The Cove - environmental espionage?
from ashira
Dairy Farm Nature Park Sightings!
from NaturallYours
Greater Green Leafbird and others feeding on figs
from Bird Ecology Study Group
The jungle is neutral
from The annotated budak
Life History of the Pea Blue
from Butterflies of Singapore
David Fogarty, PlanetArk 10 Sep 09;
SINGAPORE - Wealthy Singapore, a global refining and manufacturing hub, will do more to curb its carbon emissions but additional steps depend on the shape of a broader pact to fight climate change, a top diplomat said on Tuesday.
The city state, covering less than 700 sq km, has a population of 4.5 million and one of the world's highest standards of living with per-capita GDP of $37,597 in 2008.
The country has become a focus for environmentalists who point to the nation's wealth and energy-intensive economy and say the government should adopt emissions targets.
Top climate change negotiator Chew Tai Soo said energy efficiency steps had significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions but that his country, through lack of space, was limited in its ability to switch to green energy, such as wind or solar.
The country was in many ways still a developing nation and would remain reliant on fossil fuels, he said, adding a recent German study saying Singapore's per-capita carbon dioxide emissions were among the world's highest was inaccurate.
"Small countries like Singapore or the Bahamas lack the alternative energy potential, or as I would call it, is alternative energy disadvantaged," he told Reuters as part of a global Climate Change and Alternative Energy summit.
But he said there was still much the country has done, and could do, to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
Singapore, with power generation capacity of more than 10,000 megawatts, has switched to less polluting natural gas as the main fuel source for electricity, although some larger power stations still use a proportion of dirtier fuel oil.
Chew, a veteran diplomat, said the government would curb growth in numbers of vehicles by 2020, ensure the majority of commuters take public transport and test-bed electric vehicles.
EMISSIONS TRADING?
The present annual growth rate in the number of cars on Singapore's congested roads is 3 percent. "We're going to cut that down to 1.5 percent."
Asked how the government would achieve that, he said: "We'll do that. When we say we'll do something, we will do something."
Asked about additional steps, such as introducing domestic emissions trading and setting an emissions cap, he said: "We will be looking at it, we will be looking at all these instruments."
But he personally felt emissions trading was inappropriate for Singapore, given its size.
He said the government would not rule out any option as part of global negotiations on a broader replacement for the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol and that the government was developing a plan to consider additional steps to fight climate change.
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 12 Sep 09;
THE National Environment Agency hopes to pare down the $1 billion Singaporeans spend on utilities bills each year - by getting them to buy appliances which use less energy.
At a ceremony at Marina Square yesterday, 16 shops and suppliers, including major retailers Best Denki, Gain City and Harvey Norman, agreed that within a year, at least 60 per cent of air-conditioning systems, refrigerators and clothes dryers in their selection would be the most efficient models available, up from one-third now.
Such appliances score an 'excellent' rating under the NEA's Mandatory Labelling Scheme.
The scheme was introduced last year for air-conditioners and refrigerators, which account for half of an average household's utility bill.
At yesterday's event, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, said retailers play an important role in weaning out energy-guzzling models.
'By increasing the proportion of energy-efficient products on the market, we hope to influence consumer demand,' she said.
Well-trained sales staff who could help customers make informed purchasing choices was also key, she said.
Studies conducted by the NEA showed that the most energy-efficient refrigerator on the market costs $100 more than the least efficient one, but this initial expense is more than made up for in long-term savings.
Over an average 10-year lifespan, the greener model would rack up $1,300 in usage bills, about half that of the less efficient model.
NEA chief executive officer Andrew Tan noted that going green could give consumers some protection from rising electricity tariffs.
'By transforming the market, we are giving people greater control irrespective of electricity prices,' he said.
The NEA estimated that if consumers here switched to more efficient appliances, they could save at least $20 million annually.
But retailers said the downturn is impeding efforts.
Mr C.J. Raj, director of Best Denki Singapore, has seen a 50 per cent dip in the 55 units of energy-efficient air-conditioning units sold at its stores every month, with customers opting for less efficient models which cost several hundred dollars less.
This despite a life-cycle cost of $12,000 for the cheaper model, compared with $8,000 for the most energy-efficient one.
'Consumers are paying more attention to the value proposition of products. They are not so keen on the long-term perspective, but on short-term gain,' he said.
Singapore's retailers and suppliers to provide more energy efficient appliances
Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia 11 Sep 09;
SINGAPORE: 16 major retailers and suppliers promised on Friday to provide more energy efficient appliances to Singaporean consumers.
These include companies such as Best denki, Courts, Gain City and Harvey Norman, as well as suppliers such as BSH Home appliances, Carrier, CASA, DAIKIN, Fisher and Paykel, LG Electronics, Miele, Mitsubishi Electric, Wo Kee Hong Marketing, Panasonic, Samsung and Sanyo.
The move is in line with a landmark voluntary agreement signed with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and a partnership with the Housing & Development Board and Energy Market Authority.
Under the agreement, retailers and suppliers are expected to voluntarily commit to targets set out by the NEA, including retiring stock of energy inefficient models and ensuring that energy efficient models make up at least 50 per cent of their model range within 6 months and 60 per cent of their model range by September 2010.
