S$2.8m cycling track to be built for Sembawang and Woodlands residents

Channel NewsAsia 28 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: Sembawang and Woodlands residents will have a new cycling track that will make both cyclists and pedestrians happy, as it has enhanced safety features.

At both these towns, there are many cyclists among the HDB residents and foreign workers living in nearby dormitories.

They will be happy with the new 7.4-kilometre cycling track in their area. The S$2.8-million project will be completed in the middle of next year.

As far as possible, the cycling track will be built alongside the existing roadside pavement. However, where there are constraints, there will be clear demarcations like boundary lines and icons to show which track is for cyclists and which one is for pedestrians.

Speed-regulating signs with words like "slow" and "dismount and push" will also be put up.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is also the MP for Sembawang GRC, officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the project on Saturday.

He said the cycling track will also help residents save money on transport and reduce congestion on the roads.

Some 400 residents joined in the day's activities, which included a brisk walk and other exercises. - CNA/ir

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Mosquito Wars: Scientists Take a Swat

Maggie Koerth-Baker, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 28 Jun 08;

As storm clouds begin to lift over the flooded Midwest, experts are predicting an entirely different sort of deluge. Mosquitoes, which can breed out of control in the puddles and pools left behind as flood waters recede, may be poised to add insult to injury.

Midwesterners aren't the only ones ripe for the biting. Mosquitoes are ubiquitous in the United States, living in every state and capable of thriving in all kinds of climates, according to Joseph M. Conlon, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA). Wherever there's standing water, there are mosquitoes, he said. And the diseases they carry, such as West Nile Virus, aren't far behind.

But science has some new solutions in the form of improved repellents, genetically modified mosquitoes, and new approaches to vaccine design, as well as some science-based ideas you can put to use at home.

Control just the mosquito

The big strides in mosquito control have largely involved better eradication and population control efforts, aimed to affect only mosquitoes, leaving other animals intact.

One of the most important developments in this effort was bio-rational control materials, said James Stark, executive director of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, the public agency charged with keeping Minneapolis and St. Paul relatively mosquito-free. Developed in the 1980s, these "materials" are actually a strain of naturally occurring wetlands bacteria. The District sprays the bacteria onto lakes and other water sources where mosquito larvae hatch and grow. The larvae then eat the bacteria, which kills them by destroying the walls of the insect's stomach. Only mosquitoes and a few related fly species are susceptible. Other animals, including people, can ingest the bacteria without any damage.

The project, one of the largest in the world, according to Conlon, has had a lot of success with this bacteria, particularly when combined with newer computer database systems that allow the agency to easily map and track areas where the bacteria are needed most.

But a new method, or, rather, a new twist on an old method, is on the horizon.

Sterile insect technique, or SIT, involves breeding large numbers of sterile male insects and then releasing them into the wild. Ideally, the huge influx of sterile males out-compete their normal counterparts in the game of love, creating a whole generation of unfertilized eggs and crashing the insect population.
SIT wouldn't eradicate all mosquitoes, but it would keep population levels low enough to control the spread of diseases.

It's a trick that has worked before on other insects, said James Becnel, research entomologist and lead scientist with the USDA's Fly and Mosquito Control Unit. Those past experiments used radiation to sterilize, but that can be problematic with mosquitoes, making them less able to compete for mates.

Now, an English company called Oxytec is pushing a new approach to SIT, using genetically altered mosquitoes. "They have a gene that's sensitive to antibiotics," Becnel said. "You can rear them in the lab with a small amount of antibiotics and grow big numbers. Then, when you release them, there's no wild antibiotics, so the genes are turned on and they become sterile."

This technique could be coming to malaria-stricken Malaysia very soon, according to an article in the May 21 issue of the journal Nature.

Viral vision

Other efforts focus on controlling the ability of living mosquitoes to spread disease among humans. The most obvious way to do this, of course, is through the use of vaccines. But, while there is a vaccine for the tropical Yellow Fever virus, there aren't any for the mosquito-spread illnesses most common in the United States.

In fact, in the case of West Nile Virus, there's a vaccine for horses, but not for people.

This is a funding issue, said the AMCA's Conlon. "Production and distribution of human vaccines is an extraordinarily expensive process and the time investment from concept to commercial production can be as much as 10 years," he said. "There aren't enough people getting sick to make it worthwhile to a company to develop a vaccine."

But a new development in vaccine technology could possibly change that. This week, researchers at Stony Brook University in New York announced they'd developed a new method of designing vaccines that could potentially make the process faster and cheaper.

The researchers, including Steffen Mueller, Bruce Futcher and Steven Skiena, found they could genetically alter viruses to make them weaker and reduce their ability to multiply in the body. In trials, mice fought off a weakened version of polio, leaving them with immunity to the "wild" virus. Details are in the June 26 issue of the journal Science.

The researchers said this method could allow scientists to develop new vaccine candidates much faster than currently possible, basically speeding up the turn-around time between deciding to find a vaccine for a certain virus and having a workable candidate in-hand.

And while much of the expense of developing a vaccine lies in extensive clinical trials, a hurdle which probably won't go away, this new method could cut earlier development costs, and potentially make it possible to create vaccines for diseases that currently don't have one, the researchers said.

Better repellents

Another major area of research is better repellents, which could keep mosquitoes away from people more effectively. Becnel's colleague from the USDA, Ulrich Bernier, along with researchers from the University of Florida, recently made some big breakthroughs in this field.

Using 50 years of data on repellent chemicals, the team trained a brain-based computer program to recognize the molecular structures and components common to effective repellents. Then, they set the program to work analyzing some 2,000 chemical compounds, looking for the ones that shared those traits.
The result was 23 newly synthesized compounds that have the potential to outperform all repellents currently on the market, according to the May 27 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In fact, while the most common current repellent, DEET, remains effective in a closed environment for about 17 days, one of the new compounds stuck it out for 85.

This type of data-mining research isn't new, but how it's being applied is. "The pharmaceutical people have been using this method for years to design drugs, but it's just now that the mosquito people are getting into it too," Becnel said.

Home invasion

Actually, fending off mosquitoes doesn't require lab access. Conlon said that folks at home can play along. All you need to do is follow what he calls the Three D's.

Drain: Mosquito eggs need water to hatch. But they don't need large amounts of water. Conlon has seen the bugs breed in everything from discarded bottle caps to creases on tarps. If you don't want mosquitoes breeding in your backyard, you need to be fastidious about removing all sources of standing water, no matter how small.

