarta Post 8 Jul 19;

Mount Leuser National Park rangers have arrested a farmer, identified only as P, from Langkat regency, North Sumatra, for his alleged role in the trade of Sumatran tiger parts.

The rangers confiscated three tiger pelts and a tiger skull.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry’s law enforcement head of the North Sumatra-Aceh office, Haluanto Ginting, said the suspect was arrested on July 1 after the rangers went undercover as a buyer of tiger organs at the Sogong crossing, Marike district, Langkat regency.

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