"Suppliers and retailers are really gatekeepers. In the sense that they can help us retire and weed out, the less energy efficient products from the market. Increase the proportion of more energy efficient products and in this way influence consumer demand," said Dr Amy Khor, senior parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.
Consumers will soon see more ticks, representing greater energy efficiency, on more models of electrical appliances in stores.
Gain City Best-Electric, one of the retailers involved in the agreement said that the move is a natural progression for them.
Sales of their energy efficient inverter air-conditioners had climbed up from 17 to 39 per cent between 2006 and 2008.
"When consumers come to our stores, they tend to choose energy efficient appliances, after being educated on the benefits of the cost savings that come with it. They will generally tend to look for a three to four tick air conditioner," said Evonne Lee, marketing manager, Gain City Best-Electric.
The year-long agreement is aimed at paving the way for a minimum standard for energy efficient appliances by 2011. Retailers and Suppliers will have the option to extend the agreement after it ends.
The agreement is also part of the 10 per cent Energy Challenge, which this year is focused on making energy efficient home appliances more readily available to consumers with the help of retailers and suppliers.
Singapore is working towards a 35 per cent reduction in energy consumption from energy levels in 2005.
- CNA/sc
Organiser of competition hopes to raise awareness in this controversial field
Judith Tan, Straits Times 12 Sep 09;
THE assignment: find out what the average Singaporean believes about genetically modified (GM) foods and debunk any misconceptions he has about them.
About 130 students from 20 secondary schools, joining in efforts by Singapore's GM watchdog to raise awareness in the controversial field, produced videos to do so as part of the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) Student Reporters' Challenge.
The six finalists had their work screened at the Biopolis science hub last week.
GM foods have their genetic make-up altered to boost their nutritional content, make them more resistant to diseases or insects, and yield better harvests.
However, such foods are controversial, with sceptics worrying about adverse effects on human health and the ecosystem.
While conducting the interviews for the challenge, which were organised by the GMAC, the cub reporters found that most Singaporeans did not understand or trust GM products.
Professor Lee Sing Kong, chairman of the GMAC sub-committee on public awareness and director of the National Institute of Education, even gave the example, to much laughter, of one woman here who worried that GM foods would turn her skin green.
The competition is part of the drive to promote understanding of GM foods, he said.
'Students here learnt about GM technology and GM foods in schools, and are enthusiastic about its science and applications. We feel that it is time for them to share what they know with other Singaporeans,' he said.
Unity Secondary clinched top honours in the lower secondary category for its simple yet clear video presentation.
The team's group leader, Secondary 2 student Chua Guo Yao, 14, said: 'If you don't understand the science of GM foods, it can seem very scary.
'So we tried to explain it simply and not complicate the issue.'
The group of five 14-year-olds from the neighbourhood school in Choa Chu Kang had a secret weapon - teacher Clement Yew, a former television producer.
He helped them to fine-tune their work, for example, by showing them how to avoid distracting background noise.
'I merely took them through the paces of film production. The hard work was theirs,' he said.
The trophy for the upper secondary category went to the team from Raffles Institution.
juditht@sph.com.sg
The winners
LOWER SECONDARY CATEGORY:
1st Prize: Unity Secondary (Trophy and $1,000)
2nd Prize: NUS High School of Mathematics and Science ($600)
3rd Prize: CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' ($300)
UPPER SECONDARY CATEGORY:
1st Prize: Raffles Institution (Trophy and $1,000)
2nd Prize: Nanyang Girls' High and Hwa Chong Institution ($600 each)
Jolee Lunjew, The Star 12 Sep 09;
It was an eye-opener of sorts for three young ladies campaigning for turtle conservation when they traversed the East Coast where turtle eggs are still sold openly for consumption.
Two weeks on the road travelling in a cramped car may seem quite uncomfortable but biologist Grace Duraisingham, 26, and agency executives Chong Huey Meim, 29 and Nelleisa Omar, 26, found their road trip exciting because they wanted to spread the word that consuming turtle eggs was bad for the future of marine turtles.
And their ride was a cool one indeed, courtesy of AMC Motors which provided them a bright green classic Volkswagen Beetle decked up to look like a turtle.
The trio flagged off from Tropicana City in Petaling Jaya on July 27, and headed north to Ipoh, Penang, Kedah and Perlis; then east to Kelantan and Terengganu; south to Johor Baru via Kuantan and back to Kuala Lumpur on Aug 8 via Malacca.
When asked how the project came about, Chong said that the idea started when her fellow Leo Burnett colleague Nelleisa pledged her support for WWF’s Egg=Life campaign and started convincing everyone to do the same.
“We came up with this road trip idea to collect signatures to help the cause. WWF pledged 40,000 signatures but we thought, why not make it 100,000?
“We approached WWF and they loved the idea. Grace, who is a WWF-Malaysia Field Biologist with the Malacca Hawksbill Turtle Conservation Project, pushed for the project and Voila! here we are.