Dress: Conlon said mosquitoes can bite through tight clothes and are attracted to dark colors. The ideal mosquito-resistant outfits are ensembles that are loose-fitting, long-sleeved, and light-colored. "In particular, they have a hard time seeing the color yellow," he said. "Yellow bug lights can be useful because of this. They don't repel mosquitoes, but they don't attract them, either."

Defend: There are only four active ingredients currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to effectively and safely repel mosquitoes: DEET, picaridin, ir3535, and, for those who prefer a plant-based option, oil of lemon eucalyptus. Conlon said it's important to look for these ingredients because there are many mosquito repellents on the market that simply don't work.

"Popular folk remedies like garlic and Vitamin B-1 have been shown to be useless in double blind studies," he said. Others, such as oil of clove, are known repellents, but only at high concentrations that would burn human skin. "So it works, but not at the low levels used in any product. There, it just smells nice," he said.

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Meltdown: how long does the Arctic have?

Jonathan Leake, The Times 29 Jun 08;

If Holland is right, then the destruction of the Arctic ice cap could become the first great global warming disaster. Why is it happening so fast? And how will it affect the rest of the world?

New evidence suggests that the Arctic ice cap could disappear in summer within the next five years, leaving environmentalists in despair but oil men delighted.

When Marika Holland announced the imminent demise of the Arctic ice cap 18 months ago, she was worried.

Her findings, based on predictions from one of the world’s most powerful super-computers, had been double-checked and peer-reviewed – but they still seemed extreme.

“We were suggesting the Arctic ice cap could disappear in a few decades,” said Holland, a senior researcher at America’s National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. “We were confident of our methods but it still felt very dramatic.”

What Holland and her colleagues from the University of Washington and McGill University in Canada had done was analyse the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the Arctic – and predict that its summertime ice cap could vanish by 2040.

The corollary was that in the longer term it could vanish in winter too. Future explorers would have to use boats rather than sleds.

The idea that the Arctic ice might shrink had been around for a long time but the suggestion that it could disappear, and so quickly, caused a storm.

Pretty soon the climate change sceptics were at work. Holland and her colleagues, they pointed out, had based their work on a computer model – and such models were hardly accurate enough to predict more than a few days of weather. How could they make predictions over decades?

Within just a few months, however, Holland’s findings were borne out even more dramatically than anyone could have expected.

Each year scientists use satellites to measure the area of the Arctic ice cap as it grows and shrinks with the seasons. In winter it normally reaches about 5.8m square miles before receding to about 2.7m square miles in summer.

Last summer, however, things suddenly changed. For day after day the sun shone, raising water temperatures by 4.3C above the average. By September the Arctic ice cap had lost an extra 1.1m square miles, equivalent to more than 12 times the area of Britain.

The melting reduced the summer ice cover to just 1.6m square miles, 43% less than in 1979 when accurate satellite observations began. It left so much open sea that the Northwest Passage, the fabled link between Asia and Europe, became navigable.

For Holland and her team the great melt prompted a great rethink. Their predictions seemed to be coming true, but far earlier than expected. Why?

Holland now wonders whether she and her colleagues had been “too conservative” in their published report.

When they looked at their models again, they found the events of 2007 had indeed been predicted. “We had said this melting process was likely to start around 2025 but the models also showed that there could be periods of very rapid ice melt much earlier,” she said. “Some even showed that the summertime ice cap could start to vanish by 2013.

“Now we are wondering if that is what is happening now. If it is, then the summertime ice cap may never recover and by 2013, or sometime soon after, it could be gone.”

If Holland is right, then the destruction of the Arctic ice cap could become the first great global warming disaster. Why is it happening so fast? And how will it affect the rest of the world?

At the heart of the melting in the Arctic is a simple piece of science. Ice is white, so most of the sunlight hitting it is reflected back into space.

When it melts, however, it leaves behind open ocean which, being darker, absorbs light and so gets warmer. This helps to melt yet more ice. It means that beyond a point, the ice cannot recover. The process keeps accelerating until there is no more ice to melt.

Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University, has been watching this process for two decades, making trips under the polar ice cap in a Royal Navy submarine equipped with radar that can measure the thickness of the ice. Over that period the average thickness has fallen by 40%.

Professor Mark Serreze, from the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Centre, who works with Holland, believes that this latest thinning represents a significant change in the destruction of the ice cap. “The key new idea is that as the ice thins it reaches a point where it becomes very vulnerable. It gets so thin that it can get broken up or just melt away very easily. Once that happens it could be very hard for it ever to recover, especially if we get more hot summers. This year is going to be crucial.”

There is some faintly good news. The melting of the Arctic ice cap will not, for example, cause a rise in sea levels – because it is already floating.

In the short term there may even be some economic opportunities. Already the possibility of new shipping routes, as well as access to the wealth of oil and other mineral resources thought to lie under the seabed, has fuelled a flurry of claims and counterclaims from the nations bordering the Arctic.

Russia has been among the most active. Last August it sent a mini-submarine to the seabed to plant a national flag directly on the North Pole. Scientists from Denmark are mapping the seabed around Greenland, a Danish dependency.

Last August, Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, announced plans for an Arctic military training facility and a deep-water port in the Northwest Passage. America has sent armed coastguard cutters to patrol the waters it claims off Alaska.

All are studying the underwater geology to try to increase their claims. Under international law countries have exclusive economic rights to the sea within 200 nautical miles of their coast. If, however, they can prove that the continental shelf extends beyond that limit, the rights can stretch to 350 nautical miles.

Such an extension could be lucrative. The oil and gas fields in the Arctic ice cap are estimated by some geologists to contain very large reserves.

Others have a different dream for a warmed-up Arctic – as a new cradle of civilisation. Trausti Valsson, professor of environmental planning at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, believes that as rising temperatures make many lower latitudes uninhabitable, so the lands around the Arctic will evolve into “the new Mediterranean”, with towns and cities springing up in Arctic Canada, Alaska and Siberia.

Such a scenario may seem unlikely now but an ice-free Arctic would have many attractions – not least being the Northwest Passage itself, which would immediately cut 5,000 miles from shipping routes between Europe and Asia via the Suez canal and whose development would prompt pressure for new ports along Canada’s northern coast.

However, most climate researchers view such thinking with despair. “It is a great irony,” said Serreze, “that the melting of the ice cap could give us access to yet more fossil fuels that will accelerate climate change even further.

“I suspect the only thing that is going to stop humanity wrecking the planet is when we get hit by some serious ecological disasters, and by then it may well be too late.”

Dieter Helm, professor of energy policy at Oxford University, believes most politicians have simply failed to grasp the scale of the problem, let alone face up to the dramatic action needed.

China, for example, plans hundreds more coal-fired power stations by 2030. America is working on plans to triple its aviation industry, a big polluter.

It is in extreme places such as the Arctic and the world’s highest and coldest places that the impact will continue to be seen first, according to scientists.

“There are 150,000-200,000 ice masses around the world and most of them are shrinking,” said Richard Armstrong, a colleague of Serreze’s. “We estimate that between 1961 and 2005 melting glaciers raised global sea levels by 20mm.”

That’s less than an inch – but represents the meltwater from only 4% of the world’s glaciers. Even those amounts are tiny compared with the Greenland ice sheet. It contains enough water to raise global sea levels by 23ft and it too is showing signs of instability.

Some researchers believe the loss of the Arctic ice cap could have profound effects on Greenland and the surrounding Arctic lands. “We can’t be certain of the exact impacts but if temperatures rise then that melts ice and permafrost over a wide area,” said Serreze.

Further south, Europe’s mountain ranges such as the Alps are already feeling the heat. About 9% of the 666 Alpine ski areas are classed as marginal and the 2C global temperature rise predicted by 2050 will put another 200 out of business. For its part, Britain can expect a warmer climate and more extremes in weather events (see panel).

At the other end of the earth, the Antarctic is relatively stable in comparison with its northern equivalent. Most of its ice is insulated by the cold Antarctic circumpolar current that keeps warm water away from its ice sheet. While some melting is occurring, the Eastern ice sheet – which accounts for about 85% of Antarctica’s ice – may even be growing, according to scientists.

In Britain, researchers at the Met Office’s Hadley Centre are more cautious than Holland in predicting how fast the Arctic ice cap will vanish – but accept it is likely to disappear.

“There is a lot of short-term variation so it could grow back for a while,” said Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice.

“The important thing is the long-term trend, which is for temperatures to rise and ice to decline. We know that it is likely to go. What we are discussing is how long it will take.”

Those who have explored the ice cap on foot have noticed the difference.

“The conditions have changed incredibly since I did my solo expedition in 2003,” said the British explorer Pen Hadow. “I have spoken to people up there this year, and the condition of the ice is much, much worse. That is only five years, which is extraordinary.”

He is organising an Arctic survey for next year to assess the problems, but the question is whether the damage is already done. “The projections are rushing towards us at high speed,” he said.

Additional reporting: Holly Watt

Losing an ice cap – what does it mean?

Destruction of wildlife
The Arctic is home to unique wildlife such as the polar bear, Arctic fox, walrus and a variety of marine mammals such as the narwhal. All are declining.

Slowing of the gulf stream
The vast ocean current that gives Britain its temperate climate is powered partly by the cooling and sinking of water under the Arctic ice shelves as they regrow each winter. Recently, however, the shelves have been smaller and thinner than in the past and there are signs the gulf stream is slowing. Such a process could radically change European climates.

A warmer Britain
Britain is cooled by winds that carry Arctic air southwards – so a warmer Arctic would mean a warmer Britain. In some ways Britain might benefit from this, with farmers able to grow a wider range of crops, seaside holidays becoming more attractive and outdoor life taking off. Scotland could be a particular beneficiary.

More storms
The same warming is likely to make summers hotter and drier and winters wetter and a lot stormier. The risk of a true hurricane hitting the UK – now once every 300 years – is likely to increase along with the frequency of other storms.

Squelchy Siberia
The steppes of western Siberia – once made of rock-hard permafrost – are starting to squelch. The region – the size of France and Germany combined – has experienced one of the fastest rates of warming in the world and is now 3C above normal. Western Siberia is full of peat and other organic matter that could release billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere if they thaw.

The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost has found a similar warming trend throughout the permafrost zones of Alaska, Norway and northern Canada.

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Rodrigues Sea Cucumber Plunder

lexpress.mu 28 Jun 08;

Chronic damage to the lagoon's bionetwork and the life of millions of animals snuffed out – for less than the price of a cheap bottle of whisky each.

Truth is, there is no sustainable harvesting anywhere in the world. Stocks simply do not recuperate. That's why India banned commercial harvesting of these animals.

Following an impassioned hue and cry about sea cucumber harvesting,environmentalists in Rodrigues, citing overexploitation, petitioned for a moratorium. But, neither the regional government nor the opposition seem keen to rock the fishermen's boat.

A simple search of the sea cucumber trade around the world brings to light a murky business, steeped in kickbacks, poaching, corruption and black marketeering. It looks as if there's more to these little sea slugs (holothurians) than meets the eye.

Fossils of these soft-bodied, sausage-shaped marine invertebrates date back 400 million years. Today, 1400 distinct species exist worldwide, and 29 of them live in the shallow waters of Rodrigues 240 sq km lagoon.

Here, holothuria atra or bambara-nwar is the dominant species. These worm-like scavengers suck up sediments on the warm sea floor, feed on its organic matter, and redeposit sand in a more aerated form; in this way, natures own living-breathing little pool cleaners continually turn over the sand's top layers. And, in this tight, yet fragile ecological balance, their eggs, larvae and juveniles provide food for molluscs, crustaceans and fish.

Experts in Rodrigues warn that heavy exploitation of sea cucumbers will turn the sand into a black anaerobic mud, giving rise to a black-mud lagoon empty of animal and plant life.

What's more, a combination of this animal's late sexual maturity, limited mobility and dependence on population density to reproduce, makes its recovery from exploitation extremely difficult. Rehabilitation takes decades and, even then, original numbers are rarely restored.

Consumed as a delicacy or an aphrodisiac

As the world's sea cucumber numbers dwindle, and demand from Asia increases, the market value of bêche-de-mer, as its processed form is called, enters the realm of some serious money. It's consumed as a delicacy, taken as an aphrodisiac, or used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory agents.

Since the eighties, trade in bêche-de-mer has been brisk and lucrative. In Hong Kong or Singapore, a low value product can generate (U$10) 280 Rupees a kg, while a high grade one can fetch up to (U$50) 1400 rupees a kg. International Traders get slightly less, exporters lesser still, and Rodriguan fishermen get – less than 3 Rupees a kg – or 100 Rupees for a 40 kg tin.

At that cold-blooded price, the entire yearly 60-ton-quota (illegal trade excluded) collectively earns the fishermen 150,000 Rupees. Or, when divvied up among hundreds of them – chicken feed. The figures don't jell.