“We named ourselves Telur Rangers for obvious reasons. We want to be little heroes and chip in to save our turtle friends from ending up as someone’s snack,” says Chong.
Their main objectives were to raise awareness of the turtles’ plight of possible extinction and to open up a new chapter in turtle conservation. Not many Malaysians are aware of the depth and implication of the turtle egg trade.
Although their goal was to collect as many signatures as possible, the girls also spent time talking to the public and visiting local markets and turtle hatcheries.
“We spoke with people who were interested and willing to help so I would think the time spent educating them would have made quite an impact in their understanding of conservation issues in Malaysia. It was also very motivating to have come across young Malaysians who wanted to help us collect signatures. It shows that the younger generation is aware of environmental issues and concerned about preserving our local unique biodiversity,” says Grace.
Nelleisa agreed that meeting enthusiastic young Malaysians was very touching.
“When we went to the Pekan Batu Pahat Scouts Centre, we were greeted by 70 excited scouts. We were so touched when we saw the welcome banner with a picture of our Telur Mobile that they had prepared just for us!
“We also enjoyed the talk we gave to the students at Olympia College in Kuantan and speaking to the kids in Kampung Mangkuk, Setiu. We were happy to see that they understood the issue and supported the cause.
Then there was Adam, a three-year-old boy in Malacca who managed to collect 12 signatures for us in less than 20 minutes! And in Kuala Perlis, Ila, a young teenager from a food stall, came after us to ask if she could have some forms so that she could help. She said it was her birthday the next day and she wanted to be part of something special.
“These are the Malaysians that we need in our country,” says Nelleisa.
But there were also some sad moments in their journey when they went to the Kota Baru market and found turtle eggs being sold openly at RM10 for three.
“The sellers I spoke to said that they knew it was illegal to sell the eggs openly but the authorities had never stopped them so they continue to do so. They are aware that the eggs are hard to get. They said they received the eggs from Sabah, transported illegally by air or sea,” says Nelleisa.
The girls said the response was better in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis but it was difficult to change the mindset of the village folks.
“During my work in Malacca, I questioned some people as to why they wouldn’t stop eating turtle eggs. The response I got was: ‘Ala, dulu nenek moyang saya makan telur penyu. Sekarang masih ada lagi. Penyu ni tak akan pupus lah (My ancestors used to eat the eggs. Turtles are still here. They won’t go extinct)’,” says Grace.
“Some said they loved the taste and argued that ‘Saya makan sekali-sekala sahaja, bukannya makan hari-hari (I only eat it once in a while, not every day)’.
“And this was from a guy living in Kuala Lumpur! There are also those who say: ‘It’s not illegal so why not try. After all, it’s just once’. But they don’t realise that if every Malaysian wanted to try one egg, then we would have killed 26 million baby turtles!
“Others say that pregnant women crave the eggs and there are many false beliefs that turtle eggs are good for your health, have more nutrients compared to chicken eggs, have aphrodisiac properties and are lower in cholesterol. One restaurant owner even said that the eggs would give babies smoother skin if taken by pregnant women.
“These myths are pure nonsense and have all been scientifically debunked. The hardcore egg consumers just don’t care. In fact, turtle eggs are found to be less nutritious than chicken eggs,” explains Grace.
“This quote definitely takes the cake! Someone said: ‘Dah nak pupus? Lebih baik makan lebih sekarang. Nanti masa depan tak boleh rasa lagi (Going extinct? Better eat more now or we won’t be able to taste them in future)’,” Chong reveals.
“From what we have learned, many people eat turtle eggs out of curiosity, because the eggs were presented as gifts or their parents used to eat them, so they continue to eat it.
“Many do not know that unlike commercial chicken eggs, turtle eggs are all fertilised and if not consumed, will eventually hatch into turtles. People are just too selfish to think or care that they are driving a species towards extinction,” says Chong.
“If we keep eating turtle eggs, the poor turtles will have no offspring and eventually go extinct. Turtle hatchlings already have many natural obstacles and predators to face out there in the wild. The last thing they need is someone eating their babies just for the heck of it.”
During their stop in Kerteh, the girls met up with Imam Zulkiflee Salleh who has been highlighting the plight of the turtles during his sermons at several mosques around Kerteh.
According to the girls, the imam said that different mazhab (Islamic schools of thought) had different views, some allowing and others disallowing turtle egg consumption. The mazhab that Malaysians follow does not disallow it. However, he said that Islam taught its followers to protect God’s creations.
“My personal view is that it is still wrong to consume turtle eggs because turtles are considered haiwan dua alam (animals that can live on land and in water). But eating anything into extinction is definitely wrong anyway,” says Nelleisa.
Besides their signature drive and raising awareness, the girls managed to visit a Government-run turtle education centre and hatchery, released some hatchlings and went turtle-spotting around Pulau Perhentian.
“Alu Alu Divers in Perhentian took us on a complimentary trip and made sure we saw turtles, so that was just amazing. I am directly involved with turtle conservation but it’s not every day I get to see these amazing creatures swimming in the wild,” says Grace.