Let's recap: chronic damage to the lagoon's bionetwork and the life of millions of animals snuffed out – for less than the price of a cheap bottle of whisky each. The stench is unmistakable.

Here's the odd thing. If, Rodriguans were stuck with this state sanctioned looting, what was so inconceivable with a cooperative of the local fishermen processing and exporting their own catch? Oh, and I have mentioned that this wasn't a contract to build stealth bombers? Here, no high technology, sophisticated fishing techniques, or huge capital outlays were needed; the whole process entailed picking up sea cucumbers at low tide, gutting, boiling, and drying them in the sun. Once dried, bêche-de-mer keeps for years. So, in a seller's market, how hard can it be to pack them in a container and offload them to a trader in Singapore or Taiwan? How does handing out free licences to six outside companies, to blow-in and bleed a limited resource dry, line their pockets and take off once it's all gone, benefit the people of Rodrigues? Frankly, it's wacky logic. Remember the pre-election promises to encourage small Rodriguan entrepreneurs? Remember all the talk of economic independence? What happened? Hmm, we get it. To talk the talk is one thing; walking the talk afterwards is a monstrously different other thing. Hopefully, this is not indicative of things to come, otherwise, our people may well be holding out the rice bowl for the next thousand years.


Can Rodrigues enforce the unenforceable?

Size limitations and quotas, though well-meaning, are token measures which seldom stem stock depletion. The sea cucumber's plasticity, alive or cooked, makes it tricky to determine its actual size, besides, who is on hand to measure? Since our fishermen do not keep logs, who actually records the allowable catch? Are records always accurate? Could animals collected in the lagoon be delivered to foreign vessels anchored outside the reef? By its very nature, it is difficult to establish the volume of the unreported black-market trade. And another thing, if illegal fishermen can plunder sea cucumbers, day and night, around most islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Torres Strait, under the noses of British and Australian authorities; if poachers in the Seychelles can use the former police commissioner's boat to pillage these animals; if the fisheries inspector entrusted with Galapagos's quotas is himself carted off the island, in handcuffs, what makes us think that Rodrigues can suddenly enforce the unenforceable?

At the end of the day, no matter how neatly pseudo-scientific reports dovetail with the interests of those who commission them, harvesting wild sea cucumbers can only ever be a fly-by-night operation. Comoros, Tanzania, Somalia, Tonga, Galapagos, and Madagascar know this from experience.

Truth is, there is no sustainable harvesting anywhere in the world. Stocks simply do not recuperate. That's why India banned commercial harvesting of these animals. The bottom line is Rodrigues would do well to follow suit – before it's too late.

In spite of the culture of deception and spin, it is nose-bleedingly obvious that there is n-o-t-h-i-n-g in this for the people of Rodrigues. Then, why are these animals and an ecosystem that has taken ages and ages to evolve, being pushed to the brink of total collapse? And more pointedly, for whose benefit?

By Alain LÉVÈQUE

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Jun 08

Pheasants in China
a less pleasant encounter on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

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Here's your chance to 'poke' the Government

Feedback unit Reach sets up Facebook profile in bid to engage S'pore netizens
Li Xueying, Straits Times 28 Jun 08;

YOU can now poke, suckerpunch, and send a tulip - or perhaps a Venus Flytrap if you prefer - to the Government.

For it is now on Facebook. To be precise, its feedback arm, Reach, has created a profile on the popular social networking website.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday viewed it at the launch of Reach's roving interactive exhibition at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

Putting on his spectacles, PM Lee confirmed four friend requests (adding to the existing 281), checked out photos of Reach events and typed a message on the wall of one of its friends.

'Welcome to Facebook! Glad to have you as a friend. Please tell your friends too,' he typed, signing off as 'LHL (for Reach)'.

The profile was created two weeks ago and was made public to all yesterday. It can be found by searching for 'Reach Singapore'.

Reach chairman Amy Khor said it was a necessary platform to engage netizens.

'Singaporeans are increasingly comfortable with the new media. So to engage them on this platform is not just something logical but vital,' she said, noting that Facebook was one of the top 12 search hits for Singaporeans last year.

At the same time, the nature of Facebook means there is a 'multiplier effect' as friends of friends can be linked.

They will be able to give their responses to poll questions, such as what they think of the Budget, the National Day Rally or simply the latest policy announcement.

The Facebook effort is the latest in the arsenal that Reach is building to engage Singaporeans as it tries to combat the perception that the Government does not listen enough when it formulates policies.

For those who are less Internet-savvy, a roving exhibition was launched yesterday. It will tour community centres in the heartland and educational institutes islandwide.

It addresses questions like 'Does Reach edit my feedback?' The reply: 'Feedback is not edited to retain the original sentiment and nuance.'

At the event, PM Lee also suggested that Reach start an online live screen showing the latest feedback.

Dr Khor, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, later said Reach will look at posting a summary of the top three issues each month either on its website or on its Facebook profile.

Giving an update on Reach's progress since she took over in 2006 and revamped the former Feedback Unit with efforts like a blog, Dr Khor said results have been 'encouraging'.

In the past year alone, input increased by 40 per cent while the number of members jumped 70 per cent to 8,500.

Marketing executive Rita Ong, 37, who has a Facebook account, said such new efforts will appeal to younger Singaporeans. 'As they spend so much time surfing the Net, giving their feedback is now just a matter of clicks.'

The long arm of Reach, on Facebook
Today Online 28 Jun 08;

HAVE a gripe about a certain policy? You can now whinge about it on Facebook — straight to the Government.

Reach Singapore, the feedback agency in charge of garnering public views, on Friday launched its profile page on the social networking site in a bid to engage the net-savvy, especially the young.

“I understand it is among the top 12, hit-wise, of Singapore’s Net best sites,” said Reach panel chairman Dr Amy Khor, adding that there are more than 340,000 Singaporeans on Facebook.

She added that the site’s unique features, such as the ability to reach a user’s list of friends, ensures a “multiplier effect”.

For starters, the agency may broadcast on Facebook a summary of the top three talking points each monthly — a suggestion from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to Dr Khor. This would show that Reach “reads through every feedback, analyses it, summarises it and channels it to the relevant ministries”.

The agency has been exploring new media tools such as blogs, web chats and discussion forums to expand its feedback channels since it was revamped in October 2006, she added. “Over a one-year period, we have seen our feedback input increase by 40 per cent. The number of forum members has also increased by more than 17 per cent to more than 8,500 now.”