The girls managed to collect 3,366 signatures from their two-week road trip, a far cry from their targeted 100,000 signatures, but they plan to fulfil their goal through various post activities.
“We will be uploading more of our pictures and videos on our blog as well as our Facebook page so that the public can share our journey. Many caring Malaysians have come forward to help us collect signatures from their universities, schools and organisations, so we are staying positive on achieving our targeted 100,000 goal.
“More importantly, we hope the Government will see that Malaysians at large want more protection of marine turtles, and hopefully the Government will step up their efforts in this area,” says Chong.
“As the Egg=Life campaign ends on Sept 30, we will try to have weekend activities to spice things up and get more signatures. We’ll probably approach more corporations and schools to pledge for this cause as well,” adds Nelleisa.
o Help the Telur Rangers and WWF-Malaysia to achieve their 100,000 signatures. Follow the Telur Rangers’ journey at telurrangers.blogspot.com, join their Facebook fan page or pledge your online signature at www.wwf.org.my or www.saveturtles.my. Currently, the signatures roughly number 14,000.
The ‘Egg=Life’ crusade
The Star 12 Sep 09;
WWF-Malaysia launched the “Egg=Life” campaign on Earth Day (April 22) this year with the aim of improving the protection of marine turtles in Malaysia.
The campaign, which runs till September 30, aims to get pledges from 40,000 people to never consume or trade in turtle eggs or their parts, support laws banning the sale and consumption of turtle eggs and support the call for comprehensive legislation to conserve marine turtles.
Pledges are obtained through signatures collected from the public, postage-paid hardcopy sign-up forms and online pledges through www.wwf.org.my or www.saveturtles.my. Many organisations and colleges are supporting the campaign as well by undertaking signature drive initiatives of their own.
When WWF-Malaysia executive director and CEO Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma first heard about the Telur Rangers proposal, he was very excited because it would promote turtle conservation awareness in a fun and unique way.
“We hope to raise public awareness of the importance of turtle conservation and related issues, so the Telur Rangers are an important part of our Egg=Life campaign. We do not have the resources to undertake a peninsula-wide Egg=Life road show, so this was also a good way of getting our message out to the public in many states.
“We are pleased to support the efforts of such enthusiastic people who are passionate about protecting turtles that they took time off work to undertake the project,” says Dionysius.
WWF-Malaysia’s involvement in the project includes helping them secure accommodation, venue and car sponsorships, as well as promoting the project to the media and WWF supporters and networks. Each signature in support of WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” campaign will lend weight to efforts aimed at improving turtle protection legislation in Malaysia.
“WWF-Malaysia will be working with our partners to call for laws banning the sale and consumption of all turtle eggs throughout Malaysia. I hope everyone will help save the turtles with just one signature — either when the Telur Rangers visit or through the many colleges and corporations that are helping us to obtain signatures in support of the campaign.
“This process will take time, but by the end of the year, we are optimistic that these signatures will help lend weight to the call,” says Dionysius.
Dionysius points out that leatherback turtles have already been declared functionally extinct in Malaysia.
“In the 1950s, there were 10,000 leatherback nests in Rantau Abang each year; now there are less than 10. Moreover, turtle protection laws are inadequate. Current federal laws on turtles are limited. Under the Federal Constitution, it is the state that has the authority to make laws on turtles. State laws vary from state to state and are simply inadequate.”
Marine turtles are threatened with extinction due to various factors such as the consumption of turtle eggs, turtles being accidentally caught in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade in turtles and their parts.
In Peninsular Malaysia, WWF-Malaysia works with partners, including the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, to conserve turtles at key nesting rookeries including Kem Terendak, Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting beaches in Malacca as well as Ma’Daerah and Setiu beaches in Terengganu.
Malacca’s beaches are home to the peninsula’s largest population of hawksbill turtles — with 20% to 30% of the state’s total nesting occurring on the 120m strip of beach in Pulau Upeh, the densest nesting beach in Malacca, while a significant population of green turtles nest on Terengganu’s beaches.
Joseph Sipalan, The New Straits Times 12 Sep 09;
KUALA LUMPUR: Any environmentalist here will tell you that the Ulu Muda forest reserve is an important bastion of ecological wonder, one of the last largely untouched forests in Peninsular Malaysia.
But in reality, most Malaysians will probably have little chance of seeing for themselves the grandeur of the centuries-old forest.
The World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia calls the 160,000ha Ulu Muda a treasure of national importance, as it feeds water to rice production areas in Seberang Prai, Perlis and, most importantly, Kedah, the country's rice bowl state.
And because forests act as natural sponges to retain water, Ulu Muda continues to provide the life-giving resource, said the WWF chief technical officer for Peninsular Malaysia, Surin Suksuwan.
He said without the trees, the area could not retain water to feed Kedah's padi fields, which meant bad yields for farmers and shaky food security for the country.
Water Watch Penang president Prof Chan Ngai Weng added that no trees meant siltation, which ill pollute the island state's drinking water.
Considering that 80 per cent of Penang's water is sourced from Ulu Muda, this means more work and higher cost to churn out clean water for the consumer, who will end up paying for it all.
And if plans to clear the forest are on, Surin contends that the ringgit and sen of the entire exercise would be hard to justify. Citing a study WWF Malaysia did in 2002, he said the figures did not amount to very much.
The study estimated earnings from a 10-year concession to heli-log areas in Ulu Muda to be RM53 million.
Minus from that would be payments by way of premiums, loyalty and timber cess to the state government, which would hit RM26 million.
On the flip side, the state can earn an average RM187 million annually from domestic water supply, plus RM5 million from irrigation.
And if water is converted to rice production, the value shoots up to RM622 million, said the report.
But none of this information will help address the reason why the Kedah government plans to log the area -- the lack of state funds.
"The ultimate goal is to get the authorities to declare Ulu Muda as a protected area, but there must be an alternative for the state government to raise funds," Surin said.
He said a few options were put on the table for stakeholders to consider, such as a natural resource levy for consumers and industries that source water from the area, or even an Ulu Muda Trust Fund to help cover the state's administration costs.
Surin said the Federal Government also had a key role to play, especially in seriously considering the RM100 million annual compensation to Kedah to forget about logging.
"Some of these ideas are not new. Some were mooted in the 1980s, some even as far back as the 1970s.
"There have been many reports over the years and they keep piling up but there is a lack of political will to implement these ideas.
"The solution to Ulu Muda's status goes all the way up to the state authorities ... if the government puts its mind to it, it can be done," said Surin.
(The Ulu Muda trip was made possible by WWF Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Malaysian Karst Society, Water Watch Penang and Rohani Rahmani of Ronn's Adventures.)
'If they cut the trees, it would be a shame'
The New Straits Times 12 Sep 09;
SIK: Rahim takes a drag off his rokok daun, sitting cross-legged and leaning back on his free arm as he relaxes after a hard day's trekking.
As he exhales, a whimsical smile bares his tobacco-stained teeth as he speaks his reverence for the place where a group of "city folk" are spending a few nights.
"It always has something to give us," he says before he pulls another long puff while rolling his cigarette between his thumb and forefinger to get an even burn.
The wilds of Ulu Muda, he explains, have given villagers in and around the forest's great expanse many treasures that have kept them going for generations.
Water to sustain their padi fields, abundant fish in its surrounding lakes and rivers, and wild honey, while dangerous to harvest, is lucrative when in season.
But Rahim's optimism to keep his relationship with the forest alive is slowly fading.
He fears that he and the other locals in the area, will slowly -- in the name of development -- disappear.
While the area at large still retains virgin forest cover, parts of Ulu Muda have been scarred by extensive logging from the 1960s to 1980s and even now under much smaller concession areas.
After a two-decade reprieve from large-scale intrusion of logging trucks and buzzing chainsaws several feet long, the threat reared its head again twice in the new millennium.
The first was in 2002, when then Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Syed Razak Syed Zain led the state government into a partnership with a private timber company to carry out heli-logging, using helicopters to transport felled logs .
The state thought it a more "environmentally-friendly" approach.
But the plan was scrapped a year later as the Environmental Impact Assessment report was deemed incomplete.
The latest attempt was last year, when Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak announced that the state was going to "carefully" handle their logging project, which he said would not affect the environment.
On both counts, the underlying reason behind the logging plans was because the state did not have the money to run the government, let alone develop Kedah.
Rahim says the villagers are not averse to progress, with electricity and potable water, and machines like the pump-boat engines they use for fishing, and ferrying the rare tourist, a godsend that makes their lives all the more easier.
"If they come in and cut the trees, it would be a shame. We've been doing this for so long, and it would just disappear," Rahim says.
Bernama 11 Sep 09;
SIBU, Sept 11 (bernama) -- Malaysia is ready to send its fire bomber aircraft or air tanker to help Indonesia douse its fires in joint efforts to reduce the occurrence of transboundary haze.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas said here today he had written to his Indonesian counterpart on the availability and readiness of the aircraft to fly there.
He told reporters here today that this was in response to the Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore Ministerial Standing Committee Meeting on transboundary haze problem in Singapore last month where it was agreed that co-ordinated efforts would be made by all in fighting it.
"Indonesia had indicated at the meeting that it might need our help.
"If this happens, we will contribute in ensuring a haze free Hari Raya celebration for the people especially in Sarawak," he said.
"At the same time we pray that there will be more rains in Kalimantan," he said.
He said that based on a satelite report, 700 hotspots had been detected in Kalimantan as of yesterday compared to less than 50 in the state itself.
Unggah also commended the people as well as the state and government ministeries for their co-operation in reducing open burning which had helped to reduce the local haze problem.
"We really appreciate such efforts and co-operation," he said.
-- BERNAMA
Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, Phuketwan 11 Sep 09;
NO MORE private marinas and piers will be built on Phuket under a reversal of policy, implemented by Governor Wichai Praisa-nob.
The change in approach leaves some branded resort developments with no prospect of providing marinas that were offered as an attraction to buyers.
It's a remarkable reversal of attitudes and administrative approaches.
Just a year or two ago, an entrepreneur suggested the building of an artificial island for megayachts in Phang Nga Bay, and his suggestion was taken seriously.