On Friday, Reach also launched a roving interactive exhibition with games and quizzes to engage heartlanders. — Nazry Bahrawi

REACH launches first roving interactive exhibition in heartlands
Channel NewsAsia 27 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE : The amount of feedback collected by the government's feedback arm REACH has gone up by 40 per cent since its restructuring in October 2006.

Not content with that, it is now venturing deeper into the online community to better engage younger Singaporeans. Its latest new media initiative is to join popular online social networking site Facebook.

Facebook is arguably one of the hottest social networking sites around, and the government's feedback arm has just added its profile to it.

Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong got into the act on Friday - writing a note on Facebook's wall.

Since REACH was formed, it has banked on various new media channels such as webchats, blogs and SMSes to reach out to a more diverse segment of the population.

With Facebook, REACH hopes for a multiplier effect as it connects to those already active on the network.

Its various initiatives, both online and off, have shown very encouraging results.

Dr Amy Khor, Chairman, REACH Panel, said: "The number of People Forum members has also increased by about 17 per cent to more than 8,500 now, and in fact, the dialogue session at the heartlands has actually increased our dialogue participants by three-fold."

To widen its reach in the heartlands, the unit has also launched a roving exhibition, which kicked off at the HDB Toa Payoh Hub on Friday. The roving exhibition is going to go across the island over the next few years.

Meanwhile, REACH is thinking of summarising the top discussion issues of the month on its website or Facebook profile.

Dr Khor said this will close the feedback loop, where comments and proposals are analysed and channelled to the relevant ministries. - CNA/ms

Active citizenry exhibition opens
Business Times 28 Jun 08;

THE government agency for connecting with citizens - Reach (Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home) - launched a roving interactive exhibition at HDB Hub Mall in Toa Payoh yesterday.

The exhibition aims to increase heartlanders' awareness of Reach and the feedback channels they can use to engage the government, thereby encouraging them to share their views on policies and social issues.

Reach chairman Amy Khor said: 'It offers an excellent platform for us to reach out to the masses right on their doorstep, increasing our presence among residents and making our feedback channels known to them.'

Besides static information displays, members of the public can interact with Reach ambassadors and take part in interactive quizzes and games at the exhibition.

Visitors can also provide feedback via on-site laptops and explore Reach's profile page on social networking site Facebook.

'New media tools are an extension of what Reach can do to engage segments of the population who might otherwise be left out of the feedback process,' said Dr Khor.

Read more!

Are we looking at buildings only as money-spinners?

Letter from Sandra Jayandran, Today Online 28 Jun 08;

I READ “It’s the end of the Storey” (June 27) with disbelief.

How serious are we as a nation about preserving what little is left of our heritage? What, exactly, are these “engineering constraints” that make it impossible to construct the Downtown Line without demolishing the New 7th Storey Hotel?

Since the Bugis station already exists, would it be fair to say that they will just be doing works underground? And if so, can they not tunnel around the building, rather than just directly below it?

After the recent demolition of the much-loved National Library (and going back even further, other historical landmarks such as the National Theatre, the Van Cleef Aquarium, the old Esplanade — Elizabeth Walk — and Satay Club), have we not learned our lesson? We can’t turn back the clock and save these buildings — some would say, monuments — but going forward, we can try our best to preserve those that are still with us.

I feel that we are still not doing enough in this area and tend to look at buildings purely from an economic standpoint — hence, you get the Raffles Hotel, Chijmes and the Singapore Art Museum. These structures are money-spinners and to the authorities, the New 7th Storey Hotel is merely an anachronism from the past, on its last legs, deserving of the wrecking ball.

It is not too late. I beseech the authorities to re-consider their decision and leave the New 7th Storey Hotel alone.

Don’t let it die
Shouldn’t technology be able to save the New 7th Storey Hotel?
Letter from Yan Dawei, Today Online 28 Jun 08;

I REFER to “It’s the end of the Storey” (June 27) and I want to express my utmost disappointment at the imminent demolition of the New 7th Storey Hotel (picture) along Rochor Road.

It is hard to understand that with the advance in building technology why this is the only engineering solution to resolve the situation; we have even seen an MRT station built under a huge canal in the Chinatown area. Many countries have succeeded in merging new and existing buildings through tactful architectural intervention (we can count our own Bugis Junction as an example of this, as well).

Then again, this is yet another painful reminder of other similar examples — the most recent being the demolition of the red-brick National Library building.

Another is now fading away in most memories — the beloved former National Theatre, which was just a few streets away.

I hope the Government remembers that the collective historical memory of Singapore belongs to the nation and her people, and must be treated with great respect. Architectural history is an important component in the fabric of the people’s collective memory and these threads should not be so easily removed under the tag of “progress”.

Is it any wonder that increasing numbers of younger Singaporeans are finding it harder to take root in the country? It will of interest to hear the comments of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the National Heritage Board and other relevant authorities on this matter.

It’s the end of the Storey
53-year-old hotel and itshistoric lift to make wayfor Downtown Line station
Zul Othman, Today Online 27 Jun 08;

IT STANDS oddly alone on its particular stretch of Rochor Road, exuding an old-world charm at odds with hipper neighbours such as Bugis Junction.

Even though the structure is worn and reportedly tilting — on account of the shifting sands in its foundation — many see The 7th Storey Hotel (picture) as one of the area’s last surviving grand dames and a window into the past: The budget hotel, with its 38 rooms, is still decked out in much the same décor it wore when it opened in 1955 ... including what is reputedly the island’s last surviving cage lift.

Its restaurant, famous for its charcoal steamboat, also has a faithful following.

But all this has to make way for progress: By the end of the year, the53-year-old hotel will make way for the construction of the 4.3km-long Downtown Line Stage 1, which will run from Bugis Station (on the East-West Line) to Chinatown Station (on the North-East Line).

In a statement yesterday, the Land Transport Authority, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the Urban RedevelopmentAuthority explained that because of “engineering constraints which cannot be avoided”, the hotel will be demolished to allow for construction of the new Bugis station.

It is also the first site picked for raildevelopment after changes to the LandAcquisition Act were passed in February last year, said an SLA spokesperson. Under the amendments, the owners of the hotel will get compensation “pegged at market value”, taking into: account past transactions, the property’s condition and any renovation.

While details were scanty, Cushman and Wakefield Singapore managing director Donald Han said a hotel site at Merchant Road up for tender drew an offer of $700 to $750 psf per plot ratio :last year.

For patrons and the 19 employees of the hotel, they first heard the news of the hotel’s fate from reporters that dropped by yesterday — and it was a blow.

“I didn’t hear anything from the bosses,” said Mr Francis Poh, 66, who operates the mechanical cage lift which he called the hotel’s pride and joy.