"Many private companies have tried to purchase land along the east coast of Phuket and around Sireh island," Governor Wichai said.
"The east coast has had problems with pollution and the destruction of mangrove forests.
"To protect the existing marine life and the livelihood of the local people, we are going to cease permits for non-government piers and marinas."
With the sale of all viable land along the west coast for development, Phuket's east coast has become increasingly desirable.
The opportunity to open marinas with access to Phang Nga Bay has already been exploited, with several established marinas and proposed resorts seeing it as essential to have their own "yacht havens".
But the east coast remains home to vulnerable marine life, including dugongs which rely for their survival on a handful of areas where sea grass grows.
Villagers along the east coast and on the offshore islands have witnessed the consequences of large-scale developments and declared that they do not want more resorts or "pool villas with private moorings".
The decision on marinas and piers was made known at a meeting of the governor's new environmental impact review committee this week.
Dr Narinee Tongtam, of the Phuket Marine and Coastal Resources Office, told the meeting that in the past, villagers have been deceived by developers who promise locals jobs if projects go ahead.
Some of the biggest new up-market resorts along the east coast have been guilty of this deception. Locals did not get the jobs and were eventually shut out of beaches and public areas where previous generations once wandered freely.
"It's a good thing to stop these projected marinas and piers because ultimately, they destroy the environment and only benefit a handful of people." Dr Narinee said.
The policy marks a dramatic change in approach, largely based on the broken promises of several big-name, high-profile developments that have sprung up along the east coast in the past few years.
The meeting was told that the alternative was for resorts to provide access to local government piers and existing marinas.
The governor has established the new committee because the existing system of environmental checks is flawed.
Once approved, there has previously been no control to ensure the environment is actually protected and no penalty for falsely-issued approval certificates.
The change in policy leaves some branded resort developments with no prospect of providing marinas that were promised as part of the attraction to buyers.
The present governor and his predecessor, Dr Preecha Roungjan, have expressed personal views that Phuket is developed enough.
Both governors have listened sympathetically to village leaders of traditional communities along the east coast and on offshore islands, where the majority view is that no more development is wanted, or necessary.
The villagers prefer to maintain their traditional lifestyle. For better or worse, they see continuity as far more important than cash-in-hand.
thaindian.com 11 Sep 09;
Bhubaneswar, Sep 11 (IANS) The mass breeding of rare Olive Ridley turtles is likely to be hit due to the sinking of a cargo ship, carrying iron ore fines and oil, in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast two days ago, a marine expert warned Friday.
The Mongolian vessel capsized in the harbour area of Paradip port, some 100 km from here, carrying about 25,000 tonnes of iron ore fines and 900 tonnes of oil.
The site where the ship has gone down is very close to the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, one of the few remaining nesting sites for Olive Ridley turtles in the world. The turtles come to the site every year around this month for breeding.
Port authorities say they have deployed officials and taken all steps to prevent any spillage from the ship, but Biswajit Mohanty, coordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a turtle conservation group, said he sees a threat to the turtles.
The ship contains iron ore fines which can be washed away by sea currents. If the iron ore fines settle on the floor of the sea, benthic fauna - tiny creatures found on and within the seabed - can be wiped out inside the sanctuary, Mohanty said.
“That could lead to a food crisis for turtles. The authorities must step in and recover the oil completely before it spills off into the surrounding environment,” Mohanty told IANS.
Senior port officials said they have already apprised the ship owner about the possible danger.
“Certainly it will affect marine life if the oil spills. We are keeping a close watch and taking steps to prevent pollution,” the port’s deputy chairman Biplav Kumar said, adding no spillage had been reported from the ship so far.
The Olive Ridley turtle, which can grow up to 75 cm in length, is found in tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In India, they are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Orissa is home to more than 50 percent of the world’s turtle population. Besides Gahirmatha in Kendrapada district, the other mass nesting sites are the Devi river mouth in Puri district and the Rusikulya river mouth Ganjam district.
The turtles start arriving in the coastal water from end of September onward and return in the month of May after mass nesting.
Sunken cargo ship threatens breeding Indian turtles
Jatindra Dash, Reuters AlertNet 11 Sep 09;
BHUBANESWAR, India, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The mass breeding of India's endangered Olive Ridley turtles could be under threat by iron ore and oil carried in a cargo ship that capsized off India's east coast, a conservationist said on Friday.
The vessel, operating under a Mongolian flag, capsized off the harbour area of Paradip port in Orissa state on Wednesday.
It was carrying about 25,000 tonnes of powdery iron ore fines and more than 900 tonnes of fuel oil but none had been spilled so far, port authorities said.
The site is close to the Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary, home to almost half a million sea turtles in winter.
Port authorities said they had taken all necessary steps to prevent spillage.
"Certainly it will affect marine life if the oil spills. We are keeping close watch. We are taking steps to prevent pollution," said Biplav Kumar, the port's deputy chairman.
The area is one of the world's few remaining mass nesting sites for Olive Ridley turtles. The turtles come to its beaches for breeding every year around September.