He added in Mandarin: “It’s sad because the staff here are like family to me. I hate to think I have to find another job.”

Mr Colin Toh, 52, a regular patron of the steamboat restaurant since 2003, said: “It’s such a waste this place has to be torn down. I always bring my overseas friends here to eat. This building is special and has history, but now, that has to go in the name of progress.”

Over the years, the hotel has catered to backpackers from around the world.

Mr Jason Taylor, 26, from New Zealand, who was a first-time guest, thought the closure was a shame. “I was planning to tell my friends about this place because it has been an experience staying here.”

The hotel’s owners, who will have to move out by December, could not be reached for comment.

Mr Han, however, is not surprised at the decision to acquire the hotel, given that it is surrounded by government land. “It is not too surprising that the authorities are integrating the small plot to come out with a comprehensive transport infrastructure.”

The acquired hotel site will be merged with the adjacent State land parcel bounded by North Bridge Road, Tan Quee Lan Street, Beach Road and Rochor Road for future comprehensive development.

This is to allow for better integration of the station and ground-level structures with the future development of the site, and to enable the planned pedestrian network and other designs for the area to be realised.

Six stations will make up the Downtown Line Stage 1, scheduled to open in 2013: Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Landmark, Cross Street and Chinatown.

The contract for the construction of the new Bugis station and tunnels from Beach Road to Queen Street will be tendered early next month, for award in November. — ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TEO XUAN WEI

Shame 7th Storey hotel must make way for MRT
Letter from Yan Dawei, Straits Times Forum 30 Jun 08;

I MUST express my disappointment at the imminent demolition of the New 7th Storey Hotel in Rochor Road to make way for a Downtown Line MRT station.

It seems another noteworthy building in the history of Singapore is being sacrificed in the name of progress.

With all the advances in building technology (there is even an MRT station built under a huge canal in Chinatown), it is hard to understand why this is the only way to resolve the situation.

To the layman, it seems that the authorities think demolishing the hotel is the cheapest and most convenient way to remove a thorn in the flesh via land acquisition.

In comparison, other countries have tried and succeeded in merging new and existing buildings with tactful architecture intervention.

The New 7th Storey Hotel demolition is another painful reminder of similar acts by the authorities.

The most recent example is the demolition of the red-brick National Library building in Stamford Road. Another, already fading in our memories, is the beloved former National Theatre, just a few streets away.

I hope the Government remembers that the collective historical memory of Singapore belongs to the nation, and its people, and must be treated with respect.

Architectural history is an important component in the fabric of the people's memory, and these threads should not be torn down in the name of progress.

Is it any wonder that increasing numbers of young Singaporeans find it hard to sink roots here and choose to move abroad?

It is also in the nation's interest that the Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Heritage Board and other authorities comment on this.


New 7th Storey Hotel has conservation value
Letter from Tan Chee Hiong, Straits Times Forum 1 Jul 08;

I AM disappointed and deeply disturbed by the decision of the relevant authorities to demolish the New 7th Storey Hotel. It is unbelievable that one of the oldest and iconic Singapore hotels, together with its tourism and service quality award-winning service staff, could be written off in less than six months with the stroke of a pen in the name of progress.

According to media reports, the LTA mentioned that this hotel has no conservation status. Notwithstanding this, I feel that the relevant authorities should instead consider whether a historic building has conservation or tourism potential, even if it does not have conservation status presently for various reasons, such as its owners' oversight in failing to volunteer the building for conservation.

The New 7th Storey Hotel is older than post-independent Singapore and it has been a leading landmark that was one of the hottest night spots in the 60s and 70s. Even if it could not meet all criteria necessary to deserve conservation now, its conservation and tourism potential should not be gauged solely by its present value with its future value ignored. If the present generation's inclination is not towards conserving meaningful historic buildings for our future generation, future Singaporeans could be left with little heritage to remember and admire, much less to conserve. A hundred-year-old building is left standing today only because our forefathers decided to leave it behind.

With its short history as a nation, Singapore does not have the luxury of rich heritage from which we could choose to freely keep or discard. From the publicly-owned now-demolished National Library to the privately-held soon-to-be-demolished New 7th Storey Hotel, their value as part of our heritage should transcend their ownership status. While it should be everyone's responsibility to conserve our heritage, the lesson that we should extract from this episode is that owners of historic buildings could have demonstrated stronger civil leadership by volunteering their properties for conservation.

The short six months given to its owners could also leave its owners with very little time and few options to consider even if its owners are keen to conserve it. An option such as reconstructing this hotel at another location while preserving its facade, spiral staircase and the only manually-operated lift left in Singapore is likely to require more than six months to plan and complete.

Considering that the Downtown line is part of the LTA's long-term plan, I wonder why an earlier notice could not have been given to the owners. The media also reported that the owners only heard about this piece of news from the media. The authorities' approach towards this matter seems to run contrary to our vision of building a consultative society.

Nevertheless, I hope concerned Singaporeans with relevant expertise and resources could render their assistance and support to the owners if the owners are interested in conserving this hotel. Singapore needs to conserve its historic buildings as anchors for her people's shared memory to make this Home Singapore, failing which we may have to settle for Hotel Singapore instead.

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Is it time for a Ministry of Energy in Singapore?

Ng Tze Yong, The New Paper 28 Jun 08;

IT'S on the cover of The Economist.

It's the theme of a world summit held at Suntec Convention Centre earlier this week.

And it lies at the core of strikes and protests worldwide.

Energy. The future's all about it.

Will Singapore be ready, when the world runs out of steam?

Several Asean countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia already have ministries of energy.

In Singapore, however, energy security lies in a muddy middle zone.

It straddles the work of two ministries: the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

And then, there is the cast of smaller-sized characters: A think tank (the Energy Studies Institute), a statutory board (the Energy Policy and Planning Division), the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development and an inter-ministerial Energy Policy Group.

In short, there's no one body fully in charge.

As an issue that involves areas as diverse as education, national development, international relations, transport and the environment, among others, energy security can be tough to tackle.

Said senior fellow Elspeth Thomson from the Energy Studies Institute: 'Before we were set up, there were ministries working on the same issue, unaware of the other.'

Said Dr Geh Min, a former Nominated Member of Parliament and ex-president of the Nature Society: 'We need a more integrated approach... the situation is urgent.'

IDEAS

What can a Ministry of Energy, or MOE2, do? Here are ideas to mull over.

# Buy our own oil field

One day, no one may sell us oil because in a Scramble world, available resources may already be tied up in bilateral agreements.