Biswajit Mohanty, the coordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a turtle conservation group, said the turtles could be threatened if their food supply was contaminated.
"Materials in the disaster-hit ship can cause irrevocable harm to the sea turtles' habitat once they spill out," Mohanty said. "The food of turtles like jelly fish, mollusca, shrimps, starfish ... could be killed in the contamination."
Hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles swim up to Orissa's beaches every year to nest, but their numbers are falling drastically due to neglect and rapid industrialization.
(Editing by Matthias Williams and Paul Tait)
Anita Rachman Jakarta Globe 11 Sep 09;
An Indonesian beauty from deep in the wilds of Papua was formally recognized this week when an international scientific journal affirmed it as a new orchid species.
The unusual, bright yellow flower with rust-colored spots was first identified in 2008 by Destario Meusala, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences’ Purwodadi Botanical Gardens in East Java.
“There is no a description that perfectly describes this species, it’s very unique,” Destario said.
He has named the orchid Dipodium brevilabium D.Metusala & P.O’Byrne, after himself and collaborator Peter O’Byrne, who was part of the long research and journal-writing process.
“It took eight months of research before we were sure that it was really a new species.”
He said that he finished the research in October last year and then submitted his discovery to the Orchid Review journal, published by the Royal Horticultural Society in England, which describes itself as “the oldest and most influential orchid magazine in the world.”
The journal only this month published his article and officially approved the orchid as a new find.
Destario said a single plant of this kind could produce up to 35 flowers that bloom for 10 to 15 days. The orchid can reach a height of more than one meter and grows by attaching itself to large tree trunks. The orchid flower itself grows to between 27 and 40 centimeters in size.
The Dipodium genus has around 25 species spread over Malaysia, Australia and the islands of the West Pacific.
“The flower organ, the shape of flower bud, size and shape of the flower petals — those organs distinguish our orchid from others of the same genus,” Destario said.
He said he believed the Dipodium brevilabium only had a small population in Papua. He said he had not been able to find an orchid with the same characteristics on any other island in the country, “and our taxonomist colleagues in Papua New Guinea have never announced anything like this. So I guess it’s special.”
However, Destario refused to name the exact site where the orchid was found. He said it was important to keep the site secret because there were many hobbyists in the world who would want to get their hands on the orchid, adding that his institute wanted to take all necessary steps to conserve the flower.
Many experts believe that there are numerous new orchid species waiting to be discovered in the country.
Matt Walker, BBC News 11 Sep 09;
One of the world's rarest and most elusive birds has finally been seen flying in its natural habitat.
The Fiji petrel, a seabird that once "went missing" for 130 years, has been sighted flying at sea, near the island of Gua in the Pacific Ocean.
The culmination of a meticulously planned bird hunt, Birdlife International researchers sighted the birds 25 nautical miles south of Gua.
Up to eight individuals were seen and photographed over 11 days.
The 30cm tall dark-brown Fiji petrel ( Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi ) is one of the most elusive of all birds.
Originally, the species was known from just a single immature specimen, collected in 1855 on Gau Island, Fiji.
But then the bird "went missing" with no further confirmed sightings of it for almost 130 years.
Then in 1984, an adult was caught and photographed on Gua, then released.
Since then, there have been a handful of reports of "grounded" birds that had crashed onto village roofs on the island. Most were immature birds, of which a few died.
Due to the extremely limited number of sightings, the bird is also inferred to be one of the rarest of all bird species.
It is one of 192 bird species which are list as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Stinky lure
But while there have been ten unconfirmed reports of the bird at sea, with the latest a possible Fiji Petrel sighted around 400km north of Bougainville Island, until now there has been no confirmed sightings.
That was until in May, when scientists and volunteers working with Birdlife International and NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, a partner conservation organisation based in Fiji, set out to find the bird in its natural habitat.
The search for the elusive petrel is described in a paper in the latest Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.
The researchers lured the bird with a specially made food, made from finely cut fish offal mixed with very dense fish oil.
These were then frozen into 10kg blocks, which persist for over an hour in the water, creating a pungent oil slick which attracts petrels from some miles away.
On the second day of the expedition, the first Fiji Petrel appeared, approaching the chum slick from downwind, slowly zigzagging over the slick, and suddenly changing direction to drop onto a floating morsel.
In all, the expedition team believe they saw eight individuals over eleven days of observations.
"Finding this bird and capturing such images was a fantastic and exhilarating experience," says ornithologist Hadoram Shirihai, who lead the search team.
In 2008, Mr Shirihai also rediscovered the Critically Endangered Beck's Petrel ( Pseudobulweria becki ) a bird that was also only known from two sightings in the Pacific made in the 1920s.
"To see such a little-known bird at such close range was magical," added fellow expedition member Mr Tony Pym, describing his joy at seeing the Fiji petrel flying over the waves.
More surveys in 2010 are now planned to to locate the breeding area of the Fiji Petrel, says Dick Watling of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti.
"Once we know the location, we can assess what needs to be done to turn around the fortunes of this species," he says.