Why not buy an oil or gas field in a neighbouring country like Cambodia, Brunei or Myanmar as a precaution?

# Buy overseas farms to grow food

Like the first idea, this is politically-sensitive. Who will work on the farms - Singaporeans or foreigners?

# A law to set a minimum temperature in Singapore offices

In an energy-deficient world, Singaporeans are wearing sweaters in offices. It is absurd at best, immoral at worst.

# Forge closer relations with oil-producing countries

Until two years ago, Singapore did not have a residential ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer.

But setting up a new ministry will be expensive and time-consuming.

'It may also send the wrong message to the other ministries that the issue is now off their backs,' said Dr Geh.

Instead, the Prime Minister's Office should take charge, she said.

And let someone like SM Goh Chok Tong, who has already been busy fostering better relations with the Middle East, helm it.

Is it time?

The world is waking up to the crisis. In Singapore, the people are still watching - and freezing in cinemas.

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Discovering 'insect technology'

Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 28 Jun 08;

INSECTS could be the inspiration for new tools to aid humans, with help from the latest DNA technology. Some projects here include:

# Dragonfly alert system

The humble dragonfly nymph could soon be the aquatic version of the canary in a coalmine.

Just like how the singing birds were used by miners to warn them of foul air, the dragonfly young, which live in ponds and reservoirs, could alert humans to water pollution.

National University of Singapore (NUS) postgraduate researcher Nanthinee Jeevanandam, 28, hopes to use their genetic fingerprint to help organisations like national water agency PUB determine the level of cleanliness of reservoir water.

Different dragonfly species have varied tolerance to pollutants such as lead and sulphate, and some require cleaner water or more oxygen.

So, looking at which species is thriving in the water would be a quick and chemical-free method of assessing water quality, she explained.

DNA barcoding would be used to tell the nymphs apart as they look virtually identical.

Miss Jeevanandam has already collected DNA sequences for about a quarter of Singapore's 110 or so dragonfly species.

One day, they could all be on a DNA chip used in a portable kit.

# Military fly spy

A tiny fly that feeds on frog blood could one day help hone sophisticated military spyware.

The 2mm fly, discovered by NUS postgraduate student Gwynne Lim, 24, feeds on the blood of a tree-dwelling frog which lives in local and regional forests.

'Despite its size, it manages to hear in stereo to locate the frog call in the cacophony of the forest.

'If we find out how it does this, it could have applications for generating better hearing aids or military surveillance systems,' she said.

The blood-sucker was among 15 lookalike species related to the sandfly, which Miss Lim identified through DNA barcoding.

Before she did so, only one species had been identified in the region - in 1930.

Such applications could be a decade away.

For now, Miss Lim is planning to study the flexible membranes which are flies' equivalent of 'ears', and how the insects respond to different sounds.

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SOS! Save our sharks from the jaws of 'prestige'

Straits Times 28 Jun 08;

# By 2010, the Resorts World Sentosa marine conservation fund will provide $1 million each year for groups conducting research relevant to regional marine life. How will this help?

Executive director Peter Knights of environmental body WildAid tells SHOBANA KESAVA about how the sea's top predator has been devastated by the shark's fin trade

THE latest research on the effects of over-fishing has uncovered dire news on the shark population.

Four top predators - the hammerhead, blue, porbeagle and thresher sharks - have been decimated by 96 to 99.9 per cent since the 1800s.

# Why are sharks so important?

SHARKS are the flagships of the ocean, the equivalent of lions and tigers on land. As top predators, when they are removed from the ecosystem, the entire system is disrupted. They also reproduce slowly for a fish and so can take decades to recover from overfishing. Their rapidly diminishing populations are typical of what is happening as a result of overfishing worldwide.

They are also one of the oldest types of animals around, dating back some 400 million years. Although they survived the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, some species may not survive just one human generation of industrialised fishing.

As well as their conservation, we are concerned that millions of sharks are 'finned' every year and their bodies dumped at sea, because shark meat has low value and takes up hold space meant for more valuable species like tuna, while the fins are in great demand, due especially to the booming Chinese economy.

# How can the trade in shark's fins be curbed?

FISHERIES management is often poor or non-existent and international protection is difficult because of a lack of historic catch data and no monitoring of the shark's fin trade by species. Until you list a species, there is no data and with no data, you can't get a species listed, so it's a Catch-22 situation for the sharks. Traditional conservation is always about trying to protect the supply.

But the reality is, the money involved often means that the protection isn't effective. Enforcement is not funded properly and people are paid high amounts to obtain these products.

I was originally an economist, not a biologist, and so WildAid's take on it is that if we can't influence the demand for these products, we cannot succeed in saving the populations.

The park director I interviewed in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador said that the only thing people there could do to make more money than shark finning was the cocaine trade.

How do we fight that at the local level if the demand is so high? Our focus is that, when the buying stops, the killing can too. So we must reduce the demand if we are going to save this species.

It helps that iconic figures like action hero Jackie Chan, basketball star Yao Ming and other such figures have been helping to get our message across. Singapore stars who are popular in China would help too.

The environment is often bad news which people don't like to hear about. So, to keep it alive and interesting, the celebrity angle is just one of the ways.

# What about the argument that asking the Chinese not to consume shark's fin soup is an attack against their culture?

FIRSTLY, it's not in any culture to push species towards extinction, and saying things are 'cultural' implies culture is static. Culture hasn't changed more rapidly in history than it has done in Asia in the last 20 years. Our task is just to make this change part of everything else that is evolving at the same time.

At one time slavery was cultural in many societies, but that didn't mean it was right.

We're a fairly pragmatic organisation. I'm not vegetarian. And I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with eating sharks per se; it's just that there are too many people and too few sharks and the reality is, we need to change our behaviour before the soup runs out because there are no more sharks.

Shark's fin is consumed mainly in China and Japan, so we can't talk to other countries about its consumption, although we do talk to them about management and, in the case of the spiny dogfish (a small species of shark), about limiting the trade in fish and chips.

I have no problem with people eating sharks if it were done in an ethical and sustainable way. I take issue with the over-exploitation of a resource.

# How would you like to see governments changing?

INTERNATIONALLY, they should reverse the burden of proof as they have for the wild-bird trade in the United States.

Rather than having us prove that importing shark's fin damages the population, have importers prove that their activity is not illegal or destroying a population, because the overwhelming evidence is that shark trade is not managed properly and is not sustainable. It is easier to prove that only a certain amount is being taken in a sustainable way. There's no financial incentive to do it properly now, or disincentive for those who do damage.