Kyoko Hasegawa Yahoo News 11 Sep 09;
TAIJI, Japan (AFP) – To animal rights activists it's a cruel and bloody slaughter; for Japanese it's a long tradition: this week fishermen in a picturesque coastal town embarked on their annual dolphin hunt.
Every year, crews in motorboats here have rounded up about 2,000 of the sea mammals, banged metal poles to herd them into a small, rocky cove and killed them with harpoons, sparing a few dozen for sale to marine aquariums.
But this year the small southwestern town of Taiji was shunted into the global spotlight with the release of the hard-hitting US-made eco-documentary "The Cove".
In the film, years in the making, a team of underwater cameramen, free divers and other experts used hidden cameras and other technical devices to covertly capture the hunt in graphic detail.
The film shows angry confrontations between residents and the lead activist, Ric O'Barry, who in the 1960s trained dolphins for the US hit television show "Flipper" but now argues the animals should be free to roam the oceans.
The film won numerous international prizes, including the Sundance Festival's audience award, and last month led the Australian city of Broome to announce it would cancel it sister-city relationship with Taiji.
"Dolphins are a large-brain creature," O'Barry, 69, told AFP during a recent return visit to Japan. "They are highly intelligent, they are self-aware, like gorillas and humans. I nursed them, I watched them give birth.
"And for me, to kill them, is extremely, extremely..." He paused, then simply added: "I don't see the purpose."
In Taiji, where about 3,700 people live, the global uproar stirred by "The Cove" has met with equal incomprehension -- and anger.
"If it's cruel to kill dolphins, it's also cruel to kill cows and pigs," Hiromitsu Taniguchi, a 41-year-old house painter, told AFP during a recent interview as several of his friends nodded in agreement.
"I can never understand those Westerners' argument. They eat cattle, pigs and chicken. We eat dolphins and whales. That's it."
Fishermen and town officials declined to speak with AFP about the film, citing what they described as widespread media bias against them.
"We've been betrayed for years by reporters," said a fishing cooperative official. "If we explain our opinions to them, editors cut out the parts giving our views and the result is stories supporting anti-whaling activists."
Taiji is filled with monuments to dolphins and whales, which are commonly grouped as 'whales' in conversations here, and has a museum dedicated to hunting the sea mammals, a practice it says started around the year 1600.
At a monument, people from the town pray for the souls of the dolphins, porpoises and whales killed in the hunts.
The film's director, Louie Psihoyos -- a veteran National Geographic photographer and co-founder of the non-profit group the Ocean Preservation Society -- says he doesn't buy the tradition argument.
"The dolphin hunters told us that they are proud of their tradition," he told AFP in an email. "This 'tradition' has been only going on with fast diesel power boats" since the early 1900s, he wrote.
Psihoyos suggested that some traditions need to end. "In America we had a much older tradition of slavery and not allowing women to vote."
Amid the raging controversy, Taiji's fishermen started their annual hunt Wednesday, catching about 100 bottlenose dolphins and 50 pilot whales, said Wakayama prefectural official Yasushi Shimamura.
They plan to sell about 50 dolphins to aquariums nationwide and release the remainder back into the sea, while the whale meat will be sold for human consumption, an official at a local fishermen's cooperative said.
Officials said they would not slaughter any of the dolphins caught on Wednesday, but denied it was due to international pressure and did not say whether or not they would hunt or cull more of the animals this season.
"We didn't decide to release the remainder of the dolphins because there have been protests against dolphin hunting from animal rights activists," said a fisheries cooperative official who declined to give his name.
"From the viewpoint of resource control, we've been occasionally releasing them on our own judgement in the past."
This year, Taiji was allocated a cull quota of about 2,300 small cetaceans, or hairless aquatic mammals such as dolphins, whales and porpoises.
O'Barry made a return visit to the town, accompanied by media, at the start of the hunting season, September 1, but the hunt was delayed by officials citing inclement weather conditions.
He was an unwelcome guest, blocked at one stage by a fisherman from entering a supermarket that sells dolphin and whale meat.
O'Barry has stressed that his message is not anti-Japanese but intended to protect them because dolphin meat, once served in school lunches in Taiji and still sold elsewhere in Japan, is toxic.
He told AFP that he came back "to get this information out about mercury poison in dolphin meat," referring to the heavy metal that concentrates in the marine food chain and is often found in dolphin meat.
People in Taiji say they already know about the mercury risk.
"The Cove", which has not been shown in Japanese cinemas, features interviews with two Japanese experts who speak about the heavy metal.
Both now say they are angry their comments were used in the film.
Hisato Ryono, 52, an assemblyman in Taiji who raised the alarm over dolphin meat being served in school lunches, said: "It's a betrayal. I thought (the film) was about marine pollution, but it's about anti-whaling."
"Showing the scene of the slaughter is not fair."
Tetsuya Endo, of the Health Science University of Hokkaido, who also spoke about the mercury risk on camera, said: "The overall tone of the film is an insult to the Japanese people and the people of Taiji in particular."
Psihoyos told AFP: "'The Cove' is not an attack on the Japanese people... I believe stopping the killing of dolphins is a win-win situation for both the dolphins and the Japanese people."
Posts
visitors since Nov 07