Land the whole fish, not just the fins: That's what is just starting to happen. The US, European Union and some Latin American countries are starting to say that you have to land the whole shark, see it and monitor it so we're pushing for this internationally.

Then, we can prove that the fishing is sustainable and doesn't involve 'finning', so we can have certified shark's fins. The Marine Stewardship Council certifies fisheries where it is scientifically assessed and properly managed, and you can then have a premium brand which the public can buy, knowing that this is sustainable.

The shark's fin trade is so lucrative - a bowl of soup can range from US$10 (S$13.65) to US$150 - that you'd think it should be easier to manage. But the mark-up is huge for what is basically chicken soup with some cartilage in it and fisheries are very powerful in opposing change, so it isn't easy.

# What can Singaporeans do to promote shark conservation?

SINGAPORE has one of the most highly educated populations in the world and, as such, it can take a positive leadership role. Where we've always seen positive change in these areas is among younger, higher-educated people. People believe shark's fin is prestigious and if people in Singapore can say that there are other ways of showing prestige, then it is something that will be picked up in other parts of the Chinese world.

A Straits Times report of how 30 in 120 Chinese wedding banquets didn't serve shark's fin soup is a very positive thing to show - that you don't have to do it.

# By 2010, the Resorts World Sentosa marine conservation fund will provide $1 million each year for groups conducting research relevant to regional marine life. How will this help?

MARINE conservation is at least 30 years behind land-based conservation and the funding situation is the same. Such support is very significant, particularly in Asia, where there is very little funding opportunity for wildlife conservation.

Almost all organisations that work with animals, like Resorts World, have developed some conservation stance. There is sound business sense to it and the days of people wanting to see animals purely for entertainment are gone. People want to be educated when they take their children to see the animals. It's a global trend.

# Will you see success in your lifetime?

I ALWAYS get encouraged when people say 'I don't eat it any more' or 'I went to a wedding and it wasn't served', but the consumer base is massive, and growing with economic development in China. There are probably at least 100 million consumers there who couldn't afford shark's fin 10 years ago.

You've got to take the victories where you can get them. We managed to get the whale shark, the world's biggest fish, put on the endangered list and we will keep trying to get more species on that list.

This issue is not going to go away even in my grandchild's lifetime because the earth has finite resources and we are coming up against its limits - whether it is oil or water or global warming or anything else.

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How to tell if your food's authentic? Use DNA test kit

Genetic barcoding can ensure what you eat is safe, and even tell fish species apart
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 28 Jun 08;

THE proof of the pudding may no longer just be in the eating.

Scientists are developing genetic test kits that could show - on the spot - whether food is authentic, even before customers take their first bite.

Diners would be assured that they had the real deal with, say, exclusive beluga caviar rather than an inferior variety of salty fish eggs; and buyers could rest easy that the Kobe beef they purchased was not just run-of-the- mill marbled meat, for example.

DNA barcoding has been used increasingly in the past decade by biologists to identify different animal species based on their unique genetic blueprints. With such techniques getting faster and cheaper, new uses are coming up, said Associate Professor Rudolf Meier, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore.

Small and simple test kits are already being developed in Europe and America. In San Diego, for example, high school students as young as 16 were able to distinguish between dried jerky of ostriches, turkeys and cows in their science laboratory, via DNA fingerprinting. This year, they teamed up with East African graduate students to identify bushmeat from endangered species in local African markets.

Interest in DNA barcoding has taken off in the last two to three years, said Prof Meier, with international foundations fuelling research.

A single test costs about $10 currently, but prices are likely to plummet as technology improves.

Such molecular tests are being touted as the modern alternative to the age-old scientific technique of using an animal's morphology or physical form to distinguish one creature from another.

But Prof Meier pointed out that only about 20,000 animal species have been barcoded so far, out of five million or so identified in the world.

On the upside, the system is proving invaluable in food-quality assurance, he said.

In the United States, for example, scientists testing 'snapper' from restaurants and sushi bars in California and Washington found recently that eight in nine pieces had been substituted with cheaper or over-fished species such as tilapia or rockfish.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore said that it is evaluating the use of DNA barcoding to ensure food is safe and that labels are accurate.

AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong said that the authority was looking at such methods together with GenoMar, a Norwegian marine lifesciences company.

The interest in the technique is not confined to food.

In the aquarium trade, such tools could be used as a method for identifying expensive fish. A red Asian arowana, for example, develops its sought-after crimson sheen only as an adult. As a 15cm juvenile, it costs $2,500 but is indistinguishable from its garden variety red-tail golden cousin which costs $350.

Local ornamental-fish provider Qian Hu is working with Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory to come up with DNA barcodes for its dragon fish.

Said Qian Hu's executive chairman Kenny Yap: 'We hope to use this technique commercially by the end of the year, so that more buyers will come to us for absolute assurance that they are getting genuine dragon fish.'

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Singapore aiming to be natural resources hub

Siow Li Sen, Business Times 28 Jun 08;

COMMODITIES exchanges can help Singapore develop into a vibrant centre for natural resources, given the island's location in the region, said the Economic Development Board.

Last year a new EDB unit, the New Business Group, was formed to spot future trends and their business potential. This unit has identified several trends, such as natural resources.

An EDB spokesman said it had developed a Natural Resources Strategy early this year which encompasses mining, minerals, agriculture, aquaculture, plantation and forestry.

'Singapore is strategically located in the midst of the fast growing Asia Pacific region which is now the world's biggest markets for hard and soft commodities,' said the spokesman.

He was replying to a query on the wooing of commodities exchanges to set up in Singapore.

Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, according to reports, is expected to start a new commodity exchange in Singapore soon.

'Singapore could function as a nerve centre that fulfils global market demand for natural resources and create technologies to ensure global resource sustainability,' said the EDB spokesman.

'The commodities exchanges are a vital part of the market mechanism, introduce vibrancy and fits well into Singapore's business, legal and financial infrastructure,' he said.

Financial Technologies, which is in the business of setting up exchanges, is also the founder of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the leading commodity exchange in India.

Financial Technologies and PTC financial services, a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC India Ltd, are the promoters of Indian Energy Exchange Ltd, India's first-ever power exchange which began operations yesterday.

Meanwhile, MCX chief executive Joseph Massey has clarified that MCX has no plans to start a new exchange in Singapore.

Sources say MCX could be involved with the new commodity exchange, called the Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX), through cooperative arrangements.

'At the appropriate time, I will comment,' said Mr Massey when asked about MCX's potential involvement with the SMX.

Read more!